Spire Corporation

Michael J Nowlan

Anthony J Armini

A photovoltaic module comprises at least one string of back contact solar cells and a porous non-conductive layer behind the cells including thereon flexible conductive pathways electrically interconnecting the solar cells. There is a back sheet and an encapsulant between the back sheet and the porous non-conductive layer flowable through the porous non-conductive layer and bonding the back sheet to the solar cells.

Photovoltaic module and method

An improved photovoltaic cell and a process of making it are disclosed. Essentially, the process merges the technology of ESB with the phenomenon of total internal reflection to provide a photovoltaic cell of improved conversion efficiency and comprising a solar cell formed of a semiconductor material and provided with a front contact, a cover plate formed of a glass having a thermal expansion coefficient matching that of the semiconductor material, with the back surface of the cover plate provided with a plurality of V-grooves overlying the front contact and being electrostatically bonded to the solar cell. The V-grooves serve both as clearance slots for the front contact and its converging facets as reflecting surfaces to direct incident light onto the cell's surfaces in between the front contact grid lines.

Photovoltaic cell and process

A laminator for laminating and/or encapsulating a multilayer laminate assembly is disclosed. The laminator includes a processing chamber designed to receive the laminate assembly. The processing chamber is provided with independently controllable temperature, vacuum and pneumatic pressure capabilities for effecting optimum processing conditions for particular materials and configurations. The laminator features a double-vacuum system and a choice between two automatic cycles: a lamination cycle and a lamination-and-cure cycle. Preferably, the laminator is microprocessor controlled and is provided with a control panel where the processing parameters are set and monitored.

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Arlington, MA, United States of America

Michael J Nowlan