A buried grid solar cell is manufactured by a process for metallising one or more metal contacts of a buried grid solar cell having a body of doped semiconductor material, wherein the electrical contact(s) is/are provided by conducting material being arranged in a pattern of one or more grooves into the semiconductor material by an electrolytic metal deposition process comprising a conventional electrolytic bath containing a special combination of per se known additives.

A method for manufacturing high-efficiency solar cells from polycrystalline or monocrystalline semiconductor material is disclosed. Backside contacts are printed on with a metal-containing paste and front side contacts are deposited finely-structured photo-induced. To that end, a nickel layer is deposited photo-induced directly on the semiconductor that is uncovered in openings or trenches within a passivation layer on the front side. The front side contact is reinforced by a further metal layer that is likewise produced by currentless deposition.

Disclosed is a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, in which a substrate is successively transferred through a first film-forming chamber for forming a semiconductor layer of a first conductivity type, a second film-forming chamber for forming an i-type semiconductor layer, and a third film-forming chamber for forming a semiconductor layer of a second conductivity type, thereby forming successively a semiconductor layer of a first conductivity type, an i-type semiconductor layer, and a semiconductor layer of a second conductivity type on the substrate. The method comprises the step of simultaneously transferring the substrates arranged within the first, second and third film-forming chambers and each having a semiconductor layer into adjacent chambers on the downstream side.

Textured semi-conductor devices, such as macro textured buried-contact solar cells, are produced with special front contact trenches to increase efficiency and decrease costs. In order to produce the front contact trenches, front channels and narrower metallization grooves are cut in the semi-conductor body. The front contact trenches are plated to form attractive conductive buried contacts comprising flush metallization fingers and bus bars.

A novel method of etching a plurality of semiconductor wafers is provided which comprises assembling said plurality of wafers in a stack, and subjecting said stack of wafers to dry etching using a relatively high density plasma which is produced at atmospheric pressure. The plasma is focused magnetically and said stack is rotated so as to expose successive edge portions of said wafers to said plasma.