TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ELECTRICAL POWER AND ENERGY - Preferred Apparatus: The undercoating is disposed so that there is no air gap between the diode and the substrate. The undercoating and coating have a higher dielectric strength than air and a higher thermal conductivity than air. The apparatus further comprises a connector electrically coupled to the output terminals, where the connector is operable to provide electrical connection to one or more solar apparatuses, and the connector comprises two apertures electrically insulated from each other, one aperture comprising a first electrical socket and the other aperture comprising a second electrical socket, where the anode contact of the diode and the first contact are electrically coupled to the first electrical socket and the cathode contact of the diode and the second contact are electrically coupled to the second electrical socket. The connector is laterally offset from the solar cell and the diode. It is adapted to electrically connect one solar apparatus to one or more additional solar apparatuses. The second contact comprises electrically conductive material disposed on the perimeter of the n-polarity side of the solar cell. The second contact also comprises electrically conductive material disposed adjacent to two edges of the n-polarity side of the solar cell. The first contact comprises a metal layer disposed on substantially the entire p-polarity side of the solar cell. The solar cell comprises a multi-junction cell comprising at least one layer comprising InGaP, InGaAs, or GaAs. The apparatus for converting solar energy to electricity comprises: (a) a substrate; (b) a solar cell mounted on the substrate, where the solar cell is configured to convert solar energy into electricity; (c) a diode mounted on the substrate and spaced away from the solar cell with the diode spaced away from a plane that extends through the solar cell and is perpendicular to the substrate, where the diode comprises terminals and coupled in parallel with the solar cell, and the diode is configured to substantially prevent current flow through the solar cell in instances when an output voltage of the solar cell is below a threshold voltage, and the diode comprising a first area facing the substrate and a second area facing away from the substrate; (d) a coating that encapsulates the diode, where the coating in contact with the substrate and the second area of the diode; (e) an undercoating to prevent shorting of the diode terminals, where the undercoating is disposed between the diode terminals and in contact with the first area of the diode and the substrate; (f) first and second traces with the first trace coupling one terminal of the diode to a first contact coupled to one side of the solar cell, and the second trace coupling another terminal of the diode to a second contact coupled to another side of the solar cell; and (g) an output structure coupled to the diode and the solar cell, the output structure configured to couple to at least one other solar cell apparatus. The solar cell comprises a multi-junction cell with many layers. It also comprises an anti-reflective coating. The apparatus for converting solar energy to electricity comprises: (a) a substrate with top and bottom sides; (b) a solar cell exposed on the top side of the substrate and comprising one or more III-V compound semiconductor layers, a first contact coupled to a p-polarity side of the cell, and a second contact coupled to an n-polarity side of the cell; (c) a diode mounted on the top side of the substrate and spaced laterally away from the solar cell, where the diode comprises an anode terminal and cathode terminal, the diode coupled in parallel with the solar cell and configured to be reverse-biased when the solar cell generates an output voltage at or above a threshold voltage, and configured to be forward-biased when the solar cell generates an output voltage below the threshold voltage; (d) a coating encapsulating the diode; (e) an undercoating disposed between a bottom of the diode and the top side of the substrate, and between the anode terminal and cathode terminal; (f) a first conductive trace coupling the anode terminal of the diode to the first contact of the solar cell; (g) a second conductive trace coupling the cathode terminal of the diode to the second contact of the solar cell; and (h) a connector connected in parallel with the solar cell and the diode. The connector is configured to provide an electrical connection between one solar apparatus and one or more additional solar apparatuses. It is mounted on the top side of the substrate and is laterally spaced from the solar cell and the diode.