Photovoltaic cell and method of manufacturing polycrystalline semiconductive film

• US 5,221,365 A
• Filed: 10/18/1991
• Issued: 06/22/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Iwata, Hiroshi, Noguchi, Shigeru, Sano, Keiichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Weisstuch, Aaron
• Application Number:
  US07/781,486
• Time in Patent Office: 613 Days
• Field of Search: 136/258 PC, 136/261, 437/4, 437/109, 437/173-174, 437/233-234, 437/247-248, 437/967, 437/977, 357/30 K, 357/59 C, 357/59 D, 148/DIG. 48, 148/DIG. 90, 148/DIG. 122, 148/DIG. 153, 257/49-51, 257/75
• US Class Current: 136/258
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/02366 of the substrate or of a layer on the substrate, e.g. textured ITO/glass substrate or superstrate, textured polymer layer on glass substrate
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/03682 including only elements of Group IV of the Periodic Table
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/186 Particular post-treatment for the devices, e.g. annealing, impurity gettering, short-circuit elimination, recrystallisation
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/202 including only elements of Group IV of the Periodic Table
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/546 Polycrystalline silicon PV cells
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 70/50 Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 148/09 Laser anneal
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 148/122 Polycrystalline
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 148/153 Solar cells-implantations-laser beam
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 438/964 Roughened surface

Abstract

A thin film transistor and a photovoltaic cell wherein a polycrystalline semiconductive film, having a large grain size and high carrier mobility obtained by heat treatment of a polycrystalline semiconductive film, an amorphous semiconductive film, a microcrystalline semiconductive film or the like on a substrate with a textured surface, is used as a channel layer or a photo-activation layer, the textured surface being formed by etching one surface of the substrate or forming a textured thin film on the substrate.

A method of manufacturing a polycrystalline semiconductive film, wherein a surface of a substrate is etched or a textured thin film is formed on the substrate to form a textured surface, and a polycrystalline semiconductive film, an amorphous semiconductive film, a microcrystalline semiconductive film or the like is formed on the textured surface, and the semiconductive film is polycrystallized by heat treatment.

Claims

1. A photovoltaic cell for generating electromotive force from light incident in the vicinity of the junction between two semiconductor layers having opposite conductivity types, comprising:

a substrate having a textured surface with the depth of the texture being in the range of from about 0.3 to about 10 μ

m;

a first polycrystalline semiconductive layer obtained by heat treatment at a temperature in the range of from about 500°

C. to about 650°

C. of a semiconductive film of one conductivity type selected from the group consisting of amorphous, polycrystalline, microcrystalline, and their mixed crystalline semiconductive films formed on said textured surface;

a photo-activation layer of a polycrystalline semiconductive film obtained by heat treatment of a semiconductive film of the one conductivity type selected from the group consisting of amorphous, polycrystalline, microcrystalline, and their mixed crystalline semiconductive films formed on said first polycrystalline semiconductive layer; and

a second polycrystalline semiconductive layer obtained by heat treatment of a semiconductive film of opposite conductivity type selected from the group consisting of amorphous, polycrystalline, microcrystalline, and their mixed crystalline semiconductive films formed on said photo-activation layer.

2. A photovoltaic cell for generating electromotive force from light incident in the vicinity of the junction between two semiconductor layers having different conductivity types, comprising:

a substrate having a textured surface with the depth of the texture being in the range of from about 0.3 to about 10 μ

m;

a first polycrystalline semiconductive layer obtained by heat treatment at a temperature in the range of from about 500°

C. to about 650°

C. of a semiconductive film of one conductivity type selected from the group consisting of amorphous, polycrystalline, microcrystalline, and their mixed crystalline semiconductive films formed on said textured surface;

a photo-activation layer of a polycrystalline semiconductive film obtained by heat treatment of a semiconductive film of said one conductivity type selected from the group consisting of amorphous, polycrystalline, microcrystalline, and their mixed crystalline semiconductive films formed on said first semiconductive layer; and

a second semiconductive layer of an amorphous semiconductive film having the opposite conductivity type formed on said photo-activation layer.

3. A photovoltaic cell for generating electromotive force from light incident in the vicinity of the junction between two semiconductors of opposite conductivity types, comprising:

a single crystalline semiconductive substrate of one conductivity type having a textured surface with the depth of the texture being in the range of from about 0.3 to about 10 μ

m; and

a polycrystalline semiconductive layer obtained by heat treatment at a temperature in the range of from about 500°

C. to about 650°

C. of a semiconductive film of the opposite conductivity type selected from the group consisting of amorphous, polycrystalline, microcrystalline, and their mixed crystalline semiconductive films formed on said textured surface.

4. A photovoltaic cell for generating electromotive force from light incident in the vicinity of a semiconductor layer between two semiconductors of opposite conductivity types, comprising:

a substrate having a textured surface with the depth of the texture being in the range of from about 0.3 to about 10 μ

m;

a first polycrystalline semiconductive layer obtained by heat treatment at a temperature in the range of from about 500°

C. to about 650°

C. of a semiconductive film of one conductivity type selected from the group consisting of amorphous, polycrystalline, microcrystalline, and their mixed crystalline semiconductive films formed on said textured surface;

a photo-activation layer of a polycrystalline semiconductive film obtained by heat treatment of an intrinsic or substantially intrinsic semiconductive film selected from the group consisting of amorphous, polycrystalline, microcrystalline, and their mixed crystalline semiconductive films formed on said first polycrystalline semiconductive layer; and

a second polycrystalline semiconductive layer obtained by heat treatment of a non-single crystalline film of the opposite conductivity type selected from the group consisting of amorphous, polycrystalline, microcrystalline, and their mixed crystalline semiconductive films formed on said photo-activation layer.

5. A method of manufacturing a polycrystalline semiconductive film, comprising the steps of:

forming a textured surface on a substrate with the depth of the texture being in the range of from about 0.3 to about 10 μ

m;

forming a semiconductive film selected from the group consisting of amorphous, polycrystalline, microcrystalline, and their mixed crystalline semiconductive films on said textured surface; and

polycrystallizing said semiconductive film via heat treatment at a temperature in the range of from about 500°

C. to about 640°

C.

6. A method of manufacturing a polycrystalline semiconductive film according to claim 5, wherein the depth of indentation of said textured surface is approximately equal to the thickness of said semiconductive film to be polycrystallized.

7. A method of manufacturing a polycrystalline semiconductive film according to claim 5, wherein the depth of indentation of said textured surface is in the range of from about 0.3 μ

m to about several tens of micrometers.

8. A method of manufacturing a polycrystalline semiconductive film according to claim 5, wherein said textured surface is formed by etching the substrate.

9. A method of manufacturing a polycrystalline semiconductive film according to claim 8, wherein the depth of indentation of said textured surface is in the range from about 0.3 μ

m to about several tens of micrometers.

10. A method of manufacturing a polycrystalline semiconductive film according to claim 5, wherein said textured surface is formed by forming the substrate through plasma spraying of semiconductive material.

11. A method of manufacturing a polycrystalline semiconductive film according to claim 10, wherein the depth of indentation of said textured surface is 6-10 μ

m.

12. A method of manufacturing a polycrystalline semiconductive film according to claim 5, wherein said textured surface is formed by a conductive film formed on said substrate.

13. A method of manufacturing a polycrystalline semiconductive film according to claim 12, wherein said conductive film is formed at temperature of approximately 600°

C.

14. A method of manufacturing a polycrystalline semiconductive film according to claim 12, wherein the grain size of said conductive film is 5-50 μ

m.

15. A method of manufacturing a polycrystalline semiconductive film according to claim 5, wherein said textured surface is formed by an insulative film formed on said substrate.

16. A method of manufacturing a polycrystalline semiconductive film according to claim 5, further comprising the step of:

forming an insulative film on said semiconductive film before the polycrystallizing step.

17. A method of manufacturing a polycrystalline semiconductive film according to claim 5, further comprising the step of:

preheating said semiconductive film at a temperature lower than that used in the heat treatment of said polycrystallization step.

18. A method of manufacturing a polycrystalline semiconductive film according to claim 17, wherein the conditions of the heat treatment in said preheating step is at 500°

C. for approximately 30 minutes.