Glasstech Solar, Inc.

Other

Mv Systems, Inc.

Arun Madan

Jianping Xi

Susumu Yaba

Stephen Muhl

Scott Morrison

Jeffrey Owen Heng

Bolko Von Roedern

Shinya Kikugawa

Shigeyoshi Kobayashi

Christopher Morgan Walker

A substrate cassette contains two physically spaced and parallel reels. A relatively long web of flexible substrate material is wound about one reel and the exposed end of the web is connected to the other reel, to thus expose a relatively short length of the substrate material at a deposition-plane that lies between the two reels. A first idler roller is associated with the first reel, a second idler roller is associated with the second reel, and the web is guided by the two idler rollers as the web moves between the two reels. The two idler rollers are mounted at fixed positions in order to accurately establish a fixed-position deposition-plane. The substrate cassette is placed within one or more vacuum deposition chambers, the web is advanced between the two reels, and one or more semiconductor layers are deposited on substantially the entire length of the web. A protective layer is provided as part of the web in order to protect the semiconductor layer(s) when the web is wound unto a take-up reel. A constant tension is maintained in the web as the web advances from one reel to the other. The two opposite ends of the web are clamped to the two reels by the operation of an axially-split cylindrical cover that covers each reel and is compressed down onto each web end.

Semiconductor vacuum deposition system and method having a reel-to-reel substrate cassette

A hot wire chemical vapor deposition method and apparatus for fabricating high quality amorphous, micro-crystalline, and poly-crystalline thin film silicon, or related materials, devices and large area modules is described. A silane gas impinges upon a hot graphite rod assembly whereas the gas is broken up into its individual constituents, these constituents then depositing on an inert substrate member. The distance between the hot graphite rod assembly and the substrate member is adjustable. A shutter is provided to shield the substrate member as the hot graphite rod assembly is heating up. The hot graphite rod assembly contains a plurality of mutually parallel and coplanar rods that are parallel to the plane of the substrate member, and the hot graphite rod assembly and/or the substrate is oscillated in a direction generally normal to the direction in which the rods extend.

Hot wire chemical vapor deposition method and apparatus using graphite hot rods

A solar cell substrate comprising a glass plate, and a transparent electrically conductive layer formed thereon, wherein said glass plate is tempered.

Solar cell substrate and process for its production

A modular continuous vapor deposition system for the fabrication of semiconductor devices having a plurality of deposition modules isolated from each other by isolation modules which prevent the cross contamination of the different processing gases used in the deposition modules. Each of the deposition modules has a flow of a decomposable processing gas therethrough at a desired pressure, and means for generating a continuous glow discharge. The glow discharge decomposes the processing gas to deposit a layer of amorphous semiconductor material on the discrete substrate sheets as they are transported through each of the deposition modules. A plurality of gate valves effectively seal the interfaces between adjacent modules to isolate them from their immediate neighbors and are opened in a predetermined sequence to allow the substrate sheets to be transported from one module to the next. The isolation modules are connected to a vacuum source and a back-fill gas source. A control coordinates the activation of the gate valves, the vacuum source and the back-fill gas source so that the substrate sheets can be uninterruptedly transported through the system while maintaining the glow discharge continuous and gas pressure in each deposition module at the desired pressure.

Modular continuous vapor deposition system

A solar cell fabrication method and solar cell made by the method wherein a grid of point electrical connections is made to a transparent first electrode layer of the cell through a layer of a-Si semiconductor material which is sandwiched between the first electrode layer and a second back electrode layer. A dielectric layer electrically insulates the back electrode layer and the grid of point electrical connections. An electrically conducting network is deposited on the dielectric layer and electrically interconnects the grid of point electrical connections. The resulting cell has a relatively low active area loss and a relatively low electrical power loss due to the electrical connections in the cell.

Solar cell fabrication method

A solar cell substrate comprising a glass substrate and a transparent electrically conductive layer formed thereon, said conductive layer having a plurality of polygonal projections, having approximate diameters of from 0.1 to 0.3 .mu.m and height/diameter ratios of at least 0.6

Solar cell substrate

An apparatus for depositing thin films on a substrate includes at least one deposition module, a load lock module, a gate valve and a transportation mechanism for moving a substrate between the load lock and the at least one deposition module, the transportation mechanism being adapted to operate within ultra high vacuum conditions. The at least one deposition module is capable of maintaining an ultra high vacuum for depositing materials from reactive gases contained therein on a substrate. The load lock module is connected to the at least one deposition module by a gate valve and is capable of maintaining an ultra high vacuum. The transportation mechanism for moving the substrate between the load lock and the at least one deposition module is adapted to operate under ultra high vacuum conditions so that the substrate can be drawn from the load lock into the deposition module without breaking vacuum in the deposition module and contaminating the reactive gases contained therein. The apparatus is especially useful for manufacturing solar cells formed from doped amorphous silicon deposited from a glow discharge.

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Golden, CO, United States of America

Arun Madan