Three‐dimensional multi‐ribbon interconnection for back‐contact solar cells

Abstract Back‐contact solar cells are an interesting technology with advantages over traditional two‐sided cells. A lack of standardized and low‐cost interconnection methods inhibits their market penetration. In an attempt to overcome this obstacle, this work introduces an interconnection technology, based on a fabric of encapsulant with incorporated metal ribbons. The encapsulant is tailored for this application by adding glass fibres to a thermoplastic polyolefin. For this tailored encapsulant, characterization experiments were conducted and results on viscosity and coefficient of thermal expansion are shown. Initial reliability testing on sample‐size modules with high‐efficiency interdigitated back‐contact (IBC) cells shows promising results, passing up to four times the IEC 61215 standard for thermal cycling.