Patent ID: 7339110

Claim:
A solar cell comprising: a) a silicon substrate having a front surface and a back surface, b) a plurality of first doped regions of first conductivity type in the back surface and a plurality of second doped regions of second conductivity type in the back surface, and c) a first plurality of metal contacts ohmically contacting the first doped regions at a first plurality of contact points and a second plurality of metal contacts ohmically contacting the second doped layers at a second plurality of contact points, wherein the first and second pluralities of metal contacts each comprise a thin seed layer contacting the silicon substrate and an electrically conductive layer over the seed layer which is thicker than the seed layer and wherein the seed layer comprises three layers including, a first layer that contacts the silicon and serves as an infrared reflector, the first layer comprising aluminum, a barrier layer that covers the first layer, and a layer that covers the barrier layer that serves to initiate plating.