Abstract: In a photovoltaic device, when an internal electric field in a photoelectric conversion layer becomes non-uniform in the surface direction of the layer for a reason such as the interface between a transparent conductive film and the photoelectric conversion layer being formed in an irregular shape, the internal electric field in the photoelectric conversion layer is made uniform by (1) making the thickness of an intrinsic layer inside the photoelectric conversion layer in portions of the photoelectric conversion layer where the internal electric field becomes weak smaller than that in the other portions, (2) providing regions where conductivity is high and activation energy is low in the photoelectric conversion layer in the said portions, or (3) containing a ferroelectric material in a portion of the intrinsic layer inside the photoelectric conversion layer.

Abstract: A semiconductive film is formed on a substrate having a surface with indentations defining a plurality of plane regions and elevated step difference portions between adjacent plane regions. The semiconductive film is irradiated with energy beams to be polycrystallized, whereby the positions of the crystal grain boundaries in the polycrystalline semiconductive film are controlled.