Method of and apparatus for manufacturing thin solar battery

• US 6,096,569 A
• Filed: 12/01/1998
• Issued: 08/01/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation), Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Matsuno, Yoshinori, Kawama, Yoshitatsu, Arimoto, Satoshi, Kumabe, Hisao, Murotani, Toshio, Morikawa, Hiroaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Wilczewski, Mary
• Assistant Examiner(s): LIN, YUNG AN
• Application Number:
  US09/201,660
• Time in Patent Office: 609 Days
• Field of Search: 438/458, 438/19, 438/21, 438/22, 438/48
• US Class Current: 438/19
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/022441 Electrode arrangements specially adapted for back-contact solar cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/048 Encapsulation of modules
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/0504 specially adapted for series or parallel connection of solar cells in a module
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/0516 specially adapted for interconnection of back-contact solar cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/1892 methods involving the use of temporary, removable substrates
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/50 Photovoltaic [PV] energy

Abstract

A process of forming electrodes is simplified during modularizing of a solar battery. According to the manufacturing method and the manufacturing apparatus, a thin solar battery is manufactured at a reduced cost and with a better yield. Using a robot which includes a suction chip which can handle a semiconductor film 2 without any damage which is separated from a particular substrate 1, the semiconductor films 2 are each accurately placed through a transparent resin 3 onto a glass substrate 7 which serves as a window of a solar battery, and p-type and n-type electrodes are printed at a time on the semiconductor films 2 which are arranged. Further, since a monolithic tab electrode is soldered to connect the electrodes, the manufacturing processes of the solar battery are simplified.

Claims

1. A method of forming a thin solar battery in which semiconductor films formed on a silicon substrate are separated from said silicon substrate, an electrode is formed on said semiconductor films so that said semiconductor films will serve as a power generation layer, and a glass substrate is stacked on light incident surfaces of said semiconductor films, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) forming semiconductor films on said silicon substrate and separating said semiconductor films from said silicon substrate;

(b) coating said glass substrate with a transparent resin;

(c) arranging said semiconductor films on said glass substrate which is coated with said transparent resin; and

(d) forming electrodes by printing on said semiconductor films which are arranged on said glass substrate using a predetermined printing method.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said step (a) of coating said glass substrate with said transparent resin comprises a step (a-1) of said transparent resin shaped like a sheet is disposed on said glass substrate and said glass substrate seating said transparent resin is passed between rollers so that said transparent resin is spread under pressure into a desired thickness and tightly adhered to said glass substrate.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein in said step (a-1), a vinyl sheet is disposed on said transparent resin, said transparent resin is sandwiched between said vinyl sheet and said glass substrate and passed between rollers, and said vinyl sheet is peeled off at a constant peeling angle θ

after passing between said rollers, wherein said peeling angle θ

satisfies a relation 0<

θ

<

10°

.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein in said step (a) of coating said glass substrate with said transparent resin, said transparent resin is disposed on said glass substrate and a blade is swept over a surface of said transparent resin so that said transparent resin of a desired thickness is tightly adhered to said glass substrate.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said transparent resin contains transparent corpuscles.

6. The method of claim 5, said transparent corpuscles are shaped like pearls and each have a diameter which is approximately the same as the thickness of said transparent resin after coating.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein in said step (b) of arranging said semiconductor films on said glass substrate which is coated with said transparent resin, a grid frame is placed to face a front surface of said transparent resin and a plurality of said semiconductor films are disposed on said glass substrate which is coated with said transparent resin utilizing a grid pattern of said grid frame.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein in said step (c) forming electrodes by printing on said semiconductor films which are arranged on said glass substrate using said predetermined printing method, said predetermined printing method is a screen printing method or a pad printing method.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said step (c) forming electrodes by printing on said semiconductor films which are arranged on said glass substrate using said predetermined printing method comprises a step (c-1) of drying said electrodes which are printed, printing and drying of said electrodes are repeated to form said electrodes on a plurality of said semiconductor films which are arranged on said glass substrate while performing a process of forming one electrode on one semiconductor film of said plurality of said semiconductor films is other than a process of forming another electrode on another semiconductor film thereof which is adjacent to said one semiconductor film.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein in said step (c-1) of drying said electrodes which are printed, said semiconductor films are heated through said glass substrate by a heater which is attached to a printer.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein in said step (c) forming electrodes by printing on said semiconductor films which are arranged on said glass substrate using said predetermined printing method, through holes are formed in said semiconductor films for separation from said substrate or formation of said electrodes, and an electrode printing mask and said semiconductor films are aligned to each other using said through holes and an alignment marker which is formed at a desired position in said electrode printing mask.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

(d) printing a solder on a tab electrode formation area for connecting a plurality of said electrodes which are formed on said semiconductor films; and

(e) disposing a monolithic tab electrode member, which has pattern which corresponds to said area with said solder printed, on said area with said solder printed to thereby form tab electrodes.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein said semiconductor films which are separated from a specific substrate are sucked with pressure which does not exceed the destruction strength of said semiconductor films to handle said semiconductor films.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein said semiconductor films are made of silicon.