Method of making narrow metal electrode

• US 5,389,573 A
• Filed: 03/21/1994
• Issued: 02/14/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation), Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Itagaki, Takushi
• Primary Examiner(s): Weisstuch, Aaron
• Application Number:
  US08/215,478
• Time in Patent Office: 330 Days
• Field of Search: 437/2-5, 437/180-181, 136/256, 427/75, 427/96, 427/197, 427/286
• US Class Current: 438/98
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/288 from a liquid, e.g. electrolytic deposition
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/022425 for solar cells
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/1241 by ink-jet printing or drawing by dispensing
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/50 Photovoltaic [PV] energy

Abstract

A method for producing a linear pattern having a width less than 100 microns and a resistivity of the order of 10^-6 Ω·cm on a substrate includes maintaining a low melting point metal in a fused state, applying the fused metal to a tip of a drawing head disposed close to or in contact with a substrate by capillary action, applying the fused metal to the substrate in a line with a width less than 100 microns while moving the tip of the drawing head relative to the substrate, and cooling and solidifying the fused metal as a linear pattern on the substrate.

Claims

1. A method for producing an electrically conduction pattern on a substrate, comprising:

maintaining a first low melting point metal in a fused state;

applying, by capillary action, said fused first low melting point metal to a tip of a drawing head disposed close to or in contact with a substrate;

applying said fused first low melting point metal to the substrate in a first linear pattern including lines having a width less than 100 microns while moving the tip of said drawing head relative to the substrate;

cooling and solidifying said first low melting point metal in the first linear pattern on the substrate;

maintaining a second low melting point metal in a fused state, the second low melting point metal having a lower melting point than the first low melting point metal;

applying, by capillary action, said fused second low melting point metal to the tip of the drawing head disposed close to the substrate;

applying said fused second low melting point metal to the substrate in a second linear pattern intersecting the first linear pattern; and

cooling and solidifying said second low melting point metal in the second linear pattern on the substrate.

2. The method of claim 1 including selecting the first and second low melting point metals from the group consisting of In--Sn alloy, In--Pb alloy, and In.

3. The method of claim 1 including mixing metal particles having a higher melting point and a lower resistivity than the first low melting point metal into the first low melting point metal before applying the fused first low melting point metal.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein said metal particles are selected from the group consisting Ag, Au, Cu, and Pt.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said substrate includes one of an active layer of an incident light surface of a solar cell and a transparent electrode disposed on an active layer of a light incident surface of a solar cell and said first and second linear patterns are part of an electrode.