JP2011119396A - Device for manufacturing thin film solar cell - Google Patents

Abstract

A thin-film solar cell manufacturing apparatus that is excellent in productivity and manufacturing cost, can achieve high throughput, and can prevent a decrease in conversion efficiency as a thin-film solar cell.
A film forming chamber, a loading / unloading chamber, a substrate desorption chamber, and a carrier for holding a substrate so that a film forming surface is substantially parallel to the direction of gravity are provided. Thin film solar cell manufacturing that allows multiple carriers to be carried in and out in parallel with the film formation chamber, and allows film formation to be performed simultaneously on multiple substrates held by multiple carriers in the film formation chamber A supply pipe 151 having a plurality of nitrogen gas injection mechanisms 170 capable of injecting nitrogen gas to by-products adhering to the film formation chamber, and a nitrogen gas supply for supplying nitrogen gas to the supply pipe The nitrogen gas injection mechanism has an injection port for injecting nitrogen gas while rotating with respect to the supply pipe.
[Selection] Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to a thin-film solar cell manufacturing apparatus.

  Current solar cells are mostly single-crystal Si and polycrystalline Si-types, but there is a concern about the shortage of Si materials. In recent years, the thin-film Si layer has a low manufacturing cost and a low risk of material shortage. There is an increasing demand for thin film solar cells in which are formed. Furthermore, in addition to the conventional thin-film solar cell having only an a-Si (amorphous silicon) layer, recently, a tandem type that improves the conversion efficiency by laminating an a-Si layer and a μc-Si (microcrystal silicon) layer. There is an increasing demand for thin film solar cells.

  In order to form a thin film Si layer (semiconductor layer) of this thin film solar cell, a plasma CVD apparatus is often used. As the plasma CVD apparatus, a single wafer PE-CVD (plasma CVD) apparatus or an inline PE-CVD apparatus is used. There is a batch type PE-CVD apparatus.

  Here, in consideration of the conversion efficiency as a thin film solar cell, the μc-Si layer of the tandem solar cell needs to secure a film thickness (about 1.5 μm) about five times that of the a-Si layer. There is. In addition, since it is necessary to form a high-quality microcrystal layer uniformly for the μc-Si layer, there is a limit to increasing the film formation speed, so the productivity is improved by increasing the number of batch processes. It is demanded to make it. That is, there is a demand for an apparatus that realizes a high throughput at a low film formation rate.

  Further, a CVD apparatus has been proposed that can form a high-quality thin film and that is intended to reduce manufacturing costs and maintenance costs (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The CVD apparatus of Patent Document 1 includes a substrate (substrate) delivery / dispensing device, a film forming chamber group that can store a plurality of substrates, a moving chamber, and a chamber moving device. The chamber entrance is provided with an airtight shutter, and the storage chamber entrance of the moving chamber is always open. In order to deposit a film on the substrate, the movement chamber is moved to the position of the substrate delivery / dispensing device by the chamber moving device, and the substrate carrier is transferred to the moving chamber side. Further, the moving chamber is joined to the film forming chamber by the chamber moving device, the substrate carrier is moved to the film forming chamber, and the film is formed on the substrate.

JP 2005-139524 A

By the way, in the CVD apparatus of Patent Document 1, in order to form a thin film Si layer on the substrate, the transfer chamber is joined to the film formation chamber, the inside of the transfer chamber is evacuated, and then the shutter of the film formation chamber is opened. Open and transfer the substrate carrier from the transfer chamber to the deposition chamber. Thereafter, the substrate is heated in a film formation chamber, and a thin film Si layer is formed on the substrate by plasma CVD. After the film formation is completed, the substrate is cooled, and the substrate is transported to another processing chamber. Therefore, although a plurality of substrates can be formed simultaneously, forming a thin film Si layer on the substrate requires many steps in addition to the film formation time on the substrate, thereby realizing high throughput. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to increase the number of CVD apparatuses to be installed, but there are limits to the realization in consideration of the installation area of the apparatus and cost effectiveness. In addition, since it is necessary to exhaust after joining the transfer chamber to the film formation chamber, there are cases in which leakage from the joint occurs and the exhaust time increases. In addition, since the number of transfer chambers is smaller than the number of film forming chambers, the carrier replacement time may affect the operating rate of the entire apparatus.
In addition, when the substrate is continuously formed in the film formation chamber, powdery by-products generated during the film formation adhere to various portions in the film formation chamber. If the by-product adheres to the substrate during the subsequent film formation, there arises a problem that the conversion efficiency as a thin film solar cell is lowered.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and is excellent in productivity and manufacturing cost, can achieve high throughput, and prevents a decrease in conversion efficiency as a thin film solar cell. An apparatus for manufacturing a thin film solar cell that can be used is provided.

  The invention described in claim 1 includes a film forming chamber for forming a desired film on a substrate in a vacuum, a charging / extracting chamber that is fixed to the film forming chamber through a first opening / closing portion and can be evacuated. A substrate detaching chamber for detaching the substrate with respect to a carrier configured to be fixed to the loading / unloading chamber and the second opening / closing portion and capable of holding the substrate; And a carrier that is held so as to be substantially parallel to the substrate, and the substrate desorption chamber and the preparation / removal chamber are configured such that a plurality of the carriers can be arranged in parallel, and the preparation / removal chamber and the preparation / removal chamber The plurality of carriers can be transferred into and out of the film formation chamber in parallel, and film formation can be performed simultaneously on the plurality of substrates held by the plurality of carriers in the film formation chamber. A thin-film solar cell manufacturing apparatus, which is attached to the film forming chamber A supply pipe having a plurality of nitrogen gas injection mechanisms capable of injecting nitrogen gas to the product and a nitrogen gas supply source for supplying the nitrogen gas to the supply pipe are provided, and the nitrogen gas injection mechanism An injection port for injecting the nitrogen gas while rotating with respect to the supply pipe is formed.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of carriers can be arranged in parallel in the substrate desorption chamber and the loading / unloading chamber, and the plurality of carriers can be carried in and out of the film forming chamber. In addition, since a plurality of substrates held by the plurality of carriers can be simultaneously formed, production efficiency can be improved. That is, high throughput can be realized even when processing at a low film formation rate is performed.
In addition, by holding the substrate on the carrier so that the film-forming surface of the substrate is substantially parallel to the direction of gravity, the area required for the substrate to move in the device can be reduced, so the device can be reduced in size. In addition, many devices can be arranged in the same installation area as the conventional one. Therefore, the number of substrates that can be formed simultaneously can be increased, and productivity can be improved. In addition, when a film is formed in a vertical state so that the film formation surface of the substrate is substantially parallel to the direction of the center of gravity, by-products (particles) generated during film formation are deposited on the film formation surface of the substrate. Can be suppressed. Therefore, a high-quality semiconductor layer can be formed on the substrate.
Furthermore, a nitrogen gas supply source and a supply pipe are provided, and by-products attached to various places in the film formation chamber are blown off with nitrogen gas to move the by-products to a desired position (for example, the bottom surface) in the film formation chamber. it can. Moreover, since the injection port which injects nitrogen gas rotates at this time, nitrogen gas can be efficiently injected over a wide range, and a by-product can be blown off effectively and processed. Therefore, even when the film is continuously formed on the substrate, it is possible to prevent the by-product from adhering to the film formation surface of the substrate, and to prevent the conversion efficiency of the thin film solar cell from being lowered. it can.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the nitrogen gas injection mechanism has a first pipe connected to the supply pipe, an axial direction common to the first pipe, and is rotatable with respect to the first pipe. Second pipe connected, third pipe orthogonal to the second pipe and connected to the second pipe, and injection having the injection port disposed at both axial ends of the third pipe And the injection direction of the two injection ports is different so that the second pipe rotates with respect to the first pipe when the nitrogen gas is injected from the two injection holes. It is characterized by facing the direction.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the injection directions of the two injection ports provided in the nitrogen gas injection mechanism are arranged to face different directions, by supplying a desired flow rate of nitrogen gas, Nitrogen gas is injected while the injection port rotates. Therefore, nitrogen gas can be injected over a wide range, and by-products can be effectively blown off for processing.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the nitrogen gas injection mechanism has a first pipe connected to the supply pipe, an axial direction common to the first pipe, and is rotatable with respect to the first pipe. Second pipe connected, third pipe orthogonal to the second pipe and connected to the second pipe, and injection having the injection port disposed at both axial ends of the third pipe A nozzle member, and the two injection port members each have a nitrogen gas discharge hole different from the injection port, and when the nitrogen gas is discharged from the two nitrogen gas discharge holes The injection directions of the two nitrogen gas discharge holes are in different directions so that the second pipe rotates with respect to the first pipe.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the nitrogen gas discharge holes are formed in the two injection port members provided in the nitrogen gas injection mechanism, and the nitrogen gas discharge holes are arranged so that the injection directions are directed in different directions. Therefore, by supplying a desired flow rate of nitrogen gas, the nitrogen gas is injected while the injection port rotates. Therefore, nitrogen gas can be injected over a wide range, and by-products can be effectively blown off for processing.

  The invention described in claim 4 is characterized in that the nitrogen gas can be injected above a position where the substrate is disposed in the film forming chamber.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, since the by-product most likely to be attached to the film formation surface of the substrate during film formation of the substrate is attached to a member located above the substrate, By configuring so that nitrogen gas can be injected to the position, it is possible to more reliably prevent the by-product from adhering to the film formation surface of the substrate.

  The invention described in claim 5 is provided with an electrode unit having a cathode electrode and anode electrodes installed on both sides of the cathode electrode, and the nitrogen gas from above and below and from the left and right in the direction of the electrode unit. The ejection port is provided so as to eject the water.

  According to the invention described in claim 5, it is possible to inject nitrogen gas directly onto the by-product attached to every part of the electrode unit. Therefore, it is possible to effectively and reliably prevent the by-product from adhering to the film formation surface of the substrate.

According to the present invention, a plurality of carriers can be arranged in parallel in the substrate desorption chamber and the loading / unloading chamber, and the plurality of carriers can be carried in and out of the film forming chamber. Since a plurality of substrates held by a carrier can be formed at the same time, production efficiency can be improved. That is, high throughput can be realized even when processing at a low film formation rate is performed.
In addition, by holding the substrate on the carrier so that the film-forming surface of the substrate is substantially parallel to the direction of gravity, the area required for the substrate to move in the device can be reduced, so the device can be reduced in size. In addition, many devices can be arranged in the same installation area as the conventional one. Therefore, the number of substrates that can be formed simultaneously can be increased, and productivity can be improved. In addition, when a film is formed in a vertical state so that the film formation surface of the substrate is substantially parallel to the direction of the center of gravity, by-products (particles) generated during film formation are deposited on the film formation surface of the substrate. Can be suppressed. Therefore, a high-quality semiconductor layer can be formed on the substrate.
Furthermore, a nitrogen gas supply source and a supply pipe are provided, and by-products attached to various places in the film formation chamber are blown off with nitrogen gas to move the by-products to a desired position (for example, the bottom surface) in the film formation chamber. it can. Moreover, since the injection port which injects nitrogen gas rotates at this time, nitrogen gas can be efficiently injected over a wide range, and a by-product can be blown off effectively and processed. Therefore, even when the film is continuously formed on the substrate, it is possible to prevent the by-product from adhering to the film formation surface of the substrate, and to prevent the conversion efficiency of the thin film solar cell from being lowered. it can.

It is a schematic sectional drawing of the thin film solar cell in embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram of the thin film solar cell manufacturing apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of the film-forming chamber in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view from another angle of the film-forming chamber in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view of the film-forming chamber in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view (perspective view) of the film-forming chamber in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view (side view) of the film-forming chamber in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view (front view seen from the preparation / removal chamber side) of the film-forming chamber in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of the nitrogen gas injection mechanism in the embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing which follows the AA line of FIG. It is a front view of the nitrogen gas injection mechanism in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of the electrode unit in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view from another angle of the electrode unit in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a partial exploded perspective view of the electrode unit in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a fragmentary sectional view of a cathode unit and an anode unit of an electrode unit in an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of the preparation and taking-out chamber in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view from another angle of the preparation / extraction chamber in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic block diagram of the push-pull mechanism in embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of the board | substrate removal chamber in embodiment of this invention. It is a front view of the board | substrate removal chamber in embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of the substrate accommodation cassette in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of the carrier in the embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing (1) which shows the process of the manufacturing method of the thin film solar cell in embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing (2) which shows the process of the manufacturing method of the thin film solar cell in embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing (3) which shows the process of the manufacturing method of the thin film solar cell in embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing (4) which shows the process of the manufacturing method of the thin film solar cell in embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing (5) which shows the process of the manufacturing method of the thin film solar cell in embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing (1) which shows the motion of the push-pull mechanism in embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing (2) which shows the motion of the push-pull mechanism in embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing (6) which shows the process of the manufacturing method of the thin film solar cell in embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing (7) which shows the process of the manufacturing method of the thin film solar cell in embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing (8) which shows the process of the manufacturing method of the thin film solar cell in embodiment of this invention, and is a schematic sectional drawing when a board | substrate is inserted in the electrode unit. It is explanatory drawing (9) which shows the process of the manufacturing method of the thin film solar cell in embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing (10) which shows the process of the manufacturing method of the thin film solar cell in embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing (11) which shows the process of the manufacturing method of the thin film solar cell in embodiment of this invention, and is a fragmentary sectional view when a board | substrate is set to the electrode unit. It is explanatory drawing (12) which shows the process of the manufacturing method of the thin film solar cell in embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing (13) which shows the process of the manufacturing method of the thin film solar cell in embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing (14) which shows the process of the manufacturing method of the thin film solar cell in embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing (15) which shows the process of the manufacturing method of the thin film solar cell in embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows another aspect of the thin film solar cell manufacturing apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows another arrangement | positioning method of the thin film solar cell manufacturing apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows another arrangement | positioning method of the thin film solar cell manufacturing apparatus in embodiment of this invention.

A thin-film solar cell manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
(Thin film solar cell)
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a thin film solar cell. As shown in FIG. 1, a thin film solar cell 100 includes a substrate W constituting a surface, an upper electrode 101 made of a transparent conductive film provided on the substrate W, a top cell 102 made of amorphous silicon, a top An intermediate electrode 103 made of a transparent conductive film provided between the cell 102 and a bottom cell 104 described later, a bottom cell 104 made of microcrystalline silicon, a buffer layer 105 made of a transparent conductive film, and a back surface made of a metal film The electrode 106 is laminated. That is, the thin film solar cell 100 is an a-Si / microcrystal Si tandem solar cell. In the thin film solar cell 100 having such a tandem structure, power generation efficiency can be improved by absorbing short wavelength light by the top cell 102 and long wavelength light by the bottom cell 104.

  The three-layer structure of the p layer (102p), i layer (102i), and n layer (102n) of the top cell 102 is formed of amorphous silicon. Further, the three-layer structure of the p-layer (104p), i-layer (104i), and n-layer (104n) of the bottom cell 104 is composed of microcrystal silicon.

  In the thin-film solar cell 100 thus configured, when energetic particles called photons contained in sunlight hit the i layer, electrons and holes are generated due to the photovoltaic effect, and the electrons are n layers and the holes are Move toward the p-layer. Electrons generated by the photovoltaic effect can be taken out by the upper electrode 101 and the back electrode 106, and light energy can be converted into electric energy.

  In addition, by providing the intermediate electrode 103 between the top cell 102 and the bottom cell 104, a part of the light that passes through the top cell 102 and reaches the bottom cell 104 is reflected by the intermediate electrode 103 and is again returned to the top cell 102 side. Incident light improves the sensitivity characteristics of the cell and contributes to improved power generation efficiency.

  Moreover, the sunlight which entered from the glass substrate W side passes through each layer, and is reflected by the back surface electrode 106. In order to improve the conversion efficiency of light energy, the thin-film solar cell 100 employs a texture structure for the purpose of a prism effect that extends the optical path of sunlight incident on the upper electrode 101 and a light confinement effect.

(Thin film solar cell manufacturing equipment)
FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a thin-film solar cell manufacturing apparatus. As shown in FIG. 2, the thin-film solar cell manufacturing apparatus 10 can form a bottom cell 104 (semiconductor layer) made of microcrystalline silicon on a plurality of substrates W simultaneously using a CVD method. And a loading / unloading chamber 13 that can simultaneously accommodate the pre-deposition substrate W1 carried into the deposition chamber 11 and the post-deposition substrate W2 unloaded from the deposition chamber 11, and a carrier 21 (FIG. 19), a substrate removal chamber 15 for removing the substrate W (the substrate W1 before film formation and the substrate W2 after the film formation), and a substrate removal robot (drive mechanism) 17 for removing the substrate W from the carrier 21. And a substrate accommodation cassette (conveying means) 19 for accommodating the substrate W for conveyance with another processing step. In the present embodiment, four substrate film forming lines 16 each including a film forming chamber 11, a loading / unloading chamber 13 and a substrate desorbing chamber 15 are provided. Further, the substrate removal robot 17 can move on the rails 18 laid on the floor surface, and the substrate removal robot 17 can deliver the substrate W to all the substrate deposition lines 16. It has become. Further, the process module 14 constituted by the film forming chamber 11 and the preparation / removal chamber 13 is integrated and formed in a size that can be loaded on a truck.

  3 to 5 are schematic configuration diagrams of the film forming chamber, FIG. 3 is a perspective view, FIG. 4 is a perspective view from an angle different from FIG. 3, and FIG. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the film forming chamber 11 is formed in a box shape. On the side surface 23 connected to the preparation / removal chamber 13 of the film forming chamber 11, three carrier carry-in / out ports 24 through which the carrier 21 on which the substrate W is mounted can be formed. The carrier loading / unloading port 24 is provided with a shutter (first opening / closing portion) 25 for opening and closing the carrier loading / unloading port 24. When the shutter 25 is closed, the carrier carry-in / out port 24 is closed with airtightness secured. Three electrode units 31 for forming a film on the substrate W are attached to the side surface 27 facing the side surface 23. The electrode unit 31 is configured to be detachable from the film forming chamber 11. Further, an exhaust pipe 29 for evacuating the film forming chamber 11 is connected to a through hole 28 formed in the lower part of the side surface of the film forming chamber 11, and a vacuum pump 30 is provided in the exhaust pipe 29. Yes.

  6 to 8 are perspective views of the film forming chamber, FIG. 6 is a perspective view, FIG. 7 is a side view, and FIG. 8 is a front view seen from the side 23 side. As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the film forming chamber 11 is provided with a nitrogen gas supply means 150 for injecting nitrogen gas into the film forming chamber 11. The nitrogen gas supply means 150 is connected to a nitrogen gas supply source 158 provided outside, a nitrogen gas introduction pipe 159 disposed between the nitrogen gas supply source 158 and the film forming chamber 11, and the nitrogen gas introduction pipe 159. Nitrogen gas supply pipe 151 to be provided.

  The nitrogen gas supply pipe 151 is laid in the film forming chamber 11, and a first supply pipe 151 a and a second supply pipe 151 b for injecting nitrogen gas above the film forming chamber 11, and the film forming chamber 11. A third supply pipe 151c and a fourth supply pipe 151d for injecting nitrogen gas downward are provided.

  The first supply pipe 151 a extends from a connection flange 152 provided on the upper surface of the film forming chamber 11, and is disposed along the traveling direction of the carrier 21 above the film forming chamber 11.

  The second supply pipe 151b is extended from a connection flange 153 provided on the upper surface of the film forming chamber 11 in the same manner as the first supply pipe 151a, and is arranged above the film forming chamber 11 along the traveling direction of the carrier 21. It is installed. The second supply pipe 151 b is arranged at substantially the same height as the first supply pipe 151 a, and is arranged at a position facing the first supply pipe 151 a through the electrode unit 31.

  The third supply pipe 151 c extends from a connection flange 155 provided on the upper surface of the film formation chamber 11 toward the lower portion of the film formation chamber 11 so as not to interfere with the electrode flange 31. The carrier 21 is disposed along the traveling direction.

  Similarly to the third supply pipe 151c, the fourth supply pipe 151d extends from a connection flange 155 provided on the upper surface of the film formation chamber 11 to a position where it does not interfere with the electrode flange 31 toward the lower portion of the film formation chamber 11. Below the inside of the film chamber 11, it is disposed along the traveling direction of the carrier 21. Further, the fourth supply pipe 151d is arranged at a position facing the third supply pipe 151c with the electrode unit 31 interposed therebetween.

  The first supply pipe 151a to the fourth supply pipe 151d are appropriately provided with a nitrogen gas injection mechanism 170 that can inject nitrogen gas in a desired direction.

9 is a perspective view of the nitrogen gas injection mechanism 170, FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 9, and FIG. 11 is a front view of the nitrogen gas injection mechanism 170.
As shown in FIGS. 9 to 11, the nitrogen gas injection mechanism 170 includes a first pipe 171 extending substantially perpendicular to the axial direction of the first supply pipe 151 a to the fourth supply pipe 151 d, and the first pipe 171. A second pipe 172 having an axial direction common to the first pipe 171 and rotatably connected to the first pipe 171, and a third pipe 173 connected so that the second pipe 172 and the axial direction are orthogonal to each other. And an injection port member 176 having an injection port 175 disposed at both axial ends of the third pipe 173. Further, nitrogen gas discharge holes 177 different from the injection ports 175 are formed in the two injection port members 176, respectively. A bearing 178 is interposed between the first pipe 171 and the second pipe 172.

  Here, the injection directions of the two injection ports 175 and 175 provided in the nitrogen gas injection mechanism 170 are arranged to face different directions. Further, the injection directions of the two nitrogen gas discharge holes 177 and 177 provided in the nitrogen gas injection mechanism 170 are also arranged to face different directions.

  The injection port 175 and the nitrogen gas discharge hole 177 are such that when the nitrogen gas is injected, the second pipe 172 rotates with respect to the first pipe 171 via the bearing 178, that is, a rotational moment is generated. It is formed as follows.

  By configuring the nitrogen gas injection mechanism 170 in this way, when nitrogen gas is supplied from the nitrogen gas supply source 158, the nitrogen gas is injected from the injection port 175 and the nitrogen gas discharge hole 177. At the same time, since nitrogen gas is injected from the injection port 175 and the nitrogen gas discharge hole 177 in different directions, the second pipe 172, the third pipe 173, and the injection port member 176 rotate with respect to the first pipe 171. That is, while the injection port 175 rotates around the axial direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the first supply pipe 151a to the fourth supply pipe 151d, in other words, while rotating in a circle around the axial direction of the first pipe 171, nitrogen Since gas is injected, nitrogen gas can be injected over a wide range.

  Therefore, by appropriately arranging the nitrogen gas injection mechanism 170 so that the injection port 175 is directed to the position where the by-products (particles) on the inner wall of the electrode unit 31 and the film forming chamber 11 are likely to adhere, particles can be effectively collected. Can be processed.

  If the injection direction of the injection port 175 is different, the nitrogen gas discharge hole 177 is not necessarily provided. Conversely, as long as the nitrogen gas discharge hole 177 is formed at a position where a rotational moment is generated, the injection direction of the injection port 175 does not necessarily have to be directed in a different direction. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the case where two injection ports 175 are provided in one nitrogen gas injection mechanism 170 has been described. However, one injection port 175 may be provided, or three or more injection ports may be provided. .

  12 to 15 are schematic configuration diagrams of the electrode unit 31, FIG. 12 is a perspective view, FIG. 13 is a perspective view from a different angle from FIG. 12, and FIG. 14 is a partially exploded perspective view of the electrode unit 31. 15 is a partial cross-sectional view of the cathode unit and the anode unit. As shown in FIGS. 12 to 15, the electrode unit 31 is configured to be detachable from three openings 26 formed in the side surface 27 of the film forming chamber 11 (see FIG. 4). The electrode unit 31 is provided with a wheel 61 at a lower portion and is configured to be movable on the floor surface. Further, a side plate portion 63 is erected in the vertical direction on the bottom plate portion 62 to which the wheels 61 are attached. The side plate portion 63 has a size that closes the opening 26 on the side surface 27 of the film forming chamber 11.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the bottom plate portion 62 with the wheels 61 may have a cart structure that can be separated from and connected to the electrode unit 31. With the separable carriage structure as described above, after the electrode unit 31 is connected to the film forming chamber 11, the carriage can be separated and used as a common carriage for movement of the other electrode units 31.

  That is, the side plate portion 63 forms a part of the wall surface of the film forming chamber 11. An anode unit 90 and a cathode unit 68 positioned on both surfaces of the substrate W when the film is formed are provided on one surface (surface facing the inside of the film forming chamber 11) 65 of the side plate portion 63. In the electrode unit 31 of this embodiment, anode units 90 are arranged on both sides of the cathode unit 68 so as to be spaced apart from each other, so that two substrates W can be formed simultaneously with one electrode unit 31. ing. Therefore, the substrate W is disposed opposite to both sides of the cathode unit 68 in a state where the film formation surface is substantially parallel to the gravity direction, and the two anode units 90 are disposed on the outer side in the thickness direction of each substrate W. Each substrate W is disposed in a state of being opposed to each other. The anode unit 90 includes a plate-like anode 67 and a heater H built in the anode unit 90.

  Further, on the other surface 69 of the side plate portion 63, a driving device 71 for driving the anode unit 90, a matching box 72 for supplying power to the cathode intermediate member 76 of the cathode unit 68 when performing film formation, Is attached. Further, a connecting portion (not shown) for piping for supplying a film forming gas to the cathode unit 68 is formed on the side plate portion 63.

  The anode unit 90 includes a heater H as temperature control means for controlling the temperature of the substrate W. Further, the two anode units 90 and 90 are configured to be movable in a direction (horizontal direction) approaching and separating from each other by a driving device 71 provided on the side plate portion 63, and the separation distance between the substrate W and the cathode unit 68 is increased. It can be controlled. Specifically, when the film formation of the substrate W is performed, the two anode units 90, 90 move in the direction of the cathode unit 68 and come into contact with the substrate W, and further move in a direction close to the cathode unit 68. The separation distance between the substrate W and the cathode unit 68 is adjusted to a desired distance. Thereafter, film formation is performed, and the anode units 90 and 90 are moved away from each other after film formation, so that the substrate W can be easily taken out from the electrode unit 31.

  Furthermore, the anode unit 90 is attached to the driving device 71 via a hinge (not shown), and the anode unit 90 (anode 67) side of the anode unit 90 (anode 67) in a state where the electrode unit 31 is pulled out from the film forming chamber 11. This surface 67A can be rotated (opened) until it becomes substantially parallel to one surface 65 of the side plate portion 63. That is, the anode unit 90 can be rotated by approximately 90 ° in plan view (see FIG. 11).

  The cathode unit 68 includes a shower plate 75 (= cathode), a cathode intermediate member 76, an exhaust duct 79, and a floating capacitance body 82.

  The cathode unit 68 is provided with a shower plate 75 in which a plurality of small holes (not shown) are formed on the surface facing the anode unit 90 (anode 67), so that a film forming gas can be ejected toward the substrate W. It is like that. Furthermore, the shower plates 75 and 75 are cathodes (high frequency electrodes) connected to the matching box 72. A cathode intermediate member 76 connected to the matching box 72 is provided between the two shower plates 75 and 75. That is, the shower plate 75 is disposed on both side surfaces of the cathode intermediate member 76 in a state of being electrically connected to the cathode intermediate member 76. The cathode intermediate member 76 and the shower plate (cathode) 75 are formed of a conductor, and the high frequency is applied to the shower plate (cathode) 75 via the cathode intermediate member 76. For this reason, a voltage having the same potential and the same phase for generating plasma is applied to the two shower plates 75 and 75.

  The cathode intermediate member 76 is connected to the matching box 72 by wiring (not shown). A space 77 is formed between the cathode intermediate member 76 and the shower plate 75, and a film forming gas is supplied to the space 77 from a gas supply device (not shown). The space 77 is separated by the cathode intermediate member 76 and is formed separately for each shower plate 75, 75 so that the gas discharged from each shower plate 75, 75 is independently controlled. It is configured. That is, the space 77 has a role of a gas supply path. In this embodiment, since the space portion 77 is formed separately corresponding to each shower plate 75, 75, the cathode unit 68 has two gas supply paths. Become.

  Further, a hollow exhaust duct 79 is provided on the peripheral edge of the cathode unit 68 over substantially the entire circumference. The exhaust duct 79 is formed with an exhaust port 80 for exhausting the film forming gas and by-products (particles) in the film forming space 81. Specifically, an exhaust port 80 is formed facing a film formation space 81 formed between the substrate W and the shower plate 75 when performing film formation. A plurality of exhaust ports 80 are formed along the peripheral edge of the cathode unit 68, and are configured to be able to exhaust substantially uniformly over the entire periphery. In addition, an opening (not shown) is formed in a surface 83 of the exhaust duct 79 facing the inside of the film forming chamber 11 in the lower part of the cathode unit 68, and exhausted film forming gas and the like are discharged into the film forming chamber 11. It can be done. The gas discharged into the film forming chamber 11 is exhausted to the outside through an exhaust pipe 29 provided in a through hole 28 formed at the lower side of the film forming chamber 11. In addition, a stray capacitance body 82 having a dielectric and / or a laminated space is provided between the exhaust duct 79 and the cathode intermediate member 76. The exhaust duct 79 is connected to the ground potential. The exhaust duct 79 also functions as a shield frame for preventing abnormal discharge from the cathode 75 and the cathode intermediate member 76.

  Further, a mask 78 is provided on the peripheral portion of the cathode unit 68 so as to cover a portion from the outer peripheral portion of the exhaust duct 79 to the outer peripheral portion of the shower plate 75 (= cathode). The mask 78 covers a sandwiching piece 59A (see FIGS. 22 and 35) of a sandwiching portion 59 (described later) provided on the carrier 21, and forms a film integrally with the sandwiching piece 59A when film formation is performed. A gas flow path R for guiding the deposition gas and particles in the space 81 to the exhaust duct 79 is formed. That is, the gas flow path R is formed between the carrier 21 (the holding piece 59 </ b> A) and the shower plate 75 and between the exhaust duct 79.

  By providing such an electrode unit 31, two gaps are formed between the anode unit 90 into which the substrate W is inserted and the cathode unit 68 in one electrode unit 31. Therefore, two substrates W can be formed simultaneously with one electrode unit 31.

  Further, the substrate W is disposed between the anode unit 90 and the cathode unit 68, and the anode unit 90 (anode 67) abuts on the substrate W and adjusts the separation distance between the substrate W and the cathode unit 68. Since the thin film Si layer is formed on the substrate W by the plasma CVD method, the gap between the substrate W and the cathode unit 68 must be set to about 5 to 15 mm, but the anode 67 is moved. By making it possible, the separation distance between the anode 67 and the cathode unit 68 can be adjusted before and after film formation. Therefore, the substrate W can be easily taken in and out. Further, it is possible to prevent the substrate W from coming into contact with and damaging the anode 67 or the cathode unit 68 when the substrate W is taken in or out. Further, since the anode 67 and the substrate W can be brought into contact with each other, the film is formed while the substrate W is heated by the heater H. However, the heat of the heater H can be effectively transferred to the substrate W. Therefore, high quality film formation can be performed.

  Furthermore, since the electrode unit 31 is configured to be detachable from the film forming chamber 11, the cathode unit 68 and the anode unit 90 of the electrode unit 31 need to be regularly maintained for removal of deposited byproducts. Maintenance can be easily performed. In addition, if a spare electrode unit 31 is prepared, even if the electrode unit 31 is removed from the film forming chamber 11 for maintenance, the spare electrode unit 31 is attached instead to perform maintenance without stopping the production line. be able to. Therefore, production efficiency can be improved. As a result, high throughput can be achieved even when a low-rate semiconductor layer is formed on the substrate W.

  Note that a cleaning gas supply unit 160 capable of supplying fluorine radicals used for cleaning the inside of the film forming chamber 11 may be provided in the film forming chamber 11. The cleaning gas supply unit 160 includes, for example, a cleaning gas introduction pipe 161 branched from the nitrogen gas introduction pipe 159, a cleaning gas provided in the cleaning gas introduction pipe 161, and a radical source that generates fluorine radicals. A gas supply source 162. In this case, a valve (not shown) such as a three-way valve is provided at a branch point between the nitrogen gas introduction pipe 159 and the cleaning gas introduction pipe 161 so that nitrogen gas is supplied into the film forming chamber 11 or cleaning gas is supplied. You can choose whether to supply. By periodically supplying fluorine radicals into the film forming chamber 11 by the cleaning gas supply means 160, the by-product deposited in the film forming chamber 11 and the fluorine radicals chemically react with each other, and the by-products are It can be removed efficiently. The cleaning gas introduction pipe 161 may be directly connected to the film forming chamber 11 without branching from the nitrogen gas introduction pipe 159.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the moving rail 37 is formed between the film formation chamber 11 and the preparation / removal chamber 13 and between the preparation / removal chamber 13 and the substrate removal chamber 15 so that the carrier 21 can move. -It is laid between the substrate removal chambers 15. The moving rail 37 is separated between the film formation chamber 11 and the preparation / removal chamber 13, and the carrier carry-in / out port 24 can be sealed by closing the shutter 25.

  16 and 17 are schematic configuration diagrams of the preparation / removal chamber 13, FIG. 16 is a perspective view, and FIG. 17 is a perspective view from a different angle from FIG. 16. As shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the preparation / removal chamber 13 is formed in a box shape. The side surface 33 is connected to the side surface 23 of the film forming chamber 11 while ensuring airtightness. An opening 32 through which three carriers 21 can be inserted is formed on the side surface 33. A side surface 34 facing the side surface 33 is connected to the substrate desorption chamber 15. On the side surface 34, three carrier carry-in / out ports 35 through which the carrier 21 on which the substrate W is mounted can pass are formed. The carrier carry-in / out port 35 is provided with a shutter (second opening / closing portion) 36 that can ensure airtightness. The moving rail 37 is separated between the loading / unloading chamber 13 and the substrate detaching chamber 15, and the carrier carry-in / out port 35 can be sealed by closing the shutter 36.

  The preparation / removal chamber 13 is provided with a push-pull mechanism 38 for moving the carrier 21 along the moving rail 37 between the film formation chamber 11 and the preparation / removal chamber 13. As shown in FIG. 18, the push-pull mechanism 38 includes a locking portion 48 for locking the carrier 21, and guides provided at both ends of the locking portion 48 and arranged substantially parallel to the moving rail 37. A member 49 and a moving device 50 for moving the locking portion 48 along the guide member 49 are provided.

  Further, in the preparation / removal chamber 13, in order to simultaneously accommodate the pre-deposition substrate W1 and the post-deposition substrate W2, the carrier 21 is a predetermined distance in a direction substantially orthogonal to the laying direction of the moving rail 37 in plan view. A moving mechanism (not shown) for moving is provided. An exhaust pipe 42 for evacuating the inside of the preparation / removal chamber 13 is connected to the lower side surface 41 of the preparation / removal chamber 13, and a vacuum pump 43 is provided in the exhaust pipe 42.

  19 and 20 are schematic configuration diagrams of the substrate desorption chamber, FIG. 19 is a perspective view, and FIG. 20 is a front view. As shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, the substrate desorption chamber 15 is formed in a frame shape and is connected to the side surface 34 of the preparation / removal chamber 13. In the substrate desorption chamber 15, the substrate W <b> 1 before film formation can be attached to the carrier 21 disposed on the moving rail 37, and the substrate W <b> 2 after film formation can be removed from the carrier 21. . The substrate removal chamber 15 is configured such that three carriers 21 can be arranged in parallel.

  The substrate removal robot 17 has a drive arm 45 (see FIG. 2), and can adsorb the substrate W to the tip of the drive arm 45. The drive arm 45 can drive between the carrier 21 disposed in the substrate removal chamber 15 and the substrate storage cassette 19. The drive arm 45 takes out the pre-deposition substrate W1 from the substrate storage cassette 19 and removes the substrate removal chamber. The operation of attaching the pre-deposition substrate W1 to the carrier (first carrier) 21 disposed on the substrate 15, and the post-deposition substrate W2 are removed from the carrier (second carrier) 21 that has returned to the substrate desorption chamber 15, It can be conveyed to the storage cassette 19.

  FIG. 21 is a perspective view of the substrate storage cassette 19. As shown in FIG. 21, the substrate accommodation cassette 19 is formed in a box shape and has a size capable of accommodating a plurality of substrates W. The substrate W can be accommodated by stacking a plurality of layers in the vertical direction with the film formation surface substantially parallel to the horizontal direction. Further, a caster 47 is provided at the lower part of the substrate storage cassette 19 so that it can be moved to another processing apparatus. In the substrate storage cassette 19, a plurality of film formation surfaces of the substrate W may be stored in the left-right direction in a state of being substantially parallel to the gravity direction.

  FIG. 22 is a perspective view of the carrier. As shown in FIG. 22, the carrier 21 has two frame-like frames 51 to which the substrate W can be attached. That is, two substrates W can be attached to one carrier 21. The two frames 51 and 51 are integrated by a connecting member 52 at the upper part thereof. Further, a wheel 53 placed on the moving rail 37 is provided above the connecting member 52, and the carrier 21 can move when the wheel 53 rolls on the moving rail 37. Further, a frame holder 54 is provided at the lower part of the frame 51 in order to suppress the shaking of the substrate W when the carrier 21 moves, and the tip of the frame holder 54 is a cross section provided on the bottom surface of each chamber. The concave rail member 55 is fitted. The rail member 55 is arranged in a direction along the moving rail 37 in plan view. If the frame holder 54 is composed of a plurality of rollers, more stable conveyance is possible.

  Each of the frames 51 has a peripheral edge portion 57 and a sandwiching portion 59. The film formation surface of the substrate W is exposed to the opening 56 formed in the frame 51, and the holding portion 59 can hold and fix the substrate W from both sides at the peripheral portion 57 of the opening 56. It is like that. And the urging | biasing force by a spring etc. has acted on the clamping part 59 which is clamping the board | substrate W. FIG. Further, the sandwiching portion 59 has sandwiching pieces 59A and 59B that come into contact with the front surface WO (deposition surface) and the back surface WU (rear surface) of the substrate W (see FIG. 35), but the sandwiching pieces 59A and 59B. The separation distance can be changed via a spring or the like, that is, the holding piece 59A can move along the direction of approaching or moving away from the holding piece 59B in accordance with the movement of the anode unit 90 (anode 67). (Details will be described later). Here, one carrier 21 (one carrier capable of holding a pair (two) of substrates) is mounted on one moving rail 37. That is, the carrier 21 of 3 pieces (3 to 6 board | substrate holding | maintenance) is attached to the set of thin film solar cell manufacturing apparatuses 10. FIG.

  And in the thin film solar cell manufacturing apparatus 10 of this embodiment, since the four board | substrate film-forming lines 16 comprised by the film-forming room | chamber 11 mentioned above, the preparation / taking-out chamber 13, and the board | substrate removal | desorption room | chamber 15 are arrange | positioned and comprised. , 24 substrates W can be formed almost simultaneously.

(Method for manufacturing thin film solar cell)
Next, a method for forming a film on the substrate W using the thin-film solar cell manufacturing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment will be described. In this description, the drawing of one substrate film forming line 16 is used, but the other three substrate film forming lines 16 also form the substrate in substantially the same flow.
As shown in FIG. 23, a substrate storage cassette 19 that stores a plurality of substrates W1 before film formation is disposed at a predetermined position.

  As shown in FIG. 24, the driving arm 45 of the substrate removal robot 17 is moved to take out one pre-deposition substrate W1 from the substrate storage cassette 19, and the pre-deposition substrate W1 is placed in the substrate desorption chamber 15. It is attached to the carrier 21. At this time, the pre-deposition substrate W1 arranged in the horizontal direction in the substrate accommodating cassette 19 is attached to the carrier 21 while changing its direction in the vertical direction. This operation is repeated once, and two substrates W1 before film formation are attached to one carrier 21. Further, this operation is repeated to attach the pre-deposition substrate W1 to the remaining two carriers 21 installed in the substrate removal chamber 15 respectively. That is, six substrates W1 before film formation are attached at this stage.

  As shown in FIG. 25, the three carriers 21 to which the pre-deposition substrate W 1 is attached are moved substantially simultaneously along the moving rail 37 and are accommodated in the preparation / removal chamber 13. After the carrier 21 is accommodated in the preparation / removal chamber 13, the shutter 36 of the carrier carry-in / out port 35 of the preparation / removal chamber 13 is closed. Thereafter, the inside of the preparation / removal chamber 13 is kept in a vacuum state using the vacuum pump 43.

  As shown in FIG. 26, the three carriers 21 are respectively moved by a predetermined distance (half pitch) using a moving mechanism in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the moving rail 37 is laid in a plan view. The predetermined distance is a distance where one carrier 21 is located between the adjacent moving rails 37, 37.

  As shown in FIG. 27, the shutter 25 of the film formation chamber 11 is opened, and the carrier 21A to which the post-deposition substrate W2 attached after film formation in the film formation chamber 11 is pushed to the loading / unloading chamber 13 The pull mechanism 38 is used for movement. At this time, the carrier 21 and the carrier 21A are alternately arranged in parallel in a plan view. By holding this state for a predetermined time, the heat stored in the substrate W2 after the film formation process is transferred to the substrate W1 before the film formation process. That is, the pre-deposition substrate W1 is heated.

Here, the movement of the push-pull mechanism 38 will be described. Here, the movement when the carrier 21A located in the film formation chamber 11 is moved to the preparation / removal chamber 13 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 28, the carrier 21A to which the post-deposition substrate W2 is attached is locked to the locking portion 48 of the push-pull mechanism 38. Then, the moving arm 58 of the moving device 50 attached to the locking portion 48 is swung. At this time, the length of the moving arm 58 is variable. Then, the locking portion 48 locked with the carrier 21A moves so as to be guided by the guide member 49, and moves into the preparation / removal chamber 13 as shown in FIG. That is, the carrier 21 </ b> A is moved from the film formation chamber 11 to the preparation / removal chamber 13. With this configuration, a driving source for driving the carrier 21 </ b> A in the film forming chamber 11 becomes unnecessary. The carrier in the preparation / removal chamber 13 can be moved to the film formation chamber 11 by making the movement opposite to the above movement.

  As shown in FIG. 30, the carrier 21 and the carrier 21 </ b> A are moved in a direction orthogonal to the moving rail 37 by the moving mechanism, and the carrier 21 holding the unprocessed substrate W <b> 1 is moved to a position along the moving rail 37.

  Here, in the present embodiment, the carrier 21A to which the post-deposition substrate W2 is attached and the carrier 21 to which the pre-deposition substrate W1 is arranged in the preparation / removal chamber 13, that is, the film formation In a state where there is no carrier (substrate) in the chamber 11, nitrogen gas is injected into the film forming chamber 11 by the nitrogen gas supply means 150.

  Specifically, the shutter 25 is temporarily closed without a carrier (substrate) in the film forming chamber 11. Thereafter, nitrogen gas is supplied from the nitrogen gas supply source 158 to the nitrogen gas introduction pipe 159. Nitrogen gas is supplied to the nitrogen gas supply pipe 151 via the nitrogen gas introduction pipe 159. Then, by blowing nitrogen gas from the injection port 175 of the nitrogen gas injection mechanism 170, by-products (particles) adhering to the inner wall of the electrode unit 31 and the film forming chamber 11 are blown off, Dwell. At substantially the same time, the vacuum pump 30 is driven to evacuate the film forming chamber 11 to remove particles.

In addition, by injecting nitrogen gas into the film forming chamber 11, for example, the pressure in the film forming chamber 11 is increased from about 10 Pa to atmospheric pressure or near atmospheric pressure (below atmospheric pressure), and particles are removed almost simultaneously. What is necessary is just to comprise. Further, the exhaust by the vacuum pump 30 may be started substantially simultaneously with the start of the nitrogen gas injection, may be started after a lapse of a predetermined time since the start of the nitrogen gas injection, or the pressure in the film forming chamber 11 is set to a predetermined pressure ( For example, it may be started when the pressure reaches 100 Pa) or higher, or may be started after the pressure in the film forming chamber 11 reaches the final pressure.
Further, the injection of nitrogen gas and the exhaust by the vacuum pump 30 may be repeated a plurality of times. At this time, the injection of nitrogen gas may be repeated a plurality of times intermittently while exhausting by the vacuum pump 30.

  Here, in this embodiment, the nitrogen gas can be injected over a wide range because the injection port 175 rotates while drawing a circle around the axial direction of the first pipe 171. That is, it is possible to effectively blow off the particles adhering to various places and process them.

  This nitrogen gas injection may be performed for each batch or periodically for several batches.

  In addition, in a state where nitrogen gas is injected from the injection port 175 and the by-product is flowing into the film forming chamber 11, fluorine radicals are supplied into the film forming chamber 11 by the cleaning gas supply means 160, and the by-product is generated. May be removed.

  As shown in FIG. 31, the carrier 21 holding the unprocessed substrate W1 is moved to the film forming chamber 11 using the push-pull mechanism 38, and the shutter 25 is closed after the movement is completed. The film forming chamber 11 is kept in a vacuum state. At this time, the pre-deposition substrate W1 attached to the carrier 21 is vertically aligned in the film formation chamber 11 so that the surface WO is substantially parallel to the gravity direction between the anode unit 90 and the cathode unit 68. It inserts in the state along (refer FIG. 32).

  As shown in FIG. 32 and FIG. 33, the two anode units 90 of the electrode unit 31 are moved in the direction close to each other by the driving device 71, and the anode unit 90 (anode 67) and the back surface WU of the substrate W1 before film formation are processed. And abut.

  As shown in FIG. 34, when the driving device 71 is further driven, the pre-deposition substrate W1 moves toward the cathode unit 68 so as to be pushed by the anode 67. Then, the gap between the pre-deposition substrate W1 and the shower plate 75 of the cathode unit 68 is moved to a predetermined distance (deposition distance). The gap (film formation distance) between the pre-deposition substrate W1 and the shower plate 75 of the cathode unit 68 is 5 to 15 mm, for example, about 5 mm.

  At this time, the holding piece 59A of the holding portion 59 of the carrier 21 that is in contact with the surface WO side of the substrate W1 before film formation processing is displaced as the substrate W1 (anode unit 90) before film formation processing moves. It has become. When the anode unit 90 moves in a direction away from the cathode unit 68, a restoring force such as a spring acts on the holding piece 59A and is displaced toward the holding piece 59B side. ing. At this time, the pre-deposition substrate W1 is sandwiched between the anode 67 and the sandwiching piece 59A.

  When the pre-deposition substrate W1 moves toward the cathode unit 68, the holding piece 59A comes into contact with the mask 78, and at this point, the movement of the anode unit 90 stops (see FIG. 35).

  Here, as shown in FIG. 35, the mask 78 is formed so as to cover the surface of the holding piece 59A and the outer edge portion of the substrate W, and is formed so as to be in close contact with the holding edge 59A or the outer edge portion of the substrate W. Has been. That is, the mating surface of the mask 78 and the holding piece 59A or the outer edge portion of the substrate W has a role of a sealing surface, and from between the mask 78 and the outer edge portion of the holding piece 59A or the substrate W. The film forming gas hardly leaks to the anode 67 side. Thereby, the range in which the film forming gas spreads is limited, and it is possible to suppress the unnecessary range from being formed. As a result, the cleaning range can be narrowed and the cleaning frequency can be reduced, and the operating rate of the apparatus is improved.

  Further, since the movement of the substrate W1 before the film formation process is stopped when the outer edge portion of the substrate W comes into contact with the mask 78, the gap between the mask 78, the shower plate 75, and the exhaust duct 79, that is, the gas. The channel height in the thickness direction of the channel R is set so that the gap between the pre-deposition substrate W1 and the cathode unit 68 is a predetermined distance.

  As another form, the distance between the substrate W and the shower plate 75 (= cathode) can be arbitrarily changed by the stroke of the drive mechanism 71 by attaching the mask to the exhaust duct 79 via an elastic body. Although the case where the mask 78 and the substrate W are in contact with each other has been described above, the mask 78 and the substrate W may be arranged with a minute interval that restricts the passage of the film forming gas.

  In this state, the film forming gas is ejected from the shower plate 75 of the cathode unit 68, and the matching box 72 is activated to apply a voltage to the shower plate (= cathode) 75 of the cathode unit 68, thereby forming the film forming space. Plasma is generated in 81 to form a film on the surface WO of the substrate W1 before film formation. At this time, the substrate W1 before film formation is heated to a desired temperature by the heater H built in the anode 67.

Here, the anode unit 90 stops heating when the pre-deposition substrate W1 reaches a desired temperature. However, when a voltage is applied to the cathode unit 68, plasma is generated in the film formation space 81. As time elapses, even if the anode unit 90 stops heating due to heat input from the plasma, the temperature of the substrate W1 before the film formation process may rise above a desired temperature. In this case, the anode unit 90 can also function as a heat radiating plate for cooling the pre-deposition substrate W1 whose temperature has increased excessively. Therefore, the substrate W1 before the film formation process is held at a desired temperature regardless of the elapsed time of the film formation process time.
Note that when a plurality of layers are formed in a single film formation process, the film forming gas material to be supplied can be switched every predetermined time.

  During and after film formation, the gas and by-products in the film formation space 81 are exhausted from the exhaust port 80 formed in the peripheral portion of the cathode unit 68, and the exhausted gas passes through the gas flow path R. The film forming chamber 11 passes through an opening (an opening formed in the surface 83 of the exhaust duct 79 in the lower part of the cathode unit 68 facing the inside of the film forming chamber 11) from the exhaust duct 79 at the peripheral edge of the cathode unit 68. It exhausts to the exterior from the exhaust pipe 29 provided in the through-hole 28 formed in the side lower part. Note that most of by-products (particles) generated during film formation can be collected and disposed by adhering to the inner wall surface of the exhaust duct 79. Since all the electrode units 31 in the film forming chamber 11 perform the same process as described above, it is possible to perform film formation on six substrates simultaneously. Further, in the present embodiment, even if a by-product cannot be collected in the exhaust duct 79 and a by-product adheres to the inner wall of the electrode unit 31 or the film-forming chamber 11, the by-product is blown off by the nitrogen gas supply unit 150. 11 can be reliably prevented from adhering to the surface WO of the substrate W1 during the film formation.

  When film formation is completed, the two anode units 90 are moved away from each other by the driving device 71, and the substrate W2 and the frame 51 (clamping piece 59A) after film formation are returned to their original positions (see FIG. 33, see FIG. 35). Further, by moving the anode unit 90 in the direction of separating, the substrate W2 after the film formation process and the anode unit 90 are separated (see FIG. 32).

  As shown in FIG. 36, the shutter 25 of the film forming chamber 11 is opened, and the carrier 21 is moved to the preparation / removal chamber 13 using the push-pull mechanism 38. At this time, the loading / unloading chamber 13 is evacuated, and the carrier 21B to which the substrate W1 before film formation to be formed next is attached is already positioned. Then, the heat stored in the substrate W2 after the film forming process is transferred to the substrate W1 before the film forming process in the preparation / removal chamber 13, and the temperature of the substrate W2 after the film forming process is lowered. In addition, when injecting nitrogen gas for every batch, the shutter 25 is closed, and nitrogen gas is again injected into the film forming chamber 11 by the nitrogen gas supply means 150.

  As shown in FIG. 37, after the carrier 21 </ b> B has moved into the film forming chamber 11, the carrier 21 is returned to the position where it is arranged on the moving rail 37 by the moving mechanism.

  As shown in FIG. 38, after the shutter 25 is closed and the substrate W2 after film formation is lowered to a predetermined temperature, the shutter 36 is opened and the carrier 21 is moved to the substrate desorption chamber 15.

  As shown in FIG. 39, the substrate W2 after film formation is removed from the carrier 21 by the substrate removal robot 17 in the substrate removal chamber 15 and transferred to the substrate storage cassette 19. When the removal of the substrate W2 after all the film formation processes is completed, the process is completed by moving the substrate storage cassette 19 to the place of the next process.

  According to the thin-film solar cell manufacturing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the carrier 21 that holds the substrate W1 before film formation carried into the film formation chamber 11 and the substrate after film formation carried out from the film formation chamber 11 are retained. Since the carrier 21 (21A) in which W2 is held can be simultaneously accommodated in the preparation / removal chamber 13, the evacuation process of the preparation / removal chamber 13 can be reduced. Therefore, productivity can be improved. Further, when the substrate W1 before the film forming process and the substrate W2 after the film forming process are simultaneously accommodated in the preparation / removal chamber 13, the heat stored in the substrate W2 after the film forming process is heated before the film forming process. Heat is transferred to the substrate W1 and heat exchange is performed. That is, a heating process that is normally performed after the substrate W1 before the film forming process is accommodated in the film forming chamber 11, and a cooling process that is normally performed before the substrate W2 after the film forming process is carried out from the loading / unloading chamber 13 are performed. Can be omitted. As a result, productivity can be improved and equipment used in the conventional heating process / cooling process can be canceled, so that the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  In addition, a plurality of carriers 21 (21A) holding the substrate W1 before the film forming process and carriers 21 (21A) holding the substrate W2 after the film forming process can be simultaneously stored in the preparation / removal chamber 13, so The substrates W can be formed at the same time, and productivity can be improved. Further, since the plurality of carriers 21 carried into the film forming chamber 11 and the plurality of carriers 21 (21A) carried out from the film forming chamber 11 can be simultaneously accommodated in the preparation / removal chamber 13, the preparation / removal chamber The number of vacuum evacuation processes of 13 can be further reduced, and productivity can be further improved.

  In addition, since the film formation surface of the substrate W is set up in the vertical direction so as to be substantially parallel to the gravity direction, the thin film solar cell can be moved and formed in the thin film solar cell manufacturing apparatus 10. The area required for the substrate W to move in the manufacturing apparatus 10 can be reduced, the apparatus can be miniaturized, and many apparatuses can be arranged in the same installation area as the conventional one. Therefore, the number of substrates W that can be simultaneously formed can be increased, and productivity can be improved. Further, when the film is formed with the substrate W standing in the vertical direction, it is possible to suppress the by-products (particles) generated during the film formation from being deposited on the film formation surface of the substrate W. Therefore, a high-quality semiconductor layer can be formed on the substrate W.

  Further, the nitrogen gas supply means 150 causes the nitrogen gas to be sprayed over a wide range while rotating the injection port 175 to blow off the by-products adhering to various places in the film forming chamber 11, thereby causing a desired position in the film forming chamber 11 ( For example, it can be moved to the bottom surface. Therefore, even if film formation is continuously performed on the substrate W, it is possible to prevent the by-product from adhering to the surface WO of the substrate W, and to prevent a decrease in conversion efficiency as a thin film solar cell. it can.

  In addition, since the carrier 21 can hold a plurality (two) of substrates W, a plurality of substrates W can be simultaneously formed in one carrier 21, and productivity can be further improved. Furthermore, since a plurality of carriers 21 can be simultaneously transferred to the film forming chamber 11, the processing speed can be further increased.

  In addition, since a plurality of (four sets) process modules 14 each having one film forming chamber 11 connected to one charging / unloading chamber 13 are provided and these process modules 14 are arranged in parallel, the substrate W on which films can be formed simultaneously. Therefore, even when a low-rate film is formed on the substrate W, a high throughput can be realized. Further, by integrating the apparatus as the process module 14, it is possible to reduce the apparatus installation time (production line start-up time) when building the manufacturing line in a factory or the like. Furthermore, when the film forming chamber 11 is maintained, it is not necessary to stop the entire production line by performing maintenance for each process module 14. Therefore, it is possible to minimize a decrease in production efficiency during maintenance.

  Further, since the substrate removal chamber 15 includes the substrate removal robot 17 that performs the operation of attaching the substrate W1 before the film formation process to the carrier 21 and the operation of removing the substrate W2 after the film formation process from the carrier 21, The substrate W can be efficiently detached and contributed to the improvement of productivity.

  Since the substrate storage cassette 19 configured to accommodate the substrate W and to be transported to another processing step is provided, the substrate W can be efficiently transported to another processing step. It can contribute to improvement of property.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and includes various modifications made to the above-described embodiment without departing from the spirit of the present invention. That is, the specific shapes, configurations, and the like given in the embodiment are merely examples, and can be changed as appropriate.

  For example, in the present embodiment, a case where one preparation / extraction chamber is connected to one film formation chamber has been described. However, a plurality of film formation chambers 11 are arranged in parallel with respect to one large preparation / extraction chamber 113. The connected process module 114 may be provided so that the carrier can move in the preparation / removal chamber 113 (see FIG. 40). By configuring in this way, the substrate attached to the carrier can move in the loading / unloading chamber 113, so that different film forming materials can be supplied in each film forming chamber, so that the film forming material can be supplied to the substrate. A plurality of different layers can be formed more efficiently.

  Moreover, you may make it the arrangement structure of a thin film solar cell manufacturing apparatus like FIG. In this example, modules including a film forming chamber 11, a loading / unloading chamber 13, and a substrate removing chamber 15 are radially installed on the substrate removing robot 17. With this configuration, it is possible to eliminate time for the substrate removal robot to move on the rail. That is, the operation time of the substrate removal robot can be shortened and the tact time can be shortened.

  Further, the arrangement configuration of the thin-film solar cell manufacturing apparatus may be as shown in FIG. In this example, modules comprising a film forming chamber 11, a preparation / removal chamber 13, and a substrate desorbing chamber 15 are installed on both sides of the substrate demounting robot 17. With this configuration, it is possible to save space and shorten the operation time of the substrate removal robot.

  Further, in this embodiment, the configuration is such that one substrate removal robot is arranged and the substrate is detached, but two substrate removal robots are arranged, one for exclusive use for substrate attachment and the other for substrate removal. It may be dedicated. Further, two drive arms may be provided in one substrate removal robot, and two substrates may be attached and detached at the same time.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, although the case where the 1st supply piping 151a-the 4th supply piping 151d were provided as the nitrogen gas supply means 150 was demonstrated, even if it does not provide the 3rd supply piping 151c and the 4th supply piping 151d. Good. That is, it is sufficient that at least nitrogen gas can be injected above the position where the substrate W is disposed in the film forming chamber 11. With this configuration, the by-product most likely to adhere to the surface WO of the substrate W during film formation of the substrate W, that is, adheres to a member (such as the electrode unit 31) located above the substrate W. Nitrogen gas can be reliably injected to the by-product. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably prevent the by-product from adhering to the surface WO of the substrate W.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Thin-film solar cell manufacturing apparatus (deposition apparatus) 11 ... Deposition chamber 13 ... Preparation / removal chamber 14 ... Substrate film formation module 15 ... Substrate desorption chamber 17 ... Substrate desorption robot (drive mechanism) 19 ... Substrate accommodation cassette (conveyance) Means) 21 ... Carrier (first carrier, second carrier) 25 ... Shutter (first opening / closing part) 31 ... Electrode unit 36 ... Shutter (second opening / closing part) 104 ... Bottom cell (desired film) W ... Substrate W1 ... Formation Substrate before film processing W2 ... Substrate after film processing 150 ... Nitrogen gas supply means 151 ... Nitrogen gas supply pipe (supply pipe) 158 ... Nitrogen gas supply source 170 ... Nitrogen gas injection mechanism 171 ... First pipe 172 ... Second Piping 173 ... Third piping 175 ... Injection port 176 ... Injection port member 177 ... Nitrogen gas discharge hole

Claims (5)

A deposition chamber for depositing a desired film on a substrate in a vacuum;
A charging / extracting chamber that is fixed to the film forming chamber via a first opening / closing portion and can be evacuated;
A substrate detachment chamber for detaching the substrate from a carrier fixed to the preparation / removal chamber and the second opening / closing portion and configured to hold the substrate;
A carrier for holding the substrate so that the film-forming surface is substantially parallel to the direction of gravity, and
The substrate desorption chamber and the preparation / removal chamber are configured such that a plurality of the carriers can be arranged in parallel,
Between the charging / unloading chamber and the film forming chamber, the plurality of carriers can be loaded / unloaded in parallel,
A thin-film solar cell manufacturing apparatus capable of simultaneously forming a film on the plurality of substrates held by the plurality of carriers in the film formation chamber,
A supply pipe having a plurality of nitrogen gas injection mechanisms capable of injecting nitrogen gas to the by-product adhering to the film formation chamber, and a nitrogen gas supply source for supplying the nitrogen gas to the supply pipe, Provided,
The thin film solar cell manufacturing apparatus, wherein the nitrogen gas injection mechanism is formed with an injection port for injecting the nitrogen gas while rotating with respect to the supply pipe. The nitrogen gas injection mechanism includes a first pipe connected to the supply pipe, a second pipe having an axial direction common to the first pipe and connected to the first pipe so as to be rotatable. A third pipe having an axial direction orthogonal to the second pipe and connected to the second pipe, and an injection port member disposed at both axial ends of the third pipe and having the injection port,
When the nitrogen gas is injected from the two injection ports, the injection directions of the two injection ports are directed in different directions so that the second pipe rotates with respect to the first pipe. The thin film solar cell manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is a thin film solar cell manufacturing apparatus. The nitrogen gas injection mechanism includes a first pipe connected to the supply pipe, a second pipe having an axial direction common to the first pipe and connected to the first pipe so as to be rotatable. A third pipe having an axial direction orthogonal to the second pipe and connected to the second pipe, and an injection port member disposed at both axial ends of the third pipe and having the injection port,
Nitrogen gas discharge holes different from the injection ports are respectively formed in the two injection port members,
When the nitrogen gas is discharged from the two nitrogen gas discharge holes, the injection directions of the two nitrogen gas discharge holes are directed in different directions so that the second pipe rotates with respect to the first pipe. The thin-film solar cell manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein   The thin-film solar cell manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the nitrogen gas is configured to be jetable above a position where the substrate is disposed in the film forming chamber. An electrode unit having a cathode electrode and anode electrodes installed on both sides of the cathode electrode;
5. The thin-film solar cell manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle is provided in the supply pipe so as to eject the nitrogen gas from above and below and from the left and right in the direction of the electrode unit. .

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