Fault tolerant thin-film photovoltaic cell
US4677250A · kind A · utility
48Cited by
11References
28Claims
0Family size
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 30, 1985 |
| Grant date | Jun 30, 1987 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 30, 2005 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02E10/544
Abstract
A thin-film solar cell is made up of semiconductor layers formed on a substrate. The substrate includes an insulator containing electrically conducting nucleation sites which is interposed between the electrical contact of the substrate and the adjacent semiconductor. The insulator can also be optically transparent. Grain boundaries and voids terminate on the insulator. The solar cell is fabricated by selectively introducing nucleation sites into the insulator layer which is formed on the substrate material, and activating the nucleation sites during growth of the semiconductor layers.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.