Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC

Teresa M Barnes

Timothy A Gessert

Matthew O Reese

James Michael Burst

Joel Nathan Duenow

Robert Torres, Jr

Rommel Noufi

David Scott Albin

Carrie L Wyse

Colin A Wolden

Wyatt Keith Metzger

Michael D Kempe

Timothy J Coutts

Tim Gessert

Xiaonan Li

Ramesh G Dhere

Deborah Lee McGott

Craig L Perkins

Disclosed herein are CdTe-based solar cells that are successfully removed from their glass superstrate through a combination of lamination to a backsheet followed by thermal shock.

Controlled thermomechanical delamination of thin films

In one embodiment, a method for surface passivation for CdTe devices is provided. The method includes adjusting a stoichiometry of a surface of a CdTe material layer such that the surface becomes at least one of stoichiometric or Cd-rich; and reconstructing a crystalline lattice at the surface of the CdTe material layer by annealing the adjusted surface.

Surface passivation for CdTe devices

A thin film photovoltaic device () with a tunable, minimally conductive buffer () layer is provided. The photovoltaic device () may include a back contact (), a transparent front contact stack (), and an absorber () positioned between the front contact stack () and the back contact (). The front contact stack () may include a low resistivity transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layer () and a buffer layer () that is proximate to the absorber layer (). The photovoltaic device () may also include a window layer () between the buffer layer () and the absorber (). In some cases, the buffer layer () is minimally conductive, with its resistivity being tunable, and the buffer layer () may be formed as an alloy from a host oxide and a high-permittivity oxide. The high-permittivity oxide may further be chosen to have a bandgap greater than the host oxide.

Thin film photovoltaic devices with a minimally conductive buffer layer

A method of producing polycrystalline CdTe materials and devices that incorporate the polycrystalline CdTe materials are provided. In particular, a method of producing polycrystalline p-doped CdTe thin films for use in CdTe solar cells in which the CdTe thin films possess enhanced acceptor densities and minority carrier lifetimes, resulting in enhanced efficiency of the solar cells containing the CdTe material are provided.

CdTe devices and method of manufacturing same

Methods of forming a conductive fluorine-doped metal oxide layer on a substrate by chemical vapor deposition are described. The methods may include heating the substrate in a processing chamber, and introducing a metal-containing precursor and a fluorine-containing precursor to the processing chamber. The methods may also include adding an oxygen-containing precursor to the processing chamber. The precursors are reacted to deposit the fluorine-doped metal oxide layer on the substrate. Methods may also include forming the conductive fluorine-doped metal oxide layer by plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition. These methods may include providing the substrate in a processing chamber, and introducing a metal-containing precursor, and a fluorine-containing precursor to the processing chamber. A plasma may be formed that includes species from the metal-containing precursor and the fluorine-containing precursor. The species may react to deposit the fluorine-doped metal oxide layer on the substrate.

Fluorine compounds for doping conductive oxide thin films

A transparent conducting oxide (TCO) film comprising: a TCO layer, and dopants selected from the elements consisting of Vanadium, Molybdenum, Tantalum, Niobium, Antimony, Titanium, Zirconium, and Hafnium, wherein the elements are n-type dopants; and wherein the transparent conducting oxide is characterized by an improved electron mobility of about 42 cm/V-sec while simultaneously maintaining a high carrier density of &#x2dc;4.4e&#xd7;10cm.

High quality transparent conducting oxide thin films

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Evergreen, CO, United States of America

Teresa M Barnes