Patent ID: 8142521

Claim:
An apparatus for fabricating thin film photovoltaic devices on substrate panels, the apparatus comprising: a deposition chamber enclosed by a plurality of sidewalls, a lid member structure, and a base member structure, the deposition chamber being supported by a support member structure; a mixing chamber disposed above the lid member structure and configured to receive two or more vapor species and form a mixed vapor, the mixing chamber being coupled with the deposition chamber via one or more inlets through the lid member structure; two heater plates disposed side-by-side and supported on the base member structure for respectively supporting and heating two substrate panels each having substantially the same geometric shape and surface area as each heater plate; a lifting structure disposed under the deposition chamber and configured to lift the two substrate panels to a predetermined position inside the deposition chamber by using a plurality of pins to pass through both the base member structure and each of the two heater plates; and a valve stack coupled to the deposition chamber via an exit port located below the two heater plates in a central region of the base member structure, the valve stack communicating the deposition chamber with a pumping module through a vacuum foreline.