Patent ID: 8399287

Claim:
A method of fabricating a solar cell, the method comprising: printing a mask over a thermally grown oxide, the mask including a plurality of small contact openings formed over regions of a first conductivity type and regions of a second conductivity type of the solar cell; removing portions of the thermally grown oxide exposed through the plurality of small contact openings to expose the regions of first conductivity type and the regions of the second conductivity type; removing the mask after exposing the regions of the first conductivity type and the regions of the second conductivity type through the plurality of small contact openings; forming a first metal layer ohmically contacting the regions of the first conductivity type and the regions of the second conductivity type through the thermally grown oxide, the first metal layer forming an infrared reflector with the thermally grown oxide; forming a barrier layer over the first metal layer; and forming a base metal layer for initiating plating over the barrier layer.