First Solar, Inc.

Sachit Grover

Gang Xiong

Roger Malik

Xiaoping Li

Dingyuan Lu

Wei Zhang

Chungho Lee

Joseph John Shiang

William Hullinger Huber

Hongbo Cao

Hongying Peng

Qianqian Xin

Shahram Seyedmohammadi

Igor Sankin

Sergei Kniajanski

Feng Liao

Le Chen

Dmitry Krasikov

Jason Kephart

Stuart Irvine

Rajni Mallick

Wenming Wang

According to the embodiments provided herein, a photovoltaic device can include an absorber layer. The absorber layer can be doped p-type with a Group V dopant and can have a carrier concentration of the Group V dopant greater than 4×10cm. The absorber layer can include oxygen in a central region of the absorber layer. The absorber layer can include an alkali metal in the central region of the absorber layer. Methods for carrier activation can include exposing an absorber layer to an annealing compound in a reducing environment. The annealing compound can include cadmium chloride and an alkali metal chloride.

Photovoltaic devices and semiconductor layers with group v dopants and methods for forming the same

According to the embodiments provided herein, a method for forming a photovoltaic device can include depositing a plurality of semiconductor layers. The plurality of semiconductor layers can include a doped layer that is doped with a group V dopant. The doped layer can include cadmium selenide or cadmium telluride. The method can include annealing the plurality of semiconductor layers to form an absorber layer.

Thin film stacks for group V doping, photovoltaic devices including the same, and methods for forming photovoltaic devices with thin film stacks

According to the embodiments provided herein, a photovoltaic device can include a buffer layer adjacent to an absorber layer doped p-type with a group V dopant. The buffer layer can have a plurality of layers compatible with group V dopants.

Buffer layers for photovoltaic devices with group V doping

According to embodiments provided herein, the performance of photovoltaic device can be improved by rapidly heating an absorber layer of a device in open-circuit to a high temperature for a short period of time followed by rapid quenching. The rapid heating may be accomplished by one or more pulses of high intensity electromagnetic energy. The energy may be visible light. The energy may be absorbed primarily in the absorber layer, such that the absorber layer is preferentially heated, promoting chemical reactions of dopant complexes. The dopant chemical reactions disrupt compensating defect complexes that have formed in the device, and regenerate active carriers.

Methods and systems for use with photovoltaic devices

Provided are structures and methods for doping polycrystalline thin film semiconductor materials in photovoltaic devices. Embodiments include methods for forming and treating a photovoltaic semiconductor absorber layer.

Doped photovoltaic semiconductor layers and methods of making

A photovoltaic device () can include an absorber layer (). The absorber layer () can be doped p-type with a Group V dopant and can have a carrier concentration of the Group V dopant greater than 4&#xd7;10cm. The absorber layer () can include oxygen in a central region of the absorber layer (). The absorber layer () can include an alkali metal in the central region of the absorber layer (). Methods for carrier activation can include exposing an absorber layer () to an annealing compound in a reducing environment (). The annealing compound () can include cadmium chloride and an alkali metal chloride.

Photovoltaic devices and semiconductor layers with group V dopants and methods for forming the same

According to the embodiments provided herein, a method for doping an absorber layer can include contacting the absorber layer with an annealing compound. The annealing compound can include cadmium chloride and a group V salt comprising an anion and a cation. The anion, the cation, or both can include a group V element. The method can include annealing the absorber layer, whereby the absorber layer is doped with at least a portion of the group V element of the annealing compound.

Methods for group V doping of photovoltaic devices

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Perrysburg, OH, United States of America

Sachit Grover