TWI416744B - Selenium vapor rapid crystallization annealing furnace - Google Patents

Abstract

A rapid crystallization annealing furnace for selenium vapor comprises a selenium vapor delivery pipeline unit, a selenium vapor spraying head unit and a vacuum chamber. A substrate containing a copper indium gallium selenium (CIGS) layer is placed in the vacuum chamber, and the vacuum chamber has a transparent window made of a transparent material. The selenium vapor delivery pipeline unit delivers selenium vapor from the external environment to the selenium vapor spraying head unit, such that the selenium vapor is evenly sprayed onto the substrate to increase selenium source. In addition, the transparent window of the vacuum chamber allows thermal radiation permeation from an external rapid heating unit to heat the substrate, to increase the temperature of the substrate and to decrease the temperature difference between the substrate and the high temperature selenium vapor, thereby realizing rapid crystallization annealing treatment and improving the crystallinity of the CIGS layer on the substrate.

Description

Selenium vapor rapid crystallization annealing furnace

The invention relates to a selenium vapor rapid crystallization annealing furnace, in particular to using a shower head to uniformly spray selenium vapor onto a copper indium gallium selenide layer to achieve rapid crystal annealing treatment and improved crystallinity.

Generally, the structure of a copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) solar cell includes a molybdenum layer, a CIGS layer, a cadmium sulfide (CDS) layer, a zinc oxide (ZnO) layer, and an aluminum zinc oxide (AZO) layer sequentially stacked on a glass substrate. The CIGS layer is generally called the absorption layer and is the main light absorption and photoelectric conversion center. Therefore, the crystal state of the CIGS layer greatly affects the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the overall CIGS solar cell.

In the conventional technology of the CIGS layer, generally including a vacuum process and a non-vacuum process, wherein the vacuum process includes a sputtering method or an evaporation method, which has better quality, but has low material utilization rate, high equipment cost, and high manufacturing cost. Non-vacuum processes with lower manufacturing costs have gradually become another major technology.

The non-vacuum process is mainly a wet process using an ink process (Ink Process), which is formed by wet coating and high temperature drying and sintering to form a CIGS layer. However, the uniformity of crystallinity of the CIGS layer affects the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the overall CIGS solar cell, and the solution is to additionally add hydrogen sulfide (H ₂ S) and/or hydrogen sulfide (H ₂ S) to improve the crystallization reaction. Because some materials will be volatilized and depleted during high-temperature sintering, such as sulfur, the crystallinity of the CIGS layer will be deteriorated, so H ₂ S can supplement the depleted sulfur, and H ₂ Se can realize the selenization method, so that the CIGS layer can be used. The included copper, indium, gallium, and selenium form high quality crystals.

However, the conventional technique of adding H ₂ S and/or H ₂ S has the disadvantage that not only the equipment cost is high, but also the treatment time is long, and generally takes about 10 hours, especially H ₂ Se and H ₂ S have strong toxicity. Once the treatment equipment leaks and leaks, it will pose a great danger to the safety of the operator. Therefore, there is a need for a safer selenium vapor rapid crystal annealing furnace that utilizes selenium vapor to replace high-risk H ₂ Se and H ₂ S to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a selenium vapor rapid crystallization annealing furnace, comprising a selenium vapor delivery pipeline unit, a selenium vapor shower head unit and a vacuum chamber, wherein a substrate having a copper indium gallium selenide layer is disposed in the vacuum chamber. The vacuum chamber has a transparent window made of a transparent material, and the selenium vapor delivery pipeline unit transports the externally input selenium vapor to the selenium vapor shower head unit, and uniformly sprays the selenium vapor onto the substrate to add a selenium source while vacuuming The transparent window of the cavity allows the heat radiation generated by the external rapid heating unit to penetrate and heat the substrate, increase the temperature of the substrate, reduce the temperature difference between the plate and the high-temperature selenium vapor, thereby realizing rapid crystallization annealing and improving the substrate. Crystallinity of the upper copper indium gallium selenide layer.

Therefore, the selenium vapor rapid crystal annealing furnace of the present invention is very suitable for the production of a copper indium gallium selenide layer in a copper indium gallium selenide solar cell, thereby improving the overall photoelectric conversion efficiency.

The embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the drawings and the <RTIgt; </ RTI> <RTIgt; </ RTI> <RTIgt; </ RTI> <RTIgt; </ RTI> <RTIgt;

Referring to the first figure, a schematic diagram of a selenium vapor rapid crystal annealing furnace of the present invention. As shown in the first figure, the selenium vapor rapid crystal annealing furnace 1 of the present invention comprises a selenium vapor delivery line unit 20, a selenium vapor shower head unit 30, and a vacuum chamber 40 for providing a pair disposed in the vacuum chamber 40. The substrate 60 having a copper indium gallium selenide layer is subjected to a rapid crystal annealing (Aneal) treatment.

The selenium vapor delivery line unit 20 is coupled to the selenium vapor showerhead unit 30, wherein the selenium vapor delivery line unit 20 is configured to deliver externally input high temperature selenium vapor to the selenium vapor showerhead unit 30. The selenium vapor may be provided by at least one selenium vapor storage unit 80 externally.

The selenium vapor shower head unit 30 is located in the vacuum chamber 40, and the structure of the selenium vapor shower head unit 30 is as shown in the second figure, wherein the selenium vapor shower head unit 30 includes a plurality of uniformly disposed selenium vapor shower heads 32, and selenium The vapor showerhead 32 has a plurality of atomizing orifices 34 facing the substrate 60 so that the selenium vapor VP can be evenly sprayed toward the substrate 60 via the atomizing orifices 34, as indicated by direction D1.

It is to be noted that the selenium vapor showerhead 32 in the second embodiment is a two-sided, inter-cell configuration, and is merely an example for illustrating the features of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, that is, the selenium vapor showerhead 32. It may also be arranged in an array, in a radial arrangement or in a concentric arrangement.

The vacuum chamber 40 is used to provide a closed environment required for rapid crystallizing annealing, and an external vacuuming device (not shown) is utilized to maintain proper vacuum. In addition, the vacuum chamber 40 has a transparent window 42 made of a transparent material for external thermal radiation to pass through, and the substrate 60 is heated, as indicated by the direction D2, to maintain an appropriate temperature, such as lower than The temperature of the selenium vapor is between 500 and 700 ° C, thereby achieving rapid crystal annealing treatment on the copper indium gallium selenide layer on the substrate. The transparent material can be a high temperature resistant glass such as quartz. Thermal radiation can be generated by the rapid heating unit 90, such as by using an infrared heating tube to generate infrared light.

In addition, all of the selenium vapor showerhead 32 has an extended coverage greater than the transparent window 42 to ensure that the selenium vapor spray range can encompass the entire transparent window 42 such that the substrate 60 above the transparent window 42 can be contacted at a preset suitable temperature. The high-temperature selenium vapor sprayed by the selenium vapor spray head 32 allows the higher temperature selenium vapor to combine with the lower temperature copper indium gallium selenide layer on the substrate 60 and crystallize, thereby improving the crystallinity of the copper indium gallium selenide layer and improving the photoelectricity. Conversion efficiency, so the copper indium gallium selenide layer is very suitable as the absorption layer of copper indium gallium selenide solar cells.

Therefore, the invention is characterized in that the selenium vapor is uniformly sprayed to the copper indium gallium selenide layer by the selenium vapor sprinkler head unit, and the copper indium gallium selenide layer is rapidly heated by the rapid heating unit to maintain a proper temperature so that the selenium vapor contacts the copper. The indium gallium selenide layer can generate a crystallization reaction and improve the crystal quality.

Another feature of the present invention is to provide a sealed environment with a proper degree of vacuum by using a vacuum chamber to facilitate rapid crystal annealing treatment of the selenium vapor of the copper indium gallium selenide layer, in particular, the vacuum chamber has a transparent window, so that the rapid heating unit The generated thermal radiation can penetrate into the vacuum chamber and perform rapid thermal annealing treatment on the substrate disposed in the vacuum chamber.

The above is only a preferred embodiment for explaining the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention in any way, and any modifications or alterations to the present invention made in the spirit of the same invention. All should still be included in the scope of the intention of the present invention.

1. . . Selenium vapor rapid crystallization annealing furnace

20. . . Selenium vapor delivery line unit

30. . . Selenium vapor sprinkler head unit

32. . . Selenium vapor spray head

34. . . Atomizing hole

40. . . Vacuum chamber

42. . . Transparent window

60. . . Substrate

80. . . Selenium vapor storage unit

90. . . Rapid heating unit

D1. . . direction

D2. . . direction

VP. . . Selenium vapor

The first figure is a schematic view of a selenium vapor rapid crystal annealing furnace of the present invention.

The second figure is a schematic view of the selenium vapor shower head unit of the present invention.

1. . . Selenium vapor rapid crystallization annealing furnace

20. . . Selenium vapor delivery line unit

30. . . Selenium vapor sprinkler head unit

40. . . Vacuum chamber

42. . . Transparent window

60. . . Substrate

80. . . Selenium vapor storage unit

90. . . Rapid heating unit

D1. . . direction

D2. . . direction

VP. . . Selenium vapor

Claims (5)

A selenium vapor rapid crystallization annealing furnace for providing rapid crystallization annealing treatment on a substrate having a copper indium gallium selenide layer, the selenium vapor rapid crystallization annealing furnace comprising: a selenium vapor delivery pipeline unit for externally inputting a high-temperature selenium vapor is delivered; a selenium vapor sprinkler head unit is coupled to the selenium vapor transport line unit for receiving the selenium vapor delivered by the selenium vapor transport line unit, and spraying the selenium vapor onto the substrate a copper indium gallium selenide layer; and a vacuum chamber having a vacuum for accommodating the selenium vapor shower head unit and the substrate, and the vacuum chamber has a transparent window made of a transparent material The external heat radiation is used to heat the substrate through the transparent window. The selenium vapor rapid crystal annealing furnace according to claim 1, wherein the selenium vapor shower head unit comprises a plurality of uniformly arranged selenium vapor shower heads, and each selenium vapor shower head has a plurality of mists toward the substrate. The pores are used to spray the selenium vapor through the atomizing holes toward the substrate. The selenium vapor rapid crystal annealing furnace according to claim 2, wherein the selenium vapor shower heads are arranged in an array, in a radial arrangement or in a concentric arrangement. The selenium vapor rapid crystal annealing furnace according to claim 1, wherein the transparent material of the vacuum chamber is a high temperature resistant glass, and the high temperature resistant glass comprises quartz. The selenium vapor rapid crystallization annealing furnace according to claim 1, wherein the temperature of the substrate is lower than the temperature of the selenium vapor, and the temperature of the substrate is between 500 and 700 °C.