Patent Application
20240419199
This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202410735785.0 filed on Jun. 6, 2024 in China State Intellectual Property Administration, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.
The present disclosure relates to the field of photovoltaic materials or semiconductor materials processing technologies, in particular to a processing equipment and a control method of the processing equipment.
Furnace equipment is often used to process photovoltaic or semiconductor products. Furnace equipment usually tries to be as uniform as possible in terms of furnace wire winding, layout, pitch, etc., so as to make the temperature field in the furnace as uniform as possible, thereby ensuring the quality of the finished product. However, during the production process, due to the asymmetric layout of the products in the furnace, the difference in distance between different parts and the furnace wire, the uneven thermal resistance of different parts, etc., after the furnace wire is heated, the temperature of different parts of the product is likely to be different, thereby reducing the uniformity of the temperature field distribution in the furnace.
In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described clearly and completely in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Based on the embodiments of the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative work shall fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.
Those skilled in the art should understand that, in the disclosure of the present disclosure, “at least one” refers to one or more, and multiple refers to two or more. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the technical field in the present disclosure. The terminology used in the specification of present disclosure is only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments, and is not intended to limit the present disclosure.
It can be understood that, unless otherwise specified in the present disclosure, “/” means “or”. For example, A/B can mean A or B. “A and/or B” in the present disclosure is only an associative relationship describing the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships: only A, only B, and A and B.
It can be understood that, in the disclosure of the present disclosure, the words such as “first” and “second” are only used for the purpose of distinguishing description, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance, nor as indicating or implying any order. The features defined with “first” and “second” may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the words such as “exemplary” or “for example” are used as examples, illustrations, or indications. Any embodiment or design solution described as “exemplary” or “for example” in the embodiments of the present disclosure should not be construed as being more preferable or advantageous than other embodiments or design solutions. To be precise, the words such as “exemplary” or “for example” are used to present related concepts in a specific manner.
Those skilled in the art should understand that, in the disclosure of the present disclosure, the terms “longitudinal”, “lateral”, “upper”, “lower”, “front”, “rear”, “left”, “right”, the orientation or positional relationship indicated by “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”, “bottom”, “inner”, “outer”, etc. are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, which is only for the convenience of describing the present disclosure and to simplify the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, so the above terms should not be understood as limiting the present disclosure.
The processing equipment 100 can be a diffusion furnace or other types of furnaces used in a processing and manufacturing process of photovoltaic cells, such as a sintering furnace, a low-temperature furnace, a LPCVD reacting furnace, a PECVD reacting furnace, an oxidation furnace, a boron diffusion furnace, etc., which will not be limited here.
Referring to
In actual use, the furnace tube 20 can be used to receive sheet materials to be processed (not shown in
Furthermore, referring to
The furnace cavity 11 of the furnace body 10 can be divided into K partitions 114 along a circumference of the furnace body 10, and the K partitions 114 are distributed along the circumference of the furnace body 10. N partitions 114 located in a first direction serve as N main heating zones 1141, and M partitions 114 located in a second direction serve as M auxiliary heating zones 1142, N+M=K, K is an even number not less than 4, and N and M are both positive integers not less than 2. An angle between the first direction and a height direction of the furnace body 10 is a right angle or an obtuse angle, and an angle between the second direction and the height direction of the furnace body 10 is 0 or an acute angle. For example, when K=4 and N=M=2, as shown in
Accordingly, the heater unit 40 includes N main heating elements 41 and M auxiliary heating elements 42, the main heating elements 41 correspond to the main heating zones 1141 one by one, and each main heating element 41 is located in the corresponding main heating zone 1141. The auxiliary heating elements 42 correspond to the auxiliary heating zones 1142 one by one, and each auxiliary heating element 42 is located in the corresponding auxiliary heating zone 1142. The main heating elements 41 and the auxiliary heating elements 42 can be any element that can generate heat through electricity, such as electric furnace wire, graphite electrode, etc., which is not limited here.
The control unit 50 can be used to execute the control method of the processing equipment 100 provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure to control the operation of the main heating elements 41 and the auxiliary heating elements 42 to achieve precise temperature adjustment of the main heating zones 1141 and the auxiliary heating zones 1142. The control unit 50 may be any circuit having control and operation processing functions. The control unit 50 may be integrated and execute all steps of the control method. The control unit 50 may also be split into two or more controllers, each of which executes different parts or steps in the control method to jointly complete the entire control method.
Since the main heating zones 1141 and the auxiliary heating zones 1142 are distributed along the circumference direction of the furnace body 10, different parts of the sheet materials can be located in different main heating zones 1141 or auxiliary heating zones 1142. When adjusting the temperatures of the main heating zones 1141 and the auxiliary heating zones 1142, the temperatures of different parts of the sheet materials can be adjusted, thereby improving the problem of temperature differences at different parts of the sheet materials caused by asymmetric design of the sheet materials, the difference in distances between different parts of the sheet materials and the heater unit 40, the uneven heat resistance of different parts, etc., thereby facilitating the uniform distribution of temperature of the sheet materials and the uniform distribution of temperature in the furnace body 10, and further facilitating the processing quality of the sheet materials.
The cross section of the furnace tube 20 in a third direction is circular, but the cross section of the furnace tube 20 is not limited to circular, and may be substantially circular (such as elliptical), square, substantially square, etc. The third direction is a direction perpendicular to the length direction of the furnace tube 20. In addition, the furnace body 10 and the furnace tube 20 may be two parts connected to each other or two parts not connected to each other.
For better understanding, the processing equipment 100 and the control method thereof are further described below in conjunction with a first embodiment and a second embodiment. For the convenience of description, the first embodiment and the second embodiment are all shown with two main heating zones 1141 and two auxiliary heating zones 1142 as examples.
When other temperature sensors 30 are provided between the furnace body 10 and the furnace tube 20, the temperature sensor 30 in the main heating zone 1141 and the temperature sensors 30 between the furnace body 10 and the furnace tube 20 are located in the same main heating zone 1141.
Referring to
The control unit 50 includes a main controller 51 and an auxiliary controller 52, wherein the main controller 51 is connected to the temperature sensor 30 and the two main heating elements 41, and the auxiliary controller 52 is connected to the two auxiliary heating elements 42, and the auxiliary controller 52 is also coupled in series with the main controller 51. Based on this, the control unit 50 can jointly execute the control method of the processing equipment 100 provided in the first embodiment through the main controller 51 and the auxiliary controller 52 to achieve the temperature adjustment of the processing equipment 100.
Specifically, referring to
In step S10A: the main controller 51 obtains an actual temperature of the main heating zone 1141 detected by the temperature sensor 30.
In step S20A: the main controller 51 determines a first heating power according to a first temperature difference and a first preset adjustment rule. The first temperature difference is a temperature difference between the actual temperature of the main heating zone 1141 and a preset target temperature. The first preset adjustment rule is used to indicate a corresponding relationship between a magnitude of the first temperature difference and the first heating power, and a corresponding relationship between a change rate of the first temperature difference and the first heating power.
That is, after obtaining the actual temperature of the main heating zone 1141, the actual temperature of the main heating zone 1141 can be subtracted from the target temperature to obtain the first temperature difference, and then the first preset adjustment rule is searched according to the first temperature difference to determine the first heating power corresponding to the first temperature difference.
At this time, the actual temperature of the main heating zone 1141 is usually lower than the target temperature, so the first temperature difference at this time is a negative value. Moreover, since the actual temperature detected by the temperature sensor 30 is not only the actual temperature of the main heating zone A2, but also the actual temperature of the main heating zone A1, therefore, the first heating power (or the first heating power of the main heating zone A2) corresponding to the first temperature difference between the main heating zone A2 and the target temperature is also the first heating power (or the first heating power of the main heating zone A1) corresponding to the first temperature difference between the actual temperature of the main heating zone A1 and the target temperature.
The target temperature can be set according to actual processing requirements and is not specifically limited here.
The first preset adjustment rule is associated with a magnitude of the first temperature difference and a change trend of the actual temperature of the main heating zone 1141. For instance, the first preset adjustment rule can be used to indicate that there is a positive correlation between the first temperature difference and the first heating power, and can also be used to indicate that within a preset temperature range, there is a negative correlation between the first change rate of the first temperature difference and the magnitude of the first heating power.
Exemplarily, as shown in
Prated is a rated working power of the main heating element 41. Ppid is a power obtained by PID adjustment. K is a preset multiple, K>1. Pset is a preset fixed power. The magnitudes of K and Pset can be set according to actual conditions, so that Prated>Ppid*K>Pset>Ppid>0.
T1 is a preset first temperature threshold. T2 is a preset second temperature threshold. T3 is a preset third temperature threshold. T4 is a preset fourth temperature threshold. The magnitudes of T1˜T4 can be set according to actual conditions, so that |T1|>|T2|>|T3|>|T4|. For example, T1 can be set to −50° C., T2 can be set to −30° C., T3 can be set to −10° C., and T4 can be set to 0.5° C. <T1, >T1 and <T2 (i.e., T1˜T2), >T2 and <T3 (i.e., T2˜T3), and >T4 are different temperature ranges.
a1 is a preset first rate threshold. a2 is a preset second rate threshold. a3 is a preset third rate threshold. a4 is a preset fourth rate threshold. The magnitudes of a1˜a4 can be set according to actual conditions, so that a2>a1, a4>a3. For example, a1 can be set to 0.2C°/s (degrees Celsius per second), a2 can be set to 0.3C°/s, a3 can be set to 0.05C°/s, and a4 can be set to 0.1C°/s.
It should be understood that the first preset adjustment rule described above is only an illustrative example provided in the first embodiment, and the first preset adjustment rule is not limited to this example. For example, in one case, Ppid*K may be equal to or less than Pset. Therefore, the first preset adjustment rule may be specifically designed according to actual conditions, and will not be listed one by one here.
In step S30A: the auxiliary controller 52 determines a second heating power according to the first heating power and a preset adjustment parameter. The preset adjustment parameter is used to indicate a magnitude relationship between the first heating power and the second heating power.
That is, after determining the first heating power, the first heating power can be subjected to corresponding mathematical operations according to the preset adjustment parameter to obtain the second heating power of the auxiliary heating zone 1142, and the magnitude relationship between the obtained second heating power and the first heating power is consistent with the magnitude relationship indicated by the preset adjustment parameter.
The preset adjustment parameter may be determined according to the actual situation. For example, the auxiliary controller 52 may be set according to the processing stage of the processing equipment 100, the processing time of the processing equipment 100, or the actual temperature of the first main heating zone 1141, so different preset adjustment parameters may be set in different situations.
In the first embodiment, the magnitude relationship between the preset adjustment parameter and the preset value is positively correlated with the magnitude relationship between the second heating power and the first heating power. For example, when the preset adjustment parameter is less than the preset value, the auxiliary controller 52 may determine that the second heating power is less than the first heating power. When the preset adjustment parameter is equal to the preset value, the auxiliary controller 52 may determine that the second heating power is equal to the first heating power. When the preset adjustment parameter is greater than the preset value, the auxiliary controller 52 may determine that the second heating power is greater than the first heating power.
A format of the preset adjustment parameter can be customized or defined by a preset rule, as long as the preset adjustment parameter can express its magnitude. For example, the preset adjustment parameter includes three Arabic numerals, such as the preset adjustment parameter m=500.
For further example, if the preset adjustment parameter m=500 and the preset value m0=100, since m>m0, a power value greater than the first heating power P1 is used as the second heating power P2. If the preset adjustment parameter m=100, the preset value m0=100, since m=m0, the power value of the first heating power P1 is used as the second heating power P2. If the preset adjustment parameter m=050 (that is, the magnitude of m is 50), the preset value m0=100, since m<m0, a power value less than the first heating power P1 is used as the second heating power P2.
In the first embodiment, the second heating power is positively correlated with the first heating power and the preset adjustment parameter. For example, the auxiliary controller 52 can multiply the first heating power, the preset adjustment parameter, and a preset ratio parameter to obtain the second heating power. When the first heating power is larger or the preset adjustment parameter is larger, the second heating power is also larger.
The preset ratio parameter may be a fixed value, and a magnitude of the preset ratio parameter is set according to actual conditions and is not limited here.
For further example, if the preset adjustment parameter m=500, the preset value m0=100, the preset ratio parameter n is 0.1, and the first heating power is P1, then the second heating power P2=n*m*P1=0.1*500*P1=50P1. If the preset adjustment parameter m=005 (that is, the magnitude of m is 5), the preset value m0=100, the preset ratio parameter n is 0.1, and the first heating power is P1, the second heating power
In addition, when there are a plurality of auxiliary heating zones 1142, the preset adjustment parameter can be used to indicate the magnitude relationship between the first heating power and the second heating powers of the plurality of auxiliary heating zones 1142. Specifically, in the first embodiment, the preset adjustment parameter include a first adjustment parameter and a second adjustment parameter. The first adjustment parameter can be used to indicate a magnitude relationship between the first heating power and the second heating power of the auxiliary heating zone A3, and the second adjustment parameter can be used to indicate a magnitude relationship between the first heating power and the second heating power of the auxiliary heating zone A4. The first adjustment parameter and the second adjustment parameter may be independent of each other or may be combined together, which is not specifically limited here.
For example, if the preset adjustment parameter m is formed by combining the first adjustment parameter and the second adjustment parameter, m=090020, wherein the first three digits (i.e., 090) are the first adjustment parameter, the last three digits (i.e., 020) are the second adjustment parameter, the preset ratio parameter n is 0.1, and the first heating power is P1, then the second heating power P2 of the auxiliary heating zone A3 is P2=n*m*P1=0.1*90*P1=9P1, and the second heating power P2 of the auxiliary heating zone A4 is P2-n*m*P1-0.1*20*P1-2P1. In other embodiments, alternatively, the first three digits of the preset adjustment parameter may be used as the second adjustment parameter, and the last three digits of the preset adjustment parameter may be used as the first adjustment parameter, that is, the second adjustment parameter is located before the first adjustment parameter.
The second heating power determined according to the first heating power and the preset adjustment parameter may be greater than a rated working power of the auxiliary heating element 42. Therefore, the control method may further include:
When the second heating power is greater than the rated working power of the auxiliary heating element 42, determining that the second heating power is equal to the rated working power of the auxiliary heating element 42.
Thus, the temperature of the auxiliary heating element 42 can be prevented from being too high, thereby preventing the materials or components in the auxiliary heating zone 1142 from being burned and affecting the processing effect.
In step S40A, the main controller 51 adjusts an actual working power of the main heating elements 41 to the first heating power, and the auxiliary controller 52 adjusts an actual working power of the auxiliary heating elements 42 to the second heating power.
In the step S40A, the main controller 51 can be connected to the main heating element 41 and the auxiliary heating element 42 through different power regulators. The main controller 51 can control the power regulators to adjust their output powers to the first heating power and then transmit same to the main heating element 41, and adjust their output powers to the second heating power and then transmit same to the auxiliary heating element 42. The power regulators can be integrated into the main controller 51 or can be independently set, which is not limited here.
When the actual working power of the main heating element 41 changes, the heat generation of the main heating element 41 also changes, thereby adjusting the actual temperature of the main heating zone 1141. The temperature adjustment process of the auxiliary heating element 42 on the auxiliary heating zone 1142 is similar, so it will not be repeated here.
During the sheet materials processing, the control unit 50 may perform the steps S10A to S40A multiple times to achieve real-time temperature control of each heating zone in the furnace body 10 and ensure that the temperature in the furnace body 10 is evenly distributed, so as to facilitate the sheet materials to form process layers.
When the process layers formed by the sheet materials meet the preset process requirements (for example, the thin film layer formed by the sheet materials through chemical vapor deposition reaches a preset thickness), it means that the sheet materials processing is completed, so the control unit 50 can stop executing the steps S10A to S40A. Therefore, the control method can also include:
When the process layer formed by the sheet material meets the preset process requirements, the main controller 51 adjusts the actual working power of the main heating element 41 to 0, and the auxiliary controller 52 adjusts the actual working power of the auxiliary heating element 42 to 0. In this way, the processing equipment 100 can be cooled down to facilitate subsequent operations.
In addition, during the cooling stage of the processing equipment 100, the control unit 50 also stops executing the steps S10A to S40A. Therefore, in this case, the main controller 51 adjusts the actual working power of the main heating element 41 to 0, and the auxiliary controller 52 adjusts the actual working power of the auxiliary heating element 42 to 0.
In general, the processing equipment 100 of the first embodiment divides the furnace body 10 into the main heating zones 1141 and the auxiliary heating zones 1142 which are distributed circumferentially, and sets the main heating element 41 in the main heating zones 1141 and the auxiliary heating element 42 in the auxiliary heating zones 1142. The control unit 50 uses the control method of the processing equipment 100 provided in the first embodiment to accurately control the operation of the main heating element 41 and the auxiliary heating element 42, thereby achieving temperature adjustment of the main heating zones 1141 and the auxiliary heating zones 1142, avoiding over-temperature or under-temperature, and ensuring that the temperature of the sheet materials and the temperature in the furnace body 10 can be evenly distributed.
In the control method of the first embodiment, the control unit 50 performs cascade control on the main heating element 41 and the auxiliary heating element 42, that is, the control unit 50 adjusts the working power of the main heating element 41 according to the actual temperature of the main heating zones 1141 to achieve the temperature adjustment of the main heating zones 1141, and adjusts the working power of the auxiliary heating element 42 according to the working power of the main heating element 41 to achieve the temperature adjustment of the auxiliary heating zones 1142. Therefore, the processing equipment 100 only needs to set the temperature sensor 30 in the main heating zones 1141, and does not need to set any other temperature sensors 30 in the auxiliary heating zones 1142. Therefore, the quantity of the temperature sensor 30 in the processing equipment 100 of the first embodiment can be small and the cost can be lower.
Further, the control unit 50 can adjust the working power of the main heating element 41 in stages or levels according to relevant temperature information (such as the magnitude and change rate of the first temperature difference) of the first temperature difference of the main heating zones 1141, thereby achieving precise temperature control of the main heating zones 1141. Since the working power of the auxiliary heating element 42 is based on the working power of the main heating element 41, the control unit 50 adjusts the working power of the auxiliary heating element 42 according to the working power of the main heating element 41, which can also achieve precise temperature control of the auxiliary heating zone 1142.
The difference between the second embodiment and the first embodiment is that the second embodiment has a plurality of temperature sensors 30, which may include two main sensors 31 and two auxiliary sensors 32. One of the main sensors 31 is located in the main heating zone A1, another main sensor 31 is located in the main heating zone A2, one of the auxiliary sensors 32 is located in the auxiliary heating zone A3, and another auxiliary sensor 32 is located in the auxiliary heating zone A4. The temperature sensors 30 are used to detect the temperature of the main heating zones 1141 or the auxiliary heating zones 1142 where they are located.
The difference between the second embodiment and the first embodiment is that the connection relationship between the heater unit 40, the temperature sensors 30, and the control unit 50.
Specifically, referring to
Based on such a structural design, the control method of the processing equipment 100 executed by the control unit 50 in the second embodiment is also different from the control method executed by the control unit 50 in the first embodiment.
Specifically, referring to
In step S10B, the main controller 51 obtains actual temperatures of the main heating zones 1141 detected by the temperature sensors 30, the auxiliary controller 52 obtains actual temperatures of the auxiliary heating zones 1142 detected by the temperature sensors 30.
In step S20B, the main controller 51 determines a first heating power according to a first temperature difference and the preset target temperature and the first preset adjustment rule; the auxiliary controller 52 determines a second heating power according to a second temperature difference and the second preset adjustment rule.
The first temperature difference is a temperature difference between the actual temperature of the main heating zones 1141 and a preset target temperature. The second temperature difference is a temperature difference between the actual temperature of the auxiliary heating zones 1142 and the preset target temperature. The first preset adjustment rule is used to indicate the corresponding relationship between the magnitude of the first temperature difference and the first heating power, and the corresponding relationship between a change rate of the first temperature difference and the first heating power. The second preset adjustment rule is used to indicate a corresponding relationship between the magnitude of the second temperature difference and the second heating power, and a corresponding relationship between a change rate of the second temperature difference and the second heating power.
In step S30B, the main controller 51 adjusts the actual working power of the main heating elements 41 to the first heating power, and the auxiliary controller 52 adjusts the actual working power of the auxiliary heating elements 42 to the second heating power.
In the second embodiment, the first preset adjustment rule can be used to indicate that there is a positive correlation between the first temperature difference and the first heating power, and can also be used to indicate that within a preset temperature range, there is a negative correlation between the first change rate of the first temperature difference and the magnitude of the first heating power. For example, the first preset adjustment rule may be as shown in
The second preset adjustment rule can be used to indicate that there is a positive correlation between the second temperature difference and the second heating power, and can also be used to indicate that within a preset temperature range, there is a negative correlation between the second change rate of the second temperature difference and the magnitude of the second heating power. For example, the second preset adjustment rule may be the same as or similar to the first preset adjustment rule, as shown in
It should be understood that the other contents of the processing equipment and the control method of the processing equipment of the second embodiment can also refer to the relevant description in the first embodiment, so they will not be repeated here.
In general, the processing equipment 100 of the second embodiment divides the furnace body 10 into the main heating zones 1141 and the auxiliary heating zones 1142 which are distributed circumferentially, sets the main heating elements 41 and the main sensor 31 in the main heating zones 1141, and sets the auxiliary heating elements 42 and the auxiliary sensor 32 in the auxiliary heating zones 1142. The control unit 50 uses the control method of the processing equipment 100 provided in the second embodiment to accurately control the operation of the main heating elements 41 and the auxiliary heating elements 42, thereby achieving temperature adjustment of the main heating zones 1141 and the auxiliary heating zones 1142 to avoid over-temperature or under-temperature, so that the temperature of the sheet materials and the temperature in the furnace body 10 can be evenly distributed.
In the control method of the second embodiment, the control unit 50 controls the main heating elements 41 and the auxiliary heating elements 42 independently, that is, the control unit 50 adjusts the working power of the main heating elements 41 according to the actual temperature of the main heating zones 1141 to achieve the temperature adjustment of the main heating zones 1141, and adjusts the working power of the auxiliary heating elements 42 according to the actual temperature of the auxiliary heating zones 1142 to achieve the temperature adjustment of the auxiliary heating zones 1142.
Furthermore, the control unit 50 can adjust the working power of the main heating elements 41 in stages or levels according to the relevant temperature information (such as the magnitude and change rate of the first temperature difference) of the first temperature difference of the main heating zones 1141, thereby achieving precise temperature control of the main heating zones 1141.
Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present technology have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the present disclosure, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in the detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of the parts within the principles of the present disclosure, up to and including the full extent established by the broad general meaning of the terms used in the claims. It will therefore be appreciated that the exemplary embodiments described above may be modified within the scope of the claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 202410735785.0 | Jun 2024 | CN | national |
