Metallic contacts for photovoltaic devices and low temperature fabrication processes thereof

摘要

Embodiments of the invention generally relate to photovoltaic devices and more specifically, to the metallic contacts disposed on photovoltaic devices, such as photovoltaic cells, and to the fabrication processes for forming such metallic contacts. The metallic contacts contain a palladium germanium alloy formed at low temperatures during an anneal process. In some embodiments, the photovoltaic cell may be heated to a temperature within a range from about 20°Cto about 275°Cduring the anneal process, for example, at about 150°Cfor about 30 minutes. In other embodiments, the photovoltaic cell may be heated to a temperature within a range from about 150°Cto about 275°Cfor a time period of at least about 0.5 minutes during the anneal process.