Grooved solar cell for deployment at set angle

摘要

A grooved solar cell for deployment at a set angle with respect to incoming radiation has reduced contact obscuration and series resistance. A regular array of walls formed by grooves in a crystalline semiconductor substrate is exposed to incoming radiation. Metallic contacts are formed on those walls of the grooves which are not to be exposed to sunlight. The solar cell is mounted in an apparatus at a set angle with respect to incoming radiation. The array of walls is exposed to incoming radiation while the walls with metal contacts are substantially shadowed. In a preferred embodiment the grooves are formed by using orientation specific etches.