ALD vacuum coating equipment and solar cell

Abstract

The utility model relates to ALD vacuum coating equipment and a solar cell. The ALD vacuum coating equipment comprises a cavity, wherein a heating system is arranged in the cavity; the gas path system is used for providing gas required during vacuum coating; the spraying system is located on the left side of the interior of the cavity, connected with the gas path system and used for spraying gas provided by the gas path system; the flow uniformizing plates are located on the left side and the right side in the cavity and used for guaranteeing stability of airflow in the cavity; the vacuumizing system is located on the right side of the exterior of the cavity and used for vacuumizing the cavity, the arrangement position of the flow uniformizing plate corresponds to that of the spraying system, and the heating systems are located on the other four faces except the left side and the right side in the cavity. According to the ALD vacuum coating equipment disclosed by the utility model, the capacity is ultra-large, the technical problem of CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) reaction of the traditional ALD vacuum coating equipment is solved, the power generation efficiency is further improved, and the cost is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of solar cells, in particular to an ALD vacuum coating device with ultra-large production capacity and a solar cell sheet. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, solar cell technology has made significant progress, from polycrystalline, single crystal, and Perc to the current mainstream technologies such as Topcon, HJT, and BC. Subsequent technologies such as perovskite and stacking have been continuously updated and supported, and the efficiency has repeatedly set new world records. Excellent passivation quality creates new technologies. In passivation, ALD technology is an important part. Its good uniformity and film deposition quality are very popular among various technologies. There are two mainstream technologies of ALD vacuum coating equipment on the market: time-type and space-type. Time-type equipment has advantages such as small footprint and easy maintenance, but has low deposition rate, poor UV performance, and obvious shortcomings such as double plug-in wrapping plating. Space-type equipment has better UV performance and has advantages in efficiency and wrapping plating, but has disadvantages such as large footprint and high maintenance costs, and there are certain limitations on further capacity increases.

[0003] However, existing ALD vacuum coating equipment has the following defects: insufficient production capacity to meet production needs, and the reactants cannot be completely extracted during vacuuming, resulting in CVD reactions and adverse effects on ALD vacuum coating.

[0004] It can be seen that whether it is possible to provide an improved ALD vacuum coating equipment with ultra-large production capacity based on the shortcomings of the existing technology and further reduce the investment cost per watt has become a technical problem that needs to be solved urgently by those skilled in the art. Utility Model Content

[0005] The purpose of this utility model is to overcome the shortcomings of the existing technology and provide an improved ALD vacuum coating device and solar cell. The improved ALD vacuum coating device and solar cell provided by the utility model have a large production capacity, solve the technical problem of CVD reaction in traditional ALD vacuum coating equipment, further improve power generation efficiency, and reduce costs.

[0006] According to a first aspect of the present invention, an ALD vacuum coating device includes:

[0007] a cavity, which has a heating system inside;

[0008] Gas circuit system, used to provide the gas required for vacuum coating;

[0009] A spray system is located on the left side of the cavity and is connected to the gas system, and is used to spray the gas provided by the gas system;

[0010] Flow equalizers are located on the left and right sides of the cavity to ensure stable airflow in the cavity.

[0011] The vacuum system is located on the right side of the cavity and is used to vacuum the cavity.

[0012] The setting position of the flow plate corresponds to the spray system.

[0013] The heating system is located on the other four surfaces inside the cavity except the left and right sides.

[0014] Preferably, the vacuum system includes a vacuum device and a control device.

[0015] Preferably, the control device is a butterfly valve or a variable frequency pump.

[0016] Preferably, circular holes corresponding to the number of pipelines of the vacuum pumping device are provided at the connection between the vacuum pumping device and the cavity.

[0017] Preferably, the gas system includes three deposition gas pipelines and one inert gas pipeline.

[0018] Preferably, the spray system is a plurality of vertically distributed air slots, and a plurality of air holes are evenly arranged inside each air slot.

[0019] Preferably, the flow equalizer plate is a grid plate.

[0020] Preferably, a plasma radio frequency power supply is also included for ionizing the gas.

[0021] Preferably, in the left-right direction, a plurality of ALD vacuum coating devices are interconnected and integrated.

[0022] In a second aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides a solar cell, which is a solar cell obtained by coating with any of the above-mentioned ALD vacuum coating devices.

[0023] Beneficial effects of the utility model:

[0024] The improved ALD vacuum coating equipment and solar cell provided by the present invention have ultra-large production capacity, solve the technical problem of CVD reaction in traditional ALD vacuum coating equipment, further improve power generation efficiency and reduce costs. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the intake system.

[0026] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the sprinkler system.

[0027] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the flow plate.

[0028] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a material box.

[0029] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the cavity.

[0030] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the vacuum device.

[0031] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the control device.

[0032] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the ALD vacuum coating equipment of the present invention.

[0033] Figure 9 A schematic diagram of another material box.

[0034] Figure 10 A schematic diagram of another material box.

[0035] Figure 11 Schematic diagram of the flow plate. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] The following, combined with the accompanying drawings in the examples of this utility model, provides a further detailed, clear, and complete description of the technical solutions of the ALD vacuum coating equipment. Of course, the following examples are only some specific implementations of this utility model, not all implementation cases. The following exemplary embodiments are merely illustrative and do not represent the present utility model, its applications, or practical applications. Based on the description of this utility model, all other technical solutions obtained by persons of ordinary skill in the art without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of this utility model.

[0037] For ease of description, terms such as "on the left / right side", "on the side", "inside", "from left to right", etc. are used to describe the spatial positional relationship of a component, spare part, or other components or features as shown in the figures. It should be understood that spatially relative terms are intended to include different orientations of use and operation of the component in addition to the orientation described in the figures. For example, if the component in the figures is rotated 180°, the component that should be described as "on the left side" or "on the left side" will be positioned as "on the right side" or "on the right side". Therefore, the example term "on the left side" can include both "on the left side" and "on the right side". The component can also be positioned in other different ways (rotated 180°), and all spatially relative descriptions are interpreted accordingly.

[0038] like Figure 8As shown, the present invention discloses an ALD vacuum coating device, comprising: a cavity 1, an air path system 2, a spray system 3, a flow plate 4, and a vacuum system. When coating, a material box A is placed inside the cavity 1, and the battery cells to be coated are placed in the material box A. Preferably, as Figure 8 As shown, the vacuum system includes a vacuum device 5 and a control device 6 .

[0039] like Figure 5 As shown, the cavity 1 is preferably a square cavity. The left and right sides of the square cavity are used to install the spray system 3 and the vacuum system. The other four sides (i.e., the top, bottom, front, and back sides) are provided with a heating system for heating and maintaining the reaction temperature. The heating system includes heating components and a control system. The heating system on the four sides is preferably an integrated structure. The heating can be controlled in sections. A higher temperature can be set at the entrance and a lower temperature can be set at the tail, or vice versa. The heating system on the four sides can heat the cavity 1 to 220°C or higher, and can heat evenly from the outside to the inside. The heating components can be resistance wires or other suitable components. Preferably, considering that the battery cells placed in the cavity 1 are large in number, the heating in the middle is slow. Additional heating components can be added in the middle or side of the cavity 1 to ensure the uniformity of the overall temperature, but it is not limited to this. The battery cells inside the cavity 1 can also be heated in other ways.

[0040] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, gas flow is parallel from left to right. Gas system 2 and spray system 3 together provide reactants for the ALD reaction. Gas system 2 preferably includes: a first deposition gas line, a second deposition gas line, a third deposition gas line, and inert gas lines for purge and dilution. Gas system 2 also preferably includes a fluid replenishment and temperature control system. The gas lines are composed of an MFC, pneumatic valves, a temperature control source bottle, connecting pipes, etc., and may also include other control components such as a PC if necessary.

[0041] like Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown, the gas pipelines are spaced apart from each other and do not interfere with each other. In particular, an inert gas pipeline is placed between the first deposition gas pipeline and the second deposition gas pipeline / the third deposition gas pipeline to reduce the crosstalk between the gases and prevent the generation of CVD reactions. The gas outlet of the spray system 3 is an air slot method. The air slot is arranged vertically and parallel to the battery cell. Small air holes are evenly arranged inside the air slot. The diameter of the small air holes is 0.4mm to 0.8mm, and the number is 20 to 200. The depth of the air slot meets the depth requirements and is used for uniform mixing of the gas before exiting the air slot. The depth of the air slot is 1mm to 5mm, preferably 3mm. The spacing between the air slots is 10mm-45mm, preferably 10mm-20mm, and the number of air slots is 30-200, preferably 100. The gas slots are 2-4 rows or more, preferably 2 rows. The spray system 3 is connected to the gas path system 2 from both ends. The inert gas and the first deposition gas are connected from the middle. One gas path controls 2 rows. The second deposition gas / third deposition gas is connected from the four corners to control a single row of gas. The height of a single row is 25-30 cm, the total height is 55-65 cm or higher, and the length is 100 cm-300 cm, preferably 150 cm-200 cm.

[0042] like Figure 8 As shown, the flow plate 4 is located between the spray system 3 and the material box A. The spray system 3 is located on the left side of the flow plate 4 at a distance of 10-20 cm. The material box A is located on the right side of the flow plate 4 at a distance of 5-15 cm. The height / width of the flow plate 4 is equivalent to that of the spray system 3. It is a vertical grid plate that can be placed in 2 rows. The grid plate is made of aluminum alloy, with a thickness of 1 mm and a spacing of 1 mm.

[0043] like Figure 4 As shown, the material box A is used to load battery cells. The length of the material box A is 100cm-300cm or longer. Each material box A can load 120-960 battery cells or more, preferably 240 or 480 cells. The battery cells are inserted vertically, and the opening direction faces the spray system 3, so that there is no risk of stuck points at the front position. Figure 8 As shown, the material box A is arranged inside the cavity 1, and can be stacked up to 2-4 layers, preferably 2 layers, can be placed in 2-4 rows or more, can be placed in 3-10 columns or more, preferably 3-6 columns, and the total number of material boxes A placed is 8-40, preferably 12 or 24;

[0044] like Figure 8As shown, on the right side of the cavity 1, that is, the cavity outlet position, the flow plate 4 is installed inside the cavity 1, and the vacuum system 6 is located on the right side outside the cavity. The distance between the flow plate 4 and the material box A is 10-50 cm, preferably 20-30 cm. The cavity 1 on the right side of the flow plate 4 is a regularly arranged circular hole baffle, and the vacuum device 5 is connected behind the baffle. The vacuum device 5 is preferably a vacuum control with 4-16 pipes, more preferably 8 pipes, which are evenly arranged 1-20 cm behind the baffle. At the connection between the vacuum device and the cavity, that is, at the circular hole baffle, there is a circular hole corresponding to the number of pipes of the vacuum device. The 8 pipes are finally gathered into a main pipe, and the main pipe is connected to the control device 6. The control device 6 can be, for example, a butterfly valve, which can control the gas flow rate according to the process requirements to ensure repeated adsorption and reaction of the deposition gas. The control device 6 can also be a variable frequency pump to control the required pumping speed according to demand. For example, the vacuum can be quickly pumped down from atmosphere to vacuum, quickly pumped down under purge conditions, and slowly pumped down under flowing deposition gas. The flow rate can also be controlled by other methods, not limited to these.

[0045] like Figure 9 As shown, cartridge A is primarily used for deposition of large carriers. These are not suitable for vertical insertion and are placed flat. A groove is dug in the middle, but not hollowed out. The groove is 2-4mm larger than the carrier for automated material discharge. The depth of the groove depends on the thickness of the carrier, allowing the carrier to be -1mm to 1mm higher than the plane of cartridge A. Cartridges A can be stacked, with a spacing of 5mm-20mm or equal height between each layer, preferably 10mm. This allows for uniform and sufficient gas adsorption on the large carrier, completing the ALD deposition reaction.

[0046] like Figure 10 As shown, the material box A can be used for side ALD deposition, and multiple carriers (such as battery cells) are stacked together, with the number being 100-2000, preferably about 1000.

[0047] like Figure 11 As shown, the inert gas can be heated by a gas heating device to a temperature of 100-500°C. The gas passes through or is stored in the heating device and can be heated quickly to set the required temperature. During the heating process or when needed, the gas enters the cavity 1 through the spray system 3 to heat the reaction carrier to the required temperature.

[0048] Preferably, in the left and right directions, multiple ALD vacuum coating devices are interconnected and integrated, so that the production capacity can be further improved.

[0049] The utility model also includes a solar cell obtained by coating with the ALD vacuum coating equipment.

[0050] The following further describes the ALD vacuum coating equipment based on embodiments.

[0051] (Example 1)

[0052] The ALD vacuum coating equipment of Example 1 is as follows Figure 8 As shown, the chamber comprises: a chamber 1, a gas system 2, a spray system 3, a flow plate 4, and a vacuum system. The vacuum system includes a vacuum device 5 and a control device 6. During coating, a material box A is placed inside the chamber 1, and the solar cells to be coated are placed in the material box A. A plasma radio frequency power supply is also provided to ionize the gas.

[0053] Insert the cells into the box A one by one, densely inserting without causing cell fragments or scratches. Each box A contains 240 or 480 cells, and a total of 12 boxes are loaded. Stack and lay them flat (as shown in the figure). Figure 8 The distance between the material box A and the flow plate 4 is 15 cm.

[0054] The spray system 3 and the gas system 2 provide reactants for ALD deposition. The gas system 2 includes: a first deposition gas line, a second deposition gas line, a third deposition gas line, and an inert gas line for purging and dilution. The gas system 2 also includes a fluid replenishment system, a temperature control system, etc. The gas lines are composed of MFC, a pneumatic valve, a temperature-controlled source bottle, a connecting pipe, etc. The first deposit is H2O or O3, and the second deposit / the third deposit is TMA / DEZ. The first deposit and the second deposit / the third deposit flow into the source bottle through a centralized liquid supply method, and then use 6N N2 as a carrier. After N2 passes through the source bottle, the reactants are carried out according to the saturated vapor pressure and enter the spray system 3 at intervals. After coming out of the spray system 3, they are evenly mixed, and then mixed again through the uniform flow plate 4 and evenly flow to the battery cell, and then extracted from the tail. The source sequence is to pass through the first deposit first for pretreatment, and the pretreatment time is 1-5 minutes. Preferably, the reaction is carried out for 2 minutes, and then N2 is purged for 10-60 seconds, preferably 15-30 seconds, and the second sediment is reacted for 10-60 seconds, preferably 15-30 seconds, and then the first sediment is passed for 10-60 seconds, preferably 15-30 seconds, and the cycle is repeated until the desired thickness is reached. The reaction method is ALD, and the passivation film formed is Al2O3 or AZO with a thickness of 1-100 nm. Preferably, the thickness of Al2O3 is 4-8 nm, and the thickness of AZO is 20-40 nm.

[0055] The ALD vacuum coating equipment of Example 1 is used to complete single-cell production. After double-sided ALD coating, a conventional 40-minute process is installed, and a 4-tube layout is adopted. After testing, the hourly production capacity is 34,560 pcs / H, which is much higher than the current mainstream single-cell product of 13,200 pcs / H. It can match different cell sizes, including mainstream 183.75*183.75, 182*210, 210*210, and other sizes.

[0056] (Example 2)

[0057] The equipment in Example 2 is similar to that in Example 1, except that a different material box is used. Figure 9 As shown, the material box in Example 2 is a graphite carrier plate used to carry glass. The loading material boxes are stacked together layer by layer in a shape similar to a drawer. The graphite plate is solid and has grooves. The glass is placed in the grooves to prevent it from being plated on the other side. The number of stacked layers is 30-100 layers, preferably 50-60 layers. The reaction temperature at this time is 50-200°C, preferably 90-110°C. Because graphite plates are used between the layers, the middle glass heats up relatively slowly and the temperature is relatively low, so it needs extra heating. N2 needs to be heated in the gas system as follows. Figure 11 In the heat treatment shown, the glass and graphite frame are heated by N2 to reach the target temperature.

[0058] Use a robot to place the glass onto the first graphite carrier, precisely positioning it within the carrier's grooves. Place the second graphite carrier on top of the first, leaving a gap of 3-20 mm (preferably 10 mm) between the glass and the second carrier to facilitate gas flow. Repeat this process for 30-100 layers, preferably 50-60 layers, with the carriers 15 cm from the flow plate.

[0059] Spray system 3 and gas system 2 provide reactants for ALD deposition. Gas system 2 includes a first deposition gas line, a second deposition gas line, and inert gas lines for purge and dilution. Gas system 2 also includes fluid replenishment and temperature control systems. The gas lines consist of an MFC, pneumatic valves, a temperature-controlled source bottle, and connecting pipes. The first sediment is H2O or O3, and the second sediment is TDMA. The first sediment and the second sediment flow into the source bottle through a centralized liquid supply method, and then 6N N2 is used as a carrier. After N2 passes through the source bottle, the reactants are carried out according to the saturated vapor pressure, and enter the spray system 3 at intervals. After coming out of the spray system 3, they are evenly mixed, and then mixed again through the flow plate 4 and evenly flowed to the battery cell, and extracted from the tail. The source sequence is to pre-treat the first sediment first, and the pretreatment time is 1-5min, preferably 2min, and then pass N2 for purging, the time is 10-60s, preferably 15-30s, and the second sediment is reacted for 10-60s, preferably 15-30s, and then the first sediment is passed for 10-60s, preferably 15-30s, and the cycle is repeated until the required thickness is reached. The reaction method is ALD, and the passivation film formed is SnO2 with a thickness of 1-100nm. Preferably, the thickness of SnO2 is 15-25nm;

[0060] The ALD vacuum coating equipment of Example 2 is used to deposit SnO2 on glass. It is mainly used in the perovskite or gas industry. It can coat SnO2 on one or both sides and can match different glass sizes. It can also be placed vertically as needed. The cavity is changed from horizontal to vertical, the sides can be used for loading and unloading materials, and the top and bottom can be used for air inlet and outlet, etc. Different layout methods are used to increase production capacity.

[0061] (Example 3)

[0062] The equipment in Example 3 is similar to that in Example 1, except that: Figure 10 As shown, the left and right sides are open, one side uses two strip-shaped pillars as a reference surface, which serves as a reference surface for the battery cells, three sides are fixed surfaces, and one side is used to press the battery cells with a board of the same material. Springs, snaps, and other methods can be used to press the battery cells to prevent loose pressing and obvious wrap-around plating. The loading capacity of a single box is preferably 800-1200 pieces stacked together, which are automatically stacked together, and the cutting surfaces need to be uniformly aligned and placed on the two open sides. The box is arranged on a tray, which is machined with grooves or other limiting devices for fixing the box. The two open sides of the box are parallel to the airflow direction. 20-600 boxes can be placed in the cavity, preferably 120 boxes are stacked. A single cavity is converted into 40,000 battery cells. The deposition thickness of the battery cell is 10-100nm, preferably 45-65nm.

[0063] Spray system 3 and gas system 2 provide reactants for ALD deposition. Gas system 2 includes a first deposition gas line, a second deposition gas line, and inert gas lines for purge and dilution. Gas system 2 also includes fluid replenishment and temperature control systems. The gas lines consist of an MFC, pneumatic valves, a temperature-controlled source bottle, and connecting pipes. The first sediment is H2O or O3, and the second sediment is TDMA. The first sediment and the second sediment flow into the source bottle through a centralized liquid supply method, and then 6N N2 is used as a carrier. After N2 passes through the source bottle, the reactants are carried out according to the saturated vapor pressure and enter the spray system 3 at intervals. After coming out of the spray system 3, they are evenly mixed, and then mixed again through the uniform flow plate 4 and flow evenly to the battery cell, and are extracted from the tail. The source sequence is to first pass through the first sediment for pretreatment, and the pretreatment time is 1-5min, preferably 2min, and then pass N2 for purging, the time is 10-60s, preferably 15-30s, and the second sediment is passed for reaction, the time is 10-60s, preferably 15-30s, and then the first sediment is passed for 10-60s, preferably 15-30s, and the cycle is repeated until the required thickness is reached. The reaction method is ALD, and the passivation film formed is Al2O3 with a thickness of 1-100nm, preferably 45-65nm.

[0064] After the ALD vacuum coating equipment of Example 3 is used to complete the multi-slicing of the cell, the cut surface needs to be passivated. Figure 10 , it can realize the simultaneous deposition of double-sided aluminum oxide, and is superior to the material box setting. The winding plating is controlled within 3mm, which does not affect the string welding points. It can adapt to mainstream 183.75*183.75, 182*210, 210*210 and other sizes.

[0065] As shown in Examples 1 to 3, according to the ALD vacuum coating equipment of the present invention, the double-sided production capacity can easily exceed 34,560 pcs / h (process time 40 minutes), or can reach 69,120 pcs / h, or even higher, which is 161.8% or even higher than the current mainstream single-plug double-sided production capacity. In addition, a new spray system and front and rear double flow plate settings and vacuum pumping system are adopted to ensure uniform distribution of airflow at various positions in the cavity. An ultra-wide and low-depth design is also adopted to effectively reduce the self-decomposition and attenuation problems of the reaction source in the cavity, ensuring better tail uniformity and efficiency.

[0066] The ALD vacuum coating equipment of this utility model has a large production capacity, which doubles the ALD production capacity and further reduces manufacturing costs. The machine can be customized according to different requirements such as the size, dimension, type, and deposited film layer of the product. In addition, different metal oxide films can be deposited at the same time, including but not limited to nickel oxide, silicon oxide, tungsten oxide, hafnium oxide, zirconium oxide, other nitrides, polysilicon, etc. can all be tried out. It can be used not only in the solar energy field, but also in semiconductors.

[0067] The technical features of the above-mentioned embodiments can be combined arbitrarily. In order to make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-mentioned embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0068] The above-described embodiments merely represent several implementations of the present invention. While the descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the utility model patent. It should be noted that a person skilled in the art would be able to make various modifications and improvements without departing from the concept of the present invention, and these modifications and improvements fall within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present utility model patent shall be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An ALD vacuum coating device, characterized in that: include: a cavity, which has a heating system inside; Gas circuit system, used to provide the gas required for vacuum coating; A spray system is located on the left side of the cavity and is connected to the gas system, and is used to spray the gas provided by the gas system; Flow equalizers are located on the left and right sides of the cavity to ensure stable airflow in the cavity. The vacuum system is located on the right side of the cavity and is used to vacuum the cavity. The setting position of the flow plate corresponds to the spray system. The heating system is located on the other four sides of the cavity except the left and right sides.

2. The ALD vacuum coating equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The vacuum pumping system includes a vacuum pumping device and a control device.

3. The ALD vacuum coating equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that: The control device is a butterfly valve or a variable frequency pump.

4. The ALD vacuum coating equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that: The connection between the vacuum pumping device and the cavity is provided with circular holes corresponding to the number of pipelines of the vacuum pumping device.

5. The ALD vacuum coating equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The gas system includes three deposition gas pipelines and one inert gas pipeline.

6. The ALD vacuum coating equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The spray system consists of a plurality of vertically distributed air slots, and a plurality of air holes are evenly arranged inside each air slot.

7. The ALD vacuum coating equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The flow equalizer is a grid plate.

8. The ALD vacuum coating equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also included is a plasma RF power supply for ionizing the gas.

9. The ALD vacuum coating equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the left and right directions, multiple ALD vacuum coating devices are connected to each other and integrated.

10. A solar cell, characterized in that: A solar cell obtained by coating with the ALD vacuum coating equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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