METHOD FOR PRODUCING A METAL BACKSIDE CONTACT OF A SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENT, IN PARTICULAR, A SOLAR CELL

• US 20090061627A1
• Filed: 08/29/2008
• Published: 03/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Applied Materials Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Applied Materials Incorporated
• Inventors: Liu, Jian, Henrich, Juergen, Trassl, Roland, Wieder, Stephan, Rist, Gerhard
• Granted Patent: US 7,763,535 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 438/674
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/022425 for solar cells
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/50 Photovoltaic [PV] energy

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a backside contact of a semiconductor component, in particular, of a solar cell, comprising a metallic layer on the backside of a substrate in a vacuum treatment chamber, and the use of a vacuum treatment system for performing said method. Through this method and its use, in particular silicon based solar cells, can be provided with a back contact in a simple manner in a continuous process sequence, wherein the process sequence can be provided particularly efficient and economical, since no handling systems for rotating the substrate are required, and in particular silk screening steps can be dispensed with.

Claims

1. A method for producing a backside contact of a semiconductor element, comprising:

depositing a metallic layer on the backside of a substrate through sputtering or vapor deposition in an inline vacuum deposition system having deposition tools; and

depositing at least one additional layer on at least one of a frontside or backside of the substrate in the inline vacuum deposition system, wherein the metallic layer and the additional layer are deposited without interrupting vacuum.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the deposition tools for depositing the layers on the backside of the substrate are disposed with reference to a product flow path of the vacuum deposition system, opposite to the deposition tools for depositing the layers on the frontside of the substrate, wherein the substrate rests in particular on punctiform supports of a carrier in order to substantially avoid a shadowing of the substrate through the carrier.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is substantially moved in a horizontal path along the deposition tools, so that the deposition direction is vertical.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the metallic layer comprises a material chosen from the group consisting of aluminum, silver, molybdenum, nickel, or combinations thereof, wherein the metallic layer is deposited with a thickness of 0.1 μ

m to 10 μ

m.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein a passivation layer comprising a material chosen from the group SiN:

H, SiC;

H, SiO₂;

H, or a-Si;

H is deposited before depositing the metallic layer.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein after depositing the metallic layer, the metallic layer is partially melted through an intense laser beam, so that a laser fired contact (LFC) is formed.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein a barrier layer is deposited after depositing the metallic layer.

8. The method according to claims 5 or 7, wherein a solderable layer comprising one or several layers of material chosen from the group consisting of Ag, Ni, NiV, NiCr, or Cr is deposited after depositing the metallic layer or the barrier layer.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein a layer is deposited on the frontside of the substrate during the deposition of a layer on the backside of the substrate.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein several substrates are disposed in a common carrier and simultaneously provided with at least one layer.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one deposition tool is provided in a vacuum treatment chamber in an insertable element shaped as a drawer.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least two coating tools are provided in a vacuum treatment chamber in an insertable element shaped as a drawer, wherein a first deposition tool points to the frontside and a second deposition tool points to the backside of the substrate.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the layers are vapor deposited, wherein the respective materials are provided as a wire through a vacuum pass-through into an evaporator.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the layers'"'"' materials is evaporated in a first and a second evaporator within two subsequent vacuum treatment chambers, where the materials are evaporated in the first evaporator until the material in the first evaporator is consumed and the materials are then evaporated in the second evaporator without interruption of the vapor deposition in the other vacuum treatment chambers of the inline vacuum deposition system.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the layers is sputtered on by at least one rotatable cathode.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the number of cathodes is selected depending on the sputter yield of the cathodes, the thickness of the layer to be achieved, and the throughput of the vacuum treatment system to be achieved.

17. The method according to claim 7, wherein the barrier layer comprises WTi.

18. A vacuum treatment system, comprising:

at least one vacuum treatment chamber; and

at least two deposition tools configured for depositing a metallic layer on the backside of a substrate through sputtering or vapor deposition and depositing at least one additional layer on at least one of a frontside or backside of the substrate in the inline vacuum deposition system without interrupting the vacuum.

19. The vacuum treatment system according to claim 18, wherein the vacuum treatment system has a substantially horizontal product flow path and the deposition direction is vertically oriented.

20. The vacuum treatment system according to claim 18, further comprising:

at least one insertable element which can be inserted into or removed from the interior of at least one vacuum treatment chamber; and

at least one deposition tool disposed at the insertable element.

21. The vacuum treatment system according to claim 18, wherein at least one vacuum treatment chamber has at least two deposition tools, wherein a first deposition tool points to the frontside and a second deposition tool points to the backside of one or several substrates in the vacuum treatment system.

22. The vacuum treatment system according to claim 18, further comprising:

transport rollers on which the substrates are transported through the vacuum treatment system.