GB1452634A - Manufacture of solar cells - Google Patents

Abstract

1452634 Solar cells COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE CORP 13 Feb 1974 [13 Feb 1973] 6590/74 Heading H1K A p-n junction solar cell having its top surface completely covered by an anti-reflective coating 24 and an electrode, of which bonding pad 22 and inter-connected fingers 18 can be seen in Fig. 2, is provided beneath the bonding pad 22 with a pad 26 of thermally insulating material which protects the semi-conductor body 12/14 against thermal damage during bonding of inter-connections. The protective pad 26 may be of the same material as, and formed simultaneously with, the anti-reflective coating 24, suitable materials being amorphous tantalum pentoxide or niobium pentoxide or titanium oxide, produced by thermal or anodic oxidation of a deposited layer of Ta, Nb, or Ti. Alternatively the protective pad 26 may be formed of a different material and/or in a separate processing step from the anti-reflective coating 24. Two distinct process sequences are described, in one of which an Au/Cr top electrode is deposited directly on to the semi-conductor surface where it is exposed by apertures through the anti-reflective coating Fig. 4 (not shown), and in the other of which Au/Cr for the top electrode is deposited in the desired pattern on a layer of Ta, Nb or Ti, the exposed parts of which are then oxidized to form the anti-reflective coating while the covered parts remain to form a lower layer of the electrode.