JP2001168362A - Equipment and method of processing deposition film and deposition film processed by this method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an equipment and method of depositing a film which has a high mass-productivity. SOLUTION: The equipment and method of depositing a film includes a function (process) of removing at least a part of a deposition film by allowing fine particles 107 to collide against a flexible substrate 101 with the deposition film on the surface while feeding out the substrate 101.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a deposited film, a processing apparatus and a processing method thereof.

[0002]

In recent years, is expected to global warming greenhouse of increased CO ₂ occurs, clean energy requirements that do not emit CO ₂ is increasingly. Nuclear power generation is an example of an energy source that does not emit CO ₂ , but the problem of radioactive waste has not been solved, and clean energy with higher safety is desired. Under such circumstances, among the clean energies, solar cells are particularly attracting attention because of their cleanliness, safety, and ease of handling.

[0003] As a kind of solar cell, various kinds of solar cells such as a crystalline solar cell, an amorphous solar cell and a compound semiconductor solar cell have been researched and developed. Among these solar cells, thin-film solar cells such as amorphous silicon (including microcrystal) solar cells have excellent features such as easy area enlargement, large light absorption coefficient, and low Si material cost. Has attracted a great deal of attention. However, it has not yet become widespread, and the biggest reason is its high cost.

[0004] In order to reduce the cost of the solar cell, it is possible to reduce the material cost by reducing the components of the solar cell itself, and to reduce the manufacturing cost by developing a manufacturing technique capable of mass production.

[0005] Various technologies have been developed in accordance with the demand for cost reduction of such solar cells.

One of the techniques for reducing the cost of such a solar cell is to make the solar cell monolithic. Hereinafter, monolithic solar cells will be described.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an example of a known monolithic solar cell. As a method for manufacturing such a monolithic solar cell, first, an insulating layer 201 is formed on a substrate 200. When the substrate 200 itself is insulative, the insulating layer 201 is not necessarily provided. Next, the insulating layer 201
A base electrode 202 is formed thereon, and a groove 205 for separating the base electrode is formed for each element. Next, a semiconductor layer 203 serving as a photovoltaic layer is formed, and a groove 206 is similarly formed. At this time, the groove portion 206 is formed slightly deviated from the groove portion 205. Further, the surface electrode 204
Is formed, and the groove 207 is similarly formed at a position further deviated from the groove 206. At the same time that the element is separated into a plurality of regions and the surface electrode 204 is filled in the groove portion 206, the series connection is completed. In this example, the description has been made on the assumption that the surface electrode is transparent and light enters from the surface side. This method can be manufactured with a very simple process of simply providing a groove, and when serializing solar cells, the cost of materials such as connecting parts for serialization is not required, so the cost of solar cells can be reduced. Is a very effective form.

In manufacturing such a monolithic solar cell, a manufacturing technique for forming a groove is very important. As a means for providing the groove, a method of performing removal processing using a laser beam (a so-called laser scribe method) has conventionally been used, but the equipment becomes large-scale and the equipment becomes expensive, There are problems such as the necessity of high-accuracy positioning and the slow tact due to the limitation of the laser scanning speed, and the manufacturing cost is high at present.

In order to solve the problem caused by the laser scribing, a method of removing a deposited film by colliding fine particles (hereinafter abbreviated as a blast method) has recently attracted attention as an alternative processing method. Kaihei 9-
260704).

[0010] The blast method is a processing technique that can solve problems in laser processing because scribing can be performed at high speed and the equipment may not be large-scale.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of the blast processing. FIG.
(A) is a schematic diagram at the start of machining, and (b) is a schematic diagram at the end of machining. An insulating layer 301 is formed over a substrate 300. Furthermore, the base electrode 302 and the semiconductor layer 3
03, a mask 305 in which a surface electrode 304 is formed and a shape to be processed is opened on the surface electrode 304
Are formed. In this state, by spraying abrasive grains 307 from the nozzle 306 provided above, the unmasked surface electrode 304 is scraped off and reaches the vicinity of the semiconductor layer as shown in FIG. 3B. Then, the machining is completed, and the groove is completed. Thereafter, the mask is peeled off to complete the formation of the groove.

Next, a method for forming a deposited film while feeding out a flexible substrate, which is another method for reducing the cost of a solar cell, will be described. One example is U.S. Pat.
No. 09 describes a method of continuously forming a deposited film on a substrate while continuously feeding a flexible substrate wound in a roll shape. More specifically, providing a plurality of glow discharge regions, arranging the glow discharge regions along a path through which the substrate sequentially passes through each of the glow discharge regions, and continuously transporting the substrate in its longitudinal direction. It is described that a device having a semiconductor junction can be continuously formed while depositing and forming a semiconductor layer of a suitable conductivity type for each of the glow discharge regions (hereinafter, this deposition film forming method is referred to as “R to R”). Abbreviated as law.).

In this patent, an apparatus for performing plasma CVD by the R to R method is described, but a deposited film formed in this apparatus is mainly a semiconductor film made of silicon or the like for performing photoelectric conversion. At the time of actual film formation, as described in the description of FIG.
Preparation of a surface electrode, and further cleaning and the like are required. Since the substrate itself is in the form of a roll, it is most efficient that all such steps are performed consistently in an R to R manner. The R to R method can be said to be a method suitable for mass production as compared with the conventional badge-type deposited film forming method since the deposited film can be continuously formed as described above.

[0014]

As described above, monolithic solar cells by the blast method and the R to R method are effective in reducing the cost of the solar cells.

However, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-26070 described above.
The blast method for a deposited film disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 4 cannot be applied to a flexible substrate used in the R to R method.

On the other hand, when the deposition of the deposited film is performed by the R to R method, it is required for the efficiency and mass production that all the steps are performed in an integrated manner by the R to R method. In that sense, a specific method and a specific apparatus for performing the blast method by the R to R method have been demanded.

[0017]

Means for Solving the Problems The present inventor has conducted intensive studies in order to solve the above-mentioned problems. As a result, a specific method for simultaneously performing the blast method and the R to R method in processing the deposited film was found, and a processing apparatus and a processing method for a deposited film having extremely high mass productivity were invented.

That is, the deposited film processing apparatus of the present invention has a function of removing at least a part of the deposited film by colliding fine particles while feeding out the flexible substrate having the deposited film formed on the surface. And

Further, the apparatus for processing a deposited film according to the present invention includes means for removing unnecessary substances remaining on the flexible substrate having the deposited film partially removed by colliding with the fine particles while feeding out the flexible substrate. It is characterized by having.

Further, the apparatus for processing a deposited film of the present invention comprises means for removing at least a part of the deposited film by colliding fine particles while feeding out a flexible substrate having a deposited film formed on the surface thereof; Means for removing unnecessary substances remaining on the flexible substrate after the removal while feeding out the flexible substrate.

Further, the deposited film processing method of the present invention is characterized in that at least a part of the deposited film is removed by colliding fine particles while feeding out a flexible substrate having a deposited film formed on the surface.

Further, in the method of processing a deposited film according to the present invention, the flexible substrate having a deposited film formed on its surface is made to collide with fine particles to remove at least a part of the deposited film. The method is characterized in that unnecessary substances remaining on the substrate are removed while feeding the flexible substrate.

Further, the deposited film of the present invention is characterized in that at least a part of the deposited film is removed by colliding fine particles while feeding out the flexible substrate having the deposited film formed on the surface.

Further, the deposited film of the present invention removes at least a part of the deposited film by colliding fine particles while feeding out the flexible substrate having the deposited film formed on the surface.
An unnecessary substance remaining on the flexible substrate is removed and processed while feeding the flexible substrate.

The present invention has a further feature that it has a function of causing particles to collide while holding a surface opposite to a processing surface of the flexible substrate by a substrate position holding means. Processing is performed by colliding fine particles while holding the surface opposite to the processing surface of the substrate by the substrate position holding means. "
, "Having a function of selectively removing the deposited film by colliding fine particles through a mask, and performing a selective removal of the deposited film by colliding fine particles through a mask. Process "and" the deposited film is at least a part of a film constituting a solar cell ".

Further, the deposited film processing apparatus of the present invention detects at least a groove already formed in the deposited film on the substrate, and removes at least a part of the deposited film by colliding fine particles while controlling the place of collision. It has a function to perform.

In the method of processing a deposited film according to the present invention, a groove already formed in the deposited film on the substrate is detected, and at least a part of the deposited film is removed by colliding fine particles while controlling the location of the collision. It is characterized by the following.

[0028]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, a deposited film of the present invention, a processing apparatus and a processing method thereof will be described.

First, a basic component of the present invention, R
A method of performing the blast method by the toR method will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of such a deposited film processing apparatus.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a flexible substrate having a deposited film formed on the surface thereof (on the lower surface in this figure). The flexible substrate 101 is unwound from a delivery roller 102 and wound up by a winding roller 103. 104 accurately holds the position of the flexible substrate when the blasting process is performed,
A support roller that is a substrate position holding unit for performing blast work under stable conditions. 105 is a hollow pipe,
A nozzle 106 is provided. Here, abrasive grains were used for blasting. Abrasive grains for blast are ejected through the hollow pipe 105 as shown by nozzles 106 to 107.
The ejected abrasive grains scrape off the deposited film on the flexible substrate. The deposited film of the present invention is formed by such a deposited film processing method of the present invention.

Here, as an apparatus for processing the deposited film, the surface on which the deposited film is located is the lower surface, and the support roller 104 is placed at a position lower than the feed roller 102 and the take-up roller 103. This is to prevent the abrasive grains from being wound up together with the substrate by naturally falling before the flexible substrate is wound up by the winding roller.

By adopting such a configuration, the device,
Although the process can be simplified, it is not always necessary and it is not necessary to adopt such a configuration that does not hinder the intended processing of the deposited film. Conversely, if it is extremely disliked that unnecessary substances such as abrasive grains are taken up together with the substrate, it is desirable to use a step of removing residual substances as described later.

The thickness, location, and the like for shaving the deposited film may be appropriately selected according to the purpose. As the thickness, for example, the entire thickness of the deposited film may be scraped off, or if the purpose is to form an uneven shape on the surface with abrasive grains,
Substantially only a part of the surface side (for example, 1
/ 100). The actual control of the thickness to be cut off is performed by, for example, optimally setting parameters such as the particle size (number) of the abrasive grains, the material of the abrasive grains, the amount or speed of the abrasive grains to be ejected, and the pressure of the mixed air. Done. Of course, the feed rate of the substrate (e.g., the stagnant time of the substrate when the stepping roll method is adopted), the distance between the ejection nozzle and the substrate, and the like are also parameters of the shaving amount control. As for the place to be shaved, it is possible to perform so-called scribing, in which a part of the deposited film is shaved linearly by using a technique of repeatedly ejecting and stopping abrasive grains at regular intervals. However, since the outline of a scribe groove formed by repeatedly ejecting and stopping abrasive grains is generally not clear, it is desirable to use the mask together with a mask described later when the outline needs to be clear. In particular, it is preferable to use the thin film solar cell in combination with a mask as a scribe when the monolithic thin film solar cell is manufactured.

While the schematic diagram shown in FIG. 1 shows the most basic configuration of the present invention, FIG. 4 shows a preferred apparatus further considering the actual workability or mass productivity.

In FIG. 4, reference numeral 400 denotes a flexible substrate having a deposited film formed on its surface (on the lower surface in this figure).
The paper is unwound from the delivery roller 410 and wound up by the winding roller 420. Reference numeral 430 is a substrate position holding means for accurately holding the position of the flexible substrate when the blasting step is performed, thereby performing the blasting operation under stable conditions, and has a downward convex shape. In this example, since the flexible substrate slides and is conveyed while the back surface of the flexible substrate is pressed against the substrate position holding unit 430, the substrate position holding unit 430 processes the surface smoothly and reduces friction. It is desirable that the material is small. A take-up motor 421 is used to rotate the take-up roller 420. Reference numeral 411 denotes a tension motor which generates a desired back tension on the substrate in combination with a built-in slip clutch or the like to prevent the substrate from sagging. 440 is a winding deviation prevention roller,
It is connected to a motor 442 via a suspension device 441. Reference numeral 443 denotes a substrate winding deviation detecting sensor, which can maintain a good winding state by detecting the winding deviation state and driving the motor 442.
450 is a hollow pipe provided with a nozzle 451. Abrasive grains for blast are ejected through the hollow pipe 450 as shown by nozzles 451 to 452. The ejected abrasive grains scrape off the deposited film on the flexible substrate. With such a configuration, the deposited film on the flexible substrate can be more efficiently scraped off.

The advantage of the apparatus shown in FIG. 4 is that when the blasting operation is performed, the flexible substrate position is in close contact with the substrate position holding means 430 over a wide area, so that the abrasive particles are ejected to the substrate. Occurrence of chatter or the like due to the collision may be suppressed, and blasting may be performed under stable conditions.
In addition, because of the winding displacement prevention mechanism, stable blasting can be performed for a long flexible substrate for a long time without causing lateral displacement of the substrate during the transfer of the substrate.

The winding deviation prevention mechanism is, for example, the type shown in FIG.
In place of the above, two independent rollers are provided at two places on the substrate end to finely adjust the positions of both rollers, or FIG.
There is a type that prevents the winding deviation while slightly rotating the rotation axis of the take-up roller 420 itself,
Any type may be used. Note that the tension roller, winding deviation prevention roller, and the like described with reference to FIG. 4 may be appropriately used depending on the purpose.

Next, the step of removing unnecessary substances according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 (a) is based on the deposited film processing apparatus of the present invention shown in FIG. 4, and is provided with a mechanism for blowing gas to remove unnecessary substances remaining on the substrate after the blast processing. FIG. 5 (b) is obtained by further adding a cleaning step to the apparatus shown in FIG. 5 (a). Hereinafter, the step of removing the unnecessary substance will be described with reference to FIG. 5, but the members having the same reference numerals are the same in both cases (a) and (b), so the description will be made only in the description of (a). . Also, the description of the members overlapping with FIG. 4 will be simplified. FIG. 5 is a plan view when viewed from the direction of extension of the rotation axis of the roller in FIG. 4 for simplification of the drawing.

A mechanism for blowing gas to remove unnecessary substances remaining on the substrate after blasting will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 5A, reference numeral 500 denotes a flexible substrate, which is unwound from a delivery roller 510 and wound around a winding roller 520. Reference numeral 530 is a substrate position holding unit for the flexible substrate, and 540 is a winding deviation prevention roller. Abrasive particles for blast are ejected as shown by nozzles 550 to 551. Reference numeral 560 denotes a gas ejection nozzle (hereinafter, abbreviated as “nozzle”) for blowing gas to remove unnecessary substances remaining on the substrate after blasting. Unnecessary substances remaining on the substrate are blown off by ejecting gas from the nozzle 560 as indicated by 561. As the gas used here, for example, dry air, nitrogen or the like is suitable, but other gases may be used according to the purpose. The gas is generally given a pressure of about 1 to 10 kg / cm ² and is ejected from the nozzle. It is desirable to remove dust, oil, and the like in the gas through a filter immediately before the gas is ejected.

Next, a cleaning mechanism for removing unnecessary substances remaining on the substrate after blasting will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 5B, reference numeral 570 denotes a washing tank,
The inside is filled with a cleaning liquid 571. An ultrasonic oscillator 572 is provided when performing ultrasonic cleaning. After the cleaning, for example, dry air, nitrogen, or the like is blown from the nozzle 580 to the substrate as indicated by 581 to remove the cleaning liquid remaining on the substrate. In order to quickly dry the cleaning liquid, a means such as preheating these gases may be used.

In the present description, the mechanism for blowing off unnecessary substances by the gas and the cleaning mechanism may be used independently, or both may be used simultaneously. Of course, some measures may be taken to reduce the amount of the unnecessary substance by using a plurality of nozzles or moving the nozzles.

Next, an example of a process of selectively removing a deposited film by colliding fine particles through a mask, which is another component of the present invention, will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 6, members overlapping those in FIG. 5 will be described only in terms of names. In FIG. 6, 600 is a flexible substrate, 610 is a feed roller, 620 is a take-up roller, 630 is a means for holding the substrate position of the flexible substrate, 640 is an unwinding prevention roller, and 650 is an abrasive jet nozzle for blasting. Thus, abrasive grains are ejected as indicated by 651. 660 is a gas ejection nozzle for removing unnecessary substances, 670 is a cleaning tank, 671 is a cleaning solution, 672 is an ultrasonic oscillator, and 680 is a gas ejection nozzle for removing the cleaning solution remaining on the substrate.

In the example shown in FIG. 6, a drum-shaped mask 652 is used.
Are provided so as to have a small gap with the substrate position holding means 630. The flexible substrate 600 is provided with the substrate position holding means 6.
30 and between the drum-shaped mask 652. A slit 653 is provided in the drum-shaped mask 652.
When the flexible substrate 600 passes between the substrate position holding means 630 and the drum-shaped mask 652, the flexible substrate 600 comes into close contact with the drum-shaped mask and the drum-shaped mask rotates as the flexible substrate is transported. . Therefore, the slit 653 comes into contact with a fixed position of the flexible substrate 600. During that time, abrasive particles for blast are ejected from the nozzle 650, so that a certain portion of the substrate 600 is shaved, that is, scribed. When the slit 653 is provided in parallel with the axial direction around the drum-shaped mask, the flexible substrate 6
00 is scribed linearly.

Reference numeral 654 denotes a sensor, which is used for scribing a base electrode, for example, as in a monolithic solar cell, depositing a photoelectric conversion layer, and performing scribing on the photoelectric conversion layer at a position slightly shifted from a scribe groove of the base electrode. The scribe position is used to detect the scribe position of the base.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the scribe.
700 is a flexible substrate, 701 is a deposited film formed on the flexible substrate, 710 is a substrate position holding means, and 720 is a nozzle for ejecting abrasive grains, as shown by 721.
A slit 723 is provided in the drum-shaped mask 722, and abrasive grains cut the deposited film only in the slit portion 723, and a scribe groove 730 is formed.

In order to apply the above-described scribe method to a multilayered deposited film, an adjusting means for further defining the scribe position of the upper layer with respect to the scribe position of the underlayer is required. An example of such an adjusting means will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 8, 800 is a substrate position holding means, 801 is a drum-shaped mask, 802 is a slit of a drum-shaped mask, and 803 is a flexible substrate. Usually Figure 8
As shown in (a-1), the flexible substrate passes through the gap between the substrate position holding means 800 and the drum-shaped mask 801. On the other hand, when it becomes necessary to adjust the position of the scribe groove of the flexible substrate, the entire drum-shaped mask is lowered as shown by 804 by a lifting mechanism (not shown) as shown in FIG. By sliding the conductive substrate 803 and the drum-shaped mask 801, the relative positions of the two can be adjusted.

FIG. 8B shows another example of the position adjusting mechanism. In FIG. 8B, reference numeral 801 denotes a drum-shaped mask, which includes left and right semi-cylindrical members as shown. The left and right semi-cylindrical members have a minute clearance 810, and the clearance is adjusted by an adjusting mechanism 811. As a result, the substantial diameter of the drum-shaped mask can be slightly changed. If it is necessary to change the scribe position during the actual scribe operation, the adjustment mechanism 811 adjusts the diameter of the drum-shaped mask to adjust the deviation between the mask position and the scribe position of the base as the drum rotates. It is possible to make things.

The selective scribing and the method of adjusting the scribing position have been described with reference to the apparatus schematic diagrams shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 as examples, but the method is not limited to this example. For example, as another means for performing selective scribing, there is a method in which a mask is attached to the deposited film before the scribing step, and the mask is peeled off after the scribing operation is completed. Of course, various other applicable means may be used.

The components of the present invention will be described below.

(Flexible substrate) Rt is used as a flexible substrate.
o For use in the R method, it is usually supplied in roll form. Whether the material is an insulator or a conductive material is selected according to the purpose of the deposited film on the substrate. In the case of an insulator, a resin film such as polyimide or PET (polyethylene terephthalate) is preferable, and in the case of a conductive material, a thin plate such as stainless steel, aluminum, copper, zinc steel plate, or Ni-plated steel plate is preferable. In any case, it is necessary to select a material that can withstand the deposition conditions and processing conditions of the deposited film. Further, the surface of the flexible substrate may be a mirror surface or may be provided with appropriate unevenness.

(Deposited Film) The deposited film may be any thin film formed on a substrate and exhibiting some function.
A deposited film preferably having a large area to exhibit its effect, since it is efficient during mass production by the R to R method,
For example, the effect of the present invention is greatest for photovoltaic elements (solar cells) and the like.

(Substrate position holding means) 430 in FIG.
The substrate position holding means as described in (1) is preferably made of, for example, a metal or resin such as Teflon having a smooth contact surface in order to improve the sliding with the flexible substrate. In addition, other than the sliding means, for example, a means such as a caterpillar which can rotate while being in close contact with the flexible substrate may be used.

(Blast) The material used for blast is not particularly limited. Broadly, any of solid, liquid and gas can be used. Among them, a preferable material is, for example, Si.
Abrasive grains such as C, alumina, white alumina, calcium carbonate, and glass beads are used. Although the particle size is not particularly limited, an average particle size of about 0.1 to 30 μm is preferable. Other parameters, such as the distance between the ejection nozzle and the deposited film during processing, may be set at a distance of 0.1 due to the selectivity of the scribing location and the ease of mechanical production of the deposition model producing apparatus.
To about 10 cm is preferred.

[0056]

EXAMPLES The present invention will be described below with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to the examples.

Example 1 The method for processing a deposited film of the present invention was carried out using the apparatus for processing a deposited film of the present invention shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the terms shown in the explanation section of FIG. 4 will be used.

As the flexible substrate, a stainless substrate having a width of 350 mm and a thickness of 0.125 mm wound in a roll shape was used. An aluminum / silicon (Al: 95%, Si: 5%) film having a thickness of 1 μm has already been deposited on the flexible substrate in the previous step.

The flexible substrate wound into a roll is shown in FIG.
And attached to the delivery roller as shown at 410. The flexible substrate was attached to the take-up roller 420 while passing one end of the flexible substrate under the substrate position holding means 430. Next, the tension roller 411 is driven to apply back tension to the flexible substrate, so that the flexible substrate is prevented from slackening.

On the other hand, the abrasive grains having an average grain size of 8 μm
iC was used. SiC was mixed with 5 kg / cm ² of compressed air and ejected from the nozzle 451. The distance between the nozzle 451 and the processing section of the flexible substrate 400 was 4 cm.

After the above preparation, the winding motor 42
1 was rotated to start the blasting process. Feed speed is 2
50 mm / min. After the blasting for 40 minutes (10 m), the ejection of the abrasive grains was stopped, and the flexible substrate wound around the winding roller 420 was removed.

One end of the blast-treated flexible substrate was pulled out from the winding roller, and a square sample of 5 cm square was cut out. When the cross-sectional shape of this sample was observed with a microscope, the thickness of the Al / Si film was about 2000 °. That is, about 8000 mm was scraped off.

(Comparative Example 1) A blast process was performed by a conveyor system. As in Example 1, 1 μm has already been used in the previous process.
m-thick aluminum / silicon (Al: 95%, Si: 5%)
A blast process of a conveyor system was performed on the flexible substrate on which the film was deposited.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the deposited film forming apparatus used in this comparative example. The apparatus shown in FIG. 9 is an apparatus (a) in which a roll-shaped flexible substrate is fed out, cut into strips and placed on a tray, and blast processing is performed while feeding a strip-shaped substrate on the tray by a conveyor. (B). In FIG. 9, 900 is a flexible substrate,
Reference numeral 901 denotes a delivery roller, 910 denotes a tray, 911 denotes a conveyor, 912 denotes a roller, and 920 denotes a pressing roller for holding the flexible substrate against the tray. A cutting machine 930 has a lifting device. 950 is a conveyor, 951
Denotes a roller, 960 denotes a blast processing chamber, and 961 denotes a nozzle.

The flexible substrate 900 has a delivery roller 90
1 and is carried rightward in the figure while riding on the tray 910. Thereafter, the flexible substrate is cut into strips by a cutter 930 as shown at 940, and the process proceeds to the next step together with the tray. In the next step, blasting was performed with abrasive particles ejected from the nozzle 961. The blast processing was performed while the tray was being conveyed at a speed of 250 mm per minute by a conveyor.

A square sample of 5 cm square was cut out from the substrate after this treatment, and the cross-sectional shape of the sample was observed with a microscope. As a result, it was found that the Al / Si film had been cut off by about 8000 °.

In this comparative example, although the processing time itself for a unit-length substrate is not different from that of the R to R method, a cutting device shown in FIG. 9A is required, and the cost is increased. In addition, when there are a plurality of deposition model making processes, the roll RtoR method with high production efficiency cannot be adopted after the main cutting process, so that the cost of the plurality of deposition model making processes as a whole increases. Another disadvantage is that an auxiliary member such as a tray is required.

(Example 2) A monolithic solar cell was produced using the deposited film processing apparatus of the present invention shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 shows the flow of all the steps. First, the outline of the entire process will be described with reference to FIG.

In step 1), the flexible substrate is washed. In step 2), an insulating layer is formed on the substrate. In step 3), a base electrode for a solar cell is formed. Step 4)
Then, the underlying electrode is scribed by the method for processing a deposited film of the present invention. In step 5), a semiconductor (photovoltaic) layer is formed. In step 6), the semiconductor layer is scribed by the method for processing a deposited film of the present invention. Top (transparent) in step 7)
Create electrodes. In step 8), the upper electrode is scribed by the deposited film processing method of the present invention.

The above steps are all performed by the R to R method. The method of depositing each layer itself is not a specific method of the present invention, and therefore will not be described in detail. However, the method of conforming to US Pat. No. 4,400,409 is used for the semiconductor layer. Similarly, R to
It was created by performing sputtering at R.

The details of the above-described steps will be described below.

Step 1) The flexible substrate was washed by the R to R method. The washing liquid was orchete (trade name): (NaOH,
After washing, the washing liquid was washed away with pure water. Then, after drying by air blow, it was rolled up again.

Step 2) After cleaning, R is placed on the flexible substrate.
An insulating layer was formed by a toR method. A silicon oxide film was deposited to a thickness of 3 μm using a reactive sputtering method. After the film was deposited, it was rolled up again.

Step 3) A base electrode was further formed on the insulating film. The base electrode was made of aluminum having a thickness of 3000 mm by sputtering. After the formation of the base electrode, it was similarly wound up in a roll.

Step 4) The underlying electrode was scribed using the deposited film processing apparatus of the present invention shown in FIG. The roll-shaped flexible substrate on which the base electrode is deposited is set on a delivery roller 610, passes through a gap between the substrate position holding means 630 and the drum-shaped mask 652, passes through a cleaning tank 670, and is further dried and then taken up by a winding roller. 620. Here, the slit 653 of the drum-shaped mask has a width of 15 mm.
0 μm, provided every 10 mm pitch. As scribe conditions, alumina having an average particle diameter of 10 μm was used as abrasive grains, and the distance between the nozzle and the processing section of the substrate was 3 cm. Pure water was used as the cleaning liquid 671. The substrate feed speed was 300 mm / min. As a result, scribe grooves having a width of about 130 μm were formed in the base electrode at a pitch of 10 mm.

Step 5) After scribing the underlying electrode, R
A semiconductor (photovoltaic) layer was deposited on a flexible substrate by the toR method. The CVD method was used as a method for forming the film itself. In addition, as the layer structure, an N-type amorphous silicon layer (200 °), an I-type morphous silicon layer (3200 °), and a P-type morphous silicon layer (1
10 °). After the formation of the semiconductor layer, the flexible substrate was wound up again in a roll shape.

Step 6) The semiconductor layer was scribed in the same manner as in step 4. The scribing conditions are the same as in step 4, except that the substrate feed speed is 450 mm per minute.
The scribe position of the base electrode was detected by the sensor 654, and the scribe position of the semiconductor layer was created at a position shifted by 100 μm from the scribe position of the base electrode.
The substrate after the semiconductor layer scribe was wound on a winding roller.

Step 7) An upper (transparent) electrode was further formed on the semiconductor layer where the scribe grooves were formed. The upper electrode was an ITO film formed by a sputtering method. The thickness of the ITO film was approximately 700 °.

Step 8) The upper electrode was scribed in the same manner as in step 6. The scribe conditions are the same as in step 6, except that the substrate feed speed is set to 500 mm per minute.
The scribe position of the semiconductor layer was detected by the sensor 654, and the scribe position of the upper electrode was created at a position shifted by 100 μm from the scribe position of the semiconductor layer.
The flexible substrate after the upper electrode scribe was wound on a winding roller.

As described above, a deposited film constituting the monolithic solar cell as shown in FIG. 2 was formed.

Next, the deposited film formed in the above step was fed out and cut at intervals of about 500 mm. This is the 50 series solar cells monolithic in the above process. A power extraction terminal was attached to the cut substrate, and solar cell characteristics were measured. As a result, good characteristics were obtained.

[0083]

According to the present invention, the blast method is changed from R to R.
A specific method and a specific device for implementing the method have been invented. As a result, monolithic deposition films, particularly solar cells, can be made by the R to R method, and the mass productivity of solar cells has been dramatically improved. Furthermore, as a result, the cost of manufacturing solar cells can be significantly reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an example of a deposited film processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a monolithic solar cell.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the start and end of blasting.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing another example of the deposited film processing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing another example of the deposited film processing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing one example of a deposited film processing apparatus of the present invention for selectively removing a deposited film by a blast method via a mask.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a scribe state by the apparatus of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an adjusting means for defining a scribe position with respect to a scribe position of an underlayer.

FIG. 9 is a view showing an apparatus for forming a deposited film by a conveyor method.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a flow of all steps for producing a monolithic solar cell.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 101 flexible substrate 102 feed-out roller 103 take-up roller 104 support roller 105 hollow pipe 106 nozzle 107 blasting abrasive particles for blast from nozzle 106 200, 300 substrate 201, 301 insulating layer 202, 302 base electrode 203, 303 Semiconductor layer 204, 304 Surface electrode 205 Base electrode open groove 206 Semiconductor layer open groove 207 Surface electrode open groove 305 Mask 306 Nozzle 307 Abrasive 400 Flexible substrate 410 Sending roller 411 Tension motor 420 Winding roller 421 Winding motor 430 Substrate position holding means 440 Rolling prevention roller 441 Suspension device 442 Motor 443 Substrate winding deviation detecting sensor 450 Hollow pipe 451 Nozzle 452 Abrasive particles for blasting Spout from the nozzle through the hollow pipe 500 Flexible substrate 510 Delivery roller 520 Take-up roller 530 Substrate position holding means 540 Rolling prevention roller 550 Nozzle 551 Abrasive grains spout 560 Nozzle 561 Gas spout 570 Cleaning tank 571 Cleaning liquid 572 Ultrasonic oscillator 580 Nozzle 581 Gas ejection 600 Flexible substrate 610 Delivery roller 620 Take-up roller 630 Flexible substrate substrate position holding means 640 Unwinding prevention roller 650 Abrasive grains for blasting Nozzle 651 Gas blowing 652 Drum mask 653 Slit 670 Cleaning tank 671 Cleaning liquid 672 Ultrasonic oscillator 680 Nozzle for removing cleaning liquid remaining on substrate 700 Flexible substrate 701 Flexible base Deposited film formed on plate 710 Substrate position holding means 720 Abrasive grain ejection nozzle 722 Drum mask 723 Slit 730 Scribe groove 800 Substrate position holding means 801 Drum mask 802 Slit 803 Flexible substrate 810 Clearance 811 Clearance adjustment mechanism 900 Flexible substrate 901 Delivery roller 910 Tray 911 Conveyor 912 Roller 920 Pressing roller 930 Cutting machine 950 Conveyor 951 Roller 960 Blast processing chamber 961 Nozzle

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Koji Tsuzuki, Inventor 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Koichi Shimizu 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inside (72) Inventor Yoshifumi Takeyama 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo F-term (reference) 4K030 BA02 BA29 BA35 BB05 CA12 DA03 DA08 FA01 GA04 GA14 LA16 5F051 AA05 BA14 CA14 CB27 DA04 EA02 EA09 EA10 EA11 EA14 FA04 FA06 GA05 GA06

Claims (17)

[Claims] 1. A deposited film processing apparatus having a function of removing at least a part of the deposited film by colliding fine particles while feeding out a flexible substrate having a deposited film formed on a surface thereof. 2. A method of processing a deposited film, comprising means for removing unnecessary substances remaining on a flexible substrate having a deposited film partially removed by collision with fine particles while feeding out the flexible substrate. apparatus. 3. A means for removing at least a part of the deposited film by colliding particles while feeding out a flexible substrate having a deposited film formed on a surface thereof, and the flexible substrate after colliding the particles. Means for removing unnecessary substances remaining on the flexible substrate while feeding out the flexible substrate. 4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a function of causing particles to collide while holding a surface of the flexible substrate opposite to a processing surface by a substrate position holding means. Deposition film processing equipment. 5. The deposited film processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a function of selectively removing the deposited film by colliding fine particles through a mask. 6. The deposited film processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the deposited film is at least a part of a film constituting a solar cell. 7. A method for processing a deposited film, wherein at least a part of the deposited film is removed by colliding fine particles while feeding out a flexible substrate having a deposited film formed on a surface thereof. 8. An unremovable substance remaining on the flexible substrate after removing at least a part of the deposited film by colliding particles while feeding out the flexible substrate having a deposited film formed on the surface. A method for processing a deposited film, comprising removing a flexible substrate while feeding it out. 9. The method for processing a deposited film according to claim 7, wherein the fine particles collide while holding the surface of the flexible substrate opposite to the processing surface by a substrate position holding means. 10. The method according to claim 7, wherein the deposited film is selectively removed by colliding fine particles through a mask. 11. The film according to claim 7, wherein the deposited film is at least a part of a film constituting a solar cell.
0. The method for processing a deposited film according to any one of the above items. 12. A deposition film characterized by removing and processing at least a part of the deposition film by colliding fine particles while feeding out a flexible substrate having a deposition film formed on a surface thereof. 13. A flexible substrate having a deposited film formed on a surface thereof is fed, and at least a part of the deposited film is removed by colliding fine particles to remove unnecessary substances remaining on the flexible substrate. A deposited film obtained by removing and processing a conductive substrate while feeding it out. 14. The deposited film according to claim 12, wherein the deposited film is processed by selectively removing the deposited film by colliding fine particles through a mask. 15. The deposited film according to claim 12, wherein the deposited film is at least a part of a film constituting a solar cell. 16. A function of detecting at least a groove already formed in a deposited film on a substrate and colliding fine particles while controlling the place of collision to remove at least a part of the deposited film. Film processing equipment. 17. A processing method for a deposited film, wherein a groove already formed in a deposited film on a substrate is detected, and at least a part of the deposited film is removed by colliding fine particles while controlling the place where the collision is made. Method.