Crossed grain growth
AssigneeMotorola, Inc.
InventorsAslan Baghdadi, Ralph J. Ellis
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method of producing a sheet of semiconductor material directly usable for the production of solar cells is disclosed. The method comprises establishing a molten region at an edge of a sheet of semiconductor material, moving the molten region across the sheet to create a path of elongated crystal grains, establishing a molten zone along a portion of the path of the elongated crystal grains and parallel thereto, and causing the molten zone to travel in a direction transverse to the path of elongated crystal grains.
Claims12
A method for modifying the crystalline structure of a sheet of semiconductor material which comprises:
- establishing a molten region at the edge of and extending through the thickness of said sheet;
- moving said molten region across said sheet to an opposing edge of said sheet thereby creating a path of elongated crystal grains;
- establishing a molten zone parallel to and abutting said path along a portion thereof and extending through the thickness of said sheet;
- and
- causing said molten zone to travel in a direction transverse to said path.
A method for producing a ribbon of semiconductor material having crystalline grains which comprise a substantial fraction of the width of said ribbon which comprises:
- providing a ribbon of semiconductor material;
- establishing a molten region contiguous with a longitudinal edge of said ribbon of semiconductor material and extending through the thickness of said ribbon;
- moving said molten region across said ribbon to a position at least contiguous with an opposing longitudinal edge of said ribbon of semiconductor material thereby creating a path of elongated crystal grains;
- heating in a direction transverse to the longitudinal edges of said ribbon along a portion of the path of elongated crystal grains to provide a molten zone abutting said path of elongated crystal grains and extending through the thickness of said ribbon;
- and
- causing the molten zone to travel in a direction parallel to the longitudinal edges of said ribbon.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.