Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080213467 | SOLUTION-BASED FABRICATION OF PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL - An ink for forming CIGS photovoltaic cell active layers is disclosed along with methods for making the ink, methods for making the active layers and a solar cell made with the active layer. The ink contains a mixture of nanoparticles of elements of groups IB, IIIA and (optionally) VIA. The particles are in a desired particle size range of between about 1 nm and about 500 nm in diameter, where a majority of the mass of the particles comprises particles ranging in size from no more than about 40% above or below an average particle size or, if the average particle size is less than about 5 nanometers, from no more than about 2 nanometers above or below the average particle size. The use of such ink avoids the need to expose the material to an H | 09-04-2008 |
20080280030 | SOLAR CELL ABSORBER LAYER FORMED FROM METAL ION PRECURSORS - Methods and devices are provided for forming an absorber layer. In one embodiment, a method is provided comprising of depositing a solution on a substrate to form a precursor layer. The solution comprises of at least one polar solvent, at least one binder, and at least one Group IB and/or IIIA hydroxide. The precursor layer is processed in one or more steps to form a photovoltaic absorber layer. In one embodiment, the absorber layer may be created by processing the precursor layer into a solid film and then thermally reacting the solid film in an atmosphere containing at least an element of Group VIA of the Periodic Table to form the photovoltaic absorber layer. Optionally, the absorber layer may be processed by thermal reaction of the precursor layer in an atmosphere containing at least an element of Group VIA of the Periodic Table to form the photovoltaic absorber layer. | 11-13-2008 |
20080302030 | Structures for Low Cost, Reliable Solar Roofing - Improved photovoltaic devices, and more specifically, improved building integrated photovoltaic devices are described herein. In one embodiment, the photovoltaic roofing structure may be comprised of a roofing tile having a top surface, a bottom surface, and a recessed portion; a photovoltaic module sized to fit within the recessed portion of the roofing structure. | 12-11-2008 |
20080305269 | Formation of CIGS absorber layer materials using atomic layer deposition and high throughput surface treatment - An absorber layer may be formed on a substrate using atomic layer deposition reactions. An absorber layer containing elements of groups IB, IIIA and VIB may be formed by placing a substrate in a treatment chamber and performing atomic layer deposition of a group IB element and/or one or more group IIIA elements from separate sources onto a substrate to form a film. A group VIA element is then incorporated into the film and annealed to form the absorber layer. The absorber layer may be greater than about 25 nm thick. The substrate may be coiled into one or more coils in such a way that adjacent turns of the coils do not touch one another. The coiled substrate may be placed in a treatment chamber where substantially an entire surface of the one or more coiled substrates may be treated by an atomic layer deposition process. One or more group IB elements and/or one or more group IIIA elements may be deposited onto the substrate in a stoichiometrically controlled ratio by atomic layer deposition using one or more self limiting reactions. | 12-11-2008 |
20090025640 | FORMATION OF CIGS ABSORBER LAYER MATERIALS USING ATOMIC LAYER DEPOSITION AND HIGH THROUGHPUT SURFACE TREATMENT - An absorber layer may be formed on a substrate using atomic layer deposition reactions. An absorber layer containing elements of groups IB, IIIA and VIB may be formed by placing a substrate in a treatment chamber and performing atomic layer deposition of a group IB element and/or one or more group IIIA elements from separate sources onto a substrate to form a film. A group VIA element is then incorporated into the film and annealed to form the absorber layer. The absorber layer may be greater than about 25 nm thick. The substrate may be coiled into one or more coils in such a way that adjacent turns of the coils do not touch one another. The coiled substrate may be placed in a treatment chamber where substantially an entire surface of the one or more coiled substrates may be treated by an atomic layer deposition process. One or more group IB elements and/or one or more group IIIA elements may be deposited onto the substrate in a stoichiometrically controlled ratio by atomic layer deposition using one or more self limiting reactions. | 01-29-2009 |
20090107550 | HIGH-THROUGHPUT PRINTING OF SEMICONDUCTOR PRECURSOR LAYER FROM CHALCOGENIDE NANOFLAKE PARTICLES - Methods and devices are provided for transforming non-planar or planar precursor materials in an appropriate vehicle under the appropriate conditions to create dispersions of planar particles with stoichiometric ratios of elements equal to that of the feedstock or precursor materials, even after selective forces settling. In particular, planar particles disperse more easily, form much denser coatings (or form coatings with more interparticle contact area), and anneal into fused, dense films at a lower temperature and/or time than their counterparts made from spherical nanoparticles. These planar particles may be nanoflakes that have a high aspect ratio. The resulting dense films formed from nanoflakes are particularly useful in forming photovoltaic devices. In one embodiment, at least one set of the particles in the ink may be inter-metallic flake particles (microflake or nanoflake) containing at least one group IB-IIIA inter-metallic alloy phase. | 04-30-2009 |
20100084014 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES FABRICATED FROM NANOSTRUCTURED TEMPLATE - Photovoltaic devices, such as solar cells, and methods for their manufacture are disclosed. A device may be characterized by an architecture having a nanostructured template made from an n-type first charge transfer material with template elements between about 1 nm and about 500 nm in diameter with about 10 | 04-08-2010 |
20100089453 | High-Throughput Printing of Semiconductor Precursor Layer From Microflake Particles - Methods and devices are provided for high-throughput printing of semiconductor precursor layer from microflake particles. In one embodiment, the method comprises of transforming non-planar or planar precursor materials in an appropriate vehicle under the appropriate conditions to create dispersions of planar particles with stoichiometric ratios of elements equal to that of the feedstock or precursor materials, even after settling. In particular, planar particles disperse more easily, form much denser coatings (or form coatings with more interparticle contact area), and anneal into fused, dense films at a lower temperature and/or time than their counterparts made from spherical nanoparticles. These planar particles may be microflakes that have a high aspect ratio. The resulting dense film formed from microflakes are particularly useful in forming photovoltaic devices. | 04-15-2010 |
20100248419 | SOLAR CELL ABSORBER LAYER FORMED FROM EQUILIBRIUM PRECURSOR(S) - Methods and devices are provided for forming an absorber layer. In one embodiment, a method is provided comprising of depositing a solution on a substrate to form a precursor layer. The solution comprises of at least one equilibrium and/or near equilibrium material. The precursor layer is processed in one or more steps to form a photovoltaic absorber layer. In one embodiment, the absorber layer may be created by processing the precursor layer into a solid film and then thermally reacting the solid film in an atmosphere containing at least an element of Group VIA of the Periodic Table to form the photovoltaic absorber layer. Optionally, the absorber layer may be processed by thermal reaction of the precursor layer in an atmosphere containing at least an element of Group VIA of the Periodic Table to form the photovoltaic absorber layer. | 09-30-2010 |
20100267189 | SOLUTION-BASED FABRICATION OF PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL - An ink for forming CIGS photovoltaic cell active layers is disclosed along with methods for making the ink, methods for making the active layers and a solar cell made with the active layer. The ink contains a mixture of nanoparticles of elements of groups IB, IIIA and (optionally) VIA. The particles are in a desired particle size range of between about 1 nm and about 500 nm in diameter, where a majority of the mass of the particles comprises particles ranging in size from no more than about 40% above or below an average particle size or, if the average particle size is less than about 5 nanometers, from no more than about 2 nanometers above or below the average particle size. The use of such ink avoids the need to expose the material to an H | 10-21-2010 |
20100267222 | High-Throughput Printing of Semiconductor Precursor Layer from Nanoflake Particles - Methods and devices are provided for transforming non-planar or planar precursor materials in an appropriate vehicle under the appropriate conditions to create dispersions of planar particles with stoichiometric ratios of elements equal to that of the feedstock or precursor materials, even after selective forces settling. In particular, planar particles disperse more easily, form much denser coatings (or form coatings with more interparticle contact area), and anneal into fused, dense films at a lower temperature and/or time than their counterparts made from spherical nanoparticles. These planar particles may be nanoflakes that have a high aspect ratio. The resulting dense films formed from nanoflakes are particularly useful in forming photovoltaic devices. | 10-21-2010 |
20110019277 | ANTI-REFLECTIVE COATING - Methods and devices are provided for improved anti-reflective coatings. Non-vacuum deposition of transparent conductive electrodes in a roll-to-roll manufacturing environment is disclosed. In one embodiment of the present invention, a device is provided comprising a multi-layer anti-reflective coating formed over a substantially transparent substrate; wherein the multi-layer anti-reflective coating comprises of a plurality of nanostructured layers, wherein each of the layers has a tuned porosity and at least some of the nanostructured layers have different porosities to create a different index of refraction for those layers. In some embodiments, the absorber layer for use with this anti-reflective layer is a group IB-IIIA-VIA absorber layer. | 01-27-2011 |
20110189815 | FORMATION OF CIGS ABSORBER LAYER MATERIALS USING ATOMIC LAYER DEPOSITION AND HIGH THROUGHPUT SURFACE TREATMENT ON COILED FLEXIBLE SUBSTRATES - An absorber layer may be formed on a substrate using atomic layer deposition reactions. An absorber layer containing elements of groups IB, IIIA and VIB may be formed by placing a substrate in a treatment chamber and performing atomic layer deposition of a group IB element and/or one or more group IIIA elements from separate sources onto a substrate to form a film. A group VIA element is then incorporated into the film and annealed to form the absorber layer. The absorber layer may be greater than about 25 nm thick. The substrate may be coiled into one or more coils in such a way that adjacent turns of the coils do not touch one another. The coiled substrate may be placed in a treatment chamber where substantially an entire surface of the one or more coiled substrates may be treated by an atomic layer deposition process. One or more group IB elements and/or one or more group IIIA elements may be deposited onto the substrate in a stoichiometrically controlled ratio by atomic layer deposition using one or more self limiting reactions. | 08-04-2011 |
20110284081 | PHOTOVOLTAIC THIN-FILM CELL PRODUCED FROM METALLIC BLEND USING HIGH-TEMPERATURE PRINTING - The metallic components of a IB-IIIA-VIA photovoltaic cell active layer may be directly coated onto a substrate by using relatively low melting point (e.g., less than about 500° C.) metals such as indium and gallium. Specifically, CI(G)S thin-film solar cells may be fabricated by blending molten group IIIA metals with solid nanoparticles of group IB and (optionally) group IIIA metals. The molten mixture may be coated onto a substrate in the molten state, e.g., using coating techniques such as hot-dipping, hot microgravure and/or air-knife coating. After coating, the substrate may be cooled and the film annealed, e.g., in a sulfur-containing or selenium-containing atmosphere. | 11-24-2011 |
20120112557 | Solar Panel with Reconfigurable Interconnections - An array of photovoltaic cells are arranged as a matrix. A plurality of interconnections are arranged between the photovoltaic cells, the interconnections being switchably addressable to form serial or parallel connection arrangements. | 05-10-2012 |
20120132256 | THERMOELECTRIC STACK COATING FOR IMPROVED SOLAR PANEL FUNCTION - Methods and devices for increase power output from solar devices. In one embodiment, the technique enables the front hot solar panel surface to be cooled by attachment of a thermoelectric multilayer stack to the back solar panel surface. The thermoelectric stack cools the solar panel front surface by drawing heat from the front to the back of the panel. That heat is transformed into mechanical vibrations using an inverse Peltier effect and that mechanical energy then transformed into electrical energy using a piezoelectric effect. Power output is first increased by lower operating temperature on front, resulting in a higher power conversion efficiency for the photovoltaic effect taking place in the CIGS/CdS active layers or other thin films, then from an additional power output from secondary electrical energy created from mechanical arising from the temperature-gradient driven occurrence of the thermoelectric effect. | 05-31-2012 |
20120211074 | Coated Nanoparticles and Quantum Dots for Solution-Based Fabrication of Photovoltaic Cells - CIGS absorber layers fabricated using coated semiconducting nanoparticles and/or quantum dots are disclosed. Core nanoparticles and/or quantum dots containing one or more elements from group 13 and/or IIIA and/or VIA may be coated with one or more layers containing elements group IB, IIIA or VIA. Using nanoparticles with a defined surface area, a layer thickness could be tuned to give the proper stoichiometric ratio, and/or crystal phase, and/or size, and/or shape. The coated nanoparticles could then be placed in a dispersant for use as an ink, paste, or paint. By appropriate coating of the core nanoparticles, the resulting coated nanoparticles can have the desired elements intermixed within the size scale of the nanoparticie, while the phase can be controlled by tuning the stochiomctiy, and the stoichiometry of the coated nanoparticle may be tuned by controlling the thickness of the coating(s). | 08-23-2012 |
20120291856 | BARRIER FILMS AND HIGH THROUGHPUT MANUFACTURING PROCESSES FOR PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES - Methods and devices are provided for improved roofing devices. In one embodiment of the present invention, a photovoltaic roofing assembly is provided that comprises of a roofing membrane and a plurality of photovoltaic cells supported by the roofing membrane. The photovoltaic cells may be lightweight, flexible cells formed on a lightweight foil and disposed as a layer on top of the roofing membrane. The roofing assembly may include at least one flexible encapsulant film that protects the plurality of photovoltaic cells from environmental exposure damage, wherein the encapsulant film is formed using a non-vacuum process. Optionally, the process may be a lamination process. In other embodiments, the process is a non-vacuum, non-lamination process. The resulting roofing membrane and the photovoltaic cells are constructed to be rolled up in lengths suitable for being transported to a building site for unrolling and being affixed to a roof structure. | 11-22-2012 |
20130020557 | NANOSTRUCTURED TRANSPARENT CONDUCTING ELECTRODE - An optoelectronic device is disclosed. The optoelectronic device comprises an active layer and a conducting network layer which comprises a plurality of interconnected metal nanowires and a layer of transparent conducting material in electrical contact with the active layer. The conducting network layer of interconnected metal nanowires is disposed on the layer of transparent conducting material. Above the active layer, light passes through the transparent conducting material to reach the active layer. Each of the nanowires has an elongate, non-spherical configuration and aggregate nanowire length oriented to extend laterally through a plane of the conducting network layer. This provides lengthwise contact of the nanowires to the transparent conducting material. | 01-24-2013 |
20130059410 | Solution-Based Fabrication of Photovoltaic Cell - An ink for forming CIGS photovoltaic cell active layers is disclosed along with methods for making the ink, methods for making the active layers and a solar cell made with the active layer. The ink contains a mixture of nanoparticles of elements of groups IB, IIIA and (optionally) VIA. The particles are in a desired particle size range of between about 1 nm and about 500 nm in diameter, where a majority of the mass of the particles comprises particles ranging in size from no more than about 40% above or below an average particle size or, if the average particle size is less than about 5 nanometers, from no more than about 2 nanometers above or below the average particle size. The use of such ink avoids the need to expose the material to an H | 03-07-2013 |