POTASSIUM/MOLYBDENUM COMPOSITE METAL POWDERS, POWDER BLENDS, PRODUCTS THEREOF, AND METHODS FOR PRODUCING PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS

1 . A method for producing a composite metal powder, comprising:

providing a supply of molybdenum metal powder;

providing a supply of a Group IA alkali metal compound;

combining said molybdenum metal powder and said Group IA alkali metal compound with a liquid to form a slurry;

feeding said slurry into a stream of hot gas; and

recovering the composite metal powder, said composite metal powder comprising the Group IA alkali metal compound and molybdenum.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein providing a supply of a Group IA alkali metal compound comprises providing a supply of a potassium compound.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein providing a supply of a potassium compound comprises providing a supply of potassium molybdate powder.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein feeding said slurry into a stream of hot gas comprises atomizing said slurry and contacting said atomized slurry with the stream of hot gas.

5 . The method of claim 2 , wherein combining said molybdenum metal powder and said potassium compound with a liquid comprises combining said molybdenum metal powder and said potassium compound with water to form a slurry.

6 . The method of claim 2 , wherein said slurry comprises between about 15% to about 25% by weight liquid.

7 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

providing a supply of a binder material; and

combining said binder material with said molybdenum metal powder, said potassium compound, and said water to form a slurry.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein said potassium compound comprises potassium molybdate and wherein said slurry comprises between about 15% to about 25% by weight liquid, from about 0% to about 2% by weight binder, from about 1% by weight to about 31% by weight potassium molybdate, and from about 52% by weight to about 84% by weight molybdenum metal powder.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein providing a supply of a Group IA alkali metal compound comprises providing a supply of a potassium compound and providing a supply of a sodium compound.

10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein providing a supply of a potassium compound comprises providing a supply of potassium molybdate and wherein providing a supply of a sodium compound comprises providing a supply of sodium molybdate.

11 . A method for producing a dry blend metal powder, comprising:

providing a powder supply of molybdenum metal;

providing a powder supply comprising a Group IA alkali metal;

milling at least one of said powder supply of molybdenum metal and said powder supply comprising a Group IA alkali metal to reduce a particle size of the at least one of said powder supplies; and

combining said powder supply of molybdenum metal powder and said powder supply comprising a Group IA alkali metal to form said dry blend metal powder.

12 . A potassium/molybdenum composite metal powder product comprising a substantially homogeneous dispersion of sub-particles comprising potassium and molybdenum sub-particles that are fused together to form individual particles of said composite metal powder.

13 . The potassium/molybdenum composite metal powder product of claim 12 having a Scott density in a range of about 1.5 g/cc to about 3 g/cc.

14 . The potassium/molybdenum composite metal powder product of claim 12 , comprising from about 0.3% by weight to about 11.3% by weight retained potassium.

15 . The potassium/molybdenum composite metal powder product of claim 12 wherein said individual particles comprising said composite metal powder product have sizes in a range of about 1 μm to about 150 μm.

16 . A method for producing a metal article, comprising:

providing a supply of a potassium/molybdenum composite metal powder;

compacting the potassium/molybdenum composite metal powder under sufficient pressure to form a preformed article;

placing the preformed article in a sealed container;

raising the temperature of the sealed container to a temperature that is lower than an optimal sintering temperature of molybdenum; and

subjecting the sealed container to an isostatic pressure for a time sufficient to increase the density of the article to at least about 90% of theoretical density.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein raising the temperature of the sealed container comprises raising the temperature of the sealed container to a temperature in a range of about 890° C. to about 1250° C.

18 . The method of claim 16 , wherein subjecting the sealed container to an isostatic pressure comprises subjecting the sealed container to an isostatic pressure in a range of about 102 MPa to about 205 MPa.

19 . The method of claim 16 , wherein subjecting the sealed container to a hot isostatic pressing process is conducted for a time in a range of about 4 hours to about 8 hours.

20 . The method of claim 16 , wherein said compacting comprises subjecting the potassium/molybdenum composite metal powder to a uniaxial pressure in a range of about 67 MPa to about 1,103 MPa to form the preformed article.

21 . The method of claim 16 , wherein said compacting comprises subjecting the potassium/molybdenum composite metal powder to a cold isostatic pressure in a range of about 138 MPa to about 414 MPa to form the preformed article.

22 . A metal article produced by the method of claim 16 .

23 . The metal article of claim 22 , wherein said metal article comprises a sputter target.

24 . The metal article of claim 22 , wherein said potassium is present in an amount of at least about 2% by weight.

25 . A method for producing a photovoltaic cell, comprising:

providing a substrate;

depositing a molybdenum metal layer on said substrate;

depositing a potassium/molybdenum metal layer on said molybdenum metal layer by sputtering a target comprising a potassium/molybdenum metal matrix, sputtered material from the target forming said potassium/molybdenum metal layer;

depositing an absorber layer on said potassium/molybdenum metal layer; and

depositing a junction partner layer on said absorber layer.