Photovoltaic device with oxide layer

A method of manufacturing a photovoltaic module, the method comprising:

• fabricating a plurality of photovoltaic cells, the fabricating comprising:
• forming a barrier layer over a substrate, the barrier layer comprising a material selected from the group consisting of aluminum-doped silicon oxide, silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, and aluminum oxide;
• forming an amorphous oxide layer over the barrier layer, wherein the amorphous oxide layer comprises cadmium and tin and wherein the substrate is heated during the forming of the amorphous oxide layer to form cadmium and tin oxide nano- or micro-crystallites in the amorphous oxide layer;
• forming a buffer layer over the amorphous oxide layer including the formed crystallites, the buffer layer comprising a material selected from the group consisting of tin oxide, indium oxide, zinc oxide, and zinc tin oxide;
• forming a semiconductor layer over the buffer layer;
• and,
• transforming the amorphous oxide layer into a crystalline transparent conductive oxide layer, during or after deposition of the semiconductor layer over the buffer layer, wherein the cadmium and tin oxide nano- or micro-crystallites serve as seeds or nuclei during transformation;
• connecting the plurality of the photovoltaic cells;
• and
• depositing a back cover over the plurality of photovoltaic cells.