WO2016043436A1 - Solar cell substrate plating apparatus using both light-induced plating and forward bias plating - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a solar cell substrate plating apparatus using both light-induced plating and forward bias plating of a unifacial light-receiving type solar cell substrate or a bifacial light-receiving type solar cell substrate, as an object to be plated, and provides a solar cell substrate plating apparatus using both using light-induced plating and forward bias plating, comprising: a plating bath for accommodating a plating solution; a plurality of roller units separately arranged at predetermined intervals so as to horizontally move the substrate in a state in which one surface of the substrate is dipped into the plating solution; a first plating unit arranged between the roller units, and performing the light-induced plating by emitting light toward the substrate in a sealed state in the plating solution; and a second plating unit dipped into the plating solution so as to perform the forward bias plating on the substrate through an anode member arranged at the bottom of the first plating unit.

Description

Plating Apparatus for Solar Cell Substrate which Combines Induction Plating and Forward Bias Plating

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plating apparatus for forming a circuit on a substrate in manufacturing a solar cell, and in particular, an embodiment in which light induced plating (LIP) and forward bias plating are performed in parallel. It relates to a plating apparatus for a battery substrate.

In order to manufacture a solar cell, a circuit must be formed on a substrate. Techniques for forming circuits can be classified into conventional screen printing methods and plating methods. The screen printing method is a printing method using silver paste, which is not only a problem of price competitiveness due to the price increase of silver (Ag), but also electrical conversion efficiency due to a decrease in electrical conductivity due to impurities such as binders and glass beads constituting the silver paste. Due to the limitations, recent methods using plating have been actively studied.

If a seed layer is not formed on the substrate, electroplating is difficult. Therefore, it is necessary to form a conductive layer on the substrate in advance for the electroplating process. For this purpose, a plating process using light induced plating (LIP) is used, followed by full-fledged electroplating. However, these processes are costly and time consuming because each process is done independently.

The inventors of the present invention have proposed a plating apparatus for performing both electroplating and light induction plating through the Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2013-0084373. However, this patent document was a method of performing both electroplating and photo-induction plating on both sides of the substrate, there was a problem that the anode member for electroplating the light irradiated from the light source for the photo-induction plating. In short, a problem arises in that the amount of light received on the substrate surface cannot be uniformly maintained. The patent document adopts a mechanical drive mechanism to solve such a problem. However, there was a limitation that the solution of the patent document was difficult to use when such a mechanism was not used and when one surface of the substrate was plated without performing double-side plating.

The inventors of the present invention have completed the present invention after a long research effort to solve and improve the problems of the above patent documents.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a device capable of effectively performing both light induction plating and forward bias plating in one device in plating one surface of a single-sided light receiving solar cell substrate or a substrate of a double-sided light receiving solar cell.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to propose a solution that can fundamentally exclude the reduction of the electrical conversion efficiency that may be caused by plating on one surface of the substrate, the back surface unnecessary plating is immersed in the plating solution. Through this, it can be applied to large-capacity production facilities, thereby enhancing the economics of solar cells.

On the other hand, other unspecified objects of the present invention will be further considered within the range that can be easily inferred from the following detailed description and effects.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a plating apparatus for a solar cell substrate in parallel with the photo-induction plating and forward bias plating of the solar cell substrate to be plated, plating bath for receiving a plating solution; A plurality of roller parts spaced apart at predetermined intervals so as to horizontally move the substrate while one surface of the substrate is immersed in the plating solution; A first plating part disposed between the plurality of roller parts and configured to perform light induced plating by irradiating light toward the substrate while being sealed in the plating solution; And a second plating part for performing forward bias plating on the substrate through an anode member immersed in the plating solution and disposed under the first plating part. It provides a plating apparatus for a solar cell substrate in parallel.

In this case, the first plating unit, a light source unit including a plurality of LEDs spaced at a predetermined interval along the horizontal movement direction of the substrate; It may include a light source receiving tube of a transparent material for sealing the light source.

The second plating part may further include: a negative electrode member connected to the positive electrode member and disposed above the first plating part; And an electricity supply unit disposed between the cathode member and the roller unit to transfer current from the cathode member to the substrate horizontally moving on the roller unit.

Preferably, the conductive part may include a plurality of wires having an U-shaped end portion in contact with the substrate.

At this time, the energizing portion may be adjustable up and down height.

In addition, the present invention may further include a control unit connected to the first plating unit to control the supply of power to the light source unit, or connected to the second plating unit to control the flow of the current.

The plating bath is divided into an immersion region and a non-immersion region in which the roller part and the anode member are immersed in the plating liquid, and are formed at a boundary between the immersion region and the non-immersion region to adjust the height of the plating liquid in the immersion region. It may further include a height adjustment plate.

At this time, the height adjustment plate may be adjustable up and down height.

The present invention may further include a shielding film disposed between the first plating part and the second plating part and having a plurality of holes formed therein to control the drift generated on the substrate and the surface of the anode member.

According to the present invention, since the plating process can be selectively performed in one plating apparatus for LIP plating and FBP plating, a time and cost can be reduced in manufacturing a solar cell.

Furthermore, in plating the cross section of the solar cell substrate, the reduction of the electrical conversion efficiency that can be caused by the plating-free back surface being immersed in the plating solution can be excluded at the source, further improving the economics of the solar cell substrate plating apparatus as a large capacity production facility. I can do it.

Although effects not specifically mentioned in the specification of the present invention, it is added that the potential effects expected by the technical features of the present invention are treated as described in the specification of the present invention.

1 is a schematic view showing a schematic configuration of a plating apparatus for a solar cell substrate performing a combination of light induction plating and forward bias plating according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a front view showing a plating apparatus for a solar cell substrate in parallel performing photo-induction plating and forward bias plating in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a view showing a plating apparatus for a solar cell substrate in parallel with the photo-induction plating and forward bias plating according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a view showing a first plating portion of the plating apparatus for a solar cell substrate in parallel performing photo-induction plating and forward bias plating in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a view showing a current-carrying part of a plating apparatus for a solar cell substrate in parallel performing photo-induction plating and forward bias plating according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a view showing a roller portion of a plating apparatus for a solar cell substrate in parallel performing photo-induction plating and forward bias plating in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a shielding film of a plating apparatus for a solar cell substrate performing both photo-induction plating and forward bias plating in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

In the following description of the present invention, when it is determined that the subject matter of the present invention may be unnecessarily obscured by those skilled in the art with respect to known functions related thereto, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Terms such as first and second may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "have" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, and one or more other features. It is to be understood that the present invention does not exclude the possibility of the presence or the addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, components, or a combination thereof.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a plating apparatus for a solar cell substrate in parallel with light induction plating and forward bias plating according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Components are assigned the same reference numerals and redundant description thereof will be omitted.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a plating apparatus for a solar cell substrate in parallel with light induction plating and forward bias plating according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a front view according to an embodiment of the present invention without the control, Figure 3 is a side view thereof.

1 to 3, a plating apparatus for a solar cell substrate which performs photoinduction plating and forward bias plating according to an embodiment of the present invention includes light induced plating (LIP) and forward bias plating (Forward). Bias Plating) can be performed in parallel, and includes a plating bath 100, a plurality of roller parts 500, a first plating part 300, and a second plating part. The present invention is to solve the conventional problem of the need to plate only one surface of the substrate and the amount of light (L) received on the substrate by the light source is covered by the anode member 110, a plurality of rollers 500 substrate It comprises a configuration for plating only one surface of the substrate while moving the horizontal. In addition, the light source is located between the roller 500, and at the same time the anode member 110 is characterized in that it is disposed behind the light source.

The plating apparatus for a solar cell substrate which combines the photoinduction plating and the forward bias plating according to the present invention by plating only the end surface of the solar cell substrate, thereby reducing the electrical conversion efficiency that may be caused by immersing the back surface which was not required for plating in the plating solution. As a result, the economic feasibility as a large-capacity production facility can be further improved. In addition, since the light source for photo-induction plating is between the substrate and the anode member 110, the light (L) irradiated from the light sources can be uniformly well transmitted to the surface of the substrate to be plated without disturbing other members.

The plating solution is accommodated in the plating bath 100, and the plurality of roller parts 500, the first plating part 300, and the anode member 110 of the second plating part are immersed in the plating solution. The plurality of rollers 500 are spaced apart by a predetermined interval along the moving direction of the substrate. That is, the plurality of roller parts 500 are disposed spaced apart from each other by a predetermined interval, and the substrate is disposed above the roller parts. At this time, the plurality of rollers are rotated while being immersed in the plating liquid to horizontally move the substrate disposed thereon.

The plating apparatus for a solar cell substrate which performs light induction plating and forward bias plating according to the present invention may further include a height adjusting plate 200 for adjusting the height of the plating liquid in the immersion region in the plating bath 100. The plating bath 100 is divided into an immersion region and a non-immersion region. In the immersion area, the roller part 500, the anode member 110, and the first plating part 300 are immersed in the plating liquid. The non-immersion area may exist outside the immersion area, and a height adjustment plate 200 may be formed at the boundary between the immersion area and the non-immersion area to adjust the height of the plating liquid in the immersion area. The height adjustment plate 200 is formed to be movable in the vertical direction, and when the height adjustment plate 200 is lowered, the plating liquid in the immersion area is carried over to the non-immersion area by the height adjustment plate 200 so that the plating liquid in the immersion area. The height of can be lowered. In addition, when the height of the height adjustment plate 200 is increased, the height of the plating liquid in the immersion area is also formed to match the height of the height adjustment plate 200. At this time, the plating liquid is supplied from the outside to fill the plating tank 100. Preferably the maximum height of the height adjustment plate 200 may be formed to be the same as the height of the top of the roller portion 500 or very little lower than this. Thus, by adjusting the height of the height adjustment plate 200 it is possible to adjust the level of the plating liquid in the plating bath (100). That is, if the level of the plating liquid is too high when the substrate is deposited on one surface, the plating liquid may spread to the upper portion of the substrate disposed on the roller part by completely depositing the roller 500, and if the level of the plating liquid is too low, the plating liquid This may not be evenly deposited on the substrate, this problem can be solved by using the height adjustment plate according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating a first plating part 300 of a plating apparatus for a solar cell substrate which performs light induction plating and forward bias plating in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the first plating unit 300 performs light induction plating by irradiating light L onto a substrate, and includes a light source unit having a rod-shaped light source unit including a plurality of LEDs 301 and a light source unit. It includes a receiving pipe (302). A plurality of LEDs 301 are disposed between the plurality of roller portions along the horizontal movement direction of the substrate, the light (L) from the plurality of LEDs 301 is irradiated to the substrate to perform a light induction plating on the substrate do. In this case, in order to physically separate the light source unit including the plurality of LEDs 301 from the plating solution, the plurality of LEDs 301 should be sealed and disposed in the light source accommodating tube 302. That is, the light source unit is positioned in the light source receiving tube 302. In addition, in order to transmit the light L from the light source unit to the substrate, the light source accommodating part is preferably made of a transparent material.

In order to minimize the effect on the transmission of light (L), transparent materials such as glass, tempered glass, Poly Carbonate, PVC, Acryl, etc. are used, and materials having chemical resistance are used. In addition, one end of the light source receiving tube 302 in the longitudinal direction may be provided with an openable lid for maintenance and replacement in the event of failure or breakage of the LED 301 lamp. In addition, in order to block the plating chemicals from flowing into the light source tube 302, a light source tube O-ring 303 may be installed at the opening and closing portion of the light source tube 302. At this time, the light source receiving tube O-ring 303 may prevent the inflow of plating chemicals by using a product having chemical resistance such as Viton, soft polypropylene, soft polyethylene, and rubber.

In addition, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in order to facilitate the installation and management of a plurality of light sources, it is preferable to arrange LED 301 lamps arranged side by side on the PCB. In addition, these PCBs may be arranged at regular intervals in a horizontal direction forming 90 degrees with the lamp arrangement again in a state where the PCB is transparently sealed in the light source accommodating portion. In other words, the light sources can be installed in a horizontal matrix in a sealed state, and as a result, a uniform light L can be irradiated onto the substrate.

The second plating part performs forward bias plating on the substrate through the anode member 110. The second plating part includes a positive electrode member 110, a negative electrode member, a power supply part for supplying power, and an energization part 400. The positive electrode member 110 is a place where the electric current supplied from the power supply part is immersed in the plating solution, and the oxidation reaction proceeds. The current supplied from the power supply unit is transferred to the substrate through the positive electrode member 110 and the plating solution to proceed with plating of the substrate, and the current passing through the substrate follows the structure circulating to the power supply unit through the negative electrode member after passing through the conducting unit 400. do.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a current-carrying part 400 of a plating apparatus for a solar cell substrate which performs photo-induction plating and forward bias plating in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 2 and 5, the energization part 400 is disposed so that the end thereof is located between the roller part 500 and the roller part 500. The conductive part 400 includes a plurality of wires, and the plurality of wires do not contact the roller part 500, but contact the horizontally moving substrate to transfer current from the cathode member to the substrate. At this time, the end of the wire in contact with the substrate may be formed in a U-shape. By forming the end of the wire in a U-shape, it is possible to smoothly assist the transfer of the substrate and to prevent scratches or the like from occurring on the substrate. At this time, the material of the wire is preferably formed to minimize the transfer resistance using a material such as stainless steel, Cu, carbon.

In addition, the energizing portion 400 may be formed to be adjustable up and down height. That is, when the height of the current conduction unit 400 is low, the wire end is immersed in the plating liquid, which causes contamination of the wire by the plating liquid, and thus, the contamination may be transferred to the rear surface of the substrate. In addition, if the height of the conduction portion is too high, there may be no electrical contact to the back. This problem can be solved by applying a height-adjustable structure.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a roller unit 500 of a plating apparatus for a solar cell substrate which performs light induction plating and forward bias plating in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 6, in the roller part 500 according to the present invention, the roller buried ring 501 is applied to deposit only one surface of the substrate, and the solution buried in the o-ring contacts the lower part of the substrate to evenly distribute the viscosity of the plating solution. Only one side will be deposited. In addition, the roller buoyling ring 501 is prevented from being damaged by the force pulling the substrate downward due to the viscosity of the solution. In this case, the O-ring may be a product having chemical resistance such as viton, soft polypropylene, soft polyethylene, and soft rubber. In addition, according to FIG. 6, the roller unit 500 may be coupled to a driving unit 502 for rotating the roller unit 500 by receiving external power. The roller 500 is also rotated by the rotation of the driving unit 502.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a shielding film 140 of a plating apparatus for a solar cell substrate which performs light induction plating and forward bias plating in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 7, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a transparent shielding film 140 may be installed in the plating apparatus. The transparent shielding film 140 is to ensure the uniformity of the metal film to be plated on the plated body. Due to the drift of the magnetic field generated during the plating process, a phenomenon in which current is concentrated at corners and edge portions may occur. The shielding layer 140 may help prevent the current from partially passing through. The shielding film 140 is manufactured using a transparent material such as poly carbonate, PVC, or acryl, and controls the drift generated from the surface of the solar cell substrate and the anode member 110 which are the plated bodies. In addition, a plurality of holes 141 are formed in the shielding film 140 so that the plating solution rising from the bottom passes through the holes 141 to face the substrate. This helps to control the speed of the stirring solution to some extent.

Hereinafter, the plating method of the board | substrate using this plating apparatus of this invention is demonstrated. In the plating process for the solar cell substrate, it is preferable to form a seed layer on the surface of the substrate in order to obtain uniform coating properties and excellent interlayer adhesion. To this end, the LED 301 lamp light source which is located near the center of the plating bath 100 is turned on, and light (L) is irradiated toward the substrate to be plated, which is horizontally immersed in the upper part of the plating bath 100, to remove The plating may be performed or the LED 301 lamp light source may be turned off and the current may be supplied to perform forward bias plating. As a result, a seed layer may be formed on the cross-section of the wafer, thereby improving the conductivity of the wafer surface.

Referring to FIG. 1, the plating apparatus for a solar cell substrate simultaneously performing photoinduction plating and forward bias plating may further include a control unit. The control unit may be coupled to the power supply unit of the first plating unit 300 and the power supply unit of the second plating unit, respectively, to control the power supply units of the first plating unit 300 and the second plating unit. That is, a control unit driven by a control solution in which a computer and a computer program are installed controls each power supply unit so as to operate the first plating unit 300 or the second plating unit in the plating bath 100 selectively or in parallel.

The control unit connected to the plating apparatus of the present invention may control to selectively perform the LIP plating, FBP plating process as described above, and may control the components of the plating apparatus so that LIP plating and FBP plating are performed in parallel. In particular, the control unit to drive the feed rate, current, the intensity of the light (L), the temperature, etc. when the plating bath 100 operates within the design range.

On the other hand, according to the present invention, it is possible to plate on both sides of the substrate without masking by one surface immersion on the plating bath 100. In other words, it is possible to produce products that can be completed through the process of front masking → back plating → front masking peeling → back masking → front plating → back masking peeling in a conventional process without a masking process and plating. The process can be easily configured as IN LINE.

In addition, the protection scope of the present invention is not limited to the description and expression of the embodiments explicitly described above. Further, it should be noted that the protection scope of the present invention may not be limited due to obvious changes or substitutions in the technical field to which the present invention belongs.

[Description of the code]

L: light

100: plating bath

110: anode member

140: shielding film

141: hall

200: height adjustment plate

300: first plating part

301: LED

302: light source tube

303: light source tube o-ring

400: energizing part

500: roller portion

501: roller buckle

502: drive section

Claims (9)

Claims [1] A solar cell substrate plating apparatus which performs photo-induction plating and forward bias plating of a solar cell substrate to be plated. A plating bath containing a plating solution; A plurality of roller parts spaced apart at predetermined intervals so as to horizontally move the substrate while one surface of the substrate is immersed in the plating solution; A first plating part disposed between the plurality of roller parts and configured to perform light induced plating by irradiating light toward the substrate while being sealed in the plating solution; And Light guide plating and forward bias plating comprising a second plating portion immersed in the plating solution to perform forward bias plating on the substrate through an anode member disposed below the first plating portion. Plating apparatus for solar cell substrates in parallel. The method of claim 1, The first plating portion, A light source unit including a plurality of LEDs spaced at a predetermined interval along a horizontal movement direction of the substrate; A plating apparatus for a solar cell substrate, comprising both light guide plating and forward bias plating, comprising a light source receiving tube of a transparent material for sealing the light source unit. The method of claim 1, The second plating portion, A cathode member connected to the anode member and disposed above the first plating part; And Light conduction plating and forward bias plating is disposed between the negative electrode member and the roller portion, further comprising a conducting portion for transmitting a current from the negative electrode member to the substrate horizontally moving on the roller portion Plating apparatus for solar cell substrates in parallel. The method of claim 3, The conducting unit, And a plurality of wires having an end portion in contact with the substrate having a U-shape. The method of claim 4, wherein The conduction portion is a plating apparatus for a solar cell substrate in parallel with the light induction plating and forward bias plating, characterized in that the vertical height adjustable. The method of claim 1, Connected to the first plating part to control supply of power to the light source part; And a control part connected to the second plating part to control the flow of the current. The method of claim 1, The plating bath is divided into an immersion region and a non-immersion region in which the roller portion and the anode member are immersed in the plating solution, And a height adjusting plate formed at the boundary between the immersion region and the non-immersion region to adjust the height of the plating liquid in the immersion region. Device. The method of claim 7, wherein The height adjustment plate is a plating apparatus for a solar cell substrate in parallel with the light induction plating and forward bias plating, characterized in that the height adjustable. The method of claim 1, And a shielding film disposed between the first plating portion and the second plating portion, and having a plurality of holes formed therein to control the drift generated from the surface of the substrate and the anode member. Plating apparatus for solar cell substrates performing forward bias plating.

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