Kaneka Corporation

Kanegafuchi Kagaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Kanegafuchi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.

Hitoshi Nishio

Hideo Yamagishi

Yoshihisa Tawada

Keiko Miki

Kazunori Tsuge

Takayuki Suzuki

Akihiko Hiroe

Masataka Kondo

Minori Yamaguchi

Satoru Murakami

Seishiro Mizukami

William A Nevin

A method is provided for producing a thin-film photovoltaic device which has a rear electrode including a transparent conductive rear layer and a light-reflective metallic layer. In forming the light-reflective metallic layer, a first plasma region including fine particles of zinc oxide and a second plasma region including fine particles of silver are formed in a chamber at a sputtering gas pressure of about 0.1 to about 0.27 Pa. Then, the substrate is passed over the first and second plasma regions formed in the chamber to form a bonding layer comprising the zinc oxide and a light-reflective metallic layer comprising the silver, thereby providing the rear electrode having the transparent conductive rear layer, the bonding layer and the light-reflective metallic layer.

Method of producing a thin-film photovoltaic device

Disclosed is a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, in which a substrate is successively transferred through a first film-forming chamber for forming a semiconductor layer of a first conductivity type, a second film-forming chamber for forming an i-type semiconductor layer, and a third film-forming chamber for forming a semiconductor layer of a second conductivity type, thereby forming successively a semiconductor layer of a first conductivity type, an i-type semiconductor layer, and a semiconductor layer of a second conductivity type on the substrate. The method comprises the step of simultaneously transferring the substrates arranged within the first, second and third film-forming chambers and each having a semiconductor layer into adjacent chambers on the downstream side.

Method and apparatus for manufacturing semiconductor device

A method of depositing a thin film of metal oxide by a magnetron sputtering apparatus with a mobile magnet for creating a magnetic field reciprocating across a film deposition region, is characterized in that the magnet reciprocates no more than twice in depositing a single thin film of metal oxide.

Method of depositing thin film of metal oxide by magnetron sputtering apparatus

An amorphous silicon-based thin film photovoltaic device having a glass substrate and a laminate structure formed on the glass substrate and consisting of a transparent electrode, a semiconductor layer containing an amorphous silicon-based semiconductor and a back electrode, in which the glass substrate has a transmittance of 88 to 90% for light having a wavelength of 700 nm and 84 to 87% for light having a wavelength of 800 nm.

Amorphous silicon-based thin film photovoltaic device

Amorphous semiconductor thin film is exposed to an atmosphere of hydrogen radical during or after the formation of thin film, or is subject to light irradiation having a density of not less than 10 W/cm.sup.2 at a wavelength of 300 to 700 nm during the formation of the thin film. The obtained thin film has improved, i.e. small, photo deterioration. The semiconductor device using the above thin film is preferably applied to solar cells or thin film transistors.

Amorphous semiconductor, amorphous semiconductor device using hydrogen

Color sensor having laminated semiconductor layers

An amorphous semiconductor film is prepared by the usual procedure and, then, established by exposing it to sufficient light intermittently to age the same. The degradation of the electrical characteristics of the semiconductor film on prolonged exposure to light is minimized by the above technique. The preferred intermittent light is a pulsed light. The above light treatment may be applied to an individual semiconductor film, a laminated assembly including at least the pin layers, a finished semiconductor device such as a solar cell or a semiconductor device prior to attachment of an electrode.

Growing community of inventors

Shiga, Japan

Hitoshi Nishio