Flexible substrate foil roll-to-roll conveyer and conveying method

Abstract

The invention provides a flexible substrate foil roll-to-roll conveyer and conveying method, which are used in vacuum coating equipment and can enlarge a processing region area during a stable material conveying process so as to improve equipment productivity. According to the invention, flexible substrate foil is tightly jointed to and wound on the outer surface of the roller of a winding mechanism in a spiral way, the flexible substrate foil is driven to rotate to advance in a screw type through the rotation of the winding mechanism, through coordination with actions of an unwinding mechanism and a winding mechanism, the flexible substrate foil roll-to-roll conveying process is achieved. A coating or processing device can be arranged in a space on the circumference of the middle part of the winding mechanism according to requirements. The interior of the winding mechanism is provided with a device with heating and cooling functions, or the winding mechanism serves as a ground joint, and the winding mechanism not only has a function of providing a power source for conveying material, but also has a function of controlling the temperature of the flexible substrate foil. According to the invention, parallel tandem arrangement can be performed conveniently, and the purpose of adjusting procedures or expanding productivity can be achieved.

Description

technical field [0001] The invention relates to the field of vacuum coating, in particular to a roll-to-roll conveying device and a conveying method in continuous thin film material deposition equipment implemented on a flexible substrate foil by various vacuum coating methods. Background technique [0002] Roll-to-Roll (Roll-to-Roll) vacuum coating equipment for continuous deposition of semiconductor materials, metal materials or organic materials on flexible substrate foils (such as metal foils, plastic films, etc.) The special processing of thin films (such as annealing, etching, passivation, laser scribing, etc.) is widely used in the mass production of flexible photovoltaic devices, flexible display devices, flexible semiconductor light-emitting devices and flexible integrated circuits. [0003] The conveying device in the roll-to-roll vacuum coating equipment or other processing equipment for flexible substrates usually includes a winding mechanism, an unwinding mechan...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

The problems caused by this may include: a) greatly increasing the size of the equipment and thus increasing the cost; b) in order to ensure stable transportation and uniform tension distribution, it is necessary to add multiple tension adjustment rollers, steering mechanisms and winding mechanisms, resulting in complex equipment structures , high cost, and high failure rate; c) The accumulated resistance caused by excessively long transport distance and excessive turning requires the winding mechanism to increase the output of rotational torque, which may cause excessive The tensile deformation of the deposited film can cause internal defects in the deposited film and even the substrate itself to break

[0007] 2. For the "one-dimensional" roll-to-roll delivery method used in the longer flat-plate coating device, if the span of the turning rollers at both ends is too large, the tension of the substrate foil in this area cannot be guaranteed to be sufficient. Foil will "chatter" and not pass smoothly through the coating area, resulting in poor coating quality

[0008] 3. For the "two-dimensional" transportation method with multiple turns, if there is an "S" turn, one of the guide wheels must have a coating surface that contacts the flexible substrate foil, and the friction generated by the rotation may damage the film

Images