JP2012049234A - Thin film solar battery and method for manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the deposition of a low-resistance material in a separation groove of a transparent conductive film, and obtain a thin film solar battery that suppresses the generation of a leak current and a method for manufacturing the same.SOLUTION: A thin film solar battery includes, on a translucent insulation substrate 1, a plurality of unit solar cells including a transparent conductive film 2, a power generation layer 3, and a metal back surface electrode 4. The thin film solar battery connects the plurality of unit solar cells in series by partially removing the power generation layer 3, and connecting the transparent conductive film 2 and the metal back surface electrode 4. The thin film solar battery includes a insulation separation layer 5 formed by a insulation material, inside a separation groove 11 separating the transparent conductive films 2 on the translucent insulation substrate 1.

Description

  The present invention relates to a thin film solar cell and a method for manufacturing the same.

In general, in a thin film solar cell, a transparent conductive film such as SnO ₂ , ZnO, or ITO is formed on a translucent insulating substrate such as glass, and a power generation layer made of a silicon thin film is formed thereon. A metal back electrode is formed on the top using Al, Ag or the like. In particular, a silicon-based thin film used for the power generation layer is formed using a plasma CVD method or a photo CVD method. This method has the advantage that the area can be increased.

  To increase the area of the thin-film solar cell, a transparent conductive film is formed on a substrate, the transparent conductive film is separated into strips, and a silicon-based power generation layer and a metal back electrode are stacked thereon. At this time, the unit solar cells separated into strips are connected in series via the transparent conductive film of the unit solar cell adjacent to the metal back electrode.

  In a conventional thin-film solar cell, a transparent conductive film is first formed from the light-receiving surface side with respect to the translucent insulating substrate. Next, a first separation groove is formed by laser scribing to separate the transparent conductive film. Thereafter, a silicon-based thin film is deposited in the first separation groove simultaneously with the formation of a power generation layer by the silicon-based thin film by the CVD method. Next, after forming the second separation groove by laser scribing, the metal back electrode is deposited to connect the transparent conductive film and the metal back electrode. Then, the third separation groove is formed by laser scribing to separate the unit solar cells from each other, thereby completing the series structure of the unit solar cells.

  Here, the power generation layer is composed of a p layer, an i layer, and an n layer from the light receiving surface side. As a material for the power generation layer, amorphous silicon is usually used, but amorphous silicon compounds such as silicon carbide and silicon germanium, microcrystalline silicon, and the like may be used. In addition, the p layer, the i layer, and the n layer do not need to be the same material, and the power generation efficiency of the solar cell can be improved by combining and optimizing a plurality of materials.

  In such a solar cell structure, when the power generation layer includes a low resistance layer such as microcrystalline silicon, the low resistance layer is deposited in a separation groove (first separation groove) for separating the transparent conductive film. There is a problem that a leak current is generated between adjacent unit solar cells via the, thereby consuming power wastefully.

  In Patent Document 1, it is pointed out that such a leak occurs when microcrystalline silicon is used for the p-layer, and a countermeasure method is shown. According to Patent Document 1, after a transparent conductive film and a microcrystalline silicon p layer are formed on a light-transmitting insulating substrate, the generation of leakage current can be prevented by patterning at the same time. That is, since the microcrystalline silicon p-layer is formed before the separation groove of the transparent conductive film is formed, the microcrystalline silicon is not deposited in the inside of the separation layer after the formation of the separation layer. Formation of a leak path made of crystalline silicon can be prevented.

JP-A-8-83922

  In the structure of the invention described in Patent Document 1, leakage current can be prevented when a low resistance material is used for the p layer. However, in this structure, when a low resistance material other than the p layer, such as the i layer or the n layer, is used, leakage current due to them cannot be prevented. For example, when an i layer made of microcrystalline silicon is used, the separation groove is filled with a low resistance material.

  When amorphous silicon is used for the i layer and microcrystalline silicon is used for the n layer, a leak path is formed at the edge of the separation groove for separating the transparent conductive film. Here, the i layer has an insulating property, but the upper part of the cut surface of the transparent conductive film (near the edge of the separation groove) has problems such as poor film adhesion and a tendency to cause conductive defects. It is a region with low resistance.

  Also, the wall surface of the separation groove is less likely to deposit a film than the bottom surface. In particular, the film is deposited much thinner at the top of the cut surface than at the bottom. Therefore, in this region, insulation by the i layer is insufficient. Further, when the i layer is thinner than the transparent conductive film, the distance between the transparent conductive film and the n layer is minimal at the upper end portion of the transparent conductive film, and the conductive n layer or back surface passes through the i layer from the upper end portion of the transparent conductive film. Leakage current flowing through the electrode is likely to occur. Usually, the thickness of the i layer is 100 nm to 600 nm, whereas the thickness of the transparent conductive film is about 1 μm. Therefore, since the i layer is thinner than the transparent conductive film, in general, a problem due to a leak path must be considered.

  In the structure of Patent Document 1, a power generation layer formed by forming a p-layer, an i-layer, and an n-layer by a series of steps in a CVD apparatus is exposed to the atmosphere once at the time of p-layer formation. End up. For this reason, the invention described in Patent Document 1 has a problem that the interface defect increases between the p layer and the i layer as compared with the conventional solar cell, and the resistance of the solar cell increases.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and it is possible to obtain a thin-film solar cell and a method for manufacturing the same, which prevent a low-resistance material from being deposited in a separation groove of a transparent conductive film and suppress the occurrence of leakage current. Objective.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention includes a plurality of unit solar cells each including a transparent conductive film, a power generation layer, and a metal electrode on a light-transmitting insulating substrate, and the power generation layer is partially provided. A thin film solar cell in which a plurality of unit solar cells are connected in series by contacting a transparent conductive film and a metal electrode, and the transparent conductive film is separated from each other on the translucent insulating substrate. And an insulating separation layer formed of an insulating material.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the low resistance material from being deposited between the transparent conductive films, reduce the leakage current, suppress the wasteful power consumption, and increase the conversion efficiency of the thin film solar cell.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of a thin-film solar cell according to the present invention. FIG. 2-1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a conventional thin film solar cell. FIG. 2-2 is an enlarged view of a separation groove of a conventional thin film solar cell. FIG. 3 is a process diagram showing a manufacturing process of the thin film solar cell. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the thin-film solar battery according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a thin film solar cell and a method for manufacturing the same according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of Embodiment 1 of a thin-film solar cell according to the present invention. FIG. 1 schematically shows a structure in which a plurality of thin-film solar cells are separated into unit solar cells by separation grooves and further electrically connected in series.

  As the translucent insulating substrate 1, a glass substrate having a thickness of about 1 mm is used. The translucent insulating substrate 1 is not limited to a glass substrate, and any material that is excellent in translucency and heat resistance, such as a polymer film, is applicable.

A transparent conductive film 2 patterned in a strip shape is laminated on a glass substrate. As a material for the transparent conductive film 2, materials such as ZnO, SnO ₂ , and ITO can be used. The transparent conductive film 2 has a concavo-convex structure (texture structure) in order to scatter incident light and increase the optical path length to increase the light utilization efficiency. After the transparent conductive film 2 is laminated on the translucent insulating substrate 1, a separation groove 11 is formed by a laser scribing method, and is divided into strips. For example, the thickness of the transparent conductive film 2 is about 1 μm, and the width of the separation groove 11 is about 50 μm.

  An insulating separation layer 5 is provided between adjacent transparent conductive films 2 using an insulating resin as a material. In the present embodiment, the insulating separation layer 5 is formed by embedding polyimide resin in the separation groove 11 using a silk screen printing method. Any insulating material may be used as long as it has excellent heat resistance and insulating properties. For example, a fluororesin may be used instead. Considering that the insulating separation layer 5 is selectively deposited only in the separation groove 11 or completely covers the upper end portion (the edge portion of the separation groove 11) 21 of the separation groove 11 as described later. Although it is formed using a screen printing method, it can also be formed using a sputtering method or a CVD method.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a part of the buried insulating separation layer 5 partially protrudes from the separation groove 11 to the surface of the transparent conductive film 2, and the upper end 21 of the separation groove 11 is completely covered by the insulation separation layer 5. Covering. At the upper end portion 21 of the separation groove 11, film deposition is not stably performed, which causes peeling of the film and generation of distortion, so that a leak path is easily formed. Therefore, it is preferable that the insulating separation layer 5 completely covers the upper end portion 21 of the separation groove 11.

  The power generation layer 3 is composed of three layers of a p layer, an i layer, and an n layer from the light receiving surface (glass substrate) side. Here, the p layer is amorphous silicon carbide, the i layer is amorphous silicon, and the n layer is microcrystalline silicon. In order to improve the power generation efficiency, a buffer layer made of microcrystalline silicon carbide may be included between the p layer and the i layer. As an example, the film thickness of each layer constituting the power generation layer 3 is a p layer of 10 nm, an i layer of 300 nm, and an n layer of 30 nm, respectively. Each of these layers is deposited by, for example, a plasma CVD method. As will be described later, in the present embodiment, since the separation groove 11 is filled with the insulating separation layer 5 at the time when the power generation layer 3 is deposited, each material used for the power generation layer 3 is deposited in the separation groove 11. Not done. The power generation layer 3 is not limited to the structure described above, and may be configured using a material such as an amorphous silicon compound or microcrystalline silicon.

  A metal back electrode 4 as a metal electrode is provided on the top of the thin film solar cell. As the metal back electrode 4, Ag is used, and the film thickness is about 500 nm as an example. The metal back electrode 4 is not limited to Ag, and may be configured using a material having high reflectance such as Al. The metal back electrode 4 effectively contributes to solar power generation by confining light. Further, in order to increase the back surface reflection efficiency, it is also possible to provide a light scattering layer made of a transparent electrode film between the metal back surface electrode 4 and the power generation layer 3.

  The metal back electrode 4 is connected to the transparent conductive film 2 through the separation groove 12. That is, the separation groove 12 forms a connection portion where the metal back electrode 4 and the transparent conductive film 2 are in contact with each other. A plurality of unit solar cells including the transparent conductive film 2, the power generation layer 3, and the metal back electrode 4 are formed by a connection portion where the power generation layer 3 is partially removed and the transparent conductive film 2 and the metal back electrode 4 are in contact with each other. They are connected in series on the translucent insulating substrate 1. The separation groove 12 is formed by laser scribing before the metal back electrode 4 is formed.

  For comparison, the structure of a conventional thin film solar cell is shown in FIG. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the component similar to the thin film solar cell which concerns on this Embodiment, and description is abbreviate | omitted. A transparent conductive film 2 is formed on the translucent insulating substrate 1. The transparent conductive film 2 is divided by a separation groove 11 formed by laser scribing. On the transparent conductive film 2 and the separation groove 11, a silicon-based thin film power generation layer 3 is formed by a CVD method. A separation groove 12 is formed in the power generation layer 3 by laser scribing. A metal back electrode 4 is deposited on the power generation layer 3 and the separation groove 12 by a sputtering method. Adjacent unit solar cells are connected in series by contacting the metal back electrode 4 and the transparent conductive film 2 in the separation groove 12. A separation groove 13 is formed in the metal back electrode 4 and the power generation layer 3 by laser scribing, and a unit including a region including the separation groove 12 (non-power generation region) and a region not including the separation groove 12 (power generation region). It is divided into solar cells. That is, the conventional thin film solar cell is different from the thin film solar cell according to the present embodiment in that the insulating separation layer 5 is not provided.

  FIG. 2B is an enlarged view of the separation groove 11 of the conventional thin film solar cell shown in FIG. Here, the power generation layer 3 includes a pin junction formed by the p layer 3a, the i layer 3b, and the n layer 3c. Although the i layer 3b has an insulating property, the upper end portion 21 of the separation groove 11 is a region having a relatively low resistance because of problems such as poor film adhesion and easy occurrence of conductive defects. ing. Further, the wall surface portion is less likely to deposit as compared with the bottom surface portion, and in particular, the upper end portion 21 of the separation groove 11 deposits much thinner than the bottom surface portion of the separation groove 11. For this reason, in this region, the insulation by the i layer 3b is insufficient. Further, when the i layer 3b is thinner than the transparent conductive film 2, the distance between the transparent conductive film 2 and the n layer 3c is minimal at the upper end portion 21 of the separation groove 11, and the conductive layer 2 passes through the i layer 3b from the transparent conductive film 2 and becomes conductive. Leakage current (indicated by an arrow in the figure) that flows through the n layer 3c and the metal back electrode 4 is likely to occur. Usually, the thickness of the i layer 3b is 100 nm to 600 nm, which is smaller than 1 μm, which is the thickness of the transparent conductive film 2, and thus the problem due to the leak path cannot be ignored.

  FIG. 3 is a process diagram showing a manufacturing process of the thin-film solar battery according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 shows a procedure for forming a plurality of unit solar cells including the transparent conductive film 2, the power generation layer 3, and the metal back electrode 4 on the translucent insulating substrate 1. The power generation layer 3 is partially removed. The transparent conductive film 2 and the metal back electrode 4 are brought into contact with each other to connect a plurality of unit solar cells in series. In addition, the material and dimension of each film | membrane shown by the following description are examples, and this invention is not limited to these.

First, 1 μm of a transparent conductive film 2 is deposited on a glass substrate as the translucent insulating substrate 1 (FIG. 3A). A ZnO film is used as the transparent conductive film 2. Other materials such as SnO ₂ and ITO may be used for the transparent conductive film 2.

  Next, the separation groove 11 is formed by laser scribing, and the transparent conductive film 2 is separated into strips (FIG. 3B). The width of the separation groove 11 generated at this time is about 50 μm.

  Next, a polyimide resin is deposited on the separation groove 11 by silk screen printing. At this time, the polyimide resin covers the upper end surface portion of the transparent conductive film 2. Thereafter, the film is cured by heating at about 300 ° C. for about 1 hour using an oven to form an insulating separation layer 5 for insulating and separating the transparent conductive film 2 (FIG. 3C).

  Next, the power generation layer 3 is formed using a plasma CVD apparatus (FIG. 3D). The power generation layer 3 uses amorphous silicon carbide for the p layer, amorphous silicon for the i layer, and microcrystalline silicon for the n layer. At this time, the p layer is deposited to a thickness of 10 nm, the i layer is deposited to 300 nm, and the n layer is deposited to a thickness of 30 nm. In addition to the above structure, the power generation layer 3 can also be configured using an amorphous silicon compound or microcrystalline silicon. Further, a tandem structure in which a power generation layer using a microcrystalline i layer is stacked on a power generation layer using an amorphous i layer can also be adopted. If necessary, after the power generation layer 3 is laminated, a transparent conductive film is formed on the surface of the n layer, so that the light reflected on the back surface can be scattered and effectively used.

  After the power generation layer 3 is formed, a separation groove 12 is formed through a separation step by laser scribing (FIG. 3E). Thereby, the transparent conductive film 2 and the metal back electrode 4 are brought into contact with each other, and the adjacent unit solar cells can be connected in series.

  Thereafter, Ag is deposited by sputtering to form the metal back electrode 4 (FIG. 3F). The electrode on the back surface may be a metal having a relatively high reflectance, and Al or the like may be used. Further, in order to scatter light and use it effectively, the metal back electrode 4 may be formed after the transparent conductive film is first formed on the surface of the n layer.

  Finally, the separation groove 13 is formed by laser scribing (FIG. 3G). The separation groove 13 is formed at a location away from the separation groove 12 by about 100 μm, and the width is about 50 μm.

  In this manner, a thin film solar cell having a structure in which a glass substrate, a transparent conductive film, an amorphous p layer, an amorphous i layer, a microcrystalline n layer, and a back electrode are integrated is completed. The thin film solar cell is separated into unit solar cells by the separation groove 13, and the metal back electrode 4 is in contact with the transparent conductive film 2 in the separation groove 12 in the non-power generation region to form a connection portion. Thereby, the adjacent unit solar cells are connected in series.

  In the present embodiment, the transparent conductive film 2 deposited on the translucent insulating substrate 1 is patterned to form the separation groove 11, and then an insulating material is deposited on the separation groove 11 by screen printing to form an insulation separation layer. After forming 5, the power generation layer 3 and the metal back electrode 4 are formed. The isolation trenches 11 between the transparent conductive films 2 are filled with an insulating material, and the edges of the isolation trenches 11 are completely covered, so that a low resistance material such as microcrystalline silicon is not deposited in the isolation trenches 11 and adjacent unit solar cells. The transparent conductive film 2 of the battery can be insulated by the insulating separation layer 5. Thereby, the leakage current between the transparent conductive films 2 can be reduced, wasteful power consumption can be suppressed, and the conversion efficiency of the thin film solar cell can be increased.

  Moreover, the process of forming the insulation separation layer 5 is a process independent of the manufacturing process of the conventional thin film solar cell. That is, in forming the insulating separation layer 5, it is not necessary to expose the power generation layer 3 to the air on the way. Therefore, even if the insulating separation layer 5 is formed in the separation groove 11, the characteristics as a thin film solar cell are not affected, and the problem that the internal resistance of the power generation layer 3 increases does not occur. Therefore, the yield of thin film solar cells can be improved.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
In the second embodiment, a manufacturing method described below is performed to realize the structure of FIG. In addition, the material and dimension of each film | membrane shown by the following description are examples, and this invention is not limited to these. First, similarly to Embodiment 1, a 1 μm ZnO film is deposited as a transparent conductive film 2 on a 1 mm glass substrate as a translucent insulating substrate 1 (FIG. 3A). Thereafter, the separation groove 11 is formed by laser scribing (FIG. 3B).

  Next, a polyimide resin is deposited on the separation groove 11 by inkjet printing. As the insulating material used here, in addition to the polyimide resin, a resin having insulating properties and heat resistance, such as a fluororesin, can be used. The deposited polyimide resin is baked by heating in an oven at 300 ° C. for 1 hour to form the insulating separation layer 5.

  After forming the insulating separation layer 5, the power generation layer 3 is formed by plasma CVD (FIG. 3D). When the power generation layer 3 is formed, amorphous silicon carbide is deposited to 10 nm as the p layer, amorphous silicon is deposited to 300 nm as the i layer, and microcrystalline silicon is deposited as 30 nm as the n layer. In addition to the materials used here, silicon carbide, silicon germanium, microcrystalline silicon, or the like can be used in combination for the power generation layer 3 as appropriate. Thereafter, the separation groove 12 is formed by laser scribing (FIG. 3E). Further, a metal back electrode 4 is deposited by sputtering (FIG. 3 (f)). Ag is used as the material of the metal back electrode 4. Finally, the separation grooves 13 are formed by laser scribing and divided into unit solar cell cells to complete a desired solar cell structure (FIG. 3G).

  In the present embodiment, the transparent conductive film 2 deposited on the translucent insulating substrate 1 is patterned to form the separation groove 11, and then an insulating material is deposited on the separation groove 11 by ink jet printing to form an insulation separation layer. After forming 5, the power generation layer 3 and the metal back electrode 4 are formed. The isolation grooves 11 between the transparent conductive films 2 are filled with an insulating material, and the edges of the isolation grooves 11 are completely covered, so that a low resistance material such as microcrystalline silicon is not deposited in the isolation grooves 11 and adjacent units. The transparent conductive film 2 of the solar cell can be insulated by the insulating separation layer 5. Thereby, the leakage current between the transparent conductive films 2 can be reduced, wasteful power consumption can be suppressed, and the conversion efficiency of the thin film solar cell can be increased.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the third embodiment of the thin-film solar cell according to the present invention. In order to further reduce the leakage current, the present embodiment has a structure that prevents the leakage current from occurring in the separation groove 13. In addition, the material and dimension of each film | membrane shown by the following description are examples, and this invention is not limited to these.

  Normally, laser scribe is used to form the separation groove, but when the groove is formed by laser scribe, the scraped material becomes granular and adheres to the wall surface of the groove. When forming the separation groove 13, the metal back electrode 4 and the power generation layer 3 deposited on the transparent conductive film 2 are scraped until reaching the transparent conductive film 2. The micro piece of the conductive film 2 is scattered as conductive particles, causing a problem that the power generation layer of the adjacent solar cell is short-circuited.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4A, a structure in which the insulating separation layer 5 deposited after dividing the transparent conductive film 2 is deposited in a wider range than in the first and second embodiments is used. taking it. As an example, the width of the insulating separation layer 5 is 400 μm. As shown in FIG. 4B, this is the length that the insulating separation layer 5 reaches to the region where the separation groove 13 is formed. Therefore, the insulating separation layer 5 exists between the transparent conductive film 2 and the power generation layer 3 in the non-power generation region.

  The manufacturing process of the thin film solar cell is the same as that of the first embodiment. That is, after depositing 1 μm of ZnO as the transparent conductive film 2 on the glass substrate as the translucent insulating substrate 1, the transparent conductive film 2 is divided by forming the separation grooves 11 by laser scribing. Then, the separation groove 11 is filled with polyimide resin by screen printing, and the insulating separation layer 5 is formed through a baking process. After the formation of the insulating separation layer 5, the power generation layer 3 having 10 nm of amorphous silicon carbide as the p layer, 300 nm of amorphous silicon as the i layer, and 30 nm of microcrystalline silicon as the n layer is deposited by plasma CVD. Then, after forming the separation groove 12 in the power generation layer 3 by laser scribing, the metal back electrode 4 is formed by sputtering. Finally, separation grooves 13 are formed in the power generation layer 3 and the metal back electrode 4 by laser scribing to divide the cells into unit solar cells. The thin film solar cell having the cross-sectional structure shown in FIG.

  In the above manufacturing method, the separation grooves 11, 12, and 13 have a width of 50 μm, and the separation grooves are formed 100 μm apart from each other. The total of these is 350 μm, which is narrower than the width 400 μm of the insulating separation layer 5.

  Usually, the shaved transparent conductive film 2 has a low density and thus scatters inside the separation groove 13. In the present embodiment, an insulating resin is deposited as an insulating separation layer 5 immediately above the transparent conductive film 2 when the separation groove 13 is formed. Therefore, in this embodiment, immediately before the separation groove 13 is completed, the edge resin that forms the insulating separation layer 5 immediately above the transparent conductive film 2 is also scattered as particles. When some of the scattered insulating particles adhere to the power generation layer 3, the probability that the conductive particles adhere to the power generation layer 3 decreases. Therefore, in this embodiment, by adding a process of filling the insulating separation layer 5, it is possible to prevent leakage at two locations of the separation groove 11 separating the transparent conductive film 2 and the separation groove 13 separating the unit solar cell. In addition, since the conductive layer (p layer) of the power generation layer 3 does not contact the transparent conductive layer 2 in the non-power generation region (A portion in FIG. 4B), leakage through the conductive layer (p layer) is reduced. , Wasteful power consumption can be suppressed.

  As described above, the thin film solar cell and the manufacturing method thereof according to the present invention are useful for preventing the occurrence of leakage current in the separation groove formed by laser scribing, and in particular, the reduction in power generation efficiency of the unit solar cell. It is suitable for the manufacture of thin film solar cell modules with reduced

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Translucent insulated substrate 2 Transparent electrically conductive film 3 Power generation layer 3a p layer 3b i layer 3c n layer 4 Metal back surface electrode 5 Insulating separation layer 11, 12, 13 Separation groove 21 Upper end

Claims (7)

A plurality of unit solar cells each including a transparent conductive film, a power generation layer, and a metal electrode are provided on a translucent insulating substrate, and the power generation layer is partially removed to bring the transparent conductive film and the metal electrode into contact with each other. A thin film solar cell in which a plurality of unit solar cells are connected in series,
A thin film solar cell comprising an insulating separation layer formed of an insulating material inside a separation groove separating the transparent conductive films on the light-transmitting insulating substrate.   The thin film solar cell according to claim 1, wherein an edge of the separation groove is covered with the insulating separation layer.   Each of the unit solar cells includes a non-power generation region including a connection portion in contact with the transparent conductive film and the metal electrode, and a power generation region not including the connection portion, and the transparent of the non-power generation region The thin film solar cell according to claim 1, further comprising an insulating layer between a conductive film and the power generation layer. A plurality of unit solar cells each including a transparent conductive film, a power generation layer, and a metal electrode are provided on a translucent insulating substrate, and the power generation layer is partially removed to bring the transparent conductive film and the metal electrode into contact with each other. A method of manufacturing a thin-film solar cell in which a plurality of unit solar cells are connected in series,
An insulating separation step of forming an insulating separation layer with an insulating material between the plurality of transparent conductive films formed on the translucent insulating substrate at intervals;
And a step of forming a power generation layer on the insulating separation layer and the transparent conductive film.   5. The method of manufacturing a thin-film solar cell according to claim 4, wherein in the insulating separation step, the insulating material is deposited between the transparent conductive films by a screen printing method.   5. The method of manufacturing a thin film solar cell according to claim 4, wherein, in the insulating separation step, the insulating material is deposited between the transparent conductive films by an ink jet printing method. Depositing the metal electrode on the power generation layer;
Forming a groove reaching from the metal electrode side to the transparent conductive film to form the plurality of unit solar cells,
In the insulating separation step, the insulating material is deposited between the transparent conductive films so as to protrude on the transparent conductive film,
The method for manufacturing a thin-film solar cell according to claim 4, wherein in the dividing step, the groove is formed in a portion where the insulating material is present on the transparent conductive film.

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