JPH09195055A - Roll-to-roll treatment and apparatus therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a roll-to-roll treatment method which makes the cleaning of only the vacuum chamber requiring maintenance possible, drastically shortens the required time at the time of maintenance and greatly improves the working rate of the apparatus and the apparatus therefor. SOLUTION: A belt-like substrate is moved from a delivery chamber toward a take-up chamber and is passed through the vacuum chambers having treating chambers 430, 450, 470, by which the substrate is treated, in this roll-to-roll treatment method or the apparatus therefor. These treating chambers are constituted attachably and detachably to and from the vacuum chambers and are provided with gate valves capable of generating pressure differences between the plural vacuum chambers in the state of passing the belt-like substrate therethrough. At the time of maintenance, the gate valves are closed and only the vacuum chamber requiring the maintenance is opened to the atm. pressure. The attachable and detachable treating chamber is then exchanged with a spare chamber. The bobbin of the delivery mechanism or take-up mechanism is otherwise exchanged with a fresh one.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a processing method and apparatus for processing the surface of a strip-shaped substrate in vacuum. For more details, roll to roll
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for treating the surface of a strip-shaped substrate for improving the operation rate of the apparatus by using a type 1) CVD apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional vacuum processing apparatus such as an asher, an etcher, a CVD apparatus, etc., when a substrate is continuously charged, especially in the case of a roll-shaped belt-like substrate, when the substrate or a component of a processing chamber is replaced, the substrate is changed. Since they were continuous, it was necessary to leak all the chambers such as the delivery chamber and the processing chamber to replace the substrate and parts. After such a so-called maintenance process, in order to return to the original state, cleaning of the processing chamber, provision of a vacuum degree for removing gas and moisture adsorbed on the wall surface of the processing chamber, pretreatment such as sputtering equipment For example, pre-sputtering to clean the oxidized target surface and work to remove the surface by heating and vaporizing the oxidized deposition material in the case of vapor deposition equipment are required. It took a lot of trouble. In particular, when the treatment in a vacuum is performed at a high temperature, sufficient time is required for shutting off the switch of the heating device and lowering the temperature in addition to the above work before the leak. Furthermore, after maintenance, the time required for heating to return to the original state also took longer to raise the temperature, and the operating rate of the device was significantly reduced.

Next, considering the time required for such work, for example, in a CVD apparatus,
Depending on the scale of the individual equipment, it usually takes about 30 minutes to 2 hours to cool the equipment, 10 minutes to 1 hour to leak the vacuum chamber, 1 to 3 hours to clean the processing chamber, and 1 to 5 hours for vacuuming. It takes about 1 hour to 5 hours to raise the temperature. Such accumulation of time is sufficient to significantly impair the availability of the device. The same applies to the sputtering apparatus and the etching apparatus.

On the other hand, as described in JP-A-3-30419 or JP-A-5-251361, a strip-shaped substrate is sandwiched and each vacuum chamber is partitioned to keep the processing chamber at a predetermined vacuum degree. It is possible to select only the vacuum chamber having the delivery chamber, the winding chamber, and the desired specific processing chamber to be the atmosphere. As a result, the substrate can be exchanged while maintaining the pressure, temperature, etc. in the vacuum chamber other than atmospheric pressure in a desired state, and at the same time, the processing chamber can be cleaned at atmospheric pressure. However, there is essentially no change in the cleaning time of the processing chamber that requires cleaning.

As a method for shortening the cleaning time of such a processing chamber, there is a method disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-218570. According to this, a portion requiring cleaning is made a removable cassette, and a portion requiring cleaning is removed during maintenance, and the cassette is replaced with another cassette that has been prepared in advance to reduce the substantial time. It becomes possible. Prepare multiple cassettes and clean them when not in use.
According to this, the time required for cleaning is virtually zero,
Only a small amount of time is required to replace the cassette.

[0006]

However, the method for shortening the cleaning time of the processing chamber as described above has been made for the batch type deposition film manufacturing apparatus, and is not applicable to the roll-to-roll processing method. No mention is made of application, and in particular, a roll-to-roll processing method or apparatus for cleaning only the vacuum chamber requiring maintenance while the strip-shaped substrate is present in the vacuum chamber has not yet been developed. Was not done.

Therefore, the present invention solves the above problems in the prior art, makes it possible to clean only the vacuum chamber requiring maintenance, greatly shortens the time required for maintenance, and significantly improves the operating rate of the apparatus. The present invention provides a roll-to-roll processing method and device.

[0008]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention comprises a roll-to-roll processing method and apparatus as follows. That is,
The roll-to-roll processing method of the present invention includes a feeding mechanism, a processing chamber, and a winding mechanism in each of a plurality of connected vacuum chambers, and moves the belt-shaped substrate from the feeding chamber toward the winding chamber. In the roll-to-roll processing method, in which the strip-shaped substrate is processed in the processing chamber by passing through a vacuum chamber having the processing chamber,
The processing chamber is configured to be attachable / detachable to / from the vacuum chamber, and a gate valve capable of providing a pressure difference between the plurality of vacuum chambers while passing the belt-shaped substrate is provided, and the gate valve is provided at the time of maintenance. It is characterized in that only the vacuum chamber requiring maintenance is set to atmospheric pressure, the removable processing chamber is replaced with a spare one, or the bobbin of the feeding mechanism or the winding mechanism is set to a new one. I am trying. In the roll-to-roll processing method of the present invention, the processing of the strip-shaped substrate in the processing chamber is performed by microwave CV.
D method, RFCVD method, or microwave CVD
Method and the RFCVD method can be used at the same time. The roll-to-roll processing method of the present invention can be configured such that the strip-shaped substrate is continuously moved.

Further, the roll-to-roll processing apparatus of the present invention comprises a plurality of connected vacuum chambers each having a feed-out mechanism, a processing chamber and a winding mechanism in each vacuum chamber, and the band-shaped substrate is fed out as described above. In a roll-to-roll processing apparatus that moves from a chamber to the winding chamber and passes through a vacuum chamber having the processing chamber, and the belt-shaped substrate is processed in the processing chamber, the processing chamber is detachable. And a gate valve capable of providing a pressure difference between the plurality of vacuum chambers while allowing the strip-shaped substrate to pass therethrough,
During maintenance, the gate valve is closed, only the vacuum chamber that requires maintenance is set to atmospheric pressure, the removable processing chamber is replaced with a spare one, or the bobbin of the feeding mechanism or the winding mechanism is set to a new one. It is characterized by doing so. Further, in the roll-to-roll processing apparatus of the present invention, the gate valve is composed of a movable part having a valve part for vacuum-sealing the band-shaped substrate on a support part, and the valve part and the support part of the movable part. Can be formed by, for example, an O-ring, and the belt-shaped substrate can be configured to be continuously moved.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION According to the present invention, as described above, only the vacuum chamber requiring maintenance can be cleaned with the strip-shaped substrate existing in the vacuum chamber, so that the cleaning time at the time of maintenance can be significantly increased. It can be shortened and the operating rate of the device can be significantly improved. The details of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 shows an example of a detachable processing chamber constituting the present invention. Here, specifically, a schematic view of a detachable processing chamber in the case of processing a strip-shaped substrate by using a microwave CVD method is shown. At the time of actual maintenance, after leaking the vacuum chamber having the main processing chamber, a jig such as a bolt for fixing the front flange 102 to the vacuum chamber 101 is removed in FIG. After that, the front flange 102 is pulled out together with the parts including the processing chamber 103, and the processing chamber 103 becomes the vacuum chamber 10.
Try to get out of 1. Next, a fixing jig such as a bolt that fixes the processing chamber 103 to the plate 104 is removed. In this state, the processing chamber 104 can be easily taken out in the form of a cassette. Instead of the removed processing chamber, the cleaned processing chamber is fixed on the plate 104 again. When a new processing chamber is installed, the processing chamber is moved into the vacuum chamber 101, and the front flange 102 is fixed to the vacuum chamber with a bolt or the like and vacuum sealed. Then, the upper lid is closed and vacuum sealing is performed. After all the vacuum chambers have been vacuum-sealed, the inside of the system is depressurized by using an exhaust means (not shown). FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of a detachable processing chamber in the case where a strip-shaped substrate is processed by using the RFCVD method, as another example of the detachable processing chamber constituting the present invention. In the figure, 201 is a vacuum chamber and 202 is a front flange. A plate 204 is installed on the front flange 202, and a detachable processing chamber 203 is installed on the plate 204. The maintenance method is basically the same as the microwave CVD method. FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a gate valve (hereinafter abbreviated as a pinch valve) capable of providing a pressure difference between a plurality of vacuum chambers of the present invention, (a) is a side view,
(B) is a front view of a movable part. In the figure, 304 is a housing, 302 is a movable part, 303 is a support part, and 305.
Is a drive mechanism, and 301 is a base. The movable portion 302 of the pinch valve has a valve portion 306 for cutting off gas and deposition wastes and a valve portion 307 for blocking deposition wastes, sandwiching the substrate 301, and is driven by a pinch valve drive portion 305 to provide a pinch valve. A pressure difference can be provided by opening and closing the valve. As a material of the valve portion of the movable portion 302 and the support portion 303 which are in contact with the base body 301, for example, viton rubber or the like is used for vacuum sealing.

Since the processing method of the present invention has the above-described easily removable processing chamber and the pinch valve capable of independently leaking the respective vacuum chambers, the processing for which a film produced by, for example, the CVD method has large adhesion Only rooms can be selectively leaked and maintained. Therefore, the leak time can be shortened. Even during the subsequent maintenance, the vacuum chamber that has not leaked can continue to be maintained in the baking state, so that the heating time after the maintenance can be shortened. Furthermore, since the leaked chamber is limited, it is possible to shorten the time required for vacuuming again after maintenance. Another advantage is that for chambers that do not require maintenance every time after processing, air leakage does not occur, reducing the contamination of impurities such as water, oxygen, and nitrogen, which are problems when processing in vacuum. it can.

Next, using the roll-to-roll processing method having the pinch valve and the removable processing chamber of the present invention,
A method for producing an amorphous solar cell by decomposing a raw material gas by microwaves and RF (hereinafter referred to as “R-RCVD
(Abbreviated as “method”). RR
The processing apparatus by the CVD method is a bobbin wound in a roll shape and continuously sends out a belt-shaped substrate to form a solar cell, at least an n-type a-Si layer, an i-type a-SiGe layer, a p-type a-Si layer, and the like. A plurality of layers including a layer containing a is formed in a processing chamber which is a separate reaction vessel.However, in each processing space, the substrate is moved between the processing chambers while maintaining a reduced pressure state. Enabled and fed into each processing chamber. For example, n-type a-Si layer, p-type a-Si
It is provided with a connecting member (generally referred to as a “gas gate” or simply “gate”) having a mechanism for preventing gas, which is a raw material of layers, from being diffused and mixed with each other.

FIG. 4 shows a- by the R-RCVD method equipped with the maintenance chamber and the pinch valve.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a processing apparatus for semiconductor elements such as SiGe solar cells, in which an i-type a-SiGe layer having a large deposition thickness and required high throughput is produced by the μW method, and the deposition thickness is RF thin n-type and p-type a-Si layers that do not require high throughput as much as i-type a-SiGe layers
It is made by the method. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 401 denotes a belt-shaped substrate on which a film is deposited, and a normally deformable conductive substrate such as a thin plate of stainless steel or aluminum or a non-conductive thin plate coated with a conductive thin film is used. The belt-shaped substrate 401 is wound around a circular bobbin 411 and provided in a chamber (hereinafter referred to as “delivery chamber”) 410 having a delivery mechanism inside. Band-shaped substrate 40 sent from a bobbin installed in the sending chamber
Reference numeral 1 denotes a gas gate (hereinafter abbreviated as “gate”) 420, and a chamber having an n-type a-Si processing chamber therein (hereinafter “n”).
Type a-Si processing chamber) 430, gate 440, chamber having i-type a-SiGe processing chamber inside (hereinafter abbreviated as "i-type a-SiGe processing chamber") 450, gate 4
60, a chamber having a p-type a-Si processing chamber inside (hereinafter abbreviated as "p-type a-Si processing chamber") 470, a chamber having a winding mechanism inside through a gate 480 (hereinafter referred to as "winding chamber"). (Abbreviated as “”) is wound on the winding bobbin 491 installed in the 490.

Reference numerals 430a and 470a denote RF power sources, and reference numerals 430b and 470b denote cathode electrodes for exciting RF discharge, which are an n-type a-Si layer and a p-type a-, respectively.
Power is provided to deposit the Si layer. Reference numeral 450a denotes an applicator including a dielectric window for radiating microwaves to the discharge space. Electric power is applied from a microwave power source (not shown) through a rectangular waveguide 450b installed in the dielectric window in a vertical direction. Glow discharge is generated in the discharge space inside the mold a-SiGe processing chamber. 402a-406a
Each is filled with a gas that is a raw material for forming a deposited film,
402a is SiH4 gas, 403a is GeH4 gas, 40
4a is H2 gas, 405a is PH3 gas, 406a is BF
It is filled with 3 gas. Open / close valve 40 for each gas
It is led to mixers 430c, 450c, and 470c through 2b-406b and pressure reducers 402c-406c. The raw material gases having the desired flow rates and mixing ratios in the gas mixers 430c to 470c are supplied to the gas introduction lines 430d and 450.
It jets out into each processing chamber through d and 470d. The gas introduced into the processing chamber is an exhaust device 410e, 430e, 450e, 470e, 490 including an oil diffusion pump, a mechanical booster pump, a rotary pump, and the like.
By e, the pressure in each chamber is adjusted so as to be a desired pressure, and the gas is exhausted and guided to an exhaust gas treatment device (not shown).

Reference numerals 430f, 450f, and 470f respectively denote infrared lamp heaters for heating the base, and each has a power source 430.
Power is supplied from g, 450 g, and 470 g. 44
Reference numerals 1 and 461 are parts for adjusting the opening cross-sectional area of the gate, and narrow the gas passage to reduce mutual diffusion of gas between the processing chambers. In addition, the gas inlet 4 at the gate
42, 462, a gas that does not adversely affect the film formation, for example, a gas such as H2 or He is supplied from the cylinder 407a to the decompressor 4.
07b and the flow rate controllers 407c and 407d to further suppress the mutual diffusion of the source gases in the respective processing chambers. 423, 443, 463, and 483 are pinch valves. The valves are opened during processing, and when the processing is completed, it is possible to bring only the desired chamber to atmospheric pressure by closing the valves on both sides of the chamber requiring maintenance. is there.

The strip-shaped substrate 401 delivered from the delivery chamber 410 advances in each processing chamber one after another, and the n-type a
The -Si film, the i-type a-SiGe film, and the p-type a-Si film are formed and finally enter the winding chamber 490. First, n-type a
In the -Si processing chamber 430, the band-shaped substrate 401 is heated by the infrared lamp heater 430f to a desired temperature. Gases such as SiH4, H2, and PH3, which are raw materials for the n-type a-Si film, are mixed by the gas mixer 430c at optimum flow rates and introduced into the processing chamber 430. At the same time, RF power is applied from the RF power source 430a to the cathode 430b to cause glow discharge in the processing space, and the belt-shaped substrate 40
An n-type a-Si film is formed on the surface of 1. Next, the belt-shaped substrate 401 advances in the gate 440 and enters the i-type a-SiGe processing chamber 450. In the processing chamber 450, SiH4, GeH4, and H2 gas set to the optimum flow rates are supplied with optimum power in the same manner as described above, and the desired i-type a-
A SiGe film is formed. Similarly, the strip substrate 401 is wound around the bobbin 491 in the winding chamber 490 via the gate 460 and the p-type a-Si processing chamber 470. When the treatment is completed, the pinch valve is closed to bring only the chamber requiring maintenance to atmospheric pressure, the detachable treatment chamber is replaced with a spare one, and the pressure is reduced again to perform the treatment again. Specifically, pinch valves 423, 4
43, 463, and 483 are closed to leak the processing chamber 450, the delivery chamber 410, and the winding chamber 490 to atmospheric pressure. Then, the bobbin in the delivery chamber 410 is replaced with a new bobbin at the same time as the spare processing chamber in the processing chamber 450 is replaced, and the processed bobbin in the winding chamber 490 is taken out and an empty bobbin is installed. As described above, according to the roll-to-roll processing method of the present invention having both the easily removable processing chamber and the pinch valve, the operation rate of the apparatus is drastically improved, and high-quality processing is continuously performed. You can

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. [Example 1] A method for producing a single cell solar cell by using the processing apparatus of the R-RCVD method in Example 1 of the present invention will be described. The structure of the solar cell uses a photovoltaic conversion layer of a-SiGe manufactured by the microwave method, and all other layers are manufactured by the RF method. The belt-shaped substrate 101 in FIG. 4 has a width of 350 mm, a thickness of 0.15 mm, and a length of 3.
It is made of SUS430BA with a length of 50 m, and has already undergone cleaning and base treatment in the previous process. The undercoat treatment specifically includes a metal coating or the like for improving light utilization efficiency by increasing reflection, and details are shown in Table 1.

[0018]

[Table 1] The belt-shaped substrate 401 includes a delivery bobbin 411 installed in the delivery chamber 110, a gate 420, and an n-type a-Si.
After passing through the processing chamber 430, the gate 440, the i-type a-SiGe processing chamber 450, the gate 460, the p-type a-Si processing chamber 470, and the gate 480, the winding bobbin 491 installed in the winding chamber 490 is passed. The tension was adjusted so that the belt-shaped substrate 401 did not sag. Then, the delivery chamber 410, the winding chamber 490, the processing chambers 430 and 450,
Each of 470 is an exhaust device 410e, 430e, 450e, 470e, 490 including an oil diffusion pump, a mechanical booster pump, a rotary pump, and the like.
By e, the pressure in each chamber was exhausted to 1 Torr. After that, each infrared lamp heater 430f, 450f, 47
The temperature was controlled so that the surface temperature of the strip-shaped substrate 401 was 400 ° C. by turning on 0f, and heating and degassing were performed. When the heated degassing was sufficiently performed, the deposited film was continuously formed under the conditions shown in Table 1. At this time,
The moving speed of the strip-shaped substrate 401 was 500 mm / min. Every time when the strip-shaped substrate 401 having a length of 350 m is completed and the bobbin needs to be replaced (hereinafter referred to as "one processing cycle")
Then, purging of each processing chamber is performed, and maintenance of the next processing is performed.

The maintenance is an a-SiGe processing chamber which requires a thick film and is produced by a microwave having a high deposition rate.
The delivery bobbin 411 and the take-up bobbin 491 wound with the strip-shaped substrate 401 on which the deposited film is formed are exchanged for each processing cycle.
3, 443, 463 and 483 are closed to return the a-SiGe processing chamber 450, the delivery chamber 410 and the winding chamber 490 to atmospheric pressure. However, since the other processing chambers are performed every 10 processing cycles, the heating infrared lamp heaters 430f and 470f are kept in vacuum while being turned on.

In the a-SiGe processing chamber, the cassette with the deposited film is taken out and the cassette which has been prepared for cleaning is replaced.
A bobbin around which a new strip-shaped substrate is wound is set. The new strip-shaped substrate 501 has rounded ends as shown in FIG. 5, and is joined to the existing strip-shaped substrate 401 by spot welding or the like. The bobbin 491 on which the strip-shaped substrate on which the deposited film is formed is wound up, is cut and taken out leaving the strip-shaped substrate 401 for two or three rounds, and a new winding bobbin is set to remove the strip-shaped substrate 401 for two or three rounds. Wrap around. When the above maintenance is completed, the exhaust device 410e,
When a vacuum is drawn at 450e and 490e and the pressure becomes the same as that of the processing chamber held in vacuum, pinch valves 423 and 44
Open 3,463,483 and start the process again. Table 2 shows the results of the apparatus operating rates of the roll-to-roll processing method of the present invention and the conventional processing method. Occupancy rate is processing time /
(Processing time + rest time) x 100%.

[0021]

[Table 2] In the present invention, since the processing chamber is replaced by a cassette type, it takes time to clean the processing chamber, to pass the belt-shaped substrate through the apparatus again, and where maintenance is not required, a vacuum can be maintained by a pinch valve, so that the heating vacuuming time can be significantly increased. It can be shortened, and the operating rate of the equipment has improved to 81%. Further, the characteristics of the deposited film formed in this example were examined. Sample 3
Ten solar cells each having a square area of 5 cm were cut out every 0 m, transparent electrodes (ITO) and concentrated electrodes (Al) were vapor-deposited, and the solar cell conversion efficiency was evaluated. The characterization results of the 10 samples are
The conversion efficiency is within the range of 7.81 to 8.03%, which is comparable to the conventional conversion efficiency of 7.95%.

[Embodiment 2] R in Embodiment 2 of the present invention
-A method for producing a triple cell solar cell using a processing apparatus of the RCVD method will be described. The structure of the solar cell is
Fabrication in bottom cell and middle cell by microwave method a
-SiGe, a-Si photovoltaic conversion layer manufactured by RF method is used for the top cell, and all other layers are manufactured by RF method. FIG. 6 shows a schematic view of a typical example of the processing apparatus of the present invention for producing such a solar cell. 60 of FIG.
Reference numeral 1 is a strip-shaped substrate. The belt-shaped substrate 601 has a width of 350 m
m, thickness 0.15 mm, length 400 m SUS430B
It is made of A and has already undergone cleaning and base treatment in the previous step. The undercoat treatment specifically includes a metal coating or the like for improving light utilization efficiency by increasing reflection, and details are shown in Table 3.

[0023]

[Table 3] The strip base 601 is transferred from the delivery bobbin 603 installed in the delivery chamber 602 to the n-type a-S for the bottom cell.
i processing chamber 611, n / i diffusion prevention processing chamber 612, i-type a-SiGe processing chamber 613, i / p diffusion prevention processing chamber 6
14, p-type a-Si processing chamber 615, and n-type a-Si processing chamber 616 for middle cells, n / i diffusion prevention processing chamber 617, i-type a-SiGe processing chamber 618, i / p diffusion prevention processing The chamber 619, the p-type a-Si processing chamber 620, the n-type a-Si processing chamber 621 for the top cell, the i-type a-Si processing chamber 622, and the p-type a-Si processing chamber 623, respectively, and the winding chamber. The take-up bobbin 605 installed in the 604 was passed through to adjust the tension so that the belt-shaped substrate 601 did not sag. The processing chambers 611 to 623 are respectively the delivery chambers 6
02, the winding chamber 604 and all the chambers are connected by a gas gate as shown in the figure. In addition, both ends of the i-type a-SiGe processing chamber manufactured by microwave, the delivery chamber,
The pinch valves 631, 63 are provided at the gate of the winding chamber.
2, 633, 634, 635, 636 are installed. Further, as the number of chambers increases and the overall length of the apparatus increases, the sagging of the belt-shaped substrate 601 due to gravity cannot be ignored, and therefore all the chambers are arranged in advance in a catenary arrangement. A triple cell solar cell is manufactured by using the processing apparatus of the present invention as described above, and the specific procedure thereof has already been described in Example 1 and the detailed description, and therefore the description thereof is omitted here. Table 3 shows the detailed processing conditions. As in the case of Example 1, the a-SiGe processing chamber, the delivery chamber, and the winding chamber were maintained in one processing cycle, and the other processing chambers were maintained in ten processing cycles. The apparatus operating rates of the roll-to-roll processing method of the present invention and the conventional processing method are compared, and the results are shown in Table 4.

[0024]

[Table 4] According to the present invention, the number of processing chambers for cleaning is reduced, the cleaning time and the heating vacuuming time can be greatly shortened, and the operating rate of the apparatus is improved to 76%. Further, the characteristics of the deposited film formed in this example were examined. 10 samples are cut out every 30 m in an area of 5 cm square, and a transparent electrode (IT
O) and concentrated electrodes (Al) were vapor-deposited, and the solar cell conversion efficiency of the triple cell was evaluated. The characteristic evaluation results of the 10 samples are within the conversion efficiency of 10.58 to 10.75%, which is comparable to the conventional conversion efficiency of 10.71%.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, the processing chamber can be configured to be detachable from the vacuum chamber, and a pressure difference can be provided between the plurality of vacuum chambers while the strip-shaped substrate is passing therethrough. Therefore, the gate valve is closed during maintenance, only the vacuum chamber that requires maintenance is set to atmospheric pressure, and the removable processing chamber is replaced with a spare one, or the bobbin of the delivery mechanism or the winding mechanism is used. Can be set to a new one, a great amount of time can be saved during maintenance in the roll-to-roll processing device, the device operating rate can be dramatically improved, and the cost of the product can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a detachable processing chamber for processing a strip-shaped substrate using a microwave CVD method.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a detachable processing chamber for processing a strip-shaped substrate using an RF wave CVD method.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a pinch valve that constitutes the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a single cell manufacturing apparatus using the roll-to-roll processing method of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a method for joining strip-shaped substrates.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a triple cell manufacturing apparatus using the roll-to-roll processing method of the present invention.

[Description of sign]

101: Vacuum chamber 102: Front flange 103: Detachable processing chamber 104: Plate 201: Vacuum chamber 202: Front flange 203: Detachable processing chamber 204: Plate 301: Belt-shaped substrate 302: Moving part 303: Support part 304: Housing 305: Driving mechanism 306, 307: Valve part for shutting off gas and deposition waste 401: Belt-shaped substrates 411, 191: Bobbins around which each substrate 101 is wound 410: Delivery chamber 430: n-type a-Si processing chamber 450: i Type a-SiGe processing chamber 470: p-type a-Si processing chamber 490: winding chamber 420, 440, 460, 480: gates 441, 461: gap adjusting parts 442, 462: gate gas inlets 423, 443, 463, 483. : Pinch valve 430a, 470a: RF power supply 450a Microwave applicators 430b, 470b: Carsode electrode 450b: Waveguide 402a: SiH4 gas cylinder 403a: GeH4 gas cylinder 404a: H2 gas cylinder 405a: PH3 gas cylinder 406a: BF3 gas cylinder 402b to 406b: Gas cylinder Open / close valves 402c to 406c: pressure reducers 430c, 450c, 470c: gas mixers 430d, 450d, 470d: gas introduction lines 410e, 430e, 450e, 470e, 490e:
Exhaust pumps 430f, 450f, 470f: Infrared lamp heaters for heating bases 430g, 450g, 470g: Power source of infrared lamp heaters for heating bases 407a: Purge gas cylinder for gates 407b: Pressure reducer 407c, 407d: Gas flow controller 501 : New band-shaped substrate 502: Spot-welded portion 601: Band-shaped substrate 602: Delivery chamber 603, 605: Bobbins around which each substrate is wound 604: Winding chamber 611: Bottom cell n-type a-Si processing chamber 612: Bottom cell n / i diffusion Prevention treatment chamber 613: Bottom cell i-type a-SiGe treatment chamber 614: Bottom cell i / p diffusion prevention treatment chamber 615: Bottom cell p-type a-Si treatment chamber 616: Middle cell n-type a-Si treatment chamber 617: Middle cell n / i diffusion prevention processing chamber 618: middle cell i type a -SiGe processing chamber 619: Middle cell i / p diffusion prevention processing chamber 620: Middle cell p-type a-Si processing chamber 621: Top cell n-type a-Si processing chamber 622: Top cell i-type a-Si processing chamber 623: Top Cell p-type a-Si processing chamber 631 to 636: Pinch valve

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page (72) Inventor Hirokazu Ouri 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Hiroshi Echizen 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Kya Non-Incorporated (72) Inventor Masahiro Kanai 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A supply mechanism, a processing chamber, and a winding mechanism are provided in each of a plurality of connected vacuum chambers, and the processing chamber is provided by moving a belt-shaped substrate from the supply chamber toward the winding chamber. Roll-to-process for treating the strip-shaped substrate in the processing chamber.
In the roll processing method, the processing chamber is configured to be attachable / detachable to / from a vacuum chamber, and a gate valve is provided that can provide a pressure difference between the plurality of vacuum chambers while the belt-shaped substrate is being passed through. Occasionally, the gate valve is closed, only the vacuum chamber requiring maintenance is set to atmospheric pressure, and the removable processing chamber is replaced with a spare one, or the bobbin of the feeding mechanism or the winding mechanism is set to a new one. A roll-to-roll processing method characterized in that 2. The roll-to-roll processing method according to claim 1, wherein the processing of the strip-shaped substrate in the processing chamber is performed by using a microwave CVD method. 3. The processing of the strip-shaped substrate in the processing chamber is performed by RFC.
The roll-to-roll processing method according to claim 1, wherein the method is performed by using a VD method. 4. The roll-to-roll processing method according to claim 1, wherein the processing of the strip-shaped substrate in the processing chamber is performed by simultaneously using a microwave CVD method and an RFCVD method. 5. The roll-to-roll processing method according to claim 1, wherein the strip-shaped substrate is continuously moved. 6. A plurality of connected vacuum chambers each having a feed-out mechanism, a processing chamber and a winding mechanism in each vacuum chamber, and moving the belt-shaped substrate from the feed-out chamber toward the winding chamber. In a roll-to-roll processing apparatus for processing the strip-shaped substrate in the processing chamber by passing through the vacuum chamber having the processing chamber, the processing chamber is provided with a detachable vacuum chamber, and between the plurality of vacuum chambers. Is provided with a gate valve capable of providing a pressure difference in a state where the strip-shaped substrate is passed through, the gate valve is closed at the time of maintenance, and only the vacuum chamber requiring maintenance is set to the atmospheric pressure, and the detachable processing chamber. With a spare,
Alternatively, the bobbin of the feeding mechanism or the winding mechanism is set to a new one, which is a roll-to-roll processing device. 7. The roll according to claim 6, wherein the gate valve is constituted by a movable portion having a valve portion for vacuum-sealing the belt-shaped substrate on a support portion.
Two-roll processing equipment. 8. The valve portion and the support portion of the movable portion are formed by O-rings.
The roll-to-roll processing apparatus described in 1. 9. The roll-to-roller according to claim 6, further comprising means for continuously moving the belt-shaped group.
Roll processing equipment.