Kaneka Corporation

Takayuki Suzuki

Masataka Kondo

Hideo Yamagishi

Hitoshi Nishio

Kenji Yamamoto

Masashi Yoshimi

Akihiko Nakajima

A method is provided for producing a thin-film photovoltaic device which has a rear electrode including a transparent conductive rear layer and a light-reflective metallic layer. In forming the light-reflective metallic layer, a first plasma region including fine particles of zinc oxide and a second plasma region including fine particles of silver are formed in a chamber at a sputtering gas pressure of about 0.1 to about 0.27 Pa. Then, the substrate is passed over the first and second plasma regions formed in the chamber to form a bonding layer comprising the zinc oxide and a light-reflective metallic layer comprising the silver, thereby providing the rear electrode having the transparent conductive rear layer, the bonding layer and the light-reflective metallic layer.

Method of producing a thin-film photovoltaic device

In the present invention, a diaphragm for pressurizing and heating an encapsulating material is pre-heated to a predetermined temperature before laminating a lamination unit comprising a photovoltaic module and the encapsulating material. As a result, one surface of the lamination unit is heated by a heater provided on a table and the other surface is heated by the diaphragm, so it is possible to prevent appearance of a temperature difference between the surfaces.

Method of encapsulating a photovoltaic module by an encapsulating material and the photovoltaic module

Method and apparatus for processing a workpiece having a thin film layer using laser pulses generated by a plurality of lasers. The lasers are equipped with Q-switches and triggered by a Q-switch trigger device at controlled pulse frequencies and delays with respect to one another. The laser pulses from the plurality of lasers are directed to the same processing spot on the workpiece to generate a combined laser beam, and the workpiece is moved relative to the laser beam to process the thin film with the laser pulses. The method and apparatus increase the processing speed and accomplish multiple-step processing in a single pass. Application of the invention in the fabrication of thin film solar cells is described.

Laser processing of a thin film

A method of depositing a thin film of metal oxide by a magnetron sputtering apparatus with a mobile magnet for creating a magnetic field reciprocating across a film deposition region, is characterized in that the magnet reciprocates no more than twice in depositing a single thin film of metal oxide.

Method of depositing thin film of metal oxide by magnetron sputtering apparatus

A thin film photoelectric converter includes a polycrystalline photoelectric conversion layer (,) and a metal thin film (,) covering one main surface of the polycrystalline photoelectric layer. Polycrystalline photoelectric conversion layer (,) has an average thickness in the range from 0.5 to 20 &mgr;m and at least one of main surfaces of polycrystalline photoelectric conversion layer (,) has a textured surface structure. The textured structure has fine unevenness with level differences smaller than half of the thickness of polycrystalline photoelectric conversion layer (,) and substantially in the range from 0.05 to 3 &mgr;m.

Thin film photoelectric transducer

A sputtering-deposition method usable in forming on an insulator substrate a film including a conductive layer includes the steps of: preparing a conductive substrate holder in the form of a frame having an opening at its central area and electrically grounded; positioning the insulator substrate to cover the opening of the holder; arranging a flexible spacer on a peripheral edge of the substrate and also superposing a back plate on the spacer to press the substrate against the holder via the spacer; pressing and fixing the back plate to the holder; and then sputtering a separately provided target to deposit a new layer on a region of the substrate exposed in the holder's opening.

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Shiga, Japan

Takayuki Suzuki