Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Takehito Yoshino

Shoji Nishida

Masaki Mizutani

Masahiro Kanai

Katsumi Nakagawa

Tatsuyuki Aoike

Masafumi Sano

Yasushi Fujioka

Masaaki Iwane

Toshimitsu Kariya

Tatsumi Shoji

Tetsuro Saito

Tsutomu Murakami

Koichi Shimizu

Yoshifumi Takeyama

Koji Tsuzuki

Noritaka Ukiyo

Tadashi Hori

Hiroaki Niino

Hiroshi Echizen

Hirokazu Otoshi

Kohei Yoshida

Akira Sakai

Shotaro Okabe

Hirokazu Ohtoshi

Koichiro Moriyama

Masatoshi Tanaka

Atsushi Yasuno

Makoto Iwakami

Koji Yamazaki

Kimitoshi Fukae

Ryuji Okamura

Toshiyuki Ehara

Shigenori Itoyama

Yuji Inoue

Takashi Ohtsuka

Yuzo Kohda

Takashi Kurokawa

Satoru Yamada

Hiroshi Sato

Shunichi Ishihara

Yukiko Iwasaki

Ichiro Kataoka

Hidenori Shiotsuka

Yasuyoshi Takai

Tetsuya Takei

Masahiro Mori

Akiharu Takabayashi

Masaaki Matsushita

Ayako Komori

Takeshi Takada

Yusuke Miyamoto

Shigeo Kiso

Hideaki Zenko

Hiroshi Amada

A liquid-phase growth apparatus for growing a crystal on a substrate includes a crucible containing a solution that contains a raw material for forming the crystal, and a substrate holder for vertically holding the substrate. The substrate holder includes connectors, a receiving component, and a push component. The receiving component and the push component are opposite to each other and are connected by the connectors. The push component holds an upper portion of the substrate while the receiving component holds a lower portion of the substrate. The substrate holder containing the vertically held substrate is dipped into the solution. The receiving component ascends with buoyancy in the solution contained in the crucible, so that the substrate is now held securely and prevented from cracking due to thermal expansion.

Liquid-phase growth apparatus and method

A liquid-phase growth apparatus for growing a crystal on a substrate includes a crucible containing a solution that contains a taw material for forming the crystal, and a substrate holder for vertically holding the substrate. The substrate holder includes connectors, a receiving component, and a push component. The receiving component and the push component are opposite to each other and are connected by the connectors. The push component holds an upper portion of the substrate while the receiving component holds a lower portion of the substrate. The substrate holder containing the vertically held substrate is dipped into the solution. The receiving component ascends with buoyancy in the solution contained in the crucible, so that the substrate is now held securely and prevented from cracking due to thermal expansion.

There is provided a process of producing a multicrystalline silicon substrate having excellent characteristics as a solar cell substrate. A multicrystalline silicon ingot made by directional solidificationis cut such that a normal line of a principal surfaceof a multicrystalline silicon substrateis substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of crystal grainsof the multicrystalline silicon ingot made by directional solidification

Process of producing multicrystalline silicon substrate and solar cell

With respect to a liquid phase growth method for a silicon crystal in which the silicon crystal is grown on a substrate by immersing the substrate in a solvent or allowing the substrate to contact the solvent, a gas containing a raw material and/or a dopant is supplied to the solvent after at least a part of the gas is decomposed by application of energy thereto. In this manner, a liquid phase growth method for a silicon crystal, the method capable of achieving continuous growth and suitable for mass production, a manufacturing method for a solar cell and a liquid phase growth apparatus for a silicon crystal are provided.

Liquid phase growth method for silicon crystal, manufacturing method for solar cell and liquid phase growth apparatus for silicon crystal

In a liquid phase growth process comprising immersing a substrate in a melt held in a crucible, a crystal material having been dissolved in the melt, and growing a crystal on the substrate, at least a group of substrates to be immersed in the melt held in the crucible are fitted to the supporting rack at a position set aside from the center of rotation of the crucible or supporting rack, and the crystal is grown on the surface of the substrate thus disposed. This can provide a liquid phase growth process which can attain a high growth rate, can enjoy uniform distribution of growth rate in each substrate and between the substrates even when substrates are set in a large number in one batch, and can readily keep the melt from reaction and contamination even when the system has a large size, and provide a liquid phase growth system suited for carrying out the process.

Liquid phase growth process, liquid phase growth system and substrate member production method

A wafer cassette comprises a holding member having a depression corresponding to the shape of the substrate, and a cover having an opening smaller than the surface size of the substrate. The substrate is to be held in the depression by means of the holding member and the cover, and the substrate is to be covered at its one-side surface, side and all peripheral region of the other-side surface, with the holding member at its depression and with the cover at the edge of its opening. Also disclosed are a liquid-phase growth system and a liquid-phase growth process which make use of the wafer cassette.

Wafer cassette, and liquid phase growth system and liquid-phase growth process which make use of the same

An apparatus for producing semiconductor thin films in which the semiconductor thin films are allowed to grow on a plurality of substrates by dipping the plurality of substrates into a solution filled in a crucible, the solution containing a semiconductor as a solute, while moving the same in the solution. An angle between a direction of a normal line on a central portion of a growing surface of each substrate and the direction of the movement of the substrates is set to be in 87 degrees or less and the movement of the substrates generates a flow of the solution.

Apparatus for producing semiconductor thin films on moving substrates

A liquid-phase growth process comprising immersing a base substrate in a solution containing reactant species to be grown dissolved therein which is accommodated in a crucible and growing a crystal film on said substrate, characterized in that a capping member is kept afloat on the surface of said solution before said substrate is immersed in said solution and said capping member is subsided in said solution upon immersing said substrate in said solution. A liquid-phase growth apparatus suitable for practicing said liquid-phase growth process.

Liquid-phase growth process and liquid-phase growth apparatus

A liquid phase growth method is provided which comprises dipping a seed substrate in a solution in a vessel having a crystal raw material melted therein and growing a crystal on the substrate, wherein a fin is provided on a bottom of the vessel, for regulating a flow of the solution from a central portion outside in a radial direction in the vessel; a flow-regulating plate is provided in the vicinity of an inner sidewall of the vessel, for regulating a flow of the solution from the bottom upwardly; and the vessel is rotated while regulating a flow of the solution by an action of the fin and the flow-regulating plate to bring the solution into contact with the seed substrate. Thus, there is provided a liquid phase growth method and apparatus capable of providing a high growth rate and showing little difference in the growth rate among the substrates or within the same substrate even when a number of substrates are charged in one batch.

Liquid phase growth method and liquid phase growth apparatus

Provided are a liquid phase growth method including a step of immersing a substrate in a crucible storing a solvent having a growth material dissolved therein; and a step of cooling the solvent from an interior thereof, and a liquid phase growth apparatus for use in the method, by which a temperature difference of a solution is decreased and by which a deposited film is formed in a uniform thickness.

Liquid phase growth methods and liquid phase growth apparatus

A predetermined area of a photo-sensing surface of a solar cell is illuminated, and a voltage vs. current characteristic is measured. Note, the rest of the photo-sensing surface which is not illuminated is called a dark area. Next, in a dark state in which the photo-sensing surface is not illuminated, a dark characteristic of the solar cell is measured. The obtained dark characteristic is multiplied by a ratio of the area of the dark area to the area of the photo-sensing surface, thereby a dark characteristic of the dark area is calculated. Then, a difference characteristic between the measured voltage vs. current characteristic and the dark characteristic of the dark area is calculated. The difference characteristic is multiplied by a ratio of the area of the photo-sensing surface to the area of the illuminated portion, thereby a voltage vs. current characteristic of the solar cell in a state corresponding to that the entire area of the photo-sensing surface is illuminated at once is obtained.

Measuring apparatus and method for measuring characteristic of solar cell

A method for producing semiconductor thin films in which the semiconductor thin films are allowed to grow on a plurality of substrates by dipping the plurality of substrates into a solution filled in a crucible, the solution containing a semiconductor as a solute, while moving the same in the solution. An angle between a direction of a normal line on a central portion of a growing surface of each substrate and the direction of the movement of the substrates is set to be in 87 degrees or less and the movement of the substrates generates a flow of the solution.

Method for producing semiconductor thin films on moving substrates

A photovoltaic element having a wire disposed on a surface of the photovoltaic element for outputting a power generated by the photovoltaic element, and an electrode electrically joined with the wire while forming a joining portion, wherein the joining portion of the wire and the electrode has at least a first joining portion and a second joining portion which is adjacent to the first joining portion, and the second joining portion has an elasticity which is greater than that of the first joining portion. A process for the production of the photovoltaic element. A method for forming an electrical continuity between a covered wire and a conductor, including a method of removing a cover portion of the covered wire and a method of joining the covered wire with the conductor.

Photovoltaic element, process for the production thereof, method for removing a cover portion of a covered wire, and method for joining a covered wire and a conductor

To provide a deposited-film forming process and a deposited-film forming apparatus that may cause no scratches on the film forming surface to improve yield and enable stable discharge to thereby continuously form deposited films having uniform quality and uniform thickness, deposited films are formed by lengthwise continuously transporting a belt-like substrate so as to form a part of a discharge space, wherein the substrate is transported while bringing the transverse sectional shape of the substrate which forms a part of the discharge space into a curved shape by a roller.

Deposited-film forming process and deposited-film forming apparatus

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Nara, Japan

Takehito Yoshino