Conductive paste composition and semiconductor devices made therewith

1. A paste composition, comprising:

an inorganic solids portion that comprises:

(a) a source of electrically conductive metal, and

(b) an inorganic oxide-based component, and

a vehicle in which the constituents of the inorganic solids portion are dispersed, the vehicle comprising:

(c) microgel particles;

(d) organopolysiloxane having a number average molecular weight (Mn) of at least 5 kilodaltons; and

(e) a solvent,

and wherein the organopolysiloxane is phase-segregated in the vehicle.

2. The paste composition of claim 1 , wherein the microgel particles comprise polymer units polymerized from one or more acrylate or methacrylate monomers or a mixture thereof.

3. The paste composition of claim 2 , wherein the one or more monomers comprise one or more of ethyl acrylate, methyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, n-butyl methacrylate, iso-butyl methacrylate, benzyl methacrylate, styrene, or 2-(2-Oxo-1-imidazolidinyl)ethyl methacrylate, or a mixture thereof in any proportion.

4. The paste composition of claim 3 , wherein the monomers comprise one or more of methyl methacrylate, n-butyl methacrylate, or 2-(2-Oxo-1-imidazolidinyl)ethyl methacrylate, or a mixture thereof in any proportion.

5. The paste composition of claim 1 , wherein the organopolysiloxane comprises a polymer having a structure represented by Formula (II)

or a copolymer having a structure represented by Formula (III),

in which each of the R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , and R 4 groups is independently selected from C1-C8 alkyl, C2-C8 alkenyl, C2-C8 alkynyl, or C6-C10 aryl groups, with any of the R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , and R 4 groups optionally comprising one or more substituents selected from alkoxy, hydroxyl, carbonyl, carboxyl, amino, epoxy, methacrylic, glycioxy, ureido, sulfide, methacryloxy, sulfhydryl, and halogen groups, and with the proviso that the R 1 and R 4 groups are different; and m and n are integers, each of which may range independently from 50 to 100,000.

6. The paste composition of claim 1 , wherein the microgel particles comprise a crosslinker that is at least one of ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, 1,4-butanediol dimethacrylate, poly(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate, glycerol dimethacrylate, glycerol trimethacrylate, diethyleneglycol dimethacrylate, triethyleneglycol dimethacrylate, trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate, or any mixture thereof.

7. The paste composition of claim 6 , wherein the crosslinker is present in an amount ranging from a lower limit of 0.1% to an upper limit of 8% based on the weight of the total monomer.

8. The paste composition of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle comprises microgel particles of a plurality of types which differ in at least one of composition, median particle size, or type or amount of crosslinker.

9. The paste composition of claim 8 , wherein the vehicle comprises microgel particles of two types.

10. The paste composition of claim 1 , wherein the microgel is present in an amount ranging from a lower limit of 0.05% to an upper limit of 5% by weight of the paste composition.

11. The paste composition of claim 1 , wherein the organopolysiloxane comprises polydimethylsiloxane in an amount ranging from a lower limit of 0.05% to an upper limit of 2% by weight of the paste composition.

12. The paste composition of claim 1 , wherein the electrically conductive metal comprises silver.

13. The paste composition of claim 1 , wherein the source of electrically conductive metal comprises 85 to 99.75% by weight of the solids.

14. The paste composition of claim 1 , wherein the oxide-based component comprises 0.25 to 15% by weight of the solids.

15. The paste composition of claim 1 , wherein the inorganic oxide-based component comprises a lead tellurium oxide glass frit that optionally comprises at least one of 0.25 to 5 wt % B 2 O 3 or 0.1 to 5 wt % Li 2 O.

16. A process comprising:

(a) providing a semiconductor substrate having opposing first and second major surfaces and an insulating layer situated on at least the first major surface;

(b) applying a paste composition as recited by claim 1 onto at least a portion of the insulating layer on the first major surface, and

(c) firing the semiconductor substrate and the paste composition under conditions sufficient to penetrate the insulating layer and form an electrode in electrical contact with the semiconductor substrate.

17. An article made by the process of claim 16 .

18. The article of claim 17 , wherein the article comprises a photovoltaic cell.

19. A photovoltaic cell precursor, comprising:

(a) a substrate having opposing first and second major surfaces; and

(b) a paste composition as recited by claim 1 , the paste composition being applied onto a preselected portion of the first major surface and configured to be formed by a firing operation into an electrically conductive structure comprising an electrode in electrical contact with the substrate.

20. The paste composition of claim 1 , wherein the organopolysiloxane has a number average molecular weight (M n ) of 5 to 150 kilodaltons.

21. The paste composition of claim 20 , wherein the organopolysiloxane has a number average molecular weight (M n ) of 50 to 150 kilodaltons.

22. A paste composition, comprising:

an inorganic solids portion that comprises:

(a) a source of electrically conductive metal, and

(b) an inorganic oxide-based component, and

a vehicle in which the constituents of the inorganic solids portion are dispersed, the vehicle comprising:

(c) microgel particles;

(d) organopolysiloxane that is phase-segregated in the vehicle; and

(e) a solvent.