Photoelectric conversion device and method of making the same

Claim 1

A photoelectric conversion device comprising: a substrate having an insulating surface; and a plurality n of semiconductor photoelectric conversion elements U 1 to U n sequentially formed side by side on the substrate and connected in series one after another; wherein the photoelectric conversion semiconductor elements U i (i=1, 2, 3, . . . n) have a first electrode E i formed on the substrate, a non-single-crystal semiconductor laminate member Q i formed on the first electrode E i and a second electrode F i formed on the non-single-crystal semiconductor laminate member Q i , the non-single-crystal semiconductor laminate member Q i having at least a first non-single-crystal semiconductor layer having a P or N conductivity type, a second non-single-crystal semiconductor layer of intrinsic type and a third non-single-crystal semiconductor layer having a same conductivity as the first non-single-crystal semiconductor layer; wherein the first electrodes E j and E j+1 are separated by a first groove G j ; wherein the non-single-crystal semiconductor laminate member Q j+1 has an extending portion Q' j+1 which extends to non-single-crystal laminate member Q j and down to the substrate in the groove G j ; wherein the second electrode F j+1 (j=1, 2 . . . (n-1)) extends on the extending portion Q' j+1 of the non-single-crystal semiconductor laminate member Q j+1 ; wherein the second electrodes F j and F j+1 are separated by an isolating groove H j opposite the first electrode E j ; wherein the non-single-crystal semiconductor laminate member Q j has a second groove O j extending between the first electrode E j and the second electrode F j+1 ; wherein the second electrode F j+1 is coupled with the first electrode E j through a coupling portion K j formed by an extension of the second electrode F j+1 and extending into the second groove O j to couple with the first electrode E j ; and wherein at least the second non-single-crystal semiconductor layer of the non-single-crystal semiconductor laminate member Q j has a semiconductor region between the first electrode E j and the second electrode F j , the semiconductor region has a conductivity higher than the second non-single-crystal semiconductor layer of the extending portion Q' j of the non-single-crystal semiconductor laminate member Q j and the region of the second non-single-crystal semiconductor layer of the non-single-crystal semiconductor laminate member Q j underlying the isolating groove H j .