Wafer Insulating Layer Structuring Around Passage Openings
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for structuring insulating layers on semiconductor wafers with passage openings are inefficient and require photolithographic processes, which are time-consuming and material-intensive, and do not provide reliable protection for the insulating layer during etching.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the two-dimensional deposition of an insulating layer on semiconductor wafers with passage openings, followed by the structured deposition of an etch-resistant filling material using a printing process, such as inkjet or screen printing, to protect the insulating layer and simplify the structuring process, eliminating the need for photolithographic steps.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If photolithographic structuring is used to structure the insulating layer, then the insulating layer can be reliably protected during etching, but the process becomes time-consuming and material-intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by depositing the insulating layer completely over the passage opening before any etching occurs. The insulating layer is deposited in advance to cover the entire surface including the passage opening, and only after this protective layer is in place does the selective removal of insulating material occur in non-passage areas. This ensures the passage opening is protected from the start of the etching process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the protection function from the complex photolithographic process and implements it through selective removal of insulating material. Instead of using photoresist and photolithography to protect the passage opening, the method extracts only the necessary protective coverage by depositing insulating material everywhere and then selectively removing it from areas that should not be protected, leaving the passage opening naturally protected by the remaining insulating layer.
2Manufacturing precision
If photolithographic processes are used for structuring the insulating layer, then the insulating layer can be structured, but material consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential function of protecting the passage opening from the photolithographic process and achieves it through selective removal of insulating material. This eliminates the need for photoresist materials and associated chemicals, significantly reducing material consumption while maintaining the structuring capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces expensive photolithographic materials (photoresist, developers, etch chemicals) with a simpler approach using only insulating layer materials that are already part of the device structure. The insulating layer serves dual purposes: as the functional insulating layer and as the protective mask, eliminating the need for disposable photolithographic materials.
3Manufacturing precision
If photolithographic processes are used for structuring the insulating layer, then the insulating layer can be structured, but technical effort and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the protection function from the complex photolithographic sequence and implements it through a single selective removal step. This eliminates multiple process steps including photoresist deposition, photolithographic patterning, and photoresist removal, significantly reducing process complexity while maintaining structuring precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the function of the insulating layer with the function of the protective mask. The same insulating layer material serves both as the functional dielectric layer and as the protective covering for the passage opening, eliminating the need for separate photolithographic materials and processes.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method reduces material consumption and technical effort, increases reliability and yield, and enables the cost-effective production of highly efficient multi-junction solar cells with electrical connections between the front and rear sides, while avoiding the use of lacquer layers and photolithographic processes.
Implementation Method 1
two-dimensional deposition of an insulating layer on the top of the semiconductor wafer, the side wall of the passage opening and/or the bottom of the semiconductor wafer
Implementation Method 2
structured deposition of an etch-resistant filling material by means of a printing process on an area of the top which comprises the passage opening and into the passage opening
Data Source
AI summary
A method for structuring an insulating layer on a semiconductor wafer includes providing a semiconductor wafer with a top, a bottom and includes multiple solar cell stacks, wherein each solar cell stack is a Ge substrate, which forms the bottom of the semiconductor wafer, a Ge subcell and at least two III-V subcells, in the above order, and at least one passage opening, which extends from the top to the bottom of the semiconductor wafer and has a connected side wall, an insulating layer two-dimensionally deposited on the top of the semiconductor wafer, on the side wall of the passage opening and/or on the bottom of the semiconductor wafer, and the deposition of an etch-resistant filling material by means of a printing process on an area of the top which include the passage opening, and into the passage opening.