Polycrystalline semiconductor processing

Patent · Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1983

OSTI ID:864532

Glaeser, Andreas M ^[1]; Haggerty, John S ^[2]; Danforth, Stephen C ^[3]

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1. Scituate, MA
2. Lincoln, MA
3. Winchester, MA

A process for forming large-grain polycrystalline films from amorphous films for use as photovoltaic devices. The process operates on the amorphous film and uses the driving force inherent to the transition from the amorphous state to the crystalline state as the force which drives the grain growth process. The resultant polycrystalline film is characterized by a grain size that is greater than the thickness of the film. A thin amorphous film is deposited on a substrate. The formation of a plurality of crystalline embryos is induced in the amorphous film at predetermined spaced apart locations and nucleation is inhibited elsewhere in the film. The crystalline embryos are caused to grow in the amorphous film, without further nucleation occurring in the film, until the growth of the embryos is halted by imgingement on adjacently growing embryos. The process is applicable to both batch and continuous processing techniques. In either type of process, the thin amorphous film is sequentially doped with p and n type dopants. Doping is effected either before or after the formation and growth of the crystalline embryos in the amorphous film, or during a continuously proceeding crystallization step.

• Research Organization: Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: FG02-79ET00081
• Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA)
• Patent Number(s): US 4379020
• OSTI ID: 864532
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

polycrystalline
semiconductor
processing
process
forming
large-grain
films
amorphous
photovoltaic
devices
operates
film
driving
force
inherent
transition
crystalline
drives
grain
growth
resultant
characterized
size
thickness
deposited
substrate
formation
plurality
embryos
induced
predetermined
spaced
apart
locations
nucleation
inhibited
caused
grow
occurring
halted
imgingement
adjacently
growing
applicable
batch
continuous
techniques
type
sequentially
doped
dopants
doping
effected
continuously
proceeding
crystallization
step
amorphous film
polycrystalline film
growth process
continuous processing
crystalline films
photovoltaic devices
spaced apart
photovoltaic device
grain size
continuous process
driving force
crystalline semiconductor
grain growth
processing techniques
type dopant
process operates
type dopants
apart locations
polycrystalline semiconductor
processing technique
/438/117/136/148/423/