METHODS FOR MANUFACTURING THREE-DIMENSIONAL THIN-FILM SOLAR CELLS
Methods for manufacturing three-dimensional thin-film solar cells 100 , using a template. The template comprises a template substrate comprising a plurality of posts and a plurality of trenches between said plurality of posts. The three-dimensional thin-film solar cell substrate is formed by forming a sacrificial layer on the template, subsequently depositing a semiconductor layer, selectively etching the sacrificial layer, and releasing the semiconductor layer from the template. The resulting three-dimensional thin-film solar cell substrate may comprise a plurality of single-aperture unit cells or dual-aperture unit cells. Select portions of the three-dimensional thin-film solar cell substrate are then doped with a first dopant, while other select portions are doped with a second dopant. Next, emitter 525 and base metallization regions 532 are formed.
1 . A method for manufacturing a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell, comprising:
forming a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell substrate by the steps of:
forming a sacrificial layer on a template, said template comprising a template substrate, said template substrate comprising a plurality of posts and a plurality of trenches between said plurality of posts;
subsequently depositing a semiconductor layer;
selectively etching said sacrificial layer; and
releasing said semiconductor layer from said template;
doping select portions of said three-dimensional thin-film solar cell substrate with a first dopant;
doping select portions of said three-dimensional thin-film solar cell substrate with a second dopant; and
forming emitter metallization regions and base metallization regions.
2 . The method for manufacturing a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell of claim 1 , wherein said step of doping select portions of said three-dimensional thin-film solar cell substrate with a first dopant comprises doping select portions of the top of said three-dimensional thin-film solar cell substrate with a first dopant.
3 . The method for manufacturing a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell of claim 1 , wherein said step of doping select portions of said three-dimensional thin-film solar cell substrate with a second dopant comprises doping select portions of the bottom of said three-dimensional thin-film solar cell substrate with a second dopant.
4 . The method for manufacturing a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell of claim 1 , further comprising forming emitter junction regions and base diffusion regions.
5 . The method for manufacturing a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell of claim 4 , wherein said step of forming emitter junction regions and base diffusion regions comprises forming selective emitter junction regions and selective base diffusion regions.
6 . The method for manufacturing a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell of claim 4 , wherein said step of forming emitter junction regions and base diffusion regions comprises forming self-aligned emitter junction regions and self-aligned base diffusion regions.
7 . The method for manufacturing a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell of claim 6 , wherein said step of forming self-aligned emitter junction regions and self-aligned base diffusion regions comprises forming self-aligned emitter junction regions and self-aligned base diffusion regions using self-aligned processing.
8 . The method for manufacturing a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell of claim 1 , wherein said step of forming a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell substrate comprises forming a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell substrate with a plurality of single-aperture unit cells.
9 . The method for manufacturing a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell of claim 1 , wherein said step of forming a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell substrate comprises forming a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell substrate with a plurality of dual-aperture unit cells.
10 . The method for manufacturing a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell of claim 1 , wherein said sacrificial layer comprises a porous semiconductor layer.
11 . The method for manufacturing a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell of claim 1 , wherein said sacrificial layer comprises a porous silicon layer.
12 . The method for manufacturing a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell of claim 1 , wherein said sacrificial layer comprises a Ge x Si 1-x layer.
13 . The method for manufacturing a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell of claim 1 , wherein said semiconductor layer comprises a silicon layer.
14 . The method for manufacturing a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell of claim 13 , wherein said silicon layer comprises a crystalline silicon layer.
15 . The method for manufacturing a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell of claim 1 , wherein said step of doping select portions of said three-dimensional thin-film solar cell substrate with a first dopant comprises selectively coating the top of said three-dimensional thin-film solar cell substrate with a first dopant, curing said first dopant to form a first cured dopant, and performing a thermal anneal process.
16 . The method for manufacturing a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell of claim 15 , further comprising selectively removing said first cured dopant.
17 . The method for manufacturing a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell of claim 1 , wherein said step of doping select portions of said three-dimensional thin-film solar cell substrate with a second dopant comprises selectively coating the bottom of said three-dimensional thin-film solar cell substrate with a second dopant, curing said second dopant to form a second cured dopant, and performing a thermal anneal process.
18 . The method for manufacturing a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell of claim 17 , further comprising selectively removing said second cured dopant.
19 . The method for manufacturing a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell of claim 1 , wherein said first dopant comprises an n-type dopant and said second dopant comprises a p-type dopant.
20 . The method for manufacturing a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell of claim 19 , wherein said n-type dopant comprises phosphorus and said p-type dopant comprises boron.
21 . The method for manufacturing a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell of claim 1 , wherein said first dopant comprises a p-type dopant and said second dopant comprises an n-type dopant.
22 . The method for manufacturing a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell of claim 21 , wherein said n-type dopant comprises phosphorus and said p-type dopant comprises boron.
23 . The method for manufacturing a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell of claim 1 , wherein said step of forming emitter metallization regions and base metallization regions comprises forming self-aligned emitter metallization regions and self-aligned base metallization regions.
24 . The method for manufacturing a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell of claim 23 , wherein said step of forming self-aligned emitter metallization regions and self-aligned base metallization regions comprises forming self-aligned emitter metallization regions and self-aligned base metallization regions using self-aligned processing.
25 . The method for manufacturing a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell of claim 1 , wherein said step of forming emitter metallization regions and base metallization regions comprises forming emitter metallization regions and base metallization regions using fire-through processing.
26 . The method for manufacturing a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell of claim 1 , wherein said step of forming emitter metallization regions and base metallization regions comprises forming emitter metallization regions and base metallization regions using plating.
27 . The method for manufacturing a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell of claim 1 , further comprising mounting the three-dimensional thin-film solar cell on a rear mirror.
28 . A method for manufacturing a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell, comprising:
forming a three-dimensional thin-film solar cell substrate by the steps of:
forming a sacrificial layer on a template;
subsequently depositing a semiconductor layer; and
releasing said semiconductor layer from said template;
doping select portions of said three-dimensional thin-film solar cell substrate with dopants; and
forming metallization regions.