System and method for glass sheet semiconductor coating and resultant product

A system for coating semiconductor material on glass sheets, comprising:

• an elongated housing including housing modules having ends connected to each other to define a vacuum chamber;
• each module including a partially circular lower housing portion, an upper access portion extending upwardly from the lower housing portion and having an upper access opening, end seals that extend around the lower housing portion and the upper access portion at the ends of the module for connection to adjacent modules, and a detachable cover for selectively closing the access opening or providing opening thereof for access into the module for maintenance or repair;
• an entry load lock station for entry into the vacuum chamber and an exit load lock station for exiting out of the vacuum chamber;
• the housing including a heating station for heating glass sheets and two deposition station for supplying semiconductor material for deposition;
• a conveyor for supporting upper extremities of vertical glass sheets and conveying the vertical glass sheets through the system, first into and through the entry load lock station into the vacuum chamber, then through the heating station for heating of the glass sheets, thereafter through the deposition station for deposition of semiconductor material on the glass sheets, and finally out of the vacuum chamber through the exit load lock station for delivery of the coated glass sheets;
• the conveyor including shuttles for supporting the upper extremities of the vertical glass sheets, a framework supported by the access portions of the housing modules, and the conveyor also including a drive having drive mechanisms supported by the framework along the system for conveying the shuttles and the vertical glass sheets suspended therefrom through the system;
• each shuttle having an elongated shape including an upper surface, opposite lateral sides and a downwardly depending support portion for supporting tongs that support the upper extremities of the vertical glass sheets during the conveyance, the drive mechanisms of the conveyor drive each having an elongated shape and including magnetic rotary drive members spaced along the elongated shape thereof to support and rotatively drive the shuttles at the upper surfaces thereof for the conveyance of the vertical glass sheets into, through, and out of the system, and the drive mechanisms having failsafe rollers spaced along the length thereof at opposite lateral sides below the opposite lateral sides of the shuttles;
• and
• radiant heat absorbers including radiant cooling slabs that extend vertically in a spaced and parallel relationship to each other and between which the vertical glass sheets are positioned during the conveyance for cooling.

A method for coating semiconductor material on a glass sheet comprising:

• supporting the glass sheet at an upper extremity thereof in a vertical orientation and conveying the vertical glass sheet through an entry load lock station into a vacuum chamber;
• heating the vertically conveyed glass sheet in the vacuum chamber;
• then depositing semiconductor material on the heated and vertically conveyed glass sheet;
• and
• thereafter conveying the semiconductor coated glass sheet out of the vacuum chamber through an exit load lock station for delivery.