The present invention relates to a novel printable boron doping paste in the form of a hybrid gel based on precursors of inorganic oxides, preferably of silicon dioxide, aluminium oxide and boron oxide, in the presence of organic polymer particles, where the pastes according to the invention can be used in a simplified process for the production of solar cells, where the hybrid gel according to the invention functions both as doping medium and as diffusion barrier.

A silicon device, has a plurality of crystalline silicon regions. One crystalline silicon region is a doped crystalline silicon region. Deactivating some or all of the dopant atoms in the doped crystalline silicon region is achieved by introducing hydrogen atoms into the doped 5 crystalline silicon region, whereby the hydrogen coulombicly bonds with some or all of the dopant atoms to deactivate the respective dopant atoms. Deactivated dopant atoms may be reactivated by heating and illuminating the doped crystalline silicon region to break at least some of the dopant-hydrogen bonds while maintaining conditions to create a high concentration of neutral hydrogen atoms whereby 10 some of the hydrogen atoms diffuse from the doped crystalline silicon region without rebinding to the dopant atoms.

A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device may include the following steps: preparing a semiconductor structure that comprises a substrate and a first fin member, wherein the first fin member is connected to the substrate and comprises a first semiconductor portion; providing a first-type dopant member that directly contacts the first semiconductor portion, comprises first-type dopants, and is at least one of liquid and amorphous; and performing heat treatment on at least one of the first-type dopant member and the first semiconductor portion to enable a first portion of the first-type dopants to diffuse through a first side of the first-type dopant member into the first semiconductor portion.

A method of producing a P-type nitride semiconductor includes, in order, applying an SOG solution containing group II atoms on a substrate made of a nitride semiconductor, baking the substrate to form an SOG film, diffusing the group II atoms into the substrate by subjecting the substrate to an annealing treatment under an inert gas atmosphere, and removing the SOG film from the substrate.

In one embodiment, a processing apparatus may include a process chamber configured to house a substrate and a hybrid source assembly that includes a gas channel coupled to a molecular source; and a plasma chamber configured to generate a plasma and isolated from the gas channel. The processing apparatus may also include an extraction assembly disposed between the hybrid source assembly and process chamber, coupled to the gas channel and plasma chamber, and configured to direct an ion beam to a substrate, the ion beam comprising angled ions wherein the angled ions form a non-zero angle with respect to a perpendicular to a substrate plane; and configured to direct a molecular beam comprising molecular species received from the gas channel to the substrate.

A doping process is described, which includes applying to a substrate a film of dopant material that bonds to the substrate by at least one of hydrogen bonding and covalent bonding; encapsulating the film on the substrate with an encapsulant material, and subjecting the encapsulated film to rapid thermal processing to cause dopant from the dopant material to migrate into the substrate. The film of dopant material is applied from a dopant composition selected from among: (i) dopant compositions comprising an aqueous or glycol solution comprising an inorganic dopant compound; (ii) dopant compositions comprising an arsenic, phosphorus, boron, or antimony compound in which ligands or moieties coordinated to an arsenic, phosphorus, boron, or antimony central atom have coordination bond energies that are lower than those associated with coordinating bonds of said central atom to oxygen or carbon; (iii) dopant compositions comprising a coordinated moiety that selectively and covalently bonds to the substrate; (iv) dopant compositions comprising a compound that undergoes hydrolysis and alcoholysis to covalently bond a dopant functionality to the substrate in said film of dopant material; (v) dopant compositions comprising precursor vapor of an organodopant compound; (vi) dopant compositions interactive with a surface functionality of the substrate to bind the dopant composition to the substrate, wherein the substrate comprises a silicon surface comprising said surface functionality; (vii) dopant compositions interactive with the substrate to covalently bond with a pretreated and/or modified silicon surface thereof; and (viii) dopant compositions interactive with the substrate to bond with the substrate on a silicon surface thereof that has been modified by a treatment comprising at least one of: (A) contacting the silicon surface with a chemical solution; (B) exposing the silicon surface to plasma; and (C) exposing the silicon surface to ultraviolet radiation.

The present invention relates to a novel printable paste in the form of a hybrid gel based on precursors of inorganic oxides which can be used in a simplified process for the production of solar cells, where the hybrid gel according to the invention functions both as doping medium and also as diffusion barrier.

Aspects of the present disclosure include fabricating integrated circuit (IC) structures using a boron etch-stop layer, and IC structures with a boron-rich region therein. Methods of forming an IC structure according to the present disclosure can include: growing a conductive epitaxial layer on an upper surface of a semiconductor element; forming a boron etch-stop layer directly on an upper surface of the conductive epitaxial layer; forming an insulator on the boron etch-stop layer; forming an opening within the insulator to expose an upper surface of the boron etch-stop layer; annealing the boron etch-stop layer to drive boron into the conductive epitaxial layer, such that the boron etch-stop layer becomes a boron-rich region; and forming a contact to the boron-rich region within the opening, such that the contact is electrically connected to the semiconductor element through at least the conductive epitaxial layer.

The present invention relates to a novel printable medium in the form of a hybrid sol and/or gel based on precursors of inorganic oxides for use in a simplified process for the production of solar cells, in which the medium according to the invention functions both as doping medium and also as diffusion barrier.

A system and method of patterning dopants of opposite polarity to form a solar cell is described. Two dopant films are deposited on a substrate. A laser is used to pattern the N-type dopant, by mixing the two dopant films into a single film with an exposure to the laser and/or drive the N-type dopant into the substrate to form an N-type emitter. A thermal process drives the P-type dopant from the P-type dopant film to form P-type emitters and further drives the N-type dopant from the single film to either form or further drive the N-type emitter.