阅读说明：本技术 传输机构及使用该传输机构的真空镀膜系统 (Transmission mechanism and vacuum coating system using same ) 是由 杨宝海 德克·哈伯曼 杨娜 潘家永 许伟伟 宋玉超 乌韦·哈伯曼 李轶军 李翔 李 于 2020-09-09 设计创作，主要内容包括：传输机构及使用该传输机构的真空镀膜系统属于半导体材料制造领域,具体涉及但不限于太阳能电池生产中等离子体增强化学气相沉积的真空镀膜系统及该真空镀膜系统中的传输机构。本发明提供一种系统高度相对较低,运行稳定的传输机构及使用该传输机构的真空镀膜系统。本发明的传输机构包括基座,其特征在于：基座上通过第一联动装置设置有两上层转轴,第一联动装置使两上层转轴转动方向相反；两上层转轴下端均与一中层主动转杆的一端相连,两中层主动转杆的另一端均与一下层从动杆的一端铰接,两下层从动杆的另一端下侧均通过下层转轴与一底层基板相连,两下层转轴之间通过第二联动装置相连,第二联动装置使两下层转轴转动方向相反。(A transmission mechanism and a vacuum coating system using the same belong to the field of semiconductor material manufacturing, and particularly relate to but are not limited to a vacuum coating system for plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition in solar cell production and a transmission mechanism in the vacuum coating system. The invention provides a transmission mechanism with relatively low system height and stable operation and a vacuum coating system using the transmission mechanism. The transmission mechanism comprises a base, and is characterized in that: the base is provided with two upper-layer rotating shafts through a first linkage device, and the first linkage device enables the rotating directions of the two upper-layer rotating shafts to be opposite; the lower ends of the two upper-layer rotating shafts are connected with one end of a middle-layer driving rotating rod, the other ends of the two middle-layer driving rotating rods are hinged with one end of a lower-layer driven rod, the lower sides of the other ends of the two lower-layer driven rods are connected with a bottom substrate through lower-layer rotating shafts, the two lower-layer rotating shafts are connected through a second linkage device, and the rotating directions of the two lower-layer rotating shafts are opposite through the second linkage device.)

1. Transport mechanism, including base (300), its characterized in that: the base (300) is provided with two upper-layer rotating shafts (302) through a first linkage device (301), and the first linkage device (301) enables the rotating directions of the two upper-layer rotating shafts (302) to be opposite; the lower ends of the two upper-layer rotating shafts (302) are connected with one end of a middle-layer driving rotating rod (303), the other ends of the two middle-layer driving rotating rods (303) are hinged with one end of a lower-layer driven rod (305), the lower sides of the other ends of the two lower-layer driven rods (305) are connected with a bottom-layer substrate (306) through lower-layer rotating shafts (307), the two lower-layer rotating shafts (307) are connected through a second linkage device (308), and the rotating directions of the two lower-layer rotating shafts (307) are opposite through the second linkage device (308).

2. The transfer mechanism of claim 1, wherein: the first linkage (301) and the second linkage (308) are both gear sets which are meshed with each other.

3. The transfer mechanism of claim 1, wherein: the bottom substrate (306) is provided with a mounting groove, and the second linkage device (308) is arranged in the groove (310).

4. The transfer mechanism of claim 1, wherein: a weight reduction groove (309) is arranged in the middle layer active rotating rod (303).

5. The transfer mechanism of claim 1, wherein: the middle layer driving rotating rod (303) is connected with the lower layer driven rod (305) through a hinge shaft (304).

6. A vacuum coating system using a transport mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising a transport chamber (201), characterized in that: a driving mechanism (205) is arranged in the transmission chamber (201), and the driving mechanism (205) is connected with an upper layer rotating shaft (302) of the transmission mechanism (202); a bearing support (203) is arranged on a bottom substrate (306) of the transmission mechanism (202); an inlet (206) of the transmission mechanism (202) is arranged on one side of the transmission chamber (201), and an outlet of the transmission mechanism (202) is arranged on the other side of the transmission chamber (201).

7. The vacuum coating system according to claim 6, wherein: a connecting chamber (200) is arranged at the outlet and/or the inlet (206) of the transfer chamber (201).

8. The vacuum coating system according to claim 7, wherein: a vacuum valve (204) is arranged between the transmission chamber (201) and the connecting chamber (200).

9. The vacuum coating system according to claim 7, wherein: a substrate support (401) is arranged in the connecting cavity (200), a hook body gripper (207) is arranged at the bottom of the bearing support (203), and the hook body gripper (207) is arranged corresponding to the edge of the substrate support (401).

10. The vacuum coating system according to claim 6, wherein: the connection chamber (200) is a process chamber (404), an upper electrode (402) is arranged at the top in the process chamber (404), and a lower electrode base (403) is arranged below the substrate support (401); a lifting system (405) is arranged below the lower electrode base (403), an embedded groove matched with the substrate support (401) is formed in the lower electrode base (403), and the substrate support (401) is fixed; after the lifting system (405) controls the lower electrode base (403) to be lifted, the upper surface of the substrate support (401) and the upper surface of the lower electrode base (403) form a plane.

Technical Field

The invention belongs to the field of semiconductor material manufacturing, and particularly relates to a vacuum coating system for Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) in solar cell production and a transmission mechanism in the vacuum coating system.

Background

The special process requirements of solar cells, such as plating a hydrogen-doped amorphous silicon film on a crystalline silicon substrate, place particularly high demands on the process equipment. In the prior art, for example, Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) process is used to coat amorphous silicon layers (doped and undoped) on silicon-based heterojunction solar cells (SHJ) in vacuum, which cannot achieve large-scale mass production capability while ensuring the coating quality.

In the process, the quality and uniformity of the coating are greatly influenced by the temperature of the substrate, and the more uniform the temperature distribution, the better the quality of the coating. Under the condition that a heating heat source is uniform, the carrier plate heats the coated substrate according to the following rule, and the uniformity of the temperature of the carrier plate is improved along with the increase of time until the temperature is uniform finally.

For the above reasons, in the current vacuum coating system, two schemes are generally used for the horizontal transfer of the substrate. One is that after the substrate is transported to the process chamber by the carrier, the carrier always carries the substrate and remains in the process chamber during the process of coating the substrate, which is generally referred to as a "carrier solution". The other method is that after the base material is transferred to the process cavity through the clamp, the substrate is placed on a bearing support fixed on the process cavity for vacuum coating; the fixture has been removed from the process chamber prior to coating. This solution is commonly referred to as a "loadless board solution".

When considering that the silicon substrate needs to be heated to a uniform temperature in a short time, the unloaded scheme is advantageous in that the heating time is shorter than that of the loaded scheme. However, this solution has the disadvantage that in vacuum systems the cost of its robot automation is very high. Another disadvantage is that, by using robotic automation, the volume of the vacuum chamber is large, which requires a high vacuum for large spaces, especially the cost of the vacuum pump is very high; the temperature uniformity in the vacuum chamber is also difficult to achieve.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims at the problems and provides a transmission mechanism with relatively low system height and stable operation and a vacuum coating system using the transmission mechanism.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solution, and the transmission mechanism of the present invention includes a base, and is characterized in that: the base is provided with two upper-layer rotating shafts through a first linkage device, and the first linkage device enables the rotating directions of the two upper-layer rotating shafts to be opposite; the lower ends of the two upper-layer rotating shafts are connected with one end of a middle-layer driving rotating rod, the other ends of the two middle-layer driving rotating rods are hinged with one end of a lower-layer driven rod, the lower sides of the other ends of the two lower-layer driven rods are connected with a bottom substrate through lower-layer rotating shafts, the two lower-layer rotating shafts are connected through a second linkage device, and the rotating directions of the two lower-layer rotating shafts are opposite through the second linkage device.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first and second linkages are gear sets engaged with each other.

The vacuum coating system using the transmission mechanism comprises a transmission chamber, and is characterized in that: a driving mechanism is arranged in the transmission cavity and connected with an upper layer rotating shaft of the transmission mechanism; a bearing support is arranged on the bottom substrate of the transmission mechanism; one side of the transmission chamber is provided with an inlet of the transmission mechanism, and the other side of the transmission chamber is provided with an outlet of the transmission mechanism.

As a preferable embodiment of the vacuum coating system of the present invention, a connection chamber is disposed at an outlet and/or an inlet of the transfer chamber.

Further, the connection chamber may be a transfer chamber or a process chamber.

Furthermore, a substrate support is arranged in the connecting cavity, and a hook body gripper is arranged at the bottom of the bearing support and corresponds to the edge of the substrate support.

Furthermore, an upper electrode is arranged at the top in the process chamber, and a lower electrode base is arranged below the substrate support.

The invention has the beneficial effects that: compared with the prior art, the transmission mechanism of the invention can keep a lower design height even in a long-distance transmission state of several meters, and has the outstanding advantages of light weight, low manufacturing cost, high transmission efficiency and the like.

In the vacuum coating system of the present invention, at least one other chamber is connected to the transfer chamber, which may be another transfer chamber or a process chamber, and preferably is connected to the process chamber. In practice, it is preferred that the plurality of transfer chambers are alternately interfaced with the plurality of process chambers.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural view of the transfer mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the vacuum coating system of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of the connection between the upper layer rotating shaft of the transmission mechanism and the driving mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the structure of the lower layer of the follower link of the transport mechanism where it is attached to the underlying substrate.

Fig. 5 is a schematic view of the internal structure of the process chamber.

Fig. 6 is a schematic structural view of a load-bearing support.

Fig. 7 is a schematic view of the mating of the hook grip and the base sheet of the load bearing support.

Fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a conventional system without a carrier board.

In the figure, 100 is a driving shaft, 101 is a driving rod, 102 is a driven rod, 103 is a hinge, 104 is a synchronous belt or a chain or a belt, 105 is a conjoined gear, 106 is a support of a carrier plate, and 107 is a rotating shaft.

200 is a connecting chamber, 201 is a transferring chamber, 202 is a transferring mechanism, 203 is a bearing support, 204 is a vacuum valve, 205 is a driving mechanism, 206 is an inlet, 207 is a hook body gripper, 208 is a supporting wheel and 209 is a supporting rod.

300 is a base, 301 is a first linkage device, 302 is an upper layer rotating shaft, 303 is a middle layer driving rotating rod, 304 is a hinge shaft, 305 is a lower layer driven rod, 306 is a bottom layer base plate, 307 is a lower layer rotating shaft, 308 is a second linkage device, 309 is a weight-reducing groove, and 310 is a groove.

400 is a substrate, 401 is a substrate holder, 402 is an upper electrode, 403 is a lower electrode pedestal, 404 is a process chamber, and 405 is a lift system.

Detailed Description

The transfer mechanism 202 of the present invention comprises a base 300, characterized in that: the base 300 is provided with two upper-layer rotating shafts 302 through a first linkage 301, and the first linkage 301 enables the two upper-layer rotating shafts 302 to rotate in opposite directions; the lower ends of the two upper layer rotating shafts 302 are both connected with one end of a middle layer driving rotating rod 303, the other ends of the two middle layer driving rotating rods 303 are both hinged with one end of a lower layer driven rod 305, the lower sides of the other ends of the two lower layer driven rods 305 are both connected with a bottom layer base plate 306 through lower layer rotating shafts 307, the two lower layer rotating shafts 307 are connected through a second linkage device 308, and the second linkage device 308 enables the rotating directions of the two lower layer rotating shafts 307 to be opposite.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first linkage 301 and the second linkage 308 are gear sets engaged with each other.

The bottom substrate 306 has a mounting groove, and the second linkage 308 is disposed in the groove 310.

A weight reduction groove 309 is arranged in the middle active rotating rod 303.

The middle driving link 303 and the lower driven link 305 are connected by a hinge shaft 304.

The vacuum coating system using the transmission mechanism 202 comprises a transmission chamber 201, and is characterized in that: a driving mechanism 205 is arranged in the transmission chamber 201, and the driving mechanism 205 is connected with an upper layer rotating shaft 302 of the transmission mechanism 202; a bearing bracket 203 is arranged on the bottom substrate 306 of the transmission mechanism 202; an inlet 206 of the transfer mechanism 202 is arranged on one side of the transfer chamber 201, and an outlet of the transfer mechanism 202 is arranged on the other side of the transfer chamber 201.

As a preferable solution of the vacuum coating system of the present invention, a connection chamber 200 is disposed at the outlet and/or the inlet 206 of the transfer chamber 201.

A vacuum valve 204 is arranged between the transfer chamber 201 and the connecting chamber 200.

Further, the connection chamber 200 may be a transfer chamber 201 or a process chamber 404.

Furthermore, a substrate support 401 is disposed in the connection chamber 200, and a hook grip 207 is disposed at the bottom of the support 203, wherein the hook grip 207 is disposed corresponding to an edge of the substrate support 401.

The hook body grip 207 may be T-shaped or L-shaped, the L-shaped hook body grip 207 may grip the substrate 400 on one side, and the T-shaped hook body grip 207 may grip the substrate 400 on both sides.

Further, an upper electrode 402 is disposed at the top of the process chamber 404, and a lower electrode pedestal 403 is disposed below the substrate support 401.

A lifting system 405 is arranged below the lower electrode base 403, an embedded groove matched with the substrate support 401 is arranged on the lower electrode base 403, and the substrate support 401 is fixed; the lift system 405 controls the lower electrode mount 403 to be raised such that the upper surface of the substrate support 401 and the upper surface of the lower electrode mount 403 form a plane.

The end of the bearing bracket 203 is provided with a supporting wheel 208 through a supporting rod 209. The support wheels 208 can help the transfer mechanism 202 to bear weight, increasing the load-bearing capacity of the transfer mechanism 202.

The driving mechanism 205 may be a driving motor; the lift system 405 is a lift motor.

When the vacuum coating system is used, the motor of the driving mechanism 205 acts to drive one upper layer rotating shaft 302 to rotate, the upper layer rotating shaft 302 drives the other upper layer rotating shaft 302 to rotate reversely through the gear set of the linkage device, so that the two middle layer driving rotating rods 303 rotate and open simultaneously, the middle layer driving rotating rods 303 drive the lower layer driven rod 305 to rotate, and the lower layer driven rod 305 drives the bearing support 203 to horizontally move through the bottom substrate 306.

The carrying support 203 transfers the substrate 400 from the transfer chamber 201 to the process chamber 404 by the lower hook gripper 207, after the carrying support 203 is in place, the lifting system 405 acts, the substrate support 401 rises, the substrate 400 rises and is separated from the hook gripper 207 as the hook gripper 207 is arranged corresponding to the edge of the substrate support 401, the transfer mechanism 202 acts, the carrying support 203 moves out of the process chamber 404, the substrate support 401 falls back, the substrate 400 falls on the lower electrode base 403, and the upper electrode 402 and the lower electrode base 403 coat the substrate 400.

It should be understood that the detailed description of the present invention is only for illustrating the present invention and is not limited by the technical solutions described in the embodiments of the present invention, and those skilled in the art should understand that the present invention can be modified or substituted equally to achieve the same technical effects; as long as the use requirements are met, the method is within the protection scope of the invention.