Patent ID: 7388269

Claim:
A diode with lead terminals for use as a bypass diode connected in parallel to a cell string in which m solar cell cells m is a positive integer of 2 or more, are connected in series via a conductor or as a reverse-current preventive diode connected in series to n said cell strings, n is a positive integer of 1 or more, comprising, a rectangular plate-shaped conductive N terminal which has a portion of uniform thickness being between 0.8 mm and 2.0 mm thick, at each end of which a thin part is formed, said portion of uniform thickness being an N substrate part, and said thin part at one end being an N thin part and said thin part at the other end being an N connecting wire receiving part, and the under surface of the N substrate part, the under surface of the N thin part, and the under surface of the N connecting wire receiving part forming the same plane, a rectangular plate-shaped conductive P terminal which has a portion of uniform thickness as thick as the N substrate part, said portion of uniform thickness being a P substrate part, and said thin part at one end being a P thin part, said thin part at the other end being a P connecting wire receiving part, and the upper surface of the P substrate part and the upper surface of the P thin part forming the same plane, and the under surface of the P substrate part and the under surface of the P connecting wire receiving part forming the same plane, and a plate-shaped diode chip with a pn connection structure in which a flat plate-shaped P-type semiconductor is connected to a flat plate-shaped N-type semiconductor, wherein the electrode surface of the N-type semiconductor of said diode chip is connected to the upper surface of the N thin part of the N terminal and the electrode surface of the P-type semiconductor of said diode chip is connected to the under surface of the P thin part, in the state where said diode chip is connected, the overlapped portion of the N thin part, the diode chip, and the P thin part has almost the same thickness as the thickness of the N substrate part, and a total plane area of a plane area of the N substrate part and a plane area of the P substrate part is between or equal to 200 mm 2 and 1200 mm 2 .