CN103213203A - Groove processing tool and method for processing groove - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a groove processing tool which performs groove processing on a deposition-molded thin-film solar cell. Even when the thickness of the thin film being processed is large, the groove processing tool can linearly generate beautiful scribed lines with fixed line width. The groove processing tool is composed of the following components: a rod-shaped body and an edge front-end area 11 which is formed at the front end of the body. The edge front-end area 11 is composed of the following components: a rectangular bottom surface 12, a left-side surface 13 and a right-side surface 14 which project from the long-side direction side of the bottom surface 12 relative to the bottom surface 12 to a right angle and are parallel with each other, and an edge front-end part 16 which is formed on at least one side of the front surface side and the back surface side of the edge front-end area 11 along the width-direction side of the bottom surface 12. The edge front-end part 16 is provided with the following components: a first edge surface 18 which inclines from the end edge of the bottom surface 12 to oblique upper part, and an edge front-end which is composed of a second edge surface 19 which is crossed with the first edge surface 18 while an acute angle is formed between the second edge surface and the first edge surface.

Description

Groove machining tool and groove machining method

technical field

The present invention relates to a grooving tool, in particular to a grooving tool used for grooving in the manufacture of chalcopyrite compound solar cells or amorphous silicon solar cells. A machining tool, and a groove machining method using the groove machining tool.

Here, the chalcopyrite compound includes CIGSS (Cu(In, Ga)(Se, S) ₂ ), CIS (CuInS ₂ ) and the like in addition to CIGS (Cu(In, Ga)Se ₂ ).

Background technique

In a thin-film solar cell using a chalcopyrite compound semiconductor or the like as a light-absorbing layer, generally, a plurality of unit cells (unit ce11) are connected in series on a substrate to form an integral structure.

A conventionally known method for producing a chalcopyrite compound-integrated thin-film solar cell will now be described. Fig. 6(a), Fig. 6(b) and Fig. 6(c) are schematic diagrams showing the manufacturing steps of CIGS thin film solar cells. First, as shown in FIG. 6(a), on an insulating substrate 1 made of soda-lime glass (SLG) or the like, a Mo electrode layer 2 serving as a lower electrode on the positive side is formed by sputtering, and then the light is formed. On the thin-film solar cell substrate before the absorbing layer, grooves S for separating the lower electrodes are formed by scribing (P1 step).

Afterwards, as shown in FIG. 6(b), on the Mo electrode layer 2, a light-absorbing layer 3 made of a compound semiconductor (CIGS) film is formed by evaporation, sputtering, etc., and on it, by CBD A buffer (buffer) layer 4 made of a ZnS thin film or the like for heterojunction is formed by a method (chemical solution deposition method), and an insulating layer 5 made of a ZnO thin film is formed thereon. Furthermore, with respect to the thin-film solar cell substrate before the formation of the transparent electrode layer, at a position away from the groove S for separating the lower electrodes in the lateral direction by a predetermined distance, an inter-electrode contact reaching the Mo electrode layer 2 is formed by scribing. Use trench M1 (P2 step).

Next, as shown in FIG. 6(c), a transparent electrode layer 6 as an upper electrode made of a ZnO:Al thin film is formed from the insulating layer 5, as a solar system equipped with various functional layers necessary for generating electricity by photoelectric conversion. On the battery substrate, trenches M2 for electrode separation reaching the lower Mo electrode layer 2 are formed by scribing (P3 step).

In the above-mentioned steps of manufacturing an integral thin-film solar cell, a mechanical scribing method is used as a technique for grooving the grooves M1 and M2 by scribing.

In the mechanical scoring method, for example, as disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, a predetermined pressure is applied to the front end of a groove processing tool such as a metal needle with a tapered front end. On the other hand, it presses against the substrate while moving it, and processes the grooves for electrode separation.

In the mechanical scribing method disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the shape of the tip of the blade of the groove processing tool is changed into a needle shape with a tapered tip. Strictly speaking, the part where the thin-film solar cell is crimped is The tip is cut approximately horizontally so as to widen the contact area and become flat. That is, as shown in FIG. 7 , the tip portion 71 is made into a conical trapezoidal shape, and the bottom surface 72 is made flat. Grooving tool 7 having such a shape is pressed against the thin film for forming the groove of the thin-film solar cell substrate while moving along the planned scribing line, thereby performing groove processing.

When a conical trapezoidal groove processing tool is used at the front end, there is a problem that the thin film near the groove peels off in large pieces irregularly, and even unnecessary removal is removed, which has the problem of lowering the performance and yield of the solar cell. In addition, once the front end of the blade is worn with the use of the groove machining tool, the diameter of the front end of the blade will become larger because the front end part is conical and trapezoidal, and as a result, the width of the groove to be carved will gradually become larger. Width. Therefore, it is impossible to continue to use the same blade tip for a long time, or to grind it and reuse it.

Here, in view of such a problem, the present inventors have previously proposed a groove processing tool as shown in Patent Document 3.

FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of the groove machining tool disclosed in Patent Document 3 above. The groove forming tool 8 is composed of a cylindrical body 81 and a blade front region 82 integrally formed at the front end, and is made of hard materials such as cemented carbide or sintered diamond. Blade front end region 82, by rectangular bottom surface 83, the front face 84 that stands at right angles from the end edge of bottom surface 83 short-side direction and the rear face 85, with the end edge that stands upright from the long-side direction of bottom surface 83 and becomes mutually. The left and right sides 88, 89 of the parallel planes are formed. Corner portions formed by the bottom surface 83 , the front surface 84 , and the rear surface 85 become blade front ends 86 , 87 , respectively.

According to such a groove machining tool 8, the left and right sides of the front end of the blade become parallel planes, so the dimension of the width of the blade does not change. width.

In addition, the front side 84 or the back side 85 of the groove machining tool is inclined toward the direction of progress relative to the surface of the solar cell substrate. Contact with the solar cell substrate by a line contact close to point contact has the advantage that the thin film can be peeled off smoothly and a linear and beautiful scribe line can be formed.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-094089

Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-115356

Patent Document 3: International Publication No. W02010/098306

In the conventionally known general chalcopyrite compound-integrated thin-film solar cells, the thickness of the CIGS light-absorbing layer 3 in FIG. The thickness of the transparent electrode layer 6 is about 1 μm. In recent chalcopyrite compound-integrated thin-film solar cells, the thickness of the photoelectric conversion layer or the thickness of the transparent electrode layer is thicker than the conventional ones. For example, the thickness of the transparent electrode layer 6 is 2 μm or more. When the thickness of the transparent electrode layer 6 is about 1 μm, the groove part can be peeled off without any problem using the groove machining tool shown in FIG. The film thickness of the groove part becomes thicker, and even if the groove processing tool of FIG. 8 is used, there is a problem of peeling of the film near the groove.

For example, in step P3 shown in FIG. 6( c ), once the trench M2 is formed, the peeling range expands, causing the transparent electrode layer 6 between the adjacent trenches M1 to peel off. In order to prevent such an inappropriate situation, the distance between the groove M1 and the groove M2 is sufficiently long, that is, the peeling range does not reach the groove M1 when the groove M2 is processed, but in this case it will be reduced substantially. The area for power generation (the area for power generation) is utilized, and the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the solar cell cannot be improved.

It can be seen that the above-mentioned existing groove processing tool obviously still has inconvenience and defects in structure and use, and needs to be further improved urgently. In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the relevant manufacturers have tried their best to find a solution, but no suitable design has been developed for a long time, and the general products do not have a suitable structure to solve the above-mentioned problems. This is obviously the relevant industry. urgent problem to be solved.

Contents of the invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a grooving tool that can form a groove in a straight line even if the film used for processing is thick when grooving an electrode film such as an integral thin-film solar cell or a thin film such as a light-absorbing layer. Beautiful scribing lines with a wide line width, and can make the patterned groove width smaller, and perform groove processing with less peeling.

The purpose of the present invention and the solution to its technical problems are achieved by adopting the following technical solutions. The utility model relates to a groove processing tool, which is composed of a rod-shaped body and a front end area of a blade formed at the front end of the body; the front end area of the blade is formed by a rectangular bottom surface, and stands upright from the bottom surface in the direction of the long side of the bottom surface. The left side and the right side parallel to each other at right angles, and the blade front end formed on at least either side of the front side or rear side of the blade front end region along the side in the width direction of the bottom surface; the blade front end , formed by a first blade surface inclined obliquely upward at the end edge of the bottom surface, and a second blade surface intersecting at an acute angle with respect to the first blade surface.

The purpose of the present invention and its technical problems can also be further realized by adopting the following technical measures.

Preferably, in the aforementioned groove machining tool, the angle of the front end of the blade formed by the first blade surface and the second blade surface is 30-85 degrees.

Preferably, in the aforementioned groove processing tool, the inclination angle of the first cutting edge surface relative to the bottom surface is 1-30 degrees.

Preferably, in the aforementioned groove processing tool, the width of the bottom surface of the front end region of the blade and the front end of the blade is 30-5000 μm, and the length of the first blade surface is 5-40 μm.

The purpose of the present invention and the solution to its technical problems are also achieved by the following technical solutions. A groove processing method of the present invention comprises the following steps: using the groove processing tool of the present invention; bringing the first blade surface of the groove processing tool into contact with the film surface of the processing object, and making the groove processing tool along the film surface movement.

With the above technical solution, the groove processing tool of the present invention has at least the following advantages and beneficial effects:

(1) According to the grooving tool of the present invention, the front end portion of the blade provided on the front side (or rear side) of the front end region of the blade is formed with an acute-angled blade front end, so that the front end of the blade can smoothly penetrate into the film, and there is The second blade surface on the upper side of the blade front end is a bevel, and the peeled-off part can be swept upwards and left. Thereby, even if the film used for processing is thick, there will be no scribe line interruption or irregular film peeling, and beautiful scribe lines with a fixed line width can be formed.

(2) The first blade surface at the front end of the blade is formed by inclining upward from one end edge of the bottom surface. Therefore, during groove processing, the first blade surface is in surface contact with the surface of the solar cell, making the groove processing The tool is tilted to suppress excessive intrusion of the tip of the cutting edge into the surface to be processed. That is, once the sharp blade front end is pressed on the processed surface with line contact, it will be difficult to adjust the pressure applied to the contact part, but as mentioned above, the first blade surface is surface-contacted with the processed surface, and by This suppresses excessive intrusion, and makes it easy to finely adjust the pressing pressure according to the shape of the film. In addition, since the length of the first blade surface is relatively short, moderate cutting performance can be secured while suppressing the above-mentioned excessive penetration.

(3) The left and right side surfaces of the front end region of the groove processing tool are formed so as to stand at right angles from the end sides in the longitudinal direction of the bottom surface and become approximately parallel to each other. Therefore, even if the front end of the blade is worn, the left and right width of the front end of the blade size will not change. Thereby, even if the tip of the blade is worn, the width of the scribed groove can be maintained to be the same.

The above description is only an overview of the technical solution of the present invention. In order to better understand the technical means of the present invention, it can be implemented according to the contents of the description, and in order to make the above and other purposes, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and understandable , the following preferred embodiments are specifically cited below, and are described in detail as follows in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Description of drawings

Fig. 1: A perspective view showing an embodiment of a grooving tool of the present invention.

Fig. 2: An enlarged side view showing the front end of the cutting edge of the grooving tool shown in Fig. 1 .

Fig. 3: A side view showing the state of the groove machining tool shown in Fig. 1 during groove machining.

Fig. 4: An enlarged side view showing the front end of the blade in Fig. 3 .

Fig. 5: A perspective view showing another embodiment of the grooving tool of the present invention.

Fig. 6(a), Fig. 6(b) and Fig. 6(c): schematic diagrams showing the manufacturing steps of a general CIGS thin film solar cell.

Fig. 7: A perspective view showing an embodiment of a conventional groove machining tool.

Fig. 8: A perspective view showing another embodiment of a conventional groove machining tool.

Fig. 9(a), Fig. 9(b) and Fig. 9(c): Diagrams showing machining examples of three types of groove machining tools.

[Description of main component symbols]

W: Solar cell substrate A: Grooving tool

10: Body 11: Front end area of blade

12: Bottom surface of the front end area of the blade 13: Left side of the front end area of the blade

14: Right side of the front end area of the blade 15: Front of the front end area of the blade

16: Front end of blade 18: 1st blade surface

19: Second blade side 20: Front end of the blade

Detailed ways

In order to further explain the technical means and effects of the present invention to achieve the intended purpose of the invention, the specific implementation, structure, characteristics and features of a groove machining tool proposed according to the present invention will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and preferred embodiments. Its effect is described in detail below.

Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , which show an embodiment of the groove processing tool of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view seen from above, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view of the front end portion of the blade of the grooving tool. The grooving tool A is substantially composed of a quadrangular pillar-shaped body 10 corresponding to the mounting part of the scribing device (not shown), and a blade front end region 11 integrated at the front end by electrical discharge machining or the like. The blade front end region 11 is made of hard materials such as superhard alloy or sintered diamond. Blade front end area 11 is by elongately extending rectangular bottom surface 12, erects at right angles from the side of bottom surface 12 longitudinal direction and becomes a pair of left and right sides parallel to each other, right side 13,14, along bottom surface 12 widths The blade front end portion 16 formed on the front side (the surface facing the moving direction of the grooving tool) 15 side of the blade front end region 11 and the rear face 17 standing at right angles from the rear end edge of the bottom surface constitute. The blade front end portion 16, as shown in detail in FIG. , and the blade front end 20 formed by the first blade surface 18 and the second blade surface 19 is formed.

The inclination angle α1 of the twelfth blade surface 18 with respect to the bottom surface 12 is in the range of 1 to 30 degrees, preferably about 10 degrees. The reason for making the inclination angle α1 larger than 1 degree is to make the first blade surface 18 and the bottom surface 12 different surfaces. The reason that makes angle of inclination α1 smaller than 30 degrees is to prevent that once angle of inclination α1 is greater than 30 degrees of the minimum angle of angle α2 described later, then the farther away from the blade front end portion 16, the bottom surface 12 is closer to the second blade surface 19, and become easily broken.

In addition, the angle α2 of the blade front end 20 formed by the first blade surface 18 and the second blade surface 19 is in the range of 30 to 85 degrees, and is preferably formed to be close to 60 degrees in consideration of the balance between strength and cutting performance. degree angle.

Furthermore, the left-right width L1 of the bottom surface 12 of the front end region 11 of the blade is preferably 30-80 μm, but it can be 30-5000 μm according to the required scribe groove width. The length L2 of the first blade surface 18 formed continuously with the edge of the bottom surface is preferably 5 to 40 μm. In addition, the main body 10 of the grooving tool A is not limited to a square column, and may be formed in a cylindrical shape or a polygonal shape.

When processing using the above-mentioned groove processing tool A, as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. The surface 18 is in surface contact with the surface of the solar cell substrate W, the groove processing tool A is inclined, that is, the inclination angle of the first blade surface is only 10 degrees, and the groove processing tool A is inclined to the moving direction side. Installed on the scoring device (not shown). Afterwards, the groove processing tool A is pressed against the surface of the solar cell substrate W, and at the same time relatively moved relative to the solar cell substrate W, thereby processing the aforementioned groove M1 or groove M2.

In this groove processing, in order to maintain the processed groove width, that is, the line width of the scribe line, at a constant level, the quality (photoelectric conversion efficiency, etc.) predetermined in the design of the product can be realized and the uniformity of quality can be achieved. , it is necessary to make the stripping ratio of the film constant.

In the above-mentioned grooving tool A of the present invention, since the blade front end 20 disposed on the front side of the blade front end region 11 is formed at an acute angle, the second blade surface 19 present on the upper side of the blade front end 20 becomes an inclined plane, and the peeled part can be made As shown by the arrow in FIG. 4, it flies upwards and leaves. Thereby, even if the transparent electrode layer 6 is grooved with a thickness of 2 μm or more (even if it is grooved with a thinner film thickness), it is possible to suppress the breakage of the scribe line or the peeling of the irregular film. Forms beautiful ruled lines with a fixed line width in a straight line.

In addition, since the first blade surface 18 of the blade front end portion 16 is formed obliquely upward from one end edge of the bottom surface 12, the first blade surface 18 is in surface contact with the surface of the solar cell substrate W during grooving. The grooving tool A is tilted to bring the first blade surface 18 into surface contact with the surface to be processed, thereby making it possible to easily finely adjust the pressing pressure and prevent excessive concentrated load from being applied. In addition, since the first blade surface 18 has a short length of only 5 to 40 μm, it is possible to apply a moderate pressure and ensure cutting performance.

In addition, the left and right side surfaces 13, 14 of the cutting edge front end region of the grooving tool A are erected at right angles from the end edges in the longitudinal direction of the bottom surface 12 to be parallel to each other, so even if the cutting edge front end 20 is worn, it will not The size of the width of the front end 20 of the blade will change. Thereby, even after the front end of the blade is worn or polished, the width of the scribed groove can be maintained to be the same.

Fig. 9(a), Fig. 9(b) and Fig. 9(c) show the processing examples of the P3 step shown in Fig. 6(c) using three types of groove processing tools, and Fig. Figure 9 (b) shows a schematic diagram of the processing state of the conical trapezoidal groove processing tool shown in Figure 8, and Figure 9 (c) shows 1 is a diagram showing a machining state of the groove machining tool A of the present invention. In the drawing, the black part is the transparent electrode layer 6 , the white strip part is the M2 groove part, and the irregular patchy part is the part where the transparent electrode layer 6 has been peeled off.

When measuring the maximum width of the peeling part of the irregular patch, the maximum peeling width is 206 μm in Fig. 9 (a), 157 μm in Fig. 9 (b), and 79 μm in Fig. 9 (c), and the groove processing tool according to the present invention A can suppress peeling.

In the present invention, the above-mentioned embodiment has shown the situation that the blade front end portion 16 is arranged on the front (or back) of the blade front end region, but as shown in FIG. also can. Thereby, if one is worn or damaged, the other blade tip can be used as a new product by changing the mounting direction of the grooving tool A.

The invention can be applied to groove processing of thin films on the surface of substrates such as thin film solar cells or organic EL panels.

The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and does not limit the present invention in any form. Although the present invention has been disclosed as above with preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone familiar with this field Those skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of the technical solution of the present invention, can use the technical content disclosed above to make some changes or modify equivalent embodiments with equivalent changes, but all the content that does not depart from the technical solution of the present invention, according to the present invention Any simple modifications, equivalent changes and modifications made to the above embodiments by the technical essence still belong to the scope of the technical solutions of the present invention.

Claims (7)

1. A groove processing tool, characterized in that: It consists of a rod-shaped body and a blade front end area formed at the front end of the body; The front end region of the blade is formed in the front end region of the blade by a rectangular bottom surface, a left side and a right side parallel to each other standing at right angles to the bottom surface from the sides in the long side direction of the bottom surface, and the sides along the width direction of the bottom surface. Consists of the blade front end on at least either side of the front side or the rear side; The blade front end is formed by a first blade surface inclined obliquely upward at the end edge of the bottom surface, and a second blade surface intersecting the first blade surface at an acute angle. 2. The grooving tool according to claim 1, wherein the angle of the front end of the blade formed by the first blade surface and the second blade surface is 30-85 degrees. 3. The grooving tool according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the inclination angle of the first blade surface relative to the bottom surface is 1-30 degrees. 4. The grooving tool according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the width of the bottom surface of the front end region of the blade and the front end of the blade is 30-5000 μm, and the length of the first blade surface is 5-40 μm. 5. The grooving tool according to claim 3, wherein the width of the bottom surface of the blade front end region and the blade front end is 30-5000 μm, and the length of the first blade surface is 5-40 μm. 6. A groove processing method, characterized in that: using the grooving tool of any one of claims 1 to 3; and The first blade face of the groove processing tool is brought into contact with the surface of the film to be processed, and the groove processing tool is moved along the surface of the film. 7. A groove processing method, characterized in that: using the grooving tool of claim 4; and The first blade face of the groove processing tool is brought into contact with the surface of the film to be processed, and the groove processing tool is moved along the surface of the film.

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