Patent ID: 7517552

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a thin film photovoltaic device on a transparent sheet of substrate or superstrate support material, the method comprising the steps of a) dipping the support material in a container of film material in liquid form comprising a mixture of texturing particles in a predetermined concentration in an SiO 2 sol-gel, b) removing the support material to deposit the texturing particles on exposed surfaces in a single layer, and wherein particle separation within the single layer is controlled by adjusting the concentration of particles in the sol-gel and speed of withdrawal of the support material from the solution; c) hardening the liquid film material to form a textured film on the support material, whereby the texturing film, after hardening, comprises the texturing particles bound in an SiO 2 matrix; d) forming a thin film of semiconductor material on the textured film; and e) forming a photovoltaic device into the thin film of semiconductor material.