A method for producing a CdTe solar cell is provided, wherein at least the following layers are deposited on a glass substrate within a vacuum chamber: a TCO layer acting as a frontal contact; at least one CdTe layer; a thin layer of a chlorine-containing compound, and an electrically conductive layer acting as a return contact. Here, a maximally 20 nm thick passivation layer made from CdS, in which chemically non-bound oxygen is embedded, is deposited on the TCO layer prior to deposition of at least one CdTe-layer.

Photovoltaic devices, and methods of making the same, are described.

The present invention relates to an application liquid for forming a semiconductor film, the application liquid comprising: an inorganic semiconductor particle; and a compound having a relative permittivity of 2 or more or a compound having reducing power against the inorganic semiconductor particle; a method for producing a semiconductor film comprising a step of applying the application liquid; a semiconductor film and a semiconductor element comprising the semiconductor film; and a method for producing the semiconductor element.

The present invention describes a method for producing CdTe thin-film solar cells, in which special parameters of different processing steps and a special sequence of processing steps result in improved characteristics of the produced CdTe solar cells.

A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device includes: forming a photocatalytic layer and an organic compound layer in contact with the photocatalytic layer over a substrate having a light transmitting property; forming an element forming layer over the substrate having the light transmitting property with the photocatalytic layer and the organic compound layer in contact with the photocatalytic layer interposed therebetween; and separating the element forming layer from the substrate having the light transmitting property after the photocatalytic layer is irradiated with light through the substrate having the light transmitting property.

A stretchable photovoltaic device, a stretchable photovoltaic module and a carrier for facilitating formation of a stretchable photovoltaic device and/or module are provided. The stretchable photovoltaic device includes a stretchable part, at least one photovoltaic cell and a surface over which that at least one photovoltaic cell is disposed. The stretchable part has a given length that is operable to change in response to a force being applied to the device. The given length may, for example, elongate when the force causes the device to elongate. Alternative and/or additionally, the given length may compress when the force causes the device to compress.

A method for forming a back contact on an absorber layer in a photovoltaic device includes forming a two dimensional material on a first substrate. An absorber layer including CuZnSnS(Se) (CZTSSe) is grown over the first substrate on the two dimensional material. A buffer layer is grown on the absorber layer on a side opposite the two dimensional material. The absorber layer is exfoliated from the two dimensional material to remove the first substrate from a backside of the absorber layer opposite the buffer layer. A back contact is deposited on the absorber layer.

A method of reclaiming cadmium material from photovoltaic (PV) modules is provided. The method includes submerging one or more portions of a PV module in a solution including non-distilled water, wherein the one or more portions of the PV module are submerged until cadmium material present on the PV module dissolves into the solution, boiling the solution until the dissolved cadmium material precipitates, and collecting the precipitated cadmium material.

Glasses are disclosed having a composition comprising the following oxides (in weight %): SiO.sub.2 61 to 70%, Al.sub.2O.sub.3 0 to 9%, Na.sub.2O 10 to 13%, K.sub.2O 0 to 1%, MgO 2 to 6%, CaO 6 to 16%, SrO 0 to 1%, ZrO.sub.2 0 to 1%, TiO.sub.2 2 to 15%, the glasses having a strain point greater than 570 C. The glasses have good dimensional stability at high temperatures, making them suitable for fire protection glazings and substrates which are processed at elevated temperatures, e.g. substrates for display panels, information storage discs and semiconductor devices, including photovoltaic cells. Physical properties of the glasses, such as thermal expansion coefficient, density and refractive index, are disclosed, as are the melting and liquidus temperatures. The glasses are suitable for manufacture by the float process, yielding flat glass in the form of sheets.

An object of the present invention is to provide a gas barrier film which can prevent the damage of an inorganic layer even in a case where the gas barrier film is used in a product which undergoes a step of applying pressure, heat, and the like, a solar cell using the gas barrier film, and a manufacturing method of the gas barrier film. The object is achieved by a gas barrier film having a support and an inorganic layer and a protective organic layer on one surface of the support, in which the protective organic layer has a polymerized substance of a graft copolymer having an acryl polymer as a main chain and having, as a side chain, at least either an acryloyl group-terminated urethane polymer or an acryloyl group-terminated urethane oligomer, a polymerized substance of a (meth)acrylate monomer having three or more functional groups, a polymerized substance of the graft copolymer and the (meth)acrylate monomer having three or more functional groups, a (meth)acrylate polymer, and a silane coupling agent having a (meth)acryloyl group.