A method for fabricating thin-film optoelectronic devices (100), the method comprising: providing a alkali-nondiffusing substrate (110), forming a back-contact layer (120); forming at least one absorber layer (130) made of an ABC chalcogenide material, adding least one and advantageously at least two different alkali metals, and forming at least one front-contact layer (150) wherein one of said alkali metals comprise Rb and/or Cs and where, following forming said front-contact layer, in the interval of layers (470) from back-contact layer (120), exclusive, to front-contact layer (150), inclusive, the comprised amounts resulting from adding alkali metals are, for Rb and/or Cs, in the range of 500 to 10000 ppm and, for the other alkali metals, typically Na or K, in the range of 5 to 2000 ppm and at most 1/2 and at least 1/2000 of the comprised amount of Rb and/or Cs. The method (200) is advantageous for more environmentally-friendly production of photovoltaic devices on flexible substrates with high photovoltaic conversion efficiency and faster production rate.

A shielded sputter deposition system and method, the system including a process module including: a vacuum enclosure configured to receive a moving substrate, sputtering targets disposed in the vacuum enclosure, each sputtering target including a target material, and a peripheral shield disposed between the and substrate and an interstitial space located between adjacent sputtering targets. The peripheral shield may be configured to at least partially block indirect deposition of sputtered target material onto the substrate and to permit direct deposition of the sputtered target material onto the substrate.

Methods and apparatus form an image sensor pixel circuit on flexible and non-flexible substrates. At least one indium-gallium-zinc-oxide (IGZO) thin film transistor (TFT) is formed at a process temperature of approximately 400 degrees Celsius or less and at least one photodiode is formed on at least one of the at least one IGZO TFT. The at least one photodiode having an absorption layer formed, at least in part, by depositing a copper-indium-gallium-selenium (CIGS) material with a gallium mole fraction of approximately 35% to approximately 70% at a process temperature of less than or equal to approximately 400 degrees Celsius and doping the CIGS material with antimony at a process temperature of less than or equal to approximately 400 degrees Celsius.

A copolymer that includes first divalent units having a pendent ultraviolet absorbing group, second divalent units represented by formula (I):, and third divalent units represented by formula (II):. Each R.sup.1 is independently hydrogen or methyl; R.sup.2 is a straight-chain or branched alkyl having from 1 to 20 carbon atoms; V is O or NH; W is alkylene having from 1 to 10 carbon atoms; and each R is independently alkyl having from 1 to 6 carbon atoms. Compositions including the copolymer, for example, pressure sensitive adhesive compositions are disclosed. Articles including the compositions are disclosed. For example, an assembly including a barrier film and the pressure sensitive adhesive composition is also disclosed. ##STR00001##

Described are flexible electronics incorporating a bacterial cellulose paper substrate and methods of making and using the flexible electronics. Example devices disclosed include photovoltaic cells constructed over bacterial cellulose paper substrates.

A method of manufacturing a CIS solar battery includes preparing a layer-shaped member that is configured by a substrate, a first electrode layer, a CIS layer, and a second electrode layer; setting a temperature of the layer-shaped member to a second temperature that is lower than the first temperature; forming a layer of a layer forming substance having a higher linear expansion coefficient than the substrate in a solid state of the layer on the second electrode layer; and cooling the layer-shaped member. In the method, a thin-film CIS solar battery is acquired by peeling the CIS layer from the first electrode layer along with contraction of the layer of the layer forming substance caused by the cooling of the layer-shaped member.

A photovoltaic power generation and storage (PPGS) device includes an electrically conductive substrate, a solar cell disposed on a first side of the substrate, the solar cell including an absorber layer disposed between an anode and a cathode, and a solid-state battery printed on an opposing second side of the substrate, the battery including an electrolyte layer disposed between an anode and a cathode. The method of forming the PPGS device includes forming a semiconductor material stack including a solar cell p-n junction on a first surface of a conductive web, and printing solid-state batteries on an opposing second surface of at least a portion of the conductive web.

The invention relates a full-laser scribing method for a flexible stainless steel substrate solar cell module, comprising: preparing an insulating layer and a molybdenum layer on a stainless steel substrate in sequence; using a laser I to scribe the prepared insulating layer and molybdenum layer to form a first scribed line (P1); preparing the following film layers in sequence on the molybdenum layer in which P1 has been scribed: a CIGS layer, a cadmium sulfide layer and an intrinsic zinc oxide layer; using a laser II to make scribe and thus form a second scribed line (P2), wherein the second scribed line P2 is parallel with the first scribed line P1; and preparing an aluminum-doped zinc oxide layer on the intrinsic zinc oxide layer in which P2 has been scribed, and using a laser III to make scribe and thus form a third scribed line (P3), wherein the third scribed line P3 is parallel with the first scribed line P1. The invention may avoid disadvantages caused by the screen printing, such as large dead zone, expensive screen printing paste and frequent replacement of screens for screen printing, thereby improve efficiency and stability of the module and save cost and increase production efficiency.

Thin-film photovoltaic devices and methods of their use and manufacture are disclosed. More particularly, polycrystalline CuIn.sub.(1-x)Ga.sub.xSe.sub.2 (CIGS) based thin-film photovoltaic devices having independently tunable sublayers are disclosed. Also provided are methods of producing an n-doped graphene.

Provided are a solar cell substrate made of stainless steel foil which contains 7% to 40% by mass Cr and has a coefficient of linear expansion of 12.010.sup.6/ C. or less at 0 C. to 100 C. and a thickness of 20 m to 200 m is subjected to the preparatory heat treatment for stress relief in an atmosphere consisting of one or more selected from an N.sub.2 gas, an H.sub.2 gas, an Ar gas, an AX gas, and an HN gas within the range of 250 C. to 1,050 C.; a back-contact made of a Mo layer is formed on a surface of the stainless steel foil subjected to the preparatory heat treatment or an insulating coating is formed on a surface of the stainless steel foil followed by forming the back-contact including the Mo layer thereon; and an absorber layer made of Cu(In.sub.1-xGa.sub.x)Se.sub.2 is formed on the back-contact by performing coating formation heat treatment.