KR101356536B1 - Solar cell manufacturing system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a solar cell manufacturing system, comprising a plurality of deposition process units and a buffer chamber disposed between the plurality of deposition process units, the plurality of deposition process units are arranged in parallel, the buffer chamber is Arranged so as to be orthogonal to the plurality of deposition process units, the buffer chamber may be arranged to protrude with respect to a traveling direction of an inner substrate line among the plurality of substrate lines and a turning roller for changing a traveling direction of the transferred solar cell substrate. It is characterized by including an auxiliary roller. As a result, by arranging the buffer chamber between the plurality of process chambers and arranging the device in the form of a bent form in the vicinity of the buffer chamber, the utilization efficiency of the space in which the device is installed can be improved as compared to the arrangement of the straight line device, and the maintenance and maintenance of the device is performed. It is possible to secure a working space of the solar cell, and to improve productivity of solar cell manufacturing, by providing a plurality of solar cell manufacturing lines and arranging buffer rollers to compensate for the distance difference between the solar cell manufacturing lines arranged inside and outside, Uniformity of deposition on the substrate deposited in the manufacturing line can be ensured.

Description

Solar cell manufacturing system {SOLAR CELL MANUFACTURING SYSTEM}

The present invention relates to a solar cell manufacturing system, and more particularly, in the roll-to-roll solar cell manufacturing system can be made compact in the size of the entire device, the operation of maintenance and maintenance of the device It relates to a solar cell manufacturing system that can secure space.

A solar cell is a device that converts light energy into electrical energy using the properties of a semiconductor. When the energy particles called photons in the solar light hit the i-layer, electrons and holes are generated by the photovoltaic effect. The electrons move toward the N (negative) layer and the holes move toward the P (positive) layer. Therefore, light energy can be converted into electrical energy by taking out electrons / holes generated by the photovoltaic effect from the upper electrode and the back electrode electrically connected to the solar cell.

Solar cells are largely classified into polysilicon and single crystal silicon solar cells, silicon based solar cells such as amorphous silicon solar cells, and compound semiconductor solar cells.

Silicon-based solar cells process silicon wafers to bond different polarities of N (negative) and P (positive) semiconductors having electrons and holes, respectively, and form electrodes. It is a photovoltaic cell that produces electrical energy through the movement of electrons by light energy using the principle of photovoltaic power generation by PN junction.

Amorphous thin film solar cells typically use a hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si: H) thin film. In addition, since the diffusion distance of the carrier is much smaller than that of the crystalline silicon substrate due to the properties of the material itself, the hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin film is an intrinsic amorphous silicon in which impurities are not added between the p-type amorphous silicon and the n-type amorphous silicon. The pin junction structure with the layer inserted is mainly used.

PECVD using SiH4 and H2 gas is most commonly used as a deposition method for hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si: H) thin films. Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) processes produce a solar cell by repeatedly performing a P-type semiconductor layer deposition process, an I-type semiconductor layer deposition process, and an N-type semiconductor layer deposition process. Here, the PECVD apparatus includes a sheet type PE-CVD (plasma CVD) apparatus, an inline PE-CVD apparatus, a batch PE-CVD apparatus, and the like.

Among the solar cells manufactured by using the PECVD method, the flexible thin film silicon solar cell is a low-cost and light-weight flexible substrate instead of a glass substrate, and can be continuously produced using a roll-to-roll process and can be mass-produced. It is aiming at low cost of battery manufacturing.

In the manufacture of a flexible thin film silicon solar cell using the conventional roll-to-roll method, an n-layer process chamber, an i-layer process chamber, and a p-layer process chamber must be continuously installed due to the characteristics of the roll-to-roll process method. There was a problem that it became very long.

That is, as shown in FIG. 1, when the P-type semiconductor layer deposition process, the I-type semiconductor layer deposition process, and the N-type semiconductor layer deposition process are repeatedly performed three times according to a straight-line manufacturing process method, the load lock chamber ( The length (a) of the whole device from L / L) to the unload lock chamber (UL / L) chamber is about 50 m and the width (b) of the device is about 2 m. Furthermore, in addition to the deposition process line, The problem arises in that an excessive process area must be secured because the component C of the device must be arranged.

The present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, an object of the present invention is to arrange the buffer chamber between the plurality of process chambers, and to arrange the device in the form of a bent in the vicinity of the buffer chamber of the maintenance and maintenance of the device It is to provide a solar cell manufacturing system to secure a working space.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a plurality of solar cell manufacturing lines to increase the productivity of solar cell manufacturing, in the case of the buffer chamber is a solar cell substrate that enters each deposition process for the efficiency of the process in addition to the above-described object It is to provide a solar cell manufacturing system that can be formed of a solar cell substrate under the same conditions.

Another object of the present invention, the buffer chamber disposed between each deposition process, after the deposition process has passed through the buffer chamber with an auxiliary roller to compensate for the difference in distance between the outer line and the inner line when entering the next deposition process, the next deposition process To provide a solar cell manufacturing system that allows the solar cell substrate to be transferred to the next deposition process at the same time.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a solar cell substrate that is transferred along the outer line and the inner line in the case of a buffer chamber having a plurality of solar cell manufacturing lines in order to increase the productivity of the solar cell manufacturing after passing through the deposition process to the next deposition process At the same time to provide a solar cell manufacturing system comprising a connection for connecting the solar cell substrates respectively transported along the outer line and the inner line to enter the next deposition process.

In order to achieve the above object, the solar cell manufacturing system according to the present invention is characterized in that it comprises a plurality of deposition process units, and a buffer chamber disposed between the plurality of deposition process units.

The plurality of deposition process units may be arranged in parallel, and the buffer chamber may be arranged to be orthogonal to the plurality of deposition process units.

In addition, the plurality of deposition process units may be arranged to be perpendicular to each other.

Here, the substrate comprises a plurality of substrate lines passing through the deposition process unit and the buffer chamber, the buffer chamber, the direction change roller for changing the traveling direction of the transferred solar cell substrate, and the inner substrate of the plurality of substrate lines And an auxiliary roller which protrudes with respect to the traveling direction of the line.

The auxiliary roller may be installed at a position protruding from the inner substrate line such that the transfer distances of the plurality of substrate lines are the same in the buffer chamber.

In addition, the auxiliary roller is characterized in that installed on the side of the plurality of substrate lines facing the outer substrate line.

The solar cell manufacturing system according to the present invention having the above configuration can efficiently use space. That is, in the conventional solar cell manufacturing system, since a plurality of process chambers are arranged in a straight line, the length of the entire apparatus reaches 50 m or more, which makes it difficult to select a site for installing the solar cell manufacturing apparatus. Was not able to efficiently utilize the device, and the length of the device was very long, which caused a lot of time for the worker to access the required location even when working. However, according to the present invention, a buffer chamber is disposed between a plurality of process chambers. By arranging the device in a curved form near the buffer chamber, the space in which the device is installed can be smaller than that of the straight device arrangement, so it is not only advantageous for site selection but also improves the efficiency of use of the space, and improves worker accessibility during work. Can be.

In addition, in order to increase productivity of solar cell manufacturing, a plurality of solar cell manufacturing lines may be provided, and auxiliary rollers may be disposed to compensate for a distance difference between the solar cell manufacturing lines arranged inside and outside. Uniformity of deposition can be ensured.

In addition, the buffer chamber is provided with an auxiliary roller, so it is easy to maintain the tension of the inner solar cell manufacturing line for transporting the solar cell substrate.

1 is a view showing a deposition process of a conventional solar cell manufacturing system,
2 is a view showing a solar cell manufacturing system according to the present invention,
3 is a view showing an embodiment inside the buffer chamber of the solar cell manufacturing system according to the present invention,
4 is a view showing another embodiment of the buffer chamber of the solar cell manufacturing system according to the present invention,
FIG. 5 is a view illustrating an interior of the buffer chamber of FIG. 4.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail embodiments according to the present invention. Here, in describing the embodiments according to the present invention, the same reference numerals are used for the same components, and description thereof may be omitted as necessary.

The solar cell manufacturing system 1 according to the present invention is a roll-to-roll solar cell manufacturing system, in which a buffer chamber 10 is disposed between a plurality of process chambers, and a device is bent near the buffer chamber. Post it. As a result, since the space in which the device is installed may be small, not only is it advantageous for site selection, but also the utilization efficiency of the space can be improved.

By the installation of the buffer chamber 10 and the arrangement of the device in a bent form, a maintenance space 5 can be secured between the process chamber and the process chamber that are bent, and each process chamber is provided in the maintenance space 5. The equipment and components necessary to perform the process can be arranged and used as a space for the maintenance and repair of the apparatus or process chamber. As a result, the operator can access the maintenance space by moving a relatively short distance without having to move a long distance as in the prior art, thereby improving access to the apparatus and increasing work efficiency.

Referring to FIG. 2, the solar cell manufacturing system 1 according to the present invention repeatedly performs a deposition process for forming a pinned semiconductor layer using a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process.

As shown in FIG. 2, the pin structure semiconductor layer is formed by depositing an N chamber N for depositing an N type semiconductor layer, an I chamber I for depositing an I type semiconductor layer, and a P type semiconductor layer. The solar cell is repeatedly carried out by a plurality of deposition units 4a, 4b, and 4c each having an isolation chamber 2 disposed between the P chamber P and each process chamber as one deposition unit. To prepare.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the solar cell manufacturing system 1 according to the present invention, the first deposition unit 4a, the second deposition process unit 4b, and the third deposition unit 4c are arranged side by side in parallel. At the end of each deposition process unit, a buffer chamber 10 is arranged so that the solar cell substrate 2 can be continuously transferred to a subsequent deposition process.

That is, as shown in FIG. 2, one side of the buffer chamber 10 is connected to the P chamber P of the first deposition process unit 4a, and the other side is N of the second deposition process unit 4b. It is connected with the chamber (N). In addition, the buffer chamber 10 is arranged in a direction orthogonal to the first deposition process unit 4a and the second deposition process unit 4b arranged in parallel, and the solar cell substrate in the buffer chamber. The direction of travel is reversed.

Due to the arrangement of the buffer chamber 10, a maintenance space 5 is formed between the first deposition process unit and the second deposition process unit, and the first deposition process and the second deposition process are formed in the maintenance space. A plurality of component parts 3, in which a plurality of facilities or devices for performing the operation, may be installed.

Due to the maintenance of the maintenance space 5, when a failure occurs in the system or a defect occurs in an apparatus or a facility, an operator may perform a task of performing, maintaining or repairing the work through the maintenance space 5. .

Here, the length of the buffer chamber 10 can be appropriately adjusted according to the size of the maintenance space (5) required. That is, if the width of the maintenance space (5) is approximately 1.5m, the length of the buffer chamber may be configured to have a length of approximately 5.5m in consideration of the width of the process chamber to the width of the maintenance space.

As described above, by adjusting the length of the buffer chamber 10, it is possible to appropriately secure the size of the maintenance space as needed.

Meanwhile, the solar cell manufacturing system according to the present invention may include a plurality of substrate lines in one system. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the solar cell manufacturing system according to the present invention may include two substrate lines inside and outside formed in a roll-to-roll manner from the load lock chamber to the unload lock chamber.

In the solar cell system of the present invention having two inner and outer substrate lines, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the buffer chamber 10 transfers the outer substrate line 21 to transfer the solar cell substrate disposed outside. ), And an inner substrate line 22 for conveying the solar cell substrate disposed therein, an auxiliary roller 30, and a turning roller 40.

Here, each of the outer substrate line 21 and the inner substrate line 22 is a route through which the solar cell substrate is transferred, and the solar cell substrate is a roll to roll method in which the outer substrate line 21 and the inner substrate line 22 are routed. It is conveyed along each of the substrate lines 22.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, as the maintenance space 5 is secured in the solar cell manufacturing system 1 according to the present invention, an outer substrate line 21 and an inner substrate line 22 disposed in the buffer chamber 10. Each has a turning roller 40 for changing the direction from the direction of the solar cell substrate flowing from the deposition process to the direction flowing out to the subsequent deposition process.

The turning roller 40 includes a first turning roller 41 for changing the direction of the outer substrate line 21 and a second turning roller 42 for changing the direction of the inner substrate line 22. do.

As shown in FIG. 3, the first direction change rollers 41 are respectively installed near the outer edges of the buffer chamber 10 to change the direction of the outer substrate lines flowing in parallel to the longitudinal direction of the buffer chamber. The transfer direction of the outer substrate line is switched to flow out from the buffer chamber 10 to the subsequent deposition process units 4b and 4c.

The second direction change rollers 42 are respectively installed near the inner edges of the buffer chamber 10 to change the direction of the inner substrate lines flowing in parallel to the longitudinal direction of the buffer chamber, and then to follow up from the buffer chamber 10. The transfer direction of the inner substrate line is switched to flow out to the deposition process units 4b and 4c.

On the other hand, when the plurality of process chambers are arranged in a folded form to form a plurality of substrate lines in order to increase the space utilization efficiency of the device, due to the difference in the length of the inner and outer lines due to the arrangement of the folded form, the inner and outer substrates A problem may arise that it is difficult to ensure uniformity of deposition of lines.

In order to solve this problem, the solar cell manufacturing system of the present invention may be provided with an auxiliary roller 30 disposed between the turning roller 40 on the inner substrate line 22. The auxiliary roller 30 protrudes with respect to the traveling direction of the inner substrate line, that is, the wall of the buffer chamber on the side opposite to the outer substrate line from an imaginary line of the traveling direction of the inner substrate line parallel to the outer substrate line. It is arranged to be spaced apart by a certain distance to the side.

The installation position of the auxiliary roller 30 is installed in the buffer chamber 10 so that the outer substrate line 21 and the inner substrate line 22 can have the same movement distance.

That is, since the advancing direction of the outer substrate line 21 and the inner substrate line 22 is changed by the direction change roller, a difference occurs in the transfer distance of the solar cell substrate transferred along the inner and outer substrate lines. This transfer distance difference is configured to be compensated by disposing the auxiliary roller 30 on the inner substrate line 22.

Here, the auxiliary rollers may be provided as one auxiliary roller to form a triangular progress line, as shown in FIG. It may be provided to form a progress line of a rectangular shape.

Therefore, the solar cell substrate transferred along the inner substrate line having a short transfer distance moves along the bypass circuit passing through the auxiliary roller, so that the distance between the inner and outer lines in the buffer chamber is the same, and at the end of the buffer chamber. The inner and outer substrate lines can simultaneously enter subsequent deposition process units 4b and 4c.

In addition, since the auxiliary rollers 30 are disposed in the buffer chamber 10 so that the inner substrate lines 22 protrude from the inner substrate lines 22, the inner rollers transfer the solar cell substrates by the auxiliary rollers 30. The substrate line 22 is easy to maintain the tension.

On the other hand, it is preferable that the substrate line manufactured by the roll-to-roll method be moved as short as possible in order to increase production efficiency. To this end, as shown in FIG. 4, the turning roller and the auxiliary roller in the buffer chamber may be configured. As shown in FIG. 4, the first turning roller 41 of the outer substrate line 21 faces the inner wall of the buffer chamber, that is, the maintenance space side from the imaginary line in the advancing direction of the outer substrate line 21. It is installed at a position facing the wall, and configured to be bent inwardly from the outlet of the P chamber of the first deposition process unit to the first turning roller 41 to minimize the moving distance.

In addition, as described above, in order to minimize the distance difference between the inner and outer substrate lines, the second turning roller 42 of the inner substrate line 22 may be formed from the virtual line in the advancing direction of the inner substrate line. It is installed at a position facing an outer wall, that is, a wall facing the opposite side of the maintenance space side, and configured to bend inwardly from the outlet of the P chamber of the first deposition process unit to the second turning roller 42 to the outer side. The distance difference between the movement distance of the substrate line and the movement distance of the inner substrate line is configured to be minimized.

On the other hand, in the above-described embodiment, the solar cell manufacturing system is an example that is arranged bent in a roughly r-shape, as shown in Figure 5 and 6, if necessary, can also be arranged in the U-shape.

5 is a view showing another embodiment of the buffer chamber 10a of the solar cell manufacturing system 1a according to the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a view showing the interior of the buffer chamber 10a of FIG.

Referring to FIG. 5, in the solar cell manufacturing system 1a, the first deposition process unit 4a, the second deposition process unit 4b, and the third deposition process unit 4c are perpendicular to each deposition process unit. For example, one side of the buffer chamber 10a is connected to the end of the p-layer process chamber of the first deposition process, and the other side is connected to the end of the n-layer process chamber of the second deposition process. The process and the second deposition process are arranged such that their traveling directions are orthogonal to each other, and the second deposition process and the third deposition process are also perpendicular to each other, and the first deposition process and the third deposition process are the travel directions. It is arranged in parallel.

Thus, as shown in FIG. 5, a maintenance space 5 corresponding to the distance of the second deposition process line is secured between the deposition process lines.

In the maintenance space 5, a component part 3 for performing a deposition process is disposed, and in the maintenance space 5, an operator may perform a work of performing, maintaining or repairing a work.

The solar cell manufacturing system 1, 1a according to the present invention has a buffer chamber 10 between the deposition process unit and the deposition process unit to secure the maintenance space 5 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5. The arrangement structure of the shape and the arrangement structure of the U-shape, but characterized in that the configuration is not necessarily limited to the triangular shape, rectangular shape, pentagonal shape and polygonal shape can be arranged to secure a variety of maintenance space (5) Of course.

Referring to FIG. 6, the buffer chamber 10 includes an outer substrate line 21, an inner substrate line 22, an auxiliary roller 30, and first and second turning rollers 41 and 42.

Here, since the first and the second direction change roller is the same as the above-described example except that only one is installed near the inner and outer edges of the buffer chamber, the redundant description thereof will be omitted.

In the present embodiment, the maintenance space 5 may have a width corresponding to the length of the second process unit 4b, so that the component part 3 may be arranged in the maintenance space 5 with a margin. In addition, since a plurality of process units 4a, 4b and 4c can be accessed in one maintenance space, access to each process unit can be improved during operation.

2 and 5 is an isolation module (Isolation module) disposed between each process so that the process gas used in each process does not flow into the next process chamber.

In addition, since the process gas used in the deposition process may flow into the buffer chambers 10 and 10a of the solar cell manufacturing system 1 and 1a according to the present invention, the process gas may be prevented from entering into another deposition process. It may further include an exhaust port (not shown) to.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope of the appended claims, The genius will be so self-evident. Accordingly, the true scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical idea of the appended claims.

1: solar cell manufacturing system
10: buffer chamber
21: outer substrate line 22: inner substrate line
30: auxiliary roller
40: direction change roller

Claims (7)

delete delete In the solar cell manufacturing system,
A plurality of deposition process units,
A buffer chamber disposed between the plurality of deposition process units,
The plurality of deposition process units are arranged in parallel, the buffer chamber is arranged to be orthogonal to the plurality of deposition process units,
And a deposition process unit between the plurality of deposition process units arranged in parallel is arranged so as to be orthogonal to the adjacent deposition process units.
The method of claim 3,
A plurality of substrate lines passing through the deposition process unit and the buffer chamber,
The buffer chamber,
A direction change roller for changing a traveling direction of the transferred solar cell substrate;
A solar cell manufacturing system comprising: an auxiliary roller which protrudes with respect to a traveling direction of an inner substrate line among the plurality of substrate lines.
5. The method of claim 4,
The auxiliary roller is a solar cell manufacturing system, characterized in that installed in the position protruded from the inner substrate line so that the transfer distance of the plurality of substrate lines in the buffer chamber.
The method of claim 5, wherein
The auxiliary roller is a solar cell manufacturing system, characterized in that installed on the side of the plurality of substrate lines facing the outer substrate line.
5. The method of claim 4,
The first turning roller of the outer substrate line of the plurality of substrate lines is installed at a position facing the wall of the buffer chamber to be bent inward from the outlet or inlet of the deposition process unit to the first turning roller,
The second turning rollers of the inner substrate lines of the plurality of substrate lines face walls opposite to the maintenance space side of the buffer chamber so as to be bent outward from the outlet or inlet of the deposition process unit to the second turning roller. The solar cell manufacturing system, characterized in that is configured to minimize the distance difference between the movement distance of the outer substrate line and the movement distance of the inner substrate line.

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