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Reel-to- Reel Cassette Cluster Tool System for Thin Film Transistor and Four Terminal Solar Cell Fabrication

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2011

Arun Madan
Arun Madan*
Affiliation:
MVSystems, Inc., 17301 W. Colfax Ave., Suite 305, Golden, CO 80401, USA. Email: [email protected] www.mvsystems.info
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Abstract

We present a new type of system architecture to fabricate thin film silicon devices on flexible substrates, which uses the inherent advantages of a cluster tool normally used in the production of amorphous silicon thin film transistors, solar cells, etc. In this, the flexible substrate material is contained within a cassette which includes a reel to reel operation. As in the current cluster tools used for planar substrates, the cassette is transported to a process chamber using a robotic arm. When the entire roll in the cassette has been processed, it is transported into other chambers for further processing. We also show that a four terminal device structure (e.g. amorphous Si and stable low band gap nano-crystalline Si cells) potentially can lead to high efficiency (>15%), stable, low cost solar cells on a plastic substrate. Lastly we discuss the use of a pulsed PECVD deposition technique, which allows that the structure of the nano-crystalline Si films can be altered from 111 to 220 in a controllable way at a low temperature of <170C.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 814: Symposium I – Flexible Electronics 2004-Materials and Device Technology , 2004 , I2.9/A3.9
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2004

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