PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES HAVING SHAPED CONCENTRATOR MEMBERS

1 . A solar panel device comprising:

a substrate member;

a plurality of photovoltaic strips overlaying the substrate member, the plurality of photovoltaic strips being aligned according to a predefined pattern, each of the photovoltaic strips being derived from a dicing process from a silicon based solar cell, the silicon based solar cell being a functional solar cell;

a bus electrically coupling two or more photovoltaic strips;

a concentrator member overlaying the plurality of photovoltaic strips, the concentrator member comprising a first surface and a second surface, the first surface and the second surface being positioned on opposite sides of the concentrator member, the first surface being substantially flat, the concentrator member comprising a thickness of at least 4 mm between the first surface and the second surface, the second surface comprising a concentrator region and two edge regions, the concentrator region being positioned between the two edge regions, the concentrator region comprising a plurality of concentrator strips, the plurality of concentrator strips being aligned according to the predefined pattern, each of the concentrator strips being characterized by a substantially semi-cylindrical shape and a radius of less than 5 mm, each of the concentrator strip being positioned over a predetermined photovoltaic strip, the two edge regions comprising a first edge member and a second edge member, the first edge member comprising a curved region connected to a first concentrator strip, the curved region and the first concentrator strip being separated by a notch, the first edge member further comprising a flat region of at least 6 mm;

whereupon the flat region configured with a predetermined height substantially even with an upper region of each of the plurality of concentrator strips such that the flat region serves as a mechanical support for one or more other regions; and

whereupon the flat region is configured to provide the mechanical support while maintaining a desirable aperture characteristic of the concentrator region.

2 . The device of claim 1 wherein the concentrator strips each comprises a top flat region, the top flat region being leveled against the flat region of the first concentrator strip.

3 . The device of claim 1 wherein the concentrator member is characterized by a substantially square shape.

4 . The device of claim 1 further comprising a frame member coupled to the flat region of the first edge member.

5 . The device of claim 1 wherein:

the concentrator member is free from sharp edges;

a portion of the flat region is polished.

6 . The device of claim 1 wherein the concentrator member comprises at least 150 concentrator strips.

7 . The device of claim 1 wherein each of the concentrator strip is aligned to direct light to at least two photovoltaic strips.

8 . The device of claim 1 wherein the concentrator strips are evenly spaced.

9 . The device of claim 1 wherein the concentrator member consists essentially of glass material.

10 . The device of claim 1 wherein the concentrator member comprises a transparent material characterized by a transparency of at least 90%.

11 . The device of claim 1 wherein a distance between the plurality of photovoltaic strips and the concentrator member is associated with a concentration ratio.

12 . The device of claim 1 wherein each of the concentrator strips is characterized by a radius of between 3 mm to 3.3 mm.

13 . The device of claim 1 wherein each of the concentrator strips comprises a flat region, the flat region being characterized by a width of less than 1 mm.

14 . A solar concentrator device comprising:

a first surface;

a second surface, the first surface and the second surface being positioned on opposite sides of the concentrator member, the first surface being substantially flat, the second surface comprising a concentrator region and a two edge regions, the concentrator region being positioned between the two edge regions, the concentrator region comprising a plurality of concentrator strips, the plurality of concentrator strips being aligned according to the predefined pattern, each of the concentrator strip being characterized by a substantially semi-cylindrical shape and a radius of less than 5 mm, each of the concentrator strip being positioned over a predetermined photovoltaic strip, the two edge regions comprising a first edge member and a second edge member, the first edge member comprising a curved region connected to a first concentrator strip, first edge member further comprising a flat region of at least 6 mm, the first region being adapted to gluing to a frame member of a solar panel;

a thickness of glass material at least 4 mm between the first surface and the second surface, the glass material being characterized by a transparency of at least 90%;

whereupon the flat region is configured with a predetermined height substantially even with an upper region of each of the plurality of concentrator strips such that the flat region serves as a mechanical support for one or more other regions; and

whereupon the flat region is configured to provide the mechanical support while maintaining a desirable aperture characteristic of the concentrator region.

15 . A method for manufacturing a solar panel, the method comprising:

providing a substrate;

providing a plurality of photovoltaic strips;

aligning the plurality of photovoltaic strips according to a predefined patterns;

forming one or more photovoltaic packages by coupling two or more photovoltaic strips using one or more buses;

forming a concentrator member comprising a first surface and a second surface, the first surface and the second surface being positioned on opposite sides of the concentrator member, the first surface being substantially flat, the concentrator member comprising a thickness of at least 4 mm between the first surface and the second surface, the second surface comprising a concentrator region and a two edge regions, the concentrator region being positioned between the two edge regions, the two edge regions comprising a first edge member and a second edge member, the concentrator region comprising a plurality of concentrator strips, the plurality of concentrator strips being aligned according to the predefined pattern, each of the concentrator strip being characterized by a substantially semi-cylindrical shape and a radius of less than 5 mm, the first edge member comprising a curved region connected to a first concentrator strip, first edge member further comprising a flat region of at least 6 mm, flat region being configured with a predetermined height substantially even with an upper region of each of the plurality of concentrator strips such that the flat region serves as a mechanical support for one or more other regions;

aligning concentrator strip to the one or more photovoltaic packages; and

securing the one or more photovoltaic packages to the concentrator member.

16 . The method of claim 15 wherein the concentrator member consists essentially of glass material.

17 . The method of claim 15 further comprising:

providing a frame member, the frame member having a bonding region;

providing an adhesive material;

form a coupling region by gluing the flat region to the bonding region.

18 . The method of claim 15 further comprising slicing a shared region of the shaped glass sheet to form the concentrator member, the flat region of the first edge being a portion of the shared region.

19 . The method of claim 15 further comprising electrically coupling the one or more buses to the photovoltaic packages.

20 . The method of claim 15 further comprising:

providing a junction box;

coupling the one or more buses to the junction box;