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:
Dec. 17, 2013
Filed:
Sep. 24, 2009
Lin Jay Simpson, Lakewood, CO (US);
Lin Jay Simpson, Lakewood, CO (US);
Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC, Golden, CO (US);
Abstract
A thin film stack () is provided for use in electronic devices such as photovoltaic devices. The stack () may be integrated with a substrate () such as a light transmitting/transmissive layer. An electrical conductor layer () is formed on a surface of the substrate () or device layer such as a transparent conducting (TC) material layer () with pin holes or defects () caused by manufacturing. The stack () includes a thin film () of metal that acts as a barrier for environmental contaminants (). The metal thin film () is deposited on the conductor layer () and formed from a self-healing metal such as a metal that forms self-terminating oxides. A permeation plug or block () is formed in or adjacent to the thin film () of metal at or proximate to the pin holes () to block further permeation of contaminants through the pin holes ().