Thick-film pastes containing lead-tellurium-lithium-oxides, and their use in the manufacture of semiconductor devices

A process comprising:

• (a) providing a semiconductor substrate comprising one or more insulating film deposited onto at least one surface of the semiconductor substrate;
• (b) applying a thick-film paste composition onto at least a portion of the insulating film to form a layered structure, wherein the thick-film paste composition comprises:
• i) 85 to 99.75% by weight of an electrically conductive metal or derivative thereof, based on total solids in the composition;
• ii) 0.25 to 15% by weight based on solids of a lead-tellurium-lithium-oxide, wherein the lead-tellurium-lithium-oxide comprises 45-50 wt % PbO, 50-55 wt % TeO2 and 0.3-1 wt % Li2O;
• and
• iii) an organic medium;
• and
• (c) firing the semiconductor substrate, one or more insulating films, and thick-film paste wherein the organic medium of the thick-film paste is volatilized, forming an electrode in contact with the one or more insulating layers and in electrical contact with the semiconductor substrate.