Process for producing coarse-grain crystalline/mono-crystalline metal and alloy films

A method of producing metallizations for integrated semiconductor circuits, comprising:

• providing a substrate composed of a material selected from the group consisting of ceramic, glass and silicon and having a plurality of separate semiconductor circuit components on a surface thereof arranged to define an integrated semiconductor circuit;
• depositing at a temperature ranging from about room temperature to about -160.degree. C. a selectively structured amorphous metallic layer onto said substrate surface at regions thereof requiring metallization;
• maintaining the so-coated substrate at a relatively low temperature about equal to said temperature utilized during deposition of said amorphous metallic layer;
• and
• substantially simultaneously guiding a focused energy beam over select areas of said amorphous metallic layer whereby crystallization seeds are locally and directly formed at the beam-irradiated areas and function as a starting point for a monocrystalline front which is guided into the desired direction to form a coarse-grained crystalline or monocrystalline metallic layer in the amorphous metallic layer so as to metallically connect said plurality of separate circuit components into an operational integrated semiconductor circuit.

A method of manufacturing contact electrodes for solar cells comprising:

• providing operative solar cells having a surface for contact electrodes;
• depositing at a temperature ranging from about room temperature to about -160.degree. C. a selectively structured amorphous metallic layer onto said surface of the solar cells at regions thereof requiring contact electrodes;
• maintaining the so-coated solar cells at a relatively low temperature about equal to said temperature utilized during deposition of said amorphous metallic layer;
• and
• substantially simultaneously controllably guiding a focused energy beam over select areas of said amorphous metallic layer whereby crystallization seeds are locally and directly formed at the beam-irradiated areas and function as a starting point for a monocrystalline front which is guided into a desired direction to form specifically-shaped crystalline or monocrystalline lines in the amorphous metallic layer defining contact electrodes for said solar cells.