WO2009123039A1 - 太陽電池の製造方法および太陽電池の製造装置 - Google Patents
太陽電池の製造方法および太陽電池の製造装置 Download PDFInfo
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- WO2009123039A1 WO2009123039A1 PCT/JP2009/056247 JP2009056247W WO2009123039A1 WO 2009123039 A1 WO2009123039 A1 WO 2009123039A1 JP 2009056247 W JP2009056247 W JP 2009056247W WO 2009123039 A1 WO2009123039 A1 WO 2009123039A1
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- solar cell
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- structural defect
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- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 43
- 230000007547 defect Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 85
- 230000007847 structural defect Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 81
- 238000009826 distribution Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 4
- 238000005192 partition Methods 0.000 claims description 96
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims description 54
- 238000005259 measurement Methods 0.000 claims description 49
- 239000000523 sample Substances 0.000 claims description 38
- 238000006243 chemical reaction Methods 0.000 claims description 21
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- XUIMIQQOPSSXEZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Silicon Chemical compound [Si] XUIMIQQOPSSXEZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 7
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- 238000010248 power generation Methods 0.000 description 2
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- AMGQUBHHOARCQH-UHFFFAOYSA-N indium;oxotin Chemical compound [In].[Sn]=O AMGQUBHHOARCQH-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
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Classifications
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L31/00—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof
- H01L31/18—Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment of these devices or of parts thereof
- H01L31/20—Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment of these devices or of parts thereof such devices or parts thereof comprising amorphous semiconductor materials
- H01L31/208—Particular post-treatment of the devices, e.g. annealing, short-circuit elimination
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L31/00—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof
- H01L31/04—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices
- H01L31/042—PV modules or arrays of single PV cells
- H01L31/0445—PV modules or arrays of single PV cells including thin film solar cells, e.g. single thin film a-Si, CIS or CdTe solar cells
- H01L31/046—PV modules composed of a plurality of thin film solar cells deposited on the same substrate
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
- H02S—GENERATION OF ELECTRIC POWER BY CONVERSION OF INFRARED RADIATION, VISIBLE LIGHT OR ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT, e.g. USING PHOTOVOLTAIC [PV] MODULES
- H02S50/00—Monitoring or testing of PV systems, e.g. load balancing or fault identification
- H02S50/10—Testing of PV devices, e.g. of PV modules or single PV cells
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
- Y02E10/00—Energy generation through renewable energy sources
- Y02E10/50—Photovoltaic [PV] energy
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
- Y02P70/00—Climate change mitigation technologies in the production process for final industrial or consumer products
- Y02P70/50—Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a solar cell manufacturing method and a solar cell manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly to a solar cell manufacturing method and a solar cell manufacturing apparatus capable of detecting and repairing structural defects at low cost.
- This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-090567 for which it applied on March 31, 2008, and uses the content here.
- a solar cell using a silicon single crystal is excellent in energy conversion efficiency per unit area.
- a solar cell using a silicon single crystal uses a silicon wafer obtained by slicing a silicon single crystal ingot, a large amount of energy is consumed for manufacturing the ingot and the manufacturing cost is high.
- solar cells using amorphous (amorphous) silicon thin films that can be manufactured at lower cost are widely used as low-cost solar cells.
- Amorphous silicon solar cells use a semiconductor film having a layer structure called a pin junction in which an amorphous silicon film (i-type) that generates electrons and holes when receiving light is sandwiched between p-type and n-type silicon films. . Electrodes are formed on both sides of the semiconductor film. Electrons and holes generated by sunlight move actively due to the potential difference between the p-type and n-type semiconductors, and this is continuously repeated, causing a potential difference between the electrodes on both sides.
- i-type amorphous silicon film
- a transparent electrode such as TCO (Transparent Conductive Oxide) is formed on a glass substrate as a lower electrode, and a semiconductor film made of amorphous silicon, an upper electrode, A structure in which an Ag thin film or the like is formed is employed.
- TCO Transparent Conductive Oxide
- an amorphous silicon solar cell including a photoelectric conversion body composed of such upper and lower electrodes and a semiconductor film there is a problem that a potential difference is small and a resistance value is large only by depositing each layer uniformly over a wide area on a substrate. .
- an amorphous silicon solar cell is configured by forming partition elements in which photoelectric converters are electrically partitioned for each predetermined size and electrically connecting partition elements adjacent to each other.
- a groove called a scribe line (scribe line) is formed on a photoelectric conversion body uniformly formed in a large area on a substrate using a laser beam or the like to obtain a large number of strip-shaped partition elements.
- a structure in which the partition elements are electrically connected in series is employed.
- an amorphous silicon solar cell having such a structure it is known that some structural defects occur in the manufacturing stage. For example, when an amorphous silicon film is formed, particles may be mixed or pinholes may be generated, so that the upper electrode and the lower electrode may be locally short-circuited.
- the metal film constituting the upper electrode melts along the scribe line to reach the lower electrode, There may be a local short circuit with the lower electrode.
- Patent Documents 1 and 2 a bias voltage is applied to the entire partition elements divided by a scribe line, and a Joule heat generated at a short-circuited portion is detected by an infrared sensor, whereby a partition element having a structural defect exists.
- a method of identifying is disclosed. Further, there is a structural defect by enlarging and observing the surface of all partition elements with a CCD camera or the like, or by irradiating light and measuring and comparing FF (fill factor) for each partition element.
- FF fill factor
- the semiconductor film is removed over a wide range when repairing the defect portion with laser light or the like, and only the characteristics as a solar cell are obtained. There was also a problem that the appearance was not preferable. Further, when only a general defect position is specified and a defect is removed by applying a bias voltage, it is necessary to increase the bias voltage. However, when a bias voltage higher than necessary is applied, there is a problem in that a normal portion where no defect has occurred is damaged.
- the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and accurately identifies the location of occurrence of a structural defect in a short time without damaging the photoelectric conversion body of the solar cell, and reliably identifies the identified structural defect. Another object is to provide a solar cell manufacturing method and a solar cell manufacturing apparatus that can be removed and repaired.
- the present invention provides the following solar cell manufacturing method. That is, the method for manufacturing a solar cell according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a plurality of partition elements, forming a photoelectric conversion body in which the partition elements adjacent to each other are electrically connected, and among the photoelectric conversion bodies, By identifying a partition element having a structural defect (defect partition specifying step) and specifying a defect site from a distribution of resistance values obtained by measuring a resistance value at a plurality of locations between the partition elements adjacent to each other. The region where the structural defect exists in the partition element is limited (defect region specifying step), and a bias voltage is applied to the region where the structural defect exists to remove the structural defect (repair step).
- the structural defect is removed from the measurement terminal used for measuring the resistance value when the portion where the structural defect exists is limited (defect portion specifying step). It is preferable that a bias voltage is applied at this time (restoration step).
- the measurement density of the resistance value may be changed at least two or more levels. preferable.
- a 4-probe resistance measuring device is used to measure the resistance value. It is preferred that
- the solar cell manufacturing apparatus is a solar cell manufacturing apparatus having a photoelectric converter including a plurality of partition elements, and the partition elements having a structural defect among the photoelectric converters.
- a resistance measuring unit that measures resistance values at a plurality of locations between the partition elements adjacent to each other is included.
- a solar cell including a partition element having a structural defect is selected, and only the solar cell having a defect is selected as a defective site specifying step.
- the defect location is accurately specified.
- the resistance measuring unit that measures the resistance value at a plurality of locations between the partition elements is provided. Therefore, it is possible to accurately specify the position of the defect in the partition element, and it is possible to remove only the minimum region including the defect in the repair process. The defective portion can be repaired without greatly degrading the characteristics as a solar cell and without losing the appearance.
- FIG. 1 is an enlarged perspective view showing an example of a main part of an amorphous silicon type solar cell manufactured by the method for manufacturing a solar cell of the present invention.
- FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view showing the layer configuration of the solar cell of FIG.
- FIG. 2B is an enlarged cross-sectional view in which a portion indicated by reference numeral B in FIG.
- the solar cell 10 has a photoelectric conversion body 12 formed on a first surface 11a (one surface) of a transparent insulating substrate 11.
- substrate 11 should just be formed with the insulating material which is excellent in the transmittance
- first electrode layer (lower electrode) 13 a semiconductor layer 14, and a second electrode layer (upper electrode) 15 are stacked in order from the substrate 11.
- the first electrode layer (lower electrode) 13 may be made of a transparent conductive material, for example, a light-transmitting metal oxide such as TCO or ITO (Indium Tin Oxide).
- the second electrode layer (upper electrode) 15 only needs to be formed of a conductive metal film such as Ag or Cu.
- the semiconductor layer 14 has a pin junction structure in which an i-type amorphous silicon film 16 is sandwiched between a p-type amorphous silicon film 17 and an n-type amorphous silicon film 18.
- an i-type amorphous silicon film 16 is sandwiched between a p-type amorphous silicon film 17 and an n-type amorphous silicon film 18.
- a potential difference is generated between the first electrode layer 13 and the second electrode layer 15 (photoelectric conversion).
- the photoelectric conversion body 12 is divided by a scribe line 19 into a large number of partition elements 21, 21.
- the partition elements 21, 21,... Are electrically partitioned from each other and electrically connected in series between the partition elements 21 adjacent to each other.
- the photoelectric conversion body 12 has a structure in which the partition elements 21, 21... Are all electrically connected in series. In this structure, a high potential difference current can be extracted.
- the scribe line 19 is formed, for example, by forming the photoelectric conversion body 12 uniformly on the first surface 11a of the substrate 11 and then forming grooves in the photoelectric conversion body 12 at a predetermined interval by a laser beam or the like.
- a protective layer made of an insulating resin or the like on the second electrode layer (upper electrode) 15 constituting the photoelectric converter 12.
- FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing step by step the method for manufacturing a solar cell of the present invention. Among these, the process from detection of structural defects to repair will be described in detail.
- the photoelectric conversion body 12 is formed on the first surface 11a of the transparent substrate 11 (photoelectric conversion body forming step: P1).
- a first electrode layer (lower electrode) 13 As a structure of the photoelectric converter 12, for example, a first electrode layer (lower electrode) 13, a semiconductor layer 14, and a second electrode layer (upper electrode) 15 are stacked in order from the first surface 11 a of the substrate 11. I just need it.
- the structural defect A ⁇ b> 1 caused by impurities (contamination) mixed into the semiconductor layer 14 or fine pins on the semiconductor layer 14.
- defects such as a structural defect A2 in which holes are generated may occur.
- Such structural defects A1 and A2 locally short-circuit (leak) between the first electrode layer 13 and the second electrode layer 15 to reduce power generation efficiency.
- a laser beam or the like is irradiated toward the photoelectric converter 12 to form a scribe line (scribe line) 19 and divided into a large number of strip-shaped partition elements 21, 21. : P2).
- the metal constituting the second electrode layer 15 is melted by the deviation of the laser irradiation position and flows down into the groove of the scribe line 19.
- defects such as structural defects A3 may occur.
- Such a structural defect A3 locally short-circuits (leaks) between the first electrode layer 13 and the second electrode layer 15 to reduce power generation efficiency.
- the partition elements 21, 21... Having the structural defects represented by A1 to A3 described above are specified (defect partition specifying step: P3).
- specific methods for specifying the partition elements 21, 21... In which a structural defect exists include, for example, measurement of resistance value, measurement of FF (fill factor), and the like.
- the partition element 21 in which a structural defect exists is specified by measuring the resistance value, as shown in FIG. 5, several measurement points are set along the longitudinal direction L of the strip-shaped partition element 21 and are adjacent to each other. A resistance value is measured between the partition elements 21 and 21, and a partition element 21s (defective partition element) in which a structural defect exists can be identified from the distribution of the measured values.
- FIG. 6 shows an example in which the resistance value of the adjacent partition elements is measured in a solar cell composed of 120 partition elements.
- the resistance value of the 35th partition element is clearly reduced. That is, it is predicted that a structural defect that causes a short circuit exists in the 35th partition element. Similarly, it is predicted that a structural defect also exists in the 109th partition element.
- a defect section specifying step when a section element having a structural defect is specified by measuring a resistance value, there are several methods as a measuring method. For example, using a measuring device in which a large number of probes are arranged at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction L of the partition element 21, a resistance value between the partition elements is completed by a single vertical movement of the probe, Alternatively, any method may be used as long as the probe is scanned along the longitudinal direction L of the partition element 21 and the probe is repeatedly moved up and down at a predetermined measurement point.
- a method of applying a bias voltage of a predetermined value a method of a two-probe method performed by a set of two probes that also serves as a current value measurement, or Any of the four-probe methods comprising two sets of four probes, which are performed by differentiating the probe used for applying a bias current having a predetermined value and the probe used for measuring the voltage value, may be used.
- the resistance value is calculated from these voltage value and current value.
- FF fill factor
- the solar cell in which the partition element in which the structural defect exists is found through the defect partition specifying process as described above is sent to the defect site specifying process described below.
- a solar cell in which a partition element having a structural defect cannot be found is commercialized as a non-defective product through a protective layer formation step P6 and the like.
- the solar cell in which the partition element in which the structural defect exists is found in the defect partition specifying step described above is further sent to a step (defect portion specifying step: P4) for limiting the portion where the structural defect exists in the partition element.
- the resistance value between adjacent partition elements 21 along the longitudinal direction L is limited only to the partition elements in which structural defects are considered to exist in the previous defect partition specifying step. taking measurement. At this time, the measurement interval (measurement density) of the resistance value in the longitudinal direction L is measured more finely than the measurement interval of the resistance value in the defect section specifying step of the previous step.
- the adjacent partition elements 21 and the adjacent partition elements 21 are measured at predetermined measurement intervals T1 (measurement density) over the entire area in the longitudinal direction L of the partition elements 21s where the structural defects R are considered to exist. Measure the resistance value between. By measuring the resistance value, the approximate position of the structural defect R in the longitudinal direction L of the partition element 21s is specified.
- the measurement interval T1 may be about 20 mm, for example.
- FIG. 8 shows an example of measuring the resistance value between adjacent partition elements in a strip-shaped partition element having a length of 1400 mm in the longitudinal direction L (one defect exists).
- the resistance value decreases as the distance from one end of the partition terminal approaches 250 mm.
- a tendency is observed in which the resistance value gradually decreases as the position of the defect is approached. Therefore, if the resistance value is measured at a predetermined interval in the longitudinal direction L of the partition element 21 s and the change in the resistance value is observed, the position where the structural defect exists in the partition element 21 s is limited. Can do.
- the measurement interval T2 that is finer than the above-described measurement interval T1 is about 100 mm before and after this position. It is preferable to measure a resistance value between adjacent partition elements (see FIG. 7B).
- the measurement interval T2 is set to, for example, about 2 mm, and the position where the structural defect R exists is accurately specified with an accuracy about ten times finer than the above-described step of specifying the approximate defect position.
- a method of applying a bias voltage of a predetermined value a method of a two-probe method performed by a set of two probes that also serves as a current value measurement, or Any of the four-probe methods comprising two sets of four probes, which are performed by differentiating the probe used for applying a bias current having a predetermined value and the probe used for measuring the voltage value, may be used.
- the resistance value is calculated from these voltage value and current value.
- the defect position is identified by changing the measurement interval of the resistance value in two stages in relation to such a defect site identification process, but the measurement interval is further varied in three or more stages to more accurately define the partition element.
- the position of the defect inside may be specified.
- a bias current (voltage) is intermittently applied only to the probe X1 intermittently at a predetermined wide measurement interval T1, and the approximate position of the structural defect R is specified.
- the bias current is applied to the probe X2 in the section in which the structural defect R is considered to exist, that is, the section having the lowest resistance value between the probes to which the bias current (voltage) is applied. (Voltage) is applied.
- the position of the structural defect R in the partition element is specified more accurately.
- the probe unit U in which the probes are densely arranged at the interval T2 along the longitudinal direction L of the partitioning element 21s the probe to which the bias current (voltage) is applied is appropriately changed to thereby change the probe.
- the position of the structural defect R can be quickly detected simply by selecting a probe that supplies a bias current without moving the needle in the longitudinal direction L.
- a method of changing the interval between terminals to be measured during measurement may be adopted.
- the resistance value is initially measured by setting the terminal interval to be relatively large, and the resistance value lower than the threshold value is detected or constant.
- the distance between the terminals is narrowed to measure each terminal.
- the measurement is performed by returning to the original interval.
- a method may be adopted in which a plurality of threshold values are determined and the terminal measurement interval is changed for each threshold value. For example, resistance thresholds A, B, and C (A> B> C) are determined. When the resistance value is greater than or equal to the threshold A, measurement is performed with an interval of 10 terminals, and when the threshold value is less than or equal to the threshold A, measurement is performed with 5 terminals available. Measure at each terminal. When the resistance value increases, the measurement interval is increased every time the threshold value is exceeded. When there is a defect, the resistance value gradually changes (see FIG. 8), and thus the defect position can be detected quickly and accurately by changing the measurement interval for each threshold.
- the structural defect R of the solar cell is repaired (repair process: P5).
- a bias current is applied only in the vicinity of the location where the structural defect R specified through the defect section specifying process and the defect site specifying process described above is present, and the semiconductor layer in the portion where the structural defect R exists And only the electrodes are removed by evaporation (see FIG. 7C and FIG. 4B).
- the exact location of the defect in the partition element is specified in the defect site specifying process, only the minimum range E1 to E3 including the structural defect R can be removed. That is, each of the structural defects A1 to A3 shown in FIG. 4A is removed as shown by reference numerals E1 to E3 in FIG. 4B.
- the repair bias voltage may be changed in accordance with the measured resistance value. Specifically, when the resistance value is small, the defect portion is often large. Therefore, the defect can be removed in a short time by increasing the bias voltage. In addition, when the resistance value is large, the defect portion is often small. Therefore, it is possible to avoid applying an unnecessarily high voltage by reducing the bias voltage. In the present invention, since the position of the defect is specified and the resistance is measured in the vicinity thereof, the accurate resistance value of the defective portion can be measured, and a suitable bias voltage can be selected.
- FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram showing a circuit in which a bias current circuit for repairing defects is added to a 4-probe resistance measuring device.
- the resistance value is measured by supplying a bias current W1 for resistance measurement from one set of probes B1 (first set) as shown by a solid line during resistance measurement.
- the resistance value is calculated by measuring the voltage value V using the other set of probes B2 (second set).
- the circuit is switched to a circuit indicated by a dotted line, and a defect repair bias current W2 having a voltage higher than the resistance measurement bias current W1 is supplied from the probe B1, thereby removing (repairing) a portion including the defect. .
- the solar cell that has been identified and removed through the defect section specifying step (P3), the defect site specifying step (P4), and the repairing step (P5) and having removed the structural defects in the partition element is It is sent to the formation process (P6), and the process of a post process is performed.
- a solar cell including a partition element having a structural defect is selected in a defect partition specifying step. Then, since only the solar cell having a defect is accurately identified in the defect site identification step, the solar cell having no structural defect can be efficiently manufactured.
- the defect site identification process since the position of the defect can be accurately identified in the partition element, it is possible to remove only the minimum area including the defect in the repair process, without significantly degrading the characteristics as a solar cell, In addition, the defective portion can be repaired without impairing the appearance.
- the solar cell manufacturing apparatus of the present invention has a plurality of resistance values between the partition elements 21 in order to identify the position of the structural defect E in the defect site identification process shown in FIGS.
- a resistance measuring unit for measuring The resistance measurement unit includes a two-probe or four-probe resistance measurement device and a moving device that relatively moves the partition element 21 and the probe along the length direction L. Furthermore, if the solar cell manufacturing apparatus of the present invention is equipped with a defect repairing bias circuit (see FIG. 9) for applying a defect repairing bias current to the probe of the resistance measuring apparatus, the defect in the partition element is detected. From the position specification to the repair can be efficiently processed in a short time with one apparatus.
- the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a solar cell in which damage to a photoelectric conversion body is suppressed, the occurrence location of a structural defect is accurately identified, and the specific structural defect is reliably removed and repaired. Useful for equipment.
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Abstract
Description
本願は、2008年3月31日に出願された特願2008-090567号に基づき優先権を主張し、その内容をここに援用する。
このような上下電極と半導体膜からなる光電変換体を備えたアモルファスシリコン太陽電池においては、基板上に広い面積で均一に各層を成膜しただけでは電位差が小さく、抵抗値が大きくなる問題がある。そのため、例えば、光電変換体を所定のサイズごとに電気的に区画した区画素子を形成し、互いに隣接する区画素子どうしを電気的に接続することにより、アモルファスシリコン太陽電池が構成されている。
具体的には、基板上に広い面積で均一に形成した光電変換体にレーザー光などを用いてスクライブ線(スクライブライン)と称される溝を形成し、多数の短冊状の区画素子を得て、この区画素子どうしを電気的に直列に接続した構造が採用される。
また、欠陥箇所が発熱する程度にバイアス電圧を印加するため、半導体膜にダメージを与える虞もあった。
光を照射して区画素子ごとのFFを測定する方法では、欠陥が存在する区画素子自体は検出できるが、区画素子内のどこに欠陥が存在するかを特定することは困難であった。
また、大よその欠陥位置しか特定しないで、バイアス電圧を印加して欠陥を除去する場合、バイアス電圧を高くする必要があった。しかし、必要以上に高いバイアス電圧を印加すると、欠陥が生じていない正常な部分にダメージを与えるという問題があった。
本発明の第1態様の太陽電池の製造方法においては、前記構造欠陥が存在する部位を限定する際(欠陥部位特定工程)に、抵抗値の測定密度を少なくとも2段階以上変えて測定することが好ましい。
本発明の第1態様の太陽電池の製造方法においては、前記構造欠陥が存在する部位を限定する際(欠陥部位特定工程)に、抵抗値の測定には4探針式の抵抗測定装置が用いられることが好ましい。
即ち、本発明の第2態様の太陽電池の製造装置は、複数の区画素子を含む光電変換体を有する太陽電池の製造装置であって、前記光電変換体のうち、構造欠陥を有する前記区画素子内で構造欠陥が存在する部位を限定するために、互いに隣接する前記区画素子どうしの間で複数個所の抵抗値を測定する抵抗測定部を含む。
11 基板
12 光電変換体
13 第一電極
14 半導体層
15 第二電極
19 スクライブ線
21 区画素子
まず、図1に示すように、透明な基板11の第1面11aに上に光電変換体12を形成する(光電変換体の形成工程:P1)。光電変換体12の構造としては、例えば、基板11の第1面11aから順に第一電極層(下部電極)13,半導体層14,及び第二電極層(上部電極)15が積層された構造であればよい。
この修復工程において、欠陥部位特定工程で欠陥の区画素子内での正確な存在位置が特定されているため、構造欠陥Rを含む最小限の範囲E1からE3だけを除去することができる。即ち、図4(a)に示す構造欠陥A1からA3の各々は、図4(b)の符号E1からE3に示すように除去される。
一方、欠陥修復時には点線で示す回路に切り替えて、抵抗測定用のバイアス電流W1よりも高い電圧の欠陥修復用のバイアス電流W2を探針B1から供給し、欠陥を含む部位を除去(修復)する。
Claims (5)
- 太陽電池の製造方法であって、
複数の区画素子を含み、互いに隣接する前記区画素子どうしが電気的に接続された光電変換体を形成し、
前記光電変換体のうち、構造欠陥を有する区画素子を特定し、
互いに隣接する前記区画素子どうしの間で複数個所の抵抗値を測定して得られる抵抗値の分布から欠陥部位を特定することにより、前記区画素子内で前記構造欠陥が存在する部位を限定し、
前記構造欠陥が存在する部位にバイアス電圧を印加して前記構造欠陥を除去することを特徴とする太陽電池の製造方法。 - 前記構造欠陥が存在する部位を限定する際に抵抗値の測定に用いる測定端子には、前記構造欠陥を除去する際にバイアス電圧が印加されることを特徴とする請求項1に記載の太陽電池の製造方法。
- 前記構造欠陥が存在する部位を限定する際に、抵抗値の測定密度を少なくとも2段階以上変えて測定することを特徴とする請求項1または2に記載の太陽電池の製造方法。
- 前記構造欠陥が存在する部位を限定する際に、抵抗値の測定には4探針式の抵抗測定装置が用いられることを特徴とする請求項1ないし3いずれか1項に記載の太陽電池の製造方法。
- 複数の区画素子を含む光電変換体を有する太陽電池の製造装置であって、
前記光電変換体のうち、構造欠陥を有する前記区画素子内で構造欠陥が存在する部位を限定するために、互いに隣接する前記区画素子どうしの間で複数個所の抵抗値を測定する抵抗測定部を含むことを特徴とする太陽電池の製造装置。
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JP2010505822A JP5186552B2 (ja) | 2008-03-31 | 2009-03-27 | 太陽電池の製造方法および太陽電池の製造装置 |
CN2009801036173A CN101933155B (zh) | 2008-03-31 | 2009-03-27 | 太阳能电池的制造方法 |
KR1020107016958A KR101183698B1 (ko) | 2008-03-31 | 2009-03-27 | 태양전지의 제조 방법 및 태양전지의 제조 장치 |
EP09728109.1A EP2296184B1 (en) | 2008-03-31 | 2009-03-27 | Method and apparatus for manufacturing solar cell |
US12/865,675 US20110020963A1 (en) | 2008-03-31 | 2009-03-27 | Method and apparatus for manufacturing solar cell |
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JP (1) | JP5186552B2 (ja) |
KR (1) | KR101183698B1 (ja) |
CN (1) | CN101933155B (ja) |
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JP2010021437A (ja) * | 2008-07-11 | 2010-01-28 | Ulvac Japan Ltd | 太陽電池の製造装置およびその製造方法 |
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JP6016292B2 (ja) * | 2011-10-13 | 2016-10-26 | デクセリアルズ株式会社 | 太陽電池用測定治具及び太陽電池セルの出力測定方法 |
CN113109694A (zh) * | 2021-04-12 | 2021-07-13 | 北京电子工程总体研究所 | 一种电路板短路点检测定位方法 |
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- 2009-03-27 CN CN2009801036173A patent/CN101933155B/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 2009-03-27 JP JP2010505822A patent/JP5186552B2/ja not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 2009-03-27 US US12/865,675 patent/US20110020963A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2009-03-30 TW TW098110481A patent/TW201005978A/zh unknown
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JP5186552B2 (ja) | 2013-04-17 |
KR101183698B1 (ko) | 2012-09-18 |
JPWO2009123039A1 (ja) | 2011-07-28 |
EP2296184B1 (en) | 2013-07-31 |
KR20100106549A (ko) | 2010-10-01 |
US20110020963A1 (en) | 2011-01-27 |
TW201005978A (en) | 2010-02-01 |
EP2296184A1 (en) | 2011-03-16 |
CN101933155A (zh) | 2010-12-29 |
EP2296184A4 (en) | 2012-02-15 |
CN101933155B (zh) | 2012-12-12 |
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