A photovoltaic cell can include a dopant in contact with a semiconductor layer. The photovoltaic cell can include a transparent conductive layer and a first semiconductor layer in contact with the transparent conductive layer, the first semiconductor layer including magnesium. In certain circumstances, a substrate can be a glass substrate. In other circumstances, a substrate can be a metal layer. The first semiconductor layer can include CdS. The first semiconductor layer can have a thickness of between about 200 or 3000 Angstroms. The first semiconductor layer can include 1-20% magnesium. A method of manufacturing a photovoltaic cell can include providing a transparent conductive layer and depositing a first semiconductor layer in contact with the transparent conductive layer, the first semiconductor layer treated with magnesium.

Embodiments of a photovoltaic device are provided herein. The photovoltaic device can include a layer stack and an absorber layer disposed on the layer stack. The absorber layer can include a first region and a second region. Each of the first region of the absorber layer and the second region of the absorber layer can include a compound comprising cadmium, selenium, and tellurium. An atomic concentration of selenium can vary across the absorber layer. The first region of the absorber layer can have a thickness between 100 nanometers to 3000 nanometers. The second region of the absorber layer can have a thickness between 100 nanometers to 3000 nanometers. A ratio of an average atomic concentration of selenium in the first region of the absorber layer to an average atomic concentration of selenium in the second region of the absorber layer can be greater than 10.

The technology disclosed herein concerns a process for fabricating devices with Graphene Nanogap Electrodes (GNE).

Photovoltaic devices with type II-VI semiconductor absorber materials having improved carrier extraction layers are described herein. Methods of treating semiconductor absorber layers and forming improved carrier extraction layers and p-type contact layers are described.

Provided is a method for manufacturing a stack structure. The method for manufacturing a stack structure includes: preparing a substrate; forming a two-dimensional semiconductor material on the substrate; and oxidizing the two-dimensional semiconductor material using oxygen plasma to form a high-k material layer including the high-k material. The stack structure manufactured through the above-described method may be easily applied to a MOS capacitor, a field effect transistor (FET), an impact ionization super-tilt switching device, a dye-sensitized solar cell, an architectural film (particularly, a film used for window coating), and the like.

Described herein is an optical sensor, a detector for an optical detection including the optical sensor, a method for manufacturing the optical sensor and various uses of the optical detector. The optical sensor includes a stack.

A method of manufacturing a cadmium (Cd) alloy transmissive solar cell is provided. The method includes pumping a vacuum chamber to a base pressure and pumping the vacuum chamber to a sputtering pressure. The method includes providing into the vacuum chamber a first gas at a rate that balances a flow of the first gas in and out of the vacuum chamber with respect to the sputtering pressure and heating a surface of a partially manufactured cadmium (Cd) alloy transmissive solar cell within the vacuum chamber to a calibrated deposition temperature. The method includes providing into the vacuum chamber a second gas including at least a hydrogen gas (H.sub.2) at a proportional rate to achieve a target gas mix while maintaining the sputtering pressure and depositing a target material onto the surface to form a back contact section of the cadmium (Cd) alloy transmissive solar cell.

A method of manufacturing a cadmium (Cd) alloy transmissive solar cell is provided. The method includes pumping a vacuum chamber to a base pressure and pumping the vacuum chamber to a sputtering pressure. The method includes providing into the vacuum chamber a first gas at a rate that balances a flow of the first gas in and out of the vacuum chamber with respect to the sputtering pressure and heating a surface of a partially manufactured cadmium (Cd) alloy transmissive solar cell within the vacuum chamber to a calibrated deposition temperature. The method includes providing into the vacuum chamber a second gas including at least a hydrogen gas (H.sub.2) at a proportional rate to achieve a target gas mix while maintaining the sputtering pressure and depositing a target material onto the surface to form a back contact section of the cadmium (Cd) alloy transmissive solar cell.

A semitransparent photovoltaic module includes a submodule with a first glass layer, a transparent conducting oxide layer, a semiconductor layer, and a metal back contact layer. The submodule further includes a plurality of interconnection scribes extending in a first direction across the submodule and a plurality of light transmission scribes disposed perpendicularly to the plurality of interconnection scribes in a second direction. The module may further include a lamination layer and a second glass layer and have a visible light transmission of about 7% to about 70% and is capable of generating about 60 W to about 120 W of power. In one embodiment, the light transmission scribes are about 0.05 mm to about 1 mm wide, with a pitch of about 1 mm to about 5 mm.

A method for manufacturing a CdTe based thin film solar cell device with a graded refractive index profile within the CdTe-based absorber layer. The method comprises the following steps: a) providing a transparent substrate comprising a front electrode, b) forming a doped CdTe based absorber layer on the substrate, c) performing an activation treatment after step b). The doped CdTe based absorber layer in step b) is formed as a doped CdTe based absorber layer stack comprising a first and a second layer. The first layer is formed as a first doping element containing layer comprising vanadium as the first doping element by depositing a first doping element-rich layer and subsequently depositing a CdSe layer or a CdSeTe layer, or by depositing a CdSe layer or a CdSeTe layer each doped with the first doping element. The second layer is formed by depositing a CdTe layer. A CdTe based thin film solar cell device with a graded refractive index profile.