Photovoltaic device with increased open circuit voltage
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorAnthony W. Catalano
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Abstract
A photovoltaic device having an increased open circuit voltage includes a body of semiconductor material between layers of opposite conductivity type, one of which has a wide bandgap energy and through which light enters the device. The body includes a first region closest to the wide bandgap layer and a second region with the bandgap energy of the first region being greater than that of the second region and less than or equal to that of the wide bandgap layer.
Claims12
In a photovoltaic device comprising a body of semiconductor material between a first wide bandgap energy layer of first conductivity type through which light enters the device and a second layer having a second conductivity type opposite to that of the first layer, the improvement which comprises:
- the body of semiconductor material comprising a first region which is closest to the first layer and a second region having substantially intrinsic type conductivity wherein the bandgap energy of the first region is constant and is greater than that of the second region and no greater than that of the first layer, the bandgap energy of the second region is less than or equal to about 1.7 electron volts and the thickness of the first region is less than that of the second region.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.