Sumitomo Metal Mining Company, Ltd.

Riichiro Wake

Yoshiyuki Abe

Masakazu Kuwahara

Tokuyuki Nakayama

Go Ohara

Kentaro Sogabe

Azusa Oshiro

Hisaki Yada

Yasunori Yamanobe

Yasuyuki Maeno

Provided is a photoelectric conversion element comprising ITiO as a transparent electrode that is formed using an inline-type sputtering method, and utilizing the high transmittance up to the near-infrared ray region and excellent conductivity of ITiO. Using the inline-type sputtering method, a first transparent conductive oxide filmcomprising indium oxide or tin-containing indium oxide that includes indium oxide as a main component and tin at an atomic ratio Sn/(In+Sn) of 19 atomic % or less is formed on a photoelectric conversion layerside, and a second transparent conductive oxide filmcomprising a titanium-containing indium oxide that includes indium oxide as a main component, and titanium at an atomic ratio Ti/(In+Ti) of 0.5 atomic % to 3.5 atomic % is laminated on an opposite side of the first transparent conductive filmfrom the photoelectric conversion layer

Transparent conductive oxide film, photoelectric conversion element, and method for producing photoelectric conversion element

An oxide evaporation material according to the present invention includes a sintered body containing indium oxide as a main component thereof and cerium with a Ce/In atomic ratio of 0.001 to 0.110. The L* value in the CIE 1976 color space is 62 to 95. The oxide evaporation material with the L* value of 62 to 95 has an optimal oxygen amount. Accordingly, even when a small amount of an oxygen gas is introduced into a film-formation vacuum chamber, a transparent conducting film having a low resistance and a high transmittance in the visible to near-infrared region is formed by vacuum deposition methods. Since the amount of the oxygen gas introduced is small, the difference in composition between the film and the evaporation material is made small. This reduces the variations in composition and characteristics among films formed in large quantities.

Oxide evaporation material, transparent conducting film, and solar cell

Provided are an oxide tablet for vapor deposition (oxide evaporation material), and a vapor-deposited thin film and a solar cell formed using the same. The tablet comprises a sintered body which contains indium oxide as a main component and cerium and which is subjected to no surface grinding after sintering, in which Comp/Comp=0.9 to 1.1, where the content of cerium in a surface layer to a depth of 5 &#x3bc;m from a surface of the sintered body is represented by a Ce/In atomic ratio (Comp), and an average value of the content of cerium in the entire sintered body is represented by a Ce/In atomic ratio (Comp).

Oxide evaporation material, vapor-deposited thin film, and solar cell

An oxide sintered body substantially containing zinc, tin and oxygen; containing tin at an atomic number ratio, Sn/(Zn+Sn), of 0.23 to 0.50, and being composed mainly of a zinc oxide phase and at least one kind of zinc stannate compound phase, or being composed of at least one kind of zinc stannate compound phase; provided by a method for manufacturing the oxide sintered body by formulating an aqueous solvent to raw material powder containing powder of a zinc stannate compound, or mixed powder of tin oxide powder and zinc oxide powder, and after mixing the resulting slurry for equal to longer than 15 hours, by subjecting the slurry to solid-liquid separation, drying and granulation and subsequently compacting by charging the granule into a mold followed by sintering the resultant compact under sintering atmosphere at 1300 to 1500&#xb0; C. for equal to or longer than 15 hours.

Oxide sintered body, manufacturing method therefor, manufacturing method for transparent conductive film using the same, and resultant transparent conductive film

An oxide sintered body substantially containing zinc, tin and oxygen; containing tin at an atomic number ratio, Sn/(Zn+Sn), of 0.23 to 0.50, and being composed mainly of a zinc oxide phase and at least one kind of zinc stannate compound phase, or being composed of at least one kind of zinc stannate compound phase; provided by a method for manufacturing the oxide sintered body by formulating an aqueous solvent to raw material powder containing powder of a zinc stannate compound, or mixed powder of tin oxide powder and zinc oxide powder, and after mixing the resulting slurry for equal to longer than 15 hours, by subjecting the slurry to solid-liquid separation, drying and granulation, and subsequently compacting by charging the granule into a mold, followed by sintering the resultant compact under sintering atmosphere at 1300 to 1500&#xb0; C. for equal to or longer than 15 hours.

An oxide evaporation material in the present invention comprises a sintered body containing indium oxide as a main component thereof and cerium with the Ce/In atomic ratio of more than 0.110 and equal to or less than 0.538, and has an L* value of 62 to 95 in the CIE 1976 color space. The oxide evaporation material with the L* value of 62 to 95 has an optimal oxygen amount. Accordingly, even when a small amount of oxygen gas is introduced into a film-formation vacuum chamber, a high-refractive-index transparent film having a refractive index of 2.15 to 2.51 at a wavelength of 550 nm, a low resistance, and a high transmittance in the visible to near-infrared region is formed by vacuum deposition methods. Since the introduced oxygen gas amount is small, the difference in composition between the film and the evaporation material is made small.

Oxide evaporation material and high-refractive-index transparent film

An oxide sintered body substantially containing zinc, tin and oxygen; containing tin at an atomic number ratio, Sn/(Zn +Sn), of 0.23 to 0.50, and being composed mainly of a zinc oxide phase and at least one kind of zinc stannate compound phase, or being composed of at least one kind of zinc stannate compound phase; provided by a method for manufacturing the oxide sintered body by formulating an aqueous solvent to raw material powder containing powder of a zinc stannate compound, or mixed powder of tin oxide powder and zinc oxide powder, and after mixing the resulting slurry for equal to longer than 15 hours, by subjecting the slurry to solid-liquid separation, drying and granulation, and subsequently compacting by charging the granule into a mold, followed by sintering the resultant compact under sintering atmosphere at 1300 to 1500&#xb0; C. for equal to or longer than 15 hours.

Oxide sintered body comprising zinc oxide phase and zinc stannate compound phase

There is provided an amorphous transparent conductive thin film with a low resistivity, a low absolute value for the internal stress of the film, and a high transmittance in the visible light range, an oxide sintered body for manufacturing the amorphous transparent conductive thin film, and a sputtering target obtained therefrom. An oxide sintered body is obtained by: preparing InOpowder, WOpowder, and ZnO powder with an average grain size of less than 1 &#x3bc;m so that tungsten is at a W/In atomic number ratio of 0.004 to 0.023, and zinc is at a Zn/In atomic number ratio of 0.004 to 0.100; mixing the prepared powder for 10 to 30 hours; granulating the obtained mixed powder until the average grain size is 20 to 150 &#x3bc;m; molding the obtained granulated powder by a cold isostatic press with a pressure of 2 to 5 ton/cm, and sintering the obtained compact at 1200 to 1500 degree.C. for 10 to 40 hours in an atmosphere where oxygen is introduced into the atmosphere of the sinter furnace at a rate of 50 to 250 liters/min per 0.1 mfurnace volume.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Riichiro Wake