TWI458116B - Apparatus and method for depositing a cigs layer - Google Patents

Description

Device and method for depositing copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) absorption layer

The present invention relates to the field of solar photovoltaic, and more particularly to a flexible solar cell coating apparatus and a method of manufacturing a flexible copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) absorber layer battery.

The development of thin-film solar photovoltaics has attracted attention due to advances in technology, including improvements in conversion efficiency and reduced manufacturing costs. Copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) is an absorption layer used in conventional thin film solar cells. Copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) thin film solar cells have achieved excellent conversion rates (>19.5%) in the laboratory environment.

Today, most copper indium gallium selenide deposits are achieved by two techniques: co-evaporation or selenization. Co-evaporation involves simultaneous vapor deposition of copper, indium, gallium and selenium. Since the four different elements each have a different melting point, it is difficult to control the formation of the compound on a large substrate. Further, the film formed by co-evaporation has a weak adhesion. The selenization method consists of two steps. First, copper, indium, and gallium are sputtered onto a substrate to form a precursor. Second, the selenization reaction is carried out by reacting the above precursor with toxic H ₂ Se at 550 ° C or higher. H ₂ Se is difficult to control. Further, since the thickness of the film causes uneven mixing of copper, indium, gallium, and selenium, and lattice defects are generated, the efficiency of the battery is lowered. At the same time, both technologies require an excess of selenium, which is about four times the amount required, and is not easily mass produced.

Accordingly, there is a need for a safer and more efficient method for producing a copper indium gallium selenide thin film solar cell, which has the advantage of being able to fully mix the absorption components and to be easily calculated.

According to the present invention, the problem of incomplete mixing and difficulty in mass production can be solved by the use of a single layer reaction and the use of a flexible substrate. The rotation of the flexible substrate can suitably limit the deposition of the absorbing component to the amount of sufficient atoms or molecules required in the monolayer reaction. In some embodiments, the flexible solar cell plating apparatus can rotate the flexible substrate via a drum therein. A roll of flexible substrate is placed on a loading roller to advance a segment of the substrate along the circumference of the roller. When the segment is rotated, the sputtering and vapor deposition processes are simultaneously performed to deposit an absorbing component on the segment. A single layer reaction of the absorbing component can occur and produce an absorbing film layer. The deposition can continue until the absorbing film layer reaches a predetermined thickness. After the deposition of the absorbing film layer is completed, a buffer layer is formed by redeposition. After the deposition of the buffer layer is completed, the segment can be deployed along the loading roller. A new segment of the flexible substrate can then be advanced along the circumference of the drum and deposited.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, the absorbing film can be a layer of copper indium gallium selenide. The use of sodium-infiltrated indium eliminates the need for an alkalinium-silicate layer. The use of selenium is safe and non-toxic during the manufacturing process. In a particular embodiment, the selenium element can be ionized to increase reactivity and lower the reaction temperature.

According to an embodiment, it is a device that deposits one or more layers on a flexible solar cell. The device comprises: a casing defining a vacuum chamber; a drum disposed in the vacuum chamber and coupled to the top of the vacuum chamber; and a loading roller for advancing along a circumference of the drum a segment of the substrate; a heater for heating the segment of the substrate; a plurality of absorbing component sputtering sources for depositing a plurality of absorbing components on the surface of the substrate; an evaporation source is used Evaporating an absorbing component to deposit on a surface of the segment of the substrate; an isolating baffle for preventing contamination of the plurality of absorbing component sputtering sources by the evaporation source; a buffer layer sputtering source is used for Depositing a buffer layer component on the surface of the segment of the substrate; and loading a roller for lifting a segment of the substrate of the roller.

According to another embodiment, a method of depositing an absorber layer and a buffer layer in a solar cell. The method comprises: placing a roll of substrate on a loading roller in a drum; advancing a segment of the substrate along a circumference of the roller; depositing the absorbing layer on a surface of the segment of the substrate, wherein a deposition reaction occurs The buffer layer is deposited on the absorber layer as the drum rotates; and the segments of the substrate are unloaded from the drum by lifting the segments of the substrate along a loading roller.

The embodiments of the present invention and other embodiments will be further described in the following, and the disclosure of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art.

The flexible solar cell coating apparatus of the present invention will be fully understood by the following examples, so that those skilled in the art can do so. However, the implementation of the present invention may not be limited by the following embodiments. Other embodiments may be devised by those skilled in the art, and such embodiments are intended to be within the scope of the invention.

Referring to the first figure, it shows a schematic structural view of a conventional copper indium gallium selenide battery 100. The conventional copper indium gallium selenide battery 100 has a substrate 102, and a plurality of thin layers are deposited on the surface of the substrate 102. Suitable substrate materials can include glass, aluminum, stainless steel, polymers, or any metal and plastic with similar flexibility. An alkalinium-silicate layer 104 is deposited on the substrate 102. In general, sodium from the alkali citrate layer 104 passes through the bottom electrode layer 106 to the absorbing layer 108 and increases cell efficiency. Next, a bottom electrode layer 106 containing molybdenum (Mo) is sprayed onto the alkali niobate layer 104. The bottom electrode layer 106 has a thickness of approximately 1000 nm. A p-type absorber layer 108 is deposited on the bottom electrode layer 106. The p-type absorber layer 108 has a thickness of about 2000 nm and is composed of copper (Cu), indium (In), gallium (Ga), and selenium (Se). An n-type buffer layer 110 is deposited on the p-type absorber layer 108. The n-type buffer layer 110 is composed of cadmium sulfide (CdS). Cadmium sulfide is toxic. A flash layer 112 composed of zinc oxide (ZnO) is sputter-plated on the n-type buffer layer 110. The flash layer 112 can be used to prevent the solar cell from degrading the performance of the CIGS film due to problems with Shunting and film pinholes during power generation. The thickness of the n-type buffer layer 110 and the flash layer 112 is approximately 50 nm. Finally, a top electrode layer 114 composed of aluminum-doped zinc oxide is sputtered onto the flash layer 112. The top electrode layer 114 has a thickness of approximately 800 nm.

The second figure shows a side view of one embodiment of a flexible solar cell coating apparatus 200. A flexible solar cell coating apparatus 200 includes, but is not limited to, a housing 202, a roller 204, a loading roller 206, a loading roller 208, a heater 224, and a plurality of sputtering sources 216. And a plurality of sputtering targets 218, at least one evaporation source 220, and a spacer baffle 214.

A vacuum chamber can be generally defined by the housing 202. In the present embodiment, the housing 202 defines a single vacuum chamber having a height of 1.2 m and a diameter of 1 m. The housing 202 may be rectangular and has three movable doors disposed on three sides of the vacuum chamber. The housing 202 may be constructed of stainless steel or other metals or alloys to serve as a drum housing.

The drum 204 is disposed inside the vacuum chamber. The drum 204 is approximately 0.8 m high and has a diameter of 0.8 m. The drum 204 can include an indicator mechanism 212 to monitor the advancement of the substrate along the circumference of the drum 204. The indicator mechanism 212 can further include a sensing element. When the sensing element detects that it completely covers the circumference of the drum 204, the loading roller 206 and a substrate advancement mechanism can stop the advancement of the substrate along the circumference of the drum 204. In one embodiment, the drum 204 includes a top plate and a bottom plate (not shown). The top plate of the drum 204 can be directly coupled to a drive shaft, a motor or other mechanism that can initiate rotation of the drum from the top of the vacuum chamber. Rotation of the rotational speed between 60-150 RPM prevents excessive deposition of absorbing components on the substrate. In the present embodiment, the rotational speed of the drum 204 is 120 RPM. The deposition of the absorbing component can be limited to a single layer of atoms or molecules. The single layer includes sufficient atoms or molecules to cover the surface of the substrate to form a single thin layer without excessive atoms or molecules stacked on the thin layer.

The loading roller 206 and the loading roller 208 can be disposed inside the drum 204 and simultaneously coupled to the top plate and the bottom plate of the drum 204. In another embodiment, the loading roller 206 and the loading roller 208 are coupled to the top plate. In general, the rollers are approximately 80 cm high and are made of stainless steel. A stainless steel shaft is disposed inside the roller. Loading roller 206 can be used to receive a roll of substrate. The loading roller 206 can unfold a segment 210 of the roll substrate and can advance the segment 210 along the circumference of the drum 204 such that the segment 210 can be supported by the surface of the drum 204. After the segment 210 surrounding the loading roller 208 is unfolded and the deposition step is performed, the loading roller 208 can be unloaded by the roller 204.

The flexible solar cell coating apparatus can have one or more heaters 224 to heat the substrate during sputtering and evaporation. In an embodiment, the heater 224 may be disposed inside the drum 204. The heater 224 is disposed inside the drum 204 such that its power source can extend through the bottom plate of the drum 204. The drum 204 is thereby rotatable along the heater 224. In another embodiment, one or more heaters 224 may be disposed outside the drum 204 and coupled to the bottom surface of the vacuum chamber and separated from the top and bottom plates of the rotating drum 204. Heater 224 can be an infrared or halogen lamp heater that is known in the art for heating substrates during deposition. The heater 224 can heat the substrate at a temperature of 300-550 °C.

The flexible solar cell coating apparatus can have a plurality of sputtering sources 216. The plurality of sputter sources 216 can be disposed in the vacuum chamber and between the drum 204 and the housing 202. The plurality of sputter sources 216 can be coupled to the bottom of the vacuum chamber. The plurality of sputtering sources 216 and the at least one evaporation source 220 are evenly distributed over the circumference of the drum 204. The plurality of sputter sources 216 can be any conventional sputtering source for thin film deposition, such as magnetrons, ion beam sources, or RF generators.

The respective sputter source 216 can correspond to one of a plurality of sputter targets 218. The plurality of sputter targets 218 can be 10 cm wide and 1 m high. In this embodiment, it may be a single copper-gallium (Cu-Ga) sputtering target and a single sodium doped indium sputtering target. The copper-gallium sputtering target can be 70-80% copper and 20-30% gallium. The sodium indium sputter target can contain 2-3% sodium. The use of sodium-infiltrated indium does not require an alkalinium-silicate layer, which reduces the cost of production. Sodium-infiltrated indium is preferred over the deposition of an additional alkali silicate layer because sodium can be directly introduced into the copper indium gallium selenide layer. Indium can be doped with other alkali metal elements such as potassium (K). In another embodiment, there may be a plurality of copper-gallium sputtering targets and a plurality of sodium indium sputtering targets. For example, a flexible solar cell coating apparatus can have a 70:30 copper-gallium sputtering target and an 80:20 copper-gallium sputtering target.

The flexible solar cell coating apparatus can have an evaporation source 220 for generating a vapor of the evaporation source material 222. The steam can condense on the substrate. The evaporation source 220 can be an evaporation boat, crucible, coil bundle, electron beam evaporation source, or the like. In the present embodiment, the evaporation source material 222 may be a non-toxic selenium element.

The third figure shows a top plan view of one embodiment of a flexible solar cell coating apparatus 300. The flexible solar cell coating device 300 includes, but is not limited to, a housing 302, a roller 304, a loading roller 308, a loading roller 310, an indicating mechanism 312, and one or more heaters 322. A plurality of sputtering sources 318, a plurality of sputtering targets 320a, 320b, 320c, at least one evaporation source 316, and a spacer baffle 314. Although the third figure shows a clockwise rotation, this does not limit the rotation of the drum 304 in the counterclockwise direction. The loading roller 308 and the loading roller 310 at the opposite positions can be used to curl or unwind the substrate 306 counterclockwise.

Although the third figure shows three sputtering targets, and the three sputtering targets have different deposition compositions, this does not limit the sputtering target of the flexible solar cell coating device for depositing the absorption layer and the buffer layer. Any number and type. In this embodiment, a copper-gallium sputtering target 320a, a sodium indium sputter target 320b, and a zinc sulfide sputtering target 320c may be used. In another embodiment, the flexible solar cell coating apparatus includes a plurality of sputtering targets that can be used for any particular deposition composition. For example, a flexible solar cell coating device can have two copper-gallium sputtering targets, one with a copper-gallium sputtering target with a copper-gallium ratio of 70:30 and the other with a copper-gallium ratio of 80: 20 copper-gallium sputtering targets.

The plurality of sputtering sources 318 and at least one evaporation source 316 are evenly distributed over the circumference of the drum 304. In the example of a flexible solar cell coating apparatus, it has three sputtering sources and one evaporation source for a total of four deposition sources. The four deposition sources may be disposed on the drum 304 and a deposition source is provided every 90 degrees. Equal deposition sources help prevent cross-contamination between deposition sources. In another embodiment, one or more heaters 322 may be completely distributed outside of the drum 304, within the vacuum chamber housing 302, adjacent to the sputtering source 318.

The fourth figure shows a schematic diagram of one embodiment of the isolation baffle 400. The isolation barrier 402 can have an arc knife extension 404 and a jaw 410. The isolation baffle 402 prevents the target from being contaminated by steam generated by the vapor source material that is applied to the segments of the substrate. The barrier baffle 402 can be constructed of stainless steel or other similar metal and alloy materials. The isolation baffle 402 can be disposed inside the vacuum chamber. The bottom end of the isolation baffle can be coupled to the bottom surface of the vacuum chamber, such as by soldering, adhesives, screws, or any other bonding method.

The arc knife extension 404 corresponds exactly to the curvature of the drum 414 and may cover 30-90 degrees. One of the inner curved surfaces 408 of the arc knife extension 404 can be disposed at a position that faces the drum 414 and does not exceed 5 mm with respect to the drum 414. The member 410 can be coupled to an outer curved surface 406 of the arc blade extension 404. Although the jaws 410 are shown as rectangular in the figures, this is not limiting the jaws 410 can be of any shape, such as circular, triangular, and other similar shapes. An opening 412 can be formed in the jaw 410 and the arc knife extension 404. The opening 412 allows steam to pass through the barrier baffle 402 to the substrate.

Although described herein as a flexible solar cell substrate, the mechanism can be used to deposit one or more films on a glass substrate. Generally, the thickness of the glass substrate may be 1-3 mm, width 30-60 cm, and length 60-100 cm. Due to the nature of the glass substrate, the glass substrate is embedded on the outer surface of the drum for deposition rather than rolling inside the drum.

The fifth, fifth, and fifth C diagrams show a schematic diagram of a copper indium gallium selenide layer deposition 500 on a substrate 502. A plurality of absorbing components 506, 508, 510 can be deposited on substrate 502 (with a molybdenum layer 504 on substrate 502). The plurality of absorbing components 506, 508, 510 can include copper (Cu), gallium (Ga), selenium (Se), indium (In), and the like. A plurality of absorbing components 506, 508, 510 can be simultaneously deposited on the substrate 502 by sputtering or evaporation. In this embodiment, copper, gallium, and indium are in a sputtering manner, and selenium is in a vapor deposition manner. The amount of sputtered absorbing components 506, 508 deposited on substrate 502 can be controlled by adjusting the power source of the sputter source. Similarly, by adjusting the power source of the evaporation source, the amount of vapor deposited absorption component 510 deposited on the substrate 502 can be controlled. The rotation of the substrate can also affect the amount of absorbing components 506, 508 that are sputtered, as well as the amount of vapor deposited absorbing component 510 deposited on the substrate 502.

The plurality of absorbing components 506, 508, 510 can be reacted in a single layer reaction 512. In this embodiment, a single layer reaction 512 can form a copper indium gallium selenide layer 514 on the substrate. The single layer reaction 512 can result in a more uniform and consistent bandgap in the copper indium gallium selenide layer 514. In this embodiment, the thickness of the copper indium gallium selenide layer 514 may be 10 Or 1 nm. More absorbing components 506, 508, 510 may be deposited on the copper indium gallium selenide layer 514 to react in another single layer reaction 512 to form another copper indium gallium selenide layer 514. The aggregation of all the copper indium gallium selenide layers forms a copper indium gallium selenide film. The deposition reaction can continue until a predetermined thickness of the copper indium gallium selenide film is reached. In this embodiment, the predetermined thickness may be 1500 nm. The deposition reaction for forming a copper indium gallium selenide film having a thickness of 1500 nm takes about 10-15 minutes. Each turn of each roller can form a copper indium gallium selenide layer having a thickness of 1 nm.

The sixth figure shows the results of the depth analysis of the Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) of the copper indium gallium selenide layer according to an embodiment of the present invention. The depth analysis by the Oujie Electron Spectrometer confirmed that the technique of the present invention can produce a class composition in a copper indium gallium selenide film. The depth analysis of the Auger electron spectrometer also shows that the class composition is consistent in different thicknesses of copper indium gallium selenide film.

The incoming light can include a plurality of wavelengths. Each wavelength can correspond to an energy. An absorbing layer having an energy band gap can completely absorb the energy of the respective wavelengths of the incoming light. In this embodiment, the absorbing layer may be a copper indium gallium selenide film. The optimal energy band gap of a copper indium gallium selenide film can occur between 1.3 and 1.5 ev.

The optimal energy band gap can be caused by the class composition of the plurality of absorption components. In one embodiment, the class composition can be produced by adjusting its energization during the deposition reaction. For example, reducing the energy supply of the copper-gallium sputtering source and increasing the energy supply of the sodium-indium-phosphorus sputtering source can produce a greater amount of copper and gallium and reduce the amount of indium from the top to bottom of the copper indium gallium selenide film. In still another embodiment, the class composition can also be produced using sputter targets of different composition ratios. For example, in film deposition, a copper-gallium sputtering source of 70:30 ratio and a copper-gallium sputtering source of 80:20 ratio are used for energy supply at different time points to obtain a class composition of copper and gallium. .

The depth analysis of the X-axis Oujie electron spectrometer is based on the depth of the surface of the copper indium gallium selenide film in nanometers (nm). The depth analysis of the Y-axis of the Auger electron spectrometer is directed to the atomic composition of the plurality of absorbing components. The depth analysis by the Auger electron spectrometer shows that copper indium gallium selenide film has a large amount of copper and gallium. The depth analysis by the Oujie Electron Spectrometer also shows that the composition ratio of copper and gallium in the film is still consistent when the proportion of copper and gallium increases in the copper indium gallium selenide film at different depths. The reason why the composition ratio of copper and gallium in the copper indium gallium selenide film can be maintained is that copper and gallium are sputtered by the same sputtering target, and the sputtering target has a uniform copper-gallium ratio. The depth analysis of the Oujie Electron Spectrometer also showed a smaller amount of indium, and it was consistent with a larger amount of copper and gallium in different thicknesses of copper indium gallium selenide film. The depth analysis of the Oujie Electron Spectrometer also showed that the selenium content in the copper indium gallium selenide film remained consistent.

The seventh figure shows the X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern results of a copper indium gallium selenide battery according to an embodiment of the present invention. The X-ray diffraction pattern confirmed that the copper indium gallium selenide battery has a chalcopyrite structure. The chalcopyrite structure is an identifiable feature of all copper indium gallium selenide batteries.

The production of a typical copper indium gallium selenide battery requires high temperatures (at least 500 ° C) to produce a chalcopyrite structure. The chalcopyrite structure can cause diffraction at the (112) plane, which corresponds to a peak of about 27 degrees in a typical copper indium gallium selenide cell in the X-ray diffraction pattern.

In the case of a copper indium gallium selenide battery, a copper indium gallium selenide film can be deposited on a substrate at 350 ° C using a single layer reaction. The X-axis of the X-ray diffraction pattern refers to the angle of the particle beam that is diffracted by the incident particle beam, or 2θ. The Y-axis of the X-ray diffraction pattern refers to the intensity of the reflected particle beam (in a.u). The peaks of the X-ray diffraction pattern may appear concentrated at approximately 27 degrees. The spike may indicate that the copper indium gallium selenide battery prepared by a single layer reaction at a low temperature has a chalcopyrite structure.

The eighth figure shows a flow chart of a method of depositing a copper indium gallium selenide layer and a zinc oxysulfide layer on a flexible substrate 800. At the beginning of the deposition process, a roll of flexible substrate is placed on a loading roller in a vacuum chamber (step 802). In one embodiment, the substrate may have a thickness of 0.1 mm and is pre-plated with a back contact layer of molybdenum (Mo) or other metal or compound that acts as a back contact layer. Suitable substrate materials include: aluminum, stainless steel, polymers, or any metal and plastic with similar flexibility. In another embodiment, the substrate can be a glass substrate having a thickness of 1-3 mm, a width of 30-60 cm, and a length of 60-100 cm. The glass substrate can be embedded on the outer surface of the drum for deposition. The rolling drum can accept a plurality of glass substrates.

A segment of a roll of substrate is loaded onto the drum (step 804). The drum requires a loading roller to unwind the segment of the roll substrate and advance the segment along the circumference of the roll so that the piece can be supported by the surface of the roll. One of the rollers indicates the length of the segment in which the substrate is unfolded.

After loading the segment (step 804), a layer of copper indium gallium selenide can be deposited over the segment (step 806). The deposition of the copper indium gallium selenide layer in step 806 can occur under vacuum when the roll is rolled and the heater heats the segment. The vacuum pump can extract gas molecules from the vacuum chamber to create a vacuum state. The drum can be rotated using a motor or any other mechanism that can drive the rotary motion. The roller can be rotated at a speed of 60-150 RPM when depositing a copper indium gallium selenide layer. The heater can be an infrared or halogen lamp heater known in the art for heating a substrate during deposition. In this embodiment, the heater can heat the substrate at a temperature of 300-550 °C.

The deposition step 806 of the copper indium gallium selenide layer can be a mixing process including simultaneous sputtering and evaporation of a plurality of absorbing components. For example, when selenium is evaporated onto the segment, the copper-gallium target and the sodium indium target are simultaneously sputtered. The rotation of each roller can deposit a plurality of atoms or molecules of the absorbing component. The deposition of atoms or molecules of the absorbing components can be reacted in a single layer reaction. This single layer reaction produces a copper indium gallium selenide layer. The thickness of the copper indium gallium selenide layer can be 10 .

Sputtering can utilize a sputtering gas and a plurality of sputtering sources. In the present embodiment, the sputtering effect is performed by argon gas. Other possible sputtering gases include helium, neon, xenon and other similar inert gases. Other conventional sources of sputtering for thin film deposition may be, for example, magnetrons, ion beam sources or RF generators, or other sources of sputtering that can be used for thin film deposition.

For each sputtering source, it can be a sputtering target. In this embodiment, it may be a single copper-gallium sputtering target and a single sodium-infiltrated sputtering target. In another embodiment, there may be a plurality of copper-gallium sputtering targets and a plurality of sodium indium sputtering targets. The targets may be 10 cm wide and 1 m high. Different absorbing components can be combined to form a sputtering target. For example, copper and gallium powder can be pressed together to form a copper-gallium sputtering target. The copper-gallium sputtering target produced in this case can have varying copper-gallium ratios such as, but not limited to, a 70:30 copper-gallium sputtering target and an 80:20 copper-gallium Sputter target. Although copper and gallium are used herein, this is not intended to limit other sputtering targets that can be used for the same conditions of the absorbing component.

The vapor deposition comprises evaporating an evaporation source material as an evaporation source, and condensing the vapor evaporated from the evaporation source material on the substrate. In this embodiment, the evaporation source material may be a non-toxic selenium element. The evaporation source may be an evaporation boat, crucible, coil bundle, electron beam evaporation source, or the like. The vapor evaporated from the evaporation source material can be ionized prior to condensation to increase its reaction rate. An increase in the reaction rate reduces the demand for the evaporation source material and lowers the substrate temperature. In this embodiment, the selenium vapor can be ionized using an ionization discharge device.

It is determined whether the copper indium gallium selenide layer on the substrate reaches a predetermined thickness (step 808). Step 808 can include depositing the plurality of absorbing components for a constant time. The deposited thickness of the plurality of absorbing components can be measured. The deposition rate of the plurality of absorbing components can be calculated from the deposited thickness and the constant time. The deposition rate and deposition source power settings can be used to determine if the copper indium gallium selenide film in step 808 has reached a predetermined thickness.

If the copper indium gallium selenide film in step 808 does not reach a predetermined thickness, the deposition of the copper indium gallium selenide layer in step 806 may be repeated. However, deposition and evaporation of a plurality of absorbing components may occur in the underlying layer of copper indium gallium selenide. If the copper indium gallium selenide film in step 808 has reached a predetermined thickness, a buffer layer may be deposited on the uppermost layer of copper indium gallium selenide (step 810). In this embodiment, the buffer layer may be non-toxic zinc oxysulfide (ZnS-O). The buffer layer can be formed by depositing 80-90% of argon and 10-20% of oxygen as a sputtering gas.

It is determined whether the roll substrate has been completely plated (step 814). If it determines that the roll substrate has not been completely plated, the method reloads the new segment of the roll substrate onto the drum (step 804). If it decides that the substrate of the roll has been completely plated, the vacuum state can be broken. The roll substrate can be removed. At the same time, a new roll of substrate is placed back on the drum (step 802).

It can be seen from the above embodiments that the apparatus and method for depositing one or more coatings of a flexible solar cell provided by the present invention have industrial value, but the above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It is to be understood that those skilled in the art can make various other modifications in light of the above description, but such changes are still within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the invention as defined below.

100. . . Copper indium gallium selenide battery

102. . . Substrate

104. . . Alkali citrate layer

106. . . Bottom electrode layer

108. . . P-type absorption layer

110. . . N-type buffer layer

112. . . Flash layer

114. . . Top electrode layer

200. . . Flexible solar cell coating device

202. . . case

204. . . roller

206. . . Loading roller

208. . . Carrying out the roller

210. . . Fragment

212. . . Instructor

214. . . Isolation baffle

216. . . Sputter source

218. . . Sputter target

220. . . Evaporation source

222. . . Evaporation source material

224. . . Heater

300. . . Flexible solar cell coating device

302. . . case

304. . . roller

306. . . Substrate

308. . . Loading roller

310. . . Carrying out the roller

312. . . Instructor

314. . . Isolation baffle

316. . . Evaporation source

318. . . Sputter source

320a, 320b, 320c. . . Sputter target

322. . . Heater

400. . . Isolation baffle

402. . . Isolation baffle

404. . . Arc knife extension

406. . . Outer surface

408. . . Inner surface

410. . . Software

412. . . Opening

414. . . roller

500. . . Deposition

502. . . Substrate

504. . . Molybdenum layer

506, 508, 510. . . Absorbing component

512. . . Single layer reaction

514. . . Copper indium gallium selenide layer

The first figure shows a schematic structural view of a conventional copper indium gallium selenide battery;

2 is a side view showing an embodiment of a flexible solar cell plating apparatus;

The third figure shows a top view of one embodiment of a flexible solar cell plating apparatus;

The fourth figure shows a schematic view of one embodiment of the isolation baffle;

The fifth A, fifth B and five C diagrams show a schematic diagram of depositing a copper indium gallium selenide layer on a substrate;

The sixth figure shows the results of the depth analysis of the Auger electron spectrometer of the copper indium gallium selenide layer according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 7 is a graph showing the results of X-ray diffraction of a copper indium gallium selenide battery according to an embodiment of the present invention;

The eighth figure shows a flow chart of a method of depositing a copper indium gallium selenide layer and a zinc oxysulfide layer on a flexible substrate.

200. . . Flexible solar cell coating device

202. . . case

204. . . roller

206. . . Loading roller

208. . . Carrying out the roller

210. . . Fragment

212. . . Instructor

214. . . Isolation baffle

216. . . Sputter source

218. . . Sputter target

220. . . Evaporation source

222. . . Evaporation source material

224. . . Heater

Claims (12)

An apparatus for depositing one or more coatings of a flexible solar cell, comprising: a casing defining a vacuum chamber; a drum disposed in the vacuum chamber and coupled to the top of the vacuum chamber; a roller for issuing a segment of a substrate along a circumference of the roller; a heater for heating a segment of the substrate; and a plurality of absorbing component sputtering sources for applying a plurality of absorption components Deposited on the surface of the segment of the substrate; an evaporation source for evaporating an absorbing component to be deposited on the surface of the segment of the substrate; a spacer baffle for preventing the plurality of absorbing component sputtering sources from being subjected to the The isolation baffle comprises: an arc knife extension having an inner surface and an outer surface, the inner surface conforming to the curvature of the roller; a member coupled to the arc blade extension The outer surface of the portion; a buffer layer sputtering source for depositing a buffer layer component on the surface of the segment of the substrate; and a loading roller for receiving a segment of the substrate of the roller. The device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of absorbing components comprise copper (Cu), gallium (Ga), selenium (Se), and sodium doped indium. The device of claim 2, wherein one of the sputtering sources is a sodium indium sputter sputtering source having 2-3 percent sodium. The device of claim 1, wherein the respective absorbing component sputtering source and buffer layer sputtering source are evenly distributed on the outer circumference of the roller. The device of claim 1, wherein the buffer layer component comprises zinc oxysulfide (ZnS-O). The device of claim 1, wherein the roller is used to mount a plurality of glass substrates. A method of depositing an absorber layer and a buffer layer of a solar cell, comprising: placing a roll of substrate on a loading roller in a drum; advancing a segment of the substrate along a circumference of the roller; Deposited on the surface of the segment of the substrate, wherein the deposition reaction occurs when the roller rotates; the buffer layer is deposited on the absorption layer; and the substrate is received by the segment of the substrate along a loading roller The segment is unloaded from the roller; wherein the absorbing layer is deposited on the surface of the segment of the substrate, including simultaneously sputtering and vapor depositing a plurality of absorbing components, such as copper, gallium, indium and selenium. The method of claim 7, wherein the steps are performed in a vacuum chamber. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of depositing the absorbing layer on the surface of the segment of the substrate is repeated until an absorbing layer of a predetermined thickness is achieved. A method of depositing a layer of a copper indium gallium selenide layer and a zinc oxysulfide layer, comprising: placing a roll of flexible substrate on a loading roller; advancing a segment of the flexible substrate along a circumference of the roller Forming a copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) layer on the surface of the segment of the flexible substrate, comprising: rotating the roller; sputtering a plurality of copper, gallium, and sodium indium atoms to a surface of the segment of the flexible substrate; Evaporating a selenium material to deposit a plurality of selenium atoms on a surface of the segment of the flexible substrate; reacting the plurality of copper, gallium, selenium and sodium indium atoms in a single layer reaction; wherein the copper indium gallium selenide layer The formation is repeated until a predetermined thickness of the copper indium gallium selenide layer is achieved, and wherein the sputtering and evaporation steps are performed simultaneously; depositing a zinc oxysulfide layer on the copper indium gallium selenide layer; A segment of the flexible substrate is received along a loading roller such that a segment of the flexible substrate is unloaded from the roller. The method of claim 10, wherein depositing a plurality of selenium atoms further comprises ionizing the plurality of selenium atoms to increase the reaction rate. The method of claim 11, wherein the ionization is performed by an ionization discharge device.