Ecole Polytechnique

Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique

Dow Corning Corporation

Total Sa

Commissariat &#xc0; L'&#xc9;nergie Atomique Et Aux &#xc9;nergies Alternatives

Commissariat a L'energie Atomique

Saft

Dow Corning Europe Sa

Total Marketing Services

Pere Roca I Cabarrocas

Patrick Leempoel

Pierre Descamps

Pavel Bulkin

Dmitri Daineka

Thibault Kervyn De Meerendre

Mario Moreno

Bernard Drevillon

Linwei Yu

Jerome Damon-Lacoste

Jean-Marie Tarascon

Serge Palacin

Mathieu Morcrette

Claude Jaussaud

Erik Johnson

Pierre Jean Ribeyron

Muriel Firon

Nada Habka

Jean-Paul Peres

Dominique Larcher

Gilles Poulain

Stephane Gillot

Bastien Bruneau

Wanghua Chen

Dimitri Daineka

Martin Foldyna

Thien Hai Dao

Juliette Saint

Régis Vanderhaghen

Anna Fontcuberta I Morral

Martin Labrune

Jean-Paul Péres

Stéphane Gillot

Erik V Johnson

Thibault Kervyn De Meerendré

Disclosed is an opto-electronic device including a semiconducting substrate, a layered interface including at least one layer, the layered interface having a first surface in contact with a surface of the semiconducting substrate and the layered interface being adapted for passivating the surface of the semiconducting substrate, the layered interface having a second surface and the layered interface being adapted for electrically insulating the first surface from the second surface, and a textured surface structure including a plurality of nanowires and a transparent dielectric coating, the textured surface structure being in contact with the second surface of the layered interface, the plurality of nanowires protruding from the second surface and the plurality of nanowires being embedded between the second surface and the transparent dielectric coating.

Opto-electronic device with textured surface and method of manufacturing thereof

A photovoltaic module includes at least two photovoltaic cells in series, each rectangular cell including, respectively, a first rear thin film electrode, a photovoltaic stack having at least two active materials included between the rear electrode and a transparent conductive electrode made of a thin film, the electrode TC being capable of collecting and transmitting an electric current generated by the photovoltaic stack, the two photovoltaic cells being electrically connected in series by an electrical contact strip that is included between the electrode TC of the first cell and the rear electrode of the second cell. The local thickness of the electrode TC of the cell varies as a function of the distance to the electrical contact strip. Also described are methods for depositing and etching the transparent conductive film so as to simultaneously manufacture a plurality of cells for a single module.

Photovoltaic module including a transparent conductive electrode having a variable thickness, and methods for manufacturing same

A method for the low-temperature production of radial electronic junction semiconductor nanostructures on a substrate, includes: a) forming on the substrate, metal aggregates capable of electronically doping a first semiconductor material; b) growing, in the vapor phase, doped semiconductor nanowires in the presence of one or more non-dopant precursor gases of the first semiconductor material, the substrate being heated to a temperature at which the metal aggregates are in the liquid phase, the growth of the doped semiconductor nanowires in the vapor phase being catalyzed by the metal aggregates; c) rendering the residual metal aggregates inactive; and d) the chemical vapor deposition, in the presence of one or more precursor gases and a dopant gas, of at least one thin film of a second semiconductor material so as to form at least one radial electronic junction nanostructure between the nanowire and the at least one doped thin film.

Method for the low-temperature production of radial-junction semiconductor nanostructures, radial junction device, and solar cell including radial-junction nanostructures

An apparatus is described for depositing a film on a substrate from a plasma. The apparatus comprises an enclosure, a plurality of plasma generator elements disposed within the enclosure, and means, also within the enclosure, for supporting the substrate. Each plasma generator element comprises a microwave antenna having an end from which microwaves are emitted, a magnet disposed in the region of the said antenna end and defining therewith an electron cyclotron resonance region in which a plasma can be generated, and a gas entry element having an outlet for a film precursor gas or a plasma gas. The outlet is arranged to direct gas towards a film deposition area situated beyond the magnet, as considered from the microwave antenna, the outlet being located in, or above, the hot electron confinement envelope.

Method and apparatus for forming a film by deposition from a plasma

Fabricating semiconductor nanowires () on a substrate () having a metallic oxide layer (), includes: a) exposing the metallic oxide layer to a hydrogen plasma () of power P for a duration t suitable for reducing the layer and for forming metallic nanodrops () of radius (R) on the surface of the metallic oxide layer; b) low temperature plasma-assisted deposition of a thin layer () of a semiconductor material on the metallic oxide layer including the metallic nanodrops, the thin layer having a thickness (H) suitable for covering the metallic nanodrops; and c) thermal annealing at a temperature T sufficient to activate lateral growth of nanowires by catalysis of the material deposited as a thin layer from the metallic nanodrops. Nanowires are obtained by this method and nanometric transistors including a semiconductor nanowire.

Method for making side growth semiconductor nanowires and transistors obtained by said method

A plasma excitation device is described for use in depositing a film on a substrate from a plasma formed by distributed electron cyclotron resonance. The device comprises a microwave antenna having an end from which microwaves are emitted, a magnet disposed in the region of the said antenna end and defining therewith an electron cyclotron resonance region in which a plasma can be generated, and a gas entry element having an outlet for a film precursor gas or a plasma gas. The outlet is arranged to direct gas towards a film deposition area situated beyond the magnet, as considered from the microwave antenna.

Device for forming a film by deposition from a plasma

The invention relates to a method for texturing the surface of a gaseous phase silicon substrate, and to a textured silicon substrate for a solar cell. The method includes at least a step a) of exposing the surface to an SF/Oradiofrequency plasma for a duration of 2 to 30 minutes in order to produce a silicon substrate having a textured surface having pyramidal structures, the SF/Oratio being 2 to 10. During step a) the power density generated using the radiofrequency plasma is greater than or equal to 2500 mW/cm, and the SF/Opressure in the reaction chamber is lower than or equal to 100 mTorrs, so as to produce a silicon substrate having a textured surface having inverted pyramidal structures.

Method of texturing the surface of a silicon substrate, and textured silicon substrate for a solar cell

Method of fabricating a multilayer film having at least one ultrathin layer of crystalline silicon, the film being fabricated from a substrate having a crystalline structure and including a previously-cleaned surface. The method includes the steps of: a) exposing the cleaned surface to a radiofrequency plasma generated in a gaseous mixture of SiF4, hydrogen, and argon, so as to form an ultrathin layer of crystalline silicon having an interface sublayer in contact with the substrate and containing microcavities; b) depositing at least one layer of material on the ultrathin layer of crystalline silicon so as form a multilayer film, the multilayer film including at least one mechanically strong layer; and c) annealing the substrate covered in the multilayer film at a temperature higher than 400&#xb0; C., thereby enabling the multilayer film to be separated from the substrate.

Method for producing a multilayer film including at least one ultrathin layer of crystalline silicon, and devices obtained by means of said method

A Semiconductor device including, on at least one surface of a layer made of a crystalline semiconductor material of a certain type of conductivity, a layer made of an amorphous semiconductor material, doped with a type of conductivity opposite to the type of conductivity of the crystalline semiconductor material layer, characterized in that the concentration of the doping elements in the amorphous semiconductor layer varies gradually.

Semiconductor device with heterojunctions and an interdigitated structure

A method for cleaning the surface of a silicon substrate, covered by a layer of silicon oxide includes: a) exposing the surface for 60 to 900 seconds to a radiofrequency plasma, generated from a fluorinated gas, to strip the silicon oxide layer and induce the adsorption of fluorinated elements on the substrate surface, the power density generated using the plasma being 10 mW/cmto 350 mW/cm, the fluorinated gas pressure being 10 mTorrs to 200 mTorrs, and the substrate temperature being lower than or equal to 300&#xb0; C.; and b) exposing the surface including the fluorinated elements for 5 to 120 seconds to a hydrogen radiofrequency plasma, to remove the fluorinated elements from the substrate surface, the power density generated using the plasma being 10 mW/cmto 350 mW/cm, the hydrogen pressure being 10 mTorrs to 1 Torr, and the substrate temperature being lower than or equal to 300&#xb0; C.

Method for cleaning the surface of a silicon substrate

A method is described of depositing film of an amorphous or microcrystalline material, for example silicon, from a plasma on to a substrate. Microwave energy is introduced into a chamber as a sequence of discrete microwave pulses, a film precursors gas is introduced into the chamber as a sequence of discrete gas pulses, and gas for generating atomic hydrogen is supplied to the chamber at least during each microwave pulse. Each microwave pulse is followed in non-overlapping fashion with a precursor gas pulse, and each precursor gas pulse is followed by a period during which there is neither a microwave pulse nor a precursor gas pulse.

Method of forming a film by deposition from a plasma

A method is described for forming a film of amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) on a substrate by deposition from a plasma. The substrate is placed in an enclosure, a film precursor gas is introduced into the enclosure, and unreacted and dissociated gas is extracted from the enclosure so as to provide a low pressure in the enclosure. Microwave energy is introduced into the gas within the enclosure to produce a plasma therein by distributed electron cyclotron resonance (DECR) and cause material to be deposited from the plasma on the substrate. The substrate is held during deposition at a temperature in the range 200-600&#xb0; C., preferably 225-350&#xb0; C. and a bias voltage is applied to the substrate at a level to give rise to a sheath potential in the range &#x2212;30 to &#x2212;105V, preferably using a source of RF power in the range of 50-250 mW/cm2 of the area of the substrate holder.

Deposition of amorphous silicon films by electron cyclotron resonance

The subject of the invention is an anode material of the silicon-carbon composite type, for a lithium cell, having a high mass capacity and good cycling stability. This material is obtained by a preparation method comprising the steps consisting of: The invention also proposes a lithium cell containing at least one anode the material of which contains the nanocomposite material produced by this method.

Nanocomposite material for the anode of a lithium cell

A method is described of forming a film of an amorphous material on a substrate () by deposition from a plasma. The substrate () is placed in an enclosure, a film precursor gas is introduced into the enclosure through pipes (), and unreacted and dissociated gas is extracted from the enclosure through pipes () so as to provide a low pressure therein. Microwave energy&#x2014;is introduced into the gas within the enclosure as a sequence of pulses at a given frequency and power level to produce a plasma therein by distributed electron cyclotron resonance (DECR) and cause material to be deposited from the plasma on the substrate. The frequency and/or power level of the pulses is altered during the course of deposition of material, so as to cause the bandgap to vary over the thickness of the deposited material.

Film deposition of amorphous films with a graded bandgap by electron cyclotron resonance

A method is described of forming a film of an amorphous material on a substrate by deposition from a plasma. The substrate is placed in an enclosure, a film precursor gas is introduced into the enclosure, and unreacted and dissociated gas is extracted from the enclosure so as to provide a low pressure therein. Microwave energy is introduced into the gas within the enclosure to produce a plasma therein by distributed electron cyclotron resonance (DECR) and cause material to be deposited from the plasma on the substrate. The said flow rate of the film precursor gas is altered during the course of deposition of material, so as to cause the bandgap to vary over the thickness of the deposited material.

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Villebon sur Yvette, France

Pere Roca I Cabarrocas