Humidity control and method for thin film photovoltaic materials
First Claim
1. A method for processing a thin film photovoltaic module, the method comprising:
- subjecting a plurality of substrates to a desiccated environment having a relative humidity of less than about 10%, wherein each substrate of the plurality of substrates includes an absorber layer overlying a first electrode, and wherein the absorber comprises a plurality of sodium bearing species having a sodium concentration of at least about 5×
1019 atoms per cm3;
subjecting the plurality of substrates to a liquid comprising water at a temperature from about 10 degrees Celsius to about 80 degrees Celsius to process the plurality of substrates;
subjecting the plurality of substrates to an environment having a relative humidity of greater than about 10% to a time period of less than four hours; and
after the step of subjecting the plurality of substrates to a liquid, forming a window layer over the absorber layer.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for processing a thin film photovoltaic module. The method includes providing a plurality of substrates, each of the substrates having a first electrode layer and an overlying absorber layer composed of copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) or copper indium selenide (CIS) material. The absorber material comprises a plurality of sodium bearing species. The method maintains the plurality of substrates in a controlled environment after formation of at least the absorber layer through one or more processes up to a lamination process. The controlled environment has a relative humidity of less than 10% and a temperature ranging from about 10 degrees Celsius to about 40 degrees Celsius. The method subjects the plurality of substrates to a liquid comprising water at a temperature from about 10 degrees Celsius to about 80 degrees Celsius to process the plurality of substrates after formation of the absorber layer. The plurality of substrates having the absorber layer is subjected to an environment having a relative humidity of greater than about 10% to a time period of less then four hours.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for processing a thin film photovoltaic module, the method comprising:
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subjecting a plurality of substrates to a desiccated environment having a relative humidity of less than about 10%, wherein each substrate of the plurality of substrates includes an absorber layer overlying a first electrode, and wherein the absorber comprises a plurality of sodium bearing species having a sodium concentration of at least about 5×
1019 atoms per cm3;subjecting the plurality of substrates to a liquid comprising water at a temperature from about 10 degrees Celsius to about 80 degrees Celsius to process the plurality of substrates; subjecting the plurality of substrates to an environment having a relative humidity of greater than about 10% to a time period of less than four hours; and after the step of subjecting the plurality of substrates to a liquid, forming a window layer over the absorber layer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for processing a thin film photovoltaic module, the method comprising:
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subjecting a substrate to a desiccated environment having a relative humidity of less than 10%, wherein the substrate includes an absorber layer overlying a first electrode, and wherein the absorber comprises a plurality of sodium bearing species having a sodium concentration of at least about 5×
1018 atoms per cm3;subjecting the substrate to a liquid comprising water at a temperature from about 10 degrees Celsius to about 80 degrees Celsius to process the plurality of substrates after formation of the absorber layer; subjecting the substrate having the absorber layer to an environment having a relative humidity of greater than about 10% to a time period of less than four hours; and performing a lamination process on at least the substrate to form a solar module, the solar module being characterized by an efficiency parameter at a first efficiency level before the lamination process and a second efficiency level after the lamination process. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification