Patent ID: 8207012

Claim:
A method of forming a thin film solar cell, the method comprising: providing a metallic foil substrate having a front surface and a back surface; forming a semiconductor absorber film over the front surface of the metallic foil substrate, the step of forming also causing formation of a surface film on the back surface of the metallic foil substrate; removing at least a portion of the surface film from the back surface in a process chamber to form a treated back surface contact area on the back surface of the metallic foil substrate; depositing a transparent conductive layer over the semiconductor absorber film in the process chamber, wherein the steps of removing and depositing both occur at the same time in the process chamber; forming a conductive layer on the treated back surface contact area in the process chamber; and attaching at least one electrical lead contact onto the conductive layer wherein the step of attaching is performed using a conductive adhesive applied between an exposed surface of the conductive layer and the at least one electrical lead contact.