California Institute of Technology

Seung P Li

Joseph Maserjian

Shy Shiun Chern

An induced junction solar cell is fabricated on a p-type silicon substrate by first diffusing a grid of criss-crossed current collecting n.sup.+ stripes and thermally growing a thin SiO.sub.2 film, and then, using silicon-rich chemical vapor deposition (CVD), producing a layer of SiO.sub.2 having inherent defects, such as silicon interstices, which function as deep traps for spontaneous positive charges. Ion implantation increases the stable positive charge distribution for a greater inversion layer in the p-type silicon near the surface. After etching through the oxide, to parallel collecting stripes, a pattern of metal is produced consisting of a set of contact stripes over the exposed collecting stripes and a diamond shaped pattern which functions as a current collection bus. Then the reverse side is metallized.

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San Dimas, CA, United States of America

Seung P Li