JP3420857B2 - Powder agitator - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a powder stirring device,
In particular, the present invention relates to a powder stirring device suitable for forming a film on the surface of a powder using sputtering. 2. Description of the Related Art A conventional powder stirring device stores powder in a fluidized state in order to form a film by sputtering, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-271919, for example. The powder was stirred by rotating the container thus rotated, and a film was formed on the powder in a flying and flowing state by sputtering. [0003] In the conventional powder stirring apparatus, since the container storing the powder is rotated, the powder storage container cannot be stirred in the rotation axis direction. There was a problem that the whole body could not be uniformly stirred. [0004] An object of the present invention is to provide a powder stirring device capable of uniformly stirring the whole powder. [0005] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a vacuum vessel, a rotating barrel rotatably held in the vacuum vessel, and rotating the rotating barrel. A rotating means, and a target metal held in the rotating barrel, and rotating the rotating barrel by the rotating means, so that the surface of the powder stirred in the rotating barrel has the target metal. In a powder agitating device that forms a film with metal sputtered from, disposed in the rotating barrel, conveying means for conveying the powder held in the rotating barrel in the rotation axis direction of the rotating barrel, The powder placed in the rotating barrel and held in the rotating barrel oscillates about the rotating axis of the rotating barrel in a plane orthogonal to the rotating axis of the rotating barrel. Bei example a swinging means for said conveying means, threadedly surface
It is a screw with a spiral groove, and this screw is
By rotating, it is held in the rotating barrel.
The powder is conveyed in the direction of the rotation axis of the rotary barrel, and
The above screw is composed of two screws parallel to each other.
The spiral groove formed on each surface is
Each screw is formed in the reverse rotation direction.
Rotating them in the same direction,
The powder is conveyed in the direction of the rotation axis of the rotary barrel . [0008] According to the present invention, the powder placed in the rotating barrel and held in the rotating barrel rotates the powder. A conveying means for conveying in the rotation axis direction of the barrel, and a powder disposed in the rotation barrel and holding the powder held in the rotation barrel in a plane orthogonal to the rotation axis of the rotation barrel, around the rotation axis of the rotation barrel. e Bei and oscillating means for oscillating said conveying means is formed of a spiral groove in the surface
It is a screw that rotates this screw
The powder held in the rotating barrel is
Conveyed in the rotation axis direction of the rotary barrel, and
Is composed of two screws parallel to each other.
The spiral grooves formed on each surface are in the reverse rotation direction.
These screws are turned in the same direction.
By rotating the powder in the opposite direction
The Rukoto be transported in the rotation axis direction of the barrel, rotating the powder transporting, by performing the action of the swing, Gyakukata each other
The powder can be conveyed in the direction of the rotation axis of the rotary barrel in the direction to uniformly stir the powder. An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a part of a powder stirring device according to one embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the side. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a main part of a transfer mechanism in the powder transfer device according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a front view of the powder conveying device according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of the powder conveying device according to one embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the front. As shown in FIG. 1, a cylindrical vacuum vessel 10
Is provided with a rotary barrel 20. In the rotary barrel 20, powder 30 to be deposited on the surface is stored. The rotary barrel 20 rotates in a direction indicated by an arrow A. Due to this rotation, the powder 3 stored therein is
0 is stirred. Two screws 40 are provided in the rotary barrel 20. This screw 40
It is used for transporting the powder 30, and its detailed structure and operation will be described later with reference to FIG.
The screw 40 swings right and left along the inner wall of the rotary barrel 20 like a cradle as indicated by an arrow B. By the swinging operation of the screw 40, the powder 30 is turned into the rotating barrel 2
In the plane perpendicular to the rotation axis of 0, it is evenly stirred. A target housing 50 is provided in the rotary barrel 20, and a metal of a target 52 held in the target housing 50 is sputtered on the powder 30 to form a powder 3.
A metal film of the target 52 is formed on the surface of the “0”. The surface of the target 52 is installed at an angle of 30 ° with respect to the vertical direction. Next, the structure and operation of the screw 40 will be described with reference to FIG. The two screws 40 are
Both ends are rotatably held by a plate 60.
The rotation mechanism of the screw 40 will be described later.
As the screw 40 rotates, the powder 30 is conveyed in the direction of arrow C, which is the direction of the rotation axis of the rotary barrel 20. By reversing the direction of the spiral of the opposite screw 40, the respective transport directions are reversed. In this way, by reversing the transport direction, the transport becomes uniform. Next, a rotation mechanism of the rotary barrel 20 will be described with reference to FIG. The rotary barrel 20 disposed in the vacuum vessel 10 has both ends rotatably supported by bearings 70. The fixed side of the bearing 70 is the vacuum vessel 1
A plurality of bearings are provided along the inner circumference of the rotary barrel 20, and the respective rotating portions of the bearings 70 are in contact with and support the outer circumference of the rotary barrel 20. It is supported so that rotation is smooth. The rotating barrel 20 is driven by a motor 80, and the driving force is transmitted as follows. That is, the gear 82 fixed to the rotating shaft of the motor 80
Are engaged with a gear 92 fixed to one end of the drive mechanism 90. A gear 94 is fixed to the other end of the drive mechanism 90. A transmission mechanism 100 is provided on the outer wall of the vacuum vessel 10.
Are provided to transmit a driving force from outside to the inside of the vacuum vessel 10 without breaking the vacuum inside the vacuum vessel 10. The rotation of the motor 80 is transmitted to the gear 94 via the gear 82 and the gear 92. A gear 22 is fixed to the outer periphery at the center of the rotary barrel 20.
And the gear 94 are engaged. Therefore, the rotating barrel 20 is rotated via the gear 22 by the rotating force of the motor 80. The gear 22 of the rotary barrel 20 has a convex shape, and meshes with the concave gear 94 of the drive mechanism 90, so that the gear 22 does not slide left and right. Since both ends of the rotary barrel 20 are rotatably held on the outer periphery by a plurality of bearings 70, the rotation can be smoothly performed. Next, a transport mechanism using the screw 40 and a swing mechanism for swinging the screw 40 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the transport mechanism will be described. The portion from the end of the screw 40 is rotatably held by the plate 60. A gear 42 is fixed to an end of the screw 40. A sprocket 82 is fixed to the inner periphery of the end of the rotary barrel 20 over the entire periphery. When the rotary barrel 20 itself is rotated by the motor 80, the sprocket 82 rotates with it. This torque is transmitted to the gear 42 engaged with the sprocket 82. As a result, the gear 42 rotates and the screw 40 also rotates. Although the rotation directions of the two screws 40 are the same, the winding directions of the spiral grooves formed on the surfaces thereof are opposite, so that the conveying directions of the powder 30 by the respective screws 40 are opposite. As described above, the driving sources of the rotating mechanism of the rotating barrel 20 and the rotating mechanism of the screw 40 are the motor 8
0 is commonly used. Next, the swing mechanism will be described. The drive source for swinging the two screws 40 left and right is a motor 110. By rotating this motor 110 forward and backward, the two screws 40 swing right and left. A transmission mechanism 120 is provided on the outer wall of the vacuum vessel 10,
This is for transmitting a driving force from outside to the inside of the vacuum vessel 10 without breaking the vacuum in the vacuum vessel 10.
Via the transmission mechanism 120, the driving force of the motor 110 is transmitted to a gear 122 fixed to the shaft end. Gear 1
A gear 124 is engaged with 22. Gear 124 and gear 1
28 has the same axis. A gear 64 is formed on the outer periphery of a plate 62 integrally formed with the plate 60 holding the screw 40. This gear 64 and gear 1
28 are engaged. In a portion of the plate 66 integrated with the plate 60, the plates 66, 62, and 60 are rotatably held by bearings. The bearing 130 is a plate 6
6 are provided on the outer periphery. Therefore, the gear 128
Is transmitted to the plate 62 via the gear 64 that engages with the gear 128, and the plate 60 integrated with the plate 62 is also moved right and left around the axis of rotation coaxial with the rotation axis of the rotary barrel 20. Rotate. The rotation angle is set to 360 degrees or less, and the plate 60 is swung right and left by rotating the motor 110 forward and backward, whereby the screw 40 held by the plate 60 is rotated.
Can swing left and right. The plate 68 formed integrally with the plate 60 is a plate for preventing the powder 30 conveyed by the screw 40 from moving to the gear 42 or the like. Next, a control circuit of the powder stirring device according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, a rotating mechanism 200 is a motor 8
0, which is connected to the motor 80 and rotates the rotary barrel 20. Swing mechanism 21
Reference numeral 0 denotes a mechanism including a motor 110.
A mechanism for swinging the screw 40 in the direction of arrow B in FIG. The transport mechanism 220
This is a mechanism that includes a motor 80 and is connected to the motor 80 to rotate the screw 40 to convey the powder 30 in the direction of arrow C in FIG. The rotation mechanism 200, the swing mechanism 210, and the transport mechanism 220 are connected to a processing circuit 230, and control signals from the processing circuit 230 are transmitted to the motors 80 and 110, respectively.
In response to the control signal, each operation of rotation, swing, and conveyance is performed by changing control parameters. Processing circuit 23
The control signal output from 0 is input to the input means 240 for the color difference ΔE.
The rotation mechanism 200 and the oscillating mechanism 21 are changed based on an index indicating the state of the powder 30 given from the fluidity index input means 250 so as to obtain a desired powder state.
0, the transport mechanism 220 is controlled. An example of the control operation performed by the processing circuit 230 will be described. In this example, each operation of rotation, swing, and conveyance is controlled based on the fluidity index.
The rotation of the rotary barrel 20 by the rotation mechanism 200 is a continuous rotation in the same direction at a constant rotation speed. Rotating mechanism 200
The drive source of the transfer mechanism 220 and the motor 80 are common, so that the transfer speed of the powder by the transfer mechanism 220 is constant,
Continuous rotation. Since the forming directions of the spiral grooves of the two screws 40 are opposite to each other, the conveying directions by the respective screws are opposite to each other, but the rotation direction of one screw is constant, and therefore, the conveying direction is It is constant. Further, with respect to the swing mechanism 210, the swing interval is changed according to the fluidity index. If the rocking operation is performed frequently, the powder flies and causes abnormal discharge. If the frequency of the swinging operation is low, the automatic flow of the powder due to the rotation of the rotary barrel is interrupted by the installation of the screw 40, and only a part of the powder can be stirred. In consideration of the above, the operation rate of the swing operation must be controlled. The final state of the powder is color difference ΔE ≦ 1.
It is preferable to be within 0. In the present embodiment, a movement in which the two screws 40 reciprocate once to the left and right is a basic operation of the swing operation, and the control is such that the operation is performed once every two to three minutes. However, the fluidity of the powder of the present embodiment changes depending on the sputter output and the output time (specifically, the spattered powder is smooth at the beginning of the spattering, but the sputtered powder and the non-sputtered powder coexist. In this experiment, the fluidity deteriorates, and when the powder is sputtered to some extent, the fluidity becomes good again.) Therefore, it is necessary to change the swing interval according to these conditions. When the value is good, the swing interval is set to once every 2 to 3 minutes, and when the fluidity is poor, the swing interval is set to once every 1 to 2 minutes. The fluidity index can be represented by a number from 0 to 100. Here, the fluidity index is a binary index of good and bad fluidity.
When the angle of the normal target 52 is inclined by about 30 ° with respect to the vertical direction as shown in FIG. Within 45 ° is appropriate. In the above example, the swing interval is switched between two types according to the fluidity index. However, the swing interval may be changed more finely. Further, although the swing speed is fixed, it may be varied. Further, the swing range and the swing time may be changed. Further, the rotation speed and the rotation direction of the rotary barrel 20 are fixed, but these may be varied according to the fluidity index. The rotation time is set to a continuous rotation of about 20 to 24 hours. However, this also may be intermittent rotation drive. In this case, a rotation interval including a rotation time and a rotation stop time is used as a control parameter. Further, in the above example, since the driving sources of the rotating mechanism 200 and the transporting mechanism 220 are common, it is not possible to control each of them independently. , Can be controlled independently. Therefore, it is also possible to change the conveyance speed by changing the rotation speed of the screw 40, to change the conveyance direction by rotating the screw 40 forward or reverse, or to change the conveyance interval by stopping the rotation of the screw 40. it can. As described above, the control parameters of the rotation mechanism 200, the swing mechanism 210, and the transport mechanism 220 include the rotation speed, the rotation time, the rotation interval, and the rotation direction as the control parameters of the rotation mechanism 200, respectively. Is raised. Further, control parameters of the swing mechanism 210 include a swing speed, a swing time, a swing interval, and a swing range.
The control parameters of the transport mechanism 220 include the transport speed,
The transport time, the transport interval, and the transport direction are given. Next, as an example of controlling the swing range, as described above, the swing angle is normally set to within ± 45 ° from the normal angle of the target 52 as described above. The range is ± 90 around the normal angle of the target 52.
The powder spread on the target housing 50 can be dropped by changing the swing interval of the swing operation to once every 30 minutes while changing the swing angle to one degree. Further, based on the color difference Δ, the rotation mechanism 20
0, the swing mechanism 210 and the transport mechanism 220 can also be controlled. The color difference ΔE is expressed by the following formula using a Hunter color difference formula. ΔE = √ (ΔL ² + Δa ² + Δb ² ) Here, ΔE: color difference Δ L: lightness index Δa, Δb: chromaticness index It is possible to control based on the color difference thus obtained. As the index representing the fluidity, a shearing index can be used in addition to the fluidity index. Instead of inputting these color differences and fluidity indices from the input means 240 and 250, control parameters for controlling the mechanisms 200, 210 and 220 based on these color differences and fluidity indices, for example, are used. , Swing interval 2-3
Data once per minute is converted into data and input means 2
70 may be input. The factor at this time is
Further, a factor 260 in a stirring state may be added. According to the embodiment of the present invention, since the rotating mechanism, the transport mechanism, and the swing mechanism are used as the mechanism for stirring the powder, the powder can be stirred uniformly. Further, by using two screws having opposite spiral directions as the transport mechanism, the respective transport directions can be reversed to achieve uniform stirring. Further, the number of drive sources can be reduced by using a common drive source for the rotation mechanism and the transport mechanism. Further, by controlling the stirring mechanism in accordance with the state of the powder, such as the fluidity and color difference of the powder, the powder can be uniformly stirred. Further, since the whole powder can be uniformly stirred, the whole powder is sputtered uniformly, so that the quality can be improved and the yield can be improved. According to the present invention, the powder can be uniformly stirred in the powder stirring device by the powder stirring device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a part of a powder stirring device according to one embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the side. FIG. 2 is a powder stirring device according to one embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a perspective view showing a main part of the transport mechanism. FIG. FIG. 3 is a front view of a powder stirring device according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of the powder stirring device according to one embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the front. FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a control circuit of the powder stirring device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Description of Signs] 10 ... Vacuum container 20 ... Rotating barrels 22, 64, 82, 92, 94, 122, 124, 12
8 Gear 30 Powder 40 Screw 52 Target housing 60 Plates 70 and 130 Bearings 80 and 110 Motor 82 Sprocket 90 Drive mechanism 100 Transmission mechanism 200 Rotating mechanism 210 swing mechanism 220 transport mechanism 230 processing circuits 240 and 250 input means

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Yasuji Maeda 7-1 Takatani Shinmachi, Ichikawa-shi, Chiba Nisshin Steel Co., Ltd. Inside New Materials Research Laboratories (72) Inventor Kaoru Kojima 7-1 Takatani Shinmachi, Ichikawa-shi, Chiba Nisshin Steel Corporation Inside the New Materials Research Laboratory (72) Takashi Shirokura, the inventor 7-1 Takaya Shinmachi, Ichikawa-shi, Chiba Nisshin Steel Corporation New Materials Research Laboratory (56) References JP-A-5-271922 (JP, A) JP-A-3-3 153864 (JP, A) JP-A-1-287202 (JP, A) JP-A-4-173955 (JP, A) JP-A-7-233470 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) C23C 14/00-14/58 C23C 16/00-16/56

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] (1) A vacuum container, a rotary barrel rotatably held in the vacuum container, a rotating means for rotating the rotary barrel, And a target metal held by rotating the rotary barrel by the rotating means to form a film on the surface of the powder agitated in the rotary barrel with a metal sputtered from the target metal. In the powder stirring device, disposed in the rotating barrel, a conveying unit that conveys the powder held in the rotating barrel in the rotation axis direction of the rotating barrel, disposed in the rotating barrel, the powder held within the rotary barrel in a plane orthogonal to the rotation axis of the rotating barrel, e Bei and oscillating means for oscillating about a rotation axis of the rotating barrel, said conveying means, The formed screw spiral grooves on the surface
By rotating this screw,
The powder held in the transfer barrel is rotated by the rotating barrel.
The screw is conveyed in the direction of the axis of rotation, and the above screw is
Spiral grooves formed on each surface
Are formed in the reverse rotation direction.
By rotating the crown in the same direction,
A powder agitating device for transporting the powder in a rotation axis direction of the rotary barrel .