Visually undistorted thin-film electronics

Abstract

A visually undistorted thin film electronic device is provided. In one embodiment, a method for producing a thin film electronic device includes: opening a scribe line in a stack of thin film material layers deposited on a substrate to define an active area and an inactive area of ​​the thin film electronic device, the stack including at least one active semiconductor layer. The active area includes an unscribed area of ​​the stack, and the inactive area includes an area of ​​the stack where the thin film material is removed by the scribe line. The method also includes depositing at least one scribe line fill material into the gap opened by the scribe line. The scribe line fill material has one or more coloring elements embedded therein, the coloring elements changing the optical property spectrum of the inactive area to obtain an optical property spectrum of the active area within a minimum perceptible difference of an industry-defined standard observer.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This is an International Patent Application claiming priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 673,427, filed May 18, 2018, entitled “Visually Undistorted Thin Film Electronic Device,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0003] Government Rights

[0004] The United States Government has rights in this invention under Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308 between the United States Department of Energy and the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC, the manager and operator of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Background Art

[0005] Industrial-scale thin-film devices, such as photovoltaic modules, typically include a stack of thin-film layers applied to a substrate. To ensure high performance over large areas, the stack of thin-film layers is subdivided or "patterned" into multiple individual device units using a scribing process, and material is deposited into the scribe areas to form a monolithic interconnect that electrically interconnects the individual device units. The scribing process includes removing one or more previously deposited thin-film layers in the area where the scribe is formed when opening the scribe areas between the device units. The material deposited into the scribe areas will include electrically insulating materials, conductive materials, or some combination of both electrically insulating and conductive materials applied in layers.

[0006] One problem associated with thin film devices patterned with scribe lines and monolithic interconnects is that the patterning disrupts the uniform appearance of the thin film material applied across the substrate. The visual distortions created by these disruptions are a particularly problematic defect for semi-transparent photovoltaic modules intended for building integrated photovoltaics, such as windows or glass curtain walls, where distortion-free clarity and aesthetic properties are highly scrutinized by architects and engineers and builders. Visually noticeable distortions caused by patterning of thin film devices are also considered defects in opaque thin film photovoltaic modules, such as those used to bridge glass panels, which are designed to be opaque in order to conceal equipment or other features between floors of a building.

[0007] For the reasons stated above and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the specification, there is a need in the art for visually undistorted thin film electronic devices. Summary of the invention

[0008] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide methods and systems for visually undistorted thin film electronic devices and will be understood by reading and studying the following specification.

[0009] In one embodiment, a method for producing a thin film electronic device includes: opening scribe lines in a stack of thin film material layers deposited on a substrate to define active areas and inactive areas of the thin film electronic device, wherein the stack of thin film material layers includes at least one active semiconductor layer, wherein the active area includes an unscribed area of ​​the stack of thin film material layers, and wherein the inactive area includes an area in the stack of thin film material layers where thin film material is removed by the scribe lines; and depositing at least one scribe line fill material into the gap opened by the scribe lines, wherein the scribe line fill material has one or more coloring elements embedded therein, wherein the one or more coloring elements change the optical property spectrum of the inactive area to obtain an optical property spectrum of the active area within a minimum perceptible difference of an industry-defined standard observer. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be more readily understood, and further advantages and uses thereof more readily apparent, when considered in light of the description of preferred embodiments and the following drawings, in which:

[0011] Figure 1 A diagram illustrating a thin film semiconductor device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0012] Figure 2 A diagram illustrating a thin film semiconductor device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0013] Figure 3 A diagram illustrating a method of one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0014] Figure 4 A diagram illustrating a method of one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0015] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating an intensity spectrum for a coloring element according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0016] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating an intensity spectrum associated with a P2 scribe line of one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating an intensity spectrum associated with the P3 scribe line of one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 8 For Figure 6 and Figure 7 The chromaticity diagram associated with the P2 and P3 lines;

[0019] Fig. 9 A graph of optical density versus wavelength and a target color matching spectrum for a line fill material ink deposited at various thicknesses to illustrate one embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0020] Fig.10 is a graph illustrating optical density versus thickness.

[0021] According to common practice, the various features described are not drawn to scale, but are drawn to emphasize features relevant to the present disclosure. Reference numerals refer to the same elements throughout the drawings and text. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part thereof. Specific illustrative embodiments are presented in which the embodiments may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice them, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that logical, mechanical, and electrical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the following detailed description should not be considered limiting.

[0023] Embodiments of the present disclosure solve the problem of visual distortion caused by patterning of thin film modules by introducing the introduction of coloring elements embedded in the scribing fill material, which is deposited in the gap where the thin film layer is removed. The spectral quality of these coloring elements is combined with the spectral quality of the scribing fill material in which they are embedded, reintroducing the spectral quality of the thin film material removed during patterning, so that when they are applied to the gap, the scribing area and the thin film device unit are visually indistinguishable to human observers. It should be understood that embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the use of coloring element embedding materials used between thin film device units forming monolithic interconnects. Other embodiments may address optical properties and color matching in other areas of the device, such as materials for edge isolation or sealing of the device. It should also be understood that coloring elements may refer to additive coloring elements or subtractive coloring elements. Coloring elements (such as pigments or dyes) embedded in the scribing fill material will selectively absorb incident light of some wavelengths while reflecting or transmitting incident light of other wavelengths. For example, in some embodiments involving semi-transparent devices, additive coloring elements may be used. In some embodiments involving opaque devices, subtractive coloring elements may be used. In other embodiments, a combination of additive and subtractive coloring elements may be utilized. It should also be understood that the application of the embodiments described herein is not limited to thin film device units including photovoltaic devices, but can be applied to limited thin film device units forming other active electronic devices (such as but not limited to light emitting diodes or transparent human-machine interface displays for computer applications).

[0024] Figure 1FIG. 1 is a diagram of a thin film electronic device 100 illustrating one embodiment of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the disclosure provided herein is applicable to any form of thin film electronic device, including any form of thin film semiconductor device, in which visually significant distortion caused by patterning of the thin film device is a problem. Thus, the embodiments disclosed in this specification involving organic photovoltaic (OPV) thin film electronic devices are presented to provide specific example embodiments. Therefore, it should be understood that the scope of the embodiments is not limited to these examples, but only to organic thin film electronic devices or photovoltaic thin film electronic devices.

[0025] In some embodiments, the device 100 is a semi-transparent organic device that can be used, for example, in building-integrated photovoltaic applications (such as glazing units) that allow natural lighting to enter the interior space of a building or vehicle. In other embodiments, the device 100 includes an opaque thin-film photovoltaic module, such as for use across a glass panel. Figure 1 As shown, device 100 includes a plurality of individual device units 101 fabricated on a substrate 105. In alternative embodiments, substrate 105 may include a rigid or non-rigid translucent material, such as a glass sheet, acrylic or acrylic glass, a rigid or flexible plastic (including plastics not otherwise classified as acrylic), a flexible glass, a translucent plastic or a film material, or an alternatively opaque material (e.g., a metal or ceramic). Each device unit 101 defines an active region 110 of device 100, the active region including active electronic devices, such as, but not limited to, organic photovoltaic devices. Other regions of device 100 define inactive regions, generally shown at 120. In some embodiments, inactive regions 120 of device 100 may include edge seal material (e.g., an electrically insulating edge seal material), as shown at 122. In some embodiments, inactive regions may include monolithic electrical interconnects that electrically couple adjacent device units 101 in series or parallel combinations, as shown at 124.

[0026] In particular, the device unit 101 includes a front contact layer 130 and a back contact layer 132, a first charge transport layer 134, an active semiconductor layer 136, and a second charge transport layer 138. In some embodiments, the first charge transport layer 134 may include a hole transport layer (HTL), a hole collection layer (HCL), or a hole injection layer (HIL), and the second charge transport layer 138 may include an electron transport layer (ETL), an electron collection layer (ECL), or an electron injection layer (EIL). In other embodiments, the first charge transport layer 134 may include an ETL or an ECL, and the second charge transport layer 138 may include an HTL or an HCL. For semi-transparent embodiments, both the front contact layer 130 and the back contact layer 132 may include transparent contact layers. For example, the front contact layer 130 and the back contact layer 132 may include a transparent contact layer, such as but not limited to indium zinc oxide (IZO), indium tin oxide (ITO), aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) or gallium-doped zinc oxide (GZO) or other transparent conductive oxides (TCO), which may be deposited by magnetron sputtering or other deposition methods. The first and / or second charge transport layers 134 and 138 may include a transparent conductive polymer, such as but not limited to poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), which may be blended with polystyrene sulfonate (PSS), or may include an oxide layer, such as but not limited to tungsten trioxide (WO 3 ). The front and / or back contact layers 130 and 132 may also include a transparent high conductivity polymer, such as but not limited to a PEDOT:PSS layer. In other embodiments, one of the front contact layer 130 or the back contact layer 132 may include an opaque material.

[0027] The materials forming the various material layers may be sputter deposited or deposited by other suitable methods, such as, but not limited to, evaporation / vapor deposition or solution processing methods. The exact composition of the semiconductor active layer 136 may vary, but may include, for example, an organic bulk heterojunction (BHJ) layer including a blend of an electron donor material (which may be a polymer and / or a small molecule) and at least one electron acceptor material (which may be a fullerene or other small molecule or polymer in different implementations). Alternatively, the organic semiconductor active layer 136 may include an organic bilayer having a layered structure of an electron donor material and an electron acceptor material. In other embodiments, the active semiconductor layer 136 may include another active photovoltaic absorber thin film component, such as a perovskite absorber layer.

[0028] For embodiments comprising a photovoltaic device, in operation, when light enters the device unit 101, the absorption layer 136 generates electron and hole charges from the absorbed photons. The electron and hole charges are collected in the respective contact layers 130 and 132. The electrical interconnect 124 transfers the charge to the positive terminal 140 and the negative terminal 142, which may be located at the edge of the device 100. The positive terminal 140 and the negative terminal 142 may in turn be coupled to one or more electronic devices (e.g., an electrical load) to provide electrical energy to the device, and / or store energy generated by the device 100. In other embodiments, the active semiconductor layer 136 comprises a non-photovoltaic device. For example, in some embodiments, the active semiconductor layer 136 may include a photon emitter layer for a light emitting diode.

[0029] During the manufacture of device 100, stacks of thin film materials forming the various device layers of device unit 101 are deposited throughout substrate 105, and a series of scribe lines are cut at least partially into the deposited layers, thereby forming inactive regions 120. The scribing process creates gaps in which portions of previously deposited thin film material layers are removed. These scribe lines may then be filled with different layers of scribe line fill material, depending on the location and purpose of opening the scribe lines. For example, scribe lines cut to define the edges of device 100 may be filled with edge sealing material 122. Scribe lines cut to divide the thin film layers into patterns of individual device units 101 may be filled with a series of different electrically insulating and conductive materials to form monolithic electrical interconnects 124 between adjacent device units 101. In other cases, scribe lines may be filled with electrically insulating and / or conductive materials to create electrical interfaces (such as terminals 140, 142) for electrically coupling device 100 to an external device or system. Other scribe lines may have other purposes.

[0030] Regardless of the specific reason for cutting the scribe line, the uniform appearance of the deposited thin film layer sheet will be interrupted by the creation of the scribe line because the resulting optical property spectrum of the inactive region 120 (where one or more of the thin film material layers have been removed) will no longer match the optical property spectrum of the active region 110 that has not undergone the scribe line. It should be understood that, as the term is used herein, the "optical property spectrum" of a thin film stack of materials may alternatively refer to the visible light transmission (VLT) spectrum (which would be suitable for transparent or semi-transparent applications, where the properties of light passing through the thin film stack are important) or the reflection spectrum (which would be suitable for opaque applications, where the properties of light reflected back from the thin film stack are important). In addition, because each inactive region 120 may be scribed to different respective depths in the thin film layer, different inactive regions may have different optical property spectra relative to each other, depending on which and how many of the previously deposited layers have been removed. In addition, the scribe line fill materials subsequently deposited into the scribe line region may each have their own inherent spectral properties. For example, a scribe line used in the fabrication of a monolithic electrical interconnect 124 may have layers of electrically insulating material 125 and conductive material 126 deposited therein to produce the electrical interconnect 124. In some embodiments, additional and / or other materials may be deposited. Thus, the resulting optical property spectrum of such inactive regions 120 will be a function of the optical property spectrum of any remaining originally deposited material layer not removed by the scribe line, and the optical property spectrum of the scribe line fill material subsequently deposited into the gap opened by the scribe line. Any observable discontinuity caused by the mismatched optical property spectra will be perceived as a visual distortion by an individual viewing or looking through the device.

[0031] The degree to which the resulting inactive region 120 is visually perceptibly distinguishable from the unscribed active region 110 depends on the deviation between the optical characteristic spectrum of the active region 110 and the optical characteristic spectrum of the resulting inactive region 120. Therefore, in the case of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the optical characteristic spectrum of the resulting inactive region 120 is adjusted by introducing the coloring element 127 into one or more scribe line filling materials deposited in the scribe line, so that the optical characteristic spectrum of the resulting inactive region 120 substantially obtains the optical characteristic spectrum of the active region 110.

[0032] Figure 2 Further details Figure 1 Thus, with respect to the example embodiment of the device 100 Figure 2 The elements described may be used in conjunction with, in combination with, or in place of the elements of any of the above-described embodiments. In addition, the functions, structures, and other descriptions of the elements described above for such embodiments may apply to Figure 2 and vice versa. Figure 2As generally shown in 200 of FIG. 1 , scribe line 212 is opened to form a gap 214 in the stack of thin film device layers 204, thereby defining an inactive region 220 where scribe line 212 is opened and an active region 210 where thin film device layers 204 remain intact. The various material layers of active region 210 will each inherently include spectral characteristics that together result in a composite of spectral characteristics that define a spectrum of optical characteristics associated with active region 210. When one or more scribe line fill materials 222 are deposited into gap 214, inactive region 220 will acquire spectral characteristics that define a spectrum of optical characteristics associated with inactive region 220. As described above, in some cases, the opening of scribe line 212 may be completely down to substrate 205 to remove an entire column of thin film device layers 204. Alternatively, the opening of scribe line 212 may only partially penetrate thin film device layers 204, such that a portion of the original thin film material layer 204 is not removed and remains within inactive region 220 (shown at 223). Thus, the resulting spectral characteristics and associated optical property spectrum of the non-active region 220 will be a function of the optical property spectrum of any of the original materials 223 that were not removed by the scribe line 212 and the optical property spectrum of the scribe line fill material 222 that was subsequently deposited into the gap 214. With embodiments of the present disclosure, the optical property spectrum of the scribe line fill material 222 is manipulated by enhancing the material with one or more coloring elements 224 embedded within the scribe line fill material 222. By enhancing the scribe line fill material 222 with the coloring elements 224, the optical property spectrum of the non-active region 222 can be manipulated to obtain the optical property spectrum of the active region 210 to the extent that the visible difference between the regions is considered imperceptible relative to an industry-defined standard observer.

[0033] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the coloring elements 224 may be embedded within a scribe fill material 222 that serves an electrical or other functional purpose. For example, the coloring elements 224 may be embedded within a conductive scribe fill material (e.g., 126) and / or an electrically insulating scribe fill material (e.g., 125) deposited in the gap to fabricate a monolithic electrical interconnect 124 or electrical terminal 140 or 142. In other embodiments, the coloring elements 224 may be embedded within an otherwise inert additional scribe fill material 222 that is deposited primarily to manipulate the optical property spectrum of the non-active region 220. Such coloring materials may be deposited on other scribe fill materials 222 that have a functional purpose (e.g., for creating a monolithic electrical interconnect 124). It should be noted that the deposition of the additional scribe fill material 222, including the embedded coloring elements 225, may also serve to prevent the intrusion of foreign materials into the gap 214, which otherwise may cause device unit shorts, active region thin film layer delamination, or other potential defects. It should be understood that in other embodiments, the coloring elements 224 may be embedded within the scribe line fill material 222 used to make the monolithic electrical interconnects as well as within additional scribe line fill material 222 deposited in the gaps 214 .

[0034] Furthermore, in some embodiments, multiple groups of coloring elements 224 are embedded in multiple different layers of the scribe fill material 222 to obtain a desired optical property spectrum. For example, the first coloring element 224 may have excellent solubility characteristics deposited with the first scribe fill material 222, while the second coloring element 224 may alternatively have excellent solubility characteristics deposited with the second scribe fill material 222. If a combination of two coloring elements 224 is required to obtain a desired optical property spectrum in the inactive region 220, the first group of coloring elements may be embedded in the first scribe fill material 222, while the second group of coloring elements may be embedded in the second scribe fill material 222.

[0035] In any of the above-described ways, the optical property spectrum of the non-active region 222 can thus be manipulated so that the optical property spectra of the active region 210 and the non-active region 220 are sufficiently matched to produce a uniform appearance across the entire module without distortion due to color discontinuities of industry-defined standard observers. As the term is used herein, the optical property spectrum of a material refers to the spectral distribution of wavelengths on the visible spectrum of light transmitted (or reflectivity) and emitted from the material. The visible spectrum is generally defined as light including wavelengths from about 380 nm to 680 nm. Although this specification uses standards and definitions published by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) to provide illustrative examples, it should be understood that the embodiments described herein can still be practiced by replacing references to other alternative colorimetric standards.

[0036] Given a selected CIE standard illuminant, the amount of light reflected or transmitted from an object at each wavelength in the visible spectrum can be quantified in order to create a spectral curve that defines the color characteristics of the object. Furthermore, the human eye is not uniformly sensitive to light across the visible spectrum, but is more sensitive to some colors than others. As a result, industry standards define a standard colorimetric observer (e.g., the CIE 10-degree standard observer), which includes and Functions that quantify the red, blue, and green cone sensitivities of an average human observer to standard illuminants to an industry-defined standard observer, thereby establishing an objective colorimetric metric.

[0037] The CIE tristimulus color values ​​(also called color coordinates) X, Y, and Z can be obtained by transforming the three standard observer functions (i.e., and ) are multiplied by the transmittance (or reflectance, if applicable) of the CIE illuminant and the object, respectively, and then the products are summed over the wavelengths of the visible spectrum to obtain the X, Y, and Z color coordinates. Those skilled in the art who have studied the present disclosure will understand that these X, Y, and Z color coordinates can be mathematically mapped to any desired color space (e.g., Hunter L, a, b color space or CIE L*, a*, b* color space) in order to perform calculations for comparing colors to determine the degree to which two colors match. Therefore, the optical property spectrum of an object can be defined in terms of a coordinate vector including the X, Y, and Z color coordinates. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the baseline optical property spectrum of the active areas 110 of the device 100 can therefore be obtained by determining the X, Y, and Z color coordinates of those active areas 110. This baseline optical property spectrum will be used as a target optical property spectrum, and the X, Y, and Z color coordinates of the non-active areas 110 will be designed to the target optical property spectrum by enhancing the scribe fill material 222 with the coloring element 224.

[0038] In general, an acceptable color match between two sample objects typically varies depending on the application. However, for the purposes of industrial building and architectural window applications, any difference between the optical characteristic spectra of the active region 110 and the inactive region 120 must be at or below a minimum perceptible limit (which may be referred to as a minimum perceptible difference) in order to provide the distortion-free window clarity expected to meet industry standards.

[0039] An objective measure of the closeness between two optical property spectra established for an industry-defined standard observer can be calculated based on the distance between the two sets of measurements in a three-dimensional color space. For example, given the color coordinates of the active area 110 and the color coordinates of the non-active area 120, the rectangular color difference ΔL*, Δa*, Δb* can be easily determined in the CIE L*, a*, b* color space. If ΔL* is positive, the non-active area 120 is lighter than the active area 110. If it is negative, the non-active area 120 is darker than the active area 110. If Δa* is positive, the non-active area 120 is more red or less green than the active area 110. If Δa* is negative, the non-active area 120 is more green or less red than the active area 110. If Δb* is positive, the non-active area 120 is more yellow and less blue than the active area 110. If Δb* is negative, the inactive area 120 is more blue and less yellow than the active area 110. However, as already noted, the minimum perceptible difference between two colors is not uniform for all wavelengths across the entire visible spectrum. Therefore, the CIE defined the parameter ΔE (total color difference) to establish a standard calculation metric that relates human visual judgment to the difference between two perceived colors. At the time of this disclosure, the parameter "Delta E 2000" or ΔE2000 is considered to be the most accurate CIE color difference algorithm that can be used to determine the human detectability of the difference between any two colors in the visible spectrum.

[0040] While it is difficult to obtain a perfect spectral match of optical properties across the entire visible spectrum between adjacent active and inactive regions, perfection is not required to obtain a color match within the minimum perceptible difference. The embodiments presented herein can be used to obtain very close color matches across the visible spectrum (e.g., ≤5% deviation), and optionally have more stringent matching criteria (e.g., ≤2%) for matching in those areas of the visible spectrum where the human eye is most sensitive to detecting color differences. Based on the ΔE2000 standard, the minimum detectable difference between two colors in the visible spectrum can be considered to occur between ΔE2000 values ​​of 1-3, with a ΔE2000 value of 1 being defined as being essentially imperceptible to anyone except an experienced professional glass inspector.

[0041] Thus, with embodiments of the present disclosure, the X, Y, and Z color coordinates of the non-active areas formed within the scribe lines can be modified by embedding the coloring elements 224 in the scribe line fill material 222, so that the X, Y, and Z color coordinates of the non-active areas 120 match the X, Y, and Z color coordinates of the active areas 110 within a range of ΔE2000 values ​​of 3 or less, thereby producing an acceptable distortion-free glass sheet that includes active electronic modules for architectural applications on its surface. In some embodiments, the deviation between the active area and the adjacent non-active area can be considered to be within the minimum perceptible difference for an industry-defined standard observer of ΔE2000≤3.

[0042] Figure 3 1 is a flow chart illustrating a method 300 of manufacturing a visually uniform thin film electronic device according to one embodiment of the present invention. It should be understood that the method 300 may be combined with the above-mentioned method with respect to Figure 1 and Figure 2 The present invention can be implemented by any embodiment described in the present invention. Thus, the elements of method 300 can be combined with, combined with, or replace the elements of those embodiments described above. In addition, the functions, structures, and other descriptions of the elements of such embodiments described above can be applied to the similarly named elements of method 300, and vice versa.

[0043] Method 300 begins at 310 by opening a scribe line in a stack of thin film material layers deposited on a substrate to define an active region and an inactive region of a thin film electronic device, wherein the stack of thin film material layers includes at least one active semiconductor layer. The active region includes an unscribed region of the stack of thin film material layers, and the inactive region includes a region of the stack of thin film material layers where thin film material is removed by the scribe line. Method 300 proceeds to 320, wherein at least one scribe line fill material is deposited into the gap opened by the scribe line, wherein the scribe line fill material has one or more coloring elements embedded therein, wherein the one or more coloring elements change the optical property spectrum of the inactive region to obtain an optical property spectrum of the active region within a minimum perceptible difference of an industry-defined standard observer.

[0044] The scribing performed at 310 can be performed using one of several techniques known to those skilled in the art. In some embodiments, scribing is performed using laser or mechanical scribing as a local process to selectively remove layers of previously deposited thin film layers. In some embodiments, the color enhancement scribing filler material deposited into the scribing at 320 can be applied using local deposition techniques such as aerosol jet printing or inkjet printing. Both of these techniques have the advantage of being able to locally deposit material into selected areas, can be used to precisely control the amount of material deposited, and are compatible with high-throughput manufacturing techniques. However, it should be understood that the embodiments presented herein are not limited to aerosol jet printing and / or inkjet printing. In other embodiments, printing techniques such as, but not limited to, screen printing, gravure printing, and spectral microcontact printing can be used to deposit color element enhancement materials.

[0045] In one embodiment, method 300 may include obtaining a baseline optical property spectrum of an unscribed area of ​​a stack of thin film material layers and an optical property spectrum of any material retained within the scribe line, from which at least a portion of the thin film material layer is removed. The difference between the two optical property spectra can be used to define a desired collective color property of a scribe fill material that will be added back to the scribe area. The color property of the scribe fill material can be color matched to the color property of the material removed by the scribe process, so that the resulting scribe non-active area will be color matched to the unscribed active area. In some embodiments, in order to determine what coloring elements need to be added, an inherent color property of the scribe fill material is established. The scribe fill material is then enhanced with an embedded coloring element that drives the optical property spectrum of the scribe fill material to the optical property spectrum of the material removed by the scribe line.

[0046] It will be appreciated that given a target optical property spectrum for a score fill material, one skilled in the art of colorimetry in thin film applications will be able to determine what combination of dyes and / or pigments will best serve as a coloring element embedded in the score fill material to aggregate the optical properties of the score fill material. and obtain The optical properties of the removed material are spectral. For example, for a semi-transparent application, the coloring element may include a combination of separate red, blue and green dyes. The specific combination is formulated in advance and embedded in the material before being deposited into the scribed area.

[0047] It should be understood that the enhanced scribe line filling material may, but not necessarily, obtain the final target optical property spectrum immediately upon deposition. That is, in some embodiments, depending on the material properties of the coloring elements and the scribe line filling material, the target optical property spectrum may be obtained by method 300, which also includes aging, curing or otherwise treating the deposited scribe line filling material so that the material reaches the target optical property spectrum. For example, the color-enhanced scribe line filling material deposited into the scribe line at 320 may be subjected to heat treatment and / or light treatment or other treatment, which causes a change in the spectral quality of one or more coloring elements embedded in the scribe line filling material. For example, one or more coloring elements may change with respect to color, saturation or opacity. In some embodiments, such post-deposition processes may cause the coloring elements embedded in the scribe line filling material to interact with each other, or with other components of the scribe line filling material, so that the material reaches the target optical property spectrum. Although in some embodiments, such post-deposition processes may occur as part of the manufacturing process of the thin film electronic device, in other embodiments, it may occur in whole or in part after the manufacturing is completed. For example, in some embodiments, it will be appreciated that the color enhancing scribe fill material may be altered in situ with respect to color, saturation, or opacity after the device is installed. In such embodiments, exposure to expected ambient lighting and / or heating may comprise part of a post-deposition process for obtaining a steady-state spectral quality having a target optical characteristic spectrum.

[0048] The use of embedded coloring elements to control the optical property spectrum of the scribe fill material can be accomplished in many different ways. In one embodiment, a sample of the thin film material used in the device unit 101 can be incorporated into the scribe fill material as a coloring element. It will be necessary to measure the use of such materials as coloring elements so as not to change the electrical properties of the scribe fill material in an unfavorable manner. For example, in the case where the scribe fill material is introduced into the scribe to provide an electrical insulator, the scribe fill material will need to include such samples at a sufficiently low load so as not to destroy the insulating properties of the scribe fill material. In some embodiments, the optical property spectrum of the scribe fill material can be roughly adjusted using a sample of the semiconductor active layer material and fine-tuned by the embedded additional coloring elements to take into account the color characteristics of other device layers. In some embodiments, due to the reduced load of the semiconductor active layer material in the scribe fill material, the amount of the deposited scribe fill material may exceed the thickness of the surrounding thin film layer, but this is acceptable because the scribe fill material insulator can be overprinted to ensure complete isolation.

[0049] Examples of scribe line fill materials that can be used to form an insulating (e.g., dielectric) layer within the scribe line region include, but are not limited to, organic polymers such as poly(styrene), poly(methyl methacrylate), poly(vinyl acetate), poly(vinyl alcohol), organic-inorganic hybrid materials such as organosiloxane metal-organic frameworks, or inorganic polymers such as siloxanes or thyroxine, or ceramic materials suitable for non-transparent applications, or combinations thereof. Example materials that can be used for scribe line fill materials to form a conductive layer within the scribe line region include, but are not limited to, semi-transparent conductors and materials such as indium tin oxide (ITO) nanoparticles, transparent conductive oxide (TCO) nanoparticles, and other semi-transparent conductors or semiconducting organic polymers, or opaque conductors such as silver (Ag) or other metals, nanoparticles, nanowires or flakes, or combinations thereof.

[0050] The color elements used to manipulate the optical property spectrum of the line filling material can be selected not only based on their coloring properties, but also based on other material properties (e.g., hardness and / or flexibility) and their overall compatibility with the material to be deposited and embedded therein. In some embodiments, the material selected as the coloring element should have the same solubility characteristics as the line filling material to be embedded therein. That is, the coloring element is ideally soluble in the same solvent as the line filling material, so that they can be mixed together before deposition. If the line filling material is soluble in water, the coloring element selected for embedding in the line filling material should also be soluble in water. Similarly, if the line filling material is soluble in an organic solvent, the coloring element selected for embedding in the line filling material should also be soluble in the same organic solvent. For example, a technician in the field of water-soluble dyes can start from the target optical property spectrum of the desired water-soluble line filling material (which can be defined according to a set of color coordinates as described above). Given the target optical property spectrum, they can select from water-soluble dyes and / or pigments, to combine with water-soluble line filling materials, thereby obtain the line filling materials that will realize the target optical property spectrum.Similarly, given the target optical property spectrum, those skilled in the art of organic solvent soluble molds can then select from the selection of molds and / or pigments that are soluble in organic solvents, to combine with line filling materials that are soluble in organic solvents, thereby obtain the line filling materials that will realize the target optical property spectrum.Therefore, depending on the selected insulator material and its solubility in various solvents, this will affect the selection of used coloring elements.Most of film absorbing materials are unlikely to be water-soluble, but many common commercial dyes (such as food dyes) are water-soluble.If the solvent of matching can not be identified, then in some embodiments, coloring elements and insulators can be printed separately and stacked on each other.

[0051] As described above, the color enhancement line filler material can be selectively placed in and / or above a specific line using a high resolution area selective printing technique. For example, aerosol jet printing and inkjet printing are two deposition techniques that allow flexible control of the amount of deposited insulator. In alternative embodiments, other printing techniques may also be used, such as screen printing, gravure printing, metering rod printing, elastic printing, and micro-contact printing. All of these techniques utilize ink to achieve the printing process, and each process requires slightly different ink properties. However, in general, the ink used to deposit the color enhancement line filler material will have roughly similar properties and include a solvent, a line filler material soluble in the solvent (whether an insulator (dielectric) or a conductor) and a coloring element (soluble in the selected solvent) that produces a desired target optical property spectrum. However, it should be understood that in some cases, for example, if a stable suspension that can be printed by one or more of the above-mentioned techniques can be formed, the components of the ink may not need to be soluble.

[0052] It will also be appreciated that the unscribed layer of active area 110 will need to be able to withstand the application of the ink solvent without substantial damage, otherwise the printing process may deleteriously affect the performance of device 100. Other additives such as surfactants, tackifiers, crosslinkers or other additives may also be added to the ink.

[0053] After a suitable ink for depositing the color enhancing scribe fill material has been developed and a suitable printing process has been selected, an example process can be described as follows: a thin film photovoltaic module is prepared by depositing a stack of thin film layers. A scribe line (e.g., a P3 scribe line or equivalent) is made, and then an ink comprising a color enhancing scribe fill material is printed inside the scribe line to the necessary thickness to produce a good match of the optical characteristic spectrum and intensity with the surrounding active area. In the case where a transparent contact material is placed inside the P2 scribe line, this material can also be overprinted with a suitable ink comprising another color enhancing scribe fill material to similarly reduce or eliminate the optical characteristic spectrum and intensity mismatch between the P2 scribe line and the surrounding active area. In some embodiments, annealing or other post-deposition processes (e.g., ultraviolet exposure) can be used to place the insulator in the appropriate position. The result should be a good match of the optical characteristic spectrum and intensity of the entire P3 and optional P2 scribe lines, while also providing the necessary insulation protection between the P3 scribe line (shunt resistor) and the P2 conductor and the surrounding environment. The optical characteristic spectrum matching should enhance the uniform appearance of the device 100 while also ensuring sufficient module performance. This example refers to P2 and P3 scribing defined by conventional P1, P2 and P3 scribing methods known to those skilled in the art for making monolithic interconnects. However, the introduction of color matching now disclosed in the present disclosure can also be applied to alternative monolithic interconnect configurations and thin film structures to eliminate visual defects caused by optical property spectral discontinuities.

[0054] Figure 4 A flow chart illustrating a method 400 for manufacturing a suitable ink for depositing a color enhancing line fill material. The method begins at 410 by determining an intensity spectrum for a plurality of coloring element input samples. As used herein, "intensity spectrum" may alternatively refer to an absorption spectrum, a transmission spectrum, or a reflection spectrum. It should be understood that although the illustrative examples described herein primarily relate to the determination of absorption spectra, those skilled in the art may easily apply the teachings disclosed herein to more ideal or appropriate applications for the determination of transmission spectra or reflection spectra. In this particular example embodiment, in order to determine the absorption spectrum, a plurality of available coloring elements are each dissolved into separate samples of the line fill material to produce a plurality of separate coloring element input samples, each sample corresponding to one available coloring element. The absorption spectrum of each coloring element input sample is measured based on the relationship between the absorption intensity (or optical density, OD) and the wavelength. For example, Figure 5 To illustrate the generation of a set of industrial dyes (specifically, blue (510), orange (520), black (530), red (540), and yellow 2 (550)) from PVAc films during laboratory experiments, Technology Company( Technologies Corporation) Graphs of absorption spectra 510-550 obtained for a color element (e.g., a solvent soluble dye). To obtain these measurements, each color element input sample was applied as a thin film having a thickness approximately equal to (e.g., within an order of magnitude) the expected thickness of the scribe fill material required to fill the target scribe line (e.g., about 750 nm) onto the transparent substrate.

[0055] The method proceeds to 420 by determining an intensity spectrum of a material layer removed from the thin film stack. That is, determining the spectral quality of the thin film material removed during patterning. As described above, the difference in optical property spectra between a baseline optical property spectrum for unscribed areas of the stack of thin film material layers and an optical property spectrum of any material remaining within the scribe lines can be used to define a desired aggregate color characteristic of a scribe fill material to be added back into the scribe line areas. For example, Figure 6 The graph shows an absorption spectrum obtained in a laboratory experiment where a standard P2 scribe line was cut into a stack of thin film material layers. Curve 610 indicates the difference in the VLT spectrum between the entire stack of thin film material layers and the area where the P2 scribe line was applied. Curve 610 therefore provides the target color matching spectrum that would be expected if a scribe fill material was added back into the scribe area.

[0056] The method proceeds to 430 to determine a ratio of a plurality of coloring element input samples to produce a scribe fill material ink, wherein the ratio provides a best fit estimate of the intensity spectrum for the material layer removed from the film stack. Given the target color matching spectrum 610, the absorption spectrum curves 510-550 may be applied to a linear fitting algorithm or other available data analysis software to determine a combination of coloring element input samples that produces a best fit curve for the target color matching spectrum 610. Figure 6 In FIG. 6 , curve 620 illustrates the Figure 5 The set of five coloring element input samples illustrated by the absorption spectra 510-550 in FIG. 5 is fitted to the curve of the target color matching spectrum 610 marked with P2. In this case, the sample spectral data of the coloring element input and the target color matching spectrum data are input into the Igor Pro data analysis software program to calculate the best fit color matching curve 620 and generate corresponding least squares coefficient values ​​indicating the respective concentration ratios of the coloring element input samples that produce the best fit color match to the VLT spectral difference represented by the target color matching spectrum 610. The quality of the best fit color matching curve 620 is quite acceptable, especially in the range of 550-650 nm, which is approximately the peak of the photopic region.

[0057] Therefore, laboratory studies have confirmed that the PVAc material film embedded with these coloring elements at a ratio indicated by the linear fit coefficient value can be used to adjust the optical property spectrum of the non-active area formed by this P2 scribing, and adjust the optical property spectrum to basically obtain the optical property spectrum of the un-scribbled stack of the thin film material layer. In order to track the results, a solution of the scribing filling material ink was prepared with 1wt.% PVAc using the coloring elements at a ratio specified by the coefficient value, and two test films of thickness were prepared. Two film samples of different thicknesses were made of this scribing filling material ink. The relevant absorption spectrum curve of the first thickness film is shown at 630, while the relatively thick second thickness curve is shown at 640. As shown in curves 630 and 640, the test film of the scribing filling material is either too thick or too thin to provide an accurate match in optical density with the best fitting color matching curve 620. However, the quality of the spectral matching itself is obvious, and a more accurate optical density match can be achieved by adjusting the thickness.

[0058] Similar experiments were performed for standard P3 lines, e.g. Figure 7 shown. Figure 7The absorption spectrum obtained in a laboratory experiment is illustrated, in which a standard P3 scribe is cut into a stack of thin film material layers. In this experiment, curve 710 indicates the difference in VLT spectra between the entire stack of thin film material layers and the area where the P3 scribe is applied. Curve 710 therefore provides the target color matching spectrum expected when the scribe filler material is added back to the scribe area. In this case, the same industrial dye is used, so the same absorption spectrum input 510-550 is applied to the linear fitting algorithm to determine what combination of coloring element input samples is needed to obtain the best fit curve of the target color matching spectrum 710. The Igor Pro data analysis software program calculates the best fit color matching curve 720 and the corresponding least squares coefficient value for the corresponding concentration ratio of the coloring element input sample that produces the best fit color match with the target color matching spectrum 710. Using the coloring elements in the ratio specified by the coefficient value, with 1wt.% of PVAc, a solution of the scribe filler material ink is prepared again, and two thickness test films are prepared and spectral measurements are performed as shown in curves 730 and 740. As shown by curves 730 and 740, the thicker test film 740 provided nearly exact optical density, although Figure 6 The quality of the spectral match is somewhat reduced compared to the P2-scribe example in Figure 1. However, such results are not unexpected, as P3-scribe results in the removal of more thin-film material layers. As a result, the embedded coloring elements play a larger role in the overall VLT spectrum of the resulting inactive region. Regardless, this experiment demonstrates the achievability of color matching, i.e., the spectral differences in optical properties represented by the target color matching spectrum for P3-scribe.

[0059] To quantitatively analyze the quality of the line fill material embedded with the coloring elements that can be obtained from the line fill material ink that meets the best fit color matching curve ratio, we calculated Figure 6 and Figure 7 CIE 1964 (10°) XYZ tristimulus and xyz chromaticity values ​​of the P2 and P3 reference (color matching) spectra shown in the examples.

[0060]

[0061] Table 1. Calculated tristimulus, chromaticity and ΔE2000 values ​​for the CMI process

[0062] It should be noted that these calculations utilize transmission data, which can be calculated from absorbance and / or reflectance data, and therefore may introduce some negligible errors due to reflection and scattering. The data are given in Table 1, along with the calculated ΔE2000 comparing the reference spectrum to the fitted values. The quality of the fit is very good, as shown by the low ΔE2000 values ​​(~1). The color and brightness data are expressed in standard XYZ tristimulus measurements (cd / m^2). All color metrics can be converted from these values. The chromaticity coordinates (x, y, z) are derived from the XYZ brightness values. Figure 8 A plot of the xyz chromaticity values ​​is provided to facilitate visual interpretation of the data. Figure 8 , the xyz coordinates of the P2 line target color matching spectrum 610 (expressed in standard XYZ tristimulus measurement (cd / m^2)) are shown at 810, the xyz coordinates of the best fit color matching curve 620 are shown at 812, and the xyz coordinates of the P3 line target color matching spectrum 710 are shown at 820, and the XYZ coordinates of the best fit color matching curve 720 are shown at 822.

[0063] It should be noted that when filling a scribe line with a scribe fill material, it is generally desirable to have a total thickness similar to the thickness of the scribe line to avoid overfilling or underfilling, which may adversely affect appearance and / or device performance. In order to ensure a good match between the OD and spectrum between the scribe fill material and the surrounding material, it is necessary to adjust the concentration of the coloring element in the scribe fill material ink to obtain the correct OD at the desired film thickness. In other words, once the ratio of the coloring elements is determined based on the best fit coefficient value, the total concentration of the coloring element present in the scribe fill material ink can be adjusted according to the desired film thickness deposited.

[0064] Thus, the method proceeds to 440, where the total concentration of the plurality of coloring elements present in the scribe fill material ink is adjusted based on the target film thickness. In one embodiment, once an initial batch of scribe fill material ink has been prepared, films of varying thicknesses may be deposited (e.g., via doctor blade coating), and the intensity spectrum / OD and film thickness of each film thickness measured. Fig. 9 9 is a graph illustrating OD versus wavelength for a scribe fill material ink deposited at various thicknesses (shown at 910), and a target color matching spectrum 920. For example purposes, Fig. 9 The specific target color matching spectrum shown in corresponds to Figure 7 The target color matching spectrum 710 for the P3 scribe shown in FIG. 710. In this example, the OD and corresponding film thickness at wavelengths of interest of 435 nm (shown at 902), 620 nm (shown at 904), and 675 nm (shown at 906) can be used to determine an estimated thickness.

[0065] Fig.10 One example manner in which the estimated thickness may be determined is illustrated. Fig.10 The relationship between OD and film thickness is plotted. Fig.10 As shown, a least squares linear regression fit (y=a+bx) can be calculated from the plots for each wavelength of interest (where the best fit curve for 435 nm is shown at 1002, the best fit curve for 620 nm is shown at 1004, and the best fit curve for 675 nm is shown at 1006. Those skilled in the art who have studied this disclosure will appreciate that other wavelengths of interest may be selected depending on the particular application.

[0066] Based on the calculated fit and the desired OD in the target color matching spectrum 610, the thickness required to achieve the desired OD can be estimated as shown in Table 2 below.

[0067]

[0068] Table 2. Calculated Score Fill Material Film Thickness Estimates and Ratios

[0069] For example, assuming that the target thickness of the scribe fill material deposited into the scribe is 750 nm, the ratio of the estimated thickness to the target thickness provides an estimate of the dye concentration adjustment that will be required. For example, taking the average of the three ratios (3.46, 4.40, and 5.35) shows that for the above Figure 7 For the example of a P3 scribe described in , producing the desired OD at the target thickness requires an increase in the coloring element concentration in the scribe fill material ink by a factor of approximately 4.4.

[0070] Example Embodiments

[0071] Example 1 includes a method for producing a thin film electronic device, the method comprising: opening a scribe line in a stack of thin film material layers deposited on a substrate to define an active area and an inactive area of ​​the thin film electronic device, wherein the stack of thin film material layers includes at least one active semiconductor layer, wherein the active area includes an unscribed area of ​​the stack of thin film material layers, and wherein the inactive area includes an area in the stack of thin film material layers where thin film material is removed by the scribe line; depositing at least one scribe line fill material into the gap opened by the scribe line, wherein the scribe line fill material has one or more coloring elements embedded therein, wherein the one or more coloring elements change the optical property spectrum of the inactive area to obtain an optical property spectrum of the active area within a minimum perceptible difference of an industry-defined standard observer.

[0072] Example 2 includes the method of Example 1, which also includes: determining an intensity spectrum of multiple coloring element input samples; determining an intensity spectrum of a material layer removed from the thin film stack; determining a ratio of the multiple coloring element input samples to produce a scribe line fill material ink, wherein the ratio provides a best fit estimate of the intensity spectrum of the material layer removed from the thin film stack; based on the target film thickness, adjusting the total concentration of multiple coloring elements present in the scribe line fill material ink.

[0073] Example 3 includes the method of any one of Examples 1-2, wherein the optical characteristic spectrum of the inactive region obtains the optical characteristic spectrum of the active region within ΔE2000≤3.

[0074] Example 4 includes the method of any of Examples 1-3, wherein opening a scribe line in the stack of thin film material layers includes selectively removing material from the thin film material layers deposited on the substrate using a laser or mechanical scribe line.

[0075] Example 5 includes the method of any of Examples 1-4, wherein the scribe line includes at least one of a P1, P2, or P3 scribe line.

[0076] Embodiment 6 includes the method of any of embodiments 1-5, wherein the substrate is transparent or opaque with respect to visible light.

[0077] Example 7 includes the method of any of Examples 1-6, wherein depositing at least one scribe line fill material into the gap opened by the scribe line includes one of aerosol jet printing, inkjet printing, screen printing, gravure printing, and spectral microcontact printing.

[0078] Example 8 includes the method of any of Examples 1-7, wherein depositing at least one scribe line fill material into the gap opened by the scribe line includes depositing a scribe line fill material ink onto the non-active area, wherein the scribe line fill material ink includes: a solvent, at least one scribe line fill material, and one or more coloring elements, wherein the one or more coloring elements and the at least one scribe line fill material are soluble in the solvent.

[0079] Embodiment 9 includes the method of embodiment 8, wherein the one or more coloring elements are soluble in the solvent.

[0080] Example 10 includes the method of any of Examples 8-9, further comprising: determining a baseline optical property spectrum of a stack of thin film material layers in an active region; determining an optical property spectrum of thin film material remaining in a non-active region before depositing at least one scribe line fill material into a gap opened by the scribe line; determining a difference between the baseline optical property spectrum and the optical property spectrum of the thin film material remaining in the non-active region; and selecting one or more coloring elements based on the difference.

[0081] Example 11 includes the method of Example 10, wherein the one or more coloring elements are selected in a ratio that drives an optical characteristic spectrum of a scribe line fill material to obtain an optical characteristic spectrum of a material removed by opening the scribe line.

[0082] Example 12 includes the method of any of Examples 1-11, wherein the one or more coloring elements include a sample of the same semiconductor material as included in the at least one active semiconductor layer.

[0083] Example 13 includes the method of any of Examples 1-12, wherein at least one scribe line fill material includes ceramic.

[0084] Example 14 includes the method of any of Examples 1-13, wherein depositing at least one scribe line fill material includes fabricating at least a portion of a monolithic electrical interconnect.

[0085] Example 15 includes the method of any of Examples 1-14, wherein depositing at least one scribe line fill material includes producing at least a portion of an edge isolation seal.

[0086] Example 16 includes the method of any one of Examples 1-15, wherein the active semiconductor layer includes an organic photovoltaic semiconductor absorber layer

[0087] Example 17 includes a thin film semiconductor device, the device comprising: a stack of thin film material layers deposited on a substrate, the stack of thin film material layers being subdivided into a plurality of semiconductor device units, the semiconductor device units being divided into active regions and inactive regions by one or more scribe lines, wherein the stack of thin film material layers comprises at least one active semiconductor layer, wherein a first semiconductor device unit among the plurality of semiconductor device units defines an active region of the thin film semiconductor device, wherein the active region comprises a color characteristic defined by a first optical characteristic spectrum; and an inactive region formed on the substrate adjacent to the active region, the inactive region comprising at least one scribe line filling material embedded with at least one coloring element, the inactive region having a color characteristic defined by a second optical characteristic spectrum; wherein the first optical characteristic spectrum and the second optical characteristic spectrum match within a minimum perceptible difference of an industry-defined standard observer.

[0088] Example 18 includes the device of Example 17, wherein the active semiconductor layer includes an organic photovoltaic semiconductor absorber layer.

[0089] Example 19 includes the device of any one of Examples 17-18, wherein the second optical characteristic spectrum of the inactive region obtains the first optical characteristic spectrum of the active region, and the deviation of the first optical characteristic spectrum of the active region on the visible spectrum is ≤5%, and the deviation for at least one wavelength within the visible spectrum is ≤2%.

[0090] Example 20 includes the device of any of Examples 17-19, wherein the second optical characteristic spectrum of the inactive region obtains the first optical characteristic spectrum of the active region within ΔE2000≤3.

[0091] Example 21 includes the device of any of Examples 17-20, wherein the at least one color element and the at least one scoreline fill material are both materials soluble in the first solvent.

[0092] Example 22 includes the device of any of Examples 17-21, wherein the at least one scribe line fill material comprises: a first scribe line fill material having first colored elements embedded therein and a second scribe line fill material having second colored elements embedded therein.

[0093] Example 23 includes the device of any of Examples 17-22, wherein at least one scribe fill material comprises an electrically insulating material and at least one coloring element comprises a pigment material or a dye material.

[0094] Example 24 includes the device of any of Examples 17-23, wherein at least one scribe line fill material comprises a conductive material and at least one coloring element comprises a pigment material or a dye material.

[0095] Example 25 includes the device of any of Examples 17-24, wherein at least one coloring element includes a sample of the same semiconductor material as included in the at least one active semiconductor layer.

[0096] Example 26 includes the device of any of Examples 17-25, wherein the substrate is opaque in the visible spectrum.

[0097] Example 27 includes the device of any of Examples 17-26, wherein at least one scribe fill material includes ceramic.

[0098] Example 28 includes the apparatus of any of Examples 17-27, wherein the inactive region includes at least a portion of an electrical monolithic interconnect.

[0099] Example 29 includes the device of any of Examples 17-28, wherein the inactive region includes at least a portion of an edge isolation seal.

[0100] Although specific embodiments have been shown and described herein, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any arrangement calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown. This application is intended to cover any adaptation or variation of the proposed embodiments. Therefore, it is apparent that the embodiments are intended to be limited only by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method for producing a thin film electronic device, the method comprising: Opening scribe lines in a stack of thin film material layers deposited on a substrate to define active areas and inactive areas of the thin film electronic device, wherein the stack of thin film material layers includes at least one active semiconductor layer, wherein the active area includes an unscribed area of ​​the stack of thin film material layers, and wherein the inactive area includes an area of ​​the stack of thin film material layers where thin film material is removed by the scribe lines; determining intensity spectra of input samples of multiple coloring elements; determining an intensity spectrum of said thin film material removed from said stack of thin film material layers; Determining the ratio of the plurality of coloring element input samples to produce a line filler material ink, wherein The ratio provides a best fit estimate of the intensity spectrum for the thin film material removed from the stack of thin film material layers; as well as adjusting the total concentration of the plurality of coloring element input samples present in the scribe fill material ink based on a target film thickness; At least one scribe line fill material is deposited into the gap opened by the scribe line, wherein the at least one scribe line fill material includes an electrically conductive material and an electrically insulating material, wherein the at least one scribe line fill material has one or more coloring elements embedded therein, wherein the one or more coloring elements cause the optical property spectrum of the inactive region to obtain a minimum perceptible difference to an industry-defined standard observer of the optical property spectrum of the active region, wherein depositing the at least one scribe line fill material includes manufacturing at least a portion of an electrical monolithic interconnect, and wherein depositing the at least one scribe line fill material into the gap includes depositing the scribe line fill material ink. 2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the optical characteristic spectrum of the inactive region obtains the optical characteristic spectrum of the active region within ΔE2000≤3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate is transparent or opaque with respect to visible light.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: A post-deposition process is applied after depositing the at least one scribe line fill material, wherein the post-deposition process causes a change in the spectral quality of the at least one scribe line fill material to obtain a minimum perceptible difference to an industry-defined standard observer of an optical characteristic spectrum of the active region. 5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more coloring elements comprise a sample having the same semiconductor material as a semiconductor material included in the at least one active semiconductor layer. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one scribe line fill material comprises ceramic.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one active semiconductor layer comprises an organic photovoltaic semiconductor absorber layer.

8. A method for producing a thin film electronic device, the method comprising: Opening scribe lines in a stack of thin film material layers deposited on a substrate to define active areas and inactive areas of the thin film electronic device, wherein the stack of thin film material layers includes at least one active semiconductor layer, wherein the active area includes an unscribed area of ​​the stack of thin film material layers, and wherein the inactive area includes an area of ​​the stack of thin film material layers where thin film material is removed by the scribe lines; determining a baseline optical property spectrum of the stack of thin film material layers in the active region; determining a spectrum of optical properties of the thin film material remaining in the inactive region prior to depositing at least one scribe line fill material into the gap opened by the scribe line; determining a difference between the baseline optical property spectrum and the optical property spectrum of the thin film material remaining in the inactive region; as well as selecting one or more coloring elements based on the differences; At least one scribe line fill material is deposited into the gap opened by the scribe line, wherein the at least one scribe line fill material includes an electrically conductive material and an electrically insulating material, wherein the at least one scribe line fill material has one or more coloring elements embedded therein, wherein the one or more coloring elements cause an optical property spectrum of the inactive region to obtain a minimum perceptible difference to an industry-defined standard observer of an optical property spectrum of the active region, wherein depositing the at least one scribe line fill material includes manufacturing at least a portion of an electrical monolithic interconnect.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the one or more coloring elements are selected in a ratio that drives an optical property spectrum of the at least one scribe line fill material to obtain an optical property spectrum of the thin film material removed by opening the scribe line.

10. A thin film semiconductor device prepared by the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, the device comprising: A stack of thin film material layers deposited on a substrate, the stack of thin film material layers being subdivided into a plurality of semiconductor device units, the semiconductor device units being divided into active areas and inactive areas by one or more scribe lines, wherein the stack of thin film material layers comprises at least one active semiconductor layer, wherein a first semiconductor device unit of the plurality of semiconductor device units defines an active region of the thin film semiconductor device, wherein the active region comprises a color characteristic defined by a first optical characteristic spectrum, wherein an inactive region is formed on the substrate adjacent to the active region, the inactive region comprising at least one scribe line fill material embedded with at least one coloring element, the inactive region having a color characteristic defined by a second optical characteristic spectrum; and Wherein the first optical characteristic spectrum and the second optical characteristic spectrum match within a minimum perceptible difference of an industry defined standard observer.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein the active semiconductor layer comprises an organic photovoltaic semiconductor absorber layer.

12. The device according to claim 10, wherein the second optical characteristic spectrum of the inactive region obtains the first optical characteristic spectrum of the active region, and the deviation of the first optical characteristic spectrum of the active region on the visible spectrum is ≤5%, and the deviation for at least one wavelength in the visible spectrum is ≤2%. 13 . The device according to claim 10 , wherein the second optical characteristic spectrum of the inactive region obtains the first optical characteristic spectrum of the active region within ΔE2000≦3.

14. The device according to claim 10, wherein: The at least one scribe line fill material comprises an electrically insulating material or an electrically conductive material; and The at least one coloring element comprises a pigment material or a dye material.

15. The device of claim 10, wherein the at least one coloring element comprises a sample having the same semiconductor material as a semiconductor material included in the at least one active semiconductor layer.

16. The device of claim 10, wherein the substrate is opaque in the visible spectrum.

17. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the at least one scribe line fill material comprises ceramic.

18. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the inactive region comprises one of: at least a portion of an electrical monolithic interconnect, or The edge isolates at least a portion of the seal.

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