Fabrication of thin-film, flexible photovoltaic module
First Claim
1. A method of producing a flexible, thin-film photovoltaic (PV) structure comprisingplacing a substrate in a processing chamber;
- and applying a layer of a photovoltaic layer structure on the substrate; and
generating internal compression in the applied layer in connection with the step of applying.
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Abstract
A new, large-area, thin-film, flexible photovoltaic structure is disclosed, as well as a general fabrication procedure, including a preferably roll-to-roll-type, process-chamber-segregated, “continuous-motion”, method for producing such a structure. A special multi-material vapor-deposition environment is disclosed to implement an important co-evaporation, layer-deposition procedure performed in and as part of the fabrication procedure. A structural system adapted to create a vapor environment generally like that just referred to is disclosed, as is an organization of method steps involved in the generation of such a vapor environment. Also, a unique, vapor-creating, materials-distributing system, which includes specially designed heated crucibles with carefully arranged, spatially distributed, localized and generally point-like, heated-nozzle sources of different metallic vapors, and a special multi-fingered, comb-like, vapor-delivering manifold structure is shown.
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Citations
13 Claims
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1. A method of producing a flexible, thin-film photovoltaic (PV) structure comprising
placing a substrate in a processing chamber; - and
applying a layer of a photovoltaic layer structure on the substrate; and
generating internal compression in the applied layer in connection with the step of applying. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of producing an elongate, flexible, photovoltaic (PV)-material strip comprising
providing an elongate, flexible-strip support substrate, placing that substrate, in time succession, into different, self-isolated processing chambers, each including roll-to-roll pay-out and take-up structure effective to handle and promote roll-to-roll transport motion of the substrate within that chamber, and within each chamber, performing different, time-successive sublayer-creation operations which collectively result in the making of an elongate, roll-contained, flexible, PV-material strip which includes, on at least one elongate face, plural-layer, thin-film PV-cell layer structure.
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13. A method for creating a thin-film, photovoltaic (PV) structure comprising
providing a flexible, polyimide (PI) substrate, and forming on one face in such substrate a thin-film, PV-cell layer structure, which forming includes the vapor-phase creating of (1) a sublayer constructed from one of the combinations consisting of (a) copper-indium-gallium-diselenide (CIGS), and (b) copper-indium-diselenide (CIS), with this sublayer having a reception surface, and (2) a sputtered cadmium-sulfide (CdS) sublayer distributed on such reception surface.
Specification