Patent ID: RE38727

Claim:
A method for manufacturing a photoelectric conversion device comprising the steps of: forming a first impurity, non-single crystalline semiconductor layer of a first conductivity type on a substrate in a reaction chamber; depositing a substantially intrinsic semiconductor layer on said first impurity layer by introducing process gas into said reaction chamber together with a dopant gas comprising boron, the introducing ratio of said dopant gas to said process gas being monotonically decreased throughout the deposition of the intrinsic semiconductor layer in order that the impurity concentration in said intrinsic semiconductor layer is monotonically decreased from the interface between said first impurity and intrinsic semiconductor layers; forming a second impurity, non-single crystalline semiconductor layer of a second conductivity type opposite to said first conductivity type, the impurity semiconductor layer adjacent to the heavier doping side of said intrinsic layer having the same conductivity type as that corresponding to the dopant gas for said intrinsic semiconductor layer; forming an electrode arrangement for said conversion device; and reducing the oxygen concentration in said substantially intrinsic layer to a level less than 5×10 19 atoms/cm 3 .