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:
Oct. 29, 2013
Filed:
Aug. 02, 2012
Zhenhua Zhang, Newark, CA (US);
Virendra V. S. Rana, Los Gatos, CA (US);
Vinay K. Shah, San Mateo, CA (US);
Chris Eberspacher, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Zhenhua Zhang, Newark, CA (US);
Virendra V. S. Rana, Los Gatos, CA (US);
Vinay K. Shah, San Mateo, CA (US);
Chris Eberspacher, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Applied Materials, Inc., Santa Clara, CA (US);
Abstract
Embodiments of the present invention generally provide methods and apparatus for material removal using lasers in the fabrication of solar cells. In one embodiment, an apparatus is provided that removes portions of a dielectric layer deposited on a solar cell substrate according to a desired pattern. In certain embodiments, methods for removing a portion of a material via a laser without damaging the underlying substrate are provided. In one embodiment, the intensity profile of the beam is adjusted so that the difference between the maximum and minimum intensity within a spot formed on a substrate surface is reduced to an optimum range. In one example, the substrate is positioned such that the peak intensity at the center versus the periphery of the substrate is lowered. In one embodiment, the pulse energy is improved to provide thermal stress and physical lift-off of a desired portion of a dielectric layer.