Patent ID: 9716192
Date: 2017-07-25
CPC Classifications: H01L,Y02E,Y02P

Claim:
1. A method for fabricating a photovoltaic device, comprising: obtaining a substrate comprising silicon and including a front side and a back side; laser drilling a via through the substrate, the via including a sidewall; smoothing the sidewall of the via; forming a continuous, lightly doped emitter having a first portion on the front side of the substrate and a second portion on the sidewall of the via; forming an electrically conductive contact pad on the back side of the substrate; forming an antireflective coating on the first portion of the doped emitter, the second portion of the doped emitter remaining uncoated by the antireflective coating; patterning a fine line selective emitter on the front side of the substrate, the fine line selective emitter intersecting the via and being deeper and more highly doped than the first portion of the base emitter, and plating a continuous, electrically conductive layer on the fine line selective emitter and the second portion of the doped emitter on each sidewall of the via, thereby forming a plated via, each plated via having an axial opening, wherein plating the continuous, electrically conductive layer further includes: whereby the continuous, electrically conductive layer of the via is electrically connected to the doped emitter.