Claims
- 1. A photovoltaic cell comprising:
a first substrate having on its surface an electrode layer (1), said electrode layer (1) having on its surface a semiconductor film (2) on which a photosensitizer is adsorbed, and a second substrate having on its surface an electrode layer (3), said first substrate and said second substrate arranged so that the electrode layer (1) overlaid with the semiconductor film (2) and the electrode layer (3) are opposite to each other with an electrolyte sealed between the semiconductor film (2) and the electrode layer (3), wherein spacer particles are interposed between the semiconductor film (2) and the electrode layer (3), and wherein at least one of the electrode-layer-having substrates is transparent.
- 2. The photovoltaic cell as claimed in claim 1, wherein a surface of the semiconductor film (2) that is brought into contact with the spacer particles has a roughness (RS) of 5 μm or less, and also a surface of the electrode layer (3) that is brought into contact with the spacer particles has a roughness (RE) of 5 μm or less, and wherein the ratio of surface roughness (RS) to average diameter of spacer particles (D), RS/D, and the ratio of surface roughness (RE) to average diameter of spacer particles (D), RE/D, are both 0.2 or less.
- 3. The photovoltaic cell as claimed in any of claim 1, wherein the spacer particles are spherical particles having an average diameter (D) of 1 to 100 μm.
- 4. A coating liquid for forming a semiconductor film for use in a photovoltaic cell, comprising a component for semiconductor film formation and spacer particles both dispersed in a dispersion medium.
- 5. The coating liquid as claimed in claim 4, which further comprises peroxotitanic acid as a binder component.
- 6. The coating liquid as claimed in claim 4, wherein the spacer particles are spherical particles having an average diameter of 1 to 100 μm.
- 7. The photovoltaic cell as claimed in claim 5, wherein the spacer particles are spherical particles having an average diameter (D) of 1 to 100 μm.
- 8. The photovoltaic cell as claimed in claim 1, wherein the semiconductor film is a film of metal oxide semiconductor.
Priority Claims (4)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
186105/1999 |
Jun 1999 |
JP |
|
276268/1999 |
Sep 1999 |
JP |
|
333995/1999 |
Nov 1999 |
JP |
|
373673/1999 |
Dec 1999 |
JP |
|
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/786,093 filed Feb. 28, 2001, which is the national phase of PCT/JP00/04334 filed Jun. 30, 2000.
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09786093 |
Feb 2001 |
US |
Child |
10422429 |
Apr 2003 |
US |