JP2011222920A - Striped solar cell element, solar cell module and manufacturing method for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve a manufacturing efficiency of a thin film solar cell module.SOLUTION: A solar cell module is constituted by a plurality of striped solar cell elements. The solar cell module includes at least two striped solar cell elements comprising: a bottom electrode layer; a power generation layer; an upper electrode layer, which are stacked on a conductive substrate successively; and a plurality of collector electrodes, which cross the upper electrode layer in a lateral direction from one end to another of a long side and are arranged in a longitudinal direction with a given interval, and being connected in series by a connection part where an edge in a width direction of a downside of the conductive substrate of a first striped solar cell element overlaps with an edge of a transparent electrode layer of a second striped solar cell element adjacent to the first striped solar cell element.

Description

The present invention relates to a strip solar cell element, a solar cell module, and a method for manufacturing a solar cell module.

  Conventionally, a thin-film solar cell employs a manufacturing method in which a plurality of solar cells are dividedly formed on a substrate by patterning and an integrated structure is formed by connecting them in series. In recent years, a thin film solar cell in which a plurality of strip solar cells are connected in series has been reported (see Patent Document 1). In this thin film solar cell, a single band-shaped solar cell having a comb-shaped collecting electrode is spirally wound so that the edge overlaps on an insulating thin film wound on the surface of a cylindrical body. After making the conductive resin intervene in the part, it is manufactured by incising it and detaching it from the cylindrical body.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 02-244772

By the way, the conventional manufacturing method of a thin film solar cell has the problem which should be improved further. For example, 1) The operation of forming the comb-shaped collector electrode on the surface of the narrow upper electrode layer is complicated. 2) For example, after a plurality of comb-shaped current collecting electrodes are formed on the surface of a sheet-like thin film solar cell, the resulting product is cut into narrow strip solar cells with a predetermined width with high accuracy, and thus productivity is not improved. It is.
The objective of this invention is improving the manufacturing efficiency of a thin film solar cell module.

Thus, the inventions according to the following [1] to [5] are provided.
[1] A band-shaped solar cell element, in which a conductive substrate, a lower electrode layer, a power generation layer and an upper electrode layer, which are sequentially stacked on the conductive substrate, and a surface of the upper electrode layer on the long side of the upper electrode layer A strip-shaped solar cell element, comprising: a plurality of current collecting electrodes arranged in parallel with a predetermined interval in the longitudinal direction of the upper electrode layer, which traverses from one end to the other in the short direction.
[2] The band-shaped solar cell element according to claim 1, wherein the collecting electrodes are formed so as not to cross each other on the surface of the upper electrode layer.
[3] The belt-like solar cell element according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the power generation layer includes any one selected from a group IB element, a group IIIB element, and a group VIB element.
[4] A solar cell module composed of a plurality of strip-shaped solar cell elements, from one end to the other end of the long side of the lower electrode layer, the power generation layer, the upper electrode layer, and the upper electrode layer sequentially stacked on the conductive substrate A first strip solar cell comprising at least two strip solar cell elements each having a plurality of collector electrodes arranged in parallel across a short direction and at a predetermined interval in the longitudinal direction of the upper electrode layer In series by the connection part where the edge part of the width direction of the lower side of the electroconductive board | substrate of an element and the edge part of the width direction of the transparent electrode layer of the 2nd strip | belt-shaped solar cell element adjacent to a 1st strip | belt-shaped solar cell element overlap. A solar cell module characterized by being connected.
[5] A method for manufacturing a solar cell module in which a plurality of strip-like solar cell elements are connected in series, comprising a lower electrode layer formed on a conductive substrate and a power generation layer and an upper electrode layer sandwiched between upper electrode layers A thin film solar cell having a plurality of current collecting electrodes arranged in parallel with a predetermined interval in the longitudinal direction of the upper electrode layer is supplied from an unwinding roll. A feeding step, a cutting step of cutting the thin-film solar cell supplied in the feeding step substantially parallel to the transport direction to form a plurality of strip solar cell elements, and a transporting direction of the plurality of strip solar cell elements formed by the cutting step The upper portion of the second strip solar cell element adjacent to a part of the conductive substrate of the first strip solar cell element so that the plurality of strip solar cell elements are connected in series with each other at a predetermined angle Overlap with part of the electrode layer A crimping step of crimping and integrally forming on a flexible substrate, and a winding step of continuously winding a connection body of a plurality of strip-like solar cell elements integrally molded by the crimping step around a winding roll The manufacturing method of the solar cell module characterized by these.

According to this invention, compared with the conventional manufacturing method, the manufacturing efficiency of a thin film solar cell module is improved.
Specifically, 1) There is no need to form a comb-shaped current collecting electrode, and after cutting a web-shaped thin film solar cell into a plurality of narrow strip solar cells, the end portions in the width direction are overlapped, and this is used as an adhesive sheet Can be crimped. 2) The integrated module can be manufactured at a higher speed than the manufacturing method using one tape-like solar cell.

It is a figure explaining an example of a strip | belt-shaped solar cell element. It is a figure explaining an example of a solar cell module. It is the schematic explaining an example of the manufacturing apparatus of a solar cell module. It is a figure explaining an inclination guide roll group.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the invention. The drawings used are for explaining the present embodiment and do not represent the actual size.

The strip-shaped solar cell element and the solar cell module to which the present invention is applied can be applied when using a solar cell generally classified as a thin film solar cell. As such a thin film solar cell, a thin film silicon type solar cell using hydrogenated amorphous silicon, a HIT solar cell combining amorphous and single crystal silicon, a dye sensitized solar cell having a semiconductor layer carrying a sensitizing dye, A compound solar cell using a compound semiconductor can be used.
Among these, examples of the compound solar cell include a GaAs-based solar cell, a CIS-based (chalcopyrite) solar cell, a Cu ₂ ZnSnS ₄ (CZTS) solar cell, and a CdTe-CdS-based solar cell.

In particular, a CIS (chalcopyrite) solar cell is a IB-IIIB-VIB group called a chalcopyrite system made of Cu, In, Ga, Al, Se, S, etc., instead of silicon, as a material of the light absorption layer. Use compounds. Typical examples include Cu (In, Ga) Se ₂ , Cu (In, Ga) (Se, S) ₂ , CuInS _{2 and the} like, which are abbreviated as CIGS, CIGSS, and CIS, respectively.

  CIS-based (chalcopyrite-based) solar cells have abundant manufacturing methods and combinations of materials, and are polycrystalline, so that they are suitable for large area and mass production, and flexible products are easily obtained. Hereinafter, the band-shaped solar cell element 200 in the case of using a CIS (chalcopyrite) solar cell which is one of the thin film solar cells, and the solar cell module 400 combined with the strip solar cell element 200 will be described.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a strip-shaped solar cell element 200 to which the present embodiment is applied. Fig.1 (a) is sectional drawing of the strip | belt-shaped solar cell element 200, FIG.1 (b) is the figure which looked at the strip | belt-shaped solar cell element 200 shown to Fig.1 (a) from 1b direction. FIG. 1A shows a cross section 1a of the strip solar cell element 200 shown in FIG.
A strip-shaped solar cell element 200 shown in FIG. 1A has a flat conductive substrate 211a, and a back electrode layer 211b as a lower electrode layer sequentially stacked so as to cover the surface of the conductive substrate 211a. It has a semiconductor layer 212 as a power generation layer and a transparent electrode layer 213 as an upper electrode layer. In addition, a collecting electrode 214 is provided on the transparent electrode layer 213.

As shown in FIG.1 (b), the shape of the strip | belt-shaped solar cell element 200 is a rectangle of the length L of the longitudinal direction, and the width W of a transversal direction (however, it is L> W). As described above, the collecting electrode 214 is provided on the transparent electrode layer 213 laminated on the flat conductive substrate 211a. A plurality of current collecting electrodes 214 are provided on the transparent electrode layer 213. Each of the current collecting electrodes 214 is formed so as to cross the transparent electrode layer 213 from one end to the other end of the long side of the transparent electrode layer 213. Further, the plurality of collecting electrodes 214 are arranged in parallel without being interlaced with each other with a predetermined interval d in the longitudinal direction.
The present embodiment is characterized in that the collecting electrode 214 is formed from one end of the long side of the transparent electrode layer 213 to the other end.

<Constituent Elements of Band-shaped Solar Cell Element 200>
The material constituting the conductive substrate 211a is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include stainless steel, aluminum, copper, and titanium. In the present embodiment, stainless steel is used. The thickness of the conductive substrate 211a is not particularly limited, but is stainless steel in this embodiment.
The material constituting the back electrode layer 211b as the lower electrode layer is preferably a metal, for example, at least one metal selected from Mo, Ti, Cr, Al, Ag, Au, Cu and Pt, or an alloy thereof. Can be mentioned. In this embodiment, the back electrode layer 211b is a metal thin film having a thickness of about 0.3 μm. The back electrode layer 211b is formed on the conductive substrate 211a by, for example, vapor deposition, sputtering, CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition), or the like.

  Examples of the semiconductor layer 212 as the power generation layer include a chalcopyrite type compound semiconductor containing elements of the periodic table IB group, IIIB group, and VIB group. In this embodiment mode, it is preferably formed using a Cu—In—Se semiconductor material having a chalcopyrite structure including copper (Cu), indium (In), and selenium (Se). In the present embodiment, the thickness of the semiconductor layer 212 is in the range of 0.3 μm to 5 μm.

The material constituting the transparent electrode layer 213 as the upper electrode layer is not particularly limited. For example, an indium oxide metal material such as ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) in which Sn is added to In ₂ O ₃ as a dopant; a dopant is added. Examples include tin oxide-based metal materials such as SnO ₂ ; AZO in which Al is added as a dopant to ZnO, GZO in which Ga is added as a dopant to ZnO, and zinc oxide-based metal materials such as IZO in which Zn is added as an dopant. . In this embodiment, it is preferable to use a metal material containing at least one selected from ITO, SnO ₂ , and ZnO and form the film by sputtering or evaporation. The thickness of the transparent electrode layer 213 is about 0.6 μm in the present embodiment.

  Examples of the material for the current collecting electrode 214 include a conductive paste. The conductive paste usually uses a resin such as a thermoplastic polyester resin, an acrylic resin, or an epoxy resin as a binder, and a fine metal powder such as silver, copper, or aluminum or a conductive fine powder such as carbon black is added thereto. It is defined as those prepared by dissolving and dispersing these binders and conductive fine particles in various organic solvents. As the metal fine powder, for example, a composite metal powder in which a part of the surface of copper particles, nickel particles, aluminum particles or the like is coated with another metal such as silver or gold is also used. Among them, for silver, for example, particulate silver compounds such as first silver oxide, second silver oxide, silver carbonate, silver acetate, and acetylacetone silver complex are preferable. As such a conductive paste, a conventionally known paste that is commercially available can be used.

In this embodiment, a buffer layer as a dielectric layer can be provided between the semiconductor layer 212 and the transparent electrode layer 213. In this case, the material constituting the buffer layer is not particularly limited, in the present embodiment, it is preferable to use a InS 3, sulfides such as _ZnS. By providing a buffer layer between the semiconductor layer 212 and the transparent electrode layer 213, defects generated at the interface between the semiconductor layer 212 and the transparent electrode layer 213 can be suppressed.

  The back electrode layer 211b is usually formed continuously by sputtering on a conductive substrate 211a made of, for example, a metal film, and then a semiconductor layer 212 is formed on the back electrode layer 211b. A transparent electrode layer 213 is formed on the semiconductor layer 212. Further, a plurality of collecting electrodes 214 are formed on the surface of the transparent electrode layer 213 by screen printing using a conductive paste.

  In this embodiment mode, the semiconductor layer 212 is preferably formed by stacking a plurality of p-type semiconductor formation precursor layers and n-type semiconductor formation precursor layers. That is, in this embodiment, a Cu-In-Se based semiconductor material is used as the compound semiconductor, and a precursor for forming a p-type semiconductor made of a mixture of Cu and Se that easily forms a p-type semiconductor on the back electrode layer 211b side. It is preferable to form a body layer, and then form an n-type semiconductor forming precursor layer made of a mixture of In and Se that easily forms an n-type semiconductor on the transparent electrode layer 213 side. The p-type semiconductor forming precursor layer and the n-type semiconductor forming precursor layer melt and diffuse to each other in a heat treatment step described later, thereby generating a semiconductor layer 212 made of a semiconductor having good crystallinity, A pn junction can be formed.

<Structure of Solar Cell Module 400>
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an example of the solar cell module 400. FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram illustrating the structure of the solar cell module 400. FIG.2 (b) is the figure which looked at the solar cell module 400 shown to Fig.2 (a) from 2b direction.
The solar cell module 400 shown in FIG. 2A is pressure-bonded to the flexible film 310 by the flexible film 310, the adhesive layer 320 applied to the surface of the flexible film 310, and the adhesive layer 320. a plurality of strip-like solar cell elements 200 _i connected, a cover member 220 for covering the plurality of strip-like solar cell elements 200 _i connected, and a.

Each of the plurality of strip-like solar cell elements 200 _i is formed on the front surface side with the conductive substrate 211a and the back electrode layer 211b on the adhesive layer 320 side, the semiconductor layer 212 formed on the back electrode layer 211b, and the like. It is composed of a transparent electrode layer 213 and a plurality of current collecting electrodes 214. As shown in FIG. 2 (a), the first strip-like solar cell elements 200 ₁ and the second strip-like solar cell element 200 _2, conductive substrate 211a in which the first strip-like solar cell element 200 ₁ has the adjacent The connecting portion 210 (210 ₁ , 210 ₁ , 210) where the lower end portion in the width direction and the end portion in the width direction of the transparent electrode layer 213 included in the _second band-shaped solar cell element 2002 overlap with each other via the collector electrode 214. ... 210 _i ) are formed. As a result, a plurality of narrow strip-shaped solar cell elements 200 _i are connected in series via the connecting portion 210, and a wide solar cell module 400 is formed.
In this embodiment, the collector electrode 214 formed of a conductive paste on the surface of the transparent electrode layer 213, in addition to the current collecting action, strip the solar cell element 200 _i of the connecting portion 210 (210 1 adjacent to each _other, -・ ・ 210 _i ) also serves as an adhesive.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), the width W of one strip solar cell element 200 _i constituting the solar cell module 400 is not particularly limited, in this embodiment, in the range of 4mm~30mm is there. If the width W is excessively wide, the number of strip solar cell elements 200 _i can be reduced, but the series resistance component tends to increase.
The width w of the strip-like solar cell elements 200 _i between the connection portion 210 adjacent is not particularly limited, in this embodiment, is in the range of 0.05 mm to 1 mm. If the width w is excessively wide, the interconnect resistance at the connecting portion 210 is reduced, and accuracy is not required when the band-shaped solar cell elements 200 _i are overlapped with each other. In addition, since the part of the connection part 210 does not contribute to power generation, the material cost per unit power generation tends to increase. Moreover, since the weight of the whole solar cell module 400 will also rise, in order to reduce weight, it is preferable that the width w of the connection part 210 be as narrow as possible.

First electrons present in the transparent electrode layer 213 of the strip-like solar cell element 200 on ₁ is the collector by the collector electrode 214, collecting electrode 214 is adjacent second strip-shaped solar cell element 200 _{and second} conductive substrates 211a by contact with, through the back electrode layer 211b, it is transmitted to the second strip-like solar cell element 200 ₂ adjacent. Here, by providing the current collecting electrode 214, it is possible to prevent loss of electrons in the transparent electrode layer 213, which is usually caused by the electrical resistance of the transparent electrode layer 213 being several orders of magnitude higher than that of the back electrode layer 211b. it can.

Here, the material of the flexible film 310 as the flexible substrate is desirably a plastic film excellent in weather resistance and moisture resistance in the present embodiment, and is not particularly limited. Specifically, for example, a general solar cell backsheet in which a fluororesin material is coated on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) as a base material, a laminate type film in which a plurality of films are laminated, and the like can be given. Here, as a film used for a laminate type film, a PET film, an ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) film, a polyvinyl fluoride (PVF) film, a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film, etc. are mentioned, for example.
Examples of the material of the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 320 include silicone-based, EVA-based, and fluorine-based adhesives.

As the cover member 220, it is important to use a plastic film having excellent weather resistance and moisture resistance. Furthermore, since the cover member 220 is disposed on the surface of the solar cell module 400, transparency, impact resistance, and antifouling properties are important. As a specific example of the cover member 220, for example, a laminated film in which a plurality of films excellent in these performances are laminated can be cited. Here, examples of the plurality of laminated films include a polyvinyl fluoride (PVF) film and a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film. In order to improve moisture resistance, an inorganic material thin film such as SiO ₂ or a glass thin film may be vacuum-formed in a laminate film.
Next, an example of a method for manufacturing the solar cell module 400 will be described.

<Production apparatus for solar cell module 400>
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a manufacturing apparatus for solar cell module 400 to which the present embodiment is applied. The solar cell module 400 manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 3 includes a supply unit 1 to which a web-like thin film solar cell 100 on which current collecting electrodes 214 are formed in advance is supplied, and the thin film solar cell 100 conveyed from the supply unit 1. A cutting section 2 for cutting into a plurality of narrow strip-shaped solar cell elements 200; a crimping section 3 for compressing and integrally molding the plurality of strip-shaped solar cell elements 200 and the adhesive sheet 300 cut by the cutting section 2; 3 and the winding part 4 which continuously winds up the solar cell module 400 integrally formed with the pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 300.

  The supply unit 1 includes, as supply means, an unwinding roll 11 in which the thin film solar cell 100 is wound in a roll shape, and a transport roll 12 that pulls out and transports the thin film solar cell 100 from the unwinding roll 11. The cutting part 2 has a blade part (slitter) 20 composed of a rotary blade 21 and a rotary receiving blade 22 as a cutting means for cutting the thin film solar cell 100 into a plurality of narrow strip solar cell elements 200. ing. In the thin film solar cell 100, the unwinding roll 11 rotates in the direction of arrow A, and is transported in the direction of arrow B by the transport roll 12.

  The crimping section 3 is a pressure-bonding means, an inclined guide roll group 30 that tilts each of the plurality of narrow strip solar cell elements 200 formed by the blade section (slitter) 20 at a predetermined angle with respect to the transport direction, and an adhesive. A pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet roll 31 for supplying a pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 300 coated with an agent, and a pressure-bonding roll 32 comprising a pair of rolls 321 and 322 for integrally bonding a plurality of narrow strip solar cell elements 200 to the pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 300. Have.

  The winding unit 4 includes a winding roll 40 that continuously winds the solar cell module 400 integrally formed with the pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 300 by the crimping unit 3 as a winding unit. The winding roll 40 rotates in the direction of arrow C and continuously winds the solar cell module 400.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the blade part (slitter) 20 of the cutting part 2 which cuts the thin film solar cell 100 drawn out from the unwinding roll 11 is a plurality of thin disk-like rotary blades 21 that are driven to rotate and receiving blades. It comprises a plurality of rotary blades 22 formed in a roller shape. The wide thin-film solar cell 100 is cut into a plurality of narrow strip solar cell elements 200 when passing between the pair of upper and lower rotary blades 21 and the rotary receiving blade 22. Although the space | interval (pitch) of the blade | wing which comprises the rotary blade 21 and the rotary receiving blade 22 is not specifically limited, In this Embodiment, it selects suitably in the range of 4 mm-10 mm.

  The inclined guide roll group 30 of the crimping part 3 inclines a plurality of narrow strip solar cell elements 200 at a predetermined angle with respect to the transport direction, and also forms side edge portions in the width direction between adjacent strip solar cell elements 200 ( The interval is narrowed so that part of the edges overlap. The pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet roll 31 supplies a pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 300 obtained by applying a pressure-sensitive adhesive to the surface of a flexible sheet as a flexible substrate so that the pressure-sensitive adhesive faces the conductive substrate side of the strip-shaped solar cell element 200. The pressure-bonding roll 32 passes between the pair of rolls 321 and 322 through the plurality of strip-shaped solar cell elements 200 and the adhesive sheet 300 that are partially overlapped by the inclined guide roll group 30 in the width direction. It is crimped.

<Inclined guide roll group 30>
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the inclined guide roll group 30. FIG. 4A is a schematic view of the inclined guide roll group 30. FIG. 4B is a schematic view of the inclined guide roll group 30 in FIG. 3 as viewed from the direction of the arrow 4b.
As shown in FIG. 4A, the inclined guide roll group 30 includes a common support shaft 304 and a plurality of rotation shafts 303 (303 ₁ ,... Formed so as to form a predetermined angle with respect to the support shaft 304. 303 _i ) and a plurality of inclined guide rolls 301 (301 ₁ ,... 301 _i ) attached to the respective rotary shafts 303. Inclined guide roll _{301 (301 1, ··· 301 i} ) at both ends in guide _{302 (302 1, ··· 302 i} ) are provided. A bearing or the like may be provided inside the inclined guide roll 301.

As shown in FIG. 4B, the plurality of strip-shaped solar cell elements 200 (200 ₁ ,... 200 _i ) cut by the blade part (slitter) 20 (see FIG. 3) Each of the inclined guide rolls 301 (see FIG. 4A) is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the transport direction, and the interval between the adjacent strip-shaped solar cell elements 200 is narrowed. The connection section _{210 (210 1, ··· 210 i} ) that part of the side edge portions overlap each other is formed.
The connecting portion 210 (210 ₁ ,... 210 _i ) where the side edge portions of the adjacent strip-shaped solar cell elements 200 overlap is a strip-shaped solar cell device 200 having two electrode layers and a power generation layer sandwiched between them. an end portion of the second belt-like solar cell element 200 _{and second} upper electrode layer adjacent to the ends of the first strip the solar cell element 200 ₁ of the conductive substrate, are stacked via the collecting electrode 214.

<Method for Manufacturing Solar Cell Module 400>
Next, with reference to FIG. 1 thru | or FIG. 4, the method to manufacture the solar cell module 400 using the manufacturing apparatus of the solar cell module 400 to which this Embodiment is applied is demonstrated.
First, the thin film solar cell 100 is unwound from the unwinding roll 11 wound in a roll shape, and supplied to the blade part (slitter) 20 (supplying process). Here, as described above, the thin-film solar cell 100 used in the present embodiment includes the back electrode layer 211b serving as the lower electrode layer and the semiconductor layer 212 constituting the power generation layer on the sheet-like conductive substrate 211a. A transparent electrode layer 213 is formed as an upper electrode layer on the semiconductor layer 212, and a plurality of current collecting electrodes 214 are provided in parallel on the transparent electrode layer 213 by screen printing using a conductive paste. It is an extensive web.

In the present embodiment, the plurality of collecting electrodes 214 provided on the transparent electrode layer 213 are substantially perpendicular to the web conveyance direction (longitudinal direction) and from one end to the other end of the long side of the web. It is characterized by being formed in parallel with a predetermined distance d in the transport direction (longitudinal direction).
Here, the full width dimension of the web-like thin film solar cell 100 is 50 cm to 100 cm, and the length is not particularly limited, but is usually 10,000 m or less. In the present embodiment, the thin film solar cell 100 is wound around the unwinding roll 11 so that the transparent electrode layer 213 and the collecting electrode 214 are on the surface.

  Next, when the thin film solar cell 100 supplied from the unwinding roll 11 passes between the pair of upper and lower rotary blades 21 and the rotary receiving blade 22 in the blade part (slitter) 20, it is substantially parallel to the conveying direction. A plurality of narrow strip solar cell elements 200 are formed (cutting step).

Subsequently, each of the formed strip-shaped solar cell elements 200 is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the transport direction by the inclined guide roll group 30. The band-shaped solar cell elements 200 that have passed through the inclined guide roll group 30 are narrowed in the interval between the adjacent band-shaped solar cell elements 200, and the connection portions 210 (210 ₁ ,... 210 _i where the side edge portions overlap each other. ) Is formed. Next, the plurality of strip-like solar cell elements 200 with part of the side edges overlapped with the pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 300 supplied from the pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet roll 31 are integrally formed by pressure bonding with the pressure-bonding roll 32 to form the solar cell module 400. (Crimping process).

In the present embodiment, the pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 300 is a product that has been commercialized in advance as a pressure-sensitive adhesive roll sheet, and the belt-like solar cell element 200 and the pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 300 are pressure-bonded by the pressure-bonding roll 32 and are integrally formed. .
Moreover, when using things other than the product pressure-sensitive adhesive roll sheet, for example, an adhesive is applied to the surface of a predetermined back sheet or the like immediately before the pressure-bonding roll 32, and these and the strip solar cell element 200 Can be crimped by the crimping roll 32. This method is effective when it is necessary to reduce the viscosity of the adhesive to improve the adhesion between the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 320 and the flexible film 310 and the conductive substrate 211a of the belt-like solar cell element 200. is there.
At this time, the current collecting electrode 214 formed of a conductive paste on the surface of the transparent electrode layer 213 functions as an adhesive in the connection portion 210. Thereby, the solar cell module 400 is formed as a connection body in which a plurality of band-like solar cell elements 200 are connected in series.

  Finally, the solar cell module 400 integrally formed with the pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 300 is continuously wound around the winding roll 40 (winding step), and the rolled solar cell module 500 is obtained. The rolled solar cell module 500 wound around the take-up roll 40 can handle the integrated solar cell module 400 as a roll by connecting a plurality of narrow strip solar cell elements 200 in series. Although the width | variety M of the roll-shaped solar cell module 500 is not specifically limited, In this Embodiment, it is the range of 10 cm-100 cm. Although the length of the solar cell module 400 wound around the winding roll 40 is not particularly limited, in the present embodiment, it is in the range of 100 m to 10,000 m.

According to the manufacturing method described above, a wide band web provided with a plurality of collecting electrodes 214 in parallel is prepared in advance, and this is cut by a slitter, whereby a narrow band-shaped solar cell provided with a plurality of collecting electrodes 214 is provided. The battery element 200 can be manufactured efficiently. Further, the end portion of the conductive substrate 211a on which the back electrode layer 211b is formed and the end portion of the transparent electrode layer 213 are overlapped to form the connection portion 210 of the adjacent strip-like solar cell element 200, as in the conventional case. There is no need to form a comb-shaped current collecting electrode, and a plurality of strip solar cell elements 200 are formed as a connected body connected in series.
In addition, for example, after forming a plurality of comb-shaped current collecting electrodes on the surface of a sheet-like thin film solar cell, a step of cutting it into a narrow strip solar cell with a predetermined width with high accuracy is not required, and productivity is improved. improves.

In addition, the above description is only an example for demonstrating embodiment of this invention, and this invention is not limited to this embodiment.
The present invention can be applied to a photovoltaic device including a semiconductor layer composed of a plurality of elements and two electrode layers sandwiching the semiconductor layer, and a method for manufacturing a photovoltaic device having such a structure. For example, a III-V group semiconductor typified by a Cd-Te system, an I-III-VI group semiconductor typified by a Cu-In-Se system, and an I-II typified by a Cu-Zn-Sn-S system compound The present invention can also be applied to an IV group semiconductor composed of two or more elements such as an -IV-VI group semiconductor, an II-IV-V group semiconductor, and a Si-Ge group.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Supply part, 2 ... Cutting part, 3 ... Crimp part, 4 ... Winding part, 11 ... Unwinding roll, 12 ... Conveyance roll, 20 ... Cutlery part (slitter), 21 ... Rotary blade, 22 ... Rotating blade 30 ... Inclined guide roll group, 31 ... Adhesive sheet roll, 32 ... Pressure-bonding roll, 40 ... Winding roll, 100 ... Thin film solar cell, 200 ... Strip solar cell element, 210 ... Connection part, 211a ... Conductive substrate, 211b ... back electrode layer, 212 ... semiconductor layer, 213 ... transparent electrode layer, 214 ... collecting electrode, 220 ... cover member, 300 ... adhesive sheet, 301 ... inclined guide roll, 310 ... flexible film, 320 ... adhesive layer 400 ... Solar cell module, 500 ... Rolled solar cell module

Claims (5)

A band-shaped solar cell element,
A conductive substrate;
A lower electrode layer, a power generation layer and an upper electrode layer, which are sequentially stacked on the conductive substrate;
A plurality of current collectors arranged in parallel across the surface of the upper electrode layer in a short direction from one end to the other end of the long side of the upper electrode layer and with a predetermined interval in the longitudinal direction of the upper electrode layer Electrodes,
A strip-shaped solar cell element characterized by comprising:   The strip solar cell element according to claim 1, wherein the current collecting electrodes are formed so as not to cross each other on the surface of the upper electrode layer.   The strip solar cell element according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the power generation layer includes any one selected from a group IB element, a group IIIB element, and a group VIB element. A solar cell module comprising a plurality of strip-like solar cell elements,
A lower electrode layer, a power generation layer, an upper electrode layer, and a long side of the upper electrode layer, which are sequentially stacked on the conductive substrate, traverse in a short direction from one end to the other end of the upper electrode layer and have a predetermined length in the longitudinal direction of the upper electrode layer. A plurality of current collecting electrodes arranged in parallel with a gap, and at least two strip-shaped solar cell elements,
The widthwise end of the first strip-shaped solar cell element on the lower side of the conductive substrate, and the widthwise end of the transparent electrode layer of the second strip-shaped solar cell element adjacent to the first strip-shaped solar cell element The solar cell modules are connected in series by overlapping connection portions. A method of manufacturing a solar cell module in which a plurality of strip-like solar cell elements are connected in series,
A power generation layer sandwiched between a lower electrode layer and an upper electrode layer formed on a conductive substrate and a long side of the upper electrode layer from one end to the other end in a short direction and predetermined in the longitudinal direction of the upper electrode layer Supplying a thin film solar cell having a plurality of collecting electrodes arranged in parallel with an interval of
A cutting step of cutting the thin-film solar cell supplied by the supplying step substantially parallel to the transport direction to form a plurality of strip-shaped solar cell elements;
The plurality of band-shaped solar cell elements formed by the cutting step are inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the transport direction, and the plurality of band-shaped solar cell elements are connected in series. A crimping step in which a part of the conductive substrate and a part of the upper electrode layer of the second band-shaped solar cell element adjacent to each other are stacked and integrally molded on the flexible substrate;
A winding step of continuously winding the connection body of the plurality of strip-like solar cell elements integrally formed by the crimping step onto a winding roll;
The manufacturing method of the solar cell module characterized by having.

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