Triple-junction amorphous silicon-based flexible solar minimodule with integrated interconnects

We report in detail the fabrication of triple-junction amorphous silicon-based, monolithically interconnected, flexible photovoltaic submodules of size 10 cm×30 cm. The cells used in the submodules include a tie-coat layer for improved film adhesion, and were encapsulated using the terpolymer THV. A combination of laser and chemical processing was used for the series interconnection. An initial efficiency of 4.9% (5.34%) was obtained for an aperture area of 204 cm2.