JPWO2013038899A1 - Plasma processing apparatus and silicon thin film solar cell manufacturing method using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The plasma processing apparatus includes a chamber and a plurality of counter electrode pairs arranged in parallel to each other while being separated from each other in the chamber, and the electrode pair which is one of the plurality of counter electrode pairs is parallel to each other It consists of the 1st electrode (31) and the 2nd electrode (32) which are arrange | positioned so that it may become. These electrodes are arranged so that the main surfaces (4) face each other. The first electrode (31) includes a protruding metal pipe part (14) so as to be continuous with the gas inlet (7), and the metal pipe part (14) is a resin for transferring the source gas from the source gas supply source. The pipe (13) is connected in the chamber, and the metal pipe part (14) is based on the end of the space (33) sandwiched by the first electrode (31) and the second electrode (32) facing each other. The length L protruding is 20 mm or more.

Description

  The present invention relates to a plasma processing apparatus and a method for producing a silicon thin film solar cell using the same.

  As one kind of application of the plasma processing, there is a case where a film forming process using a plasma CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) method is performed. In a plasma processing apparatus for performing such a film forming process, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-94922 (Patent Document 1) discloses a processing chamber provided as a pipe for supplying a source gas to a desired location in the processing chamber. As described, piping made of a resin material such as a Teflon (registered trademark) tube may be used. If the pipe for supplying the source gas is a Teflon (registered trademark) tube, it is inexpensive, insulative, and flexible, so that it can be easily processed.

  However, when used in a processing chamber with a large heat load, piping made of a resin material having low heat resistance (hereinafter referred to as “resin piping”) may be broken by heat. If the pipe is broken, the raw material gas cannot be introduced into a desired location, which may not only hinder a process such as film formation but also cause a gas leakage problem.

  Therefore, when resin piping is used in a process with a large heat load, a ceramic insulating tube having high heat resistance is provided in a portion with a large heat load as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-273038 (Patent Document 2). It has been proposed to reduce the thermal load on the resin piping.

JP-A-62-94922 JP-A-7-273038

  When a ceramic material is used for a specific part as a protective material, measures against the heat itself can be taken, but there is a drawback that thermal shock breakdown is likely to occur. That is, when a process of repeating a low temperature to high temperature cycle is performed, ceramic cracks may occur. In addition, when heat is applied to the connection portion between the ceramic and the metal, stress is generated at the connection point due to the difference in thermal expansion coefficient between the ceramic and the metal, which may cause a ceramic crack.

  Considering this point of view and manufacturing cost, it is desirable that the connecting portion between the electrode and the resin pipe is made of only a metal material without a ceramic protective material.

  However, when the connection part is formed as a “metal pipe” using only a metal material, the electrode and the metal pipe have the same potential, and thus there is a risk that the discharge spreads to the connection part. If the discharge spreads to the connection part, the wear of the material becomes severe due to heat and ion damage caused by the ionized gas. In general, ceramic materials are used to avoid this risk.

  When a metal pipe is used, there is a risk that the discharge spreads in the metal pipe itself, but the discharge in the vicinity of the metal pipe is weaker than the discharge between the electrodes, and does not cause much damage to the metal pipe. However, the discharge spreading over the metal pipe in this way can cause great damage to the resin pipe. Therefore, some measures for reducing the thermal load and ion bombardment load on the resin piping are necessary.

  As described above, the most desirable configuration is to reduce the thermal load and ion bombardment load to a level where there is no problem in actual operation after using a metal material for the connection portion to the electrode.

  This is easily possible in a plasma processing apparatus composed of only one pair of electrodes. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, it is assumed that there are a first electrode 31 having a connection portion to which a resin pipe is connected and a second electrode 32 to which the resin pipe is not connected and facing each other. The first electrode 31 and the second electrode 32 facing each other form one electrode pair. The first electrode 31 and the second electrode 32 serve as a cathode and an anode, respectively, and a discharge 10 is generated in the space between them. In this case, as shown in FIG. 13, a metal connection portion 51 may be disposed on the surface 31 u opposite to the second electrode 32 of the two surfaces of the first electrode 31.

  However, as shown in FIG. 14, in a plasma processing apparatus in which a plurality of pairs of electrodes are arranged in parallel with each other while being separated from each other, that is, in a plasma processing apparatus having a multi-stage electrode configuration, it is connected to such a surface. If the portion 51 is protruded, the connecting portion will be close to the second electrode 32n of the adjacent pair of electrodes as shown in FIG. 15, which will affect the adjacent pair of electrodes. In FIG. 15, the electrode pair of the first electrode 31n and the second electrode 32n is disposed immediately above the electrode pair of the first electrode 31 and the second electrode 32. While the connection portion 51 has the same potential as the first electrode 31 that is the cathode while the second electrode 32 that is the anode has the same potential, the second electrode 32 n is exactly the second potential between the second electrode 32 n and the first electrode 31. The same potential difference as that between the electrode 32 and the first electrode 31 is generated, and the discharge 12 is generated. Therefore, such a configuration is difficult to adopt.

  Accordingly, the present invention provides a plasma processing apparatus having a configuration in which there is no problem in operation while using a metal material for a connection portion to an electrode in a plasma processing apparatus having a multistage electrode configuration, and a method of manufacturing a silicon thin film solar cell using the plasma processing apparatus. The purpose is to do.

  In order to achieve the above object, a plasma processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a chamber having an inner surface and a plurality of counter electrode pairs arranged in parallel to each other while being spaced apart from each other inside the chamber. The electrode pair, which is one of the plurality of counter electrode pairs, includes a first electrode and a second electrode that are spaced apart so as to be parallel to each other. The first electrode and the second electrode have a plate shape having a main surface and a back surface opposite to the main surface, and are arranged so that the main surfaces face each other. The first electrode has a gas inlet for receiving the source gas on the side, a gas outlet for discharging the source gas on the main surface, and a gas flow from the gas inlet to the gas outlet. Has a path inside. The first electrode includes a protruding metal pipe so as to be continuous with the gas inlet. A resin pipe for transferring the source gas from a source gas supply source is connected to the metal pipe part in the chamber. The length from which the metal pipe portion protrudes with reference to the end of the space sandwiched by the first electrode and the second electrode facing each other is 20 mm or more.

  According to the present invention, since the probability of occurrence of breakage of the resin pipe can be greatly reduced, it is possible to achieve a configuration that does not have any operational problems while using a metal material for the connection portion to the electrode.

It is a conceptual diagram of the plasma processing apparatus in Embodiment 1 based on this invention. It is sectional drawing of the electrode pair of the plasma processing apparatus in Embodiment 1 based on this invention. It is an exploded view near the metal piping part of the plasma processing apparatus in Embodiment 1 based on this invention. It is a top view of the resin piping of the plasma processing apparatus in Embodiment 1 based on this invention, and its surrounding structure. It is a graph which shows the result of Experiment 1 and 2. It is a top view of the resin piping of the L-shaped molded product used in Experiment 3, and its peripheral structure. It is a graph which shows the result of Experiment 3-5. It is an exploded view of the vicinity of the metal pipe of the plasma processing apparatus when the inner part is longer than the part of the metal pipe that does not enter the resin pipe. It is explanatory drawing of the positional relationship of an electrode pair and the inner surface of a chamber. It is the 1st explanatory view about the damage which arises by discharge. It is 2nd explanatory drawing regarding the damage which arises by discharge. It is 1st explanatory drawing of the plasma processing apparatus based on a prior art. It is 2nd explanatory drawing of the plasma processing apparatus based on a prior art. It is 3rd explanatory drawing of the plasma processing apparatus based on a prior art. It is a 4th explanatory view of a plasma treatment apparatus based on conventional technology.

(Embodiment 1)
With reference to FIGS. 1-4, the plasma processing apparatus 1 in Embodiment 1 based on this invention is demonstrated. As shown in FIG. 1, the plasma processing apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a chamber 2 having an inner surface 2 a and a plurality of electrode pairs arranged in parallel to each other while being spaced apart from each other inside the chamber 2. The electrode pair that is one of the plurality of electrode pairs includes a first electrode 31 and a second electrode 32 that are spaced apart from each other in parallel. The first electrode 31 and the second electrode 32 have a plate shape having a main surface 4 and a back surface 5 which is a surface opposite to the main surface 4. The first electrode 31 and the second electrode 32 are arranged so that the main surfaces 4 face each other. One electrode pair is taken out and a cross section is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the first electrode 31 has a gas inlet 7 for receiving the raw material gas on the side, a gas outlet 8 for discharging the raw material gas on either side, and the gas inlet A gas flow path 9 extending from 7 to the gas outlet 8 is provided inside. The first electrode 31 includes a protruding metal pipe 14 so as to be continuous with the gas inlet 7. A resin pipe 13 for transferring the source gas from the source gas supply source 15 is connected to the metal pipe part 14 in the chamber 2. Each of the two electrodes belonging to one electrode pair is referred to as a “counter electrode”. Therefore, both the first electrode 31 and the second electrode 32 are counter electrodes. The distance between the first electrode 31 and the second electrode 32 is referred to as a “distance between counter electrodes”. With reference to the end of the space 33 sandwiched by the first electrode 31 and the second electrode 32 facing each other, the length L from which the metal pipe portion 14 protrudes is 20 mm or more.

  In the example shown in FIG. 1, four electrode pairs are shown as a plurality of electrode pairs provided in the plasma processing apparatus 1, but the number of pairs is not limited to four and may be more or less. . For example, eight electrode pairs may be provided.

  In FIG. 1, the chamber 2 is depicted as a simple frame for convenience of explanation. However, in actuality, the chamber 2 further extends and is in a container shape that accommodates a plurality of electrode pairs. ing. In FIG. 1, the source gas supply source 15 is not necessarily a part of the plasma processing apparatus 1.

  In the example shown in FIG. 2, the first electrode 31 has an end face 6, and the metal pipe portion 14 protrudes from the end face 6. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the gas outlet 8 is disposed on the main surface 4.

  The place where the metal pipe part 14 is disassembled is shown in FIG. 3 together with the configuration in the vicinity of the metal pipe part 14. In this example, the metal pipe part 14 includes a base part 14 a, a protruding part 14 b, and an inner part 16. The base portion 14 a and the protruding portion 14 b are integrally formed, and the base portion 14 a has a longitudinal shape along the end surface 6. The end face 6 is provided with screw holes at two places on both sides of the gas inlet 7 in total. The first electrode 31 includes a first electrode main body 31 a and the metal piping part 14. The base part 14a of the metal pipe part 14 is attached to the first electrode body 31a by a known technique using a screw hole provided in the end face 6. The resin pipe 13 is, for example, a Teflon (registered trademark) tube. A front ferrule 17 and a back ferrule 18 are disposed at the end of the resin pipe 13 near the metal pipe 14. The inner part 16 which is a part of the metal piping part 14 is made of metal, and is a separate part from the protruding part 14b. The inner part 16 is inserted into the resin pipe 13 when the metal pipe part 14 and the resin pipe 13 are connected.

Further, the plan view is conceptually shown in FIG.
A resin pipe 13 is connected between the metal pipe part 14 of the first electrode 31 and the metal pipe part 19 on the source gas supply source 15 side. The source gas supply source 15 is installed outside the chamber 2, and the metal pipe part 19 is arranged so as to pass through the wall of the chamber 2. The metal pipe 19 and the resin pipe 13 are connected inside the chamber 2. In FIG. 4, the metal pipe part 19 is simply displayed, but actually, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the metal pipe part 19 may extend vertically. In this case, you may have the trunk part extended to an up-down direction, and the branch part branched from the trunk part and connected to the resin piping 13, respectively. If it is such a structure, supply of source gas can be performed simultaneously toward the several electrode pair from one metal piping part 19. FIG.

  An RF power source (not shown) used for the plasma processing is connected to the first electrode 31. The second electrode 32 has substantially the same potential as the inner surface 2 a of the chamber 2. The metal piping part 19 is also at substantially the same potential as the inner surface 2a. The 1st electrode main body 31a and the metal piping part 14 are substantially the same electric potential. Even if a general method such as contact between metals is used for the purpose of conducting between two points, a voltage drop occurs between the two points. The difference in potential between two points is also included in the concept of “substantially the same potential”.

  The power frequency of the RF power source when using the plasma processing apparatus 1 is 9 MHz to 40 MHz.

The length along the piping direction of the metal piping part 14 should just be 20 mm or more.
Here, one of the plurality of electrode pairs is representatively taken up and described as being composed of the first electrode 31 and the second electrode 32. However, any of the plurality of electrode pairs may be RF A first electrode that is connected to a power source and receives a source gas through a resin pipe, and a second electrode that has the same potential as the inner surface 2a of the chamber 2 and does not receive the source gas. The same can be said for each pair of first and second electrodes.

  In the plasma processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the length (hereinafter referred to as “projection distance”; see FIG. 2) L from which the metal pipe portion 14 projects with respect to the end of the space 33 is 20 mm or more. The probability of occurrence of breakage of the resin pipe 13 can be greatly reduced. As a result, in the present embodiment, a metal material can be used for the connection portion to the electrode, and a configuration with no problem in operation can be achieved.

It is preferable that the metal pipe part and the first electrode have substantially the same potential as described above.
In this Embodiment, although the length which a metal piping part protrudes was 20 mm or more, it is preferable that it is 20 mm or more and 300 mm or less. By adopting this configuration, processing becomes easy, and as a result, it can be manufactured at low cost.

  The length of the inner portion 16 along the piping direction is preferably 1 mm or more and 200 mm or less. By adopting this configuration, processing becomes easy, and as a result, it can be manufactured at low cost. Furthermore, if the length of the inner part 16 is 20 mm or more and 70 mm or less, work at the time of apparatus maintenance, such as attachment and removal, becomes easier, which is more preferable.

The results of experiments verifying the effects described in this embodiment will be described in detail below.
(Experiment 1)
In Experiment 1, two processes, a film forming process and a cleaning process, were set, and these processes were alternately repeated to verify the breakage of the resin pipe 13. Conventionally, the pipe breakage tends to occur in the vicinity of the metal pipe part 14. Therefore, in evaluating the breakage of the resin pipe 13, the thickness of the resin pipe 13 in the vicinity of the metal pipe part 14 is focused.

The conditions for the film formation process are:
Distance between electrodes: 12.5mm
Applied RF power: 0.01 W / mm ²
Pressure: 1600Pa
Gas flow ratio: H ₂ / SiH ₄ = 67
Deposition temperature: 160 ° C
Film formation time: 90 minutes. The cleaning process conditions are:
Distance between electrodes: 25mm
Applied RF power: 0.015 W / mm ²
Pressure: 150Pa
Gas flow ratio: Ar / NF ₃ = 1.0
Discharge time: 15 minutes Applied RF frequency: 11 MHz
It was.

  The cycle including the above two steps was repeated 100 times. Then, the change of the thickness of the resin piping 13 in the metal piping part 14 vicinity was evaluated. This experiment was performed by changing the projection distance L in the direction parallel to the main surface 4 from the end of the space 33 of the metal piping part 14 by 5 mm. A value expressing the thickness of the resin pipe 13 after the end of a certain number of cycles as a relative ratio with respect to the initial thickness, where the initial thickness of the resin pipe is 1, is hereinafter referred to as a “thickness relative value”.

  The result of Experiment 1 is shown in FIG. The horizontal axis indicates the protrusion distance L, and the vertical axis indicates the relative thickness value of the resin pipe 13 after 100 cycles. The result of Experiment 1 is indicated by a broken line labeled “Extend the metal pipe” in FIG.

  In any case where the protrusion distance L was 10 mm or less, the pipe breakage occurred before reaching the 100th cycle. Therefore, in FIG. 5, the relative thickness values in these cases are displayed as zero. Also in the following similar graphs, when pipe breakage occurs before reaching the 100th cycle, the relative thickness value is displayed as 0.

  When the protrusion distance L was 15 mm, pipe breakage did not occur in the 100-cycle experiment, but the relative thickness after the 100th cycle was about 0.15. When the cycle was repeated additionally, pipe breakage occurred at the 121st cycle.

  When the protrusion distance L was 20 mm, the thickness after 100 cycles was more than 5 times that of L = 15 mm, and the relative thickness value was about 0.83. That is, most of the original thickness remained. Thereafter, when the cycle was additionally repeated, pipe breakage did not occur even after the 800th cycle.

  As the protrusion distance L was increased to 25 mm and 30 mm, the relative thickness of the resin pipe 13 measured after 100 cycles gradually increased.

(Experiment 2)
In Experiment 2, the protruding distance of the part of the metal pipe 14 that is not covered by the resin pipe 13 is fixed to 19 mm, and the length of the inner part 16 that extends beyond the distance is changed. The experiment was repeated one by one.

  The result is shown in FIG. The result of Experiment 2 is indicated by a broken line labeled “Extend Inner Part” in FIG. Regarding Experiment 2, the horizontal axis represents the total length including the inner portion 16 of the metal piping portion 14.

  In FIG. 5, as can be seen by comparing the results of Experiment 1 with the results of Experiment 2, even if the total length of the metal piping portion 14 is the same, the resin after 100 cycles is better when the inner portion is provided. It can be said that the pipe thickness increases.

(Experiment 3)
In Experiment 3, the same verification as in Experiment 1 was performed in a configuration using a resin pipe 13i molded in an L shape as shown in FIG. The result of Experiment 3 is indicated by a broken line labeled “L-shaped molding” in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 7, when the projecting distance is 10 mm or less, pipe breakage occurred before reaching the 100th cycle, but the thickness relative value after 100 cycles when the projecting distance was 15 mm is a normally molded resin pipe. 13 was about 1.8 times when using the same protrusion distance. The relative thickness after 100 cycles when the protruding distance was 20 mm or more was larger than when the normal molded resin pipe 13 was used and the same protruding distance was tested.

  The reason why the resin pipe 13i molded in an L shape as described above has a preferable result as compared with the resin pipe 13 of normal molding is considered as follows. In a normal molded product, bending occurs so as to realize a total 90 ° direction change in the entire resin piping, and therefore some bending occurs in the connecting portion of the resin piping 13 with the metal piping portion 14. When bending occurs, the resin material extends at a portion on the outer diameter side of the bending, resulting in a reduction in thickness. Therefore, the portion on the outer shape side of the bend is vulnerable to tearing. On the other hand, in the L-shaped molding, since it is formed in a shape bent intensively at a location sufficiently away from the metal piping part 14, no bending occurs in the vicinity of the metal piping part 14. Therefore, the L-shaped molded product eliminates the portion that was easily broken due to the thinning due to bending, so it is considered that the L-shaped molded product is less easily broken than the normal molded product.

(Experiment 4)
In Experiment 4, the same verification as in Experiment 1 was performed in a configuration in which the resin pipe was a double pipe. The result of Experiment 4 is indicated by a broken line labeled “Double piping” in FIG. When the protrusion distance was 10 mm or less, pipe breakage occurred before reaching 100 cycles as in Experiment 3. When the protrusion distance was 15 mm, the relative value of the thickness after 100 cycles was 3 times or more compared to the case of the conventional single pipe. When the protrusion distance was 20 mm or more, the thickness relative value hardly changed.

  From the above, it can be said that the resin pipe is more L-shaped than the normal molded product in terms of the relative thickness after 100 cycles. In other words, the resin pipe is preferably L-shaped. By adopting this configuration, the thinning due to bending does not occur in the vicinity of the metal pipe portion, and therefore, resin breakage is less likely to occur.

  Furthermore, it is more preferable if the resin pipe is an L-shaped molded product and is a double pipe. In other words, it is preferable that the resin pipe has a double structure at least in a portion connected to the metal pipe part.

(Experiment 5)
In Experiment 5, the same configuration as in Experiment 2 was used, and verification was performed using a configuration in which the resin pipe was an L-shaped molded product and was a double pipe. The result of Experiment 5 is indicated by a broken line labeled “inner part + L-shaped molding + double piping” in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the thickness relative value after 100 cycles hardly changed.

  As a result of the above several experiments, it is possible to reduce the ion impact load and the thermal load to practically no problem level by projecting the metal pipe part by 20 mm or more from the end of the space sandwiched by the opposing electrodes facing each other. It can be said. The protruding distance of the metal pipe section here refers not only to the portion exposed without being covered by the resin pipe when connected to the resin pipe, but also to the inner section when there is an inner section inserted into the resin pipe. It is the length including. When extending the metal pipe part, it is preferable to extend the inner part rather than the exposed part without being covered with the resin pipe, because damage to the resin pipe can be further reduced. In addition, it is more advantageous to extend the inner part, that is, the metal part inside the resin pipe than the metal part outside the resin pipe from the viewpoint of cost and processability.

  In other words, it is preferable that the metal piping part 14 has the metal inner part 16 which will be in the state which entered the inside of the said resin piping, when connecting with the said resin piping. It is because the damage to the resin piping can be reduced by adopting this configuration.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the inner part 16 is preferably longer than a part of the metal pipe part 14 that does not enter the resin pipe 13. This is because by adopting this configuration, it is possible to efficiently reduce damage to the resin piping.

  It is preferable that the metal piping part 14 is attachable / detachable with respect to a part other than the metal piping part 14 in the first electrode 31. Adopting this configuration is preferable because the counter electrode, which tends to hinder the work, can be removed during maintenance work such as replacement of the counter electrode. If the metal piping part which is a protrusion part of a counter electrode can be removed, since a counter electrode can be made into a symmetrical shape, it becomes easy to handle at the time of maintenance.

  By the way, if the metal pipe part 14 is extended, resin pipe breakage caused by an increase in ion impact load or heat load caused by the discharge between the counter electrodes spreading to the metal pipe side can be reduced. However, as shown in FIG. 9, if the metal pipe part 14 is extended, the distance A between the inner surface 2a of the chamber 2 and the metal pipe part is reduced, and the potential difference between the inner surface 2a and the metal pipe part 14 is reduced. There is a possibility of discharging. In some cases, this can cause abnormal discharge. In addition, in FIG. 9, resin piping is abbreviate | omitting illustration.

  The distance y between the counter electrodes is fixed, the distance A between the metal pipe part 14 and the inner surface 2a of the chamber 2 is changed, and the presence or absence of discharge between the metal pipe part 14 and the inner surface 2a is confirmed. The results shown in Table 1 were obtained. As is clear from Table 1, it was found that the minimum value of the distance A at which no discharge occurs varies depending on the distance y between the counter electrodes. In particular, it has been found that when the distance A between the metal pipe portion 14 and the inner surface 2a is 1.5 times or more the counter electrode distance y, no discharge occurs.

  Therefore, it is preferable that the distance between the metal piping part 14 and the inner surface 2a is greater than 1.5 times the distance between the first electrode 31 and the second electrode 32. This is because by adopting this configuration, it is possible to prevent discharge between the metal pipe portion and the inner surface of the chamber.

(About ion damage and heat damage)
The ion damage and thermal damage caused by the discharge will be described below in a supplemental manner.

  The basic configuration of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 10, the metal pipe part 14 has the same potential as the first electrode, that is, the cathode, but there is no electrode to be opposed in the space below the metal pipe part 14. Therefore, the electric field generated by the metal pipe portion 14 is generated between the opposing second electrode, that is, the end portion 52 of the anode, and it is clear that the distance L2 is larger than the counter electrode distance y. If the total length L1 of the metal piping part is extended, L2 also increases.

  Here, as the distance L2 between the metal pipe portion 14 and the anode increases, the pd product of Paschen's law increases, and the spark voltage, that is, the discharge start voltage increases. If L2 increases as the spark voltage becomes higher than the voltage applied to the electrode, as shown in FIG. 11, the metal electrode 14 is placed on the counter electrode rather than the position 53 where the spark voltage first exceeds the voltage applied to the electrode. Discharge occurs only in the region 54 on the near side. In addition, since the electric field applied to this region 54 is smaller than the electric field between the counter electrodes, the number of electrons-ions generated by the α action is smaller than that of the discharge between the counter electrodes, and the total ion damage is larger than that between the counter electrodes. Get smaller.

  In the vicinity of the metal pipe portion 14 on the resin pipe 13 side from the position 53, electrons and ions generated in the region 54 or the discharge region between the counter electrodes exist due to diffusion, but the number thereof naturally attenuates with distance.

  Thereby, if the length of the metal pipe 14 is extended, the number of electrons and ions existing in the vicinity of the resin pipe 13 is reduced, and ion damage can be reduced.

(Embodiment 2)
A method for manufacturing the silicon thin-film solar cell in the second embodiment based on the present invention will be described. The method for manufacturing a silicon thin film solar cell in the present embodiment includes a step of forming a film using any of the plasma processing apparatuses.

  By adopting this method, the probability of resin breakage can be greatly reduced, and film formation can be performed efficiently. In this method, a metal material can be used for the connection portion to the electrode of the plasma processing apparatus, and a configuration with no problem in operation can be achieved.

  In addition, the said embodiment disclosed this time is an illustration in all the points, Comprising: It is not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  The present invention can be used in a plasma processing apparatus and a method for manufacturing a silicon thin film solar cell using the same.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Plasma processing apparatus, 2 chamber, 2a inner surface, 4 main surface, 5 back surface, 6 end surface, 7 gas inlet, 8 gas outlet, 9 gas flow path, 10, 12 discharge, 13,13i resin piping, 14 metal piping part , 14a Base part, 14b Projection part, 15 Source gas supply source, 16 Inner part, 17 Front ferrule, 18 Back ferrule, 19 Metal piping part, 31, 31n First electrode, 31a First electrode body, 31u (second electrode) (Opposite side), 32, 32n second electrode, 33 (sandwiched) space, 51 connecting portion, 52 sites, 53 positions, 54 regions.

Claims (12)

A chamber (2) having an inner surface;
A plurality of counter electrode pairs disposed in parallel to each other while being spaced apart from each other inside the chamber;
The electrode pair that is one of the plurality of counter electrode pairs includes a first electrode (31, 31n) and a second electrode (32, 32n) that are spaced apart from each other in parallel.
The first electrode and the second electrode have a plate shape having a main surface (4) and a back surface (5) opposite to the main surface, and are arranged so that the main surfaces face each other. Has been
The first electrode has a gas inlet (7) for receiving a raw material gas on the side, a gas outlet (8) for discharging the raw material gas on the main surface, and Has a gas passage (9) leading to the gas outlet inside,
The first electrode includes a protruding metal pipe part (14) so as to be continuous with the gas inlet,
A resin pipe (13, 13i) for transferring the source gas from a source gas supply source is connected to the metal pipe part in the chamber.
The plasma processing apparatus, wherein a length from which the metal pipe portion protrudes is 20 mm or more with reference to an end of a space sandwiched by the first electrode and the second electrode facing each other.   The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the metal pipe portion and the first electrode have substantially the same potential.   The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a length of the metal pipe portion protruding is 300 mm or less.   The plasma processing according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a distance between the metal pipe portion and the inner surface is greater than 1.5 times a distance between the first electrode and the second electrode. apparatus.   The plasma processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a metal inner part (16) that enters the inside of the resin pipe in at least a part of the metal pipe part.   The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the inner portion has a length of 1 mm to 200 mm.   The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the inner portion has a length of 20 mm to 70 mm.   The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the inner part is longer than a part of the metal pipe part that does not enter the resin pipe.   The plasma processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the metal pipe part is detachable from a part of the first electrode other than the metal pipe part.   The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the resin pipe is L-shaped.   The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the resin pipe has a double structure at least in a portion connected to the metal pipe portion.   The manufacturing method of a silicon thin film solar cell including the process formed into a film using the plasma processing apparatus in any one of Claims 1-11.

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