Method of making passivated antireflective coating for photovoltaic cell

US5011782A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. · US

Inventors

• Walter R. Lamb · Sunnyvale, US
• Darrell Griffin · West Hollywood, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Mar 31, 1989
• Grant date: Apr 30, 1991
• Expiry date: Mar 31, 2009

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y02P70/50

Abstract

The performance of a silicon photovoltaic cell is improved while process yield is maintained by first forming doped regions in a major surface of a silicon wafer and providing electrical interconnections to the doped regions prior to thinning the wafer by etching another major surface of the wafer. A passivating antireflection layer is applied to the etched surface after the surface is precleaned. The precleaning can be by ammonia plasma applied in situ as a precursor to depositing silicon nitride as the passivation layer.