A method includes forming, on a substrate by performing physical vapor deposition in vacuum, an absorber layer including copper (Cu), indium (In), gallium (Ga) and selenium (Se), forming a stack including the substrate and an oxygen-annealed absorber layer by performing in-situ oxygen annealing of the absorber layer to improve quantum efficiency of the image sensor by passivating selenium vacancies due to dangling bonds, and forming a cap layer over the oxygen-annealed absorber layer by performing physical vapor deposition in vacuum. The cap layer includes at least one of: Ga.sub.2O.sub.3.Math.Sn, ZnS, CdS, CdSe, ZnO, ZnSe, ZnIn.sub.2Se.sub.4, CuGaS.sub.2, In.sub.2S.sub.3, MgO, or Zn.sub.0.8Mg.sub.0.2O.

A method includes forming, on a substrate by performing physical vapor deposition in vacuum, an absorber layer including copper (Cu), indium (In), gallium (Ga) and selenium (Se), forming a stack including the substrate and an oxygen-annealed absorber layer by performing in-situ oxygen annealing of the absorber layer to improve quantum efficiency of the image sensor by passivating selenium vacancies due to dangling bonds, and forming a cap layer over the oxygen-annealed absorber layer by performing physical vapor deposition in vacuum. The cap layer includes at least one of: Ga.sub.2O.sub.3.Math.Sn, ZnS, CdS, CdSe, ZnO, ZnSe, ZnIn.sub.2Se.sub.4, CuGaS.sub.2, In.sub.2S.sub.3, MgO, or Zn.sub.0.8Mg.sub.0.2O.

A homogeneous coating solution for forming a light-absorbing layer of a solar cell, the homogeneous solution including: at least one metal or metal compound selected from the group consisting of a group 11 metal, a group 13 metal, a group 11 metal compound and a group 13 metal compound; a Lewis base solvent; and a Lewis acid.

A method of making a CIGS/inorganic thin film tandem semiconductor device including the steps of depositing a textured buffer layer on an inexpensive substrate, depositing a metal-inorganic film from a eutectic alloy on the buffer layer, the metal being selected from a group of CIGS elements, and adding the remaining CIGS elements to the metal, thereby growing a CIGS film on the inorganic film for the tandem semiconductor device.

Manufacture for an improved stacked-layered thin film solar cell. Solar cell has reduced absorber thickness and an improved back contact for Copper Indium Gallium Selenide solar cells. The back contact provides improved reflectance particularly for infrared wavelengths while still maintaining ohmic contact to the semiconductor absorber. This reflectance is achieved by producing a back contact having a highly reflecting metal separated from an absorbing layer with a dielectric layer.

In various embodiments, photovoltaic devices incorporate discontinuous passivation layers (i) disposed between a thin-film absorber layer and a partner layer, (ii) disposed between the partner layer and a front contact layer, and/or (iii) disposed between a back contact layer and the thin-film absorber layer.

Disclosed is a complementary resistor switch (3) comprising two outer contacts, between which two piezo- or ferroelectric layers (11a and 11b) having an inner common contact are situated. At least one region (11, 11) of the layers is modified, either the outer contacts are rectifying (S) and the inner contact is non-rectifying (0), or vice versa, the modified regions are formed at the rectifying contacts, the layers have different strain-dependent structural phases with different band gaps and/or different polarization charges, and the electrical conductivity of the layers is different. Also disclosed are a connectable resistor structure having at least one Schottky contact at two adjoining piezo- or ferroelectric layers, a polycrystalline piezo- or ferroelectric layer comprising modified crystallites, and a method and circuits for encrypting and decrypting a bit sequence.

According to one embodiment, a photoelectric conversion element includes a first electrode, a second electrode, a photoelectric conversion layer, and a first layer. The second electrode includes a base member and a first material portion. The base member includes a plurality of structure bodies including carbon. The first material portion includes a carrier transport material and is provided between the structure bodies. The photoelectric conversion layer is provided between the first electrode and the second electrode. The photoelectric conversion layer includes a material having a perovskite structure. The first layer is provided between the photoelectric conversion layer and the second electrode. The first layer includes the carrier transport material.

A method of fabricating a color tunable thin film photovoltaic device includes depositing a layer of a semiconducting compound configured to exhibit a photovoltaic effect, and depositing a buffer layer over the layer of the semiconducting compound. Depositing transparent conducting oxides (TCO) over the buffer layer is followed by selecting two or more layers of optically transparent materials such that constructive interference among wavelengths reflected by the buffer layer, the TCO, and the two or more layers results in a desired exhibited color and depositing the two or more layers of the optically transparent materials above the TCO.

Manufacture of an improved stacked-layered thin film solar cell. The solar cell has reduced absorber thickness and an improved back contact for Copper Indium Gallium Selenide solar cells. The back contact provides improved reflectance particularly for infrared wavelengths while still maintaining ohmic contact to the semiconductor absorber. This reflectance is achieved by producing a back contact having a highly reflecting metal separated from an absorbing layer with a dielectric layer.