Description:
Apparatus and method for depositing thin films onto a substrate using an advanced thermal deposition technique.
At a Glance
- System for uniform thermal deposition of thin films
- Constant surface area of source material ensures consistent deposition rate as material depletes
- Consistent and uniform deposition ensures high quality thin film
- Specifically designed for CdTe photovoltaic modules
- Applicable for any material that can be thermally deposited under vacuum
Detailed Description
This innovation is consists of an apparatus and a method for depositing thin films onto a substrate using an advanced thermal deposition technique. The key to this technology is that is able to keep the sublimation surface area constant during the deposition process, thereby ensuring an even and consistent deposition as the source material is depleted. In addition, the configuration of the source block is such that radiative heat transfer between the substrate and the source material is minimized. The net result is a system that provides a temporally- and spatially-uniform thin film deposition rate onto the substrate.
This apparatus and method for manufacturing thin-films was developed specifically for fabrication of CdS/CdTe photovoltaic modules. However, this innovation should perform excellently for any application requiring physical vapor deposition via thermal sublimation of solid material in a vacuum environment. The primary advantage of this technology is superior control of deposition rate over long times and large areas, which results in highly uniform thin films suitable for a variety of commercial thin film applications.
This innovation is part of a large portfolio of thin film technologies specifically developed for CdTe photovoltaic devices but potentially applicable to a wide variety of thin film technologies. Thin film coated substrates are ubiquitous in today's society and have been used for numerous aspects of consumer electronics (from integrated circuit fabrication to cell phone, computer and television display coatings), optics (e.g., coating glass), microparticle fabrication, photovoltaic fabrication, and packaging (e.g., aluminum coating on plastic for potato chip bags).
