Encapsulation Methods for Solar Cell Protection

Back-contacted solar cells with enhanced efficiency using a novel metallization approach. The cells feature back-side contacts with aluminum metallization, where the aluminum content is strategically distributed between 60-20% to 12.5% in the positive and negative electrodes, respectively. This composition creates a highly conductive metallization layer while maintaining passivation properties of the silicon surface. The metallization layer is formed through a novel firing process that preserves the silicon surface quality, enabling efficient solar cell production with conventional manufacturing processes.

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A method for packaging large-area perovskite solar cells using a single-step encapsulation process. The method involves depositing a thin insulating layer on the perovskite cell's back electrode, followed by a polymer film and a backing sheet. The insulating layer is formed through magnetron sputtering or ALD, while the polymer film is applied in a sequential layering process. The cell is then melted and bonded through vacuum heating to complete the secondary packaging. This approach eliminates the need for multiple layers and provides enhanced thermal stability compared to conventional encapsulation methods.

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Flexible perovskite solar cell packaging method that enables stable operation in underwater environments. The method employs a novel encapsulation process that integrates a transparent polymer film (TPU) with a perovskite solar cell, eliminating the need for rigid substrates. The TPU film is prepared through a scraper process on a glass substrate, then dried to form a packageable film. The solar cell is encapsulated within this TPU film using a specific chemical reaction between NDC and EG, which generates a water-resistant ester. The TPU film provides excellent barrier properties against water, light, and heat, while the perovskite solar cell maintains its efficiency in the underwater environment.

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Solar cell with enhanced optical protection through a dual-layer encapsulation structure. The cell features a primary encapsulation layer that fills the space between adjacent solar cells, while a secondary encapsulation layer is positioned on top of this primary layer. This dual-layer configuration prevents water and oxygen from penetrating through the space between cells, maintaining the solar cell's optical integrity. The encapsulation materials used in both layers are specifically designed to prevent degradation of the solar cell's absorber layer.

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Highly efficient back-contacted solar cell with passivated contacts that reduces recombination and improves efficiency. The cell has interdigitated electrodes on the back contacting doped regions of opposite polarity. The doping in the regions is balanced to create the opposite polarity. This eliminates the need for complex doping steps or masks on the back. The front has lower doping compared to the back. Passivation layers on front and back further reduce recombination. The cell is manufactured by depositing a polycrystalline silicon layer on a dielectric layer, locally doping the back regions, and forming passivation layers.

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Solar cell packaging method that enhances the durability and performance of crystalline silicon solar cells through advanced encapsulation technology. The method employs polyaspartate polyurea encapsulation layers that provide superior water and oxygen barrier properties compared to conventional materials. The encapsulation layers are applied in a multi-layer structure with polyaspartate polyurea on both the front and back sides of the solar cell, ensuring complete water and oxygen protection. The encapsulation layers are then bonded to the solar cell using a specialized bonding process that incorporates mechanical retention elements. The solar cells are then encapsulated in a polyaspartate polyurea-based transparent material that maintains its integrity even under accelerated aging conditions. The encapsulation method enables the creation of solar cells with enhanced durability and service life, particularly in applications where the solar cells are exposed to outdoor environmental conditions.

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Solar module design to prevent moisture ingress and improve reliability. The solar module has an encapsulation part that houses multiple spaced apart solar cell modules. This configuration prevents direct contact between adjacent cell modules, reducing the risk of moisture ingress and corrosion. The encapsulation also provides protection against environmental factors like dust and debris. The spacing between cell modules allows for better airflow and cooling compared to stacked cells.

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Rollable solar cell module that can bend and fold without constraint on curvature radius. The module has thin front and back sheets around the solar cells, with a sealing member between them. The thinner sheets and sealing allow the module to roll and bend into tighter spaces compared to thicker conventional modules. This enables applications like rollable blinds, curved solar panels, and portable devices with more compact and flexible solar power sources. The thinner sheets and sealing also reduce weight and material usage compared to thicker modules.

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Customizable, lightweight, flexible solar panels for electric vehicles that can be tailored to fit the shape of a car roof. The panels are made by a novel fabrication process that involves producing flexible printed circuit (FPC) strings with metal patterns, attaching backside solar cells to the strings, arranging the strings on a platform, and electrically connecting them. The solar cells are directly welded to the metal layer on the FPC strings, eliminating the need for separate wiring. This allows customizing the panel shape by arranging the strings in a partially-overlapping configuration. The flexible panels are lightweight, customizable, and lower cost compared to rigid panels.

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A method for encapsulating perovskite solar cells that enables stable operation in harsh environmental conditions. The encapsulation process involves applying a polyurethane hot-melt adhesive film between the perovskite solar cell and a backing layer, followed by sequential heating. The adhesive film solidifies at temperatures below 70°C, allowing it to form a stable film structure that protects the perovskite solar cell from environmental degradation. This approach eliminates the need for separate encapsulation steps and conventional adhesives, enabling reliable performance in high-humidity environments.

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Color photovoltaic module with improved color uniformity and aesthetics compared to conventional colored solar cells. The module has a stacked structure with a solar cell layer sandwiched between encapsulant layers. Between the cell and top encapsulant is a layer of porous colored fiber. This adds color without the output variation issues of colored glass. The fiber layer improves aesthetics while maintaining power generation efficiency and competitive cost. The module is manufactured by adding the fiber layer between encapsulants after the cell step.

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Manufacturing method for photovoltaic modules that improves encapsulation through controlled encapsulant thickness and bubble formation prevention. The method integrates a crosslinked polymer adhesion layer between the encapsulant and photovoltaic cell, with a separate crosslinked polymer encapsulant layer. The adhesion layer is applied before the encapsulant, allowing precise control over encapsulant thickness and bubble formation. This integrated approach enables both enhanced encapsulant performance and bubble management, while maintaining the structural integrity of the photovoltaic cell.

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A method for encapsulating individual solar cells into solar cell modules that enables rapid replacement of defective cells. The encapsulation process involves integrating a single solar cell into a module using a specialized encapsulation material, which is then assembled into a complete solar cell module. This approach eliminates the need for manual handling of individual solar cells and their assembly into modules, significantly reducing the complexity and weight of solar cell modules compared to traditional encapsulation methods.

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A photovoltaic window comprising a transparent plastic substrate with integrated photovoltaic cells and an optically coupling fluid. The window features a specially designed substrate with integrated PV cells that are diced from full-sized solar cells. The substrate is fabricated using a process that enables uniform cell placement and bonding, while the coupling fluid is engineered to optimize light transmission while minimizing internal reflection. The coupling fluid's refractive index (RI) is carefully controlled to prevent total internal reflection at the PV cell interface, ensuring maximum energy conversion efficiency.

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A coating-encapsulated thin-film solar cell that enables mass production of solar cells with improved durability and performance. The cell features a multilayer structure comprising a solar cell layer, a light scattering layer, and a paint encapsulation layer, all encapsulated by a thin film. The solar cell layer, light scattering layer, and paint encapsulation layer are arranged sequentially from top to bottom. The paint encapsulation layer provides enhanced weather resistance and aging resistance compared to traditional encapsulation methods. The coating-encapsulation architecture enables the use of a single production process for both the solar cell and encapsulation layers, significantly reducing production complexity and costs.

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Manufacturing photovoltaic solar cells with enhanced interconnection through a novel metal foil structure that integrates the solar cell contacts and battery connections. The method employs a metal foil that overlaps the solar cell edges by at least 1 mm, with the foil serving as both a conventional back contact and a battery connection area. This integrated approach enables the creation of a continuous, perforated structure that replaces conventional back contacts with a single metal contact area. The perforation enables efficient electrical connections while maintaining structural integrity, particularly beneficial for expansion reserves between solar cells.

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Perovskite solar cells with enhanced durability and long-term stability achieved through a novel encapsulation approach. The cells employ an ultra-thin SiO2 encapsulation layer, comprising a transparent electrode, electron transport layer, perovskite photoactive layer, hole transport layer, and metal electrode, on a flexible substrate. The SiO2 layer is grown through thermal oxidation from a silicon wafer, providing a thin barrier against environmental degradation. This encapsulation architecture enables the perovskite solar cell to maintain its optical and electrical properties over extended periods, while maintaining its structural integrity.

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A method for packaging perovskite solar cells that enhances their stability and efficiency in air exposure. The method involves encapsulating the solar cells in a protective packaging material that incorporates a water-repellent and oxygen-permeable barrier. This barrier prevents water and oxygen from entering the solar cell while maintaining its air exposure environment. The encapsulation material can be a polymer or ceramic layer that provides the necessary protection while maintaining the solar cell's optical and electrical properties.

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Method for manufacturing light-transmitting flexible thin-film solar cells that improves efficiency through enhanced hole processing control. The method employs a novel post-processing step after hole formation in the solar cell's light transmission path, specifically targeting areas where holes create shunts. This targeted cleaning process ensures that only the critical regions of the solar cell's interface layers are cleaned, while maintaining the integrity of the rest of the cell structure. This approach enables the creation of high-efficiency solar cells with reduced shunt generation, thereby improving overall performance.

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A novel method for stabilizing perovskite solar cells (PSCs) through selective precursor dissolution (SPD) of the 2D perovskite layer on the underlying 3D perovskite structure. The SPD strategy involves using a solvent that selectively dissolves the 2D perovskite precursor while maintaining the high-quality 3D perovskite underlayer, thereby preventing crystallographic δ-phase formation and surface defects. This approach enables record-breaking PCEs (22.6%) with enhanced operational stability compared to conventional methods. The SPD method enables scalable production of heterojunction PSCs, which can be used for local and remote applications.

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