PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULE COMPRISING THIN LAMINAE CONFIGURED TO MITIGATE EFFICIENCY LOSS DUE TO SHUNT FORMATION

摘要

A photovoltaic cell can be formed from a thin semiconductor lamina cleaved from a substantially crystalline wafer. Shunts may inadvertently be formed through such a lamina, compromising device performance. By physically severing the lamina into a plurality of segments, the segments of the lamina preferably electrically connected in series, loss of efficiency due to shunt formation may be substantially reduced. In some embodiments, adjacent laminae are connected in series into strings, and the strings are connected in parallel to compensate for the reduction in current caused by severing the lamina into segments.