JP2914160B2 - Powder agitator - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a powder stirrer used to stir powder to be processed when performing processing using ions such as ion implantation and ion plating. It is. The powder stirring device of the present invention can be applied to an ion beam deposition device and an ion implantation device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a conventional ion implantation apparatus 100. Inside the vacuum vessel 101 held in a high vacuum state, a substantially cylindrical vessel 102 is provided at the bottom, and a plurality of propellers 103 are provided at the bottom of the vessel 102. The container 102 and the propeller 103 are rotated in opposite directions by a driving unit 104 provided outside the vacuum container 101, and agitate the powder A stored in the container 102.

The top of the vacuum vessel 101 has a shutter 105
Is connected to an ion source (not shown). Inside the vacuum vessel 101, there is provided a filament 106 for supplying electrons for neutralizing positive charges of ions.

[0004] The material to be implanted is ionized in an ionization chamber (not shown), and the material is accelerated and made to strike the powder in the vacuum vessel 101 to perform ion implantation.

[0005]

As described above, the conventional ion implantation apparatus 100 employs a mechanism for stirring the powder A in the container 102 by rotating the propeller 103 in the container 102. Therefore, in order to sufficiently agitate the powder, the amount of the powder must be sufficient to cover the propeller 103. However, when the amount of the powder is large, there is a problem that it takes a long time to complete the ion implantation.

If the amount of the powder is too large, the electrons for neutralization cannot reach the inside of the powder, and the positive charge given by the ions cannot be neutralized. Particularly in the case of a powder having a high resistance value, it is difficult to neutralize the positive charge, and most of the injected material is surrounded by the container 102 and the vacuum container 100 by the positive charge of the powder.
There was a problem that it scattered inside.

A rotating member such as a propeller 103 and a driving unit 104 outside the vacuum vessel 101 are connected by a shaft, and the shaft passes through the vacuum vessel 101. In the case of this apparatus, unless the gap between the propeller 103 and the inner surface of the container 102 is set to be sufficiently small, the particles of the powder A
There was a problem that good agitation could not be performed, such as passing through the gap between the container 3 and the container 102, or sticking between the propeller and the container wall without passing through. Further, although the penetrating portion is sealed, there is a problem that dust enters the vacuum vessel 101 from this portion or a minute leak occurs in the sealed portion.

Although the example of the ion implantation apparatus 100 provided with the conventional powder stirring mechanism has been described above, even when the above-described powder stirring mechanism is applied to an ion beam evaporation apparatus, the powder is not sufficiently stirred. If the material cannot be uniformly deposited on the body and the resistance value of the powder is high, the above-described problem due to the positive charge occurs.

An object of the present invention is to provide an effective powder stirring apparatus which can be applied to an ion implantation apparatus, an ion beam evaporation apparatus, and the like, because the powder can be stirred reliably and the powder is hardly charged with a positive charge. The purpose is.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a powder agitating apparatus for storing and agitating a powder to be treated with ions, wherein a center line of the powder agitating apparatus is substantially water.
Has a side wall portion of the cylindrical body is placed in a state of a flat, and a container for storing powder therein, which is a high vacuum state, rotates along at least the bottom of the side wall inside said container In this case, a stirring means for stirring the powder in the container up and down is provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a powder stirring apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the stirring means is sealed inside the container.

[0012] The powder stirring device according to claim 3 is the powder stirring device according to claim 2, wherein the stirring means is
It is characterized in that it is indirectly linked to a driving means provided outside the container.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a powder stirring apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the stirring means is a propeller.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the powder agitating apparatus of the first aspect, the agitating means is an annular body.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the powder agitating apparatus of the first aspect, the agitating means rotates in an annular body inside the container and an inner circumference of the annular body inside the annular body. It is a propeller that rotates along a plane.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided the powder stirring device according to the first aspect, wherein the container has an ion introduction section for projecting ions into powder in the container.
It is characterized in that an electron introduction portion for projecting electrons is provided at the position of the powder in the container where the ions strike.

In the powder stirring device according to the present invention, in the powder stirring device according to the first aspect, the stirring means is a propeller, and the container is provided with ions for powder in the container. An ion introducing section for ejecting ions, and a first part of electrons for projecting electrons to a position of a powder in a container where the ions strike.
And a second introduction unit for electrons for projecting electrons on the powder dropped by stirring by the propeller.

[0018]

In the inside of the container, a stirring means consisting of an annular body and / or a propeller is rotated. The powder collected at the bottom of the side wall of the cylindrical container is stirred up and down by stirring means that rotates circumferentially along the shape of the bottom. Since the powder to which the ions strike is constantly stirred, the treatment with the ions is uniformly applied to the entire powder.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The present embodiment relates to a powder stirring device for accommodating and stirring powder to be implanted in an ion implantation device. FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show a part of an ion implantation apparatus provided with such a powder stirring device 1. The powder stirring device 1 of the present embodiment includes a powder container 2, a stirring device that rotates in the container 2, and a driving device of the stirring device.

This ion implantation apparatus includes a cylindrical container 2 for storing powder A. The container 2 is installed on a machine frame or the like (not shown) with the central axis of the cylindrical shape being substantially horizontal. That is, a pair of circular flat plates facing each other become the side plates 3, 3, and the circumferential wall 4 is located between the side plates 3, 3. For this reason, the bottom 5 of the container 2 in which the powder A is stored is constituted by the circumferential wall 4. The container 2 is configured so that the inside thereof can be evacuated to a high vacuum state by a pressure reducing means such as a vacuum pump (not shown).

A propeller 6 as a stirring means is provided inside the vessel 2. The propeller 6 has a shaft 7
And a pair of wings 8, 8 connected to the shaft 7.
The shaft portion 7 is provided at the center of the inner surface of the one side plate 3. The shaft portion 7 serves as a part of indirect interlocking means for indirectly transmitting the driving force of the motor 10 outside the container 2 to the propeller 6 described below.
It has a magnetic member 9a. The wings 8 provided on the shaft 7 are provided at a rotation angle of 180 degrees with respect to the rotation direction of the shaft 7 and rotate along the inner surface of the side plate 3 and the peripheral wall 4 of the container 2. The space between the inner surfaces of the side plate 3 and the peripheral wall 4 and the wing portion 8 is set to such an extent that particles of the powder A are not interposed.

A motor 10 as a driving means of the propeller 6 is provided outside the container 2. Motor 10
The rotating member is provided with a magnetic member 9b as a part of indirect interlocking means for indirectly transmitting a driving force to the propeller 6. The magnetic member 9b is opposed to the magnetic member 9a of the shaft 7 in the container 2 with the side plate 3 of the container 2 therebetween.
The two magnetic members 9a and 9b are linked by magnetic force. Although the motor 10 and the propeller 6 are not mechanically directly connected, driving the motor 10 causes the propeller 6 in the container 2 to rotate.

The peripheral wall 4 of the container 2 is provided with an introduction hole 11 as an ion introduction portion. An ionization chamber (not shown) serving as an ion source and the introduction hole 11 are connected by an introduction tube 12. In the vicinity of the introduction hole 11, a deflection coil 13 is provided.
And a shutter 14. As shown in FIG. 3A, ions introduced into the container 2 from the introduction hole 11 are:
The powder A stored in the container 2 is configured to irradiate a portion scraped up by the propeller 6 or a portion scraped up by the propeller 6 and dropped.

The peripheral wall 4 of the container 2 has first and second introduction holes 1 as first and second electron introduction portions, respectively.
5 and 16 are provided. The introduction holes 15 and 16 are connected to the first and second electron sources 17 and 18, respectively. The electrons introduced into the container 2 from the first introduction hole 15 are configured such that the ions impinge on the powder A at a position where the propeller 6 is lifted. Second introduction hole 1
The electrons introduced into the container 2 from the container 6 are configured to strike the powder A at the position where the propeller 6 is dropped.

The container 2 is grounded, so that positive charges charged in the container 2 can be released. In the container 2, equipment such as a Faraday cup for measuring the amount of implanted ions and a beam guide for guiding an ion beam may be provided.

The operation of the above configuration will be described. The powder A is stored in the container 2. The amount of powder A to be stored is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the upper surface of the powder A accumulated in the container 2 is set so as not to be hung on the shaft 7 of the propeller 6, and the powder A is placed between the rotating shaft 7 and the inner surface of the container 2. Be careful not to get caught.

The motor 10 is driven to rotate the propeller 6 to stir the powder A in the container 2 up and down. Further, after ionizing the injected material, the material is accelerated at an acceleration voltage of, for example, 10 kV to 400 kV, and introduced into the container 2 from the introduction hole 11 and collides with the powder A. Here, the ion is 100 kV
At an acceleration voltage of about 0.1 μm.

As shown in FIG.
Electrons that have entered the container 2 from both the introduction holes 15 and 16 collide with the portion where the ions that have entered the particle A collide with the powder A, and neutralize the positive charges due to the ions.

As shown in FIGS. 3 (a) to 3 (c), a part of the powder A including the part where the ions and electrons have hit is scooped up by the wings 8. When the scooped powder A falls, ions and electrons strike the dropped part. That is, the particles of the powder A into which the ions have been implanted fall off the powder A after being scooped and fall into a thin portion of the layer, and the positive charges are released. Further, since both the portion where the ions are injected and scooped up to the wing portion 8 and the portion where the injected powder A falls are irradiated with the electrons, the neutralization of the positive charges by the ions is reliable and prompt. . By repeating the above, the powder A in the container 2 is uniformly stirred up and down, so that the particles of the powder A into which the ions are injected are constantly changed, and the ion injection into the powder A is uniform and reliable.

The propeller 6 is sealed in the container 2,
Since it is remotely driven by indirect interlocking means using the magnetic members 9a and 9b, there is no problem in the container 2 such as generation of a leak or intrusion of dust. For this reason, according to the apparatus of the present embodiment, ion implantation of the powder which dislikes contamination can be effectively performed.

A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The present embodiment relates to a powder stirring device 21 for storing and stirring powder to be implanted in an ion implantation device. FIG. 4 shows a part of an ion implantation apparatus provided with such a powder stirring device 21. The powder stirring device 21 according to the present embodiment includes a powder container 22, a stirring device that rotates in the container 22, and a driving device for the stirring device.

The shape and installation posture of the container 22 are the same as in the first embodiment. An annular body 23 as a first stirring means is provided inside the container 22. The powder A is a ring 2
3 is housed inside. The annular body 23 is a peripheral wall 4 of the container 22.
It is rotatable along. The teeth 2 are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the annular body 23.
4 is formed, and a drive gear 25 is meshed with the teeth 24. The drive gear 25 is linked to a first motor 26 which is a first drive unit outside the container 22 by a configuration similar to the indirect linking unit using the magnetic members 9a and 9b in the first embodiment. Is configured.

A propeller 6 as a second stirring means is provided inside the annular body 23. The structure and drive mechanism of the propeller 6 are the same as in the first embodiment,
It is interlocked with a second motor 27 which is a second driving means outside. The wing 8 of the propeller 6 rotates along the inner peripheral surface of the annular body 23.

In this embodiment, the rotation direction of the annular body 23 and the rotation direction of the propeller 6 are opposite to each other. However,
It may be the same direction, and the relative speed may be generated between the two by changing the peripheral speed.

The side plate 28 of the container 22 is provided with an introduction hole 29 communicating with the ion chamber and an introduction hole 30 communicating with the electron source. The ions and electrons are configured to strike the same position of the powder A stored in the container 22.

The operation of the above configuration will be described. After storing the powder A in the container 22, the annular body 23 and the propeller 6
Are rotated in opposite directions. The powder A is irradiated with ions and electrons.

The powder A is sufficiently stirred in the vertical direction by the annular body 23 and the propeller 6, so that the powder A does not adhere to the inner peripheral surface of the annular body 23. The powder A is uniformly ion-implanted, and positive charges due to the ions are reliably neutralized.
The annular body 23 and the propeller 6 serving as stirring means are connected to first and second motors 26 and 27 serving as driving means outside the container 22.
, The degree of vacuum in the container 22 is maintained, and no dust or the like enters the container 22.

In each of the embodiments described above, the case where the stirring means is the propeller 6 and the case where the stirring means is the combination of the propeller 6 and the ring 23 are described, but only the ring may be used. That is, if the bottom of the container in which the powder is stored is circumferential and the means is capable of moving up and down along the shape of the bottom to stir the powder up and down, the operation and operation are substantially the same as those of the above embodiments. The effect is obtained.

In each of the above embodiments, the magnetic members 9a, 9a are used as means for indirectly linking the stirring means and the driving means.
b has been described. A Wilson seal, a magnetic fluid seal, or the like can be used as another interlocking means for driving the stirring means from outside the container while keeping the degree of vacuum inside the container by sealing the stirring means inside the container.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, the shape of the containers 2 and 22 is cylindrical, but it is not always necessary that the entire shape is cylindrical. For example, it is sufficient that only the bottom portion of the container in which the powder accumulates and the stirring means rotates along the inner surface of the container to stir the powder has a substantially circumferential shape. Thus, a container having a semicylindrical bottom and a box top may be used. Further, a frusto-conical container may be installed with the axis of the cone substantially horizontal. In such a case, the stirring means such as a propeller rotating in the container may have a shape capable of rotating along the inner peripheral surface of the container.

In each of the embodiments described above, an ion implantation apparatus has been described as an example. However, the powder agitating apparatus of the present invention employs an ion beam evaporation method for depositing relatively low-energy ions on the surface of an object. The processing method using other ions can also be applied as a powder stirring device for storing and stirring the powder to be processed.

The powder to be used by the powder stirring device of the present invention includes not only powders such as phosphors and granular substances, but also products having uniform shapes such as bearings used for bearings. Including.

[0043]

According to the present invention, since the stirring means is moved along the circumferential bottom of the container storing the powder, the powder can be sufficiently stirred up and down. For this reason, in an ion processing apparatus or the like, ions and electrons for preventing charge can be applied to all powders, so that the ion treatment of the powders can be performed uniformly and sufficiently, and a positive charge on the powders can be obtained. The scattering of ions due to the above is prevented.

If the stirring means and the driving means are indirectly linked to each other, the airtightness of the container can be sufficiently maintained.
Contamination of the powder in the container is also prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the operation of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an ion implantation apparatus having a conventional powder stirring device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List A powder 1,21 powder stirring device 2,22 container 5 bottom 6 propeller 10 as stirring means 10 motor as driving means 11,29 introduction hole as ion introduction part 15 second as electron introduction part 1 electron introduction hole 16 second electron introduction hole as second electron introduction part 23 annular body as first stirring means 26 first motor as first drive means 27 second drive means Motor 30 as an electron introduction hole as an electron introduction part

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) C23C 14/48 B01J 3/00 C23C 14/32

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] 1. A powder agitating apparatus for accommodating and agitating a powder to be treated with ions, wherein a center line of the powder agitating apparatus is substantially water
Has a side wall portion of the cylindrical body is placed in a state of a flat, and a container for storing powder therein, which is a high vacuum state, rotates along at least the bottom of the side wall inside said container A powder stirring device for stirring the powder in the container up and down . 2. The powder stirring device according to claim 1, wherein said stirring means is sealed inside said container. 3. The powder stirring device according to claim 2, wherein the stirring device is indirectly linked to a driving device provided outside the container. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said stirring means is a propeller.
The powder agitator according to the above. 5. The powder stirring device according to claim 1, wherein said stirring means is an annular body. 6. The powder stirring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said stirring means is an annular body rotating inside said container and a propeller rotating along an inner peripheral surface inside said annular body. 7. An ion introduction part for projecting ions into powder in the container, and an electron introduction part for projecting electrons to the position of the powder in the container where the ions strike. The powder stirring device according to claim 1 provided. 8. The stirring means is a propeller,
In the container, an ion introducing portion for projecting ions into the powder in the container, and a first introducing portion of electrons for projecting electrons to the position of the powder in the container where the ions strike, The powder stirring device according to claim 1, further comprising a second electron introduction unit configured to project electrons onto the powder dropped by stirring by the propeller.