Patent ID: 8178370

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a photovoltaic device, the method comprising: placing a substrate having a surface region at a first process station; forming a first electrode layer overlying the surface region of the substrate at the first process station using a first process; transferring the substrate to a second process station; forming a barrier layer overlying the first electrode layer at the second process station using a second process; transferring the substrate in a controlled ambient to a third process station; forming a p-type absorber layer overlying the first electrode layer at the third process station using a third process, the p-type absorber layer being characterized by a first bandgap range and a first thickness range; transferring the substrate in a controlled ambient to a fourth process station; forming a n-type window layer overlying the p-type absorber layer at the fourth process station using a fourth process; transferring the substrate in a controlled ambient to a fifth process station; and forming a second electrode layer overlying the n-type window layer at the fifth process station using a fifth process.