Natcore Technology Files Provisional U.S. Patents On Its Recent Discoveries

The first of these inventions relates to a method of using liquid phase deposition (LPD) as a diffusion barrier layer in a selective emitter process. The second covers methods for selectively patterning black silicon by pre-applying specific types of polymers, then dissolving them away.

The selective emitter is a solar cell design in which regions under the front contacts are heavily doped to improve the electrical connection, while the remaining emitter surface is lightly doped to promote better efficiency. The LPD diffusion barrier provides manufacturers with an easy route to fabrication of these doping regions.

Although the selective emitter itself is not a new concept, the processes covered by these provisional patents should yield high performing selective emitters at low cost in a novel new way.

The patent filing on patterned antireflection surfaces leverages a similar approach to enable patterning of Natcore’s black silicon layers. In this approach, the regions under the front contacts can be kept clear of black silicon, allowing better contact to the cell.

To help perfect these processes, Natcore has installed a high-temperature furnace in its Research & Development Center at Kodak’s Eastman Business Park in Rochester, NY, as well as a solar simulator that would allow them to test cells that are produced in the lab.

“The selective emitter is the first of our applications that we feel will be revenue producing,” says Chuck Provini, Natcore President and CEO. “Even though it’s not a new concept, we think our scientists will be the first to get a cost-effective application out of the lab and into production lines.”

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