RAPID THERMAL-PROCESSING OF SCREEN-PRINTED OHMIC CONTACTS

Screen printed ohmic contacts are an integral part of a number of semi conductor devices including solar cells. In this paper, silver (Ag)/al uminum (Al) ohmic contacts to p-type silicon were screen printed and a nnealed by rapid thermal processing. Different lamp configurations, wh ich provided a different photon spectrum on the surface of the metal f ilm, were used to demonstrate the role of photoeffects in the formatio n of ohmic contacts by rapid thermal processing. The availability of l arge number of high energy photons on the metal surface resulted in lo wer processing cycle time as well as improved electrical, structural, and mechanical properties of the metal contact.