PHOTOVOLTAIC CONTACT AND WIRING FORMATION
First Claim
1. A method for forming metal contact and wiring on a sheet, comprising:
- depositing an antireflective coating layer on the surface of the sheet;
forming a pattern of a photoresist material for contact metallization on the surface of the sheet;
curing the photoresist material;
etching the antireflective coating layer through the pattern of the photoresist material;
cleaning the surface of the sheet;
depositing a film stack having the first metal material and a second metal material over the surface of the sheet inside a physical vapor deposition chamber;
stripping the photoresist material off the surface of the sheet;
annealing the sheet for forming good contact between the film stack and the sheet; and
depositing a bulk metal material over the surface of the sheet.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for fabricating a solar cell and forming metal contact is disclosed. Solar cell contact and wiring is formed by depositing a thin film stack of a first metal material and a second metal material as an initiation layer or seed layer for depositing a bulk metal layer in conjunction with additional sheet processing, photolithography, etching, cleaning, and annealing processes. In one embodiment, the thin film stack for forming metal silicide with reduced contact resistance over the sheet is deposited by sputtering or physical vapor deposition. In another embodiment, the bulk metal layer for forming metal lines and wiring is deposited by sputtering or physical vapor deposition. In an alternative embodiment, electroplating or electroless deposition is used to deposit the bulk metal layer.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method for forming metal contact and wiring on a sheet, comprising:
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depositing an antireflective coating layer on the surface of the sheet;
forming a pattern of a photoresist material for contact metallization on the surface of the sheet;
curing the photoresist material;
etching the antireflective coating layer through the pattern of the photoresist material;
cleaning the surface of the sheet;
depositing a film stack having the first metal material and a second metal material over the surface of the sheet inside a physical vapor deposition chamber;
stripping the photoresist material off the surface of the sheet;
annealing the sheet for forming good contact between the film stack and the sheet; and
depositing a bulk metal material over the surface of the sheet. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for forming metal contact and wiring on a sheet, comprising:
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depositing an antireflective coating layer on the surface of the sheet;
forming a pattern of a photoresist material for contact metallization on the surface of the sheet;
curing the photoresist material;
etching the antireflective coating layer through the pattern of the photoresist material;
cleaning the surface of the sheet;
depositing a film stack having the first metal material and a second metal material over the surface of the sheet inside a physical vapor deposition chamber;
depositing a bulk metal material over the surface of the sheet inside an electroplating system. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method for forming metal contact and wiring on a sheet, comprising:
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depositing an antireflective coating layer on the surface of the sheet;
forming a pattern of a photoresist material for contact metallization on the surface of the sheet;
curing the photoresist material;
etching the antireflective coating layer through the pattern of the photoresist material;
cleaning the surface of the sheet;
depositing a film stack having the first metal material and a second metal material over the surface of the sheet inside a physical vapor deposition chamber;
stripping the photoresist material off the surface of the sheet;
annealing the sheet for forming good contact between the film stack and the sheet; and
depositing a bulk metal material over the surface of the sheet inside an electroless deposition system. - View Dependent Claims (24)
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Specification