US 5,712,199 AGranted

Method for making semiconductor body and photovoltaic device

AssigneeCanon Kabushiki Kaisha

InventorsKatsumi Nakagawa, Takao Yonehara

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A method of making a semiconductor body includes the steps of preparing a sheet-like substrate having an insulating film and holes which pass through the insulating film, the holes being disposed at a uniform density, preparing a solution in which a semiconductor material is dissolved, and conveying the sheet-like substrate along a surface of the solution so as to grow a single crystal nucleus from each of the holes and thereby form a set of single crystal semiconductors on the sheet-like substrate. A solar cell can be manufactured by forming a semiconductor active area on the sheet-like support member made of a conductive material by a process containing the above-described semiconductor body forming method, and then by forming an electrode which makes a pair with the sheet-like support member.

Claims13

Dependent claims

A method of manufacturing a solar cell, comprising the steps of:

preparing a substrate in sheet form having an insulating film and holes which pass through said insulating film, said holes being dispersed at a uniform density;
preparing a solution in which a semiconductor material is dissolved;
conveying said substrate along a surface of the solution so as to grow a single crystal nucleus from each of said holes and thereby form a set of single crystal semiconductors on said substrate;
and wherein a silicon oxide film contains impurity elements which can control conductivity type of the semiconductor material, the impurity elements in the silicon oxide film being diffused into said single crystal semiconductors when said single crystal semiconductors are formed on the surface of the silicon oxide film and,
forming an electrode on said single crystal semiconductors.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 08/466,761Filed 6 Jun 1995 · continuation
Priority: JP 27869616 Oct 1990
Granted: 27 Jan 1998
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification11 codes

H10F 71/137
Manufacture or treatment of devices covered by this subclass: batch treatment of the devices
C30B 15/007
Single-crystal growth by pulling from a melt, e.g. Czochralski method: pulling on a substrate
C30B 15/34
Single-crystal growth by pulling from a melt, e.g. Czochralski method: edge-defined film-fed crystal-growth using dies or slits
H10F 71/121
Manufacture or treatment of devices covered by this subclass: the active layers comprising only Group IV materials