Method of manufacturing III-V group nanorod solar cell so that substrate can be reused

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12453206-B2
Application number	US-202318196760-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 12, 2023
Priority date	Jul 14, 2021
Publication date	Oct 21, 2025
Grant date	Oct 21, 2025

Abstract

Disclosed is a method of manufacturing a III-V group nanorod solar cell so that a substrate can be reused. The method may includes a first growth process of forming an etch stop layer on a substrate, a second growth process of growing a sacrificial layer on the etch stop layer, a third growth process of forming, on the sacrificial layer, a pattern layer including an opening at each location at which each nanorod solar cell is able to be grown, a fourth growth process of growing the nanorod solar cells on the sacrificial layer through the openings within the pattern layer, a forming process of forming a solar cell protection layer on outsides of the nanorod solar cells, a first etching process of etching the sacrificial layer and the pattern layer, and a second etching process of etching the etch stop layer.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of manufacturing a plurality of nanorod solar cells so that a substrate is able to be reused, the method comprising:
a first growth process of forming an etch stop layer on a substrate;
a second growth process of growing a sacrificial layer on the etch stop layer;
a third growth process of forming, on the sacrificial layer, a pattern layer comprising an opening at each location at which each nanorod solar cell is able to be grown;
a fourth growth process of growing the nanorod solar cells on the sacrificial layer through the openings within the pattern layer;
a forming process of forming a solar cell protection layer on outsides of the nanorod solar cells;
a first etching process of etching the sacrificial layer and the pattern layer; and
a second etching process of etching the etch stop layer.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the nanorod solar cell is implemented as gallium arsenide (GaAs).

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the substrate is implemented as a component identical with the component of the nanorod solar cell.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the solar cell protection layer is implemented as a component that is transparent and that has a non-conductive characteristic.

5. A method of manufacturing a plurality of nanorod solar cells so that a substrate is able to be reused, the method comprising:
a first growth process of forming an etch stop layer on a substrate;
a second growth process of growing a sacrificial layer on the etch stop layer;
a third growth process of forming, on the sacrificial layer, a pattern layer comprising an opening at each location at which each nanorod solar cell is able to be grown;
a fourth growth process of growing the nanorod solar cells on the sacrificial layer through the openings within the pattern layer;
a first etching process of etching the sacrificial layer and the pattern layer;
a forming process of forming a solar cell protection layer on outsides of the nanorod solar cells after the nanorod solar cells on which the first etching process has been performed are disposed to have a preset interval; and
a second etching process of etching the etch stop layer.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the solar cell protection layer is a silicon compound.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein in the first etching process, the sacrificial layer and the pattern layer are etched by an HF mixture.

8. A method of manufacturing a plurality of nanorod solar cells so that a substrate is able to be reused, the method comprising:
a first growth process of sequentially growing, on a substrate, a first layer implemented as a component having a lattice constant identical with a lattice constant of a nanorod solar cell to be manufactured, a second layer implemented as a component identical with a component of the substrate, and a third layer implemented as the same component as the first layer;
a second growth process of growing, on the third layer, a pattern layer comprising an opening at each location at which each nanorod solar cell is able to be grown;
a third growth process of growing the nanorod solar cells on the third layer through the openings within the pattern layer;
a forming process of forming a solar cell protection layer on outsides of the nanorod solar cells;
a first etching process of etching the third layer and the pattern layer; and
a second etching process of etching the first layer and the second layer.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the nanorod solar cell and the substrate are implemented as indium phosphide (InP).

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the first layer is implemented as indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs).

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the solar cell protection layer is implemented as a component that is transparent and that has a non-conductive characteristic.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein the forming process is performed after the nanorod solar cells on which the first etching process has been performed are disposed to have a preset interval.

Assignees

• Korea Photonics Tech Inst

Inventors

• Kim Hyo Jin

Classifications

• Y02E10/544

  Solar cells from Group III-V materials · CPC title

• H10F77/124

  comprising only Group III-V materials, e.g. GaAs · CPC title

• H10F77/311

  for photovoltaic cells · CPC title

• H10F71/1395

  for thin-film devices · CPC title

• H10F71/127 Primary

  The active layers comprising only Group III-V materials, e.g. GaAs or InP · CPC title