Mobil Tyco Solar Energy Corporation

Ronald Gonsiorawski

Kirit B Patel

A simple method for plating nickel onto silicon which renders unnecessary any catalyzing pretreatment of the silicon surface which is to receive the nickel. The method comprises the immersion of a silicon substrate in a suitable nickel bath in order that nickel ions in the bath will be reduced to solid nickel and deposited onto the substrate so as to form an adhering layer thereon. The method is especially advantageous in plating nickel onto silicon shallow junction devices for the purpose of providing ohmic contacts.

Nickel plating method

The invention provides a method of producing solar cells having a composite shallow/deep junction device construction. The solar cells have grid-like contacts on their front energy-receiving sides, with each portion of each contact being coincident, i.e., aligned with, the deep junction regions while the shallow junction regions are exposed to incident radiation. The composite junction and contacts are formed by a novel method which employs conventional techniques, notably the use of doped oxide films as diffusion sources.

Manufacture of solar cells

An anti-reflective coating is formed integrally with a silicon solar cell by treating the cell with an acidic solution comprising a mixture of HF and H.sub.2 O.sub.2.

Growing community of inventors

Danvers, MA, United States of America

Ronald Gonsiorawski