A coating apparatus
By using an integrated water cooling structure and non-contact radiative heat exchange, the problem of insufficient heat exchange in existing coating equipment is solved, and stable sputtering temperature control of the copper grid seed layer is achieved, improving coating uniformity and battery efficiency.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202611539861.6
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2026-09-30
- Publication Date
- 2026-11-06
AI Technical Summary
Existing coating equipment has insufficient heat exchange area and limited heat exchange flux in its cooling structure, which makes it impossible to effectively control the temperature of the copper grid seed layer sputtering coating process, resulting in thermal damage to the copper film and degradation of battery efficiency.
It adopts an integrated water cooling structure, combining side and bottom water cooling components, and achieves dynamic temperature control through large-area plate-type heat exchange and non-contact radiation heat exchange, in conjunction with contact temperature measurement and central control system linkage.
It effectively suppresses thermal distortion and sputtering damage of the copper grid seed layer, improves coating uniformity and battery photoelectric conversion efficiency, reduces battery efficiency loss to below 0.1%, and improves mass production yield.
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Figure CN123043484A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the field of vacuum magnetron sputtering coating technology for photovoltaic silicon wafers, and specifically to a coating equipment. Background Technology
[0002] The copper grid seed layer is a crucial functional layer in photovoltaic cell fabrication, and its quality directly impacts the cell's photoelectric conversion performance. Copper films are typically prepared using sputtering deposition, a process that utilizes high-energy particles to bombard a copper target, causing copper atoms to escape and deposit on the substrate surface to form a film. However, the sputtering process involves continuous high heat input, leading to a significant temperature rise in the core area of the deposition equipment. Practice has shown that process temperature has a significant impact on sputtering damage to the copper film and cell efficiency: this process has a critical temperature threshold of 140℃. When the process temperature exceeds 140℃, the copper film will suffer significant sputtering thermal damage, and the higher the temperature, the more severe the damage. This thermal damage further leads to cell efficiency degradation; under mass production conditions, the maximum efficiency loss can reach 0.3%, severely restricting product yield and overall system efficiency. Therefore, stabilizing the sputtering deposition process temperature within the safe threshold of 140℃ is crucial to ensuring both copper film quality and cell efficiency.
[0003] Existing coating equipment mainly employs a traditional external piping cooling structure, where cooling pipes are installed outside the equipment to remove heat via a cooling medium. However, this structure has the following drawbacks: Firstly, traditional external pipe cooling structures have a small overall effective heat exchange area and a simple heat exchange structure layout. The cooling pipes can only contact the heat-generating parts for heat exchange in a single point and linear manner. They lack a large-area, close-fitting heat dissipation substrate and cannot cover the core heat-generating area of the copper grid seed layer coating. The heat dissipation coverage is incomplete, and there are obvious heat dissipation dead zones, resulting in very limited heat that can be dissipated per unit time.
[0004] Secondly, the existing cooling structure has insufficient heat transfer capacity and lacks the ability to rapidly cool down and dynamically control the temperature during the process. Copper film sputtering is a continuous high-heat input process with concentrated heat generation and a large heat load. However, the heat transfer limit of the traditional pipeline structure is far lower than the heat generation power of sputtering. Under the condition of continuous heat generation during sputtering, the heat dissipation rate is less than the heat generation rate, which results in the inability to effectively suppress the core temperature of the equipment. The process temperature continues to rise and is very likely to exceed the process safety threshold of 140°C.
[0005] Third, once the process temperature exceeds 140℃, the microstructure of the copper film in the seed layer of the copper grid line will undergo irreversible changes, resulting in defects such as coarse grains, uneven film stress, and local microcracks. The concentration of thermal stress and abnormal grain growth directly cause sputtering damage to the copper film in the seed layer. This damage further leads to a decrease in the contact performance and conductivity of the battery, which is ultimately reflected in the degradation of battery efficiency. This forms a fixed defect transmission chain of "temperature rise - film damage - efficiency loss", and this chain is irreversible and cannot be repaired in subsequent processes.
[0006] Fourth, existing conventional improvement methods only involve increasing cooling water flow, raising water pressure, and fine-tuning pipeline routing. These methods are passive conventional parameter optimizations that can only slightly improve the convective heat transfer coefficient. They cannot fundamentally increase the effective heat transfer contact area or break through the heat transfer limit of the original cooling structure. Therefore, they cannot solve the root cause of the continuous rise in process temperature, nor can they stably control the process temperature within the safe threshold of 140℃. The problems of copper film damage and battery efficiency loss cannot be fundamentally solved.
[0007] In summary, the cooling structure of existing coating equipment is limited by insufficient heat exchange area, limited heat exchange flux, and lack of a close-fitting high-density heat exchange layout for the core heat-generating area. It cannot meet the stringent temperature control requirements of the copper grid seed layer copper film sputtering coating process. There is an urgent need for a cooling solution that can significantly improve the heat exchange area and heat exchange capacity from a structural perspective and has rapid dynamic heat dissipation performance in order to achieve stable control of the process temperature and avoid thermal damage to the copper film and the resulting loss of battery efficiency. Summary of the Invention
[0008] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a coating equipment that is compact in structure, easy to operate and conducive to improving production capacity, in order to overcome the shortcomings of the existing technology.
[0009] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows: A coating apparatus includes a vacuum chamber, a cathode assembly, a side water-cooling assembly, and a bottom water-cooling assembly. The cathode assembly extends from the top of the vacuum chamber into its interior. The side water-cooling assembly is disposed on the upper part of the inner side of the vacuum chamber and located on both sides of the cathode assembly. The bottom water-cooling assembly is disposed on the lower part of the inner side of the vacuum chamber and located below the cathode assembly. The solar cell to be coated is laid flat on top of the bottom water-cooling assembly and faces the cathode assembly. The side water-cooling assembly and the bottom water-cooling assembly together constitute an integrated water cooling structure and are connected to a central control system to achieve automatic control of the cooling water flow rate.
[0010] As a further improvement of the present invention, the side water cooling assembly includes a return water pipe and an inlet water pipe; the return water pipe and the inlet water pipe are arranged in parallel to form a water cooling heat exchange body, and the two ends of the water cooling heat exchange body are respectively connected to the inlet and outlet water ends and the return water support end; the inlet and outlet water ends are equipped with inlet and outlet water connectors for external circulation water circuits to allow the flow of circulating cooling water to form an independent closed side cooling circuit.
[0011] As a further improvement of the present invention, a first pad and a second pad are respectively provided at both ends of the water-cooled heat exchange body. The first pad and the second pad are insulating pads to achieve insulation of the side water-cooled components.
[0012] As a further improvement of the present invention, a first pad and a second pad are respectively provided at both ends of the water-cooled heat exchange body. The first pad and the second pad are conductive pads to realize the auxiliary anode conductivity of the side water-cooled component.
[0013] As a further improvement of the present invention, the bottom water-cooling assembly includes a substrate and a heat exchange channel, wherein the heat exchange channel is serpentine and meanders over the substrate.
[0014] As a further improvement of the present invention, a plurality of fasteners are arranged side by side on the substrate for fixing the heat exchange channel; a high thermal conductivity pad layer is filled between the heat exchange channel and the mounting surface of the substrate.
[0015] As a further improvement of the present invention, the substrate is prepared by using aluminum alloy, oxygen-free copper, or copper-aluminum explosion composite plate.
[0016] As a further improvement of the present invention, the substrate is horizontally mounted and fixed to the lower part of the vacuum chamber by a support column.
[0017] As a further improvement of the present invention, the battery cell is provided with a contact temperature measuring component to monitor the temperature of the battery cell in real time and transmit the temperature data to the central control system.
[0018] As a further improvement of the present invention, the central control system links the temperature of the battery cell with the cooling water flow of the side water cooling component and the bottom water cooling component to control the process temperature in the vacuum chamber below the threshold of 140°C.
[0019] Compared with the prior art, the advantages of the present invention are as follows: The coating equipment of this invention utilizes an integrated water-cooling structure, replacing traditional point-like and linear pipe-like heat exchange with a large-area plate-type bonding heat exchange. This fundamentally increases the effective heat exchange area and heat dissipation flux in high-temperature regions, enabling the equipment's heat dissipation rate to match or even exceed the continuous heat generation rate of the sputtering process. This completely solves the problems of heat accumulation and temperature rise associated with traditional cooling structures. The bottom water-cooling component adopts a serpentine, meandering, fully covered flow channel layout, combined with a high thermal conductivity metal substrate and a non-contact radiative heat exchange mechanism, to achieve uniform cooling of the entire surface of the battery cell, avoiding localized overcooling, cell deformation, and uneven film deposition caused by direct bonding. The side water-cooling component supports dual-mode switching between insulation and conductivity, taking into account both target material heat dissipation and auxiliary anode functions, simultaneously removing heat generated by sputtering and additional heat from electrons. By combining contact temperature measurement with the central control system, a closed-loop steady-state temperature control system is constructed, which keeps the coating process temperature stable within the safe threshold of 140℃ for a long time. This effectively suppresses microscopic thermal distortion and sputtering damage of the copper film in the copper grid seed layer, optimizes the conductivity and interface contact performance of the copper film, and reduces the damage to the battery photoelectric conversion efficiency from a maximum of 0.3% to below 0.1%, significantly improving coating uniformity, process stability and mass production yield. Attached Figure Description
[0020] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the structural principle of the coating equipment in a specific embodiment of the present invention.
[0021] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structural principle of the side water-cooling assembly in a specific embodiment of the present invention.
[0022] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the structural principle of the bottom water-cooling component in a specific embodiment of the present invention.
[0023] Legend: 100, Vacuum chamber; 200, Cathode assembly; 300, Side water-cooling assembly; 301, First pad; 302, Return water support end; 303, Return water pipe; 304, Inlet pipe; 305, Inlet and outlet water ends; 306, Inlet and outlet water connectors; 307, Second pad; 400, Battery cell; 500, Bottom water-cooling assembly; 501, Substrate; 502, Heat exchange channel; 503, Fixing component; 600, Support column. Detailed Implementation
[0024] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific preferred embodiments, but this does not limit the scope of protection of the present invention.
[0025] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the terms "side", "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential", etc., indicating the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, are only for the convenience of describing this invention and simplifying the description, and are not intended to indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of this invention.
[0026] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this invention, "a plurality of" means two or more unless otherwise explicitly specified.
[0027] Example like Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the coating equipment of the present invention includes a vacuum chamber 100, a cathode assembly 200, a side water-cooling assembly 300, and a bottom water-cooling assembly 500. Specifically, the vacuum chamber 100 serves as a sealed reaction vessel for the coating process, maintaining a high vacuum environment inside to meet the sputtering deposition conditions; the cathode assembly 200, the side water-cooling assembly 300, and the bottom water-cooling assembly 500 are all disposed inside or connected to the vacuum chamber 100, jointly constructing a thermal management system adapted to the precise cryogenic control process of the copper grid seed layer.
[0028] The cathode assembly 200 extends from the top of the vacuum chamber 100 into the interior of the vacuum chamber 100. Specifically, the cathode assembly 200 typically includes a target and a magnetron source, which is fixed by a sealing flange or insulating seat at the top and extends into the vacuum chamber 100 to serve as the emission source for sputtered particles.
[0029] The side-cooled water-cooling components 300 are disposed on the upper inner side of the vacuum chamber 100 and on both sides of the cathode assembly 200. Specifically, the two sets of side-cooled water-cooling components 300 are preferably symmetrically distributed on the left and right sides of the cathode assembly 200, arranged close to or adjacent to the cathode sidewall. This allows for direct cooling of the cathode target material from the heat source side, while also controlling the temperature field of the upper space of the chamber.
[0030] The bottom water-cooling assembly 500 is located inside the lower part of the vacuum chamber 100 and below the cathode assembly 200. Specifically, the bottom water-cooling assembly 500 serves as a basic platform for supporting and cooling the workpiece, and is horizontally mounted at the bottom of the vacuum chamber 100, forming a vertically opposing process space with the cathode assembly 200 above.
[0031] The solar cell 400 to be coated is laid flat on top of the bottom water-cooling assembly 500, facing the cathode assembly 200. Specifically, the solar cell 400 is supported horizontally on the bottom water-cooling assembly 500, with its coating surface facing the cathode target. In this embodiment, "laid flat" means that a preset gap is maintained between the solar cell 400 and the bottom water-cooling assembly 500, and non-contact heat exchange is achieved through radiation or conduction in a rarefied gas.
[0032] The side water-cooling component 300 and the bottom water-cooling component 500 together form an integrated water cooling structure, which is connected to the central control system to achieve automatic control of the cooling water flow. This integrated design allows the equipment to allocate cooling resources comprehensively, ensuring that the overall heat dissipation rate matches or even exceeds the continuous heat generation rate of the sputtering process. Connection to the central control system means that the adjustment of the cooling water flow is no longer manual or open-loop, but a dynamic closed-loop process based on process status feedback, thereby ensuring temperature stability throughout the entire coating process.
[0033] like Figure 2 As shown, in this embodiment, the side water-cooling assembly 300 includes a return water pipe 303 and an inlet water pipe 304. Specifically, the return water pipe 303 and the inlet water pipe 304 are arranged in parallel to form the main body of the water-cooled heat exchanger. The parallel arrangement not only maximizes the coverage density of the heat exchange pipes in the limited lateral space of the chamber, but also makes the inlet and outlet water flow in opposite directions, thereby improving the overall heat exchange temperature difference and efficiency by utilizing countercurrent heat exchange.
[0034] like Figure 2 As shown, the two ends of the water-cooled heat exchanger are connected to the inlet / outlet end 305 and the return water support end 302, respectively. The return water support end 302 not only serves as a U-shaped loop channel for the cooling water flow, connecting the inlet and return water paths at the end, but also provides rigid structural support for the parallel pipes, preventing deformation and displacement under high-temperature thermal stress or vacuum conditions. The inlet / outlet end 305 is equipped with an inlet / outlet connector 306 for connecting to an external circulating water path, allowing circulating cooling water to flow in and forming an independent, closed-loop side cooling circuit. This independent, closed-loop design isolates the water system of the side water-cooled component 300 from the bottom water-cooled component 500, facilitating independent adjustment of flow rate and water temperature for different heat source areas and simplifying equipment maintenance and leak detection procedures. It is understood that the inlet / outlet connector 306 can be in various forms, such as quick-connect fittings, welded fittings, or flange connections, to adapt to different external pipe interface standards.
[0035] Furthermore, a first pad 301 and a second pad 307 are respectively provided at both ends of the water-cooled heat exchanger body. The first pad 301 and the second pad 307 are insulating pads to achieve insulation of the side water-cooled assembly 300. Specifically, when the process only requires lateral heat dissipation of the cathode target material and does not involve electric field control, pads made of alumina ceramic, aluminum nitride, polyether ether ketone (PEEK), or other high-temperature resistant insulating materials are selected. In this case, the first pad 301 and the second pad 307 electrically isolate the water-cooled heat exchanger body from the vacuum chamber 100 or the mounting base of the cathode assembly 200, preventing the side water-cooled assembly from participating in the plasma discharge circuit and ensuring the purity of the electric field distribution and the safe operation of the equipment.
[0036] In another implementation, a first pad 301 and a second pad 307 are respectively provided at both ends of the water-cooled heat exchanger body. The first pad 301 and the second pad 307 are conductive pads to achieve auxiliary anode conductivity of the side water-cooled assembly 300. Specifically, when the sputtering process requires suppression of arc discharge or improvement of film uniformity, the insulating pad can be replaced with a conductive pad made of oxygen-free copper, stainless steel, graphite, or other conductive metals / alloys. In this case, the side water-cooled assembly 300 is connected to the anode potential or floating potential through the conductive pad, and also has the function of auxiliary anode. It can actively capture excess high-energy electrons generated during sputtering, avoiding the disorderly bombardment of the cavity wall by electrons and causing additional heat load. At the same time, the kinetic energy of the captured electrons is converted into heat energy and can be quickly carried away by the cooling water through the tightly attached water-cooled heat exchanger body.
[0037] This embodiment designs the first pad 301 and the second pad 307 as detachable and replaceable modular interfaces, allowing the same coating equipment to flexibly switch between insulation and heat dissipation mode and auxiliary anode conduction mode. For example, insulating pads can be used during equipment commissioning or when specific insulation requirements are met, and conductive pads can be used during mass production high-power sputtering or when plasma confinement optimization is needed.
[0038] like Figure 3 As shown, in this embodiment, the bottom water-cooling assembly 500 includes a substrate 501 and a heat exchange channel 502, which is arranged in a serpentine pattern covering the substrate 501. Specifically, the serpentine layout allows the cooling water to form a continuous, uniform, and dead-angle-free heat exchange path within the effective load-bearing area of the substrate 501. Compared to traditional point-like or straight-line pipe arrangements, this significantly extends the effective heat exchange path of the cooling water within the substrate, increasing the heat exchange density per unit area. It also effectively eliminates local hot spots on the surface of the substrate 501, ensuring that the solar cell 400 experiences a uniform temperature field throughout the coating process, avoiding uneven film deposition or thermal stress concentration caused by excessive temperature differences.
[0039] Furthermore, the substrate 501 can be made of materials with excellent thermal conductivity and vacuum compatibility, such as aluminum alloy, oxygen-free copper, or copper-aluminum explosion-proof composite plate. For example, oxygen-free copper has extremely high thermal conductivity, making it suitable for rapid heat dissipation under high heat load conditions; aluminum alloy ensures sufficient thermal conductivity while also being lightweight and reducing processing costs; copper-aluminum explosion-proof composite plate combines the high thermal conductivity of copper with the structural strength and corrosion resistance of aluminum. As the core carrier for heat transfer, the high thermal conductivity of the substrate 501 ensures that the heat absorbed from the solar cell 400 can be rapidly diffused laterally and introduced into the heat exchange channel 502, preventing heat from accumulating locally.
[0040] like Figure 3 As shown, multiple fasteners 503 are arranged side-by-side on the substrate to secure the heat exchange channel 502. Specifically, the fasteners 503 can be in the form of clamps, clips, or welding clamps, etc., and their function is to securely lock the heat exchange channel 502 to the surface of the substrate 501 or the internal groove, ensuring a tight fit between the two. Furthermore, to further reduce contact thermal resistance, a high thermal conductivity pad layer is filled between the mounting surfaces of the heat exchange channel 502 and the substrate 501. This high thermal conductivity pad layer can be made of thermally conductive silicone grease, indium foil, graphene gaskets, or other flexible high thermal conductivity interface materials. It can fill the air gaps formed by microscopic unevenness on the metal processing surface, eliminate the obstruction of heat conduction by the air insulation layer, and achieve efficient and unobstructed heat conduction from the channel wall to the substrate.
[0041] like Figure 1 As shown, the substrate 501 is horizontally mounted and fixed to the lower part of the vacuum chamber 100 by a support column 600. Specifically, the support column 600 not only provides a stable horizontal mounting reference for the bottom water-cooled assembly 500, but more importantly, it precisely sets the fixed heat exchange distance between the upper surface of the substrate 501 and the lower surface of the solar cell 400. This distance ensures that the solar cell 400 and the substrate 501 are separated and do not have direct surface contact. In this non-contact configuration, the cooling of the solar cell 400 mainly relies on thermal radiation in the vacuum environment and thermal conduction of the rarefied gas in the chamber. This fundamentally avoids many problems that may be caused by traditional direct contact cooling: on the one hand, it avoids thermal stress deformation caused by excessively low local temperature of the cooling plate leading to overcooling of the back of the solar cell; on the other hand, it eliminates uneven contact pressure caused by rigid bonding, preventing film thickness differences or interface damage caused by this. For thin film processes such as copper grid seed layers, which are extremely sensitive to temperature, non-contact radiative heat exchange provides a gentler and more uniform temperature control environment, which is a key technical means to ensure film quality and cell conversion efficiency.
[0042] It should also be understood that the heat exchange channel 502 in this embodiment is not limited to the form of an embedded metal pipe. In other optional embodiments, the heat exchange channel 502 can also adopt various structural forms such as an integrally milled diffusion welded channel, a microchannel channel, a sandwich water tank channel, a VC heat spreader, a sintered heat pipe, or a loop heat pipe.
[0043] In this embodiment, a contact temperature sensing component (not shown in the figure) is provided on the battery cell 400 to monitor the temperature of the battery cell 400 in real time and transmit the temperature data to the central control system. Specifically, the contact temperature sensing component is directly attached to or closely abuts against the surface or edge non-functional area of the battery cell 400, achieving thermal equilibrium temperature measurement through physical contact. Compared with non-contact methods such as infrared thermometry or cavity ambient temperature monitoring, contact temperature measurement can directly obtain the true temperature of the workpiece body, effectively eliminating measurement deviations caused by emissivity changes, window contamination, or plasma glow interference in a vacuum environment, while significantly reducing the signal hysteresis of temperature feedback. In this embodiment, the contact temperature sensing component can be a K-type thermocouple, a PT100 platinum resistance thermometer, or other high-temperature resistant thin-film temperature sensor, and its signal lead is led out through the sealed feedthrough device of the vacuum chamber 100 and connected to the data acquisition module of the central control system.
[0044] Furthermore, the central control system links the temperature of the solar cell 400 with the cooling water flow rates of the side water-cooling assembly 300 and the bottom water-cooling assembly 500 to maintain the process temperature within the vacuum chamber 100 below the 140°C threshold. Specifically, after receiving real-time temperature data from the contact temperature sensing component, the central control system compares and calculates this data with the preset process temperature target value. Based on the magnitude and trend of the deviation, it dynamically outputs control commands to adjust the opening of the proportional regulating valves or the speed of the variable frequency water pumps in the respective circuits of the side water-cooling assembly 300 and the bottom water-cooling assembly 500, thereby precisely changing the flow rate and heat exchange power of the cooling medium. The 140°C threshold set in this embodiment is a critical safety boundary determined based on the characteristics of the copper grid seed layer sputtering process, because copper films are highly susceptible to irreversible thermal damage such as abnormal grain growth, microcrack initiation, and interface diffusion degradation when the temperature exceeds this level. Through the above linkage mechanism, the equipment's heat dissipation rate can track and match, or even exceed, the instantaneous heat generation rate of the sputtering process in real time, ensuring that the solar cell 400 remains in a thermal equilibrium steady state throughout the entire coating cycle. For example, when increased sputtering power leads to increased heat generation, the central control system detects the temperature rise trend within milliseconds and immediately increases the cooling water flow to prevent temperature overshoot; conversely, during sputtering pauses or low-power phases, the flow rate is automatically reduced to avoid overcooling. This dynamic flow rate adjustment strategy based on the measured workpiece temperature fundamentally eliminates the shortcomings of traditional open-loop cooling or a single constant-temperature water bath in adapting to varying heat loads, ensuring consistency between copper film forming quality and battery photoelectric conversion efficiency.
[0045] Verified in actual mass production conditions, the copper grid seed layer sputtering coating process using the equipment in this embodiment demonstrates significant technological advancements. Compared to traditional equipment employing external exposed pipeline linear cooling, the damage value of the solar cell's photoelectric conversion efficiency has been steadily reduced from a maximum of 0.3% to below 0.1%. This improvement in quantitative indicators is not a simple linear optimization, but rather stems from the qualitative change effect caused by the precise control of the critical threshold for thermal damage by the plate-type large-area heat exchange and non-contact uniform temperature cooling structure. Simultaneously, the uniformity of the coating and the consistency of the cell conversion efficiency have also been greatly improved, effectively solving the process fluctuations and yield bottlenecks caused by insufficient heat dissipation capacity in traditional equipment.
[0046] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. All technical solutions falling within the scope of the present invention's concept are within the scope of protection of the present invention. It should be noted that for those skilled in the art, any improvements and modifications made without departing from the principles of the present invention should also be considered within the scope of protection of the present invention.
Claims
1. A coating apparatus, characterized by, The system includes a vacuum chamber (100), a cathode assembly (200), a side water-cooling assembly (300), and a bottom water-cooling assembly (500). The cathode assembly (200) extends from the top of the vacuum chamber (100) into the interior of the vacuum chamber (100). The side water-cooling assembly (300) is located on the upper inner side of the vacuum chamber (100) and on both sides of the cathode assembly (200). The bottom water-cooling assembly (500) is located on the lower inner side of the vacuum chamber (100) and below the cathode assembly (200). The battery cell (400) to be coated is laid flat on top of the bottom water-cooling assembly (500) and faces the cathode assembly (200). The side water-cooling assembly (300) and the bottom water-cooling assembly (500) together constitute an integrated water cooling structure and are connected to a central control system to achieve automatic control of the cooling water flow.
2. The coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein The side water-cooling assembly (300) includes a return water pipe (303) and an inlet water pipe (304); the return water pipe (303) and the inlet water pipe (304) are arranged in parallel to form a water-cooled heat exchange body, and the two ends of the water-cooled heat exchange body are respectively connected to the inlet and outlet water end (305) and the return water support end (302); the inlet and outlet water end (305) is equipped with an inlet and outlet water connector (306) for connecting to an external circulating water circuit, so as to introduce circulating cooling water and form an independent closed side cooling circuit.
3. The coating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein The water-cooled heat exchanger body is provided with a first pad (301) and a second pad (307) at both ends respectively. The first pad (301) and the second pad (307) are insulating pads to achieve insulation of the side water-cooled assembly (300).
4. The coating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein The water-cooled heat exchanger body is provided with a first pad (301) and a second pad (307) at both ends respectively. The first pad (301) and the second pad (307) are conductive pads to enable the auxiliary anode of the side water-cooled assembly (300) to conduct electricity.
5. The coating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The bottom water-cooling assembly (500) includes a substrate (501) and a heat exchange channel (502), which is serpentine and covers the substrate (501).
6. The coating apparatus according to claim 5, wherein Multiple fasteners (503) are arranged side by side on the substrate (501) for fixing the heat exchange channel (502); a high thermal conductivity pad layer is filled between the heat exchange channel (502) and the mounting surface of the substrate (501).
7. The coating apparatus of claim 6, wherein, The substrate (501) is prepared using aluminum alloy, oxygen-free copper, or copper-aluminum explosion composite plate.
8. The coating equipment according to claim 6, characterized in that, The substrate (501) is horizontally mounted and fixed to the lower part of the vacuum chamber (100) by a support column (600).
9. The coating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The battery cell (400) is equipped with a contact temperature measuring component to monitor the temperature of the battery cell (400) in real time and transmit the temperature data to the central control system.
10. The coating equipment according to claim 9, characterized in that, The central control system links the temperature of the battery cell (400) with the cooling water flow of the side water cooling assembly (300) and the bottom water cooling assembly (500) to control the process temperature in the vacuum chamber (100) below the threshold of 140°C.
