Patent ID: 8017859

Claim:
A method of making a photovoltaic coating, comprising: forming a semiconductor layer comprising placing semiconductor elements over a conductive layer, the semiconductor elements having top surfaces and bottom surfaces and being separated by boundary portions, wherein the boundary portions comprise lowermost boundary areas adjacent the bottom surfaces of the semiconductor elements and uppermost boundary areas adjacent the top surfaces of the semiconductor elements; forming first metal-semiconductor compounds comprising first metal silicides in the lowermost boundary areas; and forming second metal-semiconductor compounds comprising second metal silicides in the uppermost boundary areas; wherein the second metal-semiconductor compounds are formed by: forming a metal layer over the top surfaces of the semiconductor elements and the uppermost boundary areas; heating the metal layer and the semiconductor layer to cause a chemical reaction between the metal layer and the semiconductor elements at the uppermost boundary areas; and removing unreacted portions of the metal layer at the top surfaces of the semiconductor elements.