High efficiency, low cost, thin film silicon solar cell design and method for making

Sopori, Bhushan L

Title: High efficiency, low cost, thin film silicon solar cell design and method for making

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Abstract

A semiconductor device having a substrate, a conductive intermediate layer deposited onto said substrate, wherein the intermediate layer serves as a back electrode, an optical reflector, and an interface for impurity gettering, and a semiconductor layer deposited onto said intermediate layer, wherein the semiconductor layer has a grain size at least as large as the layer thickness, and preferably about ten times the layer thickness. The device is formed by depositing a metal layer on a substrate, depositing a semiconductive material on the metal-coated substrate to produce a composite structure, and then optically processing the composite structure by illuminating it with infrared electromagnetic radiation according to a unique time-energy profile that first produces pits in the backside surface of the semiconductor material, then produces a thin, highly reflective, low resistivity alloy layer over the entire area of the interface between the semiconductor material and the metal layer, and finally produces a grain-enhanced semiconductor layer. The time-energy profile includes increasing the energy to a first energy level to initiate pit formation and create the desired pit size and density, then ramping up to a second energy level in which the entire device is heated to produce an interfacial melt, and finallymore »« less

Inventors:

Sopori, Bhushan L ^[1]

Denver, CO

Publication Date:: Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2001

Research Org.:: Midwest Research Institute, Kansas City, MO (United States)

OSTI Identifier:: 873604

Patent Number(s):: US 6201261

Assignee:: Midwest Research Institute (Kansas City, MO)

DOE Contract Number:: AC02-83CH10093

Resource Type:: Patent

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: efficiency; cost; film; silicon; solar; cell; design; method; semiconductor; device; substrate; conductive; intermediate; layer; deposited; serves; electrode; optical; reflector; interface; impurity; gettering; grain; size; thickness; preferably; times; formed; depositing; metal; semiconductive; material; metal-coated; produce; composite; structure; optically; processing; illuminating; infrared; electromagnetic; radiation; according; unique; time-energy; profile; produces; pits; backside; surface; highly; reflective; resistivity; alloy; entire; finally; grain-enhanced; increasing; energy; level; initiate; pit; formation; create; desired; density; ramping; heated; interfacial; melt; reducing; third; holding; period; time; allow; enhancement; semiconductive material; time-energy profile; impurity gettering; layer serves; highly reflective; energy level; composite structure; metal layer; electromagnetic radiation; conductive material; solar cell; semiconductor material; semiconductor layer; silicon solar; grain size; semiconductor device; intermediate layer; layer deposited; alloy layer; coated substrate; cell design; layer thickness; resistivity alloy; backside surface; produces pits; pit size; optically processing; film silicon; entire device; desired pit; unique time; conductive intermediate; /257/136/438/

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                    Sopori, Bhushan L. High efficiency, low cost, thin film silicon solar cell design and method for making.  United States: N. p., 2001. 
        Web.

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                    Sopori, Bhushan L. High efficiency, low cost, thin film silicon solar cell design and method for making.  United States.

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                    Sopori, Bhushan L. 2001.  
        "High efficiency, low cost, thin film silicon solar cell design and method for making".  United States.  https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/873604.

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@article{osti_873604,

  title        = {High efficiency, low cost, thin film silicon solar cell design and method for making},

  author       = {Sopori, Bhushan L},

  abstractNote = {A semiconductor device having a substrate, a conductive intermediate layer deposited onto said substrate, wherein the intermediate layer serves as a back electrode, an optical reflector, and an interface for impurity gettering, and a semiconductor layer deposited onto said intermediate layer, wherein the semiconductor layer has a grain size at least as large as the layer thickness, and preferably about ten times the layer thickness. The device is formed by depositing a metal layer on a substrate, depositing a semiconductive material on the metal-coated substrate to produce a composite structure, and then optically processing the composite structure by illuminating it with infrared electromagnetic radiation according to a unique time-energy profile that first produces pits in the backside surface of the semiconductor material, then produces a thin, highly reflective, low resistivity alloy layer over the entire area of the interface between the semiconductor material and the metal layer, and finally produces a grain-enhanced semiconductor layer. The time-energy profile includes increasing the energy to a first energy level to initiate pit formation and create the desired pit size and density, then ramping up to a second energy level in which the entire device is heated to produce an interfacial melt, and finally reducing the energy to a third energy level and holding for a period of time to allow enhancement in the grain size of the semiconductor layer.},

  doi          = {},

  url          = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/873604},
  journal      = {},
number       = ,

  volume       = ,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2001},

  month        = {Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2001}

}

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