Tubular furnace

Abstract

The utility model provides a tubular furnace. The tubular furnace comprises a heat preservation system, a heating body, a direct current control unit, a radio frequency generator and a quartz furnace tube, the heating body is mounted in the quartz furnace tube, and the direct-current control unit controls the heating power of the heating body; the thermal insulation system is arranged outside the quartz furnace tube and used for preventing heat loss. According to the tubular furnace provided by the embodiment of the utility model, the silicon wafer is directly heated by the heating body arranged in the quartz furnace tube, and energy directly acts on the silicon wafer, so that a large amount of energy is prevented from escaping to the outer side of the furnace tube, the heating efficiency is improved, the process heating time is further shortened, and the productivity of equipment is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of photovoltaic and semiconductor technology, and more specifically, to a tube furnace. Background Technology

[0002] PECVD, or Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition, is an advanced thin-film deposition technology widely used in semiconductors, optoelectronics, and energy materials. A PECVD machine is a specialized piece of equipment used to perform the PECVD process, typically consisting of five parts: a reaction chamber, a gas supply system, an RF (Radio Frequency) power supply, a heating system, and an exhaust system. During PECVD, a gas mixture enters the reaction chamber through the supply system, and then the electric field generated by the RF power supply excites a glow discharge, generating plasma and forming an active material within the chamber. This active material interacts with the material surface, leading to a chemical reaction that simultaneously deposits a solid thin film onto the target material surface.

[0003] Currently, the heating system of tubular PECVD equipment for photovoltaic applications is used to heat the deposition target material (such as substrates, wafers, etc.) to control the temperature during the deposition process. Heating resistance wires are wrapped around the outside of the quartz furnace tube, primarily transferring energy to the target material (silicon wafer) through thermal radiation and conduction. Energy must pass through the quartz furnace tube and the silicon wafer carrier to reach the wafer, resulting in a significant amount of energy dissipating to the outside of the furnace tube, thus leading to low heating efficiency. This results in a long heating time, approximately one-third of the coating process time, impacting equipment throughput. Utility Model Content

[0004] To address the aforementioned problems, the purpose of this utility model embodiment is to provide a tubular furnace.

[0005] This utility model provides a tube furnace, including: a heat preservation system, a heating element, a DC control unit, a radio frequency generator, and a quartz furnace tube; the heating element is installed inside the quartz furnace tube, and the DC control unit controls the heating power of the heating element; the heat preservation system is disposed on the outside of the quartz furnace tube to prevent heat loss.

[0006] Optionally, the heating element is made of graphite or carbon-based resistance heating material.

[0007] Optionally, the heating element includes: supports at both ends and a heating body in the middle.

[0008] Optionally, the support body is provided with electrode holes for connecting the electrode posts of the DC control cabinet.

[0009] Optionally, the heating element is shaped as a perforated annular tube with a preset length.

[0010] Optionally, the support body is made of a high-temperature resistant insulating material.

[0011] Optionally, the heating element is fixedly installed to the quartz furnace tube via a fixing hook.

[0012] Optionally, the insulation system uses ceramic felt filling material.

[0013] In the above-described embodiment of this utility model, the target material (silicon wafer) is heated directly by a heating element disposed inside the quartz furnace tube. Energy does not need to pass through the quartz furnace tube and the silicon wafer carrier to reach the silicon wafer; instead, it acts directly on the silicon wafer. This avoids a large amount of energy escaping to the outside of the furnace tube, improving heating efficiency, thereby shortening the process heating time and increasing equipment capacity. Furthermore, in this embodiment of the utility model, a DC control unit is used to control the heating power of the heating element, making the heating power easy to control, heating more direct, and temperature control more precise, thus achieving the purpose of saving heating time and improving temperature control accuracy.

[0014] To make the above-mentioned objectives, features and advantages of this utility model more apparent and understandable, preferred embodiments are described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0015] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this utility model or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this utility model. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0016] Figure 1 This invention provides a schematic diagram illustrating the structure and working principle of a tubular furnace according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the heating element in the tubular furnace provided in this embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0018] icon:

[0019] 1-Insulation system, 2-Heating element, 3-DC control unit, 4-RF generator, 5-Quartz furnace tube, 21-Support body, 22-Heating body, 211-Electrode hole. Detailed Implementation

[0020] In the description of this utility model, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", etc., indicating the orientation or positional relationship are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing this utility model and simplifying the description, and are not intended to indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of this utility model.

[0021] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this utility model, "a plurality of" means two or more, unless otherwise explicitly specified.

[0022] In this utility model, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," "linking," and "fixing," etc., should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this utility model according to the specific circumstances.

[0023] This utility model embodiment provides a tubular furnace, such as Figure 1 As shown, the tube furnace includes: a heat preservation system 1, a heating element 2, a DC control unit 3, a radio frequency generator 4, and a quartz furnace tube 5. The radio frequency generator 4 is a power supply device specifically designed to generate high-frequency AC power; in this embodiment, the radio frequency generator 4 is used to generate an electric field.

[0024] Furthermore, this embodiment of the invention improves upon the existing heating system of a tube furnace by replacing the heating resistance wire (i.e., the heating device) originally installed around the outside of the quartz furnace tube with a heat preservation system 1 installed on the outside of the quartz furnace tube 5 to prevent heat loss. The heating element 2 (i.e., the heating device) is directly installed inside the quartz furnace tube 5. In other words, the target material (silicon wafer) is heated directly by the heating element 2 installed inside the quartz furnace tube 5. Energy does not need to pass through the quartz furnace tube and the silicon wafer carrier to reach the silicon wafer; instead, it acts directly on the silicon wafer, avoiding a large amount of energy loss to the outside of the furnace tube, improving heating efficiency, and thus shortening the process heating time and increasing equipment capacity. In addition, in this embodiment of the invention, the DC control unit 3 is used to control the heating power of the heating element 2, making the heating power easier to control, heating more direct, and temperature control more precise, thereby saving heating time and improving temperature control accuracy.

[0025] Optionally, the heating element 2 is made of graphite or carbon-based resistance heating material.

[0026] Optionally, such as Figure 2 As shown, heating element 2 ( Figure 2 (The reference numerals are not directly shown in the accompanying drawings.) The heating element 2 includes: supports 21 at both ends and a heating body 22 in the middle. It can be understood that the heating element 2 is composed of the supports 21 at both ends and the heating body 22 in the middle. Optionally, the supports 21 are provided with electrode holes 211, such as one end of the heating element 2 having an electrode hole 211, for convenient connection to the electrode posts of the DC control cabinet. Optionally, as... Figure 1 As shown, the heating element 2 is a circular hollow tube with a certain preset length. By processing the heating element 2 into a special hollow shape, it is convenient to adjust the resistance and maintain a uniform heating effect.

[0027] Optionally, the support 21 is made of a high-temperature resistant insulating material, such as quartz.

[0028] Optionally, the heating element 2 is fixedly installed to the quartz furnace tube 5 by means of a fixed hook. For example, it can be fixed inside the quartz furnace tube 5 by means of a support 21, which also positions the heating element 2 to ensure that the heating part is accurately positioned inside the furnace tube.

[0029] Optionally, the insulation system 1 uses ceramic soft felt filling material. That is to say, the furnace tube in this embodiment abandons the refractory bricks commonly used in the prior art and uses ceramic soft felt filling material as the insulation system 1 on the outside of the tube, which can further simplify the structure and reduce the cost, and has a very low heat capacity while preventing heat loss, which facilitates heat dissipation and cooling after the process.

[0030] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this utility model, but the protection scope of this utility model is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this utility model should be included within the protection scope of this utility model. Therefore, the protection scope of this utility model should be determined by the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A tubular furnace, characterized in that, include: The heat preservation system (1), heating element (2), DC control unit (3), radio frequency generator (4) and quartz furnace tube (5); The heating element (2) is installed inside the quartz furnace tube (5), and the DC control unit (3) controls the heating power of the heating element (2); The heat preservation system (1) is located on the outside of the quartz furnace tube (5) to prevent heat loss.

2. The tubular furnace according to claim 1, characterized in that, The heating element (2) is made of graphite or carbon-based resistance heating material.

3. The tubular furnace according to claim 1, characterized in that, The heating element (2) is a circular hollow tube with a preset length.

4. The tubular furnace according to claim 1, characterized in that, The heating element (2) includes: a support (21) at both ends and a heating body (22) in the middle.

5. The tubular furnace according to claim 4, characterized in that, The support (21) is provided with electrode holes (211) for connecting the electrode posts of the DC control cabinet.

6. The tubular furnace according to claim 4, characterized in that, The material of the support (21) is a high-temperature resistant insulating material.

7. The tubular furnace according to claim 1, characterized in that, The heating element (2) is fixedly installed to the quartz furnace tube (5) by a fixed hook.

8. The tubular furnace according to claim 1, characterized in that, The insulation system (1) uses ceramic soft felt filling material.

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