Isolation layer for photovoltaic device and method of producing same.

摘要

Large area photovoltaic devices (10) are defined by applying a pattern (24) of electrically-insulating material (23) directly atop the exposed surface of the semiconductor material. Methods of producing these photovoltaic devices in a continuous or batch process are also disclosed herein. Each large area device (10) may include a matrix of electrically-isolated segments (26), each segment (26) including a common substrate (11), a semiconductor body (12a-c) atop the substrate, and a transparent, electrically-conductive coating (22) atop the semiconductor layer (12a-c). Each large area photovoltaic device (10) may include additionally or independently thereof, an electrically-inactive region (36) also defined by the insulating material (23). The instant method of producing the photovoltaic devices eliminates the scribing steps required by prior art processes, while the product includes a boundary (27) which separates the adjacent, electrically-isolated segments.