Patent ID: 8093096

Claim:
A method of successive high-resistance buffer layer/window layer (transparent conductive film) formation for a CIS based thin-film solar cell, wherein in a process for producing a CIS based thin-film solar cell which is a pn heterojunction device having a substrate structure comprising a glass substrate, a metallic back electrode layer, a light absorption layer having p-type conductivity and comprising a CIS based (CuInSe 2 based) chalcopyrite multinary compound semiconductor thin film, a buffer layer comprising a zinc compound crystal semiconductor thin film having transparency and high resistance, and a window layer having n-type conductivity and comprising a zinc oxide (ZnO)-based transparent conductive film having transparency and low resistance which have been superposed in this order, the buffer layer and the window layer are successively formed in this order in a multilayer arrangement on the light absorption layer of a semifinished solar cell substrate obtained by forming the metallic base electrode layer and the light absorption layer in this order on the glass substrate, the buffer layer and the window layer are successively formed by the metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) method in an MOCVD film deposition apparatus having a structure in which preheating steps and film deposition steps are connected in an in-line arrangement, and the buffer layer and the window layer are successively formed in the same MOCVD film deposition apparatus in a buffer layer formation step and a window layer formation step, respectively, which are adjoining independent steps in different chambers.