Assembled reactor for fabrications of thin film solar cell absorbers through roll-to-roll processes

Abstract

A roll-to-roll reactor, which is assembled with an RTP (Rapid Thermal Process) compartment, a cooling compartment, and a series of modular heating sections, is provided. Its length is adjustable by adding or reducing numbers of the modular heating sections according to required reaction time and delivery speed of a continuous flexible workpiece. The reactor contains a reaction oven, assembled with a series of modular thermal control components, included inside a vacuum-tight reaction chamber. The oven temperature can be precisely controlled through combinations of heating elements, thermocouples and cooling tubing. The present reactor can be used for annealing and reaction of various precursor films on flexible substrates under vacuum and in inert or reactive gas ambient at temperatures ranging from room temperature to a thousand of Celsius degrees through a continuous roll-to-roll process.