JP2008071874A - Apparatus and method of machining solar battery substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To ensure the high accuracy of patterning a solar battery substrate and largely improve conversion efficiency of a solar battery element even in machining a wavy solar battery substrate or a curved substrate. <P>SOLUTION: An apparatus of machining a solar battery substrate includes a substrate holding part 50 for holding the solar battery substrate 60, and a laser irradiation part 20 for irradiating laser light LB through a condenser lens 22 onto the substrate 60 held by the holding part 50. A measuring part 10 for measuring a speckle pattern SP generated from the substrate 60 by the laser light LB from the irradiation part 20 is provided in the vicinity of the substrate holding part 50. A distance between the condenser lens 22 and the substrate 60 can be adjusted so that a spot diameter of the laser light LB on the substrate 60 comes into a constant range based on a size of the speckle pattern SP generated from the substrate 60 and measured by the measuring part 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a solar cell substrate processing apparatus and a solar cell substrate processing method capable of patterning with high accuracy even when processing a solar cell substrate with “undulation” or a curved solar cell substrate.

  Conventionally, when manufacturing a solar cell element, it is necessary to pattern a silicon film, a metal film, a transparent electrode film, and the like. As such a silicon film, an amorphous silicon film or a polycrystalline silicon film (polysilicon film) is often used. In particular, in recent years, there has been growing concern over the supply of silicon as a raw material, and so expectations for solar cell elements using thin silicon thin films are increasing.

  As a method of patterning a solar cell substrate to obtain a solar cell element, a processing method using a laser beam has been widely used. This is because the merit of patterning a silicon film, a metal film, a transparent electrode film, or the like to be processed without a PEP process is great.

  By the way, since the precision of pattern processing affects the conversion efficiency of a solar cell element, the required precision of pattern processing of a solar cell substrate is becoming stricter year by year.

  As such parameters for patterning the solar cell substrate, laser wavelength, laser energy, pulse width, repetition frequency, scanning speed, machining spot diameter, and the like can be exemplified. Of these, parameters such as laser wavelength, pulse width, repetition frequency, and scanning speed have relatively small fluctuation factors and are relatively stable. On the other hand, the laser energy and the processing spot diameter are parameters that are likely to vary and relatively affect pattern processing.

  Of such laser energy and machining spot diameter, the laser energy can ensure accuracy of ± several percent or less by monitoring the machining point energy and power feedback based on the actual measurement value.

  On the other hand, maintaining a constant processing spot diameter has not been found as an effective method at present, and therefore an improvement has been demanded. In particular, as the size of the solar cell substrate increases, the “swell” of the solar cell substrate tends to increase, and keeping the processing spot diameter constant has become a serious problem.

  In recent years, the use of a solar cell by attaching it on a building member having a curved surface such as a tile has been expanded. For this reason, the request | requirement which forms the solar cell element conventionally formed on the flat substrate on a curved substrate has increased. However, when forming a solar cell element having such a curved surface, it is extremely difficult to keep the processing spot diameter constant.

  By the way, at present, the typical required accuracy for the laser processing width is 50 μm ± 5 μm. The deviation (positioning accuracy) from a predetermined distance between the silicon thin film of the solar cell substrate and the condensing lens necessary to satisfy the required accuracy is ± 10 μm or less experimentally. On the other hand, the “swell” generated in the solar cell substrate for manufacturing the solar cell element was ± 100 μm at the maximum in actual measurement. For this reason, if the pattern processing is performed without any control, the above-described required accuracy cannot be satisfied at all. Incidentally, the required accuracy for the laser processing width of 50 μm ± 5 μm is becoming stricter year by year.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of such points, and even when processing a solar cell substrate having a “swell” or a curved solar cell substrate, pattern processing can be performed with high accuracy. An object of the present invention is to provide a solar cell substrate processing apparatus and a solar cell substrate processing method capable of greatly improving the conversion efficiency of solar cell elements.

  The present invention relates to a solar cell substrate processing apparatus for patterning a solar cell substrate with a laser beam, a substrate holding unit for holding the solar cell substrate, and a solar cell substrate held by the substrate holding unit via a condenser lens. A laser irradiation unit for irradiating a laser beam and a measurement unit that is disposed in the vicinity of the substrate holding unit and that measures a speckle pattern generated from the solar cell substrate by the laser beam from the laser irradiation unit is measured by the measurement unit. Based on the size of the speckle pattern generated from the solar cell substrate, the distance between the condenser lens and the solar cell substrate can be adjusted so that the spot diameter of the laser beam on the solar cell substrate falls within a certain range. Is a solar cell substrate processing apparatus.

  With such a configuration, even when processing a solar cell substrate with “undulations” or a curved solar cell substrate, pattern processing can be performed with high accuracy, greatly improving the conversion efficiency of the solar cell element. Can be made.

  The present invention relates to a solar cell substrate processing apparatus for patterning a solar cell substrate with a laser beam, a substrate holding unit for holding the solar cell substrate, and a solar cell substrate held by the substrate holding unit via a condenser lens. A laser irradiating unit for irradiating laser light and a substrate holding unit are arranged in the vicinity of the substrate holding unit, a measuring unit for measuring a speckle pattern generated from the solar cell substrate by laser light from the laser irradiating unit, and a substrate holding unit are arranged in the vicinity of A shape detection unit for detecting the surface shape of the solar cell substrate, the size of the speckle pattern generated from the solar cell substrate measured by the measurement unit, and the surface shape of the solar cell substrate detected by the shape detection unit Based on this, the distance between the condenser lens and the solar cell substrate can be adjusted so that the spot diameter of the laser beam on the solar cell substrate falls within a certain range. Preparative a solar cell substrate processing apparatus according to claim.

  With such a configuration, even when processing a solar cell substrate having a larger “swell” or a solar cell substrate having a larger curved surface, pattern processing can be performed with high accuracy, and conversion of solar cell elements is possible. Efficiency can be greatly improved.

  The present invention defines a spot diameter of laser light on a solar cell substrate by maximizing the size of a speckle pattern generated from the solar cell substrate measured by a measurement unit. Device.

  With such a configuration, the spot diameter can be accurately controlled so that the spot diameter of the laser light on the solar cell substrate falls within a certain range.

  The present invention is the solar cell substrate processing apparatus, wherein the measurement unit is composed of a CCD element or a line sensor.

  The present invention further includes a shape storage unit that is connected to the shape detection unit and stores the surface shape of the solar cell substrate detected by the shape detection unit, and is based on the surface shape of the solar cell substrate stored in the shape storage unit. The solar cell substrate processing apparatus is characterized in that the distance between the condenser lens and the solar cell substrate can be adjusted so that the spot diameter of the laser beam on the solar cell substrate falls within a certain range.

  The present invention is the solar cell substrate processing apparatus, wherein the shape detection unit is formed of a laser displacement meter or a contact displacement meter.

  The present invention is the solar cell substrate processing apparatus, characterized in that the distance between the condensing lens and the substrate holding portion is adjustable.

  With such a configuration, the spot diameter can be easily controlled so that the spot diameter of the laser light on the solar cell substrate falls within a certain range.

  The present invention is the solar cell substrate processing apparatus, wherein the substrate holding unit holds the solar cell substrate so that the distance of the solar cell substrate to the condensing lens is adjustable.

  With such a configuration, the spot diameter can be easily controlled so that the spot diameter of the laser light on the solar cell substrate falls within a certain range.

  The present invention further includes a spot diameter measuring unit that is provided in the vicinity of the substrate holding unit and measures a spot diameter of laser light on the solar cell substrate, and a control unit connected to the spot diameter measuring unit and the laser irradiation unit. The control unit is a solar cell substrate processing apparatus that stops driving the laser irradiation unit when it is determined that the spot diameter is out of a certain range based on information from the spot diameter measurement unit.

  With such a configuration, since a spot diameter in a predetermined range can be reliably maintained on the solar cell substrate, the solar cell substrate can be patterned with higher accuracy.

  The present invention relates to a solar cell substrate processing method for patterning a solar cell substrate with laser light, a substrate holding step for holding the solar cell substrate by the substrate holding unit, and the sun held by the substrate holding unit by the laser irradiation unit. The speckle pattern generated from the solar cell substrate by the laser light from the laser irradiation unit is formed by the laser irradiation step of irradiating the battery substrate with the laser light via the condenser lens and the measurement unit arranged in the vicinity of the substrate holding unit. And a condensing lens so that the spot diameter of the laser beam on the solar cell substrate falls within a certain range based on the size of the speckle pattern generated from the solar cell substrate measured by the measurement unit. And a solar cell substrate processing method, wherein the distance between the solar cell substrate and the solar cell substrate is adjusted.

  With such a configuration, even when processing a solar cell substrate with “undulations” or a curved solar cell substrate, pattern processing can be performed with high accuracy, greatly improving the conversion efficiency of the solar cell element. Can be made.

  The present invention provides a solar cell substrate processing method for patterning a solar cell substrate with a laser beam, a substrate holding step for holding a solar cell substrate by a substrate holding unit, and a shape detection unit arranged in the vicinity of the substrate holding unit, A shape detection step for detecting the surface shape of the solar cell substrate, a laser irradiation step for irradiating the solar cell substrate held by the substrate holding portion with the laser irradiation portion via the condenser lens by the laser irradiation portion, and a substrate holding portion A speckle pattern generated from the solar cell substrate measured by the measurement unit, comprising a measurement step of measuring a speckle pattern generated from the solar cell substrate by a laser beam from the laser irradiation unit by a measurement unit arranged in the vicinity And the laser on the solar cell substrate based on the surface shape of the solar cell substrate detected by the shape detector As the spot diameter of the enters the predetermined range, a solar cell substrate processing method characterized by adjusting the distance between the condenser lens and the solar cell substrate.

  With such a configuration, even when processing a solar cell substrate having a larger “swell” or a solar cell substrate having a larger curved surface, pattern processing can be performed with high accuracy, and conversion of solar cell elements is possible. Efficiency can be greatly improved.

  According to the present invention, based on the size of the speckle pattern generated from the solar cell substrate, the distance between the condenser lens and the solar cell substrate so that the spot diameter of the laser light on the solar cell substrate falls within a certain range. Can be adjusted. For this reason, even when processing a solar cell substrate with “undulation” or a curved solar cell substrate, pattern processing can be performed with high accuracy, and the conversion efficiency of the solar cell element can be greatly improved. it can.

First Embodiment Hereinafter, a first embodiment of a solar cell substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Here, FIG. 1 to FIG. 4 are diagrams showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

  The solar cell substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention uses a laser beam LB to pattern a solar cell substrate 60 (see FIG. 2) composed of a glass substrate 62 and a silicon thin film 61 disposed on the glass substrate 62. To be processed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the solar cell substrate processing apparatus includes a substrate holding unit 50 that holds a solar cell substrate 60 and a laser irradiation unit that irradiates the solar cell substrate 60 held by the substrate holding unit 50 with laser light LB. 20 and a measurement unit 10 that is disposed in the vicinity of the substrate holding unit 50 and measures the speckle pattern SP generated from the solar cell substrate 60 by the laser beam LB from the laser irradiation unit 20.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a collimator lens 21 that makes the laser beam LB irradiated from the laser irradiation unit 20 substantially parallel between the laser irradiation unit 20 and the substrate holding unit 50 and the collimating lens 21 substantially A condenser lens 22 that condenses the parallel laser beam LB on the solar cell substrate 60 is disposed. As the measurement unit 10, a CCD element, a line sensor, or the like can be used.

  As the laser irradiation unit 20 shown in FIG. 1, it is preferable to use a SHG-YAG laser or a SHG-YVO4 laser that has a high absorption rate of the solar cell substrate 60 into the silicon thin film 61. By the way, the wavelengths of these SHG-YAG laser and SHG-YVO4 laser are both 532 nm. Further, by irradiating the laser beam LB from the laser irradiation unit 20 using the Q switch method, it is possible to irradiate a nanosecond order pulse laser and suppress the thermal influence on the silicon thin film 61 of the solar cell substrate 60. be able to. The laser beam LB emitted from the laser irradiation unit 20 is condensed on the solar cell substrate 60 by the condenser lens 22 and has a spot diameter of several tens of μm.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate holding unit 50 includes a horizontal movement mechanism 51 that freely moves in the horizontal direction and a vertical movement mechanism 55 that moves freely. The condenser lens 22 is provided with a lens driving unit 22a that moves the condenser lens 22 in the vertical direction.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the lens driving unit 22 a, the vertical movement mechanism 55, and the measurement unit 10 are each connected to the control unit 40. Then, based on the size of the speckle pattern SP generated from the solar cell substrate 60 measured by the measurement unit 10, the control unit 40 has the spot diameter of the laser light LB on the solar cell substrate 60 within a certain range. Thus, the distance between the condensing lens 22 and the solar cell substrate 60 can be adjusted.

  Specifically, the control unit 40 shown in FIG. 1 moves the condenser lens 22 freely in the vertical direction, or moves the vertical movement mechanism 55 in the vertical direction to increase the distance to the substrate holding unit 50. Can be adjusted. For this reason, the control part 40 makes the spot diameter of the laser beam LB on the solar cell substrate 60 constant by maximizing the size of the speckle pattern SP generated from the solar cell substrate 60 measured by the measurement unit 10. The spot diameter of the laser beam LB can be easily controlled so as to fall within the range.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a spot diameter measuring unit 25 that measures the spot diameter of the laser beam LB on the solar cell substrate 60 is provided in the vicinity of the substrate holding unit 50. A control unit 40 is connected to the spot diameter measurement unit 25 and the laser irradiation unit 20. When the control unit 40 determines that the spot diameter is out of a certain range based on information from the spot diameter measurement unit 25, the control unit 40 stops driving the laser irradiation unit 20.

  Next, the operation of the present embodiment having such a configuration will be described.

  First, the solar cell substrate 60 is held by the substrate holding unit 50 (substrate holding step 81) (see FIGS. 1 and 4).

  Next, the first processing portion of the solar cell substrate 60 is disposed below the laser irradiation unit 20 and positioned at a predetermined position by the horizontal movement mechanism 51 of the substrate holding unit 50. Thereafter, the laser irradiation unit 20 irradiates the solar cell substrate 60 held by the substrate holding unit 50 with the laser beam LB through the condenser lens 22 (laser irradiation step 83) (see FIGS. 1 and 4). . By irradiating the laser beam LB in this way, the solar cell substrate 60 is cleaved by the cleaving line 71 along the planned line 72 and patterned.

  During this time, the speckle pattern SP generated from the solar cell substrate 60 is measured by the laser beam LB from the laser irradiation unit 20 by the measurement unit 10 disposed in the vicinity of the substrate holding unit 50 (measurement step 85) (FIG. 1 and FIG. 1). (See FIG. 4).

  Next, the processing portion of the next solar cell substrate 60 is disposed below the laser irradiation unit 20 and positioned at a predetermined position by the horizontal movement mechanism 51 of the substrate holding unit 50.

  Thereafter, based on the size of the speckle pattern SP generated from the solar cell substrate 60 measured by the measurement unit 10, the condensing lens 22 is set so that the spot diameter of the laser beam LB on the solar cell substrate 60 falls within a certain range. And the solar cell substrate 60 are adjusted (gap adjustment step 87) (see FIGS. 1 and 4).

  Specifically, the control unit 40 controls the lens driving unit 22a so that the size of the speckle pattern SP generated from the solar cell substrate 60 measured by the measurement unit 10 is maximized. Can be moved freely in the vertical direction, or the vertical movement mechanism 55 is driven to move in the vertical direction to adjust the distance between the condenser lens 22 and the solar cell substrate 60 (see FIG. 1). . As described above, the control unit 40 controls the distance between the condenser lens 22 and the solar cell substrate 60 so that the size of the speckle pattern SP measured by the measurement unit 10 is maximized. The intensity of the scattered light scattered on the surface of the substrate 60 can be kept constant, and as a result, the intensity of the laser light LB irradiated on the solar cell substrate 60 can be kept constant. For this reason, the control unit 40 can accurately control the size of the spot diameter of the laser beam LB on the solar cell substrate 60.

  Thereafter, the respective steps from the laser irradiation step 83 and the measurement step 85 described above are sequentially repeated.

  As described above, the distance between the condenser lens 22 and the solar cell substrate 60 is determined based on the size of the speckle pattern SP generated from the solar cell substrate 60 measured by the measurement unit 10 in the gap adjustment step 87. Adjusted. Therefore, even when the solar cell substrate processing apparatus processes the solar cell substrate 60 with “undulation” or the curved solar cell substrate 60, the silicon thin film 61 and the condenser lens 22 of the solar cell substrate 60. The deviation (positioning accuracy) of the distance from the predetermined distance can be within a range of ± 5 μm or less.

  As a result, in the conventional solar cell substrate processing apparatus, as shown in FIG. 3A, the intensity of the laser beam LB irradiated on the solar cell substrate 60 is increased depending on the location (coordinates) on the solar cell substrate 60. In contrast to the above, according to the solar cell substrate processing apparatus of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), the intensity of the laser beam LB irradiated onto the solar cell substrate 60 is changed to the solar cell substrate. It can be kept almost constant without being influenced by the location (coordinates) on 60. For this reason, the solar cell substrate processing apparatus of the present invention can reliably achieve 50 μm ± 5 μm, which is the required accuracy for the width of pattern processing.

  Therefore, according to the solar cell substrate processing apparatus of the present invention, even when processing the solar cell substrate 60 having “undulation” or the curved solar cell substrate 60, pattern processing can be performed with high accuracy. The conversion efficiency of the solar cell element obtained can be greatly improved.

  In the measurement process 85 as described above, when the control unit 40 determines that the spot diameter is out of a certain range based on the information from the spot diameter measurement unit 25, the control unit 40 stops driving the laser irradiation unit 20. For this reason, since the spot diameter on the solar cell substrate 60 is reliably maintained within a predetermined range, the solar cell substrate 60 can be patterned with higher accuracy.

Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The second embodiment shown in FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 6 includes a shape detection unit 30 that is disposed in the vicinity of the substrate holding unit 50 and detects the surface shape of the solar cell substrate 60, and the shape detection. A shape storage unit 35 for storing the surface shape of the solar cell substrate 60 detected by the unit 30 is further provided, and the others are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment shown in FIGS. By the way, as the shape detection part 30, a laser displacement meter, a contact-type displacement meter, etc. can be used.

  In the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B and FIG. 6, the same parts as those in the first embodiment shown in FIGS. To do.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the shape storage unit 35 is connected to the control unit 40. For this reason, the control unit 40 not only determines the size of the speckle pattern SP generated from the solar cell substrate 60 measured by the measurement unit 10, but also the surface shape of the solar cell substrate 60 stored in the shape storage unit 35. Based on this, the distance between the condenser lens 22 and the solar cell substrate 60 can be adjusted.

  Next, the operation of the present embodiment having such a configuration will be described.

  First, the solar cell substrate 60 is held by the substrate holding unit 50 (substrate holding step 81) (see FIGS. 1 and 6).

  Next, the entire surface shape of the solar cell substrate 60 is detected by the shape detection unit 30 disposed in the vicinity of the substrate holding unit 50 (shape detection step 91) (see FIGS. 5A and 6). At this time, the solar cell substrate 60 is scanned with respect to the shape detection unit 30 by the horizontal movement mechanism 51 of the substrate holding unit 50 (see FIG. 5A).

  In the shape detection step 91 described above, the surface shape of the solar cell substrate 60 detected by the shape detection unit 30 is stored by the shape storage unit 35 connected to the shape detection unit 30 (shape storage step 93) ( FIG. 5 (a) and FIG. 6).

  Next, the first overworked portion of the solar cell substrate 60 is disposed below the laser irradiation unit 20 and positioned at a predetermined position by the horizontal movement mechanism 51 of the substrate holding unit 50. Thereafter, the laser irradiation unit 20 irradiates the solar cell substrate 60 held by the substrate holding unit 50 with the laser beam LB through the condenser lens 22 (laser irradiation step 83) (FIGS. 1 and 5B). ) And FIG.

  At this time, the speckle pattern SP generated from the solar cell substrate 60 by the laser beam LB from the laser irradiation unit 20 is measured by the measurement unit 10 disposed in the vicinity of the substrate holding unit 50 (measurement step 85) (FIG. 1). And FIG. 6).

  Next, the processing portion of the next solar cell substrate 60 is disposed below the laser irradiation unit 20 and positioned at a predetermined position by the horizontal movement mechanism 51 of the substrate holding unit 50.

  Thereafter, the information on the surface shape of the solar cell substrate 60 detected by the shape detection unit 30 and stored in the shape storage unit 35 and the size of the speckle pattern SP generated from the solar cell substrate 60 measured by the measurement unit 10. And the distance between the condenser lens 22 and the solar cell substrate 60 are adjusted so that the spot diameter of the laser beam LB on the solar cell substrate 60 falls within a certain range (gap adjustment step 87). (See FIG. 1, FIG. 5 (b) and FIG. 6).

  Specifically, the control unit 40 grasps the rough surface shape of the solar cell substrate 60 based on the information related to the surface shape of the solar cell substrate 60 detected by the shape detection unit 30 and stored in the shape storage unit 35. Thus, the distance between the condenser lens 22 and the solar cell substrate 60 is predicted. Then, the speckle pattern SP generated from the solar cell substrate 60 measured by the measurement unit 10 in consideration of the distance between the condensing lens 22 and the solar cell substrate 60 predicted from the surface shape of the solar cell substrate 60. The distance between the condensing lens 22 and the solar cell substrate 60 is adjusted by considering the size of.

  For this reason, according to the solar cell substrate processing apparatus of the present embodiment, even when processing the solar cell substrate 60 having “waviness” larger than ± 100 μm or the solar cell substrate 60 having a larger curved surface. Such a solar cell substrate 60 can be patterned with high accuracy, and the conversion efficiency of the obtained solar cell element can be greatly improved.

  Thereafter, the respective steps from the laser irradiation step 83 and the measurement step 85 described above are sequentially repeated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The block diagram which shows 1st Embodiment of the solar cell substrate processing apparatus by this invention. The perspective view which shows the solar cell board | substrate processed with the solar cell board | substrate processing apparatus by this invention. The graph which shows intensity distribution of the laser beam irradiated on a solar cell board | substrate by the solar cell board | substrate processing apparatus by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the solar cell board | substrate processing method by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which shows 2nd Embodiment of the solar cell substrate processing apparatus by this invention. The flowchart which shows the solar cell board | substrate processing method by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Measurement part 20 Laser irradiation part 22 Condensing lens 50 Substrate holding part 25 Spot diameter measurement part 30 Shape detection part 35 Shape memory | storage part 40 Control part 55 Vertical movement mechanism 60 Solar cell substrate 61 Silicon thin film 62 Glass substrate 81 Substrate holding process 83 Laser irradiation process 85 Measurement process 87 Gap adjustment process 91 Shape detection process 93 Shape memory process LB Laser beam SP Speckle pattern

Claims (11)

In a solar cell substrate processing apparatus for patterning a solar cell substrate with laser light,
A substrate holding unit for holding the solar cell substrate;
A laser irradiation unit that irradiates the solar cell substrate held by the substrate holding unit with laser light through a condenser lens; and
A measurement unit that is disposed in the vicinity of the substrate holding unit and measures a speckle pattern generated from the solar cell substrate by laser light from the laser irradiation unit;
The distance between the condenser lens and the solar cell substrate so that the spot diameter of the laser beam on the solar cell substrate falls within a certain range based on the size of the speckle pattern generated from the solar cell substrate measured by the measurement unit. Can be adjusted. A solar cell substrate processing apparatus. In a solar cell substrate processing apparatus for patterning a solar cell substrate with laser light,
A substrate holding unit for holding the solar cell substrate;
A laser irradiation unit that irradiates the solar cell substrate held by the substrate holding unit with laser light through a condenser lens; and
A measurement unit that is disposed in the vicinity of the substrate holding unit and measures a speckle pattern generated from the solar cell substrate by the laser light from the laser irradiation unit;
A shape detection unit that is disposed in the vicinity of the substrate holding unit and detects the surface shape of the solar cell substrate;
The spot diameter of the laser beam on the solar cell substrate is within a certain range based on the size of the speckle pattern generated from the solar cell substrate measured by the measurement unit and the surface shape of the solar cell substrate detected by the shape detection unit. The solar cell substrate processing apparatus, wherein the distance between the condensing lens and the solar cell substrate is adjustable so as to enter.   The spot diameter of the laser beam on the solar cell substrate is determined by maximizing the size of the speckle pattern generated from the solar cell substrate measured by the measuring unit. The solar cell board | substrate processing apparatus of description.   The solar cell substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the measurement unit includes a CCD element or a line sensor. A shape storage unit connected to the shape detection unit and storing the surface shape of the solar cell substrate detected by the shape detection unit;
Based on the surface shape of the solar cell substrate stored in the shape memory unit, the distance between the condensing lens and the solar cell substrate can be adjusted so that the spot diameter of the laser light on the solar cell substrate falls within a certain range. The solar cell substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2.   The solar cell substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the shape detection unit includes a laser displacement meter or a contact displacement meter.   The solar cell substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the condenser lens is adjustable in distance to the substrate holding portion.   3. The solar cell substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate holding unit holds the solar cell substrate such that a distance of the solar cell substrate to the condensing lens is adjustable. A spot diameter measuring unit that is provided in the vicinity of the substrate holding unit and measures the spot diameter of the laser beam on the solar cell substrate;
A spot diameter measuring unit and a control unit connected to the laser irradiation unit;
3. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the control unit stops driving the laser irradiation unit when determining that the spot diameter is out of a certain range based on information from the spot diameter measurement unit. Solar cell substrate processing equipment. In a solar cell substrate processing method for patterning a solar cell substrate with laser light,
A substrate holding step for holding the solar cell substrate by the substrate holding unit;
A laser irradiation step of irradiating the solar cell substrate held by the substrate holding unit with the laser beam via the condenser lens by the laser irradiation unit;
A measurement unit disposed in the vicinity of the substrate holding unit, and a measurement step of measuring a speckle pattern generated from the solar cell substrate by laser light from the laser irradiation unit,
The distance between the condenser lens and the solar cell substrate so that the spot diameter of the laser beam on the solar cell substrate falls within a certain range based on the size of the speckle pattern generated from the solar cell substrate measured by the measurement unit. Adjusting the solar cell substrate processing method. In a solar cell substrate processing method for patterning a solar cell substrate with laser light,
A substrate holding step for holding the solar cell substrate by the substrate holding unit;
A shape detection step of detecting the surface shape of the solar cell substrate by the shape detection unit arranged in the vicinity of the substrate holding unit;
A laser irradiation step of irradiating the solar cell substrate held by the substrate holding unit with the laser beam via the condenser lens by the laser irradiation unit;
A measurement unit disposed in the vicinity of the substrate holding unit, and a measurement step of measuring a speckle pattern generated from the solar cell substrate by laser light from the laser irradiation unit,
The spot diameter of the laser beam on the solar cell substrate is within a certain range based on the size of the speckle pattern generated from the solar cell substrate measured by the measurement unit and the surface shape of the solar cell substrate detected by the shape detection unit. The solar cell substrate processing method is characterized in that the distance between the condenser lens and the solar cell substrate is adjusted so as to enter.

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