Simplified module assembly using back-contact crystalline-silicon solar cells

The authors are developing new module concepts that encapsulate and electrically connect all the crystalline-silicon (c-Si) photovoltaic (PV) cells in a module in a single step. The new assembly process: (1) uses back-contact c-Si cells; (2) uses a module backplane that has both the electrical circuit, encapsulant and backsheet in a single piece; and (3) uses a single-step process for assembly of these components into a module. This new process reduces module assembly cost by using planar processes that are easy to automate, by reducing the number of steps, and by eliminating low-throughput (e.g., individual cell tabbing, cell stringing, etc.) steps. They refer to this process as "monolithic module assembly" since it translates many of the advantages of monolithic module construction of thin-film PV modules to wafered c-Si PV modules. Preliminary development of the new module assembly process, and some estimations of the cost potential of the new process, are presented.