Methods of forming contacts (and optionally, local interconnects) using an ink comprising a
silicide-forming
metal,
electrical devices such as diodes and / or transistors including such contacts and (optional) local interconnects, and methods for forming such devices are disclosed. The method of forming contacts includes depositing an ink of a
silicide-forming
metal onto an exposed
silicon surface,
drying the ink to form a
silicide-forming
metal precursor, and heating the silicide-forming metal precursor and the
silicon surface to form a
metal silicide contact. Optionally, the metal precursor ink may be selectively deposited onto a
dielectric layer adjacent to the exposed
silicon surface to form a metal-containing interconnect. Furthermore, one or more bulk conductive metal(s) may be deposited on remaining metal precursor ink and / or the
dielectric layer.
Electrical devices, such as diodes and transistors may be made using such printed contact and / or local interconnects. A metal ink may be printed for contacts as well as for local interconnects at the same time, or in the alternative, the printed metal can act as a seed for
electroless deposition of other metals if different metals are desired for the contact and the interconnect lines. This approach advantageously reduces the number of
processing steps and does not necessarily require any
etching.