National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology

Screen Holdings Co., Ltd.

Agency of Industrial Science and Technology

Ministry of International Trade & Industry

Agency of Industrial Science & Technology, Ministry of International Trade & Industry

Hidetaka Takato

Ryuichi Shimokawa

Yutaka Hayashi

Akira Ito

Hidetoshi Nakanishi

Katsuhiko Shirasawa

Toshimitsu Mochizuki

The inspection apparatus includes: a stage that retains the inspection sample; a light irradiator that irradiates the inspection sample with light having a predetermined wavelength to cause the inspection sample to emit a terahertz wave; a detector that detects electric field intensity of the terahertz wave emitted from the inspection sample; and a comparator that compares the electric field intensity of the terahertz wave emitted from the inspection sample to an evaluation reference value. The evaluation reference value is a value (for example, 90% of a saturation value) smaller than an absolute value of the saturation value of the electric field intensity of the terahertz wave, the terahertz wave being generated by irradiating a reference sample, which is a reference of the inspection sample, with the light while different voltages are applied to the reference sample.

Inspection apparatus and inspection method

A method of manufacturing a solar cell comprises interposing an intermediate layer containing p-type or n-type impurity between a silicon thin film and a support substrate, and heating all or part of the structure thus formed to a temperature at which the impurity contained in the intermediate layer diffuses into the silicon thin film, forming a high-concentration impurity layer in the silicon thin film.

Method of manufacturing a solar cell

A photovoltaic device includes a semiconductor substrate, an n-type diffusion layer region and a p-type diffusion layer region formed adjacent to each other on the light-receiving surface of the semiconductor substrate, a first electrode electrically connected to the n-type diffusion layer region, a second electrode electrically connected to the p-type diffusion layer region, an adhesive layer formed on the opposite surface of the semiconductor substrate and containing an inorganic binder and a filler, and a supporting substrate adhered to the adhesive layer.

Photovoltaic device

A photoelectric element includes a first region having a light-receiving surface. A second region having a short side length not greater than twice the minority carrier diffusion length of the first region is provided on at least one portion of the first region to form a photovoltaic mechanism in conjunction with the first region. A barrier layer is provided to cover at least those portions of the light-receiving surface of the first region not covered by the second region, and a transparent conductive film is provided on the barrier layer and electrically connected to at least one second region. The voltage of the second region generated by incident light is applied through the transparent conductive film to the light-receiving surface of the first region to produce an electric field in the direction inducing majority carriers.

Photoelectric element

Growing community of inventors

Tsukuba, Japan

Hidetaka Takato