Towards Monolithically Integrated Thin Film Bypass Diodes

Bypass diodes can make photovoltaic (PV) modules more resilient, for instance preventing local heating when one portion is shadowed and another is not. This is significant because hot spot formation due to partial shading can cause sudden, non-linear permanent degradation. Presently, if incorporated at all, bypass diodes must be integrated as discrete components. Thin film photovoltaics can be fabricated in a manner where by thoughtfully choosing growth and scribing order “monolithic” integration can be achieved. We will present electrical simulations of diodes placed in an edge configuration to highlight the tradeoffs of designing real-world modules considering such variables as lateral resistance, PV cells per diode, and diode leakage current. Simulations incorporate both optimal and experimentally grown thin film diode characteristics to allow the tradeoffs and areas for improvement to be better understood.