Provided are an image sensor and a method of manufacturing method of manufacturing the image sensor. The image sensor includes a substrate, photoelectric transducers and switching elements formed in layers on the substrate in this order. Each of the photoelectric transducers includes a hydrogenated amorphous silicon layer. Each of the switching elements includes an amorphous oxide semiconductor layer. The image sensor further includes a blocking layer arranged between the hydrogenated amorphous silicon layers of the photoelectric transducers and the amorphous oxide semiconductor layers of the switching elements, where the blocking layer suppresses penetration of hydrogen separated from the hydrogenated amorphous silicon layers.

A back contact solar cell is described which includes a semiconductor light absorbing layer; a first-level metal layer (M1), the M1 metal layer on a back side of the light absorbing layer, the back side being opposite from a front side of the light absorbing layer designed to receive incident light; an electrically insulating backplane sheet backside of said solar cell with the M1 layer, the backplane sheet comprising a plurality of via holes that expose portions of the M1 layer beneath the backplane sheet; and an M2 layer in contact with the backplane sheet, the M2 layer made of a sheet of pre-fabricated metal foil material comprising a thickness of between 5-250 μm, the M2 layer electrically connected to the M1 layer through the via holes in the backplane sheet.

Provided is a solar cell and a method for manufacturing the same, the method includes: forming a doped layer on a surface of a semiconductor substrate, the doped layer having a first doping concentration of a doping element in the doped layer; depositing, on a surface of the doped layer, a doped amorphous silicon layer including the doping element; selectively removing at least one region of the doped amorphous silicon layer; performing annealing treatment, for the semiconductor substrate to form a lightly doped region having the first doping concentration and a heavily doped region having a second doping concentration in the doped layer, the second doping concentration is greater than the first doping concentration; and forming a solar cell by post-processing the annealed semiconductor substrate. The solar cell and the method for manufacturing the same simplify the manufacturing process and improve conversion efficiency of the solar cell.

Provided is a method for passivating a silicon-based semiconductor device and a silicon-based semiconductor device. The method includes the following steps: cutting, by using a cutting process, a preset region of the silicon-based semiconductor device, to form a first surface associated with the preset region; smoothing the first surface to adjust a surface appearance of the first surface, so that a height difference between a protrusion and a recess of a non-marginal region on the first surface is less than 20 nm; and passivating the smoothed first surface to form a first passivation layer on the first surface. The present application can reduce or avoid the problem of efficiency reduction caused by cutting a silicon-based semiconductor device and help to obtain a more efficient silicon-based semiconductor device.

A thin epitaxial silicon solar cell includes one or more layers of doped oxides on the backside. A silicon nitride layer that serves as a moisture barrier is formed on the one or more layers of doped oxides. The doped oxides provide dopants for forming doped regions in an epitaxial silicon layer. Metal contacts are electrically coupled to the doped regions through the silicon nitride layer and the one or more layers of doped oxides.

This invention is directed toward a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device with a heterostructure comprises covering a semiconductor structure with a seed layer structure; forming one or more separated circularly shaped openings in the seed layer structure to expose the semiconductor structure therein, and leave the seed layer structure outside the one or more separated circularly shaped openings; forming an insulator layer thereon; etching the obtained structure to (i) expose at least a portion of the seed layer structure, such that the exposed at least portion of the seed layer structure surrounds each of the one or more separated circularly shaped openings, and (ii) optionally expose the semiconductor structure, in the one or more separated circularly shaped openings; and epitaxially growing a semiconductor layer from the exposed at least portion of the seed layer structure, firstly mainly vertically and then into each of the one or more separated circularly shaped openings until the epitaxially grown semiconductor layer coalesces with the insulator layer or the semiconductor structure in each of the one or more separated circularly shaped openings.

The present invention relates to an alkaline etching agent for treating a surface of a semiconductor substrate for solar cells, containing at least one hydroxystyrene polymer represented by the general formula (1) and an alkaline agent. According to the present invention, some effects are exhibited that the texture formation is made possible to a semiconductor substrate for solar cells at relatively lower temperatures with a shorter amount of time, thereby having excellent productivity.

Various embodiments of mounting structures for solar photovoltaic (PV) modules and methods for constructing such mounting structures are described. A mounting structure is usable to secure PV modules in portrait orientation or landscape orientation. PV modules are secured to PV module support rails, which may be secured to purlins of a mounting structure using clamps. In some embodiments, self-adhesive grounding patches are used to establish electrical grounding paths in various embodiments of mounting structure.

A solar antenna array may comprise an array of antennas that may capture and convert sunlight into electrical power. Methods for constructing the solar antenna array may initially use range of semiconductor processing steps to minimize development costs, and may subsequently use a combination of stamps and low cost materials to reduce manufacturing costs. Designs may be optimized for capturing a broad spectrum of visible light and non-polarized light. Continuous flow Fabrication and Testing is also described.

A solar antenna array may comprise an array of carbon nanotube antennas that may capture and convert sunlight into electrical power. A method for constructing the solar antenna array from a glass top down to an aluminum covered plastic bottom such that light passing through the glass top and/or reflected off the aluminum bottom both may be captured by the antennas sandwiched between. Techniques for patterning the glass to further direct the light toward the antennas and techniques for continuous flow fabrication and testing are also described.