Solar panel including a low moisture vapor transmission rate adhesive composition

1. A solar panel comprising:

a front panel;

a photovoltaic material layer deposited either directly on the front panel or directly on an anti-reflective coating formed between the front panel and the photovoltaic material layer;

a backing panel;

an adhesive layer adhering the photovoltaic material layer to the backing panel;

wherein the adhesive layer comprises an adhesive composition, the adhesive composition comprising a low MVTR polymer or copolymer and a silane-modified polymer or copolymer, wherein the silane-modified polymer or copolymer is provided to the adhesive preformed and is different from the low MVTR polymer or copolymer; and

wherein the silane-modified polymer or copolymer is a silane-crosslinkable halogenated polymer composition comprising a mixture of 100 parts by weight of a halogenated polymer and about 0.1 to about 20 parts by weight of an amino group-containing silane compound having the following general structure:

RHNR′Si(OR″) 3

wherein R is hydrogen, an alkyl or a phenyl group, R′ is an alkylene group, OR″is an alkoxy or alkoxyalkoxy group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms.

2. A method of fabricating a solar panel comprising a front panel, a photovoltaic material layer deposited either directly on the front panel or directly on an anti-reflective coating formed between the front panel and the photovoltaic material layer and a backing panel, the method comprising:

(a) forming an adhesive composition having a low moisture vapor transmission rate by combining a low MVTR polymer or copolymer with a silane-modified polymer or copolymer, wherein the silane-modified polymer or copolymer is provided to the adhesive preformed and is different from the low MVTR polymer or copolymer;

(b) adhering the photovoltaic material layer to the backing panel using the adhesive composition; and

(c) cross-linking the silane-modified polymer or copolymer;

wherein the low MVTR polymer or copolymer comprises at least one of a polyisobutylene, an isobutylene-isoprene copolymer, an isobutylene-isoprene-divinylbenzene copolymer, a chlorinated or brominated butyl rubber, an isobutylene-brominated p-methylstyrene copolymer, an isobutylene-p-methylstyrene copolymer, a chlorosulfonated polyethylene, an ethylene-alkyl (meth)acrylate copolymer, an acrylonitrile-butadiene copolymer, polychloroprene and mixtures of two or more thereof.