Front electrode for use in photovoltaic device and method of making same
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
This invention relates to a front electrode/contact for use in an electronic device such as a photovoltaic device. In certain example embodiments, the front electrode of a photovoltaic device or the like includes a multilayer coating including at least one transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layer (e.g., of or including a material such as tin oxide, ITO, zinc oxide, or the like) and/or at least one conductive substantially metallic IR reflecting layer (e.g., based on silver, gold, or the like). In certain example instances, the multilayer front electrode coating may include one or more conductive metal(s) oxide layer(s) and one or more conductive substantially metallic IR reflecting layer(s) in order to provide for reduced visible light reflection, increased conductivity, cheaper manufacturability, and/or increased infrared (IR) reflection capability. In certain example embodiments, the front electrode acts as not only a transparent conductive front contact/electrode but also a short pass filter that allows an increased amount of photons having high energy (such as in visible and near infra-red regions of the spectrum) into the active region or absorber of the photovoltaic device.
-
Citations
22 Claims
-
1-13. -13. (canceled)
-
14. A front electrode structure for a photovoltaic device, the front electrode structure comprising:
-
a front substantially transparent glass substrate; a first layer comprising one or more of silicon nitride, silicon oxide, silicon oxynitride, and/or tin oxide; a second layer comprising metal oxide and having a higher refractive index (n) than the first layer, wherein at least the first layer is located between the front substrate and the second layer; a third layer comprising metal oxide; a fourth layer that is conductive and comprises silver, wherein at least the third layer is provided between the conductive layer comprising silver and the second layer; a fifth layer that is a transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layer comprising metal oxide between the conductive layer comprising silver and a sixth layer that is a transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layer comprising metal oxide; wherein the fifth layer has a thickness substantially greater than that of the sixth layer, and wherein a layer stack comprising said first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth layers is provided on an interior surface of the front glass substrate facing the semiconductor film of the photovoltaic device. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
-
Specification