PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERTER, AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING SAME

• US 20140020752A1
• Filed: 09/20/2013
• Published: 01/23/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: SHIGEMATSU, Masato, SAKATA, Hitoshi, ARIMOTO, Mamoru
• Application Number:
  US14/032,938
• Publication Number:
  US 20140020752A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 136/256
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/022441 Electrode arrangements specially adapted for back-contact solar cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/02363 of the semiconductor body itself, e.g. textured active layers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/0747 comprising a heterojunction of crystalline and amorphous materials, e.g. heterojunction with intrinsic thin layer
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/18 Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment of these devices or of parts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/50 Photovoltaic [PV] energy

Abstract

A photoelectric converter (10) is provided with an n-type monocrystalline silicon substrate (21), an IN layer (25) and an IP layer (26) formed on the rear surface (12) of the n-type monocrystalline silicon substrate (21), an n-side electrode (40) electrically connected to the IN layer (25), and a p-side electrode (50) separated from the n-side electrode (40) by means of a separation groove (6) and electrically connected to the IP layer (26). In said photoelectric converter (10), a texture structure is formed on at least a portion of a region in which the n-type monocrystalline silicon substrate (21), the IN layer (25) and the IP layer (26) are formed to be in direct contact with one another.

Claims

1. A photoelectric converter, comprising:

a semiconductor substrate;

a first amorphous semiconductor layer formed on a first surface of the semiconductor substrate and including a amorphous semiconductor layer of a first conduction type;

a second amorphous semiconductor layer formed on the first surface of the semiconductor substrate in a region where the first conduction type amorphous semiconductor layer is absent and including a amorphous semiconductor layer of a second conduction type;

a first electrode electrically connected to the first amorphous semiconductor layer; and

a second electrode separated from the first electrode by means of a separation groove and electrically connected to the second amorphous semiconductor layer,

wherein a textured structure is formed in at least part of a region of the first surface where the first amorphous semiconductor layer and the second amorphous semiconductor layer are formed directly contacting the first surface.

2. The photoelectric converter according to claim 1, wherein

within the region where the first amorphous semiconductor layer and the second amorphous semiconductor layer are formed directly contacting the semiconductor substrate, the textured structure is formed in at least part of said region excluding a region which receives thereon an electrode edge of the first electrode and an electrode edge of the second electrode that are located along the separation groove.

3. The photoelectric converter according to claim 1, wherein

a part of the first amorphous semiconductor layer is laminated over a part of the second amorphous semiconductor layer via an insulation layer, and

within a region where the first amorphous semiconductor layer is formed, the textured structure is formed in at least part of said region excluding a region where the insulation layer is formed.

4. The photoelectric converter according to claim 2, wherein

within the region where the first amorphous semiconductor layer is formed, the textured structure is formed over substantially an entire area excluding a region where the insulation layer is formed.

5. The photoelectric converter according to claim 1, wherein

the first amorphous semiconductor layer is a p-type amorphous semiconductor layer, and

the second amorphous semiconductor layer is an n-type amorphous semiconductor layer.

6. The photoelectric converter according to claim 2, wherein

the first amorphous semiconductor layer is a p-type amorphous semiconductor layer, and

the second amorphous semiconductor layer is an n-type amorphous semiconductor layer.

7. The photoelectric converter according to claim 3, wherein

the first amorphous semiconductor layer is a p-type amorphous semiconductor layer, and

the second amorphous semiconductor layer is an n-type amorphous semiconductor layer.

8. The photoelectric converter according to claim 4, wherein

the first amorphous semiconductor layer is a p-type amorphous semiconductor layer, and

the second amorphous semiconductor layer is an n-type amorphous semiconductor layer.

9. A method for producing a photoelectric converter, comprising:

a first step of laminating, on a first surface of a semiconductor substrate, a first amorphous semiconductor layer including a amorphous semiconductor layer of a first conduction type;

a second step of laminating, on the first surface of the semiconductor substrate in a region where the first conduction type amorphous semiconductor layer is absent, a second amorphous semiconductor layer including a amorphous semiconductor layer of a second conduction type; and

a step of forming a first electrode on the first amorphous semiconductor layer and also forming, on the second amorphous semiconductor layer, a second electrode separated from the first electrode by means of a separation groove,

the method further comprising a texture forming step of forming a textured structure on the first surface and a second surface of the semiconductor substrate while protecting at least a region of the first surface which eventually receives thereon an electrode edge of the first electrode and an electrode edge of the second electrode that are located along the separation groove.

10. The photoelectric converter producing method according to claim 9, wherein

a step of laminating an insulation layer on the first amorphous semiconductor layer is performed before the second step;

and

in the texture forming step, the insulation layer is used as a mask to form the textured structure in a region of the first surface where the second amorphous semiconductor layer is to be laminated.