Tetrasun, Inc.

Adrian Bruce Turner

Oliver Schultz-Wittmann

Douglas E Crafts

Denis De Ceuster

Denis DeCeuster

Qing Yuan Ong

Bonneville Dudgeon Eggleston

Qin Yang Ong

A method for use in forming a photovoltaic device includes forming a doped semiconductor layer on a surface of a semiconductor substrate and forming a metal film on the doped semiconductor layer. A patterned etched resist is formed on the metal film and a dielectric layer is formed on the doped semiconductor layer and the etched resist. A laser having a wavelength absorbable by the patterned etch resist is applied through the dielectric layer to the patterned etch resist to remove the patterned etch resist.

Photovoltaic devices with fine-line metallization and methods for manufacture

A method and resulting structure of patterning a metal film pattern over a substrate, including forming a metal film pattern over the substrate; depositing a coating over the substrate surface and the metal film pattern; and removing the coating over the metal film pattern by laser irradiation. The substrate and coating do not significantly interact with the laser irradiation, and the laser irradiation interacts with the metal film pattern and the coating, resulting in the removal of the coating over the metal film pattern. The invention offers a technique for the formation of a metal pattern surrounded by a dielectric coating for solar cells, where the dielectric coating may function as an antireflection coating on the front surface, internal reflector on the rear surface, and may further may function as a dielectric barrier for subsequent electroplating of metal patterns on either surface.

Selective removal of a coating from a metal layer, and solar cell applications thereof

A solar cell formation method, and resulting structure, having a first film and a barrier film over a surface of a doped semiconductor, wherein the optical and/or electrical properties of the first film are transformed in-situ such that a resulting transformed film is better suited to the efficient functioning of the solar cell; wherein portions of the barrier film partially cover the first film and substantially prevent transformation of first film areas beneath the portions of the barrier film.

Selective transformation in functional films, and solar cell applications thereof

Methods of fabricating conductive patterns over a solar cell structure are provided, in which a patterned resist layer is provided over an anti-reflective coating layer formed over a solar cell structure. The patterned resist layer is used to etch the exposed portion of the anti-reflective coating, and a metal seed layer is provided over the resist layer and the exposed portion of the solar cell structure's surface. The metal seed layer is selectively removed from over the patterned resist layer without removal from the exposed portion of the surface of the solar cell structure. Different thermal conductivities of the patterned resist layer and the solar cell structure's surface facilitate the selective removal of the seed layer from over the resist layer. Also provided are methods of facilitating simultaneous fabrication of conductive patterns over a plurality of solar cell structures using one or more frame structures.

Methods of forming solar cells

A conductive contact pattern is formed on a surface of solar cell by forming a thin conductive layer over at least one lower layer of the solar cell, and ablating a majority of the thin conductive layer using a laser beam, thereby leaving behind the conductive contact pattern. The laser has a top-hat profile, enabling precision while scanning and ablating the thin layer across the surface. Heterocontact patterns are also similarly formed.

Method for forming structures in a solar cell

A metal grid contact and dielectric pattern on a layer requiring conductive contact in a photovoltaic device. The invention includes, in one aspect, forming a metal film; forming an etch resist over the metal film by, e.g., directly writing and in-situ curing the etch resist using, e.g., ink-jetting or screen-printing; etching the metal film leaving the resist pattern and a metal grid contact pattern under the etch resist intact; forming a dielectric layer over the etch resist; and removing the resist pattern and the dielectric over the etch resist, leaving a substantially co-planar metal grid contact and dielectric pattern. The metal grid contact pattern may form the front and/or back contact electrode of a solar cell; and the dielectric layer may be an optical reflection or antireflection layer. The layer requiring contact may be multifunctional providing its own passivation, such that passivation is substantially not required in the dielectric layer.

Growing community of inventors

Palo Alto, CA, United States of America

Adrian Bruce Turner