Glass substrates for high temperature applications

Abstract

A glass substrate may be processed at high temperatures without substantially losing its thermal-strengthening characteristics or deforming. In some examples, the glass substrate exhibits an increased annealing point and / or softening point as compared to standard glass substrates. In some examples, the glass substrate includes a relatively high amount of CaO and / or MgO, and / or a relatively low amount of Na2O, as compared to traditional soda-lime- silica-based glass. Depending on the composition, the glass substrate may be useful, for example, to fabricate a glass-based solar cell that mates two substantially flat glass substrates together.

Description

[0001] This application claims the benefit of US Provisional Application No. 61 / 346,704, filed May 20, 2010, and US Provisional Application No. 61 / 377,339, filed August 26, 2010. The relevant contents of these two applications are incorporated herein by reference. technical field [0002] This invention relates to glass substrates, and more particularly, to glass substrates for high temperature applications. background [0003] Thin-film glass-based solar cells are becoming increasingly popular due to their reduced production costs compared to traditional wafer-based solar cells. In general, glass-based solar cells comprise at least one planar glass substrate with a photovoltaic coating. Typically, the substrate is spaced apart from or adjacent to the second substrate to isolate the optoelectronic coating from the environment. The photovoltaic coating is usually on the inside surface of a glass substrate so that sunlight must pass through the glass substrate before reachi...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Through this method, typical flat glass tends to lose its strength and can undergo distortion and / or deformation due to high temperature exposure

These changes can weaken the glass substrate and can make it difficult to seal the substrate against the second substrate when constructing the solar cell

If the two substrates are not sufficiently sealed, the solar cell may not be able to effectively separate the photovoltaic coating from the environment

Additionally, current TCO coatings are generally limited in terms of the need to deposit at temperatures that do not cause significant weakening, distortion, or deformation of the glass substrate.

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