PATTERNED ASSEMBLY FOR MANUFACTURING A SOLAR CELL AND A METHOD THEREOF

• US 20090227062A1
• Filed: 09/05/2008
• Published: 09/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates Incorporated (Applied Materials Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates Incorporated (Applied Materials Incorporated)
• Inventors: Sullivan, Paul, Walther, Steven R., Nunan, Peter
• Granted Patent: US 7,820,460 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 438/61
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/022425 for solar cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/03529 Shape of the potential jump barrier or surface barrier
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/068 the potential barriers being only of the PN homojunction type, e.g. bulk silicon PN homojunction solar cells or thin film polycrystalline silicon PN homojunction solar cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/0682 back-junction, i.e. rearside emitter, solar cells, e.g. interdigitated base-emitter regions back-junction cells
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/547 Monocrystalline silicon PV cells

Abstract

Apparatuses and methods for manufacturing a solar cell are disclosed. In a particular embodiment, the solar cell may be manufactured by disposing a solar cell in a chamber having a particle source; disposing a patterned assembly comprising an aperture and an assembly segment between the particle source and the solar cell; and selectively implanting first type dopants traveling through the aperture into a first region of the solar cell while minimizing introduction of the first type dopants into a region outside of the first region.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a solar cell, comprising:

disposing a solar cell in a chamber having a particle source;

disposing a patterned assembly comprising an aperture and an assembly segment between the particle source and the solar cell; and

selectively implanting first type dopants traveling through the aperture into a first region of the solar cell while minimizing introduction of the first type dopants into a region outside of the first region.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the solar cell is an n-type solar cell.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising selectively implanting dopants into a second region, an implanted second region having an interface with an implanted first region.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first type dopants are p-type dopants.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the dopants implanted into the second region comprises p-type dopants.

6. The method according to claim 3, wherein the dopants implanted into the second region comprises n-type dopants.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the first type dopants are n-type dopants.

8. The method according to claim 3, wherein the implanted second region is exterior of the implanted first region.

9. The method according to claim 3, wherein the implanted second region is interior of the implanted first region.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the implanted first region has a majority carrier concentration less than the implanted second region.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the assembly segment is spaced apart from the solar cell by a distance ranging from about 0.1 mm to about 5 cm.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the first type dopants are selectively implanted at an energy ranging from about 3 KeV to about 800 KeV.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the selectively implanting the first type dopants comprises selectively implanting the first type dopants traveling in a beam, wherein the beam has a beam current of about 2 mA or above.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein dose of the first type dopants implanted into the first region of the solar cell is about 1×

10¹⁴ to about 1×

10¹⁷/cm².

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising contacting a side surface of the solar cell with a side surface of the patterned assembly and aligning the first region and the aperture.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein the patterned assembly is biased.

17. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

translating the patterned assembly relative to the solar cell;

selectively implanting second type dopants traveling through the aperture into the second region while minimizing introduction of the second type dopants into the first region.

18. A method for manufacturing a solar cell, comprising:

disposing a solar cell in a chamber having a particle source;

disposing a patterned assembly between the particle source and the solar cell, the patterned assembly comprising a first aperture;

selectively implanting first type dopants traveling through the first aperture into a first region of the solar cell; and

selectively implanting first type dopants into a second region of the solar cell, the second region positioned in an interior portion of the first region.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein concentration of the majority carrier in the second region is greater than the concentration of the majority carrier in the first region.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein selectively implanting the first type dopants into the second region comprises selectively implanting the first type dopants traveling through the second aperture.

21. A method for manufacturing a solar cell, comprising:

disposing a solar cell in a chamber having a particle source;

disposing a first patterned assembly between the particle source and the solar cell, the first patterned assembly comprising at least one first aperture;

disposing a second patterned assembly between the particle source and the solar cell, the second patterned assembly comprising at least one second aperture;

selectively implanting first type dopants through the at least one first aperture into a first region of the solar cell; and

selectively implanting second type dopants traveling through the at least one second aperture into a second region of the solar cell.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein the first type dopants and the second type dopants are opposite type dopants.

23. The method according to claim 21, wherein the first type dopants and the second type dopants are same type dopants.

24. A method for manufacturing a solar cell, comprising:

disposing a solar cell in a chamber having a particle source;

disposing a patterned assembly between the particle source and the solar cell, the patterned assembly being spaced apart from the solar cell by a distance ranging from about 0.1 mm to about 5 cm, the patterned assembly including an aperture and an assembly segment;

selectively etching a first region of the solar cell, the first region aligning with the aperture of the patterned assembly; and

selectively implanting first type dopants into the first region.

25. An apparatus for manufacturing a solar cell, comprising:

a source for generating particles;

a solar cell; and

a patterned assembly positioned between the source and the solar cell, the patterned assembly having an aligner, at least one aperture, and at least one assembly segment, the aligner aligning the patterned assembly and the solar cell, the aperture aligned with interior portion of the solar cell, and the assembly segment aligned with periphery of the solar cell,

wherein a portion of the particles directed toward the solar cell passes through the aperture and reaches the interior of the solar cell and wherein another portion of the particles directed toward the solar cell is incident on the assembly segment and prevented from reaching the periphery of the solar cell.

26. The apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the aligner is a surface that contacts at least a portion of a side surface of the solar cell.

27. The apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the aligner is a registration point that communicates with a registration point of the solar cell.

28. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the patterned assembly is spaced apart from the solar cell by a distance ranging from 0.1 mm to 5 cm.