JP4888916B2 - Melting furnace, sheet manufacturing apparatus and sheet manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a melting furnace, a thin plate manufacturing apparatus, and a thin plate manufacturing method, and more particularly to a melting furnace, a thin plate manufacturing apparatus, and a thin plate manufacturing method capable of manufacturing a high-quality thin plate while suppressing an increase in equipment cost.

  As a conventional method for producing a silicon wafer for solar cells (thin silicon), a method of slicing a silicon crystal ingot after forming the silicon crystal ingot is generally used.

  Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2006-176382 (Patent Document 1) describes a method for producing thin silicon that does not require slicing of a silicon crystal ingot. In the manufacturing method of thin silicon described in Patent Document 1, the surface of the base plate of the plate-like body is immersed in the silicon melt accommodated in the crucible, and the silicon melt adhering to the surface of the base plate is solidified. By doing so, thin silicon is formed on the surface of the base plate.

  Here, in the method described in Patent Document 1, when the base plate is carried into the heating chamber, the inside of the sub chamber after the vacuum chamber is evacuated and oxygen is removed in the sub chamber adjacent to the heating chamber is inert gas. After filling with, the base plate is carried into the heating chamber.

  However, the method described in Patent Document 1 requires a tact time for evacuating the subchamber and replacing the interior of the subchamber with an inert gas, so that the productivity of thin silicon can be further improved. It was requested. In addition, since an apparatus for evacuating the sub chamber is required and the equipment cost tends to increase, it has been desired to suppress the increase in the equipment cost.

  Further, in the method described in Patent Document 1, when the base plate is carried into the heating chamber while the heating chamber is opened without providing the sub chamber, oxygen may enter the heating chamber. Oxygen that has entered the inside of the heating chamber reacts with the silicon melt inside the heating chamber to cause loss of raw silicon. In addition, since many oxidizable materials such as carbon are used in the heating chamber, these oxidizable materials react with oxygen and are consumed.

  Therefore, Patent Document 2 discloses a method in which an inlet-side circulation blower is provided at the furnace inlet for carrying the heat-treated material into the heat treatment furnace and an outlet-side circulation blower is provided at the furnace outlet for carrying out the heat-treated material. Is described.

However, in the method described in Patent Document 2, turbulent flow is caused when the material to be heat-treated is carried into the heat treatment furnace, and air is introduced from the furnace inlet side, so that oxygen enters the heat treatment furnace. There was a problem that occurred.
JP 2006-176382 A Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-808

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a melting furnace, a thin plate manufacturing apparatus, and a thin plate manufacturing method capable of manufacturing a high-quality thin plate while suppressing an increase in equipment cost.

  The present invention provides a heating chamber for melting a solid material in an inert gas atmosphere to form a melt, a carry-in passage for carrying a base plate into the heating chamber, and a base plate being carried out of the heating chamber. The inert gas introduced into the heating chamber from the inert gas introduction unit is discharged from the carry-in passage and the carry-out passage and is discharged from the carry-in passage. The melting furnace has a larger flow rate of the inert gas than the flow rate of the inert gas discharged from the carry-out passage.

  Further, the present invention includes a dipping device inside the heating chamber of the melting furnace, and the dipping device forms a thin plate formed by bringing the base plate into contact with the melt and solidifying the melt on the surface of the base plate. It is a thin plate manufacturing apparatus which is an apparatus.

  Here, in the thin plate manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that one or more exhaust devices are installed in the carry-in passage.

  Moreover, in the thin plate manufacturing apparatus of this invention, it is preferable that an inert gas introduction part injects an inert gas toward the carrying-in passage side.

  Moreover, in the thin plate manufacturing apparatus of this invention, it is preferable that the maximum value of the opening area of a carrying-in passage is smaller than the minimum value of the opening area of a carrying-out passage.

  Furthermore, the present invention provides a melt forming step of melting a solid material in an inert gas atmosphere inside a heating chamber to form a melt, and a carrying-in step of carrying a base plate into the heating chamber through a carry-in passage. A thin plate forming step of forming a thin plate formed by bringing the base plate into contact with the melt and solidifying the melt on the surface of the base plate; and a carrying out step of carrying out the base plate on which the thin plate is formed from the heating chamber through the carry-out passage. And the flow rate of the inert gas discharged from the carry-in passage is greater than the flow rate of the inert gas discharged from the carry-out passage at least in the carry-in process, the thin plate forming process, and the carry-out process.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a melting furnace, a thin plate manufacturing apparatus, and a thin plate manufacturing method capable of manufacturing a high-quality thin plate while suppressing an increase in equipment cost.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. In the drawings of the present invention, the same reference numerals represent the same or corresponding parts.

<Embodiment 1>
In FIG. 1, the typical structure of an example of the thin plate manufacturing apparatus of this invention is shown. Here, the thin plate manufacturing apparatus of the present invention is configured to include a melting furnace 100 and a dipping apparatus 200 configured as described later.

  Here, the melting furnace 100 has a heating chamber 140 for melting a solid material in an inert gas atmosphere to form the melt 102 and accommodates the melt 102 below the inside of the heating chamber 140. And a heating device 103 that surrounds the outer periphery of the crucible 101.

  The melting furnace 100 is connected to one end of the heating chamber 140 and has a carry-in passage 131 for carrying in the base plate 104, and is connected to the other end of the heating chamber 140 and carried out for carrying out the base plate 104. A passage 132 is provided.

  In addition, the melting furnace 100 has a transport mechanism 130 that passes through the carry-in passage 131, the heating chamber 140, and the carry-out passage 132. As the transport mechanism 130, a conventionally known transport mechanism can be used. For example, a pusher type or roller type transport mechanism can be used. In the example shown in FIG. 1, since a pusher type transport mechanism is employed as the transport mechanism 130, a pusher 105 for pushing the base plate 104 in the direction of the arrow S <b> 1 on the transport mechanism 130 inside the carry-in passage 131 is provided. Is provided. Here, the pusher 105 pushes the base plate 104 in the direction of the arrow S1, so that the base plate 104 can be conveyed to the pedestal 117.

  In addition, the melting furnace 100 has an inert gas introduction unit 106 above the inside of the heating chamber 140, and the inert gas can be introduced into the heating chamber 140 from the inert gas introduction unit 106. .

  Furthermore, a dipping device 200 for dipping the flat surface 104 a of the base plate 104 fitted in the engaging groove 117 a of the pedestal 117 into the melt 102 accommodated in the crucible 101 is provided inside the heating chamber 140. ing. The melt 102 is not particularly limited as long as it is a melt of a solid material that is a raw material of the thin plate 118, but is preferably a melt of at least one of a metal raw material and a semiconductor material. Examples of the melt 102 include a semiconductor material containing at least one kind such as silicon, germanium, gallium, arsenic, indium, boron, antimony, zinc or tin, a metal material containing at least one kind such as aluminum, nickel or iron, and At least one kind of resin material can be used.

  The heating chamber 140 may have a raw material addition mechanism (not shown) for adding the raw material of the melt 102. Here, as the raw material addition mechanism, for example, a raw material addition device attached to the crucible can be used.

  FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of an example of the immersion apparatus 200 shown in FIG. Here, the dipping device 200 includes a horizontal operation rail 110, a slide body 111 that is attached to the horizontal operation rail 110 and is movable along the horizontal operation rail 110 in the horizontal direction (left and right direction in FIG. 2), and a slide A lifting mechanism 112 attached to the body 111, a suspension column 113 attached to the lifting mechanism 112 and movable in the vertical direction (up and down direction on the paper surface) by the lifting mechanism 112, and a rotation mechanism attached to the suspension column 113 114, a rotating column 115 attached to the rotating mechanism 114 and rotatable by the rotating mechanism 114, a pedestal support unit 116 attached to the rotating column 115 and made rotatable by the rotating column 115, and a pedestal supporting unit 116 And a pedestal 117 attached thereto.

  Further, when a silicon melt is used as the melt 102, the temperature of the melt 102 is, for example, a high temperature of 1400 ° C. to 1500 ° C., and there is also vapor deposition of silicon. It is preferable that a protective shielding plate or a cooled shielding plate is installed above the crucible 101.

  Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, an example of a method for manufacturing a thin plate using the thin plate manufacturing apparatus of the present invention including the melting furnace 100 and the immersion apparatus 200 having the above-described configuration will be described.

First, an inert gas is introduced into the heating chamber 140 from the inert gas introduction unit 106 installed in the heating chamber 140 of FIG. Here, in the present invention, the inert gas means a gas whose content of rare gas such as argon and nitrogen gas is 99.99% by volume or more of the whole. Further, by introducing the inert gas, the pressure inside the heating chamber 140 can be maintained at a pressure slightly higher than the atmospheric pressure (for example, 800 Torr (about 1.07 × 10 ⁵ Pa)), that is, a positive pressure. preferable.

  Next, the above-mentioned solid material is accommodated in the crucible 101 inside the heating chamber 140, and the crucible 101 is heated by the heating device 103 surrounding the crucible 101, thereby melting the solid material accommodated in the crucible 101. 102 is prepared (melt forming step). From the viewpoint of suppressing the generation of impurities such as oxides, it is preferable that the oxygen concentration in the inert gas atmosphere inside the heating chamber 140 be 50 ppm or less when the solid material is melted.

  Next, the base plate 104 installed on the transport mechanism 130 inside the carry-in passage 131 is pushed out in the direction of the arrow S1 by the pusher 105, thereby moving the base plate 104 along the surface of the transport mechanism 130 and carrying it in. The base plate 104 is carried into the heating chamber 140 from the passage 131 (carrying-in process).

  Here, the material of the base plate 104 is preferably a material having sufficient heat resistance that is difficult to be damaged by immersion in the melt 102 at a high temperature. Etc. can be used suitably.

  The base plate 104 transported by the pusher 105 along the surface of the transport mechanism 130 to the center of the heating chamber 140 has the hook-shaped protrusion 104b on the back surface of the base plate 104 engaged with the base 117 at the center of the heating chamber 140. The base plate 104 is fixed to the pedestal 117 by being fitted into the groove 117a.

  Next, in the immersion apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 2, the entire mechanism suspended by the lifting mechanism 112 and the suspension column 113 is moved in the horizontal direction by moving the slide body 111 in the horizontal direction along the horizontal operation rail 110. The base plate 104 fixed to the base 117 is positioned above the melt 102 accommodated in the crucible 101.

  Next, by lifting and lowering the suspension column 113 vertically by the lifting mechanism 112, the entire mechanism suspended from the suspension column 113 is moved up and down in the vertical direction, and the vertical direction of the base plate 104 fixed to the pedestal 117 is confirmed. Determine the position at.

  Next, by rotating the rotating mechanism 114, the rotating support column 115 and the pedestal 117 are rotated so that the surface 104a of the base plate 104 facing upward is directed downward in which the melt 102 is installed.

  Next, by lowering the suspension column 113 in the vertical direction by the lifting mechanism 112, the entire mechanism suspended from the suspension column 113 is moved downward in the vertical direction, and the surface 104a of the base plate 104 is accommodated in the crucible 101. It is immersed in the melt 102. Thereby, a part of the melt 102 is adhered to the surface 104 a of the base plate 104.

  Next, by lifting the suspension column 113 in the vertical direction by the lifting mechanism 112, the entire mechanism suspended from the suspension column 113 is moved upward in the vertical direction, and the surface 104 a of the base plate 104 is accommodated in the crucible 101. Pull away from the melt 102.

  Next, by rotating the rotating mechanism 114, the rotating support column 115 and the pedestal 117 are rotated, and the surface on which the melt 102 is attached and the surface 104a of the base plate 104 facing downward is provided on the side where the melt 102 is installed. So that it faces upward on the opposite side.

  Thereafter, the melt 102 adhering to the surface 104a of the base plate 104 is solidified to form a thin plate 118 formed by solidifying the melt 102 on the surface 104a of the base plate 104 (thin plate forming step). .

  Next, by further raising the suspension column 113 in the vertical direction by the lifting mechanism 112, the entire mechanism suspended from the suspension column 113 is moved upward in the vertical direction, and the base 117 is moved to the height of the original position. .

  Next, by moving the slide body 111 in the horizontal direction along the horizontal operation rail 110, the entire mechanism suspended by the lifting mechanism 112 and the suspension column 113 is moved in the horizontal direction, and the base 117 is returned to the original position. Return to

  Then, as shown in FIG. 1, after removing the base plate 104 from the pedestal 117, the base plate 104 is directed by the pusher 105 in the direction of arrow S1 with the surface of the base plate 104 on the side where the thin plate 118 is formed facing upward. The base plate 104 is moved along the surface of the transport mechanism 130 by being pushed out, and the base plate 104 is unloaded from the inside of the heating chamber 140 to the unloading passage 132 (unloading step).

  Thereafter, the base plate 104 is taken out from the carry-out passage 132, and the thin plate 118 is removed from the base plate 104, whereby the thin plate 118 formed by solidifying the melt 102 can be obtained.

  For example, when a silicon melt is used as the melt 102, the thin plate 118 may be a silicon wafer for solar cells. When the thin plate 118 is used as a solar cell silicon wafer, the thickness of the thin plate 118 is preferably 200 μm or more and 400 μm or less.

  Here, in the present invention, at least in the carry-in process, the thin plate forming process, and the carry-out process, the flow rate of the inert gas discharged from the carry-in passage 131 is higher than the flow rate of the inert gas discharged from the carry-out path 132. It is characterized by being large. Needless to say, the inert gas is an inert gas introduced into the heating chamber 140 from the inert gas introduction unit 106.

  Thus, in the present invention, the flow rate of the inert gas discharged from the carry-in passage 131 is more than the flow rate of the inert gas discharged from the carry-out passage 132 at least in the carry-in process, the thin plate forming process, and the carry-out process. By making the configuration larger, it is possible to prevent the atmosphere in the carry-in passage 131 from being caught in the heating chamber 140 when the base plate 104 is carried into the heating chamber 140 from the carry-in passage 131.

  That is, in the present invention, it is difficult for the gas that can constitute impurities such as oxygen existing in the carry-in passage 131 to enter the heating chamber 140, so that it is effective to generate impurities such as oxide in the thin plate 118. Can be prevented.

  Therefore, in the present invention, it is possible to effectively prevent the atmosphere outside the heating chamber 140 from being involved as in the method described in Patent Document 2, and therefore, higher quality than the method described in Patent Document 2. The thin plate 118 can be manufactured, and since an apparatus for evacuating the sub chamber as in the method described in Patent Document 1 is not required, an increase in equipment cost can be suppressed.

  As described above, in the present invention, it is possible to manufacture a high-quality thin plate while suppressing an increase in equipment cost as compared with the prior art.

  The heating chamber 140 used in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it has a space in which a solid material can be melted in an inert gas atmosphere to form a melt.

  Further, the carry-in passage 131 and the carry-out passage 132 used in the present invention are not particularly limited as long as each has a space in which the base plate 104 can move.

  Further, the inert gas introduction unit 106 used in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as the inert gas can be introduced into the heating chamber 140.

  In addition, the dipping apparatus 200 used in the present invention is also an apparatus that can form the thin plate 118 formed by solidifying the melt 102 on the surface of the base plate 104 by bringing the base plate 104 into contact with the melt 102. Is not limited.

  Further, the configurations of the crucible 101, the heating device 103, the pusher 105, the pedestal 117, the transport mechanism 130, and the like used in the present invention are not particularly limited, and for example, conventionally known ones can be used.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, the configuration in which the flow rate of the inert gas 106a discharged from the carry-in passage 131 is made larger than the flow rate of the inert gas 106b discharged from the carry-out passage 132 is not particularly limited. (A) a method of providing an exhaust device in the carry-in passage 131 (second embodiment), and (b) a method of injecting an inert gas from the inert gas introduction unit 106 toward the carry-in passage 131 (third embodiment). And (c) a method of making the maximum value of the opening area of the carry-in passage 131 smaller than the minimum value of the opening area of the carry-out passage 132 (Embodiment 4).

  The flow rate of the inert gas 106a discharged from the carry-in passage 131 and the flow rate of the inert gas 106b discharged from the carry-out passage 132 are respectively set to flow rate meters such as a hot-wire anemometer in the carry-in passage 131 and the carry-out passage 132, respectively. It can be determined by installing it.

<Embodiment 2>
FIG. 3 shows a schematic configuration of another example of the thin plate manufacturing apparatus of the present invention. Here, the melting furnace 100 of the thin plate manufacturing apparatus according to the present embodiment has a carry-in passage side exhaust port 131a constituting a part of the carry-in passage 131 and a carry-out passage side exhaust port 132a constituting a part of the carry-out passage 132. It is characterized by that. Here, the carry-in passage side exhaust port 131 a is a passage for discharging the inert gas 106 a discharged from the carry-in passage 131, and the carry-out passage side exhaust port 132 a is inactive discharged from the carry-out passage 132. This is a passage for discharging the gas 106b.

  In addition, the melting furnace 100 of the thin plate manufacturing apparatus of the present embodiment has one or more exhaust devices (not shown) such as a rotary pump installed in the carry-in passage side exhaust port 131a, and the carry-out passage side exhaust. The amount of the inert gas 106a discharged to the outside through the carry-in passage side exhaust port 131a is made larger than the amount of the inert gas 106b discharged to the outside through the port 132a.

  By adopting such a configuration, at least the flow rate of the inert gas 106a discharged from the carry-in passage 131 in the carry-in process, the thin plate forming process, and the carry-out process described above is reduced. Since it can be made larger than the flow velocity, a high-quality thin plate can be manufactured while suppressing an increase in equipment cost as compared with the conventional case.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the amount of the inert gas 106a discharged to the outside through the carry-in passage side exhaust port 131a can be easily adjusted, the carry-in is carried out according to the carry-in speed of the base plate 104. The flow rate of the inert gas 106a discharged from the passage 131 can be easily adjusted.

The description other than the above in the second embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment.
<Embodiment 3>
FIG. 4 shows a schematic configuration of another example of the thin plate manufacturing apparatus of the present invention. Here, the melting furnace 100 of the thin plate manufacturing apparatus according to the present embodiment is characterized in that the inert gas 106 c is injected from the inert gas introduction unit 106 toward the carry-in passage 131.

  Even with such a configuration, at least the inert gas 106b discharged from the carry-out passage 132 has the flow rate of the inert gas 106a discharged from the carry-in passage 131 in the carry-in process, the thin plate forming process, and the carry-out process. Therefore, it is possible to manufacture a high-quality thin plate while suppressing an increase in equipment cost as compared with the conventional method.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, there is no need to install an exhaust device such as a rotary pump as in the second embodiment, so that the increase in equipment cost tends to be further suppressed.

  Here, as a configuration in which the inert gas 106c is injected from the inert gas introduction unit 106 toward the carry-in passage 131, the injection direction of the inert gas 106c by the inert gas introduction unit 106 is a little with respect to the vertical direction. However, any configuration that is suitable for the carry-in passage 131 may be used.

  Examples of the method of injecting the inert gas 106c from the inert gas introduction unit 106 toward the carry-in passage 131 include a method of directing the direction of the injection nozzle of the inert gas 106c toward the carry-in passage 131. .

The description other than the above in the third embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment.
<Embodiment 4>
FIG. 5 shows a schematic configuration of another example of the thin plate manufacturing apparatus of the present invention. Here, the melting furnace 100 of the thin plate manufacturing apparatus according to the present embodiment has a carry-in passage side exhaust port 131a constituting a part of the carry-in passage 131 and a carry-out passage side exhaust port 132a constituting a part of the carry-out passage 132. In addition, the maximum value of the opening area of the carry-in passage 131 is smaller than the minimum value of the opening area of the carry-out passage 132. The opening area of the carry-in passage 131 means the area of the opening that is a plane perpendicular to the direction in which the inert gas 106a flows in the carry-in passage 131, and the open area of the carry-out passage 132 is not in the carry-out passage 132. It means the area of the opening that is a plane perpendicular to the direction in which the active gas 106a flows.

  By adopting such a configuration, at least the flow rate of the inert gas 106a discharged from the carry-in passage 131 in the carry-in process, the thin plate forming process, and the carry-out process described above is reduced. Since it can be made larger than the flow velocity, a high-quality thin plate can be manufactured while suppressing an increase in equipment cost as compared with the conventional case.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, by reducing the oxygen concentration inside the heating chamber 140, loss of the raw material for the thin plate can be reduced, and deterioration due to oxidation of the apparatus members can be effectively suppressed.

  Also in this embodiment, the carry-in passage-side exhaust port 131a is a passage for discharging the inert gas 106a discharged from the carry-in passage 131, and the carry-out passage-side exhaust port 132a is the carry-out passage 132. This is a passage for discharging the inert gas 106b discharged from the air.

  Further, the melting furnace 100 of the thin plate manufacturing apparatus of the present embodiment may also have one or more exhaust devices (not shown) such as a rotary pump installed in the carry-in passage side exhaust port 131a. Is combined with a configuration in which the amount of the inert gas 106a discharged outside through the carry-in passage side exhaust port 131a is larger than the amount of the inert gas 106b discharged outside through the carry-out passage side exhaust port 132a. Also good.

The description other than the above in the fourth embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment.
In addition, it cannot be overemphasized that the structure which combined at least 2 form of said Embodiment 1-4 was naturally contained in this invention.

  The following experiment was conducted using the thin plate manufacturing apparatus having the configuration shown in FIG. First, while introducing an inert gas from the inert gas introduction part 106 of the heating chamber 140 into the heating chamber 140, the base plate 104 made of rectangular plate-like carbon having a width of 200 mm × a length of 400 mm × a thickness of 30 mm is formed. Carrying from the carry-in passage 131 to the carry-out passage 132 was performed through the carry-in passage 131, the inside of the heating chamber 140, and the carry-out passage 132 at an interval of 16.5 seconds / sheet at a speed of 500 mm / second. Note that the opening of the carry-in passage 131 and the opening of the carry-out passage 132 were each rectangular having a width of 250 mm and a length of 50 mm.

  Then, the exhaust gas flow rate of the inert gas 106 a discharged from the carry-in passage 131 and the inert gas discharged from the carry-out passage 132 while keeping the total exhaust flow rate of the inert gas discharged from the carry-in passage 131 and the carry-out passage 132 constant. The oxygen concentration inside the heating chamber 140 was measured by changing the exhaust flow rate of 106b. The result is shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 6, the vertical axis represents the oxygen concentration (ppm) inside the heating chamber 140, and the horizontal axis represents the exhaust gas flow rate of the inert gas 106 a discharged from the carry-in passage 131 and the exhaust passage 131 and the discharge passage 132. FIG. 6 shows the ratio of the exhaust gas flow rate to the total exhaust gas flow rate (in FIG. 6, (the carry-in side) / (the carry-in side + the carry-out side) exhaust gas flow rate ratio).

  As shown in FIG. 6, when the exhaust flow rate of the inert gas 106a discharged from the carry-in passage 131 is the same as the exhaust flow rate of the inert gas 106b discharged from the carry-out passage 132 (the horizontal axis shown in FIG. 5), the oxygen concentration inside the heating chamber 140 decreases when the exhaust flow rate from the carry-in passage 131 side is large (when the horizontal axis shown in FIG. 6 is 0.6 and 0.75). I understand that

  This is considered to be an effect of reducing oxygen entrainment from the carry-in passage 131 into the heating chamber 140. Furthermore, the oxygen concentration inside the heating chamber 140 tends to decrease as the exhaust flow rate from the carry-in passage 131 increases, but when the exhaust flow rate from the carry-out passage 132 is set to 0 (the horizontal axis shown in FIG. In some cases, the oxygen concentration increased slightly. This is considered to be caused by oxygen mixed into the heating chamber 140 from the carry-out passage 132 side.

  It should be understood that the embodiments and examples disclosed herein are illustrative and non-restrictive in every respect. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a melting furnace, a thin plate manufacturing apparatus, and a thin plate manufacturing method capable of manufacturing a high-quality thin plate while suppressing an increase in equipment cost.

It is a typical block diagram of an example of the thin plate manufacturing apparatus of this invention. It is a typical block diagram of an example of the immersion apparatus used for this invention. It is a typical block diagram of another example of the thin plate manufacturing apparatus of this invention. It is a typical block diagram of another example of the thin plate manufacturing apparatus of this invention. It is a typical block diagram of another example of the thin plate manufacturing apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the ratio of the exhaust gas flow rate of the inert gas discharged | emitted from a carrying-in channel | path, and the total exhaust gas flow rate of the inert gas discharged | emitted from a carrying-in channel | path and a carrying-out channel | path, and the oxygen concentration inside a heating chamber.

Explanation of symbols

  100 melting furnace, 101 crucible, 102 melt, 103 heating device, 104 base plate, 104a surface, 104b hook projection, 105 pusher, 106 inert gas introduction part, 106a, 106b, 106c inert gas, 110 horizontal operation rail , 111 Slide body, 112 Lifting mechanism, 113 Suspension strut, 114 Rotating mechanism, 115 Rotating strut, 116 Pedestal support part, 117 Pedestal, 117a Engaging groove, 118 Thin plate, 130 Transport mechanism, 131 Loading path, 131a Loading path side exhaust Port, 132 unloading passage, 132a unloading passage side exhaust port, 140 heating chamber, 200 dipping device.

Claims (6)

A heating chamber for melting a solid material in an inert gas atmosphere to form a melt;
A carry-in passage for carrying a base plate into the heating chamber;
An unloading passage for unloading the base plate from the heating chamber;
An inert gas introduction part provided in the heating chamber,
The inert gas introduced into the heating chamber from the inert gas introduction part is discharged from the carry-in passage and the carry-out passage;
A melting furnace, wherein a flow rate of the inert gas discharged from the carry-in passage is larger than a flow rate of the inert gas discharged from the carry-out passage. A dipping device is provided inside the heating chamber of the melting furnace according to claim 1,
The dipping apparatus is an apparatus for manufacturing a thin plate, which is a device for forming a thin plate formed by solidifying the melt on the surface of the base plate by bringing the base plate into contact with the melt.   The thin plate manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein at least one exhaust device is installed in the carry-in passage.   The thin plate manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the inert gas introduction unit injects the inert gas toward the carry-in passage.   The thin plate manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the maximum value of the opening area of the carry-in passage is smaller than the minimum value of the opening area of the carry-out passage. A melt forming step of melting a solid material in an inert gas atmosphere inside the heating chamber to form a melt;
A carry-in process of carrying a base plate into the heating chamber through a carry-in passage;
A thin plate forming step in which the base plate is brought into contact with the melt to form a thin plate formed by solidifying the melt on the surface of the base plate;
An unloading step of unloading the base plate on which the thin plate is formed through the unloading passage from the heating chamber,
At least in the carry-in step, the thin plate forming step, and the carry-out step, the flow rate of the inert gas discharged from the carry-in passage is larger than the flow rate of the inert gas discharged from the carry-out passage. Production method.

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