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:
Feb. 05, 2002
Filed:
Jun. 28, 1999
Applicant:
Inventors:
Assignee:
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo, JP;
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
H01L 3/10216 ; H01L 3/10232 ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
H01L 3/10216 ; H01L 3/10232 ;
Abstract
A photovoltaic element comprising a p-type semiconductor layer and a transparent conductive layer comprised of indium tin oxide bonded to each other at a surface is provided. The sum of tin oxide content and tin content of the transparent conductive layer varies in the layer thickness direction and is lowest at the bonding surface of the p-type semiconductor layer and the transparent conductive layer. Thus provided is a photovoltaic element which has a high photoelectric conversion efficiency with decreased reduction even when exposed to an intense light for a long period.