Masking method

• US 8,551,883 B2
• Filed: 06/15/2010
• Issued: 10/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SolarWorld Industries GmbH
• Original Assignee: Solarworld Innovations GmbH (Solarworld AG)
• Inventors: Neuhaus, Holger, Krause, Andreas, Bitnar, Bernd, Bamberg, Frederick, Schlosser, Reinhold
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith, Zandra
• Assistant Examiner(s): THOMAS, TONIAE M
• Application Number:
  US12/815,598
• Publication Number:
  US 20100317192A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,211 Days
• Field of Search: 438/736, 438/674, 257/E21.232
• US Class Current: 438/674
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/76802 by forming openings in dielectrics
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/76898 formed through a semiconductor substrate
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/068 the potential barriers being only of the PN homojunction type, e.g. bulk silicon PN homojunction solar cells or thin film polycrystalline silicon PN homojunction solar cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/1804 comprising only elements of Group IV of the Periodic Table
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/547 Monocrystalline silicon PV cells
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 70/50 Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24802 Discontinuous or differential coating, impregnation or bond [e.g., artwork, printing, retouched photograph, etc.]

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for masking a semiconductor substrate including the following steps: providing a planar semiconductor substrate having a first side and a second side lying opposite thereto, applying a mask to at least one of the sides, an extrusion printing method being used for applying the mask.

Claims

1. A method for masking a semiconductor substrate, the method comprising the following steps:

providing a planar semiconductor substrate having a first side and a second side lying opposite thereto; and

applying a mask to at least one of the first side and the second side, wherein an extrusion printing method is used for applying the mask, said mask comprising at least two adjacent areas with different mask materials, wherein an etching paste is used as one of said different mask materials for etching a layer on the semiconductor substrate.

2. A method for masking a semiconductor substrate, the method comprising the following steps:

providing a planar semiconductor substrate having a first side and a second side lying opposite thereto; and

applying a mask to at least one of the first side and the second side, wherein an extrusion printing method is used for applying the mask, said mask comprising at least two adjacent areas with different mask materials, wherein a doping step is used after the application of the mask, one of said different mask materials at least partly absorbing a dopant beam.

3. A method for masking a semiconductor substrate, the method comprising the following steps:

providing a planar semiconductor substrate having a first side and a second side lying opposite thereto; and

applying a mask to at least one of the first side and the second side, wherein an extrusion printing method is used for applying the mask, said mask comprising at least two adjacent areas with different mask materials, wherein an ion implantation step is used after the application of the mask, wherein first mask materials at least partly absorb a dopant beam.