USITC may close Hanwha’s Patent Infringement Case indefinitely

According to TaiyangNews (LINK), South Korea’s Hanwha Q Cells patent infringement case against solar PV manufacturers JinkoSolar, REC Group and LONGi Solar apparently has hit a bump as JinkoSolar claims that in the next two weeks, the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) in the US International Trade Commission (USITC) will put a stay on the hearing indefinitely.

The dispute is regarding Hanwa Q Cells patent on employing a surface-passivating dielectric double laye, either Al2O3 or SiN deposited by ALD or PECVD.

US9893215B2 (LINK): Method for manufacturing a solar cell with a surface-passivating dielectric double layer, and corresponding solar cell - A solar cell with a dielectric double layer and also a method for the manufacture thereof are described. A first dielectric layer (3), which contains aluminum oxide or consists of aluminum oxide, and a second, hydrogen-containing dielectric layer (5) are produced by means of atomic layer deposition, allowing very good passivation of the surface of solar cells to be achieved.