First Solar, Inc.

Von Ardenne Anlagentechnik Gmbh

Siegfried Scheibe

Hubertus Von Der Waydbrink

Ricky Charles Powell

James B Foote

James Ernest Hinkle

Georg Laimer

Michael Hentschel

Andrej Wolf

Jens Meyer

Uwe Traeber

James R Foote

A transport device and method of transporting a substrate using a rotatable shaft and baffles may be used to extend cleaning intervals for the transport device and reduce deposition of a vapor deposition material upon the transport device.

Transporting device, in particular for transporting sheet-like substrates through a coating installation

Apparatus for continuous coating has a chamber wall which forms a processing chamber, thermal insulation which forms a processing area within the chamber, a transportation device for substrates located in the processing area with a substrate transportation direction of the substrates lying in the lengthwise extension of the apparatus for continuous coating, and heating equipment which heats the substrates, is designed to minimize unwanted coating, in particular of parts of the apparatus, in order to minimize the expense of maintaining and servicing the apparatus A condensation element is positioned in the processing chamber, which extends into the processing area and binds the arising vapor through condensation.

Apparatus for continuous coating

The transporting device according to the invention, in particular for transporting sheet-like substrates through a coating installation, comprises transporting rollers which are rotatably mounted on both sides and horizontally arranged transversely in relation to the transporting direction, the uppermost surface lines of the transporting rollers defining the transporting plane, and is characterized in that the end parts of the transporting rollers have a smaller diameter than the middle part of the transporting rollers and in that baffles which are mounted displaceably in the axial direction of the transporting rollers between a first position and a second position are arranged between the end parts of the transporting rollers and the transporting plane. The fact that the baffles are mounted in an axially displaceable manner has the effect of considerably extending the cleaning intervals of the transporting device. At first the baffles are arranged in a first position, in which the end of the baffle lies underneath the substrate and, in the horizontal direction, as close as possible to the middle of the transporting roller Vapor-depositing material that gets beyond the edge of the substrate hits the baffle. During operation of the transporting device, the baffles are continuously displaced from the middle part to the ends of the transporting rollers. As a result, the increase in thickness of the layer produced on the baffles is limited, since the vapor keeps hitting new portions of the baffle.

Transport device, in particular for transporting sheet-like substrates through a coating installation

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Dresden, Germany

Siegfried Scheibe