# US 2010/0167458 A1 · Thin film type solar cell and method for manufacturing the same

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- Number: US 2010/0167458 A1
- Document ID: US20100167458A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 12/460,005
- Filed: 2009-07-10
- Published: 2010-07-01
- Earliest claimed: 2008-12-29
- Assignees: Jusung Engineering Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Yong Woo Shin; Woo-Hyun Kim; Dae Yup Na; Hyun Jun Cho; Dong Woo Kang; Doo Young Kim; Hyun Kyo Shin; Cheol Hoon Yang
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20100167458A1

## CPC

- H10F 77/211: {for photovoltaic cells}
- H10F 19/31: having multiple laterally adjacent thin-film photovoltaic cells deposited on the same substrate
- H10F 19/37: comprising means for obtaining partial light transmission through the integrated devices, or the assemblies of multiple devices, e.g. partially transparent thin-film photovoltaic modules for windows
- Y02B 10/10: Photovoltaic [PV]
- Y02E 10/50: Photovoltaic [PV] energy
- Y02E 10/548: Amorphous silicon PV cells
- H10F: INORGANIC SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES SENSITIVE TO INFRARED RADIATION, LIGHT, ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION OF SHORTER WAVELENGTH OR CORPUSCULAR RADIATION
- Y02B: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS
- Y02E: REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION

## Abstract

A thin film type solar cell and a method for manufacturing the same is disclosed, which is capable of providing a wide light-transmission area without lowering cell efficiency and increasing processing time, so that the solar cell can be used as a substitute for a glass window in a building. The thin film type solar cell generally comprises a substrate; a plurality of front electrodes at fixed intervals on the substrate; a plurality of semiconductor layers at fixed intervals with a contact portion or separating channel interposed in-between, the plurality of semiconductor layers on the plurality of front electrodes; and a plurality of rear electrodes at fixed intervals by the each separating channel interposed in-between, the each rear electrode being electrically connected with the each front electrode; wherein the each rear electrode is patterned in such a way that a light-transmitting portion is included in a predetermined portion of the rear electrode.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for manufacturing a thin film type solar cell comprising:
forming a plurality of front electrodes at fixed intervals on a substrate surface;
forming a semiconductor layer over the entire substrate surface atop the plurality of front electrodes;
forming a plurality of contact portions and separating channels by removing predetermined portions of the semiconductor layer; and
patterning a plurality of rear electrodes at fixed intervals with separating channels interposed in-between, wherein each rear electrode is electrically connected with a front electrode through a contact portion, and each rear electrode includes a light-transmitting portion therein so as to enhance a light-transmission area.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
removing predetermined portions of said semiconductor layer from the light-transmitting portion using the rear electrode as a mask so as to expose the front electrode through the light-transmitting portion.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The method of claim 2, further comprising:
forming a transparent conductive layer on the semiconductor layer after forming the semiconductor layer, and
removing the predetermined portions of said light-transmitting portion concurrently with said removal of predetermined portions of said semiconductor layer, thereby forming the contact portions and separating channels.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The method of claim 3, further comprising:
removing the transparent conductive layer from the light-transmitting portion using the rear electrode as a mask so as to expose the semiconductor layer through the light-transmitting portion.

### Claim 5 (depends on 3)

The method of claim 3, further comprising:
removing the transparent conductive layer and semiconductor layer from the light-transmitting portion using the rear electrode as a mask so as to expose the front electrode through the light-transmitting portion.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The method of claim 5, wherein the process of removing the transparent conductive layer and semiconductor layer from the light-transmitting portion is performed by a dry etching process.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The method of claim 6, wherein the dry etching process for removing the transparent conductive layer from the light-transmitting portion is performed through the use of at least one gas of CH4, C2H6, BCl3, Cl2, Ar, and H2; and
the dry etching process for removing the semiconductor layer from the light-transmitting portion is performed through the use of at least one gas of a fluorine-based gas, a chlorine-based gas, or their mixture.

### Claim 8 (depends on 5)

The method of claim 5, wherein the process of removing the transparent conductive layer and semiconductor layer from the light-transmitting portion is performed by a wet etching process.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The method of claim 8, wherein the wet etching process is performed through the use of an etchant including at least one etching material selected from a group of NaOH, KOH, HCl, NHO3, H2SO4, H3PO3, H2O2, and C2H2O4.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9, wherein the etchant is maintained at a temperature of 20 to 200° C.

### Claim 11 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9, wherein the wet etching process is performed by submerging the substrate into the etchant, or spraying the etchant onto the substrate.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the process of forming the contact portions and separating channels is performed with laser beam irradiation by dividing a single laser beam emitted from a laser oscillator into a plurality of laser beams in a plurality of directions, so that the contact portions and separating channels are formed at the same time.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the process of forming the semiconductor layer is performed by sequentially depositing a first semiconductor layer, a buffer layer, and a second semiconductor layer.

### Claim 14

A method for manufacturing a thin film type solar cell comprising the steps of:
forming a plurality of front electrodes at fixed intervals on a substrate;
forming a semiconductor layer on an entire surface of the substrate including the plurality of front electrodes;
forming a plurality of contact portions by removing predetermined portions of the semiconductor layer;
patterning a plurality of rear electrodes at fixed intervals by each separating channel interposed in-between, wherein the each rear electrode is electrically connected with the front electrode through the contact portion, and the each rear electrode includes a light-transmitting portion therein so as to enhance a light-transmission area; and
removing the semiconductor layer from the light-transmitting portion and separating channel under such circumstance that the rear electrode is used as a mask.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The method of claim 14, further comprising:
forming a transparent conductive layer on the semiconductor layer after forming the semiconductor layer,
wherein the predetermined portions of semiconductor layer and transparent conductive layer are removed together when forming the contact portions, and
wherein the predetermined portions of the transparent conductive layer are removed when removing the semiconductor layer from the light-transmitting portion and separating channel.

### Claim 16 (depends on 14)

The method of claim 14, wherein the process of forming the semiconductor layer is performed by sequentially depositing a first semiconductor layer, a buffer layer, and a second semiconductor layer.