Protection method for through-holes of a semiconductor wafer

Abstract

A protection method for through-holes of a semiconductor wafer having the steps: providing a semiconductor wafer, and comprising a plurality of solar cell stacks, wherein each solar cell stack has a Ge substrate forming a bottom side of the semiconductor wafer, a Ge subcell, and at least two III-V subcells in the order mentioned, as well as at least one through-hole, extending from the top side to the bottom side of the semiconductor wafer, with a continuous side wall and a circumference that is oval in cross section; applying a photoresist layer to a top side of the semiconductor wafer and to at least one region of the side wall of the through-hole, said region adjoining the top side, and applying an organic filler material by means of a printing process to a region of the top side, said region comprising the through-hole, and into the through-hole.

Claims

1. A protection method for through-holes of a semiconductor wafer, the method comprising: providing a semiconductor wafer having a top side and a bottom side, and comprising at least two solar cell stacks, each of the at least two solar cell stacks has a Ge substrate forming the bottom side of the semiconductor wafer, a Ge subcell, and at least two III-V subcells, as well as at least one through-hole extending from the top side to the bottom side of the semiconductor wafer with a continuous side wall and a circumference that is oval in cross section; applying a photoresist layer to the top side of the semiconductor wafer and to at least one region of the side wall of the through-hole, the at least one region adjoining the top side; and applying an organic filler material via a printing process to a region of the top side and into the through-hole, the region comprising the through-hole.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the photoresist layer is applied additionally to the bottom side of the semiconductor wafer before or after or during the application to the top side of the semiconductor wafer.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein, after the filler material has been applied to a region of the top side of the semiconductor wafer, the region comprising the through-hole, the filler material is additionally applied via a printing process to a part of the bottom side of the semiconductor wafer, the part comprising the through-hole, and into the through-hole.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein, before the photoresist layer is applied, a dielectric insulation layer is applied in a planar manner to the top side of the semiconductor wafer and the side wall of the through-hole and/or the bottom side of the semiconductor wafer.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein, after the organic filler material has been applied, the photoresist layer is removed from partial areas of the top side and/or the bottom side of the semiconductor wafer, wherein parts of the dielectric insulation layer exposed by the removing of the photoresist layer are removed and a remaining part of the photoresist layer is removed, and wherein the steps mentioned are carried out in the order mentioned.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the through-hole is filled with the filler material at least up to a bottom formed by the photoresist layer via the printing method, and a raised area protruding beyond the top side of the photoresist layer is formed with the filler material.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the printing method is a screen printing method or an inkjet method or a dispensing method.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the filler material is a lacquer or a hot melt adhesive.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the through-hole of the semiconductor wafer provided has a first diameter of at most 1 mm and at least 50 μm at an edge adjacent to the top side of the semiconductor wafer, and has a second diameter of at most 1 mm and of at least 50 μm at an edge adjacent to the bottom side of the semiconductor wafer, and wherein the semiconductor wafer provided has a total thickness of at most 300 μm and of at least 90 μm.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus, are not limitive of the present invention, and wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a sequence according to an exemplary embodiment of a protection method of the invention for through-holes of a semiconductor wafer;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a cross section of a semiconductor wafer through-hole coated by means of the protection method of the invention; and

(4) FIG. 3 shows a plan view of a semiconductor wafer with a plurality of solar cell stacks.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(5) The diagram in FIG. 1 shows a schematic sequence of a protection method for through-holes of a semiconductor wafer according to a first embodiment of the invention.

(6) A semiconductor wafer 10 is provided having a top side 10.1, a bottom side 10.2, and a through-hole 22, which extends securely from top side 10.1 to bottom side 10.2, with a continuous side wall 22.1 and a circumference that is oval in cross section.

(7) Semiconductor wafer 10 comprises multiple not yet separated solar cell stacks 12, each with a layer sequence of a Ge substrate 14 forming bottom side 10.1, a Ge subcell 16, a first III-V subcell 18, and a second III-V subcell 20 forming top side 10.1. Top side 10.1, bottom side 10.2, and side wall 22.1 of the through-hole are coated with a dielectric insulation layer 24.

(8) A photoresist layer 30 is then applied to top side 10.1 and bottom side 10.2 of semiconductor wafer 10 and to side wall 22.1 of through-hole 22, wherein photoresist layer 30 typically fills the through-hole at least partially.

(9) In a further process step, an organic filler material 32 is applied by means of a printing process to a region of top side 10.1 of through-hole 22, said region comprising through-hole 22, wherein the filler material in the shown exemplary embodiment fills the through-hole up to a bottom formed by photoresist layer 30.

(10) A further embodiment is shown in the diagram in FIG. 2. Only the differences from the diagram in FIG. 1 will be explained below.

(11) In the embodiment shown, the applied filler material 32 forms an elevation protruding beyond the photoresist layer.

(12) In addition, in a further process step, organic filler material 32 is applied by means of a printing process to a region of bottom side 10.2, said region comprising through-hole 22, wherein an elevation protruding beyond the photoresist layer is also formed.

(13) Through-hole 22 has a first diameter D1 on top side 10.1 of the semiconductor wafer and a second diameter D2 on bottom side 20.2, wherein first diameter D1 is larger than second diameter D2.

(14) A plan view of a semiconductor wafer 10 with a plurality of solar cell stacks 12 is shown in the diagram in FIG. 3. According to one embodiment of the invention, there is at least one hole, coated by means of the protection method, in the area of each solar cell stack.

(15) The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are to be included within the scope of the following claims.