专利汇可以提供Humidity control and method for thin film photovoltaic materials专利检索,专利查询,专利分析的服务。并且A method for processing a thin film photovoltaic module. The method includes providing a plurality of substrates, each of the substrates having a first electrode layer and an overlying absorber layer composed of copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) or copper indium selenide (CIS) material. The absorber material comprises a plurality of sodium bearing species. The method maintains the plurality of substrates in a controlled environment after formation of at least the absorber layer through one or more processes up to a lamination process. The controlled environment has a relative humidity of less than 10% and a temperature ranging from about 10 Degrees Celsius to about 40 Degrees Celsius. The method subjects the plurality of substrates to a liquid comprising water at a temperature from about 10 Degrees Celsius to about 80 Degrees Celsius to process the plurality of substrates after formation of the absorber layer. The plurality of substrates having the absorber layer is subjected to an environment having a relative humidity of greater than about 10% to a time period of less then four hours.,下面是Humidity control and method for thin film photovoltaic materials专利的具体信息内容。
What is claimed is:
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/101,640 filed Sep. 30, 2008, commonly assigned, and incorporated by reference in its entirety herein for all purposes.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The present invention relates generally to photovoltaic materials and manufacturing method. More particularly, the present invention provides a method and structure for fabricating a thin film solar cells. Merely by way of example, the present method and structure include a thin film window layer for manufacture of copper indium gallium diselenide based thin film photovoltaic devices, but it would be recognized that the invention may have other configurations.
From the beginning of time, mankind has been challenged to find way of harnessing energy. Energy comes in the forms such as petrochemical, hydroelectric, nuclear, wind, biomass, solar, and more primitive forms such as wood and coal. Over the past century, modern civilization has relied upon petrochemical energy as an important energy source. Petrochemical energy includes gas and oil. Gas includes lighter forms such as butane and propane, commonly used to heat homes and serve as fuel for cooking Gas also includes gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, commonly used for transportation purposes. Heavier forms of petrochemicals can also be used to heat homes in some places. Unfortunately, the supply of petrochemical fuel is limited and essentially fixed based upon the amount available on the planet Earth. Additionally, as more people use petroleum products in growing amounts, it is rapidly becoming a scarce resource, which will eventually become depleted over time.
More recently, environmentally clean and renewable sources of energy have been desired. An example of a clean source of energy is hydroelectric power. Hydroelectric power is derived from electric generators driven by the flow of water produced by dams such as the Hoover Dam in Nevada. The electric power generated is used to power a large portion of the city of Los Angeles in California. Clean and renewable sources of energy also include wind, waves, biomass, and the like. That is, windmills convert wind energy into more useful forms of energy such as electricity. Still other types of clean energy include solar energy. Specific details of solar energy can be found throughout the present background and more particularly below.
Solar energy technology generally converts electromagnetic radiation from the sun to other useful forms of energy. These other forms of energy include thermal energy and electrical power. For electrical power applications, solar cells are often used. Although solar energy is environmentally clean and has been successful to a point, many limitations remain to be resolved before it becomes widely used throughout the world. As an example, one type of solar cell uses crystalline materials, which are derived from semiconductor material ingots. These crystalline materials can be used to fabricate optoelectronic devices that include photovoltaic and photodiode devices that convert electromagnetic radiation into electrical power. However, crystalline materials are often costly and difficult to make on a large scale. Additionally, devices made from such crystalline materials often have low energy conversion efficiencies. Other types of solar cells use “thin film” technology to form a thin film of photosensitive material to be used to convert electromagnetic radiation into electrical power. Similar limitations exist with the use of thin film technology in making solar cells. That is, efficiencies are often poor. Additionally, film reliability is often poor and cannot be used for extensive periods of time in conventional environmental applications. Often, thin films are difficult to mechanically integrate with each other. Furthermore, thin films often degrade over time or have limitations in efficiency. These and other limitations of these conventional technologies can be found throughout the present specification and more particularly below.
Embodiments according to the present invention relate to photovoltaic materials and manufacturing method. More particularly, the present invention provides a method and structure for fabricating a thin film solar cells. Merely by way of example, the present method and structure include a thin film window layer for manufacture of copper indium gallium diselenide based thin film photovoltaic devices, but it would be recognized that the invention may have other configurations.
In a specific embodiment, a method for processing a thin film photovoltaic module is provided. The method includes providing a plurality of substrates, each of the substrates has a first electrode layer and an overlying absorber layer composed of CIGS or CIS material. In a specific embodiment, the absorber material comprises a plurality of sodium bearing species having a concentration of 5×1019 per cm3 and greater in a specific embodiment. In a specific embodiment, the method maintains the plurality of substrates in a controlled environment through one or more processes up to a lamination process or other packaging process. The controlled environment has a relative humidity of less than 10% and a temperature ranging from about 10 Degree Celsius to about 40 Degree Celsius in a specific embodiment. The method includes subjecting the plurality of substrates to a liquid comprising water at a temperature ranging from about 10 Degree Celsius to about 80 Degree Celsius to process the substrate after formation of the absorber layer. The plurality of substrates having the absorber layer are subjected to an environment having a relative humidity greater than 10 percent for a time period of less than four hours, but can be others. Of course there can be other variations, modifications, and alternatives.
In an alternative embodiment, a method for processing a thin film photovoltaic module is provided. The method includes providing a substrate having a first electrode layer and an overlying absorber layer composed of copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) or copper indium selenide (CIS) material. In a specific embodiment, the absorber material includes a plurality of sodium bearing species, the sodium bearing species has a concentration of about 5×1018 atoms per cm3 and greater. The method maintains the substrate in a controlled environment after formation of at least the absorber layer through one or more processes up to a lamination process. The controlled environment is characterized by a relative humidity of less than 10% and a temperature ranging from about 10 Degrees Celsius to about 40 Degrees Celsius in a specific embodiment. In a specific embodiment, the substrate is subjected to a liquid comprising water at a temperature from about 10 Degrees Celsius to about 80 Degrees Celsius to process the plurality of substrates after formation of the absorber layer. The method subjects the substrate having the absorber layer to an environment having a relative humidity of greater than about 10% to a time period of less then four hours. The method further performs a lamination process on at least the substrate to form a solar module. The solar module is characterized by an efficiency parameter at a first efficiency level before the lamination process and a second efficiency level after the lamination process. The first efficiency level is within a predetermined amount of the second efficiency level in a specific embodiment. Of course there can be other variations, modifications, and alternatives.
Many benefits can be achieved by ways of the present invention. For example, For example, embodiments according to the present provide an easy to implement method to improve an conversion efficiency or light extraction for a CIS or CIGS thin film photovoltaic cell. Additionally, the present method provides a cost effective way to fabricate photovoltaic cells. Depending on the embodiment, one or more of the benefits may be achieved. One skilled in the art would recognize other variations, modifications, and alternatives. These and other benefits are described throughout the present specification and more particularly below.
Embodiments according to the present invention direct to fabrication of photovoltaic material. More particularly, embodiments according to the present invention provide a method and structure for fabricating a thin film photovoltaic cell. Merely by way of example, the present invention provides a method of treating a window layer to improve a light socking characteristic and conversion efficiency of the photovoltaic cell. But it would be recognize that embodiments according to the present invention would have a broader range of applicability.
The above sequence of steps provides a method of fabricating a photovoltaic cell according to an embodiment of the present invention. More particularly, the present method provides a technique for improving efficiency of the solar cell by environmental controlling the manufacturing and related methods. Depending on the embodiment, one or more steps may be added, one or more steps may be eliminated, one or more steps may be provided in a difference sequence without departing from the scope of the present invention. One skilled in the art would recognize other variations, modifications, and alternatives.
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In a specific embodiment, the method forms a window layer 602 overlying a surface region of the absorber layer. The window layer is often provided using a wide bandgap n-type semiconductor material for a p-type absorber layer. For a copper indium diselenide or copper indium gallium diselenide absorber material, the window layer can use a cadmium sulfide material in a specific embodiment. The cadmium sulfide material may be deposited using techniques such as sputtering, vacuum evaporation, chemical bath deposition, among others. Of course there can be other variations, modifications, and alternatives.
In a specific embodiment, the cadmium sulfide window material is deposited using a chemical bath deposition method, which provides a cost effective way for a large area deposition and can be easily adapted for a batch process. The chemical bath deposition method uses an aqueous solution comprising a cadmium species, a sulfur bearing species, and an ammonia species in a specific embodiment. The sulfur bearing species can be provided by a organosulfur such thiourea in a specific embodiment. The chemical bath deposition method can be provide at a temperature ranging from about 10 Degree Celsius to about 80 Degree Celsius in a specific embodiment. The substrate including the window layer is subjected to a cleaning process, including one or more rinse and dry steps after deposition in a specific embodiment. The cleaning process can use deionized water in a specific embodiment. In certain embodiments, other window materials may also be used. These other window materials may include zinc sulfide (ZnS), zinc selenide (ZnSe), zinc oxide (ZnO), zinc magnesium oxide (ZnMgO), and the like. Of course there can be other variations, modifications, and alternatives.
In a specific embodiment, the method includes maintaining the substrate member including the window layer in a second controlled environment 702 as shown in
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The method includes storing the substrate in a third controlled environment t 902 as shown in
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Depending on the embodiment, there can be variations. For example, the method can perform other steps such as isolation of the second electrode layer, electrode bus preparation, perimeter film deletion, ribbon attachment, circuit testing, and others before performing the lamination process. Depending upon the embodiment, one or more of these steps can be added, removed, or others can be added or removed. Of course there can be other variations, modifications, and alternatives.
Although the present invention has been described using specific embodiments, it should be understood that various changes, modifications, and variations to the method utilized in the present invention may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims. Additionally, although the above has been generally described in terms of a specific structure for CIS and/or CIGS thin film cells, other specific CIS and/or CIGS configurations can also be used, such as those noted in U.S. Pat. No. 4,612,411 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,611,091, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein, without departing from the invention described by the claims herein.
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