Patent application number | Description | Published |
20130255773 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL AND METHODS FOR MANUFACTURE - A material is manufactured from a single piece of semiconductor material. The material manufactured includes a top layer of a semiconductor compound and a bottom layer of a semiconductor bulk. The material may also have an intrinsic semiconductor layer. The material is created from a transformative process on the single-piece semiconductor material caused by heating a semiconductor material having an impurity under particular conditions. The material manufactured exhibits photovoltaic properties because the layers formed during the transformative process create a p-i-n, a p-n, or an n-n junction having a band-gap difference between the n-type layers. | 10-03-2013 |
20130255774 | PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL AND PROCESS OF MANUFACTURE - A material is manufactured from a single piece of semiconductor material. The semiconductor material can be an n-type semiconductor. Such a manufactured material may have a top layer with a crystalline structure, transitioning into a transition layer, further transitioning into an intermediate layer, and further transitioning to the bulk substrate layer. The orientation of the crystalline pores of the crystalline structure align in layers of the material. The transition layer or intermediate layer includes a material that is substantially equivalent to intrinsic semiconductor. Also described is a method for manufacturing a material from a single piece of semiconductor material by exposing a top surface to an energy source until the transformation of the top surface occurs, while the bulk of the material remains unaltered. The material may exhibit photovoltaic properties. | 10-03-2013 |
20130284247 | P-N JUNCTION SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE WITH PHOTOVOLTAIC PROPERTIES - A material is manufactured from a transformative process of heating a structure comprising a transparent conductive oxide disposed over a semiconductor material. The heating process causes a p-type dopant from the semiconductor material diffuses into the transparent conductive oxide, and causes the semiconductor material to transform into an intrinsic semiconductor layer over a bulk layer. The material manufactured exhibits photovoltaic properties because the layers formed during the transformative process create a p-i-n or a p-n junction having a band-gap difference between the top layer and the bulk layer. | 10-31-2013 |
20130320343 | STRUCTURE FOR CREATING OHMIC CONTACT IN SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES AND METHODS FOR MANUFACTURE - A semiconductor-to-metal interface with ohmic contact is provided. The interface includes a semiconductor material, a metal layer, and a silicon carbide layer disposed between the semiconductor material and the metal layer. The silicon carbide layer causes the formation of a semiconductor-to-metal interface with ohmic contact. Applications include forming a photovoltaic device with ohmic contact by disposing a layer of silicon carbide over the photovoltaic material before depositing a bottom electrode layer of metal to complete the bottom of a photovoltaic cell. | 12-05-2013 |
20150007875 | PIN PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL AND PROCESS OF MANUFACTURE - A PIN photovoltaic (PIN PV) device is composed of a first electrode layer, a p-type semiconductor layer, an intrinsic semiconductor layer, an n-type semiconductor substrate, and a back surface electrode. Also described is a method for manufacturing a PIN PV device. In a first embodiment, the method includes cleaning an n-type semiconductor substrate; introducing an inert gas under vacuum and a high temperature to form a high resistivity layer on the top surface of the substrate; forming or depositing a p-type semiconductor layer on the high resistivity layer; forming a transparent electrode layer on the p-type semiconductor layer; and forming a metal electrode on the bottom surface of the substrate. In a second embodiment, an SiC or SiO2 isolation layer is formed on the bottom surface of the substrate after initial cleaning of the wafer before the high resistivity layer is formed on the top of the substrate. | 01-08-2015 |
20150295115 | INFRARED PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD - A hybrid photovoltaic (PV) device is composed of a first electrode layer, a semiconductor substrate, a semiconductor PV layer, and a bottom electrode that forms a Shottcky junction between said bottom metal electrode and the PV layer. Because of existence of the Shottcky junction, the PV cell permits light to electricity conversion over a wide-range of light wavelengths, from the so-called visible light (between 350 nm to 900 nm wavelength) to the infrared light (over 900 nm wavelength). Also described is a method for manufacturing a hybrid PV device. The method of manufacturing comprises performing the steps of cleaning a semiconductor substrate; introducing an inert gas under vacuum and a high temperature to form a semiconductor PV layer having a high resistivity on a first side of the substrate; forming a metal bottom layer on the semiconductor PV layer to create a Shottcky junction between the metal layer and said semiconductor PV layer; and forming a transparent electrode layer on the second side of said substrate. In a second embodiment, an n+ layer is formed between the semiconductor substrate and the transparent electrode layer to improve ohmic contact between these two layers. | 10-15-2015 |
20150295117 | INFRARED PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE - A hybrid photovoltaic (PV) device according comprises a semiconductor substrate, a semiconductor photovoltaic (PV) layer on one side of said substrate, a metal layer on top of said PV layer, a first electrode layer on top of said metal layer, and a bottom metal electrode on the opposite side of said substrate from said PV layer, wherein said metal layer forms a Shottcky junction between said metal layer and said PV layer. Because of existence of the Shottcky junction, the PV cell permits light to electricity conversion over a wide-range of light wavelengths, from visible light (between 350 nm to 900 nm wavelength) to infrared light (over 900 nm wavelength). Also described is a method for manufacturing a hybrid PV device. The method of manufacturing comprises performing the steps of: cleaning a semiconductor substrate; introducing an inert gas under vacuum and a high temperature to form a semiconductor PV layer having a high resistivity on the top surface of said substrate; forming a metal layer over said PV layer to create a Shottcky junction between said metal layer and said PV layer; forming a transparent layer over the top of said metal layer; and forming a metal bottom electrode on the bottom surface of said substrate. | 10-15-2015 |
20150295124 | MANUFACTURING EQUIPMENT FOR PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES AND METHODS - A multi-chamber PV furnace and method for continuously processing the wafers is described. A preferred embodiment includes three main chambers that allow pre-heating, heating, and cooling of the target material in a streamlined process designed for continuous operation in a mass production environment. The three-chamber design shortens the processing time and permits continuous processing of batches of substrate material in an in-line fashion. Each of the three chambers or zones allows for independent control and management of processing temperature, pressure, and atmosphere by means of inlet gate and outlet gate valve mechanisms. | 10-15-2015 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20110215434 | THIN-FILM PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THIN-FILM PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE - Provided are a thin-film photoelectric conversion device of which thickness can be reduced to several tens nanometers (nm) or below, and a method of manufacturing the thin-film photoelectric conversion device. | 09-08-2011 |
20110272771 | THIN FILM PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THIN FILM PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE - A thin film photoelectric conversion device for performing photoelectric conversion of a wide range of light, from the visible range to the infrared range, is provided. A plasmon resonance phenomenon, which enhances a photo-induced electric field, is caused in a wide range of light, by a metal nanostructure which is formed by annealing a substrate on which a first metal thin film layer composed of a first metal and a second metal thin film layer composed of a second metal which is partially overlapped onto the first metal thin film layer are laminated, and in which a periodic structure, wherein a number of first convex parts successively lie with a pitch of from one-tenth of a wavelength of an incident light to a wavelength equal to or shorter than the wavelength of the incident light in a planar direction along the substrate, is formed on the surface of the substrate; and a random structure, wherein a distance between any pair of a number of second convex parts formed at random positions on the substrate, or a distance between a second convex part and a first convex part is shorter than 100 nm, is formed on the substrate in a position within a region of the periodic structure or in a position adjacent to the region of the periodic structure, and as a result, high sensitivity photo-induced current is generated. | 11-10-2011 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20130019941 | LIGHT POWER GENERATION DEVICE - [Problem] To provide a photovoltaic device capable of generating power whether day or night, without affecting the appearance of a structure or reducing lighting or other functions, and able to inhibit rises in room temperature by converting thermal radiation into electrical energy. | 01-24-2013 |
20130255775 | WIDE BAND GAP PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICE AND PROCESS OF MANUFACTURE - A wide band gap, heterojunction photovoltaic material comprises a bulk layer, a high-resistivity layer and a microcrystalline silicon carbide layer. The heterojunction semiconductor material is formed by heating a single-piece semiconductor material to form a high-resistivity layer over a bulk layer, the high-resistivity layer having SiC seed crystals at the top surface. A layer of SiC is sputtered over the high-resistivity layer, and the structure is annealed. The annealing and the SiC seed crystals causes the sputtered SiC layer to convert into a microcrystalline β-SiC layer. When the layer of SiC is sputtered using a p-type SiC target, a p-type SiC layer is formed over the high-resistivity layer. The heterojunction material may exhibit photovoltaic properties. Applications include forming a photovoltaic device with the heterojunction material. | 10-03-2013 |
20130256662 | SINGLE-PIECE PHOTOVOLTAIC STRUCTURE - A material is manufactured from a single piece of semiconductor material. The semiconductor material can be an n-type semiconductor. Such a manufactured material may have a top layer with a crystalline structure, transitioning into a transition layer, further transitioning into an intermediate layer, and further transitioning to the bulk substrate layer. The orientation of the crystalline pores of the crystalline structure align in layers of the material. The transition layer or intermediate layer includes a material that is substantially equivalent to intrinsic semiconductor. Also described is a method for manufacturing a material from a single piece of semiconductor material by exposing a top surface to an energy source until the transformation of the top surface occurs, while the bulk of the material remains unaltered. The material may exhibit photovoltaic properties. | 10-03-2013 |