Nanosolar, Inc.

Brent Bollman

Martin R Roscheisen

Craig Leidholm

James R Sheats

Sam Kao

Matthew R Robinson

Brian M Sager

Jeroen K J Van Duren

Klaus Petritsch

An absorber layer of a photovoltaic device may be formed on an aluminum or metallized polymer foil substrate. A nascent absorber layer containing one or more elements of group IB and one or more elements of group IIIA is formed on the substrate. The nascent absorber layer and/or substrate is then rapidly heated from an ambient temperature to an average plateau temperature range of between about 200&#xb0; C. and about 600&#xb0; C. and maintained in the average plateau temperature range 1 to 30 minutes after which the temperature is reduced.

Formation of photovoltaic absorber layers on foil substrates

Methods and devices are provided for absorber layers formed on foil substrate. In one embodiment, a method of manufacturing photovoltaic devices may be comprised of providing a substrate comprising of at least one electrically conductive aluminum foil substrate, at least one electrically conductive diffusion barrier layer, and at least one electrically conductive electrode layer above the diffusion barrier layer. The diffusion barrier layer may prevent chemical interaction between the aluminum foil substrate and the electrode layer. An absorber layer may be formed on the substrate. In one embodiment, the absorber layer may be a non-silicon absorber layer. In another embodiment, the absorber layer may be an amorphous silicon (doped or undoped) absorber layer. Optionally, the absorber layer may be based on organic and/or inorganic materials.

Formation of solar cells with conductive barrier layers and foil substrates

Photovoltaic devices with conductive barrier layers and foil substrates

A precursor material for forming a film of a group IB-IIIA-chalcogenide compound and a method of making this film are disclosed. The film contains group IB-chalcogenide nanoparticles and/or group IIIA-chalcogenide nanoparticles and/or nanoglobules and/or nanodroplets and a source of extra chalcogen. Alternatively, the film may contain core-shell nanoparticles having core nanoparticles include group IB and/or IIIA elements, which are coated with a shell of elemental chalcogen material. The method of making a film of group IB-IIIA-chalcogenide compound includes mixing the nanoparticles and/or nanoglobules and/or nanodroplets to form an ink, depositing the ink on a substrate, heating to melt the extra chalcogen and to react the chalcogen with the group IB and group IIIA elements and/or chalcogenides to form a dense film.

Chalcogenide solar cells

Organic films can be annealed by exposure to a solvent vapor. The solvent vapor annealing renders the organic film insoluble even in a solvent of a solution from which it was deposited. This enables deposition of two or more organic films in sequence without having one deposition alter an underlying organic film. Devices can be easily fabricated with organic films annealed in this manner when no other solution processing method is possible.

Solvent vapor annealing of organic films

Spaces in a nanostructure can be filled with an organic material while in the solid state below T(without heating) by exposing the organic material to solvent vapor while on or mixed with the nanostructured material. The exposure to solvent vapor results in intimate contact between the organic material and the nanostructured material without having to expose them to possibly detrimental heat to melt in the organic material. Solution processing methods need only to be employed to create bulk films while organic material infiltration can take place in the solid state after depositing the film.

Growing community of inventors

Belmont, CA, United States of America

Brent Bollman