CN117758347A - Integrated horizontal electroplating equipment and integrated horizontal electroplating method - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to integrated horizontal electroplating equipment, which comprises a first power supply and an electroplating bath, wherein electroplating liquid is arranged in the electroplating bath, the electroplating bath comprises a recovery tank, a conductive cathode roller, a non-conductive roller and a lower anode, wherein the recovery tank is arranged in the electroplating bath at intervals, the conductive cathode roller and the non-conductive roller are rotatably arranged in the electroplating bath, the lower anode is arranged in the electroplating bath, the conductive cathode roller is positioned in the recovery tank, and the non-conductive roller is positioned between the adjacent recovery tanks; the lower anode is connected with the positive electrode of the first power supply, the conductive cathode roller is connected with the negative electrode of the first power supply, the non-conductive roller is flush with the far end of the conductive cathode roller, and the conductive cathode roller and the non-conductive roller rotate to convey the substrate. According to the integrated horizontal electroplating equipment, as the parts inside the electroplating tank are communicated, the liquid level of the electroplating liquid in the electroplating tank is level, the enough electroplating thickness of the bottom surface of the substrate is ensured, the electroplating thickness is uniform, and the electroplating effect of the substrate is improved.

Description

Integrated horizontal electroplating equipment and integrated horizontal electroplating method

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of horizontal electroplating equipment, in particular to integrated horizontal electroplating equipment and an integrated horizontal electroplating method.

Background

The principle of horizontal electroplating is that ions in electrolyte solution are utilized to generate oxidation-reduction reaction under the action of an electric field, so that metal ions are reduced into metal to be deposited on the surface of a plated object. In the conventional electroplating process, the object to be plated is required to be used as a cathode, metal is required to be used as an anode, and metal ions released by the anode are transferred through electrons in an electrolyte solution, so that the metal ions are reduced into metal and deposited on the surface of the object to be plated. In the electrolyte solution, the metal ions combine with anions to form ion pairs, and the ion pairs move towards the surface of the plated object under the action of an electric field, and the cathode on the surface of the plated object attracts the metal ions so as to reduce the metal ions into metal to be deposited on the surface of the plated object.

Chinese patent No. CN105543923B discloses a method and apparatus for horizontal plating. The invention discloses a horizontal electroplating method and equipment, which uses a plurality of independent electroplating liquid tanks which are arranged at intervals, and a cathode contact point of an electroplating power supply is arranged at the outer side of the independent electroplating liquid tank, so that the cathode contact point of the electroplating power supply is not in direct contact with electroplating liquid. According to the method, the liquid level of the electroplating liquid of each independent electroplating bath is independently controlled, and the overflow flow rate of each independent electroplating bath is different, so that the liquid level height and the overflow flow rate between each independent electroplating bath are different, and when the substrate is plated on different independent electroplating baths, the surface electroplating thickness is insufficient or the electroplating thickness is uneven, and the electroplating quality is reduced. And the individual control of the plating solution level of each plating tank requires the addition of additional level control equipment, resulting in increased equipment costs.

It should be noted that the information disclosed in the above background section is only for enhancing understanding of the background of the present disclosure and thus may include information that does not constitute prior art known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

Disclosure of Invention

Aiming at the defects of the prior art, the invention discloses an integrated horizontal electroplating device and an integrated horizontal electroplating method.

A further object of the present invention is to find an integrated horizontal plating apparatus and an integrated horizontal plating method which have wide applicability and applicability, i.e., the method and apparatus can perform a plating process either alone on the lower surface of a substrate, alone on the upper surface of a substrate, or simultaneously on both the upper and lower surfaces of a substrate.

The technical scheme adopted by the invention is as follows:

the integrated horizontal electroplating device comprises an electroplating bath, more than two recovery tanks are arranged in the electroplating bath, and conductive cathode rollers are arranged in the recovery tanks.

The integrated horizontal electroplating device further comprises a first power supply, a lower anode is arranged in the electroplating bath, the electroplating bath is also connected with a liquid supply device, and a liquid outlet pipe is arranged at the side surface of the electroplating bath corresponding to the recycling groove; the lower anode is connected with the positive electrode of the first power supply, the conductive cathode roller is connected with the negative electrode of the first power supply, the non-conductive roller is flush with the far end of the conductive cathode roller, the conductive cathode roller and the non-conductive roller convey the substrate in a rotating manner, and the liquid supply equipment conveys electroplating liquid to the electroplating bath, so that the electroplating liquid wets the lower surface of the substrate and overflows the electroplating bath.

The integrated horizontal electroplating device further comprises a second power supply, an upper anode and a spraying device, wherein the upper anode and the spraying device are arranged above the substrate; the upper anode is connected with the positive electrode of the second power supply, the conductive cathode roller is connected with the negative electrode of the second power supply, the conductive cathode roller and the non-conductive roller rotate to convey the substrate, and the spraying equipment sprays electroplating liquid to the upper surface of the substrate, so that the electroplating liquid wets the upper surface of the substrate and keeps the level of the electroplating liquid on the upper surface of the substrate.

The integrated horizontal electroplating device further comprises a light source, wherein the light source can irradiate at least one of the upper surface and the lower surface of the substrate.

The further technical scheme is that at least one upper pinch roller is arranged on the conductive cathode roller.

The substrate is a solar cell.

The further technical scheme is that a first rotating shaft is arranged in the non-conductive roller, two ends of the first rotating shaft penetrate through the electroplating bath, a second rotating shaft is arranged in the conductive cathode roller, and two ends of the second rotating shaft penetrate through the electroplating bath.

The further technical scheme is that the conductive cathode roller is detachably connected with the electroplating bath, and the non-conductive roller is detachably connected with the electroplating bath.

The further technical scheme is that two sides of the first rotating shaft are respectively provided with a first plate body, and the first plate bodies are clamped with two sides of the electroplating tank; and two sides of the second rotating shaft are respectively provided with a second plate body, and the second plate bodies are clamped with two sides of the electroplating bath.

The integrated horizontal electroplating device further comprises a driving component, wherein the driving component comprises a motor, a supporting seat and a driving rod which are arranged on the side surface of the electroplating bath, one end of the driving rod is connected with the output end of the motor, the other end of the driving rod is rotatably connected with the supporting seat, and the driving rod is meshed with the end part of the first rotating shaft and the end part of the second rotating shaft.

An integrated horizontal electroplating method is characterized in that an electroplating tank is arranged below an electroplated substrate along the moving direction of the substrate, more than two recovery tanks are arranged in the electroplating tank, and conductive cathode rollers are arranged in the recovery tanks; after the lower surface of the electroplated substrate contacts the conductive cathode roller, at least one surface of the lower surface and the upper surface of the electroplated substrate forms a cathode surface of the electroplating process.

The further technical proposal is that the electrochemical plating is independently carried out on the lower surface of the substrate only when a lower anode is arranged below the substrate; when the upper anode is arranged above the substrate, any one of electrochemical plating, photoinduction plating and electrochemical auxiliary photoinduction plating is independently carried out on the upper surface of the substrate; and when a lower anode is arranged below the substrate and an upper anode is arranged above the substrate, respectively performing any one of electrochemical plating, photoinduction plating and electrochemical auxiliary photoinduction plating on the lower surface and the upper surface of the substrate.

The lower surface of the substrate is wetted by the electroplating solution in the electroplating bath when any one of electrochemical electroplating, photoinduction electroplating and electrochemical auxiliary photoinduction electroplating is carried out on the lower surface of the substrate, and a lower anode is arranged in the electroplating bath; when any one of electrochemical plating, photoinduced plating and electrochemical auxiliary photoinduced plating is carried out on the upper surface of the substrate, spraying equipment is arranged above the upper surface of the substrate, and the spraying equipment sprays electroplating liquid to the upper surface of the substrate, so that the electroplating liquid wets the upper surface of the substrate and contacts the upper anode.

The beneficial effects of the invention are as follows:

the integrated horizontal electroplating equipment comprises an electroplating tank, wherein a recovery tank is arranged in the electroplating tank at intervals, a non-conductive roller and a conductive cathode roller are respectively arranged in the electroplating tank and the recovery tank, and electroplating liquid is sprayed into the electroplating tank through a liquid supply device.

And (II) a liquid outlet pipe is arranged at the side surface of the electroplating bath corresponding to the recovery tank, so that the overflow electroplating liquid is recovered conveniently.

The conductive cathode roller is detachably connected with the electroplating bath, and the non-conductive roller is detachably connected with the electroplating bath, so that the conductive cathode roller and the non-conductive roller are convenient to detach and replace;

the first rotating shaft two sides are respectively provided with a first plate body, the first plate body is clamped with two sides of the electroplating bath, the second rotating shaft two sides are respectively provided with a second plate body, the second plate bodies are clamped with two sides of the electroplating bath, and the tightness among the first plate body, the second plate bodies and the electroplating bath can be ensured by adopting the clamping connection.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic side view of an integrated horizontal electroplating apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the connection relationship of an integrated horizontal plating apparatus according to the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a schematic front view of an integrated horizontal electroplating apparatus according to the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a schematic top view of an integrated horizontal electroplating apparatus according to the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a schematic side view of an integrated horizontal plating apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the connection relationship of an integrated horizontal plating apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a schematic side view of an integrated horizontal plating apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure:

1. plating bath; 11. a non-conductive roller; 111. a first rotating shaft; 112. a first plate body; 12. electroplating solution; 13. a lower anode; 2. a recovery tank; 21. a conductive cathode roller; 211. a second rotating shaft; 22. a second plate body; 23. a liquid outlet pipe; 24. a liquid inlet pipe; 25. a liquid supply device; 3. a first power supply; 4. a substrate; 5. a drive assembly; 50. a motor; 51. a driving rod; 52. bevel gears; 53. a support base; 6. a spraying device; 61. plating liquid level; 7. an upper anode; 71. a pressing wheel is arranged; 8. a second power supply; 9. a light source.

Detailed Description

The following describes specific embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more apparent, the following more detailed description of the apparatus and method according to the present invention is provided with reference to the accompanying drawings and detailed description. The advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description. It should be noted that the drawings are in a very simplified form and are all to a non-precise scale, merely for the purpose of facilitating and clearly aiding in the description of embodiments of the invention. For a better understanding of the invention with objects, features and advantages, refer to the drawings. It should be understood that the structures, proportions, sizes, etc. shown in the drawings are for illustration purposes only and should not be construed as limiting the invention to the extent that any modifications, changes in the proportions, or adjustments of the sizes of structures, proportions, or otherwise, used in the practice of the invention, are included in the spirit and scope of the invention which is otherwise, without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof.

For more clearly describing the structure of the fluid control device, the present invention defines the terms "distal end" and "proximal end", specifically, "distal end" means an end far from the ground, and "proximal end" means an end close to the ground, taking fig. 1 as an example, the lower end of the plating vessel 1 in fig. 1 is the proximal end, and the upper end of the plating vessel 1 in fig. 1 is the distal end.

First embodiment:

fig. 1 is a schematic side view of an integrated horizontal electroplating apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the connection relationship of an integrated horizontal plating apparatus according to the present invention. Fig. 3 is a schematic front view of an integrated horizontal electroplating apparatus according to the present invention. Fig. 4 is a schematic top view of an integrated horizontal electroplating apparatus according to the present invention.

In this embodiment, the substrate 4 is a glass plate, and a surface to be plated on one side of the glass plate may be plated by contacting the conductive cathode roller 21 and the plating solution 12.

As shown in fig. 1 to 4, an integrated horizontal plating apparatus includes a first power supply 3 and a plating tank 1. The electroplating bath 1 comprises a recovery tank 2, a conductive cathode roller 21, a non-conductive roller 11 and a lower anode 13, wherein the recovery tank 2 is arranged in the electroplating bath 1 at intervals, the conductive cathode roller 21 and the non-conductive roller 11 are rotatably arranged in the electroplating bath 1, the lower anode 13 is arranged in the electroplating bath 1, the conductive cathode roller 21 is positioned in the recovery tank 2, and the non-conductive roller 11 is positioned between adjacent recovery tanks 2. The recovery tank 2 is arcuate, may be V-shaped, or the like, and is parallel to the width direction of the plating vessel 1. The conductive cathode roller 21 and the non-conductive roller 11 are arranged parallel to the width direction of the electroplating bath 1, at least one conductive cathode roller 21 is arranged in each recovery tank 2, at least one non-conductive roller 11 is arranged between adjacent recovery tanks 2, and the non-conductive roller 11 is flush with the far end of the conductive cathode roller 21.

The main function of the conductive cathode roller 21 and the non-conductive roller 11 is to support the substrate 4. The conductive cathode roller 21 and the non-conductive roller 11 may also function to move the substrate 4 when rotated. Two or more non-conductive rollers 11 may be disposed between adjacent recovery tanks 2 according to practical applications, and two or more conductive cathode rollers 21 may be disposed in one recovery tank 2. The conductive cathode roller 21 is cylindrical. Preferably, the conductive cathode roller 21 and the non-conductive roller 11 are cylindrical, and crystallization of the plating solution 12 on the conductive cathode roller 21 and the non-conductive roller 11 is prevented while maintaining contact with the surface of the plating solution 12 on the lower surface of the substrate 4.

The conductive cathode roller 21 is arranged in the recovery tank 2, and is not directly contacted with the electroplating solution 12 in the electroplating process, so that the short circuit between the conductive cathode roller 21 and the lower anode 13 is effectively avoided. The design of the present invention not only makes the electric field in the plating tank 1 more uniform, or makes the plating layer on the lower surface of the substrate 4 more uniform, but also effectively prevents the generation of unnecessary plating layers on the conductive cathode roller 21.

The proximal end of the plating tank 1 is further provided with a liquid inlet pipe 24, the liquid inlet pipe 24 is connected with a liquid supply device 25, and the liquid supply device 25 pumps the plating solution 12 into the plating tank 1 through the liquid inlet pipe 24, so that the plating solution 12 wets the lower surface of the substrate 4 and overflows the plating tank 1. The side surface of the plating tank 1 is provided with a liquid outlet pipe 23 corresponding to the recovery tank 2, and the plating solution 12 overflowed into the plating tank 1 flows out through the liquid outlet pipe 23. Preferably, the liquid supply device 25 is a commercially available pump body capable of pumping medium.

Wherein the lower anode 13 is connected with the positive electrode of the first power supply 3, and the conductive cathode roller 21 is connected with the negative electrode of the first power supply 3. Illustratively, the lower anode 13 is connected to the positive pole of the first power source 3 by a power line, and the conductive cathode roller 21 is connected to the negative pole of the first power source 3 by a power line. The conductive cathode roller 21 and the nonconductive roller 11 rotate and convey the substrate 4.

Further, a first rotating shaft 111 is disposed in the non-conductive roller 11, two ends of the first rotating shaft 111 pass through the electroplating bath 1, a second rotating shaft 211 is disposed in the conductive cathode roller 21, and two ends of the second rotating shaft 211 pass through the electroplating bath 1, so that a part of the first rotating shaft 111 and a part of the second rotating shaft 211 are exposed out of the electroplating bath 1.

Further, the conductive cathode roller 21 is detachably connected with the electroplating tank 1, and the non-conductive roller 11 is detachably connected with the electroplating tank 1, so that the conductive cathode roller 21 and the non-conductive roller 11 can be conveniently detached and replaced. For example, the first plates 112 are respectively disposed on two sides of the first rotating shaft 111, the first plates 112 are clamped to two sides of the plating tank 1, the second plates 22 are respectively disposed on two sides of the second rotating shaft 211, the second plates 22 are clamped to two sides of the plating tank 1, and the tightness among the first plates 112, the second plates 22 and the plating tank 1 can be ensured by adopting the clamped connection. Preferably, the outer edges of the proximal end of the first plate 112 and the outer edges of the proximal end of the second plate 22 are provided with convex edges (not shown), and the plating tank 1 is provided with a clamping groove (not shown) into which the convex edges are clamped.

Further, the integrated horizontal electroplating apparatus further comprises a driving assembly 5, wherein the driving assembly 5 comprises a motor 50, a supporting seat 53 and a driving rod 51, the motor 50 is arranged on the side face of the electroplating bath 1, one end of the driving rod 51 is connected with the output end of the motor 50, the other end of the driving rod 51 is rotatably connected with the supporting seat 53, and the driving rod 51 is meshed with the end part of the first rotating shaft 111 and the end part of the second rotating shaft 211 so as to drive the first rotating shaft 111 and the second rotating shaft 211 to rotate.

Further, the driving rod 51 is disposed perpendicular to the first rotation shaft 111 and the second rotation shaft 211, the end of the first rotation shaft 111 exposing the plating tank 1 and the end of the second rotation shaft 211 exposing the plating tank 1 are provided with bevel gears 52, the bevel gears 52 are disposed on the driving rod 51 corresponding to the first rotation shaft 111 and the second rotation shaft 211, and the bevel gears 52 of the first rotation shaft 111 and the second rotation shaft 211 are engaged with the bevel gears 52 of the driving rod 51.

Further, at least one upper pressing wheel 71 is disposed on the substrate 4, and the upper pressing wheel 71 may be made of an elastic material or may float up and down, so that the upper pressing wheel 71 can ensure that the lower surface of the substrate 4 is in good electrical contact with the conductive cathode roller 21.

The workflow of this embodiment is as follows:

the motor 50 and the first power supply 3 are turned on, the output end of the motor 50 drives the driving rod 51 to rotate, the driving rod 51 drives the first rotating shaft 111 and the second rotating shaft 211 to rotate, the first rotating shaft 111 drives the non-conductive roller 11 to rotate, and the second rotating shaft 211 drives the conductive cathode roller 21 to rotate. The non-conductive roller 11 and the conductive cathode roller 21 drive the substrate 4 to move from the right side to the left side in fig. 1, the lower surface of the substrate 4 is firstly contacted with the upper surface of the conductive cathode roller 21, and under the action of the negative electrode of the first power supply 3, the lower surface of the substrate 4 is the cathode surface in the electroplating process relative to the lower anode 13. As the substrate 4 continues to move to the left, a portion of the substrate 4 enters the distal end of the plating vessel 1, and the liquid supply device 25 supplies the plating liquid 12 into the plating vessel 1 through the liquid supply pipe 24. If there is no systematic fluctuation, the lower surface of the substrate 4 may not be in contact with the plating solution 12 because the level of the plating solution 12 in the plating vessel 1 is lower than the heights of the conductive cathode roller 21 and the non-conductive roller 11. In order to allow the lower surface of the substrate 4 to be brought into contact with the plating liquid 12, the plating liquid 12 may be caused to flow under the substrate 4, or the plating liquid 12 may be brought into contact with the lower surface of the substrate 4 by utilizing the fluctuation generated by the vibration of the plating tank 1 itself. Once the plating solution 12 contacts the lower surface of the substrate 4, the plating solution 12 rapidly wets the lower surface of the substrate 4 above the plating tank 1 by the surface tension of the plating solution 12. Excess plating solution 12 overflows into the recovery tank 2 along the lower surface of the substrate 4, and the plating solution 12 in the recovery tank 2 flows out of the plating tank 1 through the drain pipe 23.

After the plating solution 12 contacts the lower surface of the substrate 4, under the action of the first power supply 3, the metal ions in the plating solution 12 generate electrons on the conductive area of the lower surface of the substrate 4 to generate solid metal, and deposit the solid metal on the conductive area of the lower surface of the substrate 4. On the other hand, the lower anode 13 in the plating tank 1 is dissolved in the plating solution 12 after losing electrons, thereby completing the redox reaction of one complete plating process in the system.

Second embodiment:

the second embodiment further optimizes and refines the structure of the plating tank 1 based on the first embodiment.

Fig. 5 is a schematic side view of an integrated horizontal plating apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the connection relationship of an integrated horizontal plating apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

In the present embodiment, the substrate 4 may be a crystalline silicon heterojunction solar cell (HJT). One surface of the crystalline silicon heterojunction solar cell (HJT) is provided with a positive metal electrode (p-type metal electrode), and the other surface is provided with a negative metal electrode (n-type metal electrode).

In this embodiment, the p-type metal electrode surface of the crystalline silicon heterojunction solar cell (HJT) is made to face downward, contact the conductive cathode roller 21, or contact both the conductive cathode roller 21 and the non-conductive roller 11, and the n-type metal electrode surface of the crystalline silicon heterojunction solar cell (HJT) is made to face upward, the n-type metal electrode surface being in electrical contact with the upper anode 7 through the upper plating liquid surface 61.

As shown in fig. 5 and 6, further, the integrated horizontal plating apparatus further comprises a second power source 8, and an upper anode 7 and a spray apparatus 6 disposed above the substrate 4, wherein the upper anode 7 contacts an upper plating liquid level 61 on the upper surface of the substrate 4 but does not contact the substrate 4. The upper anode 7 is connected with the positive electrode of the second power supply 8, the conductive cathode roller 21 is connected with the negative electrode of the second power supply 8, the conductive cathode roller 21 and the non-conductive roller 11 rotate to convey the substrate 4, and the spraying device 6 sprays the electroplating solution 12 on the upper surface of the substrate 4, so that the electroplating solution 12 wets the upper surface of the substrate 4 and contacts the upper anode 7.

In the present embodiment, during the implementation of the electrochemical plating process, the upper anode 7 is placed above the substrate 4 and in contact with the upper plating level 61 on the upper surface of the substrate 4. The upper anode 7 may be of various shapes, such as square, cylindrical, etc. Preferably, the upper anode 7 is cylindrical in shape, and crystallization of the plating solution 12 on the upper anode 7 is avoided while maintaining contact with the upper plating solution level contact 61 on the upper surface of the substrate 4.

The plating solution 12 may be delivered to the upper surface of the substrate 4 by various methods, such as spraying directly onto the upper surface of the substrate 4 by the spraying apparatus 6 to form an upper plating level 61 on the substrate 4. Other means for forming the upper plating level 61 on the substrate 4 may be used, such as spraying. Further, the plating liquid 12 may be sprayed on the upper anode 7, passed through the upper anode 7, and then flow down to the upper surface of the substrate 4. The advantage of this design is that contact of the upper anode 7 with the upper plating level 61 is ensured to the maximum extent. Of course, in other embodiments of the invention, the plating solution 12 may be sprayed directly onto the upper surface of the substrate 4.

The non-conductive roller 11 and the conductive cathode roller 21 drive the substrate 4 to move from the right side to the left side in fig. 1, the lower surface of the substrate 4 is firstly contacted with the upper surface of the conductive cathode roller 21, and under the action of the negative electrode of the first power supply 3, the lower surface of the substrate 4 is the cathode surface in the electroplating process relative to the lower anode 13. As the substrate 4 continues to move to the left, a portion of the substrate 4 enters the distal end of the plating vessel 1, and the liquid supply device 25 supplies the plating liquid 12 into the plating vessel 1 through the liquid supply pipe 24. If there is no systematic fluctuation, the lower surface of the substrate 4 may not be in contact with the plating solution 12 because the level of the plating solution 12 in the plating vessel 1 is lower than the heights of the conductive cathode roller 21 and the non-conductive roller 11. In order to allow the lower surface of the substrate 4 to be brought into contact with the plating liquid 12, the plating liquid 12 may be caused to flow under the substrate 4, or the plating liquid 12 may be brought into contact with the lower surface of the substrate 4 by utilizing the fluctuation generated by the vibration of the plating tank 1 itself. Once the plating solution 12 contacts the lower surface of the substrate 4, the plating solution 12 rapidly wets the lower surface of the substrate 4 above the plating tank 1 by the surface tension of the plating solution 12. Excess plating solution 12 overflows into the recovery tank 2 along the lower surface of the substrate 4, and the plating solution 12 in the recovery tank 2 flows out of the plating tank 1 through the drain pipe 23.

After the plating solution 12 contacts the lower surface of the substrate 4, under the action of the first power supply 3, the metal ions in the plating solution 12 generate electrons on the conductive area of the lower surface of the substrate 4 to generate solid metal, and deposit the solid metal on the conductive area of the lower surface of the substrate 4. After the upper plating liquid surface 61 wets the upper surface of the substrate 4 and contacts the upper anode 7, electrons are obtained on the conductive area of the upper surface of the substrate 4 to generate solid metal, which is deposited on the conductive area of the upper surface of the substrate 4. On the other hand, the upper anode 7 and the lower anode 13 are dissolved in the plating solution 12 after losing electrons, thereby completing the oxidation-reduction reaction of a complete plating process in the system.

The integrated plating apparatus and the horizontal plating method may be configured to perform electrochemical plating on only the upper surface of the substrate 4, may be configured to perform electrochemical plating on only the lower surface of the substrate 4, or may be configured to perform electrochemical plating on both the upper surface and the lower surface of the substrate 4.

Third embodiment:

the third embodiment further optimizes and refines the structure of the plating tank 1 based on the first embodiment or the second embodiment.

Fig. 7 is a schematic side view of an integrated horizontal plating apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, the substrate 4 may be a tunnel oxide passivation contact solar cell (TOPcon). One surface of the tunneling oxide layer is passivated to contact with a solar cell (TOPCon) and the other surface is passivated to contact with a positive metal electrode (p-type metal electrode) and a negative metal electrode (n-type metal electrode).

In this embodiment, the tunnel oxide layer is passivated down the surface of the p-type electrode contacting the solar cell (TOPcon), contacting the conductive cathode roller 21, or contacting both the conductive cathode roller 21 and the non-conductive roller 11, and the tunnel oxide layer is passivated up the surface of the n-type electrode contacting the solar cell (TOPcon), which is not in electrical contact with the upper anode 7, or in electrical contact with the upper anode 7 via the upper plating level 61.

As shown in fig. 7, further, the integrated horizontal plating apparatus further includes a light source 9, and the light source 9 can irradiate at least one of the upper surface and the lower surface of the substrate 4.

In this embodiment, in order to achieve the designed plating rate during the pure light induced plating process, the light source 9 with a higher illuminance is required. The disadvantage of the pure light induced plating process emerges after increasing the illumination intensity of the light source 9. For example, after using high power lighting devices, not only is the cost of electricity increased, but it is also generally necessary to use a certain cooling device to cool the heat generated by the high power lighting devices. These pure light induced plating processes can be addressed with the electrochemically assisted light induced plating process of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 7, under irradiation of the light source 9, the tunnel oxide passivation contacts a solar cell (TOPcon) to generate direct current, wherein its upper surface is a negative electrode of the solar cell and its lower surface is a positive electrode of the solar cell. After the tunnel oxide passivation contact solar cell (TOPcon) starts to move from the right side to the left side in fig. 7, the lower surface of the tunnel oxide passivation contact solar cell (TOPcon) first contacts the conductive cathode roller 21, an upper plating liquid level 61 exists on the upper surface of the tunnel oxide passivation contact solar cell (TOPcon), and after the upper anode 7 contacts the upper plating liquid level 61, electrochemical auxiliary light-induced plating starts to occur on the upper surface of the tunnel oxide passivation contact solar cell (TOPcon), namely, the cathode surface of the solar cell. Alternatively, the metal ions in the plating solution 12 are deposited on the conductive area of the upper surface of the crystalline silicon solar cell 100 after electrons are obtained on the conductive area of the upper surface of the tunneling oxide passivation contact solar cell (TOPcon). After the plating solution 12 in the plating tank 1 contacts the bottom surface of the tunneling oxide passivation contact solar cell (TOPcon), under the action of the first power supply 3, the metal ions in the plating solution 12 generate solid metal after electrons are obtained on the conductive area of the bottom surface of the tunneling oxide passivation contact solar cell (TOPcon), and deposit on the conductive area of the bottom surface of the substrate 4. On the other hand, the upper anode 7 and the lower anode 13 are dissolved in the plating solution 12 after losing electrons, thereby completing the oxidation-reduction reaction of a complete plating process in the system.

In this embodiment, in the process of implementing the electrochemical auxiliary photoinduced electroplating process, the electroplating rate of the upper surface of the substrate 4 is the superposition of the electric potential generated by the crystalline silicon solar cell under the irradiation of the light source 9 and the electric potential provided by the direct current power source under the assistance of the direct current power source, so that the requirement on the illumination intensity of the light source 9 is greatly reduced, or the defect of the pure photoinduced electroplating process is overcome. Therefore, the process for electrochemically assisted photoinduced plating of the present invention has the advantage of simplifying the method and production costs of applying the present invention.

The integrated plating apparatus and the horizontal plating method may be configured to perform the electrochemical auxiliary photoinduced plating only on the upper surface of the substrate 4, may be configured to perform the electrochemical auxiliary photoinduced plating only on the lower surface of the substrate 4, may be configured to perform the chemical auxiliary photoinduced plating simultaneously on the upper surface and the lower surface of the substrate 4, and may be configured to perform the electrochemical plating on one surface and the electrochemical auxiliary photoinduced plating on the other surface of the substrate 4.

The technical features of the above-described embodiments may be arbitrarily combined, and all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-described embodiments are not described for brevity of description, however, as long as there is no contradiction between the combinations of the technical features, they should be considered as the scope of the description.

The above examples illustrate only a few embodiments of the invention, which are described in detail and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. It should be noted that it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that several variations and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, which are all within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of protection of the present invention is to be determined by the appended claims.

Claims (13)

1. Integral type level electroplating device, its characterized in that: the integrated horizontal electroplating equipment comprises an electroplating bath, more than two recovery tanks are arranged in the electroplating bath, and conductive cathode rollers are arranged in the recovery tanks.

2. The integrated horizontal plating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the integrated horizontal electroplating device comprises an electroplating tank, a liquid supply device, a liquid outlet pipe, a liquid supply device and at least one non-conductive roller, wherein the at least one non-conductive roller is rotatably arranged in the electroplating tank, the non-conductive roller is positioned between adjacent recycling tanks, at least one conductive cathode roller is rotatably arranged in each recycling tank, the integrated horizontal electroplating device further comprises a first power supply, a lower anode is arranged in the electroplating tank, the electroplating tank is also connected with the liquid supply device, and the liquid outlet pipe is arranged at the side surface of the electroplating tank corresponding to the recycling tank;

the lower anode is connected with the positive electrode of the first power supply, the conductive cathode roller is connected with the negative electrode of the first power supply, the non-conductive roller is flush with the far end of the conductive cathode roller, the conductive cathode roller and the non-conductive roller convey the substrate in a rotating manner, and the liquid supply equipment conveys electroplating liquid to the electroplating bath, so that the electroplating liquid wets the lower surface of the substrate and overflows the electroplating bath.

3. The integrated horizontal plating apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: the integrated horizontal electroplating equipment also comprises a second power supply, an upper anode and a spraying device, wherein the upper anode and the spraying device are arranged above the substrate;

the upper anode is connected with the positive electrode of the second power supply, the conductive cathode roller is connected with the negative electrode of the second power supply, the conductive cathode roller and the non-conductive roller rotate to convey the substrate, and the spraying equipment sprays electroplating liquid to the upper surface of the substrate, so that the electroplating liquid wets the upper surface of the substrate and keeps the level of the electroplating liquid on the upper surface of the substrate.

4. A single-piece horizontal plating apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein: the integrated horizontal plating apparatus further includes a light source capable of irradiating at least one of an upper surface and a lower surface of the substrate.

5. The integrated horizontal plating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: at least one upper pinch roller is arranged above the conductive cathode roller.

6. The integrated horizontal plating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: the substrate is a solar cell.

7. The integrated horizontal plating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: the non-conductive roller is internally provided with a first rotating shaft, two ends of the first rotating shaft penetrate through the electroplating bath, the conductive cathode roller is internally provided with a second rotating shaft, and two ends of the second rotating shaft penetrate through the electroplating bath.

8. The integrated horizontal plating apparatus according to claim 7, wherein: the conductive cathode roller is detachably connected with the electroplating bath, and the non-conductive roller is detachably connected with the electroplating bath.

9. The integrated horizontal plating apparatus according to claim 8, wherein: the two sides of the first rotating shaft are respectively provided with a first plate body, and the first plate body is clamped with the two sides of the electroplating bath; and two sides of the second rotating shaft are respectively provided with a second plate body, and the second plate bodies are clamped with two sides of the electroplating bath.

10. The integrated horizontal plating apparatus according to claim 7, wherein: the integrated horizontal electroplating device further comprises a driving assembly, the driving assembly comprises a motor, a supporting seat and a driving rod, the motor, the supporting seat and the driving rod are arranged on the side face of the electroplating bath, one end of the driving rod is connected with the output end of the motor, the other end of the driving rod is rotatably connected with the supporting seat, and the driving rod is meshed with the end part of the first rotating shaft and the end part of the second rotating shaft.

11. The integrated horizontal electroplating method is characterized in that: a plating tank is arranged below the electroplated substrate along the moving direction of the substrate, more than two recovery tanks are arranged in the plating tank, and conductive cathode rollers are arranged in the recovery tanks; after the lower surface of the electroplated substrate contacts the conductive cathode roller, at least one surface of the lower surface and the upper surface of the electroplated substrate forms a cathode surface of the electroplating process.

12. The integrated horizontal plating method according to claim 11, wherein:

performing electrochemical plating on the lower surface of the substrate alone only when a lower anode is located below the substrate;

when the upper anode is arranged above the substrate, any one of electrochemical plating, photoinduction plating and electrochemical auxiliary photoinduction plating is independently carried out on the upper surface of the substrate;

and when a lower anode is arranged below the substrate and an upper anode is arranged above the substrate, respectively performing any one of electrochemical plating, photoinduction plating and electrochemical auxiliary photoinduction plating on the lower surface and the upper surface of the substrate.

13. The integrated horizontal plating method according to claim 12, wherein:

when any one of electrochemical plating, photoinduction plating and electrochemical auxiliary photoinduction plating is carried out on the lower surface of the substrate, the lower surface of the substrate is wetted by the plating solution in the plating tank, and a lower anode is arranged in the plating tank;

when any one of electrochemical plating, photoinduced plating and electrochemical auxiliary photoinduced plating is carried out on the upper surface of the substrate, spraying equipment is arranged above the upper surface of the substrate, and the spraying equipment sprays electroplating liquid to the upper surface of the substrate, so that the electroplating liquid wets the upper surface of the substrate and contacts the upper anode.