Application specific implant system and method for use in solar cell fabrications
First Claim
1. A method of fabricating a semiconductor device comprising:
- doping photo-receptive regions within a substrate to a first concentration;
doping the photo-receptive regions to a second concentration larger than the first concentration to form gridlines, wherein the gridlines extend from topmost surfaces of the photo-receptive regions down into the substrate; and
coupling metal fingers to the gridlines,wherein the photo-receptive regions and the gridlines are doped using a systemcomprising a single-species delivery module; and
,further comprising implanting a seed on each of the gridlines before coupling the gridlines to metallic fingers.
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Abstract
Solar cells and other semiconductor devices are fabricated more efficiently and for less cost using an implanted doping fabrication system. A system for implanting a semiconductor substrate includes an ion source (such as a single-species delivery module), an accelerator to generate from the ion source an ion beam having an energy of no more than 150 kV, and a beam director to expose the substrate to the beam. In one embodiment, the ion source is single-species delivery module that includes a single-gas delivery element and a single-ion source. Alternatively, the ion source is a plasma source used to generate a plasma beam. The system is used to fabricate solar cells having lightly doped photo-receptive regions and more highly doped grid lines. This structure reduces the formation of “dead layers” and improves the contact resistance, thereby increasing the efficiency of a solar cell.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method of fabricating a semiconductor device comprising:
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doping photo-receptive regions within a substrate to a first concentration; doping the photo-receptive regions to a second concentration larger than the first concentration to form gridlines, wherein the gridlines extend from topmost surfaces of the photo-receptive regions down into the substrate; and coupling metal fingers to the gridlines, wherein the photo-receptive regions and the gridlines are doped using a system comprising a single-species delivery module; and
,further comprising implanting a seed on each of the gridlines before coupling the gridlines to metallic fingers. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of fabricating a solar cell comprising:
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doping photo-receptive regions within a substrate to a first concentration using an ion beam having an energy of no more than 150 kV; doping the photo-receptive regions to a second concentration larger than the first concentration using the ion beam to form gridlines, wherein the gridlines extend from topmost surfaces of the photo-receptive regions down into the substrate; and coupling metal fingers to the gridlines, wherein the substrate is 156 mm×
156 mm, the photo-receptive regions are doped using a system comprising a single-species delivery module, and a throughput of the system is at least 1,000 wafers per hour; and
,further comprising implanting a seed on each of the gridlines before coupling the gridlines to metallic fingers.
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Specification