US20010008145A1 - Photovoltaic device - Google Patents

Photovoltaic device Download PDF

Info

Publication number
US20010008145A1
US20010008145A1 US09/749,902 US74990200A US2001008145A1 US 20010008145 A1 US20010008145 A1 US 20010008145A1 US 74990200 A US74990200 A US 74990200A US 2001008145 A1 US2001008145 A1 US 2001008145A1
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
photovoltaic device
semiconductor substrate
diffusion layer
adhesive layer
type diffusion
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
US09/749,902
Other versions
US6452090B2 (en
Inventor
Hidetaka Takato
Ryuichi Shimokawa
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology AIST
Original Assignee
Agency of Industrial Science and Technology
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Agency of Industrial Science and Technology filed Critical Agency of Industrial Science and Technology
Publication of US20010008145A1 publication Critical patent/US20010008145A1/en
Assigned to AGENCY OF INDUSTRIAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, MINISTRY OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE & INDUSTRY reassignment AGENCY OF INDUSTRIAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, MINISTRY OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE & INDUSTRY ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: SHIMOKAWA, RYUICHI, TAKATO, HIDETAKA
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US6452090B2 publication Critical patent/US6452090B2/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Fee Related legal-status Critical Current

Links

Images

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L31/00—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof
    • H01L31/02—Details
    • H01L31/0224—Electrodes
    • H01L31/022408—Electrodes for devices characterised by at least one potential jump barrier or surface barrier
    • H01L31/022425—Electrodes for devices characterised by at least one potential jump barrier or surface barrier for solar cells
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L31/00—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof
    • H01L31/02—Details
    • H01L31/0224—Electrodes
    • H01L31/022408—Electrodes for devices characterised by at least one potential jump barrier or surface barrier
    • H01L31/022425—Electrodes for devices characterised by at least one potential jump barrier or surface barrier for solar cells
    • H01L31/022441—Electrode arrangements specially adapted for back-contact solar cells
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L31/00—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof
    • H01L31/04—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices
    • H01L31/054—Optical elements directly associated or integrated with the PV cell, e.g. light-reflecting means or light-concentrating means
    • H01L31/056—Optical elements directly associated or integrated with the PV cell, e.g. light-reflecting means or light-concentrating means the light-reflecting means being of the back surface reflector [BSR] type
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L31/00—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof
    • H01L31/04—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices
    • H01L31/06—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices characterised by at least one potential-jump barrier or surface barrier
    • H01L31/068—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices characterised by at least one potential-jump barrier or surface barrier the potential barriers being only of the PN homojunction type, e.g. bulk silicon PN homojunction solar cells or thin film polycrystalline silicon PN homojunction solar cells
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L31/00—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof
    • H01L31/04—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices
    • H01L31/06—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices characterised by at least one potential-jump barrier or surface barrier
    • H01L31/068—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices characterised by at least one potential-jump barrier or surface barrier the potential barriers being only of the PN homojunction type, e.g. bulk silicon PN homojunction solar cells or thin film polycrystalline silicon PN homojunction solar cells
    • H01L31/0682—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices characterised by at least one potential-jump barrier or surface barrier the potential barriers being only of the PN homojunction type, e.g. bulk silicon PN homojunction solar cells or thin film polycrystalline silicon PN homojunction solar cells back-junction, i.e. rearside emitter, solar cells, e.g. interdigitated base-emitter regions back-junction cells
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L31/00—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof
    • H01L31/18—Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment of these devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L31/1804—Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment of these devices or of parts thereof comprising only elements of Group IV of the Periodic System
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L31/00—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof
    • H01L31/18—Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment of these devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L31/186—Particular post-treatment for the devices, e.g. annealing, impurity gettering, short-circuit elimination, recrystallisation
    • H01L31/1868—Passivation
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L31/00—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof
    • H01L31/18—Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment of these devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L31/1892—Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment of these devices or of parts thereof methods involving the use of temporary, removable substrates
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E10/00—Energy generation through renewable energy sources
    • Y02E10/50—Photovoltaic [PV] energy
    • Y02E10/52—PV systems with concentrators
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E10/00—Energy generation through renewable energy sources
    • Y02E10/50—Photovoltaic [PV] energy
    • Y02E10/547—Monocrystalline silicon PV cells
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
    • Y02P70/00—Climate change mitigation technologies in the production process for final industrial or consumer products
    • Y02P70/50—Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product

Definitions

  • This invention relates to a photovoltaic device that converts incident light energy to electrical energy, and more specifically it relates to a photovoltaic device that is suitable for use as a thin-film solar cell.
  • Silicon solar cells which are a type of photovoltaic device, for power applications include mainly those cells that utilize a single-crystalline silicon or polycrystalline silicon substrate about 300 ⁇ m thick, but thin-film substrates are desired to reduce the amount of silicon used and reduce cost.
  • a number of measures have been taken to improve the characteristics of thin-film solar cells.
  • a structure was proposed for the purpose of improving conversion efficiency, wherein the glass substrate is provided with a textured reflective mirror, whereon a textured silicon layer is deposited (K. Yamamoto, IEEE Trans. ED, pp. 2162-2164, 1999).
  • a structure has also been proposed, wherein after a transparent substrate is adhered to the surface of a single-crystalline thin-film solar cell formed on a single-crystalline silicon substrate with a porous silicon layer between them, the thin-film solar cell is separated from the single-crystalline silicon substrate and is adhered to a different substrate (JP-A HEI 10-150211).
  • This invention is proposed to address the above problem, and an object thereof is to offer a photovoltaic device that improves conversion efficiency regardless of whether the light-receiving surface and the opposite surface are in close proximity by passivating the semiconductor surface opposite the light-receiving surface of the photovoltaic device.
  • the photovoltaic device of this invention which converts incident light energy to electrical energy, comprises a single-crystalline or polycrystalline semiconductor substrate, an n-type diffusion layer region and a p-type diffusion layer region formed adjacent to each other on one surface of the semiconductor substrate, a first electrode electrically connected to the n-type diffusion layer region, a second electrode electrically connected to the p-type diffusion layer region, an adhesive layer formed on the other surface of the semiconductor substrate and containing an inorganic binder and a filler, and a supporting substrate adhered to the adhesive layer.
  • the photovoltaic device of this invention comprises a single-crystalline or polycrystalline semiconductor substrate, an n-type diffusion layer region formed on one surface of the semiconductor substrate, a first electrode electrically connected to the n-type diffusion layer region, a p type diffusion layer region formed on the other surface of the semiconductor substrate, a second electrode electrically connected to the p-type diffusion layer region, an adhesive layer formed on the other surface of the semiconductor substrate and containing an inorganic binder and a filler, and a supporting substrate adhered to the adhesive layer.
  • the inorganic binder contained in the adhesive layer may be an alkali silicate (sodium silicate, potassium silicate, or lithium silicate) or a metal phosphate (aluminum phosphate or magnesium phosphate).
  • alkali silicate sodium silicate, potassium silicate, or lithium silicate
  • metal phosphate aluminum phosphate or magnesium phosphate
  • the index of refraction of the adhesive layer may be not less than 1.4 and not more than 3.5.
  • the filler contained in the adhesive layer may be an aluminum oxide, titanium oxide, or barium oxide.
  • the photovoltaic device of this invention uses an adhesive, which contains a substance that passivates the semiconductor surface, to adhere a diffuse-reflection substrate, which diffuses light it reflects, to the surface opposite the light-receiving surface of the semiconductor substrate, whereby the semiconductor substrate surface is passivated, and as a result the conversion efficiency is improved.
  • a photovoltaic device with this structure can be used effectively in a thin-film solar cell wherein the thickness of the semiconductor layer is from 1 ⁇ m to
  • FIG. 1 is a sketch showing the cross section of a photovoltaic device equipped with two electrodes on the light-receiving surface of the semiconductor substrate as the first embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 2 is a sketch showing the cross section of a photovoltaic device equipped with one electrode on each of the opposite surfaces of the semiconductor substrate as the second embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 1 is a sketch showing the cross section of a photovoltaic device having two electrodes on the light-receiving surface of the semiconductor substrate for describing the first embodiment of the invention.
  • the semiconductor substrate 1 is a polycrystalline silicon but can also be a single-crystalline silicon, and it is of a p-type with an impurity concentration of 5 ⁇ 10 16 cm ⁇ 3 with boron as the impurity, for example.
  • the optimal thickness of this semiconductor substrate 1 is from 1 ⁇ m to 150 ⁇ m, but thinner is better.
  • a diffusion layer n-type region 13 with an impurity concentration of 1 ⁇ 10 19 cm ⁇ 3 and a thickness of 0.3 ⁇ m, for example, and a p+-type region 14 with an impurity concentration of 1 ⁇ 10 20 cm ⁇ 3 and a thickness of 0.5 ⁇ m, for example, are formed alternately adjacent to each other on the main surface 11 , which is the light-receiving surface, of this semiconductor substrate 1 , and a 10 ⁇ m-wide, 2.0 ⁇ m-thick aluminum electrode 2 and a 10 ⁇ m-wide, 2.0 ⁇ m-thick aluminum electrode 3 are formed on the n-type region 13 and the p+-type region 14 , respectively, with an ohmic connection.
  • the formation of the p+-type region 14 can be omitted.
  • Ag, a Ti—Pd—Ag alloy, or W, Mo or other high-melting point metal can be used in place of aluminum for the above electrodes 2 and 3 .
  • an aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3 ) diffuse-reflection substrate 6 that is 800 ⁇ m thick, for example, is adhered to the back surface 12 of the semiconductor substrate 1 by means of an adhesive layer 5 that is 0.5 ⁇ m thick, for example.
  • an adhesive layer 5 that is 0.5 ⁇ m thick, for example.
  • This film 4 is not limited to SiO 2 and can be Si 3 N 4 or TiO 2 , for example. Further, this film can also act to prevent reflection when receiving light.
  • the adhesive layer 5 itself, which is used when adhering the diffuse-reflection substrate 6 , acts on the silicon surface to passivate the silicon substrate surface.
  • a thin silicon oxide film can be formed on this substrate surface if it is of a thickness that will not interfere with passivation at the silicon substrate surface by the adhesive.
  • this adhesive contains an alkali silicate. More specifically, adhesives that contain an alkali metal silicate, for example, can be used as an adhesive that passivates the semiconductor surface. An adhesive that has an etching effect on the semiconductor substrate is particularly desirable.
  • the adhesive used in this embodiment contains an inorganic binder, a hardener, and a filler.
  • an alkali silicate sodium silicate, potassium silicate, or lithium silicate
  • a metal phosphate aluminum phosphate or magnesium phosphate
  • a filler is used to adjust the coefficient of thermal expansion and to improve heat resistance, and aluminum oxide, titanium oxide, or barium oxide can be used as the filler.
  • the thickness of the adhesive layer 5 was 0.5 ⁇ m in the above embodiment, but as long as adhesion can be achieved without voids, thinner is better, with the desirable range being between 0.2 ⁇ m and 5.0 ⁇ m.
  • the diffuse-reflection substrate 6 made from aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3 ) is adhered to the semiconductor substrate 1 as a supporting substrate using the adhesive layer 5 , which passivates the back surface 12 of the semiconductor. Therefore, in addition to passivating the back surface of the semiconductor substrate, a structure is realized having a light confinement effect.
  • Al 2 O 3 aluminum oxide
  • the index of refraction of the adhesive is adjusted in the range of 1.4 to 3.5, which is below the index of refraction of silicon, when the light reflected by the diffuse-reflection substrate 6 becomes incident on the silicon substrate 1 again, this reflected light is refracted so that it is efficiently confined in the silicon substrate due to the difference in the index of refraction between the silicon substrate 1 and the adhesive layer 5 .
  • the effective index of refraction is improved by mixing particles of titanium oxide, aluminum oxide or other metal oxide or particles of titanium or aluminum in the adhesive, whereby the index of refraction can be easily adjusted within the above range depending on the amount of particles added.
  • the diameter of the particles be in the range of 400 nm to 2 ⁇ m, which is the same as the wavelength of the solar light absorbed by the semiconductor substrate 1 . Further, by using a substrate with a high diffuse-reflectance, such as an aluminum ceramic substrate, as the diffuse-reflection substrate 6 , the light-confinement effect is further improved.
  • the photovoltaic device with the above structure is fabricated by the following process.
  • the thin-film silicon layer (semiconductor substrate 1 ) having a p-type impurity diffusion layer is formed on an insulation film formed on a silicon supporting substrate,
  • the p+-type impurity diffusion layer 14 is formed on the thin-film silicon layer by a thermal diffusion method
  • the n-type impurity diffusion layer 13 is formed on the thin-film silicon layer by a thermal diffusion method
  • the antireflection film 4 is formed on both the above diffusion layers 13 and 14 by a thermal oxidation, chemical vapor deposition, or sputtering method,
  • the first electrode 2 is formed on the diffusion layer 13 and the second electrode 3 is formed on the diffusion layer 14 ,
  • the thin-film silicon layer surface covered by the antireflection film is adhered to a glass or other substrate using wax for temporary adhesion,
  • a photovoltaic device with improved conversion efficiency can be obtained, in which both a high open-circuit voltage and a high short-circuit current can be achieved. More specifically, by using a 5 ⁇ m-thick single-crystalline semiconductor substrate and an adhesive containing an alkali silicate as a component, the open-circuit voltage is improved from 487 mV to 543 mV and the short-circuit current is improved 32%, thus demonstrating that the surface of the semiconductor substrate is effectively passivated.
  • FIG. 2 is a sketch showing the cross section of a photovoltaic device having one electrode on each of the opposite surfaces of the semiconductor substrate as the second embodiment of the invention.
  • the semiconductor substrate 1 is a p-type substrate with an impurity concentration of 5 ⁇ 10 16 cm ⁇ 3 with boron as the impurity, or an i-type semiconductor substrate with a low impurity concentration, and it can be either polycrystalline silicon or single-crystalline silicon as in the device of the first embodiment.
  • the optimal thickness of the semiconductor substrate 1 is from 1 ⁇ m to 150 ⁇ m, and a diffusion layer n-type region 13 with an impurity concentration of 1 ⁇ 10 9 cm ⁇ 3 is formed to a depth of 0.3 ⁇ m, for example, on the main surface 11 , which is the light-receiving surface of the semiconductor substrate 1 , after which a 10 ⁇ m-wide, 2.0 ⁇ m-thick first electrode 2 is disposed on this n-type region.
  • a 0.1 ⁇ m-thick antireflection film layer 4 made from SiO 2 is formed on this n-type region 13 , and a 0.5 ⁇ m-thick substrate made from glass is placed on top of this.
  • a diffusion layer p+-type region 14 with an impurity concentration of 1 ⁇ 10 20 cm ⁇ 3 is formed to a thickness of 0.5 ⁇ m, for example, on the surface 12 opposite the light-receiving surface, and a second electrode loam wide and 2.0 ⁇ m thick is disposed on this p+-type region 14 . If the semiconductor substrate 1 is of a p-type and the electrode can be connected directly to the substrate with an ohmic contact, then the formation of this p+-type diffusion layer can be omitted.
  • the diffuse-reflection substrate 6 is fixed on top of this p+-type region 14 by an adhesive layer 5 as in the device of the first embodiment.
  • the above adhesive layer 5 contains a substance that passivates the surface of the semiconductor substrate 1 as in the first embodiment, and when the index of refraction is adjusted to between 1.4 and 3.5, it also has a light-confinement effect.
  • the second electrode which blocks light, is moved to the back surface of the substrate 1 , whereby conversion efficiency is further improved.
  • the photovoltaic device with the above structure is fabricated by the following process.
  • the antireflection film 4 is deposited on the transparent substrate 7 made from glass, etc., by a chemical vapor deposition or sputtering method,
  • the metal electrode 2 is formed on the antireflection film 4 .
  • the n-type impurity diffusion layer region 13 is deposited on the antireflection film 4 by a chemical vapor deposition method
  • the substrate 1 comprising a p+-type thin-film silicon layer is deposited on the n-type impurity diffusion layer 13 by a chemical vapor deposition method
  • the region 14 comprising a p+-type impurity diffusion layer is formed on the substrate 1 by a thermal diffusion or chemical vapor deposition method,
  • the metal electrode 3 is formed on the p+-type impurity diffusion layer 14 ,
  • the diffuse-reflection substrate 6 is adhered to the top of the diffusion layer 14 using the adhesive 5 , whereby the photovoltaic device is obtained.
  • a photovoltaic device can be realized that has a structure wherein the surface of the semiconductor substrate is passivated, the conversion efficiency is high and the attachment of electrodes is easy.
  • one of the electrodes is moved to the surface opposite the light-receiving surface, whereby the surface area where light is blocked by electrodes is reduced, thus realizing a photovoltaic device with a structure having an even higher conversion efficiency.
  • the index of refraction for light is increased in the adhesive layer, whereby the light-confinement effect is improved and a photovoltaic device with an even higher conversion efficiency is realized.

Abstract

A photovoltaic device includes a semiconductor substrate, an n-type diffusion layer region and a p-type diffusion layer region formed adjacent to each other on the light-receiving surface of the semiconductor substrate, a first electrode electrically connected to the n-type diffusion layer region, a second electrode electrically connected to the p-type diffusion layer region, an adhesive layer formed on the opposite surface of the semiconductor substrate and containing an inorganic binder and a filler, and a supporting substrate adhered to the adhesive layer.

Description

    BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
  • 1. Field of the Invention [0001]
  • This invention relates to a photovoltaic device that converts incident light energy to electrical energy, and more specifically it relates to a photovoltaic device that is suitable for use as a thin-film solar cell. [0002]
  • 2. Description of the Prior Art [0003]
  • Silicon solar cells, which are a type of photovoltaic device, for power applications include mainly those cells that utilize a single-crystalline silicon or polycrystalline silicon substrate about 300 μm thick, but thin-film substrates are desired to reduce the amount of silicon used and reduce cost. [0004]
  • A number of measures have been taken to improve the characteristics of thin-film solar cells. In order to improve conversion efficiency, for example, a structure was proposed for the purpose of improving conversion efficiency, wherein the glass substrate is provided with a textured reflective mirror, whereon a textured silicon layer is deposited (K. Yamamoto, IEEE Trans. ED, pp. 2162-2164, 1999). A structure has also been proposed, wherein after a transparent substrate is adhered to the surface of a single-crystalline thin-film solar cell formed on a single-crystalline silicon substrate with a porous silicon layer between them, the thin-film solar cell is separated from the single-crystalline silicon substrate and is adhered to a different substrate (JP-A HEI 10-150211). [0005]
  • In the thin-film solar cells described above, which are photovoltaic devices of the prior art, even though the light-receiving surface and the opposite surface are relatively close and this characteristic affects power generation efficiency, no consideration has been made to remove that effect by making the semiconductor surface opposite the light-receiving surface inactive. Therefore, the surface recombination velocity of carriers in the semiconductor surface opposite the light-receiving surface is high, which is a factor in lowering the open-circuit voltage. The effect of the surface recombination velocity on the power generation characteristic is particularly great in thinner solar cells, and therefore passivation at the semiconductor substrate surface is an important factor in improving conversion efficiency. [0006]
  • This invention is proposed to address the above problem, and an object thereof is to offer a photovoltaic device that improves conversion efficiency regardless of whether the light-receiving surface and the opposite surface are in close proximity by passivating the semiconductor surface opposite the light-receiving surface of the photovoltaic device. [0007]
    • SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
  • In order to achieve the above object, the photovoltaic device of this invention, which converts incident light energy to electrical energy, comprises a single-crystalline or polycrystalline semiconductor substrate, an n-type diffusion layer region and a p-type diffusion layer region formed adjacent to each other on one surface of the semiconductor substrate, a first electrode electrically connected to the n-type diffusion layer region, a second electrode electrically connected to the p-type diffusion layer region, an adhesive layer formed on the other surface of the semiconductor substrate and containing an inorganic binder and a filler, and a supporting substrate adhered to the adhesive layer. [0008]
  • Further, the photovoltaic device of this invention comprises a single-crystalline or polycrystalline semiconductor substrate, an n-type diffusion layer region formed on one surface of the semiconductor substrate, a first electrode electrically connected to the n-type diffusion layer region, a p type diffusion layer region formed on the other surface of the semiconductor substrate, a second electrode electrically connected to the p-type diffusion layer region, an adhesive layer formed on the other surface of the semiconductor substrate and containing an inorganic binder and a filler, and a supporting substrate adhered to the adhesive layer. [0009]
  • The inorganic binder contained in the adhesive layer may be an alkali silicate (sodium silicate, potassium silicate, or lithium silicate) or a metal phosphate (aluminum phosphate or magnesium phosphate). [0010]
  • The index of refraction of the adhesive layer may be not less than 1.4 and not more than 3.5. [0011]
  • The filler contained in the adhesive layer may be an aluminum oxide, titanium oxide, or barium oxide. [0012]
  • The photovoltaic device of this invention, as is clearly described above, uses an adhesive, which contains a substance that passivates the semiconductor surface, to adhere a diffuse-reflection substrate, which diffuses light it reflects, to the surface opposite the light-receiving surface of the semiconductor substrate, whereby the semiconductor substrate surface is passivated, and as a result the conversion efficiency is improved. In particular, a photovoltaic device with this structure can be used effectively in a thin-film solar cell wherein the thickness of the semiconductor layer is from 1 μm to [0013]
  • The above and other objects and features of this invention will be described below in detail based on the accompanying drawings. [0014]
    • BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE DRAWINGS
  • FIG. 1 is a sketch showing the cross section of a photovoltaic device equipped with two electrodes on the light-receiving surface of the semiconductor substrate as the first embodiment of the invention. [0015]
  • FIG. 2 is a sketch showing the cross section of a photovoltaic device equipped with one electrode on each of the opposite surfaces of the semiconductor substrate as the second embodiment of the invention. [0016]
    • DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
  • The photovoltaic device of this invention will be described in detail based on the drawings. [0017]
  • FIG. 1 is a sketch showing the cross section of a photovoltaic device having two electrodes on the light-receiving surface of the semiconductor substrate for describing the first embodiment of the invention. In FIG. 1, the [0018] semiconductor substrate 1 is a polycrystalline silicon but can also be a single-crystalline silicon, and it is of a p-type with an impurity concentration of 5×1016 cm−3 with boron as the impurity, for example. The optimal thickness of this semiconductor substrate 1 is from 1 μm to 150 μm, but thinner is better. A diffusion layer n-type region 13 with an impurity concentration of 1×1019 cm−3 and a thickness of 0.3 μm, for example, and a p+-type region 14 with an impurity concentration of 1×1020 cm−3 and a thickness of 0.5 μm, for example, are formed alternately adjacent to each other on the main surface 11, which is the light-receiving surface, of this semiconductor substrate 1, and a 10 μm-wide, 2.0 μm-thick aluminum electrode 2 and a 10 μm-wide, 2.0 μm-thick aluminum electrode 3 are formed on the n-type region 13 and the p+-type region 14, respectively, with an ohmic connection. However, if it is possible to connect the electrodes directly to the semiconductor substrate 1 with an ohmic contact, the formation of the p+-type region 14 can be omitted. Ag, a Ti—Pd—Ag alloy, or W, Mo or other high-melting point metal can be used in place of aluminum for the above electrodes 2 and 3. Further, an aluminum oxide (Al2O3) diffuse-reflection substrate 6 that is 800 μm thick, for example, is adhered to the back surface 12 of the semiconductor substrate 1 by means of an adhesive layer 5 that is 0.5 μm thick, for example. In order to passivate the surfaces of the impurity diffusion layers 13 and 14, they are covered with a 0.1 μm-thick SiO2 film 4. This film 4 is not limited to SiO2 and can be Si3N4 or TiO2, for example. Further, this film can also act to prevent reflection when receiving light.
  • In the photovoltaic device of FIG. 1 described above, the [0019] adhesive layer 5 itself, which is used when adhering the diffuse-reflection substrate 6, acts on the silicon surface to passivate the silicon substrate surface. A thin silicon oxide film can be formed on this substrate surface if it is of a thickness that will not interfere with passivation at the silicon substrate surface by the adhesive. As an adhesive with a passivation effect, it is particularly desirable that this adhesive contains an alkali silicate. More specifically, adhesives that contain an alkali metal silicate, for example, can be used as an adhesive that passivates the semiconductor surface. An adhesive that has an etching effect on the semiconductor substrate is particularly desirable. The adhesive used in this embodiment contains an inorganic binder, a hardener, and a filler. Of these, the use of an alkali silicate (sodium silicate, potassium silicate, or lithium silicate) or a metal phosphate (aluminum phosphate or magnesium phosphate) as the inorganic binder is important in achieving a passivation effect. Further, a hardener is generally used only to improve water resistance, and therefore it is not a critical component. A filler is used to adjust the coefficient of thermal expansion and to improve heat resistance, and aluminum oxide, titanium oxide, or barium oxide can be used as the filler.
  • The thickness of the [0020] adhesive layer 5 was 0.5 μm in the above embodiment, but as long as adhesion can be achieved without voids, thinner is better, with the desirable range being between 0.2 μm and 5.0 μm.
  • As described above, by means of this invention, the diffuse-[0021] reflection substrate 6 made from aluminum oxide (Al2O3) is adhered to the semiconductor substrate 1 as a supporting substrate using the adhesive layer 5, which passivates the back surface 12 of the semiconductor. Therefore, in addition to passivating the back surface of the semiconductor substrate, a structure is realized having a light confinement effect.
  • That is, if the index of refraction of the adhesive is adjusted in the range of 1.4 to 3.5, which is below the index of refraction of silicon, when the light reflected by the diffuse-[0022] reflection substrate 6 becomes incident on the silicon substrate 1 again, this reflected light is refracted so that it is efficiently confined in the silicon substrate due to the difference in the index of refraction between the silicon substrate 1 and the adhesive layer 5. In order to adjust the index of refraction of the adhesive in the range of 1.4 to 3.5, the effective index of refraction is improved by mixing particles of titanium oxide, aluminum oxide or other metal oxide or particles of titanium or aluminum in the adhesive, whereby the index of refraction can be easily adjusted within the above range depending on the amount of particles added. In this case, it is desirable that the diameter of the particles be in the range of 400 nm to 2 μm, which is the same as the wavelength of the solar light absorbed by the semiconductor substrate 1. Further, by using a substrate with a high diffuse-reflectance, such as an aluminum ceramic substrate, as the diffuse-reflection substrate 6, the light-confinement effect is further improved.
  • The photovoltaic device with the above structure is fabricated by the following process. [0023]
  • 1) The thin-film silicon layer (semiconductor substrate [0024] 1) having a p-type impurity diffusion layer is formed on an insulation film formed on a silicon supporting substrate,
  • 2) the p+-type [0025] impurity diffusion layer 14 is formed on the thin-film silicon layer by a thermal diffusion method,
  • 3) similarly, the n-type [0026] impurity diffusion layer 13 is formed on the thin-film silicon layer by a thermal diffusion method,
  • 4) the [0027] antireflection film 4 is formed on both the above diffusion layers 13 and 14 by a thermal oxidation, chemical vapor deposition, or sputtering method,
  • 5) the [0028] first electrode 2 is formed on the diffusion layer 13 and the second electrode 3 is formed on the diffusion layer 14,
  • 6) the thin-film silicon layer surface covered by the antireflection film is adhered to a glass or other substrate using wax for temporary adhesion, [0029]
  • 7) the support substrate, including the insulation film, is removed by etching, [0030]
  • 8) the diffuse-[0031] reflection substrate 6 is adhered to the resulting surface by the adhesive 5, and
  • 9) the glass or other substrate that was temporarily attached is removed, whereby the photovoltaic device is obtained. [0032]
  • As described above, by adhering a diffuse-reflection substrate to the back surface of the semiconductor substrate using an adhesive that passivates the semiconductor substrate surface, a photovoltaic device with improved conversion efficiency can be obtained, in which both a high open-circuit voltage and a high short-circuit current can be achieved. More specifically, by using a 5 μm-thick single-crystalline semiconductor substrate and an adhesive containing an alkali silicate as a component, the open-circuit voltage is improved from 487 mV to 543 mV and the short-circuit current is improved 32%, thus demonstrating that the surface of the semiconductor substrate is effectively passivated. [0033]
  • FIG. 2 is a sketch showing the cross section of a photovoltaic device having one electrode on each of the opposite surfaces of the semiconductor substrate as the second embodiment of the invention. In FIG. 2, the [0034] semiconductor substrate 1 is a p-type substrate with an impurity concentration of 5×1016 cm−3 with boron as the impurity, or an i-type semiconductor substrate with a low impurity concentration, and it can be either polycrystalline silicon or single-crystalline silicon as in the device of the first embodiment. The optimal thickness of the semiconductor substrate 1 is from 1 μm to 150 μm, and a diffusion layer n-type region 13 with an impurity concentration of 1×109 cm−3 is formed to a depth of 0.3 μm, for example, on the main surface 11, which is the light-receiving surface of the semiconductor substrate 1, after which a 10 μm-wide, 2.0 μm-thick first electrode 2 is disposed on this n-type region. A 0.1 μm-thick antireflection film layer 4 made from SiO2 is formed on this n-type region 13, and a 0.5 μm-thick substrate made from glass is placed on top of this. A diffusion layer p+-type region 14 with an impurity concentration of 1×1020 cm−3 is formed to a thickness of 0.5 μm, for example, on the surface 12 opposite the light-receiving surface, and a second electrode loam wide and 2.0 μm thick is disposed on this p+-type region 14. If the semiconductor substrate 1 is of a p-type and the electrode can be connected directly to the substrate with an ohmic contact, then the formation of this p+-type diffusion layer can be omitted.
  • The diffuse-[0035] reflection substrate 6 is fixed on top of this p+-type region 14 by an adhesive layer 5 as in the device of the first embodiment.
  • The above [0036] adhesive layer 5 contains a substance that passivates the surface of the semiconductor substrate 1 as in the first embodiment, and when the index of refraction is adjusted to between 1.4 and 3.5, it also has a light-confinement effect.
  • In the photovoltaic device of this embodiment, the second electrode, which blocks light, is moved to the back surface of the [0037] substrate 1, whereby conversion efficiency is further improved.
  • The photovoltaic device with the above structure is fabricated by the following process. [0038]
  • 1) The [0039] antireflection film 4 is deposited on the transparent substrate 7 made from glass, etc., by a chemical vapor deposition or sputtering method,
  • 2) the [0040] metal electrode 2 is formed on the antireflection film 4,
  • 3) the n-type impurity [0041] diffusion layer region 13 is deposited on the antireflection film 4 by a chemical vapor deposition method,
  • 4) the [0042] substrate 1 comprising a p+-type thin-film silicon layer is deposited on the n-type impurity diffusion layer 13 by a chemical vapor deposition method,
  • 5) the [0043] region 14 comprising a p+-type impurity diffusion layer is formed on the substrate 1 by a thermal diffusion or chemical vapor deposition method,
  • 6) the [0044] metal electrode 3 is formed on the p+-type impurity diffusion layer 14,
  • 7) the diffuse-[0045] reflection substrate 6 is adhered to the top of the diffusion layer 14 using the adhesive 5, whereby the photovoltaic device is obtained.
  • As described above, by using an adhesive containing an inorganic binder in the photovoltaic device of this invention, the semiconductor surface is passivated, but the reason therefor is yet unclear. However, since the open-circuit voltage is increased even though the light-receiving surface of the substrate and the opposite surface are in close proximity, it is thought that recombination of carriers in the semiconductor surface is decreased. [0046]
  • Since the photovoltaic device of this invention is configured as described above, the effects described below can be realized. [0047]
  • That is, a photovoltaic device can be realized that has a structure wherein the surface of the semiconductor substrate is passivated, the conversion efficiency is high and the attachment of electrodes is easy. [0048]
  • Further, in addition to passivating the surface of the semiconductor substrate, one of the electrodes is moved to the surface opposite the light-receiving surface, whereby the surface area where light is blocked by electrodes is reduced, thus realizing a photovoltaic device with a structure having an even higher conversion efficiency. [0049]
  • In addition, the index of refraction for light is increased in the adhesive layer, whereby the light-confinement effect is improved and a photovoltaic device with an even higher conversion efficiency is realized. [0050]

Claims (12)

What is claimed is:
1. A photovoltaic device comprising a semiconductor substrate, an n-type diffusion layer region and a p-type diffusion layer region formed adjacent to each other on a light-receiving surface of said semiconductor substrate, a first electrode electrically connected to said n-type diffusion layer region, a second electrode electrically connected to said p-type diffusion layer region, an adhesive layer formed on an opposite surface of said semiconductor substrate and containing an inorganic binder and a filler, and a supporting substrate adhered to said adhesive layer.
2. A photovoltaic device comprising a semiconductor substrate, an n-type diffusion layer region formed on a light-receiving surface of said semiconductor substrate, a first electrode electrically connected to said n-type diffusion layer region, a p-type diffusion layer region formed on an opposite surface of said semiconductor substrate, a second electrode electrically connected to said p-type diffusion layer region, an adhesive layer formed on said p-type diffusion layer region and containing an inorganic binder and a filler, and a supporting substrate adhered to said adhesive layer.
3. The photovoltaic device of
claim 1
, wherein an index of refraction of said adhesive layer is not less than 1.4 and not more than 3.5.
4. The photovoltaic device of
claim 2
, wherein an index of refraction of said adhesive layer is not less than 1.4 and not more than 3.5.
5. The photovoltaic device of
claim 1
, wherein the filler contained in said adhesive layer is aluminum oxide, titanium oxide or barium oxide.
6. The photovoltaic device of
claim 2
, wherein the filler contained in said adhesive layer is aluminum oxide, titanium oxide or barium oxide.
7. The photovoltaic device of
claim 1
, wherein the inorganic binder contained in said adhesive layer is an alkali silicate or metal phosphate.
8. The photovoltaic device of
claim 2
, wherein the inorganic binder contained in said adhesive layer is an alkali silicate or metal phosphate.
9. The photovoltaic device of
claim 7
, wherein said alkali silicate is selected from among sodium silicate, potassium silicate, and lithium silicate.
10. The photovoltaic device of
claim 8
, wherein said alkali silicate is selected from among sodium silicate, potassium silicate, and lithium silicate.
11. The photovoltaic device of
claim 7
, wherein said metal phosphate is aluminum phosphate or magnesium phosphate.
12. The photovoltaic device of
claim 8
, wherein said metal phosphate is aluminum phosphate or magnesium phosphate.
US09/749,902 2000-01-19 2000-12-29 Photovoltaic device Expired - Fee Related US6452090B2 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP2000-10876 2000-01-19
JP2000010876A JP3300812B2 (en) 2000-01-19 2000-01-19 Photoelectric conversion element
JP2000-010876 2000-01-19

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
US20010008145A1 true US20010008145A1 (en) 2001-07-19
US6452090B2 US6452090B2 (en) 2002-09-17

Family

ID=18538832

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US09/749,902 Expired - Fee Related US6452090B2 (en) 2000-01-19 2000-12-29 Photovoltaic device

Country Status (2)

Country Link
US (1) US6452090B2 (en)
JP (1) JP3300812B2 (en)

Cited By (12)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20080072953A1 (en) * 2006-09-27 2008-03-27 Thinsilicon Corp. Back contact device for photovoltaic cells and method of manufacturing a back contact device
EP2293349A1 (en) * 2008-06-23 2011-03-09 Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Photovoltaic system and method for manufacturing the same
KR101052030B1 (en) 2007-08-01 2011-07-26 남동희 Electromagnetic radiation converter
US20110189811A1 (en) * 2007-05-31 2011-08-04 Thinsilicon Corporation Photovoltaic device and method of manufacturing photovoltaic devices
WO2012005905A2 (en) * 2010-07-06 2012-01-12 Thinsilicon Corporation Photovoltaic module and method of manufacturing a photovoltaic module having an electrode diffusion layer
US20120247552A1 (en) * 2011-03-28 2012-10-04 Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba Photoelectric conversion element
CN102738253A (en) * 2011-04-02 2012-10-17 刘莹 Single-sided electrode polycrystalline silicon thin film solar cell and manufacturing method thereof
US20120318350A1 (en) * 2010-02-23 2012-12-20 Kyocera Corporation Dopant material, semiconductor substrate, solar cell element, and process for production of dopant material
US20130033150A1 (en) * 2010-03-29 2013-02-07 Vectron International Gmbh & Co. Kg High temperature-resistant, electrically conductive thin films
US20130167915A1 (en) * 2009-12-09 2013-07-04 Solexel, Inc. High-efficiency photovoltaic back-contact solar cell structures and manufacturing methods using three-dimensional semiconductor absorbers
US20140209166A1 (en) * 2008-02-15 2014-07-31 Solar World Industries Thueringen Gmbh Method for producing monocrystalline n-silicon solar cells, as well as a solar cell produced according to such a method
WO2022052692A1 (en) * 2020-09-08 2022-03-17 东方日升（常州）新能源有限公司 Solar battery metal electrode structure and battery assembly

Families Citing this family (26)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2001078156A1 (en) * 2000-04-06 2001-10-18 Akzo Nobel Nv Method of manufacturing a photovoltaic foil
US20040003837A1 (en) * 2002-04-24 2004-01-08 Astropower, Inc. Photovoltaic-photoelectrochemical device and processes
JP2004087979A (en) * 2002-08-28 2004-03-18 Sharp Corp Light-receiving element and its manufacturing method, and light-receiving element with built-in circuit
SE0302191D0 (en) * 2003-03-10 2003-08-11 Staffan Gunnarsson Transponder with infrared technology
FR2880989B1 (en) * 2005-01-20 2007-03-09 Commissariat Energie Atomique SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE WITH HETEROJUNCTIONS AND INTERDIGITAL STRUCTURE
US7959707B2 (en) * 2006-04-28 2011-06-14 Sri International Methods for producing consolidated materials
US8637980B1 (en) 2007-12-18 2014-01-28 Rockwell Collins, Inc. Adhesive applications using alkali silicate glass for electronics
US8581108B1 (en) 2006-08-23 2013-11-12 Rockwell Collins, Inc. Method for providing near-hermetically coated integrated circuit assemblies
US8076185B1 (en) 2006-08-23 2011-12-13 Rockwell Collins, Inc. Integrated circuit protection and ruggedization coatings and methods
US8617913B2 (en) 2006-08-23 2013-12-31 Rockwell Collins, Inc. Alkali silicate glass based coating and method for applying
US8166645B2 (en) 2006-08-23 2012-05-01 Rockwell Collins, Inc. Method for providing near-hermetically coated, thermally protected integrated circuit assemblies
US7915527B1 (en) 2006-08-23 2011-03-29 Rockwell Collins, Inc. Hermetic seal and hermetic connector reinforcement and repair with low temperature glass coatings
US8084855B2 (en) * 2006-08-23 2011-12-27 Rockwell Collins, Inc. Integrated circuit tampering protection and reverse engineering prevention coatings and methods
JP5166745B2 (en) * 2007-03-07 2013-03-21 信越化学工業株式会社 Method for producing single crystal silicon solar cell
US8363189B2 (en) * 2007-12-18 2013-01-29 Rockwell Collins, Inc. Alkali silicate glass for displays
US8119040B2 (en) 2008-09-29 2012-02-21 Rockwell Collins, Inc. Glass thick film embedded passive material
WO2010036383A1 (en) * 2008-09-29 2010-04-01 Rockwell Collins, Inc. Applications and methods for alkali silicate glass
US20100111800A1 (en) * 2008-11-03 2010-05-06 Westinghouse Electric Company Llc PRODUCTION OF NUCLEAR GRADE ENRICHED GADOLINIUM AND ERBIUM USING VOLATILE Gd OR Er SPECIES USING AN AERODYNAMIC PROCESS
WO2010126591A1 (en) * 2009-04-29 2010-11-04 Gobi Ramakrishnan Padmanabhan Configurations and methods to manufacture solar cell device with larger capture cross section and higher optical utilization efficiency
JP2010283339A (en) * 2009-05-02 2010-12-16 Semiconductor Energy Lab Co Ltd Photoelectric conversion device and method of manufacturing the same
KR20110087168A (en) 2010-01-25 2011-08-02 삼성전자주식회사 Method of manufacturing solar cell
US9435915B1 (en) 2012-09-28 2016-09-06 Rockwell Collins, Inc. Antiglare treatment for glass
KR102097486B1 (en) * 2013-08-02 2020-04-07 삼성디스플레이 주식회사 Method for manufacturing display device
US11631779B2 (en) * 2016-11-07 2023-04-18 Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. Solar cell with high photoelectric conversion efficiency and method for manufacturing solar cell with high photoelectric conversion efficiency
WO2018229946A1 (en) * 2017-06-15 2018-12-20 三菱電機株式会社 Photoelectric conversion device
CN109776839A (en) * 2018-12-24 2019-05-21 常州回天新材料有限公司 Back film of solar cell and preparation method thereof

Family Cites Families (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2874341A (en) * 1954-11-30 1959-02-17 Bell Telephone Labor Inc Ohmic contacts to silicon bodies
US4070689A (en) * 1975-12-31 1978-01-24 Motorola Inc. Semiconductor solar energy device
JPH0797653B2 (en) * 1991-10-01 1995-10-18 工業技術院長 Photoelectric conversion element
FR2694451B1 (en) * 1992-07-29 1994-09-30 Asulab Sa Photovoltaic cell.
JPH10150211A (en) 1996-11-19 1998-06-02 Sony Corp Thin film single crystal semiconductor solar cell and its manufacture

Cited By (16)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20080072953A1 (en) * 2006-09-27 2008-03-27 Thinsilicon Corp. Back contact device for photovoltaic cells and method of manufacturing a back contact device
US20110189811A1 (en) * 2007-05-31 2011-08-04 Thinsilicon Corporation Photovoltaic device and method of manufacturing photovoltaic devices
KR101052030B1 (en) 2007-08-01 2011-07-26 남동희 Electromagnetic radiation converter
US20140209166A1 (en) * 2008-02-15 2014-07-31 Solar World Industries Thueringen Gmbh Method for producing monocrystalline n-silicon solar cells, as well as a solar cell produced according to such a method
EP2293349A1 (en) * 2008-06-23 2011-03-09 Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Photovoltaic system and method for manufacturing the same
EP2293349A4 (en) * 2008-06-23 2014-10-22 Mitsubishi Electric Corp Photovoltaic system and method for manufacturing the same
US20130167915A1 (en) * 2009-12-09 2013-07-04 Solexel, Inc. High-efficiency photovoltaic back-contact solar cell structures and manufacturing methods using three-dimensional semiconductor absorbers
US20120318350A1 (en) * 2010-02-23 2012-12-20 Kyocera Corporation Dopant material, semiconductor substrate, solar cell element, and process for production of dopant material
US20130033150A1 (en) * 2010-03-29 2013-02-07 Vectron International Gmbh & Co. Kg High temperature-resistant, electrically conductive thin films
US9117567B2 (en) * 2010-03-29 2015-08-25 Ctr Carinthian Tech Research Ag High temperature-resistant, electrically conductive thin films
WO2012005905A3 (en) * 2010-07-06 2012-04-05 Thinsilicon Corporation Photovoltaic module and method of manufacturing a photovoltaic module having an electrode diffusion layer
WO2012005905A2 (en) * 2010-07-06 2012-01-12 Thinsilicon Corporation Photovoltaic module and method of manufacturing a photovoltaic module having an electrode diffusion layer
US20120247552A1 (en) * 2011-03-28 2012-10-04 Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba Photoelectric conversion element
US8993869B2 (en) * 2011-03-28 2015-03-31 Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba Photoelectric conversion element
CN102738253A (en) * 2011-04-02 2012-10-17 刘莹 Single-sided electrode polycrystalline silicon thin film solar cell and manufacturing method thereof
WO2022052692A1 (en) * 2020-09-08 2022-03-17 东方日升（常州）新能源有限公司 Solar battery metal electrode structure and battery assembly

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JP2001203373A (en) 2001-07-27
JP3300812B2 (en) 2002-07-08
US6452090B2 (en) 2002-09-17

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US6452090B2 (en) Photovoltaic device
US8906733B2 (en) Methods for forming nanostructures and photovoltaic cells implementing same
AU717476B2 (en) Structure and fabrication process for an aluminum alloy junction self-aligned back contact silicon solar cell
US20160284914A1 (en) Bifacial crystalline silicon solar panel with reflector
JPS62113484A (en) Thin film photovoltage solar cell
US8110419B2 (en) Process of manufacturing photovoltaic device
US20220278246A1 (en) Bifacial crystalline silicon solar panel with reflector
CN103155161B (en) Photovoltaic devices and manufacture method thereof
JP4633201B1 (en) Method for providing serial connection in solar cell system
Kerr et al. Comparison of the open circuit voltage of simplified PERC cells passivated with PECVD silicon nitride and thermal silicon oxide
TWI415280B (en) Light power device and manufacturing method thereof
WO2010150606A1 (en) Photovoltaic device and method for manufacturing same
JP2007149796A (en) Photovoltaic device, manufacturing method thereof and photovoltaic generator
JP2002185024A (en) Solar battery and manufacturing method therefor
JP2931451B2 (en) Solar cell element
CN219677267U (en) Solar cell structure
CN216084905U (en) CdTe/crystalline silicon laminated cell
JP3623642B2 (en) Method for manufacturing photoelectric conversion device
JPH11298021A (en) Substrate for photovoltaic element, and photovoltaic element using the same, and integrated photovoltaic element and manufacture of the integrated photovoltaic element
JPWO2014112053A1 (en) Solar cell and manufacturing method thereof
Rand et al. SILICON-FILM ON CERAMIC SOLAR CELL RESEARCH
Nammori et al. Advances in silicon solar cells
WO2012024648A2 (en) Photovoltaic cells
JPS6161711B2 (en)
JPH03136284A (en) Photovoltaic device

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
AS Assignment

Owner name: AGENCY OF INDUSTRIAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, MINISTR

Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:TAKATO, HIDETAKA;SHIMOKAWA, RYUICHI;REEL/FRAME:013143/0374

Effective date: 20001222

FEPP Fee payment procedure

Free format text: PAYER NUMBER DE-ASSIGNED (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: RMPN); ENTITY STATUS OF PATENT OWNER: LARGE ENTITY

Free format text: PAYOR NUMBER ASSIGNED (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: ASPN); ENTITY STATUS OF PATENT OWNER: LARGE ENTITY

FPAY Fee payment

Year of fee payment: 4

FPAY Fee payment

Year of fee payment: 8

REMI Maintenance fee reminder mailed
LAPS Lapse for failure to pay maintenance fees
STCH Information on status: patent discontinuation

Free format text: PATENT EXPIRED DUE TO NONPAYMENT OF MAINTENANCE FEES UNDER 37 CFR 1.362

FP Lapsed due to failure to pay maintenance fee

Effective date: 20140917