Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC

Midwest Research Institute

Dean H Levi

Miguel A Contreras

Jian Li

Richard Keith Ahrenkiel

Art J Nelson

Stephen Glynn

John Scharf

Embodiments include methods of depositing and controlling the deposition of a film in multiple stages. The disclosed deposition and deposition control methods include the optical monitoring of a deposition matrix to determine a time when at least one transition point occurs. In certain embodiments, the transition point or transition points are a stoichiometry point. Methods may also include controlling the length of time in which material is deposited during a deposition stage or controlling the amount of the first, second or subsequent materials deposited during any deposition stage in response to a determination of the time when a selected transition point occurs.

Optical control of multi-stage thin film solar cell production

A method of fabricating a photovoltaic device, includes the steps of providing a glass substrate, depositing a molybdenum layeron a surface of the glass substrate, directing light through the glass substrate to the near-substrate region of the molybdenum layer, detecting an optical property of the near-substrate region of the molybdenum layer after interaction with the incident lightand determining a density of the near-substrate region of the molybdenum layer from the detected optical property. A molybdenum deposition parameter may be controlled based upon the determined density of the near-substrate region of the molybdenum layer. A non-contact method measures a density of the near-substrate region of a molybdenum layer and a deposition chamber

In situ optical diagnostic for monitoring or control of sodium diffusion in photovoltaics manufacturing

A method of processing a sample, comprising the steps of: introducing dopant into a sample thereby producing a doped sample; producing a healed sampled including a doping density profile in response to introducing the dopant into the sample; and measuring the doping density profile of the healed sample by performing reflectometry using light generated within the visible wavelength spectrum.

Optical method for determining the doping depth profile in silicon

A process for producing a layer of cadmium sulfide on a cadmium telluride surface to be employed in a photovoltaic device. The process comprises providing a cadmium telluride surface which is exposed to a hydrogen sulfide plasma at an exposure flow rate, an exposure time and an exposure temperature sufficient to permit reaction between the hydrogen sulfide and cadmium telluride to thereby form a cadmium sulfide layer on the cadmium telluride surface and accomplish passivation. In addition to passivation, a heterojunction at the interface of the cadmium sulfide and the cadmium telluride can be formed when the layer of cadmium sulfide formed on the cadmium telluride is of sufficient thickness.

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Indian Hills, CO, United States of America

Dean H Levi