Solar cell horizontal electroplating device and solar cell preparation system

Abstract

The utility model relates to a solar cell horizontal electroplating device and a solar cell preparation system. The solar cell horizontal electroplating device comprises a first bearing structure, a second bearing structure and a conveying mechanism. The first bearing structure and the second bearing structure are located on the two sides of the battery piece in the moving direction respectively so as to bear the battery piece, the first bearing structure comprises a first upper surface and a first inclined face, and the second bearing structure comprises a second upper surface and a second inclined face. The first bearing structure and the second bearing structure are fixedly connected with the conveying mechanism. The conveying mechanism is used for carrying out transmission when the battery piece is electroplated so as to drive the battery piece to move in the moving direction; the included angle between the first inclined plane and the moving direction is a first included angle, the included angle between the second inclined plane and the moving direction is a second included angle, and the first included angle and the second included angle are respectively acute angles. According to the device provided by the invention, the height of the grid line can be kept good uniformity, so that the grid is prevented from being broken, and the electroplating efficiency and reliability are improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of solar cell technology, and in particular to a solar cell horizontal electroplating apparatus and a solar cell fabrication system. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, HJT (Heterojunction with Intrinsic Thin-layer) solar cells employ various techniques. One involves coating and then printing silver paste, followed by curing to form silver grid lines on the surface of an ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) conductive film. Another technique utilizes copper interconnect technology. This involves PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) sputtering to deposit a copper seed layer onto the ITO conductive film to form a conductive layer. Pattern transfer is then performed on this conductive layer, followed by electroplating to create the grid lines. This copper interconnect technology represents an integration of HJT cell fabrication and metal plating. In this approach, the copper electrode grid lines are created through pattern transfer, electroplating, and film removal on a photosensitive adhesive. However, during the horizontal electroplating process, severe edge effects can occur, leading to nodules and plating defects at the cell edges. This results in insufficient grid line height uniformity, an imbalance in the aspect ratio at the edges, and ultimately, grid breakage due to "de-crystalization," significantly impacting the efficiency and reliability of the copper interconnect plating process. Utility Model Content

[0003] Based on this, this application provides a solar cell horizontal electroplating apparatus and a solar cell fabrication system to solve the problem of grid breakage caused by insufficient grid line height uniformity in the prior art.

[0004] In a first aspect, this application provides a horizontal electroplating apparatus for solar cells, including a first receiving structure, a second receiving structure, and a conveying mechanism.

[0005] The first and second receiving structures are located on opposite sides of the battery cell in the moving direction to support the battery cell. The first receiving structure includes a first upper surface in contact with the battery cell and a first inclined surface opposite to the first upper surface in the thickness direction of the battery cell. The second receiving structure includes a second upper surface in contact with the battery cell and a second inclined surface opposite to the second upper surface in the thickness direction of the battery cell. The first and second receiving structures are fixedly connected to the conveying mechanism. The conveying mechanism is used to drive the battery cell during electroplating to move the battery cell along the moving direction. The angle between the first inclined surface and the moving direction is a first angle, and the angle between the second inclined surface and the moving direction is a second angle. The first angle and the second angle are both acute angles.

[0006] Optionally, the first upper surface includes a first horizontal plane, the second upper surface includes a second horizontal plane, and the battery cell is placed on the first horizontal plane and the second horizontal plane.

[0007] Optionally, the first upper surface is a first stepped surface, which includes a third horizontal surface, a first vertical surface, and the first horizontal surface connected in sequence, wherein the first horizontal surface is lower than the third horizontal surface; the second upper surface is a second stepped surface, which includes a second horizontal surface, a second vertical surface, and a fourth horizontal surface connected in sequence, wherein the second horizontal surface is lower than the fourth horizontal surface; the first vertical surface and the second vertical surface respectively abut against the two sides of the battery cell in the moving direction.

[0008] Optionally, the first horizontal surface is formed with a plurality of first grooves extending along the second direction, and a first boss is formed between two adjacent first grooves; the second horizontal surface is formed with a plurality of second grooves extending along the second direction, and a second boss is formed between two adjacent second grooves.

[0009] Optionally, the first inclined surface and the second inclined surface are parallel.

[0010] Optionally, the solar cell horizontal electroplating device further includes a first fixture and a second fixture, one end of the first fixture being connected to the first receiving structure and the other end of the first fixture being connected to the conveying mechanism, one end of the second fixture being connected to the second receiving structure and the other end of the second fixture being connected to the conveying mechanism.

[0011] Optionally, the conveying mechanism includes a transmission chain.

[0012] Optionally, the solar cell horizontal electroplating device further includes conductive grippers and conductive tape, with one end of the conductive tape connected to the conductive grippers and the other end of the conductive tape connected to the solar cell.

[0013] Optionally, the conductive tape may comprise a plurality of tapes.

[0014] Secondly, this application provides a solar cell fabrication system, including a solar cell horizontal electroplating apparatus as described in any of the above technical solutions.

[0015] The solar cell horizontal electroplating apparatus and solar cell manufacturing system provided in this application include a first receiving structure, a second receiving structure, and a conveying mechanism. The first receiving structure and the second receiving structure are respectively located on both sides of the solar cell in the moving direction to support the solar cell. The first receiving structure includes a first upper surface that contacts the solar cell and a first inclined surface that is opposite to the first upper surface in the thickness direction of the solar cell. The second receiving structure includes a second upper surface that contacts the solar cell and a second inclined surface that is opposite to the second upper surface in the thickness direction of the solar cell. The first receiving structure and the second receiving structure are respectively connected to the conveying mechanism. The mechanism is fixedly connected; the conveying mechanism is used to drive the battery cells during electroplating, so as to drive the battery cells to move along the moving direction; the angle between the first inclined surface and the moving direction is the first angle, and the angle between the second inclined surface and the moving direction is the second angle, the first angle and the second angle are both acute angles; through the above technical solution, the conveying mechanism drives the battery cells during electroplating, so as to drive the battery cells to move along the moving direction, disturbing the electroplating solution, so as to affect the exchange of the electroplating solution, thereby affecting the rate of copper ion deposition, which can maintain the grid line height better uniformity, thereby avoiding grid breakage and improving the efficiency and reliability of electroplating. Attached Figure Description

[0016] Figure 1 A first structural schematic diagram of the horizontal electroplating apparatus for solar cells provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0017] Figure 2 A second structural schematic diagram of the solar cell horizontal electroplating apparatus provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0018] Figure 3 A first schematic diagram of the first and second receiving structures provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0019] Figure 4 A second schematic diagram of the first and second receiving structures provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0020] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the electroplating solution exchange process provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0021] The meanings of the labels in the attached diagram are as follows:

[0022] 10-First receiving structure; 11-First upper surface; 12-First inclined surface; 13-First horizontal surface; 14-Third horizontal surface; 15-First vertical surface; 16-First groove; 17-First boss; 20-Second receiving structure; 21-Second upper surface; 22-Second inclined surface; 23-Second horizontal surface; 24-Second vertical surface; 25-Fourth horizontal surface; 26-Second groove; 27-Second boss; 30-Transfer mechanism; 40-Battery piece; 50-First fixture; 60-Second fixture; 70-Conductive gripper; 80-Conductive tape; 90-Electroplating solution. Detailed Implementation

[0023] To facilitate understanding of this application, a more complete description will be provided below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Preferred embodiments of this application are shown in the drawings. However, this application can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided to provide a thorough and complete understanding of the disclosure of this application.

[0024] It should be noted that when a component is said to be "fixed to" another component, it can be directly attached to the other component or there may be an intervening component. When a component is said to be "connected to" another component, it can be directly connected to the other component or there may be an intervening component.

[0025] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the application.

[0026] like Figures 1 to 4 As shown, this is a horizontal electroplating apparatus for solar cells according to this application. In each figure, arrows indicate directions. The first direction is the length or width direction of the solar cell, the second direction is the width or length direction of the solar cell, and the height direction is the thickness direction of the solar cell. The first direction, the second direction, and the height direction are perpendicular to each other, and the movement direction is parallel to the first direction.

[0027] Figure 1 This is a first structural schematic diagram of a horizontal electroplating apparatus for solar cells according to an embodiment of this application. It should be noted that, if substantially the same result is achieved, the horizontal electroplating apparatus for solar cells in this application does not necessarily involve... Figure 1 The structures shown are limited. For example... Figure 1 As shown, the horizontal electroplating device for solar cells includes a first receiving structure 10, a second receiving structure 20, and a conveying mechanism 30.

[0028] The first receiving structure 10 and the second receiving structure 20 are respectively located on both sides of the battery cell 40 in the moving direction to support the battery cell 40. The first receiving structure 10 includes a first upper surface 11 that contacts the battery cell 40 and a first inclined surface 12 that is opposite to the first upper surface 11 in the thickness direction of the battery cell 40. The second receiving structure 20 includes a second upper surface 21 that contacts the battery cell 40 and a second inclined surface 22 that is opposite to the second upper surface 21 in the thickness direction of the battery cell 40. The first receiving structure 10 and the second receiving structure 20 are respectively fixedly connected to the conveying mechanism 30. The conveying mechanism 30 is used to drive the battery cell 40 during electroplating to move the battery cell 40 along the moving direction. The angle between the first inclined surface 12 and the moving direction is a first angle, and the angle between the second inclined surface 22 and the moving direction is a second angle. The first angle and the second angle are both acute angles.

[0029] The solar cell horizontal electroplating apparatus and solar cell manufacturing system provided in this application include a first receiving structure 10, a second receiving structure 20, and a conveying mechanism 30. The first receiving structure 10 and the second receiving structure 20 are respectively located on both sides of the solar cell 40 in the moving direction to support the solar cell 40. The first receiving structure 10 includes a first upper surface 11 that contacts the solar cell 40 and a first inclined surface 12 that is opposite to the first upper surface 11 in the thickness direction of the solar cell 40. The second receiving structure 20 includes a second upper surface 21 that contacts the solar cell 40 and a second inclined surface 22 that is opposite to the second upper surface 21 in the thickness direction of the solar cell 40. The first receiving structure 10 and the second receiving structure 20 are respectively fixedly connected to the conveying mechanism 30. The conveying mechanism 30 is used for transmission during the electroplating of the battery cell 40, so as to drive the battery cell 40 to move along the moving direction; the angle between the first inclined surface 12 and the moving direction is the first angle, and the angle between the second inclined surface 22 and the moving direction is the second angle, and the first angle and the second angle are both acute angles; through the above technical solution, the conveying mechanism 30 is used for transmission during the electroplating of the battery cell 40, so as to drive the battery cell 40 to move along the moving direction, disturbing the electroplating solution 90, so as to affect the exchange of the electroplating solution 90, thereby affecting the rate of copper ion deposition, so that the edge effect area of ​​the battery cell 40 forms a grid line with the same height as the non-edge effect area, so that the grid line height maintains a good uniformity, eliminating edge plating caused by edge effect, thereby avoiding grid breakage, and improving the efficiency and reliability of electroplating.

[0030] In some embodiments, the first upper surface 11 includes a first horizontal plane 13, the second upper surface 21 includes a second horizontal plane 23, and the battery cell 40 is placed on the first horizontal plane 13 and the second horizontal plane 23.

[0031] In one specific embodiment, Figure 1 This is a front view of a horizontal solar cell electroplating apparatus. The solar cell 40 is placed on a first horizontal plane 13 and a second horizontal plane 23. The conveying mechanism 30 drives the solar cell 40 during electroplating, causing the first receiving structure 10 and the second receiving structure 20 to move in the moving direction, thereby moving the solar cell 40 along the moving direction. A second structural schematic diagram of the horizontal solar cell electroplating apparatus is also shown. Figure 2 This can be a side view of a horizontal electroplating device for solar cells.

[0032] In this embodiment of the application, placing the battery cell 40 on the first horizontal plane 13 of the first upper surface 11 and the second horizontal plane 23 of the second horizontal plane 23 makes it easier for the conveying mechanism 30 to drive the battery cell 40 to move along the moving direction.

[0033] In some embodiments, the first upper surface 11 is a first stepped surface, which includes a third horizontal surface 14, a first vertical surface 15, and a first horizontal surface 13 connected in sequence, wherein the first horizontal surface 13 is lower than the third horizontal surface 14; the second upper surface 21 is a second stepped surface, which includes a second horizontal surface 23, a second vertical surface 24, and a fourth horizontal surface 25 connected in sequence, wherein the second horizontal surface 23 is lower than the fourth horizontal surface 25; the first vertical surface 15 and the second vertical surface 24 respectively abut against two sides of the battery cell 40 in a first direction.

[0034] In one specific embodiment, a first schematic diagram of the first receiving structure 10 and the second receiving structure 20 is shown below. Figure 3 As shown, the first step surface includes a third horizontal surface 14, a first vertical surface 15 and a first horizontal surface 13 connected in sequence, the first horizontal surface 13 being lower than the third horizontal surface 14; the second upper surface 21 is the second step surface, the second step surface includes a second horizontal surface 23, a second vertical surface 24 and a fourth horizontal surface 25 connected in sequence, the second horizontal surface 23 being lower than the fourth horizontal surface 25.

[0035] In this embodiment, the first vertical surface 15 and the second vertical surface 24 abut against the two sides of the battery cell 40 in the first direction, respectively; the battery cell 40 is placed on the first horizontal surface 13 and the second horizontal surface 23, and the first vertical surface 15 and the second vertical surface 24 abut against the two sides of the battery cell 40 in the first direction, respectively, so as to ensure that when the conveying mechanism 30 drives the first receiving structure 10 and the second receiving structure 20 to move along the moving direction, the battery cell 40 does not move relative to the first receiving structure 10 and the second receiving structure 20.

[0036] In some embodiments, the first horizontal surface 13 is formed with a plurality of first grooves 16 extending along the second direction, and a first boss 17 is formed between two adjacent first grooves 16; the second horizontal surface 23 is formed with a plurality of second grooves 26 extending along the second direction, and a second boss 27 is formed between two adjacent second grooves 26.

[0037] In one specific embodiment, a second schematic diagram of the first receiving structure 10 and the second receiving structure 20 is shown as follows: Figure 4 As shown, the first horizontal surface 13 has a plurality of first grooves 16 extending along the second direction, and a first boss 17 is formed between two adjacent first grooves 16; the second horizontal surface 23 has a plurality of second grooves 26 extending along the second direction, and a second boss 27 is formed between two adjacent second grooves 26.

[0038] In this embodiment, a plurality of first grooves 16 extending in a second direction are formed on the first horizontal surface 13, and a plurality of second grooves 26 extending in a second direction are formed on the second horizontal surface 23. This allows the electroplating solution 90 to contact the battery cell 40 through the gaps formed by the first grooves 16, the second grooves 26 and the battery cell 40, thereby reducing the contact area between the battery cell 40 and the first horizontal surface 13 and the second horizontal surface 23, and increasing the contact area between the battery cell 40 and the electroplating solution 90, thus improving the electroplating efficiency.

[0039] In some embodiments, the first inclined surface 12 and the second inclined surface 22 are parallel.

[0040] In this embodiment, the first inclined surface 12 and the second inclined surface 22 are made parallel, so that the exchange of electroplating solution 90 is more complete and the rate of copper ion deposition is increased.

[0041] In some embodiments, the solar cell horizontal electroplating apparatus further includes a first fixture 50 and a second fixture 60, one end of the first fixture 50 being connected to the first receiving structure 10 and the other end of the first fixture 50 being connected to the conveying mechanism 30, one end of the second fixture 60 being connected to the second receiving structure 20 and the other end of the second fixture 60 being connected to the conveying mechanism 30.

[0042] In this embodiment of the application, one end of the first fixing device 50 is connected to the first receiving structure 10, and the other end of the first fixing device 50 is connected to the conveying mechanism 30. One end of the second fixing device 60 is connected to the second receiving structure 20, and the other end of the second fixing device 60 is connected to the conveying mechanism 30, so as to fix the first receiving structure 10 and the second receiving structure 20 to the conveying mechanism 30 respectively.

[0043] In some embodiments, the conveying mechanism 30 includes a drive chain.

[0044] In this embodiment, the transmission mechanism 30 includes a transmission chain, which is fixedly connected to the first receiving structure 10 and the second receiving structure 20, so as to drive the battery cell 40 to move in the moving direction.

[0045] In some embodiments, the solar cell horizontal electroplating apparatus further includes conductive grippers 70 and conductive tape 80, one end of the conductive tape 80 being connected to the conductive grippers 70 and the other end of the conductive tape 80 being connected to the solar cell 40.

[0046] In this embodiment, one end of the conductive tape 80 is connected to the conductive gripper 70, and the other end of the conductive tape 80 is connected to the battery cell 40 to achieve electroplating.

[0047] In some embodiments, the conductive tape 80 comprises multiple tapes.

[0048] In one specific embodiment, a schematic diagram of the electroplating solution exchange during the electroplating process is shown, as follows: Figure 5 As shown, Figure 5 The flow direction of the electroplating solution 90 when the solar cell 40 moves along the direction of motion can be considered as the flow direction of the electroplating solution 90. The flow of the electroplating solution 90 will cause the concentration of the electroplating solution 90 to become uniform. The grid line height of the solar cell 40 generated by the conventional horizontal electroplating scheme is compared with the grid line height of the solar cell 40 generated by electroplating using the solar cell horizontal electroplating device provided in the embodiment of this application, and a grid line height comparison table is obtained, as shown in Table 1.

[0049] Table 1 Comparison of Grid Line Height

[0050]

[0051] Table 1 lists six solar cells, with the numbers in μm. Scheme 1 corresponds to the traditional horizontal electroplating scheme, while Scheme 2 corresponds to the scheme using the solar cell horizontal electroplating apparatus provided in this application embodiment. The scheme using the solar cell horizontal electroplating apparatus provided in this application embodiment can effectively improve edge effects, increase intra-cell uniformity, effectively control aspect ratio, avoid grid breakage due to "de-crystalization" caused by aspect ratio imbalance, and improve the intra-cell uniformity of grid line height, which can significantly reduce the proportion of poor solder joints and microcracks at the module end.

[0052] The N-side and P-side grid lines of conventional photovoltaic cells have different volumes. When using traditional copper interconnection for horizontal continuous copper plating, the amount of copper to be plated on the N-side and P-side is inconsistent, and the copper plating amount on the P-side is greater than that on the N-side. This results in a higher plating voltage on the P-side than on the N-side, causing most copper ions on the P-side to accumulate on the N-side. They then gain electrons and are reduced to elemental Cu, ultimately leading to an increase in the amount of copper plating on the N-side and a decrease in the amount of copper plating on the P-side. This results in a large unevenness in the overall grid line height of the cell, and even copper lines are plated in the non-plating areas on the short sides of the cell. This edge effect can cause abnormal plating, resulting in higher grid lines at the edges. Under the same force of friction on the grid lines, under the same width conditions, the grid lines with higher aspect ratios experience greater forces on the grid lines and the bottom PVD copper and ITO, making them more prone to damage to the bottom pyramid and resulting in "de-crystalline" type grid breakage.

[0053] Since the concentration of the plating solution directly affects the rate of copper ion deposition, the horizontal electroplating apparatus for solar cells provided in this application uses a conveying mechanism 30 to drive the solar cell 40 during electroplating, thereby moving the solar cell 40 along the moving direction and disturbing the electroplating solution 90. This affects the exchange of the electroplating solution 90, thereby affecting the rate of copper ion deposition. This allows the edge effect region of the solar cell 40 to form grid lines with a height consistent with the non-edge effect region, maintaining good uniformity of grid line height, eliminating edge plating defects caused by edge effects, thus avoiding grid breakage and improving the efficiency and reliability of electroplating.

[0054] This application provides a solar cell fabrication system, including a solar cell horizontal electroplating apparatus as described in any of the above embodiments.

[0055] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined in any way. For the sake of brevity, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above 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.

[0056] The above embodiments merely illustrate preferred implementations of this application, and while the descriptions are specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the patent application. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and improvements without departing from the concept of this application, and these all fall within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this patent application should be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A horizontal electroplating apparatus for solar cells, characterized in that, It includes a first receiving structure, a second receiving structure, and a conveying mechanism; The first and second receiving structures are located on opposite sides of the battery cell in the moving direction to support the battery cell. The first receiving structure includes a first upper surface in contact with the battery cell and a first inclined surface opposite to the first upper surface in the thickness direction of the battery cell. The second receiving structure includes a second upper surface in contact with the battery cell and a second inclined surface opposite to the second upper surface in the thickness direction of the battery cell. The first and second receiving structures are fixedly connected to the conveying mechanism. The conveying mechanism is used to drive the battery cell during electroplating to move the battery cell along the moving direction. The angle between the first inclined surface and the moving direction is a first angle, and the angle between the second inclined surface and the moving direction is a second angle. The first angle and the second angle are both acute angles.

2. The horizontal electroplating apparatus for solar cells according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first upper surface includes a first horizontal plane, and the second upper surface includes a second horizontal plane, with the battery cell placed on the first horizontal plane and the second horizontal plane.

3. The horizontal electroplating apparatus for solar cells according to claim 2, characterized in that, The first upper surface is a first stepped surface, which includes a third horizontal surface, a first vertical surface, and the first horizontal surface connected in sequence, with the first horizontal surface being lower than the third horizontal surface; the second upper surface is a second stepped surface, which includes a second horizontal surface, a second vertical surface, and a fourth horizontal surface connected in sequence, with the second horizontal surface being lower than the fourth horizontal surface; the first vertical surface and the second vertical surface respectively abut against the two sides of the battery cell in the direction of movement.

4. The solar cell horizontal electroplating apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that, The first horizontal surface has a plurality of first grooves extending along the second direction, and a first boss is formed between two adjacent first grooves; the second horizontal surface has a plurality of second grooves extending along the second direction, and a second boss is formed between two adjacent second grooves.

5. The solar cell horizontal electroplating apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first inclined surface and the second inclined surface are parallel.

6. The solar cell horizontal electroplating apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The solar cell horizontal electroplating device further includes a first fixture and a second fixture. One end of the first fixture is connected to the first receiving structure, and the other end of the first fixture is connected to the conveying mechanism. One end of the second fixture is connected to the second receiving structure, and the other end of the second fixture is connected to the conveying mechanism.

7. The solar cell horizontal electroplating apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The transmission mechanism includes a transmission chain.

8. The solar cell horizontal electroplating apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The solar cell horizontal electroplating device also includes conductive grippers and conductive tape, with one end of the conductive tape connected to the conductive grippers and the other end of the conductive tape connected to the solar cell.

9. The horizontal electroplating apparatus for solar cells according to claim 8, characterized in that, The conductive tape comprises multiple tapes.

10. A solar cell fabrication system, characterized in that, Includes the solar cell horizontal electroplating apparatus as described in any one of claims 1 to 9.

Images