Entries |
Document | Title | Date |
20080230118 | Printing Mask and Solar Cell - A printing mask includes a mask frame and a mesh extended on the mask frame, in which a mask portion is formed by filling the mesh with resin to leave a pattern forming portion in a region corresponding to an electrode pattern to be formed on a printing object. The mask portion has a raised part on a surface of the mesh to be opposed to the printing object. The thickness of the raised part is such that a difference in average film thickness between the end and other parts of the electrode pattern formed with the printing mask is equal to or less than 5 micrometers. | 09-25-2008 |
20080230119 | Paste for back contact-type solar cell - Disclosed is a paste for a back contact-type solar cell that includes: (a) electrically conductive particles containing silver particle and added particles selected from the group consisting of (i) metal particles selected from the group consisting of Mo, Tc, Ru, Rh, Pd, W, Re, Os, Ir and Pt particles, (ii) a metal alloy containing the metal particles, and (iii) particles loaded with the metal particles, (b) glass frit, and (c) a resin binder. | 09-25-2008 |
20080245408 | Method for manufacturing single-crystal silicon solar cell and single-crystal silicon solar cell - There is disclosed a method for manufacturing a single-crystal silicon solar cell including the steps of: implanting a hydrogen ion or a rare gas ion into a single-crystal silicon substrate; forming a transparent insulator layer on a metal substrate; performing a surface activation treatment with respect to at least one of the ion implanted surface and a surface of the transparent insulator layer; bonding these surfaces; mechanically delaminating the single-crystal silicon substrate to provide a single-crystal silicon layer; forming a plurality of second conductivity type diffusion regions in the delaminated surface side of the single-crystal silicon layer so that a plurality of first conductivity type regions and the plurality of second conductivity regions are present in the delaminated surface of the single-crystal silicon layer; respectively forming a plurality of individual electrodes on the plurality of first and second conductivity type regions of the single-crystal silicon layer; forming respective collecting electrodes; and forming a transparent protective film. | 10-09-2008 |
20080251116 | Artificial Amorphous Semiconductors and Applications to Solar Cells - An artificial amorphous semiconductor material, and a junction made from the material, has a plurality of crystalline semiconductor material quantum dots substantially uniformly distributed and regularly spaced in three dimensions through a matrix of dielectric material or thin layers of dielectric materials. The material is formed by first forming a plurality of layers of dielectric material comprising a compound of a semiconducting material, and forming alternating layers as layers of stoichiometric dielectric material and layers of semiconductor rich dielectric material respectively. The material is then heated causing quantum dots to form in the semiconductor rich layers of dielectric material in a uniform and regularly spaced distribution in three dimensions through the dielectric material. The bandgap and mobility of the material are determined by selecting the material parameters including the size of the quantum dots, the composition of the matrix and the semiconductor material of the quantum dots to achieve the desired parameters. | 10-16-2008 |
20080251117 | Solar Cell - The invention relates to a solar cell with a base layer ( | 10-16-2008 |
20080251118 | Photovoltaic device - A method of forming a photovoltaic device includes a plurality of quantum wells and a plurality of barriers. The quantum wells and barriers are disposed on an underlying layer. The barriers alternate with the quantum wells. One of the plurality of quantum wells and the plurality of barriers is comprised of tensile strained layers and the other of the plurality of quantum wells and the plurality of barriers is comprised of compressively strained layers. The tensile and compressively strained layers have elastic properties. The method includes selecting compositions and thicknesses of the barriers and quantum wells taking into account the elastic properties such that each period of one tensile strained layer and one compressively strained layer exerts substantially no shear force on a neighboring structure; providing the underlying layer; and forming the quantum sells and barriers on the underlying layer according to the derived compositions and thicknesses. | 10-16-2008 |
20080251119 | LAYERS THAT IMPEDE DIFFUSION OF METALS IN GROUP VI ELEMENT-CONTAINING MATERIALS - A method of making thermodynamically stable, diffusion-impeded barrier layers within, for example, a photovoltaic cell with a metal-containing electrical contact using exposure to fluorine. Exposing the cadmium telluride surface to fluorine creates a Te-poor barrier layer of cadmium fluoride. Once that barrier layer is formed, the metal-containing electrical contact may be applied or formed. The barrier layer allows tunneling current to occur between the p-type layer and the metal-containing electrical contact establishing a low-resistance, highly uniform, and thermally stable electrical contact. | 10-16-2008 |
20080257404 | Metal Strip Product - A coated steel product comprises a metallic strip material which has a coating comprising an electrically insulating layer doped with sodium. The thermal expansion coefficient of said metallic strip material is less than 12×10 | 10-23-2008 |
20080264476 | SOLAR CELL WITH DIAMOND LIKE CARBON COVER GLASS - A solar cell including a semiconductor body including at least one photoactive junction; and a diamond like carbon layer deposited over the top surface of the semiconductor body. | 10-30-2008 |
20080264477 | METHODS FOR MANUFACTURING THREE-DIMENSIONAL THIN-FILM SOLAR CELLS - Methods for manufacturing three-dimensional thin-film solar cells | 10-30-2008 |
20080264478 | THIN-FILM SOLAR CELL AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A thin-film solar cell of the present invention comprises a first solar cell layer that a plurality of unit cells including a photoelectric conversion layer are connected in series; a second solar cell layer that a plurality of unit cells including a photoelectric conversion layer are connected in series, which has band gap energy being different from the first solar cell layer and a threshold voltage being coincident with the first solar cell layer; and an electrode connector, which connects the first solar cell layer with the second solar cell layer in parallel. | 10-30-2008 |
20080264479 | Hybrid Photovoltaic Cells and Related Methods - Embodiments of the present invention involve photovoltaic (PV) cells comprising a semiconducting nanorod-nanocrystal-polymer hybrid layer, as well as methods for fabricating the same. In PV cells according to this invention, the nanocrystals may serve both as the light-absorbing material and as the heterojunctions at which excited electron-hole pairs split. | 10-30-2008 |
20080264480 | MULTI-JUNCTION SOLAR CELLS AND METHODS AND APPARATUSES FOR FORMING THE SAME - Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to solar cells and methods and apparatuses for forming the same. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to thin film multi-junction solar cells and methods and apparatuses for forming the same. | 10-30-2008 |
20080271780 | Photovoltaic Cell and Production Thereof - An efficient photovoltaic cell, and its process of manufacture, is disclosed wherein the back surface p-n junction is removed from a doped substrate having an oppositely doped emitter layer. A front surface and edges and optionally the back surface periphery are masked and a back surface etch is performed. The mask is not removed and acts as an anti-reflective coating, a passivating agent, or both. The photovoltaic cell retains an untextured back surface whether or not the front is textured and the dopant layer on the back surface is removed to enhance the cell efficiency. Optionally, a back surface field is formed. | 11-06-2008 |
20080289683 | Thin-Film Solar Cell Interconnection - A method of interconnecting thin-film solar cells formed on a foreign insulating substrate or superstrate is described: the top and bottom layers of the thin-film solar cells having a sheet resistances below 10,000 Ω/sq. The method comprises the steps of forming a thin-film solar cell structure comprising at least an n | 11-27-2008 |
20080289684 | PYRAMIDAL THREE-DIMENSIONAL THIN-FILM SOLAR CELLS - A pyramidal three-dimensional thin-film solar cell, comprising a pyramidal three-dimensional thin-film solar cell substrate comprising a plurality of pyramid-shaped unit cells with emitter junction regions and doped base regions, emitter metallization regions and base metallization regions. Optionally, the pyramidal three-dimensional thin-film solar cell may be mounted on a rear mirror for improved light trapping and conversion efficiency. | 11-27-2008 |
20080308143 | Thin Film Semi-Conductor-on-Glass Solar Cell Devices - The present invention relates to semiconductor devices suitable for electronic, optoelectronic and energy conversion applications. In a particular form, the present invention relates to the fabrication of a thin film solar cells and thin film transistors through the advantageous combination of semiconductors, insulators, rare-earth based compounds and amorphous and/or ceramic and/or glass substrates. Crystalline or polycrystalline thin film semiconductor-on-glass formation using alkali ion impurity barrier layer(s) are disclosed. Example embodiment of crystalline or polycrystalline thin film semiconductor-on-glass formation using rare-earth based material as impurity barrier layer(s) is disclosed. In particular, thin film silicon-on-glass substrate is disclosed as the alternate embodiment, with impurity barrier designed to inhibit transport of deleterious alkali species from the glass into the semiconductor thin film. | 12-18-2008 |
20080308144 | Integrated thin-layer photovoltaic module - The present invention is an integral thin-layer photovoltaic device, comprising a substrate with a coated layer of semiconductor materials, for example amorphous silicon of i-type conductivity, and made up of alternating areas, having different type of conductivity, different amounts of doping and/or band gap width, transparent and clear coatings on the front side, and electrical contacts. The alternating areas are formed in the initial film of semiconductor material as counter-comb, interleaved structures in the horizontal plane, and heterostructural areas are manufactured with variable ratios of crystal, micro-crystal, nano-crystalline and amorphous phases. The present invention is distinguished over prior art by several characteristics and advantages including a decreased number of process operations in its fabrication or manufacture, reduced consumption of semi-conductor material, simplified fabrication process, increased efficiency of solar energy conversion into electrical energy, and increased reliability. | 12-18-2008 |
20080314442 | Transparent Substrate Provided With an Electrode - Transparent substrate, especially made of glass, associated with an electrode, especially one suitable for solar cells, characterized in that the electrode comprises a first transparent electrically conducting layer composed of an undoped mineral oxide, said first layer being coated with a second transparent electrically conducting layer composed of the same mineral oxide, said mineral oxide however being doped. | 12-25-2008 |
20080314443 | BACK-CONTACT SOLAR CELL FOR HIGH POWER-OVER-WEIGHT APPLICATIONS - A solar cell is described. The solar cell is fabricated on a substrate, the substrate having a front surface and a back surface. The substrate includes, at the front surface, a first region having a first global thickness and a second region having a second global thickness. The second global thickness is greater than the first global thickness. A plurality of alternating n-type and p-type doped regions is disposed at the back surface of the substrate. | 12-25-2008 |
20090007960 | Method for manufacturing single crystal silicon solar cell and single crystal silicon solar cell - A method for manufacturing a single crystal silicon solar cell includes the steps of implanting either hydrogen ions or rare-gas ions into a single crystal silicon substrate; bringing the single crystal silicon substrate in close contact with a transparent insulator substrate via a transparent adhesive, with the ion-implanted surface being a bonding surface; curing the transparent adhesive; mechanically delaminating the single crystal silicon substrate to form a single crystal silicon layer; forming a plurality of diffusion areas of a second conductivity type in the delaminated surface side of the single crystal silicon layer, and causing a plurality of areas of a first conductivity type and the plurality of areas of the second conductivity type to be present in the delaminated surface of the single crystal silicon layer; forming each of a plurality of individual electrodes on each one of the plurality of areas of the first conductivity type and on each one of the plurality of areas of the second conductivity type in the single crystal silicon layer; forming a collector electrode for the plurality of individual electrodes on the plurality of areas of the first conductivity type, and a collector electrode for the plurality of individual electrodes on the plurality of areas of the second conductivity type; and forming a light-reflecting film. | 01-08-2009 |
20090014061 | GaInNAsSb solar cells grown by molecular beam epitaxy - A high efficiency triple-junction solar cell and method of manufacture therefor is provided wherein junctions are formed between different types of III-V semiconductor alloy materials, one alloy of which contains a combination of an effective amount of antimony (Sb) with gallium (Ga), indium (In), nitrogen (N, the nitride component) and arsenic (As) to form the dilute nitride semiconductor layer GaInNAsSb which has particularly favorable characteristics in a solar cell. In particular, the bandgap and lattice matching promote efficient solar energy conversion. | 01-15-2009 |
20090020153 | Diamond-Like Carbon Electronic Devices and Methods of Manufacture - Materials, devices, and methods for enhancing performance of electronic devices such as solar cells, thermoelectric conversion devices and other electronic devices are disclosed and described. In one aspect, a diamond-like carbon electronic device may include a conductive diamond-like carbon anode, an amorphous charge carrier separation layer adjacent the diamond-like carbon anode, and a cathode adjacent the charge carrier separation layer opposite the diamond-like carbon anode. Additionally, in another aspect the conductive diamond-like carbon material may have an sp | 01-22-2009 |
20090020154 | MULTI-JUNCTION SOLAR CELLS AND METHODS AND APPARATUSES FOR FORMING THE SAME - Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to solar cells and methods and apparatuses for forming the same. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to thin film multi-junction solar cells and methods and apparatuses for forming the same. Embodiments of the present invention also include an improved thin film silicon solar cell, and methods and apparatus for forming the same, where one or more of the layers in the solar cell comprises at least one amorphous silicon layer that has improved electrical characteristics and mechanical properties, and is capable of being deposited at rates many times faster than conventional amorphous silicon deposition processes. | 01-22-2009 |
20090020155 | Silicon multiple solar cell and method for production thereof - A silicon multiple solar cell has at least two subcells ( | 01-22-2009 |
20090025782 | Solar cell and method for manufacturing the same - The present invention is a solar cell comprising at least a semiconductor substrate | 01-29-2009 |
20090032092 | Solar Cell Receiver Having An Insulated Bypass Diode - A solar cell receiver comprising a solar cell and a diode mounted on a board, the receiver being provided with a connector for electrically connecting to adjacent receivers. The diode is connected in parallel with the solar cell, for reverse biasing the diode against conductivity during operation of the solar cell in generating solar energy, and the diode is operative to provide a current by-passing the solar cell when the solar cell is damaged or shadowed. The diode has a pair of electrical connector terminals for electrical connection to the solar cell. The connector is constituted by an insulating housing which defines a pair of apertures separated by an insulating wall. A respective electrical connector is positioned in each of the apertures. | 02-05-2009 |
20090032093 | Solar Cell Receiver Having An Insulated Bypass Diode - A solar cell receiver comprising a solar cell having one or more III-V compound semiconductor layers, a diode coupled in parallel with the solar cell and operable to be forward-biased in instances when the solar cell is not generating above a threshold voltage, a coating substantially encapsulating the diode, an undercoating that substantially eliminates any air gap between the anode and cathode of the diode, and a connector adapted to couple to other solar cell receivers. | 02-05-2009 |
20090038678 | THIN FILM III-V COMPOUND SOLAR CELL - The present invention utilizes epitaxial lift-off in which a sacrificial layer is included in the epitaxial growth between the substrate and a thin film III-V compound solar cell. To provide support for the thin film III-V compound solar cell in absence of the substrate, a backing layer is applied to a surface of the thin film III-V compound solar cell before it is separated from the substrate. To separate the thin film III-V compound solar cell from the substrate, the sacrificial layer is removed as part of the epitaxial lift-off. Once the substrate is separated from the thin film III-V compound solar cell, the substrate may then be reused in the formation of another thin film III-V compound solar cell. | 02-12-2009 |
20090044855 | p-Type Semiconducting Nickel Oxide as an Efficiency-Enhancing Anodal Interfacial Layer in Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells - The present invention, in one aspect, relates to a solar cell. In one embodiment, the solar cell includes an anode, a p-type semiconductor layer formed on the anode, and an active organic layer formed on the p-type semiconductor layer, where the active organic layer has an electron-donating organic material and an electron-accepting organic material. | 02-19-2009 |
20090056796 | Structure Of An Edge Conducting Double-Sided Flip-Chip Solar Cell - The present invention offers a structure of an edge conducting double-sided flip-chip solar cell with the p-n junction on both sides and on the edge of the chip to increase the conversion efficiency of the sun light. Both the n-type and the p-type bounding pads are in the back side only to avoid both wire bonding of the n-type contact and the p-type contact on the front side to increase the exposing area to the sun light. A metal layer is formed on the edge of the chip to conduct the current and heat corrected from the metal grids or fingers on the front side to the back side. | 03-05-2009 |
20090056797 | Photovoltaic Thin-Film Solar Cell and Method Of Making The Same - A photovoltaic device having a front and back orientation and comprising: a crystalline substrate having a resistivity greater than about 0.01 ohm-cm; and an epitaxy thin-film layer in front of said substrate, said thin-film layer contacting said substrate in at least one region to define a p-n junction. | 03-05-2009 |
20090065047 | Multi-Junction Solar Cells - Solar cell structures including multiple sub-cells that incorporate different materials that may have different lattice constants. In some embodiments, solar cell devices include several photovoltaic junctions. | 03-12-2009 |
20090071534 | Photoelectric electrodes capable of absorbing light energy, fabrication methods, and applications thereof - A photoelectric electrode capable of absorbing light energy is provided. The photoelectric electrode at least includes a conductive substrate, one or more semiconductor particle-containing film with a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) skeleton. | 03-19-2009 |
20090078308 | Thin Inverted Metamorphic Multijunction Solar Cells with Rigid Support - A multijunction solar cell including a first solar subcell having a first band gap; a second solar subcell disposed over the first subcell and having a second band gap smaller than the first band gap; a grading interlayer disposed over the second subcell and having a third band gap greater than the second band gap; a third solar subcell disposed over the interlayer that is lattice mismatched with respect to the middle subcell and having a fourth band gap smaller than the second band gap; and either a thin (approximately 2-6 mil) substrate and/or a rigid coverglass supporting the first, second, and third solar subcells. | 03-26-2009 |
20090078309 | Barrier Layers In Inverted Metamorphic Multijunction Solar Cells - A method of forming a multijunction solar cell including an upper subcell, a middle subcell, and a lower subcell, the method including: providing first substrate for the epitaxial growth of semiconductor material; forming a first solar subcell on the substrate having a first band gap; forming a second solar subcell over the first solar subcell having a second band gap smaller than the first band gap; forming a barrier layer over the second subcell to reduce threading dislocations; forming a grading interlayer over the barrier layer, the grading interlayer having a third band gap greater than the second band gap; and forming a third solar subcell over the grading interlayer having a fourth band gap smaller than the second band gap such that the third subcell is lattice mismatched with respect to the second subcell. | 03-26-2009 |
20090078310 | Heterojunction Subcells In Inverted Metamorphic Multijunction Solar Cells - An inverted metamorphic multifunction solar cell, and its method of fabrication, including an upper subcell, a middle subcell, and a lower subcell, including providing a first substrate for the epitaxial growth of semiconductor material; forming an upper first solar subcell on the substrate having a first bandgap; forming a middle second solar subcell over the first solar subcell having a second bandgap smaller than the first bandgap; forming a graded interlayer over the second subcell, the graded interlayer having a third bandgap greater than the second bandgap; and forming a lower third solar subcell over the graded interlayer having a fourth bandgap smaller than the second bandgap such that the third subcell is lattice mismatched with respect to the second subcell, wherein at least one of the solar subcells has heterojunction base-emitter layers. | 03-26-2009 |
20090078311 | Surfactant Assisted Growth in Barrier Layers In Inverted Metamorphic Multijunction Solar Cells - A method of forming a multijunction solar cell including an upper subcell, a middle subcell, and a lower subcell, the method including: providing a substrate for the epitaxial growth of semiconductor material; forming a first solar subcell on the substrate having a first band gap; forming a second solar subcell over the first solar subcell having a second band gap smaller than the first band gap; forming a barrier layer over the second subcell using a surfactant, preferably a isoelectronic surfactant such as bismuth or antimony; forming a graded interlayer over the barrier layer, the graded interlayer having a third band gap greater than the second band gap; and forming a third solar subcell over the graded interlayer having a fourth band gap smaller than the second band gap such that the third subcell is lattice mismatched with respect to the second subcell. | 03-26-2009 |
20090084435 | Techniques for Cooling Solar Concentrator Devices - Solar concentrator devices and techniques for the fabrication thereof are provided. In one aspect, a solar concentrator device is provided. The solar concentrator device comprises at least one solar converter cell; a heat sink; and a liquid metal between the solar converter cell and the heat sink, configured to thermally couple the solar converter cell and the heat sink during operation of the device. The solar converter cell can comprise a triple-junction semiconductor solar converter cell fabricated on a germanium (Ge) substrate. The heat sink can comprise a vapor chamber heat sink. The liquid metal can comprise a gallium (Ga) alloy and have a thermal resistance of less than or equal to about five square millimeter degree Celsius per Watt (mm | 04-02-2009 |
20090101201 | NIP-NIP THIN-FILM PHOTOVOLTAIC STRUCTURE - A thin film multi-junction photovoltaic structure is presented as well as methods and apparatus for forming the same. The photovoltaic structure comprises first and second NIP junctions formed over a translucent substrate. | 04-23-2009 |
20090114274 | CRYSTALLINE THIN-FILM PHOTOVOLTAIC STRUCTURES - Semiconductor structures include a substantially untextured substrate layer, a textured buffer layer disposed over the substrate layer, and a semiconductor layer disposed over the textured buffer layer. | 05-07-2009 |
20090120491 | Polymeric Nanofibril Network for Photovoltaic Cells - A method of preparing a polymeric composition with photovoltaic properties comprises a step of blending, in a solvent, at least one electron donor type semiconductor polymeric material essentially in the form of nanofibrils and at least one electron acceptor type material in the solvent, said nanofibrils representing at least 10% by weight of the electron donor type semiconductor polymeric material, to polymeric compositions with photovoltaic properties, and to photovoltaic cells incorporating such polymeric compositions. | 05-14-2009 |
20090120492 | LOW-COST SOLAR CELLS AND METHODS FOR THEIR PRODUCTION - Methods for fabricating solar cells without the need to perform gasification of metallurgical-grade silicon are disclosed. Consequently, the costs and health and environmental hazards involved in fabricating the solar or silicon grade silicon are being avoided. A solar cell structure comprises a metallurgical grade doped silicon substrate and a thin-film structure formed over the substrate to form a p-i-n junction with the substrate. The substrate may be doped p-type, and the thin film structure may be an intrinsic amorphous layer formed over the substrate and an n-type amorphous layer formed over the intrinsic layer. | 05-14-2009 |
20090120493 | LOW-COST MULTI-JUNCTION SOLAR CELLS AND METHODS FOR THEIR PRODUCTION - Methods for fabricating solar cells without the need to perform gasification of metallurgical-grade silicon are disclosed. Consequently, the costs and health and environmental hazards involved in fabricating the solar or silicon grade silicon are being avoided. A solar cell structure comprises a metallurgical grade doped silicon substrate and a thin-film structure formed over the substrate to form a p-i-n junction with the substrate. The substrate may be doped p-type and the thin film structure may be an intrinsic. | 05-14-2009 |
20090133744 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL - The invention relates to a photovoltaic cell comprising a photovoltaically active semiconductor material, wherein the photovoltaically active semiconductor material is a p- or n-doped semiconductor material comprising mixed compounds of the formula (I): | 05-28-2009 |
20090151781 | Solar cell having spherical surface and method of manufacturing the same - Provided is a solar cell having a spherical surface. The solar cell includes a substrate having a back contact layer formed thereon; a plurality of carbon nanoelectrodes formed on the back contact layer so as to cross the back contact layer at right angles; a p-type junction layer formed to have a plurality of spheres which surround the plurality of carbon nanoelectrodes; an n-type junction layer and a transparent electrode layer that are sequentially laminated on the p-type junction layer; a first electrode formed on one side of the top surface of the back contact layer; and a second electrode formed on one side of the top surface of the transparent layer. | 06-18-2009 |
20090151782 | Hetero-junction silicon solar cell and fabrication method thereof - Disclosed are a hetero-junction silicon solar cell and a fabrication method thereof. The hetero-junction silicon solar cell according to the present invention forms a pn junction of a crystalline silicon substrate and a passivation layer doped with impurities so as to minimize a recombination of electrons and holes, making it possible to maximize efficiency of the hetero-junction silicon solar cell. The present invention provides a hetero-junction silicon solar cell comprising a crystalline silicon substrate and a passivation layer that is formed on the crystalline silicon substrate and is doped with impurities. | 06-18-2009 |
20090165844 | Hybrid photovoltaic device - A hybrid photovoltaic device comprising a plurality of nanostructures embedded in a matrix of a photosensitive material including one or more layers. A combination of innovative structural aspects of the hybrid photovoltaic device results in significant improvements in collection of incident light from the solar spectrum, better absorption of light, and better collection of the photo-carriers generated in response to the incident light, thereby improving efficiency of the hybrid photovoltaic device. | 07-02-2009 |
20090183766 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE - A semiconductor device in which the damage such as cracks, chinks, or dents caused by external stress is reduced is provided. In addition, the yield of a semiconductor device having a small thickness is increased. The semiconductor device includes a light-transmitting substrate having a stepped side surface, the width of which in a portion above the step and closer to one surface is smaller than that in a portion below the step, a semiconductor element layer provided over the other surface of the light-transmitting substrate, and a stack of a first light-transmitting resin layer and a second light-transmitting resin layer, which covers the one surface and part of the side surface of the light-transmitting substrate. One of the first light-transmitting resin layer and the second light-transmitting resin layer has a chromatic color. | 07-23-2009 |
20090183767 | METHOD OF PREPARING DERIVATIVES OF POLYARYLENE VINYLENE AND METHOD OF PREPARING AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE INCLUDING SAME - A technique is described for the preparation of polymers according to a process in which the starting compound of formula (I) is polymerized in the presence of a base in an organic solvent. No end chain controlling agents are required during the polymerisation to obtain soluble precursor polymers. The precursor polymer such obtained comprises structural units of the formula (II). In a next step, the precursor polymer (II) is subjected to a conversion reaction towards a soluble or insoluble conjugated polymer by thermal treatment. The arylene or heteroarylene polymer comprises structural units of the formula III. In this process the dithiocarbamate group acts as a leaving group and permits the formation of a precursor polymer of structural formula (II), which has an average molecular weight from 5000 to 1000000 Dalton and is soluble in common organic solvents. The precursor polymer with structural units of formula (II) is thermally converted to the conjugated polymer with structural formula (III). | 07-23-2009 |
20090188550 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A method for manufacturing a solar cell having an improved process and a solar cell manufactured by the method include a semiconductor substrate having a via hole, an emitter portion, a base portion, a first electrode, and a second electrode. The emitter portion and the base portion form a p-n junction in the semiconductor substrate. The first electrode is electrically connected to the emitter portion, and the second electrode is electrically connected to the base portion. Conductive crystals are formed to electrically connect a first electrode portion of the first electrode and the emitter portion to increase the efficiency of the solar cell. | 07-30-2009 |
20090188551 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A solar cell is provided. The solar cell includes: a substrate; a first electrode that is formed on the substrate; a second electrode that is formed on the substrate and that is apart from the first electrode; and a photoelectric conversion element with one side connected to the first electrode and the other side connected to the second electrode, wherein an area that the photoelectric conversion element occupies is 30% or less of that of the substrate. Therefore, because an occupying area of an inorganic film is very small in a solar cell of a solar panel, the solar panel can have flexibility. | 07-30-2009 |
20090188552 | Nanowire-Based Photovoltaic Cells And Methods For Fabricating The Same - Embodiments of the present invention relate to nanowire-based photovoltaic cells and to methods for fabricating the same. In one embodiment, a photovoltaic cell includes a first semiconductor layer doped with a first impurity and disposed on a portion of a first raised surface of a substrate and a second semiconductor layer doped with a second impurity and disposed on a second raised surface of the substrate. The first semiconductor layer has at least one negatively sloped surface, and the second semiconductor layer has at least one positively sloped surface neighboring the at least one negatively sloped surface of the first semiconductor layer. The photovoltaic cell includes at least one nanowire electronically coupled to the negatively sloped surface of the first semiconductor layer and electronically coupled to the positively sloped surface of the second semiconductor layer. | 07-30-2009 |
20090194152 | THIN-FILM SOLAR CELL HAVING HETERO-JUNCTION OF SEMICONDUCTOR AND METHOD FOR FABRICATING THE SAME - A thin-film solar cell having a hetero-junction of semiconductor and the fabrication method thereof are provided. Instead of the conventional hetero-junction of III-V semiconductor or homo-structure of IV semiconductor, the thin-film solar cell according to the present invention adopts a novel hetero-junction structure of IV semiconductor to improve the cell efficiency thereof. By adjusting the amount of layer sequences and the thickness of the hetero-junction structure, the cell efficiency of the thin-film solar cell according to the present invention is also optimized. | 08-06-2009 |
20090194153 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL COMPRISING A THIN LAMINA HAVING LOW BASE RESISTIVITY AND METHOD OF MAKING - Fabrication of a photovoltaic cell comprising a thin semiconductor lamina may require additional processing after the semiconductor lamina is bonded to a receiver. To minimize high-temperature steps after bonding, the p-n junction is formed at the back of the cell, at the bonded surface. In some embodiments, the front surface of the semiconductor lamina is not doped or is locally doped using low-temperature methods. The base resistivity of the photovoltaic cell may be reduced, allowing a front surface field to be reduced or omitted. | 08-06-2009 |
20090194154 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE - An object is to reduce the breakage of appearance such as a crack, a split and a chip by external stress of a semiconductor device. Another object is that manufacturing yield of a thin semiconductor device increases. The semiconductor device includes a plurality of semiconductor integrated circuits mounted on the interposer. Each of the plurality of semiconductor integrated circuits includes a light transmitting substrate which have a step on the side surface and in which the width of one section of the light transmitting substrate is narrower than that of the other section of the light transmitting substrate when the light transmitting substrate is divided at a plane including the step, a semiconductor element layer including a photoelectric conversion element provided on one surface of the light transmitting substrate, and a chromatic color light transmitting resin layer which covers the other surface of the light transmitting substrate and a part of the side surface. The colors of the chromatic color light transmitting resin layers are different in each of the plurality of semiconductor integrated circuits. | 08-06-2009 |
20090205707 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING THE SAME - The object of the present invention is to provide a solar cell which is industrially beneficial and has high light conversion efficiency; and a method for producing a solar cell; and the present invention provides a solar cell comprising a substrate, a power generation layer for converting received light into electrical power, a translucent electrode, and another electrode, when light travels through each member from a first surface thereof, a surface opposite to the first surface is defined as a second surface, the power generation layer is formed at a second surface side of the substrate, the translucent electrode is formed on one surface of the power generation layer, and another electrode is formed on the other surface of the power generation layer, wherein the translucent electrode comprises hexagonal In | 08-20-2009 |
20090211627 | SOLAR CELL HAVING CRYSTALLINE SILICON P-N HOMOJUNCTION AND AMORPHOUS SILICON HETEROJUNCTIONS FOR SURFACE PASSIVATION - A thin silicon solar cell is described. Specifically, the solar cell may be fabricated from a crystalline silicon wafer having a thickness of approximately 50 micrometers to 500 micrometers. The solar cell comprises a first region having a p-n homojunction, a second region that creates heterojunction surface passivation, and a third region that creates heterojunction surface passivation. Amorphous silicon layers are deposited on both sides of the silicon wafer at temperatures below approximately 400 degrees Celsius to reduce the loss of passivation properties of the amorphous silicon. A final layer of transparent conductive oxide is formed on both sides at approximately 165 degrees Celsius. Metal contacts are applied to the transparent conductive oxide. The low temperatures and very thin material layers used to fabricate the outer layers of used to fabricate the outer layers of the solar cell protect the thin wafer from excessive stress that may lead to deforming the wafer. | 08-27-2009 |
20090217971 | Photovoltaic Devices with Enhanced Efficiencies Using High-Aspect-Ratio Nanostructures - Photovoltaic devices and techniques for enhancing efficiency thereof are provided. In one aspect, a photovoltaic device is provided. The photovoltaic device comprises a photocell having a first photoactive layer and a second photoactive layer adjacent to the first photoactive layer so as to form a heterojunction between the first photoactive layer and the second photoactive layer; and a plurality of high-aspect-ratio nanostructures on one or more surfaces of the second photoactive layer. The plurality of high-aspect-ratio nanostructures are configured to act as a scattering media for incident light. The plurality of high-aspect-ratio nanostructures can also be configured to create an optical resonance effect in the incident light. | 09-03-2009 |
20090217972 | Techniques for Enhancing Efficiency of Photovoltaic Devices Using High-Aspect-Ratio Nanostructures - Photovoltaic devices and techniques for enhancing efficiency thereof are provided. In one aspect, a photovoltaic device is provided. The photovoltaic device comprises a photocell having a photoactive layer and a non-photoactive layer adjacent to the photoactive layer so as to form a heterojunction between the photoactive layer and the non-photoactive layer; and a plurality of high-aspect-ratio nanostructures on one or more surfaces of the photoactive layer. The plurality of high-aspect-ratio nanostructures are configured to act as a scattering media for incident light. The plurality of high-aspect-ratio nanostructures can also be configured to create an optical resonance effect in the incident light. | 09-03-2009 |
20090242018 | THIN-FILM SOLAR CELL AND FABRICATION METHOD THEREOF - The present invention relates to a thin-film solar cell and a fabrication method thereof, the solar cell having a structure that a glass substrate, a transparent conductive oxide, a multi-junction solar cell layer and an electrode layer are stacked, wherein a first solar cell layer and a second solar cell layer, which are in a multi-junction, are electrically connected with each other in parallel, and one or more unit cells connected in parallel are grouped to be electrically connected with each other in series. According to the present invention, a thin-film solar cell having a unit cell in a structure that two solar cell layers having different characteristics are connected with each other in parallel, and having a structure that several unit cells are connected with each other in series, can achieve higher output and efficiency than a thin-film solar cell having a structure that several solar cell layers are connected in series. | 10-01-2009 |
20090242019 | METHOD TO CREATE HIGH EFFICIENCY, LOW COST POLYSILICON OR MICROCRYSTALLINE SOLAR CELL ON FLEXIBLE SUBSTRATES USING MULTILAYER HIGH SPEED INKJET PRINTING AND, RAPID ANNEALING AND LIGHT TRAPPING - Embodiments of the present invention relate to fabricating low cost polysilicon solar cell on flexible substrates using inkjet printing. Particular embodiments form polycrystalline or microcrystalline silicon solar cells on substrates utilizing liquid silane, by employing inkjet printing or other low cost commercial printing techniques including but not limited to screen printing, roller coating, gravure coating, curtain coating, spray coating and others. Specific embodiments employ silanes such as cyclopentasilane (C | 10-01-2009 |
20090242020 | THIN-FILM PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL, THIN-FILM PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THIN-FILM PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL - A method of manufacturing a thin-film photovoltaic cell, comprises laminating a transparent electrode on a transparent substrate, laminating a photovoltaic layer on the transparent electrode, laminating a metal electrode layer on the photovoltaic layer and laminating a buffer layer on the metal electrode layer, the buffer layer being made of a moisture resistance material. | 10-01-2009 |
20090250101 | Photovoltaic structure - A photovoltaic structure is provided with an added layer inserted between an emitter layer and a window layer. The added layer includes all elements which are same or different both in the emitter layer and the window layer. The addition of the added layer enhances converted current and voltage that improves the conversion efficiency when the structure is applied to a solar cell. | 10-08-2009 |
20090250102 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE USING SEMICONDUCTOR NANOMATERIALS AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A photoelectric conversion device using a semiconductor nanomaterial to which a rectifying action caused by a Schottky junction between semiconductor nanomaterials and metal is applied and a method of manufacturing the same are provided. The photoelectric conversion device includes a substrate, an insulating layer formed on the substrate, a nanomaterial layer made of a plurality of semiconductor nanomaterials vertically arranged between the insulating layer or horizontally arranged on the substrate, and a metal layer provided on the semiconductor nanomaterial layer to form a Schottky junction with the semiconductor nanomaterials. The electrical energy is generated by rectification generated between the semiconductor nanomaterials and the metal layer that form the Schottky junction with each other. | 10-08-2009 |
20090255575 | LIGHTWEIGHT SOLAR CELL - Lightweight solar cells include a multiple-bandgap material. | 10-15-2009 |
20090255576 | WINDOW SOLAR CELL - A substantially transparent solar cell is combined with an electrochromic film. | 10-15-2009 |
20090255577 | Conversion Solar Cell - A conversion solar cell structure responds to a greater portion of the solar spectrum. The solar-cell structure has a solar cell and a conversion material disposed over the solar cell. | 10-15-2009 |
20090260679 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE - A photovoltaic device includes a substrate, a doped layer, a first electrode and a second electrode. The substrate has a plurality of cavities defined therein. The doped layer is in contact the substrate. The first electrode including a carbon nanotube composite material is adjacent to the substrate. The second electrode is attached to the substrate. | 10-22-2009 |
20090260680 | Photovoltaic Devices and Associated Methods - Materials, devices, and methods for enhancing performance of electronic devices such as solar cells, thermoelectric conversion devices and other electronic devices are provided. In one aspect, for example, an electronic device is provided. Such a device may include a charge carrier separation layer further including a layer of a P-type material comprising copper, gallium, indium and at least one member selected from the group consisting of selenide and sulfide, and a layer of an N-type material adjacent to the P-type material, where the N-type material includes diamond-like carbon doped with an N dopant. The electronic device may further include a first electrode adjacent to the layer of P-type material of the charge carrier separation layer opposite to the N-type material. | 10-22-2009 |
20090266411 | PHOTOVOLTAIC WIRE - A photovoltaic wire is presented where the active layers coat a metallic wire, preferably aluminum. The active layers are an array of doped silicon nanowires electrically attached to the metallic wire that extend from the surface of the wire into a layer of semiconducting polymer, preferably polyaniline. The surface of the polymer is coated with a transparent conductor to complete the photovoltaic circuit. | 10-29-2009 |
20090266412 | Solar Cell, Prefabricated Base Part for a Solar Cell and Method for Manufacturing Such a Base Part and a Solar Cell - The invention refers to a solar cell comprising a p-doped semiconductor layer and a n-doped semiconductor layer arranged on a substrate between a front electrode and a back electrode, the front electrode being arranged between the substrate and the semiconductor layers, and in that the front electrode is formed by at least one metal wire. The invention also refers to a prefabricated base part for manufacturing such a solar cell, the base part includes a substrate in which at least one metal wire is embedded in such a way that only part of its circumference is surrounded by the substrate. The invention also refers to methods for manufacturing such base parts and solar cells. | 10-29-2009 |
20090272430 | Refractive Index Matching in Inverted Metamorphic Multijunction Solar Cells - A multijunction solar cell including an upper first solar subcell having a first band gap; a middle second solar subcell adjacent to the first solar subcell and having a second band gap smaller than the first band gap and having a base layer and an adjacent emitter layer, wherein the other layer adjacent to the emitter layer has an index of refraction substantially equal to that of the emitter layer; a graded interlayer adjacent to the second solar having a third band gap greater than said second band gap; and a lower solar subcell adjacent to the interlayer, and having a fourth band gap smaller than the second band gap, the third subcell being lattice mismatched with respect to the second subcell. | 11-05-2009 |
20090283138 | HIGH PERFORMANCE OPTOELECTRONIC DEVICE - An optoelectronic device is provided. The optoelectronic device includes a P-type semiconductor substrate, an N-type transparent amorphous oxide semiconductor (TAOS) layer located on a surface of the P-type semiconductor substrate, and a rear electrode on another surface of the P-type semiconductor substrate. The N-type TAOS layer constructs a portion of a P-N diode, and serves as a window layer and a front electrode layer. | 11-19-2009 |
20090283139 | SEMICONDUCTOR STRUCTURE COMBINATION FOR THIN-FILM SOLAR CELL AND MANUFACTURE THEREOF - The invention discloses a semiconductor structure combination for a thin-film solar cell and a manufacture thereof. The semiconductor structure combination according to the invention includes a substrate, a multi-layer structure, and a passivation layer. The substrate has an upper surface. The multi-layer structure is deposited on the upper surface of the substrate and includes a p-n junction, a p-i-n junction, an n-i-p junction, a tandem junction or a multi-junction. The passivation layer is deposited by an atomic layer deposition process and/or a plasma-enhanced (or a plasma-assisted) atomic layer deposition process on a top-most layer of the multi-layer structure. | 11-19-2009 |
20090288703 | Wide Band Gap Window Layers In Inverted Metamorphic Multijunction Solar Cells - A method of forming a multijunction solar cell including an upper subcell, a middle subcell, and a lower subcell, the method including: providing a substrate for the epitaxial growth of semiconductor material; forming a first solar subcell on the substrate having a first band gap and including a pseudomorphic window layer; forming a second solar subcell over the first solar subcell having a second band gap smaller than the first band gap; forming a graded interlayer over the second subcell, the graded interlayer having a third band gap greater than the second band gap; and forming a third solar subcell over the graded interlayer having a fourth band gap smaller than the second band gap such that the third subcell is lattice mismatched with respect to the second solar subcell. | 11-26-2009 |
20090288704 | NITRIDED BARRIER LAYERS FOR SOLAR CELLS - The present invention relates to polysilicon emitter solar cells, and more particularly to polysilicon emitter solar cells with hyperabrupt junctions, and methods for making such solar cells. According to one aspect, a polysilicon emitter solar cell according to the invention includes a nitrided tunnel insulator. The nitridation prevents boron diffusion, enabling a hyperabrupt junction for a p-poly on n-Si device. According to another aspect, a nitrided oxide (DPN) is used in a tunnel oxide layer of a MIS solar cell structure. The DPN layer minimizes plasma damage, resulting in improved interface properties. An overlying polysilicon emitter can then provide a low sheet resistance emitter without heavy doping effects in the substrate, excess recombination, or absorption, and is a significant improvement over a conventional diffused emitter or TCO. According to another aspect, the invention includes a method for making a solar cell structure that is functionally equivalent to a selective emitter, but without the requirement for multiple diffusions, long diffusions, aligned lithography, or fine contact holes. | 11-26-2009 |
20090293945 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL AND PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL SUBSTRATE - The invention relates to a photovoltaic cell ( | 12-03-2009 |
20090293946 | Mixed-typed heterojunction thin-film solar cell structure and method for fabricating the same - The present invention discloses a mixed-type heterojunction thin-film solar cell structure and a method for fabricating the same. Firstly, a conductive substrate and a template are provided, and the template has a substrate and an inorganic wire array formed on the substrate. Next, a conjugate polymer layer is formed on the conductive substrate. Next, the inorganic wire array is embedded into the conjugate polymer layer. Next, the substrate is separated from the inorganic wire array. Then, an electrode layer is formed over the inorganic wire array and the conjugate polymer layer. The solar cell structure of the present invention has advantages of flexibility, high energy conversion efficiency and low fabrication cost. | 12-03-2009 |
20090301555 | SOLAR CELL, SOLAR MODULE AND SYSTEM AND FABRICATION METHOD THEREOF - A solar cell having an improved structure of rear surface includes a p-type doped region, a dense metal layer, a loose metal layer, at least one bus bar opening, and solderable material on or within the bus bar opening. The solderable material contacts with the dense aluminum layer. The improved structure in rear surface increases the light converting efficiency, and provides a good adhesion between copper ribbon and solar cell layer thereby providing cost advantages and reducing the complexity in manufacturing. A solar module and solar system composed of such solar cell are also disclosed. | 12-10-2009 |
20090308437 | Systems And Processes For Bifacial Collection And Tandem Junctions Using A Thin-Film Photovoltaic Device - A thin-film photovoltaic device includes a semi-transparent back contact layer. The semi-transparent back contact layer includes a semi-transparent contact layer and a semi-transparent contact interface layer. The thin-film photovoltaic device may be formed in a substrate or superstrate configuration. A tandem thin-film photovoltaic device includes a semi-transparent interconnect layer. The semi-transparent interconnect layer includes a semi-transparent contact layer and a semi-transparent contact interface layer. | 12-17-2009 |
20090308438 | Trench Process and Structure for Backside Contact Solar Cells with Polysilicon Doped Regions - A solar cell includes polysilicon P-type and N-type doped regions on a backside of a substrate, such as a silicon wafer. An interrupted trench structure separates the P-type doped region from the N-type doped region in some locations but allows the P-type doped region and the N-type doped region to touch in other locations. Each of the P-type and N-type doped regions may be formed over a thin dielectric layer. Among other advantages, the resulting solar cell structure allows for increased efficiency while having a relatively low reverse breakdown voltage. | 12-17-2009 |
20090308439 | SOLAR CELL FABRICATION USING IMPLANTATION - A solar cell device and method of making are provided. The device includes a silicon substrate including a preexisting dopant. A homogeneous lightly doped region is formed on a surface of the silicon substrate to form a junction between the preexisting dopant and the lightly doped region. A heavily doped region is selectively implanted on the surface of the silicon substrate. A seed layer is formed over the heavily doped region. A metal contact is formed over the seed layer. The device can include an anti-reflective coating. In one embodiment, the heavily doped region forms a parabolic shape. The heavily doped regions can each be a width on the silicon substrate a distance in the range 50 to 200 microns. Also, the heavily doped regions can be laterally spaced on the silicon substrate a distance in the range 1 to 3 mm from each other. The seed layer can be a silicide. The silicon substrate can include fiducial markers configured for aligning the placement of the heavily doped regions during an ion implantation process. | 12-17-2009 |
20090308440 | FORMATION OF SOLAR CELL-SELECTIVE EMITTER USING IMPLANT AND ANNEAL METHOD - A method of forming a solar cell, the method comprising: providing a semiconducting wafer having a pre-doped region; performing a first ion implantation of a dopant into the semiconducting wafer to form a first doped region over the pre-doped region, wherein the first ion implantation has a concentration-versus-depth profile; and performing a second ion implantation of a dopant into the semiconducting wafer to form a second doped region over the pre-doped region, wherein the second ion implantation has a concentration-versus-depth profile different from that of the first ion implantation, wherein at least one of the first doped region and the second doped region is configured to generate electron-hole pairs upon receiving light, and wherein the first and second ion implantations are performed independently of one another. | 12-17-2009 |
20090314337 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES - Photovoltaic devices and methods of manufacturing the same are provided. In one example, a photovoltaic device includes: a substrate; a transparent conductive layer deposited on the substrate; a semiconductor layer provided with a P layer, an I layer, and a N layer sequentially deposited on the transparent conductive layer; and a rear electrode deposited on the N layer of the semiconductor layer, wherein the P layer is a P-type oxide semiconductor. | 12-24-2009 |
20090314338 | COATING FOR THIN-FILM SOLAR CELLS - This invention relates to a method for producing thin film solar cells with a back-side reflective layer, wherein the solar module is a silicon thin film device placed in-between a back side planar substrate and a front side planar glass superstrate placed in parallel and a distance from the back side planar substrate, wherein the silicon thin film device comprises in successive order from the front side: a front side transparent conductive (TCO) layer, a multi junction thin-film solar conversion layer comprising amorphous and microcrystalline silicon or alloys thereof, a back side TCO-layer, a diffuse reflective layer with one or more local through-going apertures, and a metal layer covering the reflective layer and which is in contact with the back side TCO-layer through the one or more apertures in the reflective layer. The invention also relates to a method for forming the solar cell. | 12-24-2009 |
20090320913 | LATERAL ULTRA-HIGH EFFICIENCY SOLAR CELL - A high-efficiency lateral multi-junction solar cell (C) includes ultra-low profile planar spectral band splitting micro-optics having a shortpass filter ( | 12-31-2009 |
20090320914 | DYE-SENSITIZED SOLAR CELL AND METHOD OF FABRICATING THE SAME - Provided are a dye-sensitized solar cell and a method of fabricating the same. The dye-sensitized solar cell includes an electrode structure including a conductive layer having pores that are regularly arranged, a semiconductor oxide layer disposed on a surface of the conductive layer, and a dye layer disposed on a surface of the semiconductor oxide layer. | 12-31-2009 |
20090320915 | HETEROELECTRICAL PHOTOCELL - The invention relates to devices used for high-efficiently converting the energy of a electromagnetic (light) radiation into electric power and can be used for producing solar cells. Said invention makes it possible to substantially increase the performance of a photocell by inserting metal nanoparticles closed in a polymer envelop into a photosensitive layer, thereby making it possible to form a second semiconductop-polymer-metal junction, and by the possibility of converting the electromagnetic (light) radiation into electric power in a visible and infrared light spectrum. | 12-31-2009 |
20100000597 | Front Contact Solar Cell With Formed Electrically Conducting Layers On the Front Side And Backside - A bipolar solar cell includes a backside junction formed by a silicon substrate and a first doped layer of a first dopant type on the backside of the solar cell. A second doped layer of a second dopant type makes an electrical connection to the substrate from the front side of the solar cell. A first metal contact of a first electrical polarity electrically connects to the first doped layer on the backside of the solar cell, and a second metal contact of a second electrical polarity electrically connects to the second doped layer on the front side of the solar cell. An external electrical circuit may be electrically connected to the first and second metal contacts to be powered by the solar cell. | 01-07-2010 |
20100000598 | Photovoltaic Cell - A photovoltaic cell of high efficiency may be obtained using metallic nanoparticles or nanostructures as the main light absorbing element in the photosensitive layer of the cell, which absorb the light through a surface plasmon or polaron mechanism. The cell comprises at least one photosensitive layer containing nanoparticles or nanostructures each between a n-doped and a p-doped charge transport layer, characterized in that • the nanoparticles or nanostructures are the main light absorbing element in the photosensitive layer, • the nanoparticles or nanostructures have metallic conductivity and absorb near infrared, visible and/or ultraviolet light through a surface plasmon or polaron mechanism, and • the nanoparticles or nanostructures have at least one of their dimensions of size between 0.1 and 500 nm. By exploiting the combination of electronic and size parameters, intense optical absorption at any wavelength within the solar spectrum (about 2500 and 300 nm) can be obtained and the whole range of the solar spectrum may be used. | 01-07-2010 |
20100000599 | Photovoltaic device - The invention relates to a photovoltaic device ( | 01-07-2010 |
20100006143 | Solar Cell Devices - A solar cell device includes a p-n diode component over a substrate, the p-n diode component including at least one subcell, each subcell including an n-type semiconductor layer and a p-type semiconductor layer to form a p-n junction. The solar cell device further includes at least two features selected from: i) a nano-structured region between at the p-n junction of at least one subcell; ii) an n-type and/or a p-type layer of at least one subcell that includes a built-in quasi-electric field; and iii) a photon reflector structure. Alternatively, the solar cell device includes at least two subcells, and further includes a nano-structured region at the p-n junction of at least one of the subcells, wherein the subcells of the solar cell device are connected in parallel to each other by the p-type or the n-type semiconductor layer of each subcell. Alternatively, the solar cell device further includes a nano-structured region at the p-n junction of at least one subcell, wherein the nano-structured region includes i) a plurality of quantum dots or quantum wells that include InN or InGaN, the quantum dots or quantum wells embedded within a wide band gap matrix that includes InGaN, GaN, or AlGaN, or ii) a plurality of quantum dots or quantum wells that include InAs, GaAs or InGaAs, the quantum dots or quantum wells embedded within a wide band gap matrix that includes InGaP, GaAsP, AlGaAs, AlGaInAs or AlGaInP. | 01-14-2010 |
20100006144 | PLASMON-ENHANCED PHOTO VOLTAIC CELL - A photovoltaic device and a method of making the photovoltaic device. The device includes a metallic surface defining a plurality of voids for confining surface plasmons. The metallic surface is coated with a semiconductor to form a Schottky region at an interface between the metallic surface and the semiconductor within each void. | 01-14-2010 |
20100006145 | SOLAR CELL AND FABRICATING METHOD FOR THE SAME - Example embodiments relate to a solar cell and a method for fabricating the same, and more particularly, to a solar cell in which a substrate capable of functioning as electrode is used and a method for fabricating the same. The solar cell may include a substrate and a semiconductor layer laminated on the substrate. The solar cell may include a conductive substrate. The substrate may be a flexible substrate having a coefficient of thermal expansion comparable to that of the semiconductor layer. The semiconductor layer may be formed on the substrate. The solar cell may include a front electrode formed on the semiconductor layer. | 01-14-2010 |
20100012174 | High band gap contact layer in inverted metamorphic multijunction solar cells - A method of forming a multijunction solar cell including an upper subcell, a middle subcell, and a lower subcell by providing a substrate for the epitaxial growth of semiconductor material; forming a first solar subcell on the substrate having a first band gap; forming a second solar subcell over the first solar subcell having a second band gap smaller than the first band gap; forming a graded interlayer over the second subcell, the graded interlayer having a third band gap greater than the second band gap; forming a third solar subcell over the graded interlayer having a fourth band gap smaller than the second band gap such that the third subcell is lattice mismatched with respect to the second subcell; and forming a contact layer over the third subcell having a fifth band gap greater than at least the magnitude of the second band gap. | 01-21-2010 |
20100012175 | Ohmic n-contact formed at low temperature in inverted metamorphic multijunction solar cells - A method of forming a multifunction solar cell including an upper subcell, a middle subcell, and a lower subcell by providing a substrate for the epitaxial growth of semiconductor material; forming a first solar subcell on the substrate having a first band gap; forming a second solar subcell over the first solar subcell having a second band gap smaller than the first band gap; forming a graded interlayer over the second subcell, the graded interlayer having a third band gap greater than the second band gap; forming a third solar subcell over the graded interlayer having a fourth band gap smaller than the second band gap such that the third subcell is lattice mismatched with respect to the second subcell; and forming a contact composed of a sequence of layers over the first subcell at a temperature of 280° C. or less and having a contact resistance of less than 5×10 | 01-21-2010 |
20100012176 | Dye Doped Graphite Graphene Solar Cell on Aluminum - An efficient dye doped solar cell that improves upon the conventional dye-sensitized solar cells known within the art. The present inventive dye doped solar cell and its method of manufacture completely eliminate an electrolyte component common to conventional solar cells thereby removing numerous complications found in conventional dye doped cells such as inconsistent reproducibility and safety issues due to leakage of the electrolyte component. The dye doped solar cell of the present invention provides a novel replacement for the conventional electrolyte layer that provides significant improvements in both the safety and function of the inventive dye doped solar cell while eliminating the troublesome electrolyte component that is required in the conventional dye-sensitized doped solar cells known within the art. | 01-21-2010 |
20100018575 | SOLAR CELL OF QUANTUM WELL STORE AND METHOD OF PREPARATION THEREOF - A solar cell of quantum well store is disclosed, including a semiconductor substrate ( | 01-28-2010 |
20100024871 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A method of manufacturing a photovoltaic device includes preparing a semiconductor substrate having a light incidence surface receiving light and including single crystalline silicon, wet-etching the light incidence surface to form a plurality of first protrusions on the light incidence surface, dry etching a plurality of surfaces of the first protrusions to form a plurality of second protrusions on the plurality of surfaces of the first protrusions, and forming a semiconductor layer on the light incidence surface. The method further includes forming a first electrode on the semiconductor layer and forming a second electrode on a rear surface of the semiconductor substrate facing the light incidence surface. | 02-04-2010 |
20100024872 | SEMICONDUCTOR LAYER MANUFACTURING METHOD, SEMICONDUCTOR LAYER MANUFACTURING APPARATUS, AND SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE MANUFACTURED USING SUCH METHOD AND APPARATUS - Provided are a semiconductor layer manufacturing method and a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus capable of forming a high quality semiconductor layer even by a single chamber system, with a shortened process time required for reducing a concentration of impurities that exist in a reaction chamber before forming the semiconductor layer. A semiconductor device manufactured using such a method and apparatus is also provided. The present invention relates to a semiconductor layer manufacturing method of forming a semiconductor layer inside a reaction chamber ( | 02-04-2010 |
20100024873 | METHOD AND DEVICE OF DIAMOND LIKE CARBON MULTI-LAYER DOPING GROWTH - A method of a:DLC multi-layer doping growth comprising the steps of: forming a plurality of a:DLC layers in one process, thereby creating a plurality of successively connected PIN junctions, starting from a first junction and ending in a last junction, respective PIN junctions having p-type, n-type, and intrinsic layers; varying the sp3/sp2 ratio of at least the respective p-type and n-type layers and doping with at least silver to enhance electron mobility in respective PIN junctions; and connecting the plurality of a:DLC layers between electrodes at the first side and the second side to create a device having optimized spectral response to being oriented to a light source. | 02-04-2010 |
20100032007 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL COMPRISING A THIN LAMINA HAVING A REAR JUNCTION AND METHOD OF MAKING - Fabrication of a photovoltaic cell comprising a thin semiconductor lamina may require additional processing after the semiconductor lamina is bonded to a receiver. To minimize high-temperature steps after bonding, the p−n junction is formed at the back of the cell, at the bonded surface. In some embodiments, the front surface of the semiconductor lamina is not doped or is locally doped using low-temperature methods. The base resistivity of the photovoltaic cell may be reduced, allowing a front surface field to be reduced or omitted. | 02-11-2010 |
20100032008 | ZINC OXIDE MULTI-JUNCTION PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS AND OPTOELECTRONIC DEVICES - Devices and methods of fabrication of ZnO based single and multi-junction photovoltaic cells are disclosed. ZnO based single and multijunction photovoltaic cells, and other optoelectronic devices include p-type, n-type, and undoped materials of Zn | 02-11-2010 |
20100037939 | METHODS OF FABRICATING SOLAR CELL CHIPS - A method of fabricating solar cell chips. The method includes creating an integrated circuit chip process route for fabricating integrated circuit chips using integrated circuit wafers in an integrated circuit fabrication facility; creating a solar cell process route for fabricating solar cells using solar cell wafers in the integrated circuit fabrication facility; releasing integrated circuit chip wafers and solar cell wafers into tool queues of tools of the an integrated circuit fabrication facility; and processing the solar cell wafers on at least some tools of the integrated circuit fabrication facility used to process the integrated circuit wafers. Also the process used to fabricate the solar cell chips. | 02-18-2010 |
20100037940 | STACKED SOLAR CELL - A solar cell including a first semiconductor layer formed by sequentially stacking a positive (P) layer, an intrinsic (I) layer and a negative (N) layer, wherein the P layer comprises amorphous silicon carbide and at least one of the I and N layers comprises micro-crystalline silicon. | 02-18-2010 |
20100037941 | COMPOSITIONS AND PROCESSES FOR FORMING PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES - Methods and compositions for making photovoltaic devices are provided. A metal that is reactive with silicon is placed in contact with the n-type silicon layer of a silicon substrate. The silicon substrate and reactive metal are fired to form a silicide contact to the n-type silicon layer. A conductive metal electrode is placed in contact with the silicide contact. A silicon solar cell made by such methods is also provided. | 02-18-2010 |
20100037942 | COMPOSITIONS AND PROCESSES FOR FORMING PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES - Photovoltaic cells, including silicon solar cells, and methods and compositions for making such photovoltaic cells are provided. A silicon substrate having an n-type silicon layer is provided with a silicon nitride layer, a reactive metal in contact with said silicon nitride layer, and a non-reactive metal in contact with the reactive metal. This assembly is fired to form a low Shottky barrier height contact comprised of metal nitride, and optionally metal silicide, on the silicon substrate, and a conductive metal electrode in contact with said low Shottky barrier height contact. The reactive metal may be titanium, zirconium, hafnium, vanadium, niobium, and tantalum, and combinations thereof, and the non-reactive metal may be silver, tin, bismuth, lead, antimony, arsenic, indium, zinc, germanium, nickel, phosphorus, gold, cadmium, berrylium, and combinations thereof. | 02-18-2010 |
20100037943 | VERTICAL MULTIJUNCTION CELL WITH TEXTURED SURFACE - Systems and methods that mitigate bulk recombination losses in a vertical multi junction (VMJ) cell via a texturing on a light receiving surface. The textures can be in form of cavity shaped grooves, and a plane containing repetitive cross section configurations thereof is substantially perpendicular to the direction of stacking the unit cells that form the VMJ. Incident light can be refracted in the plane that includes the cross section configurations and away from the p+ and n+ diffused doped regions. | 02-18-2010 |
20100037944 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL WITH BUFFER ZONE - Systems and methods that provide a barrier for protection of active layers associated with a vertical multi junction (VMJ) photovoltaic cell. Buffer zone(s) in form of an inactive layer(s) arrangement safe guard the active layers against induced stress or strain resulting from external forces/thermal factors (e.g., welding). The buffer zone can be in form of a rim on a surface of an end layer of a cell unit, to act as a protective boundary for such active layer, and to further partially frame the VMJ cell for ease of handling and transportation. | 02-18-2010 |
20100043872 | Photovoltaic Device With an Up-Converting Quantum Dot Layer and Absorber - A photovoltaic apparatus includes an absorber including a first quantum dot layer having a first plurality of quantum dots of a first quantum dot material in a first matrix material, and an up-converter layer positioned adjacent to the absorber layer, the up-converter layer including a second quantum dot layer having a second plurality of quantum dots of a second quantum dot material and a second matrix material. | 02-25-2010 |
20100043873 | SEMICONDUCTING DEVICES AND METHODS OF MAKING THE SAME - A semiconducting device includes a p-type semiconducting layer; a plurality of nanostructures extending from the p-type semiconducting layer; and a n-type semiconducting layer, wherein the n-type semiconducting layer coats the p-type semiconducting layer and the plurality of nanostructures. A photovoltaic cell includes a p-type layer; a plurality of nanowires protruding from the p-type layer; and a n-type layer deposited on the p-type layer and the plurality of nanowires forming a heterojunction. | 02-25-2010 |
20100051092 | SOLAR CELL HAVING HYBRID HETEROJUNCTION STRUCTURE AND RELATED SYSTEM AND METHOD - A solar cell includes multiple organic materials (including at least one donor material and at least one acceptor material) and multiple inorganic materials. The organic and inorganic materials collectively form multiple hybrid heterojunction structures. Each hybrid heterojunction structure includes at least two organic materials and at least one inorganic material. A first of the inorganic materials could include nanowires and/or nanotubes, and a second of the inorganic materials could include nanoparticles and/or quantum dots. At least some of the nanoparticles or quantum dots could have different sizes, where the different sizes are associated with different absorption bandgaps. Excitons photo-generated in at least one of the organic materials may dissociate into holes and electrons. Also, electrons and holes photo-generated in at least one of the inorganic material may separate. Further, one or more of the inorganic materials may transport at least some of the electrons towards one of multiple electrodes. | 03-04-2010 |
20100059107 | PHOTOVOLTAIC SOLAR CELL AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME - A front-surface-illuminated photovoltaic device, having a first semiconductor layer ( | 03-11-2010 |
20100059108 | OPTICAL SYSTEM FOR BIFACIAL SOLAR CELL - An apparatus and a method for its fabrication. The device may include a bifacial solar cell comprising a partially-transparent first surface and a partially-transparent second surface opposite the first surface, and an optical element comprising a first partially-transparent dielectric portion in contact with the first surface and the second surface. The optical element may be configured to receive light, to direct a first portion of the received light to the first surface, and to direct a second portion of the received light to the second surface. | 03-11-2010 |
20100059109 | Interdigitated Back Contact Silicon Solar Cells With Laser Ablated Grooves - Interdigitated back contact (IBC) solar cells are produced by depositing spaced-apart parallel pads of a first dopant bearing material (e.g., boron) on a substrate, heating the substrate to both diffuse the first dopant into corresponding first (e.g., p+) diffusion regions and to form diffusion barriers (e.g., borosilicate glass) over the first diffusion regions, and then disposing the substrate in an atmosphere containing a second dopant (e.g., phosphorus) such that the second dopant diffuses through exposed surface areas of the substrate to form second (e.g., n+) diffusion regions between the first (p+) diffusion regions (the diffusion barriers prevent the second dopant from diffusion into the first (p+) diffusion regions). The substrate material along each interface between adjacent first (p+) and second (n+) diffusion regions is then removed (e.g., using laser ablation) such that elongated grooves, which extend deeper into the substrate than the diffused dopant, are formed between adjacent diffusion regions. | 03-11-2010 |
20100059110 | MICROCRYSTALLINE SILICON ALLOYS FOR THIN FILM AND WAFER BASED SOLAR APPLICATIONS - A method and apparatus for forming solar cells is provided. Doped crystalline semiconductor alloys including carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen are used as charge collection layers for thin-film solar cells. The semiconductor alloy layers are formed by providing semiconductor source compound and a co-component source compound to a processing chamber and ionizing the gases to deposit a layer on a substrate. The alloy layers provide improved control of refractive index, wide optical bandgap, high conductivity, and resistance to attack by oxygen. | 03-11-2010 |
20100065111 | SOLAR CELLS FABRICATED BY USING CVD EPITAXIAL SI FILMS ON METALLURGICAL-GRADE SI WAFERS - One embodiment of the present invention provides a method for fabricating a solar cell. The method includes: melting a metallurgical-grade (MG) Si feedstock, lowering a single-crystalline Si seed to touch the surface of the molten MG-Si, slowly pulling out a single-crystal Si ingot of the molten MG-Si, processing the Si ingot into single crystal Si wafers to form MG-Si substrates for subsequent epitaxial growth, leaching out residual metal impurities in the MG-Si substrate, epitaxially growing a layer of single-crystal Si thin film doped with boron on the MG-Si substrate, doping phosphor to the single-crystal Si thin film to form an emitter layer, depositing an anti-reflection layer on top of the single-crystal Si thin film, and forming the front and the back electrical contacts. | 03-18-2010 |
20100065112 | Organic Photosensitive Devices Comprising a Squaraine Containing Organoheterojunction and Methods of Making Same - An organic photosensitive optoelectronic device comprising at least one Donor-Acceptor heterojunction formed from a squaraine compound of formula I: | 03-18-2010 |
20100071758 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING A SOLAR CELL - The invention relates to a solar cell that comprises a planar semiconductor substrate with a front and a back; a multitude of holes that interconnect the front and the back; and current-collecting electrical contacts that are exclusively arranged on the back. The front comprises highly doped regions and lightly doped regions of a first type such that in each case the holes are situated in a highly doped region or adjoin such a region. According to a first aspect of the invention, the highly doped regions are arranged locally around the holes. According to a second aspect of the invention, the front comprises at least one region without holes, and the highly doped regions comprise one region or several regions that extends/extend to the at least one hole-free region. The invention furthermore relates to methods for manufacturing such solar cells. | 03-25-2010 |
20100084009 | Solar Cells - A photovoltaic cell comprising a semiconductor wafer comprising a front, light receiving surface and an opposite back surface, a passivation layer on at least the back surface, a doped layer opposite in conductivity type to the wafer over the passivation layer, an induced inversion layer, a dielectric layer over the doped layer, and one or more localized emitter contacts and one or more localized base contacts on at least the back surface extending at least through the dielectric layer; and a neutral surface photovoltaic cell comprising a semiconductor wafer comprising a front, light receiving surface and an opposite back surface, neutral passivation layer on at least the back surface, a dielectric layer over the passivation layer, and one or more localized emitter contacts and one or more localized base contacts on at least the back surface extending at least through the dielectric layer. | 04-08-2010 |
20100084010 | Solar Cell Having Tandem Organic and Inorganic Structures and Related System and Method - A solar cell includes an organic heterojunction having at least one donor material and at least one acceptor material. The solar cell also includes an inorganic heterojunction having multiple inorganic semiconductor materials. The organic heterojunction and the inorganic heterojunction could absorb light in different portions of a solar spectrum. For example, the organic heterojunction could absorb higher-energy photons, and the inorganic heterojunction could absorb lower-energy photons. The inorganic heterojunction could include a p-type inorganic semiconductor material having a bandgap between one and two electron-volts and an n-type inorganic semiconductor material having a bandgap greater than three electron-volts. An inorganic semiconductor layer could be placed between the organic heterojunction and the inorganic heterojunction. The inorganic semiconductor layer could be configured to collect holes generated by the organic heterojunction and to block electrons generated by the organic heterojunction. | 04-08-2010 |
20100084011 | ORGANIC TANDEM SOLAR CELLS - There is disclosed an organic photovoltaic device comprising two or more organic photoactive regions located between a first electrode and a second electrode, wherein each of the organic photoactive regions comprise a donor, and an acceptor, and wherein the organic photovoltaic device comprises at least one exciton blocking layer, and at least one charge recombination layer, or charge transfer layer between the two or more photoactive regions. It has been discovered that a high open circuit voltage can been obtained for organic tandem solar cells according to this disclosure. Methods of making and methods of using are also disclosed. | 04-08-2010 |
20100084012 | HETEROJUNCTION PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL WITH DUAL DOPING AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE - The invention concerns a photovoltaic cell comprising a heterojunction between a crystalline semiconductor substrate ( | 04-08-2010 |
20100084013 | SOLAR CELL - A solar cell is disclosed. The solar cell includes an n-type or p-type amorphous silicon layer, a transparent electrode, and a metal buffer layer between the transparent electrode and the amorphous silicon layer. The metal buffer layer contains at least one of In, Sn, B, Al, Ga, and Zn. When the transparent electrode contains indium tin oxide (ITO), the metal buffer layer contains at least one of In and Sn. When the transparent electrode contains zinc oxide, the metal buffer layer contains at least one of B, Al, Ga, and Zn. | 04-08-2010 |
20100089440 | Dual Junction InGaP/GaAs Solar Cell - The present application is directed to a multi-terminal semiconductor solar cell. The solar cell may be dual junction solar cells comprising single junctions independently interconnected by a middle lateral conduction layer (MLCL). The solar cells may include a GaAs subcell, a GaInP subcell, and a MLCL disposed therebetween. In addition, the solar cells may include a plurality of terminals. One terminal may be operatively connected to the GaAs subcell, a second terminal may be operatively connected to the GaInP subcell and a third terminal may be operatively connected to the MLCL. | 04-15-2010 |
20100089441 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING THIN-FILM PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES - A method is provided for producing a thin-film device such as a photovoltaic device. The method begins by forming at least one semiconductor device on a first substrate. At least one secondary substrate having a plurality of indentations is attached to the at least one semiconductor device. The at least one semiconductor device is separated from the at least one first substrate. | 04-15-2010 |
20100089442 | Three-terminal Two-junction Phtovoltaic Cells and Method of Use - A method of operating a multi-junction photovoltaic cell with junctions connected in series includes operating each junction at a different, respective maximum power point. A photovoltaic circuit includes: at least one multi-junction photovoltaic cell, comprising at least first, second, and third terminals; a first junction of the photovoltaic cell positioned intermediate the first and second terminals; a second junction of the photovoltaic cell positioned intermediate the second and third terminals; and a device for independently setting current flow through the first junction and the second junction to allow for maximum power point operation of each junction, the device for setting current flow being connected to the second terminal. | 04-15-2010 |
20100089443 | PHOTON PROCESSING WITH NANOPATTERNED MATERIALS - Methods, devices, and compositions related to organic solar cells, sensors, and other photon processing devices are disclosed. In some aspects, an organic semiconducting composition is formed with nano-sized features, e.g., a layer conforming to a shape exhibiting nano-sized tapered features. Such structures can be formulated as an organic n-type and/or an organic p-type layer incorporated in a device that exhibits enhanced conductor mobility relative to conventional structures such as planar layered formed organic semiconductors. The nanofeatures can be formed on an exciton blocking layer (“EBL”) surface, with an organic semiconducting layer deposited thereon to conform with the EBL's surface features. A variety of material possibilities are disclosed, as well as a number of different configurations. Such organic structures can be used to form flexible solar cells in a roll-out format. | 04-15-2010 |
20100101638 | Using 3d integrated diffractive gratings in solar cells - A multi-junction opto-electronic device including a stack of wavelength selective absorption layers is proposed. The absorption layers include each a first layer with a grating of a specific pitch defining the wavelength of the incident light to be absorbed within a subjacent second electrically active layer itself on a third electrically inactive layer. The second electrically active layer within the different absorption layers is in electrical connection with lateral contacts to extract the electrical charge carriers generated by the absorbed incident light within the active layer. The grating within the first layer of the absorption layers is defined by periodic stripes of specific width depending on the wavelength to be absorbed by the respective absorption layers. The period of the stripes alignment is defined by the pitch of the grating. Advantageously, ordinary silicon technology can be used. | 04-29-2010 |
20100108129 | SILICON SOLAR CELL AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A silicon solar cell and a method of manufacturing the same are disclosed. The silicon solar cell includes a silicon semiconductor substrate doped with first conductive impurities, an emitter layer doped with second conductive impurities having polarities opposite polarities of the first conductive impurities on the substrate, an anti-reflective layer on an entire surface of the substrate, an upper electrode that passes through the anti-reflective layer and is connected to the emitter layer, and a lower electrode connected to a lower portion of the substrate. The emitter layer includes a first emitter layer heavily doped with the second conductive impurities and a second emitter layer lightly doped with the second conductive impurities. A surface resistance of the second emitter layer is 100 Ohm/sq to 120 Ohm/sq. | 05-06-2010 |
20100108130 | Thin Interdigitated backside contact solar cell and manufacturing process thereof - A design and manufacturing method for an interdigitated backside contact photovoltaic (PV) solar cell less than 100 μm thick are disclosed. A porous silicon layer is formed on a wafer substrate. Portions of the PV cell are then formed using diffusion, epitaxy and autodoping from the substrate. All backside processing of the solar cell (junctions, passivation layer, metal contacts to the N | 05-06-2010 |
20100108131 | Techniques for Use of Nanotechnology in Photovoltaics - Techniques for combining nanotechnology with photovoltaics are provided. In one aspect, a method of forming a photovoltaic device is provided comprising the following steps. A plurality of nanowires are formed on a substrate, wherein the plurality of nanowires attached to the substrate comprises a nanowire forest. In the presence of a first doping agent and a first volatile precursor, a first doped semiconductor layer is conformally deposited over the nanowire forest. In the presence of a second doping agent and a second volatile precursor, a second doped semiconductor layer is conformally deposited over the first doped layer. The first doping agent comprises one of an n-type doping agent and a p-type doping agent and the second doping agent comprises a different one of the n-type doping agent and the p-type doping agent from the first doping agent. A transparent electrode layer is deposited over the second doped semiconductor layer. | 05-06-2010 |
20100116327 | FOUR JUNCTION INVERTED METAMORPHIC MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELL - A method of manufacturing a solar cell by providing a first semiconductor substrate and depositing a first sequence of layers of semiconductor material to form a first solar subcell, including a first bond layer disposed on the top of the first sequence of layers. A second semiconductor substrate is provided, and on the top surface of the second substrate a second sequence of layers of semiconductor material is deposited forming at least a second solar subcell. A second bond layer is disposed on the top of said second sequence of layers. The first solar subcell is mounted on top of the second solar subcell by joining the first bond layer to the second bond layer in an ultra high vacuum chamber, and the first semiconductor substrate is removed. | 05-13-2010 |
20100122724 | Four Junction Inverted Metamorphic Multijunction Solar Cell with Two Metamorphic Layers - A multijunction solar cell including an upper first solar subcell having a first band gap; a second solar subcell adjacent to the first solar subcell and having a second band gap smaller than the first band gap; a first graded interlayer adjacent to the second solar subcell; the first graded interlayer having a third band gap greater than the second band gap; and a third solar subcell adjacent to the first graded interlayer, the third subcell having a fourth band gap smaller than the second band gap such that the third subcell is lattice mismatched with respect to the second subcell. A second graded interlayer is provided adjacent to the third solar subcell; the second graded interlayer having a fifth band gap greater than the fourth band gap; and a lower fourth solar subcell is provided adjacent to the second graded interlayer, the lower fourth subcell having a sixth band gap smaller than the fourth band gap such that the fourth subcell is lattice mismatched with respect to the third subcell. | 05-20-2010 |
20100122725 | Nanostructured Devices - A photovoltaic device is provided. It comprises at least two electrical contacts, p type dopants and n type dopants. It also comprises a bulk region and nanowires in an aligned array which contact the bulk region. All nanowires in the array have one predominant type of dopant, n or p, and at least a portion of the bulk region also comprises that predominant type of dopant. The portion of the bulk region comprising the predominant type of dopant typically contacts the nanowire array. The photovoltaic devices' p-n junction would then be found in the bulk region. The photovoltaic devices would commonly comprise silicon. | 05-20-2010 |
20100122726 | METHOD AND STRUCTURE FOR THIN FILM PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL USING SIMILAR MATERIAL JUNCTION - A method for forming a thin film photovoltaic device. The method provides a transparent substrate including a surface region. A first electrode layer overlies the surface region. A copper layer is formed overlying the first electrode layer and an indium layer is formed overlying the copper layer to form a multi-layered structure. At least the multi-layered structure is subjected to a thermal treatment process in an environment containing a sulfur bearing species to forming a bulk copper indium disulfide. The bulk copper indium disulfide material has a surface region characterized by a copper poor surface region having a copper to indium atomic ratio of less than about 0.95:1 and n-type impurity characteristics. The bulk copper indium disulfide material excluding the copper poor surface region forms an absorber region and the copper poor surface region forms at least a portion of a window region for the thin film photovoltaic device. The method optionally forms a high resistivity transparent material having an intrinsic semiconductor characteristic overlying the copper poor surface region. A second electrode layer overlies the high resistivity transparent layer. | 05-20-2010 |
20100126569 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD OF FABRICATING THE SAME - A solar cell includes: a semiconductor substrate having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface; uneven patterns disposed on at least one of the first surface and the second surface of the semiconductor substrate; a first impurity layer disposed on the uneven patterns and which includes a first part having a first doping concentration and a second part having a second doping concentration greater than the first doping concentration; and a first electrode which contacts the second part of the first impurity layer and does not contact the first part of the first impurity layer. | 05-27-2010 |
20100126570 | THIN ABSORBER LAYER OF A PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE - Methods and apparatus are provided for converting electromagnetic radiation, such as solar energy, into electric energy with increased efficiency when compared to conventional solar cells. In one embodiment of a photovoltaic (PV) device, the PV device generally includes an n-doped layer and a p | 05-27-2010 |
20100126571 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE WITH INCREASED LIGHT TRAPPING - Methods and apparatus are provided for converting electromagnetic radiation, such as solar energy, into electric energy with increased efficiency when compared to conventional solar cells. A photovoltaic (PV) device may incorporate front side and/or back side light trapping techniques in an effort to absorb as many of the photons incident on the front side of the PV device as possible in the absorber layer. The light trapping techniques may include a front side antireflective coating, multiple window layers, roughening or texturing on the front and/or the back sides, a back side diffuser for scattering the light, and/or a back side reflector for redirecting the light into the interior of the PV device. With such light trapping techniques, more light may be absorbed by the absorber layer for a given amount of incident light, thereby increasing the efficiency of the PV device. | 05-27-2010 |
20100126572 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE WITH BACK SIDE CONTACTS - Methods and apparatus for converting electromagnetic radiation, such as solar energy, into electric energy with increased efficiency when compared to conventional solar cells are provided. A photovoltaic (PV) device generally includes a window layer; an absorber layer disposed below the window layer such that electrons are generated when photons travel through the window layer and are absorbed by the absorber layer; and a plurality of contacts for external connection coupled to the absorber layer, such that all of the contacts for external connection are disposed below the absorber layer and do not block any of the photons from reaching the absorber layer through the window layer. Locating all the contacts on the back side of the PV device avoids solar shadows caused by front side contacts, typically found in conventional solar cells. Therefore, PV devices described herein with back side contacts may allow for increased efficiency when compared to conventional solar cells. | 05-27-2010 |
20100126573 | SOLAR CELL WITH A BACKSIDE VIA TO CONTACT THE EMITTER LAYER - A solar cell structure is provided for reducing shadow losses without increasing series resistance in the solar cell device. The solar cell device may form an electrical contact to a solar cell emitter layer from the backside of the solar cell device. With this structure, the emitter contact shadow losses may be reduced significantly while simultaneously decreasing device series resistance. | 05-27-2010 |
20100132773 | GRAPHITE-BASED PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS - The present invention uses lithographically patterned graphite stacks as the basic building elements of an efficient and economical photovoltaic cell. The basic design of the graphite-based photovoltaic cells includes a plurality of spatially separated graphite stacks, each comprising a plurality of vertically stacked, semiconducting graphene sheets (carbon nanoribbons) bridging electrically conductive contacts. | 06-03-2010 |
20100132774 | Thin Film Silicon Solar Cell Device With Amorphous Window Layer - Photovoltaic devices and methods of manufacture are provided. In an embodiment, the devices comprise a micro-crystal silicon cell having an amorphous silicon layer formed on the micro-crystal cell. | 06-03-2010 |
20100132775 | ADHESION BETWEEN AZO AND AG FOR THE BACK CONTACT IN TANDEM JUNCTION CELL BY METAL ALLOY - Methods of promoting adhesion between a reflective backing layer and a solar cell substrate are provided. The reflective backing layer is formed over a conductive metal oxide layer as an alloy using reflective and adhesive components, the adhesive components being present in levels generally below about 5 atomic percent. Techniques are disclosed for depositing varying the concentration of the reflective backing layer to localize the adhesive components in an adhesion region near the conductive metal oxide layer. Techniques are also disclosed for boosting bonding species in the conductive metal oxide layer to further enhance adhesion. | 06-03-2010 |
20100132776 | SOLAR CELL - A solar cell which is comprising a p | 06-03-2010 |
20100132777 | Photoelectic conversion element and method of producing the same - The present invention provides a photoelectric conversion element having a high power generation efficiency, raising no problem of corrosion, and being applicable to a substrate having a low heat resistance, as well as a method of producing the same. Two sheets of photocatalyst electrodes ( | 06-03-2010 |
20100132778 | SOLAR CELL, METHOD OF FABRICATING THE SAME AND APPARATUS FOR FABRICATING THE SAME - A method of fabricating a solar cell includes forming a first electrode on a transparent substrate; forming a first impurity-doped semiconductor layer on the first electrode; forming a light absorption layer on the first impurity-doped semiconductor layer and including a plurality of sub-layers, the plurality of sub-layers having stepwisely varying energy band gaps; forming a second impurity-doped semiconductor layer on the light absorption layer; and forming a second electrode on the second impurity-doped semiconductor layer. | 06-03-2010 |
20100132779 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD OF FABRICATING THE SAME - A solar cell includes a first electrode on a substrate; a plurality of pillars on the first electrode; a semiconductor layer on the first electrode, wherein a surface area of the semiconductor layer is greater than a surface area of the first electrode; and a second electrode over the semiconductor layer. | 06-03-2010 |
20100132780 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE - Methods and apparatus are provided for converting electromagnetic radiation, such as solar energy, into electric energy with increased efficiency when compared to conventional solar cells. A photovoltaic (PV) unit, according to embodiments of the invention, may have a very thin absorber layer produced by epitaxial lift-off (ELO), all electrical contacts positioned on the back side of the PV device to avoid shadowing, and/or front side and back side light trapping employing a diffuser and a reflector to increase absorption of the photons impinging on the front side of the PV unit. Several PV units may be combined into PV banks, and an array of PV banks may be connected to form a PV module with thin strips of metal or conductive polymer applied at low temperature. Such innovations may allow for greater efficiency and flexibility in PV devices when compared to conventional solar cells. | 06-03-2010 |
20100132781 | Back-Contacted Photovoltaic Device - A new photovoltaic device includes at least one front emitter made of a p- or n-doped semiconductor material, coupled with at least one rear part made of an n- or p-doped semiconductor material, wherein the front part of the emitter is connected to a plurality of contacts located at the back of the device by means of one or more diffuser elements in the shape of plates, ducts or generic elements in relief made of p- or n-doped semiconductor material, which extend from the front part of the emitter through all or part of the n- or p-doped part. | 06-03-2010 |
20100139745 | Back Contact Sliver Cells - A solar cell uses a sliver of a silicon wafer as a substrate. The sliver has a front side that faces the sun during normal operation. The front side of the sliver includes a surface from along a thickness of the wafer, allowing for more efficient use of silicon. Metal contacts are formed on the back side of the sliver. The metal contacts electrically connect to the emitter and base of the solar cell, which may be formed within the sliver or be made of polysilicon. The emitter of the solar cell may be a P-type doped region and the base of the solar cell may be an N-type doped region, for example. The solar cell may include an anti-reflective coating formed on the front side of the sliver. The anti-reflective coating may be over a textured surface on the front side of the sliver. | 06-10-2010 |
20100139746 | SOLAR CELL DEVICE, SOLAR CELL MODULE, AND CONNECTOR DEVICE - A solar cell device includes a solar cell with a semiconductor having at least one p-doped region and at least one n-doped region. Electrical p-contacts and n-contacts on the back of the solar cell are connected to correspondingly doped regions of the semiconductor. At least one p-busbar is connected to the electrical p-contacts and at least one n-busbar is connected to the electrical n-contacts. The busbars collect current of the electrical contacts and form a direction of longitudinal extension and a connection arrangement providing an electrically conductive connection of at least one busbar of the solar cell to at least one busbar of an adjacent solar cell. The connection arrangement includes at least one first connection section extending essentially perpendicular to the direction of longitudinal extension of the busbars, which connection section, by way of connection regions, is connected in a point-like manner with at least one busbar. | 06-10-2010 |
20100139747 | Single-crystal nanowires and liquid junction solar cells - A method of making semiconducting oxide nanowire arrays on such as rutile is disclosed wherein a substrate is heated in the presence of a reaction mixture of non-polar solvent, semi-conductor metal oxide precursor source and strong acid to produce a nanowire array of a semiconducting oxide on the substrate. Dye sensitized solar cells that employ these nanowire arrays also are disclosed. | 06-10-2010 |
20100139749 | SOLAR CONCENTRATORS AND MATERIALS FOR USE THEREIN - A solar concentrator for concentrating and communicating lower energy light than sunlight to a solar cell, having a chromophore comprised of at least one of neodymium, ytterbium, or vanadium, and having an optical waveguide for directing light to an optical communication region. | 06-10-2010 |
20100139750 | FLEXIBLE ENERGY CONVERSION DEVICE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME - Disclosed is a flexible energy conversion device, comprising a first flexible substrate, a transparent electrode disposed on the first flexible substrate, a first nanostructure disposed on the transparent electrode and comprising a transition metal oxide or semi-metal oxide, a second nanostructure disposed on the first nanostructure, a second flexible substrate disposed on the second nanostructure, and a sealing layer for sealing the first flexible substrate an the second flexible substrate. A method of manufacturing the flexible energy conversion device is also provided. | 06-10-2010 |
20100139751 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - A first solar battery unit and a second solar battery unit are stacked between a front-side electrode and a backside electrode and sandwiching an intermediate layer having conductivity, and a Schottky barrier is formed between the intermediate layer and an electrode connecting layer which connects the front-side electrode and the backside electrode. | 06-10-2010 |
20100139752 | SOLAR CELL RECEIVER HAVING AN INSULATED BYPASS DIODE - A solar cell receiver comprising a solar cell having one or more III-V compound semiconductor layers, a diode coupled in parallel with the solar cell and operable to be forward-biased in instances when the solar cell is not generating above a threshold voltage, a coating substantially encapsulating the diode, an undercoating that substantially eliminates any air gap between the anode and cathode of the diode, and a connector adapted to couple to other solar cell receivers. | 06-10-2010 |
20100147365 | HIGH FIDELITY NANO-STRUCTURES AND ARRAYS FOR PHOTOVOLTAICS AND METHODS OF MAKING THE SAME - A photovoltaic device includes an electron accepting material and an electron donating material. One of the electron accepting or donating materials is configured and dimensioned as a first component of a bulk heterojunction with a predetermined array of first structures, each first structure is substantially equivalent in three dimensional shape, has a substantially equivalent cross-sectional dimension, and where each first structure of the array of first structures has a substantially equivalent orientation with respect to adjacent first structures of the predetermined array forming a substantially uniform array. | 06-17-2010 |
20100147366 | Inverted Metamorphic Multijunction Solar Cells with Distributed Bragg Reflector - A multijunction solar cell including an upper first solar subcell having a first band gap; a middle second solar subcell adjacent to the first solar subcell and having a second band gap smaller than the first band gap, and having a base layer and an emitter layer, a graded interlayer adjacent to the second solar subcell; the graded interlayer having a third band gap greater than said second band gap; a third solar subcell adjacent to the interlayer, the third subcell having a fourth band gap smaller than the second band gap such that the third subcell is lattice mismatched with respect to the second subcell; and a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) adjacent the second or third subcell. | 06-17-2010 |
20100147367 | Volume Compensation Within a Photovoltaic Device - A photovoltaic device having (i) an outer transparent casing, (ii) a substrate, the substrate and the outer transparent casing defining an inner volume, (iii) at least one solar cell on the substrate, (iv) a filler layer sealing the at least one solar cell and (v) a container within the inner volume is provided. The container decreases in volume when the filler layer expands, and increases in volume when the filler layer contracts. In some instances, the container is sealed and has a plurality of ridges. In some instances, the container has an opening that is sealed by a spring loaded seal. In some instances, the container has a first opening and a second opening, where the first opening is sealed by a first spring loaded seal and the second opening is sealed by a second spring loaded seal. In some instances, the container has an elongated asteroid shape. | 06-17-2010 |
20100147368 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL WITH SHALLOW EMITTER - A photovoltaic semiconductor apparatus for use in forming a solar cell with shallow emitter is disclosed The apparatus includes first and second adjacent oppositely doped volumes of semiconductor material forming a semiconductor heterojunction The apparatus also includes a first passivation layer of material on the front side, the first passivation layer having a first outer surface and a plurality of openings therethrough defining corresponding unpassivated areas of the front side that are unpassivated by the first passivation layer The apparatus further includes a first conductive anti-reflective coacting on the first outer surface of the passivation layer and on the corresponding unpassivated areas of the front side The apparatus may further include dielectric antireflective coating on an outer surface of the first passivation layer. | 06-17-2010 |
20100147369 | SOLAR CELL HAVING NANODIAMOND QUANTUM WELLS - The present invention provides materials, devices, and methods for generation of electricity from solar power. In one aspect, the present invention includes a solar cell, including a first conductor, a doped silicon layer in electrical communication with the first conductor, a nanodiamond layer in contact with the doped silicon layer, a doped amorphous diamond layer in contact with the nanodiamond layer, and a second conductor in electrical communication with the doped amorphous diamond layer. | 06-17-2010 |
20100147370 | MULTIPLE STACK DEPOSITION FOR EPITAXIAL LIFT OFF - Embodiments of the invention are provided for a thin film stack containing a plurality of epitaxial stacks disposed on a substrate and a method for forming such a thin film stack. In one embodiment, the epitaxial stack contains a first sacrificial layer disposed over the substrate, a first epitaxial film disposed over the first sacrificial layer, a second sacrificial layer disposed over the first epitaxial film, and a second epitaxial film disposed over the second sacrificial layer. The thin film stack may further contain additional epitaxial films disposed over sacrificial layers. Generally, the epitaxial films contain gallium arsenide alloys and the sacrificial layers contain aluminum arsenide alloys. Methods provide the removal of the epitaxial films from the substrate by etching away the sacrificial layers during an epitaxial lift off (ELO) process. The epitaxial films are useful as photovoltaic cells, laser diodes, or other devices or materials. | 06-17-2010 |
20100147371 | Energy harvesting devices - Energy harvesting devices including first nano-helixes amplifying incident electromagnetic waves, second nano-helixes inducing currents from the electromagnetic waves amplified by the first nano-helixes, and a diode rectifying induced currents generated by the second nano-helixes. | 06-17-2010 |
20100147372 | VIA STRUCTURES IN SOLAR CELLS WITH BYPASS DIODE - A solar cell including a semiconductor body with a multijunction solar cell and an integral bypass diode, at least one via extending between the upper and lower surfaces of the semiconductor body and electrically conducting elements of the solar cell. | 06-17-2010 |
20100154873 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL COMPRISING CCONTACT REGIONS DOPED THROUGH LAMINA - In aspects of the present invention, a lamina is formed having opposing first and second surfaces. Heavily doped contact regions extend from the first surface to the second surface. Generally the lamina is formed by affixing a semiconductor donor body to a receiver element, then cleaving the lamina from the semiconductor donor body wherein the lamina remains affixed to the receiver element. In the present invention, the heavily doped contact regions are formed by doping the semiconductor donor body before cleaving of the lamina. A photovoltaic cell comprising the lamina is then fabricated. By forming the heavily doped contact regions before bonding to the receiver element and cleaving, post-bonding high-temperature steps can be avoided, which may be advantageous. | 06-24-2010 |
20100154874 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - The oxidation of a lower electrode by the reaction between a metal element in the lower electrode and oxygen in a bonding layer is suppressed. The contamination of a semiconductor layer that is a photoelectric conversion layer by the diffusion of the metal element in the lower electrode into the semiconductor layer is suppressed. The invention relates to a photoelectric conversion device including a backside electrode layer, a crystalline semiconductor layer having a semiconductor junction, and a light-receiving-side electrode layer over a substrate having an insulating surface, in which the backside electrode layer has a stacked structure including a first conductive layer formed with a metal nitride or a refractory metal, a second conductive layer including aluminum (Al) or silver (Ag) as its main component, and a third conductive layer having low resistivity with a semiconductor material, and also relates to a manufacturing method thereof | 06-24-2010 |
20100154875 | COMPOSITIONS AND PROCESSES FOR FORMING PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES - Photovoltaic cells, including silicon solar cells, and methods and compositions for making such photovoltaic cells are provided. A silicon substrate having p-type silicon base and an n-type silicon layer is provided with a silicon nitride layer, an exchange metal in contact with the silicon nitride layer, and a non-exchange metal in contact with the exchange metal. This assembly is fired to form a metal silicide contact on the silicon substrate, and a conductive metal electrode in contact with the metal silicide contact. The exchange metal is from nickel, cobalt, iron, manganese, molybdenum, and combinations thereof, and the non-exchange metal is from silver, copper, tin, bismuth, lead, antimony, arsenic, indium, zinc, germanium, gold, cadmium, berrylium, and combinations thereof. | 06-24-2010 |
20100154876 | MODULAR INTERDIGITATED BACK CONTACT PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL STRUCTURE ON OPAQUE SUBSTRATE AND FABRICATION PROCESS - A back contact integrated photovoltaic cell includes a substrate having a dielectric surface and a patterned metal layer with parallel spaced alternately positive and negative electrode fingers forming an interdigitated two-terminal structure over the dielectric surface of the substrate. A dielectric filler may be in the interstices of separation between adjacent spaced parts of the patterned metal layer. Parallel spaced strips, alternately of p | 06-24-2010 |
20100163100 | Photovoltaic Device and Process for Producing Same - A photovoltaic device with improved cell properties having a photovoltaic layer comprising microcrystalline silicon-germanium, and a process for producing the device. A buffer layer comprising microcrystalline silicon or microcrystalline silicon-germanium, and having a specific Raman peak ratio is provided between a substrate-side impurity-doped layer and an i-layer comprising microcrystalline silicon-germanium. | 07-01-2010 |
20100170563 | Method and Apparatus for Light Absorption and Charged Carrier Transport - Embodiments of the invention pertain to the use of alloyed semiconductor nanocrystals for use in solar cells. The use of alloyed semiconductor nanocrystals offers materials that have a flexible stoichiometry. The alloyed semiconductor may be a ternary semiconductor alloy, such as A | 07-08-2010 |
20100175745 | SURFACE PLASMON-ENHANCED PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE - Photovoltaic devices are driven by intense photoemission of “hot” electrons from a suitable nanostructured metal. The metal should be an electron source with surface plasmon resonance within the visible and near-visible spectrum range (near IR to near UV (about 300 to 1000 nm)). Suitable metals include silver, gold, copper and alloys of silver, gold and copper with each other. Silver is particularly preferred for its advantageous opto-electronic properties in the near UV and visible spectrum range, relatively low cost, and simplicity of processing. | 07-15-2010 |
20100175746 | TANDEM SOLAR CELL - This application is related to a tandem solar cell device including a substrate, a first tunnel junction formed on the substrate, and a first p-n junction formed on the first tunnel junction wherein the first tunnel junction including a heavily doped n-type layer and an alloy layer wherein the alloy layer having an element with atomic number larger than that of Gallium. | 07-15-2010 |
20100180935 | Multiple band gapped cadmium telluride photovoltaic devices and process for making the same - A heterojunction photovoltaic device for the production of electrical energy in response to the incident light includes an optically transparent substrate, a front contact formed of an transparent conductive oxide for collecting light generated charge carriers, an n-type window layer formed of cadmium sulfide or zinc sulfide, a p-type absorber structure disposed on the window layer, thereby forming a rectification junction therebetween, and a back contact comprising at least one metal layer. The p-type absorber structure has a plurality of p-type absorber layers in contiguous contact. Each absorber layer contains cadmium as a principal constituent and has a different composition and a different band gap energy. The first absorber layer is in contiguous contact with the n-type window layer. The band gap energy progressively decreases from the first absorber layer to the last absorber layer in the p-type absorber structure. | 07-22-2010 |
20100180936 | Multijunction solar cell - A multijunction solar cell according to example embodiments may include a plurality of sub cells, each sub cell having a different band gap energy. At least one of the plurality of sub cells may be a GaAsN sub cell having alternately stacked first layers and second layers. The first layers may be formed of GaAs | 07-22-2010 |
20100180937 | HOLOGRAPHIC ENERGY-COLLECTING MEDIUM AND ASSOCIATED DEVICE - An energy-collecting medium including an optically transparent holographic layer is presented. The energy-collecting medium includes a photochemically active dye and an optically transparent polymer material. Also provided is a method for making an optically transparent holographic layer. An energy conversion device including the energy-collecting medium is also provided. | 07-22-2010 |
20100186802 | HIT SOLAR CELL STRUCTURE - The present invention relates to improved HIT type or polysilicon emitter solar cells. According to certain aspects, the invention includes forming a masking oxide layer on the front and back of the cell and then patterning holes in the masking oxide. A HIT cell structure or polysilicon emitter solar cell structure is then formed over the patterned oxide, creating the cell junction only in the areas where holes have been cut. Benefits of the invention include that it provides a controlled interface for the HIT cell through insertion of a thin tunnel oxide. Moreover, the tunnel oxide prevents epitaxial growth of amorphous silicon, allowing it to remain amorphous for the optimum band structure. Still further, it provides a layer to protect the surface from plasma damage during deposition of the a-Si layer. Further, it may be used in conjunction with a point contact structure to further increase efficiency. | 07-29-2010 |
20100186803 | BURIED INSULATOR ISOLATION FOR SOLAR CELL CONTACTS - The present invention relates to methods and apparatuses for providing a buried insulator isolation for solar cell contacts. According to certain aspects, the invention places a buried oxide under the emitter of a polysilicon emitter solar cell. The oxide provides an excellent passivation layer over most of the surface. Holes in the oxide provide contact areas, increasing the current density to enhance efficiency. The oxide isolates the contacts from the substrate, achieving the advantage of a selective emitter structure without requiring deep diffusions. The oxide further enables use of screen printing on advanced shallow emitter cells. Positioning of the grid lines close to the openings also enables use of a very thin emitter to maximize blue response. | 07-29-2010 |
20100186804 | String Interconnection of Inverted Metamorphic Multijunction Solar Cells on Flexible Perforated Carriers - A method of forming a multijunction solar cell string by providing a first multijunction solar cell including a contact pad disposed adjacent the top surface of the multijunction solar cell along a first peripheral edge thereof; providing a second multijunction solar cell disposed adjacent said first multijunction solar cell, having a top surface and a bottom surface, and including a cut-out extending from a second peripheral edge along the top surface of the second solar cell located adjacent the first peripheral edge of said first multijunction solar cell, and extending to a metal contact layer adjacent the bottom surface of said second multijunction solar cell to allow an electrical contact to be made to the metal contact layer; mounting said first and said second multijunction solar cells on a first side of a perforated carrier; attaching a first electrical interconnect to the contact pad of said first multijunction solar cell, the electrical interconnect extending through said perforated carrier; attaching a second electrical interconnect to the metal contact layer of said second multijunction solar cell, the electrical interconnect extending through said perforated carrier; and connecting said first electrical interconnect to said second electrical interconnect. | 07-29-2010 |
20100186805 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL BASED ON ZINC OXIDE NANORODS AND METHOD FOR MAKING THE SAME - A new photovoltaic (PV) cell structure, prepared on transparent substrate with transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layer and having nanorod zinc oxide layer. The cell has a thin conductive layer of doped zinc oxide deposited on the nanorod zinc oxide layer, an extremely thin blocking layer of titanium oxide or indium sulfide on the thin conductive layer, a buffer layer of indium sulfide on the extremely thin blocking layer, an absorber layer, comprising copper indium disulfide on said buffer layer and one electrode attached to the transparent conductive oxide layer and a second electrode attached to the absorber layer. Also, a method of preparing a zinc oxide nanorod PV cell entirely by chemical spray pyrolysis is disclosed. Efficiency up to 3.9% is achieved by simple continuous non-vacuum process. | 07-29-2010 |
20100193016 | Photovoltaic Cell and Production Thereof - A process for producing a photovoltaic device having a substrate comprising silicon doped with a first dopant, the process comprising the steps of: a. forming a first layer over a front surface of the substrate, the first layer comprising a second dopant of a conductivity type opposite the first dopant; b. forming a second surface coating over the first layer; c. forming elongate grooves reaching or entering the silicon substrate, d. forming a third layer within the grooves, the layer comprising a third dopant of a conductivity type opposite to the first dopant; e. forming a contact finger system which intersects with the grooves to provide an electrically conducting front contact; and f. forming a second contact. | 08-05-2010 |
20100193017 | SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC STRUCTURE COMPRISING QUANTIZED INTERACTION SENSITIVE NANOCELLS - A light-to-electrical energy conversion device comprising a nano structure is formed on a surface of a semiconductor substrate. The nanostructure comprises an array of basic light antenna nanocells, with the individual antenna nanocells formed as “rectenna” structures. Light energy is absorbed within each independent antenna nanocell and converted to direct current. In one particular configuration, the structure of each basic nanocell comprises a cavity or cavities dimensioned to accept light as the wave of classical physics. These cavities function as quantum confinement sites for electrons that constitute an absorbing mass. The cavity dimensionality provides a determinative factor in wavelength discrimination of the nanocell structure. | 08-05-2010 |
20100193018 | ROBUST PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL - This disclosure describes devices and methods in which photovoltaic cells are configured such that an active layer of a photovoltaic cell is protected against an environmental condition by another active cell layer that is more robust against the environmental condition. In one aspect, the disclosure describes a multi-junction photovoltaic device that includes (a) an upper photovoltaic cell portion that has a first plurality of active layers of films, at least a subset of which form an upper photovoltaic sub-cell and (b) a lower photovoltaic cell portion disposed below the upper photovoltaic cell portion that has a second plurality of layers of films, at least a subset of which form a lower photovoltaic sub-cell. The first plurality of active layers, of the upper cell portion, include at least two layers of films having different degrees of robustness from each other against environmental conditions, such as exposure to water or oxygen. The two active layers are disposed such that the layer having the lower degree of robustness is located below the other layer having the higher degree of robustness. Specific examples of materials and method used to make multi-junction photovoltaic cells are also described. | 08-05-2010 |
20100193019 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE WITH LIGHT COLLECTING ELECTRODE - The application discloses a solar cell having a lower series resistance by designing the sectional configuration of the electrode and adjusting the distance of the neighboring two electrodes and the width of the electrode while the quantity of the incident light is not impaired thereof. | 08-05-2010 |
20100200051 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR PREPARATION THEREOF - The present invention relates to a dye sensitized solar cell comprising a semiconductor formed of a particulate metal oxide, a dye adsorbed onto the semiconductor wherein the semiconductor interface with the dye is formed by atomic layer deposition (ALD) of a semiconductor material onto the particulate metal oxide. | 08-12-2010 |
20100200052 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE AND PROCESS FOR PRODUCING SAME - An object of the present invention is to provide a photovoltaic device and a process for producing such a photovoltaic device that enable a stable, high photovoltaic conversion efficiency to be achieved by using a transparent electrode having an optimal relationship between the resistivity and the transmittance. At least one transparent electrode ( | 08-12-2010 |
20100206365 | Inverted Metamorphic Multijunction Solar Cells on Low Density Carriers - A method of manufacturing a solar cell by providing a first substrate; depositing on the first substrate a sequence of layers of semiconductor material forming a solar cell; mounting and bonding a surrogate second substrate on top of the sequence of layers; removing the first substrate; and thinning a plurality of discrete, spaced-apart portions of the backside of the surrogate second substrate so as to reduce its weight. | 08-19-2010 |
20100206366 | PHOTOVOLTAIC MULTI-JUNCTION WAVELENGTH COMPENSATION SYSTEM AND METHOD - Systems and methods are disclosed for current loss compensation in multi-junction photovoltaic cells. The use of direct electrical contact with the interconnect layers in a multi-junction PV cell can improve cell efficiency over variable lighting conditions. Electrical contact with some or all of the interconnect layers can advantageously permit disconnection of subcells operating at low current or voltage. The result is multi-junction PV cells that can adapt to variable lighting conditions and compensate for a decrease in current in certain subcells, thereby advantageously improving a multi-junction PV cell's total output current. | 08-19-2010 |
20100206367 | METHOD FOR FABRICATING SILICON NANO WIRE, SOLAR CELL INCLUDING SILICON NANO WIRE AND METHOD FOR FABRICATING SOLAR CELL - A method for fabricating a silicon nano wire, a solar cell including the silicon nano wire and a method for fabricating the solar cell. The solar cell includes a substrate, a first++-type poly-Si layer formed on the substrate, a first-type silicon nano wire layer including a first-type silicon nano wire grown from the first++-type poly-Si layer, an intrinsic layer formed on the substrate having the first-type silicon nano wire layer, and a second-type doping layer formed on the intrinsic layer. | 08-19-2010 |
20100206368 | THIN FILM SOLAR CELL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD FOR THE SAME - Thin film solar cell and a manufacturing method for the same are disclosed. Thin film solar cell according to one embodiment of this document comprises a substrate, a first electrode positioned on the substrate including a plurality of conductive particles and having unevenness on the surface thereof, an absorption layer positioned on the first electrode, and a second electrode positioned on the absorption layer. | 08-19-2010 |
20100206369 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A solar cell and a method for manufacturing the same are disclosed. The solar cell includes a semiconductor layer containing first impurities, a first portion positioned on a first part of one surface of the semiconductor layer, the first portion being more heavily doped with second impurities different from the first impurities than the semiconductor layer, a second portion positioned on a second part of the one surface of the semiconductor layer, the second portion being more heavily doped with the first impurities than the semiconductor layer, and a third portion positioned between the first portion and the second portion, the third portion having an impurity concentration lower than an impurity concentration of the first portion and an impurity concentration of the second portion. | 08-19-2010 |
20100212728 | Diode and Photovoltaic Device Using Carbon Nanostructure - To provide an electronic device employing a carbon nanostructure and exhibiting novel characteristics. | 08-26-2010 |
20100212729 | Epitaxial Growth of III-V Compounds on (111) Silicon for Solar Cells - A multi-junction device can be used as a high efficiency solar cell, laser, or light-emitting diode. Multiple epitaxial films grown over a substrate have very low defect densities because an initial epitaxial layer is a coincidence-site lattice (CSL) layer that has III-V atoms that fit into lattice sites of Silicon atoms in the substrate. The substrate is a Si (111) substrate which has a step height between adjacent terraces on its surface that closely matches the step height of GaAs (111). Any anti-phase boundaries (APBs) formed at terrace steps cancel out within a few atomic layers of GaAs in the (111) orientation since the polarity of the GaAs molecule is aligned with the (111) direction. A low CSL growth temperature grows GaAs horizontally along Si terraces before vertical growth. Tunnel diode and active solar-cell junction layers can be grown over the CSL at higher temperatures. | 08-26-2010 |
20100212730 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES INCLUDING BACK METAL CONTACTS - A photovoltaic cell can include a substrate having a transparent conductive oxide layer, a CdS/CdTe layer, and a back metal contact. The back metal contact can be deposited by sputtering or by chemical vapor deposition. | 08-26-2010 |
20100212731 | Photovoltaic Devices Including Controlled Copper Uptake - A photovoltaic cell can include a substrate having a copper-doped semiconductor layer. The doping can be mediated with a salt. | 08-26-2010 |
20100218813 | SILICON WAFER BASED STRUCTURE FOR HETEROSTRUCTURE SOLAR CELLS - A multi-junction photovoltaic device includes a silicon substrate and a dielectric layer formed on the silicon substrate. A germanium layer is formed on the dielectric layer. The germanium includes a crystalline structure that is substantially similar to the crystalline structure of the silicon substrate. A first photovoltaic sub-cell includes a first plurality of doped semiconductor layers formed on the germanium layer. At least a second photovoltaic sub-cell includes a second plurality of doped semiconductor layers formed on the first photovoltaic sub-cell that is on the germanium layer that is on the dielectric layer. | 09-02-2010 |
20100224236 | Nanohole Film Electrodes - Nanohole electrodes useful in opto-electronic devices, and in particular, organic photovoltaics devices incorporating nanohole electrodes, are disclosed. An exemplary embodiment includes a photovoltaic device with a first electrode comprising a nanohole film, a second electrode, and an active layer located between the electrodes. Methods of producing a nanostructured electrode are also provided. | 09-09-2010 |
20100224237 | SOLAR CELL WITH BACKSIDE CONTACT NETWORK - A solar cell having back side contacts and method for forming the same is disclosed. A substrate of the solar cell has a first region that is n-doped and a second region that is p-doped. A first active region is above the n-doped region and a second active region is above p-doped region. A front region connects the top of the first active region to the top of the second active region to allow charge carriers to transfer from one active region to the other active region. The solar cell has a first conductive contact on the back side of the substrate and proximate the n-doped region and a second conductive contact on the back side of the substrate and proximate the p-doped region. | 09-09-2010 |
20100224238 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL COMPRISING AN MIS-TYPE TUNNEL DIODE - A photovoltaic cell comprising a thin semiconductor lamina is described; the lamina is formed by cleaving from a donor wafer while the wafer is bonded to a receiver element which provides mechanical support. Thus fabrication steps performed following cleaving are advantageously performed at temperatures that will not damage the receiver element. By fabricating a cell comprising an MIS-type tunnel diode, rather than a conventional p-n diode, a high-temperature doping step may be avoided. | 09-09-2010 |
20100224239 | Multijunction solar cell with a bypass diode - In a preferred embodiment, a layer of TiAu is placed in an etch in a solar cell with a contact at a doped layer of GaAs. Electric current is conducted through a diode and away from the main cell by passing through the contact point at the GaAs and traversing a lateral conduction layer. These means of activating, or “turning on” the diode, and passing the current through the circuit results in greater efficiencies than in prior art devices. The diode is created during the manufacture of the other layers of the cell and does not require additional manufacturing. | 09-09-2010 |
20100224240 | COUNTERDOPING FOR SOLAR CELLS - Methods of counterdoping a solar cell, particularly an IBC solar cell are disclosed. One surface of a solar cell may require portions to be n-doped, while other portions are p-doped. Traditionally, a plurality of lithography and doping steps are required to achieve this desired configuration. In contrast, one lithography step can be eliminated by the use of a blanket doping of one conductivity and a mask patterned counterdoping process of the opposite conductivity. The areas dosed during the masked patterned doping receive a sufficient dose so as to completely reverse the effect of the blanket doping and achieve a conductivity that is opposite the blanket doping. In another embodiment, the counterdoping is performed by means of a direct patterning technique, thereby eliminating the remaining lithography step. Various methods of direct counterdoping processes are disclosed. | 09-09-2010 |
20100229926 | Four Junction Inverted Metamorphic Multijunction Solar Cell with a Single Metamorphic Layer - A multijunction solar cell including an upper first solar subcell having a first band gap; a second solar subcell adjacent to the first solar subcell and having a second band gap smaller than the first band gap; a graded interlayer adjacent to the second solar subcell; the first graded interlayer having a third band gap greater than the second band gap; and a third solar subcell adjacent to the graded interlayer, the third subcell having a fourth band gap smaller than the second band gap such that the third subcell is lattice mismatched with respect to the second subcell. A lower fourth solar subcell is provided adjacent to the third subcell and lattice matched thereto, the lower fourth subcell having a fifth band gap smaller than the fourth band gap. | 09-16-2010 |
20100229927 | HETEROJUNCTION SOLAR CELL BASED ON EPITAXIAL CRYSTALLINE-SILICON THIN FILM ON METALLURGICAL SILICON SUBSTRATE DESIGN - One embodiment of the present invention provides a heterojunction solar cell. The solar cell includes a metallurgical-grade Si (MG-Si) substrate, a layer of heavily doped crystalline-Si situated above the MG-Si substrate, a layer of lightly doped crystalline-Si situated above the heavily doped crystalline-Si layer, a backside ohmic-contact layer situated on the backside of the MG-Si substrate, a passivation layer situated above the heavily doped crystalline-Si layer, a layer of heavily doped amorphous Si (a-Si) situated above the passivation layer, a layer of transparent-conducting-oxide (TCO) situated above the heavily doped a-Si layer, and a front ohmic-contact electrode situated above the TCO layer. | 09-16-2010 |
20100229928 | BACK-CONTACT PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL COMPRISING A THIN LAMINA HAVING A SUPERSTRATE RECEIVER ELEMENT - A photovoltaic assembly comprises a thin semiconductor lamina and a receiver element, where the receiver element serves as a superstrate in the completed device. The photovoltaic assembly includes a photovoltaic cell. The photovoltaic cell is a back-contact cell; photocurrent passes into and out of the back surface of the cell, but does not pass through the light-facing surface. The lamina is typically substantially crystalline and has a thickness less than about 100 microns, in some embodiments 10 microns or less. | 09-16-2010 |
20100229929 | Strained-Enhanced Silicon Photon-To-Electron Conversion Devices - Improved silicon solar cells, silicon image sensors and like photosensitive devices are made to include strained silicon at or sufficiently near the junctions or other active regions of the devices to provide increased sensitivity to longer wavelength light. Strained silicon has a lower band gap than conventional silicon. One method of making a solar cell that contains tensile strained silicon etches a set of parallel trenches into a silicon wafer and induces tensile strain in the silicon fins between the trenches. The method may induce tensile strain in the silicon fins by filling the trenches with compressively strained silicon nitride or silicon oxide. A deposited layer of compressively strained silicon nitride adheres to the walls of the trenches and generates biaxial tensile strain in the plane of adjacent silicon fins. | 09-16-2010 |
20100229930 | HIGHLY DOPED LAYER FOR TUNNEL JUNCTIONS IN SOLAR CELLS - A highly doped layer for interconnecting tunnel junctions in multijunction solar cells is presented. The highly doped layer is a delta doped layer in one or both layers of a tunnel diode junction used to connect two or more p-on-n or n-on-p solar cells in a multijunction solar cell. A delta doped layer is made by interrupting the epitaxial growth of one of the layers of the tunnel diode, depositing a delta dopant at a concentration substantially greater than the concentration used in growing the layer of the tunnel diode, and then continuing to epitaxially grow the remaining tunnel diode. | 09-16-2010 |
20100229931 | Back contact for thin film solar cells - Disclosed is a novel thin film photovoltaic device and a process of making. The device comprises an interface layer between the absorber layer and the electrode resulting in an improved back contact and improved device efficiency. The interface layer comprises a material comprising a M | 09-16-2010 |
20100229932 | Inverted Metamorphic Multijunction Solar Cells - A method of forming a multijunction solar cell comprising an upper subcell, a middle subcell, and a lower subcell comprising providing a first substrate for the epitaxial growth of semiconductor material; forming a first solar subcell on said substrate having a first band gap; forming a second solar subcell over said first subcell having a second band gap smaller than said first band gap; and forming a grading interlayer over said second subcell having a third band gap larger than said second band gap forming a third solar subcell having a fourth band gap smaller than said second band gap such that said third subcell is lattice mismatched with respect to said second subcell. | 09-16-2010 |
20100236613 | Single Heterojunction Back Contact Solar Cell - A back contact single heterojunction solar cell and associated fabrication process are provided. A first semiconductor substrate is provided, lightly doped with a first dopant type. The substrate has a first energy bandgap. A second semiconductor is formed over a region of the substrate backside. The second semiconductor has a second energy bandgap, larger than the first energy bandgap. A third semiconductor layer is formed over the first semiconductor substrate topside, moderately doped with the first dopant and textured. An emitter is formed in the substrate backside, heavily doped with a second dopant type, opposite of the first dopant type, and a base is formed in the substrate backside, heavily doped with the first dopant type. Electrical contacts are made to the base and emitter. Either the emitter or base is formed in the second semiconductor. | 09-23-2010 |
20100236614 | HYBRID PHOTOVOLTAICS BASED ON SEMICONDUCTOR NANOCRYSTALS AND AMORPHOUS SILICON - Semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) are promising materials for applications in photovoltaic (PV) structures that could benefit from size-controlled tunability of absorption spectra, the ease of realization of various tandem architectures, and perhaps, increased conversion efficiency in the ultraviolet through carrier multiplication. The first practical step toward utilization of the unique properties of NCs in PV technologies could be through their integration into traditional silicon-based solar cells. Here, we demonstrate an example of such hybrid PV structures that combine colloidal NCs with amorphous silicon. In these structures, NCs and silicon are electronically coupled, and the regime of this coupling can be tuned by altering the alignment of NC states with regard to silicon band edges. For example, using wide-gap CdSe NCs we demonstrate a photoresponse which is exclusively due to the NCs. On the other hand, in devices comprising narrow-gap PbS NCs, both the NCs and silicon contribute to photocurrent, which results in PV response extending from the visible to the near-infrared. This work demonstrates the feasibility of hybrid PV devices that combine advantages of mature silicon fabrication technologies with the unique electronic properties of semiconductor NCs. | 09-23-2010 |
20100236615 | Integrated Semiconductor Structure with a Solar Cell and a Bypass Diode - An integral semiconductor device having a sequence of layers of semiconductor material. The semiconductor device may include a first region in which the sequence of layers of semiconductor material forms at least one cell of a multijunction solar cell including a metamorphic layer with a graded lattice constant. The semiconductor device may also include a second region, spaced apart from the first region, in which the sequence of layers in the second region forms a support for a bypass diode that functions to pass current when the solar cell is shaded. | 09-23-2010 |
20100243038 | SOLAR CELL ASSEMBLY WITH COMBINED HANDLE SUBSTRATE AND BYPASS DIODE AND METHOD - A solar cell assembly and method are disclosed. The solar cell assembly comprises a substrate having a front surface and a back surface, wherein the substrate has a p-n junction providing reverse bias protection, and wherein the substrate functions as a bypass diode. The solar cell assembly further comprises a multijunction solar cell having a plurality of solar cell layers, wherein the multijunction solar cell has a first surface and a second surface, the first surface being attached to the front surface of the substrate. The solar cell assembly further comprises an electrical connector element positioned adjacent the front surface of the substrate and the first surface of the multijunction solar cell, a first contact coupled to the back surface of the substrate, and at least one second contact coupled to a portion of the second surface of the multijunction solar cell. | 09-30-2010 |
20100243039 | LAYER FOR THIN FILM PHOTOVOLTAICS AND A SOLAR CELL MADE THEREFROM - A photovoltaic device is provided comprising a layer. The layer comprises a plurality of grains separated by grain boundaries wherein the grains are either p-type or n-type. The grain boundaries comprise an active dopant. The active dopant concentration in the grain boundaries is higher than the effective dopant concentration in the grains. The grains and grain boundaries may be of the same type or of the opposite type. Further, when the grain boundaries are n-type the bottom of the grain boundaries may be p-type. A method of making the layer is also disclosed. | 09-30-2010 |
20100243040 | SOLAR CELL AND FABRICATION METHOD THEREOF - Disclosed are a metal wrap through solar cell including a metal wrap through (MWT) structure as a back contact silicon solar cell and a fabrication method thereof. | 09-30-2010 |
20100243041 | Apparatus and Method for Solar Cells with Laser Fired Contacts in Thermally Diffused Doped Regions - This invention relates to an apparatus and a method for solar cells with laser fired contacts in thermally diffused doped regions. The cell includes a doped wafer and a plurality of first highly doped regions having a first conductivity type. The cell also includes a plurality of second highly doped regions having an opposite conductivity type from the first conductivity type and a passivation layer disposed over at least a portion of each the plurality of first highly doped regions and the plurality of second highly doped regions. The cell also includes a network of conductors having a first conductor and a second conductor, and a plurality of contacts electrically connecting the first highly doped regions with the first conductor and electrically connecting the second highly doped regions with the second conductor. | 09-30-2010 |
20100243042 | HIGH-EFFICIENCY PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS - A high efficiency photovoltaic cell includes a single crystalline or multi-crystalline silicon substrate as an absorber and a selective emitter structure on the front of the absorber. On the back of the absorber is a laminate of intrinsic amorphous hydrogenated silicon, heavily doped amorphous hydrogenated silicon, a transparent conductive oxide and back metallic contact. A method of manufacturing this high efficiency photovoltaic cell includes texturing both surfaces of the absorber, forming the various layers and annealing the photovoltaic cell. | 09-30-2010 |
20100258168 | SILICON-BASED DIELECTRIC STACK PASSIVATION OF SI-EPITAXIAL THIN-FILM SOLAR CELLS - One embodiment of the present invention provides a solar cell. The solar cell includes a metallurgical-grade Si (MG-Si) substrate, a first layer of heavily doped crystalline-Si situated above the MG-Si substrate, a layer of lightly doped crystalline-Si situated above the first heavily doped crystalline-Si layer, a backside ohmic-contact layer situated on the backside of the MG-Si substrate, a second layer of heavily doped crystalline-Si situated above the lightly doped crystalline-Si layer, a first layer of dielectric situated above the second heavily doped crystalline-Si layer, a second layer of dielectric situated above the first dielectric layer, and front electrodes situated above the second dielectric layer. | 10-14-2010 |
20100258169 | PULSED PLASMA DEPOSITION FOR FORMING MICROCRYSTALLINE SILICON LAYER FOR SOLAR APPLICATIONS - A method for an intrinsic type microcrystalline silicon layer is provided. In one embodiment, the microcrystalline silicon layer is fabricated by providing a substrate into a processing chamber, supplying a gas mixture into the processing chamber, applying a RF power at a first mode in the gas mixture, pulsing the gas mixture into the processing chamber, and applying the RF power at a second mode in the pulsed gas mixture. | 10-14-2010 |
20100258170 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CONCENTRATING SOLAR ENERGY WITHOUT TRACKING THE SUN - Systems and methods for concentrating solar energy without tracking the sun are provided. In one embodiment, the invention relates to a solar collector assembly for collecting and concentrating light for solar cell assemblies, the collector assembly including an array of solar collectors, each including a funnel shaped collector including a side wall defining a tapered opening having a base aperture and an upper aperture, the side wall including an outer surface, and a solar cell assembly positioned at the base aperture, where the outer surface is coated with a material that substantially reflects light, where the upper aperture is wider than the base aperture, where the funnel shaped collector is configured to substantially confine light, incident via the upper aperture, within the funnel shaped collector until the light exits proximate the base aperture, and where the solar cell assembly is configured to capture light exiting the base aperture. | 10-14-2010 |
20100258171 | SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE - A solar photovoltaic device is provided and includes a solar cell body, a window layer on the solar cell body, and a current collection layer on the window layer. The current collection layer includes a patterned structure, and a portion of the window layer is exposed by the patterned structure. | 10-14-2010 |
20100258172 | SEMICONDUCTOR STRUCTURE - An electronic structure includes a first area having silicon grains having a size smaller than 100 micrometers and a second area superposed to the first area and having silicon grains having a size greater than or equal to 100 micrometers. The first and second areas form a support. At least one layer of an epitaxial semiconductor material is disposed on the second area. | 10-14-2010 |
20100269895 | MULTIJUNCTION PHOTOVOLTAIC STRUCTURE WITH THREE-DIMENSIONAL SUBCELL - A multijunction photovoltaic structure includes a first subcell including a p-n or p-i-n junction with elongated structures; and a second subcell, arranged in tandem with the first subcell, and including a planar p-n or p-i-n junction. | 10-28-2010 |
20100269896 | MICROCRYSTALLINE SILICON ALLOYS FOR THIN FILM AND WAFER BASED SOLAR APPLICATIONS - A method and apparatus for forming solar cells is provided. Doped crystalline semiconductor alloys including carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen are used as light-trapping enhancement layers and charge collection layers for thin-film solar cells. The semiconductor alloy layers are formed by providing semiconductor source compound and a co-component source compound to a processing chamber and ionizing the gases to deposit a layer on a substrate. The alloy layers provide improved control of refractive index, wide optical bandgap and high conductivity. | 10-28-2010 |
20100269897 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE AND PROCESS FOR PRODUCING SAME - A photovoltaic device that exhibits improved light absorption properties for the electric power generation layer and a process for producing such a photovoltaic device are provided by optimizing the surface shape of the back surface structure. A photovoltaic device | 10-28-2010 |
20100269898 | METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL AND PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL - A method for manufacturing a photovoltaic cell that is provided with an upper electrode that is arranged on the light incoming side and functions as a power extraction electrode, the method including the step of: forming the upper electrode on a substrate by sputtering using a target that contains a zinc oxide-based material, wherein in the step of forming the upper electrode, the sputtering is performed in an atmosphere that contains two or three selected from a group consisting of hydrogen gas, oxygen gas, and water vapor. | 10-28-2010 |
20100269899 | Solar Cell - The invention provides a method for increasing the usable surface area of a semiconductor wafer having a substantially planar surface and a thickness dimension at right angles to said substantially planar surface, the method including the steps of selecting a strip thickness for division of the wafer into a plurality of strips, selecting a technique for cutting the wafer into the strips at an angle to the substantially planar surface, in which the combined strip thickness and width of wafer removed by the cutting is less than the thickness of the wafer, cutting the wafer into strips using the selected technique and separating the strips from each other. | 10-28-2010 |
20100275982 | GROUP IV NANOPARTICLE JUNCTIONS AND DEVICES THEREFROM - A device for generating electricity from solar radiation is disclosed. The device includes a wafer doped with a first dopant, the wafer including a front-side and a back-side, wherein the front-side is configured to be exposed to the solar radiation. The device also includes a fused Group IV nanoparticle thin film deposited on the front-side, wherein the nanoparticle thin film includes a second dopant, wherein the second dopant is a counter dopant. The device further includes a first electrode deposited on the nanoparticle thin film, and a second electrode deposited on the back-side, wherein when solar radiation is applied to the front-side, an electrical current is produced. | 11-04-2010 |
20100275983 | Bifacial solar cells with overlaid back grid surface - A simplified manufacturing process and the resultant bifacial solar cell (BSC) are provided, the simplified manufacturing process reducing manufacturing costs. The BSC includes an active region located on the front surface of the substrate, formed for example by a phosphorous diffusion step. After removing the PSG, assuming phosphorous diffusion, and isolating the front junction, dielectric layers are deposited on the front and back surfaces. Contact grids are formed, for example by screen printing. Prior to depositing the back surface dielectric, a metal grid may be applied to the back surface, the back surface contact grid registered to, and alloyed to, the metal grid during contact firing. | 11-04-2010 |
20100275984 | Bifacial solar cells with back surface doping - A simplified manufacturing process and the resultant bifacial solar cell (BSC) are provided, the simplified manufacturing process reducing manufacturing costs. The BSC includes an active region located on the front surface of the substrate, formed for example by a phosphorous diffusion step. The back surface includes a doped region, the doped region having the same conductivity as the substrate but with a higher doping level. Contact grids are formed, for example by screen printing. Front junction isolation is accomplished using a laser scribe. | 11-04-2010 |
20100282305 | Inverted Multijunction Solar Cells with Group IV/III-V Hybrid Alloys - A method of manufacturing a solar cell comprising providing a growth substrate; depositing on said growth substrate a sequence of layers of semiconductor material forming a solar cell, including at least one subcell composed of a group IV/III-V hybrid alloy such as GeSiSn; and removing the semiconductor substrate. | 11-11-2010 |
20100282306 | Multijunction Solar Cells with Group IV/III-V Hybrid Alloys - A method of manufacturing a solar cell by providing a germanium semiconductor growth substrate; and depositing on the semiconductor growth substrate a sequence of layers of semiconductor material forming a solar cell, including a subcell composed of a group IV/III-V hybrid alloy. | 11-11-2010 |
20100282307 | Multijunction Solar Cells with Group IV/III-V Hybrid Alloys for Terrestrial Applications - A solar cell including a substrate; a first solar subcell composed of GeSiSn disposed over the substrate and having a first band gap; a second solar subcell composed of GaAs, InGaAsP, or InGaP and disposed over the first solar subcell having a second band gap greater than the first band gap and lattice matched to said first solar subcell; and a third solar subcell composed of GaInP and disposed over the second solar subcell having a third band gap greater than the second band gap and lattice matched with respect to the second subcell. | 11-11-2010 |
20100282308 | Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell - A dye-sensitized solar cell includes a transparent substrate, a light-transmitting electrode, a metal oxide layer loaded with a dye, an electrolyte polymer layer, a counter electrode and a counter electrode substrate which are laminated in this order, and is characterized in that the electrolyte polymer layer is a solid-state layer containing a conductive polymer (A) doped with a doping agent and an ionic compound (B) mutually substitutable with a dopant ion species of the doping agent. Accordingly, light can be directly and stably converted into electricity for a long period of time, and a change of the conversion efficiency with time is small. | 11-11-2010 |
20100282309 | TANDEM PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL - A photovoltaic element ( | 11-11-2010 |
20100282310 | ELECTROMAGNETIC EMISSION CONVERTER - The invention relates to electromagnetic radiation converters. In a first embodiment, the inventive converter comprises at least one collecting region of a first conductivity type, at least one collecting region of a second conductivity type and first and second current-collecting conducting electrodes. On a first, second conductivity type substrate side sensitive to the incident electromagnetic radiation, N>1 first conductivity type regions are provided, each of which spaced apart at a distance of F<2 | 11-11-2010 |
20100288344 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR WAVELENGTH CONVERSION IN SOLAR CELLS AND SOLAR CELL COVERS - Method and apparatus for providing a photon conversion device including a first layer for photon absorption, and a second layer for photon emission wherein the first layer is separate from the second layer, wherein the first and second layers enable excited electrons and holes to move from the first layer to the second layer and recombine in the second layer. | 11-18-2010 |
20100288345 | QUANTUM DOT THIN FILM SOLAR CELL - A quantum dot thin film solar cell is provided, which at least includes a first electrode layer, an optical active layer, and a second electrode layer sequentially deposited on a substrate. A plurality of quantum dots is formed in the optical active layer. Since the plurality of quantum dots and the optical active layer are formed through co-sputtering, an interface adhesion between the plurality of quantum dots and the optical active layer is good in this quantum dot thin film solar cell. | 11-18-2010 |
20100288346 | Configurations and methods to manufacture solar cell device with larger capture cross section and higher optical utilization efficiency - A method of creating a High efficiency solar cell with a Triangular or Sinusoidal parallel Ridge above the surface, below the surface, buried under the surface and also back of the cell to improve capture cross section is described in this invention. | 11-18-2010 |
20100294349 | BACK CONTACT SOLAR CELLS WITH EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT DESIGNS AND CORRESPONDING PATTERNING PROCESSES - Laser based processes are used alone or in combination to effectively process doped domains for semiconductors and/or current harvesting structures. For example, dopants can be driven into a silicon/germanium semiconductor layer from a bare silicon/germanium surface using a laser beam. Deep contacts have been found to be effective for producing efficient solar cells. Dielectric layers can be effectively patterned to provide for selected contact between the current collectors and the doped domains along the semiconductor surface. Rapid processing approaches are suitable for efficient production processes. | 11-25-2010 |
20100294350 | PHOTO-ELECTRODE COMPRISING CONDUCTIVE NON-METAL FILM, AND DYE-SENSITIZED SOLAR CELL COMPRISING THE SAME - Provided are a photo-electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells, and back contact dye-sensitized solar cells comprising the same. The photo-electrode includes a porous membrane having metal oxide nano-particles adsorbed in a photosensitive dye directly contacting a transparent substrate without intermediation of a conductive film, so that the photo-electrode has advanced light transmittance without absorption and scattering of incident light by the conductive film and application possibilities to a thin film retaining a high-level of electrical conductivity, as well as an easy forming method for the conductive film. | 11-25-2010 |
20100294351 | Graded Organic Photovoltaic Device - A photovoltaic device includes a first heterojunction layer having a first donor type organic material and a first acceptor type organic material, in which a concentration of at least one of the first donor type organic material and the first acceptor type organic material is graded continuously from a first side of the first heterojunction layer to a second side of the first heterojunction layer. | 11-25-2010 |
20100300517 | SOLAR CELL MODULE - A solar cell module includes a first isolation groove for separating the first electrode layer; a second isolation groove for separating each of the first semiconductor layer, the transparent conductive layer, and the second semiconductor layer; and a third isolation groove formed in a position opposite from the first isolation groove across the second isolation groove and for separating each of the second electrode layer, the second semiconductor layer, the transparent conductive layer, and the first semiconductor layer. The second electrode layer includes: a first conductive layer formed on the first semiconductor layer constituting a bottom surface of the second isolation groove, on an inner wall of the second isolation groove, and on the second semiconductor layer; and a second conductive layer formed on the first conductive layer. A resistivity of the first conductive layer is higher than a resistivity of the second conductive layer, and the first conductive layer is filled on the first electrode layer constituting the bottom surface of the second isolation groove, up to at least a position of an interface between the transparent conductive layer and the second conductive layer. | 12-02-2010 |
20100300518 | THREE-DIMENSIONAL THIN-FILM SEMICONDUCTOR SUBSTRATE WITH THROUGH-HOLES AND METHODS OF MANUFACTURING - A method for the fabrication of a three-dimensional thin-film semiconductor substrate with selective through-holes is provided. A porous semiconductor layer is conformally formed on a semiconductor template comprising a plurality of three-dimensional inverted pyramidal surface features defined by top surface areas aligned along a (100) crystallographic orientation plane of the semiconductor template and a plurality of inverted pyramidal cavities defined by sidewalls aligned along the (111) crystallographic orientation plane of the semiconductor template. An epitaxial semiconductor layer is conformally formed on the porous semiconductor layer. The epitaxial semiconductor layer is released from the semiconductor template. Through-holes are selectively formed in the epitaxial semiconductor layer with openings between the front and back lateral surface planes of the epitaxial semiconductor layer to form a partially transparent three-dimensional thin-film semiconductor substrate. | 12-02-2010 |
20100307572 | Heterojunction III-V Photovoltaic Cell Fabrication - A method for forming a heterojunction III-V photovoltaic (PV) cell includes performing layer transfer of a base layer from a wafer of a III-V substrate, the base layer being less than about 20 microns thick; forming an intrinsic layer on the base layer; forming an amorphous silicon layer on the intrinsic layer; and forming a transparent conducting oxide layer on the amorphous silicon layer. A heterojunction III-V photovoltaic (PV) cell includes a base layer comprising a III-V substrate, the base layer being less than about 20 microns thick; an intrinsic layer located on the base layer; an amorphous silicon layer located on the intrinsic layer; and a transparent conducting oxide layer located on the amorphous silicon layer. | 12-09-2010 |
20100307573 | SOLAR CELL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - A solar cell comprises a p-type layer, an i-type layer, and an n-type layer, the p-type layer comprises a high-absorption amorphous silicon carbide layer and a low-absorption amorphous silicon carbide layer which have different absorption coefficients with respect to light of a wavelength of 600 nm along a thickness direction, and a buffer layer is provided between the low-absorption amorphous silicon carbide layer and the i-type layer. | 12-09-2010 |
20100307574 | SOLAR CELL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - A solar cell comprises a p-type layer ( | 12-09-2010 |
20100313941 | VERTICAL JUNCTION TANDEM/MULTI-JUNCTION PV DEVICE - A vertical multi-junction photovoltaic device includes a structured substrate including a plurality of substantially vertical elongated structures protruding from a planar surface of the structured substrate. An areal density of the elongated structures at a first sliced plane parallel to the planer surface is different than an areal density of the elongated structures at a second sliced plane parallel to the planar surface. The device further includes least a first sub-cell and a second sub-cell, each having a corresponding vertical p-n or p-i-n junction formed of conformal layers, the first sub-cell being formed in a first region incorporating the first sliced plane and the second sub-cell being formed above the first sub-cell in a second region incorporating the second sliced plane. | 12-16-2010 |
20100313942 | PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING A PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULE HAVING MULTIPLE SEMICONDUCTOR LAYER STACKS - A method of manufacturing a photovoltaic module is provided. The method includes providing an electrically insulating substrate and a lower electrode, depositing a lower stack of silicon layers above the lower electrode, and depositing an upper stack of silicon layers above the lower stack. The lower and upper stacks include N-I-P junctions. The lower stack has an energy band gap of at least 1.60 eV while the upper stack has an energy band gap of at least 1.80 eV. The method also includes providing an upper electrode above the upper stack. The lower and upper stacks convert incident light into an electric potential between the upper and lower electrodes with the lower and upper stacks converting different portions of the light into the electric potential based on wavelengths of the light. | 12-16-2010 |
20100313943 | Thin-film solar cell and process for producing it - The present invention relates to a thin-film solar cell and a process for producing it, where the rear-side layer structure of the thin-film solar cell has a multilayer structure comprising a metallic bonding layer, a transition layer and an Ag-containing reflector layer and displays a high degree of reflection and good adhesion of the layer system. | 12-16-2010 |
20100313944 | WRAPPED OPTOELECTRONIC DEVICES AND METHODS FOR MAKING SAME - In various embodiments, optoelectronic devices are described herein. The optoelectronic device may include an optoelectronic cell arranged so as to wrap around a central axis wherein the cell includes a first conductive layer, a semi-conductive layer disposed over and in electrical communication with the first conductive layer, and a second conductive layer disposed over and in electrical communication with the semi-conductive layer. In various embodiments, methods for making optoelectronic devices are described herein. The methods may include forming an optoelectronic cell while flat and wrapping the optoelectronic cell around a central axis. The optoelectronic devices may be photovoltaic devices. Alternatively, the optoelectronic devices may be organic light emitting diodes. | 12-16-2010 |
20100319763 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A method for manufacturing a solar cell may include forming an emitter region that forms a p-n junction with a semiconductor substrate of a first conductive type, forming a passivation layer on the semiconductor substrate, forming a dopant layer containing impurities of the first conductive type on the passivation layer, and locally forming a back surface field region at the semiconductor substrate by irradiating laser beams onto the semiconductor substrate to diffuse the impurities into the semiconductor substrate. | 12-23-2010 |
20100319764 | Functional Integration Of Dilute Nitrides Into High Efficiency III-V Solar Cells - Tunnel junctions are improved by providing a rare earth-Group V interlayer such as erbium arsenide (ErAs) to yield a mid-gap state-assisted tunnel diode structure. Such tunnel junctions survive thermal energy conditions (time/temperature) in the range required for dilute nitride material integration into III-V multi-junction solar cells. | 12-23-2010 |
20100326503 | Fiber Optic Solar Nanogenerator Cells - A dye-sensitized solar cell including ZnO nanowire arrays grown of a flat substrate for harvesting solar energy is integrated with a piezoelectric nanogenerator for harvesting ultrasonic wave energy. The two energy harvesting approaches work simultaneously or individually and can be integrated in parallel or serial for raising the output current, voltage or power, respectively. A solar cell employs an optical fiber and semiconductor nanowires grown around the fiber. A p-n junction based design, organic-inorganic heterojunction, or a dye-sensitized structure is built at the surfaces of the nanowires. Light entering the fiber from a tip propagates through the fiber until it enters a nanowire where it reaches a photovoltaic element. Light entering the fiber cannot escape until it interacts with a photovoltaic element, thereby increasing the solar conversion efficiency. The fiber can transmit light, while the nanowires around the fibers increase the surface area of light exposure. | 12-30-2010 |
20100326504 | SOLAR CELL AND FABRICATION METHOD THEREOF - The present invention relates to a solar cell and a fabrication method thereof, whereby the method includes doping a silicon substrate having a first conductive type impurity with a second conductive type impurity, the second conductive type impurity being opposite to the first conductive type impurity, and thereby forming an emitter layer at a front surface part of the silicon substrate; forming an antireflection film on the emitter layer; forming a front electrode on the antireflection film; forming a rear electrode on a rear surface of the silicon substrate; and forming a back surface field layer at a rear surface part of the silicon substrate, the back surface field layer having a concentration of the first conductive type impurity that is higher than that of the silicon substrate, the back surface field layer having a different concentration of the second conductive type impurity from that of the emitter layer. | 12-30-2010 |
20100326505 | DYE-SENSITIZED SOLAR CELLS AND MANUFACTURING METHOD FOR THEREOF - Dye-sensitized solar cell and a manufacturing method for the same are disclosed. Dye-sensitized solar cell according to one embodiment of this document can comprise a first substrate including a first electrode, a photo-absorption layer positioned on the first substrate, and a second substrate including a second electrode, the second substrate positioned on the photo-absorption layer and the photo-absorption layer including a middle layer where a plurality of holes are formed. | 12-30-2010 |
20100326506 | Photovoltaic Cells Comprising Group IV-VI Semiconductor Core-Shell Nanocrystals - The present invention relates to photovoltaic cells comprising group IV-VI semiconductor nanocrystals as photoactive components. In particular, these nanocrystals are of core-shell or core-alloyed shell configuration, each comprising a core of a first group IV-VI semiconductor material having a selected band gap energy, and either a core-overcoating shell consisting of a second group IV-VI semiconductor material or a core-overcoating alloyed shell consisting of an alloy of said first group IV-VI semiconductor material and a second group IV-VI semiconductor material, respectively. | 12-30-2010 |
20100326507 | SOLAR CELL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - In a manufacturing method of a thin film solar cell in which a p-type layer, an i-type layer, and an n-type layer are layered, the i-type layer is an amorphous silicon layer, the n-type layer is a microcrystalline silicon layer, and in a process of forming the n-type layer, a doping concentration of an n-type dopant is increased as a distance from the i-type layer is increased. | 12-30-2010 |
20100326508 | MIXED-TYPE HETEROJUNCTION THIN-FILM SOLAR CELL STRUCTURE AND METHOD FOR FABRICATING THE SAME - The present invention discloses a mixed-type heterojunction thin-film solar cell structure and a method for fabricating the same. Firstly, a conductive substrate and a template are provided, and the template has a substrate and an inorganic wire array formed on the substrate. Next, a conjugate polymer layer is formed on the conductive substrate. Next, the inorganic wire array is embedded into the conjugate polymer layer. Next, the substrate is separated from the inorganic wire array. Then, an electrode layer is formed over the inorganic wire array and the conjugate polymer layer. The solar cell structure of the present invention has advantages of flexibility, high energy conversion efficiency and low fabrication cost. | 12-30-2010 |
20110000530 | METHOD OF FABRICATION OF A BACK-CONTACTED PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL, AND BACK-CONTACTED PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL MADE BY SUCH A METHOD - A method of manufacturing a photovoltaic cell, includes:
| 01-06-2011 |
20110000531 | ELECTRODE PASTE FOR SOLAR CELL, SOLAR CELL USING THE PASTE, AND FABRICATION METHOD OF THE SOLAR CELL - An electrode paste for a solar cell, a solar cell electrode using the paste, a solar cell having such an electrode, and a fabrication method of the solar cell are described. The paste for a solar cell electrode comprises a first component that includes silver (Ag) or a metal alloy containing the silver (Ag); a second component that includes zinc (Zn), and at least one selected from a group consisting of silicon (Si), aluminum (Al), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), bismuth (Bi), phosphorous (P), boron (B), barium (Ba), and palladium (Pd); a leaded or lead-free glass frit; and a resin binder that is dispersed in an organic medium. | 01-06-2011 |
20110000532 | Solar Cell Device and Method of Manufacturing Solar Cell Device - A high-efficiency solar cell device producible in a simplified manner, and a method of manufacturing the same are provided. An insulation layer is formed on the back surface side of a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type. Removing part of the insulation layer exposes part of the semiconductor substrate to form a plurality of first through holes. A first layer of the first conductivity type is formed on the insulation layer and on the part of the semiconductor substrate exposed in the plurality of first through holes, whereby first junction regions are formed. Removing part of the first layer and the insulation layer exposes part of the semiconductor substrate to form a plurality of second through holes. A second layer of an opposite conductivity type is formed on the first layer and on the part of the semiconductor substrate exposed in the plurality of second through holes, whereby second junction regions are formed. A first conductive section for connecting the first junction regions to each other is formed on the first layer. A second conductive section for connecting the second junction regions to each other is formed on the second layer. The first through holes and the second through holes are formed by irradiation with a laser beam. | 01-06-2011 |
20110000533 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION ELEMENT STRUCTURE AND SOLAR CELL - It is possible to reduce the contact resistance so as to improve the conversion efficiency of a photoelectric conversion element structure. Provided is a photoelectric conversion element structure of the pin structure which selects an upper limit energy level of the valence band of the p-type semiconductor or the electron affinity of the n-type semiconductor layer and the work function of a metal layer which is brought into contact with the semiconductor, so as to reduce the contact resistance as compared to the case when Al or Ag is used as an electrode. The selected metal layer may be arranged between the electrode formed from Al or Ag and the semiconductor or may be substituted for the n- or p-type semiconductor. | 01-06-2011 |
20110005585 | Laser-Scribing Method to Make a Bifacial Thin Film Solar Cell and the Structure Thereof - The present invention discloses a laser-scribing method to make a bifacial thin film solar cell and the structure thereof. The laser-scribing method is to form scribing patterns that penetrate different structural layers during the process of forming various structural layers. After the laser-scribing, the top solar cell unit is attached with the bottom solar cell unit by various combining steps to form a solar cell assembly. The solar cell assembly can receive light from both sides via the absorber layers of both of the top solar cell unit and the bottom solar cell unit. The solar cell assembly has an increased output efficiency and a greater power density and the cost of the manufacturing is therefore reduced. | 01-13-2011 |
20110011448 | THIN FILM SOLAR CELL AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A thin film solar cell includes a plurality of a unit solar cell each including an active area and a non-active area. Each unit solar cell further includes a first electrode, a first active layer disposed on the first electrode, an interlayer disposed on the first active layer, a second active layer disposed on the interlayer, and a second electrode disposed on the second active layer. The active area includes a first portion where the interlayer is disposed, and a second portion where the interlayer is not disposed. | 01-20-2011 |
20110011449 | LIGHT-GUIDE SOLAR PANEL AND METHOD OF FABRICATION THEREOF - The present invention is that of a solar energy system that uses a light-guide solar panel (LGSP) to trap light inside a dielectric or other transparent panel and propagates the light to one of the panel edges for harvesting by a solar energy collector such as a photovoltaic cell. This allows for very thin modules whose thickness is comparable to the height of the solar energy collector. This eliminates eliminating the depth requirements inherent in traditional concentrated photovoltaic solar energy systems. A light guide solar panel has a deflecting layer, a light guide layer and a solar cell in optical communication with the light guide layer. The deflecting layer receives light at a first surface and inputs the light into the light guide layer. The light guide layer propagates the light to the solar cell, which is aligned generally parallel to the input surface. | 01-20-2011 |
20110011450 | METHODS AND STRUCTURES FOR BONDING ELEMENTS - Embodiments of the invention relate to methods and structures for fabricating semiconductor structures that include at least one bonding layer for attaching two or more elements to one another. The at least one bonding layer may be at least substantially comprised of zinc, silicon and oxygen. | 01-20-2011 |
20110011451 | INTEGRATED STRUCTURE OF CIS BASED SOLAR CELL - In an integrated structure of a CIS based thin film solar cell obtained by stacking an light absorbing layer, a high-resistance buffer layer, and a window layer in that order, a first buffer layer adjoining the light absorbing layer is made of a compound containing cadmium (Cd), zinc (Zn), or indium (In), a second buffer layer adjoining the first buffer layer is made of a zinc oxide-based thin film, a third buffer layer is formed to cover the end face exposed by forming an interconnect pattern in the light absorbing layer, the first buffer layer, and the second buffer layer and the top end surface of the second buffer layer, and the third buffer layer is made of a zinc oxide-based thin film. | 01-20-2011 |
20110017285 | Solar Cell with Textured Coverglass - A solar cell including a semiconductor body including at least one photoactive junction, and a textured layer or coverglass having a textured surface disposed over the top surface of the semiconductor body. The textured layer may be between 200 and 1800 nm in thickness, and may have a graded index of refraction. | 01-27-2011 |
20110017286 | COMPOSITE NANORODS WITH DISTINCT REGIONS - A nanorod is disclosed. It includes a linear body including three or less alternating regions including a first region and a second region, wherein the first region comprises a first material comprising a first ionic material and the second region comprises a second material comprising a second ionic material. | 01-27-2011 |
20110023948 | SOLAR CELL EMPLOYING A NANOWIRE - One embodiment in accordance with the invention is a solar cell comprising a non-single crystal substrate; a nanowire grown from a surface of the non-single crystal substrate; and an electrode coupled to the nanowire, wherein the nanowire is electrically conductive and is for absorbing electromagnetic wave and generating a current. | 02-03-2011 |
20110023949 | HIGH EFFICIENCY SILICON-BASED SOLAR CELLS - The present invention relates to a system and method for generating high efficiency silicon-based photovoltaic cells such as solar cells. The solar cell of the present invention comprises a silicon substrate layer, a first buffer layer disposed on a first surface of the silicon substrate layer and a second buffer layer disposed on the opposing surface of the silicon substrate layer and a third buffer layer disposed directly on the first buffer layer, the first and second buffer layers being lattice mismatched to the silicon substrate layer, and a first device layer disposed on the third buffer layer and a second device layer disposed on the second buffer layer, the first and second device layers comprising at least one of Sb-based compounds, III-V compounds and II-VI compo | 02-03-2011 |
20110023950 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL SUBSTRATE - A photovoltaic cell substrate includes a transparent substrate, a transparent conductive film formed over the transparent substrate, the transparent conductive film made of a doped zinc oxide, a protective film formed over the transparent conductive film, and an elution-preventive film formed between the transparent substrate and the transparent conductive film. The elution-preventive film prevents elution from inside the transparent substrate. | 02-03-2011 |
20110023951 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL SUBSTRATE, METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL SUBSTRATE, AND PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL - A photovoltaic cell substrate, a method of manufacturing the photovoltaic cell substrate, and a photovoltaic cell. The photovoltaic cell substrate includes a transparent substrate having a first surface-roughening film formed on one surface thereof and a transparent conductive film formed over the first surface-roughening film of the transparent substrate. The transparent conductive film is made of a metal oxide which is doped with a dopant. | 02-03-2011 |
20110023952 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL WITH SEMICONDUCTOR FINGERS - A photovoltaic cell has a semiconductor substrate formed from semiconductor material doped by a first dopant type, and a doped region over at least a portion of the substrate. The doped region is doped by a second dopant type that is opposite to that of the first dopant type to form an emitter. Moreover, the doped region is doped to a region dopant level. In addition to the substrate and emitter, the cell also has a plurality of semiconductor fingers formed on the emitter, a plurality of busbars formed from a conductor and intersecting the plurality of semiconductor fingers, and a plurality of tabs soldered to the busbars. The fingers are doped by the second dopant type to have a second dopant level, which is greater than the region dopant level. | 02-03-2011 |
20110030769 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A solar cell including an insulation substrate, a buffer layer disposed on the insulation substrate, a first electrode disposed on the buffer layer, a first polycrystalline semiconductor layer disposed on the first electrode and including first impurities, a photo-absorptive layer disposed on the first polycrystalline semiconductor layer, a second semiconductor layer disposed on the photo-absorptive layer and including second impurities, and a second electrode disposed on the second semiconductor layer. | 02-10-2011 |
20110030770 | NANOSTRUCTURED ORGANIC SOLAR CELLS - Solar cells having at least one N-type material layer and at least one P-type material layer forming a patterned p-n junction are described. A conducting layer may provide electrical communication between the p-n junction and an electrode layer. | 02-10-2011 |
20110041898 | Back Metal Layers in Inverted Metamorphic Multijunction Solar Cells - A multijunction solar cell comprising an upper first solar subcell having a first band gap; a middle second solar subcell adjacent to the first solar subcell and having a second band gap smaller than the first band gap, and having a base layer and an emitter layer; a graded interlayer adjacent to said second solar subcell, having a third band gap greater than the second band gap; a lower solar subcell adjacent to the grading interlayer, having a fourth band gap smaller than said second band gap such that the third subcell is lattice mismatched with respect to said second subcell; and a metal electrode layer deposited on said lower subcell and having a coefficient of thermal expansion substantially similar to that of the subcells. | 02-24-2011 |
20110041899 | Three Dimensionally Structured Thin Film Photovoltaic Devices with Self-Aligned Back Contacts - A process for producing three dimensionally structured thin film photovoltaic devices with self-aligned back contacts. The photovoltaic device is constructed using electrodeposition on micrometer-scale interdigitated electrodes on an insulating substrate. During fabrication, these interdigitated electrodes serve as the active electrodes for deposition of materials including semiconductors. After fabrication, these interdigitated electrodes serve as back contacts for carrier collection when the device is in use. The process can be used to fabricate homojunction, heterojunction and multijunction photovoltaic devices. | 02-24-2011 |
20110041900 | Solar cells having nanowires and methods of fabricating nanowires - A solar cell includes a plurality of nanowires arranged such that diameters of the nanowires sequentially increase in a first direction along a path of incident light. In a method of forming nanowires, a catalyst layer is formed on a substrate, a plurality of nanoparticles are formed by thermally processing the catalyst layer, and nanowires are grown from the plurality of nanoparticles. The catalyst layer has a thickness that increases in a first direction, and the plurality of nanoparticles have diameters that increase in the first direction. | 02-24-2011 |
20110041901 | SOLAR CELL - A solar cell is disclosed. The solar cell includes a substrate, a first electrode on the substrate, a second electrode, and a photoelectric transformation unit between the first electrode and the second electrode. The photoelectric transformation unit includes a first intrinsic (referred to as an i-type) semiconductor layer formed of amorphous silicon doped with at least one of carbon (C) and oxygen (O) as impurities and a second i-type semiconductor layer formed of germanium (Ge)-doped microcrystalline silicon. | 02-24-2011 |
20110041902 | METHOD FOR PRODUCING MONOCRYSTALLINE N-SILICON SOLAR CELLS, AS WELL AS A SOLAR CELL PRODUCED ACCORDING TO SUCH A METHOD - A method for producing monocrystalline n-silicon solar cells having a rear-side passivated p | 02-24-2011 |
20110041903 | Photovoltaic Cell on Substrate - A photovoltaic device on a non-semiconductor substrate is disclosed. The device comprises two semiconductor layers forming an active region; at least one of the semiconductor layers is formed by a high-purity plasma spray process; optional layers include one or more barrier layers, a cap layer, a conductive and/or metallization layer, an anti-reflection layer, and distributed Bragg reflector. The device may comprise multiple active regions. | 02-24-2011 |
20110041904 | THIN ABSORBER LAYER OF A PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE - Methods and apparatus are provided for converting electromagnetic radiation, such as solar energy, into electric energy with increased efficiency when compared to conventional solar cells. In one embodiment of a photovoltaic (PV) device, the PV device generally includes an n-doped layer and a p | 02-24-2011 |
20110048514 | LATTICE MATCHED SEMICONDUCTOR GROWTH ON CRYSTALLINE METALLIC SUBSTRATES - Methods of fabricating a semiconductor layer or device and said devices are disclosed. The methods include but are not limited to providing a metal or metal alloy substrate having a crystalline surface with a known lattice parameter (a). The methods further include growing a crystalline semiconductor alloy layer on the crystalline substrate surface by coincident site lattice matched epitaxy. The semiconductor layer may be grown without any buffer layer between the alloy and the crystalline surface of the substrate. The semiconductor alloy may be prepared to have a lattice parameter (a′) that is related to the lattice parameter (a). The semiconductor alloy may further be prepared to have a selected band gap. | 03-03-2011 |
20110048515 | PASSIVATION LAYER FOR WAFER BASED SOLAR CELLS AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THEREOF - A solar cell module layer stack is described. The layer stack includes a doped silicon wafer substrate, a back contact layer for the solar cell module, and a first sputtered and annealed passivation layer between the wafer substrate and the back contact layer, wherein the passivation layer is selected from the group consisting of: an aluminum containing oxide layer, an aluminum containing nitride layer, an aluminum containing oxynitride layer, and mixtures thereof. | 03-03-2011 |
20110048516 | Multijunction Photovoltaic Cell Fabrication - A method for fabrication of a multijunction photovoltaic (PV) cell includes providing a stack comprising a plurality of junctions on a substrate, each of the plurality of junctions having a respective bandgap, wherein the plurality of junctions are ordered from the junction having the smallest bandgap being located on the substrate to the junction having the largest bandgap being located on top of the stack; forming a top metal layer, the top metal layer having a tensile stress, on top of the junction having the largest bandgap; adhering a top flexible substrate to the metal layer; and spalling a semiconductor layer from the substrate at a fracture in the substrate, wherein the fracture is formed in response to the tensile stress in the top metal layer. | 03-03-2011 |
20110048517 | Multijunction Photovoltaic Cell Fabrication - A method for fabrication of a multijunction photovoltaic (PV) cell includes forming a stack comprising a plurality of junctions on a substrate, each of the plurality of junctions having a respective bandgap, wherein the plurality of junctions are ordered from the junction having the largest bandgap being located on the substrate to the junction having the smallest bandgap being located on top of the stack; forming a metal layer, the metal layer having a tensile stress, on top of the junction having the smallest bandgap; adhering a flexible substrate to the metal layer; and spalling a semiconductor layer from the substrate at a fracture in the substrate, wherein the fracture is formed in response to the tensile stress in the metal layer. | 03-03-2011 |
20110048518 | Nanostructured thin film inorganic solar cells - Inorganic solar cells having a nano-patterned p-n or p-i-n junction to reduce electron and hole travel distance to the separation interface to be less than the magnitude of the drift length or diffusion length, and meanwhile to maintain adequate active material to absorb photons. Formation of the inorganic solar cells may include one or more nano-lithography steps. | 03-03-2011 |
20110048519 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE WITH INCREASED LIGHT TRAPPING - Methods and apparatus are provided for converting electromagnetic radiation, such as solar energy, into electric energy with increased efficiency when compared to conventional solar cells. A photovoltaic (PV) device may incorporate front side and/or back side light trapping techniques in an effort to absorb as many of the photons incident on the front side of the PV device as possible in the absorber layer. The light trapping techniques may include a front side antireflective coating, multiple window layers, roughening or texturing on the front and/or the back sides, a back side diffuser for scattering the light, and/or a back side reflector for redirecting the light into the interior of the PV device. With such light trapping techniques, more light may be absorbed by the absorber layer for a given amount of incident light, thereby increasing the efficiency of the PV device. | 03-03-2011 |
20110048520 | HIGH EFFICIENCY SOLAR CELL WITH A SILICON SCAVENGER CELL - This invention relates to an improved high efficiency solar cell with a “HEGC stack-dichroic mirror-MEGC stack” architecture or a “HEGC stack-dichroic mirror-MEGC stack-LEGC stack” architecture. The improvement comprises the addition of a silicon cell to act as a scavenger cell to absorb light that would otherwise not be absorbed and to convert that energy to electricity. The silicon cell is positioned adjacent to the cell with the smallest energy gap of the cells in the MEGC stack. | 03-03-2011 |
20110056542 | Energy conversion device - A solid-state energy conversion device and method of making is disclosed wherein the solid-state energy conversion device is formed through the conversion of an insulating material. In one embodiment, the solid-state energy conversion device operates as a photovoltaic device to provide an output of electrical energy upon an input of electromagnetic radiation. In another embodiment, the solid-state energy conversion device operates as a light emitting device to provide an output of electromagnetic radiation upon an input of electrical energy. In one example, the photovoltaic device is combined with a solar liquid heater for heating a liquid. In another example, the photovoltaic device is combined with a solar liquid heater for treating water. | 03-10-2011 |
20110056543 | HYBRID NANOCOMPOSITE - The invention aims at a hybrid nanocomposite material comprising electrically conducting inorganic elongated nanocrystals grafted on at least part of the surface thereof with an electrically conducting organic compound, and a preparation process thereof. The invention further discloses thin films, solar cells and switchable devices comprising said hybrid nanocomposite. | 03-10-2011 |
20110056544 | SOLAR CELL - A solar cell is disclosed. The solar cell includes a substrate containing first impurities of a first conductive type, an emitter layer containing second impurities of a second conductive type opposite the first conductive type, a first electrode electrically connected to the emitter layer, and a second electrode electrically connected to the substrate. The emitter layer and the substrate form a p-n junction. A doping concentration of the second impurities of the emitter layer linearly or nonlinearly changes depending on a depth of a position within the emitter layer. | 03-10-2011 |
20110056545 | SOLAR CELL - A solar cell is discussed. The solar cell includes a substrate of a first conductive type, an emitter region of a second conductive type opposite the first conductive type that is positioned on the substrate, a first field region of the first conductive type that is positioned on the substrate to be separated from the emitter region, a first electrode electrically connected to the emitter region, a second electrode electrically connected to the first field region, and an insulating region positioned on at least one of the emitter region and the first field region. | 03-10-2011 |
20110056546 | THIN ABSORBER LAYER OF A PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE - Methods and apparatus are provided for converting electromagnetic radiation, such as solar energy, into electric energy with increased efficiency when compared to conventional solar cells. In one embodiment of a photovoltaic (PV) device, the PV device generally includes an n-doped layer and a p | 03-10-2011 |
20110056547 | PASSIVATING LAYER FOR PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS - A photovoltaic cell which comprises a first electrode, a second electrode, a photoactive, charge-separating layer comprising a semiconducting polymer between the first and the second electrodes, and a passivatng layer adapted to enhance the lifetime of the photovoltaic cell. The passivating layer comprises a substantially amorphous titanium oxide having the formula of TiO | 03-10-2011 |
20110061725 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - Disclosed is a method for manufacturing a photovoltaic device. The method comprising: forming a first electrode on a substrate; forming a first unit cell comprising an intrinsic semiconductor layer on the first electrode; forming an intermediate reflector on the first unit cell, and the intermediate reflector comprising a plurality of sub-layers stacked alternately by changing a flow rate of non-silicon based source gas; forming a second unit cell comprising an intrinsic semiconductor layer on the intermediate reflector; and forming a second electrode on the second unit cell. | 03-17-2011 |
20110061726 | HIGH EFFICIENCY SOLAR CELL - This invention relates to a high efficiency solar cell with a novel architecture. In one embodiment, the solar cell is comprised of a high energy gap cell stack and a dichroic mirror. The high energy gap cell stack is exposed to solar light before there is any splitting of the solar light into spectral components. Each cell in the high energy gap cell stack absorbs the light with photons of energy greater than or equal to its energy gap, i.e., the blue-green to ultraviolet portion of the solar light. Each cell in the high energy gap cell stack is transparent to and transmits light with photons of energy less than its energy gap. Spectral splitting is then performed by means of the dichroic mirror on the remaining light, i.e., the light transmitted by the high energy gap cell stack. | 03-17-2011 |
20110067752 | SOLAR CELL WITH EPITAXIALLY GROWN QUANTUM DOT MATERIAL - A monolithic semiconductor photovoltaic solar cell comprising a plurality of subcells disposed in series on an electrically conductive substrate. At least one subcell of the plurality of subcells includes an epitaxially grown self-assembled quantum dot material. The subcells are electrically connected via tunnel junctions. Each of the subcells has an effective bandgap energy. The subcells are disposed in order of increasing effective bangap energy, with the subcell having the lowest effective bandgap energy being closest to the substrate. In certain cases, each subcell is designed to absorb a substantially same amount of solar photons. | 03-24-2011 |
20110067753 | COMPOSITIONALLY-GRADED AND STRUCTURALLY-GRADED PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES AND METHODS OF FABRICATING SUCH DEVICES - A semiconductor structure is described, including a semiconductor substrate and a semiconductor layer disposed on the semiconductor substrate. The semiconductor layer is both compositionally graded and structurally graded. Specifically, the semiconductor layer is compositionally graded through its thickness from substantially intrinsic at the interface with the substrate to substantially doped at an opposite surface. Further, the semiconductor layer is structurally graded through its thickness from substantially crystalline at the interface with the substrate to substantially amorphous at the opposite surface. Related methods are also described. | 03-24-2011 |
20110073171 | PROTECTIVE COATING COMPOSITIONS AND DEVICES - In one aspect of the present invention, a UV-protective coating composition is described. The UV protective coating composition includes an acrylate polymer; and a non-crystallizing UV-absorber composition. The non-crystallizing UV absorber composition includes a dibenzoylresorcinol and at least one triazine compound. The dibenzoylresorcinol is present at a level in the range of from about 10 weight percent to about 25 weight percent, based on the total weight of the coating composition. Also provided is an article that includes the UV protective coating composition, and a method to protect the article. | 03-31-2011 |
20110073172 | Copper Complex Dye Sensitized Solar Cell - A dye-sensitized semiconductor includes a semiconductor, and a copper(I) coordination compound comprising 2,9-dialkyl-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthrolinedisulfonate, on the semiconductor. The dye-sensitized semiconductor may be used as part of a photoanode in a solar cell, which also contains a counter-electrode, and a conductive medium containing a redox-active mediator, in contact with and separating the photoanode and the counter-electrode. | 03-31-2011 |
20110073173 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A solar cell including a first semiconductor layer including a first impurity, a second semiconductor layer disposed on the first semiconductor layer, the second semiconductor layer including a second impurity, a first electrode electrically connected to the first semiconductor layer, and a second electrode electrically connected to the second semiconductor layer, wherein the first semiconductor layer includes a plurality of impurity-doped regions including a third impurity, wherein a type of the third impurity is the same as a type of the second impurity. | 03-31-2011 |
20110079277 | POLYIMIDE-METAL LAMINATE AND SOLAR CELL - A polyimide-metal laminate comprising a polyimide film and a metal layer for use as an electrode, which is formed on the side (Side B) of the polyimide film which was in contact with a support when producing a self-supporting film in the production of the polyimide film, is used to produce a CIS solar cell. | 04-07-2011 |
20110083728 | Disordered Nanowire Solar Cell - A disordered nanowire solar cell includes doped silicon nanowires disposed in a disordered nanowire mat, a thin (e.g., 50 nm) p-i-n coating layer formed on the surface of the silicon nanowires, and a conformal conductive layer disposed on the upper (e.g., n-doped) layer of the p-i-n coating layer. The disordered nanowire mat is grown from a seed layer using VLS processing at a high temperature (e.g., 450° C.), whereby the crystalline silicon nanowires assume a random interwoven pattern that enhances light scattering. Light scattered by the nanowires is absorbed by p-i-n layer, causing, e.g., electrons to pass along the nanowires to the first electrode layer, and holes to pass through the conformal conductive layer to an optional upper electrode layer. Fabrication of the disordered nanowire solar cell is large-area compatible. | 04-14-2011 |
20110083729 | Multi-Junction Solar Cell - A solar cell includes a substrate; a buffer layer located on the substrate; a Si | 04-14-2011 |
20110088760 | METHODS OF FORMING AN AMORPHOUS SILICON LAYER FOR THIN FILM SOLAR CELL APPLICATION - A photovoltaic device and methods for forming an amorphous silicon layer for use in a photovoltaic device are provided. In one embodiment, a photovoltaic device includes a p-type amorphous silicon layer formed on a substrate, a barrier layer formed on the p-type amorphous silicon layer, and an intrinsic type amorphous silicon layer formed on the barrier layer. The barrier layer is a carbon doped amorphous silicon layer. | 04-21-2011 |
20110088761 | SOLAR CELL DEVICE AND METHOD FOR FABRICATING THE SAME - A solar cell device is provided, including a transparent substrate, a transparent conductive layer disposed over the transparent substrate, a photovoltaic element formed over the composite transparent conductive layer, and an electrode layer disposed over the photovoltaic element. In one embodiment, the transparent conductive layer includes lithium and fluorine-co-doped tin oxides, and the lithium and fluorine-co-doped tin oxides have a lithium doping concentration of about 0.2˜2.3% and a fluorine doping concentration of about 0.1˜2.5%. | 04-21-2011 |
20110088762 | BARRIER LAYER DISPOSED BETWEEN A SUBSTRATE AND A TRANSPARENT CONDUCTIVE OXIDE LAYER FOR THIN FILM SILICON SOLAR CELLS - A method and apparatus for forming solar cells is provided. In one embodiment, a photovoltaic device includes a barrier layer disposed on a substrate, a TCO layer disposed on the barrier layer, and a p-i-n junction cell formed on the TCO layer. In another embodiment, a method for forming a photovoltaic device includes providing a substrate having a surface, forming a barrier layer on the surface of the substrate, forming a TCO layer on a top surface of the barrier layer, and forming a p-i-n junction cell on the TCO layer. | 04-21-2011 |
20110088763 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR IMPROVING PHOTOVOLTAIC EFFICIENCY - A method and apparatus for improving efficiency of photovoltaic cells by improving light capture between the photoelectric unit and back reflector is provided. A transition layer is formed at the interface between the photoelectric unit and transmitting conducting layer of the back reflector by adding oxygen, nitrogen, or both to the surface of the photoelectric unit or the interface between the photoelectric unit and the transmitting conducting layer. The transition layer may comprise silicon, oxygen, or nitrogen, and may be silicon oxide, silicon nitride, metal oxide with excess oxygen, metal oxide with nitrogen, or any combination thereof, including bilayers and multi-layers. The sputtering process for forming the transmitting conducting layer may feature at least one of nitrogen and excess oxygen, and may be performed by sputtering at low power, followed by an operation to form the rest of the transmitting conductive layer. | 04-21-2011 |
20110088764 | SOLAR CELL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - A solar cell including a substrate, a first conductive layer, a photovoltaic layer, a second conductive layer and at least one passivation layer is provided. The first conductive layer is disposed on the substrate. The photovoltaic layer generates electron-hole pairs after receiving light, wherein the photovoltaic layer is disposed on the first conductive layer and has a plurality of doped films. The second conductive layer is disposed on the photovoltaic layer. The passivation layer is disposed onto at least one of the positions between the first conductive layer and the photovoltaic layer, between the doped films within the photovoltaic layer, and between the photovoltaic layer and the second conductive layer, so as to reduce the chance for the electron-hole pairs resulting in recombination on at least one of the surfaces of the photovoltaic layer. A manufacturing method of the solar cell is also provided. | 04-21-2011 |
20110094573 | Solar cell and method for fabricating the same - A solar cell and a method for fabricating the same are provided. The solar cell includes a first electrode, a second electrode, a photoelectric conversion layer and a non-conductive reflector. The first electrode including a nano-metal transparent conductive layer is disposed on a transparent substrate. The nano-metal transparent conductive layer substantially contacts with the photoelectric conversion layer. The second electrode is disposed between the photoelectric conversion layer and the transparent substrate. The photoelectric conversion layer is disposed between the first and the second electrodes. The non-conductive reflector is disposed on the first electrode. | 04-28-2011 |
20110100440 | Optical Rectification Device and Method of Making Same - A general approach is provided for producing devices that absorb optical photons (visible to near IR) and performs charge separation with a useful voltage between holes and electrons. These holes and electrons may be collected in electrodes for performing useful work outside the device. The described technology is generally based upon rectification of plasmons (collective electric excitations) generated by absorbing light with tuned metallic antennas. According to some embodiments, the present invention provides a spatial array of nanoscale conductors forming an optical rectenna that responds to an incident light source and generates a current offset that may be rectified by a rectification-inducing material. The present inventors foresee an extensive use of these optical rectennas as photovoltaic devices, as well as a wide interest in diverse fundamental research and applied technologies. | 05-05-2011 |
20110100441 | MULTIJUNCTION PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE - Photovoltaic devices (e.g., solar cells) are disclosed that include at least three radiation absorbing layers, each capable of absorbing radiation over a different wavelength range of the solar radiation spectrum. Any two of these three wavelength ranges can be partially overlapping, or alternatively they can be distinct. The layers are disposed relative to one another so as to form two junctions, each of which includes a depletion region. In some cases, the radiation absorbing layers can collectively absorb radiation over a wavelength range that spans at least about 60%, or 70%, or 80%, and preferably 90% of the solar radiation wavelength spectrum. By way of example, in some embodiments, one layer can exhibit significant absorption of solar radiation (e.g., it can absorb at least one radiation wavelength at an absorptance greater than about 90%) at wavelengths less than about 0.7 microns while another layer can exhibit significant absorption of the solar radiation at wavelengths in a range of about 0.7 microns to about 1 micron. The third layer can in turn exhibit a significant absorption of solar radiation at wavelengths greater than about 1 micron. | 05-05-2011 |
20110100442 | Structure of a Solar Cell - A structure of a solar cell. The structure of the solar cell includes a substrate, a graded layer and a semiconductor layer. The graded layer is disposed on the substrate. The graded layer is made from materials including the first material and the second material, and includes at least one thin film. One of the at least one thin film includes a mixture of at least the first material and the second material at a mixture ratio. The mixture forms a bandgap of the at least one thin film. The semiconductor layer is disposed on the graded layer. | 05-05-2011 |
20110100443 | Photovoltaic solar cell device manufacture - A method for manufacturing a photovoltaic solar cell device includes the following. A p-n junction having a first doping density is formed. Formation of the p-n junction is enhanced by introducing a second doping density to form high doped areas for a dual emitter application. The high doped areas are defined by a masking process integrated with the formation of the p-n junction, resulting in a mask pattern of the high doped areas. A metallization of the high doped areas occurs in accordance with the mask pattern of the high doped areas. | 05-05-2011 |
20110100444 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE AND PROCESS FOR PRODUCING PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE - A photovoltaic device that exhibits increased open-circuit voltage and an improved fill factor due to an improvement in the contact properties between the n-layer and a back-side transparent electrode layer or intermediate contact layer, and a process for producing the photovoltaic device. The photovoltaic device comprises a photovoltaic layer having a p-layer, an i-layer and an n-layer stacked on top of a substrate, wherein the n-layer comprises a nitrogen-containing n-layer and an interface treatment layer formed on the opposite surface of the nitrogen-containing n-layer to the substrate, the nitrogen-containing n-layer comprises nitrogen atoms at an atomic concentration of not less than 1% and not more than 20%, and has a crystallization ratio of not less than 0 but less than 3, and the interface treatment layer has a crystallization ratio of not less than 1 and not more than 6. | 05-05-2011 |
20110108097 | METHODS OF MANIPULATING STRESSED EPISTRUCTURES - A method of processing an epistructure or processing a semiconductor device including associating a conformal and flexible handle with the epistructure and removing the epistructure and handle as a unit from the parent substrate. The method further includes causing the epistructure and handle unit to conform to a shape that differs from the shape the epistructure otherwise inherently assumes upon removal from the parent substrate. A device prepared according to the disclosed methods. | 05-12-2011 |
20110108098 | STRUCTURES AND METHODS FOR HIGH-EFFICIENCY PYRAMIDAL THREE-DIMENSIONAL SOLAR CELLS - The present disclosure enables high-volume cost effective production of three-dimensional thin film solar cell (3-D TFSC) substrates. First, the present disclosure discloses pyramid-like unit cell structure | 05-12-2011 |
20110108099 | METHOD OF FORMING TRANSPARENT ZINC OXIDE LAYERS FOR HIGH EFFICIENCY PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS - A solar cell including a high electrical resistivity transparent layer formed on a CdS buffer layer is provided. The high electrical resistivity transparent layer includes an intrinsic oxide film formed on the buffer layer and an intermediate oxide film formed on the intrinsic oxide film. The intrinsic oxide film includes undoped zinc oxide and has a thickness range of 10 to 40 nm. The intermediate oxide film includes semi-intrinsic zinc oxide doped with aluminum and has a thickness range of 50-150 nm. The intermediate oxide film has an aluminum concentration of less than 1000 ppm. | 05-12-2011 |
20110108100 | ALUMINUM GRID AS BACKSIDE CONDUCTOR ON EPITAXIAL SILICON THIN FILM SOLAR CELLS - One embodiment of the present invention provides a solar cell. The solar cell includes a substrate, a first heavily doped crystalline-Si (c-Si) layer situated above the substrate, a lightly doped c-Si layer situated above the first heavily doped crystalline-Si layer, a second heavily doped c-Si layer situated above the lightly doped c-Si layer, a front side electrode grid situated above the second heavily doped c-Si layer, and a backside electrode grid situated on the backside of the substrate. | 05-12-2011 |
20110114162 | Method of manufacturing photovoltaic cells, photovoltaic cells produced thereby and uses thereof - Novel methods of producing photovoltaic cells are provided herein, as well as photovoltaic cells produced thereby, and uses thereof In some embodiments, a method as described herein comprises doping a substrate so as to form a p | 05-19-2011 |
20110114163 | MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELLS FORMED ON N-DOPED SUBSTRATES - An “n-on-p” type multijunction solar cell structure is disclosed using an n-type substrate for the epitaxial growth of III-V semiconductor material, wherein a “p-on-n” tunnel junction diode is disposed between the substrate and one or more heteroepitaxial layers of III-V semiconductor materials. | 05-19-2011 |
20110114164 | HIGH EFFICIENCY SOLAR CELL - Disclosed is a solar cell including a first base layer, a second base layer on the first base layer, and an emitter layer on the second base layer. Furthermore, a window layer may be disposed on the emitter, and/or a back surface field (BSF) layer may be disposed under the first base layer. | 05-19-2011 |
20110120536 | ROUGHNESS CONTROL OF A WAVELENGTH SELECTIVE REFLECTOR LAYER FOR THIN FILM SOLAR APPLICATIONS - A method and apparatus for forming a roughened wavelength selective reflector layer are provided. In one embodiment, a method of forming a solar cell device includes forming a wavelength selective reflector layer between a first p-i-n junction and a second p-i-n junction formed on a substrate, and performing a post treatment process on the wavelength selective reflector layer to form the uneven surface with the roughness greater than 20 nm. In another embodiment, a photovoltaic device includes a wavelength selective reflector layer disposed between a first p-i-n junction and a second p-i-n junction formed on a substrate, wherein the wavelength selective reflector layer has an uneven surface having a surface roughness greater than 20 nm. | 05-26-2011 |
20110120537 | SILICON INKS FOR THIN FILM SOLAR CELL FORMATION, CORRESPONDING METHODS AND SOLAR CELL STRUCTURES - High quality silicon inks are used to form polycrystalline layers within thin film solar cells having a p-n junction. The particles deposited with the inks can be sintered to form the silicon film, which can be intrinsic films or doped films. The silicon inks can have a z-average secondary particle size of no more than about 250 nm as determined by dynamic light scattering on an ink sample diluted to 0.4 weight percent if initially having a greater concentration. In some embodiments, an intrinsic layer can be a composite of an amorphous silicon portion and a crystalline silicon portion. | 05-26-2011 |
20110120538 | SILICON GERMANIUM SOLAR CELL - A device, system, and method for a silicon germanium solar cell structure. An exemplary silicon germanium solar cell structure has a substrate with a graded buffer layer grown on the substrate. An absorber layer is grown on the graded buffer layer and an emitter layer is grown on the absorber layer. A first junction is provided between the emitter layer and the absorber layer. A second junction may be provided between the substrate and the graded buffer layer. | 05-26-2011 |
20110120539 | ON-WINDOW SOLAR-CELL HEAT-SPREADER - An optoelectrical device, which may be a luminaire or a photovoltaic concentrator, has a transparent cover plate. A target with an optoelectrical transducer that produces waste heat in operation is mounted at an inside face of the transparent cover plate. A primary mirror reflects light between being concentrated on the target and passing generally collimated through the cover plate. A heat spreader is in thermal contact with the target. The heat spreader has heat conductors that thermally connect the target with the inside surface of the cover plate. The heat conductors may be arms extending radially outwards, and may be straight, zigzag, or branching. An array of targets may be mounted on a common cover plate, and their heat spreaders may be continuous from target to target. | 05-26-2011 |
20110120540 | QUANTUM DOT DYE-SENSITIZED SOLAR CELL - A quantum dot dye-sensitized solar cell (QDDSSC) including an anode, a cathode, and an electrolyte between the anode and the cathode is provided. The anode includes a semiconductor electrode layer adsorbed with a dye, a plurality of quantum dots distributed within the semiconductor electrode layer, and a plurality of metal nanoparticles distributed within the semiconductor electrode layer. Because the absorption spectra of the quantum dots, the dye, and the semiconductor electrode layer cover the infrared (IR), visible, and ultraviolet (UV) regions of the solar spectrum, IR to UV light in the solar spectrum can be effectively absorbed, and accordingly the conversion efficiency of the solar cell can be improved. Moreover, the metal nanoparticles can increase the light utilization efficiency. | 05-26-2011 |
20110120541 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE WITH HETEROJUNCTIONS AND AN INTERDIGITATED STRUCTURE - A Semiconductor device including, on at least one surface of a layer made of a crystalline semiconductor material of a certain type of conductivity, a layer made of an amorphous semiconductor material, doped with a type of conductivity opposite to the type of conductivity of the crystalline semiconductor material layer, characterized in that the concentration of the doping elements in the amorphous semiconductor layer varies gradually. | 05-26-2011 |
20110126890 | TEXTURED SUPERSTRATES FOR PHOTOVOLTAICS - Textured superstrates for photovoltaic cells, for example, silicon tandem photovoltaic cells with light scattering properties which are sufficient for light trapping independent of wavelength are described herein. Features of a textured surface of a superstrate, via the method(s) used to make the textured superstrate, can be tailored to provide the desired light scattering/trapping properties. The method includes grinding and lapping or grinding, lapping, and etching of a glass superstrate. | 06-02-2011 |
20110126891 | Solar Cell Element, Color Sensor and Method of Manufacturing Light Emitting Element and Light Receiving Element - A solar cell element having improved power generation efficiency is provided. A solar cell element | 06-02-2011 |
20110126892 | THREE-DIMENSIONAL PATTERNING METHODS AND RELATED DEVICES - Three-dimensional patterning methods of a three-dimensional microstructure, such as a semiconductor wire array, are described, in conjunction with etching and/or deposition steps to pattern the three-dimensional microstructure. | 06-02-2011 |
20110126893 | THIN FILM SILICON SOLAR CELL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - A thin film silicon solar cell comprises a front transparent electrode, a p-type window layer, a buffer layer, an i-type absorber layer, an n-type layer and a metal rear electrode. The front transparent electrode is stacked on a transparent substrate. The p-type window layer is stacked on the front transparent electrode, and has a thickness in a range of 12 nm to 17 nm. The buffer layer is stacked on the p-type window layer, and has a carbon concentration in a range of 0.5 to 3.0 atomic % and a thickness in a range of 3 to 8 nm. The i-type absorber layer is stacked on the buffer layer. The n-type layer is stacked on the i-type absorber layer. The metal rear electrode is stacked on the n-type layer. | 06-02-2011 |
20110126894 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE FABRICATION METHOD AND PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE - Provided is a photoelectric conversion device fabrication method in which current leakage from an intermediate contact layer via an intermediate-contact-layer separating groove is prevented as much as possible. Included are a step of film-forming a top layer having amorphous silicon as a main component; a step of film-forming, on the top layer, an intermediate contact layer electrically and optically connected thereto; a step of separating the intermediate contact layer by removing the intermediate contact layer by irradiating it with a pulsed laser, forming an intermediate-contact-layer separating groove that reaches the top layer; and a step of film-forming, on the intermediate contact layer and inside the intermediate-contact-layer separating groove, a bottom layer electrically and optically connected thereto and having microcrystalline silicon as a main component. A pulsed laser having a pulse width of 10 ps to 750 ps, inclusive, is used as the pulsed laser for separating the intermediate contact layer. | 06-02-2011 |
20110126895 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE FABRICATION METHOD AND PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE - Provided is a method for fabricating a photoelectric conversion device in which current is prevented as much as possible from leaking via an intermediate contact layer separating groove. The method includes: a process of forming a top layer mainly containing amorphous silicon; a process of forming on the top layer an intermediate contact layer electrically and optically connected to the top layer; a process of removing the intermediate contact layer through irradiation with a pulsed laser and forming an intermediate contact layer separating groove that reaches the top layer to separate the intermediate contact layer; and a process of forming, on the intermediate contact layer and in the intermediate contact layer separating groove, a bottom layer that mainly contains microcrystalline silicon and that is electrically and optically connected to the intermediate contact layer. The intermediate contact layer separating groove is terminated in an i-layer of the top layer. | 06-02-2011 |
20110132444 | SOLAR CELL INCLUDING SPUTTERED REFLECTIVE LAYER AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE THEREOF - Solar cells and methods for their manufacture are disclosed. An exemplary method may include providing a semiconductor substrate and introducing dopant atoms to a front surface of the substrate. The substrate may be annealed to drive the dopant atoms deeper in the substrate to produce a p-n junction while also forming front and back passivation layers. A reflective surface is sputtered on the back surface of the solar cell. It protects and generates hydrogen to passivate one or more substrate-passivation layer interfaces at the same time as forming an anti-reflective layer on the front surface of the substrate. Fire-through of front and back contacts as well as metallization with contact connections may be performed in a single co-firing operation. Associated solar cells are also provided. | 06-09-2011 |
20110132445 | HIGH-EFFICIENCY MULTI-JUNCTION SOLAR CELL STRUCTURES - In various embodiments, solar cells include a junction including SiGe, a junction including at least one III-V material, and may be formed on silicon substrates and/or with silicon-based capping layers thereover. | 06-09-2011 |
20110132446 | DYE-SENSITIZED SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR FABRICATING THE SAME - A dye-sensitized solar cell and method for fabricating the same are provided. The dye-sensitized solar cell includes a photo electrode including a first electrode and a Zn-doped TiO | 06-09-2011 |
20110132447 | SOLAR CELL DEVICES AND APPARATUS COMPRISING THE SAME - A multi junction solar cell device includes a substrate having a first lattice constant, a first optoelectronic conversion layer having a second lattice constant, and a second optoelectronic conversion layer having a third lattice constant wherein the value of the first lattice constant is between that of the second lattice constant and the third lattice constant. | 06-09-2011 |
20110139227 | TUNNEL HETEROJUNCTIONS IN GROUP IV / GROUP II-VI MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELLS - A photovoltaic cell comprises a first subcell formed of a Group IV semiconductor material, a second subcell formed of a Group II-VI semiconductor material, and a tunnel heterojunction interposed between the first and second subcells. A first side of the tunnel heterojunction is formed by a first layer that is adjacent to a top surface of the first subcell. The first layer is of a first conductivity type, is comprised of a highly doped Group IV semiconductor material. The other side of the tunnel heterojunction is formed by a second layer that adjoins the lower surface of the second subcell. The second layer is of a second conductivity type opposite the first conductivity type, and is comprised of a highly doped Group II-VI semiconductor material. The tunnel heterojunction permits photoelectric series current to flow through the subcells. | 06-16-2011 |
20110139228 | TRANSPARENT ELECTROCONDUCTIVE FILM FOR SOLAR CELL, COMPOSITION FOR TRANSPARENT ELECTROCONDUCTIVE FILM AND MULTI-JUNCTION SOLAR CELL - An object of the present invention is to provide a transparent electroconductive film, which in addition to satisfying each of the requirements of favorable phototransmittance, high electrical conductivity, low refractive index and the like required when using in a multi-junction solar cell, enables running costs to be reduced since the transparent electroconductive film is produced without using a vacuum deposition method. The transparent electroconductive film for a solar cell of the present invention is provided between photoelectric conversion layers of a multi-junction solar cell, a coated film of fine particles formed by coating using a wet coating method is baked, the electroconductive component in the base material that composes the electroconductive film is present within the range of 5 to 95% by weight, and the thickness of the electroconductive film is within the range of 5 to 200 nm. | 06-16-2011 |
20110139229 | SELECTIVE EMITTER SOLAR CELLS FORMED BY A HYBRID DIFFUSION AND ION IMPLANTATION PROCESS - Solar cells and methods for their manufacture are disclosed. An example method may include providing a silicon substrate and introducing dopant to one or more selective regions of the front surface of the substrate by ion implantation. The substrate may be subjected to a single high-temperature anneal cycle. Additional dopant atoms may be introduced for diffusion into the front surface of the substrate during the single anneal cycle. A selective emitter may be formed on the front surface of the substrate such that the one or more selective regions of the selective emitter layer are more heavily doped than the remainder of the selective emitter layer. Associated solar cells are also provided. | 06-16-2011 |
20110139230 | ION IMPLANTED SELECTIVE EMITTER SOLAR CELLS WITH IN SITU SURFACE PASSIVATION - Solar cells and methods for their manufacture are disclosed. An example method may include providing a p-type doped silicon substrate and introducing n-type dopant to a first and second region of the front surface of the substrate by ion implantation so that the second region is more heavily doped than the first region. The substrate may be subjected to a single high-temperature anneal cycle to activate the dopant, drive the dopant into the substrate, produce a p-n junction, and form a selective emitter. Oxygen may be introduced during the single anneal cycle to form in situ front and back passivating oxide layers. Fire-through of front and back contacts as well as metallization with contact connections may be performed in a single co-firing operation. Associated solar cells are also provided. | 06-16-2011 |
20110139231 | BACK JUNCTION SOLAR CELL WITH SELECTIVE FRONT SURFACE FIELD - Solar cells and methods for their manufacture are disclosed. An example method may include fabricating an n-type silicon substrate and introducing n-type dopant to one or more first and second regions of the substrate so that the second region is more heavily doped than the first region. The substrate may be subjected to a single high-temperature anneal cycle to form a selective front surface field layer. Oxygen may be introduced during the single anneal cycle to form in situ front and back passivating oxide layers. Fire-through of front and back contacts as well as metallization with contact connections may be performed in a single co-firing operation. The firing of the back contact may form a p | 06-16-2011 |
20110139232 | SILICON THIN FILM SOLAR CELL - A silicon thin film solar cell is discussed. The silicon thin film solar cell includes a substrate on which light is incident, a first electrode positioned on the substrate at a surface opposite a surface of the substrate on which the solar light is incident, a second electrode positioned on the first electrode, at least one photoelectric conversion unit positioned between the first electrode and the second electrode, and a back reflection layer positioned between the at least one photoelectric conversion unit and the second electrode. The back reflection layer includes a first reflection layer formed of a material having an absorption coefficient equal to or less than 400 cm | 06-16-2011 |
20110146766 | SOLAR CELLS BASED ON QUANTUM DOT OR COLLOIDAL NANOCRYSTAL FILMS - Solar cells and methods for use and making these solar cells are disclosed. An exemplary solar cell includes a first electrode. The solar cell also includes a nanocrystal film of a single material disposed in contact with the first electrode. The solar cell also includes a second electrode disposed in contact with the nanocrystal film, not in contact with the first electrode. | 06-23-2011 |
20110146767 | SILICON THIN FILM SOLAR CELL HAVING IMPROVED HAZE AND METHODS OF MAKING THE SAME - A method of increasing the haze of a coating stack having a top layer and an undercoating layer using a chemical vapor deposition coating process includes at least one of: increasing a precursor flow rate; decreasing a carrier gas flow rate; increasing a substrate temperature; increasing a water flow rate; decreasing an exhaust flow rate; and increasing a thickness of at least one of the top layer or undercoating layer. | 06-23-2011 |
20110146768 | SILICON THIN FILM SOLAR CELL HAVING IMPROVED UNDERLAYER COATING - A silicon thin film solar cell includes a substrate and an undercoating formed over at least a portion of the substrate. The undercoating includes first layer having tin oxide or titania and a second layer having a mixture of oxides of at least two of Sn, P, Si, Ti, Al and Zr. A conductive coating is formed over at least a portion of the first coating, wherein the conductive coating includes oxides of one or more of Zn, Fe, Mn, Al, Ce, Sn, Sb, Hf, Zr, Ni, Zn, Bi, Ti, Co, Cr, Si or In or an alloy of two or more of these materials. | 06-23-2011 |
20110146769 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE COMPRISING COMPOSITIONALLY GRADED INTRINSIC PHOTOACTIVE LAYER - Photovoltaic devices and methods of making photovoltaic devices comprising at least one compositionally graded photoactive layer, said method comprising providing a substrate; growing onto the substrate a uniform intrinsic photoactive layer having one surface disposed upon the substrate and an opposing second surface, said intrinsic photoactive layer consisting essentially of In | 06-23-2011 |
20110146770 | ENHANCED PASSIVATION LAYER FOR WAFER BASED SOLAR CELLS, METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MANUFACTURING THEREOF - A solar cell module layer stack is described. The layer stack includes a doped silicon wafer substrate, a further layer of the substrate or deposited on the substrate, wherein the further layer is doped for generation of a p-n-junction with the doped silicon wafer substrate; and a first sputtered passivation layer deposited on the doped silicon wafer substrate or the further layer, wherein the passivation layer is selected from the group consisting of: an aluminum-containing oxide layer, an aluminum-containing oxynitride layer, and mixtures thereof; and wherein the passivation layer being plasma treated under a hydrogen-containing atmosphere and/or wherein the layer stack further comprises a hydrogen-containing cap layer on the passivation layer. | 06-23-2011 |
20110146771 | NANONEEDLE PLASMONIC PHOTODETECTORS AND SOLAR CELLS - The present disclosure provides a catalyst-free growth mode of defect-free Gallium Arsenide (GaAs)-based nanoneedles on silicon (Si) substrates with a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS)-compatible growth temperature of around 400° C. Each nanoneedle has a sharp 2 to 5 nanometer (nm) tip, a 600 nm wide base and a 4 micrometer (μm) length. Thus, the disclosed nanoneedles are substantially hexagonal needle-like crystal structures that assume a 6° to 9° tapered shape. The 600 nm wide base allows the typical micro-fabrication processes, such as optical lithography, to be applied. Therefore, nanoneedles are an ideal platform for the integration of optoelectronic devices on Si substrates. A nanoneedle avalanche photodiode (APD) grown on silicon is presented in this disclosure as a device application example. The APD attains a high current gain of 265 with only 8V bias. | 06-23-2011 |
20110146772 | METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING QUANTUM DOT-SENSITIZED SOLAR CELL ELECTRODE, QUANTUM DOT-SENSITIZED SOLAR CELL ELECTRODE AND QUANTUM DOT-SENSITIZED SOLAR CELL - Provided is a manufacturing method for a quantum dot-sensitized solar cell electrode for the production of a quantum dot-sensitized solar cell far more excellent in solar energy capture efficiency than ever before. Also provided is a quantum dot-sensitized solar cell electrode obtained by such manufacturing method. Also provided is a quantum dot-sensitized solar cell using such electrode. Also provided is a quantum dot-sensitized solar cell electrode for the production of a quantum dot-sensitized solar cell far more excellent in solar energy capture efficiency than ever before. Also provided is a quantum dot-sensitized solar cell using such electrode. The manufacturing method of the present invention is a manufacturing method for a quantum dot-sensitized solar cell electrode including quantum dots being semiconductor nanoparticles and having loaded on a porous n-type semiconductor electrode, the method including subjecting the porous n-type semiconductor electrode to photoirradiation while the electrode being immersed in a metal ion-containing solution. | 06-23-2011 |
20110146773 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - A photoelectric conversion device comprising: a pin-type photoelectric conversion layer constituted of a p-type semiconductor layer, an i-type semiconductor layer and an n-type semiconductor layer, wherein the p-type semiconductor layer contains silicon atoms and nitrogen atoms, which is possible to improve photoelectric conversion efficiency. | 06-23-2011 |
20110146774 | Solar Cell Having Quantum Dot Nanowire Array and the Fabrication Method Thereof - The present invention relates to a solar cell having quantum dot nanowire array and the fabrication method thereof. The solar cell according to the present invention includes quantum dot nanowire array with a heterostructure including matrix and semiconductor quantum dots, and p-type and n-type semiconductor and electrodes each contacting the quantum dot nanowires. With the solar cell according to the present invention, the band gap energy of the semiconductor quantum dot can be easily controlled, the semiconductor quantum dots having different sizes are provided in the quantum dot nanowire so that the photoelectric conversion can be performed in the wide spectrum from visible rays to infrared rays, the quantum dot is embedded in the high density quantum dot nanowire array so that light absorption can be maximized, and the quantum dot nanowire contact p-type and n-type semiconductor over a wide area, conduction efficiency of electrons and holes can be improved. | 06-23-2011 |
20110146775 | Quantum Dot Photovoltaic Device and Manufacturing Method Thereof - The present invention provides a semiconductor based photovoltaic device and a manufacturing method thereof. The semiconductor based photovoltaic device is able to absorb light with a wide band wavelength, and has high photoelectric conversion efficiency since it has high electron-hole pair separation efficiency. More specifically, the method for manufacturing the photovoltaic device comprises the steps of: a) forming a thin semiconductor quantum dot film on a p or n-type semiconductor substrate, wherein the thin semiconductor quantum dot film includes semiconductor quantum dots inside a medium at which the same type of impurities as the semiconductor substrate are doped; b) forming a pore array through partial etching, wherein the pore array penetrates the thin semiconductor quantum dot film; c) depositing a semiconductor in which complementary impurities to the semiconductor substrate are doped on the thin semiconductor quantum dot film at which the pore array is formed; and d) forming sequentially a transparent conductive film and an upper electrode on the semiconductor in which the complementary impurities are doped and forming a lower electrode at a lower portion of the semiconductor substrate. | 06-23-2011 |
20110155228 | DYE-SENSITIZED SOLAR CELL AND METHOD for FORMING THE SAME - The present invention provides a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC), comprising: a substrate having a first electrode formed thereon; a plurality of nanoparticles adsorbed with dye, overlying the first electrode; a solid electrolyte containing metal quantum dots completely covering the nanoparticles and fully filling the space between the nanoparticles; and a second electrode overlying the solid electrolyte. The present invention further provides a method for forming the dye-sensitized solar cell. | 06-30-2011 |
20110155229 | Solar cell and method for manufacturing the same - A solar cell and a manufacturing method thereof have been disclosed in the present invention. According to the present invention, the p-layer or n-layer with the grooves helps to strengthen the electric filed of the solar cell and facilitates the carrier collection, thereby improving the overall efficiency of the solar cell. | 06-30-2011 |
20110155230 | MULTI-BANDGAP SOLAR CELL AND METHOD PRODUCING THE SAME - A multi-bandgap solar cell is produced by using a transparent intercellular layer to bind two solar cells with different bandgaps. The intercellular layer has at least an adhesive layer. | 06-30-2011 |
20110155231 | MULTI-JUNCTION SOLAR CELL - The disclosure provides a multi-junction solar cell structure and the manufacturing method thereof, comprising a first photovoltaic structure and a second photovoltaic structure; wherein at least one of the first photovoltaic structure and the second photovoltaic structure comprises a discontinuous photoelectric converting structure. | 06-30-2011 |
20110155232 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE MANUFACTURING METHOD, PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE, AND PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE MANUFACTURING SYSTEM - A photoelectric conversion device manufacturing method, includes: continuously forming a first p-type semiconductor layer, a first i-type semiconductor layer, and a first n-type semiconductor layer, which constitute a first-photoelectric conversion unit, and a second p-type semiconductor layer which constitutes a second-photoelectric conversion unit composed of a crystalline-silicon-based thin film, in a reduced-pressure atmosphere; exposing the second p-type semiconductor layer to an air atmosphere; and forming a second i-type semiconductor layer and a second n-type semiconductor layer, which constitute the second-photoelectric conversion unit, on the second p-type semiconductor layer which was exposed to an air atmosphere. | 06-30-2011 |
20110162696 | Photovoltaic materials with controllable zinc and sodium content and method of making thereof - A solar cell includes a substrate, a first electrode located over the substrate, a sodium doped p-type copper indium selenide (CIS) based alloy semiconductor absorber layer located over the first electrode, a zinc and sodium doped n-type copper indium selenide (CIS) based alloy semiconductor layer located on the p-type semiconductor absorber layer, and a second electrode located over the n-type semiconductor layer. | 07-07-2011 |
20110162697 | TUNNEL HOMOJUNCTIONS IN GROUP IV / GROUP II-VI MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELLS - A photovoltaic cell comprises a first subcell formed of a Group IV semiconductor material, a second subcell formed of a Group II-VI semiconductor material, and a tunnel homojunction interposed between the first and second subcells. A first side of the tunnel homojunction is formed by a first layer that is adjacent to a top surface of the first subcell. The first layer is of a first conductivity type and is comprised of a highly doped Group IV semiconductor material. The other side of the tunnel homojunction is formed by a second layer that adjoins the lower surface of the second subcell. The second layer is of a second conductivity type opposite the first conductivity type and also is comprised of a highly doped Group IV semiconductor material. The tunnel homojunction permits photoelectric series current to flow through the subcells. | 07-07-2011 |
20110162698 | Solar cells using nanowires and methods of manufacturing the same - Solar cells and methods of manufacturing the same, the solar cells include a plurality of nanowire heterostructures, wherein each of the plurality of nanowire heterostructures includes a nanowire including at least one p-type nanowire layer and at least one n-type nanowire layer, and a semiconductor material layer disposed on the nanowire. The semiconductor material layer constitutes a p-n junction with the p-type or n-type nanowire layer. The semiconductor material layer includes at least one of the p-type material layer and the n-type material layer. | 07-07-2011 |
20110162699 | SOLAR CELL WITH FUNNEL-LIKE GROOVE STRUCTURE - The present invention provides a volumetric solar structure comprising one or more solar cells. The solar structure comprises a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type having a patterned surface thereof, the pattern defining an array of spaced-apart grooves of a funnel-like shape, and a second opposite conductivity type material layer positioned on at least a part of the patterned surface of the substrate. The structure thereby defines junction regions, in which charge carriers are generated by incident radiation energy to which the structure is exposed. The junction regions are located at different heights upon the patterned surface of the substrate. | 07-07-2011 |
20110162700 | METHODS FOR PRODUCING PHOTOVOLAIC MATERIAL AND DEVICE ABLE TO EXPLOIT HIGH ENERGY PHOTONS - The present invention concerns methods for producing photovoltaic material and a device able to exploit high energy photons. The photovoltaic material is obtained from a conventional photovoltaic material having a top surface intended to be exposed to photonic radiation, having a built-in P-N junction delimiting an emitter part and a base part and comprising at least one area or region specifically designed, treated or adapted to absorb high energy or energetic photons, located adjacent or near at least one hetero-interface. According to the invention, this material is subjected to treatments resulting in the formation of at least one semiconductor based metamaterial field or region being created, as a transitional region of the or a hetero-interface, in an area located continuous or proximate to the or an absorption area or region for the energetic photons of the photonic radiation impacting said photovoltaic material. | 07-07-2011 |
20110168243 | MOISTURE RESISTANT PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES WITH EXPOSED CONDUCTIVE GRID - The present invention provides strategies for improving the adhesion among two or more of transparent conducting oxides, electrically conductive grid materials, and dielectric barrier layers. As a consequence, these strategies are particularly useful in the fabrication of heterojunction photovoltaic devices such as chalcogenide-based solar cells. When the barrier is formed and then the grid is applied to vias in the barrier, the structure has improved moisture barrier resistance as compared to where the barrier is formed over or around the grid. Adhesion is improved to such a degree that grid materials and dielectric barrier materials can cooperate to provide a hermetic seal over devices to protect against damage induced by environmental conditions, including damage due to water intrusion. This allows the collection grids to be at least partially exposed above the dielectric barrier, making it easy to make electronic connection to the devices. | 07-14-2011 |
20110168244 | METHOD AND MEANS FOR A HIGH POWER SOLAR CELL - In methods and apparatus for improving the power generated, and thus efficiency of solar cells, a double or triple junction tandem solar cell that has one or two photon filters of the invention in between the solar cell layers, respectively. The photon filter is arranged to reflect photons with wavelength shorter than λ | 07-14-2011 |
20110168245 | Four Terminal Multi-Junction Thin Film Photovoltaic Device and Method - A multi-junction photovoltaic cell device. The device includes a lower cell and an upper cell, which is operably coupled to the lower cell. In a specific embodiment, the lower cell includes a lower glass substrate material, e.g., transparent glass. The lower cell also includes a lower electrode layer made of a reflective material overlying the glass material. The lower cell includes a lower absorber layer overlying the lower electrode layer. In a specific embodiment, the absorber layer is made of a semiconductor material having a band gap energy in a range of Eg=0.7 to 1 eV, but can be others. In a specific embodiment, the lower cell includes a lower window layer overlying the lower absorber layer and a lower transparent conductive oxide layer overlying the lower window layer. The upper cell includes a p+ type transparent conductor layer overlying the lower transparent conductive oxide layer. In a preferred embodiment, the p+ type transparent conductor layer is characterized by traversing electromagnetic radiation in at least a wavelength range from about 700 to about 630 nanometers and filtering electromagnetic radiation in a wavelength range from about 490 to about 450 nanometers. In a specific embodiment, the upper cell has an upper p type absorber layer overlying the p+ type transparent conductor layer. In a preferred embodiment, the p type conductor layer made of a semiconductor material has a band gap energy in a range of Eg=1.6 to 1.9 eV, but can be others. The upper cell also has an upper n type window layer overlying the upper p type absorber layer, an upper transparent conductive oxide layer overlying the upper n type window layer, and an upper glass material overlying the upper transparent conductive oxide layer. | 07-14-2011 |
20110168246 | THIN-FILM SOLAR CELL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - A thin-film solar cell, comprising a light transmissive substrate, a transparent electrode, a first photovoltaic layer, a second photovoltaic layer and a back electrode, is provided. The light transmissive substrate has a light incident surface and a back surface opposite to the light incident surface, and the transparent electrode is disposed on the back surface. The first photovoltaic layer is disposed on the transparent electrode, and the material of the first photovoltaic layer is an amorphous semiconductor, and the first photovoltaic layer has a first energy gap. The second photovoltaic layer is disposed on the first photovoltaic layer and has a second energy gap lower than the first energy gap. The material of the second photovoltaic layer is a micro-crystalline semiconductor, and the crystallization ratio of the second photovoltaic layer is between 30%˜100%. The second photovoltaic layer can absorb a light ray with a wavelength between 600 nm-1100 nm. | 07-14-2011 |
20110168247 | Techniques for Cooling Solar Concentrator Devices - Solar concentrator devices and techniques for the fabrication thereof are provided. In one aspect, a solar concentrator device is provided. The solar concentrator device comprises at least one solar converter cell; a heat sink; and a liquid metal between the solar converter cell and the heat sink, configured to thermally couple the solar converter cell and the heat sink during operation of the device. The solar converter cell can comprise a triple junction semiconductor solar converter cell fabricated on a germanium (Ge) substrate. The heat sink can comprise a vapor chamber heat sink. The liquid metal can comprise a gallium (Ga) alloy and have a thermal resistance of less than or equal to about five square millimeter degree Celsius per Watt (mm | 07-14-2011 |
20110168248 | USE OF DIBENZOTETRAPHENYLPERIFLANTHENE IN ORGANIC SOLAR CELLS - The present invention relates to the use of dibenzotetraphenylperiflanthene as an electron donor material in an organic solar cell. | 07-14-2011 |
20110174362 | MANUFACTURE OF THIN FILM SOLAR CELLS WITH HIGH CONVERSION EFFICIENCY - A method and apparatus for forming solar cells is provided. In one embodiment, a photovoltaic device includes a antireflection coating layer disposed on a first surface of a substrate, a barrier layer disposed on a second surface of the substrate, a first transparent conductive oxide layer disposed on the barrier layer, a conductive contact layer disposed on the first transparent conductive oxide layer, a first p-i-n junction formed on the conductive contact layer, and a second transparent conductive oxide layer formed on the first p-i-n junction. | 07-21-2011 |
20110174363 | Control of Composition Profiles in Annealed CIGS Absorbers - Particular embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the use of sputtering, and more particularly magnetron sputtering, in forming absorber structures, and particular multilayer absorber structures, that are subsequently annealed to obtain desired composition profiles across the absorber structures for use in photovoltaic devices. | 07-21-2011 |
20110174364 | NANOSTRUCTURED SOLAR CELL - A solar cell having a nanostructure. The nanostructure may include nanowire electron conductors having a fractal structure with a relatively large surface area. The electron conductors may be loaded with nanoparticle quantum dots for absorbing photons. The dots may be immersed in a carrier or hole conductor, initially being a liquid or gel and then solidifying, for effective immersion and contact with the dots. Electrons may move flow via a load from the electron conductors to the holes of the carrier conductor. The solar cell may be fabricated, for example, with an additive process using roll-to-roll manufacturing. | 07-21-2011 |
20110174365 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR FORMING ROOFING SOLAR PANELS - An exemplary system and method for forming a solar panel system includes manufacturing solar panel sheets via thin film solar technology that include a flashing overlap and a non-dry adhesive located on the bottom surface of the sheets such that the solar panel sheets form a moisture barrier on the roof while providing a renewable solar energy source. The solar panel system that forms a moisture barrier on the roof of a structure may include a non-glare surface treatment to provide the appearance of standard 30 year shingles. Additionally, the solar panel system may include a temperature/pressure/light transmissibility sensor system configured to notify a homeowner when the solar panel system is dirty, obscured, or should be changed to reverse current mode to melt snow or ice buildup. | 07-21-2011 |
20110174366 | SPECTRALLY ADAPTIVE MULTIJUNCTION PHOTOVOLTAIC THIN FILM DEVICE AND METHOD OF PRODUCING SAME - A method is provided for converting optical energy to electrical energy in a spectrally adaptive manner. The method begins by directing optical energy into a first photovoltaic module that includes non-single crystalline semiconductor layers defining a junction such that a first spectral portion of the optical energy is converted into a first quantity of electrical energy. A second spectral portion of the optical energy unabsorbed by the first module is absorbed by a second photovoltaic module that includes non-single crystalline semiconductor layers defining a junction and converted into a second quantity of electrical energy. The first quantity of electrical energy is conducted from the first module to a first external electrical circuit along a first path. The second quantity of electrical energy is conducted from the second module to a second external electrical circuit along a second path that is in parallel with the first path. | 07-21-2011 |
20110174367 | TANDEM SOLAR CELL - The present invention provides a tandem solar cell constituted for the purpose of hole blocking or electron blocking so that holes are not injected from a front subcell or electrons are not injected from a rear subcell, into an intermediate layer arranged between these subcells. The tandem solar cell comprises a pair of electrodes, at least two or more subcells, and intermediate layers each arranged between two adjacent subcells, where at least one of the intermediate layers has a hole blocking layer or an electron blocking layer. In particular, holes or electrons can be blocked more completely by adjusting the thickness of the hole blocking layer or electron blocking layer to be equal to or greater than the maximum value of surface irregularity height of the subcell immediately before the hole or electron blocking layer so that the tandem solar cell can exhibit its performances sufficiently. | 07-21-2011 |
20110180128 | THIN FILM SOLAR CELL - A thin film solar cell is discussed. The thin film solar cell includes a substrate, a first photoelectric conversion unit positioned on the substrate, and a back reflection layer for reflecting back light transmitted by the first photoelectric conversion unit to the first photoelectric conversion unit. The first photoelectric conversion unit includes a first intrinsic layer for light absorption. The back reflection layer includes a first back reflection layer doped with n-type or p-type impurities, and the first back reflection layer directly contacts the first intrinsic layer of the first photoelectric conversion unit. | 07-28-2011 |
20110180129 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL - The disclosure relates to multiple quantum well (MQW) structures for intrinsic regions of monolithic photovoltaic junctions within solar cells which are substantially lattice matched to GaAs or Ge. The disclosed MQW structures incorporate quantum wells formed of quaternary InGaAsP, between barriers of InGaP. | 07-28-2011 |
20110186115 | High Performance, High Bandgap, Lattice-Mismatched, GaInP Solar Cells - High performance, high bandgap, lattice-mismatched, photovoltaic cells ( | 08-04-2011 |
20110186116 | METHOD FOR PRODUCING A SOLAR CELL HAVING A TWO-STAGE DOPING - Method for producing solar cells with a two-stage doping ( | 08-04-2011 |
20110192452 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE AND FABRICATION METHOD THEREOF - In a thin film photoelectric conversion deice fabricated by addition of a catalyst element with the use of a solid phase growth method, defects such as a short circuit or leakage of current are suppressed. A catalyst material which promotes crystallization of silicon is selectively added to a second silicon semiconductor layer formed over a first silicon semiconductor layer having one conductivity type, the second silicon semiconductor layer is partly crystallized by a heat treatment, a third silicon semiconductor layer having a conductivity type opposite to the one conductivity type is stacked, and element isolation is performed at a region in the second silicon semiconductor layer to which a catalyst material is not added, so that a left catalyst material is prevented from being diffused again, and defects such as a short circuit or leakage of current are suppressed. | 08-11-2011 |
20110197956 | THIN FILM SOLAR CELL WITH GRADED BANDGAP STRUCTURE - A thin film solar cell with a graded bandgap structure comprises a front contact, a first light absorption layer, a transition layer, a second light absorption layer and a back contact. The first light absorption layer is formed on the front contact, the transition layer is formed on the first light absorption layer, the second light absorption layer is formed on the transition layer, and the back contact is formed on the second light absorption layer, wherein the transition layer has a graded bandgap, which is made by alternating a layer of the first superlattice layers, having a first bandgap, with a layer of the second superlattice layers, having a second bandgap, in a tandem arrangement, based on the condition that the thickness of each layer of the first and the second superlattice layers is varied increasing, decreasing or increasing first and then decreasing. | 08-18-2011 |
20110197957 | SILICON-BASED THIN FILM SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SAME - A method for manufacturing a silicon-based thin film solar cell including a crystalline silicon photoelectric conversion unit which contains a p-type layer ( | 08-18-2011 |
20110203647 | Methods to Improve Efficiency of a Solar Cell - Methods to convert heat into electricity using pyroelectricity piezoelectricity are disclosed. The pyroelectric material requires temporal temperature gradient Dt/dt to convert heat into electricity. The first disclosed method uses stack of materials with varying specific heat to create a temperature wave and standing temperature wave which provides the required dT/dt. The second method utilizes piezoelectric resonance to provide required dT/dt for the pyroelectric. | 08-25-2011 |
20110203648 | LASER PROCESSED HETEROJUNCTION PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES AND ASSOCIATED METHODS - Heterojunction devices and associated methods of making and using are provided. In one aspect, for example, a heterojunction photovoltaic device can include a crystalline semiconductor layer, a first doped semiconductor layer coupled to the crystalline semiconductor layer, and a second doped semiconductor layer coupled to the crystalline semiconductor layer opposite the first doped semiconductor layer. The first and second doped semiconductor layers form junctions with the semiconductor layer. The device can further include a laser processed semiconductor region coupled to the crystalline semiconductor layer. | 08-25-2011 |
20110203649 | USE OF INDANTHRENE COMPOUNDS IN ORGANIC PHOTOVOLTAICS - The present invention relates to an organic solar cell which comprises at least one photoactive region which comprises at least one indanthrene compound which is in contact with at least one fullerene compound, and to the use of indanthrene compounds in organic photovoltaics, especially in the form of a component cell of a tandem cell. | 08-25-2011 |
20110203650 | OPTICAL CONVERTER DEVICE AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT INCLUDING THE OPTICAL CONVERTER DEVICE - A photovoltaic converter device includes a first conductivity type substrate (a p-type single crystalline silicon substrate | 08-25-2011 |
20110203651 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR FABRICATING THE SAME - A solar cell includes a graphite substrate, an amorphous carbon layer having a thickness of not less than 20 nm and not more than 60 nm formed on the graphite substrate, an AlN layer formed on the amorphous carbon layer, a n-type nitride semiconductor layer formed on the AlN layer; a light-absorption layer including a nitride semiconductor layer formed on the n-type nitride semiconductor layer; a p-type nitride semiconductor layer formed on the light-absorption layer; a p-side electrode electrically connected to the p-type nitride semiconductor layer; and an n-side electrode electrically connected to the n-type nitride semiconductor layer. The amorphous carbon layer is obtained by oxidizing the surface of the graphite substrate. | 08-25-2011 |
20110203652 | THIN FILM SOLAR CELL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - A thin film solar cell including a substrate, a first conductive layer, a first photovoltaic layer, a second conductive layer and a crystallization layer is provided. The first conductive layer is disposed on the substrate. The first photovoltaic layer is disposed on the first conductive layer. The second conductive layer is disposed on the first photovoltaic layer. The crystallization layer is at least partially disposed between the first photovoltaic layer and the first conductive layer or between the first photovoltaic layer and the second conductive layer. A manufacturing method of the thin film solar cell is also provided. | 08-25-2011 |
20110209749 | PATTERN TRANSFER METHOD AND APPARATUS, FLEXIBLE DISPLAY PANEL, FLEXIBLE SOLAR CELL, ELECTRONIC BOOK, THIN FILM TRANSISTOR, ELECTROMAGNETIC-SHIELDING SHEET, AND FLEXIBLE PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD APPLYING THEREOF - The present invention relates to methods and apparatuses for transferring pattern, a flexible display panel, a flexible solar cell, an electronic book, a thin film transistor, an electromagnetic-shielding sheet, and a flexible printed circuit board applying thereof. A pattern transfer method related to the present invention comprises: a first step of forming a transfer material layer on a substrate; a second step of hardening the transfer material layer in the solid state; a third step of patterning the transfer material layer by irradiating a laser beam to the hardened transfer material layer in the solid state; and a fourth step of pressing the patterned transfer material layer in the solid state and a flexible substrate facing each other and transferring the transfer material layer to the flexible substrate by a viscous force of the flexible substrate occurring in a facing part between the transfer material layer and the flexible substrate by irradiating the laser beam from the transfer material layer to the flexible substrate or from the flexible substrate to the transfer material layer. | 09-01-2011 |
20110209750 | THIN FILM SOLAR CELL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - A thin film solar cell including a substrate, a first conductive layer, a photoelectric conversion layer, a second conductive layer and a passivation layer is provided. The first conductive layer disposed on the substrate has a plurality of first openings, so as to divide the first conductive layer into bottom electrodes of a plurality of photovoltaic elements. The photoelectric conversion layer disposed on the first conductive layer has a plurality of second openings. The second conductive layer is disposed on the photoelectric conversion layer and electrically connected to the first conductive layer through the second openings. The passivation layer is disposed on the sidewall of the photoelectric conversion layer, so that the second conductive layer in the second openings is electrically isolated from the photoelectric conversion layer. A manufacturing method of the thin film solar cell is also provided. | 09-01-2011 |
20110214722 | THIN FILM SOLAR CELL - The present invention relates to a thin film solar cell. The thin film solar cell comprises a substrate, a transparent conductive layer, a first semiconductor layer, a reflection layer, a reflection enhancing layer, a second semiconductor layer and an electrode layer. The transparent conductive layer is formed on the substrate. The first semiconductor layer is formed on the transparent conductive layer. The reflection layer is formed on the first semiconductor layer, and it is highly refraction and has a plurality of light-transmissive parts. The reflection enhancing layer is formed on the reflection layer, and it has at least a stacking layer including a low refraction index layer and a high refraction index layer. The second semiconductor layer is formed on the reflection enhancing layer. The electrode layer is formed on the second semiconductor layer. The light-transmissive parts are extended to the reflection enhancing layer. | 09-08-2011 |
20110214723 | Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Using Nitrogen Doped Carbon-Nano-Tube and Method for Manufacturing the Same - Provided are a dye-sensitized solar cell and a method for manufacturing the dye-sensitized solar cell using a carbon nanotube (CN | 09-08-2011 |
20110214724 | SOLAR CELL - A solar cell includes a semiconductor substrate including a first conductivity type region; a semiconductor layer disposed on a first surface of the semiconductor substrate and including second conductivity type impurities; a first mask film disposed on a second surface of the semiconductor substrate; a second mask film disposed on the first mask film; and an electrode disposed on the second mask film. | 09-08-2011 |
20110214725 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE WITH GRADED BUFFER LAYER - A photovoltaic device can include a graded bandgap buffer layer. | 09-08-2011 |
20110214726 | Ultra- High Solar Conversion Efficiency for Solar Fuels and Solar Electricity via Multiple Exciton Generation in Quantum Dots Coupled with Solar Concentration - Photoconversion devices comprising a semiconductor region of nanostructured crystalline material are disclosed. The nanostructures of a crystalline material provide for the generation of multiple excitons per photon absorbed by the crystalline nanostructure in response to incident solar radiation. The photoconversion devices will also include one or more optical elements providing for the concentration of sunlight in the semiconductor region. Also disclosed are photoconversion methods, systems and apparatus featuring the combination solar concentration with nanostructures of a crystalline material providing for the generation of multiple excitons per photon absorbed by the crystalline nanostructure in response to incident solar radiation. | 09-08-2011 |
20110214727 | METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING A SOLAR CELL WITH A TWO-STAGE DOPING - A method for manufacturing a solar cell via a two-stage doping includes the steps of forming an oxide layer, which can be penetrated by a first dopant, on at least one part of the surface of a solar cell substrate, forming an opening in the oxide layer in at least one high-doping region by removing the oxide layer in this high-doping region and diffusing the first dopant into the at least one high-doping region of the solar cell substrate through the opening. The first dopant is diffused into the solar cell substrate through the oxide layer. The diffusing-in through the openings and through the oxide layer takes place at the same time in a common diffusion step and the solar cell substrate is diffused in the common diffusion step in an at least partially hydrophilic state. | 09-08-2011 |
20110220189 | THIN FILM SOLAR CELL DEVICE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A thin film solar cell device of higher power generation efficiency, having a tandem structure in which a transparent electrode layer is inserted between a back surface electrode layer and a photoelectric conversion layer and between a plurality of stacked photoelectric conversion layers. A first electricity conducting path is obtained by forming a thin film made of a conductive material (with specific resistance<10 | 09-15-2011 |
20110220190 | SOLAR CELL HAVING A GRADED BUFFER LAYER - An IMM solar cell includes a substrate, a bottom cell on the substrate; a graded buffer layer on the bottom cell; a middle cell on the graded buffer layer; a top cell on the middle cell. | 09-15-2011 |
20110220191 | SOLAR CELLS AND PHOTODETECTORS WITH SEMICONDUCTING NANOSTRUCTURES - Improved photovoltaic devices and methods are disclosed. In one embodiment, an exemplary photovoltaic device includes a semiconductor layer and a light-responsive layer (which can be made, for example, of a semiconductor material) which form a junction, such as a p-n junction. The light-responsive layer can include a plurality of carbon nanostructures, such as carbon nanotubes, located therein. In many cases, the carbon nanostructures can provide a conductive pathway within the light-responsive layer. In another embodiment, an exemplary photovoltaic device can include a light-responsive layer made of a semiconductor material in which is embedded a plurality of semiconducting carbon nanostructures (such as p-type single-wall carbon nanotubes). The interfaces between the semiconductor material and the semiconducting carbon nanostructures can form p-n junctions. In yet other embodiments, exemplary photovoltaic devices include semiconductor nanostructures, which can take a variety of forms, in addition to the carbon nanostructures. Further embodiments include a wide variety of other configurations and features. Methods of fabricating photovoltaic devices, as well as nanostructured photodetectors, as also disclosed. | 09-15-2011 |
20110220192 | SINGLE-SIDED DYE-SENSITIZED SOLAR CELLS HAVING A VERTICAL PATTERNED STRUCTURE - A single-sided dye-sensitized solar cell having a vertical patterned structure is disclosed. A patterned nonconductive insulating layer is formed directly over first portions of a conductive substrate. An electrocatalyst material layer is formed directly over second portions of the conductive substrate, where the second portions of the conductive substrate do not overlap with the first portions of the conductive substrate. A second conductive layer is formed directly over the patterned nonconductive insulating layer and a porous layer is formed directly over the second conductive layer. An electrolyte is formed over the porous layer and the electrocatalyst material layer and a transparent sheet is formed over the electrolyte. | 09-15-2011 |
20110220193 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL WITH DISTRIBUTED EMITTER IN A SUBSTRATE, AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURE OF SUCH A CELL - A photovoltaic cell including a substrate composed of a semiconductor of a first type of conductivity including two main faces substantially parallel with one another, the substrate including a plurality of blind holes, openings of which are positioned in a single one of the two main faces, and the blind holes filled by a semiconductor of a second type of conductivity opposed to the first type of conductivity forming an emitter of the photovoltaic cell. The substrate forms a base of the photovoltaic cell. First collector pins composed of a semiconductor of the second type of conductivity are in contact with the emitter of the photovoltaic cell, and second collector pins composed of a semiconductor of the first type of conductivity are in contact with the substrate and interdigitated with the first collector pins. | 09-15-2011 |
20110226316 | Solar Cell Method of Fabrication via Float Glass Process - The present invention provides improved solar cells. This patent teaches a particularly efficient method of device manufacture based on incorporating the solar cell fabrication into the widely used, high temperature, Float Glass manufacture process. | 09-22-2011 |
20110226317 | Surface Plasmon Resonance Enhanced Solar Cell Structure with Broad Spectral and Angular Bandwidth and Polarization Insensitivity - Disclosed is an active layer electrically contacted to a first electrode, the first electrode being configured for SPR when interacting with light, said configuration being an array of nanostructures with a space varying periodicity and orientation so that SPR thereon is less affected by the spectral wavelength, angle, and/or polarization of the incident light. Related methods are further disclosed. | 09-22-2011 |
20110226318 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE INCLUDING FLEXIBLE OR INFLEXIBEL SUBSTRATE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - Disclosed is a photovoltaic device. The photovoltaic device includes: a first electrode and a second electrode; a first unit cell and a second unit cell which are placed between the first electrode and the second electrode and include a first conductive semiconductor layer, an intrinsic semiconductor layer and a second conductive semiconductor layer; and an intermediate reflector which is placed between the first unit cell and the second unit cell, and includes a hydrogenated amorphous carbon layer. | 09-22-2011 |
20110226319 | MULTIPLE-JUNCTION PHOTOELECTRIC DEVICE AND ITS PRODUCTION PROCESS - A multiple-junction photoelectric device includes a substrate on which a first conducting layer is deposited, at least two elementary photoelectric devices of n-i-p or n-p configuration, on which a second conducting layer is deposited, and at least one intermediate layer between two adjacent elementary photoelectric devices. The intermediate layer has, on the incoming light side, top and bottom faces, the latter having a peak-valley roughness >150 nm, the top and bottom faces having respectively a surface morphology including inclined elementary surfaces so α | 09-22-2011 |
20110232730 | LATTICE MATCHABLE ALLOY FOR SOLAR CELLS - An alloy composition for a subcell of a solar cell is provided that has a bandgap of at least 0.9 eV, namely, Ga | 09-29-2011 |
20110232731 | HIGH EFFICIENCY HYBRID ORGANIC-INORGANIC PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS - Devices including photovoltaic cells and methods of manufacture are disclosed. A photovoltaic cell includes a first electrode layer, at least one photoactive layer disposed on first electrode layer, a second electrode layer disposed on the photoactive layer, at least one first carrier collector structure with a first work function electrically coupled to the first electrode layer and extending partially in to the photoactive layer, and at least one second carrier collector structure with a second work function electrically coupled to the second electrode layer and extending partially into the photoactive layer. In the cell, the first carrier collector structure extends towards the second electrode layer without physically contacting the second carrier collector structure, and the second carrier collector structure extends towards the first electrode layer without physically contacting the first carrier collector structure. Further, at least one of the first and second electrode layers is optically transparent. | 09-29-2011 |
20110232732 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE INCLUDING FLEXIBLE SUBSTRATE OR INFLEXIBLE SUBSTRATE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - Disclosed is a photovoltaic device. The photovoltaic device includes: a substrate; a first electrode placed on the substrate; a second electrode which is placed opposite to the first electrode and which light is incident on; a first unit cell being placed between the first electrode and the second electrode, and including an intrinsic semiconductor layer including crystalline silicon grains making the surface of the intrinsic semiconductor layer toward the second electrode textured; and a second unit cell placed between the first unit cell and the second electrode. | 09-29-2011 |
20110232733 | Multi-Junction Solar Cell For Space Applications - A multi-junction solar cell includes a first main surface and a second main surface opposite to the first main surface of a semiconductor body. A topmost pn-junction of a plurality of pn-junctions stacked on top of each other adjoins to the first main surface. A cell edge of the semiconductor body defines a shape of the first and the second main surfaces. An encapsulant on the first main surface provides an environmental protection of the semiconductor body. A mesa groove is provided on the first main surface and penetrates at least the topmost pn-junction. The mesa groove is located adjacent to the cell edge and is created around the circumference of the semiconductor body for providing an inner cell area and a mesa wall, the mesa wall being created between the mesa groove and the cell edge. The mesa groove is filled with the encapsulant. | 09-29-2011 |
20110232734 | PYROELECTRIC SOLAR TECHNOLOGY APPARATUS AND METHOD - A method to increase the efficiency of a solar cell comprises depositing a pyroelectric film on a surface of the solar cell and generating an electromotive force to bias the solar cell. The method also includes creation of an open circuit voltage. Further, the method includes increasing a short circuit current through the pyroelectric film and creating a sustained temperature variation in the solar cell. A constant temporal temperate gradient is created in the pyroelectric film to increase the short circuit current with a temperature. Further, a p-n junction is biased with the electromotive force produced from the pyroelectric film. | 09-29-2011 |
20110240105 | LEAKAGE PATHWAY LAYER FOR SOLAR CELL - Leakage pathway layers for solar cells and methods of forming leakage pathway layers for solar cells are described. | 10-06-2011 |
20110240106 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES WITH DEPLETED HETEROJUNCTIONS AND SHELL-PASSIVATED NANOPARTICLES - Photovoltaic cells are fabricated in which the compositions of the light-absorbing layer and the electron-accepting layer are selected such that at least one side of the junction between these two layers is substantially depleted of charge carriers, i.e., both free electrons and free holes, in the absence of solar illumination. In further aspects of the invention, the light-absorbing layer is comprised of dual-shell passivated quantum dots, each having a quantum dot core with surface anions, an inner shell containing cations to passivate the core surface anions, and an outer shell to passivate the inner shell anions and anions on the core surface. | 10-06-2011 |
20110240107 | LARGE-AREA THIN-FILM-SILICON PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULES - Micromorph tandem cells with stabilized efficiencies of 11.0% have been achieved on as-grown LPCVD ZnO front TCO at bottom cell thickness of just 1.3 μm in combination with an antireflection concept. Applying an advanced LPCVD ZnO front TCO stabilized tandem cells of 10.6% have been realized at a bottom cell thickness of only 0.8 μm. Implementing intermediate reflectors in Micromorph tandem cell devices allow for, compared to commercial SnO | 10-06-2011 |
20110240108 | Method To Synthesize Colloidal Iron Pyrite (FeS2) Nanocrystals And Fabricate Iron Pyrite Thin Film Solar Cells - Systems and methods are provided for the fabrication and manufacture of efficient, low-cost p-n heterojunction pyrite solar cells. The p-n heterojunction pyrite solar cells can include a pyrite thin cell component, a window layer component, and a top surface contact component. The pyrite thin cell component can be fabricated from nanocrystal paint deposited onto metal foils or microcrystalline pyrite deposited onto foil by chemical vapor deposition. A method of synthesizing colloidal pyrite nanocrystals is provided. Methods of manufacturing the efficient, low-cost p-n heterojunction pyrite solar cells are also provided. | 10-06-2011 |
20110240109 | TANDEM SOLAR CELL MADE OF CRYSTALLINE SILICON AND CRYSTALLINE SILICON CARBIDE AND METHOD FOR PRODUCTION THEREOF - The invention describes photovoltaic tandem solar cells made of crystalline silicon and crystalline silicon carbide having an Si/C intermediate layer. Furthermore, the invention describes a method for the production of tandem solar cells. | 10-06-2011 |
20110253203 | TANDEM PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - Disclosed is a photovoltaic device that comprises: a first electrode including a transparent conductive oxide layer; a first unit cell being placed on the first electrode; a second unit cell being placed on the first unit cell; and a second electrode being placed on the second unit cell, wherein the intrinsic semiconductor layer of the first unit cell includes hydrogenated amorphous silicon or hydrogenated amorphous silicon based material, wherein an intrinsic semiconductor layer of the second unit cell includes hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon or hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon based material, and wherein a ratio of a root mean square roughness to an average pitch of a texturing structure formed on the surface of the first electrode is equal to or more than 0.05 and equal to or less than 0.13. | 10-20-2011 |
20110253204 | Solar Cell - A solar cell | 10-20-2011 |
20110253205 | Nanoscale Solar Cell Configuration - The present disclosure is directed to an optimized structure for an exciton-based photovoltaic cell, in which the bulk heterojunction between the electron donor (typically an organic polymeric semiconductor) and an electron acceptor (e.g., silicon or titanium or titania) minimizes the necessary exciton travel distance to the heterojunction in three dimensions. The configuration is arrayed in three dimensions, such that one member of the heterojunction pair, such as the electron acceptor is in the form of a number of nanoscale channels, extending to an electrode. The channels extend through a photovoltaic matrix material in a predetermined three-dimensional configuration. | 10-20-2011 |
20110253206 | ORGANIC SOLAR BATTERY - An organic solar battery ( | 10-20-2011 |
20110253207 | SOLAR CELL DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SAME - It is an object of the present invention to enlarge flexibility with, respect to material selection for transparent conductive oxide layers within a solar cell device especially in view of the respective, material-specific vacuum deposition processes. This object is resolved by a solar cell device which comprises at least one thin film solar cell and an electrically conductive, transparent oxide layer wherein the addressed electrically conductive, transparent oxide layer is of doped TiOx. | 10-20-2011 |
20110253208 | Photoelectric Conversion Element and Solar Cell - Provided is a photoelectric conversion element that has an nip structure formed of amorphous silicon and that is improved in energy conversion efficiency by a structure in which an n | 10-20-2011 |
20110253209 | SOLAR CELL, METHOD OF FORMING EMITTER LAYER OF SOLAR CELL, AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SOLAR CELL - A solar cell includes a substrate of a first conductive type; an emitter layer that is positioned on the substrate and is a second conductive type that is opposite to the first conductive type; first electrodes that are connected to the emitter layer; and a second electrode that is connected to the substrate, wherein the emitter layer includes a first emitter portion and a second emitter portion, the first electrodes include a finger electrode, and a bus electrode intersecting and connected to the finger electrode, and the first emitter portion and the second emitter portion are positioned under the bus electrode. | 10-20-2011 |
20110259407 | SOLAR CELL INCLUDING MICROLENS AND METHOD OF FABRICATING THE SAME - Disclosed is a method of fabricating a microlens. The method includes forming a self assembly monolayer having a strong hydrophobicity on a substrate; forming a plurality of ink droplets on the self assembly monolayer by jetting a transparent ink using an inkjet apparatus, the transparent ink including a first solvent having a first boiling point, a second solvent having a second boiling point lower than the first boiling point and a silicon oxide (SiOx) solid material dispersed in the first and second solvents; and drying the plurality of ink droplets. | 10-27-2011 |
20110259408 | METHOD FOR PATTERNING A SUBSTRATE USING ION ASSISTED SELECTIVE DEPOSITION - A method of patterning a substrate includes providing a focusing plate adjacent to a plasma chamber containing a plasma, the focusing plate configured to extract ions from the plasma through at least one aperture that provides focused ions towards the substrate. The method further includes directing first ions through the at least one aperture to one or more first regions of the substrate so as to condense first gaseous species provided in ambient of the substrate on the one or more first regions of the substrate. | 10-27-2011 |
20110259409 | Photovoltaic Device - Disclosed is a photoelectric conversion device including a transparent conductor layer formed on a light transmissive substrate, an electron blocking layer covering the surface of the transparent conductor layer, a bulk heterojunction type photoelectric conversion layer in contact with the electron blocking layer, a hole blocking layer covering the surface of the photoelectric conversion layer, and a counter electrode covering the hole blocking layer, wherein the hole blocking layer is made of a material having a band gap of 3.0 eV or more, thereby the migration of holes from the photoelectric conversion layer is prevented and recombination or leakage current is suppressed. | 10-27-2011 |
20110259410 | THIN-FILM SILICON TANDEM CELL - A thin-film tandem photovoltaic cell comprises on a glass substrate a front TCO ( | 10-27-2011 |
20110265865 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS WITH CADMIUM TELLURIDE INTRINSIC LAYER - A photovoltaic (PV) cell includes a first electrically conductive layer, a p-type semiconductor layer, and a substantially intrinsic semiconductor layer with a median grain size of at least about five (5) μm and comprising a cadmium and tellurium. The PV cell further includes an n-type semiconductor layer and a second electrically conductive layer. The substantially intrinsic semiconductor layer is disposed between the p-type semiconductor layer and the n-type semiconductor layer. A photovoltaic cell that includes a first electrically conductive layer comprising a textured substrate and a substantially intrinsic semiconductor layer, with a median grain size of at least about five (5) μm and comprising cadmium and tellurium, is also provided. | 11-03-2011 |
20110265866 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A solar cell is provided with a hetero-junction front structure (e.g., P/N or P/I/N) and is further provided in a back portion of thereof with a passivation layer having a plurality of openings defined therethrough. A BSF-forming binder material and a back face electrode are provided contacting the back surface and are fired to thereby bind the back face electrode to the structure and to form a BSF region extending from the openings of the passivation layer. | 11-03-2011 |
20110265867 | TEMPLATE FOR THREE-DIMENSIONAL THIN-FILM SOLAR CELL MANUFACTURING AND METHODS OF USE - A template for three-dimensional thin-film solar cell substrate formation for use in three-dimensional thin-film solar cells. The template comprises a substrate which comprises a plurality of posts and a plurality of trenches between said plurality of posts. The template forms an environment for three-dimensional thin-film solar cell substrate formation. | 11-03-2011 |
20110272009 | METHOD AND STRUCTURE OF PHOTOVOLTAIC GRID STACKS BY SOLUTION BASED PROCESSES - A grid stack structure of a solar cell, which includes a silicon substrate, wherein a front side of the silicon is doped with phosphorus to form a n-emitter and a back side of the silicon is screen printed with aluminum (Al) metallization; a dielectric layer, which acts as an antireflection coating (ARC), applied on the silicon; a mask layer applied on the front side to define a grid opening of the dielectric layer, wherein an etching method is applied to open an unmasked grid area; a light-induced plated nickel or cobalt layer applied to the front side with electrical contact to the back side Al metallization; a silicide layer formed by rapid thermal annealing of the plated nickel (Ni) or cobalt (Co); an optional barrier layer electrodeposited on the silicide; a copper (Cu) layer electrodeposited on the silicide/barrier film layer; and a thin protective layer is chemically applied or electrodeposited on top of the Cu layer. | 11-10-2011 |
20110272010 | HIGH WORK FUNCTION METAL INTERFACIAL FILMS FOR IMPROVING FILL FACTOR IN SOLAR CELLS - A photovoltaic device and method include a doped transparent electrode, and a light-absorbing semiconductor structure including a first semiconductor layer. An ultra-thin layer of a non-transparent metal is formed between the transparent electrode and the first semiconductor layer to form a reduced barrier contact wherein the ultra-thin layer is light transmissive. When the ultrathin metal forms discrete individual dots, it permits a plasmonic light trapping effect to increase the current at solar cells. | 11-10-2011 |
20110272011 | Solar Cell - A device, system, and method for a thin Si solar cell with epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO) structure described in may demonstrate higher open circuit voltage are disclosed herein. An exemplary thin silicon solar cell structure has a p+ silicon substrate. A dielectric layer is disposed over the p+ silicon substrate. One or more trenches are defined within the dielectric layer. A thin n type silicon layer is grown on the p+ silicon substrate within the trench by epitaxial lateral overgrowth wherein a junction area of the solar cell is minimized. | 11-10-2011 |
20110272012 | SOLAR CELL WITH OXIDE TUNNELING JUNCTIONS - One embodiment of the present invention provides a tunneling junction based solar cell. The solar cell includes a base layer; a quantum-tunneling-barrier (QTB) layer situated adjacent to the base layer; an emitter; a surface field layer; a front-side electrode; and a back-side electrode. | 11-10-2011 |
20110272013 | TEMPLATE FOR THREE-DIMENSIONAL THIN-FILM SOLAR CELL MANUFACTURING AND METHODS OF USE - A template for three-dimensional thin-film solar cell substrate formation for use in three-dimensional thin-film solar cells. The template comprises a substrate which comprises a plurality of posts and a plurality of trenches between said plurality of posts. The template forms an environment for three-dimensional thin-film solar cell substrate formation. | 11-10-2011 |
20110272014 | Photovoltaic Structure And Method Of Fabication Employing Nanowire In Stub - A photovoltaic structure of a photovoltaic cell and a method of fabricating a photovoltaic structure, employ a nanowire having a base connected to a stub and an electrical isolation layer surrounding the stub. The stub is a constituent of a substrate surface. The nanowire extends away from the substrate surface and is wider than the stub. The nanowire base overlies a part of the isolation layer that is adjacent to the stub. A semiconductor junction comprises the nanowire. The method includes forming the stub; growing the nanowire from the stub; and conformally coating the nanowire. A nanoparticle is applied to the substrate surface. The isolation layer is created on and embedded in the substrate surface using the nanoparticle as a mask. A portion of the substrate surface underlying the nanoparticle forms the stub. The nanoparticle catalyzes nanowire growth on the stub. The stub is narrower than the nanoparticle. | 11-10-2011 |
20110272015 | THIN FILM SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A thin film solar cell and a method for manufacturing the same are discussed. The thin film solar cell includes a substrate, a first electrode and a second electrode positioned on the substrate, and a first photoelectric conversion unit positioned between the first electrode and the second electrode. The first photoelectric conversion unit includes an intrinsic layer for light absorption containing microcrystalline silicon germanium, a p-type doped layer and an n-type doped layer respectively positioned on and under the intrinsic layer, and a seed layer not containing germanium positioned between the p-type doped layer and the intrinsic layer. | 11-10-2011 |
20110272016 | SOLAR CELL WITH REDUCED BASE DIFFUSION AREA - In one embodiment, a solar cell has base and emitter diffusion regions formed on the back side. The emitter diffusion region is configured to collect minority charge carriers in the solar cell, while the base diffusion region is configured to collect majority charge carriers. The emitter diffusion region may be a continuous region separating the base diffusion regions. Each of the base diffusion regions may have a reduced area to decrease minority charge carrier recombination losses without substantially increasing series resistance losses due to lateral flow of majority charge carriers. Each of the base diffusion regions may have a dot shape, for example. | 11-10-2011 |
20110277825 | SOLAR CELL WITH METAL GRID FABRICATED BY ELECTROPLATING - One embodiment of the present invention provides a solar cell. The solar cell includes a photovoltaic structure, a transparent-conductive-oxide (TCO) layer situated above the photovoltaic structure, and a front-side metal grid situated above the TCO layer. The TCO layer is in contact with the front surface of the photovoltaic structure. The metal grid includes at least one of: Cu and Ni. | 11-17-2011 |
20110277826 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A solar cell includes a substrate of a first conductive type; an emitter part of a second conductive type positioned at a front surface of the substrate; a first silicon thin film layer positioned on the emitter part and including amorphous silicon containing impurities of the second type that are doped therein; a first transparent conductive layer positioned on the first silicon thin film layer and electrically connected with the emitter part; a first electrode positioned on the first transparent conductive layer and electrically connected with the first transparent conductive layer; and a second electrode positioned on a back surface of the substrate. For example, the first silicon thin film layer includes N | 11-17-2011 |
20110277827 | NANOSTRUCTURED SOLAR CELL - Systems and methods for fabrication of nanostructured solar cells having arrays of nanostructures are described, including nanostructured solar cells having a repeating pattern of pyramid nanostructures, providing for low cost thin-film solar cells with improved PCE. | 11-17-2011 |
20110277828 | DISORDER-ORDER HOMOJUNCTIONS AS MINORITY-CARRIER BARRIERS - A method for improving the overall quantum efficiency and output voltage in solar cells using spontaneous ordered semiconductor alloy absorbers to form a DOH below the front or above the back surface of the cell. | 11-17-2011 |
20110277829 | SOLAR CELL WITH EPITAXIALLY GROWN QUANTUM DOT MATERIAL - A solar cell with spaced apart groupings of self-assembled quantum dot layers interposed with barrier layers. Such groupings allow improved control over the growth front quality of the solar cell, the crystalline structure of the solar cell, and on the performance metrics of the solar cell. | 11-17-2011 |
20110277830 | MULTI-JUNCTION SOLAR CELL DEVICES - A photovoltaic cell structure for manufacturing a photovoltaic device. The photovoltaic cell structure includes a substrate including a surface region. A first conductor layer overlies the surface region. The photovoltaic cell structure includes a lower cell structure. The lower cell structure includes a first P type absorber layer using a first semiconductor metal chalcogenide material and/or other semiconductor material overlying the first conductor layer. The first P type absorber material is characterized by a first bandgap ranging from about 0.5 eV to about 1.0 eV, a first optical absorption coefficient greater than about 10 | 11-17-2011 |
20110284060 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD OF FABRICATING THE SAME - A solar cell and method of fabricating the same using a simplified process. The solar cell includes a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type having a front surface configured to receive sunlight and a back surface opposite to the front surface, and a diffusion region of the first conductivity type and a diffusion region of a second conductivity type extending from the back surface of the semiconductor substrate into the semiconductor substrate to a predetermined depth, wherein the diffusion region of the first conductivity type is counter doped with both a dopant of the first conductivity type and a dopant of the second conductivity type. | 11-24-2011 |
20110284061 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL AND METHODS FOR PRODUCING A PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL - A photovoltaic cell ( | 11-24-2011 |
20110284062 | METHOD FOR THE DEPOSITION OF MICROCRYSTALLINE SILICON ON A SUBSTRATE - Disclosed is a method for depositing microcrystalline silicon on a substrate in a plasma chamber system, comprising the following steps: prior to initiating the plasma, providing the plasma chamber system with at least one reactive, silicon-containing gas and hydrogen, or exclusively hydrogen; initiating the plasma; after the plasma is initiated, continuously supplying the chamber system exclusively with reactive, silicon-containing gas, or after the plasma is initiated, continuously supplying the chamber system with at least one mixture comprising a reactive, silicon-containing gas and hydrogen, wherein the concentration of reactive, silicon-containing gas during the supply into the chamber is adjusted to greater than 0.5%; adjusting the plasma power to between 0.1 and 2.5 W/cm | 11-24-2011 |
20110284063 | HIGH EFFICIENCY DYE-SENSITIZED SOLAR CELL WITH LAYERED STRUCTURES - A dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) is provided. The DSSC anode includes a first electron-collecting layer deposited on a substrate and a first electron-transporting layer deposited on the first electron-collecting layer, the first electron-transporting layer containing light-absorbing dye. The DSSC anode also includes a second nanoporous electron-collecting layer deposited on the first electron-transporting layer; and a second electron-transporting layer deposited on the second porous electron-collecting layer, the second electron-transporting layer containing light-absorbing dye. Methods of fabricating the DSSC anode are also provided. | 11-24-2011 |
20110284064 | SOLAR CELL - A solar cell includes a semiconductor layer with first doping, an inducing layer arranged on the semiconductor layer and an inversion layer or accumulation layer which due to the inducing layer is induced underneath the inducing layer in the semiconductor layer. The inducing layer includes a material with a surface charge density of at least 10 | 11-24-2011 |
20110290308 | MONOLITHICALLY INTEGRATED SOLAR MODULES AND METHODS OF MANUFACTURE - A monolithically integrated photovoltaic (PV) module is provided and includes a first electrically conductive layer and an insulating layer. The first electrically conductive layer is disposed below the insulating layer. The PV module further includes a back contact metal layer, a p-type semiconductor layer, a substantially intrinsic semiconductor layer with a median grain size of at least about five μm and comprising cadmium and tellurium, and an n-type semiconductor layer. The substantially intrinsic layer is disposed between the p-type and the n-type semiconductor layers forming an active semiconductor stack. The back contact metal layer is disposed between the insulating layer and the active semiconductor stack. The PV module further includes a second electrically conductive layer disposed above the active semiconductor stack, at least one first trench extending through the back contact metal layer, at least one second trench extending through the active semiconductor stack, and at least one third trench extending through the second electrically conductive layer. | 12-01-2011 |
20110290309 | Solar Cell and Method for Manufacturing the Same - Disclosed is a solar cell and a method for manufacturing the same, which facilitates to improve cell efficiency by smoothly drifting carrier such as hole or electron generated in a semiconductor wafer to first and second electrodes, the solar cell comprising a semiconductor wafer having a predetermined polarity; a first semiconductor layer on one surface of the semiconductor wafer; a first transparent conductive layer on the first semiconductor layer; a first electrode on the first transparent conductive layer; a second semiconductor layer on the other surface of the semiconductor wafer, wherein the second semiconductor layer is different in polarity from the first semiconductor layer; a second transparent conductive layer on the second semiconductor layer; a second electrode on the second transparent conductive layer; and at least one of first and second auxiliary layers, wherein the first auxiliary layer is formed between the first semiconductor layer and the first transparent conductive layer so as to smoothly drift carriers generated in the semiconductor wafer to the first transparent conductive layer, and the second auxiliary layer is formed between the second semiconductor layer and the second transparent conductive layer so as to smoothly drift carriers generated in the semiconductor wafer to the second transparent conductive layer. | 12-01-2011 |
20110290310 | SOLAR CELL AND SOLAR CELL MANUFACTURING METHOD - A solar cell capable of restricting carrier loss and yields higher energy conversion efficiency than was conventionally possible and a method of producing a solar cell enabling formation of a light absorbing layer containing quantum dots through a low-temperature process using a coating or printing method requiring no vacuum equipment or complicated apparatuses. The solar cell includes a light absorbing layer containing quantum dots in a matrix layer, and the light absorbing layer is connected to an N-type semiconductor layer on one side and to a P-type semiconductor layer on the other side. In the light absorbing layer, the quantum dots are made of nanocrystalline semiconductor and arranged 3-dimensionally uniformly enough and spaced regularly so that a plurality of wave functions lie on one another between adjacent quantum dots to form intermediate bands. The matrix layer is formed of amorphous IGZO. | 12-01-2011 |
20110290311 | SOLAR CELL - The present invention provides a solar cell from which an electric current can be taken out by transferring carriers while obtaining phonon bottleneck effects of quantum dots. The invention is a solar cell comprising: a first material layer comprising a wetting layer and quantum dots formed in the wetting layer; a second material layer where the first material layer is formed on the surface; a negative electrode; and a positive electrode, the negative electrode or the positive electrode being connected with the wetting layer, wherein when the negative electrode and the wetting layer are connected, these are connected so that electrons existing in the wetting layer can travel to the negative electrode, and when the positive electrode and the wetting layer are connected, these are connected so that holes existing in the wetting layer can travel to the positive electrode. | 12-01-2011 |
20110290312 | COMPOUND SEMICONDUCTOR SOLAR BATTERY AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING COMPOUND SEMICONDUCTOR SOLAR BATTERY - A compound semiconductor solar battery including a first compound semiconductor photoelectric conversion cell, a second compound semiconductor photoelectric conversion cell provided on the first compound semiconductor photoelectric conversion cell, and a compound semiconductor buffer layer provided between the first compound semiconductor photoelectric conversion cell and the second compound semiconductor photoelectric conversion cell, the first compound semiconductor photoelectric conversion cell and the compound semiconductor buffer layer being provided adjacent to each other, and a ratio of a difference in lattice constant between the first compound semiconductor photoelectric conversion cell and a compound semiconductor layer provided in a position closest to the first compound semiconductor photoelectric conversion cell among compound semiconductor layers constituting the compound semiconductor buffer layer being not less than 0.15% and not more than 0.74%, and a method for manufacturing the same are provided. | 12-01-2011 |
20110297213 | Triple Junction Solar Cell - An energy efficient triple junction InGaP/GaAs/Ge solar cell. In one embodiment, the triple junction InGaP/GaAs/Ge solar cell includes: a bottom Ge layer; a first tunnel junction layer above the bottom Ge layer; a middle GaAs layer above the first tunnel junction layer; a second tunnel junction layer above the middle GaAs layer; and a top InGaP layer above the second tunnel junction layer. | 12-08-2011 |
20110297214 | MULTI-JUNCTION SOLAR CELL HAVING SIDEWALL BI-LAYER ELECTRICAL INTERCONNECT - Nanostructure array optoelectronic devices are disclosed. The optoelectronic device may be a multi junction solar cell. The optoelectronic device may have a bi-layer electrical interconnect that is physically and electrically connected to sidewalls of the array of nanostructures. The optoelectronic device may be operated as a multi junction solar cell, wherein each junction is associated with one portion of the device. The bi-layer electrical interconnect allows current to pass from one portion to the next. Thus, the bi-layer electrical interconnect may serve as a replacement for a tunnel junction, which is used in some conventional multi junction solar cells. | 12-08-2011 |
20110297215 | Manufacturing method and apparatus for a copper indium gallium diselenide solar cell - A method to manufacture Copper Indium Gallium di Selenide (Cu(In,Ga)Se | 12-08-2011 |
20110297216 | ORGANIC SOLAR CELL AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME - An organic solar cell includes an anode and a cathode facing each other, a photoactive layer disposed between the anode and the cathode and including an electron donor and an electron acceptor, and a transparent auxiliary layer disposed between the anode and the cathode and in contact with the photoactive layer. The transparent auxiliary layer includes inorganic nanoparticles and a polymer. | 12-08-2011 |
20110297217 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES WITH MULTIPLE JUNCTIONS SEPARATED BY A GRADED RECOMBINATION LAYER - A recombination layer with a gradient work function is provided which increases the power-conversion efficiency of multijunction photovoltaic devices by reducing the energy barrier to charge carriers migrating between pairs of photovoltaic junctions thereby facilitating the optimal recombination of opposing electron and hole currents generated when the photovoltaic is illuminated. | 12-08-2011 |
20110297218 | METHOD AND STRUCTURE FOR THIN FILM PHOTOVOLTAIC MATERIALS USING BULK SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS - A photovoltaic device and related methods. The device has a structured material positioned between an electron collecting electrode and a hole collecting electrode. An electron transporting/hole blocking material is positioned between the electron collecting electrode and the structured material. In a specific embodiment, negatively charged carriers generated by optical absorption by the structured material are preferentially separated into the electron transporting/hole blocking material. In a specific embodiment, the structured material has an optical absorption coefficient of at least 10 | 12-08-2011 |
20110303268 | HIGH EFFICIENCY InGaAsN SOLAR CELL AND METHOD OF MAKING - An InGaAsN solar cell includes an InGaAsN structure having a bandgap between 1.0 eV to 1.05 eV, and a depletion region width of at least 1.0 μm. | 12-15-2011 |
20110303269 | FABRICATION METHOD FOR QUANTUM DOT SENSITIZED SOLAR CELL USING SUPERCRITICAL FLUID OR SUBCRITICAL FLUID AND QUATUM DOT SENSITIZED SOLAR CELL PREPARED THEREBY - A method of fabricating a transparent electrode for use in a quantum dot sensitized solar cell, and a quantum dot sensitized solar cell fabricated according to the method are provided. According to the fabrication method, (S1) quantum dot precursor is introduced into a high pressure storage vessel and a quantum dot precursor is dissolved using subcritical fluid or supercritical fluid; (S2) the quantum dot precursor fluid prepared at (S1) is transported to contact with a conductive thin layer substrate comprised of a metal oxide placed in a high pressure reaction vessel, thereby causing the quantum dot precursor to be adsorbed in the metal oxide thin layer; (S3) non-adsorbed quantum dot precursor fluid of (S2) is transported and thus recovered to the high pressure storage vessel together with the subcritical fluid or supercritical fluid; and (S4) the subcritical fluid or supercritical fluid is removed from the high pressure reaction vessel, and the quantum dot precursor, adsorbed at (S2), is reacted with a second element which constitutes the quantum dot or a compound comprising the second element. | 12-15-2011 |
20110303270 | SOLAR CELL STRUCTURE HAVING HIGH PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION EFFICIENCY AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A solar cell structure having high photoelectric conversion efficiency and method of manufacturing the same, comprising: a substrate; an amorphous silicon layer; a Group III-V polycrystalline semiconductor layer; a transparent conductive layer formed sequentially on said transparent substrate; and a pattern layer formed on a surface of said transparent conductive layer. Incident light is absorbed through said transparent conductive layer, and is guided by said pattern layer horizontally into distributing evenly in said Group III-V polycrystalline semiconductor layer, thus raising photoelectric conversion efficiency of said solar cell structure. | 12-15-2011 |
20110303271 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES - A photovoltaic device including cathode and anode electrodes ( | 12-15-2011 |
20110303272 | Photoelectric Conversion Device and Manufacturing Method Thereof - An object is to provide a photoelectric conversion device in which defects are suppressed as much as possible by filling a separation process region of a semiconductor film with an insulating resin. A photoelectric conversion device includes a first conductive layer formed over a substrate; first to third semiconductor layers formed over the first conductive layer; a second conductive layer formed over the third semiconductor layer; a first separation groove for separating the first conductive layer and the first to third semiconductor layers into a plurality of pieces; a second separation groove for separating the first to third semiconductor layers into a plurality of pieces; and a third separation groove for separating the second conductive layer into a plurality of pieces. An insulating resin is filled in a structural defect that exists in at least one of the first to third semiconductor layers, and in the first separation groove. | 12-15-2011 |
20110303273 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL - There is disclosed a photovoltaic cell, such as a solar cell, incorporating one or more epitaxially grown layers of SiGe or another germanium material, substantially lattice matched to GaAs. A GaAs substrate used for growing the layers may be removed by a method which includes using a boundary between said GaAs and the germanium material as an etch stop. | 12-15-2011 |
20110308583 | PLASMA TREATMENT AT A P-I JUNCTION FOR INCREASING OPEN CIRCUIT VOLTAGE OF A PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE - Open circuit voltage of a photovoltaic device including a p-i-n junction including amorphous silicon-containing semiconductor materials is increased by a high power plasma treatment on an amorphous p-doped silicon-containing semiconductor layer before depositing an amorphous intrinsic silicon-containing semiconductor layer. The high power plasma treatment deposits a thin layer of nanocrystalline silicon-containing semiconductor material or converts a surface layer of the amorphous p-doped silicon containing layer into a thin nanocrystalline silicon-containing semiconductor layer. After deposition of an intrinsic amorphous silicon layer, the thin nanocrystalline silicon-containing semiconductor layer functions as an interfacial nanocrystalline silicon-containing semiconductor layer located at a p-i junction. The increase in the open circuit voltage of the photovoltaic device through the plasma treatment depends on the composition of the interfacial crystalline silicon-containing semiconductor layer, and particularly on the atomic concentration of carbon in the interfacial crystalline silicon-containing semiconductor layer. | 12-22-2011 |
20110308584 | SURFACE TREATMENT OF TRANSPARENT CONDUCTIVE MATERIAL FILMS FOR IMPROVEMENT OF PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES - A tunneling layer is provided between a transparent conductive material and a p-doped semiconductor layer of a photovoltaic device. The tunneling layer is comprised of stoichiometric oxides which are formed when an upper surface of the transparent conductive material is subjected to one of the surface modification techniques of this disclosure. The surface modification techniques oxidize the dangling metal bonds of the transparent conductive material. The tunneling layer acts as a protective layer for the transparent conductive material. Moreover, the tunneling layer improves the interface between the transparent conductive material and the p-doped semiconductor layer. The improved interface that exists between the transparent conductive material and the p-doped semiconductor layer results in enhanced properties of the resultant photovoltaic device containing the same. In some embodiments, a high quality single junction solar cell can be provided by this disclosure that has a very well defined interface. | 12-22-2011 |
20110308585 | DUAL TRANSPARENT CONDUCTIVE MATERIAL LAYER FOR IMPROVED PERFORMANCE OF PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES - A dual transparent conductive material layer is provided between a p-doped semiconductor layer and a substrate layer of a photovoltaic device. The dual transparent conductive material layer includes a first transparent conductive material and a second transparent conductive material wherein the second transparent conductive material is nano-structured. The nano-structured second transparent conductive material acts as a protective layer for the underlying first transparent conductive material. The nano-structured transparent conductive material provides a benefit of a higher Eg of the underlying first transparent conductive material surface and a very high resilience to hydrogen plasma from the nano-structures during the formation of the p-doped semiconductor layer. | 12-22-2011 |
20110308586 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - A photoelectric conversion device having a new anti-reflection structure is provided. A photoelectric conversion device includes a first-conductivity-type crystalline semiconductor region that is provided over a conductive layer; a crystalline semiconductor region that is provided over the first-conductivity-type crystalline semiconductor region and has an uneven surface by including a plurality of whiskers including a crystalline semiconductor; and a second-conductivity-type crystalline semiconductor region that covers the uneven surface of the crystalline semiconductor region having the uneven surface, the second conductivity type being opposite to the first conductivity type. In the photoelectric conversion device, a concentration gradient of an impurity element imparting the first conductivity type is formed from the first-conductivity-type crystalline semiconductor region toward the crystalline semiconductor region having the uneven surface. | 12-22-2011 |
20110308587 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A photoelectric conversion device having a new anti-reflection structure is provided. The photoelectric conversion device includes a first-conductivity-type crystalline semiconductor region, an intrinsic crystalline semiconductor region, an intrinsic semiconductor region, and a second-conductivity-type semiconductor region that are stacked over a first electrode. An interface between the first electrode and the first-conductivity-type crystalline semiconductor region is flat. The intrinsic crystalline semiconductor region includes a crystalline semiconductor region, and a plurality of whiskers that are provided over the crystalline semiconductor region and include a crystalline semiconductor. In other words, the intrinsic crystalline semiconductor region includes the plurality of whiskers; thus, a surface of the second electrode is uneven. Further, a concentration gradient of an impurity element imparting the first conductivity type is formed from the first-conductivity-type crystalline semiconductor region toward the intrinsic crystalline semiconductor region. | 12-22-2011 |
20110308588 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - A photoelectric conversion device having a high electric generating capacity at low illuminance, in which a semiconductor layer is appropriately separated and short circuit of a side surface portion of a cell is prevented. The photoelectric conversion device includes an isolation groove formed between one first electrode and the other first electrode that is adjacent to the one first electrode; a stack including a first semiconductor layer having one conductivity type over the first electrode, a second semiconductor layer formed using an intrinsic semiconductor, and a third semiconductor layer having a conductivity type opposite to the one conductivity type; and a connection electrode connecting one first electrode and a second electrode that is in contact with a third semiconductor layer included in a stack formed over the other first electrode that is adjacent to the one first electrode. A side surface portion of the second semiconductor layer is not crystallized. | 12-22-2011 |
20110308589 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - An object of the present invention is to provide a photoelectric conversion device having a novel anti-reflection structure. An uneven structure is formed on a surface of a semiconductor by growth of the same or a different kind of semiconductor instead of forming an anti-reflection structure by etching a surface of a semiconductor substrate or a semiconductor film. For example, a semiconductor layer including a plurality of projections is provided on a light incident plane side of a photoelectric conversion device, thereby considerably reducing surface reflection. Such a structure can be formed by a vapor deposition method; therefore, the contamination of the semiconductor is not caused. | 12-22-2011 |
20110308590 | Photoelectric Conversion Device and Energy Conversion Layer for Photoelectric Conversion Device - A novel photoelectric conversion device in which energy of light can be effectively utilized and performance can be improved is provided. A photoelectric conversion device includes a photoelectric conversion element and an energy conversion layer provided on a light-receiving side of a photoelectric conversion layer included in the photoelectric conversion element. The energy conversion layer includes a plurality of first layers and a plurality of second layers. The first layer and the second layer are alternately stacked. The thickness of the first layer is greater than or equal to 0.5 nm and less than or equal to 10 nm, and the thickness of the second layer is greater than or equal to 0.5 nm and less than or equal to 10 nm. The second layer can be formed using a material having a larger energy band gap than that of a material used for the first layer. | 12-22-2011 |
20110308591 | Photoelectric Conversion Device and Manufacturing Method Thereof - A photoelectric conversion device with a novel anti-reflection structure. In the photoelectric conversion device, a front surface of a semiconductor substrate which serves as a light-receiving surface is covered with a group of whiskers (a group of nanowires) so that surface reflection is reduced. In other words, a semiconductor layer which has a front surface where crystals grow so that whiskers are formed is provided on the light-receiving surface side of the semiconductor substrate. The semiconductor layer has a given uneven structure, and thus has effects of reducing reflection on the front surface of the semiconductor substrate and increasing conversion efficiency. | 12-22-2011 |
20110308592 | USE OF SUBSTITUTED PERYLENES IN ORGANIC SOLAR CELLS - The present invention relates to an organic solar cell with a photoactive region which comprises at least one organic donor material in contact with at least one organic acceptor material, wherein the donor material and the acceptor material form a donor-acceptor heterojunction and wherein the photoactive region comprises at least one substituted perylene. | 12-22-2011 |
20110315201 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR FABRICATING THE HETEROJUNCTION THEREOF - Embodiments of the present invention provide methods to fabricate semiconductor nanostructure/polymer heterojunctions of solar cells. The methods comprise that a conductive polymer is adhered on the surface of semiconductor nanostructures by capillary effect and core-sheath shaped heterojunctions are formed. The incident photo-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) of the solar cells having core-sheath heterojunctions can reach 30% or more. | 12-29-2011 |
20110315202 | ELECTRODE PASTE FOR SOLAR CELL, SOLAR CELL USING THE PASTE, AND FABRICATION METHOD OF THE SOLAR CELL - An electrode paste for a solar cell, a solar cell electrode using the paste, a solar cell having such an electrode, and a fabrication method of the solar cell are described. The paste for a solar cell electrode comprises a first component that includes silver (Ag) or a metal alloy containing the silver (Ag); a second component that includes zinc (Zn), and at least one selected from a group consisting of silicon (Si), aluminum (Al), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), bismuth (Bi), phosphorous (P), boron (B), barium (Ba), and palladium (Pd); a leaded or lead-free glass frit; and a resin binder that is dispersed in an organic medium. | 12-29-2011 |
20110315203 | DYE-SENSITIZED SOLAR CELL - There is provided a tandem-type dye-sensitized solar cell having a novel structure whereby optical absorption efficiency is improved and which can be manufactured at low cost. | 12-29-2011 |
20120000516 | Graphene Solar Cell - A solar cell includes a semiconductor portion, a graphene layer disposed on a first surface of the semiconductor portion, and a first conductive layer patterned on the graphene layer, the first conductive layer including at least one bus bar portion and a plurality of fingers extending from the at least one bus bar portion. | 01-05-2012 |
20120000517 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - The present invention relates to a solar cell and a method for manufacturing the same. More specifically, the present invention provides a silicon solar cell capable of minimizing defects and recombination of electrons-holes by removing a damaged layer formed by a laser edge isolation process to isolate a silicon substrate and covering a protective layer on a surface thereof and a method for manufacturing the same. | 01-05-2012 |
20120000518 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A photoelectric conversion device is provided in which a first photoelectric conversion module having a plurality of first photoelectric conversion elements formed on one surface of a first translucent insulated substrate and a second photoelectric conversion module having a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements formed on one surface of a second translucent insulated substrate are bonded together with the first photoelectric conversion elements and the second photoelectric conversion elements placed on an inner side. The photoelectric conversion device includes a plurality of photoelectric conversion element pairs formed by electrically connecting, in series, the first photoelectric conversion elements and the second photoelectric conversion elements arranged in positions opposed to each other. All the photoelectric conversion element pairs are electrically connected in series. | 01-05-2012 |
20120006390 | Nano-wire solar cell or detector - Solar cells or photodetectors having one or more single-crystal shell layers conformally deposited on Ge nano-wires are provided. This approach can provide higher efficiency and/or reduced material cost compared to conventional planar approaches for multi-junction solar cells having the same thickness of active solar absorption materials. Shell layers deposited on the Ge nano-wires and including pn junctions can be grown such that they end up with single-crystal faceted tips, which can significantly improve optical collection efficiency and can improve the electron collection efficiency because of the high crystal quality. | 01-12-2012 |
20120006391 | PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING A PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULE HAVING AN ELECTRODE DIFFUSION LAYER - A photovoltaic module that converts incident light received through a light transmissive cover sheet into a voltage is provided. The photovoltaic module includes a substrate, conductive upper and lower layers between the substrate and the cover sheet, and a semiconductor layer stack between the conductive upper and lower layers. The conductive lower layer includes an electrode diffusion layer between a lower electrode and a conductive light transmissive layer. The electrode diffusion layer restricts diffusion of the lower electrode of the conductive lower layer into the conductive light transmissive layer during deposition of the semiconductor layer stack. The incident light is converted by the semiconductor layer stack into the voltage potential between the conductive upper and lower layers. | 01-12-2012 |
20120006392 | MANUFACTURING HIGH EFFICIENCY SOLAR CELL WITH DIRECTIONAL DOPING - A first facet of each of a plurality of pyramids on a surface of a workpiece is doped to a first dose while a second facet and a third facet of each of the plurality of pyramids is simultaneously doped to a second dose different than the first dose. The first facets may enable low resistance contacts and the second and third facets may enable higher current generation and an improved blue response. Ion implantation may be used to perform the doping. | 01-12-2012 |
20120012167 | SOLAR CELL EMPLOYING AN ENHANCED FREE HOLE DENSITY P-DOPED MATERIAL AND METHODS FOR FORMING THE SAME - A p-doped semiconductor layer of a photovoltaic device is formed employing an inert gas within a carrier gas. The presence of the inert gas within the carrier gas increases free hole density within the p-doped semiconductor layer. This decreases the Schottky barrier at an interface with a transparent conductive material layer, thereby significantly reducing the series resistance of the photovoltaic device. The reduction of the series resistance increases the open-circuit voltage, the fill factor, and the efficiency of the photovoltaic device. This effect is more prominent if the p-doped semiconductor layer is also doped with carbon, and has a band gap greater than 1.85V. The p-doped semiconductor material of the p-doped semiconductor layer can be hydrogenated if the carrier gas includes a mix of H | 01-19-2012 |
20120012168 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE - A film thickness configuration for a triple-junction photovoltaic device that is suitable for obtaining high conversion efficiency. The photovoltaic device comprises, on top of a substrate, a transparent electrode layer, a photovoltaic layer containing three stacked cell layers having pin junctions, and a back electrode layer, wherein an incident section cell layer provided on the light-incident side has an amorphous silicon i-layer having a thickness of not less than 100 nm and not more than 200 nm, a bottom section cell layer provided on the opposite side from the light-incident side has a crystalline silicon-germanium i-layer having a thickness of not less than 700 nm and not more than 1,600 nm, and the ratio of germanium atoms relative to the sum of germanium atoms and silicon atoms within the crystalline silicon-germanium i-layer is not less than 15 atomic % and not more than 25 atomic %, and a middle section cell layer provided between the incident section cell layer and the bottom section cell layer has a crystalline silicon i-layer having a thickness of not less than 1,000 nm and not more than 2,000 nm. | 01-19-2012 |
20120012169 | Diamond-Like Carbon Electronic Devices and Methods of Manufacture - Materials, devices, and methods for enhancing performance of electronic devices such as solar cells, fuels cells, LEDs, thermoelectric conversion devices, and other electronic devices are disclosed and described. A diamond-like carbon electronic device can include a conductive diamond-like carbon cathode having specified carbon, hydrogen and sp | 01-19-2012 |
20120017976 | COMBINED PN JUNCTION AND BULK PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE - A solar cell comprising a semiconductor solar cell of a first band gap; a buffer layer formed on a surface of the semiconductor solar cell; and at least one layer of a multiferroic or a ferroelectric material formed on the buffer layer; wherein the at least one layer of a multiferroic or a ferroelectric material has a second bang gap, the first band gap being smaller than the second band gap. | 01-26-2012 |
20120017977 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION SEMICONDUCTOR LAYER, MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF, PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE, AND SOLAR CELL - A photoelectric conversion semiconductor layer is provided which is capable of providing a potential gradient in the thickness direction, can be manufactured at a lower cost than a layer formed by vacuum film forming, and capable of providing high photoelectric conversion efficiency. The photoelectric conversion semiconductor layer is a layer that generates a current by absorbing light and is formed of a particle layer in which a plurality of particles is disposed in plane and thickness directions. Preferably, the photoelectric conversion semiconductor layer includes, as the plurality of particles, a plurality of types of particles having different band-gaps, and the potential in the thickness direction of the layer is distributed. | 01-26-2012 |
20120024360 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE - A photovoltaic device is provided. The device comprises a transparent conducting layer. A p-type semiconductor window layer is disposed over the n-type transparent conducting layer. An n-type semiconductor layer is disposed over the p-type semiconductor window layer. An n-type cadmium telluride absorber layer is disposed between the p-type semiconductor window layer and the n-type semiconductor layer. | 02-02-2012 |
20120024361 | ANISOTROPIC CONDUCTIVE LAYER AS A BACK CONTACT IN THIN FILM PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES - Thin film photovoltaic devices are generally provided. The device can include a transparent conductive oxide layer on a glass substrate, an n-type thin film layer on the transparent conductive layer, and a p-type thin film layer on the n-type layer. The n-type thin film layer and the p-type thin film layer form a p-n junction. An anisotropic conductive layer is applied on the p-type thin film layer, and includes a polymeric binder and a plurality of conductive particles. A metal contact layer can then be positioned on the anisotropic conductive layer. | 02-02-2012 |
20120024362 | REFRACTIVE INDEX MATCHING OF THIN FILM LAYERS FOR PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES AND METHODS OF THEIR MANUFACTURE - Thin film photovoltaic devices are generally provided. In one embodiment, the device includes a high index layer (e.g., having a refractive index of about 2 or more) on a glass substrate and a low index layer (e.g., having a refractive index of about 1.5 or less) on the high index layer. A transparent conductive oxide layer is positioned on the low index layer, and a photovoltaic heterojunction (e.g., a cadmium sulfide layer and a cadmium telluride layer) is positioned on the transparent conductive oxide layer. In an alternative embodiment, the device can include the low index layer on the glass substrate and the high index layer on the low index layer. Methods are also generally provided for manufacturing such thin film photovoltaic devices. | 02-02-2012 |
20120024363 | THIN FILM SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING IT - A thin-film solar cell includes a front-side glass substrate, a front contact arranged above the glass substrate, an absorber arranged above the front contact, and a rear contact arranged above the absorber. A TCO layer system composed of an intrinsic TCO layer deposited above the substrate and a doped TCO layer arranged thereabove is provided, as well as a method for producing such a thin-film solar cell. Improved transmission, reflection and absorption properties of the TCO layer is achieved by composing the TCO layer of a first doped TCO sublayer deposited directly on the intrinsic TCO layer, and a second doped TCO sublayer deposited directly on the first doped TCO sublayer. | 02-02-2012 |
20120024364 | SILICON-BASED VISIBLE AND NEAR-INFRARED OPTOELECTRIC DEVICES - In one aspect, the present invention provides a silicon photodetector having a surface layer that is doped with sulfur inclusions with an average concentration in a range of about 0.5 atom percent to about 1.5 atom percent. The surface layer forms a diode junction with an underlying portion of the substrate. A plurality of electrical contacts allow application of a reverse bias voltage to the junction in order to facilitate generation of an electrical signal, e.g., a photocurrent, in response to irradiation of the surface layer. The photodetector exhibits a responsivity greater than about 1 A/W for incident wavelengths in a range of about 250 nm to about 1050 nm, and a responsivity greater than about 0.1 A/W for longer wavelengths, e.g., up to about 3.5 microns. | 02-02-2012 |
20120031476 | COMPOSITIONALLY-GRADED BAND GAP HETEROJUNCTION SOLAR CELL - A photovoltaic device includes a composition modulated semiconductor structure including a p-doped first semiconductor material layer, a first intrinsic compositionally-graded semiconductor material layer, an intrinsic semiconductor material layer, a second intrinsic compositionally-graded semiconductor layer, and an n-doped first semiconductor material layer. The first and second intrinsic compositionally-graded semiconductor material layers include an alloy of a first semiconductor material having a greater band gap width and a second semiconductor material having a smaller band gap with, and the concentration of the second semiconductor material increases toward the intrinsic semiconductor material layer in the first and second compositionally-graded semiconductor material layers. The photovoltaic device provides an open circuit voltage comparable to that of the first semiconductor material, and a short circuit current comparable to that of the second semiconductor material, thereby increasing the efficiency of the photovoltaic device. | 02-09-2012 |
20120031477 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES WITH AN INTERFACIAL BAND-GAP MODIFYING STRUCTURE AND METHODS FOR FORMING THE SAME - A Schottky-barrier-reducing layer is provided between a p-doped semiconductor layer and a transparent conductive material layer of a photovoltaic device. The Schottky-barrier-reducing layer can be a conductive material layer having a work function that is greater than the work function of the transparent conductive material layer. The conductive material layer can be a carbon-material layer such as a carbon nanotube layer or a graphene layer. Alternately, the conductive material layer can be another transparent conductive material layer having a greater work function than the transparent conductive material layer. The reduction of the Schottky barrier reduces the contact resistance across the transparent material layer and the p-doped semiconductor layer, thereby reducing the series resistance and increasing the efficiency of the photovoltaic device. | 02-09-2012 |
20120031478 | Heterojunction Solar Cell - A solar cell including a base semiconductor layer having a first bandgap, an emitter semiconductor layer having a second bandgap and a depletion semiconductor layer positioned between the base semiconductor layer and the emitter semiconductor layer, the depletion semiconductor layer having a third bandgap, wherein the third bandgap is greater than the first bandgap and the second bandgap. | 02-09-2012 |
20120042937 | PARTITIONED CURRENT MATCHING SOLAR CELL - A partitioned current matching solar cell wherein each partition has the same current. The solar cell provides for matched current within a single junction solar cell or across junctions within a multi-junction solar cell. A focusing detector is also provided. | 02-23-2012 |
20120042938 | DIFFRACTED FREQUENCY BAND SOLAR CELL - A high efficiency solar cell for creating current from incident radiant energy, comprising a concentrator for concentrating the incident radiant energy into concentrated radiant energy, a refraction element for receiving the concentrated radiant energy and splitting the radiant energy into a plurality of bands of radiant energy, each band of the plurality of bands having a frequency range and impinging on an area, and a plurality of band solar cells, each band solar cell disposed to receive one of the plurality of bands impinging on an area and also tuned to absorb the frequency range of the one of the plurality bands. | 02-23-2012 |
20120055542 | Photovoltaic cell - A structure of photovoltaic cell for improving conversion efficiency has been disclosed, including a first bandgap layer, a second bandgap layer, a third bandgap layer, a back electrode and a finger electrode, wherein the first bandgap layer is a wafer while the second bandgap layer is a semiconductor film with a thickness of 1˜100 Å and a greater bandgap than one of the first bandgap layer, and the third bandgap layer comprises wide bandgap materials and a greater bandgap than one of the second bandgap layer. Thereby, the lattice mismatch of heterostructures between the first bandgap layer and the third bandgap layer may be solved by the second bandgap layer. Also, the carrier recombination within devices may be decreased and the output photocurrent may thus be enhanced to improve energy conversion efficiency. | 03-08-2012 |
20120060905 | NANOWIRES FORMED BY EMPLOYING SOLDER NANODOTS - A photovoltaic device and method include depositing a metal film on a substrate layer. The metal film is annealed to form islands of the metal film on the substrate layer. The substrate layer is etched using the islands as an etch mask to form pillars in the substrate layer. | 03-15-2012 |
20120060906 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE INCLUDING FLEXIBLE OR INFLEXIBLE SUBSTRATE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - Disclosed is a method for manufacturing a photovoltaic device including a substrate; a first electrode and a second electrode which are placed over the substrate; a first conductive semiconductor layer, an intrinsic semiconductor layer including a first sub-layer and a second sub-layer, and a second conductive semiconductor layer, which are placed between the first electrode and the second electrode. The method comprising: forming the first sub-layer having a first crystal volume fraction in an ‘i’-th process chamber group (‘i’ is a natural number equal to or greater than 1) among a plurality of process chamber groups; and forming the second sub-layer in an ‘i+1’-th process chamber group among the plurality of the process chamber groups, the second sub-layer contacting with the first sub-layer, including crystalline silicon grains and having a second crystal volume fraction greater than the first crystal volume fraction. | 03-15-2012 |
20120060907 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL STRUCTURE AND METHOD INCLUDING COMMON CATHODE - A back-to-back parallel tandem organic photovoltaic cell structure and a method for fabricating the back-to-back parallel tandem organic photovoltaic cell structure include an aluminum doped zinc oxide material layer (AZO) as a common central cathode within the back-to-back parallel tandem organic photovoltaic cell structure and sandwiched between (and contacting) a pair of lithium fluoride material layers (LiF). The back-to-back parallel tandem organic photovoltaic cell structure and the related method also includes separate and different active material layers further separated from the aluminum doped zinc oxide material layer (AZO) common central cathode and further separated nickel and indium doped tin oxide material layer (Ni-ITO) anodes. An aluminum doped zinc oxide material layer (AZO) and lithium fluoride material layer (LiF) laminate is also contemplated for use in various photovoltaic cell structures. | 03-15-2012 |
20120060908 | LOCALIZED METAL CONTACTS BY LOCALIZED LASER ASSISTED CONVERSION OF FUNCTIONAL FILMS IN SOLAR CELLS - A solar cell, including contact metallization formed using selective laser irradiation. An upper layer is formed in the solar cell including a material which can be selectively modified to electrical contacts upon laser irradiation. Selective laser irradiation is applied to at least one region of the upper layer to form at least one electrical contact in the layer. A remaining region of the upper layer may be a functional layer of the solar cell which need not be removed. The upper layer may be, e.g., a transparent, conductive film, and anti-reflective film, and/or passivation. The electrical contact may provide an electrically conductive path to at least one region below the upper layer of the solar cell. | 03-15-2012 |
20120067408 | Sintered CZTS Nanoparticle Solar Cells - The present invention discloses an absorber composition and photovoltaic device (PV) using the composition comprising nanoparticles and/or sintered nanoparticles comprising compounds having the formula M | 03-22-2012 |
20120067409 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE INCLUDING AN INFLEXIBLE OR A FLEXIBLE SUBSTRATE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - Disclosed is a method for manufacturing a photovoltaic device that includes: providing a substrate having a first electrode formed thereon; forming a first unit cell, the first unit cell including a first conductive silicon layer, an intrinsic silicon layer and a second conductive silicon layer, which are sequentially stacked from the first electrode; exposing to the air either a portion of an intermediate reflector formed on the first unit cell or the second conductive silicon layer of the first unit cell; forming the rest of the intermediate reflector or the entire intermediate reflector on the second conductive silicon layer of the first unit cell in a second manufacturing system; and forming a second unit cell on the intermediate reflector in the second manufacturing system, the second unit cell including a first conductive silicon layer, an intrinsic silicon layer and a second conductive silicon layer, sequentially stacked. | 03-22-2012 |
20120067410 | SCHOTTKY-BARRIER JUNCTION ELEMENT, AND PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION ELEMENT AND SOLAR CELL USING THE SAME - A Schottky-barrier junction element | 03-22-2012 |
20120067411 | METHOD FOR PRODUCING A THIN-FILM SOLAR CELL BY USE OF MICROCRYSTALLINE SILICON AND A LAYER SEQUENCE - A thin film solar cell is disclosed comprising the following layers deposited on a substrate:
| 03-22-2012 |
20120073635 | Tandem Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell and Method for Making Same - A method is provided for forming a tandem dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) using a bonding process. The method forms a first photovoltaic (PV) cell including a cathode, a first dye, and an anode. A second PV cell is also formed including a cathode, a second dye, and an anode. The second PV cell anode is bonded to the first PV cell cathode, at a temperature of less than 100 degrees C., using a transparent conductive adhesive. In response to the bonding, an internal series electrical connection is formed between the first PV cell and the second PV cell. In one aspect, the second PV cell is formed from a first titanium oxide (TiO | 03-29-2012 |
20120073636 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE INCLUDING FLEXIBLE OR INFLEXIBLE SUBSTRATE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - Disclosed is a method for manufacturing a photovoltaic device. The method includes: forming a first electrode on a substrate; forming a first unit cell on the first electrode; forming a portion of an intermediate reflector on the first unit cell in a first manufacturing system, the intermediate reflector including a plurality of first and second sub-layers alternately stacked; exposing to the air the substrate on which the portion of the intermediate reflector is formed; forming the rest of the intermediate reflector in a second manufacturing system, the intermediate reflector including the plurality of the first and second sub-layers alternately stacked; forming a second unit cell on the intermediate reflector; and forming a second electrode on the second unit cell. | 03-29-2012 |
20120073637 | DEPOSITION PROCESSES AND PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES WITH COMPOSITIONAL GRADIENTS - Processes for making a solar cell by depositing various layers of components on a substrate and converting the components into a thin film photovoltaic absorber material. Processes of this disclosure can be used to control the stoichiometry of metal atoms in making a solar cell for targeting a particular concentration and providing a gradient of metal atom concentration. A selenium layer can be used in annealing a thin film photovoltaic absorber material. | 03-29-2012 |
20120073638 | InP-Based Multi-Junction Photovoltaic and Optoelectronic Devices - Lattice-matched II-VI (ZnCdHg)(SeTe) and III-V (InGaAsP) semiconductors grown on InP substrates can be used for preparing multi junction solar cells that can potentially reach efficiencies greater than 40% under one sun. For example, a semiconductor structure can be prepared comprising, an InP substrate; an optional InGaAsP building block formed over the InP substrate; an InP building block formed over either the InGaAsP building block, when present, or the InP substrate and at least one (ZnCdHg)(SeTe) building block formed over the InP building block. | 03-29-2012 |
20120073639 | SOLAR CELL AND A PRODUCTION METHOD THEREFOR - The present invention provides a solar cell and manufacturing method thereof. The solar cell according to the present invention comprises: first and second electrodes, at least one of which has light transmitting properties; two or more photoelectric conversion layers positioned between the first and second electrodes; and a transflective conductive layer positioned between the photoelectric conversion layers. Further, tunneling layers are also provided between the photoelectric conversion layers and the transflective conductive layer. The efficiency of the solar cell can be improved, as compared with the prior art, by providing tunneling layers and a transflective conductive layer in this way. | 03-29-2012 |
20120080081 | THIN-FILM SOLAR FABRICATION PROCESS, DEPOSITION METHOD FOR SOLAR CELL PRECURSOR LAYER STACK, AND SOLAR CELL PRECURSOR LAYER STACK - A method of manufacturing a layer stack adapted for a thin-film solar cell is and a precursor for a solar cell are described. The method includes depositing a TCO layer over a transparent substrate, depositing a first conductive-type layer a first p-i-n junction configured for the solar cell, depositing a first intrinsic-type layer of a first p-i-n junction configured for the solar cell and depositing a further conductive-layer with a conductivity opposite to the first conductive-type layer first p-i-n junction configured for the solar cell. The method further includes providing for a SiOx-containing intermediate layer by chemical vapor deposition and depositing a second p-i-n junction configured for the solar cell, wherein the SiOx-containing intermediate layer is provided within the a further conductive-type layer, and wherein the SiOx-containing layer has a thickness of 17 nm or less. | 04-05-2012 |
20120080082 | SOLAR CELL - A solar cell includes a base layer; an emitter layer disposed on one side of the base layer; a first electrode in electrical communication with the base layer; and a second electrode in electrical communication with the emitter layer, wherein the base layer has a higher doping concentration with increasing distance from the interface between the base layer and the emitter layer, and the base layer has a doping concentration change slope that is further decreased with increasing distance from the interface between the base layer and the emitter layer. | 04-05-2012 |
20120085397 | SOLAR CELL - A solar cell includes a first conductivity type crystalline semiconductor substrate, a first amorphous silicon region, a first electrode, and a second electrode. The crystalline semiconductor substrate may include a plurality of pyramidal-shaped projections or a plurality of reverse-pyramidal shape depressions on at least one surface thereof. The first amorphous silicon region may be positioned on the crystalline semiconductor substrate and have a second conductivity type opposite the first conductivity type. The first electrode may be positioned on the first amorphous silicon region, and a second electrode positioned on the substrate. At least one pyramidal-shaped projection or at least one reverse-pyramidal shape depression may include two adjacent inclination surfaces, and a rounded edge portion where the two adjacent inclination surfaces meet. | 04-12-2012 |
20120085398 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A solar cell includes a first conductivity type substrate; an emitter unit having a second conductivity type opposite to the first conductivity type, and forming a p-n junction with the substrate; an anti-reflective film positioned on the emitter unit; a plurality of first electrodes positioned on the anti-reflective film and connected with the emitter unit; and a second electrode connected with the substrate, wherein the emitter unit includes a first region and a second region that are positioned between an outermost first electrode among the plurality of first electrodes and the edge of the substrate, and a thickness of the first region gradually increases in going from the edge of the substrate to the outermost first electrode, and a thickness of the second region is uniform. | 04-12-2012 |
20120085399 | REO-Ge Multi-Junction Solar Cell - The invention relates to a semiconductor based structure for a device for converting radiation to electrical energy comprising various combinations of rare-earths and Group IV, III-V, and II-VI semiconductors and alloys thereof enabling enhanced performance including high radiation conversion efficiency. | 04-12-2012 |
20120085400 | METHODS OF FABRICATING SEMICONDUCTOR STRUCTURES AND DEVICES USING QUANTUM DOT STRUCTURES AND RELATED STRUCTURES - Methods of fabricating photovoltaic devices include forming a plurality of subcells in a vertically stacked arrangement on the semiconductor material, each of the subcells being formed at a different temperature than an adjacent subcell such that the adjacent subcells have differing effective band-gaps. The methods of fabricating also include inverting the structure, attaching another substrate to the second semiconductor material, and removing the substrate. For example, each of the subcells may comprise a III-nitride material, and each subsequent subcell may include an indium content different than the adjacent subcell. Novel structures may be formed using such methods. | 04-12-2012 |
20120090671 | MODIFIED BAND GAP WINDOW LAYER FOR A CIGS ABSORBER CONTAINING PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL AND METHOD OF MAKING THEREOF - A photovoltaic device includes a substrate, a first electrode layer over the substrate, a first compound semiconductor layer including copper, indium, gallium and selenium over the first electrode layer, a second compound semiconductor layer including copper, indium, and sulfur on the first compound semiconductor layer, and a second electrode layer over the second compound semiconductor layer. | 04-19-2012 |
20120090672 | REO-Ge Multi-Junction Solar Cell - The invention relates to a semiconductor based structure for a device for converting radiation to electrical energy comprising various combinations of rare-earths and Group IV, III-V, and II-VI semiconductors and alloys thereof enabling enhanced performance including high radiation conversion efficiency. | 04-19-2012 |
20120090673 | METHOD FOR FORMING SOLAR CELL WITH SELECTIVE EMITTERS - A method for forming a solar cell with selective emitters is disclosed, including selectively removing a portion of a barrier layer on a substrate to form an opening, performing a texture etching process to the substrate to form a second texture structure in a second region under the opening of the barrier layer, wherein the substrate surface in the first region does not change from the first texture structure. The first texture structure and the second texture structure include a plurality of protruding portions and recessing portions. The distance between neighboring protruding portions of the first texture structure is L | 04-19-2012 |
20120090674 | SOLAR CELL - A solar cell ( | 04-19-2012 |
20120090675 | SEMICONDUCTOR SUBSTRATE FOR SOLAR CELL AND SOLAR CELL - A solar cell include a polycrystalline semiconductor substrate of a p-type, an emitter region of an n-type and forming a p-n junction with the polycrystalline semiconductor substrate, a first electrode connected to the emitter region, and a second electrode connected to the polycrystalline semiconductor substrate, wherein the polycrystalline semiconductor substrate has a pure p-type impurity concentration of substantially 7.2×10 | 04-19-2012 |
20120090676 | THIN-FILM SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A thin-film solar cell and a method for manufacturing the same are presented, in which the dopant concentration turns low in a sloping way. The solar cell includes a substrate, a first contact region, a photoelectric conversion layer, and a second contact region. The first contact region a photoelectric conversion layer, and a second contact region are disposed on the substrate. At least one of the first contact region and the second contact region contains an N-type dopant, and the concentration of the N-type dopant is decreased gradually in a direction towards the photoelectric conversion layer. Through the thin-film solar cell and the method for manufacturing the same, the conversion efficiency of the solar cell is improved, and the thin-film solar cell and the manufacturing method are capable of being integrated with an existing manufacturing process of a solar cell, thereby simplifying the manufacturing process and reducing the cost. | 04-19-2012 |
20120090677 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL WITH BUFFER ZONE - Systems and methods that provide a barrier for protection of active layers associated with a vertical multi junction (VMJ) photovoltaic cell. Buffer zone(s) in form of an inactive layer(s) arrangement safe guard the active layers against induced stress or strain resulting from external forces/thermal factors (e.g., welding). The buffer zone can be in form of a rim on a surface of an end layer of a cell unit, to act as a protective boundary for such active layer, and to further partially frame the VMJ cell for ease of handling and transportation. | 04-19-2012 |
20120097224 | NON-VACUUM METHOD FOR FABRICATION OF A PHOTOVOLTAIC ABSORBER LAYER - The present invention provides a non-vacuum method of depositing a photovoltaic absorber layer based on electrophoretic deposition of a mixture of nanoparticles with a controlled atomic ratio between the elements. The nanoparticles are first dispersed in a liquid medium to form a colloidal suspension and then electrophoretically deposited onto a substrate to form a thin film photovoltaic absorber layer. The absorber layer may be subjected to optional post-deposition treatments for photovoltaic absorption. | 04-26-2012 |
20120097225 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE - A main object of the present invention is to provide a photoelectric conversion device which is capable of improving the photoelectric conversion efficiency. The invention comprises: a semiconductor; and a layer being disposed inside the semiconductor and having metal nanoparticles. | 04-26-2012 |
20120097226 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A solar cell includes a semiconductor substrate including a first conductive type, a first amorphous silicon thin film layer disposed on the semiconductor substrate and a second amorphous silicon thin film layer including a second conductive type and disposed on the first amorphous silicon thin film layer. The first amorphous silicon thin film layer includes a first intrinsic silicon thin film layer, a second intrinsic silicon thin film layer facing the semiconductor substrate while interposing the first intrinsic silicon thin film layer therebetween and a first low concentration silicon thin film layer including the second conductive type and disposed between the first intrinsic silicon thin film layer and the second intrinsic silicon thin film layer. | 04-26-2012 |
20120097227 | SOLAR CELLS - Provided is a solar cell. The solar cell includes: a light absorbing layer; a window layer consisting of a p-type copper oxynitride layer on the light absorbing layer; a rear electrode below the light absorbing layer; and a transparent electrode on the window layer. | 04-26-2012 |
20120097228 | SOLAR CELL - A solar cell of the present invention comprises a p-type semiconductor layer, an n-type semiconductor layer, and a superlattice semiconductor layer interposed between the p-type semiconductor layer and the n-type semiconductor layer, wherein the superlattice semiconductor layer has a superlattice structure in which barrier layers and quantum dot layers comprising quantum dots are stacked alternately and repeatedly, and is formed so that the bandgaps of the quantum dots are gradually widened with increasing distance from a side of the p-type semiconductor layer and decreasing distance to a side of the n-type semiconductor layer. | 04-26-2012 |
20120097229 | ORGANIC THIN FILM PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE AND FABRICATION METHOD FOR THE SAME - An organic thin film photovoltaic device includes an optically transmissive electrode layer on a substrate. A hole transport layer is formed on the electrode layer. First, second and third p type organic layers are disposed one after another on the hole transport layer. An n-type organic layer is disposed on a concave region and a convex region of a trench region that is configured to pass through the first and second p-type organic layers and be bounded by the third p-type organic layer. An electron transport layer is formed on the n-type organic layer, and a metallic nanoparticle layer is formed on a surface of a concave region and a convex region of the electron transport layer. A cathode electrode layer fills the trench region and covers the metallic nanoparticle layer. | 04-26-2012 |
20120097230 | PARALLEL-TYPE TANDEM ORGANIC SOLAR CELL - Provided is a parallel-type tandem organic solar cell. The parallel-type tandem organic solar cell includes: a first electrode; a first photoactive layer formed on the first electrode; a conductive polymer electrode formed on the first photoactive layer; a second photoactive layer formed on the conductive polymer electrode; a second electrode formed on the second photoactive layer; and a connection unit oriented in the direction ranging from the second electrode toward the first electrode so as to electrically connect the first electrode and the second electrode. According to the present invention, the energy conversion efficiency of the cell is improved by the increased photocurrent. Further, the solar cell of the present invention is advantageous in that an intermediate electrode can be made from solution-processable conductive polymers, and each element of the solar cell has a parallel structure, thereby simplifying manufacturing processes and reducing manufacturing costs. | 04-26-2012 |
20120097231 | SOLAR CELL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - A solar cell includes: a substrate; a plurality of first nanostructures provided on the substrate and arranged; and a plurality of second nanostructures provided on the substrate and arranged separate from the plurality of first nanostructures wherein an average diameter of a cross section of one of the plurality of first nanostructures that is incised in a direction that is in parallel to a substrate surface of the substrate is greater than an average diameter of a cross section of one of the plurality of second nanostructures that is incised in a direction that is in parallel to a substrate surface of the substrate. | 04-26-2012 |
20120097232 | SOLAR CELL USING P-I-N NANOWIRE - A solar cell using a p-i-n nanowire that may generate light by absorbing solar light in a wide wavelength region efficiently without generating light loss and may be manufactured with a simplified process and low cost. The solar cell includes: a semiconductor layer formed of a semiconductor material; and a photoelectromotive layer including a semiconductor structure including a core-nanowire that extends long in an upward direction of the semiconductor layer and is formed of an intrinsic semiconductor material, and a shell-nanowire that is formed to surround a periphery of the core-nanowire and is formed of a semiconductor material, wherein the semiconductor material that is used for forming the semiconductor layer includes an n-type semiconductor material, or the semiconductor material that is used for forming the shell-nanowire includes a p-type semiconductor material, and the semiconductor material that is used for forming the semiconductor layer includes a p-type semiconductor material, and the semiconductor material that is used for forming the shell-nanowire includes an n-type semiconductor material. | 04-26-2012 |
20120103403 | MULTI-JUNCTION SOLAR CELL WITH DILUTE NITRIDE SUB-CELL HAVING GRADED DOPING - A lattice-matched solar cell having a dilute nitride-based sub-cell has exponential doping to thereby control current-carrying capacity of the solar cell. Specifically a solar cell with at least one dilute nitride sub-cell that has a variably doped base or emitter is disclosed. In one embodiment, a lattice matched multi junction solar cell has an upper sub-cell, a middle sub-cell and a lower dilute nitride sub-cell, the lower dilute nitride sub-cell having doping in the base and/or the emitter that is at least partially exponentially doped so as to improve its solar cell performance characteristics. In construction, the dilute nitride sub-cell may have the lowest bandgap and be lattice matched to a substrate, the middle cell typically has a higher bandgap than the dilute nitride sub-cell while it is lattice matched to the dilute nitride sub-cell. The upper sub-cell typically has the highest bandgap and is lattice matched to the adjacent sub-cell. In further embodiments, a multi junction solar cell according to the invention may comprise four, five or more sub-cells in which the one or more sub-cells may each comprise exponentially doped dilute nitride alloys. | 05-03-2012 |
20120103404 | QUANTUM DOT SENSITIZED SOLAR CELL - Photoelectrochemical solar cells (PECs) consisting of a photoanode were prepared by direct deposition of independently synthesized CdSe nanocrystal quantum dots (NQDs) onto a nanocrystalline TiO | 05-03-2012 |
20120103405 | SOLAR CELL - Disclosed are a relatively high-efficiency solar cell and a method for fabricating the same using a micro-heater array. The solar cell may include first and second micro-heaters intersecting each other or being parallel to each other on a substrate, and a plurality of In | 05-03-2012 |
20120111395 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A solar cell including: a silicon (Si) substrate; a buffer layer disposed on a side of the silicon substrate; a germanium (Ge) junction disposed on a side of the buffer layer opposite the silicon substrate; a first electrode electrically connected to the germanium junction; and a second electrode electrically connected to the germanium junction, wherein the buffer layer has a lattice constant that increases in a direction from the silicon substrate to the germanium junction. | 05-10-2012 |
20120111396 | Photovoltaic Devices and Associated Methods - A method for making a semiconductor device includes providing a semiconductor material and doping at least a portion of the semiconductor material to form at least one doped region. A portion of the semiconductor material is removed with a pulsed laser from at least one first region to form at least one adjacent second region. | 05-10-2012 |
20120111397 | KOHLER HOMOGENIZER FOR SOLAR CONCENTRATOR - An apparatus is disclosed including: an entrance aperture for admitting light from a source; an optical collector configured to receive light admitted through the entrance aperture and concentrate the light onto a receiver element; and an optical homogenizer element configured and arranged to image the entrance aperture onto the receiver element. | 05-10-2012 |
20120111398 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE - A main object of the present invention is to provide a photoelectric conversion device which is capable of improving the photoelectric conversion efficiency. The invention comprises: a p-layer; an n-layer; an i-layer disposed between the p-layer and the n-layer; a first electrode connected to the p-layer; and a second electrode connected to the n-layer, wherein the i-layer comprises a wall layer constituted by a first semiconductor, and a quantum structure portion constituted by a second semiconductor disposed in the wall layer; a band gap of the first semiconductor is wider than that of the second semiconductor; when a concentration of the n-type impurity that may be contained in the middle of the i-layer in a thickness direction thereof is defined as Cn | 05-10-2012 |
20120118363 | ORGANIC SEMICONDUCTORS AS WINDOW LAYERS FOR INORGANIC SOLAR CELLS - Disclosed is a device comprising: an anode; a cathode; an inorganic substrate; and at least one organic window layer positioned between: the anode and the inorganic substrate; or the cathode and the inorganic substrate. Also disclosed is a method of enhancing the performance of a photosensitive device having an anode, a cathode, and an inorganic substrate, comprising: positioning at least one organic window layer between the anode and the cathode. In one embodiment the organic window layer may absorb light and generate excitons that migrate to the inorganic where they convert to photocurrent, thereby increasing the efficiency of the device. Also disclosed is a method of enhancing Schottky barrier height of a photosensitive device, the method being substantially similar to the previously defined method. | 05-17-2012 |
20120118364 | SOLAR CELL - A solar cell includes a silicon semiconductor substrate including a plurality of concave portions formed at a first surface thereof; an emitter layer formed at the first surface of the silicon semiconductor substrate having the plurality of concave portions; an antireflection layer formed on the emitter layer; and a front electrode layer connected to the emitter layer by penetrating through the antireflection layer. The front electrode layer is formed on a flat surface between the plurality of concave portions and has a finger matrix shape. Accordingly, an area of the concave portions effectively absorbing sun light can increase, and the reduction of fill factor can be reduced or prevented by a short horizontal migration length of electrons. | 05-17-2012 |
20120118365 | THIN FILM SOLAR CELL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - A thin film solar cell includes a substrate, a light scattering layer on the substrate, a first electrode layer on the light scattering layer, a plurality of light absorption layers on the first electrode layer, and a second electrode layer on the plurality of light absorption layers. | 05-17-2012 |
20120118366 | DOUBLE-SIDED LIGHT-COLLECTING ORGANIC SOLAR CELL - Disclosed is a double-sided light-collecting organic solar cell. The double-sided light-collecting organic solar cell comprises: a first light-transmitting electrode; a first photoactive layer disposed on the first light-transmitting electrode; a reflective electrode disposed on the first photoactive layer; a second photoactive layer disposed on the reflective electrode; and a second light-transmitting electrode disposed on the second photoactive layer. According to the present invention, photoactive layers are formed on both sides of a reflective electrode in the middle, and light-transmitting electrodes are formed to enable light to be absorbed at both sides of a cell, to increase the light absorption of the cell and enable the production of a highly efficient organic solar cell. | 05-17-2012 |
20120125413 | SOLAR CELLS AND METHODS OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME - Solar cells and methods of manufacturing the solar cells are provided. The solar cell may be formed on a substrate having a plurality of concave portions. A plurality of nanostructures may be formed on a surface of the substrate, in which the plurality of concave portions are formed. A photoactive layer may be formed to cover the plurality of nanostructures. The nanostructures may include an inorganic material, and the photoactive layer may include an organic material. | 05-24-2012 |
20120125414 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERTER - The photoelectric converter includes a substrate; and multiple cells located on the substrate so as to be overlaid. The first cell contacted with the substrate includes a transparent electrode located on the substrate, and a first photoelectric conversion layer located on the transparent electrode. The other cell or each of the others of the multiple cells includes a porous electroconductive layer located closer to the substrate and including an electroconductive material, and a photoelectric conversion layer located on the porous electroconductive layer. Each of the photoelectric conversion layers of the multiple cells includes an electron transport layer including an electron transport material, a dye connected with or adsorbed on the electron transport material, and a hole transport material. The hole transport material is also contained in voids of the porous electroconductive layer. | 05-24-2012 |
20120125415 | LIGHTWEIGHT SOLAR CELL - Lightweight solar cells include a multiple-bandgap material. | 05-24-2012 |
20120125416 | SELECTIVE EMITTER SOLAR CELLS FORMED BY A HYBRID DIFFUSION AND ION IMPLANTATION PROCESS - Solar cells and methods for their manufacture are disclosed. An example solar cell may comprise a substrate comprising a p-type base layer and an n-type selective emitter layer formed over the p-type base layer. The n-type selective emitter layer may comprise one or more first doped regions comprising implanted dopant and one or more second doped regions comprising diffused dopant. The one or more first doped regions may be more heavily doped than the one or more second doped regions. A p-n junction may be formed at the interface of the base layer and the selective emitter layer, such that the p-n junction and the selective emitter layer are both formed during a single anneal cycle. | 05-24-2012 |
20120125417 | Photovoltaic Device With Three Dimensional Charge Separation and Collection - A photovoltaic device having three dimensional (3D) charge separation and collection, where charge separation occurs in 3D depletion regions formed between a p-type doped group III-nitride material in the photovoltaic device and intrinsic structural imperfections extending through the material. The p-type group III-nitride alloy is compositionally graded to straddle the Fermi level pinning by the intrinsic structural imperfections in the material at different locations in the group III-nitride alloy. A field close to the surfaces of the intrinsic defects separates photoexcited electron-hole pairs and drives the separated electrons to accumulate at the surfaces of the intrinsic defects. The intrinsic defects function as n-type conductors and transport the accumulated electrons to the material surface for collection. The compositional grading also creates a potential that drives the accumulated separated electrons toward an n-type group III-nitride layer for collection. The p-type group III-nitride alloy may comprise an alloy of InGaN, InAlN or InGaAlN. | 05-24-2012 |
20120125418 | METHOD OF FABRICATING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES ON A GROUP IV SUBSTRATE WITH CONTROLLED INTERFACE PROPERTIES AND DIFFUSION TAILS - A multi junction solar cell having epitaxially-deposited III/V compounds on vicinal group IV substrates and method for making same. The solar cell includes an AlAs nucleating layer on a Ge substrate. The group IV substrate contains a p-n junction whose change of characteristics during epitaxial growth of As-containing layers is minimized by the AlAs nucleating layer. The AlAs nucleating layer provides improved morphology of the solar cell and a means to control the position of a p-n junction near the surface of the group IV substrate through diffusion of As and/or P and near the bottom of the III/V structure through minimized diffusion of the group IV element. | 05-24-2012 |
20120125419 | PHOTOACTIVE COMPONENT COMPRISING AN INVERTED LAYER SEQUENCE, AND METHOD FOR THE PRODUCTION OF SAID COMPONENT - A photoactive component comprising organic layers, in particular a solar cell comprising a photoactive i-layer system, contains at least one mixed layer. The mixed layer contains at least one donator material and one acceptor material, and thus forms a donator-acceptor system. The donator material and the acceptor material of the mixed layer are non-polymer materials. In a vacuum, the donator material has an evaporation temperature which is at least 150° C. lower than the evaporation temperature of the acceptor material and has an inverted layer sequence with an n-i-p, i-p, or n-i structure of an n-layer, i-layer, or p-layer system respectively. The organic photoactive i-layer system is applied directly onto the cathode or onto an electron-conducting n-material system. | 05-24-2012 |
20120125420 | SOLAR CELL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - A manufacturing method of a solar cell in which a light receiving side electrode including grid electrodes is provided on one side of a semiconductor substrate, comprises: a first step of forming an impurity diffusion layer on one side of the semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type, the diffusion layer having a second conductivity-type impurity diffused therein; a second step of measuring a sheet resistance value of the diffusion layer at a plurality of measurement points in a surface of the diffusion layer; and a third step of dividing the surface of the diffusion layer into a plurality of areas corresponding to the measured sheet resistance values of the surface of the diffusion layer, setting a distance between adjacent grid electrodes for each of the areas, and forming the light receiving side electrode, which is electrically connected to the diffusion layer, on the diffusion layer. | 05-24-2012 |
20120132264 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR FABRICATING THE SAME - A solar cell and a method for fabricating the same are described. A pyramid structure is formed on a silicon substrate. A laser treatment is performed on the pyramid structure, so that a top portion of the pyramid structure has an arc shape, and a round is formed at a crest line of the pyramid structure. Films formed during subsequent processes hence have a uniform thickness and conversion efficiency of the solar cell is improved. | 05-31-2012 |
20120132265 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE - A photovoltaic device that exhibits superior electric power generation efficiency due to suppression of diffusion of oxygen from a transparent electrode layer into a microcrystalline silicon p-layer. A photovoltaic device ( | 05-31-2012 |
20120132266 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE USING SEMICONDUCTOR NANOMATERIAL - Provided is a photoelectric conversion device using a semiconductor nanomaterial, which converts light energy having photon energy into electrical energy, including: a substrate, a plurality of semiconductor nanomaterials arranged on the substrate, and a metal layer that is formed on the semiconductor nanomaterial and is joined with the semiconductor nanomaterial by a schottky junction, wherein electrical energy is generated by a rectified current generated between the semiconductor nanomaterial and the metal layer joined by the schottky junction. | 05-31-2012 |
20120138127 | SOLAR CELL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - A solar cell and a manufacturing method thereof are provided. A laser doping process is adopted to form positive and negative doping regions for an accurate control of the doping regions. No metal contact coverage issue arises since a contact opening is formed by later firing process. The solar cell is provided with a comb-like first electrode, a sheet-like second electrode corresponding to the doping regions to obtain high photoelectric conversion efficiency by fully utilizing the space in the semiconductor substrate. Furthermore, the sheet-like second electrode can be formed by a material having high reflectivity to improve the light utilization rate of the solar cell. The manufacturing process of the solar cell is simplified and the processing yield is improved. | 06-07-2012 |
20120138128 | Solar Cell - A solar cell is disclosed, including the following elements. A through hole passes through a substrate, wherein the substrate includes a third surface in the through hole. A first thin film semiconductor layer is disposed on the third surface in the through hole and extended to be over the second surface of the substrate, wherein the first thin film semiconductor layer is second type. A second thin film semiconductor layer is disposed on the first surface of the substrate. A through hole connection layer is disposed in the through hole and extended to be over the first surface and the second surface of the substrate, wherein a junction is formed between the first thin film semiconductor layer and the substrate to prevent shorts from occurring between the through hole connection layer and the substrate. | 06-07-2012 |
20120138129 | BIFACIAL SOLAR CELL - Provided is a bifacial solar cell. The bifacial solar cell includes: a transparent substrate having a first side and a second side facing each other; a first transparent electrode disposed on the first side of the transparent substrate; a first light absorbing layer disposed on the first transparent electrode and exposing the first transparent electrode at one edge; a second transparent electrode disposed on the first light absorbing layer; a first metal electrode pad disposed on the exposed first transparent electrode; a third transparent electrode disposed below the second side of the transparent substrate; a second light absorbing layer disposed below the third transparent electrode and exposing the third transparent electrode in correspondence to the exposed first transparent electrode; a fourth transparent electrode disposed below the second light absorbing layer; and a second metal electrode pad disposed below the exposed third transparent electrode. | 06-07-2012 |
20120138130 | TUNNEL DIODES COMPRISING STRESS-COMPENSATED COMPOUND SEMICONDUCTOR LAYERS - The invention relates to semiconductor components, in particular solar cells made of III-V compound semiconductors, as are used in terrestrial PV concentrator systems or for electrical energy supply in satellites. However it is also used in other optoelectronic components, such as lasers and light diodes, where either high tunnel current densities are necessary or special materials are used and where stress in the entire structure is not desired. | 06-07-2012 |
20120138131 | PHOTOVOLTAIC APPARATUS - A photovoltaic apparatus includes a first photoelectric conversion portion so formed on an insulating surface of a substrate as to cover a first substrate electrode and a second substrate electrode isolated from each other by a first groove, a second photoelectric conversion portion formed on the surface of the first photoelectric conversion portion through a conductive intermediate layer, a first back electrode and a second back electrode formed on the surface of said second photoelectric conversion portion and a connecting passage portion for electrically connecting the first substrate electrode and the second back electrode, provided at a prescribed interval from the side surface of said intermediate layer. | 06-07-2012 |
20120138132 | SILICON WAFER BASED STRUCTURE FOR HETEROSTRUCTURE SOLAR CELLS - A multi-junction photovoltaic device includes a silicon substrate and a dielectric layer formed on the silicon substrate. A germanium layer is formed on the dielectric layer. The germanium includes a crystalline structure that is substantially similar to the crystalline structure of the silicon substrate. A first photovoltaic sub-cell includes a first plurality of doped semiconductor layers formed on the germanium layer. At least a second photovoltaic sub-cell includes a second plurality of doped semiconductor layers formed on the first photovoltaic sub-cell that is on the germanium layer that is on the dielectric layer. | 06-07-2012 |
20120138133 | ORGANIC DYES AND PREPARATION METHOD THEREOF AND DYE-SENSITIZED SOLAR CELLS - An organic dye and preparation method thereof and dye-sensitized solar cells using this organic dye are provided. The structure of the organic dye molecule is donor-conjugated unit(s)-acceptor. The organic dye with broad spectrum response and high molar-absorption coefficient is obtained by modifying the structure by using various conjugated unit(s) in combination with donor and acceptor. The conditions of preparation of the organic dye are mild and the yield is high, and the organic dye can be used for highly effective dye-sensitized solar cells. | 06-07-2012 |
20120138134 | STACK-TYPE PHOTOVOLTAIC ELEMENT AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING STACK-TYPE PHOTOVOLTAIC ELEMENT - A stack-type photovoltaic element with improved conversion efficiency having an intermediate layer and a method of manufacturing the same are provided. A stack-type photovoltaic element according to the present invention includes a first photovoltaic element portion (a) and a second photovoltaic element portion from a substrate side, as well as at least one intermediate layer between the first photovoltaic element portion and the second photovoltaic element portion. The intermediate layer is formed from a metal oxide film having an oxygen atom concentration/metal atom concentration ratio not lower than 0.956 and not higher than 0.976. | 06-07-2012 |
20120145231 | Apparatus and Method for Hybrid Photovoltaic Device Having Multiple, Stacked, Heterogeneous, Semiconductor Junctions - A photovoltaic (PV) device has at least one lower PV cell on a substrate, the cell having a metallic back contact, and a absorber, and a transparent conductor layer. An upper PV cell is adhered to the lower PV cell, electrically in series to form a stack. The upper PV cell has III-V absorber and junction layers, the cells are adhered by transparent conductive adhesive having filler of conductive nanostructures or low temperature solder. The upper PV cell has no substrate. An embodiment has at least one shape of patterned conductor making contact to both a top of the upper and a back contact of the lower cells to couple them together in series. In an embodiment, a shape of patterned conductor draws current from excess area of the lower cell to the upper cell, in an alternative embodiment shapes of patterned conductor couples I-III-VI cells not underlying upper cells in series strings, a string being in parallel with at least one stack. In an embodiment, the bonding agent is a polymeric adhesive containing conductive nanostructures. In an embodiment the III-V absorber is grown on single crystal, substrate. A method for forming the device is described. | 06-14-2012 |
20120152337 | HETERO-JUNCTION PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE AND METHOD OF FABRICATING THE DEVICE - A hetero-junction device and fabrication method in which phase-separated n-type and p-type semiconductor pillars define vertically-oriented p-n junctions extending above a substrate. Semiconductor materials are selected for the p-type and n-type pillars that are thermodynamically stable and substantially insoluble in one another. An epitaxial deposition process is employed to form the pillars on a nucleation layer and the mutual insolubility drives phase separation of the materials. During the epitaxial deposition process, the orientation is such that the nucleation layer initiates propagation of vertical columns resulting in a substantially ordered, three-dimensional structure throughout the deposited material. An oxidation state of at least a portion of one of the p-type or the n-type semiconductor materials is altered relative to the other, such that the band-gap energy of the semiconductor materials differ with respect to stoichiometric compositions and the device preferentially absorbs particular selected bands of radiation. | 06-21-2012 |
20120152338 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A method for manufacturing a solar cell is discussed. The method may include injecting first impurity ions at a first surface of a substrate by using a first ion implantation method to form a first impurity region, the substrate having a first conductivity type and the first impurity region having a second conductivity type, heating the substrate with the first impurity region to activate the first impurity region to form an emitter region, etching the emitter region from a surface of the emitter region to a predetermined depth to form an emitter part, and forming a first electrode on the emitter part to connect to the emitter part and a second electrode on a second surface of the substrate, which is opposite the first surface of the substrate to connect to the second surface of the substrate. | 06-21-2012 |
20120152339 | THIN FILM SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SAME - A method is disclosed for manufacturing a thin film substrate solar cell that has a metal electrode, a photoelectric conversion layer, and a transparent electrode stacked in this order on a substrate, the photoelectric conversion layer combining, in a thickness direction, two or more n, i, p junctions with non-single crystal silicon as main materials thereof. A top cell which is the photoelectric conversion layer on the side of the transparent electrode and another cell of one or more layers on the side of the metal electrode relative to the top cell are provided. The method includes a step of simultaneously removing at least the two or more photoelectric conversion layers and the transparent electrode using a laser with a wavelength having selective sensitivity with respect to the top cell, from the side of the transparent electrode, followed by blowing-away. | 06-21-2012 |
20120152340 | MULTI-JUNCTION PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE, INTEGRATED MULTI-JUNCTION PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE, AND PROCESSES FOR PRODUCING SAME - A multi junction photovoltaic device and an integrated multi junction photovoltaic device, having a two-terminal structure, in which subsequent layers can be stacked under conditions with minimal restrictions imposed by previously stacked layers. Also, processes for producing these photovoltaic devices. A plurality of photovoltaic cells having different spectral sensitivity levels are stacked such that at least the photovoltaic cells ( | 06-21-2012 |
20120160308 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL MODULE - A photovoltaic cell module includes a substrate, a first photovoltaic cell and a second photovoltaic cell. The substrate has first and second surfaces. The first photovoltaic cell includes a first electrode layer on the first surface, a first active layer covering the first electrode, and a second electrode covering the first active layer, and the first active layer absorbs the light having a first wavelength range. The second photovoltaic cell is serially connected with the first photovoltaic cell and includes a third electrode layer on the second surface, a second active layer covering the third electrode, and a fourth electrode covering the second active layer, and the second active layer absorbs the light having a second wavelength range. A surface of the second electrode layer of the first photovoltaic cell serves as a light incident surface and a surface of the second photovoltaic cell serves as a light reflective surface. | 06-28-2012 |
20120160309 | SOLAR CELL - Disclosed herein is a dye-sensitized solar cell including a first substrate having a first side and a second side opposite the first side, a second substrate positioned on the second side of the first substrate, a first electrode unit positioned between the first substrate and the second substrate and disposed on the first substrate and a second electrode unit positioned between the first electrode unit and the second substrate and disposed on the second substrate. At least one of the first electrode unit and the second electrode unit may include a current collector electrode and a plurality of electrodes electrically connected to the current collector electrode. The plurality of electrodes may be positioned within an effective area and the current collector electrode may be positioned outside the effective area. A first resistance of the current collector electrode may be less than a second resistance of the plurality of electrodes. | 06-28-2012 |
20120160310 | Manufacturing Method of Thin Film Solar Cells and Thin Film Solar Cells Thereof - A manufacturing method of thin film solar cells and thin film solar cells thereof. The thin film solar cells comprise a substrate, an amorphous silicon layer, a first conductive layer, a stacked I-layer, a second conductive layer and a back contact layer. The amorphous silicon layer is on the substrate. The first conductive layer is on the amorphous silicon layer. The stacked I-layer is on the first conductive layer; the stacked I-layer from bottom to top is sequentially stacked by three different deposition rate I-layers: a first I-layer, a second I-layer and a third I-layer. Compared with the first and the third I-layer, the second I-layer has deposition rate higher than those of the other two I-layers. The second conductive layer is on the stacked I-layer. The back contact layer is on the second conductive layer for getting electric energy. | 06-28-2012 |
20120160311 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A solar cell includes a substrate, an emitter region which is positioned at the substrate and having a first sheet resistance, a first highly doped region which is positioned at the substrate and having a second sheet resistance less than the first sheet resistance, a first electrode positioned at the substrate and connected to the emitter region and the first highly doped region, and a second electrode positioned at the substrate and connected to the substrate, wherein the first highly doped region crosses the first electrode and is connected to the first electrode, an upper surface of the first highly doped region is projected from an upper surface of the emitter region toward a light incident surface of the substrate, and a lower surface of the first highly doped region has the same height as a lower surface of the emitter region. | 06-28-2012 |
20120160312 | SOLAR CELL - A solar cell of the present invention comprises a p-type semiconductor layer, an n-type semiconductor layer and a superlattice semiconductor layer sandwiched between the p-type semiconductor layer and the n-type semiconductor layer, wherein the superlattice semiconductor layer has a superlattice structure in which barrier layers and quantum layers are stacked alternately and repeatedly, and has two or more intermediate energy levels where electrons optically excited from a valence band of the quantum layers or the barrier layers stay for a constant time, the intermediate energy levels being located between a top of the valence band of the barrier layers and a bottom of a conduction band of the barrier layers, and can achieve a high incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency. | 06-28-2012 |
20120160313 | Systems And Processes For Bifacial Collection And Tandem Junctions Using A Thin-Film Photovoltaic Device - A thin-film photovoltaic device includes a semi-transparent back contact layer. The semi-transparent back contact layer includes a semi-transparent contact layer and a semi-transparent contact interface layer. The thin-film photovoltaic device may be formed in a substrate or superstrate configuration. A tandem thin-film photovoltaic device includes a semi-transparent interconnect layer. The semi-transparent interconnect layer includes a semi-transparent contact layer and a semi-transparent contact interface layer. | 06-28-2012 |
20120167963 | Photovoltaic Device Structure with Primer Layer - Device structure that facilitates high rate plasma deposition of thin film photovoltaic materials at microwave frequencies. The device structure includes a primer layer that shields the substrate and underlying layers of the device structure during deposition of layers requiring aggressive, highly reactive deposition conditions. The primer layer prevents or inhibits etching or other modification of the substrate or underlying layers by highly reactive deposition conditions. The primer layer also reduces contamination of subsequent layers of the device structure by preventing or inhibiting release of elements from the substrate or underlying layers into the deposition environment. The presence of the primer layer extends the range of deposition conditions available for forming photovoltaic or semiconducting materials without compromising performance. The invention allows for the ultrafast formation of silicon-containing amorphous semiconductors from fluorinated precursors in a microwave plasma process. The product materials exhibit high carrier mobility, high photovoltaic conversion efficiency, low porosity, little or no Staebler-Wronski degradation, and low concentrations of electronic and chemical defects. | 07-05-2012 |
20120167964 | STACKED PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL MODULE - A stacked photovoltaic cell module including a substrate, a first electrode layer on the substrate, a first carrier transport layer on the first electrode layer, a first light absorption layer on the first carrier transport layer, a second electrode layer on the first light absorption layer, a first output unit electrically connected to the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer, a second carrier transport layer on the second electrode layer, a second light absorption layer on the second carrier transport layer, a third electrode layer on the second light absorption layer, and a second output unit electrically connected to the second electrode layer and the third electrode layer. The second carrier transport layer and the second light absorption layer satisfy Φ | 07-05-2012 |
20120167965 | STACKED PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL MODULE - A stacked photovoltaic cell module includes, sequentially stacked, a substrate, a first electrode layer, a first carrier transport layer, a first light absorption layer, a connecting layer with a reflectivity of 10-60%, a second carrier transport layer, a second light absorption layer, and a second electrode layer. The second carrier transport layer has a first refraction index n1 and a first thickness D1, and the second light absorption layer has a second refraction index n2 and a second thickness D2, and the second carrier transport layer and the second light absorption layer satisfy Φ | 07-05-2012 |
20120167966 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD OF FABRICATING THE SAME - A solar cell includes a semiconductor base, a first doped semiconductor layer, an insulating layer, a second doped semiconductor layer and a first electrode layer. The semiconductor base has a first doped type. The first doped semiconductor layer, disposed on the semiconductor base, has a doped contact region. The insulating layer is disposed on the first doped semiconductor layer, exposing the doped contact region. The second doped semiconductor layer is disposed on the insulating layer and the doped contact region. The first doped semiconductor layer, the doped contact region and the second doped semiconductor layer have a second doped type, and a dopant concentration of the second doped semiconductor layer is between that of the first doped semiconductor layer and that of the doped contact region. The first electrode layer is disposed corresponding to the doped contact region. | 07-05-2012 |
20120167967 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL HAVING A HIGH CONVERSION EFFICIENCY - An embodiment of a monolithic photovoltaic cell is provided. The photovoltaic cell comprises at least one junction; said at least one junction includes a base formed by an epitaxial doped semiconductor material of a first conductivity type and an emitter formed by a doped semiconductor material of a second conductivity type opposed to the first. Said emitter is stacked on the base according to a first direction, and the base of at least one of said at least one junction has a decreasing dopant concentration gradient along said first direction. Said base comprises a first portion far from the emitter, a second portion proximate to the emitter, and a third portion between the first portion and the second portion. In the first portion, said decreasing dopant concentration gradient has a slope whose average value ranges from approximately −9*10 | 07-05-2012 |
20120167968 | METHOD FOR PRODUCING SOLAR CELLS HAVING SELECTIVE EMITTER - A method is described for manufacturing solar cells having a selective emitter. Wafers free of saw damage are initially provided. A doping source is then applied over the entire surface of the wafer and the dopant is initially lightly diffused into the wafer until a first layer resistance area is obtained. The applied doping source is subsequently structured, only those areas which essentially correspond to the sections on the wafer to be subsequently contacted remaining as a result of the structuring. An additional second diffusion from the remaining areas of the doping source into the wafer volume is conducted until a second layer resistance area for the selective emitter is obtained and simultaneous redistribution of the dopant introduced during the first diffusion with the goal of reducing the doping concentration in the area near the surface which is no longer covered by the doping source, provided that the layer resistance values of the first layer resistance area are greater than those of the second layer resistance area. | 07-05-2012 |
20120174971 | Design and Fabrication of Dilute Nitride Material and Multi-Quantum Well Solar Cells - Multi-junction solar cell devices which incorporate dilute nitrides to include a sub-cell in the 1 eV range in a conventional design for a solar cell. Sub-cells may be inserted within the intrinsic region of a conventional GaAs p-i-n solar cell either as a 3rd junction (1 eV) in a (Al)InGaP (1.9 eV)/GaAs(1.42 eV)/MQW(1 eV)/Ge(0.66 eV) quadruple junction device or as a triple junction configuration with a 1.1 eV MQW between GaInP (1.8 eV) and Ge(0.66 eV). | 07-12-2012 |
20120174972 | TRANSPARENT CONDUCTIVE FILM AND A DEVICE WITH THE SAME - A transparent conductive film includes indium oxide containing hydrogen and cerium and having a substantially polycrystalline structure, in which specific resistance of the transparent conductive film is no greater than 3.4×10 | 07-12-2012 |
20120180854 | MECHANICAL STACKING STRUCTURE FOR MULTI-JUNCTION PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES AND METHOD OF MAKING - A multi-junction photovoltaic structure which includes a first photovoltaic sub-cell having at least one junction, a second photovoltaic sub-cell having at least one junction and having a band gap smaller than a smallest band gap of the first photovoltaic sub-cell, and an interlayer that provides optical coupling between the first and second photovoltaic cells, wherein the interlayer has a physical thickness substantially similar or less than a vacuum wavelength of light corresponding to a smallest band gap of the second photovoltaic sub-cell. | 07-19-2012 |
20120180855 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES AND METHODS OF FORMING THE SAME - This disclosure provides photovoltaic apparatus and methods of forming the same. In one implementation, a photovoltaic device includes a transparent insulator, a first thin film solar subcell disposed on a first surface of the transparent insulator, and a second thin film solar subcell disposed on a second surface of the transparent insulator opposite the first surface. The first solar subcell is configured to receive ambient light, and the second solar subcell is configured to receive a portion of light that propagates through the first solar subcell. The second solar subcell includes a first electrode including a conductive reflective layer configured to reflect light that propagates through a photovoltaic structure of the second subcell back toward the first solar subcell. | 07-19-2012 |
20120180856 | SCHOTTKY-QUANTUM DOT PHOTODETECTORS AND PHOTOVOLTAICS - A composite material is described. The composite material comprises semiconductor nanocrystals, and organic molecules that passivate the surfaces of the semiconductor nanocrystals. One or more properties of the organic molecules facilitate the transfer of charge between the semiconductor nanocrystals. A semiconductor material is described that comprises p-type semiconductor material including semiconductor nanocrystals. At least one property of the semiconductor material results in a mobility of electrons in the semiconductor material being greater than or equal to a mobility of holes. A semiconductor material is described that comprises n-type semiconductor material including semiconductor nanocrystals. At least one property of the semiconductor material results in a mobility of holes in the semiconductor material being greater than or equal to a mobility of electrons. | 07-19-2012 |
20120180857 | CONVERSION SOLAR CELL - A conversion solar cell structure responds to a greater portion of the solar spectrum. The solar-cell structure has a solar cell and a conversion material disposed over the solar cell. | 07-19-2012 |
20120186638 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION ELEMENT AND SOLAR CELL - Provided is a photoelectric conversion element that has an nip structure formed of amorphous silicon and that is improved in energy conversion efficiency by a structure in which an n | 07-26-2012 |
20120186639 | PARALLEL COAXIAL MOLECULAR STACK ARRAYS - A coaxial molecular stack ( | 07-26-2012 |
20120186640 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE - A photoelectric conversion device which is a semiconductor device comprising a first conductive layer having a first conductivity type; a second conductive layer formed on the first conductive layer and having a second conductivity type; and a photosensitizing layer formed between the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer, wherein charge carriers generated by photoelectric conversion in the photosensitizing layer are freely movable to at least one of the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer. | 07-26-2012 |
20120186641 | INVERTED MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELLS WITH GROUP IV ALLOYS - A method of manufacturing a solar cell comprising providing a growth substrate; depositing on said growth substrate a sequence of layers of semiconductor material forming a solar cell, including at least one subcell composed of a group IV alloy such as GeSiSn; and removing the semiconductor substrate. | 07-26-2012 |
20120186642 | SOLAR CELL AND ITS PRODUCTION PROCESS - A solar cell includes a support ( | 07-26-2012 |
20120186643 | COMPOUND SEMICONDUCTOR SOLAR CELLS AND METHODS OF FABRICATING THE SAME - Provided is a tandem-type compound semiconductor solar cell. The solar cell includes a transparent substrate and a plurality of solar cell layers provided on at least one surface of the transparent substrate. The plurality of solar cell layers respectively includes window layer and light absorbing layer. The light absorbing layer includes Cu(InGa)Se | 07-26-2012 |
20120192933 | LIGHT-TRAPPING LAYER FOR THIN-FILM SILICON SOLAR CELLS - A light trapping layer for use in a thin film solar cell is provided. The light trapping texture enhances efficiency of the thin film solar cell. The light trapping layer has a plurality of substantially flat areas between a plurality of periodically repeating non-pointed depressions with rounded edges. The plurality of substantially flat areas facilitates deposition and growth of a layer of transparent conductive oxide over said light trapping layer. The plurality of periodically repeating non-pointed depressions with rounded edges limit formation of at least one of cracks, voids, and low density areas in semiconductor layers of the thin film solar cell. Period of the non-pointed depressions ranges between 100 nanometers and 1500 nanometers, and depth of said non-pointed depressions ranges between 50 nanometers and 1200 nanometers. | 08-02-2012 |
20120192934 | Nanostructure, Photovoltaic Device, and Method of Fabrication Thereof - An embodiment of nanostructure includes a conductive substrate; an insulating layer on the conductive substrate, metal nanoparticles, and elongated single crystal nanostructures. The insulating layer includes an array of pore channels. The metal nanoparticles are located at bottoms of the pore channels. The elongated single crystal nanostructures contact the metal nanoparticles and extend out of the pore channels. An embodiment of a photovoltaic device includes the nanostructure and a photoabsorption layer. An embodiment of a method of fabricating a nanostructure includes forming an insulating layer on a conductive substrate. The insulating layer has pore channels arranged in an array. Metal nanoparticles are formed in the pore channels. The metal nanoparticles conductively couple to the conductive layer. Elongated single crystal nanostructures are formed in the pore channels. A portion of the insulating layer is etched away, which leaves the elongated single crystal nanostructures extending out of the insulating layer. | 08-02-2012 |
20120192935 | BACK-CONTACT PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL COMPRISING A THIN LAMINA HAVING A SUPERSTRATE RECEIVER ELEMENT - A method to fabricate a photovoltaic device includes forming first and second contact regions at the first surface of a semiconductor donor body. A cleave plane may be formed by implanting ions into the donor body, and a lamina that includes the contact regions is cleaved from the donor body at the cleave plane. The first surface of the lamina may be contacted with a temporary support and fabricated into a photovoltaic device, wherein the lamina comprises the base of the photovoltaic device. | 08-02-2012 |
20120192936 | Thin-Film Photovoltaic Structures Including Semiconductor Grain and Oxide Layers - Photovoltaic structures for the conversion of solar irradiance into electrical free energy. In a particular implementation, a photovoltaic cell includes a granular semiconductor and oxide layer with nanometer-size absorber semiconductor grains surrounded by a matrix of oxide. The semiconductor and oxide layer may be disposed between electron and hole conducting layers. In some implementations, multiple semiconductor and oxide layers can be deposited. | 08-02-2012 |
20120199184 | SELF-BYPASS DIODE FUNCTION FOR GALLIUM ARSENIDE PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES - Embodiments of the invention generally relate to photovoltaic devices. In one embodiment, a method for forming a gallium arsenide based photovoltaic device includes providing a semiconductor structure, the structure including an absorber layer comprising gallium arsenide. A bypass function is provided in a p-n junction of the semiconductor structure, where under reverse-bias conditions the p-n junction breaks down in a controlled manner by a Zener breakdown effect. | 08-09-2012 |
20120199185 | Interband Cascade (IC) Photovoltaic (PV) Architecture for PV Devices - A photovoltaic (PV) device, comprising a PV interband cascade (IC) stage, wherein the IC PV stage comprises an absorption region with a band gap, the absorption region configured to absorb photons, an intraband transport region configured to act as a hole barrier, and an interband tunneling region configured to act as an electron barrier. An IC PV architecture for a photovoltaic device, the IC PV architecture comprising an absorption region, an intraband transport region coupled to the absorption region, and an interband tunneling region coupled to the intraband transport region and to the adjacent absorption region, wherein the absorption region, the intraband transport region, and the interband tunneling region are positioned such that electrons will flow from the absorption region to the intraband transport region to the interband tunneling region. | 08-09-2012 |
20120199186 | TANDEM-TYPE ORGANIC PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION ELEMENT AND SOLAR BATTERY - A tandem-type organic photoelectric conversion element has at least a first electrode, a second electrode, and a plurality of bulk heterojunction layers each comprising a p-type organic semiconductor material and an n-type organic semiconductor material. The tandem-type organic photoelectric conversion element and a solar battery are characterized in that when the absorption wavelengths of the bulk heterojunction layers are such that a second bulk heterojunction layer absorbs up to a longer wavelength than a first bulk heterojunction layer, the LUMO energy level (LUMO(n1)) of the film of the n-type semiconductor in the first bulk heterojunction layer and the LUMO energy level (LUMO(n2)) of the film of the n-type semiconductor in the second bulk heterojunction layer satisfy the following equation (1): 0.4 eV≧LUMO(n1)−LUMO(n2)≧0.1 eV . . . (1) | 08-09-2012 |
20120199187 | NANOWIRE TUNNEL DIODE AND METHOD FOR MAKING THE SAME - The present invention provides a tunnel diode and a method for manufacturing thereof. The tunnel diode comprises a p-doped semiconductor region and an n-doped semiconductor region forming a pn-junction at least partly within a nanowire where semiconductor materials on different sides of the pn-junction are different such that a heterojuction is formed. The materials of the nanowire may be compound semiconductor materials. The heterojunction tunnel diode can be of type-I (Straddling gap), type-II (Staggered gap) or type-III (Broken gap). | 08-09-2012 |
20120204941 | ALLOTROPIC CHANGES IN SI AND USE IN FABRICATING MATERIALS FOR SOLAR CELLS - A method provides forming a photovoltaic (PV) cell. The PV cell may be, e.g. a heterojunction with intrinsic thin layer (HIT) cell. The method includes forming a crystalline semiconductor layer over a substrate. The crystalline semiconductor layer is heated above a melting temperature of the semiconductor. A portion of the crystalline semiconductor layer is thereby converted to a quenched amorphous semiconductor layer. | 08-16-2012 |
20120204942 | OPTOELECTRONIC DEVICES INCLUDING HETEROJUNCTION AND INTERMEDIATE LAYER - Embodiments generally relate to optoelectronic semiconductor devices such as solar cells. In one aspect, a device includes an absorber layer made of gallium arsenide (GaAs) and having only one type of doping. An emitter layer is located closer than the absorber layer to a back side of the device and is made of a different material and having a higher bandgap than the absorber layer. A heterojunction is formed between the emitter layer and the absorber layer, and a p-n junction is formed between the emitter layer and the absorber layer and at least partially within the different material at a location offset from the heterojunction. An intermediate layer is located between the absorber layer and the emitter layer and provides the offset of the p-n junction from the heterojunction, and includes a graded layer and an ungraded back window layer. | 08-16-2012 |
20120204943 | Hybrid Solar Cell and Method for Manufacturing the Same - A hybrid solar cell is disclosed, which is capable of preventing a defect from occurring in a surface of a semiconductor wafer when forming a thin-film type semiconductor layer on the semiconductor wafer, to thereby improve cell efficiency by the increase of open-circuit voltage, the hybrid solar cell comprising a semiconductor wafer having a predetermined polarity; a first semiconductor layer on one surface of the semiconductor wafer; a second semiconductor layer on the other surface of the semiconductor wafer, wherein the second semiconductor layer is different in polarity from the first semiconductor layer; a first electrode on the first semiconductor layer; and a second electrode on the second semiconductor layer; wherein the first semiconductor layer comprises a lightly doped first semiconductor layer on one surface of the semiconductor wafer; and a highly doped first semiconductor layer on the lightly doped first semiconductor layer. | 08-16-2012 |
20120211063 | Back Contact Solar Cell with Organic Semiconductor Heterojunctions - A back contact solar cell with organic semiconductor heterojunctions is provided. The substrate is made from silicon lightly doped with a first dopant type having a first majority carrier. A second semiconductor layer is formed overlying the texturized substrate topside, made from hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) and doped with the first dopant. An antireflective coating is formed overlying the second semiconductor layer. A third semiconductor layer is formed overlying the first semiconductor substrate backside, made from intrinsic a-Si:H. First and second majority carrier type organic semiconductor layers are formed overlying the third semiconductor layer in patterns. A dielectric organic semiconductor layer is formed overlying the first majority carrier type organic semiconductor layer and the second majority carrier type organic semiconductor layer, filling the spaces in the pattern. A first metal grid is connected to first organic semiconductor contact regions and a second metal grid is connected to the second organic semiconductor contact regions. | 08-23-2012 |
20120211064 | Semiconductor Layer Material and Heterojunction Solar Cell - Semiconductor layer material, e.g., for use as an emitter material for a heterojunction solar cell, is formed as a stack made of multiple first layers and second layers alternatingly situated one on top of the other. The first layers is made of an elementary, polycrystalline semiconductor, and the second layer is made of a substoichiometric electrically insulating compound, e.g., an oxide, carbide, or nitride, of the semiconductor. The interfaces between the first layers and the second layers are irregularly structured by a temperature treatment in such a way that microcontact areas are formed between adjacent first layers, which are separated from one another by a second layer. | 08-23-2012 |
20120211065 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE - An object is to provide a photoelectric conversion device in which the amount of light loss due to light absorption in a window layer is small and light efficiency is high. A photoelectric conversion device, having a p-i-n junction, in which a light-transmitting semiconductor with p-type conductivity, a first silicon semiconductor layer with i-type conductivity, and a second silicon semiconductor layer with n-type conductivity are stacked between a pair of electrodes, is formed. The light-transmitting semiconductor layer is formed using an organic compound and an inorganic compound. A high hole-transport material is used for the organic compound, and a transition metal oxide having an electron-accepting property is used for the inorganic compound. | 08-23-2012 |
20120211066 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE - A photoelectric conversion device in which photoelectric conversion in a light-absorption region in a crystalline silicon substrate is efficiently performed is provided. In the photoelectric conversion device, a light-transmitting conductive film which has a high effect of passivation of defects on a silicon surface and improves the reflectance oh a back electrode side is provided between the back electrode and the crystalline silicon substrate. The light-transmitting conductive film includes an organic compound arid an inorganic compound. The organic compound includes a material having an excellent hole-transport property. The inorganic compound includes a transition metal oxide having ah electron-accepting property. | 08-23-2012 |
20120211067 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE - A photoelectric conversion device in which photoelectric conversion in a light-absorption layer is efficiently performed is provided. In the photoelectric conversion device, a light-transmitting conductive film which has a high effect of passivation of defects on a silicon surface and improves the reflectance on a back electrode side is provided between the back electrode and one of semiconductor layers for generation of an internal electric field. The light-transmitting conductive film includes an organic compound and an inorganic compound. The organic compound includes a material having an excellent hole-transport property. The inorganic compound includes a transition metal oxide having an electron-accepting property. | 08-23-2012 |
20120211068 | INVERTED METAMORPHIC MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELL WITH TWO METAMORPHIC LAYERS AND HOMOJUNCTION TOP CELL - A multijunction solar cell including an upper first solar subcell, and the base-emitter junction of the upper first solar subcell being a homojunction; a second solar subcell adjacent to said first solar subcell; a third solar subcell adjacent to said second solar subcell. A first graded interlayer is provided adjacent to said third solar subcell. A fourth solar subcell is provided adjacent to said first graded interlayer, said fourth subcell is lattice mismatched with respect to said third subcell. A second graded interlayer is provided adjacent to said fourth solar subcell; and a lower fifth solar subcell is provided adjacent to said second graded interlayer, said lower fifth subcell is lattice mismatched with respect to said fourth subcell. | 08-23-2012 |
20120211069 | THIN-FILM SOLAR CELLS AND METHODS OF FABRICATING THE SAME - Provided are thin-film solar cells and methods of fabricating the same. The solar cell may include a substrate and a cell comprising an amorphous layer with a continuously graded hydrogen content disposed on the substrate, a n-type semiconductor, an p-type semiconductor layer, a metal electrode adjacent to the n-type semiconductor and a transparent electrode adjacent to p-type semiconductor layers. The hydrogen content of the amorphous intrinsic semiconductor layer decreases in a continuous manner from a first interface, to which a light is incident, toward a second interface opposite to the first interface, and the first and second interfaces are two opposite surfaces of the amorphous intrinsic semiconductor layer being in contact with the p-type and n-type semiconductor layers, respectively. | 08-23-2012 |
20120211070 | Photo-Active Layer Of A Multi-Layered Structure Within A Solar Cell - The present invention discloses a solar cell having a multi-layered structure that is used to generate, transport, and collect electric charges. The multi-layered nanostructure comprises a cathode, a conducting metal layer, a photo-active layer, a hole-transport layer, and an anode. The photo-active layer comprises a tree-like nanostructure array and a conjugate polymer filler. The tree-like nanostructure array is used as an electron acceptor while the conjugate polymer filler is as an electron donor. The tree-like nanostructure array comprises a trunk part and a branch part. The trunk part is formed in-situ on the surface of the conducting metal layer and is used to provide a long straight transport pathway to transport electrons. The large contact area between the branch part and the conjugate polymer filler provides electron-hole separation. | 08-23-2012 |
20120211071 | FOUR JUNCTION INVERTED METAMORPHIC MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELL WITH A SINGLE METAMORPHIC LAYER - A multijunction solar cell including an upper first solar subcell having a first band gap; a second solar subcell adjacent to the first solar subcell and having a second band gap smaller than the first band gap; a graded interlayer adjacent to the second solar subcell, the first graded interlayer having a third band gap greater than the second band gap; and a third solar subcell adjacent to the graded interlayer, the third subcell having a fourth band gap smaller than the second band gap such that the third subcell is lattice mismatched with respect to the second subcell. A lower fourth solar subcell is provided adjacent to the third subcell and lattice matched thereto, the lower fourth subcell having a fifth band gap smaller than the fourth band gap. | 08-23-2012 |
20120216857 | Solar Cell Assembly with an Improved Photocurrent Collection Efficiency - Disclosed is a solar cell assembly with excellent photocurrent collection efficiency. The solar cell assembly includes a solar cell and a surface barrier layer. The solar cell includes a window layer. The surface barrier layer is provided on the window layer. The surface barrier layer is made of phosphide or arsenide. | 08-30-2012 |
20120216858 | PSEUDOMORPHIC WINDOW LAYER FOR MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELLS - Photovoltaic cells with one or more subcells are provided with a wide band gap, pseudomorphic window layer of at least 15 nm in thickness and with an intrinsic material lattice constant that differs by at least 1% from an adjacent emitter layer. This window layer has a higher band gap than a window layer with substantially the same intrinsic material lattice constant as the adjacent emitter layer, which increases the light transmission through the window, thereby increasing the current generation in the solar cell. The quality of being pseudomorphic material preserves a good interface between the window and the emitter, reducing the minority carrier surface recombination velocity. A method is provided for building a wide band gap, pseudomorphic window layer of a photovoltaic cell that has an intrinsic material lattice constant that differs by at least 1% from the adjacent emitter layer. | 08-30-2012 |
20120222729 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE WITH DOUBLE-JUNCTION - The present invention, a photovoltaic device includes a substrate having a first doped-type, a first doped region having a second doped-type in the substrate, a second doped region in a portion of the first doped region and exposing the other portion of the first doped region, and a third doped region in the exposed portion of the first doped region. The polarity of the second doped-type is substantially reversed with that of the first doped-type. The second doped region has a polarity substantially identical to that of the first doped-type and a doped concentration substantially greater than that of the substrate. The third doped region has a polarity substantially identical to that of the second doped-type and a doped concentration substantially greater than that of the first doped region. The first doped-type is one of N-type and P-type, while the second doped-type is the other of P-type and N-type. | 09-06-2012 |
20120222730 | TANDEM SOLAR CELL WITH IMPROVED ABSORPTION MATERIAL - A photosensitive device and method includes a top cell having an N-type layer, a P-type layer and a top intrinsic layer therebetween. A bottom cell includes an N-type layer, a P-type layer and a bottom intrinsic layer therebetween. The bottom intrinsic layer includes a Cu—Zn—Sn containing chalcogenide. | 09-06-2012 |
20120222731 | Heterojunction Solar Cell Having Amorphous Silicon Layer - The present disclosure coats an amorphous silicon (Si) layer on a doped Si substrate of a solar cell. Or, a silicon dioxide (SiO | 09-06-2012 |
20120222732 | STACKED STRUCTURE INCLUDING VERTICALLY GROWN SEMICONDUCTOR, P-N JUNCTION DEVICE INCLUDING THE STACKED STRUCTURE, AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THEREOF - A stacked structure may include semiconductors or semiconductor layers grown on an amorphous substrate. A light-emitting device and a solar cell may include the stacked structure including the semiconductors grown on the amorphous substrate. A method of manufacturing the stacked structure, and the light-emitting device and the solar cell including the stacked structure may involve growing a crystalline semiconductor layer on an amorphous substrate. | 09-06-2012 |
20120222733 | ORGANIC PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL STRUCTURE - The present invention provides a photovoltaic (PV) cell structure for enabling the conversion of incident light to potential electrical energy. The PV cell comprises at least one energy guiding means for converting incident light to potential electrical energy. The energy guiding means includes at least one electron donor and at least one electron acceptor adapted to be linked to a load therebetween. The electron donor is operable to release electrons based on absorption of photons and the electron acceptor may be operable to accelerate photons towards the electron donor and attract electrons released by the electron donor. The electron donor may include at least one photon receptor adapted to have a surface disposed at an angle normal to a range of incident photon angles. | 09-06-2012 |
20120222734 | SOLAR BATTERY CELL AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME - [Problem] To provide a large solar battery cell capable of realizing sufficient conversion efficiency and a method of manufacturing the same. | 09-06-2012 |
20120227796 | OPTICS WITHIN A CONCENTRATED PHOTOVOLTAIC RECEIVER CONTAINING A CPV CELL - A multiple junction photovoltaic cell is optically coupled to the Fresnel lens with teeth. The set of teeth within a given ring of a ringed pattern of teeth on the Fresnel lens may have 1) varying surface angles of different teeth across the lens, 2) varying refractive indexes of the different teeth or 3) a combination of both. The differing surface angles or refractive indexes of different teeth within a given ring of a ringed pattern of teeth establish multiple focal lengths aimed at five or more different axial target focal points within an anticipated zone of operation relative to the multiple junction photovoltaic cell to create a window of averaged intensity of light defined by the five or more different axial target focal points. | 09-13-2012 |
20120227797 | HETEROJUNCTION SUBCELLS IN INVERTED METAMORPHIC MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELLS - Inverted metamorphic multijunction solar cells having a heterojunction middle subcell and a graded interlayer, and methods of making same, are disclosed herein. The present disclosure provides a method of manufacturing a solar cell using an MOCVD process, wherein the graded interlayer is composed of (In | 09-13-2012 |
20120227798 | HIGH EFFICIENCY GROUP III-V COMPOUND SEMICONDUCTOR SOLAR CELL WITH OXIDIZED WINDOW LAYER - The present application utilizes an oxidation process to fabricating a Group III-V compound semiconductor solar cell device. By the oxidation process, a window layer disposed on a cell unit is oxidized to enhance the efficiency of the solar cell device. The oxidized window has an increased band gap to minimize the surface recombination of electrons and holes. The oxidized window also improves transparency at the wavelengths that were absorbed in the conventional window layer. | 09-13-2012 |
20120227799 | HIGH EFFICIENCY MICROMORPH TANDEM CELLS - A method for manufacturing a micromorph tandem cell is disclosed. The micromorph tandem cell comprises a μc-Si:H bottom cell and an a-Si:H top cell, an LPCVD ZnO front contact layer and a ZnO back contact in combination with a white reflector. The method comprises the steps of
| 09-13-2012 |
20120234380 | TERRYLENE COMPOUNDS, PREPARATION THEREOF AND USE THEREOF IN ORGANIC SOLAR CELLS - A terrylene compound of formula I: | 09-20-2012 |
20120234381 | DYE-SENSITIZED SOLAR CELL - A dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) is provided, which has an elevated voltage and thus an improved performance achieved with an electrolyte formed by mixing multiple redox electrolytes of an electrolyte solution. The DSC includes: a first substrate | 09-20-2012 |
20120240987 | METAMORPHIC SOLAR CELL HAVING IMPROVED CURRENT GENERATION - A semiconductor device structure having increased photogenerated current density, and increased current output is disclosed. The device includes low bandgap absorber regions that increase the range of wavelengths at which photogeneration of charge carriers takes place, and for which useful current can be collected. The low bandgap absorber regions may be strain balanced by strain-compensation regions, and the low bandgap absorber regions and strain-compensation regions may be formed from the same ternary semiconductor family. The device may be a solar cell, subcell, or other optoelectronic device with a metamorphic or lattice-mismatched base layer, for which the low bandgap absorber region improves the effective bandgap combination of subcells and current balance within the multijunction cell, for higher efficiency conversion of the solar spectrum. | 09-27-2012 |
20120240988 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL MODULE - A photovoltaic cell module includes a substrate, a first photovoltaic cell and a second photovoltaic cell. The substrate has a light conversion layer thereon, and the light conversion layer converts light having wavelength ranges from 300 nm to 500 nm to light having wavelength ranges from 500 nm to 700 nm. The first photovoltaic cell is disposed on a surface of the substrate and the second photovoltaic cell is disposed on another surface of the substrate. | 09-27-2012 |
20120240989 | Method and Device for Cadmium-Free Solar Cells - A method for fabricating a thin film photovoltaic device is provided. The method includes providing a substrate comprising a thin film photovoltaic absorber which has a surface including copper, indium, gallium, selenium, and sulfur. The method further includes subjecting the surface to a material containing at least a zinc species substantially free of any cadmium. The surface is heated to cause formation of a zinc doped material. The zinc doped material is free from cadmium. Furthermore the method includes forming a zinc oxide material overlying the zinc doped material and forming a transparent conductive material overlying the zinc oxide material. | 09-27-2012 |
20120240990 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE EMPLOYING A RESONATOR CAVITY - A photovoltaic device utilizing a gain means and an amplification means to intake and convert incident light/photons to greater intensities of highly coherent and monochromatic photons whereby said photons are passed to a resonating means and absorption means, allowing for said photons to be absorbed with increased conversion efficiency. | 09-27-2012 |
20120240991 | MULTIPLE SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A multi-junction solar cell having a Ge or GaAs substrate, as well as a solar cell structure having several subcells deposited on the substrate, the substrate having peripheral side faces, and the solar cell structure having a peripheral circumferential surface, which runs spaced apart from the side faces. To prevent oxidation and penetration of moisture, the circumferential surface of the solar cell structure is coated with a protective, electrically insulating first coating under essential exclusion of the upper surface facing the rays, or that without encroaching on the solar cell structure, the side faces of the substrate are coated with a protective, electrically insulating second coating or that both the side faces of the substrate as well as the circumferential surface of the solar cell structure are coated with a third coating by essential exclusion of the upper surface facing the rays. | 09-27-2012 |
20120247543 | Photovoltaic Structure - A photovoltaic device on a low-cost, conductive silicon layer is disclosed. The device comprises two semiconductor layers forming an active region; optional layers include “heterojunction layers”, one or more barrier layers, a cap layer, a conductive and/or metallization layer, an anti-reflection layer, and distributed Bragg reflector. The device may comprise multiple active regions. | 10-04-2012 |
20120247544 | SOLAR CELL - According to example embodiments, a solar cell includes a plurality of unit portions. Each of the unit portions may have a stacked structure including a plurality of photoelectric members and at least one insulating layer disposed between the photoelectric members. The photoelectric members in different levels may have different energy bandgaps. The photoelectric members in a level may be connected to each other. | 10-04-2012 |
20120247545 | GRAPHENE-BASED MULTI-JUNCTIONS FLEXIBLE SOLAR CELL - This disclosure relates to structures for the conversion of light into energy. More specifically, the disclosure describes devices for conversion of light to electricity using photovoltaic cells comprising graphene. | 10-04-2012 |
20120247546 | ORGANIC METAL DYE, AND PHOTOELECTRIC ELEMENT AND DYE-SENSITIZED SOLAR CELL USING THE ORGANIC METAL DYE - The present invention relates to an organic metal dye comprising fused heterocyclic derivatives, and to a photoelectric element and to a dye-sensitized solar cell using the organic metal dye. | 10-04-2012 |
20120247547 | MULTIJUNCTION COMPOUND SEMICONDUCTOR SOLAR CELL - Disclosed is a multijunction compound semiconductor solar cell having a buffer layer between a first cell and a second cell. In the buffer layer, a plurality of semiconductor layers is arranged such that lattice constants thereof have larger values in order from the first cell side to the second cell side. Of the plurality of semiconductor layers, two layers having the largest difference in lattice constant among each two adjacent layers are disposed closer to the first cell than the center in the thickness direction of the buffer layer. | 10-04-2012 |
20120255599 | NANOCONE-BASED PHOTOVOLTAIC SOLAR CELLS - A photovoltaic structure including a nanocone-based three-dimensional interdigitated p-n junction is provided in the present invention. The three-dimensional p-n junction is at the interface between n-type oxide semiconductor nanocones and a p-type semiconductor material that functions as a matrix embedding the nanocones. The nanocone-based three-dimensional p-n junction allows efficient minority carriers being extracted from photo-absorber and crossing across the p-n junction, and generates completely-depleted regions throughout the nanocones and the matrix around the nanocones for efficient charge collection. Further, the bandgap energies of the p-doped semiconductor material can be tuned to match the solar light spectrum by mixing related elements. Further, the high temperature pulses can be used to remove defects in the junction interfaces and sintering nanoparticle matrix. | 10-11-2012 |
20120255600 | METHOD OF BONDING AND FORMATION OF BACK SURFACE FIELD (BSF) FOR MULTI-JUNCTION III-V SOLAR CELLS - A photovoltaic device including at least one top cell that include at least one semiconductor material; a bottom cell of a germanium containing material having a thickness of 10 microns or less; and a back surface field (BSF) region provided by a eutectic alloy layer of aluminum and germanium on the back surface of the bottom cell of that is opposite the interface between the bottom cell and at least one of the top cells. The eutectic alloy of aluminum and germanium bonds the bottom cell of the germanium-containing material to a supporting substrate. | 10-11-2012 |
20120255601 | Hybrid Solar Cell and Method for Manufacturing the Same - A hybrid solar cell and a method for manufacturing the same is disclosed, wherein the hybrid solar cell comprises a semiconductor wafer having a predetermined polarity; a first semiconductor layer on one surface of the semiconductor wafer; a second semiconductor layer on the other surface of the semiconductor wafer, wherein the second semiconductor layer is different in polarity from the first semiconductor layer; a first electrode on the first semiconductor layer; a second electrode on the second semiconductor layer; and at least one of first and second interfacial layers, wherein the first interfacial layer containing ZnO is formed between the first semiconductor layer and the first electrode, and the second interfacial layer containing ZnO is formed between the second semiconductor layer and the second electrode, wherein the hybrid solar cell is provided with the interfacial layer between the first semiconductor layer and the first electrode and/or between the second semiconductor layer and the second electrode, so that it is possible to prevent the material of the electrode from permeating into the semiconductor layer, and to collect the carriers in the semiconductor wafer and to smoothly drift the collected carriers to the electrode, thereby improving the cell efficiency. | 10-11-2012 |
20120260978 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES AND METHOD OF MAKING - In one aspect of the present invention, a photovoltaic device is provided. The photovoltaic device includes a transparent layer; a first porous layer disposed on the transparent layer, wherein the first porous layer comprises a plurality of pores extending through a thickness of the first porous layer; a first semiconductor material disposed in the plurality of pores to form a patterned first semiconductor layer; and a second semiconductor layer disposed on the first porous layer and the patterned first semiconductor layer, wherein the patterned first semiconductor layer is substantially transparent. Method of making a photovoltaic device is also provided. | 10-18-2012 |
20120266947 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING A SOLAR CELL - The invention relates to a solar cell that comprises a planar semiconductor substrate with a front and a back; a multitude of holes that interconnect the front and the back; and current-collecting electrical contacts that are exclusively arranged on the back. The front comprises highly doped regions and lightly doped regions of a first type such that in each case the holes are situated in a highly doped region or adjoin such a region. According to a first aspect of the invention, the highly doped regions are arranged locally around the holes. According to a second aspect of the invention, the front comprises at least one region without holes, and the highly doped regions comprise one region or several regions that extends/extend to the at least one hole-free region. The invention furthermore relates to methods for manufacturing such solar cells. | 10-25-2012 |
20120266948 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING SAME - In order to increase photoelectric conversion efficiency in a photoelectric conversion device, there is disclosed a photoelectric converter containing a photoelectric conversion unit in which a p-type layer ( | 10-25-2012 |
20120273035 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE WITH SURFACE PERTURBATIONS CONFIGURED FOR RESONANT AND DIFFUSIVE COUPLING - Photovoltaic devices are contemplated where TCO layers of the device are provided with a distribution of resonant coupling periodicities Λ | 11-01-2012 |
20120273036 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - To provide a photoelectric conversion device with less metal contamination and surface detects, and a manufacturing method thereof. The photoelectric conversion device is formed in the following manner: a surface of the single crystal silicon substrate is soaked in an alkaline solution to perform etching so that unevenness including a plurality of minute projections each having a substantially square pyramidal shape and a depression formed between the adjacent projections are formed; then, the single crystal silicon substrate having the unevenness is soaked in a mixed acid solution to perform etching so that at a cross section including a vertex of the projection and dividing each of a surface of the projection and a surface facing the aforementioned surface into two equal parts, the vertex of the projection forms an obtuse angle, and a bottom of the depression has a curved surface. | 11-01-2012 |
20120273037 | DILUTE GROUP III-V NITRIDE INTERMEDIATE BAND SOLAR CELLS WITH CONTACT BLOCKING LAYERS - An intermediate band solar cell (IBSC) is provided including a p-n junction based on dilute III-V nitride materials and a pair of contact blocking layers positioned on opposite surfaces of the p-n junction for electrically isolating the intermediate band of the p-n junction by blocking the charge transport in the intermediate band without affecting the electron and hole collection efficiency of the p-n junction, thereby increasing open circuit voltage (V | 11-01-2012 |
20120273038 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR FABRICATING THE SAME - A solar cell includes a graphite substrate, an amorphous carbon layer having a thickness of not less than 20 nm and not more than 60 nm formed on the graphite substrate, an AlN layer formed on the amorphous carbon layer, a n-type nitride semiconductor layer formed on the AlN layer; a light-absorption layer including a nitride semiconductor layer formed on the n-type nitride semiconductor layer; a p-type nitride semiconductor layer formed on the light-absorption layer; a p-side electrode electrically connected to the p-type nitride semiconductor layer; and an n-side electrode electrically connected to the n-type nitride semiconductor layer. The amorphous carbon layer is obtained by oxidizing the surface of the graphite substrate. | 11-01-2012 |
20120279561 | Hollow Photovoltaic Fiber - A hollow photovoltaic fiber. The hollow photovoltaic fiber includes semiconductor formed on the inner surface of a hollow tube or on a flexible substrate subsequently formed into a hollow tube. The hollow photovoltaic fiber is suitable a variety of semiconductor devices, including solar cells. Light entering the hollow photovoltaic fiber deposits energy in the semiconductor as it travel through the tube. The hollow photovoltaic fiber exhibits improved energy conversion efficiency over planar thin film solar cells due to the large semiconductor surface area and longer light travel path provided by the tube. Embodiments of the hollow photovoltaic fiber are lightweight and flexible allowing the creation of non-planar solar cells and the applications for solar cells to extend into such areas as the manufacture of photovoltaic textiles or photovoltaic non-woven fabrics. | 11-08-2012 |
20120279562 | BACK-SURFACE-FIELD TYPE OF HETEROJUNCTION SOLAR CELL AND A PRODUCTION METHOD THEREFOR - The back-surface-field type of heterojunction solar cell according to the present invention comprises a crystalline silicon substrate of a first conductivity type, a semiconductor layer of the first conductivity type provided in the upper stratum of the substrate, an anti-reflective film provided on the front surface of the substrate, an intrinsic layer provided on the rear surface of the substrate, amorphous semiconductor layers of the first conductivity type and amorphous semiconductor layers of the second conductivity type repeatedly disposed alternately on the intrinsic layer, and first-conductivity-type electrodes and second-conductivity-type electrodes which are respectively provided on the amorphous semiconductor layers of the first conductivity type and the amorphous semiconductor layers of the second conductivity type. | 11-08-2012 |
20120285517 | SCHOTTKY BARRIER SOLAR CELLS WITH HIGH AND LOW WORK FUNCTION METAL CONTACTS - A Schottky Barrier solar cell having at least one of a low work function region and a high work function region provided on the front or back surface of a lightly-doped absorber material, which may be produced in a variety of different geometries. The method of producing the Schottky Barrier solar cells allows for short processing times and the use of low temperatures. | 11-15-2012 |
20120285518 | Solar cell with interdigitated back contacts formed from high and low work-function-tuned silicides of the same metal - A solar cell having n-type and p-type interdigitated back contacts (IBCs), which cover the entire back surface of the absorber layer. The spatial separation of the IBCs is in a direction perpendicular to the back surface, thus providing borderless contacts having a zero-footprint separation. As the contacts are on the back, photons incident on the cell's front surface can be absorbed without any shadowing. | 11-15-2012 |
20120285519 | GRID DESIGN FOR III-V COMPOUND SEMICONDUCTOR CELL - A photovoltaic solar cell for producing energy from the sun including a germanium substrate including a first photoactive junction and forming a bottom solar subcell; a gallium arsenide middle cell disposed on said substrate; an indium gallium phosphide top cell disposed over the middle cell; and a surface grid including a plurality of spaced apart grid lines, wherein the grid lines have a thickness greater than 7 microns, and each grid line has a cross-section in the shape of a trapezoid with a cross-sectional area between 45 and 55 square microns. | 11-15-2012 |
20120285520 | WAFER BONDED SOLAR CELLS AND FABRICATION METHODS - A photovoltaic device and method for fabrication include multijunction cells, each cell having a material grown independently from the other and including different band gap energies. An interface is disposed between the cells and configured to wafer bond the cells wherein the cells are configured to be adjacent without regard to lattice mismatch. | 11-15-2012 |
20120285521 | SILICON/ORGANIC HETEROJUNCTION (SOH) SOLAR CELL AND ROLL-TO-ROLL FABRICATION PROCESS FOR MAKING SAME - A photovoltaic device and method of making a photovoltaic device are disclosed. The method includes laminating an organic layer onto an inorganic semiconductor layer. A first electrical contact is electrically coupled to the organic layer and a second electrical contact is coupled to the inorganic semiconductor layer. The inorganic semiconductor layer may include a second organic layer. At least one of the organic layer and the second organic layer may form a heterojunction with the inorganic semiconductor layer. The organic layer may further comprise a metal layer. At least one of the organic layer, the inorganic semiconductor layer and the metal layer may be patterned. | 11-15-2012 |
20120285522 | THIN-FILM SOLAR FABRICATION PROCESS, DEPOSITION METHOD FOR TCO LAYER, AND SOLAR CELL PRECURSOR LAYER STACK - Method of depositing a TCO layer on a substrate, of depositing precursors of a solar cell and precursors of a solar cell are described. The methods includes DC sputtering a ZnO-containing transparent conductive oxide layer over the substrate, the substrate having a size of 1.4 m | 11-15-2012 |
20120285523 | SOLAR CELL - A solar cell | 11-15-2012 |
20120285524 | SOLAR CELLS HAVING A TRANSPARENT COMPOSITION-GRADED BUFFER LAYER - A solar cell includes a first layer having a first-layer lattice parameter, a second layer having a second-layer lattice parameter different from the first-layer lattice parameter, wherein the second layer includes a photoactive second-layer material; and a third layer having a third-layer lattice parameter different from the second-layer lattice parameter, wherein the third layer includes a photoactive third-layer material. A transparent buffer layer extends between and contacts the second layer and the third layer and has a buffer-layer lattice parameter that varies with increasing distance from the second layer toward the third layer, so as to lattice match to the second layer and to the third layer. There may be additional subcell layers and buffer layers in the solar cell. | 11-15-2012 |
20120285525 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SOLAR CELL - The present invention is a solar cell | 11-15-2012 |
20120291859 | Multi-Junction Semiconductor Photovoltaic Apparatus and Methods - A photovoltaic device and methods of manufacturing a photovoltaic device are disclosed. A photovoltaic device includes a first photovoltaic cell, a second photovoltaic cell, a semiconductor layer, and a doped layer. The second photovoltaic cell is in electrical communication with the first photovoltaic cell. The semiconductor layer includes a textured portion. The doped layer is configured to create a back surface field, the doped layer disposed between a proximal layer of the second photovoltaic cell and the semiconductor layer. | 11-22-2012 |
20120291860 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A solar cell includes a base substrate having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface, the base substrate including a crystalline semiconductor and being configured to have solar light incident on the first surface, a doping pattern on a first portion of the second surface, the doping pattern including a first dopant, a first doping layer on a second portion of the second surface, the first doping layer including a second dopant, and the first and second portions of the second surface being different from each other, a first electrode on the first doping layer, and a second electrode on the doping pattern. | 11-22-2012 |
20120291861 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL, INCLUDING A CRYSTALLINE SILICON OXIDE PASSIVATION THIN FILM, AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING SAME - A heterojunction photovoltaic cell includes at least one crystalline silicon oxide film directly placed onto one of the front or rear faces of a crystalline silicon substrate, between said substrate and a layer of amorphous or microcrystalline silicon. The thin film is intended to enable the passivation of said face of the substrate. The thin film is more particularly obtained by radically oxidizing a surface portion of the substrate, before depositing the layer of amorphous silicon. Moreover, a thin layer of intrinsic or microdoped amorphous silicon can be placed between said think film and the layer of amorphous or microcrystalline silicon. | 11-22-2012 |
20120291862 | HIGH EFFICIENCY NANOSTRUCTURED PHOTVOLTAIC DEVICE MANUFACTURING - Photovoltaic and Light emitted diode devices comprise of epitaxial wafer of plurality of layers has been proposed. Quantum Dots are deposited onto the micro-nanostructure layer from the light incident direction to increasing light transmission to the active layer. Quantum dots deposited between the light source and the active layer, on the micro-nanostructure layer, to improve light excitation, since it can absorb wavelengths, which are not absorbed by the active layer, and the size and composition of quantum dots can determine its bandgap. A micro-nanostructured layer at the bottom of the PV wafer, which is produced by Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE), increases the internal light reflections in the active layer, which increases the efficiency of light absorption and that leads to a photocurrent enhancement. | 11-22-2012 |
20120298191 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE - Provided is a photoelectric conversion device characterized by a lattice-shaped current-collection metal electrode and a depressed portion provided in opening regions of a lattice structured by the lattice-shaped. current collection electrode. This structure results in the reduction in the area of a heterojunction containing a highly-doped semiconductor layer, which decreases the influence of carrier recombination promoted by the high concentration of an impurity and leads to the improved electric Characteristic of the photoelectric conversion device. The lattice shape of the current collection electrode also makes it possible to exclude the use of a light-transmitting current collection electrode and allows a protective insulating layer having a high light-transmitting property to be formed over the current collection electrode, which contributes to the reduction of the light absorption loss. | 11-29-2012 |
20120305059 | PHOTON RECYCLING IN AN OPTOELECTRONIC DEVICE - An optoelectronic semiconductor device includes an absorber layer made of a direct bandgap semiconductor and having only one type of doping. An emitter layer is located closer than the absorber layer to a back side of the device, the emitter layer made of a different material than the absorber layer and having a higher bandgap than the absorber layer. A heterojunction is formed between the emitter layer and the absorber layer, and a p-n junction is formed between the emitter layer and the absorber layer at a location offset from the heterojunction. The p-n junction causes a voltage to be generated in the device in response to the device being exposed to light at a front side of the device. The device also includes an n-metal contact disposed on a front side of the device and a p-metal contact disposed on the back side of the device. | 12-06-2012 |
20120305060 | TUNNELING-JUNCTION SOLAR CELL WITH COPPER GRID FOR CONCENTRATED PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATION - One embodiment of the present invention provides a photovoltaic module. The photovoltaic module includes an optical concentrator and a tunneling-junction solar cell. The tunneling junction solar cell includes a base layer, a quantum-tunneling-barrier (QTB) layer situated above the base layer, an emitter layer, a front-side electrode, and a back-side electrode. | 12-06-2012 |
20120305061 | TRANSPARENT CONDUCTIVE POROUS NANOCOMPOSITES AND METHODS OF FABRICATION THEREOF - A nanocomposite material that is both transparent and electrically conductive is provided. The nanocomposite comprises a nanoporous matrix, preferably formed from nanoparticles, that is internally coated with a transparent conductive material to define an internal conductive path within the nanocomposite. The nanocomposite is substantially transparent over a defined spectral range that preferably includes at least a portion of the visible spectrum, and preferably comprises pores with a mean diameter of less than approximately 25 nm. A bilayer may be formed by depositing a layer of a transparent conductive material on top of a nanocomposite layer, or by depositing a second layer of a nanocomposite having different optical properties. The nanocomposites formed using a combination of sequential and/or concurrent deposition techniques are correspondingly discrete and/or continuously varying structures. Multilayer structures, such as photonic crystal reflectors, may be formed by depositing multiple bilayers, and integrated into devices such as tandem solar cells. | 12-06-2012 |
20120305062 | SOLAR CELL - Disclosed is a solar cell with the ability to extract more photogenerated carriers while improving power generation efficiency. The solar cell ( | 12-06-2012 |
20120312361 | EMITTER STRUCTURE AND FABRICATION METHOD FOR SILICON HETEROJUNCTION SOLAR CELL - A method of forming a photovoltaic device that includes providing an absorption layer of a first crystalline semiconductor material having a first conductivity type, epitaxially growing a second crystalline semiconductor layer of a second conductivity type that is opposite the first conductivity type, and growing a doped amorphous or nanocrystalline passivation layer of a second conductivity type that is opposite to the first conductivity type. The first conductivity type may be p-type and the second conductivity type may be n-type, or the first conductivity type may be n-type and the second conductivity type may be p-type. The temperature of the epitaxially growing the second crystalline semiconductor layer does not exceed 500° C. Contacts are formed in electrical communication with the absorption layer and the second crystalline semiconductor layer. | 12-13-2012 |
20120312362 | SILICON-CONTAINING HETEROJUNCTION PHOTOVOLTAIC ELEMENT AND DEVICE - A photovoltaic device is provided in which the tunneling barrier for hole collection at either the front contact or the back contact of a silicon heterojunction cell is reduced, without compromising the surface passivation either the front contact or at the back contact. This is achieved in the present disclosure by replacing the intrinsic and/or doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) layer(s) at the back contact or at the front contact with an intrinsic and/or doped layer(s) of a semiconductor material having a lower valence band-offset than that of a:Si—H with c-Si, and/or a higher activated doping concentration compared to that of doped hydrogenated amorphous Si. The higher level of activated doping is due to the higher doping efficiency of the back contact or front contact semiconductor material compared to that of amorphous Si, and/or modulation doping of the back or front contact semiconducting material. As a result, the tunneling barrier for hole collection is reduced and the cell efficiency is improved accordingly. | 12-13-2012 |
20120312363 | Solar Cell Having Non-Planar Junction and the Method of the Same - The present invention discloses a solar cell including a substrate; a solar converting layer, which is configured on the substrate; and wherein the solar converting layer is formed with non-planar to increase surface area. The solar cell includes light condensing devices formed over the solar converting layer. The light condensing devices includes organic material or inorganic material. The solar converting layer includes a first type semiconductive layer with a recessed structure; a second type semiconductive layer is formed over the first type semiconductive layer, and refilled into the recessed structure. | 12-13-2012 |
20120312364 | PHOTOACTIVE COMPONENT HAVING ORGANIC LAYERS - The description relates to an organic photoactive component, in particular an organic solar cell, having an electrode on the substrate and a top counter-electrode and a doped transport layer between the electrodes and a photoactive layer system, characterized in that a metal oxide layer is present between the photoactive system and the top counter-electrode. | 12-13-2012 |
20120312365 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING OF SUCH A SOLAR CELL - A solar cell includes a silicon semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type. The substrate has a front surface and a rear surface, of which the front surface is arranged for capturing radiation energy. The rear surface includes a plurality of first electric contacts and a plurality of second electric contacts. The first and second electric contacts are arranged in alternation adjacent to each other. Each first electric contact is a heterostructure of a first type as contact for minority charge carriers, and the front surface of the silicon semiconductor substrate includes a highly doped silicon front surface field layer. The conductivity of the front surface field layer is the first conductivity type. | 12-13-2012 |
20120318334 | SPALLING METHODS TO FORM MULTI-JUNCTION PHOTOVOLTAIC STRUCTURE - A method cleaving a semiconductor material that includes providing a germanium substrate having a germanium and tin alloy layer is present therein. A stressor layer is deposited on a surface of the germanium substrate. A stress from the stressor layer is applied to the germanium substrate, in which the stress cleaves the germanium substrate to provide a cleaved surface. The cleaved surface of the germanium substrate is then selective to the germanium and tin alloy layer of the germanium substrate. In another embodiment, the germanium and tin alloy layer may function as a fracture plane during a spalling method. | 12-20-2012 |
20120318335 | TANDEM SOLAR CELL WITH IMPROVED TUNNEL JUNCTION - A photovoltaic device and method for fabricating a photovoltaic device include forming a light-absorbing semiconductor structure on a transmissive substrate including a first doped layer and forming an intrinsic layer on the first doped layer, wherein the intrinsic layer includes an amorphous material. The intrinsic layer is treated with a plasma to form seed sites. A first tunnel junction layer is formed on the intrinsic layer by growing microcrystals from the seed sites. | 12-20-2012 |
20120318336 | CONTACT FOR SILICON HETEROJUNCTION SOLAR CELLS - A photovoltaic device and method include a substrate coupled to an emitter side structure on a first side of the substrate and a back side structure on a side opposite the first side of the substrate. The emitter side structure or the back side structure include layers alternating between wide band gap layers and narrow band gap layers to provide a multilayer contact with an effectively increased band offset with the substrate and/or an effectively higher doping level over a single material contact. An emitter contact is coupled to the emitter side structure on a light collecting end portion of the device. A back contact is coupled to the back side structure opposite the light collecting end portion. | 12-20-2012 |
20120318337 | Solar Cell - In a conventional solar cell, it has been difficult to ensure a sufficient light absorption and simultaneously to prevent current loss due to the reduction of the moving distance of electrons and holes. As a means for solving this difficulty, a plurality of a p-i-n junctions are stacked through an insulating film and are connected in parallel with each other using through-electrodes. In this case, the through-electrodes and the p-i-n junctions are connected through the p-layer or the n-layer, thereby moving electrons and holes in opposite directions and generating output current. In addition, the i-layer is made thicker than the p-layer and the n-layer in each of the p-i-n junctions, thereby ensuring a sufficient light absorption and simultaneously preventing current loss. | 12-20-2012 |
20120318338 | NANOWIRES FORMED BY EMPLOYING SOLDER NANODOTS - A photovoltaic device and method include depositing a metal film on a substrate layer. The metal film is annealed to form islands of the metal film on the substrate layer. The substrate layer is etched using the islands as an etch mask to form pillars in the substrate layer. | 12-20-2012 |
20120318339 | SOLAR CELL EMPLOYING AN ENHANCED FREE HOLE DENSITY P-DOPED MATERIAL AND METHODS FOR FORMING THE SAME - A p-doped semiconductor layer of a photovoltaic device is formed employing an inert gas within a carrier gas. The presence of the inert gas within the carrier gas increases free hole density within the p-doped semiconductor layer. This decreases the Schottky barrier at an interface with a transparent conductive material layer, thereby significantly reducing the series resistance of the photovoltaic device. The reduction of the series resistance increases the open-circuit voltage, the fill factor, and the efficiency of the photovoltaic device. This effect is more prominent if the p-doped semiconductor layer is also doped with carbon, and has a band gap greater than 1.85V. The p-doped semiconductor material of the p-doped semiconductor layer can be hydrogenated if the carrier gas includes a mix of H | 12-20-2012 |
20120318340 | BACK JUNCTION SOLAR CELL WITH TUNNEL OXIDE - One embodiment of the present invention provides a back junction solar cell. The solar cell includes a base layer, a quantum-tunneling-barrier (QTB) layer situated below the base layer facing away from incident light, an emitter layer situated below the QTB layer, a front surface field (FSF) layer situated above the base layer, a front-side electrode situated above the FSF layer, and a back-side electrode situated below the emitter layer. | 12-20-2012 |
20120325298 | METHODS OF MAKING PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES AND PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES - One aspect of the present invention includes method of making a photovoltaic device. The method includes disposing an absorber layer on a window layer, wherein the absorber layer includes a first region and a second region. The method includes disposing the first region adjacent to the window layer in a first environment including oxygen at a first partial pressure; and disposing the second region on the first region in a second environment including oxygen at a second partial pressure, wherein the first partial pressure is greater than the second partial pressure. One aspect of the present invention includes a photovoltaic device. | 12-27-2012 |
20120325299 | Photonic Bandgap Solar Cells - A photovoltaic cell for use in a solar cell panel and a method of forming a photovoltaic cell for use in a solar cell panel are disclosed. The photovoltaic cell includes a plurality of first layers of a first material having a first thickness and a first optical characteristic; a plurality of second layers of a second material having a second thickness and a second optical characteristic, each of the plurality of layers of the first material adjacent to two of the plurality of layers of the second material; wherein the second material includes a metal. In one aspect, the first material includes a semiconductor. In a further aspect, the plurality of first layers includes layers formed from two different semiconductor materials. | 12-27-2012 |
20120325300 | INVERTED METAMORPHIC (IMM) SOLAR CELL SEMICONDUCTOR STRUCTURE AND LASER LIFT-OFF METHOD FOR THE SAME - An inverted metamorphic (IMM) solar cell semiconductor structure for use of a laser lift-off (LLO) process using external laser is introduced. The IMM solar cell semiconductor structure includes a substrate layer, a sacrifice layer, a plurality of bandgap layers, and a handle layer. The sacrifice layer, formed on the substrate layer, is made of a material containing a III-V compound. The bandgap layers, formed on the sacrifice layer, are for producing movements of electronic holes according to an absorbed extrinsic light wavelength. The handle layer is formed on the bandgap layers. Laser penetrates the substrate layer to fall on the sacrifice layer, such that the bandgap layers are lifted off by the sacrifice layer, thereby resulting in a high-efficiency IMM solar cell. A LLO laser lift-off method for the IMM solar cell semiconductor is further provided. | 12-27-2012 |
20120325301 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE, LIGHT DETECTING DEVICE, AND LIGHT DETECTING METHOD - The present invention has an object to provide a photoelectric conversion device which can be manufactured through a simple manufacturing process, achieve photoelectric conversion over a wide range of wavelength regions, and attain high photoelectric conversion efficiency even in the infrared wavelength region, a photodetection device, and a photodetection method. This photoelectric conversion device | 12-27-2012 |
20120325302 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE INCLUDING FLEXIBLE OR INFLEXIBLE SUBSTRATE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - Disclosed is a photovoltaic device. The photovoltaic device according to the present invention includes: a first electrode; a second electrode; and a p-type window layer, a buffer layer, a light absorbing layer and an n-type layer, which are sequentially stacked between the first electrode and the second electrode, wherein, when the p-type window layer is composed of hydrogenated amorphous silicon oxide, the buffer layer is composed of either hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide or hydrogenated amorphous silicon oxide, and wherein, when the p-type window layer is composed of hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide, the buffer layer is composed of hydrogenated amorphous silicon oxide. | 12-27-2012 |
20120325303 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - Disclosed is a photovoltaic device. The photovoltaic device includes a substrate; a first unit cell disposed on the substrate and comprising a p-type window layer, an i-type photoelectric conversion layer and an n-type layer; an intermediate reflector disposed on the first unit cell and comprising a hydrogenated n-type microcrystalline silicon carbide or a hydrogenated n-type microcrystalline silicon nitride profiled such that carbon concentration or nitride concentration is higher the farther it is from a light incident side; and a second unit cell disposed on the intermediate reflector and comprising a p-type window layer, an i-type photoelectric conversion layer and an n-type layer. | 12-27-2012 |
20120325304 | CONTACT FOR SILICON HETEROJUNCTION SOLAR CELLS - A photovoltaic device and method include a substrate coupled to an emitter side structure on a first side of the substrate and a back side structure on a side opposite the first side of the substrate. The emitter side structure or the back side structure include layers alternating between wide band gap layers and narrow band gap layers to provide a multilayer contact with an effectively increased band offset with the substrate and/or an effectively higher doping level over a single material contact. An emitter contact is coupled to the emitter side structure on a light collecting end portion of the device. A back contact is coupled to the back side structure opposite the light collecting end portion. | 12-27-2012 |
20130000704 | THREE-DIMENSIONAL CONDUCTIVE ELECTRODE FOR SOLAR CELL - A photovoltaic device and method include forming a plurality of pillar structures in a substrate, forming a first electrode layer on the pillar structures and forming a continuous photovoltaic stack including an N-type layer, a P-type layer and an intrinsic layer on the first electrode. A second electrode layer is deposited over the photovoltaic stack such that gaps or fissures occur in the second electrode layer between the pillar structures. The second electrode layer is wet etched to open up the gaps or fissures and reduce the second electrode layer to form a three-dimensional electrode of substantially uniform thickness over the photovoltaic stack. | 01-03-2013 |
20130000705 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE AND METHOD OF ITS FABRICATION - A photovoltaic device is presented including one or more cell units. The photovoltaic device comprises a semiconductor substrate having a patterned light collecting surface defining an array of spaced-apart substantially parallel first grooves. Each of these first grooves has a bottom portion, comprising a bottom surface and side walls extending from the bottom portion and being substantially perpendicular to the surface of the device. A heavily doped semiconductor layer in the form of spaced-apart regions is located at the bottom surfaces of the first grooves respectively. Further improvement of performance is obtained by deposition of thin metal lines on top of the heavily doped spaced apart lines. | 01-03-2013 |
20130000706 | TANDEM SOLAR CELL WITH IMPROVED TUNNEL JUNCTION - A photovoltaic device and method for fabricating a photovoltaic device include forming a light-absorbing semiconductor structure on a transmissive substrate including a first doped layer and forming an intrinsic layer on the first doped layer, wherein the intrinsic layer includes an amorphous material. The intrinsic layer is treated with a plasma to form seed sites. A first tunnel junction layer is formed on the intrinsic layer by growing microcrystals from the seed sites. | 01-03-2013 |
20130000707 | Multijunction Photovoltaic Cell Fabrication - A method for fabrication of a multijunction photovoltaic (PV) cell includes forming a stack comprising a plurality of junctions on a substrate, each of the plurality of junctions having a respective bandgap, wherein the plurality of junctions are ordered from the junction having the largest bandgap being located on the substrate to the junction having the smallest bandgap being located on top of the stack; forming a metal layer, the metal layer having a tensile stress, on top of the junction having the smallest bandgap; adhering a flexible substrate to the metal layer; and spalling a semiconductor layer from the substrate at a fracture in the substrate, wherein the fracture is formed in response to the tensile stress in the metal layer. | 01-03-2013 |
20130000708 | Multijunction Photovoltaic Cell Fabrication - A multijunction photovoltaic (PV) cell includes a bottom flexible substrate and a bottom metal layer located on the bottom flexible substrate. The multijunction photovoltaic cell also includes a semiconductor layer located on the bottom metal layer and a stack having a plurality of junctions located on the semiconductor layer, each of the plurality of junctions having a respective bandgap. The pluralities of junctions are ordered from the junction having the smallest bandgap being located on the substrate to the junction having the largest bandgap being located on top of the stack. | 01-03-2013 |
20130000709 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE ELECTRICAL CONTACTS - Photovoltaic cells including silicon solar cells are provided. A silicon substrate having an n-type silicon layer is provided with a silicon nitride layer, a reactive metal in contact with said silicon nitride layer, and a non-reactive metal in contact with the reactive metal. This assembly is fired to form a low Shottky barrier height contact comprised of metal nitride, and optionally metal silicide, on the silicon substrate, and a conductive metal electrode in contact with said low Shottky barrier height contact. The reactive metal may be titanium, zirconium, hafnium, vanadium, niobium, and tantalum, and combinations thereof, and the non-reactive metal may be silver, tin, bismuth, lead, antimony, arsenic, indium, zinc, germanium, nickel, phosphorus, gold, cadmium, berrylium, and combinations thereof. | 01-03-2013 |
20130000710 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE - Disclosed is a photoelectric conversion device with improved photoelectric conversion efficiency. In the disclosed photoelectric conversion device, an amorphous silicon photoelectric conversion unit with an amorphous i-type layer and a microcrystalline silicon photoelectric conversion unit with a microcrystalline i-type layer are laminated, and an intermediate layer, which is disposed between the amorphous silicon photoelectric conversion unit and the microcrystalline silicon photoelectric conversion unit, has a lower refractive index than the layers in contact with the front or back surfaces thereof, wherein the higher the crystalline fraction of the microcrystalline i-type layer in the panel surface, the thicker the film of the intermediate layer. | 01-03-2013 |
20130000711 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE - In order to increase the photoelectric conversion efficiency of a photoelectric conversion device, the photoelectric conversion device ( | 01-03-2013 |
20130008493 | INVERTED METAMORPHIC MULTI-JUNCTION (IMM) SOLAR CELL AND ASSOCIATED FABRICATION METHOD - An IMM solar cell and an associated method of fabricating an IMM solar cell are provided. In the context of a method, a first subcell may be formed upon a temporary substrate and a second subcell may be formed upon the first subcell. The second subcell may have a smaller band gap than the first subcell. The method may also bond the first and second subcells to a silicon subcell and then remove the temporary substrate. In the context of an IMM solar cell, the IMM solar cell includes first and second subcells with the first subcell disposed upon the second subcell and the second subcell having a smaller band gap than the first subcell. The IMM solar cell may also include a silicon subcell supporting the first and second subcells thereupon with a metal-to-metal bond between the silicon subcell and the second subcell. | 01-10-2013 |
20130008494 | USE OF ION BEAM TAILS TO MANUFACTURE A WORKPIECE - One method of implanting a workpiece involves implanting the workiece with an n-type dopant in a first region with center and a periphery. The workpiece also is implanted with a p-type dopant in a second region complementary to the first region. This second region also has a center and a periphery. The periphery of the first region and the periphery of the second region at least partially overlap. A dose at the periphery of the first region or second region is less than a dose at the center of the first region or second region. The region of overlap may function as a junction where charge carriers cannot pass. | 01-10-2013 |
20130008495 | Methods and Apparatus for Ultrathin Catalyst Layer for Photoelectrode - In exemplary implementations of this invention, a photoelectrode includes a semiconductor for photocarrier generation, and a catalyst layer for altering the reaction rate in an adjacent electrolyte. The catalyst layer covers part of the semiconductor. The thickness of the catalyst layer is less than 60% of its minority carrier diffusion distance. If the photoelectrode is a photoanode, it has an OEP that is more than the potential of the valance band edge but less than the potential of the Fermi level of the semiconductor. If it is a photocathode, it has an RHE potential that is less than the potential of the conduction band edge but more than the potential of the Fermi level of the semiconductor. The absolute value of difference (OEP minus potential of valence band edge, or RHE potential minus potential of conduction band edge) is greater than zero and less than or equal to 0.2V. | 01-10-2013 |
20130014811 | HETEROJUNCTION III-V SOLAR CELL PERFORMANCEAANM Bedell; Stephen W.AACI Wappingers FallsAAST NYAACO USAAGP Bedell; Stephen W. Wappingers Falls NY USAANM Hekmatshoartabari; BahmanAACI Mount KiscoAAST NYAACO USAAGP Hekmatshoartabari; Bahman Mount Kisco NY USAANM Sadana; Devendra K.AACI PleasantvilleAAST NYAACO USAAGP Sadana; Devendra K. Pleasantville NY USAANM Shahidi; Ghavam G.AACI Pound RidgeAAST NYAACO USAAGP Shahidi; Ghavam G. Pound Ridge NY USAANM Shahrjerdi; DavoodAACI OssiningAAST NYAACO USAAGP Shahrjerdi; Davood Ossining NY US | 01-17-2013 |
20130014812 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE WITH ALUMINUM PLATED BACK SURFACE FIELD AND METHOD OF FORMING SAMEAANM Fisher; Kathryn C.AACI BrooklynAAST NYAACO USAAGP Fisher; Kathryn C. Brooklyn NY USAANM Huang; QiangAACI Sleepy HollowAAST NYAACO USAAGP Huang; Qiang Sleepy Hollow NY USAANM Papa Rao; Satyavolu S.AACI PoughkeepsieAAST NYAACO USAAGP Papa Rao; Satyavolu S. Poughkeepsie NY USAANM Yeh; Ming-LingAACI BaltimoreAAST MDAACO USAAGP Yeh; Ming-Ling Baltimore MD US - A photovoltaic device is provided that includes a semiconductor substrate including a p-n junction with a p-type semiconductor portion and an n-type semiconductor portion one on top of the other. A plurality of patterned antireflective coating layers is located on a p-type semiconductor surface of the semiconductor substrate, wherein at least one portion of the p-type semiconductor surface of the semiconductor substrate is exposed. Aluminum is located directly on the at least one portion of the p-type semiconductor surface of the semiconductor substrate that is exposed. | 01-17-2013 |
20130014813 | HIGH EFFICIENCY AND LOW COST GaInP/GaAs/Si TRIPLE JUNCTION BY EPITAXY LIFT-OFF AND MECHANICAL STACK - The invention disclosed a method of fabricating GaInP/GaAs/Si triple junction solar cells by epitaxy lift-off and mechanical stack techniques. First, a GaInP(1.85 eV)/GaAs(1.42 eV) dual-junction cell is fabricated on a GaAs substrate, and a Si single junction is fabricated on a Si substrate. The Si single junction cell and the GaInP/GaAs dual-junction cell are joined together robustly by metal-metal bonding. A buffer layer, Gallium Phosphide (GaP) inserted between GaAs and Si can further optimize electrical, thermal and optical coupling. Furthermore, when a GaP layer is grown on a p-type Si substrate, a Si p-n junction as a fully functional solar cell is formed simultaneously, thereby reducing manufacturing cost. The technology can achieve GaInP/GaAs/Si triple junction solar cells of the conversion efficiency as high as 36% under a standard AM1.5 solar spectrum, with the optimal current 13.3 mA/cm | 01-17-2013 |
20130014814 | NANOSTRUCTURED ARRAYS FOR RADIATION CAPTURE STRUCTURES - Silicon nanohole arrays are disclosed as light absorbing structures for various devices such as solar photovoltaics. To obtain the same ultimate efficiency as a standard 300 micrometer crystalline silicon wafer, nanohole arrays require less silicon by mass. Moreover, calculations suggest that nanohole arrays may have efficiencies superior to nanorod arrays for practical thicknesses. With well-established fabrication techniques, nanohole arrays have great potential for efficient solar photovoltaics. | 01-17-2013 |
20130014815 | LATTICE MATCHABLE ALLOY FOR SOLAR CELLS - An alloy composition for a subcell of a solar cell is provided that has a bandgap of at least 0.9 eV, namely, Ga | 01-17-2013 |
20130019929 | REDUCTION OF LIGHT INDUCED DEGRADATION BY MINIMIZING BAND OFFSET - A device and method for reducing degradation in a photovoltaic device includes adjusting a band offset of the device during one or more of forming an electrode, forming a first doped layer or forming an intrinsic layer. The adjusting reduces a band offset between one or more of the electrode, the first doped layer and the intrinsic layer to reduce light-induced degradation of the device. A second doped layer is formed on the intrinsic layer. | 01-24-2013 |
20130019930 | Secondary Treatment of Films of Colloidal Quantum Dots for Optoelectronics and Devices Produced Thereby - A method of forming an optoelectronic device. The method includes providing a deposition surface and contacting the deposition surface with a ligand exchange chemical and contacting the deposition surface with a quantum dot (QD) colloid. This initial process is repeated over one or more cycles to form an initial QD film on the deposition surface. The method further includes subsequently contacting the QD film with a secondary treatment chemical and optionally contacting the surface with additional QDs to form an enhanced QD layer exhibiting multiple exciton generation (MEG) upon absorption of high energy photons by the QD active layer. Devices having an enhanced QD active layer as described above are also disclosed. | 01-24-2013 |
20130019931 | HEAT REJECTING OPTIC - A heat-rejecting optic comprising an optical element and receiving element or layer with intermediate layer between is provided. Refractive indices of the optical element and receiving element or layer are greater than the intermediate layer. The optic may be part of a concentrator assembly or lens concentrator system for photovoltaic cells. The heat-rejecting optic functions to redirect wavelengths of light for which power conversion by a photovoltaic cell is inefficient and which cause undesirable photovoltaic cell heating and damage, reducing photovoltaic cell life. The receiving element or layer and intermediate layer modify the optical element to frustrate the total internal reflection of light that would otherwise occur within the optical element and divert that light into the receiving element or layer. | 01-24-2013 |
20130019932 | Nanostructure Array Substrate, Method for Fabricating the Same and Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Using the Same - Disclosed are a nanostructure array substrate, a method for fabricating the same, and a dye-sensitized solar cell by using the same. The nanostructure array substrate includes a plurality of metal oxide nanostructures vertically aligned on the substrate while being separated from each other. The metal oxide nanostructures include nanorods having a ZnO core/TiO | 01-24-2013 |
20130025653 | III-V PHOTOVOLTAIC ELEMENTS - Solar cell structures that have improved carrier collection efficiencies at a heterointerface are provided by low temperature epitaxial growth of silicon on a III-V base. Additionally, a solar cell structure having improved open circuit voltage includes a shallow junction III-V emitter formed by epitaxy or diffusion followed by the epitaxy of Si | 01-31-2013 |
20130025654 | MULTI-JUNCTION PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE AND FABRICATION METHOD - A method of forming a photovoltaic device that includes bonding a substrate to a germanium-containing semiconductor layer with a stressor layer, wherein the stressor layer cleaves the germanium-containing semiconductor layer. At least one semiconductor layer is formed on a cleaved surface of the germanium-containing semiconductor layer that is opposite the conductivity type of the germanium-containing semiconductor layer to provide a first solar cell. The first solar cell absorbs a first range of wavelengths. At least one second solar cell may be formed on the first solar cell, wherein the at least one second solar cell is composed of at least one semiconductor material to absorb a second range of wavelengths that is different than the first range wavelengths absorbed by the first solar cell. | 01-31-2013 |
20130025655 | HETEROJUNCTION PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE AND FABRICATION METHOD - A photovoltaic device and method include a doped germanium-containing substrate, an emitter contact coupled to the substrate on a first side and a back contact coupled to the substrate on a side opposite the first side. The emitter includes at least one doped layer of an opposite conductivity type as that of the substrate and the back contact includes at least one doped layer of the same conductivity type as that of the substrate. The at least one doped layer of the emitter contact or the at least one doped layer of the back contact is in direct contact with the substrate, and the at least one doped layer of the emitter contact or the back contact includes an n-type material having an electron affinity smaller than that of the substrate, or a p-type material having a hole affinity larger than that of the substrate. | 01-31-2013 |
20130025656 | SOLAR CELL - A solar cell includes a substrate of a first conductive type, an emitter region of a second conductive type opposite the first conductive type and which forms a p-n junction along with the substrate, an anti-reflection layer positioned on the emitter region, a front electrode part electrically connected to the emitter region, and a back electrode part electrically connected to the substrate. The substrate includes a first area formed of single crystal silicon and a second area formed of polycrystalline silicon. A thickness of the anti-reflection layer positioned in the first area is less than a thickness of the anti-reflection layer positioned in the second area. | 01-31-2013 |
20130025657 | PLASMON ENHANCED DYE-SENSITIZED SOLAR CELLS - A dye-sensitized solar cell can include a plurality of a plasmon-forming nanostructures. The plasmon-forming nanostructures can include a metal nanoparticle and a semiconducting oxide on a surface of the metal nanoparticle. | 01-31-2013 |
20130025658 | HETEROJUNCTION PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE AND FABRICATION METHOD - A photovoltaic device and method include a doped germanium-containing substrate, an emitter contact coupled to the substrate on a first side and a back contact coupled to the substrate on a side opposite the first side. The emitter includes at least one doped layer of an opposite conductivity type as that of the substrate and the back contact includes at least one doped layer of the same conductivity type as that of the substrate. The at least one doped layer of the emitter contact or the at least one doped layer of the back contact is in direct contact with the substrate, and the at least one doped layer of the emitter contact or the back contact includes an n-type material having an electron affinity smaller than that of the substrate, or a p-type material having a hole affinity larger than that of the substrate. | 01-31-2013 |
20130025659 | MULTI-JUNCTION PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE AND FABRICATION METHOD - A method of forming a photovoltaic device that includes bonding a substrate to a germanium-containing semiconductor layer with a stressor layer, wherein the stressor layer cleaves the germanium-containing semiconductor layer. At least one semiconductor layer is formed on a cleaved surface of the germanium-containing semiconductor layer that is opposite the conductivity type of the germanium-containing semiconductor layer to provide a first solar cell. The first solar cell absorbs a first range of wavelengths. At least one second solar cell may be formed on the first solar cell, wherein the at least one second solar cell is composed of at least one semiconductor material to absorb a second range of wavelengths that is different than the first range wavelengths absorbed by the first solar cell. | 01-31-2013 |
20130025660 | PROCESSES FOR PHOTOVOLTAIC ABSORBERS WITH COMPOSITIONAL GRADIENTS - Processes for making a photovoltaic absorber by depositing various layers of components on a substrate and converting the components into a thin film photovoltaic absorber material. Processes of this disclosure can be used to make a photovoltaic absorber having a concentration gradient of various atoms. CIGS thin film solar cells can be made. | 01-31-2013 |
20130025661 | Thin Film Type Solar Cell and Method for Manufacturing the Same - A thin film type solar cell and a method for manufacturing the same is disclosed, which is capable of providing a wide light-transmission area without lowering cell efficiency and increasing processing time, so that the solar cell can be used as a substitute for a glass window in a building. The thin film type solar cell generally comprises a substrate; a plurality of front electrodes at fixed intervals on the substrate; a plurality of semiconductor layers at fixed intervals with a contact portion or separating channel interposed in-between, the plurality of semiconductor layers on the plurality of front electrodes; and a plurality of rear electrodes at fixed intervals by the each separating channel interposed in-between, the each rear electrode being electrically connected with the each front electrode; wherein the each rear electrode is patterned in such a way that a light-transmitting portion is included in a predetermined portion of the rear electrode. | 01-31-2013 |
20130032201 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION ELEMENT, PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE, AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION ELEMENT - [Problem] In the case of further stacking a window layer or the like on a buffer layer, the buffer layer and the light absorption layer are likely to be damaged during the formation of the window layer due to inferior moisture resistance and plasma resistance, and photoelectric conversion elements sometimes fail to achieve any satisfactory conversion efficiency in terms of reliability. | 02-07-2013 |
20130042906 | QUANTUM-DOT SENSITIZED SOLAR CELL - A quantum dot sensitized solar cell including an anode, a cathode and an electrolyte is provided. The anode includes a semiconductor electrode adsorbed with a plurality of quantum dots. The quantum dots have a broad light absorption range that covers the ultraviolet, visible and infrared regions. The broad absorption range increases the ability of light harvesting, and accordingly, leads to an improved conversion efficiency of the solar cell. | 02-21-2013 |
20130042907 | SOLAR CELL DEVICE - Disclosed is a photovoltaic device comprising: a substrate; a III-V solar cell structure having one p-n junction on the substrate; a first semiconductor window layer on the III-V solar cell structure; a second semiconductor window layer on the first semiconductor window layer; an anti-reflective layer on the second semiconductor window layer; a contact layer disposed in the anti-reflective layer and on the second semiconductor window layer; and an electrode on the contact layer, wherein the second semiconductor window layer does not contain aluminum. | 02-21-2013 |
20130042908 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS BASED ON NANOSCALE STRUCTURES - Novel structures of photovoltaic cells (also known as solar cells) are provided. The Cells are based on the nanometer-scaled wire, tubes, and/or rods, which are made of the electronics materials covering semiconductors, insulator or metallic in structure. These photovoltaic cells have large power generation capability per unit physical area over the conventional cells. These cells can have also high radiation tolerant capability. These cells will have enormous applications such as in space, in commercial, residential and industrial applications. | 02-21-2013 |
20130042909 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS BASED ON NANOSCALE STRUCTURES - Novel structures of photovoltaic cells (also known as solar cells) are provided. The Cells are based on the nanometer-scaled wire, tubes, and/or rods, which are made of the electronics materials covering semiconductors, insulator or metallic in structure. These photovoltaic cells have large power generation capability per unit physical area over the conventional cells. These cells can have also high radiation tolerant capability. These cells will have enormous applications such as in space, in commercial, residential and industrial applications. | 02-21-2013 |
20130048061 | MONOLITHIC MULTI-JUNCTION PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL AND METHOD - A device and method for fabrication of a multi-junction photovoltaic device includes providing a parent substrate including a single crystal III-V material. The parent substrate forms a III-V cell of the multi-junction photovoltaic device. A lattice-matched Germanium layer is epitaxially grown on the III-V material to form a final cell of the multi-junction photovoltaic device. The Germanium layer is bonded to a foreign substrate. | 02-28-2013 |
20130048062 | SOLAR CELL COMPRISING BULK HETEROJUNCTION INORGANIC THIN FILM AND FABRICATION OF THE SOLAR CELL - Provided is a bulk heterojunction inorganic thin film solar cell and a method for fabricating the same. More particularly, the solar cell includes an inorganic thin film having a bulk heterojunction formed by using vertically grown n-type semiconductor nanostructure electrodes and filling the void spaces among the nanostructures with p-type semiconductor materials, unlike the known planar type inorganic thin film solar cells including n-type semiconductors and p-type semiconductors. | 02-28-2013 |
20130056051 | SOLAR CELL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - A solar cell is formed to have a silicon semiconductor substrate of a first conductive type; an emitter layer having a second conductive type opposite the first conductive type and formed on a first surface of the silicon semiconductor substrate; a back surface field layer having the first conductive type and formed on a second surface of the silicon semiconductor substrate opposite to the first surface; and wherein the emitter layer includes at least a first shallow doping area and the back surface field layer includes at least a second shallow doping area, and wherein a thickness of the first shallow doping area of the emitter layer is different from a thickness of the second shallow doping area of the back surface field layer. | 03-07-2013 |
20130056052 | THIN FILM SOLAR CELL - A thin film solar cell includes a substrate, a first electrode positioned on the substrate, a second electrode separated from the first electrode, and a photoelectric conversion unit positioned between the first electrode and the second electrode. The photoelectric conversion unit includes a p-type semiconductor layer, an intrinsic semiconductor layer, and an n-type semiconductor layer. The p-type semiconductor layer includes a first doped layer, a second doped layer, and a third doped layer. A carbon content of the second doped layer positioned between the first doped layer and the third doped layer is more than a carbon content of the first doped layer and a carbon content of the third doped layer. | 03-07-2013 |
20130056053 | SOLAR CELL - A device, system, and method for a multi-junction solar cell is described herein. An exemplary silicon germanium solar cell structure has a substrate with a graded buffer layer grown on the substrate. A base layer and emitter layer for a first solar cell are grown in or on the graded buffer layer. A first junction is provided between the emitter layer and the base layer. A second solar cell is grown on top of the first solar cell. | 03-07-2013 |
20130061915 | THIN FILM SOLAR CELLS AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - A thin film silicon solar cell including: a front transparent electrode stacked on a transparent insulating substrate; a p-type layer stacked on the front transparent electrode; an i-type photoelectric conversion layer stacked on the p-type layer; an n-type Saver stacked, on the i-type photoelectric conversion layer; and a metal back electrode layer stacked on the n-type layer, wherein the n-type layer includes: an n-type amorphous silicon first n layer which is stacked on the i-type photoelectric conversion layer and has a thickness of 3 nm to 7 nm; and an n-type silicon second n layer which is stacked on the first n layer and has a thickness of 15 nm to 30 nm and is more highly hydrogen-diluted than the first n layer. | 03-14-2013 |
20130074911 | Photovoltaic Device Including a CZTS Absorber Layer and Method of Manufacturing the Same - A photovoltaic device including a CZTS absorber layer and method for manufacturing the same are disclosed. The photovoltaic device includes a substrate, a bottom electrode, an absorber layer formed on the bottom electrode, a buffer layer formed on the absorber layer and a top electrode layer formed on the buffer layer. The absorber layer includes a first region adjacent to the bottom electrode and a second region adjacent to the first region. Both of the first region and the second region include a formula of Cu | 03-28-2013 |
20130074912 | BAND STRUCTURE ENGINEERING FOR IMPROVED EFFICIENCY OF CDTE BASED PHOTOVOLTAICS - Disclosed is a solar cell or component thereof that includes a p-type thin film solar light absorbing layer having one or more compositions of group II-VI alloys described as CdTe | 03-28-2013 |
20130081679 | MULTIJUNCTION HYBRID SOLAR CELL INCORPORATING VERTICALLY-ALIGNED SILICON NANOWIRES WITH THIN FILMS - A low-cost method is provided for forming a photovoltaic device, which is a high-performance nanostructured multijunction cell. The multiple P-N junctions or P-I-N junctions are contiguously joined to form a single contiguous P-N junction or a single contiguous P-I-N junction. The photovoltaic device integrates vertically-aligned semiconductor nanowires including a doped semiconductor material with a thin silicon layer having an opposite type of doping. This novel hybrid cell can provide a higher efficiency than conventional photovoltaic devices through the combination of the enhanced photon absorptance, reduced contact resistance, and short carrier transport paths in the nanowires. Room temperature processes or low temperature processes such as plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) and electrochemical processes can be employed for fabrication of this photovoltaic device in a low-cost, scalable, and energy-efficient manner. | 04-04-2013 |
20130081680 | SOLAR CELL WITH DOPED GROOVE REGIONS SEPARATED BY RIDGES - Solar cells with doped groove regions separated by ridges and methods of fabricating solar cells are described. In an example, a solar cell includes a substrate having a surface with a plurality of grooves and ridges. A first doped region of a first conductivity type is disposed in a first of the grooves. A second doped region of a second conductivity type, opposite the first conductivity type, is disposed in a second of the grooves. The first and second grooves are separated by one of the ridges. | 04-04-2013 |
20130081681 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE - This disclosure discloses a light-emitting device. The light-emitting device comprises a substrate; a first photovoltaic cell disposed over the substrate comprising a base layer having a first conductivity type; an emitter layer having a second conductivity type; a window layer having the second conductivity type; an intermediate structure between the emitter layer and the window layer having the second conductivity type, and comprising a first portion adjacent to the emitter layer and a second portion on the first portion. The first portion comprises a bandgap energy higher than that of the emitter layer and the intermediate structure is substantially lattice matched with the emitter layer. | 04-04-2013 |
20130081682 | POLYCRYSTALLINE CDTE THIN FILM SEMICONDUCTOR PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL STRUCTURES FOR USE IN SOLAR ELECTRICITY GENERATION - A reverse p-n junction solar cell device and methods for forming the reverse p-n junction solar cell device are described. A variety of n-p junction and reverse p-n junction solar cell devices and related methods of manufacturing are provided. N-intrinsic-p junction and reverse p-intrinsic-n junction solar cell devices are also described. | 04-04-2013 |
20130081683 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION ELEMENT AND METHOD OF PRODUCING THE SAME - The present invention provides a photoelectric conversion element having high efficiency in propagating carrier excitation by use of enhanced electric fields. The photoelectric conversion element comprises a photoelectric conversion layer including two or more laminated semiconductor layers placed between two electrode layers, and is characterized by having an electric field enhancing layer placed between the semiconductor layers in the photoelectric conversion layer. The electric field enhancing layer is provided with a metal-made minute structure, and the minute structure is, for example, a porous membrane or a group of nano-objects such as very small spheres. | 04-04-2013 |
20130081684 | Multi-Junction Solar Cells - Solar cell structures including multiple sub-cells that incorporate different materials that may have different lattice constants. In some embodiments, solar cell devices include several photovoltaic junctions. | 04-04-2013 |
20130081685 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE - A photoelectric conversion device including a substrate and a pin type photoelectric conversion layer disposed on the surface of the substrate is provided. The pin type photoelectric conversion layer includes a first pin type photoelectric conversion layer formed by stacking a p type semiconductor layer, an i type semiconductor layer serving as an amorphous semiconductor layer and an n type semiconductor layer. The first pin type photoelectric conversion layer includes the first portion located on a part of the surface of the substrate and the second portion located on another part of the surface of the substrate. The first portion is higher in concentration of at least one impurity element selected from oxygen, nitrogen and carbon than the second portion. The first portion is less in thickness than the second portion. | 04-04-2013 |
20130087188 | Photovoltaic Cell Comprising A Thin Lamina Having A Rear Junction And Method Of Making - Fabrication of a photovoltaic cell comprising a thin semiconductor lamina may require additional processing after the semiconductor lamina is bonded to a receiver. To minimize high-temperature steps after bonding, the p-n junction is formed at the back of the cell, at the bonded surface. In some embodiments, the front surface of the semiconductor lamina is not doped or is locally doped using low-temperature methods. The base resistivity of the photovoltaic cell may be reduced, allowing a front surface field to be reduced or omitted. | 04-11-2013 |
20130092218 | BACK-SURFACE FIELD STRUCTURES FOR MULTI-JUNCTION III-V PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES - A multi-junction III-V photovoltaic device is provided that includes at least one top cell comprised of at least one III-V compound semiconductor material; and a bottom cell in contact with a surface of the at least one top cell. The bottom cell includes a germanium-containing layer in contact with the at least one top cell, at least one intrinsic hydrogenated silicon-containing layer in contact with a surface of the germanium-containing layer, and at least one doped hydrogenated silicon-containing layer in contact with a surface of the at least one intrinsic hydrogenated silicon-containing layer. The intrinsic and doped silicon-containing layers can be amorphous, nano/micro-crystalline, poly-crystalline or single-crystalline. | 04-18-2013 |
20130092219 | SOLAR CELL - The present invention provides a solar cell comprising a laminate of a photoelectric conversion layer, a metal porous membrane and a refractive index adjusting layer. The metal porous membrane is positioned on the light-incident side, is directly in contact with the photoelectric conversion layer, and has plural openings bored though the membrane. The refractive index adjusting layer covers at least a part of the surface of the metal porous membrane and of the inner surfaces of the openings, and has a refractive index of 1.35 to 4.2 inclusive. If adopting a nano-fabricated metal membrane as an electrode, the present invention enables to provide a solar cell capable of realizing efficient photoelectric conversion by use of electric field-enhancement effect. | 04-18-2013 |
20130092220 | APPARATUS FOR GENERATING ELECTRICITY USING SOLAR POWER AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SAME - Disclosed are a solar cell apparatus and a method of fabricating the same. The solar cell apparatus includes a substrate, a back electrode layer on the substrate, a light absorbing layer on the back electrode layer, a first window layer including a first oxide on the light absorbing layer, and a second window layer provided on the first window layer and including a second oxide having a composition ratio of oxygen higher than a composition ratio of oxygen contained in the first oxide. | 04-18-2013 |
20130092221 | INTERMEDIATE BAND SOLAR CELL HAVING SOLUTION-PROCESSED COLLOIDAL QUANTUM DOTS AND METAL NANOPARTICLES - The present invention relates to a solar cell and to a method of manufacturing thereof, the solar cell comprising: a layer of an n-doped semiconductor, a layer of a p-doped semiconductor and an intermediate band layer being disposed between the n-doped and the p-doped semiconductor layers, the intermediate band layer comprising: an amorphous semiconducting host material, a plurality of colloidal quantum dots embedded in the host material and substantially uniformly distributed therein, each quantum dot comprising a core surrounded by a shell, the shell comprising a material having a higher bandgap than that of the host material, and a plurality of metal nanoparticles embedded in the host material and located at least in a plane where a plurality of quantum dots are distributed. | 04-18-2013 |
20130092222 | Nanostructured Solar Cells Utilizing Charge Plasma - A device includes a generally planar substrate and a plurality of light absorbing elements extending outwardly from the substrate. Each of the light absorbing elements includes a doped outer shell, an inner core disposed inside the outer shell and a two-dimensional electron gas sheet extending and confined between the outer shell and the inner core, with a concentric cylinder of two-dimensional electron or hole gas produced in the junction between the outer shell and the inner core. | 04-18-2013 |
20130098432 | SOLAR CELLS - Solar cells are provided. The solar cell may include a substrate, a first electrode on the substrate, a first light absorption layer disposed on the first electrode and including silicon containing oxygen, a second light absorption layer disposed on the first light absorption layer and including silicon containing germanium, and a second electrode on the second light absorption layer. The first light absorption layer may include a plurality of semiconductor layers which have oxygen-content ratios different from each other, respectively. The second light absorption layer may include a plurality of semiconductor layers which have germanium-content ratios different from each other, respectively. | 04-25-2013 |
20130098433 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE AND METHOD OF FORMATION - An improved photovoltaic device and methods of manufacturing the same that includes an interface layer adjacent to a semiconductor absorber layer, where the interface layer includes a material in the semiconductor layer which decreases in concentration from the side of the interface layer contacting the absorber layer to an opposite side of the interface layer. | 04-25-2013 |
20130098434 | SOLAR CELL - Disclosed is a solar cell wherein a diffusion region containing an impurity of a second conductivity type provided on a light-receiving surface side of a silicon substrate containing an impurity of a first conductivity type has a first diffusion region and second diffusion regions. Surfaces of the second diffusion regions are higher in concentration of the impurity of the second conductivity type than a surface of the first diffusion region. The second diffusion regions are arranged spaced apart from one another. A light-receiving surface electrode is connected to a plurality of the second diffusion regions. | 04-25-2013 |
20130104967 | SOLAR CELL | 05-02-2013 |
20130104968 | Photoactive Component Comprising Organic Layers | 05-02-2013 |
20130104969 | SEMICONDUCTOR FERROELECTRIC COMPOSITIONS AND THEIR USE IN PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES | 05-02-2013 |
20130104970 | FOUR JUNCTION SOLAR CELL | 05-02-2013 |
20130112252 | SOLAR CELL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - A solar cell including a first conductive type semiconductor substrate; a first conductive type first semiconductor layer on a back surface of the semiconductor substrate; a second conductive type second semiconductor layer on the back surface of the semiconductor substrate at a height different from the first semiconductor layer, the second semiconductor layer being separated from the first semiconductor layer; and a passivation layer on the back surface of the semiconductor substrate. The passivation layer covers at least a portion of the first semiconductor layer and at least a portion of the second semiconductor layer. The passivation layer includes impurities. | 05-09-2013 |
20130112253 | SOLAR CELL - A solar cell including a first conductive type semiconductor substrate; a first intrinsic semiconductor layer on a front surface of the semiconductor substrate; a first conductive type first semiconductor layer on at least one surface of the first intrinsic semiconductor layer; a second conductive type second semiconductor layer on a back surface of the semiconductor substrate; a second intrinsic semiconductor layer between the second semiconductor layer and the semiconductor substrate; a first conductive type third semiconductor layer on the back surface of the semiconductor substrate, the third semiconductor layer being spaced apart from the second semiconductor layer; and a third intrinsic semiconductor layer between the third semiconductor layer and the semiconductor substrate. | 05-09-2013 |
20130112254 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL - A photovoltaic cell of high efficiency may be obtained using metallic nanoparticles or nanostructures as the main light absorbing element in the photosensitive layer of the cell, which absorb the light through a surface plasmon or polaron mechanism. The cell comprises at least one photosensitive layer containing nanoparticles or nanostructures each between a n-doped and a p-doped charge transport layer, characterized in that
| 05-09-2013 |
20130118565 | TEMPERATURE GRADING FOR BAND GAP ENGINEERING OF PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES - A method for fabricating a photovoltaic device includes depositing a p-type layer at a first temperature and depositing an intrinsic layer while gradually increasing a deposition temperature to a final temperature. The intrinsic layer deposition is completed at the final temperature. An n-type layer is formed on the intrinsic layer. | 05-16-2013 |
20130118566 | HIGH EFFICIENCY MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELLS - Multijunction solar cells having at least four subcells are disclosed, in which at least one of the subcells comprises a base layer formed of an alloy of one or more elements from group III on the periodic table, nitrogen, arsenic, and at least one element selected from the group consisting of Sb and Bi, and each of the subcells is substantially lattice matched. Methods of manufacturing solar cells and photovoltaic systems comprising at least one of the multijunction solar cells are also disclosed. | 05-16-2013 |
20130118567 | TANDEM SOLAR CELL USING AMORPHOUS SILICON SOLAR CELL AND ORGANIC SOLAR CELL - A tandem solar cell comprising an amorphous silicon solar cell including a photoactive layer made of amorphous silicon; and an organic solar cell including a photoactive layer made of an organic material, which are stacked and electrically connected in series can absorb a wider wavelength range of light, exhibit improved open-circuit voltage (V | 05-16-2013 |
20130118568 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION MEMBER - It is an object of this invention to provide a photoelectric conversion member including a heat dissipation mechanism which is more excellent in heat dissipation characteristics than conventional mechanisms. A photoelectric conversion member | 05-16-2013 |
20130125964 | SOLAR CELL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - A solar cell including a crystalline semiconductor substrate having a first conductive type; a first doping layer on a front surface of the substrate and being doped with a first conductive type impurity; a front surface antireflection film on the front surface of the substrate; a back surface antireflection film on a back surface of the substrate; an intrinsic semiconductor layer, an emitter, and a first auxiliary electrode stacked on the back surface antireflection film and the substrate; a second doping layer on the back surface of the substrate and being doped with the first impurity; an insulating film on the substrate and including an opening overlying the second doping layer; a second auxiliary electrode in the opening and overlying the second doping layer; a first electrode on the first auxiliary electrode; and a second electrode on the second auxiliary electrode and being separated from the first electrode. | 05-23-2013 |
20130125965 | NANOPILLAR TUNNELING PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL - The present disclosure relates to a nanopillar tunneling photovoltaic (“NPTPV”), and method for fabricating it. The NPTPV device has a regular array of semiconductor pillar cores formed on a substrate having a conductive surface. Layers of high-k material are formed on the cores to provide an efficient tunneling layer for electrons (or holes) generated by incident photons in the cores. Transparent conductive collector layers are formed on the tunneling layer to collect the tunneled carriers. An optimized deposition process, various surface preparations, an interfacial layer between the pillars and the high-k tunnel layer, and optimized pre- and post-deposition annealing reduce the interface trap density and thus reduce recombination prior to tunneling. The absence of a junction also reduces core recombination, resulting in a high short-circuit current. Modifying the collector material and core doping tunes the open-circuit voltage. Such NPTPVs result in large-scale low-cost PVs. | 05-23-2013 |
20130125966 | SOLAR CELL WITH PHOTON COLLECTING MEANS - A solar cell is disclosed. The solar cell includes a p-type doped semiconductor material and an n-type doped semiconductor material laterally adjacent to the p-type material. The p-type material and n-type material form a stripped structure with finite depth, and form a vertically structured diode at the junction of the p-type material and n-type material. The vertically structured diode has its depth determined by a multiple of an electromagnetic skin depth of at least one of the p-type material or n-type material, and a width of a depletion layer is controlled by a doping concentration of the p-type and n-type material. A solar cell having a refractory material forming an optical element provided on a sun facing surface of the solar cell and adapted to direct photons to a depletion region of a vertically structured photodiode is also disclosed. | 05-23-2013 |
20130125967 | SOLAR CELL - A solar cell includes a substrate, and a plurality of strip-shaped p type impurity diffusion regions and a plurality of strip-shaped n type impurity diffusion regions in one surface of the substrate adjacently. The p type impurity diffusion region has an area ratio of not less than 60%, an area ratio larger than 80%, in particular, to the surface of the substrate. | 05-23-2013 |
20130133728 | BACK-CONTACT HETEROJUNCTION SOLAR CELL - A back-contact heterojunction solar cell, having a first conductive type silicon substrate, a first amorphous semiconductor layer, a second amorphous semiconductor layer, a first conductive type semiconductor layer, a second conductive type semiconductor layer and a second conductive type doped region is introduced. The first amorphous semiconductor layer disposed on the illuminated surface of the silicon substrate is an intrinsic semiconductor layer or is of the first conductive type. The second amorphous semiconductor layer disposed on the non-illuminated surface of the silicon substrate is an intrinsic semiconductor layer. The first and the second conductive type semiconductor layers are disposed on the second amorphous semiconductor layer. The second conductive type doped region is located in the silicon substrate under the second conductive type semiconductor layer and is in contact with the second amorphous semiconductor layer. | 05-30-2013 |
20130133729 | SOLAR CELL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - A solar cell includes a semiconductor substrate, a first intrinsic semiconductor layer and a second intrinsic semiconductor layer on the semiconductor substrate, the first intrinsic semiconductor layer and the second intrinsic semiconductor layer being spaced apart from each other, a first conductive semiconductor layer and a second conductive semiconductor layer respectively disposed on the first intrinsic semiconductor layer and the second intrinsic semiconductor layer, and a first electrode and a second electrode, each including a bottom layer on the first conductive semiconductor layer and the second conductive semiconductor layer, respectively, the bottom layer including a transparent conductive oxide, and an intermediate layer on the bottom layer, the intermediate layer being including copper. | 05-30-2013 |
20130133730 | THIN FILM INP-BASED SOLAR CELLS USING EPITAXIAL LIFT-OFF - Methods of producing single-junction or multi-junction InP-based solar cells grown latticed-matched on a InP substrate or grown on metamorphic layers on a GaAs substrate, with the substrate subsequently removed in a nondestructive manner via the epitaxial lift-off (ELO) technique, and devices produced using the methods are described herein. | 05-30-2013 |
20130139875 | THIN-FILM SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR FORMING THE SAME - The present invention discloses a thin-film solar cell and a method for forming the same. The thin-film solar cell includes a substrate and a semiconductor layer containing a P-type crystalline silicon layer over the substrate, a first I-type crystalline silicon layer on the P-type crystalline silicon layer, a first N-type crystalline silicon layer on the first I-type crystalline silicon layer, a second I-type crystalline silicon layer on the first N-type crystalline silicon layer and a second N-type crystalline silicon layer on the second I-type crystalline silicon layer. Wherein, the semiconductor layer is formed with additional I-type and N-type crystalline silicon layers, thereby enhancing the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the thin-film solar cell. | 06-06-2013 |
20130139876 | METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SOLAR CELL - A manufacturing includes forming an insulating layer covering a portion of a first semiconductor layer on a semiconductor substrate, removing a portion of the first semiconductor layer which is not covered with the insulating layer with an etchant to expose a potion of the first main surface, and cleaning the first main surface using a cleaning liquid containing hydrofluoric acid. An etching rate by the etchant to etch the first semiconductor layer is higher than an etching rate by the etchant to etch a first surface layer of the insulating layer, the first surface layer being on the side opposite to the first semiconductor layer. An etching rate by the cleaning liquid to etch a second surface layer of the insulating layer, the second surface layer being on the first semiconductor layer side, is lower than an etching rate by the cleaning liquid to etch the first surface layer. | 06-06-2013 |
20130139877 | INVERTED METAMORPHIC MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELL WITH GRADATION IN DOPING IN THE WINDOW LAYER - A multijunction solar cell including a window layer with a gradation in doping; an upper first solar subcell having a first band gap adjacent to the window layer; a second solar subcell adjacent to said first solar subcell; a first graded interlayer adjacent to said second solar subcell, said first graded interlayer having a third band gap greater than said second band gap; a third solar subcell adjacent to said first graded interlayer; a second interlayer adjacent to said third solar subcell, said second graded interlayer having a fifth band gap greater than said fourth band gap; a fourth solar subcell adjacent to said second graded interlayer, such that said fourth subcell is lattice mismatched with respect to said third subcell. | 06-06-2013 |
20130146131 | MULTIPLE-JUNCTION PHOTOELECTRIC DEVICE AND ITS PRODUCTION PROCESS - A multiple-junction photoelectric device includes sequentially, a substrate, a first conducting layer, at least two elementary photoelectric devices, at least one of the elementary photoelectric devices being made of microcrystalline silicon, and a second conducting layer. The first conducting layer has a surface facing the microcrystalline silicon elementary photoelectric device such that the surface:
| 06-13-2013 |
20130146132 | CRYSTALLINE SILICON-BASED SOLAR CELL - The present invention improves a photoelectric conversion efficiency of a crystalline silicon-based solar cell. The crystalline silicon based solar cell includes a silicon-based thin-film of a first conductivity type and a first transparent electrode layer, in this order, on one surface of a conductive single-crystal silicon substrate, and a silicon-based thin-film of the opposite conductivity type and a second transparent electrode layer, in this order, on the other surface of the conductive single-crystal silicon substrate. The first and second transparent electrode layers are each formed of a transparent conductive metal oxide, and the first transparent electrode layer preferably has at least two layers, and a total thickness of 50 to 120 nm, wherein the carrier density of the substrate-side electroconductive layer is higher than that of the surface-side electroconductive layer, and the carrier density of the surface-side electroconductive layer is 1 to 4×10 | 06-13-2013 |
20130153011 | SOLAR CELL SYSTEM - A solar cell system includes a number of P-N junction cells, a number of inner electrodes, a first collecting electrode, a second collecting electrode and a reflector. The number of the P-N junction cells is M. M is equal to or greater than 2. The M P-N junction cells are arranged from a first P-N junction cell to an Mth P-N junction cell along the straight line. The P-N junction cells are arranged in series along a straight line. The number of the inner electrodes is M−1. At least one inner electrode includes a carbon nanotube array. A photoreceptive surface is parallel to the straight line. A reflector is located on an emitting surface opposite to the photoreceptive surface. | 06-20-2013 |
20130153012 | Hybrid Photovoltaic Cells and Related Methods - Embodiments of the present invention involve photovoltaic (PV) cells comprising a semiconducting nanorod-nanocrystal-polymer hybrid layer, as well as methods for fabricating the same. In PV cells according to this invention, the nanocrystals may serve both as the light-absorbing material and as the heterojunctions at which excited electron-hole pairs split. | 06-20-2013 |
20130153013 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE - Methods and apparatus are provided for converting electromagnetic radiation, such as solar energy, into electric energy with increased efficiency when compared to conventional solar cells. One embodiment of the present invention provides a photovoltaic (PV) device. The PV device comprises an absorber layer made of a compound semiconductor; and an emitter layer located closer than the absorber layer to a first side of the device. The PV device includes a p-n junction formed between the emitter layer and the absorber layer, the p-n junction causing a voltage to be generated in the device in response to the device being exposed to light at a second side of the device. Such innovations may allow for greater efficiency and flexibility in PV devices when compared to conventional solar cells. | 06-20-2013 |
20130153014 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERTER AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERTER - A photoelectric converter is disclosed. The photoelectric converter includes an electrode layer and a semiconductor layer. The semiconductor layer is on the electrode layer. The semiconductor layer contains a chalcopyrite compound semiconductor. The semiconductor layer comprises a plurality of sub-layers. The plurality of sub-layers comprises a first sub-layer. The first sub-layer is located closest to the electrode layer. The first sub-layer has a first thickness smaller than an average thickness of the rest of the plurality of sub-layers. | 06-20-2013 |
20130160828 | THIN-FILM SOLAR CELL - The present invention discloses a thin-film solar cell, which comprises an electrode layer and a semiconductor layer. The semiconductor layer comprises a P-type layer, an I-type layer and an N-type layer. The P-type layer is disposed on the electrode layer. The I-type layer comprises an I-type amorphous silicon layer and an I-type polymorphous silicon layer. The I-type amorphous silicon layer is disposed on the P-type layer. The I-type polymorphous silicon layer is disposed on the I-type amorphous silicon layer. The N-type layer is disposed on the I-type polymorphous silicon layer. Wherein, the I-type polymorphous silicon layer generates a crystalline diffraction event and reduces photolysis reaction for enhancing the conversion efficiency of the thin-film solar cell. | 06-27-2013 |
20130160829 | Photoactive Component Having a Plurality of Transport Layer Systems - A photoactive component has an electrode and an opposing electrode. The electrodes have at least one organic layer system arranged between them, also having at least two photoactive layer systems and, between the photoactive layer systems, at least two different transport layer systems have the same charge carrier type. In this case, one transport layer system matches one of the two photoactive layer systems in energy terms, while the other transport layer system is of transparent design. | 06-27-2013 |
20130167915 | HIGH-EFFICIENCY PHOTOVOLTAIC BACK-CONTACT SOLAR CELL STRUCTURES AND MANUFACTURING METHODS USING THREE-DIMENSIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR ABSORBERS - Back contact back junction three dimensional solar cell and methods for manufacturing are provided. The back contact back contact back junction three dimensional solar cell comprises a three-dimensional substrate. The substrate comprises a light capturing frontside surface with a passivation layer, a doped base region, and a doped backside emitter region with a polarity opposite the doped base region. A backside passivation layer is positioned on the doped backside emitter region. Backside emitter contacts and backside base contacts connected to metal interconnects and selectively formed on three-dimensional features of the backside of three-dimensional solar cell. | 07-04-2013 |
20130167916 | THIN FILM PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS AND METHODS OF FORMING THE SAME - A thin film photovoltaic cell and method for forming the same. The thin film photovoltaic cell includes a first electrode layer formed on a substrate. An absorber layer of a first dopant-type is formed on the first electrode layer. The absorber layer has an opening extending partially into the absorber layer from a top surface of the absorber layer. The opening has side walls and a bottom surface. A buffer layer of a second dopant type is formed on the top surface of the absorber layer, the side walls of the opening and the bottom surface of the opening A second electrode layer is formed on the buffer layer. | 07-04-2013 |
20130167917 | THIN FILM TYPE SOLAR CELLS AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - Disclosed is a thin film silicon solar cell including: a substrate; a first electrode which is stacked on the substrate; a unit cell which is stacked on the first electrode; and a second electrode which is stacked on the unit cell, wherein the unit cell includes a p-type window layer, an i-type photoelectric conversion layer and an n-type layer, and wherein the n-type layer includes an n-type silicon alloy reflector profiled such that a concentration of a refractive index reduction element is changed gradually or alternately with the increase in a distance from a light incident side. | 07-04-2013 |
20130167918 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE - Disclosed is a photovoltaic device including a first electrode including a transparent conductive oxide layer; a metal oxide layer which is placed on the first electrode; a photoelectric conversion layer which is placed on the metal oxide layer and includes a p-type semiconductor layer, an intrinsic semiconductor layer and an n-type semiconductor layer; and a second electrode which is placed on the photoelectric conversion layer. | 07-04-2013 |
20130174893 | Lateral Solar Cell Structure - A system, method, and apparatus for a lateral solar cell structure are disclosed herein. In particular, the present disclosure teaches a lateral solar cell structure that includes nanorods that are formed the during epitaxial growth process to produce electrodes extending into the absorber region. This structure allows for a long optical absorption length of the absorber, such as 0.5-3 microns, but also allows for carrier collection over sub-micron distances enabling high collection efficiency from materials with a sub-micron diffusion length. The disclosed method of manufacturing the lateral solar cell structure involves providing a substrate, and epitaxially growing an absorber region and an emitter region on the substrate. The emitter region comprises a plurality of nanorods extending into the absorber region. The absorber region and the nanorods are oppositely doped. The absorber region and the nanorods are also oppositely strained. | 07-11-2013 |
20130174894 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE - A solar cell is provided with: a first conductivity layer comprising a first conductivity type material; a sensitizer layer formed on the first conductivity layer; and a second conductivity layer comprising a second conductivity type material and formed on the sensitizer layer. At least one of the first conductivity layer, the second conductivity layer and the sensitizer layer has a first semiconductor of a first film thickness and a second semiconductor of a second film thickness. | 07-11-2013 |
20130174895 | Back Contact Buffer Layer for Thin-Film Solar Cells - A photovoltaic cell structure is disclosed that includes a buffer/passivation layer at a CdTe/Back contact interface. The buffer/passivation layer is formed from the same material that forms the n-type semiconductor active layer. In one embodiment, the buffer layer and the n-type semiconductor active layer are formed from cadmium sulfide (CdS). A method of forming a photovoltaic cell includes the step of forming the semiconductor active layers and the buffer/passivation layer within the same deposition chamber and using the same material source. | 07-11-2013 |
20130174896 | TANDEM SOLAR CELL USING A SILICON MICROWIRE ARRAY AND AMORPHOUS SILICON PHOTOVOLTAIC LAYER - This invention relates to photovoltaic cells, devices, methods of making and using the same. | 07-11-2013 |
20130174897 | THIN FILM SOLAR CELL - A thin film solar cell includes a substrate, a first electrode positioned on the substrate, a second electrode which is separated from the first electrode, and at least one photoelectric conversion unit positioned between the first electrode and the second electrode. A photoelectric conversion unit positioned farthest from an incident surface of light among the at least one photoelectric conversion unit includes a plurality of first depressions. | 07-11-2013 |
20130174898 | THIN-FILM SOLAR CELL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - To improve the conversion efficiency of a thin film solar cell constituted by a pin junction-type thin film layer. Specifically, a thin film solar cell including a laminate which includes first diffusion layer made of semiconductor having p-type or n-type conductivity, a film-forming layer made of semiconductor having lower conductivity than the first diffusion layer, and second diffusion layer made of semiconductor having different polarity from the film-forming layer inside is provided. The first diffusion layer and the second diffusion layer have impurities distributed in a film-thickness direction with a concentration gradient. | 07-11-2013 |
20130174899 | A-SI:H ABSORBER LAYER FOR A-SI SINGLE- AND MULTIJUNCTION THIN FILM SILICON SOLAR CELLS - In order to improve a thin film solar cell with an amorphous silicon absorber layer being in single or in tandem configuration, the addressed absorber layer of a-Si:H is manufactured by plasma enhanced vapor deposition in an RF-SiH | 07-11-2013 |
20130180576 | Diamond-Like Carbon Electronic Devices and Methods of Manufacture - Materials, devices, and methods for enhancing performance of electronic devices such as solar cells, fuels cells, LEDs, thermoelectric conversion devices, and other electronic devices are disclosed and described. A diamond-like carbon electronic device can include a conductive diamond-like carbon cathode having specified carbon, hydrogen and sp | 07-18-2013 |
20130180577 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE - To provide a photoelectric conversion device including a passivation film in which an opening for connection to an electrode does not need to be provided. The photoelectric conversion device includes, between a pair of electrodes, a silicon substrate having p-type conductivity; a silicon semiconductor layer having n-type conductivity which is provided over one surface of the silicon substrate and in contact with one of the pair of electrodes; and an oxide semiconductor layer having p-type conductivity which is provided over the other surface of the silicon substrate and in contact with the other of the pair of electrodes. The oxide semiconductor layer is formed using an inorganic compound which contains an oxide of a metal belonging to any of Groups 4 to 8 in the periodic table as its main component and whose band gap is greater than or equal to 2 eV. | 07-18-2013 |
20130180578 | Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells - Methods are described for fabricating HIT solar cells, including double heterojunction and hybrid heterojunction-homojunction solar cells, with very thin single crystal silicon wafers, where the silicon wafer may be less than 80 microns thick, and even less than 50 microns thick. The methods overcome potential issues with handling these very thin wafers by using a process including epitaxial silicon deposition on a growth substrate, partial cell fabrication, attachment to a support substrate and then separation from the growth substrate. Some embodiments of the present invention may include a solar cell device architecture comprising the combination of a heterostructure on the front side of the device with a homojunction at the rear of the device. Furthermore, device performance may be enhanced by including a dielectric stack on the backside of the device for reflecting long wavelength infrared radiation. | 07-18-2013 |
20130180579 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE HAVING AN ABSORBER MULTILAYER AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A photovoltaic device having an absorber multilayer and methods of manufacturing the same are described. The absorber multilayer, which is formed adjacent to a window layer, may include a doped first cadmium telluride layer which contains a first dopant and an intrinsic second cadmium telluride layer. The absorber multilayer may further include at least a third cadmium telluride layer formed adjacent to a back contact. The at least third cadmium telluride layer may include doped or intrinsic cadmium telluride. | 07-18-2013 |
20130186455 | METHOD OF FORMING SINGLE-CRYSTAL SEMICONDUCTOR LAYERS AND PHOTOVALTAIC CELL THEREON - A method for forming single crystal or large-crystal-grain thin-film layers deposits a thin-film amorphous, nanocrystalline, microcrystalline, or polycrystalline layer, and laser-heats a seed spot having size on the order of a critical nucleation size of the thin-film layer. The single-crystal seed spot is extended into a single-crystal seed line by laser-heating one or more crystallization zones adjacent to the seed spot and drawing the zone across the thin-film layer. The single-crystal seed line is extended across the thin-film material layer into a single-crystal layer by laser-heating an adjacent linear crystallization zone and drawing the crystallization zone across the thin-film layer. Photovoltaic cells may be formed in or on the single-crystal layer. Tandem photovoltaic devices may be formed using one or several iterations of the method. The method may also be used to form single-crystal semiconductor thin-film transistors, such as for display devices, or to form single-crystal superconductor layers. | 07-25-2013 |
20130186456 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME - An aspect of the invention provides a solar cell that comprises a semiconductor substrate having a light-receiving surface and a rear surface; a first semiconductor layer having a first conductivity type; a second semiconductor layer having a second conductivity type, the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer being formed on the rear surface, and a trench formed in the rear surface, wherein the first semiconductor layer is formed on the rear surface in which the trench is not formed, and the second semiconductor layer is formed on a side surface of the trench in an arrangement direction in which the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer are alternately arranged and on a bottom surface of the trench. | 07-25-2013 |
20130186457 | SOLAR CELL, SOLAR CELL MANUFACTURING DEVICE, AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A solar cell, a solar cell manufacturing device, and a method for manufacturing the solar cell are discussed. The solar cell manufacturing device includes a chamber; an ion implantation unit configured to implant ions into a substrate inside the chamber and a mask positioned between the ion implantation unit and the substrate. The mask includes a first opening to form a lightly doped region having a first concentration at one surface of the substrate, a second opening to form a heavily doped region having a second concentration higher than the first concentration at the one surface of the substrate, and at least one connector formed to cross the second opening. The second opening includes finger openings formed in a first direction, and bus openings formed in a second direction crossing the first direction. | 07-25-2013 |
20130186458 | THERMO-TUNNELING DESIGN FOR QUANTUM WELL PHOTOVOLTAIC CONVERTER - A design of a quantum well region that allows faster and more efficient carrier collection in quantum well solar cells. It is shown that for a quantum well material system displaying a negligible valence band offset, the conduction band confinement energies and barrier thicknesses can be designed to favor a sequential thermionic promotion and resonant tunneling of electrons to the conduction band continuum resulting in faster carrier collection rates than for a conventional design. An evaluation of the proposed design in the context of devices incorporating GaAs/GaAsN quantum wells shows a collection of all photo-generated carriers within several to tenths of ps (10 | 07-25-2013 |
20130192666 | PHOTOCONVERSION DEVICE WITH ENHANCED PHOTON ABSORPTION - A photovoltaic device cell comprising a first light transmissive electrical contact, an active region, a second light transmissive electrical contact, and a layered structure enclosing the active region, the layered structure being formed of two parts, a first part underlying the first light transmissive electrical contact and a second part overlying the second electrical contact and wherein the constants of the layers in these layered structures are interdependent such that light is localized within the active region. | 08-01-2013 |
20130192667 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES AND METHOD OF MAKING - A photovoltaic device is presented. The photovoltaic device includes a transparent conductive layer; a window layer disposed on the transparent conductive layer; and an absorber layer disposed on the window layer. The window layer includes a low-diffusivity layer disposed adjacent to the transparent conductive layer and a high-diffusivity layer interposed between the low-diffusivity layer and the absorber layer. Method of making a photovoltaic device is also presented. | 08-01-2013 |
20130192668 | COMBINED HEAT AND POWER SOLAR SYSTEM - An apparatus is disclosed for converting incident light to electrical energy and heat. the apparatus includes an evacuated enclosure having at least a portion for admitting incident light; and an absorber member disposed at least partially in said enclosure to receive incident light. The absorber includes a selective surface which converts a portion of the incident light to heat. The selective surface comprises a photovoltaic layer which converts a portion of the incident light to electrical energy. In some embodiments, the absorber includes an elongated inner tube having an outer surface including the selective surface. | 08-01-2013 |
20130199601 | Organic Spintronic Devices and Methods for Making the Same - An organic spintronic photovoltaic device ( | 08-08-2013 |
20130199602 | SOLAR CELL WITH MICROSTRUCTURE THEREIN - A solar cell includes a substrate; multiple silicon rods formed on a surface of the substrate; an insulator layer formed on the surface of the substrate while the silicon rods are still exposed; a silicon shell layer formed on outside of each of the silicon rods; and a In | 08-08-2013 |
20130199603 | PHOTOSENSITIVE SOLID STATE HETEROJUNCTION DEVICE - The invention provides a solid-state p-n heterojunction comprising an organic p-type material in contact with an n-type material wherein said heterojunction is sensitised by at least one sensitizing agent, characterised in that the device comprises a cathode separated from said n-type material by a porous barrier layer of at least one insulating material. Also provided are opto-electronic devices such as solar cells or photo-sensors comprising such a p-n heterojunction, and methods for the manufacture of such a heterojunction or device. | 08-08-2013 |
20130199604 | SOLAR CELLS AND METHODS OF FABRICATION THEREOF - A solar cell comprises a region formed on a substrate. The region has a dopant. The region can be one of a selective emitter and a back surface field of the solar cell. A grid line is deposited over a first portion of the region. A dopant profile is generated that has a concentration of electrically active dopants at a surface portion on the first portion of the region smaller than the concentration of electrically active dopants at a distance away from the surface portion. In an embodiment, an electrical activity of a portion of the dopant is deactivated in a second portion of the region outside the grid line. The grid line is used as a mask for deactivating the dopant. | 08-08-2013 |
20130199605 | COMPOSITE OF GRAPHENE OXIDE AND NANOSTRUCTURES, METHODS OF MAKING AND APPLICATIONS OF SAME - A method of forming a graphene oxide based layer includes preparing a dispersion of graphene oxide and nanostructures, and spin coating the dispersion on a surface of a substrate to form a spin coated film thereon; and thermally annealing the spin coated film to form the graphene oxide based layer, where the mass ratio of the graphene oxide and the nanostructures in the graphene oxide based layer is in a range of about 1:0.01 w/w to 1:0.8 w/w. The nanostructures are functionalized with carboxylic acid. The nanostructures include carbon nanotubes, or nanofibers. The carbon nanotubes include single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) or multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). | 08-08-2013 |
20130206216 | TANDEM TYPE INTEGRATED PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - Disclosed is a tandem type integrated photovoltaic module. The tandem type integrated photovoltaic module includes: a first cell and a second cell, all of which are formed respectively by stacking on a substrate a lower electrode, a photoelectric conversion layer including a plurality of unit cell layers, and an upper electrode, wherein the lower electrode of the first cell and the lower electrode of the second cell are separated by a lower electrode separation groove, and wherein a plurality of through holes are formed to be spaced from each other in the photoelectric conversion layer of the second cell in order to connect the upper electrode of the first cell with the lower electrode of the second cell. | 08-15-2013 |
20130206217 | Photovoltaic Structures Having a Light Scattering Interface Layer and Methods of Making the Same - Photovoltaic (PV) cell structures having an integral light scattering interface layer configured to diffuse or scatter light prior to entering a semiconductor material and methods of making the same are described. | 08-15-2013 |
20130206218 | Photovoltaic Devices with Enhanced Exciton Diffusion - A photovoltaic device includes a first layer to generate excitons upon absorption of incident photons, the first layer having a first organic material diluted in a second different material, in which a highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of the first organic material is closer to a vacuum level than a HOMO of the second different material, and a lowest unoccupied molecular orbit (LUMO) of the first organic material is farther from the vacuum level than a LUMO of the second different material. | 08-15-2013 |
20130206219 | COOPERATIVE PHOTOVOLTAIC NETWORKS AND PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL ADAPTATIONS FOR USE THEREIN - Photovoltaic cells ( | 08-15-2013 |
20130213461 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - According to one embodiment, there is provided a method for manufacturing a photovoltaic cell. The method includes forming a structure including a pair of electrodes which are arranged apart from each other, and a hetero-junction type photoelectric conversion layer interposed between the electrodes and containing a p-type semiconductor and a n-type semiconductor, and annealing the photoelectric conversion layer thermally while applying an AC voltage having a frequency of 0.01 kHz or more and less than 1 kHz to control a mixed state of the p-type semiconductor and n-type semiconductor in the photoelectric conversion layer. | 08-22-2013 |
20130213462 | AXIALLY-INTEGRATED EPITAXIALLY-GROWN TANDEM WIRE ARRAYS - A photoelectrode, methods of making and using, including systems for water-splitting are provided. The photoelectrode can be a semiconducting material having a photocatalyst such as nickel or nickel-molybdenum coated on the material. The photoelectrode includes an elongated axially integrated wire having at least two different wire compositions. | 08-22-2013 |
20130213463 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SAME - The invention relates to a solar cell and to a method for manufacturing same. The solar cell contains a carbon structure layer; a microstructure formed on the carbon structure layer; and a thin-film layer covering the microstructure and including a charge separation junction part. | 08-22-2013 |
20130220406 | VERTICAL JUNCTION SOLAR CELL STRUCTURE AND METHOD - A non-close-packed vertical junction photovoltaic device includes a substrate, a two-dimensional array of elongate nanostructures extending substantially perpendicularly from a surface of the substrate, and a thin film solar cell disposed over the nanostructures such that the thin film solar cell substantially conforms to the topography of the nanostructures. An average separation of nearest neighbor solar cell coated nanostructures is greater than zero and less than a vacuum wavelength of light corresponding to a band gap of absorption. The thin film solar cell may include an active region that conforms to the elongate nanostructures, a first electrode that conforms to a surface of the active region, and a second electrode. A separation of opposing outer surfaces of the first electrode extending along adjacent elongate nanostructures is greater than zero and less than the vacuum wavelength of the light corresponding to the band gap of the active region. | 08-29-2013 |
20130220407 | Solar Cell with Delta Doping Layer - A solar cell including a base region, a back surface field layer and a delta doping layer positioned between the base region and the back surface field layer. | 08-29-2013 |
20130220408 | High Efficiency Flexible Solar Cells For Consumer Electronics - A flexible solar cell comprises an epitaxially grown III-V layer having a first layer grown on a base substrate, at least one intermediate layer grown on the first layer, and a cap layer grown on the at least one intermediate layer, the III-V layer being separated from the base substrate by controllably spalling the first layer from the base substrate; and a flexible substrate coupled to the epitaxially grown III-V layer. The flexible solar cell may be used to provide power to an electronic device. | 08-29-2013 |
20130220409 | LATTICE MATCHABLE ALLOY FOR SOLAR CELLS - An alloy composition for a subcell of a solar cell is provided that has a bandgap of at least 0.9 eV, namely, Ga | 08-29-2013 |
20130228215 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A method of manufacturing a solar cell according to an embodiment includes the steps of: forming an emitter layer by ion-implanting a first conductive type dopant to a first surface of a semiconductor substrate; and forming a back surface field layer by ion-implanting a second conductive type dopant to a second surface of the semiconductor substrate. When an additional dopant is a dopant other than the first and second conductive type dopants, an amount of the additional dopant doped during the forming the back surface field layer is larger than an amount of the additional dopant doped during the forming the emitter layer. | 09-05-2013 |
20130228216 | SOLAR CELL WITH GRADATION IN DOPING IN THE WINDOW LAYER - A multijunction solar cell including a window layer with a gradation in doping from the region in the window layer adjacent to the emitter region to the region in the window layer adjacent to the surface layer overlying the window layer, so that minority carriers in the window layer experience an electric field which would tend to drive them in the direction of the emitter layer, thereby increasing the efficiency of the solar cell. | 09-05-2013 |
20130228217 | SEMICONDUCTOR GRAIN AND OXIDE LAYER FOR PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS - Photovoltaic structures for the conversion of solar irradiance into electrical free energy. In a particular implementation, a photovoltaic cell includes a granular semiconductor and oxide layer with nanometer-size absorber semiconductor grains surrounded by a matrix of oxide. The semiconductor and oxide layer is disposed between electron and hole conducting layers. In some implementations, multiple semiconductor and oxide layers can be deposited. | 09-05-2013 |
20130240026 | PHOTOVOLTAIC SEMICONDUCTIVE MATERIALS - The disclosure provides semiconductive material derived from group IV elements that are useful for photovoltaic applications. | 09-19-2013 |
20130240027 | MULTIJUNCTION HYBRID SOLAR CELL WITH PARALLEL CONNECTION AND NANOMATERIAL CHARGE COLLECTING INTERLAYERS - A tandem (or multijunction) hybrid photovoltaic device (PV) device comprised of multiple stacked single PVs connected in parallel with each other is described herein. Furthermore, nanomaterials are used as transparent charge collecting electrodes that allow both parallel connection via anode interlayer and also “inverted parallel” connection via cathode type interlayer of different types of solar cells. Carbon nanotube sheets are used as a convenient example for the charge collecting electrodes. The development of these alternative interconnecting layers simplifies the process and may be also used for combined organic PVs with traditional inorganic PVs and Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSC). In addition, novel architectures are enabled that allow the parallel connection of the stacked PVs into monolithic multi-junction PV tandems. This new monolithic parallel connection architecture enables enhanced absorption of the solar spectrum and results in increased power conversions efficiency. Moreover, architectures where cells are stacked monolithically using a series connection can be coupled with cells to create mixed series and parallel connected tandem cells. | 09-19-2013 |
20130240028 | METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SOLAR CELL ELEMENT AND SOLAR CELL ELEMENT - A semiconductor substrate is prepared. A glass layer containing one conductivity type dopant is formed on one main surface of the semiconductor substrate. One conductivity type semiconductor region including a first concentration region having a first concentration as a dopant concentration, and a second concentration region having a second concentration as a dopant concentration higher than the first concentration is formed by heating the semiconductor substrate with the glass layer on the one main surface to diffuse the dopant in a surface part on the one main surface side of the semiconductor substrate. Surfaces of two or more portions apart from each other in the surface part on the one main surface side of the semiconductor substrate are roughened by locally heating the semiconductor substrate from above the glass layer, to form alignment reference parts. | 09-19-2013 |
20130240029 | TRENCH PROCESS AND STRUCTURE FOR BACKSIDE CONTACT SOLAR CELLS WITH POLYSILICON DOPED REGIONS - A solar cell includes polysilicon P-type and N-type doped regions on a backside of a substrate, such as a silicon wafer. A trench structure separates the P-type doped region from the N-type doped region. Each of the P-type and N-type doped regions may be formed over a thin dielectric layer. The trench structure may include a textured surface for increased solar radiation collection. Among other advantages, the resulting structure increases efficiency by providing isolation between adjacent P-type and N-type doped regions, thereby preventing recombination in a space charge region where the doped regions would have touched. | 09-19-2013 |
20130247966 | Nanostructured devices - A photovoltaic device is provided. It comprises at least two electrical contacts, p type dopants and n type dopants. It also comprises a bulk region and nanowires in an aligned array which contact the bulk region. All nanowires in the array have one predominant type of dopant, n or p, and at least a portion of the bulk region also comprises that predominant type of dopant. The portion of the bulk region comprising the predominant type of dopant typically contacts the nanowire array. The photovoltaic devices' p-n junction would then be found in the bulk region. The photovoltaic devices would commonly comprise silicon. | 09-26-2013 |
20130255758 | ARCHITECTURES AND CRITERIA FOR THE DESIGN OF HIGH EFFICIENCY ORGANIC PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS - An organic photovoltaic cell includes an anode and a cathode, and a plurality of organic semiconductor layers between the anode and the cathode. At least one of the anode and the cathode is transparent. Each two adjacent layers of the plurality of organic semiconductor layers are in direct contact. The plurality of organic semiconductor layers includes an intermediate layer consisting essentially of a photoconductive material, and two sets of at least three layers. A first set of at least three layers is between the intermediate layer and the anode. Each layer of the first set consists essentially of a different organic semiconductor material having a higher LUMO and a higher HOMO, relative to the material of an adjacent layer of the plurality of organic semiconductor layers closer to the cathode. A second set of at least three layers is between the intermediate layer and the cathode. Each layer of the second set consists essentially of a different organic semiconductor material having a lower LUMO and a lower HOMO, relative to the material of an adjacent layer of the plurality of organic semiconductor layers closer to the anode. | 10-03-2013 |
20130255759 | SOLAR CELLS - A solar cell is provided. The solar cell includes a silicon substrate, a back electrode, a doped silicon layer, and an upper electrode. The silicon substrate includes a first surface, a second surface, and a number of three-dimensional nano-structures located on the first surface. The three-dimensional nano-structures are located on the second surface. The three-dimensional nano-structures are linear protruding structures that are spaced from each other, and a cross section of each linear protruding structure is an arc. The doped silicon layer is attached to the three-dimensional nano-structures and the second surface between the three-dimensional nano-structures. | 10-03-2013 |
20130263920 | MULTI-JUNCTION SOLAR CELLS WITH THROUGH-VIA CONTACTS - Multi junction solar cell devices are provided in which through-wafer vias contacting the top surface eliminate the need for gridlines and enhance efficiency of epitaxially grown multi junction solar cell elements. | 10-10-2013 |
20130269760 | PHOTOVOLTAIC JUNCTION FOR A SOLAR CELL - A photovoltaic junction for a solar cell is provided. The photovoltaic junction has an intrinsic region comprising a multiple quantum well stack formed from a series of quantum wells separated by barriers, in which the tensile stress in some of the quantum wells is partly or completely balanced by compressive stress in the others of the quantum wells. The overall elastostatic equilibrium of the multiple quantum well stack may be ensured by engineering the structural and optical properties of the quantum wells only, with the barriers having the same lattice constant as the materials used in the oppositely doped semiconductor regions of the junction, or equivalently as the actual lattice size of the junction or intrinsic region, or the bulk or effective lattice size of the substrate. Alternatively, the barriers may contribute to the stress balance. | 10-17-2013 |
20130269761 | SEMICONDUCTOR STRUCTURES FOR FUEL GENERATION - This disclosure relates to photovoltaic and photoelectrosynthetic cells, devices, methods of making and using the same. | 10-17-2013 |
20130269762 | CORE-SHELL NANOSTRUCTURE BASED PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS AND METHODS OF MAKING SAME - A photovoltaic cell includes nanostructures formed of nanowires on a substrate, where the nanostructures include an array of three dimensional nanotrees or nanobushes with a core-shell structure having a core and one or more shells sequentially formed on the core. The core o f the core-shell structure is formed of a highly conductive metal or semiconductor, and the shell o f the core-shell structure is formed of a metal, semiconductor, or polymer, such that the core-shell structure has substantially large surface and interface area for photon energy harvesting and conversion into electricity. | 10-17-2013 |
20130269763 | Electrical Device - The invention provides an electrical device, e.g. a solar cell, comprising at least one sub-cell containing a plurality of In | 10-17-2013 |
20130276871 | P-I-N MICROCRYSTALLINE SILICON STRUCTURE OF THIN-FILM SOLAR CELLS AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A method for manufacturing a P-I-N microcrystalline silicon structure for thin-film solar cells, includes the steps of: (a) forming a P-type layer; (b) forming an I-type layer including a plurality of sub-layers successively stacked on the P-type layer using gas mixtures including fluoride and hydride that have different gas ratios, respectively; and (c) forming an N-type layer on the I-type layer. First, second, and third I-type sub-layers may be formed on the P-type layer using gas mixtures including fluoride and hydride at a first, second, and third gas ratios, respectively. Then, advantageously, the third gas ratio may be larger than the second gas ratio and the second gas ratio may be larger than the first gas ratio, and the first gas ratio may be 8%, the second gas ratio may range between 15% and 35%, and the third gas ratio may range between 35% and 50%. | 10-24-2013 |
20130276872 | SOLAR CELL UNIT AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A solar cell unit comprising a strip plate which has a third surface and a fourth surface opposite to the third surface, wherein a third doping region and a fourth doping region are arranged on the third surface and the fourth surface respectively, and a first doping region and a second doping region are arranged on side surfaces adjacent to the third surface and the fourth surface respectively; the types of impurities in the third doping region and the fourth doping region are contrary to one another; the surfaces of the first doping region and the second doping region have uniform doping type. Accordingly, the present invention further provides a method for manufacturing a solar cell unit. | 10-24-2013 |
20130276873 | HIGH LEVEL INJECTION SYSTEMS - A semiconductor device having elongated structure having high-level injection are provided, as well as making and using such devices. | 10-24-2013 |
20130276874 | Tandem Photovoltaic Cells - Tandem photovoltaic cells having a recombination layer, as well as related systems, methods, and components, are disclosed. | 10-24-2013 |
20130284246 | BACK ELECTRODE CONFIGURATION FOR ELECTROPLATED CIGS PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES AND METHODS OF MAKING SAME - A back contact configuration for a CIGS-type photovoltaic device is provided. The back contact configuration includes an interfacial seed layer, made up of one or more layers/sublayers, disposed between a Mo based rear contact/electrode and a CIGS inclusive semiconductor absorber. The interfacial seed layer may be of or include one or more element(s) that make up, or help make up, the CIGS inclusive semiconductor absorber. Various methods and compositions of the interfacial seed layer are disclosed, including a seed layer comprising metallic and/or substantially metallic Cu—In—Ga, CIGS, and/or a stack of alternating layers of or including Cu, In and Ga. Methods for making the back contact configuration, including an interfacial seed layer, are also provided. | 10-31-2013 |
20130284247 | P-N JUNCTION SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE WITH PHOTOVOLTAIC PROPERTIES - A material is manufactured from a transformative process of heating a structure comprising a transparent conductive oxide disposed over a semiconductor material. The heating process causes a p-type dopant from the semiconductor material diffuses into the transparent conductive oxide, and causes the semiconductor material to transform into an intrinsic semiconductor layer over a bulk layer. The material manufactured exhibits photovoltaic properties because the layers formed during the transformative process create a p-i-n or a p-n junction having a band-gap difference between the top layer and the bulk layer. | 10-31-2013 |
20130284248 | SOLAR CELL HAVING THREE DIMENSIONAL JUNCTIONS AND A METHOD OF FORMING THE SAME - A method of forming a solar cell | 10-31-2013 |
20130291932 | DOPING PATTERN FOR POINT CONTACT SOLAR CELLS - Methods of doping a solar cell, particularly a point contact solar cell, are disclosed. One surface of a solar cell may require portions to be n-doped, while other portions are p-doped. At least one lithography step can be eliminated by the use of a blanket doping of species having one conductivity and a patterned counterdoping process of species having the opposite conductivity. The areas doped during the patterned implant receive a sufficient dose so as to completely reverse the effect of the blanket doping and achieve a conductivity that is opposite the blanket doping. In some embodiments, counterdoped lines are also used to reduce lateral series resistance of the majority carriers. | 11-07-2013 |
20130291933 | SiOx n-LAYER FOR MICROCRYSTALLINE PIN JUNCTION - The present invention concerns a light conversion device comprising at least direction of impinging light one photovoltaic light conversion layer stack (43, 51) comprising a p-i-n junction and situated between a front (42) and back (47) electrode, wherein the n-layer (49) of the layer stack (43) situated closest to the back electrode (47) consists of a n-doped silicon- and oxygen-containing (SiOx) microcrystalline layer, and is in direct contact with the back electrode (47). The invention equally concerns a corresponding method for manufacturing such a light conversion device. The requirement for intermediate adhesion/interface layers between SiOx layer and back electrode can thus be obviated, resulting in simplified manufacture. | 11-07-2013 |
20130298972 | OPTOELECTRONIC DEVICE AND THE MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - A method for manufacturing an optoelectronic device includes steps of: providing an optoelectronic structure; forming a first contact layer having a pattern on the upper surface of the optoelectronic structure; forming a dielectric layer on the first contact layer and the optoelectronic structure; removing the dielectric layer on the first contact layer; and forming an electrode structure on the first contact layer. | 11-14-2013 |
20130298973 | TUNNELING-JUNCTION SOLAR CELL WITH SHALLOW COUNTER DOPING LAYER IN THE SUBSTRATE - One embodiment of the present invention provides a tunneling junction solar cell. The solar cell includes a base layer, an emitter layer situated adjacent to the shallow counter doping layer, a surface field layer situated adjacent to a side of the base layer opposite to the shallow counter doping layer, a front-side electrode, and a back-side electrode. The base layer includes a shallow counter doping layer having a conduction doping type that is opposite to a remainder of the base layer. The emitter layer has a bandgap that is wider than that of the base layer. | 11-14-2013 |
20130298974 | SOLAR CELL, METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING DOPANT LAYER, AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SOLAR CELL - In a method of manufacturing a solar cell includes forming a dopant layer by doping a dopant of a first conductive type and a count dopant of a second conductive type opposite to the first conductive type to a surface of a semiconductor substrate. Here, a doping amount of the count dopant is less than a doping amount of the dopant. | 11-14-2013 |
20130298975 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A solar cell according to an embodiment includes a semiconductor substrate; a first dopant layer formed at one surface of the semiconductor substrate; and a first electrode electrically connected to the first dopant layer. At least a part of the first dopant layer includes a pre-amorphization element, and a concentration of the pre-amorphization element in one portion of the first dopant layer is different from a concentration of the pre-amorphization element in another portion of the first dopant layer. | 11-14-2013 |
20130298976 | SOLAR CELL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - According to example embodiments, a solar cell includes a photovoltaic layer, a plurality of front electrodes, a rear electrode, and a transparent subsidiary electrode. The plurality of front electrodes and the rear electrode are disposed respectively on front and rear surfaces of the photovoltaic layer. The subsidiary electrode is disposed on front surfaces of the photovoltaic layer and the front electrodes. The subsidiary electrode may be graphene. | 11-14-2013 |
20130298977 | METHOD OF FORMING AN ARRAY OF NANOSTRUCTURES - A method of forming an array of nanostructures includes forming a plurality of seed points on a surface of a substrate, and growing masks from the seed points to create masked regions of the substrate underlying the masks. A remainder of the substrate comprises an unmasked region. Each mask and masked region increase in size with growth time while the unmasked region of the substrate decreases in size. During the growing, the unmasked region is etched to remove material from the substrate in a depth direction, and, simultaneously, unetched structures are formed from the masked regions of the substrate underlying the masks. Each of the unetched structures has a lateral size that increases with depth. | 11-14-2013 |
20130298978 | QUANTUM DOT SOLAR CELL - Solar cells with enhanced efficiency are disclosed. An example solar cell includes a first electrode ( | 11-14-2013 |
20130298979 | SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS AND PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION THEREOF - A method for producing a light-absorbing semiconductor component, wherein at least one partial area of a semiconductor substrate is irradiated with a plurality of laser pulses having a predefinable length, wherein the pulse shape of the laser pulses is adapted to at least one predefinable desired shape by modulation of the amplitude and/or of the polarization. A semiconductor component for converting electromagnetic radiation into electrical energy, includes a crystalline semiconductor substrate having a first and an opposite second side, wherein a dopant is introduced at least in a partial volume of the semiconductor substrate which adjoins the first side, such that a first pn junction is formed between the partial volume and the substrate, wherein at least one first partial area of the second side is provided with a dopant and a surface modification, such that a second pn junction is formed. | 11-14-2013 |
20130306141 | MULTI-JUNCTION COMPOUND SOLAR CELL, MUTLI-JUNCTION COMPOUND SOLAR BATTERY, AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SAME - The purposes of the present invention are: to eliminate an electrode on a top cell of a multi-junction compound solar cell, said electrode blocking solar light; to provide a multi-junction compound solar cell having a structure that is not easily broken in manufacture steps; and to shorten a manufacture lead time of a multi-junction compound solar battery. A multi-junction compound solar cell has: a multi-junction cell laminate having the top cell and a bottom cell; a transparent electrode, which is disposed on the light incoming surface of the top cell; a lower electrode having potential of the bottom cell; and a side-surface electrode, which is disposed on the side surface of the solar cell with an insulating layer therebetween, and is electrically connected to the transparent electrode. In the multi-junction compound solar cell, the side-surface electrode is led out to the lower electrode. | 11-21-2013 |
20130312815 | INTEGRATED THIN FILM PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - Disclosed is an integrated thin-film photovoltaic module. The integrated thin-film photovoltaic module includes a first cell and a second cell, all of which are formed respectively by stacking on a substrate a lower electrode, a photoelectric conversion layer and an upper electrode, wherein the lower electrode of the first cell and the lower electrode of the second cell are separated by a lower electrode separation groove, wherein a plurality of through holes are formed to be spaced from each other in the upper electrode and the photoelectric conversion layer of the first cell, and wherein the through hole is filled with a conductive material such that the upper electrode of the second cell is connected with the lower electrode of the first cell. | 11-28-2013 |
20130312816 | TANDEM TYPE INTEGRATED PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - Disclosed is a tandem type integrated photovoltaic module. The tandem type integrated photovoltaic module includes a first cell and a second cell, all of which are formed respectively by stacking on a substrate a lower electrode, a photoelectric conversion layer and an upper electrode, wherein the photoelectric conversion layer comprises a first unit cell layer, a second unit cell layer and an intermediate reflector located between the first unit cell layer and the second unit cell layer; wherein the lower electrode of the first cell and the lower electrode of the second cell are separated by a lower electrode separation groove, and wherein a plurality of through holes are formed to be spaced from each other in the photoelectric conversion layer on the lower electrode of the first cell in order to connect the upper electrode of the second cell with the lower electrode of the first cell. | 11-28-2013 |
20130312817 | METHOD FOR ETCHING MULTI-LAYER EPITAXIAL MATERIAL - A single-step wet etch process is provided to isolate multijunction solar cells on semiconductor substrates, wherein the wet etch chemistry removes semiconductor materials nonselectively without a major difference in etch rate between different heteroepitaxial layers. The solar cells thus formed comprise multiple heterogeneous semiconductor layers epitaxially grown on the semiconductor substrate. | 11-28-2013 |
20130312818 | Metamorphic Layers in Multijunction Solar Cells - A method of forming a multijunction solar cell comprising an upper subcell, a middle subcell, and a lower subcell comprising providing first substrate for the epitaxial growth of semiconductor material; forming a first solar subcell on said substrate having a first band gap; forming a second solar subcell over said first subcell having a second band gap smaller than said first band gap; and forming a grading interlayer over said second sub cell having a third band gap larger than said second band gap forming a third solar subcell having a fourth band gap smaller than said second band gap such that said third subcell is lattice mis-matched with respect to said second subcell. | 11-28-2013 |
20130319515 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE - A photoelectric conversion device in which the amount of light loss due to light absorption in a window layer is small and which has favorable electrical characteristics is provided. The photoelectric conversion device has a structure in which a p-type first light-transmitting semiconductor layer, an i-type semiconductor layer comprising silicon, and an n-type second light-transmitting semiconductor layer are stacked between a pair of electrodes and has a p-i-n junction. The first light-transmitting semiconductor layer comprises an inorganic compound containing, as a main component, an oxide of a metal belonging to any of Groups 4 to 8. The second light-transmitting semiconductor layer comprises an oxide containing at least gallium. | 12-05-2013 |
20130327377 | Thin Film Chalcogenide Photovoltaic Device and Method for Forming the Same - A thin film chalcogenide photovoltaic device and method for forming the same are disclosed. The thin film chalcogenide photovoltaic device includes a first electrode, a second electrode and an active layer disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode, wherein the active layer includes a p-type chalcogenide semiconductor layer, an n-type inorganic semiconductor layer, and an n-type carbon-containing material layer formed between the p-type chalcogenide semiconductor layer and the n-type inorganic semiconductor layer. | 12-12-2013 |
20130327378 | RADIATION RESISTANT INVERTED METAMORPHIC MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELL - A multijunction solar cell including a first solar subcell having a first band gap and a first short-circuit current; a second solar subcell disposed over the first solar subcell and having a second band gap greater than the first band gap and a second short-circuit current greater than the first short-circuit current by an amount in the range of 2% to 6%; a third solar subcell disposed over the second solar subcell and having a third band gap greater than the second band gap and a third short-circuit current less than the first short-circuit current by an amount in the range of 2% to 6%; and a fourth solar subcell disposed over the third solar subcell having a fourth band gap greater than the third band gap, and a fourth short-circuit current less than the third short-circuit current by an amount in the range of 6% to 10%, so that at an “end of life” state of the multijunction solar cell in an AM0 space environment the short-circuit current of each of the subcells are substantially identical. | 12-12-2013 |
20130327379 | CELL FOR REDUCING RECOMBINATION OF ELECTRONS AND HOLES AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A cell has a substrate, a first microstructure and an active layer. The first microstructure is formed on the substrate and has therein a first material with a concentration gradient toward one side of the substrate to provide a first built-in electric field. The active layer is mounted on the first microstructure so as to reduce recombination of electrons and holes in the cell. | 12-12-2013 |
20130327380 | Boron, Bismuth Co-Doping of Gallium Arsenide and Other Compounds for Photonic and Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor Devices - Isoelectronic co-doping of semiconductor compounds and alloys with acceptors and deep donors is sued to decrease bandgap, to increase concentration of the dopant constituents in the resulting alloys, and to increase carrier mobilities lifetimes. For example, Group III-V compounds and alloys, such as GaAs and GaP, are isoelectronically co-doped with, for example, B and Bi, to customize solar cells, and other semiconductor devices. Isoelectronically co-doped Group II-VI compounds and alloys are also included. | 12-12-2013 |
20130327381 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A solar cell includes a semiconductor substrate having a first conductivity type, an emitter layer on a surface of the semiconductor substrate, the emitter layer having a second conductivity type different from the first conductivity type, and electrodes including a first electrode electrically connected to the emitter layer, and a second electrode electrically connected to the semiconductor substrate. The emitter layer includes a high-concentration doping portion adjacent to the first electrode, and a low-concentration doping portion in a region that does not include the high-concentration doping portion. The low-concentration doping portion has a higher resistance than the high-concentration doping portion. The high-concentration doping portion includes a first region having a first resistance, and a second region having a second resistance higher than the first resistance. | 12-12-2013 |
20130327382 | RADIATION RESISTANT INVERTED METAMORPHIC MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELL - A multijunction solar cell for a space radiation environment, the multijunction solar cell having a plurality of solar sub-cells arranged in order of decreasing band gap including: a first solar subcell composed of InGaP and having a first band gap, the first solar subcell having a first short circuit current associated therewith; a second solar subcell composed of GaAs and having a second band gap which is less than the first band gap, the second solar subcell having a second short circuit current associated therewith; wherein in a beginning of life state the first short circuit current is less than the second short circuit current such that the AM0 conversion efficiency is sub-optimal. However, in an end of life state, the short circuit current are substantially matched, which results in an improved AM0 conversion efficiency. | 12-12-2013 |
20130327383 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - Disclosed are a solar cell and a method for manufacturing the same. The solar cell includes a substrate, a back electrode layer on the substrate, a light absorbing layer on the back electrode layer, a buffer layer on the light absorbing layer, and a window layer on the buffer layer. The buffer layer is formed through a chemical equation of (A | 12-12-2013 |
20130327384 | MULTI-JUNCTION SOLAR CELL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREFOR - The present invention provides a multi-junction solar cell capable of increasing the degree of freedom of the selection of compound semiconductors. The multi-junction solar cell | 12-12-2013 |
20130327385 | SOLAR CELL HAVING A DOUBLE-SIDED STRUCTURE, AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SAME - The present invention relates to a solar cell having nanostructures on both surfaces of a transparent substrate, and to a method for manufacturing same. The nano-structures, which face each other with respect to the substrate and which transport electrons, are formed using zinc-oxide nanowires. Also, a hole-transport layer using CIS nanoparticles is formed in order to absorb light having a short wavelength and to transport generated holes. A hole-transport layer including CIGS nanoparticles for absorbing light having a relatively long wavelength is formed on the side facing the hole-transport layer including the CIS nanoparticles. | 12-12-2013 |
20130333750 | THIN FILM SOLAR CELL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - The present invention discloses a thin-film solar cell and the manufacturing method thereof. A thin-film solar cell includes a substrate, a P-type layer, an interface layer, an I-type amorphous silicon layer, an I-type absorbing layer, an N-type layer and an electrode layer. The P-type is disposed on the substrate. The interface layer is disposed on the P-type layer. The I-type amorphous silicon layer is disposed on the interface layer. The I-type absorbing layer is disposed on the I-type amorphous silicon layer. The N-type layer is disposed on the I-type absorbing layer. The electrode layer is disposed on the N-type layer. Wherein, the I-type absorbing layer is thicker than 20% the I-type amorphous silicon layer, and the interface layer is thinner than 20% of the I-type amorphous silicon layer. | 12-19-2013 |
20130333751 | COINCIDENT SITE LATTICE-MATCHED GROWTH OF SEMICONDUCTORS ON SUSTRATES USING COMPLIANT BUFFER LAYERS - A method of producing semiconductor materials and devices that incorporate the semiconductor materials are provided. In particular, a method is provided of producing a semiconductor material, such as a III-V semiconductor, on a silicon substrate using a compliant buffer layer, and devices such as photovoltaic cells that incorporate the semiconductor materials. The compliant buffer material and semiconductor materials may be deposited using coincident site lattice-matching epitaxy, resulting in a close degree of lattice matching between the substrate material and deposited material for a wide variety of material compositions. The coincident site lattice matching epitaxial process, as well as the use of a ductile buffer material, reduce the internal stresses and associated crystal defects within the deposited semiconductor materials fabricated using the disclosed method. As a result, the semiconductor devices provided herein possess enhanced performance characteristics due to a relatively low density of crystal defects. | 12-19-2013 |
20130340817 | THIN FILM SILICON SOLAR CELL IN TANDEM JUNCTION CONFIGURATION ON TEXTURED GLASS - Solar cells or solar modules of the so-called tandem type, i.e. stacked arrangements of photovoltaic absorber devices on a substrate with a textured surface are described. The thin film solar cell has a substrate comprising a textured surface, and a front electrode layer comprising a transparent conductive oxide adjacent to the textured surface, wherein the electrode layer has a thickness less than the roughness of the textured surface. | 12-26-2013 |
20130340818 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE INCLUDING FLEXIBLE SUBSTRATE OR INFLEXIBLE SUBSTRATE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A photovoltaic device including a substrate; a first electrode placed on the substrate; a second electrode which is placed opposite to the first electrode and which light is incident on; a first unit cell being placed between the first electrode and the second electrode, and including an intrinsic semiconductor layer including crystalline silicon grains making the surface of the intrinsic semiconductor layer toward the second electrode textured; and a second unit cell placed between the first unit cell and the second electrode. | 12-26-2013 |
20130340819 | EMITTER STRUCTURE BASED ON SILICON COMPONENTS TO BE USED IN A PHOTOVOLTAIC CONVERTER AND A METHOD FOR PRODUCTION OF THE PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE - This invention aims to reduce and preferably to cancel the carrier collection limit effect in order to considerably encrease the conversion efficiency. This improvement is achieved by a suitable modification of the amorphized layer thickness or even by discontinuities separating amorphizing beams or amorphized nanopellets. | 12-26-2013 |
20140000687 | TEXTURED MULTI-JUNCTION SOLAR CELL AND FABRICATION METHOD | 01-02-2014 |
20140000688 | Biologically Self-Assembled Nanotubes | 01-02-2014 |
20140000689 | NITRIDE SEMICONDUCTOR-BASED SOLAR CELL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF | 01-02-2014 |
20140000690 | Intrinsically Semitransparent Solar Cell and Method of Making Same | 01-02-2014 |
20140014169 | NANOSTRING MATS, MULTI-JUNCTION DEVICES, AND METHODS FOR MAKING SAME - Semiconductor nanostrings, mats containing semiconductor nanostrings, and devices and modules, such as, solar energy generating modules, including semiconductor nanostrings or mats containing semiconductor nanostrings are described herein. Methods for making multi-layer nanostrings and mats and other devices including multi-layer nanostrings are also described. | 01-16-2014 |
20140020738 | SOLAR CELL, AND PROCESS FOR PRODUCING SOLAR CELL - A solar cell that can increase open-circuit voltage compared to the conventional solar cell, and as a result, can increase conversion efficiency. The solar cell includes a first absorber layer and a second absorber layer, wherein the first absorber layer is a p-type semiconductor layer containing a Ib group element, a IIIb group element, and a VIb group element and including a peak of luminescence whose half width is not less than 1 meV and not more than 15 meV in a photoluminescence spectrum or a cathodoluminescence spectrum; and the second absorber layer contains a Ib group element, a IIIb group element, and a VIb group element, the composition ratio of the Ib group element to the IIIb group element is not less than 0.1 and less than 1.0, and the second absorber layer is provided on the side of the light entering surface of the first absorber layer. | 01-23-2014 |
20140020739 | ACTIVE MATERIALS FOR ELECTRO-OPTIC DEVICES AND ELECTRO-OPTIC DEVICES - Tandem electro-optic devices and active materials for electro-optic devices are disclosed. Tandem devices include p-type and n-type layers between the active layers, which are doped to achieve carrier tunneling. Low bandgap conjugated polymers are also disclosed. | 01-23-2014 |
20140020740 | SOLAR CELL - Provided is a solar cell having improved photoelectric conversion efficiency. The solar cell ( | 01-23-2014 |
20140020741 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING SOLAR CELL - A solar cell having improved carrier collection efficiency is provided. A solar cell ( | 01-23-2014 |
20140020742 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE - A photovoltaic device is provided with: an i-type amorphous layer formed over a region of at least a part of a back surface of a semiconductor substrate; and an i-type amorphous layer formed over a region of at least a part of a light-receiving surface of the semiconductor substrate. No electrode is provided on the light-receiving surface, and an electrode is provided on the back surface. An electrical resistance per unit area of the i-type amorphous layer is lower than an electrical resistance per unit area of the i-type amorphous layer. | 01-23-2014 |
20140026948 | ORGANIC SOLAR CELL - An organic solar cell includes a first sub-cell including a first active layer and a second sub-cell including a second active layer, wherein at least one of the first active layer and the second active layer includes at least two types of electron acceptors having different light absorbance from each other. | 01-30-2014 |
20140034117 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CONCENTRATOR RECEIVER AND ITS USE - The present invention relates to a photovoltaic (PV) concentrator receiver for concentrated illumination which comprises a substrate with at least one solar cell, wherein on the front surface of the substrate and the at least one solar cell an encapsulation material and a cover plate are disposed. The edges of the receiver are protected by a frame. The inventive PV concentrator receiver can be used for producing electricity from concentrated solar radiation. | 02-06-2014 |
20140034118 | THIN FILM SOLAR CELLS - Embodiments relate to a solar cell apparatus including a molybdenum (Mo) contact layer and an annealed absorber layer including zinc and sulfur directly adjacent to the Mo contact layer. The apparatus has no molybdenum disulfide (MoS | 02-06-2014 |
20140034119 | PHOTOELECTRIC DEVICE - A photoelectric device that reduces optical loss, reduces recombination loss of carriers, and can be manufactured by using a simplified process is provided. The photoelectric device includes a semiconductor substrate, a first semiconductor stack on a first surface of the semiconductor substrate and having a first conductivity, and a second semiconductor stack on the first surface of the semiconductor substrate and having a second conductivity opposite to the first conductivity. Edge portions of the first and second semiconductor stacks face each other with an insulating portion therebetween. | 02-06-2014 |
20140034120 | PHOTOVOLTAIC NANOWIRE STRUCTURES AND RELATED FABRICATION METHODS - Nanowire-based photovoltaic energy conversion devices and related fabrication methods therefor are described. A plurality of photovoltaic (PV) nanowires extend outwardly from a surface layer of a substrate, each PV nanowire having a root end near the substrate surface layer and a tip end opposite the root end. For some embodiments, a collar material is formed that laterally surrounds and is in contact with the PV nanowires along a portion of one or more of their ends. According to some embodiments, the PV nanowires are formed on a crystalline silicon substrate. According to some other embodiments, the PV nanowires are formed on a roll-sourced continuous substrate. | 02-06-2014 |
20140034121 | MULTISTAGE SURFACE MODIFICATION PROCEDURE OF SEMICONDUCTING NANOPARTICLES FOR USE IN HYBRID SOLAR CELLS AND PRINTABLE ELECTRONICS - The present invention relates to a method for treatment of semiconducting nanoparticles wherein in a step A semiconducting nanoparticles comprising long chain insulting primary ligands are dispersed in a volatile dispersion solvent capable of dissolving insulating primary ligands and precipitated using a washing agent. TGA-MS analysis shows that the treatment according to the method of the present invention allows complete removal of the outer layer of synthesis ligands of the surface of prepared nanoparticles and improves removal of synthesis ligands on the surface of prepared nanoparticles. The present invention also relates to semiconducting nanoparticles, ink formulation and electronic devices comprising the semiconducting nanoparticles obtainable by the procedure of the invention. | 02-06-2014 |
20140041717 | Ultra thin film nanostructured solar cell - Improved solar cells are provided by nano-structuring the solar cell active region to provide high optical absorption in a thin structure, thereby simultaneously providing high optical absorption and high carrier collection efficiency. Double-sided nano-structuring is considered, where both surfaces of the active region are nano-structured. In cases where the active region is disposed on a substrate, nano-voids are present between the substrate and the active region, as opposed to the active region being conformally disposed on the substrate. The presence of such nano-voids advantageously increases both optical and electrical confinement in the active region. | 02-13-2014 |
20140041718 | Photovoltaic Devices with Enhanced Efficiencies Using High-Aspect Ratio Nanostructures - Photovoltaic devices and techniques for enhancing efficiency thereof are provided. In one aspect, a photovoltaic device is provided. The photovoltaic device comprises a photocell having a first photoactive layer and a second photoactive layer adjacent to the first photoactive layer so as to form a heterojunction between the first photoactive layer and the second photoactive layer; and a plurality of high-aspect-ratio nanostructures on one or more surfaces of the second photoactive layer. The plurality of high-aspect-ratio nanostructures are configured to act as a scattering media for incident light. The plurality of high-aspect-ratio nanostructures can also be configured to create an optical resonance effect in the incident light. | 02-13-2014 |
20140048128 | SURFACE MOUNTABLE SOLAR RECEIVER WITH INTEGRATED THROUGH SUBSTRATE INTERCONNECT AND OPTICAL ELEMENT CRADLE - A concentrator-type photovoltaic (CPV) device includes a solar cell comprising a substrate including a light receiving surface and a mounting surface opposite the light receiving surface. A conductive through-substrate interconnect having insulated sidewalls extends through the substrate from the mounting surface to the light receiving surface to provide an electrical connection to a conductive terminal on the light receiving surface. A lens support structure is formed on the light receiving surface, and a lens element is provided on the support structure opposite the light receiving surface. The support structure supports and aligns the lens element with the light receiving surface to concentrate incident light thereon. Related fabrication processes are also discussed. | 02-20-2014 |
20140053894 | GRADED GeSn ON SILICON - A method of fabricating a solar cell on a silicon substrate includes providing a crystalline silicon substrate, selecting a grading profile, epitaxially growing a template on the silicon substrate including a single crystal GeSn layer using the grading profile to grade Sn through the layer. The single crystal GeSn layer has a thickness in a range of approximately 3 μm to approximately 5 μm. At least two layers of high band gap material are epitaxially and sequentially grown on the template to form at least three junctions. The grading profile starts with the Sn at or near zero with the Ge at zero, the percentage of Sn varies to a maximum mid-area, and reduces the percentage of Sn to zero adjacent an upper surface. | 02-27-2014 |
20140053895 | INTENTIONALLY-DOPED CADMIUM OXIDE LAYER FOR SOLAR CELLS - A method and structure for a solar cell forms and utilizes a low resistivity and high transmission semiconductor in a top and/or bottom layer (e.g., a top or bottom contact). Some embodiments relate to solar cells having a top or bottom transparent contact layer comprising doped cadmium oxide (CdO) or alloys of CdO. | 02-27-2014 |
20140053896 | METHOD FOR PRODUCING THE PENTANARY COMPOUND SEMICONDUCTOR CZTSSE, AND THIN-FILM SOLAR CELL - A method for producing a compound semiconductor composed of pentanary kesterite/stannite of the type Cu | 02-27-2014 |
20140053897 | Tandem Photovoltaic Cells - This disclosure features a system that includes first and second electrodes; first and second photoactive layers between the first and second electrodes; and a recombination material between the first and second photoactive layers. The first photoactive layer is between the first electrode and the recombination material. The second photoactive layer is between the second electrode and the recombination material. The recombination material includes a first hole blocking layer and a first hole carrier layer. The first hole blocking layer includes an n-type semiconductor material and a polyamine, at least some molecules of the polyamine being cross-linked. The system is configured as a photovoltaic system. | 02-27-2014 |
20140053898 | HIGH EFFICIENCY ORGANIC PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS EMPLOYING HYBRIDIZED MIXED-PLANAR HETEROJUNCTIONS - A device is provided, having a first electrode, a second electrode, and a photoactive region disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode. The photoactive region includes a first photoactive organic layer that is a mixture of an organic acceptor material and an organic donor material, wherein the first photoactive organic layer has a thickness not greater than 0.8 characteristic charge transport lengths; a second photoactive organic layer in direct contact with the first organic layer, wherein the second photoactive organic layer is an unmixed layer of the organic acceptor material of the first photoactive organic layer, and the second photoactive organic layer has a thickness not less than about 0.1 optical absorption lengths; and a third photoactive organic layer disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode and in direct contact with the first photoactive organic layer. The third photoactive organic layer is an unmixed layer of the organic donor layer of the first photoactive organic layer and has a thickness not less than about 0.1 optical absorption lengths. | 02-27-2014 |
20140060627 | FIELD-EFFECT LOCALIZED EMITTER PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE - Photovoltaic structures are provided with field-effect inversion/accumulation layers as emitter layers induced by work-function differences between gate conductor layers and substrates thereof. Localized contact regions are in electrical communication with the gate conductors of such structures for repelling minority carriers. Such localized contact regions may include doped crystalline or polycrystalline silicon regions between the gate conductor and silicon absorption layers. Fabrication of the structures can be conducted without alignment between metal contacts and the localized contact regions or high temperature processing. | 03-06-2014 |
20140060628 | UNIFORMLY DISTRIBUTED SELF-ASSEMBLED SOLDER DOT FORMATION FOR HIGH EFFICIENCY SOLAR CELLS - A substrate for photovoltaic device includes a textured surface formed from silicon-based material. The textured surface includes a plurality of cones uniformly distributed across the textured surface. The uniformly distributed cones are configured by etching from a top surface of the substrate using a self-assembled solder dot mask evaporated on the substrate prior to etching. The cones are uniformly distributed as a result of gettering a process chamber prior to forming the solder dot mask. The cones have a height/width ratio between about 1 to about 4, and the cones have a density between 10 | 03-06-2014 |
20140060629 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR FABRICATING THE SAME - A solar cell includes a substrate, a first lightly-doped region, a second lightly-doped region, a second heavily-doped region, a first electrode and a second electrode. The first lightly-doped region having a first doping type is disposed in a first surface of the substrate. The second lightly-doped region and the second heavily-doped region having a second doping type different from the first doping type are disposed in a second surface of the substrate. The first electrode is disposed on the first surface of the substrate, and the second electrode is disposed on the second surface of the substrate. | 03-06-2014 |
20140060630 | SILICON DIOXIDE SOLAR CELL - In order to increase the generation efficiency of a silicon dioxide solar cell, two conductive substrates are arranged so that the conductive surfaces thereof face each other, at least one of the substrates is disposed upon the substrate facing the light entry-side substrate, and an electrolyte is filled between the silicon dioxide particles compact and the light entry-side substrate. Silicon dioxide solar cells having this configuration exhibit a significantly increased short circuit current and open circuit voltage in comparison to solar cells in which the silicon dioxide and the electrolyte are mixed. This configuration can further be improved by disposing a titanium dioxide solar cell or a dye-sensitized titanium dioxide solar cell upon the light entry-side substrate to further increase the short circuit current and the open circuit voltage. | 03-06-2014 |
20140060631 | COMPOUND SEMICONDUCTOR SOLAR BATTERY AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING COMPOUND SEMICONDUCTOR SOLAR BATTERY - A compound semiconductor solar battery including a first compound semiconductor photoelectric conversion cell ( | 03-06-2014 |
20140069489 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - A photovoltaic cell comprises a top subcell having a first band gap; a middle subcell comprising a substrate and having a second band gap, wherein the substrate comprises a first side and a second side opposite to the first side; and a bottom subcell having a third band gap, wherein the top subcell is grown on the first side of the substrate and the bottom subcell is grown on the second side of the substrate, wherein the first band gap is larger than the second band gap and the second band gap is larger than the third band gap. | 03-13-2014 |
20140069490 | Lead Frame Package for Solar Concentrators - Techniques for providing high-capacity, re-workable connections in concentrated photovoltaic devices are provided. In one aspect, a lead frame package for a photovoltaic device is provided that includes a beam shield; and one or more lead frame connectors affixed to the beam shield, wherein the lead frame connectors are configured to provide connection to the photovoltaic device when the photovoltaic device is assembled to the lead frame package. A photovoltaic apparatus is also provided that includes a lead frame package assembled to a photovoltaic device. The lead frame package includes a beam shield and one or more lead frame connectors affixed to the beam shield, wherein the lead frame connectors are configured to provide connection to the photovoltaic device. | 03-13-2014 |
20140069491 | Interposer Connector for High Power Solar Concentrators - In one aspect, an interposer assembly for housing a photovoltaic device includes a frame, formed from an electrically insulating material, having a center opening with a shape/size complementary to a shape/size of the photovoltaic device thus permitting the photovoltaic device to fit within the center opening in the frame when the photovoltaic device is housed in the assembly; a beam shield on the frame having a cup-shaped inner cavity to aid in routing of light to the photovoltaic device, wherein a side of the beam shield facing the frame has one or more recesses present therein; and one or more interposer connectors positioned between the frame and the beam shield such that the interposer connectors fit within the recesses in the beam shield, and wherein a portion of each of the interposer connectors extends into the center opening of the frame. | 03-13-2014 |
20140069492 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE - A photoelectric conversion device is disclosed. The photoelectric conversion device includes an electrode layer and a semiconductor layer. The semiconductor layer is located on the electrode layer and contains a group I-III-VI compound. In the semiconductor layer, an atomic ratio of a group I-B element to a group III-B element decreases from one principal surface side of the semiconductor layer on the electrode layer side to a central portion in a thickness direction and increases from the central portion to another principal surface side on a side opposite to the electrode layer. | 03-13-2014 |
20140069493 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE - A multijunction photovoltaic device ( | 03-13-2014 |
20140076386 | GROUP-IV SOLAR CELL STRUCTURE USING GROUP-IV or III-V HETEROSTRUCTURES - Device structures, apparatuses, and methods are disclosed for photovoltaic cells that may be a single junction or multijunction solar cells, with at least one layer comprising a group-IV semiconductor in which part of the cell comprises a second layer comprising a III-V semiconductor or group-IV semiconductor having a different composition than the group-IV semiconductor of the first layer, such that a heterostructure is formed between the first and second layers. | 03-20-2014 |
20140076387 | GROUP-IV SOLAR CELL STRUCTURE USING GROUP-IV or III-V HETEROSTRUCTURES - Device structures, apparatuses, and methods are disclosed for photovoltaic cells that may be a single junction or multijunction solar cells, with at least a first layer comprising a group-IV semiconductor in which part of the cell comprises a second layer comprising a III-V semiconductor or group-IV semiconductor having a different composition than the group-IV semiconductor of the first layer, such that a heterostructure is formed between the first and second layers. | 03-20-2014 |
20140076388 | GROUP-IV SOLAR CELL STRUCTURE USING GROUP-IV or III-V HETEROSTRUCTURES - Device structures, apparatuses, and methods are disclosed for photovoltaic cells that may be a single junction or multijunction solar cells, with at least a first layer comprising a group-IV semiconductor in which part of the cell comprises a second layer comprising a III-V semiconductor or group-IV semiconductor having a different composition than the group-IV semiconductor of the first layer, such that a heterostructure is formed between the first and second layers. | 03-20-2014 |
20140076389 | GROUP-IV SOLAR CELL STRUCTURE USING GROUP-IV or III-V HETEROSTRUCTURES - Device structures, apparatuses, and methods are disclosed for photovoltaic cells that may be a single junction or multijunction solar cells, with at least as first layer comprising a group-IV semiconductor in which part of the cell comprises a second layer comprising a III-V semiconductor or group-IV semiconductor having a different composition than the group-IV semiconductor of the first layer, such that a heterostructure is formed between the first and second layers. | 03-20-2014 |
20140076390 | III-V SEMICONDUCTOR INTERFACE WITH GRADED GeSn ON SILICON - A method of depositing III-V solar collection materials on a GeSn template on a silicon substrate including the steps of providing a crystalline silicon substrate and epitaxially growing a single crystal GeSn layer on the silicon substrate using a grading profile to grade Sn through the layer. The single crystal GeSn layer has a thickness in a range of approximately 3 μm to approximately 5 μm. A layer of III-V solar collection material is epitaxially grown on the graded single crystal GeSn layer. The graded single crystal GeSn layer includes Sn up to an interface with the layer of III-V solar collection material. | 03-20-2014 |
20140076391 | GROUP-IV SOLAR CELL STRUCTURE USING GROUP-IV or III-V HETEROSTRUCTURES - Device structures, apparatuses, and methods are disclosed for photovoltaic cells that may be a single junction or multijunction solar cells, with at least a first layer comprising a group-IV semiconductor in which part of the cell comprises a second layer comprising a III-V semiconductor or group-IV semiconductor having a different composition than the group-IV semiconductor of the first layer, such that a heterostructure is formed between the first and second layers. | 03-20-2014 |
20140083491 | PIGMENT FOR PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERTER, AND PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION FILM, ELECTRODE, AND SOLAR CELL USING SAME - Provided is a pigment for a photoelectric converter that has broad absorption from the visible to the near infrared regions. The pigment for a photoelectric converter comprises at least molecules that contain elemental phosphorus and form coordinate bonds at least at these phosphorus atoms and one type of metal complex that forms coordinate bonds with a terpyridine derivative that has at least one adsorbing group capable of being adsorbed by a metal oxide. The metal complex is the pigment for a photoelectric converter showing absorption derived from spin-forbidden transition. | 03-27-2014 |
20140083492 | Alternating Bias Hot Carrier Solar Cells - Designs of extremely high efficiency solar cells are described. A novel alternating bias scheme enhances the photovoltaic power extraction capability above the cell band-gap by enabling the extraction of hot carriers. When applied in conventional solar cells, this alternating bias scheme has the potential of more than doubling their yielded net efficiency. When applied in conjunction with solar cells incorporating quantum wells (QWs) or quantum dots (QDs) based solar cells, the described alternating bias scheme has the potential of extending such solar cell power extraction coverage, possibly across the entire solar spectrum, thus enabling unprecedented solar power extraction efficiency. Within such cells, a novel alternating bias scheme extends the cell energy conversion capability above the cell material band-gap while the quantum confinement structures are used to extend the cell energy conversion capability below the cell band-gap. Light confinement cavities are incorporated into the cell structure in order to allow the absorption of the cell internal photo emission, thus further enhancing the cell efficiency. | 03-27-2014 |
20140090699 | TRANSPARENT ELECTROCONDUCTIVE FILM FOR SOLAR CELL, COMPOSITION FOR TRANSPARENT ELECTROCONDUCTIVE FILM AND MULTI-JUNCTION SOLAR CELL - An object of the present invention is to provide a transparent electroconductive film, which in addition to satisfying each of the requirements of favorable phototransmittance, high electrical conductivity, low refractive index and the like required when using in a multi-junction solar cell, enables running costs to be reduced since the transparent electroconductive film is produced without using a vacuum deposition method. The transparent electroconductive film for a solar cell of the present invention is provided between photoelectric conversion layers of a multi-junction solar cell, a coated film of fine particles formed by coating using a wet coating method is baked, the electroconductive component in the base material that composes the electroconductive film is present within the range of 5 to 95% by weight, and the thickness of the electroconductive film is within the range of 5 to 200 nm. | 04-03-2014 |
20140090700 | HIGH-CONCENTRATION MULTI-JUNCTION SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR FABRICATING SAME - A high-concentration multi-junction solar cell and method for fabricating same is provided. The high-concentration multi-junction solar cell comprises a top cell, an intermediate cell, a bottom cell and two tunneling junctions connecting the top cell and intermediate cell and the intermediate cell and bottom cell. The emitter layers of the top and intermediate cells both employ the graded doping concentrations and have high open circuit voltage and short circuit current. The top cell emitter layer is over several hundred nanometers thicker than that of the traditional multi-junction cell so as to decrease the whole series resistance of the multi-junction cell, improve the fill factor, and gain higher photoelectric conversion efficiency. | 04-03-2014 |
20140096816 | HETEROJUNCTION MICROWIRE ARRAY SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES - A heterojunction semiconductor device including an array of microstructures, each microstructure including a microwire of a first semiconductor material and a coating of a second semiconductor material forming a heterojunction with the microwire; a first electrical contact and a second electrical contact, one of which is connected to the microwire and the other of which is connected to the coating, is described. Also described are considerations for configuring the array of microstructures, and methods of forming the array of microstructures. | 04-10-2014 |
20140096817 | NOVEL HOLE COLLECTORS FOR SILICON PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS - One embodiment of the present invention provides a solar cell. The solar cell includes a base layer comprising crystalline Si (c-Si), a hole collector situated on a first side of the base layer, and an electron collector situated on a second side of the base layer, which is opposite the first side. The hole collector includes a quantum-tunneling-barrier (QTB) layer situated adjacent to the base layer and a transparent conducting oxide (TCO) layer situated adjacent to the QTB layer. The TCO layer has a work function of at least 5.0 eV. | 04-10-2014 |
20140096818 | SOLAR CELL - A solar cell has a condenser lens and a solar cell element, the solar cell element including an n-type InGaAs layer, an n-type GaAs layer, an n-type InGaP layer, the first InGaAs peripheral part having a thickness (d2), and a width (w2), the second InGaAs peripheral part having a thickness (d3), and a width (w3), the first GaAs peripheral part having a thickness (d5), and a width (w4), the second GaAs peripheral part a thickness (d6), and a width (w5), the first InGaP peripheral part having a thickness (d8), and a width (w6), the second InGaP peripheral part having a thickness (d9), and a width (w7), the following inequation set being satisfied: 1 nm≦(d2, d3, d5, and d6)≦4 nm, 1 nm≦(d8 and d9)≦5 nm, 100 nm≦(w2, w3, w4, w5, w6, and w7), the InGaAs center part having a thickness (w1), a window layer has a range S irradiated by sunlight having a width (w8); w8≦w1. | 04-10-2014 |
20140096819 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING SAME - A rear contact heterojunction solar cell and a fabricating method. The solar cell comprises a silicon substrate having a passivating layer and an intrinsic amorphous silicon layer. At a back side of the intrinsic amorphous silicon layer, an emitter layer and a base layer are provided. Interposed between these emitter and base layers is a separation layer comprising an electrically insulating material. This separation layer as well as the base layer and emitter layer may be generated by vapour deposition. Due to such processing, adjacent regions of the emitter layer and the separating layer and adjacent regions of the base layer and the separating layer partially laterally overlap in overlapping areas in such a way that at least a part of the separating layer is located closer to the substrate than an overlapping portion of the respective one of the emitter layer and the base layer. | 04-10-2014 |
20140102520 | TRANSPARENT CONTACTS FOR STACKED COMPOUND PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS - A microsystems-enabled multi-junction photovoltaic (MEM-PV) cell includes a first photovoltaic cell having a first junction, the first photovoltaic cell including a first semiconductor material employed to form the first junction, the first semiconductor material having a first bandgap. The MEM-PV cell also includes a second photovoltaic cell comprising a second junction. The second photovoltaic cell comprises a second semiconductor material employed to form the second junction, the second semiconductor material having a second bandgap that is less than the first bandgap, the second photovoltaic cell further comprising a first contact layer disposed between the first junction of the first photovoltaic cell and the second junction of the second photovoltaic cell, the first contact layer composed of a third semiconductor material having a third bandgap, the third bandgap being greater than or equal to the first bandgap. | 04-17-2014 |
20140102521 | THIN FILM SILICON SOLAR CELL - Provided is a thin film silicon solar cell including a first optical absorption layer, a first transparent electrode disposed in a surface of the first optical absorption layer, a first transparent substrate covering the first transparent electrode, a second transparent electrode disposed another surface of the first optical absorption layer, and a second transparent substrate covering the second transparent electrode, wherein the first optical absorption layer has a thickness of about 500 Å to about 2000 Å. | 04-17-2014 |
20140102522 | A-SI:H ABSORBER LAYER FOR A-SI SINGLE- AND MULTIJUNCTION THIN FILM SILICON SOLAR CELL - The invention relates to a method for manufacturing a thin film solar cell, comprising the sequential steps of a) depositing a positively doped Si layer ( | 04-17-2014 |
20140102523 | HYBRID SOLAR CELL CONTACT - A solar cell and a method of forming a solar cell comprising: a semiconductor body having a p-n junction located between a front (light receiving) semiconductor region and a back (non-light receiving) semiconductor region; a dielectric layer extending over a front surface of the front semiconductor region; one or more elongate semiconductor fingers formed on the front surface of the front semiconductor region, the semiconductor fingers being exposed through the dielectric layer, more heavily doped than the remainder of the front semiconductor region and of the same dopant polarity; one or more elongate plated contacts formed to self align with and at least partially cover the semiconductor fingers; one or more metal collection fingers extending over the dielectric layer, generally transversely to the plated contacts. | 04-17-2014 |
20140102524 | NOVEL ELECTRON COLLECTORS FOR SILICON PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS - One embodiment of the present invention provides a solar cell. The solar cell includes a base layer comprising crystalline Si (c-Si), an electron collector situated on a first side of the base layer, and a hole collector situated on a second side of the base layer, which is opposite the first side. The electron collector includes a quantum-tunneling-barrier (QTB) layer situated adjacent to the base layer and a transparent conducting oxide (TCO) layer situated adjacent to the QTB layer. The TCO layer has a work function of less than 4.2 eV. | 04-17-2014 |
20140102525 | DYE-SENSITIZED TYPE SOLAR CELL - A dye-sensitized solar cell includes: a collective electrode having a light-transmitting function, a photoelectrode to be electrically connected to the collective electrode and being a semiconductor layer having a dye adsorbed thereon, and a counter electrode apart from the photoelectrode arranged in the interior of a tube-shaped vessel formed of a transparent glass; glass sealed portions formed at both ends of the tube-shaped vessel; external leads penetrating through the glass sealed portions and drawn out of the tube-shaped vessel; and an electrolytic solution filled in the tube-shaped vessel and hermetically sealed wherein the counter electrode includes an electric double-layer capacitor, the electric double-layer capacitor includes the counter electrode which also serves as a positive polarized electrode, a negative polarized electrode arranged apart therefrom inside of the counter electrode, and a separator arranged between the counter electrode and the negative polarized electrode, and the electrolytic solution filled therein. | 04-17-2014 |
20140102526 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE, METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SAME, DYE ADSORPTION DEVICE, LIQUID RETAINING JIG USED FOR DYE ADSORPTION DEVICE, AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION ELEMENT - Provided is a photoelectric conversion device which is capable of improving utilization efficiency of dye, a method for manufacturing the same, a dye adsorption device, a liquid retaining jig used for the dye adsorption device, and a method for manufacturing a photoelectric conversion element. | 04-17-2014 |
20140102527 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE - A photovoltaic device may be provided having a semiconductor substrate, an i-type amorphous layer or an i-type amorphous layer formed over a front surface or a back surface of the semiconductor substrate, and a p-type amorphous layer or an n-type amorphous layer formed over the i-type amorphous layer or the i-type amorphous layer. The i-type amorphous layer or the i-type amorphous layer has an oxygen concentration profile in which a concentration is reduced in a step-shape from a region near an interface with the semiconductor substrate and along a thickness direction. | 04-17-2014 |
20140102528 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE - A photovoltaic device is provided having a semiconductor substrate, an i-type amorphous layer formed over a front surface of the semiconductor substrate, a p-type amorphous layer formed over the i-type amorphous layer, an i-type amorphous layer formed over aback surface of the semiconductor substrate, and an n-type amorphous layer formed over the i-type amorphous layer. The i-type amorphous layer and the i-type amorphous layer have oxygen concentration profiles in which concentrations are reduced in a step-shape from regions near interfaces with the semiconductor substrate and along a thickness direction, and an oxygen concentration in the step-shape portion of the i-type amorphous layer is higher than an oxygen concentration in the step-shape portion of the i-type amorphous layer. | 04-17-2014 |
20140109958 | METHOD OF IN-SITU FABRICATING INTRINSIC ZINC OXIDE LAYER AND THE PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE THEREOF - A method of fabricating a photovoltaic device includes forming an absorber layer for photon absorption over a substrate, forming a buffer layer above the absorber layer, wherein both the absorber layer and the buffer layer are semiconductors, and forming a layer of intrinsic zinc oxide above the buffer layer through a hydrothermal reaction in a solution of a zinc-containing salt and an alkaline chemical. | 04-24-2014 |
20140109959 | DYE-SENSITIZED SOLAR CELL COMPRISING ION LAYER AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING - The present invention relates to a dye-sensitized solar cell and to a method for manufacturing same, and more specifically, provides a novel dye-sensitized solar cell for preventing photoelectron recombination due to a triiodide, and to a method for manufacturing same. The dye-sensitized solar cell, according to the present invention, comprises a metal oxide resulting from coadsorbing, on a surface of the dye-sensitized solar cell, a reactive compound which can react with iodine with a dye. The dye-sensitized solar cell is highly efficient by being able to prevent the photoelectron recombination due to the triiodide while using a small amount of the dye. | 04-24-2014 |
20140109960 | CZTS THIN FILM SOLAR CELL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - A thin film solar cell comprises a metal rear surface electrode layer formed on a substrate, a p-type CZTS light-absorbing layer formed on the electrode layer, an n-type high-resistance buffer layer containing a zinc compound as a material and formed on the p-type CZTS light-absorbing layer, and an n-type transparent electroconductive film formed on the n-type high-resistance buffer layer. When the Cu—Zn—Sn composition ratio (atom ratio) of the p-type CZTS light-absorbing layer is represented by coordinates with the Cu/(Zn+Sn) ratio shown on the horizontal axis and the Zn/Sn ratio shown on the vertical axis, the ratio is within the region formed by connecting point A (0.825, 1.108), point B (1.004, 0.905), point C (1.004, 1.108), point E (0.75, 1.6), and point D (0.65, 1.5), and the Zn/Sn ratio of the p-type CZTS light-absorbing layer surface in the n-type high-resistance buffer layer is 1.11 or less. | 04-24-2014 |
20140109961 | COMPOSITIONALLY-GRADED BAND GAP HETEROJUNCTION SOLAR CELL - A photovoltaic device includes a composition modulated semiconductor structure including a p-doped first semiconductor material layer, a first intrinsic compositionally-graded semiconductor material layer, an intrinsic semiconductor material layer, a second intrinsic compositionally-graded semiconductor layer, and an n-doped first semiconductor material layer. The first and second intrinsic compositionally-graded semiconductor material layers include an alloy of a first semiconductor material having a greater band gap width and a second semiconductor material having a smaller band gap with, and the concentration of the second semiconductor material increases toward the intrinsic semiconductor material layer in the first and second compositionally-graded semiconductor material layers. The photovoltaic device provides an open circuit voltage comparable to that of the first semiconductor material, and a short circuit current comparable to that of the second semiconductor material, thereby increasing the efficiency of the photovoltaic device. | 04-24-2014 |
20140116500 | INVERTED METAMORPHIC MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELLS MOUNTED ON FLEXIBLE SUPPORT WITH BIFACIAL CONTACTS - A method of manufacturing a mounted solar cell by providing a first substrate; depositing on the first substrate a sequence of layers of semiconductor material to form a multijunction solar cell using an MOCVD process; depositing a metal electrode layer on its surface of the layers of semiconductor material; attaching a metallic flexible film comprising a nickel-cobalt ferrous alloy material, or a nickel iron alloy material, directly to the surface of the metal electrode layer of the semiconductor solar cell. The first substrate is removed, and an electrical interconnection member is attached to the solar cell. | 05-01-2014 |
20140116501 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL - A photovoltaic cell may include a hydrogenated amorphous silicon layer including a n-type doped region and a p-type doped region. The n-type doped region may be separated from the p-type doped region by an intrinsic region. The photovoltaic cell may include a front transparent electrode connected to the n-type doped region, and a rear electrode connected to the p-type doped region. The efficiency may be optimized for indoor lighting values by tuning the value of the H | 05-01-2014 |
20140116502 | QUANTUM NANODOTS, TWO-DIMENSIONAL QUANTUM NANODOT ARRAY AS WELL AS SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE USING THE SAME AND PRODUCTION METHOD THEREFOR - A quantum nanodot | 05-01-2014 |
20140124019 | LOW VACUUM FABRICATION OF MICROCRYSTALLINE SOLAR CELLS - A device and method for forming a photovoltaic device include forming a photovoltaic stack of layers on a transparent substrate wherein at least one layer of the photovoltaic stack of layers includes a microcrystalline layer. The microcrystalline layer is formed by purging a vacuum chamber with a gettering gas to remove contaminant species from the chamber prior to forming the microcrystalline layer. The microcrystalline layer is deposited at a vacuum base pressure of greater than about 10 | 05-08-2014 |
20140124020 | POLYCRYSTALLINE CDTE THIN FILM SEMICONDUCTOR PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL STRUCTURES FOR USE IN SOLAR ELECTRICITY GENERATION - A reverse p-n junction solar cell device and methods for forming the reverse p-n junction solar cell device are described. A variety of n-p junction and reverse p-n junction solar cell devices and related methods of manufacturing are provided. N-intrinsic-p junction and reverse p-intrinsic-n junction solar cell devices are also described. | 05-08-2014 |
20140124021 | MICROSTRUCTURED CRYSTALLINE DEVICE IN CONFINED SPACE, A DYE-SENSITIZED SOLAR CELL, AND METHOD OF PREPARATION THEREOF - A method of forming an ordered nanorods array in a confined space is used to form a high surface area device where an ensemble of parallel trenches has micrometer dimensions for the width and depth of the trenches, which are decorated with crystalline nanowires radiating from the sidewalls and bases of the trenches. The high surface area device is formed by depositing a conformal crystalline seed coating in the trenches, forming microchannels from these trenches by placing a barrier layer on the open surface of the trenches, contacting the conformal coating with a crystal precursor solution that is caused to flow through the microchannels. In an embodiment, a very high surface area electrode is constructed with ZnO nanowires radiating from the sidewalls and base of trenches formed on a silicon substrate. The device can be a dye-sensitized solar cell. | 05-08-2014 |
20140124022 | SOLAR CELL WITH IMPROVED CONVERSION EFFICIENCY - Solar cells exhibiting improved conversion efficiency are disclosed. Particularly, multi-pn junction solar cells that contain a current spreading layer as well as concentrating photovoltaic modules that include such a solar cell and light concentrating optics are disclosed. The multi-pn junctions in question may generally be made up of III-V semiconductor materials, while the current spreading layer may generally be made up of II-VI semiconductor materials. | 05-08-2014 |
20140130854 | PHOTOELECTRIC DEVICE AND THE MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - A photoelectric device includes: a semiconductor substrate including monocrystalline silicon and has first and second surfaces that are opposite to each other; a doping unit formed on the first surface of the semiconductor substrate; and an insulating layer that is formed between the doping unit and the second surface of the semiconductor substrate, wherein the doping unit includes: a first semiconductor layer including a first dopant doped in the monocrystalline silicon; and a second semiconductor layer including a second dopant doped in the monocrystalline silicon. | 05-15-2014 |
20140130855 | DISPERSIVE OPTICAL SYSTEMS AND METHODS AND RELATED ELECTRICITY GENERATION SYSTEMS AND METHODS - Dispersive optical systems and methods are disclosed, as well as energy generation systems utilizing such systems in combination with photovoltaic cells. A dispersive optical system includes an optical element, a layer of high-dispersion microprisms, and a layer of low-dispersion microprisms. The optical element is configured to focus a light beam. The layer of high-dispersion microprisms is configured to refract the light beam. The layer of low-dispersion microprisms is configured to refract the light beam. The dispersive optical system is configured to optically concentrate and disperse input light incident thereupon into an output comprising a plurality of bands of light each having a different wavelength. A method of optical dispersion includes focusing a light beam with an optical element, refracting the light beam with a layer of high-dispersion microprisms, and refracting the light beam with a layer of low-dispersion microprisms. | 05-15-2014 |
20140137929 | ORGANIC SOLAR CELL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - A solar cell includes an active layer between a first electrode and a second electrode, and a transport layer between the active layer and one of the first or second electrodes. A plurality of nanoparticles are included in at least one of the active layer or the transport layer. The nanoparticles may have the same or different shapes or sizes and may be spaced differently based on location. The nanoparticles may be made of metal or a different material and the active layer may be made from an organic photovoltaic material. | 05-22-2014 |
20140137930 | MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELLS - High efficiency multijunction solar cells formed primarily of III-V semiconductor alloys and methods of making high efficiency multijunction solar cells are disclosed. | 05-22-2014 |
20140144494 | SOLAR CELL - The present invention relates to a solar cell layer and a method of making the same. The solar cell includes a substrate, a rear electrode layer on the substrate, a light absorbing layer on the rear electrode layer, a buffer layer on the light absorbing layer, a transparent electrode layer on the buffer layer, and an anti-reflection layer on the transparent electrode. The light absorbing layer has a first region having a graded bandgap energy profile, a second region having a graded bandgap energy profile, and third region, between the first region and the second region, having a substantially flat bandgap energy profile. Such bandgap energy profiles allows for easy excitation of the valence band into the conduction band, while also preventing electrons and holes from combining in the light absorbing layer, thus increasing efficiency of the solar cell. | 05-29-2014 |
20140144495 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - Disclosed is a method for manufacturing a solar cell having a structure wherein a silicon thin film ( | 05-29-2014 |
20140144496 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING THE SAME - Provided is a photoelectric conversion device which includes a first conductivity type inorganic semiconductor layer, a noble metal film provided partially on the surface of the first conductivity type inorganic semiconductor layer, and a photoelectric conversion layer including a first conductivity type organic semiconductor pillar being in contact with the noble metal film and containing a sulfur atom, and a second conductivity type organic semiconductor pillar being in contact with the first conductivity type inorganic semiconductor layer and including a material not containing a sulfur atom. | 05-29-2014 |
20140150856 | PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULE - Disclosed is a photovoltaic module which includes a plurality of stacked unit cells and is encapsulated by an encapsulant and is designed such that an initial short circuit current of the photovoltaic module under standard test conditions is determined by the initial short circuit current of a top cell or a bottom cell among the plurality of the unit cells in accordance with a nominal operating cell temperature of the photovoltaic module. | 06-05-2014 |
20140150857 | MULTI-JUNCTION MULTI-TAB PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES - Described herein is a photovoltaic device operable to convert light to electricity, comprising a substrate, a first junction, a second junction and a third junction; wherein the first junction and the second junction are arranged with opposite polarity and the second junction and the third junction are arranged with opposite polarity. The photovoltaic device may further comprise a terminal directly electrically connected to anodes of the first and second junctions or to cathodes of the first and second junctions. | 06-05-2014 |
20140150858 | OPTOELECTRONIC DEVICE AND THE MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - An optoelectronic device comprises an optoelectronic semiconductor stack layer; a conductive layer on the optoelectronic semiconductor stack layer, the conductive layer comprising a top surface, a bottom surface opposite to the top surface, and a side surface; a first barrier layer covering the top surface; a second barrier layer covering the bottom surface; and a first metal oxide layer, wherein the first metal oxide layer covers the side surface, the first barrier layer, and the second barrier layer. | 06-05-2014 |
20140150859 | IONICALLY RECONFIGURABLE ORGANIC PHOTOVOLTAIC AND PHOTONIC DEVICES WITH TUNABLE COMMON ELECTRODE - The present invention is directed to a novel type of monolithic hybrid technology. The invention is directed to photonic devices with a minimum of three (3) electrodes and by an inventive process for incorporating mobile ions into organic components of high performance organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices, organic photodetectors and other hybrid photonic devices (such as tandems of OPV), through a novel unique device architecture of a hybrid “Ionic-NT-OPV” structure, in which the ionic components are separated from the OPV by a common nanoporous charge collecting electrode (symbolically depicted as a nanotube: NT), permeable to ions of ionic component inside an inter-connected microchamber. | 06-05-2014 |
20140150860 | ELECTRONIC DEVICE FROM DISSIPATIVE QUANTUM DOTS - An example electronic device includes a region formed from an array of dissipative quantum dots. The quantum dots are arranged according to their electronic structure to provide a tailored asymmetry in current flow through the region. | 06-05-2014 |
20140150861 | SECONDARY TREATMENT OF FILMS OF COLLOIDAL QUANTUM DOTS FOR OPTOELECTRONICS AND DEVICES PRODUCED THEREBY - A method of forming an optoelectronic device. The method includes providing a deposition surface and contacting the deposition surface with a ligand exchange chemical and contacting the deposition surface with a quantum dot (QD) colloid. This initial process is repeated over one or more cycles to form an initial QD film on the deposition surface. The method further includes subsequently contacting the QD film with a secondary treatment chemical and optionally contacting the surface with additional QDs to form an enhanced QD layer exhibiting multiple exciton generation (MEG) upon absorption of high energy photons by the QD active layer. Devices having an enhanced QD active layer as described above are also disclosed. | 06-05-2014 |
20140158187 | SELECTIVE EMITTER PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE - A method for fabricating a photovoltaic device includes forming a patterned layer on a doped emitter portion of the photovoltaic device, the patterned layer including openings that expose areas of the doped emitter portion and growing an epitaxial layer over the patterned layer such that a crystalline phase grows in contact with the doped emitter portion and a non-crystalline phase grows in contact with the patterned layer. The non-crystalline phase is removed from the patterned layer. Conductive contacts are formed on the epitaxial layer in the openings to form a contact area for the photovoltaic device. | 06-12-2014 |
20140158188 | Solar Cell and Method of Manufacturing the Same - A solar cell and a method of manufacturing the same are disclosed. | 06-12-2014 |
20140158189 | AREAL CURRENT MATCHING OF TANDEM SOLAR CELLS - A tandem solar cell includes a bottom solar cell having an energy bandgap with E | 06-12-2014 |
20140158190 | Absorbers for High Efficiency Thin-Film PV - Methods are described for forming CIGS absorber layers in TFPV devices with graded compositions and graded band gaps. Methods are described for utilizing Al to increase the band gap at the front surface of the absorber layer. Methods are described for forming a Cu—In—Ga layer followed by partial or full selenization. This results in a higher Ga concentration at the back interface. The substrate is then exposed to an aluminum CVD precursor while the substrate is still in the selenization equipment to deposit a thin Al layer. The substrate is then exposed to a Se source to fully convert the absorber layer. This results in a higher Al concentration at the front of the absorber. | 06-12-2014 |
20140158191 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A solar cell includes a substrate; a back electrode layer provided on the substrate; a light absorbing layer provided on the back electrode layer; a transparent electrode layer provided on the light absorbing layer; and an impurity doping layer provided between the light absorbing layer and the transparent electrode layer. In the solar cell, contact resistance during contact of the transparent electrode layer with the back electrode layer is reduced by making an impurity doping amount of the impurity doping layer greater than that of the transparent electrode layer. | 06-12-2014 |
20140166087 | SOLAR CELLS HAVING GRADED DOPED REGIONS AND METHODS OF MAKING SOLAR CELLS HAVING GRADED DOPED REGIONS - A photovoltaic cell having a graded doped region such as a graded emitter and methods of making photovoltaic cells having graded doped regions such as a graded emitter are disclosed. Doping is adjusted across a surface to minimize resistive (I2R) power losses. The graded emitters provide a gradual change in sheet resistance over the entire distance between the lines. The graded emitter profile may have a lower sheet resistance near the metal lines and a higher sheet resistance farther from the metal line edges. The sheet resistance is graded such that the sheet resistance is lower where I2R power losses are highest due to current crowding. One advantage of graded emitters over selective emitters is improved efficiency. An additional advantage of graded emitters over selective emitters is improved ease of aligning metallization to the low sheet resistance regions. | 06-19-2014 |
20140166088 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE - An article, such as a photovoltaic device, and methods for making such articles, are provided. For example, one embodiment is an article comprising a plurality of layers comprising an absorber layer and a window stack. The window stack comprises antimony. | 06-19-2014 |
20140166089 | SOLAR CELL WITH SILICON OXYNITRIDE DIELECTRIC LAYER - Solar cells with silicon oxynitride dielectric layers and methods of forming silicon oxynitride dielectric layers for solar cell fabrication are described. For example, an emitter region of a solar cell includes a portion of a substrate having a back surface opposite a light receiving surface. A silicon oxynitride (SiO | 06-19-2014 |
20140166090 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING SOLAR CELL - A solar cell that includes a negative electrode made of Al—Nd or the like formed on a substrate, an electron transport layer made of n-type Si or the like, a quantum dot arrangement layer made of graphene or the like, a quantum dot layer, a positive hole transport layer made of p-type Si or the like, and a positive electrode made of ITO or the like are sequentially formed on a surface of the negative electrode. Output electrodes are formed on the positive electrode so that at least a part of the surface of the positive electrode is exposed. The quantum dot layer is constructed such that quantum dots of Si cluster particles are three-dimensionally periodically arranged. The Si cluster particles have an average particle size of 3 nm or less, and the interparticle distance between the Si cluster particles is 1 nm or less. | 06-19-2014 |
20140166091 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE WITH DOUBLE-JUNCTION - A photovoltaic device includes a substrate having a first doped-type, a first doped region having a second doped-type in the substrate, a second doped region in a portion of the first doped region and exposing the other portion of the first doped region, and a third doped region in the exposed portion of the first doped region. The polarity of the second doped-type is substantially reversed with that of the first doped-type. The second doped region has a polarity substantially identical to that of the first doped-type and a doped concentration substantially greater than that of the substrate. The third doped region has a polarity substantially identical to that of the second doped-type and a doped concentration substantially greater than that of the first doped region. The first doped-type is one of N-type and P-type, while the second doped-type is the other of P-type and N-type. | 06-19-2014 |
20140174515 | ION IMPLANTATION OF DOPANTS FOR FORMING SPATIALLY LOCATED DIFFUSION REGIONS OF SOLAR CELLS - Diffusion regions of a solar cell are formed using a blanket layer of film that is doped with dopants of a first conductivity type. Dopants of a second conductivity type are implanted in select regions of the blanket layer of film to form dopant source regions of the second conductivity type. Diffusion regions of the solar cell are formed by diffusing dopants of the first conductivity type and dopants of the second conductivity type from the blanket layer of film into an underlying silicon material. The blanket layer of film may be a P-type dopant source layer doped with boron, with phosphorus being implanted in select regions of the P-type dopant source layer to form N-type dopant source regions in the P-type dopant source layer. | 06-26-2014 |
20140174516 | SOLAR CELL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - A solar cell includes a crystalline photovoltaic layer, a first impurity region having a first conductivity type and a second impurity region having a second conductivity type in the photovoltaic layer, a third impurity region having the first conductivity type in the first impurity region, a fourth impurity region having the second conductivity type in the second impurity region, a first barrier layer and a second barrier layer contacting the third impurity region and the fourth impurity region, respectively, and a first electrode and a second electrode contacting the first barrier layer and the second barrier layer, respectively. The first impurity region and the second impurity region are spaced apart from each other. The third impurity region and the fourth impurity region have an impurity concentration higher than the first impurity region the second impurity region, respectively. | 06-26-2014 |
20140174517 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A solar cell includes a first photoelectric conversion unit based on crystalline semiconductor, a second photoelectric conversion unit on the first photoelectric conversion unit and including a plurality of conversion portions based on amorphous semiconductor, a bonding layer disposed between the first and second photoelectric conversion units to connect the first photoelectric conversion unit to the second photoelectric conversion unit, and electrodes electrically connected respectively to the first and second photoelectric conversion units. | 06-26-2014 |
20140182667 | MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELL WITH LOW BAND GAP ABSORBING LAYER IN THE MIDDLE CELL - A multijunction photovoltaic cell including a top subcell; a second subcell disposed immediately adjacent to the top subcell and producing a first photo-generated current; and including a sequence of first and second different semiconductor layers with different lattice constant; and a lower subcell disposed immediately adjacent to the second subcell and producing a second photo-generated current substantially equal in amount to the first photo-generated current density. | 07-03-2014 |
20140182668 | HIGH EFFICIENCY SILICON-COMPATIBLE PHOTODETECTORS BASED ON GE QUANTUM DOTS AND GE/SI HETERO-NANOWIRES - The present disclosure focuses on Ge nanostructured materials for optoelectronic devices: including high-efficiency quantum dot (QD) photodetectors and Si and Ge heteronanowire solar cells. The common thread among these materials is the use of Ge/Si or Ge/oxide barriers to confine carriers and enhance photoconductive gain in detectors and optical absorption and spectral coverage in solar cells. | 07-03-2014 |
20140182669 | DYE-SENSITIZED SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - To provide a dye-sensitized solar cell with suppressed photoelectric conversion efficiency deterioration due to a gap to be possibly be generated between a transparent member on which a light is incident and the dye-sensitized solar cell components. | 07-03-2014 |
20140190558 | TANDEM SOLAR CELL - A solar cell is configured by: arranging two glass substrates, each of which is provided with a transparent conductive layer, so that the transparent conductive layers face each other; disposing a titanium dioxide layer on one glass substrate; disposing silicon dioxide particles on the other glass substrate; and filling the space between the two glass substrates with an electrolyte. The glass substrate on which light does not enter may alternatively be a metal plate. A sensitizing dye such as a ruthenium complex may be absorbed onto the titanium dioxide layer or the silicon dioxide layer. Since the titanium dioxide layer generates electric power by means of ultraviolet light incident thereon and the silicon dioxide layer generates electric power by means of visible light and infrared light incident thereon, the generation efficiency of the solar cell is increased. | 07-10-2014 |
20140190559 | MONOLITHIC MULTIPLE SOLAR CELLS - A monolithic multiple solar cell includes at least three partial cells, with a semiconductor mirror placed between two partial cells. The aim of the invention is to improve the radiation stability of said solar cell. For this purpose, the semiconductor mirror has a high degree of reflection in at least one part of a spectral absorption area of the partial cell which is arranged above the semiconductor mirror and a high degree of transmission within the spectral absorption range of the partial cell arranged below the semiconductor mirror. | 07-10-2014 |
20140196773 | MULTI-JUNCTION III-V SOLAR CELL - A multi junction solar cell structure includes a top photovoltaic cell including III-V semiconductor materials and a silicon-based bottom photovoltaic cell. A thin, germanium-rich silicon germanium buffer layer is provided between the top and bottom cells. Fabrication techniques for producing multi junction III-V solar cell structures, lattice-matched or pseudomorphic to germanium, on silicon substrates is further provided wherein silicon serves as the bottom cell. The open circuit voltage of the silicon cell may be enhanced by localized back surface field structures, localized back contacts, or amorphous silicon-based heterojunction back contacts. | 07-17-2014 |
20140196774 | MULTI-JUNCTION III-V SOLAR CELL - A multi junction solar cell structure includes a top photovoltaic cell including III-V semiconductor materials and a silicon-based bottom photovoltaic cell. A thin, germanium-rich silicon germanium buffer layer is provided between the top and bottom cells. Fabrication techniques for producing multi junction III-V solar cell structures, lattice-matched or pseudomorphic to germanium, on silicon substrates is further provided wherein silicon serves as the bottom cell. The open circuit voltage of the silicon cell may be enhanced by localized back surface field structures, localized back contacts, or amorphous silicon-based heterojunction back contacts. | 07-17-2014 |
20140196775 | SYNTHESIS METHOD OF CU(IN,GA)SE2 NANOROD OR NANOWIRE AND MATERIALS INCLUDING THE SAME - A method of fabricating CIGS nanorod or nanowire according to one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure comprises a deposition preparation step of placing a raw material including copper, indium, gallium and selenium and a substrate, and a deposition step of growing CIGS nanorod or nanowire on the substrate by maintaining an internal temperature of a reactor, in which carrier gas flows at a constant flow rate, at a temperature in the range of 850 to 1000° C. According to the method, Cu(In,Ga)Se | 07-17-2014 |
20140196776 | SOLAR CELL APPARATUS AND METHOD OF FABRICATING THE SAME - Disclosed are a solar cell apparatus and a method of fabricating the same. The solar cell apparatus includes a substrate, a first electrode layer on the substrate, a plurality of light absorbing columns on the first electrode layer, and a second electrode layer on the light absorbing columns. | 07-17-2014 |
20140196777 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A solar cell and a method for manufacturing the solar cell are discussed. An embodiment of the method includes forming an emitter region containing impurities of a second conductive type opposite a first conductive type at a back surface of a semiconductor substrate containing impurities of the first conductive type, forming a passivation layer paste containing impurities of the first conductive type on the emitter region, selectively performing a thermal process on a first partial area of the passivation layer paste to form a back surface field region containing impurities of the first conductive type at a partial area of the emitter region, forming a plurality of openings in partial areas of the passivation layer paste to form a passivation layer, forming a first electrode connected to the emitter region, and forming a second electrode connected to the back surface field region. | 07-17-2014 |
20140196778 | LIGHT ABSORBING MATERIAL AND SOLAR CELL INCLUDING THE SAME - A light absorbing material may have an energy bandgap of greater than or equal to about 0.8 eV and an absorption coefficient of greater than about 2.1×10 | 07-17-2014 |
20140196779 | MULTI-JUNCTION SOLAR CELLS WITH THROUGH-SUBSTRATE VIAS - Multi junction solar cells and methods for making multi junction solar cells are disclosed. Back-contact-only multi junction solar cells wherein the side facing the sun, is capable of withstanding environments for use in space are disclosed. | 07-17-2014 |
20140196780 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES WITH AN INTERFACIAL BAND-GAP MODIFYING STRUCTURE AND METHODS FOR FORMING THE SAME - A Schottky-barrier-reducing layer is provided between a p-doped semiconductor layer and a transparent conductive material layer of a photovoltaic device. The Schottky-barrier-reducing layer can be a conductive material layer having a work function that is greater than the work function of the transparent conductive material layer. The conductive material layer can be a carbon-material layer such as a carbon nanotube layer or a graphene layer. Alternately, the conductive material layer can be another transparent conductive material layer having a greater work function than the transparent conductive material layer. The reduction of the Schottky barrier reduces the contact resistance across the transparent material layer and the p-doped semiconductor layer, thereby reducing the series resistance and increasing the efficiency of the photovoltaic device. | 07-17-2014 |
20140202526 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A solar cell and a method for manufacturing the same are discussed. The solar cell includes a substrate containing impurities of a first conductive type, an emitter region which is positioned at a front surface of the substrate and contains impurities of a second conductive type opposite the first conductive type, a back passivation layer which is positioned on a back surface of the substrate and has openings, a back surface field region containing impurities of the first conductive type, a first electrode connected to the emitter region, and a second electrode connected to the back surface field region. The back surface field region includes a first back surface field region positioned on the back passivation layer and a second back surface field region, which is positioned at the back surface of the substrate exposed by the openings of the back passivation layer. | 07-24-2014 |
20140202527 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SOLAR CELL - A solar cell is disclosed. The solar cell includes a transparent conductive layer formed on a substrate, microstructures protruding vertically aslant from a surface of the transparent conductive layer, an electron transport layer configured to cover the microstructures and formed of an electron transport metal oxide, a light absorber adhered to inner pores and a surface of the electron transport layer, a hole transport layer configured to cover the surface of the electron transport layer and formed of a hole transport material, and an electrode formed on the hole transport layer. In the solar cell, the thickness of a light absorption layer can be maximized to obtain a high current density and high photoelectric conversion efficiency. | 07-24-2014 |
20140209155 | Three-Dimensional Metamaterial Device with Photovoltaic Bristles - The systems, methods, and devices of the various embodiments provide a photovoltaic cell made up of an array of photovoltaic bristles. The photovoltaic bristles may be configured individually and in an array to have a high probability of photon absorption. The high probability of photon absorption may result in high light energy conversion efficiency. | 07-31-2014 |
20140209156 | BIPOLAR DIODE HAVING AN OPTICAL QUANTUM STRUCTURE ABSORBER - The invention relates to a novel silicon-based, single-stage solar cell which, instead of converting light in a bulk semiconductor material, generates electrical energy within a very thin quantum structure that is deposited. The layer sequence itself consists of a three-fold hetero structure as an absorber, which is embedded into the space charge region of a pn-junction and is based on quantummechanical effects. | 07-31-2014 |
20140209157 | FORMING OF OPTOELECTRONIC DEVICES, PARTICULARLY OF INVERTED-TYPE OPV CELLS - This forming involves a composition including: poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) or PEDOT; polystyrene sulfonate or PSS; a compound (A) having formula: | 07-31-2014 |
20140209158 | SOLAR CELL - A solar cell includes a crystalline silicon substrate, a plurality of P-type semiconductor material layers, a plurality of N-type semiconductor material layers, a plurality of first and second anode electric collection portions, at least one first electrode bus portion, a plurality of first and second cathode electric collection portions, at least one second electrode bus portion, and at least one third electrode bus portion. The first anode electric collection portions, the first electrode bus portion, the first cathode electric collection portions, the second electrode bus portion, the second anode electric collection portions, the second electrode bus portion, the second cathode electric collection portions, and the third electrode bus portion are arranged to form plural cell sub-units, such that an output voltage of the solar cell can be increased. | 07-31-2014 |
20140216534 | BUFFER LAYER FOR HIGH PERFORMING AND LOW LIGHT DEGRADED SOLAR CELLS - Methods for forming a photovoltaic device include forming a buffer layer between a transparent electrode and a p-type layer. The buffer layer includes a doped germanium-free silicon base material. The buffer layer has a work function that falls within barrier energies of the transparent electrode and the p-type layer. An intrinsic layer and an n-type layer are formed on the p-type layer. Devices are also provided. | 08-07-2014 |
20140216535 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE WITH PROTECTIVE LAYER OVER A WINDOW LAYER AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE OF THE SAME - A photovoltaic device including a protective layer between a window layer and an absorber layer, the protective layer inhibiting dissolving/intermixing of the window layer into the absorber layer during a device activation step, and methods of forming such photovoltaic devices. | 08-07-2014 |
20140230888 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A solar cell including a light absorption layer including a p-type compound semiconductor; and a buffer layer including a first buffer layer and a second buffer layer on the light absorption layer, the second buffer layer being between the first buffer layer and light absorption layer, and a zinc sulfide (ZnS) concentration of the first buffer layer being greater than a ZnS concentration of the second buffer layer is disclosed. Methods of manufacturing the solar cell are also disclosed. | 08-21-2014 |
20140238475 | SOLAR CELL AND FABRICATION METHOD THEREOF - A solar cell includes a base having a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface, a lightly-doped region disposed on the first surface of the base, a semiconductor layer disposed on the lightly-doped region, a first electrode disposed on the first surface of the base, and a second electrode disposed on the second surface of the base. The lightly-doped region has a doping type opposite to the doping type of the base. The bottom of the first electrode is substantially aligned with the interface between the first surface of the base and the lightly-doped region. | 08-28-2014 |
20140238476 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF, AND PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION MODULE - A photoelectric conversion device in which a substantially intrinsic i-type amorphous hydrogen-containing semiconductor layer, a p-type amorphous hydrogen-containing semiconductor layer, and a first transparent conductive layer are stacked in this order on a first surface of an n-type semiconductor substrate that generates a photogenerated carrier by receiving light, wherein the first transparent conductive layer includes a hydrogen-containing area formed of a transparent conductive material that contains hydrogen and a hydrogen-diffusion suppression area that is present on a side of the p-type amorphous hydrogen-containing semiconductor layer with respect to the hydrogen-containing area and that is formed of a transparent conductive material that does not substantially contain hydrogen, and the hydrogen-diffusion suppression area has a hydrogen concentration distribution in which a hydrogen content on a side of the p-type amorphous hydrogen-containing semiconductor layer is lower than that on a side of the hydrogen-containing area. | 08-28-2014 |
20140246081 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CONVERTER DEVICE AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE - A photovoltaic converter device includes a photovoltaic conversion layer containing a plurality of nanoparticles in a first material in a dispersed state, wherein the nanoparticles include a second material in particles and a third material that coats the second material, the third material having a band gap E | 09-04-2014 |
20140246082 | STACKED BODY FOR MANUFACTURING COMPOUND SEMICONDUCTOR SOLAR BATTERY, COMPOUND SEMICONDUCTOR SOLAR BATTERY, AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING COMPOUND SEMICONDUCTOR SOLAR BATTERY - Disclosed is a stacked body for manufacturing a compound semiconductor solar battery, wherein a first etching stop layer ( | 09-04-2014 |
20140261648 | METHODS FOR MANUFACTURING THREE-DIMENSIONAL METAMATERIAL DEVICES WITH PHOTOVOLTAIC BRISTLES - A metamaterial of an array of photovoltaic bristles may enable each photovoltaic bristle to have a high probability of photon absorption. The high probability of photon absorption may lead to increased efficiency and more power generation from an array of photovoltaic bristles. A completed photovoltaic device may benefit from further total efficiency gains by implementing a corrugated structure in the metamaterial and/or an assembled solar panel of metamaterials. Various methods to manufacture these metamaterial devices may include utilize stamping methods, photolithographic techniques, etching techniques, deposition techniques, as well as the creation of vias to form arrays of photovoltaic bristles for the metamaterial photovoltaic devices. | 09-18-2014 |
20140261649 | ENERGY HARVESTING DEVICES AND METHOD OF FABRICATION THEREOF - An apparatus and method pertaining to a perpetual energy harvester. The harvester absorbs ambient infrared radiation and provides continual power regardless of the environment. The device seeks to harvest the largely overlooked blackbody radiation through use of a semiconductor thermal harvester. | 09-18-2014 |
20140261650 | SOLAR CELL - A solar cell includes a first electrode, a second electrode spaced apart from the first electrode, and a light absorption layer between the first electrode and the second electrode. The light absorption layer includes a first absorption sublayer, a second absorption sublayer and a third absorption sublayer. The first absorption sublayer contacts the first electrode and includes a first quantum dot, the second absorption sublayer is between the first absorption sublayer and the third absorption sublayer and includes a second quantum dot, and the third absorption sublayer contacts the second electrode and includes a third quantum dot. The second quantum dot is larger than the first quantum dot and the third quantum dot. | 09-18-2014 |
20140261651 | PV Device with Graded Grain Size and S:Se Ratio - Disclosed herein are CIGS-based photon-absorbing layers disposed on a substrate. The photon-absorbing layers are useful in photovoltaic devices. The photon absorbing-layer is made of a semiconductor material having empirical formula AB | 09-18-2014 |
20140261652 | SOLAR CELLL - A device, system, and method for a multi junction solar cell are described herein. An exemplary multi-solar cell structure can have a substrate having a first surface having a (111) crystalline etched surface. A dielectric layer can be deposited on the first surface of the substrate. A graded buffer layer can be grown on a second surface of the substrate with the second surface having a (100) crystalline surface. A first solar subcell within or on top of the graded buffer layer and a second solar subcell grown on top of the first solar subcell. | 09-18-2014 |
20140261653 | MULTI JUNCTIONS IN A SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE FORMED BY DIFFERENT DEPOSITION TECHNIQUES - A semiconductor device, in particular a solar cell is formed on the basis of a hybrid deposition strategy using MOCVD and MBE in order to provide lattice matched semiconductor compounds. To this end, the MBE may be applied for providing a nitrogen-containing semiconductor compound that allows a desired low band gap energy and a lattice matched configuration with respect to gallium arsenide substrates. | 09-18-2014 |
20140283901 | NANOSTRUCTURE, NANOSTRUCTURE FABRICATION METHOD, AND PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL INCORPORATING A NANOSTRUCTURE - The application discloses a technique for fabricating gallium-arsenide-phosphorous (GaAsP) nanostructures using gallium-assisted (Ga-assisted) Vapour-Liquid-Solid (VLS) growth, i.e. without requiring gold catalyst particles. The resulting Ga-assisted GaAsP nanostructures are free of gold particles, which renders them useful for optoelectronic applications, e.g. as a junction in a solar cell. The Ga-assisted GaAsP nanostructures can be fabricated with a band gap in the range 1.6 to 1.8 eV (e.g. at and around 1.7 eV). | 09-25-2014 |
20140283902 | BACK JUNCTION SOLAR CELL WITH TUNNEL OXIDE - One embodiment of the present invention provides a back junction solar cell. The solar cell includes a base layer, a quantum-tunneling-barrier (QTB) layer situated below the base layer facing away from incident light, an emitter layer situated below the QTB layer, a front surface field (FSF) layer situated above the base layer, a front-side electrode situated above the FSF layer, and a back-side electrode situated below the emitter layer. | 09-25-2014 |
20140283903 | Photovoltaic Semiconductor Chip - A photovoltaic semiconductor chip comprising a semiconductor body which comprises a semiconductor layer sequence with an active region provided to generate electrical energy. The active region is formed between a first semiconductor layer of a first conductivity type and a second semiconductor layer of a second conductivity type different from the first conductivity type. The semiconductor body is disposed on a carrier body. The first semiconductor layer is disposed on the side of the second semiconductor layer facing away from the carrier body. The semiconductor body comprises a recess which extends from the carrier body through the second semiconductor layer. A first connection structure is disposed between the carrier body and the semiconductor body and is connected in an electrically conductive manner in the recess to the first semiconductor layer. | 09-25-2014 |
20140290726 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A solar cell includes an optical absorption layer; a buffer layer on the optical absorption layer, the buffer layer having a band gap energy gradient; and a transparent electrode layer on the buffer layer, wherein a band gap energy of a lower surface of the buffer layer is higher than a band gap energy of an upper surface of the buffer layer. | 10-02-2014 |
20140290727 | SOLAR CELL - A solar cell of an embodiment has a first solar cell, a second solar cell, and an intermediate layer between the first and second solar cells. The first solar cell has a Si layer as a light absorbing layer. The second solar cell has as a light absorbing layer one of a group I-III-VI | 10-02-2014 |
20140299181 | Heterojunction III-V Photovoltaic Cell Fabrication - A heterojunction III-V photovoltaic (PV) cell includes a base layer comprising a III-V substrate, the base layer being less than about 20 microns thick; an intrinsic layer located on the base layer; an amorphous silicon layer located on the intrinsic layer; and a transparent conducting oxide layer located on the amorphous silicon layer. | 10-09-2014 |
20140305498 | OPTOELECTRIC DEVICES COMPRISING HYBRID METAMORPHIC BUFFER LAYERS - In one aspect, semiconductor structures are described herein. A semiconductor structure, in some implementations, comprises a first semiconductor layer having a first bandgap and a first lattice constant and a second semiconductor layer having a second bandgap and a second lattice constant. The second lattice constant is lower than the first lattice constant. Additionally, a transparent metamorphic buffer layer is disposed between the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer. The buffer layer has a constant or substantially constant bandgap and a varying lattice constant. The varying lattice constant is matched to the first lattice constant adjacent the first semiconductor layer and matched to the second lattice constant adjacent the second semiconductor layer. The buffer layer comprises a first portion comprising Al | 10-16-2014 |
20140311558 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A solar cell includes a semiconductor substrate containing impurities of a first conductive type, a back surface field region which is positioned on a back surface of the semiconductor substrate and is doped more than the semiconductor substrate with impurities of the first conductive type, an emitter region which is on the back surface of the semiconductor substrate adjacent to the back surface field region and contains impurities of a second conductive type different than the first conductive type, a metal layer which contains impurities of the second conductive type and on a back surface of the emitter region, a back passivation layer exposing a portion of the back surface field region and a portion of the metal layer. | 10-23-2014 |
20140318609 | SEMITRANSPARENT PHOTOCONVERSION DEVICE - The main object of the present invention is to provide a semitransparent photo conversion device that enhances harvesting of visible sunlight. For this purpose, a semitransparent photovoltaic cell is provided with a multilayer structure that can be used to change the color hue appearance of the cell while guaranteeing a minimum change in the light absorption capability. The photo conversion device has a direct or inverted architecture that comprises a first light transmissive electrical contact overlaying a transparent substrate, a charge blocking layer overlying the first light transmissive electrical contact and underlying the active organic photosensitive material, a second charge blocking layer overlying the active organic photosensitive material, a second light transmissive electrical contact overlying the second charge blocking layer, and a multilayer structure overlying the second light transmissive electrical contact. The multilayer structure is composed of two or more layers of light non-absorbing dielectric materials and two adjacent layers in the multilayer structure always have different refractive indexes. | 10-30-2014 |
20140318610 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD OF FABRICATING THE SAME - Disclosed are a solar cell, and a method of fabricating the same. The solar cell includes: a back electrode layer on a support substrate; a light absorbing layer on the back electrode layer; and a front electrode layer on the light absorbing layer, wherein the light absorbing layer has a bandgap energy which is gradually increased toward a top surface of the light absorbing layer. | 10-30-2014 |
20140326298 | HEAT REJECTING OPTIC - A heat-rejecting optic comprising an optical element and receiving element or layer with intermediate layer between is provided. Refractive indices of the optical element and receiving element or layer are greater than the intermediate layer. The optic may be part of a concentrator assembly or lens concentrator system for photovoltaic cells. The heat-rejecting optic functions to redirect wavelengths of light for which power conversion by a photovoltaic cell is inefficient and which cause undesirable photovoltaic cell heating and damage, reducing photovoltaic cell life. The receiving element or layer and intermediate layer modify the optical element to frustrate the total internal reflection of light that would otherwise occur within the optical element and divert that light into the receiving element or layer. | 11-06-2014 |
20140326299 | SOLAR CELL WITH AN INTERMEDIATE BAND COMPRISING NON-STRESSED QUANTUM DOTS - An intermediate band solar cell is provided. The intermediate band material of the intermediate band solar cell consists of a collection of quantum dots of a semiconductor material that are immersed in a volume of a second semiconductor material. The first semiconductor material has a rock salt-type crystalline structure, and the second semiconductor material has a zinc blende structure. The quantum dots are produced by the immiscibility of the first semiconductor material in the second semiconductor material. A combination of the first and second semiconductor materials with a very similar lattice constant can therefore be selected such that the layer of intermediate band material does not have mechanical stress accumulation. | 11-06-2014 |
20140326300 | SEMIFINISHED PRODUCT OF A MULTI-JUNCTION SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING A MULTI-JUNCTION SOLAR CELL - A semifinished product of a multi-junction solar cell includes a first semiconductor body that is designed as a first partial solar cell and has a first band gap, a second semiconductor body that is designed as a second partial solar cell and has a second band gap. The first semiconductor body and the second semiconductor body form a bonded connection to a tunnel diode and the first band gap is different from the second band gap. A first substrate material is adapted as a substrate layer, wherein a sacrificial layer is formed between the first substrate material and the first partial solar cell and the first substrate material is removed from the first semiconductor body, the sacrificial layer being destroyed in the process. | 11-06-2014 |
20140326301 | MULTIJUNCTION PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE HAVING SIGE(SN) AND (IN)GAASNBI CELLS - A multijunction tandem photovoltaic device is disclosed having a bottom subcell of silicon germanium or silicon germanium tin material and above that a subcell of gallium nitride arsenide bismide, or indium gallium nitride arsenide bismide, material. The materials are lattice matched to gallium arsenide, which preferably forms the substrate. Preferably, further lattice matched subcells of gallium arsenide, indium gallium phosphide and aluminium gallium arsenide or aluminium indium gallium phosphide are provided. | 11-06-2014 |
20140326302 | SOLAR CELL - An solar cell of the present invention includes a p-type semiconductor layer, an n-type semiconductor layer, and a superlattice semiconductor layer interposed between the p-type semiconductor layer and the n-type semiconductor layer, in which the superlattice semiconductor layer has a superlattice structure in which barrier layers and quantum dot layers each including a plurality of quantum dots are stacked alternately and repeatedly, the superlattice semiconductor layer contains an n-type dopant and has at least two intermediate energy levels at which electrons photoexcited from the valence band of the quantum dots or the barrier layers can be present for a certain period of time, each of the intermediate energy levels is located between the top of the valence band of the barrier layers and the bottom of the conduction band of the barrier layers, each of the intermediate energy levels is formed from one or a plurality of quantum levels of the quantum dots, and the superlattice semiconductor layer contains an activated n-type dopant. | 11-06-2014 |
20140326303 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A solar cell ( | 11-06-2014 |
20140338735 | NANOWIRE-BASED TRANSPARENT CONDUCTORS AND APPLICATIONS THEREOF - A transparent conductor including a conductive layer coated on a substrate is described. More specifically, the conductive layer comprises a network of nanowires that may be embedded in a matrix. The conductive layer is optically clear, patternable and is suitable as a transparent electrode in visual display devices such as touch screens, liquid crystal displays, plasma display panels and the like. | 11-20-2014 |
20140338736 | METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING CZTS BASED THIN FILM HAVING DUAL BAND GAP SLOPE, METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING CZTS BASED SOLAR CELL HAVING DUAL BAND GAP SLOPE AND CZTS BASED SOLAR CELL THEREOF - A method for manufacturing a CZTS based thin film having a dual band gap slope, comprising the steps of: forming a Cu | 11-20-2014 |
20140345679 | MULTIJUNCTION PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE HAVING SIGE(SN) AND GAASNSB CELLS - A multijunction tandem photovoltaic device is disclosed having a bottom subcell of silicon germanium or silicon germanium tin material and above that a subcell of gallium nitride arsenide antimonide material. The materials are lattice matched to gallium arsenide, which preferably forms the substrate. Preferably, further lattice matched subcells of gallium arsenide, indium gallium phosphide and aluminium gallium arsenide or aluminium indium gallium phosphide are provided. | 11-27-2014 |
20140345680 | MULTI-JUNCTION SOLAR CELL, PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE, AND COMPOUND-SEMICONDUCTOR-LAYER LAMINATION STRUCTURE - A multi-junction solar cell that is lattice-matched with a base, and that includes a sub-cell having a desirable band gap is provided. A plurality of sub-cells are laminated, each including first and second compound semiconductor layers. At least one predetermined sub-cell is configured of first layers and a second layer. In each of the first layers, a 1-A layer and a 1-B layer are laminated. In the second layer, a 2-A layer and a 2-B layer are laminated. A composition A of the 1-A layer and the 2-A layer is determined based on a value of a band gap of the predetermined sub-cell. A composition B of the 1-B layer and the 2-B layer is determined based on a difference between a base lattice constant of the base and a lattice constant of the composition A. Thicknesses of 1-B layer and 2-B layer are determined based on difference between base lattice constant and a lattice constant of composition B, and on thickness of the 1-A layer and thickness of 2-A layer. | 11-27-2014 |
20140345681 | MULTI-JUNCTION SOLAR CELL, COMPOUND SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE, PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE, AND COMPOUND-SEMICONDUCTOR-LAYER LAMINATION STRUCTURE - There is provided a multi-junction solar cell that reduces contact resistance of a junction portion and is capable of performing energy conversion with high efficiency. The multi-junction solar cell includes a plurality of sub-cells | 11-27-2014 |
20140345682 | MODULAR SUPRAMOLECULAR ACTIVE LAYER AND ORGANIC PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES - A photoactive layer for an organic photovoltaic device has a supramolecular assembly of donors or acceptors formed from a plurality of units that are mixed with electron acceptors or electron donors, respectively, to form an ordered or semi-ordered bulk heterojunction structure. Each unit is formed from a plurality of sub-units that are combined and ordered by hydrogen bonding or other non-covalent interactions to form units that by π-stacking and, optionally, other forces are organized into the supramolecular assembly. Each sub-unit includes at least one electron donor or acceptor moiety, at least one non-covalent interacting moiety, and a linking moiety between the non-covalent interacting moiety and the electron donor or electron acceptor moiety of the sub-unit. The organized supramolecular assembly connects donors or acceptors through the thickness of the photoactive layer, and allows parallel continuous electron acceptor or electron donor phases through the thickness of the active layer. | 11-27-2014 |
20140352769 | Edge Counter-Doped Solar Cell With Low Breakdown Voltage - A solar cell having a large region where reverse breakdown can occur is disclosed. Reverse breakdown tends to occur near areas where heavily doped n-type regions abut heavily doped p-type regions. Thus, by increasing the region where such a heavily doped p/n junction exists may improve the reverse breakdown characteristics of the solar cell. In addition, a method of making such solar cell is disclosed, where this heavily doped p/n junction is fabricated along at least a portion of the perimeter of the solar cell. | 12-04-2014 |
20140352770 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - Discussed is a solar cell including a semiconductor substrate, a first conductive type region formed on a surface of the semiconductor substrate, a second conductive type region formed on the other surface of the semiconductor substrate, the second conductive type region being spaced from an edge of the semiconductor substrate and having a conductive type different from that of the first conductive type region, an isolation portion formed at a perimeter of the second conductive type region on the other surface of the semiconductor substrate, a first electrode connected to the first conductive type region, and a second electrode connected to the second conductive type region, wherein the second conductive type region has a boundary portion in a part adjacent to the isolation portion, and in which a doping concentration or a junction depth varies over a width of the boundary portion. | 12-04-2014 |
20140360565 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES AND METHOD OF MAKING - A photovoltaic device is presented. The photovoltaic device includes a layer stack; and an absorber layer is disposed on the layer stack. The absorber layer includes selenium, and an atomic concentration of selenium varies non-linearly across a thickness of the absorber layer. A method of making a photovoltaic device is also presented. | 12-11-2014 |
20140360566 | METHOD OF MAKING PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES INCORPORATING IMPROVED PNICTIDE SEMICONDUCTOR FILMS USING METALLIZATION/ANNEALING/REMOVAL TECHNIQUES - The present invention provides methods of making photovoltaic devices incorporating improved pnictide semiconductor films. In particular, the principles of the present invention are used to improve the surface quality of pnictide films. Photovoltaic devices incorporating these films demonstrate improved electronic performance. As an overview, the present invention involves a methodology that metalizes the pnictide film, anneals the metalized film under conditions that tend to form an alloy between the pnictide film and the alloy, and then removes the excess metal and at least a portion of the alloy. In one mode of practice, the pnictide semiconductor is Zinc phosphide and the metal is Magnesium. | 12-11-2014 |
20140366933 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION ELEMENT - A photoelectric conversion element includes an optically transparent support, a porous semiconductor layer containing a photosensitizer, a conductive layer, and a counter electrode provided in that order, each of the porous semiconductor layer and the conductive layer containing an electrolytic solution. The photoelectric conversion element has an interfacial resistance Rs of 0.6 Ω·cm | 12-18-2014 |
20140366934 | SELECTIVE EMITTER NANOWIRE ARRAY AND METHODS OF MAKING SAME - Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a device including a substrate, having a top surface and a bottom surface; an array of nanowires having a base and a top surface, the base contacting the top surface of the substrate; a contacting structure including the same material as the substrate having a non-nanostructured surface of a dimension suitable for forming an electrical contact, located on the same side of the substrate as the array of silicon nanowires; wherein the contacting structure is doped with a greater impurity concentration than the nanowire array, thereby forming a selective emitter. | 12-18-2014 |
20140373905 | METAMORPHIC MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELL WITH SURFACE PASSIVATION - A multijunction solar cell including an upper first solar subcell; a second solar subcell adjacent to the first solar subcell; a first graded interlayer adjacent to the second solar subcell; a third solar subcell adjacent to the first graded interlayer such that the third subcell is lattice mismatched with respect to the second subcell. A second graded interlayer is provided adjacent to the third solar subcell, and a lower fourth solar subcell is provided adjacent to the second graded interlayer, such that the fourth subcell is lattice mismatched with respect to the third subcell. An encapsulating layer composed of silicon nitride or titanium oxide disposed on the top surface of the solar cell, and an antireflection coating layer disposed over the encapsulating layer. | 12-25-2014 |
20140373906 | ANTI-REFLECTION COATINGS FOR MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELLS - Anti-reflection coatings (ARC) on solar cells for terrestrial and space use are disclosed, particularly for multi junction solar cells, to maximize transmission of incident light into the active region of the semiconductor solar cell over a wide spectral band. | 12-25-2014 |
20140373907 | Four-Junction Quaternary Compound Solar Cell and Method Thereof - A four-junction quaternary compound solar cell and a method thereof are provided. Forming a first subcell ( | 12-25-2014 |
20150020875 | High Performance, High Bandgap, Lattice-Mismatched, GaInP Solar Cells - High performance, high bandgap, lattice-mismatched, photovoltaic cells ( | 01-22-2015 |
20150020876 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR FABRICATING THE SAME - Disclosed are a solar cell and a method for fabricating the same. The solar cell according to the embodiment includes a back electrode layer on a support substrate; a light absorbing layer including a glass frit having sodium on the back electrode layer; and a front electrode layer on the light absorbing layer. | 01-22-2015 |
20150027518 | WIDE ANGLE THREE-DIMENSIONAL SOLAR CELLS - A three dimensional solar cell composed of a semiconductor body that has a substantially flat bottom surface, and shaped trenches formed in an arrayed manner along its top side. Thus, multiple pillars are thereby formed in the semiconductor body extending toward the top side of the semiconductor body. A light collecting material fills the shaped trenches along the top side of the semiconductor body and forms a substantially flat light receiving top surface parallel to the bottom surface of the semiconductor body. Each of at least some of the trenches are structured such that there exists at least one point on the substantially flat light receiving surface that if a light ray is incident on that point, the light ray, if remaining within the corresponding trench, as opposed to entering the semiconductor body, will be redirected upwards at least after a fourth reflection on neighboring pillars. | 01-29-2015 |
20150027519 | MANUFACTURE OF MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELL DEVICES - The present disclosure relates to a method for manufacturing a multi-junction solar cell device comprising the steps of: providing a first substrate, providing a second substrate having a lower surface and an upper surface, forming at least one first solar cell layer on the first substrate to obtain a first wafer structure, forming at least one second solar cell layer on the upper surface of the second substrate to obtain a second wafer structure, and bonding the first wafer structure to the second wafer structure, wherein the at least one first solar cell layer is bonded to the lower surface of the second substrate and removing the first substrate. | 01-29-2015 |
20150027520 | LATTICE MATCHABLE ALLOY FOR SOLAR CELLS - An alloy composition for a subcell of a solar cell is provided that has a bandgap of at least 0.9 eV, namely, Ga | 01-29-2015 |
20150034151 | INVERTED METAMORPHIC MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELL WITH PASSIVATION IN THE WINDOW LAYER - An inverted metamorphic multijunction solar cell including a window layer with sulfur passivation on the surface of the window layer of the top solar subcell. | 02-05-2015 |
20150034152 | SOLAR CELL WITH PASSIVATION ON THE WINDOW LAYER - A multijunction solar cell including a window layer with sulfur passivation on the surface of the window layer adjacent to the contact layer overlying the top subcell of the solar cell. The passivation is performed by application of a solution of ammonium sulphide. | 02-05-2015 |
20150034153 | COMPOUND PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL - A compound photovoltaic cell includes a substrate, a first cell made of a first semiconductor material and formed on the substrate, a tunnel layer, and a second cell made of a second semiconductor material lattice mismatched with a material of the substrate, connected to the first cell via the tunnel layer, and disposed on an incident side with respect to the first cell, wherein band gaps of the first and the second cells become smaller from an incident side to a back side, and wherein the tunnel layer includes a p-type layer disposed on the incident side and a n-type layer disposed on the back side, the p-type layer being a p | 02-05-2015 |
20150040971 | FABRICATION OF SOLAR CELLS WITH ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE POLYIMIDE ADHESIVE - The present disclosure provides a method of manufacturing a solar cell including: providing a first substrate and a second substrate; depositing on the first substrate a sequence of layers of semiconductor material forming a solar cell including a top subcell and a bottom subcell; forming a back metal contact over the bottom subcell; applying a conductive polyimide adhesive to the second substrate; attaching the second substrate on top of the back metal contact; and removing the first substrate to expose the surface of the top subcell. | 02-12-2015 |
20150040972 | INVERTED METAMORPHIC MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELL WITH SURFACE PASSIVATION OF THE CONTACT LAYER - An inverted metamorphic multijunction solar cell including a contact layer with sulfur passivation on the surface of the contact layer. | 02-12-2015 |
20150040973 | LIGHT TRANSMISSION TYPE TWO-SIDED SOLAR CELL - A light transmission type of two-sided solar cell includes a front sub-cell on a first side of the transparent substrate, the front sub-cell including a first electrode, a first photoactive layer, and a second electrode, and a rear sub-cell on a second side of the transparent substrate, the rear sub-cell including a third electrode, a second photoactive layer, and a fourth electrode, at least one of the third electrode and the fourth electrode being a reflection electrode, the reflection electrode having an area of about 50 to about 95% relative to an area of the second photoactive layer. | 02-12-2015 |
20150040974 | Method of Manufacturing a Solar Cell and Equipment Therefore - The method of manufacturing a solar cell, which comprises a semiconductor substrate ( | 02-12-2015 |
20150040975 | HETEROJUNCTION SOLAR CELL BASED ON EPITAXIAL CRYSTALLINE-SILICON THIN FILM ON METALLURGICAL SILICON SUBSTRATE DESIGN - One embodiment of the present invention provides a heterojunction solar cell. The solar cell includes a metallurgical-grade Si (MG-Si) substrate, a layer of heavily doped crystalline-Si situated above the MG-Si substrate, a layer of lightly doped crystalline-Si situated above the heavily doped crystalline-Si layer, a backside ohmic-contact layer situated on the backside of the MG-Si substrate, a passivation layer situated above the heavily doped crystalline-Si layer, a layer of heavily doped amorphous Si (a-Si) situated above the passivation layer, a layer of transparent-conducting-oxide (TCO) situated above the heavily doped a-Si layer, and a front ohmic-contact electrode situated above the TCO layer. | 02-12-2015 |
20150053257 | MULTI-JUNCTION SOLAR CELL AND USE THEREOF - The present invention relates to a multi junction solar cell having at least four p-n junctions. The individual subcells thereby have band gaps of 1.9 eV, 1.4 eV, 1.0 eV and 0.7 eV. The multi junction solar cells according to the invention are used in space and also in terrestrial concentrator systems. | 02-26-2015 |
20150053258 | HERMETICALLY SEALED GLASS PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULE - In various embodiments, photovoltaic modules include a first glass sheet, a photovoltaic device disposed on the first glass sheet, a second glass sheet, and a layer of melted glass. The second glass sheet is disposed over and in contact with at least a portion of the photovoltaic device. The first glass sheet and the second glass sheet have a gap therebetween spanned, over only a portion of an area of the gap, by the photovoltaic device. The layer of melted glass powder seals the gap between the first and second glass sheets at an edge region proximate an edge of at least one of the first or second glass sheets. | 02-26-2015 |
20150053259 | P-TYPE DOPING OF II-VI MATERIALS WITH RAPID VAPOR DEPOSITION USING RADICAL NITROGEN - Apparatus and methods to incorporate p-type dopants in II-VI semiconducting layers are disclosed herein. In some embodiments, radical nitrogen is introduced in a physical vapor deposition apparatus operating at moderate pressures (e.g. 10 | 02-26-2015 |
20150053260 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - A photoelectric conversion device having a new anti-reflection structure is provided. A photoelectric conversion device includes a first-conductivity-type crystalline semiconductor region that is provided over a conductive layer; a crystalline semiconductor region that is provided over the first-conductivity-type crystalline semiconductor region and has an uneven surface by including a plurality of whiskers including a crystalline semiconductor; and a second-conductivity-type crystalline semiconductor region that covers the uneven surface of the crystalline semiconductor region having the uneven surface, the second conductivity type being opposite to the first conductivity type. In the photoelectric conversion device, a concentration gradient of an impurity element imparting the first conductivity type is formed from the first-conductivity-type crystalline semiconductor region toward the crystalline semiconductor region having the uneven surface. | 02-26-2015 |
20150059837 | SOLAR CELL WITH PASSIVATION ON THE CONTACT LAYER - A multijunction solar cell including a contact layer with sulfur passivation on the surface of the contact layer adjacent to the window layer overlying the top subcell of the solar cell. The passivation is performed by application of a solution of ammonium sulphide. | 03-05-2015 |
20150059838 | SOLAR CELL APPARATUS AND METHOD OF FABRICATING THE SAME - A solar cell apparatus according to the embodiment includes a support substrate; a back electrode layer on the support layer; a light absorbing layer on the back electrode layer; a plurality of buffer layers on the light absorbing layer, the plurality of buffer layers having a bandgap gradually increased from a bottom thereof to a top thereof; and a window layer on the buffer layers. | 03-05-2015 |
20150059839 | SOLAR CELL - A solar cell includes: a crystal silicon substrate of a first conductivity type including a first principal surface and a second principal surface; a first amorphous silicon film of a second conductivity type provided on a side of the first principal surface; and a second amorphous silicon film of the first conductivity type provided on a side of the second principal surface. At least one of the first amorphous silicon film and the second amorphous silicon film has a multi-layer structure comprising layers. An oxygen-rich layer is provided between any adjacent two of the amorphous silicon layers in the multi-layer structure. | 03-05-2015 |
20150059840 | SOLAR CELLS HAVING A TRANSPARENT COMPOSITION-GRADED BUFFER LAYER - A solar cell includes a first layer having a first-layer lattice parameter, a second layer having a second-layer lattice parameter different from the first-layer lattice parameter, wherein the second layer includes a photoactive second-layer material; and a third layer having a third-layer lattice parameter different from the second-layer lattice parameter, wherein the third layer includes a photoactive third-layer material. A transparent buffer layer extends between and contacts the second layer and the third layer and has a buffer-layer lattice parameter that varies with increasing distance from the second layer toward the third layer, so as to lattice match to the second layer and to the third layer. There may be additional subcell layers and buffer layers in the solar cell. | 03-05-2015 |
20150059841 | SELECTIVE EMITTER PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE - A method for fabricating a photovoltaic device includes forming a patterned layer on a doped emitter portion of the photovoltaic device, the patterned layer including openings that expose areas of the doped emitter portion and growing an epitaxial layer over the patterned layer such that a crystalline phase grows in contact with the doped emitter portion and a non-crystalline phase grows in contact with the patterned layer. The non-crystalline phase is removed from the patterned layer. Conductive contacts are formed on the epitaxial layer in the openings to form a contact area for the photovoltaic device. | 03-05-2015 |
20150075594 | W18O49-TYPE TUNGSTEN OXIDE NANOMATERIAL AND APPLICATIONS THEREOF IN LIGHT SENSOR, MOSFET AND SOLAR CELL - The invention proposes W | 03-19-2015 |
20150075595 | METHOD FOR PRODUCING A PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL WITH INTERDIGITATED CONTACTS IN THE BACK FACE - A method for producing a photovoltaic cell with interdigitated contacts in the rear face, comprising: providing a doped silicon substrate; forming, on the rear face of said substrate, a doped semiconductor layer with a first dopant species; forming, on said layer, a dopant layer comprising a second dopant species, of an electric type opposite to that of the first species; forming, in the doped layer, at least one doped region of a type opposite to that of the first species, by irradiation of at least one region of the dopant layer with a luminous flux of fluence greater than a threshold above which the dopants of the irradiated region of the dopant layer diffuse into the region underlying the doped layer in such a way as to exceed the concentration of the first dopant species; and forming, in the doped layer, at least one electrically insulating region, by selective irradiation of at least one region of the dopant layer with a luminous flux of which the fluence is in a range lower than said threshold, at which the dopants of the irradiated region of the dopant layer diffuse into the region underlying the doped semiconductor layer in such a way as to balance the concentrations of the two dopant species in said region. | 03-19-2015 |
20150083202 | MANUFACTURE OF MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELL DEVICES - The present disclosure relates to a method for manufacturing a multi-junction solar cell device comprising the steps of: providing a first engineered substrate; providing a second substrate; forming at least one first solar cell layer on the first engineered substrate to obtain a first wafer structure; forming at least one second solar cell layer on the second substrate to obtain a second wafer structure; bonding the first wafer structure to the second wafer structure; detaching the first engineered substrate; removing the second substrate; and bonding a third substrate to the at least one first solar cell layer. | 03-26-2015 |
20150083203 | THIN FILM SOLAR CELL - A thin film solar cell includes a substrate, a first electrode and a second electrode positioned on one surface of the substrate, and a photoelectric conversion unit positioned between the first electrode and the second electrode. The photoelectric conversion unit includes a plurality of photoelectric conversion layers each including a p-type semiconductor layer, an i-type semiconductor layer, and an n-type semiconductor layer. At least one of the p-type semiconductor layers of the plurality of photoelectric conversion layers contains microcrystalline silicon (mc-Si) and amorphous silicon oxide (a-SiOx). | 03-26-2015 |
20150083204 | CELL ARRANGEMENT - A cell arrangement including a plurality of solar sub cells stacked above one another, wherein at least one solar sub cell of the plurality of solar sub cells comprises an alloy of gallium, nitrogen, arsenic and antimony. | 03-26-2015 |
20150083205 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION ELEMENT - The present disclosure provides a photoelectric conversion element comprising a photoelectric conversion layer laminated a first metal layer, a first semiconductor layer, a second semiconductor layer and a second metal layer. The first or second metal layer contains a porous metal thin film, and the porous metal thin film has plural openings penetrating through the film. Each of the openings has an area of 80 nm | 03-26-2015 |
20150090320 | SOLAR CELL - A solar cell comprises a three layer semiconductor structure wherein the top ( | 04-02-2015 |
20150090321 | INVERTED METAMORPHIC MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELLS WITH DOPED ALPHA LAYER - A method of forming a multijunction solar cell comprising at least an upper subcell, a middle subcell, and a lower subcell, the method including forming a first alpha layer over said middle solar subcell using a surfactant and dopant including selenium, the first alpha layer configured to prevent threading dislocations from propagating; forming a metamorphic grading interlayer over and directly adjacent to said first alpha layer; forming a second alpha layer using a surfactant and dopant including selenium over and directly adjacent to said grading interlayer to prevent threading dislocations from propagating; and forming a lower solar subcell over said grading interlayer such that said lower solar subcell is lattice mismatched with respect to said middle solar subcell. | 04-02-2015 |
20150090322 | SOLAR CELL APPARATUS AND METHOD OF FABRICATING THE SAME - Disclosed are a solar cell apparatus and a method of fabricating the same. The solar cell apparatus includes a substrate; a back electrode layer on the substrate; a light absorbing layer on the back electrode layer; and a front electrode layer on the light absorbing layer, wherein the light absorbing layer includes: a first region having a bandgap energy which is gradually increased in a direction of the front electrode; a second region on the first region, the second region having a bandgap energy which is gradually decreased in a direction of the front electrode layer; a third region on the second region, the third region having a bandgap energy which is gradually increased in a direction of the front electrode layer; and a fourth region on the first region, the fourth region having a bandgap energy which is gradually decreased in a direction of the front electrode layer. | 04-02-2015 |
20150090323 | SOLAR CELL - Discussed is a solar cell including a semiconductor substrate comprising a base region, an emitter region having a conductive type opposite to that of the base region, and a back surface field region having the same conductive type as the base region and a higher doping concentration than the base region, and a first electrode and a second electrode respectively connected to the emitter region and the back surface field region, wherein the base region has a specific resistance of 0.3 Ωcm to 2.5 Ωcm. | 04-02-2015 |
20150090324 | MULTI-JUNCTION SOLAR CELL DEVICES - A photovoltaic cell structure for manufacturing a photovoltaic device. The photovoltaic cell structure includes a substrate including a surface region. A first conductor layer overlies the surface region. The photovoltaic cell structure includes a lower cell structure. The lower cell structure includes a first P type absorber layer using a first semiconductor metal chalcogenide material and/or other semiconductor material overlying the first conductor layer. The first P type absorber material is characterized by a first bandgap ranging from about 0.5 eV to about 1.0 eV, a first optical absorption coefficient greater than about 10 | 04-02-2015 |
20150101657 | VARYING BANDGAP SOLAR CELL - An improved multiple quantum well solar cell can be achieved by ensuring the bandgap of each quantum well thin layer is not uniform compared with other such layers. Gradation of the bandgap by varying the content of at least two group II to VI elements, and/or varying the thickness of consecutive quantum well layers, within consecutively formed quantum wells provides for an increase in absorption across a greater range of the available solar spectrum. | 04-16-2015 |
20150101658 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SAME - A photovoltaic device ( | 04-16-2015 |
20150101659 | HETERO-CONTACT SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR THE PRODUCTION THEREOF - A hetero-contact solar cell has a front side provided for an incidence of solar radiation. The solar cell has an absorber of a crystalline semiconductor material of a first conductivity type, an amorphous semiconductor layer of the first conductivity type doped more highly than the absorber and an electrically conductive, transparent front side conduction layer provided on the amorphous semiconductor layer. A front side contact is provided on the solar cell and has spaced-apart contact structures. An emitter of a second conductivity type opposite to the first conductivity type is provided on a back side. A back side contact is arranged on the back side. The emitter-related absorption losses of the solar cells can be eliminated by the back side contact having a back side contact layer extending over the surface of the back side, and the front side conduction layer containing a specific resistance from 7×10 | 04-16-2015 |
20150101660 | SOLAR CELL - A solar cell is provided. The substrate of the solar cell has heavily-doped regions and lightly-doped regions. The anode and the cathode are disposed on the back surface of the substrate, and thus the amount of incident light on the front surface of the substrate is increased. The anode and the cathode are in contact with the heavily doped regions to form selective emitter structure, and thus the contact resistance is reduced. The lightly-doped regions, which are not in contact with the anode and the cathode, have lower saturation current, and thus recombination of hole-electron pairs is reduced, and absorption of infrared light is increased. | 04-16-2015 |
20150107658 | Four Junction Inverted Metamorphic Multijunction Solar Cell with Two Metamorphic Layers - A multijunction solar cell including an upper first solar subcell having a first band gap; a second solar subcell adjacent to the first solar subcell and having a second band gap smaller than the first band gap; a first graded interlayer adjacent to the second solar subcell; the first graded interlayer having a third band gap greater than the second band gap; and a third solar subcell adjacent to the first graded interlayer, the third subcell having a fourth band gap smaller than the second band gap such that the third subcell is lattice mismatched with respect to the second subcell. A second graded interlayer is provided adjacent to the third solar subcell; the second graded interlayer having a fifth band gap greater than the fourth band gap; and a lower fourth solar subcell is provided adjacent to the second graded interlayer, the lower fourth subcell having a sixth band gap smaller than the fourth band gap such that the fourth subcell is lattice mismatched with respect to the third subcell. | 04-23-2015 |
20150122313 | MANUFACTURE OF MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELL DEVICES - The present disclosure relates to a method for manufacturing a multi-junction solar cell device comprising the steps of: providing a first substrate with a lower surface and an upper surface; providing a second substrate with a lower surface and an upper surface; bonding the first substrate to the second substrate at the upper surface of the first substrate and the lower surface of the second substrate; and subsequently forming at least one first solar cell layer on the lower surface of the first substrate and at least one second solar cell layer at the upper surface of the second substrate. | 05-07-2015 |
20150122314 | OPTOELECTRONIC DEVICE COMPRISING POROUS SCAFFOLD MATERIAL AND PEROVSKITES - The invention provides an optoelectronic device comprising: (i) a porous dielectric scaffold material; and (ii) a semiconductor having a band gap of less than or equal to 3.0 eV, in contact with the scaffold material. Typically the semiconductor, which may be a perovskite, is disposed on the surface of the porous dielectric scaffold material, so that it is supported on the surfaces of pores within the scaffold. In one embodiment, the optoelectronic device is an optoelectronic device which comprises a photoactive layer, wherein the photoactive layer comprises: (a) said porous dielectric scaffold material; (b) said semiconductor; and (c) a charge transporting material. The invention further provides the use, as a photoactive material in an optoelectronic device, of: (i) a porous dielectric scaffold material; and (ii) a semiconductor having a band gap of less than or equal to 3.0 eV, in contact with the scaffold material. Further provided is the use of a layer comprising: (i) a porous dielectric scaffold material; and (ii) a semiconductor having a band gap of less than or equal to 3.0 eV, in contact with the scaffold material; as a photoactive layer in an optoelectronic device. In another aspect, the invention provides a photoactive layer for an optoelectronic device comprising (a) a porous dielectric scaffold material; (b) a semiconductor having a band gap of less than or equal to 3.0 eV, in contact with the scaffold material; and (c) a charge transporting material. | 05-07-2015 |
20150122315 | TWO-DIMENSIONAL MATERIALS, METHODS OF FORMING THE SAME, AND DEVICES INCLUDING TWO-DIMENSIONAL MATERIALS - According to example embodiments, a two-dimensional (2D) material element may include a first 2D material and a second 2D material chemically bonded to each other. The first 2D material may include a first metal chalcogenide-based material. The second 2D material may include a second metal chalcogenide-based material. The second 2D material may be bonded to a side of the first 2D material. The 2D material element may have a PN junction structure. The 2D material element may include a plurality of 2D materials with different band gaps. | 05-07-2015 |
20150122316 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS INCLUDING HALIDE MATERIALS - A photovoltaic cell includes: (1) a front contact; (2) a back contact; (3) a set of stacked layers between the front contact and the back contact; and (4) an encapsulation layer covering side surfaces of the set of stacked layers. At least one of the set of stacked layers includes a halide material having the formula: [A | 05-07-2015 |
20150122317 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS - A photovoltaic cell incorporating a semiconductor element ( | 05-07-2015 |
20150122318 | LATTICE MATCHABLE ALLOY FOR SOLAR CELLS - An alloy composition for a subcell of a solar cell is provided that has a bandgap of at least 0.9 eV, namely, Ga | 05-07-2015 |
20150129022 | BACK CONTACT SOLAR CELL - A back contact solar cell includes a solar cell substrate, an intrinsic layer, a second conductive type semiconductor layer and an electrode layer. The solar cell substrate includes a substrate body doped with a first conductive type semiconductor and a plurality of first conductive type semiconductor doped regions. The first conductive type semiconductor doped region is formed on a back side of the substrate body. The intrinsic layer is formed on the back side, and includes a plurality of first openings to expose the first conductive type semiconductor doped regions. The second conductive type semiconductor layer is deposited on the intrinsic layer, and includes a plurality of second openings correspond the first openings. The electrode layer includes a plurality of first electrode regions and a second electrode region. The first electrode regions are disposed on the first conductive type semiconductor doped regions. The second electrode regions are disposed on the second conductive type semiconductor layer, and separated with the first electrode regions. | 05-14-2015 |
20150129023 | OPTOELECTRONIC DEVICE HAVING SURFACE PERIODIC GRATING STRUCTURE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - The present invention provides a optoelectronic device having a surface periodic grating structure and a manufacturing method thereof, which includes: a substrate; a multi-layer semiconductor structure layer formed on the substrate; and a periodic grating structure layer embedded in the multi-layer semiconductor structure layer by etching based on optimized parameters. A direction of an incident light to the optoelectronic device is changed to be resonant to the multi-layer semiconductor structure layer to enhance optoelectricity of the optoelectronic device. The method includes: (1) providing a substrate; (2) forming a multi-layer semiconductor structure layer on the substrate; (3) selecting parameters to perform a design for a periodic grating structure layer on a surface of the multi-layer semiconductor structure layer; and (4) forming the periodic grating structure layer embedded in the multi-layer semiconductor structure layer by etching. | 05-14-2015 |
20150136210 | SILICON-BASED SOLAR CELLS WITH IMPROVED RESISTANCE TO LIGHT-INDUCED DEGRADATION - Solar devices with high resistance to light-induced degradation are described. A wide optical bandgap interface layer positioned between a p-doped semiconductor layer and an intrinsic semiconductor layer is made resistant to light-induced degradation through treatment with a hydrogen-containing plasma. In one embodiment, a p-i-n structure is formed with the interface layer at the p/i interface. Optionally, an additional interface layer treated with a hydrogen-containing plasma is formed between the intrinsic layer and the n-doped layer. Alternatively, a hydrogen-containing plasma is used to treat an upper portion of the intrinsic layer prior to deposition of the n-doped semiconductor layer. The interface layer is also applicable to-multi-junction solar cells with plural p-i-n structures. The p-doped and n-doped layers can optionally include sublayers of different compositions and different morphologies (e.g., microcrystalline or amorphous). The overall structure shows both an increased stability with respect to light-induced degradation and an improved performance level. | 05-21-2015 |
20150136211 | SOLAR CELL CONTAINING N-TYPE DOPED SILICON - A photovoltaic device includes a first semiconducting area having an N-doped silicon base and a second semiconducting area having a P-doped silicon base. The two semiconducting areas are configured to form a PN junction. The first semiconducting area is devoid of boron and includes a concentration of P-type doping impurities that is at least equal to 20% of the concentration of N-type doping impurities. | 05-21-2015 |
20150136212 | ELECTRICAL CONTACTS TO NANOSTRUCTURED AREAS - A process is provided for contacting a nanostructured surface. In that process, a substrate is provided having a nanostructured material on a surface, the substrate being conductive and the nanostructured material being coated with an insulating material. A portion of the nanostructured material is at least partially removed. A conductor is deposited on the substrate in such a way that it is in electrical contact with the substrate through the area where the nanostructured material has been at least partially removed. | 05-21-2015 |
20150136213 | Preparation of Copper-Rich Copper Indium (Gallium) Diselenide/Disulphide Nanoparticles - A method for the preparation of copper indium gallium diselenide/disulfide (CIGS) nanoparticles utilizes a copper-rich stoichiometry. The copper-rich CIGS nanoparticles are capped with organo-chalcogen ligands, rendering the nanoparticles processable in organic solvents. The nanoparticles may be deposited on a substrate and thermally processed in a chalcogen-rich atmosphere to facilitate conversion of the excess copper to copper selenide or copper sulfide that may act as a sintering flux to promote liquid phase sintering and thus the growth of large grains. The nanoparticles so produced may be used to fabricate CIGS-based photovoltaic devices. | 05-21-2015 |
20150136214 | Solar cells having selective contacts and three or more terminals - Junction-less solar cells having three or more terminals are provided. Electron- and hole-selective contacts and interfaces are used in combination with two or more absorber layers having different bandgaps to provide multi-material solar cells that have no requirement for either lattice matching or current matching. | 05-21-2015 |
20150144184 | SOLAR CELL - The present invention relates to a solar cell comprising a semiconductor wafer, an emitter formed by at least one emitter region which comprises at least a first layer of a first conductivity type and a first contact layer allowing a carrier extraction or injection, a backcontact comprising at least a second layer of a second conductivity type opposite of said first conductivity type and a second contact layer allowing a carrier extraction or injection, electrical contacts which are connected to said emitter regions and said backcontact respectively and designed to transport an electrical current out of the solar cell. According to the invention, the area of the emitter covers between 0.5% to 15% of the area of a side of the wafer on which the emitter regions are provided, the rest of the area of said side of the wafer being covered by first passivating regions which comprise at least a first passivating layer and at least one first optional additional layer which makes that the first passivating layer does not allow a carrier extraction or injection, said first passivating regions being not fully covered by the first layer of the first conductivity type of the emitter regions. | 05-28-2015 |
20150295115 | INFRARED PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD - A hybrid photovoltaic (PV) device is composed of a first electrode layer, a semiconductor substrate, a semiconductor PV layer, and a bottom electrode that forms a Shottcky junction between said bottom metal electrode and the PV layer. Because of existence of the Shottcky junction, the PV cell permits light to electricity conversion over a wide-range of light wavelengths, from the so-called visible light (between 350 nm to 900 nm wavelength) to the infrared light (over 900 nm wavelength). Also described is a method for manufacturing a hybrid PV device. The method of manufacturing comprises performing the steps of cleaning a semiconductor substrate; introducing an inert gas under vacuum and a high temperature to form a semiconductor PV layer having a high resistivity on a first side of the substrate; forming a metal bottom layer on the semiconductor PV layer to create a Shottcky junction between the metal layer and said semiconductor PV layer; and forming a transparent electrode layer on the second side of said substrate. In a second embodiment, an n+ layer is formed between the semiconductor substrate and the transparent electrode layer to improve ohmic contact between these two layers. | 10-15-2015 |
20150295117 | INFRARED PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE - A hybrid photovoltaic (PV) device according comprises a semiconductor substrate, a semiconductor photovoltaic (PV) layer on one side of said substrate, a metal layer on top of said PV layer, a first electrode layer on top of said metal layer, and a bottom metal electrode on the opposite side of said substrate from said PV layer, wherein said metal layer forms a Shottcky junction between said metal layer and said PV layer. Because of existence of the Shottcky junction, the PV cell permits light to electricity conversion over a wide-range of light wavelengths, from visible light (between 350 nm to 900 nm wavelength) to infrared light (over 900 nm wavelength). Also described is a method for manufacturing a hybrid PV device. The method of manufacturing comprises performing the steps of: cleaning a semiconductor substrate; introducing an inert gas under vacuum and a high temperature to form a semiconductor PV layer having a high resistivity on the top surface of said substrate; forming a metal layer over said PV layer to create a Shottcky junction between said metal layer and said PV layer; forming a transparent layer over the top of said metal layer; and forming a metal bottom electrode on the bottom surface of said substrate. | 10-15-2015 |
20150295195 | TRANSPARENT ELECTRODE FOR OPTOELECTRONIC COMPONENTS - An optoelectronic component on a substrate includes a first and a second electrode. The first electrode is arranged on the substrate and the second electrode forms a counter electrode. At least one photoactive layer system is arranged between these electrodes. The at least one photoactive layer system including at least one donor-acceptor system having organic materials. | 10-15-2015 |
20150299852 | GRAPHENE BASED ELECTRODES AND APPLICATIONS - Methods of fabricating a graphene film are disclosed. An example method can include providing a substrate, heating the substrate between about 600° C. and about 1100° C. in a chamber, and introducing a carbon source into the chamber at a temperature between about 600° C. and about 1100° C. for about 10 seconds to about 1 minute. The method can further include cooling the substrate to about room temperature to form the graphene film Methods of fabricating pillared graphene nano structures and graphene based devices are also provided. | 10-22-2015 |
20150303334 | MULTI-QUANTUM WELL SOLAR CELL AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING MULTI-QUANTUM WELL SOLAR CELL - Provided at low cost is a multi-quantum well solar cell such that recombination of carriers generated by light absorption is suppressed and a high photoelectric conversion efficiency is achieved. This multi-quantum well solar cell comprises a substrate, a p-type semiconductor layer, a barrier layer, a well layer, an n-type semiconductor layer, and electrodes, and is characterized in that the barrier layer and the well layer comprise crystals having a wurtzite crystal structure, the well layer is composed of a metal-oxynitride that comprises Zn and at least one element selected from a group consisting of In, Ga, and Al, and a piezoelectric electric field is generated in the well layer. This allows for the provision of a multi-quantum well solar cell such that recombination of carriers generated by light absorption is suppressed and a high photoelectric conversion efficiency is achieved. | 10-22-2015 |
20150318416 | TEXTURED MULTI-JUNCTION SOLAR CELL AND FABRICATION METHOD - A method for forming a multi-junction photovoltaic device includes providing a germanium layer and etching pyramidal shapes in the germanium layer such that (111) facets are exposed to form a textured surface. A first p-n junction is formed on or over the textured surface from III-V semiconductor materials. Another p-n junction is formed over the first p-n junction from III-V semiconductor materials and follows the textured surface. | 11-05-2015 |
20150318421 | SEMICONDUCTOR FILM, METHOD OF PRODUCING SEMICONDUCTOR FILM, SOLAR CELL, LIGHT-EMITTING DIODE, THIN FILM TRANSISTOR, AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE - A semiconductor film, including: an assembly of semiconductor quantum dots containing a metal atom; and a ligand that is coordinated to the semiconductor quantum dots and that is represented by the following Formula (A): | 11-05-2015 |
20150318429 | ACTIVE SOLAR CELL AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE - Methods for improving the efficiency of solar cells, and a solar cell thereof. One aspect involves a solar cell with a semiconductor layer ( | 11-05-2015 |
20150318433 | METHOD FOR PRODUCING A COMPOUND SEMICONDUCTOR, AND THIN-FILM SOLAR CELL - The present invention relates to a method for producing a compound semiconductor ( | 11-05-2015 |
20150325711 | SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENT HAVING HARDNESS BUFFER AND USE THEREOF - The invention relates to a semiconductor component that has an improved hardness buffer compared to the prior art. Lower penetrating dislocation densities are achieved thereby, especially for buffer layers having an increasing lattice constant. The semiconductor component according to the invention can be a solar cell. In this case a substantially higher efficiency of the solar cell is observed compared to conventional solar cells, thanks to the improved hardness buffer. The invention further relates to the use of the semiconductor component according to the invention or of the multiple solar cell according to the invention for energy generation in satellites in space or in terrestrial photovoltaic concentrator systems. | 11-12-2015 |
20150325713 | TRANSPARENT CONDUCTIVE ELECTRODE FOR THREE DIMENSIONAL PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE - A photovoltaic device includes a substrate layer having a plurality of three-dimensional structures formed therein providing a textured profile. A first electrode is formed over the substrate layer and extends over the three-dimensional structures including non-planar surfaces. The first electrode has a thickness configured to maintain the textured profile, and the first electrode includes a transparent conductive material having a dopant metal activated within the transparent conductive material. A continuous photovoltaic stack is conformally formed over the first electrode, and a second electrode is formed on the photovoltaic stack. | 11-12-2015 |
20150325714 | STRUCTURES AND METHODS FOR HIGH-EFFICIENCY PYRAMIDAL THREE-DIMENSIONAL SOLAR CELLS - The present disclosure enables high-volume cost effective production of three-dimensional thin film solar cell (3-D TFSC) substrates. First, the present disclosure discloses pyramid-like unit cell structure | 11-12-2015 |
20150325720 | Multijunction Solar Cells Lattice Matched to InP Using Sb-Containing Alloys - A multijunction (MJ) solar cell grown on an InP substrate using materials that are lattice-matched to InP. In an exemplary three-junction embodiment, the top cell is formed from In | 11-12-2015 |
20150325727 | MULTIPLE SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A multi-junction solar cell having a Ge or GaAs substrate, as well as a solar cell structure having several subcells deposited on the substrate, the substrate having peripheral side faces, and the solar cell structure having a peripheral circumferential surface, which runs spaced apart from the side faces. To prevent oxidation and penetration of moisture, the circumferential surface of the solar cell structure is coated with a protective, electrically insulating first coating under essential exclusion of the upper surface facing the rays, or that without encroaching on the solar cell structure, the side faces of the substrate are coated with a protective, electrically insulating second coating or that both the side faces of the substrate as well as the circumferential surface of the solar cell structure are coated with a third coating by essential exclusion of the upper surface facing the rays. | 11-12-2015 |
20150333208 | GROUP-IV SOLAR CELL STRUCTURE USING GROUP-IV or III-V HETEROSTRUCTURES - Device structures, apparatuses, and methods are disclosed for photovoltaic cells that may be a single junction or multijunction solar cells, with at least a first layer comprising a group-IV semiconductor in which part of the cell comprises a second layer comprising a III-V semiconductor or group-IV semiconductor having a different composition than the group-IV semiconductor of the first layer, such that a heterostructure is formed between the first and second layers. | 11-19-2015 |
20150333209 | STACKING STRUCTURE OF A PHOTOELECTRIC DEVICE - A stacking structure of a photoelectric device includes a base, a first conducting layer, a first semiconductor layer, a second semiconductor layer, a second conducting layer and two electrodes. The base is essentially made of a light-permeable material. The first conducting layer is arranged on the base and essentially made of a light-permeable, non-metal material. The first semiconductor layer is arranged on the first conducting layer and essentially made of a ternary compound with chalcopyrite phase. The second semiconductor layer is arranged on the first semiconductor layer. The second conducting layer is arranged on the second semiconductor layer and essentially made of a light-permeable semiconductor material different from the light-permeable, non-metal material of the first conducting layer. The two electrodes are respectively arranged on the first and second conducting layers. | 11-19-2015 |
20150340530 | BACK METAL LAYERS IN INVERTED METAMORPHIC MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELLS - A multijunction solar cell comprising an upper first solar subcell having a first band gap; a middle second solar subcell adjacent to the first solar subcell and having a second band gap smaller than the first band gap, and having a base layer and an emitter layer; a graded interlayer adjacent to said second solar subcell, having a third band gap greater than the second band gap; a lower solar subcell adjacent to the grading interlayer, having a fourth band gap smaller than said second band gap such that the third subcell is lattice mismatched with respect to said second subcell; and a metal electrode layer deposited on said lower subcell and having a coefficient of thermal expansion substantially similar to that of the subcells. | 11-26-2015 |
20150340632 | Perovskite Schottky Type Solar Cell - The invention provides devices such as photovoltaic cells which are free of scaffold structure layers. | 11-26-2015 |
20150340634 | HYBRID PLANAR-GRADED HETEROJUNCTION FOR ORGANIC PHOTOVOLTAICS - Disclosed herein are organic photosensitive optoelectronic devices comprising at least one hybrid planar-graded heterojunction. In particular, organic photosensitive optoelectronic devices are disclosed having two electrodes ( | 11-26-2015 |
20150340989 | Alternating Bias Hot Carrier Solar Cells - Designs of extremely high efficiency solar cells are described. A novel alternating bias scheme enhances the photovoltaic power extraction capability above the cell band-gap by enabling the extraction of hot carriers. When applied in conventional solar cells, this alternating bias scheme has the potential of more than doubling their yielded net efficiency. When applied in conjunction with solar cells incorporating quantum wells (QWs) or quantum dots (QDs) based solar cells, the described alternating bias scheme has the potential of extending such solar cell power extraction coverage, possibly across the entire solar spectrum, thus enabling unprecedented solar power extraction efficiency. Within such cells, a novel alternating bias scheme extends the cell energy conversion capability above the cell material band-gap while the quantum confinement structures are used to extend the cell energy conversion capability below the cell band-gap. Light confinement cavities are incorporated into the cell structure in order to allow the absorption of the cell internal photo emission, thus further enhancing the cell efficiency. | 11-26-2015 |
20150349156 | SOLAR BATTERY CELL AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME - [Problem] To provide a solar battery cell such that higher conversion efficiency than ever before is achieved and conversion efficiency of its front surface and conversion efficiency of its rear surface become almost equivalent in a double-sided light-receiving type solar battery cell. | 12-03-2015 |
20150349158 | METHOD OF FORMING CONTACTS FOR A BACK-CONTACT SOLAR CELL - Methods of forming contacts for solar cells are described. In one embodiment, a method includes forming a silicon layer above a substrate, forming and patterning a solid-state p-type dopant source on the silicon layer, forming an n-type dopant source layer over exposed regions of the silicon layer and over a plurality of regions of the solid-state p-type dopant source, and heating the substrate to provide a plurality of n-type doped silicon regions among a plurality of p-type doped silicon regions. | 12-03-2015 |
20150349164 | IN-CELL BYPASS DIODE - A solar cell can include a built-in bypass diode. In one embodiment, the solar cell can include an active region disposed in or above a first portion of a substrate and a bypass diode disposed in or above a second portion of the substrate. The first and second portions of the substrate can be physically separated with a groove. A metallization structure can couple the active region to the bypass diode. | 12-03-2015 |
20150349180 | RELATIVE DOPANT CONCENTRATION LEVELS IN SOLAR CELLS - A solar cell may include a substrate having a front side facing the sun to receive solar radiation during normal operation and a backside opposite the front side. The solar cell may further include a polysilicon layer formed over the backside of the substrate. A P-type diffusion region and an N-type diffusion region may be formed in the polysilicon layer to provide a butting PN junction. The P-type diffusion region may have a first dopant concentration level and the N-type diffusion region may have a second dopant concentration level such that the first dopant concentration level is less than the second dopant concentration level. | 12-03-2015 |
20150349181 | METHOD FOR ETCHING MULTI-LAYER EPITAXIAL MATERIAL - A single-step wet etch process is provided to isolate multijunction solar cells on semiconductor substrates, wherein the wet etch chemistry removes semiconductor materials nonselectively without a major difference in etch rate between different heteroepitaxial layers. The solar cells thus formed comprise multiple heterogeneous semiconductor layers epitaxially grown on the semiconductor substrate. | 12-03-2015 |
20150357499 | METHOD OF PROVIDING A BORON DOPED REGION IN A SUBSTRATE AND A SOLAR CELL USING SUCH A SUBSTRATE - Method of providing a boron doped region ( | 12-10-2015 |
20150357500 | PHOTOELECTRODE MATERIAL AND PHOTOCELL MATERIAL - A method of generating electricity utilizing silicon oxide is provided. The method includes irradiating a light to a photocell comprising a photovoltaic material which consists essentially of silicon oxide in a manner that causes the silicon oxide to generate the electricity in response to the irradiation of light, and correcting the electricity from the photovoltaic material. | 12-10-2015 |
20150357501 | FOUR JUNCTION INVERTED METAMORPHIC SOLAR CELL - A multijunction solar cell which includes: an upper first solar subcell having a first band gap; a second solar subcell adjacent to said upper first solar subcell and having a second band gap smaller than said first band gap; a third solar subcell adjacent to said second solar subcell and having a third band gap smaller than said second band gap; a graded interlayer adjacent to said third solar subcell, said graded interlayer having a fourth band gap greater than said third band gap; and a lower fourth solar subcell adjacent to said graded interlayer, said lower fourth solar subcell having a fifth band gap smaller than said third band gap such that said lower fourth solar subcell is lattice mismatched with respect to said third solar subcell. | 12-10-2015 |
20150364628 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION ELEMENT - A photoelectric conversion element according to the present invention includes a photoelectric conversion layer. The photoelectric conversion layer includes a p-type semiconductor layer, an n-type semiconductor layer, and a superlattice semiconductor layer which is interposed between the p-type semiconductor layer and the n-type semiconductor layer. The superlattice semiconductor layer has a superlattice structure in which barrier layers and quantum layers are stacked alternately and repeatedly, and is provided so as to form an intermediate energy band between an upper end of a valence band of the barrier layer and a lower end of a conduction band of the barrier layer. The intermediate energy band is formed from a region of the superlattice semiconductor layer, which is near to the p-type semiconductor layer, to a region of the superlattice semiconductor layer, which is near to the n-type semiconductor layer, and the intermediate energy band has a region having a wide band width and a region having a narrow band width. | 12-17-2015 |
20150364633 | SOLAR CELL ELEMENT AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SOLAR CELL ELEMENT - A solar cell element includes a semiconductor substrate which includes a first semiconductor region positioned on a first main surface and a second semiconductor region in a surface layer portion of a second main surface, and an electrode in line shape disposed on the second main surface. The second semiconductor region includes a first concentration region being separated from the electrode by a predetermined distance in plan view, and a second concentration region including a high concentration region where a dopant concentration is higher than that in the first concentration region and exists along a longitudinal direction of the electrode. | 12-17-2015 |
20150364634 | Photonic Bandgap Structure - A photonic bandgap structure having multiple stacked layers has a thickness from the top of its top layer to the bottom of its bottom layer of less than one micron. Metal conducting layers having negative real dielectric constants are positioned between semiconductor layers having positive dielectric constants. The layers are arranged and stacked, and the thicknesses and materials for the semiconductor layers and conductive layers are selected to realize desired absorption, transmission, and reflection characteristics. | 12-17-2015 |
20150372178 | HIGH EFFICIENCY MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELLS - Multijunction solar cells having at least four subcells are disclosed, in which at least one of the subcells comprises a base layer formed of an alloy of one or more elements from group III on the periodic table, nitrogen, arsenic, and at least one element selected from the group consisting of Sb and Bi, and each of the subcells is substantially lattice matched. Methods of manufacturing solar cells and photovoltaic systems comprising at least one of the multijunction solar cells are also disclosed. | 12-24-2015 |
20150372179 | MULTI-JUNCTION SOLAR CELL, METHODS FOR THE PRODUCTION THEREOF, AND USES THEREOF - A multi-junction solar cell having at least three p-n junctions is proposed, which comprises a rear-side subcell comprising GaSb, which has at least one p-n junction, and a front-side subcell which has at least two p-n junctions and which is characterised in that the rear-side subcell has a ≧2%, in particular >4%, larger lattice constant than the front-side subcell and the two subcells are connected to each other via an optically transparent and electrically conductive wafer-bond connection. The multi-junction solar cell achieves a high absorption up to the band gap energy of the lowermost GaSb-comprising subcell and a photoelectric voltage which is increased relative to multi-junction solar cells from the state of the art. Furthermore, methods for the production of the multi-junction solar cell according to the invention are presented and uses of the multi-junction solar cell according to the invention are indicated. | 12-24-2015 |
20150380169 | Surface-Passivated Mesoporous Structure Solar Cell - A method is presented for forming a surface-passivated mesoporous-structured solar cell. The method provides a transparent substrate, and forms an overlying transparent conductive electrode. A non-mesoporous layer of a first metal oxide is formed overlying the transparent conductive electrode. A mesoporous structure is formed overlying the non-mesoporous layer of first metal oxide. The mesoporous structure includes a mesoporous layer of a second metal oxide over the first metal oxide layer, and coating the mesoporous layer of second metal oxide is a passivating semiconductor layer having a bandgap wider than the second metal oxide. A semiconductor absorber layer is formed overlying the mesoporous structure, which is made up of both organic and inorganic components. A hole-transport medium (HTM) layer is formed overlying the semiconductor absorber layer, which may be an organic material. A metal electrode overlies the HTM layer. Also provided is a surface-passivated mesoporous-structured solar cell and ambipolar material. | 12-31-2015 |
20150380170 | Mesoporous Structure Solar Cell with Siloxane Barrier - A method is provided for forming a mesoporous-structured solar cell with a silane or siloxane barrier. The method forms a transparent conductive electrode overlying a transparent substrate. A non-mesoporous layer of a first metal oxide overlies the transparent conductive electrode, with a mesoporous layer of a second metal oxide overlying the non-mesoporous layer of first metal oxide. An aminoalkoxysilane layer overlies the mesoporous layer of second metal oxide. Over the aminoalkoxysilane layer is deposited a semiconductor absorber layer comprising organic and inorganic components. Using the aminoalkoxysilane linker, the mesoporous layer of second metal oxide is linked to the semiconductor absorber layer. A hole-transport material (HTM) layer is formed overlying the semiconductor absorber layer, and a metal electrode overlies the HTM layer. A mesoporous-structured solar cell with a silane or siloxane barrier is also provided. | 12-31-2015 |
20150380576 | OPTOELECTRONIC DEVICE WITH DIELECTRIC LAYER AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE - An optoelectronic device and a method for fabricating the optoelectronic device are disclosed. The optoelectronic device comprises a p-n structure, a patterned dielectric layer comprising a dielectric material and a metal layer disposed on the dielectric layer. The metal layer makes one or more contact to the p-n structure through the patterned dielectric layer. The dielectric material may be chemically resistant to acids and may provide adhesion to the p-n structure and the metal layer. The method for fabricating an optoelectronic device comprises providing a p-n structure, providing a dielectric layer on the p-n structure and providing a metal layer on the dielectric layer and then lifting the device off the substrate, such that after the lift off the p-n structure is closer than the patterned dielectric layer to a front side of the device; wherein the device comprises the p-n structure, the patterned dielectric layer, and the metal layer. | 12-31-2015 |
20150380584 | SOLAR CELLS CONTAINING METAL OXIDES - A solar cell includes a plurality of nanostructures. The nanostructures include a first metal oxide, each of the plurality of the nanostructures having a surface defining a cavity opening into an upper side. The solar cell further includes a layer of a second metal oxide disposed over the surface in at least some of the plurality of the nanostructures and a filler material disposed over the layer and filling at least partially the cavity of at least some of the plurality of the nano structures. | 12-31-2015 |
20150380589 | CIGS FILM, AND CIGS SOLAR CELL EMPLOYING THE SAME - The present invention provides a CIGS film substantially free from oxidation of a front surface thereof and a CIGS solar cell employing the CIGS film and substantially free from reduction and variation in conversion efficiency. The CIGS film, which is used as a light absorbing layer for the CIGS solar cell, includes: a first region having a Ga/(In+Ga) ratio progressively reduced along its thickness toward a predetermined first thickness position from a back surface of the CIGS film; a second region having a Ga/(In+Ga) ratio progressively increased along its thickness toward a predetermined second thickness position from the first region; and a third region provided on the second region and having a Ga/(In+Ga) ratio progressively reduced along its thickness toward the front surface of the CIGS film. | 12-31-2015 |
20150380590 | ENERGY HARVESTER - In one or more disclosed embodiments a circuit is configured and arranged to harvest photonic energy. The circuit includes a quantum stack having a plurality of quantum confinement regions. The quantum confinement regions are separated from each other by one or more quantum barrier regions. Each of the quantum confinement regions includes semiconductor material that creates charge carriers therein in response to light. The circuit includes a first contact connected to a lower layer of the quantum stack and a second contact connected to an upper layer of the quantum stack. The circuit also includes a passive circuit configured and arranged to generate an electric field contacting the quantum stack, thereby inducing the charge carriers to migrate toward one of the first and second contacts. | 12-31-2015 |
20150380591 | ADJUSTMENT-TOLERANT PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL - An adjustment-tolerant photovoltaic cell in which the front face has at least three sub-segments which can be directly struck by electromagnetic radiation is provided. At least two sub-segments are in the form of a first segment type, and at least one sub-segment is in the form of a second segment type. The sub-segments can be arranged such that at least two separate segment regions, which can be directly struck by the electromagnetic radiation, are formed for each of the first and the second segment types. At least two sub-segments of the first segment type can be connected to each other in parallel and/or are connected to each other via a transition region which ensures the lateral flow of current. Furthermore, the sub-segments of the first segment type can be connected in series to the at least one sub-segment of the second segment type. | 12-31-2015 |
20150380592 | SEMICONDUCTOR STRUCTURES INCLUDING BONDING LAYERS, MULTI-JUNCTION PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS AND RELATED METHODS - A method of fabricating a semiconductor structure includes the formation of a first bonding layer at least substantially comprised of a first III-V material on major a surface of a first element, and formation of a second bonding layer at least substantially comprised of a second III-V material on a major surface of a second element. The first bonding layer and the second bonding layer are disposed between the first element and the second element, and the first element and the second element are attached to one another at a bonding interface disposed between the first bonding layer and the second bonding layer. Semiconductor structures are fabricated using such methods. | 12-31-2015 |
20150380598 | EMITTERS OF A BACKSIDE CONTACT SOLAR CELL - A system and method of patterning dopants of opposite polarity to form a solar cell is described. Two dopant films are deposited on a substrate. A laser is used to pattern the N-type dopant, by mixing the two dopant films into a single film with an exposure to the laser and/or drive the N-type dopant into the substrate to form an N-type emitter. A thermal process drives the P-type dopant from the P-type dopant film to form P-type emitters and further drives the N-type dopant from the single film to either form or further drive the N-type emitter. | 12-31-2015 |
20160005547 | INORGANIC-ORGANIC HYBRID SOLAR CELL HAVING DURABILITY AND HIGH PERFORMANCE - Provided is a solar cell including: a first electrode; an electron transport layer positioned on the first electrode; a light absorber; a hole transport layer; and a second electrode, wherein the light absorber contains a solid-solution of at least two organic-metal halides with a perovskite structure, having different compositions from each other. | 01-07-2016 |
20160005795 | ORGANIC TANDEM PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE AND METHODS - An organic tandem photovoltaic device includes a first electrode, a second electrode spaced apart from said first electrode, first and second photoactive organic bulk heterojunction layers, and an interconnecting layer. The interconnecting layer is between and electrically connects the first and second photoactive organic bulk heterojunction layers. The interconnecting layer includes an electron extracting interface layer of a first inorganic material and a hole extracting interface layer of a second inorganic material. | 01-07-2016 |
20160005892 | VERTICAL PILLAR STRUCTURE PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES AND METHOD FOR MAKING THE SAME - Thin substrate photovoltaic and methods for making them are disclosed herein. In an embodiment, a photovoltaic device may include a substrate comprising a semiconductor material, one or more core structures, each extending essentially perpendicularly from a first surface of the substrate such that the core structures and the substrate form a single crystal, a shell layer disposed at least on a portion of a sidewall of the core structures and on the first surface, and a conductive layer disposed between adjacent core structures. The conductive layer forms an ohmic contact with the shell layer disposed on the first surface and between the adjacent core structures. | 01-07-2016 |
20160005902 | Direct Thermal Path Heat Sinking Using Fins Formed From Energy Conversion Device Components, Including Subcomponents of Vertical Multijunction Photovoltaic Receivers Used For High Intensity Beaming and Wireless Power Transmission - New high energy operating regimes for high intensity energy transfer for beam receiving, signal acquisition, and beam or signal generation for power beaming and wireless power transmission are made possible by new direct thermal pathways for heat sinking, where an energy conversion device comprises a plurality of fins [1] originating from inside the energy conversion device; [2] formed from an energy conversion device component; and where those fins [3] individually support traffic in energy carriers essential to the function of the energy conversion device. This allows high energy thermal interfacing and high intensity energy conversion, such as for receiving and transducing extremely high intensity light shined onto a small surface semiconductor device such as a vertical multijunction photovoltaic receiver. This allows high intensity energy transfer for beam receiving, signal acquisition, and beam or signal generation for high intensity power beaming and wireless power transmission. | 01-07-2016 |
20160005911 | COMPOUND SEMICONDUCTOR PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD OF THE SAME - A compound semiconductor photovoltaic cell includes a compound semiconductor substrate; one or more first photoelectric conversion cells deposited on the compound semiconductor substrate; a bonding layer deposited on the one or more first photoelectric conversion cells; and one or more second photoelectric conversion cells bonded to the one or more first photoelectric conversion cells via the bonding layer, and disposed on a light incident side of the one or more first photoelectric conversion cells in a light incident direction. Further, band gaps of the first and the second photoelectric conversion cells decrease as the first and the second photoelectric conversion cells approach from the light incident side toward a back side in the light incident direction, and when there is one second photoelectric conversion cells, a band gap of the bonding layer is greater than or equal to a band gap of the second photoelectric conversion cell. | 01-07-2016 |
20160013348 | INVERTED METAMORPHIC MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELL WITH METAMORPHIC LAYERS | 01-14-2016 |
20160013349 | Photoelectric Conversion Device and Method for Manufacturing Photoelectric Conversion Device | 01-14-2016 |
20160013350 | GROUP-IV SOLAR CELL STRUCTURE USING GROUP-IV or III-V HETEROSTRUCTURES | 01-14-2016 |
20160020344 | EMBEDDED JUNCTION IN HETERO-STRUCTURED BACK-SURFACE FIELD FOR PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES - A photovoltaic device and method include a crystalline substrate and an emitter contact portion formed in contact with the substrate. A back-surface-field junction includes a homogeneous junction layer formed in contact with the crystalline substrate and having a same conductivity type and a higher active doping density than that of the substrate. The homogeneous junction layer includes a thickness less than a diffusion length of minority carriers in the homogeneous junction layer. A passivation layer is formed in contact with the homogeneous junction layer opposite the substrate, which is either undoped or has the same conductivity type as that of the substrate. | 01-21-2016 |
20160020347 | BIFACIAL PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES - Described herein is a photovoltaic device operable to convert light to electricity, comprising a substrate, a first plurality of structures essentially perpendicular to the substrate and disposed on a first face of the substrate, and a second plurality of structures essentially perpendicular to the substrate and disposed on a second face of the substrate, wherein both the first plurality and the second plurality of structures are configured to convert light to electricity. | 01-21-2016 |
20160020411 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - Disclosed is a solar cell including a first electrode, a second electrode, and a first conversion layer disposed therebetween. The first electrode is closer to a light incident side than the second electrode. The first conversion layer is a composition-gradient perovskite. A part of the first conversion layer adjacent to the first electrode has an energy gap less than that of a part of the first conversion layer adjacent to the second electrode. | 01-21-2016 |
20160027937 | SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS AND METHOD FOR MAKING AND USING SUCH MATERIALS - Novel compounds having a formula M | 01-28-2016 |
20160035919 | QUANTUM DOT SOLAR CELL PERFORMANCE WITH A METAL SALT TREATMENT - The performance of lead sulfide quantum dot (QD) photovoltaic cells is improved by exposing a QD layer to a solution containing metal salts after the synthesis of the QDs is completed. The halide ions from the salt solution passivate surface lead (Pb) sites and alkali metal ions mend Pb vacancies. Metal cations and halide anions with small ionic radius have high probability of reaching QD surfaces to eliminate surface recombination sites. Compared to control devices fabricated using only a ligand exchange procedure without salt exposure, devices with metal salt treatment show increases in both the form factor and short circuit current of the PV cell. Some embodiments comprise a method for treatment of QDs with a salt solution and ligand exchange. Other embodiments comprise a photovoltaic cell having a QD layer treated with a salt solution and ligand exchange. | 02-04-2016 |
20160043250 | Three-Dimensional Photovoltaic Devices Including Non-Conductive Cores and Methods of Manufacture - Various stamping methods may reduce defects and increase throughput for manufacturing metamaterial devices. Metamaterial devices with an array of photovoltaic bristles, and/or vias, may enable each photovoltaic bristle to have a high probability of photon absorption. The high probability of photon absorption may lead to increased efficiency and more power generation from an array of photovoltaic bristles. Reduced defects in the metamaterial device may decrease manufacturing cost, increase reliability of the metamaterial device, and increase the probability of photon absorption for a metamaterial device. The increase in manufacturing throughput and reduced defects may reduce manufacturing costs to enable the embodiment metamaterial devices to reach grid parity. | 02-11-2016 |
20160043251 | Three-Dimensional Photovoltaic Devices Including Cavity-containing Cores and Methods of Manufacture - Various stamping methods may reduce defects and increase throughput for manufacturing metamaterial devices. Metamaterial devices with an array of photovoltaic bristles, and/or vias, may enable each photovoltaic bristle to have a high probability of photon absorption. The high probability of photon absorption may lead to increased efficiency and more power generation from an array of photovoltaic bristles. Reduced defects in the metamaterial device may decrease manufacturing cost, increase reliability of the metamaterial device, and increase the probability of photon absorption for a metamaterial device. The increase in manufacturing throughput and reduced defects may reduce manufacturing costs to enable the embodiment metamaterial devices to reach grid parity. | 02-11-2016 |
20160043258 | EFFICIENCY ENHANCEMENT OF SOLAR CELLS USING LIGHT MANAGEMENT - A photovoltaic cell includes a junction, formed from an n-type semiconductor material and a p-type semiconductor material, a trench, opening toward the light-incident side of the junction, for trapping reflected light, and two photon conversion layers. A first photon conversion layer, arranged at the light-incident side of the junction, converts photons from a higher energy to a lower energy suitable for absorption by the semiconductor material, and a second photon conversion layer, arranged at the opposite side of the junction, converts photons from a lower energy to a higher energy suitable for absorption by the semiconductor material. | 02-11-2016 |
20160043260 | Solar Energy Conversion Apparatus, and Methods of Making and Using the Same - Apparatuses and methods are provided for converting solar energy. The apparatus can include an emitter electrode, a collector electrode, a vacuum gap, and an electronic circuit. The emitter electrode can include a first light absorbing layer in direct contact with a first low work function layer. The vacuum gap can be disposed between the emitter and the collector. The vacuum gap can be in direct contact with the first low function layer. The electronic circuit can be coupled to the emitter electrode and the collector electrode. The first low work function layer can be disposed at least partially between the first light absorbing layer and the vacuum gap. | 02-11-2016 |
20160056322 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A solar cell is discussed, and the solar cell includes: a semiconductor substrate; a tunneling layer on a surface of the semiconductor substrate; a buffer layer on the tunneling layer, wherein the buffer layer is a separate layer from the tunneling layer and includes an intrinsic buffer portion, and wherein at least one of a material, a composition and a crystalline structure of the buffer layer is different from those of the tunneling layer; a conductive type region on the tunneling layer, and including a first conductive type region having a first conductive type and a second conductive type region having a second conductive type; and an electrode connected to the conductive type region. The buffer layer is positioned adjacent to the tunneling layer and is apart from the electrode. | 02-25-2016 |
20160056323 | Tandem Junction Photovoltaic Cell - A tandem junction photovoltaic cell has a first p-n junction with a first energy band gap, and a second p-n junction with a second energy band gap less than the first energy band gap. The junctions are separated by a quantum tunneling junction. The first p-n junction captures higher energy photons and allows lower energy photons to pass through and be captured by the second p-n junction. Quantum dots positioned within the first p-n junction promote quantum tunneling of charge carriers to increase the current generated by the first p-n junction and match the current of the second p-n junction for greater efficiency. | 02-25-2016 |
20160064590 | FABRICATION OF SOLAR CELLS WITH ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE POLYIMIDE ADHESIVE - The present disclosure provides a method of manufacturing a solar cell including: providing a first substrate and a second substrate; depositing on the first substrate a sequence of layers of semiconductor material forming a solar cell including a top subcell and a bottom subcell; forming a back metal contact over the bottom subcell; applying a conductive polyimide adhesive to the second substrate; attaching the second substrate on top of the back metal contact; and removing the first substrate to expose the surface of the top subcell. | 03-03-2016 |
20160071991 | TRENCH PROCESS AND STRUCTURE FOR BACKSIDE CONTACT SOLAR CELLS WITH POLYSILICON DOPED REGIONS - A solar cell includes polysilicon P-type and N-type doped regions on a backside of a substrate, such as a silicon wafer. A trench structure separates the P-type doped region from the N-type doped region. Each of the P-type and N-type doped regions may be formed over a thin dielectric layer. The trench structure may include a textured surface for increased solar radiation collection. Among other advantages, the resulting structure increases efficiency by providing isolation between adjacent P-type and N-type doped regions, thereby preventing recombination in a space charge region where the doped regions would have touched. | 03-10-2016 |
20160071995 | SOLAR CELL MADE USING A BARRIER LAYER BETWEEN P-TYPE AND INTRINSIC LAYERS - A method for forming a photovoltaic device includes depositing a p-type layer on a substrate. A barrier layer is formed on the p-type layer by exposing the p-type layer to an oxidizing agent. An intrinsic layer is formed on the barrier layer, and an n-type layer is formed on the intrinsic layer. | 03-10-2016 |
20160079463 | INTERDIGITATED BACK CONTACT HETEROJUNCTION PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE - A photovoltaic device includes a crystalline substrate having a first dopant conductivity, an interdigitated back contact and a front surface field structure. The front surface field structure includes a crystalline layer formed on the substrate and a noncrystalline layer formed on the crystalline layer. The crystalline layer and the noncrystalline layer are doped with dopants having a same dopant conductivity as the substrate. Methods are also disclosed. | 03-17-2016 |
20160087114 | BROADBAND ANTIREFLECTION COATINGS UNDER COVERGLASS USING ION GUN ASSISTED EVAPORATION - The present disclosure generally relates to broadband antireflective coatings for reducing reflection of light in the infrared without compromising visible light reflectance in multijunction solar cells bonded to coverglass, and methods of forming the same. The antireflective coatings include a high index, one or more intermediate index, and low index of refraction dielectric layers. The high index dielectric layer utilizes an ion beam assisted deposition to maximize the density and index of refraction. The intermediate index layer(s) increase the bandwidth of the antireflection coating, thereby improving the performance of the antireflective coating in the infrared spectrum. | 03-24-2016 |
20160087128 | LIGHT HARVESTING ANTENNA COMPLEXES - The invention disclosed concerns a simple ring-hub arrangement of interacting two-level systems using a theoretical quantum jump approach which mimics a biological light-harvesting antenna connected to a reaction center. | 03-24-2016 |
20160087577 | FLEXIBLE SOLAR CELLS COMPRISING THICK AND THIN ABSORBER REGIONS - A solar cell includes a p-type semiconductor substrate including a plurality of thin absorption regions and a plurality of thick absorption regions. The plurality of thin absorption regions and the plurality of thick absorption regions are coplanar on a bottom side thereof. An n-type semiconductor layer is disposed over a top side of the p-type semiconductor substrate. The n-type semiconductor layer has a substantially uniform thickness. Metallurgy is disposed on top of the n-type semiconductor layer. The plurality of thin absorption regions are sufficiently thin to render the semiconductor substrate flexible. | 03-24-2016 |
20160099368 | NANOSTRUCTURED UNITS FORMED INSIDE A SILICON MATERIAL AND THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS TO PERFORM THEM THEREIN - The invention bears on elementary nanoscale units nanostructured-formed inside a silicon material and the manufacturing process to implement them. Each elementary nanoscale unit is created by means of a limited displacement of two Si atoms outside a crystal elementary unit. A localized nanoscale transformation of the crystalline matter gets an unusual functionality by focusing in it a specific physical effect as is a highly useful additional set of electron energy levels that is optimized for the solar spectrum conversion to electricity. An adjusted energy set allows a low-energy secondary electron generation in a semiconductor, preferentially silicon, material for use especially in very-high efficiency all-silicon light-to-electricity converters. The manufacturing process to create such transformations in a semiconductor material bases on a local energy deposition like ion implantation or electron beam irradiation and suitable thermal treatment and is industrially easily available. | 04-07-2016 |
20160099369 | MONOLITHICALLY INTEGRATED THIN-FILM ELECTRONIC CONVERSION UNIT FOR LATERAL MULTIJUNCTION THIN-FILM SOLAR CELLS - An integrated thin-film lateral multi junction solar device and fabrication method are provided. The device includes, for instance, a substrate, and a plurality of stacks extending vertically from the substrate. Each stack may include layers, and be electrically isolated against another stack. Each stack may also include an energy storage device above the substrate, a solar cell above the energy storage device, a transparent medium above the solar cell, and a micro-optic layer of spectrally dispersive and concentrating optical devices above the transparent medium. Furthermore, the device may include a first power converter connected between the energy storage device and a power bus, and a second power converter connected between the solar cell and the power bus. Further, different solar cells of different stacks may have different absorption characteristics. | 04-07-2016 |
20160099370 | MULTI-JUNCTION SOLAR CELL - A multi-junction solar cell comprising a high-crystalline silicon solar cell and a high-crystalline germanium solar cell. The high-crystalline silicon solar including a first p-doped layer and a n+ layer and the high-crystalline germanium solar cell including a second p layer and a heavily doped layer. The multi-junction solar cell can also be comprised of a heavily doped silicon layer on a non-light receiving back surface of the high-crystalline germanium solar cell and a tunnel junction between the high-crystalline silicon solar cell and the high-crystalline germanium solar cell. | 04-07-2016 |
20160104853 | EXCITON GATING IN ORGANIC PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS - An example organic photovoltaic device includes an organic electron donor region, and an organic electron acceptor region. The acceptor region forms a donor-acceptor interface with the donor region. At least one of the donor region and the acceptor region includes an exciton permeable interface. An energy transfer imbalance across the exciton permeable interface is configured to bias exciton transfer towards the donor-acceptor interface. | 04-14-2016 |
20160111224 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE USING FEROVS - The photovoltaic device is formed by coating a substrate with a transparent conducting oxide and then this layer is coated with a dioxide layer. The dioxide layer is then coated in a single step with a precursor solution including metal oxide nanoparticles and perovskites and this precursor can be heated to form a scaffold having a perovskite light absorber and electron transporter. A conductor is added to form a connection with the scaffold and it is envisaged that because a single step relatively low temperature process is used to form the scaffold then this can be painted onto a surface and cured in situ making it a very economical process. | 04-21-2016 |
20160111576 | COST-EFFICIENT HIGH POWER PECVD DEPOSITION FOR SOLAR CELLS - A method for forming a photovoltaic device includes providing a substrate. A layer is deposited to form one or more layers of a photovoltaic stack on the substrate. The depositing of the amorphous layer includes performing a high power flash deposition for depositing a first portion of the layer. A low power deposition is performed for depositing a second portion of the layer. | 04-21-2016 |
20160111577 | COMPOUND-SEMICONDUCTOR PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD OF COMPOUND-SEMICONDUCTOR PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL - A compound-semiconductor photovoltaic cell includes a compound-semiconductor substrate; a first photoelectric conversion cell formed on the compound-semiconductor substrate; a first junction layer formed on the first photoelectric conversion cell; a second junction layer joined to the first junction layer directly or indirectly; and a second photoelectric conversion cell joined to the first photoelectric conversion cell via the first and second junction layers, and arranged on a light incident side of the first photoelectric conversion cell in a light incident direction. Band gaps of the first and second photoelectric conversion cells are made smaller from the incident side toward a deep side in the light incident direction in order. A band gap of the second junction layer is greater than or equal to a band gap of the second photoelectric conversion cell. The second photoelectric conversion cell is a GaAs-based photovoltaic cell, and the second junction layer is a GaPAs layer. | 04-21-2016 |
20160111578 | CONTACT FOR SILICON HETEROJUNCTION SOLAR CELLS - A photovoltaic device and method include a substrate coupled to an emitter side structure on a first side of the substrate and a back side structure on a side opposite the first side of the substrate. The emitter side structure or the back side structure include layers alternating between wide band gap layers and narrow band gap layers to provide a multilayer contact with an effectively increased band offset with the substrate and/or an effectively higher doping level over a single material contact. An emitter contact is coupled to the emitter side structure on a light collecting end portion of the device. A back contact is coupled to the back side structure opposite the light collecting end portion. | 04-21-2016 |
20160118524 | STACKED INTEGRATED MULTI-JUNCTION SOLAR CELL - A stacked integrated multi-junction solar cell, having a first subcell, whereby the first subcell has a layer of an InGaP compound with a first lattice constant and a first band gap energy, and the thickness of the layer is greater than 100 nm and the layer is formed as part of an emitter and/or as part of the base and/or as part of the space charge region lying between the emitter and base, and a second subcell with a second lattice constant and a second band gap energy, and a third subcell with a third lattice constant and a third band gap energy, and a fourth subcell with a fourth lattice constant and a fourth band gap energy, and a region with a wafer bond is formed between two subcells. | 04-28-2016 |
20160118525 | III-V PHOTOVOLTAIC ELEMENTS - Solar cell structures that have improved carrier collection efficiencies at a heterointerface are provided by low temperature epitaxial growth of silicon on a III-V base. Additionally, a solar cell structure having improved open circuit voltage includes a shallow junction III-V emitter formed by epitaxy or diffusion followed by the epitaxy of Si | 04-28-2016 |
20160118526 | MULTI-JUNCTION SOLAR CELL WITH DILUTE NITRIDE SUB-CELL HAVING GRADED DOPING - A lattice-matched solar cell having a dilute nitride-based sub-cell has exponential doping to thereby control current-carrying capacity of the solar cell. Specifically a solar cell with at least one dilute nitride sub-cell that has a variably doped base or emitter is disclosed. In one embodiment, a lattice matched multi junction solar cell has an upper sub-cell, a middle sub-cell and a lower dilute nitride sub-cell, the lower dilute nitride sub-cell having doping in the base and/or the emitter that is at least partially exponentially doped so as to improve its solar cell performance characteristics. In construction, the dilute nitride sub-cell may have the lowest bandgap and be lattice matched to a substrate, the middle cell typically has a higher bandgap than the dilute nitride sub-cell while it is lattice matched to the dilute nitride sub-cell. | 04-28-2016 |
20160126394 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SUCH A PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL - A photovoltaic cell includes a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type, with a first surface arranged with a highly doped surface field layer of the first conductivity type. The substrate has on the highly doped surface field layer at least one contacting area for contacting the surface field layer with a respective contact. In the first surface at the location of the at least one contacting area a doping concentration in the highly doped surface field layer is increased relative to the doping concentration in the surface area outside the first contacting area, and in the first surface at the location of each contacting area the highly doped surface field layer has a profile depth that is larger than a profile depth of the doped surface field layer outside the contacting area. | 05-05-2016 |
20160126400 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A solar cell and a method for manufacturing the same are disclosed. The solar cell includes a semiconductor substrate containing impurities of a first conductive type, a tunnel layer positioned on the semiconductor substrate, an emitter region positioned on the tunnel layer and containing impurities of a second conductive type opposite the first conductive type, a dopant layer positioned on the emitter region and formed of a dielectric material containing impurities of the second conductive type, a first electrode connected to the semiconductor substrate, and a second electrode configured to pass through the dopant layer and connected to the emitter region. | 05-05-2016 |
20160133392 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION ELEMENT AND SOLAR CELL - A photoelectric conversion element includes a first electrode which has a porous layer provided on a conductive support and a photosensitive layer having a light absorber on a surface of the porous layer, a second electrode which is opposed to the first electrode, and a solid hole transport layer which is provided between the first electrode and the second electrode. The light absorber includes a compound having a perovskite crystal structure having a cation of a group I element of the periodic table or a cation of a cationic organic group A, a cation of a metal atom M other than the group I elements of the periodic table, and an anion of an anionic atom X, and the porous layer contains at least one of insulating material. A solar cell includes this photoelectric conversion element. | 05-12-2016 |
20160133672 | Hybrid Perovskite with Adjustable Bandgap - A method is provided for preparing a thin film of perovskite material having an adjustable bandgap. The method forms a thin film of material having the formula BX | 05-12-2016 |
20160133766 | THREE-LAYER CORE-SHELL NANOPARTICLES FOR MANUFACTURING SOLAR CELL LIGHT ABSORPTION LAYER AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME - Disclosed are three-layer core-shell structure nanoparticles used to form a light absorption layer of solar cells including a core including a copper (Cu)-containing chalcogenide, and (i) a first shell including a tin (Sn)-containing chalcogenide and a second shell including a zinc (Zn)-containing chalcogenide; or (ii) a first shell including a zinc (Zn)-containing chalcogenide and a second shell including a tin (Sn)-containing chalcogenide, and a method of manufacturing the same. | 05-12-2016 |
20160147125 | ELECTRONIC DEVICES WTH TRANSPARENT CONDUCTING ELECTRODES, AND METHODS OF MANUFACTURE THEREOF - An embodiment of a transparent conducting electrode includes a first non-conductive layer formed from a first non-conductive material, a conductive layer, and a second non-conductive layer formed from a second non-conductive material that is different from the first non-conductive material. One or more of the transparent conducting electrodes may be incorporated into electronic devices such as solar cells, light emitting diodes, electrochromic devices, liquid crystal displays, and other devices. | 05-26-2016 |
20160149068 | MULTI-JUNCTION SOLAR CELL - A solar cell including: a stack of at least two sub-cells, a tunnel diode, including first and second superposed layers that are highly doped with opposite conductivity types, being interposed between two adjacent sub-cells; a first electrode and a second electrode respectively in contact with one and other of faces positioned at the ends of the stack; and, for at least one tunnel diode, a third electrode and a fourth electrode in electrical contact respectively with the first layer and the second layer of the tunnel diode. | 05-26-2016 |
20160149149 | ORGANIC THIN-FILM SOLAR CELL AND ORGANIC THIN-FILM SOLAR CELL MANUFACTURING METHOD - Provided is an organic thin-film solar cell, including: a substrate, an anode, an organic thin-film layer that includes an organic semiconductor layer, and a cathode. The anode, the organic thin-film layer that includes the organic semiconductor layer, and the cathode are layered in order on top of the substrate. A recess and protrusion-shaped microstructure that includes a plurality of recesses or protrusions arranged two-dimensionally at random is formed in an interface between the organic thin-film layer and the cathode. The recess and protrusion-shaped microstructure is formed such that, when λ | 05-26-2016 |
20160155864 | Silicon-Based Visible And Near-Infrared Optoelectric Devices | 06-02-2016 |
20160155866 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME | 06-02-2016 |
20160155870 | A SOLAR CELL STRUCTURE AND A METHOD OF ITS FABRICATION | 06-02-2016 |
20160163898 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE - A photovoltaic device is provided that prevents a short circuit in an p-n junction even if the distance between the electrodes on the n-type semiconductor strips and the electrodes on the p-type semiconductor strips is reduced. A photovoltaic device includes n-type amorphous semiconductor strips | 06-09-2016 |
20160163904 | 2-TERMINAL METAL HALIDE SEMICONDUCTOR/C-SILICON MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELL WITH TUNNEL JUNCTION - A 2-terminal multi-junction solar cell having a thin film of metal halide semiconductor as the top solar-cell material and crystalline silicon as the bottom solar-cell material. In the illustrative embodiment, the top solar-cell material is a perovskite of the form AM(I | 06-09-2016 |
20160172522 | MULTI-JUNCTION SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THEREOF | 06-16-2016 |
20160172611 | PHOTODETECTORS AND PHOTOVOLTAICS BASED ON SEMICONDUCTOR NANOCRYSTALS | 06-16-2016 |
20160181456 | Low-Cost and High-Efficiency Tandem Photovoltaic Cells | 06-23-2016 |
20160190368 | Photovoltaic Device and Method of Making - A photovoltaic device is presented. The photovoltaic device includes a first semiconductor layer, a second semiconductor layer, and an interlayer disposed between the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer, wherein the inter layer includes gadolinium. Methods of making photovoltaic devices are also presented. | 06-30-2016 |
20160190374 | THIN FILM TYPE SOLAR CELL AND FABRICATION METHOD THEREOF - A method of fabricating a solar cell includes forming a doped portion having a first conductive type on a semiconductor substrate, growing an oxide layer on the semiconductor substrate, forming a plurality of recess portions in the oxide layer, further growing the oxide layer on the semiconductor substrate, forming a doped portion having a second conductive type on areas of the semiconductor substrate corresponding to the recess portions, forming a first conductive electrode electrically coupled to the doped portion having the first conductive type, and forming a second conductive electrode on the semiconductor substrate and electrically coupled to the doped portion having the second conductive type, wherein a gap between the doped portions having the first and second conductive types corresponds to a width of the oxide layer formed by further growing the oxide layer. | 06-30-2016 |
20160190375 | HETERO-JUNCTION SOLAR CELL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - A hetero junction solar cell includes a semiconductor substrate, a first n-type buffer layer, a second n-type buffer layer, a first amorphous silicon layer, a second amorphous silicon layer, a first TCO layer and a second TCO layer. The first n-type buffer layer and the second n-type buffer layer are formed respectively on a first surface and a second surface of the semiconductor substrate. The first amorphous silicon layer and the second amorphous silicon layer are formed respectively on the first n-type buffer layer and the second n-type buffer layer. The first TCO layer and the second TCO layer are formed respectively on the first amorphous silicon layer and the second amorphous silicon layer. | 06-30-2016 |
20160190376 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL WITH VARIABLE BAND GAP - A Monolithic photovoltaic cell is proposed. Said cell comprises at least one junction. Each one of said at least one junction comprises a base formed by a doped semiconductor material of a first conductivity type and an emitter formed by a doped semiconductor material of a second conductivity type opposed to the first. Said emitter is stacked on the base according to a first direction. The semiconductor material of the base and/or of the emitter of at least one of said at least one junction is a semiconductor material formed by a compound of at least one first element and a second element. The band gap and the lattice constant of said semiconductor material of the base and/or of the emitter depend on the concentration of said first element in said compound with respect to said second element. Said concentration of the first element in said compound with respect to the second element is not uniform along said first direction, being equal to a first value at a lower portion of said base and/or emitter and being equal to a second value lower than the first value at an upper portion of said base and/or emitter. Said upper portion is above said lower portion according to the first direction. | 06-30-2016 |
20160190378 | INVERTED METAMORPHIC MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELL INCLUDING A METAMORPHIC LAYER - A multijunction solar cell includes an upper first solar subcell, a second solar subcell adjacent to the first solar subcell, a third solar subcell adjacent to the second solar subcell, and a graded interlayer adjacent to the third solar subcell. The graded interlayer has a band gap that is greater than the band gap of the third solar subcell and is composed of a compositionally step-graded series of (In | 06-30-2016 |
20160197204 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME | 07-07-2016 |
20160204202 | QUANTUM DOT CHANNEL (QDC) QUANTUM DOT GATE TRANSISTORS, MEMORIES AND OTHER DEVICES | 07-14-2016 |
20160204283 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL AND METHOD OF FABRICATING THE SAME | 07-14-2016 |
20160204291 | SOLAR CELL HAVING QUANTUM WELL STRUCTURE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SAME | 07-14-2016 |
20160380142 | MULTI SOLAR CELL - A multi-junction solar cell having a first subcell made of an InGaAs compound. The first subcell has a first lattice constant and A second subcell has a second lattice constant. The first lattice constant is at least 0.008 Å greater than the second lattice constant. A metamorphic buffer is formed between the first subcell and the second subcell and has a sequence of at least three layers and a lattice constant increases from layer to layer in the sequence in the direction toward the first subcell. The lattice constants of the layers of the buffer are greater than the second lattice constant, and a layer of the metamorphic buffer has a third lattice constant that is greater than the first lattice constant. A number N of compensation layers for compensating the residual stress of the metamorphic buffer is formed between the metamorphic buffer and the first subcell. | 12-29-2016 |
20160380143 | III-V SOLAR CELL STRUCTURE WITH MULTI-LAYER BACK SURFACE FIELD - Photovoltaic devices including direct gap III-V absorber materials and operatively associated back structures enhance efficiency by enabling photon recycling. The back structures of the photovoltaic devices include wide bandgap III-V layers, highly doped (In)GaAs layers, patterned oxide layers and metal reflectors that directly contact the highly doped (In)GaAs layers through vias formed in the back structures. Localized ohmic contacts are formed in the back structures of the devices. | 12-29-2016 |
20170236958 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE AND PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION MODULE | 08-17-2017 |
20190148573 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME | 05-16-2019 |
20220140162 | SOLAR CELL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SOLAR CELL - A back-contact solar cell having a first conductivity-type semiconductor layer in a first region on a back side of a semiconductor substrate, and a second conductivity-type semiconductor layer in a second region and the first region on the back side. In the first region, an intrinsic semiconductor layer and the first and second conductivity-type semiconductor layers are stacked successively on the back side. In the second region, the intrinsic semiconductor layer and the second conductivity-type semiconductor layer are stacked on the back side. In a boundary region between the first and second regions, an insulating layer, and the first and second conductivity-type semiconductor layers, are stacked successively on the back side, with the intrinsic semiconductor layer disposed between the layers and the back side. The insulating layer is interposed between the first conductivity-type semiconductor layer in the first region and the second conductivity-type semiconductor layer in the second region. | 05-05-2022 |
20220140177 | METHOD OF MANUFACTURING -TANDEM PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS AND -TANDEM PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL PRODUCED BY THIS METHOD - A method of producing photovoltaic cells with the μ-tandem architecture based on crystalline silicon substrates and quantum dots, ensuring both effective and stable operation of the entire tandem system as well as high absorption in the spectral range from UV to MIR and operation in scattered and incident light conditions at different angles, acting as an anti-reflective layer. A further purpose of the invention is to develop a new structure of a μ-tandem photovoltaic cell based on microcrystalline silicon (Si) layers and a layer of nanometric semiconductor structures with a core-shell architecture such that the resulting structures work as a tandem cell with the characteristics of micro-cells, connected together in its lower part. | 05-05-2022 |