Cutting solar cells

[Rubenz]

Depends on the topside current collector topology.

Thanks for your answer. Where can I learn more about cells collector topology? Or which is the recommended topology for a diagonal cut? I want triangular cells to assemble an artistic solar application. Not needed to last for long term. Maybe one or two years.

[jflorey2]

Thanks for your answer. Where can I learn more about cells collector topology? Or which is the recommended topology for a diagonal cut? I want triangular cells to assemble an artistic solar application. Not needed to last for long term. Maybe one or two years.

Hard to say without a photo of the cells. A common method is to put continuous electrodes along both sides of a cell with narrow electrodes across the center. In that case, a diagonal cut will result in two cells each with a little less than half their original power output. If only one edge has the continuous electrode, then after the cut one half won't work at all and the other will give you ~50% of the original power.

[bcroe]

Thanks for your answer. Where can I learn more about cells collector topology? Or which is the recommended topology for a diagonal cut? I want triangular cells to assemble an artistic solar application. Not needed to last for long term. Maybe one or two years.

The collector topology is designed for an uncut rectangular cell, and you can't change it. A diagonal
cut will leave some areas over "collected", others practically cut off. The pattern on the front is one
thing, another appears on the back. Its a bad idea if you need to maintain cell efficiency. It would be
a nice problem to actually model the geometry and see what you get (as some circuit board designers
have done). good luck, Bruce Roe