Segmented Flexible Photovoltaic Cell Crater Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current silicon solar modules are heavy, rigid, and expensive to transport and install, limiting their application in weight, shape, or accessibility constrained environments, and existing flexible PV panel solutions are not durable or cost-effective for industrial-scale production.
Innovation Solution
The development of a segmented PhotoVoltaic (PV) cell array comprising a plurality of micro PV cells, where a single wafer is segmented via craters to create physical recess separations between cells, with each crater penetrating non-metalized layers but not the underlying metallization layer, allowing for mechanical and electrical connectivity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If traditional silicon solar modules are used, then high efficiency electricity generation is achieved, but weight and rigidity increase making transport and installation expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The PV wafer is segmented into multiple micro PV cells by creating craters that penetrate through the wafer thickness. These craters divide the continuous wafer into discrete cell regions while maintaining mechanical connectivity through the crater walls, enabling flexibility while preserving electrical functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a composite structure combining semiconductor wafer material with crater features that create a hierarchical architecture. The craters penetrate through the wafer to create a composite structure that maintains electrical connectivity while enabling mechanical flexibility and durability
2Ease of operation
If flexible PV solutions are implemented, then weight and installation ease improve, but durability and cost-effectiveness deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The craters segment the wafer into micro cells that can flex independently, allowing the overall structure to bend and conform to uneven surfaces while maintaining structural integrity and electrical connectivity through the crater walls
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a thin-film structure by etching craters through the wafer, effectively transforming the rigid bulk semiconductor into a flexible thin-film configuration that can be deployed on uneven surfaces while maintaining electrical functionality
3Adaptability or versatility
If craters penetrate through the entire wafer, then flexibility and segmentability improve, but electrical connectivity between cells may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The craters penetrate through the entire wafer thickness (partial action) to create segmentation, but the crater walls themselves maintain electrical connectivity. This partial penetration approach achieves both flexibility and electrical connectivity by using the crater structure itself as the conductive pathway
Solution Approach 2:
The crater walls act as an intermediary structure that simultaneously provides mechanical segmentation for flexibility and electrical connectivity pathways. The metallization layers on the crater walls serve as conductors that bridge adjacent micro cells
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The segmented PV cell array achieves enhanced toughness and durability, allowing for flexible and lightweight solar electricity production surfaces that can be rolled and deployed on uneven surfaces without significant loss of efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
The photovoltaic (PV) effect is the creation of voltage and electric current in a material upon exposure to light. It is a physical and chemical phenomenon. The PV effect has been used in order to generate electricity from sunlight.
Data Source
AI summary
A flexible photovoltaic (PV) cell having enhanced properties of mechanical impact absorption, includes: a semiconductor wafer that is freestanding and carrier-less; having a thickness, and having a first surface, and a having second surface that is opposite to that first surface; and non-transcending gaps within the semiconductor wafer. Each non-transcending gap penetrates from the first surface towards the second surface, but reaches to a depth of between 50 to 99 percent of the thickness of the semiconductor wafer, and does not reach said second surface. Each non-transcending gap does not entirely penetrate through an entirety of the thickness of the semiconductor wafer. The semiconductor wafer maintains between 1 to 50 percent of the thickness of the semiconductor wafer as an intact and non-penetrated thin layer of semiconductor wafer that remains intact and non-penetrated by the non-transcending gaps. The non-transcending gaps in the semiconductor wafer are filled with an elastomer, and they absorb and dissipate mechanical forces.