Screen printed ohmic contacts are an integral part of a number of semiconductor devices including solar cells. In this paper, silver (Ag)/aluminum (Al) ohmic contacts to p-type silicon were screen printed and annealed by rapid thermal processing. Different lamp configurations, which provided a different photon spectrum on the surface of the metal film, were used to demonstrate the role of photoeffects in the formation of ohmic contacts by rapid thermal processing. The availability of large number of high energy photons on the metal surface resulted in lower processing cycle time as well as improved electrical, structural, and mechanical properties of the metal contact.