Spectrolab, Inc.

Ivan R Lawrence

A tray for testing and storage of photovoltaic e.g. solar cells, is described, enabling processing or testing of such cells to be conducted while supported on the tray. The tray comprises a base having a peripheral rim extending upwardly around the upper surface of the base, and serving to at least partially retain one or more of the cells within a pre-defined position on the upper surface. One or more indexing elements are provided on the upper surface of the tray to co-operate with the peripheral rim to define a number of pre-defined cell positions on the upper surface of the tray, for selectively retaining any of a plurality of different sized cells. A vacuum chamber is provided to retain the solar cell in its pre-defined position on the tray. Apertures are provided in the base of the tray and extend to the pre-defined cell positions to permit probes to extend therethrough and into contact with the solar cell. A mold used in producing the tray is provided with holes at predetermined locations, and by employing removable plugs of predetermined shape for the holes, a mold is obtained having a required configuration to produce a tray having indexing elements at preselected positions dependent upon the presence or absence of plugs in the holes of the mold. A method for making a tray according to the invention is also described.

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Simi Valley, CA, United States of America

Ivan R Lawrence