Garmin Switzerland Gmbh

Sylvain De Vecchi

Philippe Gilbert Frederic Cardi

Brice Arrazat

Emilie Bialic

A method for optimizing the electrical performance of all or part of a photovoltaic module () through breakdown at the metal/oxide/metal interface. The method may include: —Step 1: Illuminating all or part of said photovoltaic module with a luminous flux controlled by a control module (); —Step 2: Reverse-biasing said photovoltaic module: by subjecting it to a voltage sweep ranging from −V/2, Voc being the open-circuit voltage, to a limit bias voltage Vwhose value depends on the mode of interconnection and on the number (NB) of cells forming all or part of said photovoltaic module.

Method for optimizing the electric conduction through a metal/oxide/metal interface

A photovoltaic device is provided that comprises a photovoltaic active zone being formed of a stack of thin films comprising a first electrode, an absorber film and a metallic electrode. A collection gate is arranged in contact with the first electrode to reduce its electrical resistance and avoid direct physical or electrical contact with the metallic electrode. The photovoltaic active zone includes a plurality of channels, made in the metallic electrode and the absorber film. The collection gate is separated from the metallic electrode and from the absorber film by a dielectric material.

Thin-film photovoltaic cell

The invention relates to a photovoltaic mono cell that is semi-transparent to light, comprising a plurality of active photovoltaic zones that are separated by transparent zones, said active photovoltaic zones being formed from a stack of thin films arranged on a substrate that is transparent to light, said stack of thin films consisting at least of a transparent electrode, an absorber layer and a metal electrode, said transparent zones being apertures produced at least in the metal electrode and in the absorber layer in order to allow as much light as possible to pass, characterized in that it furthermore comprises an electrically conductive collecting gate arranged either making contact with the front electrode in order to decrease the electrical resistance of the transparent electrode, or making contact with the absorber in order to facilitate collection of the electrical current generated by said mono cell.

Semi-transparent thin-film photovoltaic mono cell

A coded-light communication device is described, in which the communication has an initial signal-to-noise ratio, which varies according to the lighting conditions. The device comprises at least one photodetector-type light receiver comprising an anode and a cathode and having an initial shunt resistance. The receiver is capable of being simultaneously exposed to a coded light source carrying a signal and a non-coded light source. The anode and cathode are short-circuited by at least one short-circuit resistance arranged inside the photodetector, having a value selected so that the new value of the shunt resistance of the photodetector resulting from the connection of the initial shunt resistance and the short-circuit resistance gives the communication device a new resultant signal-to-noise ratio which remains substantially independent of the intensity of the non-coded light.

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Aix en Provence, France

Sylvain De Vecchi