Patent ID: 6844248

Claim:
In a process for manufacturing a semiconductor device, the improvement of forming a semiconductor junction by a method comprising: (a) providing a semiconductor substrate; (b) depositing a layer of amorphous silicon onto sold semiconductor substrate to form a structure comprising the semiconductor substrate and the layer of amorphous silicon; (c) depositing a layer of metal onto said layer of amorphous silicon to form a structures comprising the semiconductor substrate, the layer of amorphous silicon, and the layer of metal; and (d) without depositing any additional layers onto the metal layer, annealing the structure formed in step (c) at a temperature in the range of about 170° C. to about 600° C. to convert at least a portion of the amorphous silicon layer into crystalline silicon, wherein the metal promoting the conversion of the at least a portion of the amorphous region into the crystalline silicon to a provide a semiconductor junction between said crystalline silicon and said semiconductor substrate.