JP2006045593A - Substrate treatment device and substrate treatment method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate treatment device and a substrate treatment method by which the occurrence of wrinkles in a substrate can be prevented or suppressed at the time of substrate treatment, thereby reducing the nonuniformity of the substrate treatment. <P>SOLUTION: In the substrate treatment device, a groove part having a prescribed wavy shape is formed on the surface of a contact part with a flexible substrate in a heater installed in each treatment chamber. In this way, the part to be thermally expanded in the flexible substrate at the time of surface treatment is adsorbed. Thus, the occurrence of wrinkles caused by thermal expansion in the flexible substrate and the nonuniformity of the surface treatment accompanied thereby can be suppressed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method for sequentially executing a predetermined surface treatment on at least a part of a flexible substrate that is continuous in a belt shape.

  Conventionally, as a method for efficiently forming a plurality of layers of thin films on a continuous belt-like flexible substrate, a roll-to-roll method in which a flexible substrate is continuously transported and formed in the process of moving through each processing chamber. In addition, there is known a stepping roll method in which a flexible substrate is intermittently transported and stopped in each processing chamber to form a film, and the substrate portion after film formation is sent to the next adjacent processing chamber.

  In particular, according to the substrate processing apparatus adopting the latter stepping roll method, the substrate surface processing and the element mounting processing on the substrate are sequentially and efficiently performed by intermittently transporting the continuous flexible substrate. be able to. At that time, since processing is performed by mechanically isolating a part of the substrate from the outside, gas mutual diffusion between adjacent processing chambers can be prevented, and deterioration of the quality of the thin film and the substrate can be prevented ( For example, see Patent Document 1).

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a periphery of a processing portion of a substrate that is surface-treated by such a stepping roll method, as seen in a certain cross section.
As shown in the figure, the belt-like substrate 101 is transported in a state where a predetermined tension is applied in the transport direction, and the processing portion is stopped in the processing space 102. At this time, the boundary portion of the substrate 101 is held and fixed by the upper and lower frame bodies 103 that define the processing space 102. At this time, since a sealing member 104 such as an O-ring is interposed between the upper and lower frame bodies 103, the gas in the processing space 102 is prevented from leaking to the outside. Then, a thin film is deposited by plasma CVD, vapor deposition, sputtering or the like in a state where a predetermined processing portion disposed in the processing space 102 of the substrate 101 is heated by a heating means 105 such as a heater.
JP-A-9-63970

  However, in such a substrate processing apparatus, only the portion of the substrate 101 disposed in the processing space 102 is heated, so that the substrate 101 partially thermally expands. In this case, tension is applied in the transport direction of the substrate 101, and the thermal expansion is absorbed, so that no particular problem occurs. However, no tension is applied in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the substrate 101, and wrinkles are generated as a result of expansion with both ends fixed. When a thin film is deposited on the bowl-like substrate 101, a film thickness distribution corresponding to the shape is formed. Similarly, when the substrate 101 is subjected to plasma etching or plasma modification treatment (plasma treatment), the surface treatment can be distributed according to the shape of the substrate 101 in which wrinkles are generated. For this reason, there is a problem that the surface treatment becomes non-uniform, and the characteristics of the substrate 101 and the elements mounted thereon are deteriorated and the number of defects is increased.

  Such a problem is caused by the temperature distribution due to the fixing and heating of the substrate 101. Therefore, it is considered that the entire portion related to the conveyance of the substrate 101 can be prevented by heating. However, if the portion of the substrate 101 that mechanically isolates the processing portion is heated, another problem such as deterioration of the seal member 104 provided on the frame 103 to prevent gas diffusion occurs.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate that can prevent or suppress generation of wrinkles on a substrate during substrate processing, thereby suppressing non-uniformity in substrate processing. An object is to provide a processing method.

  In the present invention, in order to solve the above-described problem, a conveying means for conveying a flexible substrate continuous in a strip shape while applying a predetermined tension along the longitudinal direction thereof, and the flexible substrate conveyed to the conveying means. A process having heating means for contacting and heating at least a part of the conductive substrate, and processing means for performing a predetermined surface treatment on the portion of the flexible substrate heated by the heating means A groove portion having a wave shape in a direction substantially perpendicular to the transport direction of the flexible substrate is formed on the surface of the contact portion of the heating means with the flexible substrate. The wave shape of the groove has a shape with a period of about x and a height of ± y, and the period of x and the height of y is the rate of thermal expansion of the flexible substrate, σ, When the thickness of the flexible substrate is t, the following formula is satisfied: A substrate processing apparatus is provided.

  According to such a substrate processing apparatus, even if the portion of the flexible substrate heated by contacting the heating means is thermally expanded, a predetermined tension is applied in the conveyance direction of the flexible substrate. Therefore, this thermal expansion component can be absorbed. On the other hand, a groove having a wave shape is formed on the surface of the contact portion of the heating means with the flexible substrate in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the flexible substrate. Even if it is thermally expanded in a direction perpendicular to the direction, the expanded portion is deformed along the groove.

  If the period of the wave shape of the groove portion of the heating means is too small, the flexible substrate cannot be deformed along the shape of the groove portion and a large wrinkle is formed, but the shape of the groove portion of the heating means is By satisfying the equation, the thermal expansion of the flexible substrate can be sufficiently absorbed.

  In the present invention, the flexible substrate that is continuous in a strip shape is transported to a processing chamber while applying a predetermined tension along the longitudinal direction thereof by a transport mechanism, and the flexible substrate is transported to the processing chamber. In the substrate processing method in which the heating means is brought into contact with at least a part of the substrate and heated, and a predetermined surface treatment is performed by the processing means on the heated portion of the flexible substrate. On the surface of the contact portion with the flexible substrate, a groove portion having a wave shape with a period of approximately x and a height of ± y is formed in a direction substantially perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the flexible substrate, and the period x and The substrate processing method is characterized in that the height y satisfies the following formula when the rate of thermal expansion of the flexible substrate is σ and the thickness of the flexible substrate is t. Provided.

  According to such a substrate processing method, the flexible substrate is separated from the conveyance direction by the wavy groove formed in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the flexible substrate on the surface of the contact portion of the heating unit. Even if it thermally expands in a direction perpendicular to it, the thermal expansion can be sufficiently absorbed.

According to the substrate processing apparatus and the substrate processing method of the present invention, the thermal expansion of the flexible substrate during the surface treatment is absorbed by the wavy groove formed on the surface of the contact portion of the heating means.
As a result, the generation of wrinkles due to the thermal expansion of the flexible substrate and the accompanying nonuniformity in the surface treatment can be suppressed.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating the entire configuration of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating the structure of a processing chamber configuring the substrate processing apparatus. . FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic structure of a photoelectric conversion element that has been surface-treated by the substrate processing apparatus.

  In this substrate processing apparatus, a predetermined film is laminated by sequentially performing a surface treatment on a belt-like flexible substrate (flexible substrate) in a plurality of processing chambers, thereby forming amorphous silicon composed of a plurality of layers. A photoelectric conversion element is formed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the photoelectric conversion element includes a metal electrode 2, an n-type conductive layer 3, a substantially authentic photoactive layer (i layer) 4, and a p-type conductive layer on a continuous substrate 1. 5 and a transparent electrode 6 made of a transparent oxide are sequentially laminated. Here, a polyimide substrate having a thickness of 10 to 200 μm, a width of 500 mm, and a total length of about 500 m is used as the substrate 1. In addition to this, a substrate made of resin such as polyester, polyethylene, polyamide, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polycarbonate, polystyrene, or a stainless substrate can be used as the substrate 1. The thickness and width of the substrate 1 can be changed according to the required size of the photoelectric conversion element. The total length of the substrate 1 may be longer than the total length of the substrate processing apparatus and shorter than the length determined from the maintenance cycle necessary for the substrate processing apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate processing apparatus 10 uses a stepping roll method in which a flexible substrate wound in a roll shape is unwound, intermittently conveyed between a plurality of processing chambers, and sequentially subjected to surface treatment. A film forming apparatus.

  In other words, the substrate processing apparatus 10 includes an unwinding chamber 11 in which a belt-shaped flexible substrate 7 on which the metal electrode 2 is formed on the substrate 1 is wound and accommodated, and an unwindable chamber 11 unwound from the unwinding chamber 11. A plurality of processing chambers that sequentially perform film formation on the flexible substrate 7 and a winding chamber 16 that winds the flexible substrate 8 after film formation into a roll shape are provided. The processing chamber includes an n-layer deposition chamber 12 for depositing the conductive layer 3 from the upstream side of the process, an i-layer deposition chamber 13 for depositing the i layer 4, and a p-layer deposition for depositing the conductive layer 5. The chamber 14 and the transparent electrode film forming chamber 15 for forming the transparent electrode 6 are formed. The unwinding chamber 11, the plurality of processing chambers, and the winding chamber 16 are arranged side by side along a work conveyor line of a conveying device 17 (conveying means) provided with a plurality of conveying rollers. The flexible substrate 7 unwound from the unwind chamber 11 is transferred to the n-layer film forming chamber 12, the i-layer film forming chamber 13, the p-layer film forming chamber 14, and the transparent electrode film forming device 17 by the transfer device 17. After being sequentially transferred to the respective processing chambers of the film chamber 15 to perform film forming processing, the film is wound in the winding chamber 16.

  Next, the configuration of the processing chamber in the substrate processing apparatus will be described. As described above, the processing chambers are disposed adjacent to the n-layer film forming chamber 12 to the transparent electrode film forming chamber 15, but the principle configuration is substantially the same. Then, the n-layer film forming chamber 12 will be described as an example. Further, the detailed structure of the processing chamber and its surroundings that do not appear in the figure is substantially the same as the structure described in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-63970) described above, and therefore the description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the n-layer film forming chamber 12 surrounds and fixes a processing portion of the flexible substrate 7 that is intermittently transported by the transport device 17, and can be hermetically sealed. A body 20 is provided. The frame 20 includes a lower film forming chamber wall 21 and an upper film forming chamber wall 22 facing the lower film forming chamber wall 21. The lower film forming chamber partitioned by the lower film forming chamber wall 21 is provided with a high voltage electrode 23 connected to a power source (not shown), and the upper film forming chamber partitioned by the upper film forming chamber wall 22 is in contact with the upper film forming chamber. A ground electrode 25 having a built-in heater 24 (heating means) is provided. This heater 24 controls the temperature by contacting and heating the flexible substrate 7 during the film forming process, but it is possible to ensure the thermal control and ensure the temperature controllability. It is pushed downward by about 1 mm from the position in contact with the flexible substrate 7. A plate heater is used for the heater 24 in order to prevent the corrosion and to prevent the film from adhering and changing its heating capacity. The distance between the high voltage electrode 23 and the ground electrode 25 is set to about 30 mm. Further, sealing O-rings 26 and 27 are provided at positions corresponding to the respective opening end faces of the lower film forming chamber wall 21 and the upper film forming chamber wall 22 so as to surround the inner film forming space. ing.

  When the conductive layer 3 is formed, the upper film formation chamber wall 22 is lowered and the flexible substrate 7 is sandwiched and fixed between the lower film formation chamber wall 21. At this time, since the O-rings 26 and 27 are in close contact with each other so as to surround the processing portion of the flexible substrate 7, a film formation space 28 hermetically sealed by the lower film formation chamber wall 21 and the flexible substrate 7 is formed. Is done. The flexible substrate 7 transported to the n-layer deposition chamber 12 is stopped when the processing portion reaches a predetermined position in the deposition space 28. Then, plasma is generated in the film forming space 28 by applying a high frequency voltage to the high voltage electrode 23, and the raw material gas introduced from the introduction pipe (not shown) is decomposed to form the conductive layer 3 on the flexible substrate 7. . At this time, the O-rings 26 and 27 isolate the film formation space 28 from other processing chambers, thereby preventing gas diffusion.

  Here, the continuous flexible substrate 7 is transported at a transport speed of about 30 m / min while being supported by the transport rolls 31 and 32 of the transport device 17. When the flexible substrate 7 is transported, it is necessary to stably hold and transport the flexible substrate 7 with high accuracy. Therefore, the transport device 17 applies a tension of about 20 kgf to the flexible substrate 7 in the transport direction. . This tension is preferably set to an appropriate value determined by the configuration of the substrate processing apparatus and the weight of the substrate to be transferred, but may be changed between when the transfer is performed and when the transfer is stopped. In addition, the transport speed needs to be increased in order to shorten the transport time from the viewpoint of productivity improvement, but also the configuration of the substrate processing apparatus, the weight of the substrate to be transported, the required transport accuracy, etc. Determined from each element. Although the transport speed is constant here, it is possible to shorten the time by partially changing the transport speed.

  In this embodiment, in order to prevent or suppress the flexible substrate 7 from thermally expanding during the film forming process and causing wrinkles, a contact portion of the heater 24 with the flexible substrate 7 is prevented. On the surface, a groove portion having a wave shape is formed in a direction substantially perpendicular to the conveying direction of the flexible substrate 7. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the wave shape of the groove portion of the heater. (A) is a groove portion formed in an arcuate waveform, and (B) is a groove portion formed in a triangular waveform.

  Assuming that the waveform of these groove portions is a period x and a height ± y (amplitude is y), the rate of thermal expansion due to heating of the flexible substrate 7 is σ, and the thickness of the flexible substrate 7 is t. X and y are set to satisfy the following formula.

  Hereinafter, the reason why it is set as in the above formula (1) will be described. That is, when the frame body 20 is sealed and the flexible substrate 7 is pressed against the heater 24, the flexible substrate 7 and the heater 24 are formed by the convex portions of the grooves where the flexible substrate 7 and the heater 24 come into contact. The positional relationship of is fixed.

  When the flexible substrate 7 is heated by the heater 24, thermal expansion occurs. At this time, the expanded portion of the flexible substrate 7 is fixed by contact friction with the heater 24 at several points in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction. It deforms into an uneven shape along the shape of the groove. At this time, in order to prevent wrinkles from occurring on the flexible substrate 7, this swelling needs to be absorbed in the groove portion of the heater 24. For that purpose, the following conditions must be satisfied.

  a) If the period of the waveform of the groove portion of the heater 24 is small, the flexible substrate 7 cannot be deformed along the unevenness of the groove portion, and a wrinkle having a longer period is formed. For this reason, the relationship between the period x of the waveform of the groove and the thickness t of the flexible substrate 7 needs to satisfy the second inequality of the above formula (1).

  b) The increase in length due to thermal expansion of the flexible substrate 7 must be able to be sufficiently absorbed along the structure of the groove. Although this absorbable limit changes with the shape of a groove part, it is necessary to satisfy | fill the 1st inequality of said Formula (1).

  First, the reason for a) will be specifically described. First, when the length of the plate-like substrate is l, the thickness is t, the Young's modulus is E, and the width is W, the buckling load Pc in the length direction is:

  Here, it is necessary to buckle the plate-like substrate in order to bend along the groove, but the condition for buckling is that if the load is P,

It is necessary to satisfy.
Here, when the plate-like substrate is heated and tries to stretch, if the plate-like substrate is fixed at the portion pressed against the surface of the groove (projection), the load applied to the plate-like substrate is
P = σtEW (where σ is the rate of thermal expansion)
It becomes. At this time, since the convex portion is fixed, the terminal condition coefficient is 4. Therefore, the condition for buckling is

  Here, since the period x of the waveform of the groove corresponds to l,

  Next, the reason for b) will be specifically described. First, in the case where the groove has a triangular waveform as shown in FIG. 4B, if the period is x and the height is ± y, the length in the direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the surface is longer than that of the plane. The elongation is approximately the following value (elongation ratio = elongation / original length).

  Next, when the groove has an arcuate waveform as shown in FIG. 4A, the radius of the arc portion is

  At this time, 1/4 of the part constituting one cycle forms an arc, and the angle of the center is

  From the above, the length of the portion constituting one cycle is

  Since the length without this structure (when flat) is x, the elongation percentage is

  It becomes. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the effect of absorbing the elongation due to the structure of the groove portion of the heater, and (A) is a graph showing the ratio of the elongation to the ratio between the height of the waveform and the period, and (B). These are graphs showing the ratio of the ratio of elongation to the ratio of the height of the waveform to the period and the square of the ratio of the height to the period.

  As shown in FIG. 5B, the effect of elongation is in the range of 7.5 to 11 times the square of the ratio of height to period. Although not shown, similar results are obtained for sinusoidal waveforms and other wave shapes. Here, since the rate of elongation coincides with the rate of thermal expansion σ, the inequality of b) is obtained.

  Note that when the height y of the groove portion becomes larger than the inter-electrode distance between the high voltage electrode 23 and the ground electrode 25, it is difficult to uniformly control the film thickness distribution in the film forming process. According to the experiments by the inventors, in order to make the film thickness distribution uniform, the height y of the groove is preferably 10% or less of the distance between the electrodes.

  In order to confirm the effect of the above-described embodiment, the inventors have obtained the relationship between the structure shown in Examples 1 to 3 below that satisfies the relationship of the above formula (1) and the relationship of the above formula (1). It set to the structure of the following comparative examples 1-3 which is not satisfy | filled, respectively, and compared with the film thickness distribution and photoelectric conversion efficiency of the photoelectric conversion element which were obtained as a result.

  Table 1 below shows the processing temperature of each layer to be deposited, that is, the temperature of the heater in each processing chamber. Table 2 shows the period and height of the wave shape of the heater of each processing chamber, the film thickness distribution of the photoelectric conversion element after film formation, and the photoelectric conversion efficiency.

[Example 1]
In this example, the groove of the heater in each processing chamber was set to the shape shown in FIG. 4A, and the nip-type amorphous silicon (a-Si) photoelectric conversion element shown in FIG. 3 was produced.

  That is, as shown in Table 1 and Table 2, in the n-layer deposition chamber 12 and the i-layer deposition chamber 13, the groove period of each heater is set to 30 mm and the height is ± 1 mm. The heating temperature was set to 300 ° C. Further, in the p-layer film forming chamber 14 and the transparent electrode film forming chamber 15, the period of the groove of each heater is set to 38 mm, the height is ± 1 mm, and the heating temperature by the heater is set to 200 ° C. did.

As the flexible substrate 7, a substrate 1 made of polyimide having a thickness of 50 μm and a width of 500 mm and a through-hole having a predetermined shape and metal electrodes 2 made of silver were formed on both surfaces thereof. The substrate 1 has a thermal expansion coefficient of about 5 × 10 ⁻⁵ / ° C. Further, the width of the processing portion (the length in the direction perpendicular to the transport direction) in the flexible substrate 7 is set to 400 mm.

  In the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1, a transparent material composed of n-type controlled a-Si, substantially intrinsic a-Si, p-type controlled a-Si, and indium tin oxide (ITO). An electrode was formed and wound up. At this time, the flexible substrate 7 (or the film formed thereon) is brought into contact with each heater heated to 300 ° C. or 200 ° C. in each processing chamber, and heated to about 250 ° C. and 150 ° C., respectively. The elongation in the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction was about 1.3% and 0.8%, respectively. In addition, since the flexible substrate 7 (or the substrate on which the film is formed) is cooled by heat radiation during transportation, the temperature drops to 50 to 80 ° C. before being transported from each heater to the frame. did.

As a result, as shown in Table 2, the film thickness distribution was 15 to 20%, and the photoelectric conversion efficiency was 7.6%.
[Example 2]
In this example, as shown in Table 1 and Table 2, the groove period of each heater is 44 mm and the height is ± 1.5 mm in the n-layer deposition chamber 12 and the i-layer deposition chamber 13. Thus, the heating temperature by the heater was set to 300 ° C. Further, in the p-layer film forming chamber 14 and the transparent electrode film forming chamber 15, the groove period of each heater is set to 58 mm and the height is ± 1.5 mm, and the heating temperature by the heater is 200 ° C. I did it. The other points are the same as in the first embodiment.

As a result, as shown in Table 2, the film thickness distribution was 15 to 20%, and the photoelectric conversion efficiency was 7.5%.
[Example 3]
In this example, as shown in Table 2, in the n-layer film forming chamber 12 and the i-layer film forming chamber 13, the period of the groove portion of each heater was 28 mm and the height was ± 1 mm. In addition, in the p-layer film forming chamber 14 and the transparent electrode film forming chamber 15, the period of the groove portion of each heater was set to 40 mm and the height was ± 1 mm. The other points are the same as in the first embodiment.

As a result, as shown in Table 2, the film thickness distribution was 15 to 20%, and the photoelectric conversion efficiency was 7.6%.
[Comparative Example 1]
In this comparative example, as shown in Table 2, in each processing chamber of the n-layer deposition chamber 12, the i-layer deposition chamber 13, the p-layer deposition chamber 14, and the transparent electrode deposition chamber 15, The shape of the groove of each heater was made flat.

As a result, wrinkles having a width of about 180 mm and a height of about 6 mm were formed on the flexible substrate 8 after film formation. Moreover, as shown in Table 2, the film thickness distribution was as large as 30 to 50%, and the photoelectric conversion efficiency was 7.2%.
[Comparative Example 2]
In this comparative example, as shown in Table 2, with respect to the n-layer deposition chamber 12 and the i-layer deposition chamber 13, the groove period of each heater was set to 1 mm and the height was ± 0.03 mm. . In addition, in the p-layer film forming chamber 14 and the transparent electrode film forming chamber 15, the period of the groove of each heater was set to 1 mm and the height was set to ± 0.02 mm. The other points are the same as in the first embodiment.

As a result, the flexible substrate 7 (or the substrate on which the film is formed) does not follow the shape of the groove of the heater at the time of thermal expansion, and as shown in Table 2, the film thickness distribution is 30-50. %, And the photoelectric conversion efficiency was 7.3%.
[Comparative Example 3]
In this comparative example, as shown in Table 2, with respect to the n-layer deposition chamber 12 and the i-layer deposition chamber 13, the groove period of each heater was set to 120 mm and the height was ± 4 mm. In addition, in the p-layer film forming chamber 14 and the transparent electrode film forming chamber 15, the period of the groove portion of each heater was set to 150 mm and the height was set to ± 4 mm. The other points are the same as in the first embodiment.

  As a result, the flexible substrate 7 (or the substrate on which the film was formed) followed the shape of the groove of the heater, but as shown in Table 2, the film thickness distribution was as large as 30 to 50%. The photoelectric conversion efficiency was 7.2%.

  As described above, according to Examples 1 to 3 satisfying the above formula (1), it is possible to suppress the occurrence of wrinkles on the flexible substrate during the film forming process and suppress the change in the film thickness. It was found that the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the photoelectric conversion element can be improved.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments, and changes and modifications can be made within the spirit of the present invention. Not too long.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the shape of the groove portion of the heater has the circular arc shape and the triangular waveform shown in FIG. It can also be configured as a wave shape.

  Moreover, although the example which comprised this invention as a substrate processing apparatus of a stepping roll system was shown in the said embodiment, you may comprise as a substrate processing apparatus of a roll-to-roll system. This roll-to-roll method basically does not fix the flexible substrate at the time of processing, but it can not be said that wrinkles do not occur due to the frictional force etc. when the heater is pressed and heated, and a certain effect can be obtained Conceivable.

  Moreover, although the example which applied plasma CVD to the surface treatment of the flexible substrate was shown in the said embodiment, vapor deposition, sputtering, and other deposited film formation processes can also be applied. Further, plasma treatment such as plasma etching or plasma modification treatment can be applied.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the photoelectric conversion element having a relatively simple structure illustrated in FIG. 3 is formed in the substrate processing apparatus, but an interface layer may be formed between each layer. Two or more photoelectric conversion elements can be joined to form a two-layer tandem solar cell or a triple solar cell. Furthermore, the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention can be applied not only to photoelectric conversion elements but also to the formation of image devices and the like and etching processes.

It is explanatory drawing which represents typically the structure of the whole substrate processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which represents typically the structure of the process chamber which comprises a substrate processing apparatus. It is sectional drawing showing the schematic structure of the photoelectric conversion element produced by performing a surface treatment with a substrate processing apparatus. It is explanatory drawing showing the example of the shape of the groove part of a heater. It is explanatory drawing showing the effect which absorbs the elongation by the structure of the groove part of a heater. It is the schematic diagram which looked at the processing section periphery of the board | substrate by the substrate processing apparatus which employ | adopted the stepping roll system in a certain cross section.

Explanation of symbols

7, 8 Flexible substrate 10 Substrate processing apparatus 11 Unwinding chamber 12 N-layer film forming chamber 13 i-layer film forming chamber 14 p-layer film forming chamber 15 Transparent electrode film forming chamber 16 Winding chamber 17 Conveying device 20 Frame body 21 Lower film forming chamber wall body 22 Upper film forming chamber wall body 23 High voltage electrode 24 Heater 25 Ground electrode 26, 27 O-ring 28 Film forming space

Claims (12)

A transport means for transporting the flexible substrate continuous in a strip shape while applying a predetermined tension along its longitudinal direction;
A heating unit that contacts and heats at least a part of the flexible substrate conveyed to the conveying unit, and a predetermined surface treatment is applied to the portion of the flexible substrate heated by the heating unit. A processing chamber having processing means for executing inside,
In a substrate processing apparatus comprising:
On the surface of the contact portion of the heating means with the flexible substrate, a groove portion having a wave shape is formed in a direction substantially perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the flexible substrate, and the wave shape of the groove portion is It has a shape with a period of approximately x and a height of ± y, where the period x and the height y are σ as the rate of thermal expansion of the flexible substrate and t as the thickness of the flexible substrate. A substrate processing apparatus satisfying the following formula:

The transport means intermittently transports the flexible substrate to the processing chamber,
The processing chamber accommodates the heating means and the processing means therein, and surrounds and fixes the processing portion of the flexible substrate each time the flexible substrate is transported, and the inside thereof can be hermetically sealed. Having a frame,
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1. A plurality of the processing chambers are provided adjacent to each other along a conveyance path of the flexible substrate;
The transfer means sequentially transfers the flexible substrate to an adjacent process chamber at the end of the surface treatment in each process chamber.
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2. The processing chamber is provided with a pair of parallel plate type electrodes constituting the processing means, and one of the electrodes incorporates the heating means,
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the height y is set to 10% or less of a distance between the pair of electrodes.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the processing unit is configured as a mechanism for forming a deposited film on the flexible substrate as the surface treatment.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the processing unit is configured as a mechanism for performing plasma processing on the flexible substrate as the surface processing. A flexible substrate that is continuous in a strip shape is transported to a processing chamber while applying a predetermined tension along its longitudinal direction by a transport mechanism, and at least a part of the flexible substrate transported to the processing chamber is heated. In the substrate processing method in which the means is brought into contact and heated, and a predetermined surface treatment is performed by the processing means on the heated portion of the flexible substrate.
As the heating means, on the surface of the contact portion with the flexible substrate, a groove portion having a wave shape with a period of approximately x and a height of ± y is formed in a direction substantially perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the flexible substrate. The period x and the height y are those satisfying the following formula when the rate of thermal expansion of the flexible substrate is σ and the thickness of the flexible substrate is t: Substrate processing method.

The flexible substrate is intermittently transported to the processing chamber by the transport means,
In the processing chamber, each time the flexible substrate is transported, the processing portion of the flexible substrate is surrounded and fixed by a frame, and the inside of the frame is hermetically sealed. Performing the surface treatment by the heating means and the treatment means arranged;
The substrate processing method according to claim 7. A plurality of the processing chambers are provided adjacent to each other along the conveyance path of the flexible substrate,
Each time the surface treatment in each processing chamber is completed, the flexible substrate is sequentially transferred to the adjacent processing chamber by the transfer means;
The substrate processing method according to claim 8.   Using the heating means incorporated in one of a pair of parallel plate type electrodes constituting the processing means, and the height y is set to a size of 10% or less of the distance between the electrodes of the pair of electrodes, The substrate processing method according to claim 8, wherein the surface treatment is performed.   The substrate processing method according to claim 10, wherein the processing unit forms a deposited film on the flexible substrate as the surface treatment. The substrate processing method according to claim 10, wherein plasma processing is performed on the flexible substrate as the surface treatment by the processing unit.

Images