US 4,525,223 A · Method of manufacturing a thin ribbon wafer of semiconductor material

Abstract

A novel thin ribbon wafer of semiconductor having a polycrystalline structure composed of more than 50% of a grain having a grain size of more than 5 .mu.m, a thickness of 5 to 200 .mu.m, sufficient flexibility to be windable on a pipe having a diameter of 34 mm, malleability, and composed from p-type, i-type or n-type semiconductor material, and the composite clad of at least two elements thereof so as to form a p-n type junction. The composition of said semiconductor material consists of pure silicon or silicon with additional elements for improving the properties of a semiconductor; said additional element being at least one element in a proportion of less than 10 atomic % as compared to said silicon, said element selected from the group consisting of non-metallic elements such as hydrogen, phosphorus, sulfur and oxygen; semi-metallic elements such as boron, arsenic, tellurium, tin and selenium; metallic elements such as aluminum, gallium, indium, chromium, silver, iron and bismuth; and mixtures thereof with at least one element having smaller solubility limit than that of silicon. A method of manufacturing a thin ribbon wafer of composite clad of semiconductor material is also disclosed. Said flexible thin ribbon wafer of semiconductor is available for use as/or in a semiconductor electronic device.

Claims29

Dependent claims

A method of manufacturing a thin ribbon of semiconductor material, comprising:

preparing a material essentially consisting of silicon of more than 90 atomic % with less than 10 atomic % of at least one additional element, for improving the properties of a semiconductor, said additional elements being selected from the group consisting of phosphorus, sulfur, boron, arsenic, tellurium, tin, selenium, aluminum, gallium, indium, silver, and bismuth;
and a mixture thereof;
heating said semiconductor material to a melt;
ejecting said melt through a nozzle under pressure from 0.01 to 1.5 atm. onto a moving surface of a cooling substrate to cool said melt at a cooling rate of 10.sup.3 -10.sup.6 .degree. C./sec;
forming a thin ribbon from the group consisting of p-type, i-type or n-type semiconductor material;
whereby the thus obtained thin ribbon of semiconductor material has a polycrystalline structure composed of more than 50% of a grain having a grain size of more than 5 .mu.m, a thickness of 5-200 .mu.m, and a sufficient flexibility such that it is windable on a pipe having a diameter of 34 mm without breaking or cracking.

3 more elements

A method of manufacturing a thin ribbon of composite clad of semiconductor material selected from silicon with at least one additional element, for improving semiconductor properties, said element being less than 10 atomic % of at least one element selected from the group consisting of phosphorus, sulfur, boron, arsenic, tellurium, tin, selenium, aluminium, gallium, indium, silver, and bismuth;

and mixtures thereof wherein said method comprises the steps of:
melting semiconductor material to form a melt;
ejecting the melt through multiple holes of a single nozzle or several holes of multiple nozzles onto the moving surface of a cooling substrate comprising the peripheral surface of a vertical drum, super-rapid cooling the melt on said moving surface of cooling substrate and forming a thin ribbon of semiconductor material having a flexibility such that it is windable on a pipe having a thickness of 5 to 200 .mu.m, wherein said composite clad is composed of at least two layers of two different types of semiconductor material selected from the group consisting of p-type, i-type and n-type semiconductor material.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Method of manufacturing a thin ribbon wafer of semiconductor material

Life of this patent

Method of manufacturing a thin ribbon wafer of semiconductor material

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims29