A catalyst is imparted selectively to a plateable material portion 32 by performing a catalyst imparting processing on a substrate W having a non-plateable material portion 31 and the plateable material portion 32 formed on a surface thereof. Then, a hard mask layer 35 is formed selectively on the plateable material portion 32 by performing a plating processing on the substrate W. The non-plateable material portion 31 is made of SiO.sub.2 as a main component, and the plateable material portion 32 is made of a material including, as a main component, a material containing at least one of a OCH.sub.x group and a NH.sub.x group, a metal material containing Si as a main component, a material containing carbon as a main component or a catalyst metal material.

A catalyst is imparted selectively to a plateable material portion 32 by performing a catalyst imparting processing on a substrate W having a non-plateable material portion 31 and the plateable material portion 32 formed on a surface thereof. Then, a hard mask layer 35 is formed selectively on the plateable material portion 32 by performing a plating processing on the substrate W. The non-plateable material portion 31 is made of SiO.sub.2 as a main component, and the plateable material portion 32 is made of a material including, as a main component, a material containing at least one of a OCH.sub.x group and a NH.sub.x group, a metal material containing Si as a main component, a material containing carbon as a main component or a catalyst metal material.

A photovoltaic cell is proposed. The photovoltaic cell includes a substrate of semiconductor material, and a plurality of contact terminals each one arranged on a corresponding contact area of the substrate for collecting electric charges being generated in the substrate by the light. For at least one of the contact areas, the substrate includes at least one porous semiconductor region extending from the contact area into the substrate for anchoring the whole corresponding contact terminal on the substrate. In the solution according to an embodiment of the invention, each porous semiconductor region has a porosity decreasing moving away from the contact area inwards the substrate. An etching module and an electrolytic module for processing photovoltaic cells, a production line for producing photovoltaic cells, and a process for producing photovoltaic cells are also proposed.

In various embodiments, the present application provides electrically conductive metal-plated fibers and continuous processes of preparing metal-plated fibers. Additionally, provided are polymeric articles comprising the provided metal-plated fibers or other fibers prepared by the provided process, said articles having electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness.

Methods for forming thin, pinhole-free conformal metal layers on both conducting and non-conducting surfaces, where the morphology and properties of the metal layers are tuned to meet desired parameters by adjusting the concentration of ionic liquids during the deposition process. The formed metal films contain tunable properties for solar and electronic use and provide specific advantages for non-conducting surfaces, which are otherwise unsuitable for electroplating without the presence of the formed metal films. The disclosed methods do not require the presence of a voltage or external electric field but form the metal films through an electroless technique using electrostatic interactions between negatively charged nanoparticles. In addition, the disclosed methods are compatible with solution phase processing and eliminate the need to transfer the surfaces into a vacuum chamber for a chemical or physical vapor deposition to form a metal layer.

The present invention relates to an activation composition for activation of silicon substrates, which is an aqueous solution comprising a source of palladium ions, a source of fluoride ions and at least two aromatic acids. The present invention further relates to a method for its use and optionally for subsequent metallization of such treated substrates. The method can be employed in semiconductor and solar cell manufacturing.

The present invention relates to an activation composition for activation of silicon substrates, which is an aqueous solution comprising a source of palladium ions, a source of fluoride ions and at least two aromatic acids. The present invention further relates to a method for its use and optionally for subsequent metallization of such treated substrates. The method can be employed in semiconductor and solar cell manufacturing.

Implementations of a method of electroless deposition may include providing a semiconductor substrate including a first largest planar surface and a second largest planar surface; forming a backmetal layer on the second largest planar surface; attaching a tape over the backmetal layer; and electroless depositing a metal layer on a pad included on the first largest planar surface. The method may include, after electroless depositing, removing the tape; and after removing the tape, baking the semiconductor substrate.

A photovoltaic cell is proposed. The photovoltaic cell includes a substrate of semiconductor material, and a plurality of contact terminals each one arranged on a corresponding contact area of the substrate for collecting electric charges being generated in the substrate by the light. For at least one of the contact areas, the substrate includes at least one porous semiconductor region extending from the contact area into the substrate for anchoring the whole corresponding contact terminal on the substrate. In the solution according to an embodiment of the invention, each porous semiconductor region has a porosity decreasing moving away from the contact area inwards the substrate. An etching module and an electrolytic module for processing photovoltaic cells, a production line for producing photovoltaic cells, and a process for producing photovoltaic cells are also proposed.

A subject matter of the invention is a process for the formation of nickel silicide or of cobalt silicide, comprising the stages consisting in: exposing the surface of the silicon-comprising substrate with an aqueous solution comprising from 0.1 mM to 10 mM of gold ions and from 0.6 M to 3.0 M of fluorine ions for a duration of between 5 seconds and 5 minutes, depositing by an electroless route, on the activated substrate, a layer essentially composed of nickel or of cobalt, applying a rapid thermal annealing at a temperature of between 300 C. and 750 C., so as to form the nickel silicide or the cobalt silicide. The aqueous solution comprises a surface-active agent chosen from the compounds comprising at least one anionic or nonionic polar group and an alkyl chain comprising from 10 to 16 carbon atoms. This process essentially has applications in the manufacture of NAND memories and photovoltaic cells.