Patent ID: 8669466

Claim:
A method of forming a photovoltaic cell structure comprising: forming a dielectric layer on a back surface of a substrate including a photovoltaic material that generates a non-zero electric potential across a front surface and said back surface of said substrate upon irradiation by electromagnetic radiation; forming at least one through-substrate trench in said substrate, wherein a bottom surface of each of said at least one through-substrate trench is a semiconductor surface of said photovoltaic material or a surface of a conductive material located on said front surface; forming at least one laterally-insulated through-substrate contact structure in said substrate by filling said at least one through-substrate trench, wherein each of said at least one laterally-insulated through-substrate contact structure is formed by first forming a dielectric liner having a bottom surface that is coplanar with one of said at least one bottom surface of said at least one through-substrate trench and then forming a conductive through-substrate via that contacts said bottom surface on one of said at least one dielectric liner; forming a first contiguous metal wiring structure on said at least one conductive through-substrate via in said at least one laterally-insulated through-substrate contact structure, wherein said first contiguous metal wiring structure is spaced from said back surface by said dielectric layer; and forming a second contiguous metal wiring structure directly on said back surface of said substrate, wherein said non-zero electric potential is provided across said first and second contiguous metal wiring structures.