A thin-film solar cell edge cleaning device and an edge cleaning method

Abstract

The application provides a thin-film solar cell laser edge cleaning device, which comprises a substrate and a film layer arranged on the substrate, a mechanical stylus mechanism is arranged above the substrate on the same side of the film layer, and a laser edge cleaning mechanism is arranged below the side of the substrate away from the film layer, wherein the device further comprises a moving mechanism for moving the mechanical stylus mechanism and the laser edge cleaning mechanism to the side edges of the substrate, the laser edge cleaning mechanism is arranged on one side below the substrate, the mechanical stylus mechanism is arranged on one side above the substrate, the laser edge cleaning mechanism adopts near-infrared laser, and the moving mechanism comprises a first moving assembly for driving the displacement of the substrate; in the application, the substrate is below, the film layer is above, the laser is used to process and remove the film layer from below through the substrate, the mechanical stylus mechanism is above the substrate, the edges of the film layer after laser processing are subjected to mechanical edge processing, and thus the whole process is completed, the mutual fusion area is removed by using the mechanical stylus mode, and electric leakage is prevented.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of solar cell processing technology, specifically to a laser edge cleaning device and method for thin-film solar cells. Background Technology

[0002] In the field of laser processing for thin-film solar cells, laser removal of the edge film layers of the cell, also known as laser edge cleaning, is primarily used to prevent leakage and ensure the reliability of the cell after encapsulation. Near-infrared lasers are typically used for edge cleaning in a single pass, removing all film layers at once. This method is highly efficient, but it inevitably leads to side-to-side melting of the film layers during laser processing, causing a short circuit between the front and back electrodes, resulting in leakage and affecting the performance and reliability of the thin-film solar cell. To avoid leakage, some thin-film solar cell manufacturers add an insulation wire. However, this method requires two additional processes, increasing costs and impacting production capacity. Furthermore, adding an insulation wire reduces the effective power generation area, affecting cell efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this invention provides a laser edge-cleaning device and method for thin-film solar cells, which involves laser edge cleaning followed by mechanical etching to remove inter-fusion areas and prevent leakage. The specific technical solution is as follows:

[0004] A laser edge-cleaning device for thin-film solar cells includes a substrate and a film layer disposed on the substrate. A mechanical scriber mechanism is provided above the substrate on the same side as the film layer, and a laser edge-cleaning mechanism is provided below the side of the substrate opposite to the film layer. The device further includes a moving mechanism for moving the mechanical scriber mechanism and the laser edge-cleaning mechanism to the side of the substrate.

[0005] Preferably, the laser edge cleaning mechanism is located on the lower side of the substrate, and the mechanical etching mechanism is located on the upper side of the substrate.

[0006] Preferably, the laser edge clearing mechanism uses a near-infrared laser.

[0007] Preferably, the moving mechanism includes a first moving component for driving the substrate displacement.

[0008] Preferably, the moving mechanism includes a second moving component for driving the displacement of the mechanical needle mechanism and a third moving component for driving the displacement of the laser edge clearing mechanism.

[0009] A laser edge-cleaning method for thin-film solar cells, comprising the aforementioned laser edge-cleaning apparatus, includes the following steps:

[0010] S10: A film layer is formed on the substrate;

[0011] S20: The laser edge cleaning mechanism removes the film layer from the side of the substrate away from the film layer;

[0012] S30: After step S20, the mechanical scriber mechanism mechanically scribing the edge of the film layer from the substrate side opposite to the laser edge cleaning mechanism.

[0013] Preferably, the laser edge cleaning method further includes:

[0014] S201: The laser edge cleaning mechanism removes one side of the film layer from the side of the substrate away from the film layer;

[0015] S202: After step S201, the mechanical scriber mechanism mechanically scribing one edge of the film layer from the substrate side opposite to the laser edge clearing mechanism;

[0016] S203: By moving the substrate, repeat steps S201 and S202 to perform laser edge cleaning on the remaining three sides of the substrate respectively.

[0017] Preferably, the laser edge cleaning method further includes:

[0018] S201': The laser edge cleaning mechanism removes one side of the film layer from the side of the substrate away from the film layer;

[0019] S202': After step S201', the mechanical scriber mechanism mechanically scribing one edge of the film layer from the substrate side opposite to the laser edge clearing mechanism;

[0020] S203': By moving the laser edge cleaning mechanism and the mechanical etching needle mechanism, repeat steps S201' and S202' to perform laser edge cleaning on the remaining three sides of the substrate respectively.

[0021] Preferably, S203 further includes:

[0022] S2031: The remaining three sides of the substrate are moved between the laser edge cleaning mechanism and the mechanical etching mechanism using the first moving component.

[0023] Preferably, S203' further includes:

[0024] S2031': The mechanical etch needle mechanism and the laser edge cleaning mechanism are moved to the remaining three sides of the substrate by the second and third moving components, respectively.

[0025] As can be seen from the above technical solution, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: In the present invention, the substrate is below and the film layer is above. The laser penetrates the substrate from below to process and remove the film layer, while the mechanical scriber mechanism is above the substrate to mechanically scribing the edge of the film layer after laser processing, thereby completing the entire process. During the processing, it is necessary to ensure that the laser edge cleaning is performed first and the mechanical scriber scribing is performed later to solve the problem of leakage current on the side of the film layer after laser edge cleaning. Then, the mechanical scriber is used to remove the inter-fusion area to prevent leakage current. Here, there is no limitation on the front and rear distance between the laser edge cleaning and the mechanical scriber scribing. In practical applications, it is only necessary to design according to the requirements of the equipment system. As long as the laser edge cleaning is performed first and the mechanical scriber scribing is performed later, the purpose of the present invention to improve leakage current after edge cleaning can be achieved. Attached Figure Description

[0026] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the laser edge cleaning device provided by the present invention;

[0027] Figure 2 A flowchart of the laser edge cleaning method provided by the present invention.

[0028] In the figure: 10, substrate; 20, film layer; 30, mechanical etching mechanism; 40, laser edge cleaning mechanism. Detailed Implementation

[0029] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. Before describing the technical solutions of each embodiment of the present invention in detail, the terms and terms involved will be explained. In this specification, components with the same name or the same reference numerals represent similar or the same structures and are limited to illustrative purposes.

[0030] Example:

[0031] Reference Figure 1A laser edge-cleaning device for thin-film solar cells includes a substrate 10 and a film layer 20 disposed on the substrate 10. It also includes a mechanical etching mechanism 30 disposed on the same side of the film layer 20 above the substrate 10, and a laser edge-cleaning mechanism 40 located below the side of the substrate 10 opposite to the film layer 20. In this way, during the edge-cleaning process, a method of laser processing below and mechanical etching mechanism processing above is adopted. That is, the substrate 10 is below, the film layer is above, and the laser penetrates the substrate 10 from below to process and remove the film layer 20, while the mechanical etching mechanism 30 is above the substrate 10 to process the laser processing. The edges of the film layer 20 are then mechanically scribed to complete the entire process. During the processing, it is necessary to ensure that laser edge cleaning is performed first, followed by mechanical scribing, in order to solve the problem of leakage current on the side of the film layer 20 after laser edge cleaning. Then, the inter-fusion area is removed by mechanical scribing to prevent leakage current. There is no limitation on the distance between the laser edge cleaning and the mechanical scribing. In practical applications, it is only necessary to design according to the requirements of the equipment system. As long as the laser edge cleaning is performed first and the mechanical scribing is performed later, the purpose of this invention to improve leakage current after edge cleaning can be achieved.

[0032] Furthermore, the laser edge cleaning mechanism 40 uses a near-infrared laser as a light source to perform edge cleaning operations on the film layer 20.

[0033] Furthermore, the device also includes a moving mechanism for moving the mechanical etch needle mechanism 30 and the laser edge cleaning mechanism 40 to the side of the substrate 10. The moving mechanism moves the substrate 10 or the mechanical etch needle mechanism 30 and the laser edge cleaning mechanism 40 to a suitable position, thereby facilitating the edge cleaning operation on the four sides of the substrate 10. Specifically, in the actual edge cleaning process, one side of the substrate 10 can be processed first, and then the remaining three sides of the substrate 10 can be cleaned by using the movement of the moving mechanism.

[0034] It should be noted that the present invention can move the substrate 10 by driving it, or it can move the laser edge cleaning mechanism 40 and the mechanical needle mechanism 30. There are no restrictions here, as long as the laser edge cleaning mechanism 40 and the mechanical needle mechanism 30 are moved to the upper and lower sides of the substrate 10.

[0035] Specifically, the moving mechanism can be a first moving component, which is used to drive the substrate 10 to move, that is, the substrate 10 moves while the mechanical etch needle mechanism 30 and the laser edge cleaning mechanism 40 remain stationary, thereby moving the four sides of the substrate 10 to be located between the laser edge cleaning mechanism 40 and the mechanical etch needle mechanism 30, so as to perform edge cleaning operations on the four sides of the substrate 10.

[0036] In addition, the moving mechanism can also be a second moving component and a third moving component. The second moving component and the third moving component are used to drive the mechanical scriber mechanism 30 and the laser edge cleaning mechanism 40 to move, respectively. At this time, the substrate 10 is stationary. The laser edge cleaning process on the four sides of the substrate 10 is realized by the movement of the mechanical scriber mechanism 30 and the laser edge cleaning mechanism 40. In addition, the mechanical scriber mechanism 30 and the laser edge cleaning mechanism 40 must be completely parallel when they move to ensure the process accuracy. Therefore, an optical positioning mechanism can also be set to measure the position of the laser edge cleaning mechanism and the mechanical scriber mechanism and compensate for the error between them to ensure the accuracy of the laser edge cleaning and mechanical scriber edge marking position.

[0037] Furthermore, the thin-film solar cell laser edge cleaning device also includes a dust removal system, which can be integrated into the mechanical engraving mechanism to ensure the dust removal effect.

[0038] Reference Figure 2 The present invention also provides a laser edge cleaning method for thin-film solar cells, comprising the following steps:

[0039] S10: A film layer is formed on the substrate.

[0040] Specifically, the substrate 10 is a glass substrate, and a film layer is formed on one side of the substrate 10.

[0041] S20: The laser edge cleaning mechanism removes the film layer from the side of the substrate away from the film layer.

[0042] Specifically, the laser edge cleaning mechanism is located below the substrate and removes the film layer from the side of the substrate away from the film layer.

[0043] S30: After step S20, the mechanical scriber mechanism mechanically scribing the edge of the film layer from the substrate side opposite to the laser edge cleaning mechanism.

[0044] Specifically, after the laser edge cleaning mechanism cleans the film layer from one side of the substrate, the mechanical scriber mechanism located on the other side of the substrate, i.e., the mechanical scriber mechanism located above the substrate, mechanically scribes the edge of the film layer after laser edge cleaning from above.

[0045] In this invention, laser edge cleaning is performed first, followed by mechanical etching to solve the problem of leakage current on the side of the film layer after laser edge cleaning. Then, mechanical etching is used to remove the inter-fusion area and prevent leakage current from occurring.

[0046] When the substrate is moved to clean the edges of the substrate, the cleaning method further includes:

[0047] S201: The laser edge cleaning mechanism removes one side of the film layer from the side of the substrate away from the film layer.

[0048] Specifically, the process begins by cleaning one side of the substrate. After cleaning that side, the substrate is moved to perform laser cleaning on all four sides.

[0049] S202: After step S201, the mechanical scriber mechanism mechanically scribing one edge of the film layer from the substrate side opposite to the laser edge clearing mechanism.

[0050] Specifically, after laser edge cleaning is performed on one side of the film layer, the mechanical scriber mechanism mechanically scribing the edge of the cleaned film layer from the side opposite to the laser edge cleaning mechanism, thereby removing the inter-fusion area and preventing leakage.

[0051] S203: By moving the substrate, repeat steps S201 and S202 to perform laser edge cleaning on the remaining three sides of the substrate respectively.

[0052] Specifically, after laser edge cleaning and mechanical scribing are performed on one side of the film layer, the remaining three sides of the substrate are moved between the laser edge cleaning mechanism and the mechanical scribing mechanism by moving the substrate.

[0053] Furthermore, S203 also includes:

[0054] S2031: The remaining three sides of the substrate are moved between the laser edge cleaning mechanism and the mechanical etching mechanism using the first moving component.

[0055] Specifically, in order to realize the movement of the substrate, a first moving component is also provided, that is, the substrate is placed on the first moving component, and the position of the four sides of the substrate is adjusted under the drive of the first moving component, thereby moving the substrate edge to be laser cleaned between the laser cleaned mechanism and the mechanical etch needle mechanism.

[0056] Furthermore, when laser edge cleaning of the four sides of the substrate is performed using a moving laser edge cleaning mechanism and a mechanical etching needle mechanism, the laser edge cleaning method further includes:

[0057] S201': The laser edge cleaning mechanism removes one side of the film layer from the side of the substrate away from the film layer.

[0058] Specifically, the process begins by cleaning one side of the substrate. After that side is cleaned, the laser cleaning mechanism and the mechanical etcher mechanism are used to clean all four sides of the substrate with laser.

[0059] S202': After step S201', the mechanical scriber mechanism mechanically scribes one edge of the film layer from the substrate side opposite to the laser edge clearing mechanism.

[0060] Specifically, after laser edge cleaning is performed on one side of the film layer, the mechanical scriber mechanism mechanically scribing the edge of the cleaned film layer from the side opposite to the laser edge cleaning mechanism, thereby removing the inter-fusion area and preventing leakage.

[0061] S203': By moving the laser edge cleaning mechanism and the mechanical etching needle mechanism, repeat steps S201' and S202' to perform laser edge cleaning on the remaining three sides of the substrate respectively.

[0062] Specifically, after laser edge cleaning and mechanical scribing are performed on one side of the film layer, the remaining three sides of the substrate are moved between the laser edge cleaning mechanism and the mechanical scribing mechanism by moving the laser edge cleaning mechanism and the mechanical scribing mechanism.

[0063] Furthermore, S203' also includes:

[0064] S2031': The mechanical etch needle mechanism and the laser edge cleaning mechanism are moved to the remaining three sides of the substrate by the second and third moving components, respectively.

[0065] Specifically, in order to realize the movement of the laser edge cleaning mechanism and the mechanical needle mechanism, a second moving component and a third moving component are also provided. The laser edge cleaning mechanism is set on the second moving component, and the mechanical needle mechanism is set on the third moving component. Driven by the second moving component and the third moving component, the laser edge cleaning mechanism and the mechanical needle mechanism are moved to the positions of the four sides of the substrate respectively, so as to realize the laser edge cleaning process of the four sides of the substrate.

[0066] The above-described embodiments are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Various modifications and improvements made by those skilled in the art to the technical solutions of the present invention without departing from the spirit of the present invention should fall within the protection scope defined by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A laser edge-cleaning device for thin-film solar cells, comprising a substrate (10) and a film layer (20) disposed on the substrate (10), characterized in that, A mechanical needle mechanism (30) is provided above the substrate (10) on the same side as the film layer (20), and a laser edge cleaning mechanism (40) is provided below the side of the substrate (10) away from the film layer (20). The device also includes a moving mechanism for moving the mechanical needle mechanism (30) and the laser edge cleaning mechanism (40) to the side of the substrate (10). The laser edge cleaning mechanism (40) is located on one side below the substrate (10), and the mechanical needle mechanism (30) is located on one side above the substrate (10); The moving mechanism includes a first moving component for driving the displacement of the substrate (10).

2. The thin-film solar cell laser edge cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The laser edge clearing mechanism (40) uses a near-infrared laser.

3. The thin-film solar cell laser edge cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The moving mechanism includes a second moving component for driving the displacement of the mechanical etch needle mechanism (30) and a third moving component for driving the displacement of the laser edge clearing mechanism (40).

4. A laser edge-cleaning method for thin-film solar cells, comprising the laser edge-cleaning apparatus according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: S10: A film layer is formed on the substrate; S20: The laser edge cleaning mechanism removes the film layer from the side of the substrate away from the film layer; S30: After step S20, the mechanical scriber mechanism mechanically scribing the edge of the film layer from the substrate side opposite to the laser edge cleaning mechanism.

5. The laser edge-cleaning method for thin-film solar cells according to claim 4, characterized in that, The laser edge cleaning method further includes: S201: The laser edge cleaning mechanism removes one side of the film layer from the side of the substrate away from the film layer; S202: After step S201, the mechanical scriber mechanism mechanically scribing one edge of the film layer from the substrate side opposite to the laser edge clearing mechanism; S203: By moving the substrate, repeat steps S201 and S202 to perform laser edge cleaning on the remaining three sides of the substrate respectively.

6. The laser edge-cleaning method for thin-film solar cells according to claim 4, characterized in that, The laser edge cleaning method further includes: S201': The laser edge cleaning mechanism removes one side of the film layer from the side of the substrate away from the film layer; S202': After step S201', the mechanical scriber mechanism mechanically scribing one edge of the film layer from the substrate side opposite to the laser edge clearing mechanism; S203': By moving the laser edge cleaning mechanism and the mechanical etching needle mechanism, repeat steps S201' and S202' to perform laser edge cleaning on the remaining three sides of the substrate respectively.

7. The laser edge cleaning method according to claim 5, characterized in that, S203 further includes: S2031: The remaining three sides of the substrate are moved between the laser edge cleaning mechanism and the mechanical etching mechanism using the first moving component.

8. The laser edge cleaning method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The S203' further includes: S2031': The mechanical etch needle mechanism and the laser edge cleaning mechanism are moved to the remaining three sides of the substrate by the second and third moving components, respectively.

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