Thin film heterojunction photovoltaic cells and methods of making the same
Patent 4388483 Issued on June 14, 1983. Estimated Expiration Date: 
September 8, 2001. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.
September 8, 2001. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.Patent ReferencesPolycrystalline thin film CdS/CdTe photovoltaic cell Thin film photovoltaic cell and a method of manufacturing the same CdTe Schottky barrier photovoltaic cell Patent #: 4260427 InventorsAssigneeApplicationNo. 06/300116 filed on 09/08/1981US Classes:136/260, Cadmium containing136/264, Selenium or tellurium containing205/157, Coating predominantly semiconductor substrate (e.g., silicon, compound semiconductor, etc.)205/159, Coating predominantly nonmetal substrate205/176, At least one alloy coating257/188, Having narrow energy band gap (<<1eV) layer (e.g., PbSnTe, HgCdTe, etc.)257/200, Heterojunction formed between semiconductor materials which differ in that they belong to different periodic table groups (e.g., Ge (group IV) - GaAs (group III-V) or InP (group III-V) - CdTe (group II-VI))257/E21.464, Using liquid deposition (EPO)257/E31.041, Including thin film deposited on metallic or insulating substrate (EPO)438/94HeterojunctionExaminersPrimary: Weisstuch, AaronAttorney, Agent or FirmInternational ClassesH01L 31/06 (20060101)H01L 31/18 (20060101) H01L 21/368 (20060101) H01L 21/02 (20060101) H01L 31/0392 (20060101) H01L 31/072 (20060101) H01L 31/036 (20060101) H01L 31/0224 (20060101) AbstractA method of fabricating a thin film heterojunction photovoltaic cell which comprises depositing a film of a near intrinsic or n-type semiconductor compound formed of at least one of the metal elements of Class II B of the Periodic Table of Elements and at least tellurium and then heating said film at a temperature between about 250° C. and 500° C. for a time sufficient to convert said film to a suitably low resistivity p-type semiconductor compound. Such film may be deposited initially on the surface of an n-type semiconductor substrate. Alternatively, there may be deposited on the converted film a layer of n-type semiconductor compound different from the film semiconductor compound. The resulting photovoltaic cell exhibits a substantially increased power output over similar cells not subjected to the method of the present invention.Other References
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