In one embodiment, harmful solar cell polarization is prevented or minimized by providing a conductive path that bleeds charge from a front side of a solar cell to the bulk of a wafer. The conductive path may include patterned holes in a dielectric passivation layer, a conductive anti-reflective coating, or layers of conductive material formed on the top or bottom surface of an anti-reflective coating, for example. Harmful solar cell polarization may also be prevented by biasing a region of a solar cell module on the front side of the solar cell.

A photovoltaic or light detecting device is provided that includes a periodic array of dome or dome-like protrusions at the light impingement surface and a metal-less reflector/back electrode at the device back. The beneficial interaction between an appropriately designed top protrusion array and metal-less reflector/electrode back contact (R/EBC) serves (1) to refract the incoming light thereby providing photons with an advantageous larger momentum component parallel to the plane of the back (R/EBC) contact and (2) to provide optical impedance matching for the short wavelength incoming light. The metal-less reflector/back electrode operates as a back light reflector and counter electrode to the periodic array of dome or dome-like structures. A substrate supports the metal-less reflector/back electrode.

A solar cell and a method for manufacturing the solar cell are discussed. The method for manufacturing the solar cell includes applying an electrode paste on a semiconductor substrate and sintering the electrode paste using a light sintering device to form an electrode. The electrode paste includes fine metal particles, a binder, and a solvent. An amount of the fine metal particles is greater than a sum of an amount of the binder and an amount of the solvent, and the amount of the binder is greater than the amount of the solvent.

Described herein is a method of using the buffer layer of a transparent conductive substrate as a dopant source for the n-type window layer of a photovoltaic device. The dopant source of the buffer layer distributes to the window layer of the photovoltaic device during semiconductor processing. Described herein are also methods of manufacturing embodiments of the substrate structure and photovoltaic device. Disclosed embodiments also describe a photovoltaic module and a photovoltaic structure with a plurality of photovoltaic devices having an embodiment of the substrate structure.

Disclosed are a solar cell and a method for manufacturing the same. The solar cell comprises asymmetric nanowires each of which has an angled sidewall, and thus incident light can be concentrated at a p-n junction portion by means of a total reflection phenomenon of light caused by the difference between the refractive indices of a semiconductor layer and a transparent electrode layer, and light absorption may increase due to an increase in the light travel distance, thus improving photoelectric efficiency. Further, the method for manufacturing the solar cell involves etching a substrate and integrally forming the substrate and a p-type semiconductor layer including the asymmetric nanowires each of which has the angled sidewalls, thereby enabling reduced manufacturing costs and simple and easy manufacture of the nanowires having the angled sidewalls.

An electro-optic device includes a substructure, a layer of nanowires deposited on the substructure so as to form a network of nanowires having electrically connected junctions at overlapping nanowire portions and defining spaces void of the nanowires, and a plurality of electrically conducting and optically transparent nanoparticles disposed to at least partially fill a plurality of the spaces to provide additional electrically conducting pathways for the network of nanowires across the spaces. The network of nanowires and the plurality of electrically conducting and optically transparent nanoparticles form at least a portion of an optically transparent electrode of the electro-optic device.

A p-type transparent conductive oxide (TCO) mixed metal oxide material layer formed upon a substrate has a formula M1.sub.xM2.sub.yO.sub.z generally, Ca.sub.xCo.sub.yO.sub.z more specifically, and Ca.sub.3C.sub.o4O.sub.9 most specifically. Embodiments provide that the p-type TCO mixed metal oxide material may be formed absent an epitaxial crystalline relationship with respect to the substrate while using a sol-gel synthesis method that uses a chelating polymer material and not a block copolymer material.

Electropolymerized polymer or copolymer films on a conducting substrate (e.g., graphene) and methods of making such films. The films may be part of multilayer structures. The films can be formed by anodic or cathodic electropolymerization of monomers. The films and structures (e.g., multilayer structures) can be used in devices such as, for example, electrochromic devices, electrical-energy storage devices, photo-voltaic devices, field-effect transistor devices, electrical devices, electronic devices, energy-generation devices, and microfluidic devices.

A solar cell including at least a first layer made of a semiconductor material for absorbing photons from light radiation and releasing charge carriers, and at least one conductive layer, overlapping the first layer, adapted to allow the light radiation to enter into the solar cell towards the first layer and to collect the charge carriers released by the first layer, the solar cell where the conductive layer includes at least three overlapped layers, including a transparent intermediate metal layer, made of metal, and two transparent oxide layers, made of a conductive oxide, where the two oxide layers are an inner oxide layer and an outer oxide layer surrounding the transparent intermediate metal layer to provide a low resistance path for the electrical charges and to maximize the amount of light radiation entering the solar cell. The embodiments also include a solar cells module including said solar cell.

A solar cell of the invention includes a collecting electrode on a first principal surface of a photoelectric conversion section. The collecting electrode includes a first electroconductive layer and a second electroconductive layer in this order from the photoelectric conversion section. On the first principal surface of the photoelectric conversion section, an insulating layer is provided in a first electroconductive layer-non-formed region where the first electroconductive layer is not formed. The insulating layer includes a first insulating layer is in contact with the first electroconductive layer on the first principal surface of the photoelectric conversion section, and a second insulating layer that is formed so as to cover at least a part of the first insulating layer.