| Patent application number | Description | Published |
|---|
| 20090078309 | Barrier Layers In Inverted Metamorphic Multijunction Solar Cells - A method of forming a multijunction solar cell including an upper subcell, a middle subcell, and a lower subcell, the method including: providing first substrate for the epitaxial growth of semiconductor material; forming a first solar subcell on the substrate having a first band gap; forming a second solar subcell over the first solar subcell having a second band gap smaller than the first band gap; forming a barrier layer over the second subcell to reduce threading dislocations; forming a grading interlayer over the barrier layer, the grading interlayer having a third band gap greater than the second band gap; and forming a third solar subcell over the grading interlayer having a fourth band gap smaller than the second band gap such that the third subcell is lattice mismatched with respect to the second subcell. | 03-26-2009 |
| 20090078311 | Surfactant Assisted Growth in Barrier Layers In Inverted Metamorphic Multijunction Solar Cells - A method of forming a multijunction solar cell including an upper subcell, a middle subcell, and a lower subcell, the method including: providing a substrate for the epitaxial growth of semiconductor material; forming a first solar subcell on the substrate having a first band gap; forming a second solar subcell over the first solar subcell having a second band gap smaller than the first band gap; forming a barrier layer over the second subcell using a surfactant, preferably a isoelectronic surfactant such as bismuth or antimony; forming a graded interlayer over the barrier layer, the graded interlayer having a third band gap greater than the second band gap; and forming a third solar subcell over the graded interlayer having a fourth band gap smaller than the second band gap such that the third subcell is lattice mismatched with respect to the second subcell. | 03-26-2009 |
| 20090188561 | High concentration terrestrial solar array with III-V compound semiconductor cell - An arrangement including a concentrator lens and a photovoltaic solar cell for terrestrial use for generating electrical power from solar radiation including a multifunction III-V compound semiconductor solar cell with material composition and bandgaps to maximize absorption in the AM1.5 spectral region, and a thickness of one micron or greater so as to be able to produce in excess of 15 watts of DC power with conversion efficiency in excess of 37%. The concentration level of the lens is selected to optimize the efficiency of the solar cell. | 07-30-2009 |
| 20100012174 | High band gap contact layer in inverted metamorphic multijunction solar cells - A method of forming a multijunction solar cell including an upper subcell, a middle subcell, and a lower subcell by providing a substrate for the epitaxial growth of semiconductor material; forming a first solar subcell on the substrate having a first band gap; forming a second solar subcell over the first solar subcell having a second band gap smaller than the first band gap; forming a graded interlayer over the second subcell, the graded interlayer having a third band gap greater than the second band gap; forming a third solar subcell over the graded interlayer having a fourth band gap smaller than the second band gap such that the third subcell is lattice mismatched with respect to the second subcell; and forming a contact layer over the third subcell having a fifth band gap greater than at least the magnitude of the second band gap. | 01-21-2010 |
| 20100122764 | Surrogate Substrates for Inverted Metamorphic Multijunction Solar Cells - A method of manufacturing a solar cell by providing a first substrate; depositing on a first substrate a sequence of layers of semiconductor material forming a solar cell; mounting and bonding a surrogate second substrate composed of a material having a coefficient of thermal expansion substantially similar to that of the semiconductor layer on top of the sequence of layers; and removing the first substrate. | 05-20-2010 |
| 20100151618 | Growth Substrates for Inverted Metamorphic Multijunction Solar Cells - A method of manufacturing a solar cell by providing a gallium arsenide carrier with a prepared bonding surface; providing a sapphire substrate; bonding the gallium arsenide carrier and the sapphire substrate to produce a composite structure; detaching the bulk of the gallium arsenide carrier from the composite structure, leaving a gallium arsenide growth substrate on the sapphire substrate; and depositing a sequence of layers of semiconductor material forming a solar cell on the growth substrate. For some solar cells, the method further includes mounting a surrogate second substrate on top of the sequence of layers of semiconductor material forming a solar cell; and removing the growth substrate. | 06-17-2010 |
| 20100206365 | Inverted Metamorphic Multijunction Solar Cells on Low Density Carriers - A method of manufacturing a solar cell by providing a first substrate; depositing on the first substrate a sequence of layers of semiconductor material forming a solar cell; mounting and bonding a surrogate second substrate on top of the sequence of layers; removing the first substrate; and thinning a plurality of discrete, spaced-apart portions of the backside of the surrogate second substrate so as to reduce its weight. | 08-19-2010 |
| 20100229926 | Four Junction Inverted Metamorphic Multijunction Solar Cell with a Single Metamorphic Layer - A multijunction solar cell including an upper first solar subcell having a first band gap; a second solar subcell adjacent to the first solar subcell and having a second band gap smaller than the first band gap; a graded interlayer adjacent to the second solar subcell; the first graded interlayer having a third band gap greater than the second band gap; and a third solar subcell adjacent to the graded interlayer, the third subcell having a fourth band gap smaller than the second band gap such that the third subcell is lattice mismatched with respect to the second subcell. A lower fourth solar subcell is provided adjacent to the third subcell and lattice matched thereto, the lower fourth subcell having a fifth band gap smaller than the fourth band gap. | 09-16-2010 |
| 20100282305 | Inverted Multijunction Solar Cells with Group IV/III-V Hybrid Alloys - A method of manufacturing a solar cell comprising providing a growth substrate; depositing on said growth substrate a sequence of layers of semiconductor material forming a solar cell, including at least one subcell composed of a group IV/III-V hybrid alloy such as GeSiSn; and removing the semiconductor substrate. | 11-11-2010 |
| 20100282306 | Multijunction Solar Cells with Group IV/III-V Hybrid Alloys - A method of manufacturing a solar cell by providing a germanium semiconductor growth substrate; and depositing on the semiconductor growth substrate a sequence of layers of semiconductor material forming a solar cell, including a subcell composed of a group IV/III-V hybrid alloy. | 11-11-2010 |
| 20100282307 | Multijunction Solar Cells with Group IV/III-V Hybrid Alloys for Terrestrial Applications - A solar cell including a substrate; a first solar subcell composed of GeSiSn disposed over the substrate and having a first band gap; a second solar subcell composed of GaAs, InGaAsP, or InGaP and disposed over the first solar subcell having a second band gap greater than the first band gap and lattice matched to said first solar subcell; and a third solar subcell composed of GaInP and disposed over the second solar subcell having a third band gap greater than the second band gap and lattice matched with respect to the second subcell. | 11-11-2010 |
