公开(公告)号：US20190259888A1

公开(公告)日：2019-08-22

申请号：US16404602

申请日：2019-05-06

申请人： ALTA DEVICES, INC.

发明人： Melissa J. ARCHER ,  Thomas J. GMITTER ,  Gang HE ,  Gregg HIGASHI

IPC分类号： H01L31/0304 ,  H01L31/068 ,  H01L31/065 ,  H01L31/0735 ,  H01L31/0236 ,  H01L31/0224 ,  H01L31/0693

摘要： Methods and apparatus are provided for converting electromagnetic radiation, such as solar energy, into electric energy with increased efficiency when compared to conventional solar cells. One embodiment of the present invention provides a photovoltaic (PV) device. The PV device comprises an absorber layer made of a compound semiconductor; and an emitter layer located closer than the absorber layer to a first side of the device. The PV device includes a p-n junction formed between the emitter layer and the absorber layer, the p-n junction causing a voltage to be generated in the device in response to the device being exposed to light at a second side of the device. Such innovations may allow for greater efficiency and flexibility in PV devices when compared to conventional solar cells.

公开(公告)号：US10283666B2

公开(公告)日：2019-05-07

申请号：US15680426

申请日：2017-08-18

申请人： EpiWorks, Inc.

发明人： David Ahmari ,  Swee Lim ,  Shiva Rai ,  David Forbes

IPC分类号： H01L31/0725 ,  H01L31/18 ,  H01L31/072 ,  H01L31/076 ,  H01L31/0735 ,  H01L31/0687 ,  H01L31/0336 ,  H01L31/065

摘要： Manufacture of multi-junction solar cells, and devices thereof, are disclosed. The architectures are also adapted to provide for a more uniform and consistent fabrication of the solar cell structures, leading to improved yields, greater efficiency, and lower costs. Certain solar cells may be from a different manufacturing process and further include one or more compositional gradients of one or more semiconductor elements in one or more semiconductor layers, resulting in a more optimal solar cell device. A multi-junction cell may include a back surface field layer, a tunneling junction layer, a first active cell, and a second active cell.

公开(公告)号：US10141473B1

公开(公告)日：2018-11-27

申请号：US16032531

申请日：2018-07-11

申请人： First Solar, Inc.

发明人： Holly Ann Blaydes ,  Kristian William Andreini ,  William Hullinger Huber ,  Eugene Thomas Hinners ,  Joseph John Shiang ,  Yong Liang ,  Jongwoo Choi ,  Adam Fraser Halverson

IPC分类号： H01L31/0272 ,  H01L31/18 ,  H01L31/073 ,  H01L31/065 ,  H01L31/0224 ,  H01L31/0296

摘要： Embodiments of a photovoltaic device are provided herein. The photovoltaic device can include a layer stack and an absorber layer disposed on the layer stack. The absorber layer can include a first region and a second region. Each of the first region of the absorber layer and the second region of the absorber layer can include a compound comprising cadmium, selenium, and tellurium. An atomic concentration of selenium can vary across the absorber layer. The first region of the absorber layer can have a thickness between 100 nanometers to 3000 nanometers. The second region of the absorber layer can have a thickness between 100 nanometers to 3000 nanometers. A ratio of an average atomic concentration of selenium in the first region of the absorber layer to an average atomic concentration of selenium in the second region of the absorber layer can be greater than 10.

公开(公告)号：US10062800B2

公开(公告)日：2018-08-28

申请号：US13912782

申请日：2013-06-07

申请人： First Solar, Inc.

发明人： Holly Ann Blaydes ,  Kristian William Andreini ,  William Hullinger Huber ,  Eugene Thomas Hinners ,  Joseph John Shiang ,  Yong Liang ,  Jongwoo Choi ,  Adam Fraser Halverson

IPC分类号： H01L31/0272 ,  H01L31/18 ,  H01L31/0224 ,  H01L31/0296 ,  H01L31/065 ,  H01L31/073

CPC分类号： H01L31/1828 ,  H01L31/022425 ,  H01L31/02966 ,  H01L31/065 ,  H01L31/073 ,  H01L31/1832 ,  Y02E10/543 ,  Y02P70/521

摘要： A photovoltaic device is presented. The photovoltaic device includes a layer stack; and an absorber layer is disposed on the layer stack. The absorber layer includes selenium, and an atomic concentration of selenium varies non-linearly across a thickness of the absorber layer. A method of making a photovoltaic device is also presented.

公开(公告)号：US09960037B2

公开(公告)日：2018-05-01

申请号：US15227216

申请日：2016-08-03

申请人： Board of Trustees of Michigan State University

发明人： Premjeet Chahal ,  Tim Hogan ,  Amanpreet Kaur

IPC分类号： H01L21/02 ,  H01L31/18 ,  H01L31/065 ,  H01L31/0745

CPC分类号： H01L21/02529 ,  H01L21/02118 ,  H01L21/02345 ,  H01L21/02381 ,  H01L21/02658 ,  H01L21/02667 ,  H01L21/02686 ,  H01L21/02689 ,  H01L31/065 ,  H01L31/0745 ,  H01L31/1812 ,  Y02E10/50

摘要： A method for forming a compound on a substrate is provided. The method includes depositing a composition onto a surface of a substrate; illuminating the composition and the substrate with pulsed energy; melting the substrate and decomposing the composition simultaneously; and forming a compound on the substrate. A first component of the compound is derived from the substrate and a second component of the compound is derived from the composition.

公开(公告)号：US09954129B2

公开(公告)日：2018-04-24

申请号：US14403765

申请日：2013-03-15

申请人： Matthew Doty ,  Joshua Zide

发明人： Matthew Doty ,  Joshua Zide

IPC分类号： H01L31/065 ,  H01L31/06 ,  H01L31/0304 ,  H01L31/0352 ,  B82Y20/00 ,  H01L31/072 ,  H01L31/0735 ,  B82Y30/00

CPC分类号： H01L31/065 ,  B82Y20/00 ,  B82Y30/00 ,  H01L31/03046 ,  H01L31/035209 ,  H01L31/035218 ,  H01L31/035227 ,  H01L31/035236 ,  H01L31/06 ,  H01L31/072 ,  H01L31/0735 ,  Y02E10/544 ,  Y02P70/521

摘要： Described herein are materials and systems for efficient upconversion of photons. The materials may be disposed in a system comprising two semiconductor materials with an interface therebetween, the interface comprising a valence and/or conduction band offset between the semiconducting materials of about −0.5 eV to about 0.5 eV, including 0, wherein one of the semiconductor materials is a material with discrete energy states and the other is a material with a graded composition and/or controlled band gap. The system can upconvert photons by: a) controlling energy levels of discrete energy states of a semiconducting material in a system to direct tunneling and exciton separation; b) controlling a compositional profile of another semiconducting material in the system to funnel charges away from an upconversion region and into a recombination zone; and c) utilizing the discrete energy states of the semiconducting material in the system to inhibit phonon relaxation.

公开(公告)号：US09893224B2

公开(公告)日：2018-02-13

申请号：US15365742

申请日：2016-11-30

申请人： SUNPOWER CORPORATION

发明人： Paul Loscutoff ,  Gabriel Harley

IPC分类号： H01L31/065 ,  H01L31/18 ,  H01L31/0216 ,  H01L31/0224 ,  H01L21/268 ,  H01L21/228 ,  H01L31/02 ,  H01L21/22 ,  H01L31/05 ,  H01L31/068

CPC分类号： H01L31/065 ,  H01L21/2225 ,  H01L21/228 ,  H01L21/268 ,  H01L31/02008 ,  H01L31/02167 ,  H01L31/022425 ,  H01L31/022441 ,  H01L31/0516 ,  H01L31/0682 ,  H01L31/1804 ,  H01L31/1864 ,  Y02E10/50 ,  Y02E10/547 ,  Y02P70/521

摘要： A system and method of patterning dopants of opposite polarity to form a solar cell is described. Two dopant films are deposited on a substrate. A laser is used to pattern the N-type dopant, by mixing the two dopant films into a single film with an exposure to the laser and/or drive the N-type dopant into the substrate to form an N-type emitter. A thermal process drives the P-type dopant from the P-type dopant film to form P-type emitters and further drives the N-type dopant from the single film to either form or further drive the N-type emitter.

公开(公告)号：US09871154B2

公开(公告)日：2018-01-16

申请号：US13923644

申请日：2013-06-21

申请人： First Solar, Inc.

发明人： Anil Raj Duggal ,  Joseph John Shiang ,  William Hullinger Huber ,  Adam Fraser Halverson

IPC分类号： H01L31/0272 ,  H01L31/0296 ,  H01L31/065 ,  H01L31/073 ,  H01L31/18

CPC分类号： H01L31/0272 ,  H01L31/02966 ,  H01L31/065 ,  H01L31/073 ,  H01L31/1832 ,  Y02E10/543

摘要： A photovoltaic device is presented. The photovoltaic device includes a layer stack; and an absorber layer is disposed on the layer stack. The absorber layer includes cadmium, tellurium, and selenium. A semiconductor layer is further disposed on the absorber layer, wherein a valence band offset between the semiconductor layer and the absorber layer is less than about 1.3 electron Volts, and a band gap of the semiconductor layer is in a range from about 1.2 electron Volts to about 3.5 electron Volts.

公开(公告)号：US09722121B2

公开(公告)日：2017-08-01

申请号：US14890603

申请日：2014-05-13

申请人： SEGTON ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY SAS

发明人： Zbigniew Kuznicki ,  Patrick Meyrueis

IPC分类号： H01L21/00 ,  H01L31/065 ,  H01L31/036 ,  H01L31/0288 ,  H01L31/0352 ,  H01L31/068 ,  H01L31/18 ,  H01L31/20 ,  H01L31/0368 ,  H01L31/0376

CPC分类号： H01L31/065 ,  H01L31/0288 ,  H01L31/0352 ,  H01L31/035236 ,  H01L31/036 ,  H01L31/03682 ,  H01L31/03762 ,  H01L31/068 ,  H01L31/1804 ,  H01L31/1864 ,  H01L31/202 ,  Y02E10/547 ,  Y02P70/521

摘要： The invention bears on elementary nanoscale units nanostructured-formed inside a silicon material and the manufacturing process to implement them. Each elementary nanoscale unit is created by means of a limited displacement of two Si atoms outside a crystal elementary unit. A localized nanoscale transformation of the crystalline matter gets an unusual functionality by focusing in it a specific physical effect as is a highly useful additional set of electron energy levels that is optimized for the solar spectrum conversion to electricity. An adjusted energy set allows a low-energy secondary electron generation in a semiconductor, preferentially silicon, material for use especially in very-high efficiency all-silicon light-to-electricity converters. The manufacturing process to create such transformations in a semiconductor material bases on a local energy deposition like ion implantation or electron (γ,X) beam irradiation and suitable thermal treatment and is industrially easily available.

公开(公告)号：US09490387B2

公开(公告)日：2016-11-08

申请号：US14379480

申请日：2013-05-03

申请人： Tempress IP B.V.

发明人： Ronald Cornelis Gerard Naber

IPC分类号： H01L31/18 ,  H01L31/068 ,  H01L31/065 ,  H01L31/20

CPC分类号： H01L31/1872 ,  H01L31/065 ,  H01L31/0682 ,  H01L31/1804 ,  H01L31/1864 ,  H01L31/20 ,  Y02E10/547 ,  Y02P70/521

摘要： Methods of manufacturing a solar cell are provided. Aspects of embodiments of the methods include introducing charge carriers into a substrate on a first side by ion implantation to produce an amorphized region followed by selectively recrystallizing material in part of the amorphized region to define a first recrystallized subregion and then at least partially removing recrystallized material from the first subregion. An apparatus for carrying out said method and a resulting solar cell having surface topology are also provided.

摘要翻译： 提供制造太阳能电池的方法。 所述方法的实施方案的方面包括通过离子注入将电荷载体引入第一侧的衬底中以产生非晶化区域，随后在部分非晶化区域中选择性地重结晶材料以限定第一再结晶亚区域，然后至少部分地除去再结晶材料 来自第一个次区域。 还提供了一种用于执行所述方法的装置和具有表面拓扑结构的所得太阳能电池。