An improved feeder system and method for continuous vapor transport deposition that includes at least two vaporizers couple to a common distributor through an improved seal for separately vaporizing and collecting at least any two vaporizable materials for deposition as a material layer on a substrate. Multiple vaporizer provide redundancy and allow for continuous deposition during vaporizer maintenance and repair.

A photovoltaic cell can include a dopant in contact with a semiconductor layer.

A multi-junction photovoltaic cell includes a substrate and a back contact layer formed on the substrate. A low bandgap Group IB-IIIB-VIB.sub.2 material solar absorber layer is formed on the back contact layer. A heterojunction partner layer is formed on the low bandgap solar absorber layer, to help form the bottom cell junction, and the heterojunction partner layer includes at least one layer of a high resistivity material having a resistivity of at least 100 ohms-centimeter. The high resistivity material has the formula (Zn and/or Mg)(S, Se, O, and/or OH). A conductive interconnect layer is formed above the heterojunction partner layer, and at least one additional single-junction photovoltaic cell is formed on the conductive interconnect layer, as a top cell. The top cell may have an amorphous Silicon or p-type Cadmium Selenide solar absorber layer. Cadmium Selenide may be converted from n-type to p-type with a chloride doping process.

A photoconductive device that generates or detects terahertz radiation includes a semiconductor layer; a structure portion; and an electrode. The semiconductor layer has a thickness no less than a first propagation distance and no greater than a second propagation distance, the first propagation distance being a distance that the surface plasmon wave propagates through the semiconductor layer in a perpendicular direction of an interface between the semiconductor layer and the structure portion until an electric field intensity of the surface plasmon wave becomes 1/e times the electric field intensity of the surface plasmon wave at the interface, the second propagation distance being a distance that a terahertz wave having an optical phonon absorption frequency of the semiconductor layer propagates through the semiconductor layer in the perpendicular direction until an electric field intensity of the terahertz wave becomes 1/e.sup.2 times the electric field intensity of the terahertz wave at the interface.

According to the embodiments provided herein, a method for forming a photovoltaic device can include depositing a plurality of semiconductor layers. The plurality of semiconductor layers can include a doped layer that is doped with a group V dopant. The doped layer can include cadmium selenide or cadmium telluride. The method can include annealing the plurality of semiconductor layers to form an absorber layer.

The present invention refers to a method for producing CdTe thin-film solar cells, respectively a semi-finished CdTe thin-film solar cell, where in an additional temperature step is carried out after applying the CdTe layer on to a substrate. In particular, the temperature step is performed after activating the CdTe layer using a suitable activation agent and removing the residual activation agent from the CdTe layer. The temperature treatment is performed under vacuum or in a heating chamber filled with either air or inert gas, during which treatment the substrate is exposed to a temperature between 180 C. and 380 C. for a time between 5 minutes and 60 minutes. Due to the inventive additional temperature step, the number and extension of crystal defects in the CdTe layer is reduced and the electric efficiency of the solar cell is further improved.

A method for transferring an assembly of oriented nanowires from a liquid interface onto a surface including providing a first liquid and a second liquid, wherein the first and second liquids phase separate into a bottom phase, a top phase and an interface between the bottom phase and the top phase, providing nanowires in the first and second liquids such that the majority of the nanowires are located at the interface and providing the nanowires onto a substrate such that a majority of the nanowires are aligned with respect to each other on the substrate.

Methods for doping an absorbent layer of a p-n heterojunction in a thin film photovoltaic device are provided. The method can include depositing a window layer on a transparent substrate, where the window layer includes at least one dopant (e.g., copper). A p-n heterojunction can be formed on the window layer, with the p-n heterojunction including a photovoltaic material (e.g., cadmium telluride) in an absorber layer. The dopant can then be diffused from the window layer into the absorber layer (e.g., via annealing).

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.

The present application is directed to a solid state device for detecting neutrons. The device includes a semiconductor substrate having pores. The device also includes a p- or n-type doping layer formed on a surface of the pores. Moreover, a layer of fill material is formed on the p- or n-type doping layer. The present application also is directed to a method of making a solid state device. Further, the present application is directed to a method of detecting efficiency of solid state detector devices.