First Solar, Inc.

Frist Solar, Inc.

Markus Gloeckler

Rick C Powell

Zhibo Zhao

Benyamin Buller

Jigish Trivedi

Rui Shao

Akhlesh Gupta

Andrei Los

Feng Liao

Benjamin Milliron

Anke Abken

Kenneth Ring

Roger T Green

Upali Jayamaha

Peter Meyers

Gopal Mor

Imran Khan

Dan Damjanovic

Aaron Roggelin

Dan Mao

David K Hwang

Thomas Truman

Yu Yang

Gang Xiong

Wei Zhang

William Hullinger Huber

Ricky Charles Powell

Igor Sankin

Arnold Allenic

Zhigang Ban

Ming Lun Yu

Pratima V Addepalli

Xilin Peng

Stephen P Murphy

James Ernest Hinkle

Hongying Peng

Weixin Li

Chungho Lee

San Yu

Scott Jacoby

Jianjun Wang

Oomman K Varghese

Fang Mei

Kieran Tracy

Richard Malik

Michael Sweet

Christopher Dirubio

A photovoltaic device includes a substrate, a semiconductor stack and a transparent tunnel junction. The semiconductor stack includes an n-type layer selected from a first transparent conductive oxide layer, or a window layer, or both; and a p-type absorber layer disposed on the n-type layer, wherein the absorber layer consists essentially of CdSexTe(1-x), wherein x is from 1 to about 40 at. %. The transparent tunnel junction comprises a transparent interface layer of CdZnTe doped to be p+type, and a transparent contact layer doped to be n+type, and the interface layer is disposed between the p-type absorber layer and the transparent contact layer. In bifacial embodiments, the tunnel junction forms a transparent back contact and electrode; and in multi-junction embodiments, the tunnel junction forms a diode-like connector between top and bottom cells. The transparent contact layer may comprise tin oxide or zinc oxide doped with aluminum, fluorine or indium. The photovoltaic device may also include an electron reflector layer and/or an optical reflector layer.

Photovoltaic device with transparent tunnel junction

A photovoltaic cell can include a dopant in contact with a semiconductor layer.

Photovoltaic devices including doped semiconductor films

A photovoltaic device includes a substrate structure and at least one Se-containing layer, such as a CdSeTe layer. A process for manufacturing the photovoltaic device includes forming the CdSeTe layer over a substrate by at least one of sputtering, evaporation deposition, CVD, chemical bath deposition process, and vapor transport deposition process. The process can also include controlling a thickness range of the Se-containing layer.

Photovoltaic devices and method of manufacturing

A doped photovoltaic device is presented. The photovoltaic device includes a semiconductor absorber layer or stack disposed between a front contact and a back contact. The absorber layer comprises cadmium, selenium, and tellurium doped with Ag, and optionally with Cu. The Ag dopant may be added to the absorber in amounts ranging from 5&#xd7;10/cmto 2.5&#xd7;10/cmvia any of several methods of application before, during, or after deposition of the absorber layer. The photovoltaic device has improved Fill Factor and Pat higher P(=I*Vproduct) values, e.g. about 160 W, which results in improved conversion efficiency compared to a device not doped with Ag. Improved PT may result from increased I, increased V, or both.

Ag-doped photovoltaic devices and method of making

Methods and devices are described for a photovoltaic device and substrate structure. In one embodiment, a photovoltaic device includes a substrate structure and a CdTe absorber layer, the substrate structure including a ZnMgO window layer and a low conductivity buffer layer. Another embodiment is directed to a process for manufacturing a photovoltaic device including forming a ZnMgO window layer over a substrate by at least one of sputtering, evaporation deposition, CVD, chemical bath deposition process and vapor transport deposition process. The process including forming a CdTe absorber layer above the ZnMgO window layer.

Photovoltaic device with a zinc magnesium oxide window layer

An improved photovoltaic device and methods of manufacturing the same that includes an interface layer adjacent to a semiconductor absorber layer, where the interface layer includes a material in the semiconductor layer which decreases in concentration from the side of the interface layer contacting the absorber layer to an opposite side of the interface layer.

Photovoltaic device and method of formation

A photovoltaic device is disclosed including at least one Cadmium Sulfide Telluride (CdSTe) layer as are methods of forming such a photovoltaic device.

High efficiency photovoltaic device employing cadmium sulfide telluride and method of manufacture

A method of manufacturing a photovoltaic device may include concurrently transforming a transparent conductive oxide layer from a substantially amorphous state to a substantially crystalline state and forming one or more semiconductor layers.

Photovoltaic device with oxide layer

Described herein is a method of using the buffer layer of a transparent conductive substrate as a dopant source for the n-type window layer of a photovoltaic device. The dopant source of the buffer layer distributes to the window layer of the photovoltaic device during semiconductor processing. Described herein are also methods of manufacturing embodiments of the substrate structure and photovoltaic device. Disclosed embodiments also describe a photovoltaic module and a photovoltaic structure with a plurality of photovoltaic devices having an embodiment of the substrate structure.

Photovoltaic device containing an N-type dopant source

An apparatus and a method for testing and/or conditioning photovoltaic modules. The apparatus includes a set of contacts for contacting electrical conductors of the module and a testing and/or conditioning system for testing and/or conditioning of the module and measuring parameters associated therewith.

Method and apparatus for electrically accessing photovoltaic modules

A method to improve operation of a CdTe-based photovoltaic device is disclosed, the method comprising the steps of depositing a semiconductor absorber layer adjacent to a substrate, depositing a semiconductor buffer layer adjacent to the semiconductor layer, and annealing at least one of the semiconductor absorber layer and the semiconductor buffer layer with one of a laser and a flash lamp.

Method of manufacturing a photovoltaic device

Growing community of inventors

Perrysburg, OH, United States of America

Markus Gloeckler