Patent US4052782A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US4052782A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Tubular solar cell and method of making same
Assignee: Sensor Technology Inc
•
Filing: 1976-02-26
•
Granted: 1977-10-11
•
Expires: 1996-02-26
Abstract
Abstract High efficiency, low cost solar energy conversation is facilitated by using tubular photovoltaic solar cells situated at the focus of a line-generated paraboloidal reflector. Advantageously each solar cell comprises a pair of concentric glass tubes that are hermetically sealed at the ends. A photovoltaic junction is formed over the entire inside surface of one of the concentric tubes. For example, this may comprise an inner electrically conductive film, contiguous layers of Cu 2 S and CdS forming a heterojunction, and an outer film of optically transparent but electrically conductive material. The conductive films provide electrical connection to the junction via external contacts that are symmetrically disposed at the ends of the tubular cell. In other embodiments the photovoltaic junction is formed in a crystalline silicon layer that is grown in situ on one of the glass tubes. Techniques for promoting oriented semiconductor crystalline growth are disclosed. These include providing minute crystalline islands in a metal matrix to serve as growth centers, surface alignment using a wavy layer deposited at an actue angle onto the glass substrate, surface seeding and normalization growth atop a fluid-like thin film deposition substrate.
Inventors
- 👤 Harold Weinstein
- 👤 Ray H. Lee
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 23:05
CPC Classifications
C; C30; C30B; C30B29/00; C30B29/02; C30B29/06; C30B11/00; C30B11/04; C30B11/08; C30B11/10; C30B25/00; C30B25/02; F; F24; F24S; F24S10/00; F24S10/90; F24S10/95; F24S20/00; F24S20/20; F24S23/00; F24S23/70; F24S23/74; H; H02; H02S; H02S40/00; H02S40/40; H02S40/44; H10; H10F; H10F10/00; H10F10/10; H10F10/16; H10F10/169; H10F77/00; H10F77/10; H10F77/14; H10F77/147; H10F77/16; H10F77/169; H10F77/1696; H10F77/40; H10F77/42; H10F77/488; H10F77/60; H10F77/63; H10F77/68; Y; Y02; Y02E; Y02E10/00; Y02E10/40; Y02E10/44; Y02E10/50; Y02E10/52; Y02E10/60; Y10; Y10S; Y10S148/00; Y10S148/064; Y10S148/12; Y10S148/122; Y10S148/152; Y10S148/17
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 17
Claim 1
Independent Claim
109 words
A process for promoting oriented crystalline growth on a glass surface, consisting of; coating said glass surface with a film of a metal having a eutectic temperature with silicon of less than the melting temperature of said glass; depositing silicon atop said metal film, heating said metal film and said deposited silicon to approximately said eutectic temperature, then lowering the temperature to below said eutectic temperature to cause separation of the silicon from said metal, thereby forming islands of crystalline silicon in said metal film, growing additional silicon atop said layer of metal, said silicon crystalline islands serving as growth centers promoting oriented crystalline growth of said additional silicon.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
109 words
A process for promoting oriented crystalline growth on a glass surface, consisting of; coating said glass surface with a film of a metal having a eutectic temperature with silicon of less than the melting temperature of said glass; depositing silicon atop said metal film, heating said metal film and said deposited silicon to approximately said eutectic temperature, then lowering the temperature to below said eutectic temperature to cause separation of the silicon from said metal, thereby forming islands of crystalline silicon in said metal film, growing additional silicon atop said layer of metal, said silicon crystalline islands serving as growth centers promoting oriented crystalline growth of said additional silicon.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
32 words
The process of claim 1 wherein said metal is aluminum, wherein said eutectic temperature is about 477° C. and wherein said temperature is lowered by an amount less than about 100° C.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
64 words
The process of claim 1 used for the fabrication of a photovoltaic cell, said metal film serving as one electrical connection to said cell, said additional silicon being doped during growth to form a junction therein, together with the further step of; providing an electrically conductive, optically transparent layer atop said additional silicon, said layer serving as the other electrical connection to said cell.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
44 words
The process of claim 3 wherein said additional silicon is vapor deposited onto said island-containing metal film, said deposited silicon crystallizing in situ, together with sequentially adding first and second types of dopant atoms into said silicon vapor to form said junction during deposition.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
53 words
The process of claim 3 wherein said glass surface is one surface of a first elongated tube, together with; providing a second elongated tube concentric with said first tube, said one surface being between said concentric tubes, the outer of said tubes being optically transparent, and hermetically sealing the space between said tubes.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
49 words
A process for fabricating a tubular solar cell, comprising; treating the surface of a tubular glass member to promote oriented crystalline growth, growing a layer of crystalline semiconductor material atop said treated surface, doping said layer to form a photovoltaic junction therewithin, and providing electrical connections to said junction.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
49 words
A process for fabricating a tubular solar cell, comprising; treating the surface of a tubular glass member to promote oriented crystalline growth, growing a layer of crystalline semiconductor material atop said treated surface, doping said layer to form a photovoltaic junction therewithin, and providing electrical connections to said junction.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
45 words
A process according to claim 6 together with; providing a second tubular member concentric with said first member, said layer being between said concentric members, the outer of said members being optically transparent, and hermetically sealing the space between said concentric members containing said layer.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
78 words
The process of claim 6 wherein said treating comprises; coating said glass surface with a film of aluminum and with silicon, heating said aluminum and silicon to their eutectic temperature, then cooling the combination sufficiently to cause separation of the silicon and aluminum, said silicon separating as crystalized islands within the aluminum film, and wherein said growing comprises; depositing silicon atop said aluminum film, the crystalline silicon islands within said film promoting oriented growth of the deposited silicon.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
26 words
The process of claim 8 wherein said silicon is vapor deposited together with dopant atoms to form a junction in the silicon as it is grown.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
18 words
The process of claim 6 wherein said treating comprises; coating said surface with fine particles of crystalline silicon.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
29 words
The process of claim 10 wherein said coating comprises; cracking up a single crystal of silicon into powersized particles, and applying said particles to said surface by plasma spray.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
15 words
The process of claim 10 wherein said coating comprises; ion implanting silicon in said surface.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
72 words
The process of claim 6 wherein said treating comprises; coating said surface with a film of aluminum, heating the substrate to an elevated temperature below the aluminum-silicon eutectic temperature but sufficiently high to cause said aluminum to loose its crystallinity, so that silicon deposited upon the heated aluminum will have no preferential direction imparted by the aluminum film and hence will crystalize upwardly, normal to said surface, as the only preferred direction.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
41 words
The process of claim 6 wherein said treating comprises, depositing a substrate material onto said surface at an acute angle to produce a film having a wavy deposition surface, the crystallization of subsequently deposited silicon being aligned with said wavy surface.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
75 words
The process of claim 14 wherein said depositing comprises; placing said surface in a vacuum chamber, introducing a narrow beam of silicon oxide and gold into said chamber in the direction of said surface, said surface being positioned so that said beam strikes the surface at an angle on the order of about 15°, there being sufficient deposited gold so that said film also can serve as one of said electrical connections to said junction.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US3914856A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1980-10-10 | 1981-04-11 | 1981-10-11 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1984-10-10 | 1985-04-11 | 1985-10-11 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1988-10-10 | 1989-04-11 | 1989-10-11 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |