JP2005183501A - Method of forming through-hole in thin-film substrate and its apparatus, and method of manufacturing thin-film solar battery using the method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a low-cost method and apparatus of forming through-holes in a thin-film substrate which can suppress the occurrence of sagging and cracking of the substrate and can smoothly remove slag after punching even if a clearance between a punch and a corresponding die opening is enlarged, and to provide a method of manufacturing a thin-film solar battery using the method. <P>SOLUTION: The apparatus of forming through-holes in the thin-film substrate comprises a punch plate 11 having a plurality of punches 2, die 3 having a plurality of openings 3a facing the punches 2, press plate 7 which has a plurality of holes for passing the punch through which is installed on the punch plate 11 via a spring means 13 for pressing the substrate, lower mold 4 for fixing the die, upper mold 5 which is installed opposite to the lower mold 4 and moves the punch plate 11 up and down, and press unit 14 for pressurizing the upper mold 5. The air 10 of a prescribed pressure is supplied from the anti-substrate side of the plurality of openings of the die 3. With the prescribed pressure of the air working on the die opening-side surface of the substrate 1a, punching is carried out by the punches 2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a thin film solar cell, and a substrate or at least a part of a thin film functional element formed by laminating a functional thin film such as the thin film solar cell, a semiconductor, and a photoreceptor, and a thin film such as an electrode layer and a protective layer. The present invention relates to a thin-film substrate through-hole processing method and apparatus for forming a plurality of predetermined through-holes on a substrate on which a thin film is formed.

  A photoelectric conversion part formed by sequentially laminating a first electrode layer, a photoelectric conversion layer, and a transparent electrode layer (second electrode layer) as a lower electrode layer on the surface of a film substrate having electrical insulation, and formed on the back surface of the substrate A third electrode layer and a fourth electrode layer serving as connection electrode layers, wherein the photoelectric conversion portion and the connection electrode layer are separated from each other and separated into unit parts, and formed outside the transparent electrode layer formation region The adjacent unit photoelectric conversion portions separated from each other on the surface are electrically connected in series via the connection hole for electrical series connection and the current collection hole formed in the transparent electrode layer forming region. A manufacturing method of a thin film solar cell is disclosed in Patent Document 1 in which the connection hole and the current collecting hole are processed using a mold including a punch and a die.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram described in Patent Document 1, and shows a simplified perspective view of the structure of the thin film solar cell as described above for easy understanding of the structure. In FIG. 10, the unit photoelectric conversion element 62 formed on the surface of the substrate 61 and the connection electrode layer 63 formed on the back surface of the substrate 61 are completely separated into a plurality of unit units, and are formed by shifting the separation positions. ing. For this reason, the current generated in the photoelectric conversion layer 65, which is an amorphous semiconductor portion of the photoelectric conversion element 62, is first collected in the transparent electrode layer 66, and then the current collection hole 67 (h2) formed in the transparent electrode layer region. Is connected to the connection electrode layer 63 on the back surface, and is connected to the element via the connection hole 68 (h1) for series connection formed outside the transparent electrode layer region of the element in the connection electrode layer region. The lower electrode layer 64 extending outside the transparent electrode layer region is reached, and the two elements are connected in series. The connection electrode layer 63 is divided into a third electrode layer and a fourth electrode layer (not shown) to form one electrode layer for convenience of manufacture.

  FIG. 8 is an example of a plan view showing the arrangement of the position detection holes (h3) and the connection holes (h1) of the substrate in the thin film solar cell, and FIG. It is an example of the top view of the board | substrate with which the current collection hole (h2) was further opened after forming the 3rd electrode layer. Below, the formation procedure of each hole is described (for details, refer patent document 1).

  The substrate 1a is opened in the order of the position detection hole h3 and the connection hole h1. The position detection holes h3 are opened at intervals of a predetermined unit pattern of the solar cell, and are used for subsequent transport positioning. First, the position detection hole h3 is opened, and thereafter, the substrate 1a is conveyed by a predetermined distance and stopped, and a row of a plurality of connection holes h1 is formed by one punch operation in the width direction of the film. After repeating this a predetermined number of times, the position detection hole h3 is opened. The distance of the position detection hole h3 is defined as the length of one basic pattern, and by repeating this, a large number of basic patterns can be formed on the long substrate 1a. After forming the lower electrode layer and the third electrode layer, they are attached to the same opening device, the position detection holes h3 are detected by the position detection sensor and stopped, and then a predetermined number of rows of current collecting holes h2 are opened. Also in this case, the connection hole h1 is formed by the same method.

  Next, the punching process using a so-called punch, which is related to the above hole processing and is processed using a die composed of a punch and a die, will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an opening device in a thin-film solar cell manufacturing apparatus, and includes substrate transporting means, through-hole processing means, and processing position detection hole processing means. The substrate 1a fed from the unwinding roll R1 is sequentially processed into a predetermined number of processing positions at a predetermined position by a hole opening portion P3 for detecting a processing position, a current collecting hole opening portion P2, and a connection hole opening portion P1. After the detection hole, the current collecting hole and the connection hole are opened and cleaned by the cleaning device, the detection hole, the current collecting hole and the connection hole are wound around the winding roll R2. Corresponding to the various hole positions, the transport direction and transport distance of the substrate 1a are controlled using the processing position detection hole as a reference.

  FIG. 7 is an enlarged schematic view of a hole portion of a conventional hole opening device. The opening portion includes a punch P having a hole cross-section of the substrate, and a die D having the same opening as the stripper plate Ps having an opening portion having the same cross-sectional shape as the punch P. The die D and the punch P are configured to have a predetermined clearance C. The substrate 1a that has been transported and stopped between the die D and the stripper plate Ps is pressed by the stripper plate Ps. In this state, the punch P punches (penetrates) the substrate 1a, and a hole is formed in the substrate 1a.

  The punch P and the corresponding opening portions of the die D are formed in a single die, and the pitch between punches, the pitch between die opening portions, and the punch diameter and the hole diameter of the die opening portion are highly accurate. It has been finished. Further, the gap (one-side clearance) between the punch diameter and the hole diameter of the die opening portion is 1 μm to 4 μm, and is combined with high accuracy.

  By the way, after punching is performed using a punch, it is necessary to smoothly remove punching sludge (slag). Various methods for removing this slag have been proposed. A method of forming an air introduction nozzle on the die side and pumping and discharging the discharged residue by air blow (see Patent Documents 2 and 3), and other suction of a blower A discharge method using a vacuum differential pressure due to is proposed.

  FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the punch die disclosed in Patent Document 2, with a part number changed. According to the description of Patent Document 2, the apparatus shown in FIG. 5 is “a punch type that can eliminate the tip attached to the punch tip even for a workpiece such as a green sheet or a flexible substrate whose punching pitch has been extremely shortened. The following configuration is provided.

That is, “the die hole 21a close to one plate is opened to form the die plate 21, and the contact hole 22c communicating with the outside and the escape hole 22b are communicated with the surface of the support 22 that supports the die plate 21. An air flow passage 23 is formed by providing a communication groove 22d, and the tip W1 sticking to the tip is removed by air blowing the punch tip protruding from the outside compressed air through the air flow passage 23 to the escape hole 22b when drilling. To do. "
“The movable mold A has a punch holder 31 connected to the lower end of the ram B, a stepped concave step 32a formed in two steps, a punch pad 32 connected to the punch holder 31, and a concave step 32a. The punch 33 having a plurality of fifth-order square matrices inserted and the upper stage of the concave step 32a stepped from the upper surface of the punch pad 32 is covered and the punch 33 is fixed. And a stripper 36 that guides the tip of the punch 33 and communicates with the guide post 35 so as to be movable up and down. The stripper 36 abuts against the workpiece W and moves up and down relatively. As a result, the tip of the punch 33 that performs drilling protrudes and descends from the lower surface of the stripper 36. "
Although not shown, according to the description of Patent Document 3, the punch mold disclosed in Patent Document 3 is described as follows: “High-speed and high-pressure air is ejected from an injection port provided in a die of the punch mold, A swirl flow is generated at the inner diameter of the punch pin, and the swirl flow forcibly pulls off the waste that adheres to the tip of the punch pin. The configuration is designed to prevent this.
JP 2001-156212 A (pages 2-6, FIGS. 5-11) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-33997 (pages 2 and 3, FIGS. 1 to 3) JP-A-11-58297 (page 3, FIGS. 1 to 4)

  However, the conventional method of forming various through holes with a punch and die has the following problems. For example, the thickness of the film substrate used in the thin film solar cell is as thin as 50 μm to 100 μm, and the gap (clearance) between the punch and the die opening in the case of opening by the above punch is 1 μm to 4 μm as described above. There is a need. In order to form the gap of 1 μm to 4 μm, high precision processing and assembly accuracy are required, and manufacturing costs such as processing costs and assembly adjustment costs are high, and the manufacturing period is also long, such as one month. There is.

  When the punch and die are punched into the film substrate, the punch is fitted into the die hole from above, the punch is raised again, the substrate is conveyed, the punch is lowered, and hole formation is repeated. With this operation, the punch and die are maintained in relative positions, and drilling can be achieved. This highly accurate operation can be achieved when the width of the film substrate is about 500 mm or less and the dimensions are relatively short. In other words, it is necessary for forming a hole with high precision of operation and processing accuracy of a die set including a punch and a die.

  In addition, even if the initial accuracy is sufficient, if the punch and die are misaligned due to a difference in thermal expansion due to temperature changes, chipping (chipping) or failure that breaks the punch occurs. As an operating environment for preventing this, there is a problem that a processing chamber whose temperature is uniformly controlled is required.

  At present, application of a large width such as 1 m is required as a film substrate. When the die set width is increased in the gap of 1 μm to 4 μm described above, the punch and die hole cannot be properly fitted due to a processing pitch accuracy error and a thermal expansion error, and chipping or breakage occurs in the punch or die described above. It is difficult to realize a 1 m wide drilling device. Moreover, in order to realize this, there is a problem that it takes time for advanced processing technology and processing / inspection / adjustment, and the cost of the entire apparatus becomes high.

  Furthermore, when the clearance is small, there is a problem that processing wear occurs and the mold life is shortened. Actually, before reaching the mold life, the cutting edge portion of the punch and die is re-polished and used, but this re-polishing period is as short as 200,000 shots to 500,000 shots, reducing the apparatus operating rate, Maintenance costs such as polishing costs will be required.

  On the other hand, when the clearance is increased to solve the above problems, the film substrate surface is pushed down in the punching direction and large dripping and burrs are generated on the back side, although the problems such as chipping and breakage can be prevented. There is a problem. When such drooling or burring occurs, an electrode formed on the substrate is not formed uniformly, or a defect such as a crack in the electrode layer formed on the substrate is caused.

  In short, in punching of through holes, if the clearance between the punch and the corresponding die opening is reduced in order to obtain a good cross-sectional shape of the through hole, 1) chipping or wear on the punch or die There is a problem that the service life is reduced by 2), and 2) a high machining accuracy and assembly accuracy of the mold are required, and the apparatus and the maintenance cost are high. On the other hand, if the clearance is increased in order to solve these problems, a new problem that causes sagging or cracks in the substrate occurs.

  That is, the above problems caused by the size of the clearance are in a trade-off relationship with each other, and it is desirable to comprehensively solve these problems. Furthermore, it is desired that the slag after punching be made a method that can be smoothly removed as in the conventional case.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to suppress the occurrence of sagging or cracking in the substrate even if the clearance between the punch and the die opening corresponding thereto is increased. In addition, an inexpensive thin-film substrate through-hole processing method and apparatus that can smoothly eliminate slag after punching and a thin-film solar cell manufacturing method using the through-hole processing method are provided.

  The above-mentioned subject is achieved by the following. That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a functional thin film such as a semiconductor, a solar cell, or a photoreceptor and a thin film such as an electrode layer or a protective layer are laminated on the surface of the film substrate having electrical insulation. A die having a plurality of predetermined through holes, punches corresponding to the plurality of holes, and a plurality of openings facing the punches on a substrate for a thin film functional element or a substrate on which at least a part of the thin film is formed. In the thin-film substrate through-hole processing method in which punching is performed using a die composed of: a punch-through hole is formed on the die having the plurality of openings when the punching is performed. After pressing and placing by a press plate, air of a predetermined pressure was supplied from the opposite side of the opening of the die to the surface of the opening of the substrate on the side of the opening of the die. In state And performing punching by.

  According to the processing method, the air pressure acting on the surface of the substrate on the side of the opening of the die performs the same function as that of supporting the back surface of the substrate by the die, and the punch and the die opening corresponding to the punch. Even if the clearance is increased, a machining state is generated when the clearance is substantially small. Therefore, the problem of sagging or cracking in the substrate when the clearance is increased can be solved.

  The predetermined pressure of the air varies depending on various specifications such as the material and thickness of the substrate, the diameter of the through hole, the pressurizing force of the punch, and the like, and finally needs to be determined experimentally. For example, the thin film solar cell In the through hole processing for use, 0.2 to 1.0 MPa is desirable. Details will be described later.

  As an embodiment of the invention of claim 1, the inventions of claims 2 to 3 below are preferable. That is, in the processing method according to claim 1, a clearance between the punch and the opening of the die is set to 5 μm or more (claim 2). Thereby, it is possible to perform processing that has a larger clearance than the conventional processing method and that does not cause sagging or cracking in the substrate.

  Furthermore, in the processing method according to claim 1 or 2, the air having the predetermined pressure is released to the atmosphere immediately after the punching with the punch or after a predetermined time has elapsed, and the slag generated by punching is released to the atmosphere. It discharges with the airflow produced by (claim 3). The predetermined time needs to be finally determined by experiment from the viewpoint of ensuring the function of supporting the back surface of the substrate by the die.

  According to the above method, the slag after punching can be suitably discharged. In addition, although it is the same as the method of the said patent document 2 and the patent document 3 in the point discharged | emitted by an airflow, in the case of the method of the patent document 2 and 3, the pressurized air is discharged | emitted from the beginning to the atmosphere open end. Unlike the present invention, the air pressure is maintained at the time of punching and the substrate is pressed so that it is not configured to counter the punching pressure.

  Further, as an invention in which the above processing method is applied to a thin film solar cell, the invention of claim 4 is preferable. That is, a photoelectric conversion part formed by sequentially laminating a first electrode layer as a lower electrode layer, a photoelectric conversion layer, and a transparent electrode layer (second electrode layer) on the surface of an electrically insulating film substrate, and a back surface of the substrate A third electrode layer and a fourth electrode layer as connection electrode layers formed on the substrate, wherein the photoelectric conversion portion and the connection electrode layer are separated from each other into unit parts by shifting positions from each other, and outside the transparent electrode layer formation region The adjacent unit photoelectric conversion portions separated from each other on the surface are electrically connected in series via the connection hole for electrical series connection formed in and the current collection hole formed in the transparent electrode layer formation region. In the manufacturing method of the thin film solar cell thus formed, the electrically insulating substrate is step-conveyed, and the plurality of connection holes and / or the plurality of current collecting holes are provided in any one of claims 1 to 3. Thin film substrate through hole processing method Characterized by punching by (claim 4).

  Furthermore, as an apparatus for carrying out the processing method, the invention of claim 5 or 6 is preferable. An apparatus for carrying out the thin-film substrate through-hole processing method according to claim 1, comprising: a punch plate having a plurality of punches; a die having a plurality of openings facing the punches; and the punches. A punch plate that is attached to the plate via a spring means for pressing the substrate and has a plurality of holes for penetrating the punch; a lower die for fixing the die; An upper mold as a movable mold for moving up and down, a means for pressurizing the upper mold, and an air pressure of a predetermined pressure from the opposite side of the plurality of openings of the die to the surface of the opening of the die on the substrate And a means for acting. (Claim 5).

  Further, in the thin-film substrate through-hole processing apparatus according to claim 5, the means for applying the air pressure includes a plurality of air supply ports provided in the lower mold corresponding to the plurality of openings of the die. And a sealed conduit provided below the lower mold in communication with the air supply port, and a pressurized air introducing means and a pressurized air discharging means provided in the sealed conduit. (Claim 6).

  According to the present invention, it is not necessary to process or assemble a high-precision mold apparatus, the parts production cost and the mold assembly time can be shortened, a short delivery time can be realized, and the cost can be reduced. In addition, the punch and die clearances were conventionally manufactured from 1 μm to 4 μm. However, this clearance can be expanded to 5 μm or more, and the service life can be prevented from being shortened due to wear and chipping. Cost mold equipment can be provided.

  Conventionally, the punching method, which has been applied to products having a relatively short width of about 500 mm or less, can be applied to a 1 m wide film substrate by applying the present invention by increasing the clearance. This makes it possible to improve mass productivity. In addition, the operating environment may be a general air-conditioning room rather than a uniform temperature-controlled processing room, which can reduce building construction costs and operating costs.

  In addition, when the substrate is punched out by a punch, the substrate is supported by the pressure of the pressurized air, and good processing can be achieved without dripping or cracking. Further, the waste punched out by the punch by exhausting the pressurized air after punching can be easily discharged by the exhaust flow, and the apparatus can be operated repeatedly.

  In addition, according to the present invention, although the clearance is large, good hole processing without sagging and cracking can be performed, and mass productivity is improved by applying the present invention to the above-described thin film solar cell manufacturing method. A low-cost thin film solar cell can be provided.

  Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a punch die according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of a punch and a die in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a punching state according to the present invention. 4 is a schematic diagram (comparative diagram with FIG. 3) showing a punching state of a conventional method in which pressurized air does not act.

  The punch die shown in FIG. 1 is an apparatus for carrying out a through hole processing method on a substrate 1a, and includes a punch plate 11 having a plurality of punches 2 and a plurality of openings 3a facing the punches 2. A die 3, a press plate 7 attached to the punch plate 11 via a substrate pressing spring 13 and a guide 12, and having a plurality of holes for punch penetration, and the die fixing lower mold 4 The upper die 5 that is provided facing the lower die 4 and moves the punch plate 11 up and down, the press unit 14 as a means for pressurizing the upper die 5, and a plurality of the die 3 Means for applying an air pressure of a predetermined pressure to the surface of the substrate on the side of the opening of the die from the opposite side of the opening.

  The means for applying the air pressure includes a plurality of air supply ports 16 provided in the lower mold 4 corresponding to the plurality of openings of the die 3, and the lower air ports communicating with the air supply ports 16. It consists of a sealed conduit 8 provided below the mold 4, and pressurized air introduction means and pressurized air discharge means provided on the sealed conduit 8. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 6 denotes a guide post that guides the vertical movement of the upper die 5, 9 denotes a discharge valve for pressurized air, 10 denotes pressurized air, and 15 denotes an air supply valve.

  Next, the operation of the punch mold shown in FIG. 1 will be described. The film-like substrate 1a is wound around a core (not shown), and is automatically conveyed into a mold and positioned. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the substrate 1a is transported between the die 3 and the press plate 7 to perform hole processing. First, the upper die 5 is pushed down by the press unit 14 indicated by an arrow in FIG. 1 with respect to the substrate 1a that has been transported and stopped, and by this operation, the press plate 7 first descends along the guide 12 and the substrate. And is in close contact with the die 3 via the substrate 1a. The adhesion force is determined by the spring 13.

  This spring force acts on the press plate 7, the substrate 1a, and the die 3 to enhance the adhesion of the substrate to the die. In this state, the air supply valve 15 is opened and the pressurized air 10 is introduced. The pressurized air 10 is filled in the sealed pipe body 8, the lower mold 4, and the die 3 and rises to a predetermined pressure. Next, the upper die 5 is further pushed down by the pressing operation of the press unit 14, and only the punch 2 is lowered, and the substrate 1 a is drilled and inserted into the opening 3 a of the die 3. In a state where the pressurizing force of the pressurized air 10 is applied to the substrate 1 a, the substrate is cut by the punching force of the punch 2 and is directly pushed into the opening of the die 3.

  Next, the air supply valve 15 is closed, the exhaust valve 9 is opened, and the pressurized air is released. At this time, the residue punched out by the punch 2 is discharged to the outside by the airflow. Further, the press unit 14 is driven up and the upper die 5 follows this. Further, the punch 2 is lifted out of the opening 3a of the die 3 and the hole formed in the substrate. Further, the press plate 7 is lifted and stopped after being brought into close contact with the substrate. Thereby, the board | substrate 1a becomes free, and only a predetermined conveyance pitch is sent and stops. Drilling is performed by repeating the above operation.

  Next, FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 will be described. As described above, FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a punching state according to the present invention, showing the clearance between the punch 2 and the opening 3a of the die, and showing a good processing state as an image. On the other hand, FIG. 4 is a comparative view showing a punching state of a conventional method in which pressurized air does not act, and shows an image of a state in which anyone or a crack has occurred. In FIG. 3, the clearance is 5 μm or more. However, the deviation of the center position between the die 3 and the punch 2 may be 2 to 3 μm.

  Next, an example of processing the through hole in the thin film solar cell will be described. First, although the diameter of the through hole is in the range of 0.5 to 3 mm, a case where 200 holes with a diameter of 3 mm are processed simultaneously will be described. In this case, the air pressure acting on the back surface of the substrate is, for example, 0.98 MPa. In this case, the force acting on the substrate surface of the openings 3a of the 200 dies is about 1.4 KN in calculation. Therefore, the pressing force of the press unit 14 needs to be greater than at least 1.4 KN. The press unit 14 can be selected within a range of 1 to 40 KN, for example, and can cope with various processing specifications.

  According to the embodiment as described above, even if the clearance between the punch and the die opening corresponding to the punch is increased, the occurrence of sagging and cracks in the substrate through-hole portion can be suppressed. Moreover, the slag after punching can be removed smoothly, and inexpensive through-hole processing can be performed.

The typical sectional view of the punch metallic mold concerning the embodiment of this invention. The partial expanded sectional view of the punch and die in FIG. The schematic diagram which shows the punching process state in connection with this invention. The comparison schematic diagram which shows the punching processing state of the conventional method where pressurized air does not act. Sectional drawing of the punch type | mold disclosed by patent document 2. FIG. The cross-sectional schematic diagram of the opening apparatus in the manufacturing apparatus of a thin film solar cell. The expansion schematic diagram of the opening part of the conventional opening apparatus. The top view which shows an example of arrangement | positioning of the position detection hole and connection hole of a board | substrate for thin film solar cells. The top view which shows an example of the board | substrate with which the current collection hole was further opened in FIG. The perspective view which simplifies and shows the structure of a thin film solar cell.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1a Substrate 2 Punch 3 Die 3a Opening 4 Lower mold 5 Upper mold 7 Press plate 8 Sealed conduit 9 Discharge valve 10 Pressurized air 11 Punch plate 13 Spring 14 Press unit 15 Air supply valve 16 Air supply port

Claims (6)

A thin film functional element substrate or at least a part of a thin film such as a functional thin film such as a semiconductor, a solar cell, or a photoreceptor and a thin film such as an electrode layer or a protective layer formed on the surface of an electrically insulating film substrate A plurality of predetermined through holes are punched into a substrate on which a thin film has been formed using a die comprising a punch corresponding to the plurality of holes and a die having a plurality of openings facing the punch. In the thin film substrate through hole processing method,
In the punching process, the electrically insulating substrate is placed on the die having the plurality of openings by pressing it with a press plate having a hole for penetrating holes, and then the reaction of the opening of the die is reversed. A thin-film substrate through-hole machining method comprising: punching with a punch while supplying air at a predetermined pressure from the substrate side and applying the predetermined pressure of the air to a surface of the substrate on the opening side of the die .   2. The processing method according to claim 1, wherein a clearance between the punch and the opening of the die is 5 [mu] m or more.   3. The processing method according to claim 1, wherein immediately after the punching with the punch or after a predetermined time has elapsed, the air having the predetermined pressure is released to the atmosphere, and slag generated by punching is generated by the release of the atmosphere. A thin-film substrate through-hole machining method, wherein the thin-film substrate is discharged by an air flow. A photoelectric conversion part formed by sequentially laminating a first electrode layer, a photoelectric conversion layer, and a transparent electrode layer (second electrode layer) as a lower electrode layer on the surface of a film substrate having electrical insulation, and formed on the back surface of the substrate A third electrode layer and a fourth electrode layer serving as connection electrode layers, wherein the photoelectric conversion portion and the connection electrode layer are separated from each other and separated into unit parts, and formed outside the transparent electrode layer formation region The adjacent unit photoelectric conversion portions separated from each other on the surface are electrically connected in series via the connection hole for electrical series connection and the current collection hole formed in the transparent electrode layer forming region. In the method for manufacturing a thin film solar cell,
4. The step of conveying the electrically insulating substrate, and punching out the plurality of connection holes and / or the plurality of current collecting holes by the thin film substrate through-hole processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 3. A method for producing a thin-film solar cell.   An apparatus for carrying out the thin-film substrate through-hole processing method according to claim 1, wherein a punch plate having a plurality of punches, a die having a plurality of openings facing the punches, and the punch plate A press plate that is attached via a spring means for pressing the substrate and has a plurality of holes for penetrating the punch, a lower die for fixing the die, and a lower die that is provided opposite to the lower die, and raising and lowering the punch plate An upper mold as a movable mold to be moved, means for pressurizing the upper mold, and air pressure of a predetermined pressure is applied to the surface of the substrate on the opening side of the die from the opposite side of the plurality of openings of the die A thin-film substrate through-hole processing apparatus. 6. The thin-film substrate through-hole processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the means for applying air pressure includes a plurality of air supply ports provided in the lower mold corresponding to the plurality of openings of the die, and the supply air. A through-thin film substrate comprising: a sealed conduit provided in a lower portion of the lower mold in communication with a vent; and a pressurized air introducing means and a pressurized air discharging means provided in the sealed conduit Drilling device.

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