Patent ID: 8187386

Claim:
An apparatus for vapor deposition of a sublimated source material as a thin film on a photovoltaic module substrate, said apparatus comprising: a deposition head; a receptacle disposed in said deposition head, said receptacle configured for receipt of a granular source material; a heated distribution manifold disposed below said receptacle, said heated distribution manifold configured to heat said receptacle to a degree sufficient to sublimate source material within said receptacle; and, a distribution plate disposed below said distribution manifold and at a defined distance above a horizontal conveyance plane of an upper surface of a substrate conveyed through said apparatus, said distribution plate defining a pattern of passages therethrough, and wherein the pattern of passages is configured to provide greater resistance to the flow of sublimated source vapors at a first longitudinal end where the substrate enters the apparatus than at a second longitudinal end where the substrate exits the apparatus.