Coating methods and apparatus for making a cigs solar cell

Abstract

A method for manufacturing a thin film solar cell involves applying an inductively-coupled-plasma during the deposition of selenium. A precursor thin film is formed. The precursor thin film can include copper, indium, and gallium. The inductively-coupled-plasma is applied to the selenium as the selenium is deposited into the precursor thin film to produce the thin film. The selenium is deposited into precursor thin film by evaporation, sputtering, or using a reactive gas. An inert gas is used as a carry and discharge gas. The precursor thin film and the selenium are deposited using a deposition system. The deposition system includes an inductively-coupled-plasma device. The inductively-coupled-plasma device includes a quartz plate, a plasma discharge coil, and an inlet system. The deposition can be an in-line system, a roll-to-roll system, or a hybrid system.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.