JP2001168357A - Thin-film solar battery module and method of manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the design, functions, etc,, other than the power generating performance, of an integrated thin-film solar battery module. SOLUTION: An integrated thin-film solar battery made by forming a film on the entire surface of a translucent substrate made of glass or the like is formed, at any desired place, with a translucent opening (slit) having the shape of a specified design, character, symbol, figure, or the like by casting laser light using a pattern mask or by on/off-controlling the casting of laser light by a computer storing the pattern or the like. Thereby, the integrated thin-film solar battery module having excellent design and functions can be manufactured without complicated manufacturing processes.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thin-film solar cell module and a method of manufacturing the same. It relates to a manufacturing method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a structural example of a thin-film solar cell module, a transparent electrode layer, a photoelectric conversion layer of a pin structure amorphous semiconductor comprising a single layer or a plurality of layers, a transparent The electrode layer and the back metal electrode layer are manufactured by sequentially forming films by a method such as sputtering or CVD. Here, the transparent electrode material is Zn.
O, SnO2, ITO, etc. are used as metal electrode materials.
g, Al, etc. are mainly used. Then, when manufacturing a large-area thin-film solar cell module, when forming each of the layers, film formation using a mask, or, after the entire film formation,
An integrated structure is employed in which individual thin-film solar cells that have been patterned by means of etching, laser scribe, or the like and divided are connected in series via a transparent electrode layer and a metal electrode layer.

[0003]

In recent years, various energy uses have been reviewed from the viewpoint of global environmental measures. In particular, solar cells using solar energy are expected to be representative of clean energy sources. The spread of various products related to photovoltaic power generation for consumer use, including residential photovoltaic power generation systems, has begun.

However, the energy conversion efficiency of a solar cell is still low, and it is necessary to supplement it by expanding the installation area in order to obtain a necessary amount of energy. On the other hand, in terms of functional aspects other than its power generation capability, it is merely a flat, substantially constant-color plate shape, so that it has poor design and color, and the installed back surface, that is, the rear area is dark because sunlight is blocked. Due to the poor functionality of a large area that has no value and is of no use, it has naturally been a problem in widespread use because the installation place is limited.

Therefore, it is expected that the large-area thin-film solar cell module has a light-transmitting property in order to add functionality such as light-gathering property to the rear of the module where the module is installed. Thin-film solar cells, transparent electrode layers,
In a thin-film solar cell module having an integrated structure and a large area connected in series via a metal electrode layer, as a simple method of adding a function of imparting a light-transmitting property to the module, a hole cutter device having a plurality of metal blades is provided. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-283724 proposes to provide a plurality of small holes which penetrate all of the stacked body as a thin film solar cell of each unit having an integrated structure by a mechanical method according to the present invention. ing.

[0006] However, in this method, a plurality of small holes are formed excluding the divided thin film solar cells so as not to adversely affect the electrical connection portion connected in series such as a short circuit. It must be formed, and therefore, by simply giving each unit thin-film solar cell constituting the module a light-transmitting property, the design and color of the large-area thin-film solar cell module as a whole are taken into consideration. It was not something.

Further, each of the divided thin-film solar cells is
The transparent electrode layer and the integrated structure, which are connected in series via a metal electrode layer, have an integrated structure and have a large-area thin-film solar cell module. A large-area thin film of an integrated structure including a film, a photoelectric conversion film made of an amorphous silicon-based semiconductor, and a back electrode film, divided into a plurality of power generation regions on an insulated translucent substrate and connected in series. In the manufacturing process of the solar cell module, formation of a resist film laminated on the back electrode film, and a back electrode film separation line patterned through the resist film, the back electrode film, and the photoelectric conversion film into substantially the same shape. At the same time, the method of forming a light-transmitting opening by partially removing the resist film, the back electrode film, and the photoelectric conversion film in the divided individual power generation regions in the same direction as the patterning is disclosed in the present patent application. Applicant's prior application It has proposed as Japanese Patent Application No. 11-273762).

However, this method is also a simple method of forming a light-transmitting opening at the same time as the fabrication of an integrated structure, but still has a simple light-transmitting method for each unit thin-film solar cell constituting a module. However, it does not take into account the design and color of the entire thin-film solar cell module having a large area.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-2139 discloses a thin-film solar cell module in which design and color are taken into consideration.
No. 77 discloses an amorphous solar cell in which a light-transmitting first electrode layer, an amorphous semiconductor layer, and a second electrode layer are sequentially laminated on a light-transmitting insulating substrate. Further, between the amorphous semiconductor layer, provided with a light-transmitting insulator patterned in any characters, symbols, figures, etc., the light-transmitting insulator for each unit light-receiving surface as a solar cell, 2. Description of the Related Art An amorphous solar cell characterized by depicting a design such as an arbitrary character, symbol, or figure has been proposed.

However, also in this case, the design and color of the large-area thin-film solar cell module as a whole can be obtained simply by giving each unit thin-film solar cell constituting the module a mere small design. Was not taken into account.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide a design of the entire module such as a photovoltaic power generation system for a house, and in particular, to a thin-film solar cell module for various types of consumer use having a large area. It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple manufacturing method for imparting excellent functions such as properties, chromaticity, and translucency, and a high-functional large-area thin-film solar cell module produced by the method.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a light-transmitting insulating substrate, a transparent conductive film, a single-layer or plural-layer photoelectric conversion layer, and a back electrode layer. In an integrated thin-film solar cell module composed of unit thin-film solar cells divided into a plurality of power generation regions on a light-insulating substrate, a light-transmitting opening is provided at an arbitrary position of the integrated thin-film solar cells. By providing the (slits), the integrated large-area thin-film solar cell module is provided with excellent functionality such as design, color, and translucency as the whole module.

Preferably, according to the present invention, the light-transmitting openings (slits) provided at arbitrary positions of the integrated thin-film solar cell are formed continuously or at a certain interval. It is preferable that the slits as a whole be formed in the shape of an arbitrary design, character, symbol, or figure disposed on the integrated large-area thin-film solar cell module.

According to the present invention, the light-transmitting opening (slit) is provided so that the laser light can be irradiated with any design, character,
It can be easily formed by irradiating the integrated thin-film solar cells from above the pattern mask in which the symbols and the shapes of the figures are arranged.

Further, the present invention provides a method of arbitrarily turning on / off a laser beam.
By irradiating the integrated thin-film solar cell with the OFF control, the light-transmitting opening (slit) can be formed in any design, character, symbol, or figure.

Further, according to the present invention, a shutter is provided in an optical path of a laser beam, and the shutter is arbitrarily opened / closed to irradiate the integrated thin film solar cell with the laser beam so that the light transmitting property is improved. The openings (slits) that are provided can be formed in any design, letters, symbols, and figures.

Preferably, the present invention relates to a method for encapsulating and completing an integrated large-area thin-film solar cell module provided with excellent functions such as design, color and translucency as the whole module. EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Ac-etat), which is supplied as a sheet-like filling material during the encapsulation (lamination) process, melts and becomes transparent after cross-linking and molding.
It is preferable to use a translucent resin such as e).

By doing so, it is possible to easily manufacture an integrated large-area thin-film solar cell module having excellent functions such as design, color, and translucency of the whole module. it can.

Preferably, the present invention encloses and completes an integrated large-area thin-film solar cell module provided with excellent functions such as design, color, and translucency as the whole module. At this time, it is preferable to use a transparent material having no color, such as glass or a fluorine resin film, as the back surface sealing material.

In this way, when imparting excellent functionality such as design, color and light transmission as the whole module, an integrated large-area thin film with particular emphasis on light transmission is provided. A solar cell module can be provided.

Further, preferably, the present invention encloses and completes an integrated large-area thin-film solar cell module provided with excellent functions such as design, color and translucency as the whole module. At that time, as a back sealing material,
It is preferable to use a light-transmitting material having any coloring or natural color.

In this way, when the module as a whole is provided with excellent functions such as design, color and translucency, it can be seen particularly in what is called stained glass. In addition, it is possible to provide an integrated large-area thin-film solar cell module that emphasizes design and color while having translucency.

The present invention relates to a method for encapsulating and completing an integrated large-area thin-film solar cell module to which excellent functions such as design, color, and translucency of the whole module are imparted. An opaque material (opaque material) having any color or natural color can also be used as the back surface sealing material.

In this case, the light transmittance of the thin-film solar cell module itself is lost. However, when the module is installed on an outdoor wall or independently, it can be used as, for example, an advertising panel. In addition, an integrated large-area thin-film solar cell module emphasizing design and color can be provided.

[0025]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an example of a thin-film solar cell module according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, an example of a method for manufacturing a thin-film solar cell module according to the present invention will be described. In this example, glass is used as the substrate 1. However, the substrate 1 may be a film-like substrate having heat resistance and translucency.

First, on the glass substrate 1, for example, SnO2 to be the transparent electrode layers 2, 3, and 4 is formed on the entire surface by a thermal CVD method or the like, and then, for example, YA, which is well absorbed by the SnO2 film,
Using a G fundamental wave laser beam or the like, the laser beam is
The SnO2 film is divided into strips by irradiating from the side to form patterned transparent electrode layers 2, 3, and 4 which are the basis of integration. Here, SnO2 is used as the material of the transparent electrode layers 2, 3, and 4, but ZnO, ITO, or the like may be used. Further, the YAG fundamental wave laser is used for patterning, but other lasers may be used.

Next, the glass substrate 1 on which the transparent electrode layers 2, 3, and 4 are formed is washed with pure water, and the transparent electrode layers 2, 3, and 4 are washed.
For example, amorphous silicon that becomes the photoelectric conversion layers 5, 6, and 7 is laminated in the order of p-type, i-type, and n-type by a plasma CVD method or the like, and the amorphous silicon is strip-shaped using laser light. And the photoelectric conversion layer 5 having the same surface shape as the transparent electrode layers 2, 3, and 4 formed earlier.
At this time, in order to avoid damage to the previously formed transparent electrode layers 2, 3, and 4, a wavelength-selective, for example, YAG-SHG laser beam or the like is used. Irradiation is performed from the glass substrate 1 side to perform patterning. Here, the amorphous silicon to be the photoelectric conversion layers 5, 6, and 7 is a single-layer laminate having a pin structure.
The in structure may be a two-layer structure or a three-layer structure. Although the YAG-SHG laser was used for forming and patterning the photoelectric conversion layers 5, 6, and 7, the transparent electrode layers 2, 3, and
YAG-SHG can be used as long as it is a laser with wavelength selectivity that does not damage amorphous silicon 4 and is well absorbed by amorphous silicon.
Other than a laser may be used.

Next, on the photoelectric conversion layers 5, 6, and 7, a transparent conductive film and a metal film to be the back electrode layers 8, 9, and 10 are formed in this order by sputtering or the like. The above-mentioned materials such as SnO2, ZnO, ITO, etc. are used as the material of the metal film.
And Al are used. However, the formation of the transparent conductive film may be omitted. After the film formation, the back electrode layer 8,
Patterning is performed to form the layers 9 and 10, and the patterning is also performed using a wavelength-selective YAG-SHG laser, which is well absorbed by the amorphous silicon and the metal film, from the glass substrate 1 side. To obtain back electrode layers 8, 9 and 10 divided into strips. At the time of patterning, even if a transparent conductive film sandwiched between the amorphous silicon and the metal film is formed, both the amorphous silicon and the metal film are evaporated and removed by irradiation with the YAG-SHG laser. Therefore, the transparent conductive film in between is also inevitably lost by losing the support portion, and the back electrode layer 8 divided into strips,
9, 10 can be obtained.

In this manner, at least the glass substrate, which is a translucent insulating substrate, the transparent conductive film, ie, the transparent electrode layer,
A photoelectric conversion layer consisting of a single layer or a plurality of layers, a back electrode layer, and each unit thin-film solar cell divided into a plurality of substantially identical strip-shaped power generation regions on the translucent insulating substrate; An integrated thin-film solar cell in which unit thin-film solar cells are connected in series is obtained.

Next, in order to provide a translucent opening (slit) having an arbitrary design, character, symbol, or figure at an arbitrary position of the integrated type thin film solar cell, FIG. As shown in the figure, a pattern mask 11 in which arbitrary designs, characters, symbols, and figures are arranged is prepared. The mask is YAG
-It is made of a material that does not transmit the SHG laser light, such as stainless steel or iron.

Then, the mask is placed on the glass substrate 1 side of the integrated thin-film solar cell, and as shown in FIG. 4, the YAG-SHG laser beam (laser beam) is applied from the glass substrate 1 side through the mask. Is scanned, YAG-SHG irradiated from an opening arranged in an arbitrary design, character, symbol, or figure shape of the pattern mask 11 in the same manner as the above-described patterning at the time of forming the back electrode layers 8, 9, and 10 Laser light (la
An opening (slit) 12 having a light-transmitting property having an arbitrary design, character, symbol, or figure as shown in FIG. 1 is formed in the integrated thin-film solar cell by a ser beam. The area of the slit 12 is arbitrary, but is preferably about 1/5 to 1/20 of the integrated area of the integrated thin-film solar cell so as not to sacrifice much the power generation capacity of the integrated thin-film solar cell. .

In the above-described embodiment of the present invention,
In order to form an opening (slit) 12 having an arbitrary design, characters, symbols, and drawings and having a light-transmitting property at an arbitrary position of the integrated thin-film solar cell, a YAG- Although processing using SHG laser light (laser beam) is employed, the formation of the opening (slit) 12 is not limited to a method using a mask. As a method without using the pattern mask 11, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, while scanning a YAG-SHG laser beam (laser beam) emitting device in the secondary limit direction of the X-axis and the Y-axis, an arbitrary design,
Oscillation of an oscillator that emits the laser light is turned on / off by a computer or the like that stores the shapes of letters, symbols, and figures.
By controlling, it is possible to form the light-transmitting opening (slit) 12 having an arbitrary design, character, symbol, or figure shape. In addition, the emission of laser light is turned ON / O.
Instead of performing FF control, a shutter device may be provided in the optical path of the laser beam, and the shutter device may be controlled to be opened / closed by the computer or the like.
An opening (slit) 12 having a light-transmitting property and having the shape of the symbol or the figure can be formed. If these processing methods that do not use the pattern mask 11 are adopted, the above-described back electrode layers 8, 9, and 10 that are divided into strips can be formed, and the transparent electrodes having any design, characters, symbols, and figures can be formed. There is also an advantage that the formation of the openings (slits) 12 having optical properties can be performed simultaneously in one step. Although the YAG-SHG laser was used for the processing, the transparent electrode layer 2,
If the laser has wavelength selectivity that does not damage 3, 4 and is well absorbed by the amorphous silicon and the metal film, Y
Other than the AG-SHG laser may be used.

When the integrated thin-film solar cell manufactured as described above is made into a module, a part of sunlight incident from the glass substrate 1 side, which is a light-transmissive insulating substrate, is subjected to an arbitrary design or text. In order to improve the weather resistance, it is required to be visible from the back side of the integrated thin-film solar cell through a light-transmitting opening (slit) 12 having the shape shown in FIG.
A translucent resin 13 such as A (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate),
It is preferable to use a transparent back sealing material 14 having no color, such as glass or a fluorine resin film, to perform a moisture-proof treatment finish by laminating.

The integrated thin-film solar cell module that transmits a part of the incident light manufactured by the above-described method may cause a complicated manufacturing process as compared with the conventional integrated thin-film solar cell module manufacturing method. It is possible to manufacture an integrated thin-film solar cell module having excellent functions such as designability and light-transmitting property without significantly increasing the cost.

[0037]

EXAMPLE As an example of the performance of an integrated thin-film solar cell module actually manufactured according to the above-described embodiment, I
FIG. 6 shows the V characteristics.

Assuming a power generation area of 135 mm × 136 mm, under the condition of AM 1.5 (100 mW / cm ² ),
Good results were obtained with a short circuit current of 0.156 A, an open circuit voltage of 15.1 V, a fill factor of 0.688, and a maximum output of 1.61 W.

[0039]

As described above, according to the thin-film solar cell module and the method of manufacturing the same of the present invention, especially in an integrated thin-film solar cell module having a large area, the manufacturing process is not complicated. Thus, it is possible to obtain an integrated thin-film solar cell module having a specific design, characters, symbols, figures, and the like, and having excellent functionalities such as design and translucency, without significantly increasing the cost.

When the integrated thin-film solar cell manufactured as described above is made into a module, the material 1 of the present invention is used.
According to the manufacturing method of adopting No. 5 and overlapping and laminating as shown in FIG. 7, a specific design having a color,
As shown in FIG. 8, it is possible to obtain an integrated thin-film solar cell module excellent in design and color, such as characters, symbols, and figures that can be seen through as shown in FIG. 8, for example, what is called stained glass. it can.

Further, when the integrated thin-film solar cell manufactured as described above is made into a module, according to the manufacturing method employing the material of the present invention, the light transmittance of the integrated thin-film solar cell module itself is reduced. However, when the module is installed on an outdoor wall surface or independently, for example, it can be used as an advertising panel, so that an integrated thin-film solar cell module emphasizing design and color can be obtained. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a thin-film solar cell module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows A in FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a portion indicated by an arrow A.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an outline of a pattern mask according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a laser beam irradiation step in manufacturing a thin-film solar cell module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing another method in a laser beam irradiation step in manufacturing a thin-film solar cell module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an IV characteristic diagram as an example of the performance of the thin-film solar cell module according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a manufacturing process of a thin-film solar cell module in another state according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a thin film solar cell module in another state according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Glass substrate 2, 3, 4 Transparent electrode layer 5, 6, 7 Photoelectric conversion layer 8, 9, 10 Back electrode layer 11 Pattern mask 12 Transmissive opening (slit) 13 EVA resin 14 Translucent back sealing Stopping material 15 Translucent back surface sealing material having any color or natural color. In each drawing, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A light-transmitting insulating substrate, a transparent conductive film, a single-layer or plural-layer photoelectric conversion layer, and a back electrode layer, each of which is divided into a plurality of power generation regions on the light-transmitting insulating substrate. An integrated thin-film solar cell module comprising unit thin-film solar cells, wherein a light-transmitting opening (slit) is provided at an arbitrary position of the integrated thin-film solar cell. . 2. The thin-film solar cell module according to claim 1, wherein the light-transmitting openings (slits) provided at arbitrary positions of the integrated thin-film solar cell are continuous or spaced at a certain interval. A thin film solar cell module, wherein the slits are formed as a whole, and the slits are formed as a whole in the shape of any design, character, symbol, or figure arranged on the thin film solar cell module. 3. The thin-film solar cell module according to claim 2, wherein the light-transmitting openings (slits) are provided on the pattern mask on which any design, character, symbol, or figure is arranged by applying a laser beam. A method for manufacturing a thin-film solar cell module, wherein the thin-film solar cell module is formed by irradiating a thin-film solar cell integrated from the above. 4. The thin-film solar cell module according to claim 2, wherein the laser light is arbitrarily turned on / off to irradiate the integrated thin-film solar cell, so that a light-transmitting opening (slit) is provided. In the form of any design, character, symbol, or figure. 5. The thin-film solar cell module according to claim 2, wherein a shutter is provided in an optical path of the laser light, and the shutter is arbitrarily opened / closed to irradiate the integrated thin-film solar cell with the laser light. A method of manufacturing a thin-film solar cell module, characterized in that a light-transmitting opening (slit) is formed in an arbitrary design, character, symbol, or figure. 6. EVA (Ethylene) when encapsulating the thin-film solar cell module according to claim 1 or 2.
A method for manufacturing a thin-film solar cell module, comprising using a resin having a light-transmitting property, such as vinyl acetate (Vinyl Acetate). 7. When the thin-film solar cell module according to claim 1 or 2 is encapsulated, a translucent material having no color, such as glass or a fluorine resin film, is used as a back surface sealing material. Of manufacturing thin film solar cell module. 8. A thin-film solar cell, characterized in that, when the thin-film solar cell module according to claim 1 or 2 is encapsulated, a translucent material having any coloring or natural color is used as a back surface sealing material. Manufacturing method of battery module. 9. When the thin-film solar cell module according to claim 1 or 2 is encapsulated, an opaque material (opaque material) having any color or natural color is used as a back surface sealing material. A method for manufacturing a thin-film solar cell module, comprising: