Device for removing foreign matters from target material and physical vapor deposition equipment
By designing a device for removing foreign objects from targets during TCO coating of heterojunction batteries, the short-circuit problem of targets is solved, and the rapid removal of foreign objects without destroying the vacuum atmosphere is achieved, saving time and cost.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202421163800.0
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-05-24
- Publication Date
- 2025-03-21
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-05-24
AI Technical Summary
During the TCO coating process of heterojunction batteries, foreign objects on the target material fall off cause the target material to be short-circuited, which requires opening the cavity, which takes a long time and destroys the vacuum atmosphere, affecting the subsequent process.
A device for removing foreign matter from target materials is designed, including a cleaning member, a driving member, a sealed transmission assembly and a power member. Through the sealed transmission member, the cleaning member is driven to move back and forth along the length of the target material, and the foreign matter on the target material is quickly removed from the outside of the vacuum chamber.
Without breaking the air or opening the cavity, quickly remove foreign matter on the target material, solve the short-circuit problem of target material, and save time and cost.
Smart Images

Figure CN222648094U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The utility model belongs to the technical field of photovoltaics, and in particular relates to a device for removing foreign matter from a target material and physical vapor deposition equipment. Background Art
[0002] At present, magnetron sputtering is usually used for coating in heterojunction battery production to complete the deposition of transparent conductive oxide (TCO) thin films. Magnetron sputtering coating is a process in which argon gas is ionized into argon ions under the action of an orthogonal electromagnetic field in a vacuum environment. After the argon ions obtain sufficient energy, they bombard the cathode target material, causing the target atoms to fall off and deposit on the substrate, thereby forming a coating.
[0003] A target is provided inside the vacuum chamber of the magnetron sputtering equipment. The target is the cathode (negative high voltage is applied to the target), and a magnetic field is provided inside the target. Under the action of the electric field and the magnetic field, the argon ions inside the vacuum chamber will continuously bombard the target, causing the target atoms to fall off and deposit on the substrate, thereby forming a coating. If foreign matter (usually silicon wafers or deposits on the chamber baffle) falls on the target during the production process, it will cause a short circuit in the target. After a short circuit in the target occurs, the cavity needs to be opened, which usually takes more than 48 hours. In addition, the process atmosphere of the vacuum coating is destroyed after the air is broken, and it takes a lot of time to restore the atmosphere of the machine after the machine is restarted. Utility Model Content
[0004] The utility model aims to solve one of the technical problems in the related art at least to a certain extent. To this end, one purpose of the utility model is to provide a device for removing foreign matter from a target material and a physical vapor deposition device, which can quickly remove foreign matter on the target material directly from the outside of the vacuum chamber without breaking the air or opening the cavity, thereby solving the problem of target short circuit caused by foreign matter falling on the target material during the TCO coating process of heterojunction batteries, and can save time and cost.
[0005] In a first aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides a device for removing foreign matter from a target material. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the target material is arranged in a vacuum chamber, and the device for removing foreign matter from the target material comprises:
[0006] A cleaning piece, wherein the cleaning piece is sleeved outside the target material;
[0007] A driving member, the driving member is connected to the cleaning member and is suitable for driving the cleaning member to move back and forth along the length direction of the target material;
[0008] A sealed transmission assembly, the sealed transmission assembly comprising a transmission shaft and a shell sleeved on the outside of the transmission shaft, the transmission shaft and the shell are rotatably and sealedly connected, the shell passes through the side wall of the vacuum chamber, and the interface between the shell and the side wall of the vacuum chamber is sealed, and the driving member is connected to one end of the transmission shaft close to the inner side of the vacuum chamber;
[0009] A power piece is connected to one end of the transmission shaft close to the outer side of the vacuum chamber and is suitable for driving the transmission shaft to rotate.
[0010] According to the device for removing foreign matter from the target material in the above-mentioned embodiment of the utility model, the power part is connected to the end of the transmission shaft of the sealed transmission assembly close to the outer side of the vacuum chamber, and the transmission shaft can be driven to rotate by the power part outside the vacuum chamber. The driving part connected to the end of the transmission shaft close to the inner side of the vacuum chamber can convert the rotational motion of the transmission shaft into linear motion. The driving part is connected to the cleaning part sleeved on the outside of the target material, and can drive the cleaning part to reciprocate along the length direction of the target material. The transmission shaft and the shell sleeved on the outside of the transmission shaft are rotatably and sealedly connected, and the interface between the shell and the side wall of the vacuum chamber is sealed. Therefore, foreign matter on the target material can be quickly removed directly from the outside of the vacuum chamber without breaking the air or opening the cavity, thereby solving the problem of target material short circuit caused by foreign matter falling on the target material during the TCO coating process of the heterojunction battery, and can save manpower, material resources and time costs.
[0011] In addition, the device for removing target foreign matter according to the above embodiment of the utility model may also have the following additional technical features:
[0012] In some embodiments of the present invention, the target material is cylindrical, the cleaning piece is annular, and the inner diameter of the cleaning piece is greater than the outer diameter of the target material.
[0013] In some embodiments of the utility model, the driving member includes a threaded rod and a sleeve sleeved on the outside of the threaded rod, the outer wall of the threaded rod is provided with an external thread, the inner wall of the sleeve is provided with an internal thread, the external thread is meshed with the internal thread, one end of the threaded rod is connected to the transmission shaft, and the sleeve is connected to the cleaning member.
[0014] In some embodiments of the present invention, the length direction of the threaded rod is parallel to the length direction of the target material.
[0015] In some embodiments of the present invention, the length of the threaded rod is greater than the length of the target material.
[0016] In some embodiments of the present invention, the length of the sleeve is smaller than the length of the threaded rod.
[0017] In some embodiments of the present invention, one end of the sleeve away from the sealing transmission assembly is connected to the cleaning member.
[0018] In some embodiments of the present utility model, a magnetic fluid bearing is provided between the transmission shaft and the housing, and the transmission shaft is rotatably and hermetically connected to the housing via the magnetic fluid bearing.
[0019] In some embodiments of the present invention, the power member includes a rotating handle, and the rotating handle is connected to the transmission shaft.
[0020] In the second aspect of the utility model, the utility model proposes a physical vapor deposition device. According to an embodiment of the utility model, the physical vapor deposition device includes a vacuum chamber, a target material is arranged in the vacuum chamber, and the target material is provided with a device for removing target material foreign matter as described in the above embodiment. Thus, by using the device for removing target material foreign matter, foreign matter on the target material can be quickly removed directly from the outside of the vacuum chamber without breaking the air or opening the cavity, thereby solving the problem of target material short circuit caused by foreign matter falling on the target material during the TCO coating process of the heterojunction battery, and saving time and cost.
[0021] Additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will be given in part in the following description, and in part will become apparent from the following description, or will be learned through the practice of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and easily understood from the description of the embodiments in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:
[0023] Figure 1 is a front view of a device for removing foreign matter from a target material according to an embodiment of the utility model;
[0024] Figure 2 is a side view of a device for removing foreign matter from a target material according to an embodiment of the utility model;
[0025] Figure 3 It is a structural schematic diagram of a device for removing foreign matter from a target material according to an embodiment of the utility model;
[0026] Figure 4 is a top view of a device for removing foreign matter from a target material according to an embodiment of the utility model;
[0027] Figure 5 It is a schematic structural diagram of the interface between the sealing transmission component and the side wall of the vacuum chamber according to an embodiment of the utility model.
[0028] Reference numerals:
[0029] 1000-vacuum chamber; 100-target material; 200-device for removing foreign matter from the target material; 10-cleaning part; 20-driving part; 21-threaded rod; 211-external thread; 22-sleeve; 30-sealed transmission assembly; 31-transmission shaft; 32-housing; 40-power part; 300-side wall, 400-cathode terminal; 500-auxiliary anode; 600-fixing part. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0030] The embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below, and examples of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals throughout represent the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are intended to be used to explain the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the present invention.
[0031] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential" and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the referred device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present invention.
[0032] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In the description of the present utility model, the meaning of "plurality" is at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.
[0033] In the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", "connected", "fixed" and the like should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements, unless otherwise clearly defined. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.
[0034] In the present utility model, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, a first feature being "above" or "below" a second feature may mean that the first and second features are in direct contact, or the first and second features are in indirect contact through an intermediate medium. Moreover, a first feature being "above", "above" or "above" a second feature may mean that the first feature is directly above or obliquely above the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. A first feature being "below", "below" or "below" a second feature may mean that the first feature is directly below or obliquely below the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.
[0035] In the first aspect of the present utility model, the present utility model provides a device for removing foreign matter from a target material. According to an embodiment of the present utility model, referring to Figure 1-4 The target material 100 is arranged in a vacuum chamber 1000, and the device 200 for removing foreign matter from the target material comprises: a cleaning member 10, a driving member 20, a sealing transmission assembly 30 and a power member 40. The cleaning member 10 is sleeved on the outside of the target material 100, the driving member 20 is connected to the cleaning member 10, and is suitable for driving the cleaning member 10 to reciprocate along the length direction of the target material 100, the sealing transmission assembly 30 comprises a transmission shaft 31 and a shell 32 sleeved on the outside of the transmission shaft 31, the transmission shaft 31 and the shell 32 are rotatably sealed and connected, the shell 32 passes through the side wall 300 of the vacuum chamber 1000, and the shell 32 is sealed at the interface with the side wall 300 of the vacuum chamber 1000, the driving member 20 is connected to one end of the transmission shaft 31 close to the inside of the vacuum chamber 1000, and the power member 40 is connected to one end of the transmission shaft 31 close to the outside of the vacuum chamber 1000, and is suitable for driving the transmission shaft 31 to rotate.
[0036] According to the device for removing foreign matter from a target material in the above embodiment of the utility model, the power member 40 is connected to one end of the transmission shaft 31 of the sealing transmission assembly 30 close to the outside of the vacuum chamber 1000, and the transmission shaft 31 can be driven to rotate by the power member 40 outside the vacuum chamber 1000. The driving member 20 connected to one end of the transmission shaft 31 close to the inside of the vacuum chamber 1000 can convert the rotational motion of the transmission shaft 31 into a linear motion. The driving member 20 is connected to the cleaning member 10 sleeved on the outside of the target material 100, and can drive the cleaning member 10 to rotate. It moves back and forth along the length direction of the target material 100, and the transmission shaft 31 is rotatably sealed with the shell 32 sleeved on the outside of the transmission shaft 31, and the shell 32 is sealed at the interface with the side wall 300 of the vacuum chamber 1000, so that foreign matter on the target material 100 can be quickly removed directly from the outside of the vacuum chamber 1000 without breaking the air or opening the cavity, thereby solving the problem of target short circuit caused by foreign matter falling on the target material 100 during the TCO coating process of the heterojunction battery, and can save manpower, material resources and time costs.
[0037] The device for removing foreign matter from a target material according to an embodiment of the utility model is further described in detail below.
[0038] At present, in the production process of heterojunction batteries, magnetron sputtering coating is generally carried out in the vacuum chamber 1000 of the magnetron sputtering equipment. Two sets of target materials 100 are arranged inside the vacuum chamber 1000. The target materials 100 are fixedly connected to the vacuum chamber wall through the cathode terminal 400. The cathode terminal 400 mainly plays the role of fixing the target materials 100, and also plays the role of providing rotation driving force, applying voltage and cooling water circulation for the target materials 100. The target material 100 serves as a cathode, and a magnetic field is arranged inside the target material 100. An auxiliary anode 500 is arranged between the two sets of target materials 100. The auxiliary anode 500 is located between the two sets of target materials 100, and plays the role of balancing the electric field and improving the utilization rate of the target material 100. Under the action of the orthogonal electromagnetic field, the argon gas inside the vacuum chamber 1000 is ionized into argon ions. After obtaining sufficient energy, the argon ions bombard the cathode target material 100, causing the target atoms to fall off and deposit on the substrate, thereby forming a coating. If foreign matter falls on the target 100 during this process, it will cause a short circuit in the target. After a short circuit occurs in the target, the cavity must be opened, which usually takes more than 48 hours. In addition, the process atmosphere of the vacuum coating is destroyed after the cavity is broken, and it takes a lot of time to restore the atmosphere of the machine after the machine is restarted.
[0039] In order to solve the above problems, the utility model adopts a power member 40 to connect with the end of the transmission shaft 31 of the sealing transmission assembly 30 close to the outside of the vacuum chamber 1000. In the case of no cavity opening, the transmission shaft 31 can be driven to rotate by the power member 40 outside the vacuum chamber 1000. The driving member 20 connected to the end of the transmission shaft 31 close to the inside of the vacuum chamber 1000 can convert the rotational motion of the transmission shaft 31 into linear motion. The driving member 20 is connected to the cleaning member 10 sleeved on the outside of the target material 100, and can drive the cleaning member 10 to reciprocate along the length direction of the target material 100. When the cleaning member 10 reciprocates along the length direction of the target material 100, it can scrape foreign matter on the target material 100. In addition (foreign matter falling to the bottom of the vacuum chamber 1000 does not affect the coating), the transmission shaft 31 is rotatably sealed with the shell 32 sleeved on the outside of the transmission shaft 31, and the shell 32 is sealed at the interface with the side wall 300 of the vacuum chamber 1000. When the transmission shaft 31 rotates, the vacuum environment of the vacuum chamber 1000 will not be destroyed. Therefore, foreign matter on the target material 100 can be quickly removed directly from the outside of the vacuum chamber 1000 without breaking the air or opening the cavity, thereby solving the problem of target short circuit caused by foreign matter falling on the target material 100 during the TCO coating process of the heterojunction battery, and can save the manpower, material resources and time costs required for opening the cavity and restoring the machine atmosphere after resuming the machine.
[0040] According to some specific embodiments of the present invention, the shape of the target 100 can be cylindrical, the cleaning piece 10 can be annular, and the inner diameter of the cleaning piece 10 is larger than the outer diameter of the target 100. Therefore, it is beneficial for the cleaning piece 10 to reciprocate along the length direction of the target 100 to remove foreign matter on the target 100, thereby solving the problem of target short circuit caused by foreign matter falling on the target 100 during the TCO coating process of the heterojunction battery.
[0041] It should be noted that the material of the cleaning piece 10 is not particularly limited, and those skilled in the art can select it according to actual needs. For example, at least one of ceramic, carbon fiber and stainless steel can be used.
[0042] According to some further specific embodiments of the present utility model, the driving member 20 may include a threaded rod 21 and a sleeve 22 sleeved outside the threaded rod 21, the outer wall of the threaded rod 21 is provided with an external thread 211, the inner wall of the sleeve 22 is provided with an internal thread (not shown), the external thread 211 is meshed with the internal thread, one end of the threaded rod 21 is connected to the transmission shaft 31, and the sleeve 22 is connected to the cleaning member 10. Specifically, the length direction of the threaded rod 21 can be parallel to the length direction of the target material 100, and the length of the sleeve 22 is less than the length of the threaded rod 21. Thus, the transmission shaft 31 can drive the threaded rod 21 to rotate, and the rotation of the threaded rod 21 can drive the sleeve 22 to move along the length direction of the threaded rod 21, and the movement direction of the sleeve 22 can be changed by changing the rotation direction of the transmission shaft 31, so that the cleaning member 10 is driven by the sleeve 22 to move back and forth along the length direction of the target 100 to remove foreign matter on the target 100, thereby solving the problem of target short circuit caused by foreign matter falling on the target 100 during the TCO coating process of the heterojunction battery. It should be noted that the connection method between one end of the threaded rod 21 and the transmission shaft 31 is not particularly limited, and those skilled in the art can choose according to actual needs, for example, one end of the threaded rod 21 can be threadedly connected to the transmission shaft 31.
[0043] According to some specific embodiments of the present invention, the length of the threaded rod 21 can be greater than the length of the target 100. This is conducive to increasing the distance that the sleeve 22 reciprocates on the threaded rod 21, thereby increasing the distance that the cleaning member 10 reciprocates along the length direction of the target 100, and further facilitating the processing of foreign matter at different positions on the target 100.
[0044] It should be noted that the connection position between the sleeve 22 and the cleaning piece 10 is not particularly limited, and those skilled in the art can choose it according to actual needs, as long as the purpose of driving the cleaning piece 10 to reciprocate along the length direction of the target material 100 can be achieved through the sleeve 22. As a specific example, the end of the sleeve 22 away from the sealing transmission assembly 30 is connected to the cleaning piece 10.
[0045] According to some other specific embodiments of the present invention, a magnetic fluid bearing (not shown) is provided between the transmission shaft 31 and the housing 32, and the transmission shaft 31 is rotatably sealedly connected to the housing 32 via the magnetic fluid bearing. It is understandable that the magnetic fluid bearing is a prior art, so it will not be described in detail here.
[0046] According to some specific embodiments of the present invention, Figure 5 The sealing transmission assembly 30 can be connected to the side wall 300 of the vacuum chamber 1000 through the fixing member 600, the fixing member 600 is sleeved outside the sealing transmission assembly 30, and a sealing ring is provided between the fixing member 600 and the side wall 300 of the vacuum chamber 1000. It should be noted that the specific type of the fixing member 600 is not particularly limited, for example, it can be a flange, and the flange is connected to the side wall 300 of the vacuum chamber 1000 by bolts.
[0047] According to some other specific embodiments of the utility model, the power member 40 may include a rotating handle, which is connected to the transmission shaft 31. Thus, the transmission shaft 31 can be driven to rotate by turning the rotating handle, and the driving member 20 connected to the transmission shaft 31 can convert the rotational motion of the transmission shaft 31 into a linear motion, driving the cleaning member 10 to move back and forth along the length direction of the target 100 to remove foreign matter on the target 100, thereby solving the problem of target short circuit caused by foreign matter falling on the target 100 during the TCO coating process of the heterojunction battery. It should be noted that the connection method between the rotating handle and the transmission shaft 31 is not particularly limited, and those skilled in the art can make a selection according to actual needs, for example, the rotating handle can be threadedly connected to the transmission shaft 31.
[0048] It should be noted that the potential of the cleaning member 10 and the driving member 20 is in a suspended state, that is, insulation is maintained between the cleaning member 10 and the driving member 20 and the target material 100, as well as between the cleaning member 10 and the driving member 20 and the vacuum chamber 1000, and the potential of the power member 40 and the vacuum chamber 1000 is in a connected state and is grounded at the same time.
[0049] In the second aspect of the utility model, the utility model proposes a physical vapor deposition device. According to an embodiment of the utility model, the physical vapor deposition device includes a vacuum chamber, a target material is arranged in the vacuum chamber, and a device for removing foreign matter from the target material according to the above embodiment is arranged on the target material. Thus, by means of the device for removing foreign matter from the target material, foreign matter on the target material can be quickly removed directly from the outside of the vacuum chamber without breaking the air or opening the cavity, thereby solving the problem of target material short circuit caused by foreign matter falling on the target material during the TCO coating process of the heterojunction battery, and saving time and cost.
[0050] In the description of this specification, the description with reference to the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "example", "specific example", or "some examples" etc. means that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the utility model. In this specification, the schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described may be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner. In addition, those skilled in the art may combine and combine the different embodiments or examples described in this specification and the features of the different embodiments or examples, without contradiction.
[0051] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described above, it can be understood that the above embodiments are exemplary and cannot be understood as limitations of the present invention. Ordinary technicians in the field can change, modify, replace and modify the above embodiments within the scope of the present invention.
Claims
1. A device for removing foreign matter from a target material, characterized in that: The target material is arranged in a vacuum chamber, and the device for removing foreign matter from the target material comprises: A cleaning piece, wherein the cleaning piece is sleeved outside the target material; A driving member, the driving member is connected to the cleaning member and is suitable for driving the cleaning member to move back and forth along the length direction of the target material; A sealed transmission assembly, the sealed transmission assembly comprising a transmission shaft and a shell sleeved on the outside of the transmission shaft, the transmission shaft and the shell are rotatably and sealedly connected, the shell passes through the side wall of the vacuum chamber, and the interface between the shell and the side wall of the vacuum chamber is sealed, and the driving member is connected to one end of the transmission shaft close to the inner side of the vacuum chamber; A power piece is connected to one end of the transmission shaft close to the outer side of the vacuum chamber and is suitable for driving the transmission shaft to rotate.
2. The device for removing foreign matter from a target material according to claim 1, characterized in that: The target material is cylindrical, the cleaning piece is annular, and the inner diameter of the cleaning piece is greater than the outer diameter of the target material.
3. The device for removing foreign matter from a target material according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving member includes a threaded rod and a sleeve sleeved outside the threaded rod, the outer wall of the threaded rod is provided with an external thread, the inner wall of the sleeve is provided with an internal thread, the external thread is meshed with the internal thread, one end of the threaded rod is connected to the transmission shaft, and the sleeve is connected to the cleaning member.
4. The device for removing foreign matter from a target material according to claim 3, characterized in that: The length direction of the threaded rod is parallel to the length direction of the target material.
5. The device for removing foreign matter from a target material according to claim 3, characterized in that: The length of the threaded rod is greater than the length of the target material.
6. The device for removing foreign matter from a target material according to claim 5, characterized in that: The length of the sleeve is shorter than the length of the threaded rod.
7. The device for removing foreign matter from a target material according to claim 6, characterized in that: One end of the sleeve away from the sealing transmission component is connected to the cleaning piece.
8. The device for removing foreign matter from a target material according to claim 1, characterized in that: A magnetic fluid bearing is provided between the transmission shaft and the housing, and the transmission shaft is rotatably and hermetically connected to the housing via the magnetic fluid bearing.
9. The device for removing foreign matter from a target material according to claim 1, characterized in that: The power member comprises a rotating handle, and the rotating handle is connected to the transmission shaft.
10. A physical vapor deposition device, characterized in that: It comprises a vacuum chamber, wherein a target material is arranged in the vacuum chamber, and the device for removing foreign matter from the target material according to any one of claims 1 to 9 is arranged on the target material.