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 method of controlling chemical concentration in electrolyte includes measuring a chemical concentration in an electrolyte, wherein the electrolyte is contained in a tank; and increasing a vapor flux through an exhaust pipe connected to the tank when the measured chemical concentration is lower than a control lower limit value.

A system and method for plating a workpiece are described. In one aspect, an apparatus includes a deposition chamber, a workpiece holder adapted for insertion into and removal from the deposition chamber, a shield with patterns of apertures corresponding to features on the workpiece, a shield holder also adapted for insertion into and removal from the deposition chamber and a positioning mechanism to position the workpiece in the workpiece holder such that the pattern of apertures on the shield will align with the corresponding features on the workpiece when the workpiece holder and shield holder are inserted into the deposition chamber.

Various embodiments herein relate to methods and apparatus for depositing silicon oxide using thermal ALD or thermal CVD. In one aspect of the disclosed embodiments, a method for depositing silicon oxide is provided, the method including: (a) receiving the substrate in a reaction chamber; (b) introducing a first flow of a first reactant into the reaction chamber and exposing the substrate to the first reactant, where the first reactant includes a silicon-containing reactant; (c) introducing a second flow of a second reactant into the reaction chamber to cause a reaction between the first reactant and the second reactant, (i) where the second reactant includes hydrogen (H2) and an oxygen-containing reactant, (ii) where the reaction deposits silicon oxide on the substrate, and (iii) where the reaction is initiated when a pressure in the reaction chamber is greater than 10 Torr and equal to or less than about 40 Torr.

Provided is a technique including: a processing chamber that processes a substrate; a first gas supplier that supplies a metal-containing gas into the processing chamber; a second gas supplier that supplies a first oxygen-containing gas into the processing chamber; and an exhauster including a gas exhaust pipe and a trap that collects a component of the metal-containing gas contained in an exhaust gas using plasma, the exhauster discharging the exhaust gas from the processing chamber.

A substrate for a tool including at least one sidewall includes at least one diamond layer. The diamond layer has a thickness between 10 nanometers and 1000 nanometers and is formed from diamond grains sized to be 50% or less of diamond layer thickness, with the diamond coating being deposited on the surface of the substrate over the at least one sidewall.

Some of the embodiments of the present application provide a semiconductor structure and a method of manufacturing the same, the method of manufacturing the semiconductor structure comprising: providing a base; performing a first electroplating process to form a first electroplated layer on the base; performing a second electroplating process to form a second electroplated layer on the surface of the first electroplated layer, the current density of the second electroplated layer being greater than the current density of the first electroplated layer.

In one implementation a cathode for electrochemical metal removal has a generally disc-shaped body and a plurality of channels in the generally disc-shaped body, where the channels are configured for passing electrolyte through the body of the cathode. The channels may be fitted with non-conductive (e.g., plastic) tubes that in some embodiments extend above the body of the cathode to a height of at least 1 cm. The cathode may also include a plurality of indentations at the edge to facilitate electrolyte flow at the edge of the cathode. In some embodiments the cathode includes a plurality of non-conductive fixation elements on a conductive surface of the cathode, where the fixation elements are attachable to one or more handles for removing the cathode from the electrochemical metal removal apparatus.

The plating machine 1 comprises a plurality of treatment units 14 and a conveying means 13 that conveys a wafer W to the plurality of treatment units 14, wherein the conveying means 13 includes an arm 31 that is provided, on one end side, with a plating tool 32 that holds the wafer W, and an arm rotation drive unit 33 that rotates the arm 31 around another end side of the arm 31, and the plurality of treatment units 14 is arranged at predetermined intervals on a rotation trajectory of the plating tool 32.

A device for moving an object including a substrate through an open side of a processing station of a processing apparatus including a support, placeable at the processing station. The device includes a carrier, guided for movement relative to the support along a path predominantly directed in parallel to a reference axis in a reference co-ordinate system. The device includes a device for controlling movement of the carrier and driving the movement in an opposite direction along the path. The device includes a component for holding the object and a suspension mechanism with which the holding component is connected to the carrier. The suspension mechanism is arranged to guide movement of the holding component relative to the carrier along a holding component path. The device is arranged to drive the movement of the holding component along the holding component path. The holding component path is predominantly directed parallel to the reference axis.