According to various embodiments, a particle containing structured solder material is provided as solder material for joining a solar cell connector with a solar cell. That is why for example, the light incident on the solder material is reflected diffusely and thus partially delivered back to the solar cell, whereby the light captured by the solar cell is increased. Less of the solar cell surface is shadowed based on the solder material or the solar cell connector.

Embodiments of the invention generally relate to device fabrication of thin films used as solar devices or other electronic devices, and include textured back reflectors utilized in solar applications. In one embodiment, a method for forming a textured metallic back reflector which includes depositing a metallic layer on a gallium arsenide material within a thin film stack, forming an array of metallic islands from the metallic layer during an annealing process, removing or etching material from the gallium arsenide material to form apertures between the metallic islands, and depositing a metallic reflector layer to fill the apertures and cover the metallic islands. In another embodiment, a textured metallic back reflector includes an array of metallic islands disposed on a gallium arsenide material, a plurality of apertures disposed between the metallic islands and extending into the gallium arsenide material, a metallic reflector layer disposed over the metallic islands, and a plurality of reflector protrusions formed between the metallic islands and extending from the metallic reflector layer and into the apertures formed in the gallium arsenide material.

A solar cell with an anti-reflection structure comprises a solar cell substrate, a meshed electric-conduction layer formed on one surface of the solar cell substrate, a plurality of microspheres disposed on the meshed electric-conduction layer, and a dielectric layer. The microspheres have a diameter of 0.1-50 m. The dielectric layer is formed between the meshed electric-conduction layer and the microspheres, and has a thickness smaller than the diameter of the microspheres to make the microspheres protrude from the dielectric layer. The meshed electric-conduction layer is formed via a screen-printing method. The present invention uses the microspheres and the meshed electric-conduction layer to achieve an excellent anti-reflection effect. Further, the present invention has the advantages of a simple fabrication process and a low fabrication cost.

Disclosed herein are a solar cell and a method of manufacturing the same. The solar cell module includes a semiconductor substrate, a first passivation film located on a front surface of the semiconductor substrate, a second passivation film located on a rear surface of the semiconductor substrate, a front electric field region located on the first passivation film on the front surface of the semiconductor substrate and being of a same conductivity-type as that of the semiconductor substrate, an emitter region located on the second passivation film on the rear surface of the semiconductor substrate and being of a conductivity-type opposite that of the semiconductor substrate, first electrodes conductively connected to the front electric field region, and second electrode conductively connected to the emitter region.

Solar cell fabrication using laser patterning of ion-implanted etch-resistant layers, and the resulting solar cells, are described. In an example, a back contact solar cell includes an N-type single crystalline silicon substrate having a light-receiving surface and a back surface. Alternating continuous N-type emitter regions and segmented P-type emitter regions are disposed on the back surface of the N-type single crystalline silicon substrate, with gaps between segments of the segmented P-type emitter regions. Trenches are included in the N-type single crystalline silicon substrate between the alternating continuous N-type emitter regions and segmented P-type emitter regions and in locations of the gaps between segments of the segmented P-type emitter regions. An approximately Gaussian distribution of P-type dopants is included in the N-type single crystalline silicon substrate below the segmented P-type emitter regions. A maximum concentration of the approximately Gaussian distribution of P-type dopants is approximately in the center of each of the segmented P-type emitter regions between first and second sides of each of the segmented P-type emitter regions. Substantially vertical P/N junctions are included in the N-type single crystalline silicon substrate at the trenches formed in locations of the gaps between segments of the segmented P-type emitter regions.

An optoelectronic device and method of producing the same. The optoelectronic device comprising a substrate having a first and a second substantially planar face and an aperture therein, the aperture passing through and penetrating the first and second substantially planar faces of the substrate. The aperture has a first and a second face defining a space therebetween. The space is at least partially filled with a first semiconductor material, the first face is coated with a conductor material and the second face is coated with a second semiconductor material.

A flexible substrate material having opposed front and back sides and extending in an X-Y plane, the front side being provided with a first electrode layer and further provided with at least one thin film to form at least one thin film device stack; the thin film device stack extending from the X-Y plane in a Z direction perpendicular to the X-Y plane to a distance T; the substrate material having at least one protective structure applied to at least one of the substrate material sides, the first electrode layer and the at least one thin film; the at least one protective structure extending in the Z direction to a distance S from the X-Y plane, the distance S being greater than the distance T.

An energy conversion device comprises at least two thin film photovoltaic cells fabricated separately and joined by wafer bonding. The cells are arranged in a hierarchical stack of decreasing order of their energy bandgap from top to bottom. Each of the thin film cells has a thickness in the range from about 0.5 m to about 10 m. The photovoltaic cell stack is mounted upon a thick substrate composed of a material selected from silicon, glass, quartz, silica, alumina, ceramic, metal, graphite, and plastic. Each of the interfaces between the cells comprises a structure selected from a tunnel junction, a heterojunction, a transparent conducting oxide, and an alloying metal grid; and the top surface and/or the lower surface of the energy conversion device may contain light-trapping means.

An energy conversion device comprises at least two thin film photovoltaic cells fabricated separately and joined by wafer bonding. The cells are arranged in a hierarchical stack of decreasing order of their energy bandgap from top to bottom. Each of the thin film cells has a thickness in the range from about 0.5 m to about 10 m. The photovoltaic cell stack is mounted upon a thick substrate composed of a material selected from silicon, glass, quartz, silica, alumina, ceramic, metal, graphite, and plastic. Each of the interfaces between the cells comprises a structure selected from a tunnel junction, a heterojunction, a transparent conducting oxide, and an alloying metal grid; and the top surface and/or the lower surface of the energy conversion device may contain light-trapping means.

A p.sup. type semiconductor substrate 20 has a first principal surface 20a and a second principal surface 20b opposed to each other and includes a photosensitive region 21. The photosensitive region 21 is composed of an n.sup.+ type impurity region 23, a p.sup.+ type impurity region 25, and a region to be depleted with application of a bias voltage in the p.sup. type semiconductor substrate 20. An irregular asperity 10 is formed in the second principal surface 20b of the p.sup. type semiconductor substrate 20. An accumulation layer 37 is formed on the second principal surface 20b side of the p.sup. type semiconductor substrate 20 and a region in the accumulation layer 37 opposed to the photosensitive region 21 is optically exposed.