Systems and methods for depositing and charging solar cell layers
AssigneeAmtech Systems, LLC
InventorJeong-Mo Hwang
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Systems and methods of the present invention may be used to charge a layer (such as a passivation layer and/or antireflective layer) of a solar cell (e.g., wafer) with a positive or negative charge. The layer may retain the charge to improve operation of the solar cell. The charged layer may include any suitable dielectric material capable of retaining either a negative or a positive charge. Systems and methods of the present invention permit in-situ charging of a layer. Charging of a layer may be accomplished during or after deposition of the layer including after completing the whole solar cell process, in other words, on a finished cell.
Claims21
A method, performed by a system, for charging a layer of a wafer, the method comprising:
- forming the layer on the wafer, the layer comprising no permanently stored charge;
- generating a plasma from an inert gas, the plasma comprising electrons and positive ions, the wafer positioned proximate to the plasma, the layer oriented toward the plasma;
- providing a pulse to the wafer to electrically bias the wafer;
- and responsive to the electrical bias, extracting at least one of electrons and positive ions from the plasma to substantially permanently charge the layer of the wafer.
A method, performed by a system, for charging a layer of a wafer, the method comprising:
- forming the layer on the wafer, the layer comprising no permanently stored charge;
- generating a plasma from an inert gas, the plasma comprising electrons and positive ions, the wafer positioned proximate to the plasma, the layer oriented toward the plasma;
- electrically biasing the wafer to establish an electric field between the wafer and the plasma;
- responsive to the electric field, extracting charged particles from the plasma to substantially permanently charge the layer.
A method, performed by a system, for charging a layer of a wafer, the method comprising:
- forming the layer on the wafer, the layer comprising no permanently stored charge;
- generating a plasma from an inert gas, the plasma comprising electrons, positive ions, and photons, the photons having a magnitude of energy of at least about 3 eV, the wafer positioned proximate to the plasma, the layer oriented toward the plasma;
- applying a pulse to the wafer for a duration to electrically bias the wafer;
- responsive to the electrical bias, extracting at least one of electrons and positive ions from the plasma to substantially permanently charge the layer of the wafer;
- and
- responsive to the photons, generating electron-hole pairs in the silicon that cooperate with the at least one of electrons and positive ions to charge the layer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.