Manufacturing methods for semiconductor devices

US9034686B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• First Solar, Inc. · US

Inventors

• Hongying Peng · Niskayuna, US
• Bastiaan Arie Korevaar · Schenectady, US
• Jinbo Cao · Rexford, US
• Stephen Lorenco Araujo · Burnt Hills, US
• Scott Daniel Feldman-Peabody · Golden, US
• Robert Dwayne Gossman · Aurora, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jun 29, 2012
• Grant date: May 19, 2015
• Expiry date: Sep 4, 2032

Classification

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

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention include a method. The method includes heating a layer stack. The layer stack includes a first layer comprising cadmium and tin, a metal layer disposed over the first layer, and a window layer disposed over the metal layer. Heating the stack includes transforming at least a portion of the first layer from an amorphous phase to a crystalline phase. Heating may be performed using any of various configurations, such as, for example, heating an individual stack, or using a face-to-face configuration of multiple stacks. The stack may be used for fabricating a photovoltaic device.