Sheet manufacturing method, sheet, sheet manufacturing apparatus, and solar cell

A sheet produced by cooling a base having protrusions, dipping surfaces of said protrusions of said cooled base into a melt material containing at least one of a metal material and a semiconductor material, wherein said sheet has a curve portion obtained by forming crystals of said material from protrusions on the surface of said base in a curved shape.

A sheet produced by cooling a base having at least one of dot-like protrusions and linear protrusions in addition to planar protrusions and dipping surfaces of said protrusions of said cooled base into a material containing at least one of a metal material and a semiconductor material, wherein said sheet has curved portions and planar portions obtained respectively by forming crystals of said material from said dot-like protrusions or linear protrusions on the surface of said base in a curved shape and by forming crystals of said material from planar protrusions on the surface of said substrate in a planar shape.

A sheet manufacturing apparatus, comprising:

• a roller having on its peripheral surface protrusions and a cooling portion for cooling said protrusions;
• and
• a crucible including a melt material containing at least one of a metal material and a semiconductor material and capable of dipping said protrusions into said melt by rotation of said roller.

A solar cell produced by forming an electrode on a sheet formed by cooling a base with protrusions and dipping the surfaces of said protrusions of said cooled base into a melt material containing at least one of a metal material and a semiconductor material, wherein said sheet has curved portions obtained by forming crystals of said material from said protrusions on the surface of said base in a curved shape.

A solar cell produced by forming an electrode on a sheet formed by cooling a base with at least one of dot-like protrusions and linear protrusions in addition to planar protrusions and dipping a surface of said cooled base into a melt material containing at least one of a metal material and a semiconductor material, wherein said sheet has curved portions and planar portions obtained respectively by forming crystals of said material from said dot-like protrusions or linear protrusions on the surface of said base in a curved shape and by forming said crystals of said material from said planar protrusions on the surface of said base in a planar shape.

The silicon sheet manufacturing apparatus of manufacturing a silicon sheet by solidifying a silicon melt by rotation of a cooling roller for crystal growth, characterized in that said cooling roller has in its surface protrusions arranged in a dot-like pattern or in a linear pattern when viewed from above.

A silicon sheet manufacturing method of manufacturing a silicon sheet by solidifying a silicon melt by rotation of a cooling roller for crystal growth, characterized in that said crystals grow from protrusions of said cooling roller arranged in a dot-like pattern or in a linear pattern when viewed from above.

A solar cell produced by rotating a roller having on its peripheral surface protrusions having at least one of dot-like protrusions and linear protrusions and a cooling portion for cooling said protrusions, and dipping surfaces of said cooled protrusions into a silicon melt so that silicon crystals grow on the surfaces of said protrusions.