| 摘要 |
<p>A protected solar cell including a monolithic bypass diode is formed by adding an additional layer of semiconductive material having a type opposite to the outermost semiconductive layer of a solar cell, and the resultant additional layer is cut back to form a small area bypass diode, which is subsequently connected across the solar cell by integrated circuit metallization techniques. The solar cell may be formed of gallium arsenide with the underlying semiconductive material being n-type gallium arsenide, and forming a junction with a thin layer of p-type gallium arsenide covered with a window of p-type aluminum gallium arsenide. The bypass diode is initially formed of a supplemental layer of n-type gallium arsenide, and by sucessive etching processes, an island is formed extending downward from a small area of n-type gallium arsenide through the two p-type layers. An insulating layer, which may be formed of silicon nitride, is deposited to avoid short circuiting of the output connection, and metallized connections from the bypass diode to the output circuitry of the solar cell, and to the underlying n-type layer are then completed.</p> |
