A solar cell includes: a semiconductor substrate having a light receiving surface and a back surface; a first semiconductor layer of the first conductivity type on the back surface; a second semiconductor layer of the second conductivity type on the back surface; a first electrode electrically connected to the first semiconductor layer; and an insulating layer for electrically insulating the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer from each other in a region in which an edge of the first semiconductor layer and an edge of second semiconductor layer overlap. The first electrode includes a first transparent electrode layer and a first collection electrode layer on the first transparent electrode layer. The first transparent electrode layer is separated into a primary electrode layer that is on the first semiconductor layer and a separated electrode layer that is on the second semiconductor layer in the region.

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 high transmittance thin film solar panel includes a transparent substrate, a front electrode layer, a light absorption layer and a rear electrode layer. The light absorption layer is formed with opening patterns with the same width at positions aligned correspondingly to form at least one first opening trench, a plurality of second opening trenches with continuously and periodically sinusoidal-wave shape, and a plurality of third opening trenches parallel to, interlace with or superpose the second opening trenches, and extend in a direction orthogonal to the direction of the first opening trench. The high transmittance thin film solar panel of the present invention is mainly used for green buildings. The opening trenches of the high transmittance thin film solar panel are formed in a manner of curve shape by an oscillating laser head, and can enhance the transmittance by more than about 3% in comparison with the conventional one.

Kesterite-based homojunction photovoltaic devices are provided. The photovoltaic devices include a p-type semiconductor layer including a copper-zinc-tin containing chalcogenide compound and an n-type semiconductor layer including a silver-zinc-tin containing chalcogenide compound having a crystalline structure the same as a crystalline structure the copper-zinc-tin containing chalcogenide compound.

Material and antireflection structure designs and methods of manufacturing are provided that produce efficient photovoltaic power conversion from single- and multi-junction devices. Materials of different energy gap are combined in the depletion region of at least one of the semiconductor junctions. Higher energy gap layers are positioned to reduce the diode dark current and enhance the operating voltage by suppressing both carrier injections across the junction and recombination rates within the junction. Step-graded antireflection structures are placed above the active region of the device in order to increase the photocurrent.

An imaging device with excellent imaging performance is provided. An imaging device that easily performs imaging under a low illuminance condition is provided. A low power consumption imaging device is provided. An imaging device with small variations in characteristics between its pixels is provided. A highly integrated imaging device is provided. A photoelectric conversion element includes a first electrode, and a first layer, a second layer, and a third layer. The first layer is provided between the first electrode and the third layer. The second layer is provided between the first layer and the third layer. The first layer contains selenium. The second layer contains a metal oxide. The third layer contains a metal oxide and also contains at least one of a rare gas atom, phosphorus, and boron. The selenium may be crystalline selenium. The second layer may be a layer of an InGaZn oxide including c-axis-aligned crystals.

According to the embodiments provided herein, a method for sputtering a TCO material onto a substrate includes process conditions that produce a textured topography at the interfaces of various layers. The textured topography can include an average roughness from about 5 to about 40 nm. The process conditions can include providing oxygen in the sputtering environment at a flow rate of from 0 to about 30 sccm; or heating the substrate to at least 200; or increasing the magnetic field strength to above 40 mT. The textured topography creates interfacial transition areas which have hybrid physical properties compared to their constituent materials.

Provided are a photoelectric conversion element and a photoelectric conversion device that are thin, have high conversion efficiency, and allow device scale-up. The photoelectric conversion element includes a photoelectric conversion member containing a transition metal dichalcogenide, and a first electrode and a second electrode that are connected to the photoelectric conversion member, in which the first electrode and the second electrode include facing portions where at least a part of the first electrode and at least a part of the second electrode are arranged to face each other in a parallel manner, and a length W of each of the facing portions and a separation distance Lch between the first electrode and the second electrode at the facing portions satisfy a relationship of W/Lch36.7. The photoelectric conversion device includes the photoelectric conversion element.

A method for manufacturing a solar cell which simplifies the formation of a transparent electrode layer. The method includes forming conductive semiconductor layers on the back surface side of a substrate, forming a transparent conductive film on the conductive semiconductor layers, forming an uncured film of a metal electrode layer on the conductive semiconductor layers, patterning the transparent conductive film to form transparent electrode layers, and forming the metal electrode layers, in this order. In the metal electrode layer uncured film forming, a printing material is printed and dried to form the uncured film of the metal electrode layer; in the transparent electrode layer forming, the uncured film of the metal electrode layer is used as a mask to pattern the transparent conductive film; and in the metal electrode layer forming, the uncured film of the metal electrode layer is fired and cured to form the metal electrode layers.

Disclosed herein are devices, systems, and methods for processing a solar cell precursor. The processing may include forming a transparent, electrically conductive first layer over the solar cell precursor. The processing may also include forming a transparent, electrically conductive second layer over the solar cell precursor, preferably in physical contact with the first layer. The first layer may comprise at least indium, zinc, and oxygen and the second layer may comprise oxygen and a greater proportion of indium than the first layer.