Electroplating device and electroplating method for photovoltaic cell
The electroplating device uses a carrier to separate the plating solution area and the electrode area, and adopts a static electroplating method to solve the problems of high fragmentation rate and high environmental pressure in photovoltaic cell electroplating, and realizes efficient and low-cost metallization of thin silicon wafers and BC cells.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202511123154.4
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-08-12
- Publication Date
- 2025-09-19
AI Technical Summary
Existing photovoltaic cell electroplating technology has problems such as high silicon wafer fragmentation rate, clamping points affecting the appearance of the cell, and high environmental pressure. In particular, it is difficult to achieve efficient and low-cost metallization in thin-film and BC cells.
The electroplating device uses a carrier to separate the plating solution area and the electrode area. The electroplating layer is formed on the surface of the battery cell through a static electroplating method, avoiding roller transmission and clamping. It is suitable for thin silicon wafers and BC batteries, and does not require sputtering seed layer and back etching treatment.
It effectively reduces the fragmentation rate, ensures the uniformity of the coating, reduces costs, is suitable for the efficient metallization of BC batteries, and reduces environmental pressure.
Smart Images
Figure CN120666423A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of battery manufacturing, and relates to an electroplating device and an electroplating method for a photovoltaic cell. Background Art
[0002] As the production and application scale of the photovoltaic industry expands, the manufacturing costs of photovoltaic products have attracted increasing attention. How to effectively reduce costs and improve efficiency has become a common issue in the photovoltaic industry.
[0003] In the photovoltaic cost model, the two largest components are silicon wafer cost and metallization cost. In terms of reducing silicon wafer costs, the commonly adopted measure in the field is to use thinner silicon wafers, which has gradually reduced the thickness of silicon wafers from 180μm to 130μm, and even 90μm thickness has been used. However, thinner silicon wafers also lead to an increase in the proportion of fragments in the process, and the problem of increased warping during the thermal process. In terms of metallization, since the process generally uses precious metal silver, the cost of metallization remains high. Although the means of reducing the use of silver have some effect, it is becoming increasingly difficult to reduce silver consumption due to the limitations of the screen printing method.
[0004] Replacing silk-screened silver grid lines with electroplated copper is an effective way to reduce costs and improve efficiency. Because electroplated copper has a conductivity close to that of elemental copper, its superior conductivity reduces heat loss in solar cells caused by the grid lines. Furthermore, copper is approximately 90% cheaper than silver, significantly reducing cell costs by replacing silver grid lines with copper.
[0005] Among mainstream solar cells, BC cells (Back Contact) have no grid lines blocking the front side, while also taking into account the passivation of both the front and back sides. Their photoelectric conversion efficiency is significantly improved compared to bifacial cells (PERC, TOPCON, HJT, etc.). The positive and negative grid lines of BC cells are integrated on the back side of the cell, so there is no need to consider the cell's light shading loss. Therefore, the grid lines can be made denser to improve the carrier collection capacity. However, when using screen-printed silver paste, cost considerations generally prevent the realization of ideal metallization pattern manufacturing. However, when using copper electroplating, the cost increase caused by the increase in grid line patterns can be ignored, and the BC cell's efficient power generation capacity can be better utilized.
[0006] The existing electroplating schemes for photovoltaic cells are mainly divided into horizontal electroplating and vertical electroplating. Horizontal electroplating usually adopts the method of transferring silicon wafers on rollers. However, as mentioned above, with the thinning of silicon wafers, the risk of fragmentation caused by the roller transmission method becomes higher. Vertical electroplating usually requires a clamp to clamp the silicon wafer for electroplating. Clamping will also increase the risk of silicon wafer fragmentation. At the same time, the clamping point (hanging plating point) affects the appearance of the cell after electroplating. Especially for BC cells, the clamping point can easily cause damage to the passivation film of the cell. In addition, before electroplating, the existing scheme usually uses PVD to sputter a layer of conductive metal on the surface of the cell as a seed layer to improve the bonding strength and improve the conductive effect during electroplating. After the grid line electroplating is completed, the seed layer outside the grid line area will be etched back by chemical corrosion. The PVD process and the back-etching process not only increase the process cost, but the treatment of copper-containing wastewater generated by the back-etching will also cause environmental pressure.
[0007] Considering the problems existing in the existing electroplating technology solutions, it is still necessary to develop new electroplating solutions for photovoltaic cells, especially high-efficiency, high-quality and low-cost metallization processes suitable for BC cells. Summary of the Invention
[0008] In view of the problems existing in the prior art, the purpose of the present invention is to provide an electroplating device and an electroplating method for photovoltaic cells, wherein the electroplating device includes a carrier, the carrier includes a shell and several partitions inside it, the partitions dividing the internal space into alternating plating solution areas and electrode areas; the plating solution areas and the electrode areas have openings that can contact the carried solar cells; the plating solution areas are filled with plating solution and / or spray plating solution upwards to provide an electroplating environment and electroplating raw materials, the electrode areas are provided with working electrodes, the working electrodes are electrically connected to the metal electrode parts of the solar cells, and are used to cause electroplating in the plating solution areas to achieve metallization of the solar cells. The electroplating device can be adapted to thin-film silicon wafers and non-hanging plating points. The use of the electroplating device does not require the advance deposition of a seed layer or post-etching processing, and is particularly suitable for single-sided electroplating of BC cells.
[0009] To achieve this object, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:
[0010] In a first aspect, the present invention provides an electroplating device for photovoltaic cells, comprising a carrier; the carrier comprises an outer shell, and a plurality of partitions are provided in the internal space of the outer shell; the partitions divide the internal space into a plating solution area and an electrode area that are arranged alternately in sequence; the plating solution area and the electrode area have an opening on the same side surface of the outer shell, so that the outer shell forms a bearing surface, and the opening is used to expose the surface of the cell to the interior of the plating solution area and the electrode area; the plating solution area is used to be filled with plating solution inside and / or spray plating solution from the inside toward the opening, so that the plating solution contacts the surface of the cell to form a conductive circuit; a working electrode is provided inside the electrode area, and the end of the working electrode close to the opening is electrically connected to the metal electrode portion of the cell, and the other end of the working electrode away from the opening is used to be connected to an external power supply.
[0011] The electroplating device of the present invention is provided with a carrier to carry the battery cell. The carrier has a plating solution area and an electrode area arranged alternately. The plating solution is loaded in the plating solution area to provide an environment and raw materials for electroplating. The plating solution area flows through the anode and works as an anode during electroplating; the electrode area acts as a cathode. After contacting the battery cell, a reduction reaction is carried out on the surface of the battery cell in the plating solution area, reducing the metal ions in the plating solution, so that an electroplating layer (such as a metal layer) is deposited at the energized position of the battery cell in the plating solution area. It can be seen that, unlike the horizontal electroplating device or process of the prior art, there is no need to use a structure or device such as a roller to continuously transport the silicon wafer. It is also different from the vertical electroplating device or process of the prior art. There is no need to use a structure or device such as a clamp to clamp the suspended silicon wafer, and there is no influence of the clamping point (hanging plating point). The carrier can meet the demand for thinning, facilitate metallization of thinner battery cells, and effectively reduce the fragmentation rate. The electroplating device divides the battery cell into multiple areas for electroplating, which can overcome the disadvantage of weak conductivity of the plated surface, does not require sputtering PVD seed layer, and is more conducive to ensuring the uniformity of the coating.
[0012] The following are preferred technical solutions of the present invention, but are not intended to limit the technical solutions provided by the present invention. Through the following technical solutions, the technical objectives and beneficial effects of the present invention can be better achieved and realized.
[0013] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, the plating solution area and the electrode area are alternately arranged in sequence along the extension direction of the metal electrode in the battery cell; along the direction of alternating arrangement, the first area and the last area are edge areas; when the edge area is the plating solution area, it is recorded as the edge plating solution area, and the other plating solution areas are recorded as the intermediate plating solution area; when the edge area is the electrode area, it is recorded as the edge electrode area, and the other electrode areas are recorded as the intermediate electrode area.
[0014] Preferably, along the direction of alternating arrangement, the widths of the edge areas are equal.
[0015] Preferably, the width of the edge plating solution zone is smaller than the width of the middle plating solution zone.
[0016] In the present invention, when the edge area is the plating solution area, there is only one intermediate electrode area closest to the edge electrode area. In order to avoid the problem that the edgemost part of the edge plating solution area is far away from the intermediate electrode area, it is preferred to reduce the width of the edge plating solution area so that the electroplating in the edge plating solution area is more uniform.
[0017] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, along the direction of alternating arrangement, the width of the edge plating solution zone is 25% to 75% of the width of the middle plating solution zone.
[0018] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, along the direction of alternating arrangement, the width of each of the intermediate electrode regions is equal.
[0019] Preferably, along the direction of alternating arrangement, the width of each of the intermediate plating solution zones is equal.
[0020] Preferably, along the alternating arrangement direction, the width of the middle electrode region is less than or equal to the width of the middle plating solution region.
[0021] In the present invention, the width of the plating solution area and the electrode area can be reasonably adjusted according to the conductivity of the plated surface of the battery cell. When the conductivity is large, the width of the plating solution area can be appropriately increased, and the width of the electrode area can be appropriately reduced. The purpose is to ensure that the electroplating effect of the plating solution area is uniform and consistent, and reasonable adjustments are made according to actual conditions.
[0022] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, the working electrode in the electrode area includes a first working electrode and a second working electrode that are independent of each other, the first working electrode is used to form an electrical connection with the P-area metal electrode portion of the battery cell, and the second working electrode is used to form an electrical connection with the N-area metal electrode portion of the battery cell.
[0023] The present invention can apply different plating voltages as required by providing independent electrodes, and is particularly suitable for the case where the P / N regions of a BC battery are arranged in a forked shape on the same side.
[0024] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, the working electrode of the electrode area includes a conductive brush and / or a metal contact electrode.
[0025] In a second aspect, the present invention provides an electroplating method for a photovoltaic cell, wherein the electroplating method uses the electroplating apparatus described in the first aspect, and the electroplating method comprises:
[0026] Placing a cell on a carrying surface of an electroplating device so that the surface to be plated of the cell is exposed to the interior of the plating solution area and the electrode area; keeping the interior of the plating solution area filled with plating solution and / or spraying plating solution from the interior toward the exposed area so that the plating solution contacts the surface to be plated of the cell, maintaining electrical connection between the working electrode in the electrode area and the metal electrode portion on the surface to be plated of the cell, performing static electroplating, and forming an electroplating layer on the surface to be plated of the cell corresponding to the plating solution area to obtain a partially electroplated cell;
[0027] The partially plated cell is repositioned on the electroplating device, and / or the partially plated cell is transferred to a carrying surface of another electroplating device, so that the area on the plated surface of the cell where no electroplating layer is formed is repeatedly subjected to the static electroplating in the plating solution area until a fully plated cell is obtained.
[0028] In the electroplating method of the present invention, after the cell is first placed on the electroplating device and the first static electroplating is completed, a portion of the electroplating layer (such as a metal electrode, etc.) is formed on the surface of the cell in the plating solution area, and the electroplating layer is not yet formed on the surface of the cell in the electrode area. Therefore, by rearranging the cell in the same electroplating device or transferring it to another electroplating device so that the area without the electroplating layer is in the plating solution area, static electroplating is performed again to form a complete electroplating layer in steps. That is, the preparation method can achieve metallization of the cell with only two static electroplating steps. Of course, according to actual needs, static electroplating can be implemented or repeated more times to obtain a cell with full-surface electroplating.
[0029] Furthermore, when the placement position on the electroplating device is readjusted, the area of the electroplating device on the supporting surface is larger than the area of the plated surface of the cell, so as to leave space for the cell to be readjusted; when the position is readjusted, the cell can be moved horizontally or rotated 180 degrees horizontally, etc. According to the automation requirements, a manipulator and / or a conveying mechanism can be set up, and static electroplating can be performed after repositioning to avoid leaving clamping points. Second, when the partially electroplated cell is transferred to the supporting surface of another electroplating device, the plating solution area and the electrode area on the other electroplating device complement the plating solution area and the electrode area of the first electroplating device, that is, the setting positions of the plating solution area and the electrode area are exactly opposite, so that a whole-surface electroplated cell can be obtained through a second static electroplating.
[0030] It is understood that in the electroplating method described herein, the carrier of the electroplating apparatus is placed horizontally, with the open and supporting surfaces facing upward. After the cell is placed on the supporting surface, with the surface to be plated facing downward, the cell is stably supported on the carrier by its own gravity. When a mechanism for spraying electrolyte is provided in the transfer area, the electrolyte should be sprayed toward the open surface, i.e., upward. Of course, a fixing mechanism can be further provided as needed, but such a fixing mechanism should avoid leaving clamping points on the surface to be plated.
[0031] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, the battery cell includes a BC battery.
[0032] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, the electroplating layer includes a seed layer and / or a metal electrode.
[0033] Preferably, the electroplating method further includes first performing the static electroplating on the plated surface of the battery cell using a first electroplating solution to form a seed layer, and until a battery cell with the entire surface electroplated with the seed layer is obtained; and then performing the static electroplating on the seed layer using a second electroplating solution to form a metal electrode, and until a battery cell with the entire surface electroplated with a metal electrode is obtained.
[0034] Preferably, the first electroplating solution contains nickel but does not contain copper; and the second electroplating solution contains copper.
[0035] Typically, during the metallization process of a cell, a seed layer is first formed by electroplating to facilitate the subsequent electroplating deposition of metal electrodes.
[0036] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, the working electrodes in the electrode area include a first working electrode and a second working electrode that are independent of each other, and the first working electrode is kept electrically connected to the metal electrode portion of the P area of the battery cell, and the second working electrode is kept electrically connected to the metal electrode portion of the N area of the battery cell to perform the static electroplating.
[0037] Preferably, in the static electroplating, the voltage applied by the first working electrode is greater than the voltage applied by the second working electrode.
[0038] In the present invention, the reason why different voltages are applied to the first working electrode and the second working electrode for independent control and adjustment is that the voltage in the P region on the battery cell is usually higher than the voltage in the N region, because the P region is usually doped with Group III elements such as boron, and the doping concentration is low, resulting in poor conductivity. At the same time, the majority carriers in the P region are holes, and the built-in electric field needs to be overcome during electroplating, so the P region requires a higher voltage to ensure the uniformity of electroplating in the P and N regions.
[0039] In a third aspect, the present invention provides a photovoltaic cell, which is obtained by the electroplating method described in the second aspect.
[0040] Compared with the existing technical solutions, the present invention has at least the following beneficial effects:
[0041] The electroplating device of the present invention carries the battery cells by arranging a carrier, wherein the carrier has alternatingly arranged plating solution areas and electrode areas, the plating solution is loaded in the plating solution area, and provides an environment and raw materials for electroplating, and a conductive loop is formed between the electrode area, the battery cells and the plating solution area, so that the electrode area energizes the battery cells and the plating solution area, and the battery surface in the plating solution area is electroplated. It can be seen that, unlike the horizontal electroplating device or process of the prior art, there is no need to use a structure or device such as a roller to continuously transport the silicon wafers, and it is also different from the vertical electroplating device or process of the prior art, there is no need to use a structure or device such as a clamp to clamp the suspended silicon wafers, and there is no influence of the clamping point (hanging plating point). The carrier can meet the demand for thinning, facilitate the metallization of thinner battery cells, and effectively reduce the fragmentation rate. The electroplating device divides the battery cells into multiple areas for electroplating, which can overcome the disadvantage of weak conductivity of the plated surface, does not require sputtering of the PVD seed layer, and is more conducive to ensuring the uniformity of the coating. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0042] Figure 1 It is a schematic top view of the electroplating device for photovoltaic cells provided in Example 1.
[0043] Figure 2 This is a side cross-sectional view of the photovoltaic cell electroplating device provided in Example 1 when carrying a cell.
[0044] Figure 3 This is a side sectional view of the photovoltaic cell electroplating device provided in Example 2 when carrying a cell.
[0045] Figure 4 This is a side cross-sectional view of the photovoltaic cell electroplating device provided in Example 3 when carrying a cell.
[0046] Figure 5 This is a side sectional view of the photovoltaic cell electroplating device provided in Example 3 after the position of the supporting cell is adjusted and repositioned.
[0047] In the figure: 10-housing, 20-partition, 30-plating solution area, 31-edge plating solution area, 32-middle plating solution area, 40-electrode area, 41-edge electrode area, 42-middle electrode area, 50-working electrode, 51-first working electrode, 52-second working electrode, 60-battery cell. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0048] The technical solution of the present invention is further illustrated below through specific implementation methods.
[0049] It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments are only intended to help understand the present invention and should not be considered as specific limitations of the present invention.
[0050] It should be noted that due to space limitations and to avoid redundancy, the present invention does not exhaustively list all point values within the following numerical range, but is not limited to the listed values. Other unlisted values within the following numerical range are also applicable.
[0051] Example 1
[0052] This embodiment provides a photovoltaic cell electroplating device, such as Figure 1 as well as Figure 2 As shown, the electroplating device includes a carrier; the carrier includes a main body 10, and a plurality of partitions 20 are provided in the internal space of the main body 10; the partitions 20 divide the internal space into plating liquid areas 30 and electrode areas 40 arranged alternately in sequence; the plating liquid areas 30 and the electrode areas 40 have openings on the same side surface of the main body 10, so that the main body 10 forms a carrying surface, and the openings are used to expose the surface of the battery cell 60 to the interior of the plating liquid area 30 and the electrode area 40; the plating liquid area 30 The electroplating device is filled with plating solution and provided with a spray head therein for spraying the plating solution upward toward the opening of the transfer zone 30 so that the plating solution contacts the surface of the cell 60. The electrode zone 40 is provided with a working electrode 50 therein. One end of the working electrode 50, which is close to the opening, is electrically connected to the metal electrode portion of the cell 60. The other end of the working electrode 50, which is away from the opening, is connected to an external power source. The supporting surface of the electroplating device is the same size (area) as the plated surface of the cell 60.
[0053] Specifically, along the extension direction of the metal electrodes in the battery cell 60, the plating bath areas 30 and the electrode areas 40 are alternately arranged in sequence; along the direction of the alternating arrangement, the first area and the last area are edge areas; the edge areas are plating bath areas 30, recorded as edge plating bath areas 31, and the other plating bath areas 30 are recorded as intermediate plating bath areas 32; at this time, all electrode areas 40 are intermediate electrode areas 42; along the direction of the alternating arrangement, the width of each edge plating bath area 31 is equal, the width of each intermediate plating bath area 32 is equal, and the width of each intermediate electrode area 42 is equal; and the width of the edge plating bath area 31 is smaller than the width of the intermediate electrode area 42, the width of the intermediate electrode area 42 is smaller than the width of the intermediate plating bath area 32, and the width of the edge plating bath area 31 is 50% of the width of the intermediate plating bath area 32;
[0054] The working electrode 50 in each electrode area 40 includes a first working electrode 51 and a second working electrode 52 that are independent of each other. The first working electrode 51 is used to form an electrical connection with the metal electrode portion of the P region of the battery cell 60, and the second working electrode 52 is used to form an electrical connection with the metal electrode portion of the N region of the battery cell 60; the working electrode 50 in the electrode area 40 is a metal contact electrode.
[0055] Example 2
[0056] This embodiment provides a photovoltaic cell electroplating device, such as Figure 3 As shown, in the electroplating device, along the direction of alternating arrangement, the first area and the last area are edge areas; the edge areas are electrode areas 40, denoted as edge electrode areas 41, and the other electrode areas 40 are denoted as intermediate electrode areas 42; at this time, all plating solution areas 30 are intermediate plating solution areas 32; along the direction of alternating arrangement, the width of each edge electrode area 41 is equal, the width of each intermediate plating solution area 32 is equal, and the width of each intermediate electrode area 42 is equal; and the width of the edge electrode area 41 is smaller than the width of the intermediate plating solution area 32, the width of the intermediate plating solution area 32 is smaller than the width of the intermediate electrode area 42, and the width of the edge electrode area 41 is 50% of the width of the intermediate plating solution area 32;
[0057] Moreover, the plating solution area 30 and the electrode area 40 of the electroplating device in this embodiment are complementary to those of the electroplating device in Example 1, that is, the setting positions of the plating solution area 30 and the electrode area 40 are exactly opposite, that is, the width of the edge electrode area 41 of this embodiment is equal to the width of the edge plating solution area 31 of Example 1, the width of the middle electrode area 42 of this embodiment is equal to the width of the middle plating solution area 32 of Example 1, and the width of the middle plating solution area 32 of this embodiment is equal to the width of the middle electrode area 42. Except for the above, other conditions are exactly the same as those in Example 1.
[0058] Example 3
[0059] This embodiment provides a photovoltaic cell electroplating device, such as Figure 4 As shown, the size (area) of the carrying surface of the electroplating device is larger than the plated surface of the battery cell 60. When the battery cell 60 is placed on the carrying surface, the electroplating device preferably has other plating solution areas 30 and electrode areas 40 that are not covered; and the width of the intermediate electrode area 42 is smaller than the width of the edge plating solution area 31, and the width of the edge plating solution area 31 is smaller than the width of the intermediate plating solution area 32. The width of the edge plating solution area 31 is 75% of the width of the intermediate plating solution area 32. Except for the above, other conditions are exactly the same as those in Example 1.
[0060] Application Example 1
[0061] This application example provides an electroplating method for a photovoltaic cell. The electroplating method uses the electroplating apparatus provided in Example 1 and Example 2. The electroplating method includes:
[0062] The cell 60 of the BC battery with the seed layer formed thereon is placed on the supporting surface of the electroplating device of Example 1, as shown in FIG. Figure 2 As shown, the surface to be plated of the cell 60 with the seed layer is exposed to the interior of the plating solution area 30 and the electrode area 40; the interior of the plating solution area 30 is kept filled with the plating solution, and the spray head continuously sprays the plating solution toward the surface of the cell, so that the plating solution contacts the surface to be plated of the cell 60, and the working electrode 50 in the electrode area 40 is kept electrically connected to the metal electrode portion on the surface to be plated of the cell 60, and static electroplating is performed to form a metal electrode on the surface to be plated of the cell 60 corresponding to the plating solution area 30, thereby obtaining a partially electroplated cell 60;
[0063] The electroplating solution of the static electroplating contains copper elements, and during the static electroplating, the voltage applied by the first working electrode 51 is kept greater than the voltage applied by the second working electrode 52 .
[0064] The partially plated cell 60 is transferred to the carrying surface of the electroplating device of Example 2 by a robot. Figure 3 As shown, the area on the plated surface of the cell 60 where no metal electrode is formed is subjected to static electroplating again in the plating solution zone 30 to obtain a cell 60 with full-surface electroplating.
[0065] Application Example 2
[0066] This application example provides an electroplating method for a photovoltaic cell. The electroplating method uses the electroplating device provided in Example 3. The electroplating method includes:
[0067] The cell 60 of the BC battery is placed on the supporting surface of the electroplating device of Example 3, as shown in FIG. Figure 4 As shown, the plated surface of the cell 60 (without the seed layer) is exposed to the interior of the plating solution area 30 and the electrode area 40; the interior of the plating solution area 30 is kept filled with the first plating solution and in contact with the plated surface of the cell 60, and the working electrode 50 in the electrode area 40 is kept electrically connected to the metal electrode portion on the plated surface of the cell 60, and static electroplating is performed to form a seed layer on the plated surface of the cell 60 corresponding to the plating solution area 30, thereby obtaining a partially electroplated cell 60.
[0068] The first electroplating solution contains nickel but does not contain copper. During the static electroplating, the voltage applied to the first working electrode 51 is kept greater than the voltage applied to the second working electrode 52 .
[0069] The partially plated cell 60 is translated by the conveying mechanism, and the translation distance is the width of the edge plating solution area 31. Figure 5 As shown, the area on the plated surface of the cell 60 where the seed layer is not formed is subjected to static electroplating again in the plating solution area 30 to obtain a cell 60 with the entire surface plated with the seed layer.
[0070] The electroplating solution in the transfer zone 30 of the electroplating device is replaced with a second electroplating solution containing copper elements. The above steps are repeated to form a complete metal electrode on the surface of the seed layer of the battery cell 60 through two steps of static electroplating, thereby obtaining a battery cell 60 with a metal electrode electroplated on the entire surface.
[0071] In summary, the electroplating device for photovoltaic cells described in the present invention can facilitate the implementation of step-by-step static electroplating. The cell 60 (such as a silicon wafer) is placed on the carrying surface of a carrier in the first working position. A plating solution area 30 and an electrode area 40 are provided in the carrier, and the plating solution area 30 and the electrode area 40 are spaced apart. The width of the plating solution area 30 can be adjusted according to the conductivity of the plated surface of the silicon wafer to ensure the uniformity of the plating layer in the plating solution area 30. The electrode area 40 can use a conductive brush or a metal contact electrode. If the electroplated product is a BC battery (positive / negative poles are on the same surface), the voltage contacting the positive / negative poles can be adjusted separately to ensure the uniformity of the plating thickness in the P / N zone. After completing the first step of electroplating, the battery cell 60 is moved to the second work station for secondary electroplating; the second work station and the first work station can be respectively on two complementary electroplating devices, so that the electroplating areas and the electrode areas 40 of the two electroplatings are exactly complementary; the second work station and the first work station can also be on the same electroplating device that is larger than the battery cell 60. By re-adjusting the placement position of the battery cell 60, the electroplating areas and the electrode areas 40 of the two electroplatings are exactly complementary. In short, the electroplating process of the entire surface of the battery cell 60 can be completed after two electroplatings.
[0072] The photovoltaic cell electroplating device described in the present invention uses a carrier to carry the cell 60, which can meet the needs of thinning, reduce the fragmentation rate, and eliminate the influence of the plating point. By dividing the surface of the cell 60 to be plated into multiple areas, the plating area and the electrode area 40 are arranged at intervals. The length of the plating area is adjusted according to the conductivity of the surface of the cell 60 to be plated, thereby overcoming the disadvantage of the weak conductivity of the surface to be plated. It does not require sputtering of the PVD seed layer, can also improve the uniformity of the plating layer, and does not require post-plating etching. It is particularly suitable for single-sided electroplating of BC cells. Furthermore, when electroplating BC cells, the plating voltage can be controlled separately in the P and N regions, which is conducive to improving the plating uniformity of the P and N regions.
[0073] The preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in detail above. However, the present invention is not limited to the specific details in the above embodiments. Within the technical concept of the present invention, various simple modifications can be made to the technical solution of the present invention, and these simple modifications all fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.
[0074] It should also be noted that the various specific technical features described in the above specific embodiments can be combined in any appropriate manner without contradiction. In order to avoid unnecessary repetition, the present invention will not further describe various possible combinations.
[0075] In addition, the various embodiments of the present invention may be arbitrarily combined, and as long as they do not violate the concept of the present invention, they should also be regarded as the contents disclosed by the present invention.
Claims
1. A photovoltaic cell electroplating device, characterized in that: Including vehicles; The carrier comprises a main body (10), wherein a plurality of partitions (20) are provided in the internal space of the main body (10); the partitions (20) divide the internal space into plating solution areas (30) and electrode areas (40) that are alternately arranged in sequence; The plating solution area (30) and the electrode area (40) have an opening on the same side surface of the main body (10), so that the main body (10) forms a bearing surface, and the opening is used to expose the surface of the battery cell to the inside of the plating solution area (30) and the electrode area (40); The plating solution area (30) is used to be filled with plating solution and / or spray the plating solution from the inside toward the opening, so that the plating solution contacts the surface of the battery cell to form a conductive loop; a working electrode (50) is provided inside the electrode area (40), and one end of the working electrode (50) close to the opening is electrically connected to the metal electrode portion of the battery cell, and the other end of the working electrode (50) away from the opening is used to be connected to an external power supply.
2. The electroplating device for photovoltaic cells according to claim 1, characterized in that: Along the extension direction of the metal electrode in the battery cell, the plating solution area (30) and the electrode area (40) are alternately arranged in sequence; along the direction of the alternating arrangement, the first area and the last area are edge areas; when the edge area is the plating solution area (30), it is recorded as the edge plating solution area (31), and the other plating solution areas (30) are recorded as the middle plating solution area (32); when the edge area is the electrode area (40), it is recorded as the edge electrode area (41), and the other electrode areas (40) are recorded as the middle electrode area (42); Preferably, along the direction of alternating arrangement, the width of the edge areas is equal; Preferably, the width of the edge plating solution area (31) is smaller than the width of the middle plating solution area (32).
3. The electroplating device for photovoltaic cells according to claim 2, characterized in that: Along the alternating arrangement direction, the width of the edge plating solution area (31) is 25% to 75% of the width of the middle plating solution area (32).
4. The electroplating device for photovoltaic cells according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: Along the alternating arrangement direction, the width of each intermediate electrode region (42) is equal; Preferably, along the direction of alternating arrangement, the width of each of the intermediate plating liquid areas (32) is equal; Preferably, along the direction of alternating arrangement, the width of the intermediate electrode area (42) is less than or equal to the width of the intermediate plating solution area (32).
5. The electroplating device for photovoltaic cells according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The working electrode (50) in the electrode area (40) includes a first working electrode (51) and a second working electrode (52) that are independent of each other, wherein the first working electrode (51) is used to form an electrical connection with a P-region metal electrode portion of the battery cell, and the second working electrode (52) is used to form an electrical connection with an N-region metal electrode portion of the battery cell.
6. The electroplating device for photovoltaic cells according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The working electrode (50) of the electrode area (40) includes a conductive brush and / or a metal contact electrode.
7. A method for electroplating a photovoltaic cell, characterized in that: The electroplating method uses the electroplating device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, and the electroplating method includes: Placing a cell on a supporting surface of an electroplating device so that the plated surface of the cell is exposed to the interior of the plating solution area (30) and the electrode area (40); keeping the interior of the plating solution area (30) filled with plating solution and / or spraying the plating solution from the interior toward the open area so that the plating solution contacts the plated surface of the cell; maintaining an electrical connection between the working electrode (50) in the electrode area (40) and the metal electrode portion on the plated surface of the cell; performing static electroplating to form an electroplating layer on the plated surface of the cell corresponding to the plating solution area (30) to obtain a partially electroplated cell; The partially plated cell is repositioned on the electroplating device, and / or the partially plated cell is transferred to a supporting surface of another electroplating device, so that the area on the plated surface of the cell where no electroplating layer is formed is repeatedly subjected to the static electroplating in the plating solution zone (30) until a fully plated cell is obtained.
8. The electroplating method of photovoltaic cells according to claim 7, characterized in that: The battery cell includes a BC battery; Preferably, the electroplating layer includes a seed layer and / or a metal electrode; Preferably, the electroplating method further comprises: firstly performing the static electroplating on the plated surface of the cell using the first electroplating solution to form a seed layer, and obtaining a cell with the seed layer plated on the entire surface; Then, a second electroplating solution is used to perform static electroplating on the seed layer to form a metal electrode, and a battery cell with an entire surface electroplated with metal electrodes is obtained; Preferably, the first electroplating solution contains nickel element but does not contain copper element; the second electroplating solution contains copper element.
9. The electroplating method of a photovoltaic cell according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that: The working electrode (50) in the electrode area (40) includes a first working electrode (51) and a second working electrode (52) that are independent of each other, the first working electrode (51) is kept electrically connected to the P-region metal electrode portion of the battery cell, and the second working electrode (52) is kept electrically connected to the N-region metal electrode portion of the battery cell, and the static electroplating is performed; Preferably, in the static electroplating, the voltage applied by the first working electrode (51) is greater than the voltage applied by the second working electrode (52).
10. A photovoltaic cell, characterized in that: The photovoltaic cell is obtained by the electroplating method according to any one of claims 7 to 9.