RPD coating equipment

Abstract

The utility model discloses an RPD coating device, which belongs to the field of photovoltaic coating equipment, including a coating chamber, multiple furnaces and multiple plasma generators. A coating cavity is arranged in the coating chamber, multiple furnaces are installed on the coating chamber, one end of the multiple furnaces extends into the coating cavity, the multiple furnaces are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction, the furnaces are used to heat the target material, multiple plasma generators are installed on the coating chamber, the multiple plasma generators are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction, the multiple plasma generators are arranged one by one with the multiple furnaces, and the plasma generators are used to emit plasma beams into the coating cavity. The RPD coating device of the utility model is changed from horizontal bottom-up coating to vertical coating, which can effectively reduce dust accumulation and extend the cleaning time of the cavity. The multiple furnaces are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction, and the multiple plasma generators are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction, which can increase the coating width and meet the production capacity and beat of mass production equipment.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of photovoltaic coating equipment, in particular to RPD coating equipment. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous development of the photovoltaic industry, the TOPCon cell structure has continuously increased the requirements for film uniformity and film thickness error. Since the RPD equipment (Reactive Plasma Deposition) has the characteristics of low bombardment, it can protect the pre-coated film on heterojunction and perovskite substrates from damage due to bombardment, so it has been favored by many customers, and the application of RPD has been continuously expanded. As the process time of horizontal RPD equipment increases, dust will accumulate at the copper bowl. When excessive dust accumulates, the quality of the film will decrease, and the conduction cavity and the target base will affect the operation of the equipment. The current status of the industry with large-area substrates and large production capacity has put forward higher requirements on the performance of the equipment. The increase in the effective coating area of ​​the substrate means that the probability of deformation of the substrate due to its own weight increases, and the difficulty of horizontal coating increases and it is difficult to meet the needs of large-area mass production. In the horizontal RPD equipment, as the process time increases, dust is easily accumulated at the copper bowl, causing the machine to short-circuit, and it is limited by the deformation of the substrate's own weight, and it cannot meet the needs of mass production width. Utility Model Content

[0003] The utility model aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art. To this end, the utility model proposes an RPD coating device, which solves the problem that in a horizontal RPD device, as the process time increases, dust is easily accumulated at the copper bowl, causing the machine to short-circuit, and is limited by the deformation of the substrate's own weight and cannot meet the requirements of mass production width.

[0004] A RPD coating device according to an embodiment of the utility model includes:

[0005] A coating chamber, wherein a coating cavity is arranged in the coating chamber;

[0006] A plurality of furnaces are installed on the coating chamber, one end of each of the furnaces extends into the coating cavity, and the furnaces are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction, and the furnaces are used to heat the target material;

[0007] A plurality of plasma generators are installed on the coating chamber, the plurality of plasma generators are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction, the plurality of plasma generators are arranged in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of furnaces, and the plasma generators are used to emit plasma beams into the coating chamber.

[0008] According to an embodiment of the present utility model, an RPD coating device has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0009] Changing from horizontal bottom-up coating to vertical coating can effectively reduce dust accumulation and extend the cavity cleaning time. Multiple furnaces are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction, and multiple plasma generators are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction, which can increase the coating width and meet the production capacity and rhythm of mass production equipment.

[0010] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the height of the coating chamber ranges from 1800 mm to 2000 mm.

[0011] According to some embodiments of the present invention, a reaction gas inlet connected to the coating cavity is provided on the coating chamber, and a plurality of reaction gas inlets may be provided.

[0012] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the coating chamber is open on one side away from the multiple furnaces, and a connecting flange is provided on the one side of the coating chamber away from the multiple furnaces.

[0013] According to some embodiments of the utility model, a plurality of target material conveying assemblies are installed on the coating chamber, and the plurality of target material conveying assemblies are arranged one-to-one corresponding to the plurality of furnaces. The target material conveying assemblies include a reducer, a screw and a nut. The reducer is transmission-connected to the screw, and the nut is threadedly connected to the screw. The reducer is used to drive the screw to rotate so as to drive the nut to move along the axial direction of the screw.

[0014] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the axial direction of the furnace is perpendicular to the axial direction of the plasma generator. The axial directions of multiple furnaces are located on the same vertical plane, and the axial directions of multiple plasma generators are located in the same vertical plane.

[0015] According to some embodiments of the present utility model, three furnaces are provided and three plasma generators are provided.

[0016] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the distance between two adjacent furnaces ranges from 400 mm to 600 mm.

[0017] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the RPD coating equipment further includes a vacuum pump, which is connected to the coating chamber through a pipeline.

[0018] According to some embodiments of the utility model, the RPD coating equipment also includes the compensation plate, at least one of which is arranged at the open end of the coating cavity, the compensation plate protrudes on the inner wall of the coating cavity, a coating port is defined between the relative compensation plates or between the compensation plates and the relative inner wall of the coating chamber, and the substrate to be plated is exposed at the coating port.

[0019] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the inner wall of the coating chamber is covered with a shield.

[0020] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the RPD coating equipment also includes a supporting assembly, which includes a supporting frame, a supporting table and a plurality of supporting feet, wherein the plurality of supporting feet are installed at the bottom of the supporting frame, the supporting table is installed above the supporting frame, and the coating chamber and the vacuum pump are installed on the supporting table.

[0021] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the RPD coating equipment also includes a substrate conveying chamber, which is connected to one end of the coating chamber away from the furnace, a substrate conveying cavity is arranged in the substrate conveying chamber, the substrate conveying cavity is connected to the coating cavity, a substrate conveying mechanism is arranged in the substrate conveying cavity, the substrate conveying mechanism is used to transport the substrate, and the substrate conveying chamber is connected to the coating chamber through a connecting flange.

[0022] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the substrate conveying mechanism includes a driving assembly and a carrier plate, the driving assembly is installed in the substrate conveying chamber, the carrier plate is connected to the driving assembly, the driving assembly drives the carrier plate to move, and the carrier plate is used to place the substrate.

[0023] According to some embodiments of the present invention, a heating element is disposed in the substrate transfer chamber, and the heating element is used to heat the reaction gas.

[0024] According to some embodiments of the present invention, a protective gas inlet communicating with the substrate transfer cavity is provided on the substrate transfer chamber, and a plurality of protective gas inlets may be provided.

[0025] According to some embodiments of the present invention, a gate valve for opening or closing the substrate transfer chamber is provided on the substrate transfer chamber.

[0026] Additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will be partially presented in the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] The present invention is further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments, wherein:

[0028] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of the RPD coating equipment of the embodiment of the utility model after removing the substrate transfer chamber;

[0029] Figure 2 This is a vertical schematic diagram of the RPD coating equipment of the embodiment of the utility model after removing the substrate transfer chamber;

[0030] Figure 3 It is a horizontal schematic diagram of the RPD coating equipment according to an embodiment of the present utility model.

[0031] Figure Number:

[0032] 100, coating chamber; 110, coating cavity; 120, reaction gas inlet; 130, connecting flange;

[0033] 200, furnace; 210, target material;

[0034] 300. Plasma generator;

[0035] 400, target material conveying assembly; 410, reducer;

[0036] 500. Vacuum pump;

[0037] 600, support assembly;

[0038] 700, substrate transfer chamber; 710, substrate transfer cavity; 720, substrate transfer mechanism. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] 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 only used to explain the present invention, and cannot be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0040] In the description of the present utility model, it is necessary to understand that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "axial", "radial", "circumferential" and the like indicate positions or positional relationships based on the positions or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present utility model and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present utility model. In addition, features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present utility model, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" means two or more.

[0041] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installation", "connection" and "connection" 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 it can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two components. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0042] As the process time of horizontal RPD equipment increases, dust will accumulate in the copper bowl. When excessive dust accumulates, the quality of the film will decrease, and the conduction cavity and the targeting base will affect the operation of the equipment. The current industry status of large-area substrates and large production capacity has put forward higher requirements on the performance of the equipment. The increase in the effective coating area of ​​the substrate means that the probability of deformation of the substrate due to its own weight increases, and the difficulty of horizontal coating increases and it is difficult to meet the needs of large-area mass production. In horizontal RPD equipment, as the process time increases, dust is easily accumulated in the copper bowl, causing the machine to short-circuit, and is limited by the deformation of the substrate (substrate) due to its own weight, and cannot meet the requirements of mass production width.

[0043] See also Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 An RPD coating device according to an embodiment of the utility model comprises a coating chamber 100, a plurality of furnaces 200 and a plurality of plasma generators 300, wherein a coating chamber 100 is provided with a coating cavity 110. The plurality of furnaces 200 are installed on the coating chamber 100, one end of the plurality of furnaces 200 extends into the coating cavity 110, the plurality of furnaces 200 are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction, and the furnaces 200 are used to heat the target material 210. The plurality of plasma generators 300 are installed on the coating chamber 100, the plurality of plasma generators 300 are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction, the plurality of plasma generators 300 are arranged one by one with the plurality of furnaces 200, and the plasma generators 300 are used to emit plasma beams into the coating cavity 110.

[0044] Changing the horizontal bottom-up coating to vertical coating can effectively reduce dust accumulation and extend the cavity cleaning time. Arranging multiple furnaces 200 and multiple plasma generators 300 at intervals in the vertical direction can increase the coating width and meet the production capacity and rhythm of mass production equipment.

[0045] In some embodiments, see Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3The height of the coating chamber 100 ranges from 1800mm to 2000mm. The coating is changed from horizontal bottom-up to vertical coating, and multiple furnaces 200 are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction, and multiple plasma generators 300 are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction, which can increase the coating width. The effective coating area is 1200×2400mm2, where 1200 is the height and 2400 is the length.

[0046] In some embodiments, see Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 The coating chamber 100 is provided with a reaction gas inlet 120, which is connected to the coating chamber 110. The reaction gas inlet 120 is provided in a plurality. One end of the reaction gas inlet 120 is connected to a reaction gas source, and the other end is connected to the coating chamber 110. The reaction gas source can be one of an oxygen source, a hydrogen source, and a water vapor source. The reaction gas inlet 120 is used to introduce reaction gas into the coating chamber 110. The plasma generator 300 dissociates argon gas into argon ions to stimulate a large number of electrons; the target material 210 acts as an anode, allowing the electrons to enter the coating chamber 110 under the action of the magnetic field and the electric field, and deflect toward the target material 210 to form a high-density electron beam; the electron beam is focused by the beam guide on the surface of the target material 210 in the furnace 200, and the target material 210 is directly sublimated into a gas phase after being heated. When the gas phase particles pass through the plasma zone, the target material 210 molecules collide with the electrons, the molecular bonds are broken, and atoms are ionized, so that the gas phase particles are dissociated into ions and react with the reaction gas introduced into the coating chamber 110. After the reaction, they are deposited on the substrate to form a thin film.

[0047] In some embodiments, see Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 The coating chamber 100 is open on one side away from the multiple furnaces 200, and a connecting flange 130 is provided on the one side away from the multiple furnaces 200. The substrate conveying mechanism 720 conveys the substrate in the substrate conveying cavity so that the substrate passes through the coating chamber 100 for coating. The coating chamber 100 is open on one side away from the furnace 200, so that the surface of the substrate to be plated facing the furnace 200 is exposed, so that the reaction gas particles and the target material particles react and then deposit on the surface of the substrate to be plated.

[0048] In some embodiments, see Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3, a plurality of target material conveying assemblies 400 are installed on the coating chamber 100, and the plurality of target material conveying assemblies 400 are arranged one by one corresponding to the plurality of furnaces. The target material conveying assembly 400 includes a reducer 410, a screw and a nut. The reducer 410 is connected to the screw in a transmission manner, and the nut is threadedly connected to the screw. The reducer 410 is used to drive the screw to rotate so as to drive the nut to move along the axial direction of the screw. The reducer 410 drives the screw to rotate, drives the nut to move, and pushes the target 210 to move, and the target 210 is transported to the furnace 200 for heating.

[0049] In some embodiments, see Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 The axial direction of the furnace 200 is perpendicular to the axial direction of the plasma generator 300. The axial directions of multiple furnaces 200 are located on the same vertical plane, and the axial directions of multiple plasma generators 300 are located in the same vertical plane. The coating width can be increased by changing the horizontal bottom-up coating to vertical coating, arranging multiple furnaces 200 at intervals in the vertical direction, and arranging multiple plasma generators 300 at intervals in the vertical direction.

[0050] In some embodiments, see Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 , three furnaces 200 are provided, and three plasma generators 300 are provided. The distance between two adjacent furnaces 200 ranges from 400mm to 600mm. The coating is changed from horizontal bottom-up coating to vertical coating, and multiple furnaces 200 are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction, and multiple plasma generators 300 are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction, which can increase the coating width, and the effective coating area is 1200×2400mm2.

[0051] In some embodiments, see Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 The RPD coating device further includes a vacuum pump 500, which is connected to the coating chamber 110 through a pipeline. Before coating, the vacuum pump 500 is used to extract the air in the coating chamber 110, so that the coating chamber 110 is in a vacuum state. After coating is completed, the vacuum pump 500 can also extract the reaction waste gas.

[0052] In some embodiments, see Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 The RPD coating equipment also includes a compensation plate, at least one of which is disposed at the open end of the coating chamber 110, and the compensation plate is protruded on the inner wall of the coating chamber 110, and a coating port is defined between the relative compensation plates or between the compensation plates and the inner wall of the relative coating chamber 100, and the substrate to be plated is exposed at the coating port.

[0053] The distance between the target and the center area of ​​the substrate to be plated is short, and the distance between the target and the edge of the substrate to be plated is long. Therefore, the deposited film thickness in the center area of ​​the substrate to be plated is thicker than that at the edge, which easily causes uneven film deposition thickness. A compensation plate is arranged so that the furnace 200 is directly opposite to the exposed area of ​​the substrate to be plated. As the substrate to be plated continues to move, the reaction gas particles and the target material particles can always be deposited on the area of ​​the substrate to be plated directly opposite to the furnace 200, thereby improving the uniformity of the film thickness.

[0054] In some embodiments, see Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 The inner wall of the coating chamber 100 is covered with a shield. The shield is detachably connected to the inner wall of the coating chamber 100. The shield is used to shield the inner wall of the coating chamber 100 to prevent the inner wall of the coating chamber 100 from being contaminated by gas deposition. The support body is installed on the shield. By disassembling and assembling the shield, the shield and the gas delivery mechanism can be replaced at the same time and put into use after sandblasting and cleaning, making the later maintenance of the RPD coating device more convenient.

[0055] In some embodiments, see Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 The RPD coating equipment also includes a support assembly 600, which includes a support frame, a support table and a plurality of support legs, wherein the plurality of support legs are installed at the bottom of the support frame, the support table is installed above the support frame, and the coating chamber 100 and the vacuum pump 500 are installed on the support table.

[0056] In some embodiments, see Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 The RPD coating equipment further includes a substrate transfer chamber 700, which is connected to one end of the coating chamber 100 away from the furnace 200, and is connected to the coating chamber 100 via a connecting flange 130. A substrate transfer chamber 710 is provided in the substrate transfer chamber 700, and the substrate transfer chamber 710 is connected to the coating chamber 110. A substrate transfer mechanism 720 is provided in the substrate transfer chamber 710, and the substrate transfer mechanism 720 is used to transport the substrate. The substrate transfer mechanism 720 includes a driving component and a carrier, and the driving component is installed in the substrate transfer chamber 710, and the carrier is connected to the driving component, and the driving component drives the carrier to move, and the carrier is used to place the substrate.

[0057] In some embodiments, see Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 A heating element is disposed in the substrate transfer chamber 710, and the heating element is used to heat the reaction gas to achieve the required process conditions.

[0058] In some embodiments, see Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 The substrate transfer chamber 700 is provided with a protective gas inlet connected to the substrate transfer chamber 710, and a plurality of protective gas inlets are provided. One end of the protective gas inlet is connected to a protective gas source, which may be a nitrogen source, and the other end is connected to the substrate transfer chamber 710. The protective gas is an inert gas that does not react with other gases and can be used to adjust the gas pressure in the substrate transfer chamber 710.

[0059] In some embodiments, see Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 The substrate transfer chamber 700 is provided with a gate valve, which is used to open or close the substrate transfer chamber 710. Opening the gate valve facilitates the input and output of the substrate in the substrate transfer chamber 710. Closing the gate valve facilitates the vacuum operation in the substrate transfer chamber 710.

[0060] The working principle of the RPD coating device in the embodiment of the present application:

[0061] The substrate to be plated is placed on the carrier plate and transported to the substrate transfer chamber 710. The gate valve is closed, vacuum is drawn, and the reaction gas is introduced. The plasma generator 300 dissociates the argon gas into argon ions to excite a large number of electrons. The target material serves as an anode, so that the electrons enter the coating chamber 110 under the action of the magnetic field and the electric field, and are deflected toward the target material to form a high-density electron beam. The electron beam is focused on the surface of the target material in the furnace 200 by the beam guide. After being heated, the target material directly sublimates into a gas phase. When the gas phase particles pass through the plasma zone, the target material molecules collide with the electrons, the molecular bonds are broken, and atoms are ionized, so that the gas phase particles are dissociated into ions and react with the reaction gas introduced into the coating chamber 110. After the reaction, they are deposited on the substrate to form a thin film.

[0062] In the description of this specification, the description with reference to the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "illustrative embodiments", "examples", "specific examples", or "some examples" 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 representation of the above terms does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described can be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner.

[0063] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes, modifications, substitutions and variations may be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention, and that the scope of the present invention is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A RPD coating device, characterized in that: include: A coating chamber, wherein a coating cavity is arranged in the coating chamber; A plurality of furnaces are installed on the coating chamber, one end of each of the furnaces extends into the coating cavity, and the furnaces are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction, and the furnaces are used to heat the target material; A plurality of plasma generators are installed on the coating chamber, the plurality of plasma generators are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction, the plurality of plasma generators are arranged in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of furnaces, and the plasma generators are used to emit plasma beams into the coating chamber.

2. The RPD coating device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The height of the coating chamber ranges from 1800mm to 2000mm.

3. The RPD coating device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The coating chamber is provided with a reaction gas inlet which is connected with the coating cavity.

4. The RPD coating device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The coating chamber is openly arranged on one side away from the multiple furnaces, and a connecting flange is arranged on the one side of the coating chamber away from the multiple furnaces.

5. The RPD coating device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A plurality of target material conveying assemblies are installed on the coating chamber, and the plurality of target material conveying assemblies are arranged one by one corresponding to the plurality of furnaces. The target material conveying assemblies include a reducer, a screw and a nut. The reducer is transmission-connected to the screw, and the nut is threadedly connected to the screw. The reducer is used to drive the screw to rotate so as to drive the nut to move along the axial direction of the screw.

6. The RPD coating device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The axial direction of the furnace is arranged perpendicular to the axial direction of the plasma generator.

7. The RPD coating device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The number of the furnaces is three, and the number of the plasma generators is three.

8. The RPD coating device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The distance between two adjacent furnaces ranges from 400 mm to 600 mm.

9. The RPD coating device according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a vacuum pump, which is connected to the coating chamber through a pipeline.

10. The RPD coating device according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a substrate transfer chamber, which is connected to the coating chamber at one end away from the furnace, a substrate transfer cavity is provided in the substrate transfer chamber, the substrate transfer cavity is connected to the coating cavity, a substrate transfer mechanism is provided in the substrate transfer cavity, and the substrate transfer mechanism is used to transport the substrate.

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