Method of coating a substrate
View Patent ↗There is provided a method of coating a substrate with a zinc oxide film. The method includes (a) providing a substrate with at least one substantially flat surface, (b) subjecting the surface at least partially to a plasma-etching process, and (c) depositing on the etched surface, a layer that includes zinc oxide. The method is particularly suitable for manufacturing solar cells.
1. A method of coating a substrate with a zinc oxide film, the method comprising:
providing a glass substrate with a surface that is substantially flat;
subjecting said surface at least partially to a plasma-etching process that uses a plasma of a mixture of sulphur hexafluoride and oxygen in a ratio of 5/1, thus yielding an etched surface; and
depositing on said etched surface, a layer comprising zinc oxide, wherein the zinc oxide is deposited by low pressure vapour deposition.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plasma-etching process uses a power density of about 1 W/cm 2 .
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plasma-etching process uses a pressure of 30 mTorr.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the etching period plasma-etching process lasts about 30 minutes.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the zinc oxide is doped with boron.