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US 4,496,788 AGranted
Photovoltaic device
AssigneeOsaka Transformer Co., Ltd.
InventorsYoshihiro Hamakawa, Hiroaki Okamoto, Kouji Okuda
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A photovoltaic device comprising at least one crystalline and one amorphous semiconductor region with different photosensitivity is provided to absorb light in a wide range of wavelength, and serves, for example, as a solar battery or a color sensor. Amorphous or microcrystalline semiconductor regions comprising those devices can be deposited easily and in a continuous manufacturing process by the use of a low temperature process, and this allows manufacture of a photovoltaic device at low cost.
Claims35
A photovoltaic device which converts solar energy to electric energy, comprising, in combination:
- a heterojunction solar cell comprising a crystalline semiconductor region and an amorphous or microcrystalline semiconductor region applied on said crystalline region with a p-n junction formed between said regions;
- an amorphous solar cell tandemly applied on said heterojunction solar cell in optical and electrical series therewith, and comprising a p-type region, an i-type region and an n-type region of amorphous or microcrystalline semiconductor material applied in seriatim layers with a p-i-n junction formed between said regions, and
- a p-n junction formed at the interface between said heterojunction solar cell and said amorphous solar cell.
A photovoltaic device which converts solar energy to electric energy, comprising, in combination:
- a heterojunction solar cell comprising a crystalline semiconductor region and an amorphous or microcrystalline semiconductor region applied on said crystalline region with a p-n junction formed between said regions;
- a plurality of tandemly arranged amorphous solar cells applied on said heterojunction solar cell in optical and electrical series therewith, and each comprising a p-type region, an i-type region and an n-type region of amorphous or microcrystalline semiconductor material applied in seriatim layers with a p-i-n junction formed between associated p-, i-, and n-type regions and forming a p-n junction between each adjacent pair of amorphous solar cells, and
- a p-n junction formed at the interface between said heterojunction solar cell and the amorphous solar cell applied thereon.
A photovoltaic device which converts solar energy to electric energy, comprising, in combination:
- two tandemly arranged heterojunction solar cells in optical and electrical series each comprising a crystalline semiconductor region and an amorphous or microcrystalline semiconductor region applied on said crystalline region with a p-n junction formed between said regions,
- an intervening amorphous or microcrystalline semiconductor region applied between an amorphous or microcrystalline region in one of said solar cells and a crystalline region in the other cell, the conductivity type of said intervening region being controlled to be of opposite type to that of said amorphous or microcrystalline semiconductor region in one of said solar cells but of the same type as that of the crystalline region in the other cell, and
- a p-n junction formed at the interface between said intervening region and said amorphous or microcrystalline region in one of said solar cells.
A photovoltaic device which converts solar energy to electric energy, comprising, in combination:
- a plurality of tandemly arranged heterojunction solar cells in optical and electrical series, each comprising a crystalline semiconductor region and an amorphous or microcrystalline semiconductor region applied on said crystalline region with a p-n junction formed between said regions;
- an intervening amorphous or microcrystalline semiconductor region applied between an amorphous or microcrystalline semiconductor region in one of said heterojunction solar cells and a crystalline region in the adjacent heterojunction solar cell, the conductivity type of said intervening region being controlled to be of the opposite type to that of said amorphous or microcrystalline semiconductor region in one of said heterojunction solar cells but of the same type as that of the crystalline semiconductor region in the adjacent cell;
- at least one amorphous solar cell tandemly arranged on one of said plurality of heterojunction solar cells in optical and electrical series therewith, and each comprising a p-type region, an i-type region and an n-type region of amorphous or microcrystalline semiconductor material applied in seriatim layers with a p-i-n junction formed between associated regions, and
- a p-n junction formed at the interface between said heterojunction solar cell and the amorphous solar cell applied thereon.
1 more element
A photovoltaic device which converts solar energy to electric energy, comprising, in combination:
- a plurality of tandemly arranged heterojunction solar cells in optical and electrical series, each comprising a crystalline semiconductor region and an amorphous or microcrystalline semiconductor region applied on said crystalline region with a p-n junction formed between said regions;
- an intervening amorphous or microcrystalline semiconductor region applied between an amorphous or microcrystalline region in one of said heterojunction solar cells and a crystalline region in the adjacent heterojunction solar cell, the conductivity type of said intervening region being controlled to be of the opposite type to that of said amorphous or microcrystalline semiconductor region in one of said heterojunction solar cells but of the same type as that of the crystalline semiconductor region in the adjacent cell;
- a plurality of amorphous solar cells tandemly arranged on said heterojunction solar cells in optical and electrical series therewith, and each comprising a p-type region, an i-type region and an n-type region of amorphous or microcrystalline semiconductor material applied in seriatim layers with a p-i-n junction formed between associated regions,
- and
- a p-n junction formed at the interface between one of said heterojunction solar cells and the amorphous solar cell applied thereon.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.