The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 22, 1983
Filed:
Mar. 29, 1982
Theodore G Stern, San Diego, CA (US);
General Dynamics, Convair Division, San Diego, CA (US);
Abstract
A method of making a thin gallium arsenide solar cell having a reflecting back surface and coplanar electrical contacts. A photovoltaic cell comprising gallium arsenide is produced in a self-supporting thickness by conventional methods. A pattern of contact lines and a bus contact are formed on the front surface of the cell and a transparent coverslide is bonded thereover. The back of the cell is chemically etched away until the minimum effective thickness is reached, then etching in the bus contact region is continued until the bus is exposed. Any stop-etch material used to prevent excessive etching of the cell material is removed and a reflective contact material is applied to the back of the cell. The resulting solar cell is light in weight and both front and back connections can be made from the back of the cell, making it particularly suitable for use in space-based arrays.