Background
With the development of science and technology, Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS) solar panels are widely used, wherein the CIGS solar panels include a CIGS film layer, and the CIGS film layer is generally prepared by using an evaporation device.
The evaporation device comprises an evaporation cavity, a distribution pipe, a metal source evaporation source and a selenium source evaporation source. In the process of preparing the GIGS film layer, a metal source is required to be placed in a metal source evaporation source, a selenium source is required to be placed in a selenium source evaporation source, the substrate, the metal source evaporation source and the selenium source evaporation source are placed in an evaporation chamber, the metal source evaporation source and the selenium source evaporation source are enabled to be opposite to the substrate, and a distribution pipe is communicated with the selenium source evaporation source. And then heating the metal source evaporation source to enable the metal source to be melted and then to radiate metal particles to the substrate, and heating the selenium source evaporation source to enable the selenium source to evaporate selenium steam, wherein the selenium steam enters the distribution pipe and reaches the substrate after being distributed by the distribution pipe, so that the metal particles on the substrate and the selenium steam react to form a GIGS film layer.
In the vacuum evaporation equipment, in order to improve the uniformity of evaporation source diffusion, some open-pore tubular structures for assisting diffusion are adopted, and the devices of the tubular structures are called distributors. The reprocessing difficulty of the distributor is high, and when the uniformity of the evaporation source needs to be adjusted, the hole opening or the hole position blocking is difficult. The common distributor in the existing equipment has a simple structure, is generally connected with a horizontal pipeline in a vertical mode, then is provided with a hole for diffusing evaporated substances, is limited by the shape of the horizontal pipeline, and has a diffusion range and a diffusion angle which are fixed, so that the uniformity is poor during large-scale processing, and a coating on a processed plated part is in fan-shaped distribution with the middle gradually becoming thinner towards two sides.
On the other hand, the existing distribution devices are generally made of corrosion/high temperature resistant quartz or polymer ceramics. Such materials are well tolerated, but have the disadvantage of being brittle and prone to stress failure when subjected to rapid temperature changes.
Detailed Description
Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Example embodiments may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of example embodiments to those skilled in the art. The same reference numerals in the drawings denote the same or similar structures, and thus their detailed description will be omitted.
In order to solve the problems in the prior art, the embodiment of the present application provides a distribution device with better homogenization effect in the gas distribution of the evaporation operation in view of the actual technical requirements of the distribution device, and can bring the effect of facilitating the cleaning and maintenance operations of the distribution device. The embodiments of the present application are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings:
fig. 1 is the perspective structure diagram of the dispensing device provided by the embodiment of the present invention, fig. 2 is the side view structure diagram of the dispensing device provided by the embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 3 is the overlooking structure diagram of the dispensing device provided by the embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in the drawings, the present embodiment mainly provides a distribution device 1, which mainly includes an air inlet tube 11 and a distribution tube 12, wherein one end of the air inlet tube 11 is connected to an evaporation source, or the evaporation source is configured in the air inlet tube 11, and the other end of the air inlet tube 11 is connected to the distribution tube 12; so that the vapor generated from the evaporation source is transported to the distribution pipe 12 and is diffused and distributed to the upper surface to be processed through the distribution pipe 12.
And the distribution pipe 12 mainly includes an air inlet end 121 communicated with the air inlet pipe 11, and a sealing end 122 far away from the air inlet pipe 11. The distribution pipe 12 has a spiral structure and the outer diameter gradually increases from the air inlet end 121 to the sealing end 122; the distribution pipe 12 is provided with a plurality of air outlet holes 123 at intervals. Referring to the drawings, it can be understood that the distribution pipe 12 has an involute spiral structure, and the distribution pipe 12 spirally rises from the air inlet end 121 to the sealing end 122, and the outer diameter of the spiral structure gradually increases.
It can be understood by those skilled in the art that the air inlet end 121 of the distribution pipe 12 and the air inlet pipe 11 can be connected by integral molding, or can be connected by assembling through a connecting piece such as a flange after the two are separately molded, and the invention is not limited thereto. The assembly connection has the advantage of being easy to clean and repair and replace.
Referring specifically to fig. 2, the spiral configuration of the dispensing tube 12 is an inverted cone, i.e., has a taper a that increases from the air inlet end 121 to the sealing end 122, and the taper a in this embodiment may be selected from 30 degrees to 60 degrees. In the figure, the taper a is illustrated as 45 degrees, the taper a of 45 degrees can make the gas ascending and diffusing movement more balanced, and the gas gradually diffuses outward along the distribution pipe 12 without significantly reducing the upward kinetic energy of the gas, so as to maintain the gas outlet momentum at the upper part of the distribution pipe 12.
On the other hand, the distribution pipe 12 may include 3-6 turns from the inlet end 121 to the sealing end 122, which is illustrated as 3 turns, and the axial pitch of the distribution pipe 12 may be selected to be equal to the Z-axis, and the radial pitch of the distribution pipe 12 may be selected to be equal to the Z-axis, as shown in fig. 3.
Meanwhile, the central axes of the openings of the air outlets 123 formed in the distribution pipe 12 shown in the figure all point to the air inlet end 121, and meanwhile, the central axes of the openings of the air outlets 123 also all pass through the spiral central axis of the distribution pipe 12, so that each air outlet 123 has an included angle relative to the Z axis, the included angle can be selected from positive 45 degrees to negative 45 degrees, and the adjacent air outlets 123 can also have a difference of the included angle relative to the Z axis, for example, the angular difference of 15 degrees is used as an interval to perform gradually upward dislocation arrangement. In this way, a uniform distribution effect towards a larger diffusion surface can be achieved.
Thus, the gas in the distribution pipe 12 can be diffused outward as much as possible to increase the action area of a single distribution device 1, reduce the number of the distribution devices 1 in the evaporation device, and reduce the cost.
As shown in the figure, the outlet holes 123 of the upper circle of the distribution pipe 12 are selected to be two rows, and may include an outer row S1 on the outer periphery side and an inner row S2 on the center side, and the axes of the outer row S1 and each outlet hole 123 in the inner row S2 may be selected to be both directed to the inlet end 121, but the included angle between the central axes of each outlet hole 123 in the outer row S1 and the central axes of each outlet hole 123 in the inner row S2 is between 5 degrees and 12 degrees. Meanwhile, the outer row S1 and the inner row S2 are gradually merged into one row after entering the second turn of the distribution pipe 12. By utilizing the embodiment of two rows of holes at the top, the gas output quantity at the top and the peripheral part of the distribution pipe 12 can be increased, and the gas output quantity at the bottom of the distribution pipe 12 close to the position of the evaporation source is relatively reduced, so that the processed surface is more uniformly aerated.
In another embodiment, the gas output from the top of the distribution tube 12 is increased, while the gas output from the bottom of the distribution tube 12 near the position of the evaporation source is decreased, so that the processed surface is more uniformly exposed. The distribution pipe 12 may also be configured with an axial pitch and/or a radial pitch that decreases with equal difference from the bottom to the top or with acceleration (this is not shown in the figures), and the pitch of the decrease may be a half or a full turn, although a continuous curved smooth decrease may be chosen. In this embodiment, the distribution pipe density and the outlet hole density increase with increasing distance from the evaporation source, and the increasing trend can be adjusted with the gas output attenuation rate of different evaporation gases.
In another embodiment, based on the embodiment shown in the previous figures, it can be considered that the aperture ratio of the distribution tube 12 is gradually increased from the air inlet end 121 to the sealing end 122. The way of increasing the aperture ratio can be selected to continuously decrease the distance between the air outlet holes 123 on the one hand, and can also be selected to continuously increase the size of the air outlet holes 123 on the other hand. The gas output of the top and the peripheral part of the distribution pipe 12 can be increased, and the gas output of the bottom of the distribution pipe 12 close to the position of the evaporation source can be reduced, so that the processed surface is more uniformly aerated.
As will be understood by those skilled in the art, open cell fraction as used herein is generally understood to mean the ratio of the sum of the area of all the openings in the outer surface of the pipe per unit surface area of the outer surface of the pipe to the total surface area per unit area.
According to a specific embodiment, the distribution tube 12 and/or the inlet tube 11 may be selected from a metallic material that is resistant to high temperatures and selenization. It is understood that the metal material resistant to high temperature and selenization may be selected from titanium (Ti), chromium (Gr), molybdenum (Mo), tungsten (W), or an alloy containing these metals.
According to an embodiment, the material of the distribution pipe 12 and/or the inlet pipe 11 is preferably selected from titanium (Ti), molybdenum (Mo), a titanium alloy or a molybdenum alloy. Titanium, molybdenum, titanium alloy or molybdenum alloy have been used in industry, can really reach the effects of high temperature resistance and selenization resistance, and have the advantage of higher cost performance.
According to the specific embodiment, the material of the distribution pipe 12 and/or the gas inlet pipe 11 may also be a high temperature resistant metal material, such as steel, aluminum alloy, or stainless steel with low cost, and then the selenization resistant material coating or selenization resistant material coating is formed on the surface of the distribution pipe. It will be appreciated that the selenization-resistant material may be selected from titanium, chromium, molybdenum, tungsten, or alloys containing these metals, and may of course be selected as a ceramic coating. Molybdenum or its alloys are chosen in the preferred embodiment.
Referring to fig. 4, an embodiment of the present application may also be considered to provide an evaporation apparatus including an evaporation chamber, and one or more dispensing devices as described above disposed in the evaporation chamber. The evaporation source distribution device of the above embodiment is preferably applied to a distribution device matched with a metal evaporation source. On the other hand, it can be understood by those skilled in the art that the evaporation source distribution apparatus of the above embodiment can also be applied to gas distribution cooperating with other kinds of evaporation sources (such as selenium source), and is not limited to the above. Referring to fig. 4, after the distribution device in the above embodiment is applied, the plating layer 3 on the workpiece 2 can be uniformly distributed on the whole surface layer, so that the evaporation quality is improved.
Some preferred embodiments of the invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the specific structures and processes shown in the detailed description are exemplary only and not limiting. Moreover, a person skilled in the art can combine the various technical features described above in various possible ways to form new technical solutions, or make other modifications, all of which fall within the scope of the present invention.