Thin film photovoltaic structure and method of making same

Abstract

The present application provides a thin film photovoltaic structure, comprising a substrate, a first conductive layer, a photovoltaic layer, a second conductive layer, a plurality of series conductive layers and a plurality of first insulation regions. The series conductive layers are used to shorten the width of adjacent photovoltaic structures in series, thereby increasing the effective area of the thin film photovoltaic structure for collecting light energy and effectively improving the GFF of the thin film photovoltaic structure. Furthermore, the series conductive layers and the first insulation regions are used to form a contact overlap region in a stacked state, which can effectively protect the conductive region of the first conductive layer during etching of the second conductive layer, thereby avoiding damage to the conductive region and affecting the function as an electrode, and effectively improving the process yield of the thin film photovoltaic structure. According to the thin film photovoltaic structure, the present application also provides a thin film photovoltaic structure manufacturing method.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to a photovoltaic structure and a method for manufacturing the same, and more particularly to a photovoltaic structure and a method for manufacturing the same capable of increasing an effective area for collecting light energy, improving a geometric fill factor, and further improving a photovoltaic conversion efficiency. BACKGROUND

[0002] Among the existing green energy technologies, solar cells (i.e., photovoltaic cells) have been widely used. Solar cells can be classified into inorganic solar cells and organic solar cells, and the highest market share in the current market is still the traditional inorganic solar cells, such as Si, CdTe, CIGS, etc. Although the service life and cell efficiency of organic solar cells cannot be compared with inorganic solar cells, organic solar cells still have higher design freedom and adaptability, such as unique color, shape, and transparency selection, so they can be integrated into buildings and designed with building curtain walls to be more creative and changeable.

[0003] However, in order to prepare a large-area organic solar cell module (also referred to as a thin-film photovoltaic structure), etching is used to form a single independent cell unit (also referred to as a sub-photovoltaic structure) in the upper and lower conductive layers, and then a series connection or a parallel connection of several cell units is used to achieve the required specifications. In practice, the etching process of the upper and lower conductive layers often causes concerns about leakage between the upper and lower conductive layers due to the difficulty in matching the etching equipment and process conditions. For example, the thin-film photovoltaic structure disclosed in the Taiwan Utility Model Patent Publication No. TWM565882U (hereinafter referred to as Document 1) is prone to over-etching during the etching of the upper conductive layer, which damages the lower conductive layer, resulting in poor charge conduction of the thin-film photovoltaic structure and poor process yield. The content of Document 1 is incorporated herein by reference.

[0004] On the other hand, in order to improve the overall photovoltaic conversion efficiency of the thin-film photovoltaic structure, it is necessary to reduce the ineffective area (or inactive area) in the thin-film photovoltaic structure as much as possible to increase the effective area of the thin-film photovoltaic structure for collecting light energy. A thin-film photovoltaic structure and a manufacturing method for improving the geometric fill factor (GFF) are disclosed in Chinese patent application CN110600579A (hereinafter referred to as document two). In document two, the upper conductive layer of one sub-photovoltaic structure is electrically connected to the lower conductive layer of another adjacent sub-photovoltaic structure to form two series-connected sub-photovoltaic structures. However, since the left and right sides of the conductive strip need to be covered with an insulating area to avoid short circuit, this increases the width of the ineffective area, so it is actually not effective to improve the GFF. Moreover, document two covers the conductive strip on the insulating area, and then covers the conductive strip on the conductive layer to form a contact, which increases the overall thickness of the thin-film photovoltaic structure and is not conducive to thinning and lightening. The content of document two is incorporated herein by reference. SUMMARY

[0005] Therefore, the purpose of the present application is to provide a thin-film photovoltaic structure and a manufacturing method thereof, which can avoid over-etching and damage the conductive layer to improve the process yield, and effectively improve the GFF to improve the photoelectric conversion efficiency.

[0006] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, a thin-film photovoltaic structure of the present application comprises: a substrate; a first conductive layer disposed on the substrate, the first conductive layer having a plurality of first etching areas to divide the first conductive layer into a plurality of first conductive areas; a photovoltaic layer disposed on the first conductive layer, the photovoltaic layer having a plurality of photovoltaic etching areas to divide the photovoltaic layer into a plurality of photovoltaic areas; a second conductive layer disposed on the photovoltaic layer, the second conductive layer having a plurality of second etching areas to divide the second conductive layer into a plurality of second conductive areas; a plurality of series-connected conductive layers disposed respectively below a plurality of the photovoltaic etching areas and on the upper surfaces of a plurality of the first conductive areas, a plurality of the second conductive areas are filled in a plurality of the photovoltaic etching areas and are in electrical contact with a plurality of the series-connected conductive layers; and a plurality of first insulating areas disposed respectively below a plurality of the second etching areas and on the upper surfaces of a plurality of the photovoltaic areas, each of the first insulating areas extends downward to fill in each of the photovoltaic etching areas, each of the first insulating areas is in contact with each of the series-connected conductive layers to form a contact overlap area, and each of the second etching areas is located within the range directly above the corresponding contact overlap area.

[0007] In the thin-film photovoltaic structure of the present application, each of the second etching areas has a second etching area width, and each of the contact overlap areas has a contact overlap area width which is greater than the corresponding second etching area width.

[0008] In the thin film photovoltaic structure of the present application, each of the series conductive layers has a first series conductive layer side edge on the upper surface of the corresponding first conductive region, the first series conductive layer side edge forms a first distance with a photovoltaic etching region side wall of the photovoltaic etching region; each of the first insulating regions has a first insulating region side edge, the first insulating region side edge forms a second distance with the photovoltaic etching region side wall of the photovoltaic etching region; and the second distance is greater than the first distance.

[0009] In the thin film photovoltaic structure of the present application, each of the first insulating regions covers each of the photovoltaic etching region side walls, the thin film photovoltaic structure further comprises a plurality of second insulating regions, each of the second insulating regions is filled in the entire first etching region and a portion of the photovoltaic etching region, and each of the second insulating regions covers another photovoltaic etching region side wall of the photovoltaic etching region and extends to the upper surface of the photovoltaic region adjacent to the another photovoltaic etching region side wall.

[0010] In the thin film photovoltaic structure of the present application, each of the series conductive layers has a series conductive layer width greater than a photovoltaic etching region width of each of the photovoltaic etching regions, and each of the photovoltaic etching regions completely covers the upper surface of each of the series conductive layers.

[0011] In the thin film photovoltaic structure of the present application, each of the first insulating regions has an insulating region width greater than a second etching region width of each of the second etching regions.

[0012] To achieve the above object, a method for manufacturing a thin film photovoltaic structure of the present application includes the following steps: disposing a first conductive layer on a transparent substrate, and disposing a plurality of series conductive layers on the upper surface of the first conductive layer at intervals; etching the first conductive layer downward on the left side of each of the series conductive layers to form a first etching region; disposing a photovoltaic layer above the first conductive layer and on the upper surface of the series conductive layers, and partially extending and filling the first etching region with the photovoltaic layer and contacting the substrate; etching the photovoltaic layer above each of the series conductive layers to form a plurality of photovoltaic etching regions and a plurality of photovoltaic regions; disposing a plurality of first insulating regions at intervals on the upper surface of each of the photovoltaic regions adjacent to the position of the photovoltaic etching region, each of the first insulating regions extends downward and fills in each of the photovoltaic etching regions, and each of the first insulating regions contacts each of the series conductive layers to form a contact overlap region; disposing a second conductive layer above the photovoltaic layer and on the upper surface of each of the first insulating regions and filling in a plurality of the photovoltaic etching regions and electrically contacting a plurality of series conductive layers, respectively, etching each of a second etching region directly above each of the contact overlap regions, each of the second etching regions is only located within the range directly above the corresponding contact overlap region, and the contact overlap region width of the contact overlap region is greater than the second etching region width.

[0013] In the thin film photovoltaic structure manufacturing method of the present application, the first etching area is formed by etching the photovoltaic layer and the first conductive layer downward from the left side of each of the series conductive layers.

[0014] Another thin film photovoltaic structure manufacturing method of the present application comprises the following steps: a first conductive layer is arranged on a transparent substrate, and a plurality of series conductive layers are arranged on the upper surface of the first conductive layer at intervals; a photovoltaic layer is arranged above the first conductive layer and above the series conductive layers; the photovoltaic layer and the first conductive layer are etched downward from the left side of each of the series conductive layers to form a first etching area and a photovoltaic etching area on the upper surface of the photovoltaic layer; each of the photovoltaic etching areas is expanded by etching to make one of the two sidewalls of each of the photovoltaic etching areas located at the position of the upper surface of the corresponding series conductive layer, and a photovoltaic area is formed; a first insulating area is arranged on the upper surface of each of the photovoltaic areas at a position adjacent to one of the two sidewalls of the photovoltaic etching area, each of the first insulating areas extends downward to fill in each of the photovoltaic etching areas, and each of the first insulating areas contacts with each of the series conductive layers to form a contact overlap area; a second insulating area is arranged on each of the first etching areas and the other sidewall of the photovoltaic etching area, each of the second insulating areas fills in the whole of each of the first etching areas and a part of each of the photovoltaic etching areas; a second conductive layer is arranged above the photovoltaic layer, on the upper surface of each of the first insulating areas and on the upper surface of each of the second insulating areas, and fills in the photovoltaic etching areas and electrically contacts with the series conductive layers, respectively; a second etching area is formed above each of the contact overlap areas by etching, each of the second etching areas is only located in the range above the corresponding contact overlap area, and the width of the contact overlap area is greater than the width of the second etching area.

[0015] In the thin film photovoltaic structure of the present application, the series conductive layers are made of a material with high conductivity, so the width of the series conductive layers between adjacent photovoltaic structures is greatly shortened. In addition, the invalid area of the thin film photovoltaic structure is three-dimensionally arranged by the contact overlap area, so the effective area of the thin film photovoltaic structure for collecting light energy is increased, the GFF of the thin film photovoltaic structure is effectively improved, and the photoelectric conversion efficiency is improved. Meanwhile, the series conductive layers are arranged to avoid over-etching of the first conductive area below the series conductive layers during the formation of the photovoltaic etching area, so that the thin film photovoltaic cell will not be short-circuited or have a leakage current. Furthermore, the contact overlap area is formed by the series conductive layer and the first insulating area, so that the first conductive area can be effectively protected during the etching of the second conductive layer, and the function of the electrode as an electrode is not affected, so that the process yield of the thin film photovoltaic structure is effectively improved. In addition, the second insulating area can prevent the series conductive layer from being short-circuited or having a leakage current with the adjacent second conductive area. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of a first embodiment of the thin film photovoltaic structure of the present application.

[0017] Figure 2 Implementation schematic diagram (I) of the manufacturing method of the first embodiment of the thin film photovoltaic structure of the present application.

[0018] Figure 3 Implementation schematic diagram (II) of the manufacturing method of the first embodiment of the thin film photovoltaic structure of the present application.

[0019] Figure 4 Implementation schematic diagram (III) of the manufacturing method of the first embodiment of the thin film photovoltaic structure of the present application.

[0020] Figure 5 Implementation schematic diagram (IV) of the manufacturing method of the first embodiment of the thin film photovoltaic structure of the present application.

[0021] Figure 6 Implementation schematic diagram (V) of the manufacturing method of the first embodiment of the thin film photovoltaic structure of the present application.

[0022] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of a second embodiment of the thin film photovoltaic structure of the present application.

[0023] Figure 8 Implementation schematic diagram (I) of the manufacturing method of the second embodiment of the thin film photovoltaic structure of the present application.

[0024] Figure 9 Implementation schematic diagram (II) of the manufacturing method of the second embodiment of the thin film photovoltaic structure of the present application.

[0025] Figure 10 Implementation schematic diagram (III) of the manufacturing method of the second embodiment of the thin film photovoltaic structure of the present application.

[0026] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0027] 1: thin film photovoltaic structure

[0028] 11: substrate

[0029] 12: first conductive layer

[0030] 121: first etching area

[0031] 1211: first etching area sidewall

[0032] 122: first conductive area

[0033] 13: photovoltaic layer

[0034] 131: photovoltaic etching region

[0035] 1311, 1312: photovoltaic etching region sidewall

[0036] 132: photovoltaic region

[0037] 14: second conductive layer

[0038] 141: second etching region

[0039] 142: second conductive region

[0040] 15: first insulating region

[0041] 151: first insulating region sidewall

[0042] 16: series conductive layer

[0043] 161: first series conductive layer sidewall

[0044] 162: second series conductive layer sidewall

[0045] 17: second insulating region

[0046] D1: first distance

[0047] D2: second distance

[0048] P: contact overlap region

[0049] W1: series conductive layer width

[0050] W2: photovoltaic etching region width

[0051] W3: insulating region width

[0052] W4: second etching region width

[0053] W5: contact overlap region width DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0054] The present application relates to a thin film photovoltaic structure, which can effectively improve the geometric fill factor of the thin film photovoltaic structure by the arrangement of a contact overlap region, and effectively protect the conductive region during the etching of the conductive layer in the manufacturing process, so as to avoid the damage of the conductive region and affect the function as an electrode, thereby effectively improving the process yield of the thin film photovoltaic structure. It is particularly pointed out that the etching method or etching described later in the present application refers to any one of wet etching, laser etching or mechanical scraping.

[0055] Please refer to Figure 1Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a first embodiment of a thin film photovoltaic structure 1 according to the present application. The thin film photovoltaic structure 1 comprises a substrate 11, a first conductive layer 12, a photovoltaic layer 13, a second conductive layer 14, a plurality of first insulating regions 15, and a plurality of series conductive layers 16.

[0056] The first conductive layer 12 is disposed on the substrate 11, and the first conductive layer 12 has a plurality of first etching regions 121 to divide the first conductive layer 12 into a plurality of first conductive regions 122, the first etching regions 121 being between two adjacent first conductive regions 122. The photovoltaic layer 13 is disposed on the first conductive layer 12, and the photovoltaic layer 13 has a plurality of photovoltaic etching regions 131 to divide the photovoltaic layer 13 into a plurality of photovoltaic regions 132, the photovoltaic etching regions 131 being between two adjacent photovoltaic regions 132, some of the photovoltaic regions 132 extending to fill the first etching regions 121 and contact the substrate 11. The second conductive layer 14 is disposed on the photovoltaic layer 13, and the second conductive layer 14 has a plurality of second etching regions 141 to divide the second conductive layer 14 into a plurality of second conductive regions 142, the second etching regions 141 being between two adjacent second conductive regions 142. The plurality of second conductive regions 142 respectively fill the plurality of photovoltaic etching regions 131 and respectively electrically contact the plurality of series conductive layers 16. The plurality of series conductive layers 16 are respectively disposed under the plurality of photovoltaic etching regions 131 and respectively only on a portion of the upper surface of the first conductive regions 122 of the plurality of first conductive layers 12, the photovoltaic etching regions 131 completely covering the upper surface of the series conductive layers 16, and each series conductive layer 16 has a series conductive layer width W1 greater than a photovoltaic etching region width W2 of each photovoltaic etching region 131. The plurality of first insulating regions 15 are respectively disposed under the plurality of second etching regions 141 and respectively only on a portion of the upper surface of the photovoltaic regions 132 of the plurality of photovoltaic layers 13, the second etching regions 141 completely covering the upper surface of the first insulating regions 15, each first insulating region 15 partially extending downward to only fill a portion of each photovoltaic etching region 131 and cover one photovoltaic etching region sidewall 1311 (the right sidewall in Figure 1

[0057] Figure 1 ​​In the embodiment, each first conductive region 122 and its corresponding photovoltaic region 132 and second conductive region 142 form a sub-photovoltaic structure. Therefore, the thin film photovoltaic structure 1 actually includes several sub-photovoltaic structures. Adjacent sub-photovoltaic structures are connected in series with the series conductive layer 16 to increase the voltage. For example, Figure 1 There are three sub-photovoltaic structures in total, namely, the left side, the middle side, and the right side. The second conductive region 142 of the sub-photovoltaic structure on the left side is deposited on the upper surface of the photovoltaic region 132 and the photovoltaic etching region 131. It is also deposited on the upper surface of the series conductive layer 16 of the sub-photovoltaic structure adjacent to the sub-photovoltaic structure on the left side (the sub-photovoltaic structure in the middle), and is electrically connected to the upper surface of the first conductive region 122. Therefore, the sub-photovoltaic structure on the left side is connected in series with the sub-photovoltaic structure in the middle. Similarly, the sub-photovoltaic structure in the middle is connected in series with the sub-photovoltaic structure on the right side, and so on. Therefore, the overall voltage of the thin-film photovoltaic structure 1 is increased. In actual application, multiple sub-photovoltaic structures can also be arranged in a planar manner, so that the surface of the substrate 11 has m*n sub-photovoltaic structures, where m is the number of sub-photovoltaic structures in a horizontal row and n is the number of sub-photovoltaic structures in a vertical row. Both m and n are integers greater than zero, and at least one of m or n is greater than or equal to 2.

[0058] Furthermore, each series conductive layer 16 has a first series conductive layer side edge 161 (at the top surface of the first conductive region 122 of the corresponding first conductive layer 12). Figure 1 The first series conductive layer side edge 161 and the photovoltaic etching area side wall 1311 of the photovoltaic etching area 131 covered with the first insulating area 15 (in Figure 1 Each first insulating region 15 is on the upper surface of the photovoltaic region 132 of the corresponding photovoltaic layer 13 and has a first insulating region side edge 151 (at Figure 1 The right side edge is in the middle), the first insulating region side edge 151 and the photovoltaic etching region side wall 1311 of the photovoltaic etching region 131 covered with the first insulating region 15 (in Figure 1 The second distance D2 is formed between the two sides of the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer. The second distance D2 is greater than the first distance D1. The series conductive layer 16 further has a second series conductive layer side edge 162 (at the right side) opposite to the first series conductive layer side edge 161. Figure 1 The left edge in the middle), the side edge 162 of the second series conductive layer does not contact the photovoltaic etching area side wall 1311 of the photovoltaic etching area 131 (in Figure 1 The second series conductive layer side edge 162 and a first etching region side wall 1211 of the first etching region 121 (in the right side wall) are on the same straight line. Figure 1 The right wall in the middle is on the same straight line.

[0059] The thickness of the substrate 11 is between 10 microns and 3000 microns, and the material of the substrate 11 can be one of light-transmissive plastic and glass. The thickness of the first conductive layer 12 is between 20 nanometers and 10 microns, and the width of the first etching area 121 is between 10 microns and 200 microns, preferably between 15 microns and 50 microns.

[0060] The photovoltaic layer 13 can be a conventional structure including at least one electron transport layer, at least one hole transport layer, and at least one light absorption layer (not shown) between the at least one electron transport layer and the at least one hole transport layer. The thickness of the photovoltaic layer 13 is between 50 nanometers and 2 microns, preferably between 60 nanometers and 1 micron, and the photovoltaic layer 13 can be formed by one of coating, spraying, printing, sputtering, evaporation, and soaking. The width W2 of the photovoltaic etching area is greater than 20 microns, preferably greater than 50 microns.

[0061] The thickness of the second conductive layer 14 is between 10 nanometers and 2000 nanometers, which can be composed of gold, silver, copper, aluminum or an alloy thereof, or a transparent conductive metal oxide, such as at least one of indium-tin oxide, indium-zinc oxide, indium gallium zinc oxide, aluminum-doped zinc oxide, etc. The second etching area 141 has a second etching area width W4 between 20 microns and 500 microns, preferably between 50 microns and 100 microns.

[0062] The series conductive layer 16 has a series conductive layer width W1 between 50 microns and 2500 microns, preferably between 100 microns and 2000 microns. The series conductive layer 16 is prepared by one of printing, coating, or spraying, and uses one of silver paste, copper paste, carbon paste, or graphite paste.

[0063] The width W3 of the first insulating area 15 is between 50 microns and 500 microns, preferably between 100 microns and 150 microns, and the first insulating area 15 is prepared by one of printing, coating, or spraying, and uses one of UV (ultraviolet) glue, epoxy resin, photosensitive polyimide resin, silicon oxide, silicon dioxide, or silicon nitride.

[0064] In detail, in the present application, since the plurality of series conductive layers 16 need to be respectively arranged under the plurality of photovoltaic etching regions 131, the forming step is to first form the plurality of series conductive layers 16 on the specific positions of the plurality of first conductive regions 122 by, for example, screen printing, then form the photovoltaic layer 13 on the first conductive layer 12 and the plurality of series conductive layers 16, and subsequently etch the positions corresponding to each series conductive layer 16 to form the plurality of photovoltaic etching regions 131. As shown in Figure 1 the series conductive layer width W1 of each series conductive layer 16 is greater than the photovoltaic etching region width W2 of each photovoltaic etching region 131, when the plurality of photovoltaic etching regions 131 are formed by wet etching, laser etching, or mechanical scraping, the etching depth of the photovoltaic etching regions 131 will stop because of the contact with the series conductive layers 16. In other words, by the arrangement of the plurality of series conductive layers 16, the over-etching of the first conductive regions 122 under the series conductive layers 16 during the formation of the photovoltaic etching regions 131 can be avoided, so as to ensure that the thin-film photovoltaic cell does not have a leakage or short circuit.

[0065] Similarly, in the present application, since the plurality of first insulating regions 15 need to be respectively arranged under the plurality of second etching regions 141, the forming step is to first form the plurality of first insulating regions 15 on the specific positions of the plurality of photovoltaic regions 132 and fill a part in each photovoltaic etching region 131 and the photovoltaic etching region sidewall 1311 (the right sidewall in Figure 1 the present application) of each photovoltaic etching region 131 by, for example, screen printing, then form the second conductive layer 14 on the photovoltaic layer 13, and subsequently etch the positions directly above each contact overlap region P formed by the contact of each first insulating region 15 and series conductive layer 16 to form the plurality of second etching regions 141. As shown in Figure 2 to Figure 6 the second etching region width W4 of each second etching region 141 is greater than the contact overlap region width W5 of each contact overlap region P, when the plurality of second etching regions 141 are formed by wet etching, laser etching, or mechanical scraping, the etching depth of the second etching regions 141 will stop because of the contact with the first insulating regions 15. In other words, by the arrangement of the plurality of first insulating regions 15, the over-etching of the series conductive layers 16 under the first insulating regions 15 during the formation of the plurality of second etching regions 141 can be avoided; in addition, by the arrangement of the contact overlap regions P, the over-etching of the first conductive regions 122 under the contact overlap regions P during the formation of the plurality of second etching regions 141 can be avoided, so as to ensure that the thin-film photovoltaic cell does not have a leakage or short circuit.

[0066] In addition, as mentioned above, the first series conductive layer side edge 161 forms a first distance D1 with the photovoltaic etching area side wall 1311 (right side wall) of the photovoltaic etching area 131 covered by the first insulating area 15, and the first insulating area side edge 151 forms a second distance D2 with the photovoltaic etching area side wall 1311 (right side wall) of the photovoltaic etching area 131 covered by the first insulating area 15. Since the second distance D2 is greater than the first distance D1, the second conductive area 142 is effectively prevented from generating leakage or short circuit with the series conductive layer 16.

[0067] The present application adds the series conductive layer 16 to the first conductive layer 12 of the thin film photovoltaic structure, uses the high conductivity of the material of the series conductive layer 16 and the arrangement of the contact overlapping area P to greatly shorten the width of the adjacent photovoltaic structures in series, three-dimensionally utilizes the ineffective area in the thin film photovoltaic structure, increases the effective area of the thin film photovoltaic structure for collecting light energy, effectively improves the geometric fill factor GFF of the thin film photovoltaic structure, and further improves the photoelectric conversion efficiency. Meanwhile, the arrangement of the contact overlapping area P formed by the series conductive layer 16 and the first insulating area 15 can effectively protect the first conductive area 122 during etching of the second conductive layer 14 in the manufacturing process, so as to avoid damage to the first conductive area 122 and affect the function as an electrode, thereby effectively improving the process yield of the thin film photovoltaic structure.

[0068] Based on the above first embodiment, the present application further provides a thin film photovoltaic structure manufacturing method. Please refer to Figure 2 . First, please refer to Figure 3 , a transparent substrate 11 is provided (e.g. deposited) with a first conductive layer 12, and a plurality of series conductive layers 16 are arranged on the upper surface of the first conductive layer 12 in a screen printing manner. Next, please refer to Figure 4 , the first conductive layer 12 is etched downward to form a first etching area 121 and a first conductive area 122 on the left side of each series conductive layer 16, e.g. along the left side edge (the aforementioned second series conductive layer side edge 162) of each series conductive layer 16. Next, please refer to Figure 5 , a photovoltaic layer 13 is arranged above the first conductive layer 12, e.g. on the upper surface of the first conductive area 122 and the upper surface of the series conductive layer 16, and part of the photovoltaic layer 13 extends to fill the first etching area 121 and contacts the substrate 11. Next, please refer to Figure 6 , the photovoltaic layer 13 is etched to form a photovoltaic etching area 131 and a photovoltaic area 132 above the position corresponding to each series conductive layer 16. Next, please refer to Figure 6 , a photovoltaic etching area side wall 1311 (on the left side) of the two photovoltaic etching area side walls 1311, 1312 adjacent to the upper surface of each photovoltaic area 132 is formed on the photovoltaic etching area 131. Next, please refer to Figure 6A plurality of first insulating regions 15 are arranged at intervals by screen printing at positions (the right side wall in the middle), and each first insulating region 15 partially extends downward to fill only a portion of each photovoltaic etching region 131 and covers the photovoltaic etching region sidewalls 1311 and 1312 of each photovoltaic etching region 131. Figure 1 The first insulating regions 15 are in contact with the series conductive layers 16 to form a contact overlap region P. Figure 7 The second conductive layer 14 is arranged (for example, deposited) above the photovoltaic layer 13, for example, on the upper surface of each photovoltaic region 132 and the upper surface of each first insulating region 15, and is filled in a number of photovoltaic etching regions 131 and electrically contacted with a number of series conductive layers 16 respectively. Each second etching region 141 is formed by etching directly above each contact overlapping region P. Each second etching region 141 is only located within the range directly above the corresponding contact overlapping region P, and the contact overlapping region width W5 of the contact overlapping region P is greater than the second etching region width W4.

[0069] See also Figure 2 The second embodiment shown is similar to the first embodiment and will not be described in detail. One difference from the first embodiment is that the photovoltaic region 132 is not filled in the first etching region 121 and is not in contact with the substrate 11. In addition, the thin-film photovoltaic structure 1 of the second embodiment of the present invention further includes a plurality of second insulating regions 17. The second insulating regions 17 are arranged on the side of the photovoltaic etching region 131 opposite to the first insulating region 15. Each second insulating region 17 is filled in the entire first etching region 121 and a portion of each photovoltaic etching region 131 by screen printing, and partially extends to cover and contact the upper surface of the photovoltaic region 132 of the adjacent sub-photovoltaic structure. For example, Figure 2 In the middle sub-photovoltaic structure, the first insulating region 15 is on the right side of the photovoltaic etching region 131, and the second insulating region 17 is filled on the left side of the first etching region 121 and the photovoltaic etching region 131 and partially continues to cover and contact the upper surface of the photovoltaic etching region 131 of the adjacent sub-photovoltaic structure on the left side of the figure. In addition, the second conductive region 142 covers the corresponding second insulating region 17. In other words, each first insulating region 15 covers the sidewall 1311 of each photovoltaic etching region, and the thin-film photovoltaic structure 1 further includes a plurality of second insulating regions 17. Each second insulating region 17 is filled in the entirety of each first etching region 121 and a portion of each photovoltaic etching region 131, and each second insulating region 17 covers another photovoltaic etching region sidewall 1312 of each photovoltaic etching region 131 and extends to the upper surface of the photovoltaic region 132 adjacent to the other photovoltaic etching region sidewall 1312. In this way, the provision of the second insulating region 17 can prevent leakage or short circuit between the series conductive layer 16 and the adjacent second conductive region 142; for example, Figure 8 to Figure 10The series conductive layer 16 of the middle sub-photovoltaic structure can avoid electric leakage or short circuit caused by the second conductive layer 142 of the left sub-photovoltaic structure in the figure due to the distance being too close caused by the promotion of GFF, because the second insulation area 17 is filled in the first etching area 121.

[0070] Based on the second embodiment, the application further provides another method for manufacturing a thin film photovoltaic structure, please refer to Figure 8 . First, please refer to Figure 9 , a first conductive layer 12 is arranged (for example, deposited) on a transparent substrate 11, and a plurality of series conductive layers 16 are arranged (for example, screen printed) on the upper surface of the first conductive layer 12, then a photovoltaic layer 13 is arranged above the first conductive layer 12 and above the plurality of series conductive layers 16. Next, please refer to Figure 9 , the upper surface of the photovoltaic layer 13 is etched along the left side edge (the second series conductive layer side edge 162 mentioned above) of each series conductive layer 16 to form another photovoltaic etching area side wall 1312 (the left side wall in Figure 9 ) of the two photovoltaic etching area side walls 1311, 1312 of the first etching area 121 and the photovoltaic etching area 131, then etching is performed to expand the photovoltaic etching area 131 so that the photovoltaic etching area side wall 1311 (the right side wall in Figure 10 ) of the two photovoltaic etching area side walls 1311, 1312 of the photovoltaic etching area 131 is located at the position of the upper surface of the series conductive layer 16. Next, please refer to Figure 10 , one first insulation area 15 is arranged (for example, screen printed) on the upper surface of each photovoltaic area 132 adjacent to the photovoltaic etching area side wall 1311 (the right side wall in Figure 10 ) of the two photovoltaic etching area side walls 1311, 1312 of the photovoltaic etching area 131, each first insulation area 15 partially extends downward to fill only a part of each photovoltaic etching area 131 and covers the photovoltaic etching area side wall 1311 (the right side wall in Figure 10 ) of the two photovoltaic etching area side walls 1311, 1312 of each photovoltaic etching area 131, and each first insulation area 15 is in contact with each series conductive layer 16 to form a contact overlap area P; in addition, each second insulation area 17 is arranged on the other photovoltaic etching area side wall 1312 (the left side wall in Figure 7 ) of the two photovoltaic etching area side walls 1311, 1312 of each first etching area 121 and photovoltaic etching area 131, each second insulation area 17 fills the entire first etching area 121 and a part of the photovoltaic etching area 131 and partially continues to cover and contact the upper surface of the photovoltaic area 132 of the adjacent sub-photovoltaic structure. Finally, please refer to ​The second conductive layer 14 is disposed (e.g. deposited) over the photovoltaic layer 13, for example on the upper surfaces of the photovoltaic regions 132 and the upper surfaces of the first insulating regions 15 and the second insulating regions 17 and fills the photovoltaic etching regions 131 and is in electrical contact with the series conductive layers 16, respectively. The second etching regions 141 are formed by etching directly above the contact overlap regions P, each of the second etching regions 141 is located only within the range directly above the corresponding contact overlap region P, and the contact overlap region width W5 of the contact overlap region P is greater than the second etching region width W4.

[0071] In summary, the present application utilizes the high conductivity of the series conductive layer 16 material in the thin film photovoltaic structure, thus greatly reducing the width of the adjacent photovoltaic structures in series. Furthermore, the invalid area in the thin film photovoltaic structure is three-dimensionally eliminated by the provision of the contact overlap region P, thus increasing the effective area of the thin film photovoltaic for collecting light energy, effectively improving the GFF of the thin film photovoltaic structure, and further improving the photoelectric conversion efficiency. At the same time, the provision of the series conductive layer 16 can avoid over-etching of the first conductive region 122 below the series conductive layer 16 during the formation of the photovoltaic etching region 131, thus ensuring that the thin film photovoltaic cell does not have a leakage or short circuit. Furthermore, the provision of the contact overlap region P formed by the series conductive layer 16 and the first insulating region 15 allows the first conductive region 122 to be effectively protected during etching of the second conductive layer 14, thus avoiding damage to the first conductive region 122 and affecting the function as an electrode, thus effectively improving the process yield of the thin film photovoltaic structure. In addition, the provision of the second insulating region 17 can avoid leakage or short circuit between the series conductive layer 16 and the adjacent second conductive region 142.

Claims

1. A thin film photovoltaic structure, characterized in that: include: a substrate (11); A first conductive layer (12) is disposed on the substrate (11), and the first conductive layer (12) has a plurality of first etching regions (121) for dividing the first conductive layer (12) into a plurality of first conductive regions (122); A photovoltaic layer (13) is disposed on the first conductive layer (12), and the photovoltaic layer (13) has a plurality of photovoltaic etching areas (131) for dividing the photovoltaic layer (13) into a plurality of photovoltaic areas (132); a second conductive layer (14) disposed on the photovoltaic layer (13), wherein the second conductive layer (14) has a plurality of second etching regions (141) for dividing the second conductive layer (14) into a plurality of second conductive regions (142); A plurality of series-connected conductive layers (16) are respectively arranged below the plurality of photovoltaic etching regions (131) and on the upper surfaces of the plurality of first conductive regions (122); a plurality of second conductive regions (142) are respectively filled in the plurality of photovoltaic etching regions (131) and are respectively in electrical contact with the plurality of series-connected conductive layers (16); and A plurality of first insulating regions (15) are respectively arranged below a plurality of second etching regions (141) and on the upper surface of a plurality of photovoltaic regions (132), and each first insulating region (15) extends downward to fill each photovoltaic etching region (131), and each first insulating region (15) overlaps and contacts each series conductive layer (16) to form a contact overlapping region (P), and each second etching region (141) is located within a range directly above the corresponding contact overlapping region (P).

2. The thin-film photovoltaic structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein each second etching region (141) has a second etching region width (W4), and a contact overlap region width (W5) of each contact overlap region (P) is respectively larger than the corresponding second etching region width (W4).

3. The thin film photovoltaic structure according to claim 2, wherein: Each of the series-connected conductive layers (16) has a first series-connected conductive layer side edge (161) as a right edge on the upper surface of the corresponding first conductive region (122), a photovoltaic etching region side wall (1311) of the photovoltaic etching region (131) as a left wall, and the first series-connected conductive layer side edge (161) and the photovoltaic etching region side wall (1311) of the photovoltaic etching region (131) form a first distance (D1); each of the first insulating regions (15) has a first insulating region side edge (151) as a right edge, and the first insulating region side edge (151) and the photovoltaic etching region side wall (1311) of the photovoltaic etching region (131) form a second distance (D2); and the second distance (D2) is greater than the first distance (D1).

4. The thin-film photovoltaic structure according to claim 3, wherein: Each of the first insulating regions (15) covers the sidewalls (1311) of each photovoltaic etching region, and the thin-film photovoltaic structure (1) further includes a plurality of second insulating regions (17), each of the second insulating regions (17) fills the entire first etching region (121) and a portion of each photovoltaic etching region (131), and each of the second insulating regions (17) covers the sidewalls (1312) of another photovoltaic etching region of each photovoltaic etching region (131) and extends to the upper surface of the photovoltaic region (132) adjacent to the sidewalls (1312) of the other photovoltaic etching region.

5. The thin-film photovoltaic structure according to claim 3, wherein: The series conductive layer width (W1) of each series conductive layer (16) is greater than the photovoltaic etching area width (W2) of each photovoltaic etching area (131), and each photovoltaic etching area (131) completely covers the upper surface of each series conductive layer (16).

6. The thin-film photovoltaic structure according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that: An insulating region width (W3) of each first insulating region (15) is greater than a second etching region width (W4) of each second etching region (141).

7. A method for manufacturing a thin film photovoltaic structure, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: A first conductive layer (12) is provided on a transparent substrate (11), and a plurality of series-connected conductive layers (16) are provided at intervals on the upper surface of the first conductive layer (12); Etching the first conductive layer (12) downward on the left side of each series conductive layer (16) to form a first etched area (121); A photovoltaic layer (13) is arranged above the first conductive layer (12) and on the upper surface of the series conductive layer (16), and a portion of the photovoltaic layer (13) extends to fill the first etched area (121) and contacts the substrate (11); Etching the photovoltaic layer (13) above the positions of each of the series-connected conductive layers (16) to form a plurality of photovoltaic etching regions (131) and a plurality of photovoltaic regions (132); A plurality of first insulating regions (15) are spaced apart on the upper surface of each photovoltaic region (132) adjacent to the photovoltaic etching region (131), each first insulating region (15) extends downward to fill each photovoltaic etching region (131), and each first insulating region (15) overlaps and contacts each series conductive layer (16) to form a contact overlap region (P); A second conductive layer (14) is arranged above the photovoltaic layer (13) and on the upper surface of each first insulating region (15) and is filled in a plurality of the photovoltaic etching regions (131) and is electrically contacted with a plurality of series conductive layers (16) respectively. A second etching region (141) is formed by etching directly above each contact overlapping region (P). Each second etching region (141) is only located within a range directly above the corresponding contact overlapping region (P), and a contact overlapping region width (W5) of the contact overlapping region (P) is greater than a second etching region width (W4).

8. The method for manufacturing a thin-film photovoltaic structure according to claim 7, wherein: The thin-film photovoltaic structure manufacturing method comprises etching downwards along the left edge of each series conductive layer (16) to form the first etching area (121).

9. A method for manufacturing a thin film photovoltaic structure, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: A first conductive layer (12) is provided on a transparent substrate (11), and a plurality of series-connected conductive layers (16) are spaced apart on the upper surface of the first conductive layer (12); and a photovoltaic layer (13) is then provided above the first conductive layer (12) and above the plurality of series-connected conductive layers (16); Etching the photovoltaic layer (13) and the first conductive layer (12) downward from the upper surface of the photovoltaic layer (13) on the left side of each of the series conductive layers (16) to form a first etching area (121) and a photovoltaic etching area (131), and then etching to expand each of the photovoltaic etching areas (131) so that one of the two photovoltaic etching area side walls (1311, 1312) of each photovoltaic etching area (131) is located at the upper surface position of the corresponding series conductive layer (16), and each photovoltaic area (132) is formed; A first insulating region (15) is provided on the upper surface of each photovoltaic region (132) adjacent to one of the photovoltaic etching region side walls (1311, 1312) of the photovoltaic etching region (131), each first insulating region (15) extends downward to fill the photovoltaic etching region (131), and each first insulating region (15) is in contact with each series conductive layer (16) in an overlapping manner to form a contact overlapping region (P); A second insulating region (17) is provided on each of the first etching regions (121) and another sidewall (1312) of the photovoltaic etching region, and each of the second insulating regions (17) is filled in the entirety of each of the first etching regions (121) and a portion of each of the photovoltaic etching regions (131); A second conductive layer (14) is arranged above the photovoltaic layer (13) and the upper surface of each first insulating region (15) and the upper surface of each second insulating region (17), and is filled in a plurality of the photovoltaic etching regions (131) and is electrically contacted with a plurality of the series conductive layers (16), respectively. A second etching region (141) is formed by etching directly above each contact overlapping region (P). Each second etching region (141) is only located within a range directly above the corresponding contact overlapping region (P), and a contact overlapping region width (W5) of the contact overlapping region (P) is greater than a second etching region width (W4).

10. The method for manufacturing a thin-film photovoltaic structure according to claim 9, wherein: The thin-film photovoltaic structure manufacturing method comprises etching downwards along the left edge of each series conductive layer (16) to form the first etching area (121).

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