| Patent application number | Description | Published |
|---|
| 20080245409 | Inverted Metamorphic Solar Cell Mounted on Flexible Film - A method of manufacturing a solar cell on a flexible film by providing a substrate; depositing on the substrate a sequence of layers of semiconductor material forming a solar cell; mounting the semiconductor substrate on a flexible film; and thinning the semiconductor substrate to a predetermined thickness. The sequence of layers forms an inverted metamorphic solar cell structure. | 10-09-2008 |
| 20090038679 | Thin Multijunction Solar Cells With Plated Metal OHMIC Contact and Support - A method of forming a thin multifunction solar cell in which an electroplating process is used to form a thick metal layer to give strength and support to the solar cell. The strain of the plated thick metal layer is adjusted during the process by parameter control to compensate for the strain in the other device layers, so that the curvature of the thin device can be eliminated or otherwise controlled. | 02-12-2009 |
| 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 |
| 20090155951 | Exponentially Doped 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, 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 grading interlayer over the second subcell, 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 mis-matched with respect to the second subcell, wherein at least one of the bases of a solar subcell has an exponentially doped profile. | 06-18-2009 |
| 20090155952 | Exponentially Doped Layers 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, 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 grading interlayer over the second subcell, 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, wherein at least one of the bases of a solar subcell has an exponentially doped profile. | 06-18-2009 |
| 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 |
| 20090272438 | Strain Balanced Multiple Quantum Well Subcell In Inverted Metamorphic Multijunction Solar Cell - A method of manufacturing a solar cell by providing a first semiconductor substrate for the epitaxial growth of semiconductor material; forming a first subcell on the substrate with a first semiconductor material with a first band gap and a first lattice constant; forming a second subcell with a second semiconductor material with a second band gap and a second lattice constant, wherein the second band gap is less than the first band gap and the second lattice constant is greater than the first lattice constant; the second subcell including a strain balanced quantum well structure; and forming a lattice constant transition material positioned between the first subcell and the second subcell, the lattice constant transition material having a lattice constant that changes gradually from the first lattice constant to the second lattice constant. | 11-05-2009 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 20100041178 | Demounting of 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 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 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; attaching a surrogate second substrate over the third solar subcell and removing the first substrate; and etching a first trough around the periphery of the solar cell to the surrogate second substrate so as to form a mesa structure on the surrogate second substrate and facilitate the removal of said solar cell from the surrogate second substrate. | 02-18-2010 |
| 20100047959 | Epitaxial Lift Off on Film Mounted Inverted Metamorphic Multijunction Solar Cells - A process for selectively freeing an epitaxial layer from a single crystal substrate upon which it was grown, by providing a first substrate; depositing a separation layer on the first substrate; depositing on the separation layer a sequence of layers of semiconductor material forming a solar cell; mounting and bonding a thin flexible support having a coefficient of thermal expansion substantially greater than that of the adjacent semiconductor material on top of the sequence of layers at an elevated temperature; and etching the separation layer while the temperature of the support and layers of semiconductor material decrease, so that the support and the attached layer curls away from the first substrate in view of their differences in coefficient of thermal expansion, so as to remove the epitaxial layer from the substrate. | 02-25-2010 |
| 20100093127 | Inverted Metamorphic Multijunction Solar Cell Mounted on Metallized Flexible Film - A method of manufacturing a mounted solar cell by providing a metallic flexible film having a predetermined coefficient of thermal expansion; and attaching the semiconductor solar cell to the metallic film, the coefficient of thermal expansion of the semiconductor body closely matching the predetermined coefficient of thermal expansion of the metallic film. | 04-15-2010 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 20100151618 | Growth Substrates for Inverted Metamorphic Multijunction Solar Cells - A method of manufacturing a solar cell by providing a gallium arsenide carrier with a prepared bonding surface; providing a sapphire substrate; bonding the gallium arsenide carrier and the sapphire substrate to produce a composite structure; detaching the bulk of the gallium arsenide carrier from the composite structure, leaving a gallium arsenide growth substrate on the sapphire substrate; and depositing a sequence of layers of semiconductor material forming a solar cell on the growth substrate. For some solar cells, the method further includes mounting a surrogate second substrate on top of the sequence of layers of semiconductor material forming a solar cell; and removing the growth substrate. | 06-17-2010 |
| 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 |
| 20100203730 | Epitaxial Lift Off in Inverted Metamorphic Multijunction Solar Cells - A process for selectively freeing an epitaxial layer from a single crystal substrate upon which it was grown, by providing a first substrate; depositing a separation layer on said first substrate; depositing on said separation layer a sequence of layers of semiconductor material forming a solar cell; mounting and bonding a surrogate substrate on top of the sequence of layers; attaching a connecting link element to at least two opposed points on the periphery of the surrogate substrate; and etching said separation layer while applying tension to said link element so as to remove said epitaxial layer from said first substrate. | 08-12-2010 |
| 20100229913 | Contact Layout and String Interconnection of Inverted Metamorphic Multijunction Solar Cells - A multijunction solar cell including an upper first solar subcell having a first band gap disposed adjacent the top surface of the multijunction solar cell; a middle 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 graded interlayer having a third band gap greater than the second band gap; and a lower solar subcell adjacent to the interlayer, the lower 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 metal contact layer adjacent to the lower solar subcell for making an electrical contact thereto; and a cut-out extending from a peripheral edge along the top surface of the solar cell to the metal contact layer to allow an electrical contact to be made to the lower subcell from the top surface of the solar cell. | 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 |
| 20100229933 | Inverted Metamorphic Multijunction Solar Cells with a Supporting Coating - 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; applying a coating layer over said sequence of layers; and removing the semiconductor substrate. | 09-16-2010 |
| 20100233839 | String Interconnection and Fabrication of Inverted Metamorphic Multijunction Solar Cells - A method of manufacturing a solar cell by providing a first substrate; depositing on a first substrate a sequence of layers of semiconductor material forming a solar cell including at least a top subcell and a bottom subcell; mounting a surrogate substrate on top of the sequence of layers adjacent to the bottom subcell; removing the first substrate to expose the surface of the top subcell; removing the surrogate substrate; and holding the solar cell on a vacuum chuck to support it for subsequent fabrication operations, such as attaching interconnects to the solar cells to form an interconnected array. | 09-16-2010 |
| 20100248411 | Demounting of 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 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 graded interlayer over the second subcell; 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; attaching a surrogate second substrate over the third solar subcell and removing the first substrate; and etching a first trough around the periphery of the solar cell to the surrogate second substrate so as to form a mesa structure on the surrogate second substrate and facilitate the removal of the solar cell from the surrogate second substrate. | 09-30-2010 |
| 20100282288 | Solar Cell Interconnection on a Flexible Substrate - A solar cell array comprising: a substrate having a carrier surface on which a plurality of electrically conductive bonding pads are provided, the bonding pads being spaced from one another along a main direction; a plurality of solar cells, each solar cell of the plurality including a back electrode bonded to a first portion of a respective bonding pad, wherein each bonding pad comprises a second portion defining an exposed contact region not covered by the back electrode of the respective solar cell, and wherein an interconnecting lead electrically connects the second portion of the bonding pad associated with a first solar cell with an electrode of a directly adjacent second solar cell. | 11-11-2010 |
| 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 |
| 20110030774 | Inverted Metamorphic Multijunction Solar Cells with Back Contacts - A method of manufacturing a solar cell by providing a first substrate; depositing sequentially on the first substrate a plurality of semiconductor layers, the plurality of semiconductor layers comprising a first layer and a last layer in the direction of deposition; forming a backside contact layer on the last semiconductor layer; forming on the last semiconductor layer a back cathode contact isolated from at least a first portion of the backside contact layer, the first portion forming the anode contact; attaching a second substrate on the backside contact layer and removing the first substrate to expose the first semiconductor layer and to define a front surface and an opposite back surface of a solar cell; forming a front cathode contact on the front surface of the solar cell; etching a first trench through the plurality of semiconductor layers to define an active portion of the solar cell with a first mesa structure including the front cathode contact and the anode contact and being surrounded by the first trench, the first mesa having a first sidewall in the first trench and a lateral peripheral region beyond the sidewall, and forming in the lateral peripheral region an electrically conductive layer extending from the front surface where it is electrically connected to the front cathode contact along the first sidewall of the first trench to be electrically connected to the back cathode contact. | 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 |
| 20120132250 | CONTACT LAYOUT AND STRING INTERCONNECTION OF INVERTED METAMORPHIC MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELLS - A multijunction solar cell including an upper first solar subcell disposed adjacent the top surface of the multijunction solar cell; a middle second solar subcell adjacent to the first solar subcell; a graded interlayer adjacent to the second solar subcell; and a lower solar subcell adjacent to the interlayer; a metal contact layer adjacent to the lower solar subcell for making an electrical contact thereto; and a cut-out extending from a peripheral edge along the top surface of the solar cell to the metal contact layer to allow an electrical contact to be made to the lower subcell from the top surface of the solar cell. | 05-31-2012 |
| 20120211047 | STRING INTERCONNECTION OF INVERTED METAMORPHIC MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELLS ON FLEXIBLE PERFORATED CARRIERS - A method of forming a multijunction solar cell string by mounting first and 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. | 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 |
| 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 |
| 20120276676 | EPITAXIAL LIFT OFF IN INVERTED METAMORPHIC MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELLS - The present disclosure provides a process for manufacturing a solar cell by selectively freeing an epitaxial layer from a single crystal substrate upon which it was grown. In some embodiments the process includes, among other things, providing a first substrate; depositing a separation layer on said first substrate; depositing on said separation layer a sequence of layers of semiconductor material forming a solar cell; mounting and bonding a flexible support on top of the sequence of layers; etching said separation layer while applying an agitating action to the etchant solution so as to remove said flexible support with said epitaxial layer from said first substrate. | 11-01-2012 |
| 20130034931 | Gallium arsenide solar cell with germanium/palladium contact - A method of forming a solar cell including: providing a semiconductor body including at least one photoactive junction; forming a semiconductor contact layer composed of GaAs deposited over the semiconductor body; and depositing a metal contact layer including a germanium layer and a palladium layer over the semiconductor contact layer so that the specific contact resistance is less than 5×10 | 02-07-2013 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 20130298961 | SOLAR POWER SYSTEM FOR SPACE VEHICLES OR SATELLITES USING INVERTED METAMORPHIC MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELLS - A system for generating electrical power from solar radiation utilizing a thin film III-V compound multijunction semiconductor solar cell mounted on a support in a non-planar configuration is disclosed herein. | 11-14-2013 |
| 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 |
| 20140102529 | SOLAR CELL INTERCONNECT ASSEMBLY AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A solar cell interconnect assembly and a method for manufacturing the same are provided. In an embodiment, the method may include: providing a solar cell having an interconnect member formed thereon, the interconnect member comprising a metallic part formed on a surface of the solar cell and a first precursor layer formed over the metallic part; providing an interconnector comprising a second precursor layer at a surface thereof; heating the interconnector and the interconnect member to a temperature equal to or above a eutectic temperature of the materials of the first and second precursor layers and pressing one of them against the other so as to form a eutectic liquid phase; and isothermal solidifying the eutectic liquid to form a bonding layer of eutectic alloy. | 04-17-2014 |
| 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 |
| 20140166067 | SOLAR POWER SYSTEM FOR AIRCRAFT, WATERCRAFT, OR LAND VEHICLES USING INVERTED METAMORPHIC MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELLS - A system for generating electrical power from solar radiation utilizing a thin film III-V compound multijunction semiconductor solar cell mounted on a support in a non-planar configuration is disclosed herein. | 06-19-2014 |
| 20140342494 | OHMIC N-CONTACT FORMED AT LOW TEMPERATURE 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 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 | 11-20-2014 |
| 20140370648 | 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 | 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 |
| 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 |
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