Thin-film solar cell production method
AssigneeMitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsHajime Sasaki, Hideo Naomoto
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A thin-film solar cell includes a thin-film active layer with a p-n Junction and a heat-resistant substrate for mechanically supporting the active layer, which substrate is formed by a plasma coating method. In the plasma coating method, a source material of the substrate is melted with a high-temperature plasma and sprayed onto a base plate by a high-speed gas jet. Since the substrate formed by the plasma coating method is porous, even if an inexpensive material including a lot of impurities is used as a material of the substrate, the impurities are collected in pores of the substrate and never sprout out of the substrate breaking through the thin-film active layer.
Claims8
A method making a thin-film solar cell including a semiconductor thin-film active layer with a p-n junction therein formed on a substrate, comprising:
- forming said substrate by melting a substrate source material in a high-temperature plasma and spraying the melted source material into a cavity of a mold with a high-speed gas jet to form an ingot;
- slicing a said substrate from the ingot;
- forming on said substrate said thin-film active semiconductor layer, the active layer comprising a p-n junction including a p-type region and a n-type region;
- and
- forming first and second electrical contacts to the p-type and n-type regions, respectively.
A method of making a thin-film solar cell including a semiconductor thin-film active layer with a p-n junction therein formed on a substrate providing mechanical support, including:
- forming said substrate by melting a substrate source material in a high-temperature plasma and spraying the melted source material with a high-speed gas jet onto a base plate through an aperture in a mask, the aperture having a shape that is the same shape as the desired cross-section of said substrate;
- forming on said substrate said thin-film active semiconductor layer, the active layer comprising a p-n junction including a p-type region and an n-type region;
- and
- forming first and second electrical contacts to the p-type and n-type regions, respectively.
A method of making a thin-film solar cell including a semiconductor thin-film active layer with a p-n junction therein formed on a substrate, comprising:
- forming said substrate by melting a substrate source material in a high-temperature plasma and spraying the melted source material into a cavity of a mold through an opening in the mold with a high-speed gas jet, wherein the cavity of the mold has a shape that is the same shape as the desired shape of said substrate and the opening has a shape that is the same shape as the desired cross-section of the substrate;
- forming on said substrate said thin-film active semiconductor layer, the active layer comprising a p-n junction including a p-type region and an n-type region;
- and
- forming first and second electrical contacts to the p-type and n-type regions, respectively.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.