US 12,218,264 B2
Half-cell photovoltaic modules
Ian Bennett, Echt (NL); Paolo Di Lorenzo, Echt (NL); and Mark Rossetto, Echt (NL)
Assigned to SILFAB INC., Mississauga (CA)
Appl. No. 17/605,922
Filed by PHAROS SOLAR LLC, Bellingham, WA (US)
PCT Filed Apr. 24, 2020, PCT No. PCT/EP2020/061478
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Oct. 22, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/216912, PCT Pub. Date Oct. 29, 2020.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/839,184, filed on Apr. 26, 2019.
Claims priority of application No. 19173056 (EP), filed on May 7, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0254943 A1, Aug. 11, 2022
Int. Cl. H01L 31/05 (2014.01); H01L 31/048 (2014.01); H01L 31/049 (2014.01); H01L 31/18 (2006.01)
CPC H01L 31/0516 (2013.01) [H01L 31/048 (2013.01); H01L 31/049 (2014.12); H01L 31/0512 (2013.01); H01L 31/1876 (2013.01)] 21 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A photovoltaic module comprising 126, 138, or 150 back-contact half-cells, wherein the back-contact half-cells are arranged in 6 columns and a plurality of rows, each column comprising an equal odd number of half-cells and each row having an equal number of half-cells, wherein the back-contact half-cells are arranged into a plurality of strings, wherein each string in the plurality of strings has an odd number of back-contact half-cells, wherein each string in the plurality of strings spans two columns, wherein each column includes a portion of back-contact half-cells from two strings of the plurality of strings, and wherein a connection point between the two strings of the plurality of strings in each column is staggered about a line of symmetry of the photovoltaic module in adjacent columns.