The present invention relates to the arrangement of a plurality of solar cell elements on a supporting substrate.
Recently, some kinds of electronic apparatus such as electronic wristwatches have been developed wherein solar cells are employed as power supply means.
The electronic energy generated from a solar cell device will increase when the size of a light receiving surface of the solar cell device is increased. Therefore, it is of great importance to increase the light receiving area of the solar cell device without increasing the total size of the solar cell device.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to enhance the opto-electric converting efficiency of a solar cell device including a plurality of solar cell elements.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel arrangement of a plurality of solar cell elements for enhancing the opto-electric converting efficiency with a minimum package size.
Other objects and further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
To achieve the above objects, pursuant to an embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of solar cell elements are arranged on a supporting substrate. Each solar cell element has a light receiving surface, where electrodes are formed which are connected to a P-type region and an N-type region contained within the solar cell element, respectively. The electrodes formed on the light receiving surfaces of the plurality of solar cell elements arranged on the supporting substrate are electrically connected to each other via light transmitting, electrically conductive wiring means formed on the light receiving surfaces, thereby developing electric energy.