Photovoltaic back contact

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9252302-B2
Application number	US-201314072237-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 5, 2013
Priority date	Sep 11, 2009
Publication date	Feb 2, 2016
Grant date	Feb 2, 2016

Abstract

A method to preparing Cadmium telluride surface before forming metal back contact is disclosed. The method can include removing carbon from Cadmium telluride surface.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of manufacturing a photovoltaic device comprising the steps of: forming a transparent conductive oxide layer adjacent to a substrate; forming a semiconductor window layer adjacent to the transparent conductive oxide layer; forming a semiconductor absorber layer adjacent to the semiconductor window layer, wherein the semiconductor absorber layer comprises cadmium telluride and a carbon-containing material; contacting a cleaning agent to the carbon-containing material, thereby removing a portion of the carbon-containing material from the cadmium telluride layer; and forming a back contact layer adjacent to the absorber layer surface.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of contacting a cleaning agent to the carbon-containing material alters the thickness of the carbon-containing material.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising adjusting the thickness of an oxide layer after contacting a cleaning agent to the carbon-containing material.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising adjusting the cadmium telluride ratio on the back contact surface.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the back contact comprises a metal and a metal oxide.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising adjusting the metal to metal oxide ratio in the back contact.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cleaning agent comprises an acidic solution.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the acidic solution has a pH value in the range of about 3 to about 5.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the acidic solution comprises an organic acid.

10. The method of claim 7 , wherein the acidic solution comprises an acid selected from the group consisting of aspartic acid, citric acid, gluconic acid, glutamic acid, maleic acid, oxalic acid, propionic acid, salicylic acid, and tartaric acid.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cleaning agent comprises an alkaline solution.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the alkaline solution has a pH value higher than about 9.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the pH value of the alkaline solution is adjusted by an amine compound.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the amine compound is selected from the group consisting of ethylene diamine, tetra-alkyl ammonium salt, isopropanolamine, and isopropylhydroxylamine.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cleaning agent comprises a surfactant.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the surfactant comprises a cationic surfactant.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the surfactant comprises an anionic surfactant.

18. The method of claim 15 , wherein the surfactant comprises a nonionic surfactant.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cleaning agent comprises a chelating agent.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the chelating agent is selected from the group consisting of ethylene diamine, gluconic acid, isopropanolamine, isopropylhydroxylamine, dicarboxymethylglutamic acid, ethylenediamine-N,N′-disuccinic acid, and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid.

21. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cleaning agent comprises ferric ammonium citrate, ferric chloride, ferric nitrate, ammonium cerium nitrate, N-bromosuccinamide, copper chlorate, pyridinium tribromide, or trifluoro-peracetic acid.

Assignees

• Addepalli Pratima V
• Deeken John S
• Karpenko Oleh Petro
• First Solar Inc

Inventors

• Addepalli Pratima V
• Deeken John S
• Karpenko Oleh Petro

Classifications

• C11D7/3218

  Alkanolamines or alkanolimines · CPC title

• C11D7/3209

  Amines or imines with one to four nitrogen atoms; Quaternized amines · CPC title

• C11D7/265

  Carboxylic acids or salts thereof · CPC title

• Y02E10/543

  Solar cells from Group II-VI materials · CPC title

• C11D3/30

  Amines; Substituted amines {; Quaternized amines} · CPC title