Apparatus for forming transparent conductive film by sputtering and method therefor
First Claim
1. An apparatus for forming, by sputtering, a transparent conductive film on to a semiconductor junction layer, said semiconductor junction layer being provided on a conductive substrate which bears at least said transparent conductive film thereon, comprising:
- means for electrically insulating said conductive substrate; and
means for maintaining a self bias voltage Vself of said conductive substrate within a range of -50 V≦
Vself<
0 V.
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Accused Products
Abstract
There are provided a method which, in forming a transparent conductive film by sputtering on a semiconductor junction layer provided on a conductive substrate which bears at least the transparent conductive film thereon, comprises steps of electrically insulating the conductive substrate, and maintaining the self bias voltage Vself of the conductive substrate within a range of -50 V≦Vself<0 V, and an apparatus therefor. There can also be reduced the damage to the semiconductor layer, induced by the cations such as Ar+. Thus there can be produced the photovoltaic elements of a high open-circuit voltage and a high photoelectric conversion efficiency in stable manner.
30 Citations
18 Claims
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1. An apparatus for forming, by sputtering, a transparent conductive film on to a semiconductor junction layer, said semiconductor junction layer being provided on a conductive substrate which bears at least said transparent conductive film thereon, comprising:
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means for electrically insulating said conductive substrate; and means for maintaining a self bias voltage Vself of said conductive substrate within a range of -50 V≦
Vself<
0 V. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for forming, by sputtering, a transparent conductive film on to a semiconductor junction layer, said semiconductor junction layer being provided on a conductive substrate which bears at least said transparent conductive film thereon, comprising steps of:
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electrically insulating said conductive substrate; and maintaining a self bias voltage Vself of said conductive substrate within a range of -50 V≦
Vself<
0 V. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for producing a photovoltaic element including a step of forming, by sputtering, a transparent conductive film on to a semiconductor junction layer, said semiconductor junction layer being provided on a conductive substrate which bears at least said transparent conductive film thereon, wherein said step comprises steps of:
-
electrically insulating said conductive substrate; and maintaining a self bias voltage Vself of said conductive substrate within a range of -50 V≦
Vself<
0 V.
-
Specification