Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.

Kaneo Watanabe

Yukio Nakashima

Masayuki Iwamoto

Koji Minami

Hisao Haku

Tsugufumi Matsuoka

Shigeru Noguchi

Yukinori Kuwano

Shoichi Nakano

Hiroyuki Kuriyama

Keiichi Sano

Mitsugu Kobayashi

Hiroshi Iwata

Hisao Uehara

Hiroyuki Tsuda

Kouji Minami

Shoichiro Nakayama

Saburo Nakashima

Masayuki Ishibashi

Noriyuki Mori

A low-cost controller that operates in accordance with firmware stored in a memory. The controller includes a data processing circuit that performs predetermined processing on data and generates processed data. A write wire is connected to the memory, and a terminal is provided for use in the output of the data processed by the data processing circuit and/or the provision of the data to the data processing circuit. The controller includes a selector for connecting the write wire and the terminal to write the firmware to the memory.

Controller and data processing system

An image sensor includes a photodiode array having a number of photodiodes arranged in a linear line. Each of the photodiodes is connected to each of analog switches which are sequentially turned-on by a drive pulse. Each analog switch includes a parallel connection of a P-channel MOS-FET and an N-channel MOS-FET having the same gate capacitance. The drive pulse is applied to a gate of the P-channel MOS-FET through one inverter and to a gate of the N-channel MOS-FET through two inverters being connected in a cascade fashion. A delay time of the one inverter and a total delay time of the two inverters are set to be equal to each other, and therefore, the two MOS-FETs are simultaneously turned-on or -off in response to the same drive pulse. A dummy switch composed of a complementary MOS-FET circuit which acts in a completely reversed phase with respect to the analog switch is provided, and a switching noise occurring in the analog switch and a switching noise occurring in the dummy switch are canceled with each other at an output terminal.

Scanning type image sensor

A thin film transistor includes a glass substrate on a surface of which a hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) film is formed. On the a-Si:H film, a source electrode and a drain electrode are respectively formed with a suitable interval between them. A gate electrode is formed positioned between the source electrode and the drain electrode. Insulation film is interposed between the gate electrode and the a-Si:H film. In a direct photo-CVD method using a low pressure mercury lamp, bandtail characteristics energy of the a-Si:H film is made less than 40 meV by controlling a decomposition region of a reaction gas, that is, the distance between the glass substrate and a gas supply port, whereby a thin film transistor having a good response is obtainable.

Thin film transistor with 10-15% hydrogen content

A photovoltaic device capable of obtaining a high open circuit voltage, in which crystallization of a semiconductor is accelerated from the first stage of formation thereof such that a thin layer of the semiconductor is crystallized, by doping an electrode disposed between the semiconductor and a substrate with an element which reacts with an element in the semiconductor to accelerate crystallization of the semiconductor or by disposing a film made from a compound doped with said element between the semiconductor and the substrate.

Photovoltaic device

A card type image reader comprises a rectangular card base and a reinforcing member provided on one side of the card base. A photodetector array in a straight line is provided on one end portion of the reinforcing member and the card base holds control circuit means and memory means. The control circuit means reads information of an original through the photodetector array in synchronization with a clock signal and stores the read information into the memory means.

Card type image reader with means for relieving bending stress

A photovoltaic device comprises a photoactive layer for generating carriers when light is applied thereto, and a window layer containing at least silicon and hydrogen and provided on the light incidence side of the photoactive layer. Hydrogen concentration in the window layer is higher in the layer's light incidence side than in the side facing the photoactive layer. Thus, the light incidence side of the window layer has a rough surface.

The present invention relates to a photovoltaic device using hydrogenated amorphous silicon as a photoactive layer, wherein the ratio of the number of silicon atoms bonded to hydrogen atoms to the total number of silicon atoms (expressed as a percentage) is 1% or less and the density of dangling bonds is 1.times.10.sup.17 cm.sup.-3 or less. Accordingly, the device of the present invention has the following advantages: the cost can be reduced by forming a thinner layer, the area of the photo-active layer can be increased, the efficiency of photo-electric conversion is improved, and photo-deterioration is reduced.

A photovoltaic device has at least one set of amorphous semiconductor layers forming a p-i-n junction structure, wherein at least one of the semiconductor layers having a given thickness, is doped with nitrogen and oxygen to a depth forming at least part of said given thickness. Such a photovoltaic device is fabricated by depositing on a substrate at least one set of amorphous semiconductor layers which form a p-i-n junction structure, and by doping at least one of the layers with nitrogen and oxygen to a depth forming at least part of the thickness of the doped layer.

Photovoltaic device with O and N doping

A transparent photo detector device according to an aspect of the present invention comprises: a transparent insulator substrate; a plurality of light sensor elements dispersively disposed on a main surface of the substrate, said sensor element including a transparent front electrode, a semiconductor layer for photo electric function and an opaque back electrode formed in that order on the main surface of the substrate, said semiconductor layer being neither protracting from nor retracting into between said front and back electrodes; and a transparent wire pattern formed on the main surface of the substrate for electrically connecting the plurality of sensor elements.

Transparent photo detector device

A photovoltaic device comprises a semiconductor layer of hydrogenated amorphous silicon for photoelectric conversion, in which the proportion of silicon atoms bonded to two hydrogen atoms to all the silicon atoms is not more than 1%.

A photovoltaic device comprises a transparent front electrode, an amorphous semiconductor film containing at least one p-i-n junction and a metallic back electrode, wherein the n-layer neighboring on the back electrode includes at least one first type sub-layer of an alloyed amorphous silicon which contains not only hydrogen and a dopant for n-conductivity type but also at least one element selected from nitrogen, oxygen and carbon, and at least one second type sub-layer of an amorphous silicon which contains hydrogen and a dopant for n conductivity type.

A first photovoltaic device according to the present invention comprises a plurality of unit photovoltaic cells layered in optical series, each unit photovoltaic cell including an optically active layer made of amorphous silicon and two impurity doped layers of opposite conductivity types arranged at opposite sides of the optically active layer; wherein a first impurity doped layer of a first unit photovoltaic cell located at the contact interface with a second unit photovoltaic cell is made of a first amorphous silicon alloy of first conductivity type, having an optically forbidden band width wider than that of amorphous silicon, and a second impurity doped layer of said second photovoltaic cell located at said contact interface is made of a second amorphous silicon alloy, different from said first amorphous silicon alloy, of opposite conductivity type from said first conductivity type, having an optically forbidden band width wider than that of the amorphous silicon. A second photovoltaic device according to the present invention further comprises an additional impurity doper layer of either of the two conductivity types and made of non-monocrystalline ailicon, interposed between said first and second impurity layers.

A method for producing a semiconductor device uses trimethyl boron (B(CH.sub.3).sub.3) of triethyl boron (B(C.sub.2 H.sub.5).sub.3) or a mixture thereof as a p-type dopant and/or a band gap widening source material gas in a process for forming a p-type amorphous semiconductor film. Accordingly, the quantity and the number of different gases which are used can be reduced and also the photoconductivity and dark conductivity can be improved, whereby a semiconductor device suitable for photovoltaic cells, photo sensors and the like using a p-type amorphous semiconductor film having a wide optical band gap can be produced.

Method for producing semiconductor device with p-type amorphous silicon

A method for fabricating a periodically multilayered film having a plurality of amorphous thin layers of different kinds stacked periodically is performed by forming at least one kind of the layers in the stack by a photo CVD method, whereby a more definite periodicity in the composition of the lattice and fewer defects are achieved.

Method for fabricating periodically multilayered film

A photovoltaic device has a semiconductive multilayer of one conductivity type, which includes a plurality of amorphous thin constituent layers of different kinds stacked periodically to form at least one quantum well. A semiconductor layer of an i-type, which is contiguous to the multilayer so that light may be applied to the i-type layer through the multilayer.

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Kyoto, Japan

Kaneo Watanabe