Rca Inc.

Exxon Research and Engineering Company

Christopher R Wronski

David E Carlson

Harry William Deckman

Horst Witzke

Benjamin Abeles

Eli Yablonovitch

Theodore D Moustakas

Appleton D Cope

Robert A Friedman

Bruce P Myers

Alfred R Triano, Jr

The present invention is a photoconductive member which includes a layer of amorphous semiconductor, adjacent to a multilayered amorphous semiconductor material, the composite material sandwiched between two blocking layers. The entire structure is supported by a layer of metal or glass depending on whether the photoconductive member is used in electrophotography or in an image pickup tube.

Amorphous photoreceptor with high sensitivity to long wavelengths

The present invention is a method for producing an optically enhanced thin film photovoltaic device. The method includes the steps of producing an active layer of semiconductor material wherein the surface of at least one side of the active layer is textured such that the surface includes randomly spaced, densely packed microstructures of predetermined dimensions of the order of the wavelength of visible light in the semiconductor material and attaching a reflecting surface directly to one side of the semiconductor material and making an ohmic contact to the material.

Method for making optically enhanced thin film photovoltaic device using

The present invention is an optically enhanced solar cell having a detached reflector. The optically enhanced solar cell includes a semiconductor material bounded on each side by transparent electrical contacts and an optional antireflection coating with the surface of at least one of these layers being textured. Light is reflected in the cell by a reflector which is detached (i.e., spaced) from the enhanced cell using a layer of dielectric material.

Realization of a thin film solar cell with a detached reflector

An amorphous silicon photovoltaic device having enhanced photovoltage and increased longevity is produced by treatment of a barrier forming region of the amorphous silicon in the presence of a partial pressure of sulfur dioxide.

Enhanced open circuit voltage in amorphous silicon photovoltaic devices

An amorphous silicon semiconductor having a gradient doping profile is produced by thermo-electrically diffusing an ionizable deposit material such as antimony or aluminum, for example, into the amorphous silicon layer. Embodied in a photovoltaic device, the gradient doping profile increases the width of the depletion or barrier region and concurrently ensures an ohmic contact between amorphous silicon and current carrying electrodes.

Gradient doping in amorphous silicon

A Schottky barrier amorphous silicon solar cell incorporating a thin highly doped p-type region of hydrogenated amorphous silicon disposed between a Schottky barrier high work function metal and the intrinsic region of hydrogenated amorphous silicon wherein said high work function metal and said thin highly doped p-type region forms a surface barrier junction with the intrinsic amorphous silicon layer. The thickness and concentration of p-type dopants in said p-type region are selected so that said p-type region is fully ionized by the Schottky barrier high work function metal. The thin highly doped p-type region has been found to increase the open circuit voltage and current of the photovoltaic device.

Schottky barrier amorphous silicon solar cell with thin doped region

A photoconductor body for a camera tube includes a semiconductor body including an overlayer of a material selected from a granular metal-insulator system. Suitable semiconductor materials are limited to those materials capable of providing Schottky barrier heights in excess of 0.9 eV. when fabricated with such overlayers and those having bandgaps greater than about 1.4 eV. A method of fabricating such photoconductive bodies is disclosed wherein a cadmium selenide semiconductor material is thermally treated to modify the Schottky barrier heights to a desired value in excess of about 0.9 eV.

Method of making camera tube target by modifying Schottky barrier heights

A first layer of semiconductor device is of doped amorphous silicon prepared by a glow discharge in a mixture of silane and a doping gas. The first layer is on a substrate having good electrical properties. On the first layer and spaced from the substrate is a second layer of amorphous silicon prepared by a glow discharge in silane. On the second layer opposite the first layer is a metallic film forming a surface barrier junction therebetween, i.e. a Schottky barrier. The first layer is doped so as to make an ohmic contact with the substrate. Preferably the doping concentration of the first layer is graded so the dopant concentration is maximum at the interface of the first layer and the substrate. In a second embodiment of the Schottky barrier semiconductor device an intermediate layer is between and contiguous to both the first layer and the substrate. The intermediate layer facilitates in making ohmic contact between the amorphous silicon and the substrate. Annealing and heat treating steps are performed in the fabrication of the Schottky barrier device to increase device efficiency.

Schottky barrier semiconductor device and method of making same

In a photovoltaic semiconductor device, an electrically insulating layer is between and in contact with a body of amorphous silicon fabricated by a glow discharge in silane and a metallic film of a metal capable of forming a surface barrier junction with the amorphous silicon body. The insulating layer is of such a relatively thin thickness that charge carriers are capable of tunneling through the insulating layer. The insulating layer has been found to increase the open circuit voltage of the photovoltaic device without adversely affecting the short circuit current density of the device.

Amorphous silicon photovoltaic device having an insulating layer

A photoconductive body of antimony trisulfide is coated on one surface with a layer of an insulating material having particles of a conductive metal dispersed throughout. When used as a target for a vidicon type camera tube, the metal particle-containing insulating layer lowers the dark current of the tube without affecting the photocurrent or spectral response.

Growing community of inventors

Princeton, NJ, United States of America

Christopher R Wronski