Patent ID: 8263494

Claim:
A method for patterning a thin film photovoltaic panel, the method comprising: providing a substrate having a first edge opposing to a second edge, the substrate characterized by a compaction parameter; forming a molybdenum material overlying the substrate; forming a first plurality of patterns in the molybdenum material configured in a spatial configuration having a first inter-pattern spacing from the first edge to the second edge to form a first patterned structure overlying the substrate, wherein the first inter-pattern spacing is equal to a predetermined standard cell dimension plus an additional distance determined as a function of the compaction parameter; forming a precursor material comprising at least copper bearing species and indium bearing species overlying the first patterned structure; subjecting the substrate including the first patterned structure overlaid by the precursor material to one or more thermal processes to form at least an absorber structure and cause the substrate to change in dimension associated with the compaction parameter and subsequently to change the first inter-pattern spacing to a second inter-pattern spacing; forming a window material overlying the absorber structure; and scribing at least through one or more portions of the window material and the absorber structure at a position on the substrate shifted by a predetermined distance from one of the first plurality of patterns to cause formation of a second plurality of patterns characterized by a third inter-pattern spacing.