APPARATUS AND PROCESS FOR SINGLE-SIDE WET CHEMICAL AND ELECTROLYTIC TREATMENT OF GOODS

摘要

The invention relates to the wet chemical or electrolytic treatment of planar good, i.e. a wafer, that is, according to the state of the art, treated by the aid of technically complex frames or grippers inside treatment chambers. Especially for fragile good, e.g. for solar cells made from silicon, the handling is quite time consuming, in particular if the bottom side of the good must not be wetted. According to the invention, the good 1 is placed over a vertically arranged treatment chamber 3 without frames, grippers or holders, in such a manner so that only the bottom side is wetted by the treatment fluid. By a rotational- symmetric stream 4 at the bottom side 7 of the good that is placed onto at least one support 2, the adhesion forces acting horizontally onto the good 1 neutralize each other. A lateral displacement of the good does not occur. Therefore, the commonly used limiters or lateral end stops can be omitted. According to the invention, the vertically acting components of the adhesion force cause the good 1 to adhere the supports or the contacts 2, respectively, providing a secure electrical contact for electrolytic treatment. For complete de-metallization of the contacts 2 the natural electrolyte/air boundary 25 is moved in the vicinity of the contacts by means of a gas stream 26 that is directed against the flow direction or against the level of the electrolyte. For solar cells, the metallization of contacts can be completely avoided by illumination of the bottom side that is to be electroplated, due to the contacts being located outside the electrolyte.