Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H01L31/00—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof
  • H01L31/02—Details
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H01L31/00—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof
  • H01L31/04—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices
  • H01L31/042—PV modules or arrays of single PV cells
  • H01L31/0445—PV modules or arrays of single PV cells including thin film solar cells, e.g. single thin film a-Si, CIS or CdTe solar cells
  • H01L31/046—PV modules composed of a plurality of thin film solar cells deposited on the same substrate
  • H01L31/0468—PV modules composed of a plurality of thin film solar cells deposited on the same substrate comprising specific means for obtaining partial light transmission through the module, e.g. partially transparent thin film solar modules for windows
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H01L31/00—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof
  • H01L31/04—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices
  • H01L31/042—PV modules or arrays of single PV cells
  • H01L31/048—Encapsulation of modules
  • H01L31/0488—Double glass encapsulation, e.g. photovoltaic cells arranged between front and rear glass sheets
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H01L31/00—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof
  • H01L31/04—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices
  • H01L31/06—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices characterised by potential barriers
  • H01L31/075—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices characterised by potential barriers the potential barriers being only of the PIN type, e.g. amorphous silicon PIN solar cells
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H01L31/00—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof
  • H01L31/02—Details
  • H01L31/0216—Coatings
  • H01L31/02161—Coatings for devices characterised by at least one potential jump barrier or surface barrier
  • H01L31/02162—Coatings for devices characterised by at least one potential jump barrier or surface barrier for filtering or shielding light, e.g. multicolour filters for photodetectors
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
  • Y02E10/00—Energy generation through renewable energy sources
  • Y02E10/50—Photovoltaic [PV] energy
  • Y02E10/548—Amorphous silicon PV cells

Definitions

• This invention relates generally to a set of solar modules and to a corresponding method for production.
• the invention concerns more particularly colored modules.
• Colored modules are needed for instance in BIPV applications, i.e. building integrated photovoltaic. More technically spoken, the modules of different colors have different filter characteristics for the incoming light.
• the invention relates to a solar module or set of solar modules with different filter characteristics, the module or a first module of the set comprising:
• - a first semiconductor layer that is microcrystalline and has a thickness in the range of 100 nanometers to 750
• nanometers or that is amorphous and has a thickness in the range of 100 nanometers to 200 nanometers
• a second module comprising:
• the second filter characteristic being different than the first filter characteristic.
• the invention relates further to a method for the production of a set of solar modules comprising:
• a solar module or set of solar modules with different filter characteristics may comprise:
• first semiconductor layer of the module or of the first module of the set, wherein the first semiconductor layer is microcrystalline and has a thickness in the range of 100 nanometers to 750 nanometers or of 350 nanometers to 750 nanometers or of 100 nanometers to 450 nanometers or is amorphous and has a thickness in the range of 100 nanometers to 200 nanometers or of 150 nanometers to 200 nanometers or of 100 nanometers to 150 nanometers, and
• a second module comprising the following :
• the second filter characteristic being different than the first filter characteristic.
• the first filter layer is used to get an overall filter characteristic of the module that is different from the filter characteristic of the semiconductor layer.
• the semiconductor layers may be silicon layers. However, other materials may also be used.
• the modules may be thin film modules, i.e. modules with absorber layers thinner than 2 micrometer, for instance.
• the thickness of the semiconducting layers may be at least 100 nm to have an appropriate energy conversion efficiency.
• Visible light has wavelengths in the range of about 400 nanometers to about 700 nanometers.
• the semiconductor layer may absorb energy also at other wavelengths that are not visible.
• the filter may influence the color of the module.
• the filter has a filter characteristic that refers to the wavelengths of visible light.
• the sequence of layers may be as given above. Further
• interlayers may be used between the substrate and the
• a first basic concept relates to a microcrystalline
• the crystallites may have a maximum grain size that is determined by the thickness of the semiconductor layer.
• the grain size may be greater than 100 nanometers. Furthermore, the grain size may be greater than the thickness, i.e. in the lateral direction of the semiconductor layer.
• the microcrystalline semiconductor layer may absorb light in the range of blue, i.e. in the range of 400 nm (nanometers) to 500 nm. This may result in a yellow appearance of the microcrystalline layer, especially in transmission mode but also in reflection mode.
• This color yellow may be used as a basic color that may for instance be modified by the filter layer to get modules with different filter characteristics, i.e. different colors.
• a filter characteristic may be used that determines the color of the module, whereby the color of the absorber stack does not or does not much modify the filter characteristic.
• the microcrystalline semiconductor layer is preferably intrinsic doped, i.e. has a doping concentration lower than 10 A 14 cm A -3 (doping atoms per cubic centimeters) , especially with regard to doping species that are different from
• a second basic concept relates to an amorphous semiconductor layer or absorber layer.
• the amorphous layer may not comprise grains that can be detected using for instance X-rays. This means that the amorphous layer is X-ray amorphous and does not contain structures or grains greater than for instance 10 nanometers or greater than 5 nanometers .
• the amorphous semiconductor layer may absorb light in the range of blue and green, i.e. in the range of 400 nm
• This color red may be used as a basic color that may be modified by the filter layer to get modules with different filter characteristics, i.e. different colors.
• a filter characteristic may be used that determines the color of the module, whereby the color of the absorber stack does not or does not much modify the filter characteristic.
• the amorphous semiconductor layer is also preferably
• intrinsic doped i.e. has a doping concentration lower than 10 A 14 cm A -3, especially with regard to doping species that are different from hydrogen.
• Standard material may refer especially to:
• the kind of material for instance silicon, especially hydrogenated silicon, and/or
• Standard material may further refer to same properties with regard to:
• micro crystallites for instance medium grain size in case of a microcrystalline semiconductor layer
• doping concentration for instance intrinsic material
• the filter layer may especially be an organic layer, for instance comprising one of the materials as stated below, e.g. poly vinyl butyral (PVB) .
• PVB poly vinyl butyral
• At least one filter layer may be colorless or clear, i.e. having a uniform transmission of absorption spectrum within the range of visible light, i.e. for instance in the range of 400 nanometers to 700 nanometers.
• both filter layers have a color, i.e. a non uniform filter characteristic within the range of visible light.
• the light may be blocked and in other ranges of wavelengths the light may be transmitted. There may be only two different ranges, three different ranges or more than three different ranges.
• the technical effect of the set of modules is that the same absorber layer type and/or absorber stack type may be used for modules with different filter characteristics. Simple manufacturing with low costs is possible in this way.
• the logistic for the production may be simple and lean. Many production steps may be equal for different modules. Only the steps and/or the material for applying the different filter layer and/or for one further layer for adjusting brightness may be different.
• the further layer may be a thin metal layer, for instance in the range of one atom layer to 25 nanometers, see description below.
• a front glass and/or a back glass of the first module and of the second module may be the same, i.e. same material layers plus same thicknesses.
• the set may comprise at least three different modules, at least four different modules or at least five different modules, wherein the difference relates only or mainly to the filter characteristic that is different with regard to the filter characteristic of the other modules of the set.
• the filter characteristics of the modules of the set may
• microcrystalline absorber layer Further filter characteristics may be based on the microcrystalline
• semiconductor layer/stack i.e. the yellow stack.
• the filter characteristics of the modules of the set may correspond to the colors red, orange, brown using the same absorber layer and/or absorber stack, for instance the amorphous semiconductor layer (absorber) . Further filter characteristics may be based on the amorphous semiconductor layer/stack, i.e. the red stack. Thus, it is possible to cover a wide range of the color spectrum with only slight modifications within the modules.
• the first semiconductor layer may be microcrystalline and may have a thickness in the range of about 100 nanometers to about 750 nanometers or the other ranges given above for the microcrystalline layer.
• the first filter layer and/or the second filter layer may be selected from the following group: yellow, orange, blue, green, purple, colorless.
• the microcrystalline absorber layer has by itself a filter characteristic that appears yellow in transmission mode, i.e. blue wavelengths are absorbed, for instance in the range of about 400 nanometers to about 500 nanometers, plus or minus 20 percent of the specified borders of the range.
• the filter characteristic of the filter layer may also correspond to yellow, i.e. transmitting in the range of about 500 nm (nanometer) to about 600 nm, plus or minus 20 percent of the specified borders of the range, and blocking in the range of about 400 to about 500 nm, plus or minus 20 percent of the specified borders of the range and also blocking in the range of 600 to 700 nanometers.
• the range for yellow may be in the range of 565 to 775 nanometers, plus or minus 20 percent of these values.
• the filter characteristic of the filter layer may also correspond to orange.
• the color orange of the filter layer may be modified only slightly by the yellow absorber.
• a yellow stack may be used and a red filter layer to get an orange module.
• the filter characteristic of the filter layer may also correspond to blue, i.e. transmitting electromagnetic waves in the range from about 400 nm (nanometer) to about 500 nm, plus or minus 20 percent of the specified borders of the range, and blocking in the range from about 400 to about 600 nm, plus or minus 20 percent of the specified borders of the range.
• the semiconductor or the absorber may not completely absorb the blue light.
• the filter layer may transmit the residual blue light and may block the wavelengths of all other colors resulting in a blue module if the transmission is evaluated. However transmission and reflection may appear in the same color (s) .
• the filter characteristic of the filter layer may also correspond to green, i.e.
• the absorber absorbs blue light.
• the filter layer blocks also blue light and red light resulting in green color .
• the filter characteristic of the filter layer may also correspond to purple, i.e. transmitting in the range of about 500 nm (nanometer) to about 600 nm, plus or minus 20 percent of the specified borders of the range, and transmitting in the range of about 600 nm to about 700 nm, plus or minus 20 percent of the specified borders of the range, and
• the absorber may absorb some of the blue light, the purple color of the filter layer determines the color of the module because some of the blue light passes through the absorber layer.
• the filter characteristic of the filter layer may also correspond to colorless or clear, i.e. transmitting in the range of about 400 nm to about 700 nm, plus or minus 20 percent of the specified borders of the range, especially in the range of 400 nm to 700 nm, plus or minus 20 percent of the specified borders of the range.
• the absorber may appear yellow and may determine the color of the overall module.
• the colorless filter layer but also a colored filter layer may fulfill other purposes, for instance, giving a flat surface for the back glass or mounting/bonding the back glass etc.
• the color effects and or the overall filter characteristic of the modules may also be explained using other color models and/or wavelength which have not been mentioned above.
• the first semiconductor layer may be part of a first absorber stack and/or the second semiconductor layer may be part of a second absorber stack that comprises the same layers and the same layer thicknesses as the first absorber stack.
• the first absorber stack may comprise at least three layers, for instance a p doped semiconductor layer, an intrinsic semiconductor layer and an n doped semiconductor layer.
• At least four layers or at least five layers may be used. Intermediate layers within the pin diode may enhance the energy efficiency, the adherence and/or other parameters .
• the first absorber stack or the mainly or essentially
• microcrystalline stack may comprise in the following order: - a first p doped layer that is preferably a silicon
• semiconductor layer and that may be amorphous or
• n doped layer that is preferably a silicon
• the absorber comprises a pin diode that is preferably used in thin film solar cells that are based on a-Si:H, i.e. hydrogenated amorphous silicon. All three layers may be hydrogenated.
• the first absorber stack may comprise in the following order:
• first p doped layer that is preferably amorphous
• a second p doped layer that is preferably microcrystalline, - the first semiconductor layer, - a first n doped layer that is preferably an oxide layer comprising an oxide of a semiconductor, for instance silicon oxide, and
• microcrystalline but may not comprise an oxide.
• the amorphous first p doped layer forms a basis for the formation of the second p doped layer.
• the first p doped layer may be amorphous for instance in order to protect the TCO because H2 plasma is used for microcrystalline
• This plasma may attacks the TCO if no protection is used.
• the first p doped layer or the second p doped layer may be omitted. Both p doped layer may have different doping
• the first p doped layer may be less doped than the second p doped layer. Both p doped layers may preferably have the same kind of doping species or different kind of doping species.
• the first n doped layer may comprise a stoichiometric oxide or a compound oxide, i.e. a nonstoichiometric oxide.
• the first n doped layer results in better contact to the back electrode and/or better optical characteristic of the module.
• the first n doped layer may be less doped than the second n doped layer.
• the first absorber stack may comprise in the following sequence :
• the first p doped layer of a thickness of 10 nanometers plus or minus 10 percent
• the second p doped layer of a thickness of 37.5 nanometers plus or minus 10 percent
• the first semiconductor layer - the first n doped layer of a thickness of 25 nanometers plus or minus 10 percent
• the second n doped layer of a thickness of 8 nanometers plus or minus 20 percent.
• all layers of the first absorber stack may be microcrystalline but the first p doped layer which is preferably amorphous.
• the first semiconductor layer may be amorphous and may have a thickness in the range of 100 nanometers to 200 nanometers or within the ranges given above for the amorphous layer. This results in a filter characteristic of the absorber that corresponds to a kind of red color.
• the first filter layer and/or the second filter layer may be selected in this case from the following group: red, orange, brown, colorless.
• the amorphous absorber layer appears red, i.e. wavelengths that appear blue in the human eye and green wavelengths are absorbed, for instance in the range of about 400 nanometers to about 600 nanometers, plus or minus 20 percent of the specified borders of the range.
• the filter characteristic of the filter layer may also correspond to red, i.e. transmitting in the range of about 600 nm (nanometer) to about 700 nm, plus or minus 20 percent of the specified borders of the range, and blocking in the range from 400 to 600 nm, plus or minus 20 percent of the specified borders of the range. This means that the filter layer absorbs about the same light wavelengths as the
• the red color of the module may be more intensive than without the red filter layer .
• the filter characteristic of the filter layer may correspond to orange.
• the color orange of the filter layer is modified only slightly by the red absorber.
• a red stack may be used and a yellow filter layer to get an orange module .
• the filter characteristic of the filter layer may correspond to brown.
• the color brown of the filter layer determines the color of the module, whereby the red of the absorber does not have a strong influence.
• a metal layer for instance comprising or consisting of NiV.
• a colorless or clear filter layer may be used.
• a brown filter layer may be used.
• the colorless filter layer and also the colored filter layers may also fulfill other purposes, for instance, giving a flat surface for the back glass, mounting and/or bonding of the back glass etc.
• the set that is based on the red semiconductor absorber layer may also comprise at least three different modules, at least four different modules, etc.
• the first semiconductor layer in this case amorphous silicon (red), may be part of a first absorber stack and/or the second semiconductor layer may be part of a second absorber stack that comprises the same layers and the same layer thicknesses than the first absorber stack.
• the first absorber stack may comprise at least three layers, at least four layers, at least five layers, at least six layers or at least seven layers.
• Three semiconductor layers may form a pin diode, i.e. a p doped layer, an intrinsic layer and an n doped layer. It is possible to use a stack of layers at the p side of the pin diode in order to optimize the electric characteristic of the pin diode.
• the first absorber stack - in this case mainly amorphous - may comprise in the following sequence:
• All three layers form a pin diode that is preferably used in thin film solar cells that are based on a-Si:H, i.e.
• the first p doped layer may be amorphous as the first semiconductor layer.
• the first n doped layer i.e. the cathode of the pin- diode may be microcrystalline to have better conductivity. Alternatively, the first n doped layer may be amorphous.
• the first absorber stack may comprise in the following sequence : - the first p doped layer,
• the second p doped layer may comprise a silicon material.
• the second p doped layer may be amorphous.
• the first p doped layer and the second p doped layer may be used for band gap tuning or engineering.
• the first p doped layer may be more doped than the second p doped layer of the amorphous stack.
• the first absorber stack may comprise preferably in the following sequence:
• pib stand for p doped - intrinsic - buffer.
• the pib layers are alloyed with carbon. There may be at least 1 weight percent carbon. These layers are used as buffer layers between p and I to ensure better material quality for the intrinsic layer, i.e. for instance protection from boron contamination. Only one, two, three or more than three pib layers may be used.
• the first pib layer may be more alloyed than the second pib layer.
• the second pib layer may be more alloyed than the third pib layer.
• Other alloying elements are also possible, for instance oxygen .
• the first to third alloyed layers may comprise or consist of silicon, especially hydrogenated silicon.
• the first to third alloyed layers may have same doping concentrations.
• the same doping species or different doping species may be used for the first to third alloyed layers.
• the first to third alloyed layers are optional and may be omitted from the absorber stack.
• the first absorber stack may comprise preferably in the following sequence:
• the first p doped layer of a thickness of 5 nanometers plus or minus 20 percent
• the second p doped layer of a thickness of 5 nanometers plus or minus 20 percent
• the first alloyed layer of a thickness of 2.2 nanometers plus or minus 20 percent
• the second alloyed layer of a thickness of 5.3 nanometers plus or minus 20 percent
• the third alloyed layer of a thickness of 4.5 nanometers plus or minus 20 percent
• the first n doped layer of a thickness of 25 nanometers plus or minus 10 percent.
• all layers of the first absorber stack may be amorphous but the first n doped layer which is preferably microcrystalline.
• first absorber stack There may be only these layers in the first absorber stack that are mentioned above for the embodiments. Alternatively, further layers may be used between the layers that have been mentioned above or adjacent to the outer layers as given above . It is possible to optimize the red appearing stack as more layers are included. However, there may be low cost
• the first semiconductor layer may be microcrystalline and may have a thickness in the range of 100 nanometers to 750 nanometers or the other ranges given above for the
• the set may comprise a third module comprising:
• - a third semiconductor layer that is amorphous and has a thickness in the range of 100 nanometers to 200 nanometers or the other ranges given above for the amorphous layer, and - a third filter layer having a third filter characteristic for light.
• a fourth filter layer having a fourth filter characteristic for light, wherein the third filter characteristic may be different than the fourth filter characteristic.
• the set of modules may comprise at least three different modules, at least four different modules or at least five different modules that comprise a semiconductor layer that is amorphous and has a thickness in the range of 100 nanometers to 200 nanometers or the other ranges given above for the amorphous layer.
• the second group of the set comprises several modules with different filter characteristics, i.e. colors.
• the modules may be used, for instance, for building integrated photovoltaic system (BIPV) or other applications.
• the third filter layer and the fourth filter layer may be selected from the following group:
• the third semiconductor layer or absorber layer may be part of a third absorber stack and the fourth semiconductor layer may be part of a fourth absorber stack that comprises the same layers and the same layer thicknesses as the third absorber stack. Using the same type of absorber stack for different modules results in a lean production line.
• the third absorber stack may comprise at least three layers, at least four layers, at least five layers, at least six layers or at least seven layers.
• Three semiconductor layers may form a pin diode, i.e. a p doped layer, an intrinsic layer and an n doped layer. It is possible to use a stack of layers at the p side of the pin diode in order to optimize the electric characteristic of the pin diode.
• both basic absorber stack types may have at least five layer, i.e. they are both optimized.
• the third absorber stack may comprise preferably in this sequence:
• first p doped layer that is preferably amorphous silicon
• the third absorber stack may comprise preferably in this sequence :
• the second p doped layer may be an amorphous silicon layer having the same effects as mentioned above.
• the third absorber stack may comprise preferably in this sequence :
• the first to third alloyed layers may comprise or consist of amorphous silicon.
• the same modifications and effects that have been mentioned above for the first to third alloyed layers of the first absorber stack are also valid for the third to fifth layers of the third absorber stack.
• the third absorber stack may comprise preferably in the following sequence:
• the first p doped layer of a thickness of 5 nanometers plus or minus 20 percent
• the second p doped layer of a thickness of 5 nanometers plus or minus 20 percent
• the first alloyed layer of a thickness of 2.2 nanometers plus or minus 20 percent
• the second alloyed layer of a thickness of 5.3 nanometers plus or minus 20 percent
• the third alloyed layer of a thickness of 4.5 nanometers plus or minus 20 percent
• the first n doped layer of a thickness of 25 nanometers plus or minus 10 percent, These thickness ranges are optimized with regard to the energy efficiency of the third absorber stack.
• all layers of the third absorber stack may be amorphous but the first n doped layer which is preferably microcrystalline . This results in a basic color of the absorber stack of red.
• the doping concentrations of the layers of the third stack correspond to the doping concentration given above for the corresponding first absorber stack, i.e. comprising the amorphous first semiconductor layer. It is possible to optimize the third stack as more layers are included. However, there may be low cost application that do not need all of the proposed layers. Optimization is done with regard to color absorption and/or output power
• the first filter characteristic may comprise a first sub range of a length of at least 50 nanometers or of at least 100 nanometers that transmits light of the wavelengths that are within the first sub range and wherein the second filter characteristic includes a second sub range covering the same wavelengths as the first sub range but blocking light with the wavelengths of the second sub range.
• the deviations of the filter characteristics are deliberately made, i.e. they are not due to fluctuation of the
• the third filter characteristic may comprise a third sub range of a length of at least 50 nanometers or at least 100 nanometers that transmits light of the wavelengths that are within the third sub range and wherein the fourth filter characteristic includes a fourth range covering the same wavelength as the third sub range but blocking light with the wavelengths of the fourth sub range.
• the deviations of the filter characteristics are deliberately made, i.e. they are not due to fluctuation of the manufacturing process of the filter layers.
• the first sub range and the third sub range may comprise the same wavelengths.
• Transport may mean here that at least 50 percent or at least 75 percent of the energy of light with wavelengths within the range is transmitted.
• Blocking may mean here that at least 50 percent or at least 75 percent of the energy of light with wavelengths within the range is blocked.
• the separate module or the first module may comprise a first front electrode and/or the second module may comprise a second front electrode.
• the first front electrode and the second front electrode may consist of the same layer or of the same layers having the same thickness or same
• the third module may comprise a third front electrode and the fourth module may comprise a fourth front electrode.
• the first front electrode, the second front electrode, the third front electrode and the fourth front electrode may consist of the same layer or of the same layers having the same thickness or same thicknesses.
• the front electrode is usually the electrode near the p doped layer of a pin diode within the absorber stack.
• the material of the front electrode may be a TCO (transparent conductive oxide) for instance ICO (indium doped conductive oxide) or FTO (fluorine doped tin oxide) .
• the thickness of the front electrode may be in the range of 0.8 micrometers to 1.1 micrometers.
• the front electrode may be textured and/or may comprise a metal oxide. The transparency of the front
• Electrode may be at least 90 percent.
• the number of parts for production of different modules may be low if only one type of front electrode type may be used, i.e. only one recipe for process, only one set of process gases and/or sputter targets is necessary etc.
• the final kind of the modules may be determined after
• the at least one, at least two, at least three or all of the front electrodes may have a thickness in the range of 800 nanometers to 1100 nanometers. Alternatively the at least one, at least two, at least three or all of the front electrodes
• the electrodes may have a thickness in the range of 50 nanometers to 150 nanometers or in the range of 80 nanometers to 130 nanometers in the range of 90 nanometers to 115 nanometers.
• the separate module or first module may comprise a first back electrode and/or the second module may comprise a second back electrode.
• the first back electrode and the second back electrode may consist of the same layer or of the same layers having the same thickness or same thicknesses.
• the third module may comprise a third back electrode and the fourth module may comprise a fourth back electrode.
• the third back electrode and the fourth back electrode may consist of the same layer or of the same layers having the same thickness or same thicknesses.
• the back electrode is usually near the n doped layer of a pin diode within the absorber stack.
• a TCO transparent
• the conductive oxide material may be used also for the back electrode, for instance AZO (aluminium doped zinc oxide) .
• the back electrode may have a thickness in the range of 50 nanometers to 150 nanometers, i.e. the back electrode may be thinner than the front electrode, especially less than half of the thickness of the front electrode.
• the back electrode may comprise a metal oxide.
• the back electrode may be transparent if the module has to be transparent.
• the transparency of the back electrode may be at least 90 percent.
• the back electrode may be textured and/or undoped .
• the number of parts for production of different modules may be low if only one type of back electrode type is used, i.e. only one recipe for process, only one set of gases and/or sputter targets is necessary etc.
• the final kind of module may be determined after the
• the at least one, at least two, at least three or all of the back electrodes may have a thickness in the range of 50 nanometers to 150 nanometers or in the range of 80 nanometers to 130 nanometers in the range of 90 nanometers to 115 nanometers.
• the at least one, at least two, at least three or all of the back electrodes may have a thickness that is less than 50 percent or less than 20 percent of at least two, at least three or all of the front electrodes.
• the back electrode (s) may also have the same thickness as the front electrode ( s ) , especially if the front electrodes also have a thickness in the range of 50 nanometers to 150 or lower. Good conductivity is given for these thicknesses. Conductivity is enhanced by a thin metal layer as mentioned below.
• the first module may comprise a first front glass and the second module may comprises a second front glass.
• the first front glass and the second front glass may consist of the same material or of the same material layers having the same thickness or same thicknesses. Flexible and transparent foils may be used instead of glass.
• the third module may comprises a third front glass and the fourth module may comprise a fourth front glass.
• the first front glass, the second front glass, the third front glass and the fourth front glass may consist of the same material or of the same material layers having the same thickness or same thicknesses. Flexible and transparent foils may be used instead of glass.
• the front glass is usually near the p doped layer of a pin diode within the absorber stack.
• the material of the front glass may be a special solar glass with low absorption for light, especially for light that will be absorbed by absorber and is therefore converted to electrical energy.
• the front glass may be a typical solar glass, i.e. having low iron content and a high transparency or transmittance of more than 90 percent or more than 95 percent, for instance. However, normal window glass may also be used.
• the thickness of the front glass may be in the range of 2 millimeters to 4 millimeters or 5 millimeters, for instance 3.2 millimeters.
• the front glass layer may be transparent and has mechanical strength, for instance to withstand hail, storm etc.
• the number of parts for production of different modules may be low if only one type of front glass is used. This means that only one or two suppliers are necessary. Furthermore, logistic is simple in a storage or during just in time delivering. No sequence has to be obeyed for front glasses. Again, the kind of module may be determined after the
• the sub kind of a module may be determined after stack deposition by using different filter layers .
• the first module may comprise a first back glass and the second module may comprise a second back glass.
• the first back glass and the second back glass may consist of the same material or of the same material layers having the same thickness or same thicknesses.
• Flexible and transparent foils may be used instead of glass.
• the third module may comprise a third back glass and the fourth module may comprise a fourth back glass.
• the first back glass, the second back glass, the third back glass and the fourth back glass may consist of the same material or of the same material layers having the same thickness or same thicknesses.
• Flexible and transparent foils may be used instead of glass.
• the back glass is usually near the n doped layer of a pin diode within the absorber stack.
• a solar glass with low absorption for light may be used, especially for light that will be absorbed by absorber and is therefore converted to electrical energy. However, this is less important for the back class but may reduce the number of parts within the production line.
• the back glass may be a typical solar glass, i.e. having low iron content and a high transparency of more than 90 percent or more than 95 percent, for instance.
• normal window glass may also be used.
• the thickness of the back glass may be in the range of 2 millimeters to 4 millimeters or 5 millimeters, for instance 3.2 millimeters.
• the back glass layer may be transparent, for instance
• the number of parts for the production of different modules may be low if only one type of back glass is used. Only one or two suppliers may be necessary. Logistic may be simple.
• the back glass may be the same as the front glass leading to a further reduction of types of parts needed for the
• the front glass may be coated already with a TCO layer if supplied from a supplier to the
• a first pair of the four different modules may have a first type of absorber layer or absorber stack and of a second pair of the four different modules may have a second type of absorber layer or absorber stack wherein the second type is different from the first type, for instance with regard to layer material (s) and/or layer thickness (es) .
• the first module or the separate module and/or the second module may comprise a thin metal layer that comprises at least 95 weight percent of metal atoms at least 98 weight percent of metal atoms.
• the layer thickness of the thin metal layer may be preferably below 30 nanometers. There may be only one kind of metal atoms, two kinds or more than two kinds of atoms within the thin metal layer.
• the thin metal layer may be a first thin metal layer.
• the third module and/or the fourth module may comprise a second thin metal layer that comprises at least 95 weight percent of metal atoms at least 98 weight percent of metal atoms.
• the layer thickness of the second thin metal layer is preferably below 30 nanometers. There may be only one kind of metal atoms, two kinds or more than two kinds of atoms within the second thin metal layer.
• the second thin layer may have the same material and/or thickness as the first thin metal layer .
• the atoms in the thin metal layers may stoichiometric ratio of atoms. Alternatively a compound layer may be used having a nonstoichiometric ratio of atoms.
• One example is low cost NiV, nickel vanadium.
• the part of nickel may be in the range of 30 weight percent to 98 weight percent.
• the range of vanadium may be in the range of 70 weight percent to 2 weight percent. A ratio of for instance 93 percent nickel to 7 percent vanadium is preferred, plus or minus ten percent of these percentages.
• thin metal layer may be used for the thin metal layer, for instance silver Ag or aluminum Al .
• the brown module may comprise the details of the red absorber stack as stated above. Furthermore, a front glass and/or a front electrode and/or a back electrode and/or a back glass may be used as given above.
• the thin metal layer is preferably arranged between the back electrode and the filter layer, preferably in physical contact with both of these layers.
• the layer thickness of the thin metal layer may be between one atom layer and 30 nanometers.
• the thin metal layer reflects some light and/or absorbs some light. More light is reflected and/or absorbed if the thickness is higher. It is also possible to use only clusters of metal, i.e. there is not a complete layer.
• This modification may result in a modification of the color of the module.
• the resulting color may be brown for instance although the absorber stack is red.
• the first filter layer especially in the case of a separate module but also in the set, and/or the second filter layer may comprise or consist of an organic material.
• the third filter layer and/or the fourth filter layer may comprise or consist of an organic material.
• all filter layers may comprise the same material except with regard to the coloring substance, for instance all layers may comprise PVB material. The following materials may be used:
• EVA ethylene vinyl acetate
• the filter characteristic may be changed easily during production by the addition of color pigments that do not dissolve or of coloring substances that dissolve within the filter layer.
• the pigments or coloring substances may be organic or
• the organic material of the filter layer may especially be a solid substance.
• inorganic filter layers may be used or a compound or stack of organic and inorganic materials.
• the first module or the first filter layer covers an area of at least one square meter, at least two square meters, at least three square meters or at least four square meters.
• the layers may be formed first
• the first filter layer especially in the case of a separate module but also in the set, and/or the second filter layer may be arranged on the backside of a solar absorber,
• the filter layer may also be used as an encapsulant and/or for fastening or bonding the back glass to the module.
• the transparency of the first module and or of the second module may be at most 25 percent or at most 50 percent of the incident light, especially with regard to sun light, i.e. full spectrum of visible light, and with regard to energy of light .
• the first module especially in the case of a separate module but also in a set, may comprise a third semiconductor layer or a third absorber stack that has the same material and thickness as the first semiconductor layer or the first absorber stack. Doubling of identical microcrystalline stacks or essentially microcrystalline stacks results in higher voltages of the module. The same is true for doubling of identical amorphous or essentially amorphous stack.
• both layers are form different layers of a stack, wherein the layers have different
• the second module may comprise a fourth semiconductor layer or a fourth absorber stack that has the same material and thickness as the third
• the invention relates to a solar module
• a first semiconductor layer that is microcrystalline and has a thickness in the range of 100 nanometers to 750 nanometers or that is amorphous and has a thickness in the range of 100 nanometers to 200 nanometers,
• the module comprises a second semiconductor layer or a second absorber stack that has the same material and thickness as the first semiconductor layer or the first absorber stack.
• the module comprises also a doubled
• both layers are form different layers of a stack, wherein the layers have different distances to the substrate.
• the doubling allows higher voltages of the module, i.e. there is a serial connection of solar cells.
• the invention relates further to a method for the production of a set of solar modules, especially according to one of the embodiments given above, comprising:
• a second group of different modules may be produced based on a second absorber layer type or of a second absorber layer stack type
• modules of the second group have different filter characteristics with regard to visible light.
• a third group may be produced based on a third absorber layer or absorber stack. Further, groups based on further stacks may also be used.
• the invention presented here focuses on a cost effective, high volume manufacturing technique for colored and
• colored and transparent silicon based thin film PV modules can be produced utilizing the methods of color mixing, e.g. color addition or color subtraction.
• the possible color may range from red to blue with
• transparencies up to 30 percent, for instance.
• Process changes at the back electrode enable fine tuning of the transparency and the color intensity.
• a- thin a-Si absorber of 100 nanometers to 200 nanometers or of 150 nanometers to 200 nanometers or of 100 nanometers to 150 nanometers film thickness for different transparencies up to 30 percent and color intensity
• CVD process parameters for this a-Si absorber stack are for example, see also Figure 2: - SiH4 (silane) : 0.5 slm (n layer) to 8 slm (p2 layer), wherein slm is standard liter per minute,
• - power 1.6 kW (pib layer) to 19 kW (n layer), whereby the power in kW (kilo watt) relates to the power that is radiated by the generator into the chamber.
• phosphine 2.5 slm (n layer) slm, for example 0.5 volume percent in H2.
• the area of the glass sheet that is used for deposition in the processing chamber is about 5.72 square meters. If process chambers for other sizes are used, the flowing rates are adapted according to the ratio of sizes or maximum sizes of the substrates for both processing chambers. Preferably remote plasma is used.
• i-layer thin u-Si absorber (i-layer) of 150 nanometers to 750 nanometers or of 350 nanometers to 750 nanometers or of 150 nanometers to 450 nanometers film thickness for different transparencies up to 30 percent and color intensity
• SiH4 silane: 0.5 slm (p u-Si layer) to 2.15 slm (pa-Si layer) , wherein slm is standard liter per minute,
• the area of the glass sheet tat is used for deposition in the processing chamber is about 5.72 square meters. If process chambers for other sizes are used the flowing rates are adapted according to the ratio of sizes or maximum sizes of substrates for both processing chambers. Preferably remote plasma is used.
• the back electrode specification is for instance:
• the encapsulant or filter layer specification is for
• PVB polyvinyl butyral
• - color of module depends on selection of absorber, for instance a-Si for red base color and u-si for yellow base color, in combination with colored encapsulate, for instance PVB foil, by color addition.
• - color intensity tuning by NiV thickness of back electrode i.e. no NiV gives bright colors and increasing NiV thickness gives grey appearance.
• Figure 1 shows the layers of a module.
• Figure 2 shows an a-Si absorber stack and Figure 3 shows a u-Si absorber stack.
• the invention may be used in BIPV, facades, heat absorbing glass etc. Furthermore, the invention may be used by thin film solar cell manufacturers, thin film equipment suppliers, glass and facade constructors. The usage of the invention may optically be detected. Brief description of the drawings
• Figure 1 illustrates a general module stack
• Figure 2 illustrates an absorber stack of base color red
• Figure 3 illustrates an absorber stack of base yellow
• FIG. 4 illustrates a red module
• FIG. 5 illustrates a yellow module
• FIG. 6 illustrates an orange module
• Figure 7 illustrates a blue module
• Figure 8 illustrates a green module
• Figure 10 illustrates a red brown module
• FIG. 11 illustrates two groups of modules.
• FIG. 1 illustrates a general module 10.
• the module 10 comprises from front side to back side in this sequence: - a front glass plate 20 or a flexible foil,
• - absorber layers 24 for instance made of or comprising amorphous silicon and/or micro crystalline silicon,
• an optional thin metal layer 91 for instance made of NiV
• an encapsulant or filter layer 92 for instance colored or transparent, i.e. no color
• the front glass plate 20 is a typical solar glass, i.e. a glass having a low content of iron and a high transmission of more than 90 percent or more than 95 percent, for instance.
• the transparent front electrode 22 is made of TCO
• the transparent metal back electrode 90 is also made of a TCO, especially AZO, i.e. aluminum doped zinc oxide.
• the encapsulant or filter layer 92 may be colored or
• PVB is an appropriate material for encapsulant 92.
• the glass plate 94 may also be made of a solar glass, especially the same material as for front glass 20.
• normal window glass may be used for glass 94. There may be no other layers between the layers 20 to 94.
• module 10 may be arranged within module 10.
• Module 10 may have a length in the range of 10 centimeters or smaller to 3 meters or of 1 meters to 3 meters and a width in the range of 10 centimeters or smaller to 3 meters or in the range of 1 meters to 3 meters.
• the thickness of module 10 may be in the range of 5 millimeters to 10 millimeters, for instance .
• a thickness D20 of glass plate 20 is in the range of 2 millimeters to 5 millimeters, for instance 3.2 millimeters,
• a thickness D22 of front electrode 22 is in the range of 0.5 micrometers to 1.5 micrometers, for instance 0.9
• a thickness D24 of absorber layers 24 is in the range of
• 0.1 micrometer to 1 micrometers more specifically in the range of 0.1 micrometer to 0.4 micrometers for an amorphous stack and of 0.1 micrometer to 1 micrometers for a
• a thickness D90 of back electrode 90 is in the range of 50 nanometers to 150 nanometers, for instance in the range of 90 nanometers to 115 nanometers, - a thickness D92 of encapsulate 92 is in the range of 0.25 millimeter to 2 millimeter, especially in the range of 0.38 millimeters to 0.76 millimeters, and
• a thickness D94 of glass plate 94 is in the range of 2 millimeters to 5 millimeters, for instance 3.2 millimeters,
• the module 10 may be produced beginning with front glass 20,
• module 10 1. e. using a superstrate. All materials and thicknesses of module 10 are also valid for the modules 110 to 710 of
• Figure 2 illustrates an absorber stack 50 of base color red.
• the absorber stack 50 may be used in module 10 in place of absorber layers 24.
• a front side TCO 22a may correspond to front electrode 22 of module 10.
• the absorber stack 50 is preferably deposited beginning on the front side, i.e. with layer 54.
• the absorber stack 50 comprises from front side to back side: - a p doped amorphous silicon layer 54 (pi a-Si) ,
• n doped microcrystalline silicon layer 66 (n u-Si) .
• a back side TCO 90a may correspond for instance to back electrode 90 of module 10.
• the specific process parameters during the deposition of the a-Si absorber stack 50 are less relevant for the color characteristic of the module than the thicknesses of the individual layers and the combination of thicknesses.
• the p doped amorphous silicon layer 54 may have the following features:
• the p doped amorphous silicon layer 56 may have the following features:
• the amorphous silicon layer 58 (pibl a-Si) may have the following features:
• the amorphous silicon layer 60 may have the following features:
• the amorphous silicon layer 62 (pib3 a-Si) may have the following features:
• the intrinsic amorphous silicon layer 64 may have the following features:
• n doped micro crystalline silicon layer 66 may have the following features:
• the absorber stack 50 may be used in modules 110, 310 and 710, see description below.
• the stack 50 is doubled within a module, i.e. a layer 54 of a second stack is in physical contact with layer 66 of stack 66. Again it is possible to omit some layers of the second stack as explained above for the first stack 50. Alternatively, layers may be added to the second stack as explained above for the first stack 50. Layer 90a contacts layer 66 of the second stack.
• the double stack may be used in all modules that are
• FIG 3 illustrates an absorber stack 70 of base color yellow.
• the absorber stack 70 may be used in module 10 in place of absorber stack 24.
• a front side TCO 22b may correspond to front electrode 22 of module 10, i.e. the same kind of front electrodes may be used for both stacks 50 and 70.
• the absorber stack 70 is
• the absorber stack 70 comprises from front side to back side:
• n doped microcrystalline silicon layer 82 (n u-Si) . There may be no other layer between the layers 74 to 82.
• absorber stack 70 may be further layers arranged within absorber stack 70.
• a back electrode 90b may correspond to electrode 90 of module 10, i.e. the same kind of back electrodes may be used for both stacks 50 and 70.
• the specific process parameters during the deposition of the microcrystalline absorber stack 70 are less relevant for the color characteristic of the module than the thicknesses of the individual layers and the combination of thicknesses. However, specific ranges for the process parameters are given above.
• the p doped amorphous silicon layer 74 (pi a-Si) may have the following features:
• the p doped microcrystalline silicon layer 76 (p2 u-Si) may have the following features:
• nanometers for instance 37,5 nanometers plus and/or minus 10 percent .
• the first a-Si layer may be used to protect the TCO from H2 (hydrogen) that may be needed for u- Si deposition.
• the intrinsic microcrystalline silicon layer 78 (i u-Si) may have the following features:
• n doped micro crystalline silicon oxide layer 80 may have the following features:
• Carbon dioxide may be added to for instance silane during the deposition of layer 80.
• SiOx is formed with x in the range of 1 to 2.
• the layer 80 may also comprise carbon, especially more than 1 weight percent carbon.
• This oxide layer 80 improves the optical properties of the modules.
• n doped micro crystalline silicon layer 82 (n u-Si) may have the following features:
• the absorber stack 70 may be used in modules 210, 310, 410, 510 and 610, see description below.
• the stack 70 is doubled within a module, i.e. a layer 74 of a second stack is in physical contact with layer 82 of stack 70. Again it is possible to omit some layers of the second stack as explained above for the first stack 70. Alternatively, layers may be added to the second stack as explained above for the first stack 70. Layer 90b contacts layer 82 of the second stack.
• the double stack may be used in all modules that are
• Module 110 corresponds or equals to module 10 except for the features that are explained in the following.
• Reference signs 120 to 194 are used instead of reference signs 20 to 94 to indicate the same parts.
• An absorber stack 150 is used in module 110 that equals absorber stack 50 as shown in Figure 2.
• the absorber stack 150 forms absorber layers 124.
• Absorber stack 150 comprises layers 154 to 166 corresponding to layers 54 to 66.
• the thicknesses D154 to D166 of layers 154 to 166 correspond or are equal to the thicknesses D54 to D66.
• Encapsulant or filter layer 192 is colorless or red.
• module 110 appears red.
• the red encapsulant or filter layer 192 enhances the color red.
• the overall color of module 110 corresponds to a special filter characteristic, i.e. only red light passes through module 110.
• An optional thin metal layer 191 comprising for instance NiV results in a better electrical characteristic of the module 110. However, color brilliance and transparency are reduced by layer 191.
• Figure 5 illustrates a yellow module 210.
• Module 210
• Reference signs 220 to 294 are used instead of reference signs 20 to 94 to indicate the same parts.
• An absorber stack 270 is used in module 210 that equals absorber stack 70 as shown in Figure 3.
• the absorber stack 270 forms absorber layers 224.
• Absorber stack 270 comprises layers 274 to 282 corresponding to layers 74 to 82.
• the thicknesses D274 to D282 of layers 274 to 282 correspond or are equal to the thicknesses D74 to D82.
• Encapsulant 292 is colorless or yellow. Therefore, module 210 appears yellow in transmission mode using sun light. The yellow encapsulant 292 enhances the color yellow of the absorber stack 270.
• module 210 corresponds to a special filter characteristic, i.e. only light that results in the color yellow passes through module 210.
• An optional thin metal layer 291 comprising for instance NiV may be used to modify the filter characteristic of module 210 resulting in the color yellow grey if seen with the human eye .
• Figure 6 illustrates a module stack of an orange module 310.
• Module 310 corresponds or equals to module 10 except for the features that are explained in the following.
• Reference signs 320 to 394 are used instead of reference signs 20 to 94 to indicate the same parts.
• An absorber stack 350 is used in module 110 that equals absorber stack 50 as shown in Figure 2.
• the absorber stack 350 forms absorber layers 324 or 324b.
• Absorber stack 350 comprises layers 354 to 366 corresponding to layers 54 to 66.
• the thicknesses D354 to D366 of layers 354 to 366 correspond or are equal to the thicknesses D54 to D66.
• an absorber stack 370 is used in module 210 that equals absorber stack 70 as shown in Figure 3.
• the absorber stack 370 forms absorber layer 224.
• the absorber stack 370 forms absorber layer 324 or 324a.
• 370 comprises layers 374 to 382 corresponding to layers 74 to 82.
• Encapsulant 392 is colorless or orange for both absorber stacks 350, 370. Therefore, module 310 appears orange in transmission mode using sun light.
• the orange encapsulant 292 or foil determines the color of module 310.
• the overall color of module 310 corresponds to a special filter characteristic, i.e. only light that results in the color orange passes through module 310.
• An optional thin metal layer 391, comprising for instance NiV, may be used to modify the filter characteristic of module 310 resulting in the color orange grey if seen with the human eye.
• Figure 7 illustrates a blue module 410.
• Module 410
• An absorber stack 470 is used in module 410 that equals absorber stack 70 as shown in Figure 3.
• the absorber stack 470 forms absorber layers 424.
• Absorber stack 470 comprises layers 474 to 482 corresponding to layers 74 to 82.
• the thicknesses D474 to D482 of layers 474 to 482 correspond or are equal to the thicknesses D74 to D82.
• Encapsulant 492 is blue. Therefore, module 410 appears blue in transmission mode using sun light.
• module 492 determines the color of the module 410.
• the overall color of module 410 corresponds to a special filter characteristic, i.e. only light that results in the color blue passes through module 410.
• An optional metal layer 491 comprising for instance NiV results in a better electrical characteristic of the module 410. However, color brilliance and transparency are reduced by layer 491.
• Figure 8 illustrates a green module 510.
• Module 510
• An absorber stack 570 is used in module 510 that equals absorber stack 70 as shown in Figure 3.
• the absorber stack 570 forms absorber layers 524.
• Absorber stack 570 comprises layers 574 to 582 corresponding to layers 74 to 82.
• the thicknesses D574 to D582 of layers 574 to 582 correspond or are equal to the thicknesses D74 to D82.
• Encapsulant 592 is green. Therefore, module 510 appears green in transmission mode using sun light. The green encapsulant 592 determines the color of module 510. The overall color of module 510 corresponds to a special filter characteristic, i.e. only light that results in the color blue passes through module 510.
• An optional metal layer 591 comprising for instance NiV results in a better electrical characteristic of the module 510. However, color brilliance and transparency are reduced by layer 591.
• Figure 9 illustrates a purple module 610.
• Module 610
• An absorber stack 670 is used in module 610 that equals absorber stack 70 as shown in Figure 3.
• the absorber stack 670 forms absorber layers 624.
• Absorber stack 670 comprises layers 674 to 682 corresponding to layers 74 to 82.
• the thicknesses D674 to D682 of layers 674 to 682 correspond or are equal to the thicknesses D74 to D82.
• Encapsulant 692 is purple. Therefore, module 610 appears purple in transmission mode using sun light.
• the purple encapsulant 692 determines the color of the module 610.
• the overall color of module 610 corresponds to a special filter characteristic, i.e. only light that results in the color purple passes through module 610.
• An optional metal layer 691 comprising for instance NiV results in a better electrical characteristic of the module 610. However, color brilliance and transparency are reduced by layer 691.
• FIG. 10 illustrates a red brown module 710.
• Module 710 corresponds or equals to module 10 except for the features that are explained in the following.
• Reference signs 720 to 794 are used instead of reference signs 20 to 94 to indicate the same parts.
• An absorber stack 750 is used in module 710 that equals absorber stack 50 as shown in Figure 2.
• the absorber stack 750 forms absorber layers 724.
• Absorber stack 750 comprises layers 754 to 766 corresponding to layers 54 to 66.
• the thicknesses D754 to D766 of layers 754 to 766 correspond or are equal to the thicknesses D54 to D66.
• Encapsulant 792 is colorless if a thin metal layer 791 is used or brown if no layer 791 is used or only a very thin layer 791, for instance having a thickness below 5 nanometers or below 1 nanometer. Therefore, module 710 appears brown or red brown in transmission mode using sun light.
• the brown encapsulant 792 or foil or the NiV layer determines the color of module 710.
• the overall color of module 710 corresponds to a special filter characteristic, i.e. only light that results in the color brown passes through module 710.
• An optional thin metal layer 791 comprising for instance NiV, may be used to modify the filter characteristic of module 710 resulting in the color brown if seen with the human eye even if the encapsulant 792 is colorless.
• Incident light 11, 51, 71, 111, 211, 311, 411, 511, 611, 711 is shown on the front side of the absorber stacks or module in the Figures 1 to 10.
• Figure 11 illustrates two groups A and B of modules.
• the first group A is based on the yellow absorber stack 70 and comprises the following modules:
• module 310a i.e. module 310 with yellow absorber stack 370
• the second group B is based on the red absorber stack 50 and comprises the following modules:
• module 310b i.e. module 310 with red absorber stack 350
• Thin metal layers corresponding to layer 91 may especially be used in modules 210, 310a, 310b and 710 to influence the color characteristic. Further groups of modules may be based on other absorber stacks.
• the encapsulant or filter layer may be a foil.
• other methods of production of colored layers replacing the colored encapsulant are also possible: - varnish, paint, applied for instance by spraying, dip coating or other methods,

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