• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.55-60
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• 2012

In order to develop electroless-plated Nickel Phosphate (Ni-P) as a contact material for high efficient low-cost silicon solar cells, we evaluated the effect of ambient thermal annealing on the degradation behavior of interfacial adhesion energy between electroless-plated Ni-P and silicon solar cell wafers by applying 4-point bending test method. Measured interfacial adhesion energies decreased from 14.83 to 10.83 J/$m^2$ after annealing at 300 and $600^{\circ}C$, respectively. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis suggested that the bonding interface was degraded by environmental residual oxygen, in which the oxidation inhibit the stable formation of Ni silicide phase between electroless-plated Ni-P and silicon interface.