JPH08116077A - Manufacturing equipment of thin film photoelectric transducer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To prevent the generation of pucker on the surface of a substrate when it is heated, by installing rolls which bring the cylinder surfaces into contact with the substrate sent out of film forming chambers and are cooled by a circulating refrigerant. CONSTITUTION: A substrate 1 is carried from a sending core 31 of a sending chamber 21 to a rolling-up core 32 of a rolling-up chamber 24, through film forming chambers 22, 23. A touch roll 36 faces a sending roll 34, between the sending chamber 21 and the film forming chamber 22. A touch roll 36 and a sending roll 34 face each other, between the film forming chamber 22 and the film forming chamber 23. A touch roll 36 faces a rolling-up roll 35, between the film forming chamber 23 and the rolling-up chamber 24. The substrate 1 coming into contact with the cylinder surfaces of the touch rolls 36 is cooled at the time of carriage, because the touch rolls are cooled by circulating cooling water in the inside. Thereby the pucker which is caused by heating with a heater or by heat given from plasma can be eliminated.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing a thin film photoelectric conversion element for forming each layer on a flexible substrate which is conveyed from a feeding chamber to a winding chamber.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Each layer including a photoelectric conversion layer containing a-Si as a main material is formed on a flexible substrate (hereinafter simply referred to as a substrate) made of a long polymer material or a metal such as stainless steel. The method of manufacturing a thin film photoelectric conversion element is excellent in productivity. As a method for forming a plurality of layers on a long substrate, there are a roll-to-roll method for forming a film on a substrate moving in each film forming chamber and a method for forming a film on a substrate stopped in the film forming chamber. There is a stepping roll method in which the substrate portion after the film is sent out of the film forming chamber. A conventional film forming apparatus of this type conveys the substrate surface horizontally, but the thin film photoelectric conversion element manufacturing apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application No. 6-120942 filed by the present applicant. Is a device that saves the installation space of the device by making the substrate surface vertical and transporting it. The substrate is prevented from coming in close contact with the cylindrical surface for a certain distance. 3 and 4 are substantially the same as the drawings attached to the above description, and in this apparatus shown in a plan sectional view in FIG. 3 and a front sectional view in FIG.
In the feed chamber 21 and the winding chamber 24 installed above, the cores 31 and 32 are held with their shafts vertically, and therefore there is a bearing 53 with a vacuum seal at the bottom, and the reference taper cone 51 It is held vertically. A core drive motor 54 arranged outdoors is directly connected to the shaft of the reference tapered cone 51. A driven taper cone 52 faces directly above the reference taper cone 51.
The driven taper cone 52 has a core set mechanism 55 on it.
Can be moved up and down. Board 1 to core 3
1 to the core 32, a feed roll 34 is provided in the feed chamber 21 and a take-up roll 3 is provided in the take-up chamber 24.
5 are arranged, and the outdoor drive motors 57 are directly connected to each other. The rotating shaft is supported by a vacuum-sealed bearing 56, and the idle roll 33 is provided on both sides of the feed roll 34 and the take-up roll 35 so as to be rotatable around a central axis that changes the orientation of the substrate. The upper part of the take-up roll 35 and each idle roll 33 is supported by an upper support bearing 58, and the lower end of the idle roll 33 is
Each of them is held by a lower support bearing 59. Sending room 2
1. The winding chamber 22 is provided with doors 61 and 62 that open in the direction of arrow 63 on the front surface, respectively. Using the doors 61 and 62, the cores 31 and 32 are taken in and out, and the substrate 1 is set. The film formation on the substrate 1 in the film formation chambers 22 and 23 is performed by using the ground electrode 4
2 is lowered by the drive source 49 to move the substrate 1 to the high voltage electrode 4
1 is pressed against the top plate 45 above the wall 44 surrounding 1 and the substrate 1 is heated by a heater built in the ground electrode 42 and connected to the AC power supply 46, and between the discharge chambers generated between the substrate 1 and the high voltage electrode 41. Introducing gas 71 and 72 into 7, RF
A voltage is applied to the high-voltage electrode 41 by the power supply 47 to generate plasma in the film formation space 7, and this is performed. The film is formed on the substrate 1 facing the opening 48 of the top plate. The high voltage electrode 41 is attached to the door 73, and the electrode 73 can be opened for maintenance work on the electrode. Similarly, the ground electrode 42 can be attached to the door to facilitate maintenance work.

The substrate 1 is conveyed by servo-controlling the drive motors 57 and 54 of the feed roll 34, the take-up roll 35, and the reference taper cone 51 by an externally provided control device so that the substrate surface is within the vertical plane. Do it as it is.

[0004]

However, in the thin-film photoelectric conversion element manufacturing apparatus shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the substrate 1 is wrinkled by heat received from the substrate heating or plasma during film formation, which results in Wrinkles may be generated in the core 32, causing damage to the thin film photoelectric conversion element, which may lead to deterioration in the characteristics of the manufactured thin film photoelectric conversion element. If a long board is to be loaded in order to take advantage of the features suitable for mass production of this device, the weights of the feed core 31 and the take-up core 32 will inevitably be heavy, and the operator will make the axis of the core vertical. Since it is more difficult to carry the substrate 1 than to carry it horizontally, there is a problem that it takes a long time to attach and detach the substrate 1. Further, in order to increase the production amount of the thin film photoelectric conversion element, it is desirable that the lines from the feed roll to the take-up roll are arranged in parallel. FIG. 5 shows a thin film photoelectric conversion element described in Japanese Patent Application No. 5-2220870, in which a metal film 1 is formed on the surface of a substrate 1.
1. An amorphous silicon (a-Si) film 12 and a transparent conductive film 13 are laminated, and a metal film 14 is formed on the back surface. Then, the metal film 11 to be the first electrode is connected to the metal film 14 to be the back surface electrode by the metal film 15 attached at the time of forming the inner surface metal film 13 in the hole 16 penetrating the substrate 1, and to be connected to the second electrode. The transparent conductive film 13 is a-Si film 1.
2. In the hole 17 penetrating the metal film 11 and the substrate 1, the metal film 15 attached to the inner surface thereof is connected to the other part of the metal film 14. Therefore, in this thin film conversion element, the connection between the first electrode 11 and the second electrode 12 for connecting a single cell can be performed between the portions of the metal film 14 on the back surface. In order to manufacture such a thin film photoelectric conversion element, the transparent conductive film 13 and the metal film 14 must be formed on both sides of the substrate. It is difficult from the viewpoint of maintenance work to arrange such film forming lines in parallel in one apparatus.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems, and a first object thereof is to provide an apparatus for manufacturing a thin film photoelectric conversion element in which wrinkles do not occur on the substrate surface even when the substrate is heated. The second object is to provide an apparatus for manufacturing a thin film photoelectric conversion element in which a heavy core can be easily attached and detached. A third object is to provide an apparatus for manufacturing a thin film photoelectric conversion element having two lines for forming a film on both surfaces of a substrate.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned first object, the present invention provides a surface in a vertical plane between a conveying roll and a pressing roll which are rotationally driven from a feeding chamber to a winding chamber. In a thin-film photoelectric conversion device manufacturing apparatus for applying a voltage between electrodes facing each other across one or more film forming chambers on the surface of a substrate conveyed in a certain manner, The surface contacts the substrate exiting the deposition chamber,
It is assumed to have a roll cooled by the flow of a refrigerant. The refrigerant is preferably water. In order to achieve the above-mentioned second object, the present invention provides a substrate to be conveyed such that a surface is in a vertical plane between a conveying roll and a pressing roll which are rotationally driven from a feeding chamber to a winding chamber. On the surface,
In a thin-film photoelectric conversion device manufacturing apparatus for applying a voltage between electrodes facing each other across a substrate in one or more film forming chambers, the substrate is wound outside the feed chamber and the winding chamber. Rotating means for converting the position of the holding body of the core body between the horizontal position and the vertical position of the core body axis, elevating means for changing the position of the holding body up and down, and the position of the holding body for the feed chamber or A front-rear moving unit that can convert the core body mounting position in the winding chamber is provided. In order to achieve the above-mentioned third object, the present invention provides a movable structure in which a surface is in a vertical plane through a conveying roll and a pressing roll which are rotationally driven from a feeding chamber to a winding chamber. In a method of forming a film on a flexible substrate by applying a voltage between electrodes facing each other across the substrate in a plurality of film forming chambers,
It has two transport paths for separately transporting two flexible substrates, and the two transport paths are equal to a parallel section that exits the common feed chamber and passes through the film formation chambers in parallel. And a single section that splits at an angle and runs in opposite directions,
In a single section, a film forming chamber for forming a film on one surface of the substrate and a film forming chamber for forming a film on the other surface of the substrate are passed.

[0007]

In the film forming chamber, if the cylindrical surface of the roll cooled by the flow of the refrigerant is brought into contact with the substrate heated to the film forming temperature or heated by the heat given by the plasma, the heat is generated. The resulting substrate wrinkles can be removed. By providing rotating means, lifting means, and front-rear moving means outside the feeding chamber and the winding chamber, respectively, the core at the horizontal position of the shaft that is easy to transport is erected vertically, and after adjusting the height, put it in the feeding chamber. This makes it easy to attach and remove the film after film formation, remove it in the winding room, take it out of the room, and tilt it to the horizontal position of the axis for easy transportation.

The substrate transfer path is divided into a parallel section and a single section having an angle equal to the parallel section, and two transfer paths are formed in parallel in the parallel section to form a film, and the maintenance positions are reversed in the single section. By forming the film on the side surface, the occupied area becomes smaller than in the case where a single transport path is separately arranged. Further, it is possible to arrange the parallel work section and the single section so as to avoid mutual interference of the maintenance work areas.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 in which common parts are designated by the same reference numerals. 1 and 2 show a thin-film photoelectric conversion element manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention described in claim 1. FIG. 1 is a plan sectional view and FIG. 2 is a front sectional view. The substrate 1 is fed from the feeding core 31 of the feeding chamber 21 through the film forming chambers 22 and 23 to the winding chamber 24.
The mechanism for transporting the film to the take-up core 32 is substantially the same as that shown in FIGS. In order to convey the substrate 1 from the core 31 to the core 32 while keeping the tension constant, each peripheral speed of the core drive motor 54 that rotates the reference taper cone 51 of the feed chamber 21 and the winding chamber 24 is detected by the controller. However, the peripheral speed ratio is controlled. The upper end of the idle roll 38 on the film forming chamber side is held by an actuator 82 that moves back and forth according to a signal from a level sensor 81 that detects the amount of displacement of the substrate 1, and the lower end is supported by a spherical bearing 60 as a lower support bearing. ing. According to the present invention, the touch roll 36 has the feed chamber 2
1 between the film forming chamber 22 and the feed roll 34, and between the film forming chamber 22 and the film forming chamber 23, the two rolls face each other.
Further, the winding roll 3 is provided between the film forming chamber 23 and the film forming chamber 24.
It is arranged so as to face 5. These touch rolls 3
Since the touch roll 36 cools the substrate 1 in contact with the cylindrical surface 6 by the cooling water 37 flowing inside, the substrate 1 is cooled during transportation. As a result, the wrinkles of the substrate can be removed by heating the substrate with the heater or heat given from the plasma. In this case, the feed roll 34 and the take-up roll 3 facing the touch roll 36
Cooling 5 is also more effective in removing wrinkles because the contact area between the roll and the substrate is large. Using this apparatus, an a-Si film is formed in the film forming chamber 22 on the substrate 1 on which the metal film of the first electrode has already been formed, and in the film forming chamber 23, the high voltage electrode 41 is used as the target electrode by sputtering. A transparent conductive film was laminated.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show a thin film photoelectric conversion device according to an embodiment of the present invention as defined in claim 3 by omitting the film forming chamber. FIG. 6 is a plan sectional view, and FIG. 7 is a front sectional view. It is a figure. The core 31 of the feed chamber 21 is mounted between the reference taper cone 51 and the driven taper cone 52 by a core mounting device 91 which is adjacent to the feed chamber and has a vertical and swivel moving mechanism. The core 32 of the winding chamber 24 is taken out by the core take-out device 92 adjacent to the winding chamber. Core mounting device 91
The handling mechanism 93 of the rotary actuator 9 holds the core 31 in the horizontal posture as shown by the one-dot chain line.
Rotate 90 ° by 4 and stand vertically. When the position of the door 61 of the feed chamber 21 is high, the vertical movement actuator 95
The moving table 97 rises from the moving guide 96 and moves the core 31 to the mounting height. In order to move the core 31 that has reached the mounting height to the axis of the opposing reference taper cone 51 and driven taper cone 52, the moving table 87 is moved by the forward / backward movement actuator 98 and the movement guide 86.
Is moved toward the feed chamber 21. Next, so that the taper of the reference taper cone 51 and the taper of the core 31 are fitted,
Move the moving table 97 downward to move the driven taper cone 5
2 is lowered by the core setting mechanism 55 and the core 31 is mounted. After that, the handling mechanism 93 holding the core 31 is released, and the handling mechanism 93 is made to stand by at a predetermined position by the moving tables 87 and 97. The removal of the core 32 from the winding chamber 24 is performed by the core removal device 92 in the reverse process of the core mounting device 91.

FIG. 8 is a plan sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention as set forth in claim 4, which is used for manufacturing the thin film photoelectric conversion element shown in FIG. In order to manufacture the photoelectric conversion element having the multilayer structure shown in FIG. 5, the metal film 11 is formed on the substrate 1 as the first step. In the second step, through holes 16 and 17 penetrating with the metal film 11 on which the substrate 1 is formed are penetrated.
To form. The third step is the metal film 11 formed on the substrate 1.
An a-Si film 12 is formed on the upper surface, and subsequently, as a fourth step,
The transparent conductive film 13 is formed on the a-Si film 12. In the final step, the metal film 14 is formed on the back surface of the substrate 1 formed in the previous step.
It is necessary to form a film. The manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 8 is provided with two rows of transport systems. The structure of the film forming chamber is as follows: a film forming chamber 22 for forming the a-Si film 12 on the substrate 1 that has already undergone the second step, a film forming chamber 23 for forming the transparent conductive film 13,
There is a film forming chamber 26 for forming the metal film 14 for each transport system, and following the common feed chamber 21, both film forming chambers 22 are formed in one vacuum chamber, and film forming chambers 23, 24 are formed. After the chamber 22, the intermediate chamber 27 is sandwiched and bent in an L-shape. By arranging in this manner, maintenance of the film forming chamber 22 with the door 64 opened, and film forming chamber 2 with the doors 65 and 66 opened
The maintenance of 3, 26 can be performed without interference of the working areas of each other. Thereby, the thin-film photoelectric conversion element manufacturing apparatus with high productivity can be arranged in a small area. In the embodiment, the two transfer systems are arranged in a T-shape which is bent into an L-shape, but the arrangement is not limited to this as long as the doors of the film forming chambers 23 and 26 can be opened and closed. Good. The structure of the film forming chamber 26 is the same as that of the film forming chamber 23, but the positions of the high voltage electrode 41 and the ground electrode 42 are the same as those of the substrate 1.
Is symmetric with respect to the plane. The film formation process from the third process to the final process is performed by one apparatus. In this example,
The hand lifter 99 with a turning function allows the core 3
1, 32 are attached and detached. The thin-film photoelectric conversion element manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention can be applied to both the roll-to-roll method and the stepping roll method, and the film-forming method can be either the plasma CVD method or the sputtering method.

[0012]

According to the present invention, a cylindrical surface of a roll, which has been cooled by flowing a cooling medium, is brought into contact with the substrate to raise the temperature at the time of film formation, and the wrinkled substrate is cooled to remove the wrinkle, and thin film photoelectric conversion is performed. It was possible to prevent damage to the element. According to another aspect of the present invention, by providing a mounting device and a take-out device that change the position of the core body holder for attaching and detaching the core body around which the substrate is wound,
Even if the length of the substrate becomes long and the core weight becomes heavy for mass production, one worker can easily perform the attachment / detachment work, the workability is improved, and the work time can be shortened.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, the conveying path is divided into a parallel section in which two paths are parallel and a single section, and film formation on both surfaces of a substrate which is difficult to form a parallel section is performed in the single section.
By performing other film formations in parallel sections, it is possible to reduce the area occupied by the device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan sectional view of a thin-film photoelectric conversion element manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front sectional view of the thin-film photoelectric conversion element manufacturing apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan sectional view of a conventional thin-film photoelectric conversion element manufacturing apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a front sectional view of the thin-film photoelectric conversion element manufacturing apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of an example of a thin-film photoelectric conversion element manufacturing apparatus manufactured by the manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan sectional view of a thin-film photoelectric conversion element manufacturing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a front sectional view of the thin-film photoelectric conversion element manufacturing apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a plan sectional view of a thin-film photoelectric conversion element manufacturing apparatus which is still another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Flexible Substrate 21 Feed Chamber 22, 23, 26 Film Forming Chamber 24 Winding Chamber 34 Feed Roll 35 Winding Roll 36 Touch Roll 37 Cooling Water 41 High Voltage Electrode 42 Grounding Electrode 51 Reference Tapered Cone 52 Driven Tapered Cone 91 Core Mounting Device 92 core take-out device 93 handling mechanism 94 rotary actuator 95 vertical movement actuator 98 longitudinal movement actuator

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A flexible substrate which is conveyed with a surface in a vertical plane between a conveying roll and a pressing roll which are rotationally driven from a feed chamber to a winding chamber, and one or In a film formation method in which a voltage is applied between electrodes facing each other across a substrate in a plurality of film formation chambers, a cylindrical surface is in contact with the substrate that has left the film formation chamber, and the roll is cooled by the flow of a refrigerant. An apparatus for manufacturing a thin film photoelectric conversion element, comprising: 2. The apparatus for manufacturing a thin film photoelectric conversion element according to claim 1, wherein the refrigerant is water. 3. One or more of the flexible substrates are conveyed on the surface of the flexible substrate such that the surface is in the vertical plane between the conveying roll and the pressing roll which are rotationally driven from the feeding chamber to the winding chamber. In a film formation in which a voltage is applied between electrodes facing each other across the substrates in a plurality of film formation chambers, the position of the holder of the core body around which the substrates are wound is placed outside the feed chamber and the winding chamber. Rotating means capable of converting between a horizontal position and a vertical position of the core body, an elevating means capable of changing the position of the holding body up and down, a position of the holding body in a feed chamber or a winding chamber, and a core mounting position. An apparatus for manufacturing a thin-film photoelectric conversion element, characterized in that it is provided with a front-back moving means capable of converting between the two. 4. A plurality of film forming chambers are provided on a movable substrate which is conveyed while passing between a conveying roll and a pressing roll which are rotationally driven from a feeding chamber to a winding chamber so that the surface is in a vertical plane. In the case of forming a film by applying a voltage between the electrodes facing each other across the substrate, there are two transport paths for separately transporting two flexible substrates, and the two transport paths are common. Exiting the feed chamber and passing through the film forming chambers in parallel, and a single section that runs at the same angle and separates in opposite directions, and is formed on one surface of the substrate in the single section. An apparatus for manufacturing a thin film photoelectric conversion element, comprising: a film forming chamber for film formation and a film forming chamber for film formation on the other surface of the substrate.