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:
Aug. 16, 2016
Filed:
Dec. 18, 2015
Scott Harrington, Oakland, CA (US);
Venkatasubramani Balu, Santa Clara, CA (US);
Westerberg Staffan, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Peter John Cousins, Los Altos, CA (US);
Scott Harrington, Oakland, CA (US);
Venkatasubramani Balu, Santa Clara, CA (US);
Westerberg Staffan, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Peter John Cousins, Los Altos, CA (US);
SunPower Corporation, San Jose, CA (US);
Abstract
A method of fabricating a solar cell can include forming a first dopant region over a silicon substrate and an oxide region over the first dopant region. In an embodiment, the oxide region can protect the first dopant region from a first etching process. In an embodiment, a second dopant region can be formed over the silicon substrate, where a mask can be formed to protect a first portion of the second dopant region from the first etching process. In an embodiment, the first etching process can be performed to expose portions of the silicon substrate and/or a silicon region. A second etching process can be performed to form a trench region to separate a first and second doped region of the solar cell. A third etching process can be performed to remove contaminants from the solar cell and remove any remaining portions of the oxide region.