Method for processing silicon solar cells

Tsuo, Y Simon; Landry, Marc D; Pitts, John R

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Title: Method for processing silicon solar cells

Abstract

The instant invention teaches a novel method for fabricating silicon solar cells utilizing concentrated solar radiation. The solar radiation is concentrated by use of a solar furnace which is used to form a front surface junction and back-surface field in one processing step. The present invention also provides a method of making multicrystallline silicon from amorphous silicon. The invention also teaches a method of texturing the surface of a wafer by forming a porous silicon layer on the surface of a silicon substrate and a method of gettering impurities. Also contemplated by the invention are methods of surface passivation, forming novel solar cell structures, and hydrogen passivation.

Inventors:

Tsuo, Y Simon ^[1]; Landry, Marc D ^[2]; Pitts, John R ^[3]

Golden, CO
Lafayette, CO
Lakewood, CO

Issue Date:: 1997-01-01

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

OSTI Identifier:: 870942

Patent Number(s):: 5627081

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

Patent Classifications (CPCs):: H - ELECTRICITY H01 - BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS H01L - SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES

Y - NEW / CROSS SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES 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

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H - ELECTRICITY H01 - BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS H01L - SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
H01L31/02363 - {of the semiconductor body itself, e.g. textured active layers}
H01L31/1804 - {comprising only elements of Group IV of the Periodic System}
H01L31/1868 - {Passivation}

Y - NEW / CROSS SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES 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
Y02E10/547 - Monocrystalline silicon PV cells

Y - NEW / CROSS SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES Y02 - TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE Y02P - CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
Y02P70/50 - Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product

Y - NEW / CROSS SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES Y10 - TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC Y10S - TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
Y10S438/96 - Porous semiconductor

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DOE Contract Number:: AC36-83CH10093

Resource Type:: Patent

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: method; processing; silicon; solar; cells; instant; teaches; novel; fabricating; utilizing; concentrated; radiation; furnace; form; front; surface; junction; back-surface; field; step; provides; multicrystallline; amorphous; texturing; wafer; forming; porous; layer; substrate; gettering; impurities; contemplated; methods; passivation; cell; structures; hydrogen; surface passivation; cells utilizing; cell structure; silicon layer; porous silicon; amorphous silicon; solar cell; solar cells; silicon substrate; solar radiation; silicon solar; front surface; novel method; processing step; novel solar; solar furnace; concentrated solar; fabricating silicon; surface field; surface pass; /438/136/216/

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                    Tsuo, Y Simon, Landry, Marc D, and Pitts, John R. Method for processing silicon solar cells.  United States: N. p., 1997. 
        Web.

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                    Tsuo, Y Simon, Landry, Marc D, & Pitts, John R. Method for processing silicon solar cells.  United States.

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                    Tsuo, Y Simon, Landry, Marc D, and Pitts, John R. Wed .  
        "Method for processing silicon solar cells".  United States.  https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/870942.

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@article{osti_870942,

  title        = {Method for processing silicon solar cells},

  author       = {Tsuo, Y Simon and Landry, Marc D and Pitts, John R},

  abstractNote = {The instant invention teaches a novel method for fabricating silicon solar cells utilizing concentrated solar radiation. The solar radiation is concentrated by use of a solar furnace which is used to form a front surface junction and back-surface field in one processing step. The present invention also provides a method of making multicrystallline silicon from amorphous silicon. The invention also teaches a method of texturing the surface of a wafer by forming a porous silicon layer on the surface of a silicon substrate and a method of gettering impurities. Also contemplated by the invention are methods of surface passivation, forming novel solar cell structures, and hydrogen passivation.},

  doi          = {},

  journal      = {},
number       = ,

  volume       = ,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {1997},

  month        = {1}

}

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Works referenced in this record:

Polycrystalline Si thin-film solar cell prepared by solid phase crystallization (SPC) method
journal, September 1994

Matsuyama, Takao; Baba, Toshiaki; Takahama, Tsuyoshi
Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, Vol. 34, Issue 1-4
https://doi.org/10.1016/0927-0248(94)90052-3

Sub-5 μm thin film c-Si solar cell and optical confinement by diffuse reflective-substrate
journal, September 1994

Shimokawa, Ryuichi; Ishii, Kenihi; Nishikawa, Hideshi
Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, Vol. 34, Issue 1-4
https://doi.org/10.1016/0927-0248(94)90051-5

Effect of substrate temperature on recrystallization of plasma chemical vapor deposition amorphous silicon films
journal, August 1990

Nakazawa, Kenji; Tanaka, Keiji
Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 68, Issue 3
https://doi.org/10.1063/1.346740

Towards high-eficiency silicon solar cells by rapid thermal processing
journal, April 1994

Hartiti, B.; Schindler, R.; Slaoui, A.
Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, Vol. 2, Issue 2
https://doi.org/10.1002/pip.4670020208

High-efficient operation of large-area (100 cm2) thin film polycrystalline silicon solar cell based on SOI structure
journal, September 1994

Arimoto, S.; Morikawa, H.; Deguchi, M.
Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, Vol. 34, Issue 1-4
https://doi.org/10.1016/0927-0248(94)90048-5

The physics of amorphous-silicon thin-film transistors
journal, December 1989

Powell, M. J.
IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, Vol. 36, Issue 12, p. 2753-2763
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Complete microcrystalline p ‐ i ‐ n solar cell—Crystalline or amorphous cell behavior?
journal, August 1994

Meier, J.; Flückiger, R.; Keppner, H.
Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 65, Issue 7
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Deposition of Diamond-Like Carbon Films and Other Materials Processes Using a Solar Furnace
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Laser-recrystallized silicon thin-film transistors on expansion-matched 800°C glass
journal, December 1987

Troxell, J. R.; Harrington, M. I.; Miller, R. A.
IEEE Electron Device Letters, Vol. 8, Issue 12
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High-performance TFTs fabricated by XeCl excimer laser annealing of hydrogenated amorphous-silicon film
journal, January 1989

Sera, K.; Okumura, F.; Uchida, H.
IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, Vol. 36, Issue 12
https://doi.org/10.1109/16.40970

Investigation of the effects of aluminum treatment on silicon solar cells
conference, January 1993

Rohatgi, A.; Sana, P.; Ramanachalam, M. S.
Conference Record of the Twenty Third IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference - 1993 (Cat. No.93CH3283-9)
https://doi.org/10.1109/PVSC.1993.347080

Solar cell structures combining amorphous, microcrystalline, and single-crystalline silicon
conference, January 1993

Tsuo, Y. S.; Wu, X.; Alleman, J. L.
Conference Record of the Twenty Third IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference - 1993 (Cat. No.93CH3283-9)
https://doi.org/10.1109/PVSC.1993.347170

Low temperature crystallization of amorphous silicon using an excimer laser
journal, March 1990

Bachrach, R. Z.; Winer, K.; Boyce, J. B.
Journal of Electronic Materials, Vol. 19, Issue 3
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02733813

Recent results on hydrogen passivation of silicon sheet solar cells
journal, June 1985

Tsuo, Y. Simon; Milstein, Joseph B.
Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 57, Issue 12
https://doi.org/10.1063/1.334830

Ion irradiation enhanced crystal nucleation in amorphous Si thin films
journal, October 1990

Im, J. S.; Atwater, Harry A.
Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 57, Issue 17
https://doi.org/10.1063/1.104061

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Similar Records

Title: Method for processing silicon solar cells

Abstract

Citation Formats

Polycrystalline Si thin-film solar cell prepared by solid phase crystallization (SPC) method journal, September 1994

Sub-5 μm thin film c-Si solar cell and optical confinement by diffuse reflective-substrate journal, September 1994

Effect of substrate temperature on recrystallization of plasma chemical vapor deposition amorphous silicon films journal, August 1990

Towards high-eficiency silicon solar cells by rapid thermal processing journal, April 1994

High-efficient operation of large-area (100 cm2) thin film polycrystalline silicon solar cell based on SOI structure journal, September 1994

The physics of amorphous-silicon thin-film transistors journal, December 1989

Complete microcrystalline p ‐ i ‐ n solar cell—Crystalline or amorphous cell behavior? journal, August 1994

Deposition of Diamond-Like Carbon Films and Other Materials Processes Using a Solar Furnace journal, November 1993

Laser-recrystallized silicon thin-film transistors on expansion-matched 800°C glass journal, December 1987

High-performance TFTs fabricated by XeCl excimer laser annealing of hydrogenated amorphous-silicon film journal, January 1989

Investigation of the effects of aluminum treatment on silicon solar cells conference, January 1993

Solar cell structures combining amorphous, microcrystalline, and single-crystalline silicon conference, January 1993

Low temperature crystallization of amorphous silicon using an excimer laser journal, March 1990

Recent results on hydrogen passivation of silicon sheet solar cells journal, June 1985

Ion irradiation enhanced crystal nucleation in amorphous Si thin films journal, October 1990

Polycrystalline Si thin-film solar cell prepared by solid phase crystallization (SPC) method
journal, September 1994

Sub-5 μm thin film c-Si solar cell and optical confinement by diffuse reflective-substrate
journal, September 1994

Effect of substrate temperature on recrystallization of plasma chemical vapor deposition amorphous silicon films
journal, August 1990

Towards high-eficiency silicon solar cells by rapid thermal processing
journal, April 1994

High-efficient operation of large-area (100 cm2) thin film polycrystalline silicon solar cell based on SOI structure
journal, September 1994

The physics of amorphous-silicon thin-film transistors
journal, December 1989

Complete microcrystalline p ‐ i ‐ n solar cell—Crystalline or amorphous cell behavior?
journal, August 1994

Deposition of Diamond-Like Carbon Films and Other Materials Processes Using a Solar Furnace
journal, November 1993

Laser-recrystallized silicon thin-film transistors on expansion-matched 800°C glass
journal, December 1987

High-performance TFTs fabricated by XeCl excimer laser annealing of hydrogenated amorphous-silicon film
journal, January 1989

Investigation of the effects of aluminum treatment on silicon solar cells
conference, January 1993

Solar cell structures combining amorphous, microcrystalline, and single-crystalline silicon
conference, January 1993

Low temperature crystallization of amorphous silicon using an excimer laser
journal, March 1990

Recent results on hydrogen passivation of silicon sheet solar cells
journal, June 1985

Ion irradiation enhanced crystal nucleation in amorphous Si thin films
journal, October 1990