JP3557041B2 - Manufacturing method of reflector antenna - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to, for example, the reflector antenna manufacturing method, such as a suitable grid reflector antenna or frequency selection antenna to be mounted on the space vehicle such as an artificial satellite.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, in an antenna system, as shown in FIG. 8, first and second reflectors 1 and 2 constituting front and rear mirrors are stacked and arranged in a directional direction, and the first and second reflectors are arranged. There is known a configuration in which first and second power supply units 3 and 4 are opposed to each other corresponding to the first and second power supply units. Such an antenna having the reflector shown in FIG. 8 is called a reflector antenna.
[0003]
The first and second reflectors 1 and 2 are provided with metal patterns (grid lines) 1a and 2a on their reflection surfaces at right angles to each other, and as shown in FIG. The V-polarization and the H-polarization parallel to the lines radiated from 3, 4 are selectively reflected and radiated to free space.
[0004]
The V-polarized wave radiated from the first power supply unit 3 has an electric field component substantially parallel to the metal pattern 1a of the first reflector 1, and is reflected by the first metal pattern 1a. The H-polarized wave radiated from the second feeding unit 4 is an electric field component orthogonal to the metal pattern 1a of the first reflector 1 (that is, an electric field component substantially parallel to the metal pattern 2a of the second reflector 2). Component), is transmitted through the first reflector 1, and is reflected by the second metal pattern 2a.
[0005]
By the way, as a method of manufacturing such a reflector, those disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 5-57762 and Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 5-557641 are known. That is, in these publications, a conductive film is formed on a skin material made of an insulating substrate of a reflector main body, and a liquid photosensitive resist is applied on the conductive film. Next, the photosensitive resist on the conductive film is irradiated with laser light to be exposed, and further developed to remove portions not irradiated with the light, and the exposed conductive film is etched by a desired method. Metal pattern is formed.
[0006]
By the way, in the above manufacturing method, since a photosensitive resist must be applied to a skin material and exposed and developed, large-sized dark room equipment is required for manufacturing the reflector. In some cases was restricted. Such a problem is one of the serious problems particularly when measuring a large-diameter reflector required in the field of recent space development.
[0007]
In pattern formation by exposure of a large area, as the diameter of the reflector increases due to lens aberration, the distortion of the transferred image in the peripheral portion of the reflector increases. Therefore, the accuracy of pattern formation is reduced. Further, in the case of a reflector having the same curvature, as the area becomes larger, the transferred image becomes blurred when the depth of focus of the exposure optical system is constant due to the curvature of the reflector in the light irradiation direction. Therefore, the accuracy of pattern formation is reduced.
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, in the conventional reflector manufacturing method, a large-sized dark room facility or the like is required in order to form a metal pattern, so that it may be difficult to increase the diameter of the reflector.
[0009]
Further, with the increase in the diameter of the reflector, there is another problem that the pattern (grid) formation accuracy is reduced.
The present invention has been made based on the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to measure a large diameter without using a large-sized dark room facility, and to form an accurate grid line even when the diameter is further increased. It is to provide a reflector antenna manufacturing method that enables.
[0011]
[Means for resolving the problem]
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a reflector antenna in which a conductive pattern is formed on a curved insulating substrate.
A first step of forming grooves in a predetermined pattern on the insulating substrate by laser light;
A second step of depositing a metal charged with a charge opposite to the surface on the surface of the groove charged by the laser light;
And a third step of providing a metal wire serving as the conductive pattern in the groove by electroless plating using the metal attached to the groove as a nucleus.
[0012]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a reflector antenna in which a conductive pattern is formed on a curved insulating substrate.
A first step of forming grooves in the insulating substrate in a predetermined pattern;
A second step of providing a metal wire serving as the conductive pattern in the groove.
[0013]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the laser light is ultraviolet light.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect , the conductive pattern contains copper.
[0015]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, since a metal is provided by electroless plating in a groove of an insulating substrate formed with a predetermined pattern to form a conductive pattern, exposure is performed to form a conductive pattern. This eliminates the need for a dark room for development processing, which makes it easy to increase the diameter of the reflector, and furthermore prevents blurring of the transferred image due to the exposure optical system, thereby enabling precise pattern formation. Become.
[0016]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, a conductive pattern is formed by providing a metal wire in a groove formed in a predetermined pattern by laser light on an insulating substrate to form a conductive pattern. However, a dark room for performing exposure and development processing is not required, thereby making it easy to increase the diameter of the reflector.
[0017]
According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the laser light is processed with a short wavelength, it is possible to form a conductive pattern in which the roundness of the edge portion is suppressed due to the short wavelength.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a conductive pattern having excellent corrosion resistance, low cost, and high electrical conductivity can be formed.
[0018]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIGS. 1 to 5 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a reflector 11 used for a reflector antenna manufactured by the method of the first embodiment. This reflector 11 has a reflector main body 12. The reflector body 12 has a first skin layer 15 provided by a first adhesive layer 14 on the lower surface that is a non-mirror surface of the core 13, and an insulating substrate 17 provided by a second adhesive layer 16 on an upper surface that is a mirror surface. I have. The upper surface of the insulating substrate 17 is covered with a protective film 18.
[0019]
The insulating substrate 17 is formed by forming a polymer film such as polyimide or epoxy into a curved surface such as a paraboloid or a hyperboloid, and may be covered with Kapton or the like to reinforce the strength. On the upper surface thereof, grooves 19 are formed at predetermined intervals, that is, at predetermined patterns, along a predetermined direction. The groove 19 is provided with a metal 21 such as Cu, for example, and the metal 21 forms a conductive pattern of the reflector 11.
[0020]
The manufacturing method of the reflector 11 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the insulating substrate 17 having a curved shape is formed as shown in step 1 (hereinafter, step is referred to as S) in FIG. Next, a groove 19 is formed in a predetermined pattern on the upper surface of the insulating substrate 17 as shown in FIG. This step is referred to as S2.
[0021]
FIG. 2 shows a laser processing apparatus 25 for forming the groove 19 in the insulating substrate 17. The laser processing device 25 has a device main body 26 having an L-shaped side surface. On the upper surface of the horizontal portion of the apparatus main body 26, a holding table 27 on which the insulating substrate 17 formed in a curved shape is supplied and mounted is provided. The holding table 27 is driven in the X and Y directions by a first driving unit 28a built in the apparatus main body 26.
[0022]
A processing optical system 29 (in this embodiment, a telecentric optical system) having a condenser lens 29a and a slit 29b is disposed above the holding table 27. The processing optical system 29 is driven in the vertical direction by a second driving unit 28b provided inside a vertical portion of the apparatus main body 26. The first drive unit 28a and the second drive unit 28b are driven by a control signal from the control unit 30.
[0023]
The laser light L oscillated and output from the laser oscillator 31 is reflected by the reflection mirror 32 and enters the processing optical system 29. The laser beam L incident on the processing optical system 29 is shaped by the slit 29b, so that the intensity distribution is made uniform from the Gaussian distribution state shown in FIG. 3B as shown in FIG. 3A. You.
[0024]
Here, a laser having a wavelength of 200 to 300 nm, such as an excimer laser, a third harmonic (THG) YAG laser or a fourth harmonic (FHG) YAG laser, is used as a laser that emits ultraviolet light. I have.
[0025]
The laser light L whose intensity distribution has been made uniform by the slits 29b is condensed by a condenser lens 28a and irradiates the insulating substrate 17 on the holder 27. Therefore, the holding table 27 is driven in the X and Y directions by the first driving unit 28a, and the processing optical system 29 is moved in the Z direction by the second driving unit 28b so as to maintain a constant distance from the upper surface of the insulating substrate 17. The laser beam L is emitted while driving. Thus, the groove 19 having a rectangular cross section can be formed in the insulating substrate 17 according to the intensity distribution of the laser light L as shown in FIG. The groove 19 has almost no influence on the formation of the antenna pattern, even if it cannot be said that the cross section is completely rectangular.
[0026]
When the groove 19 is formed on the insulating substrate 17 made of a polymer film by laser light L, the potential of the surface of the groove 19 is positively charged. Phys. Vol. 60, No. 21 pages 2697 to 2699 (1992). The surface of the groove 19 is insulated in a solution containing a metal salt containing a metal charged to a negative potential, for example, Pd (palladium), as shown in FIG. By immersing the substrate 17, the metal is deposited to form a metal film 33 by depositing the metal. This step is shown as S3 in FIG.
[0027]
Next, electroless plating is performed on the groove 19 using the metal film 33 as a nucleus. This electroless plating is a method of performing plating without passing through an electric field as shown in, for example, JP-A-1-2811792. That is, after the insulating substrate 17 on which the metal film 33 is formed is pulled out of the solution containing the metal salt, it is immersed in the electroless plating solution. As the electroless plating solution, a first liquid in which formalin, copper sulfate and other liquids are mixed, and a second liquid in which casei-soda, sodium cyanide and other liquids are mixed are mixed at a predetermined ratio. A mixture is used.
[0028]
As a result, Cu as the metal 21 is deposited on the metal film 33 in the groove 19 as shown in FIG. 5C, and this Cu becomes a conductive pattern. This step is shown as S4 in FIG.
[0029]
Since the surface of the conductive pattern 34 formed by the electroless plating has irregular irregularities as shown in FIG. 5C, the reflection direction of the radio wave cannot be determined. Therefore, if the conductive pattern 34 is formed by electroless plating, the insulating substrate 17 is pulled up from the electroless plating solution, dried, and placed again on the holding table 27 of the apparatus main body 26 to form the groove 19. A laser beam L having an energy capable of melting the metal 21 having the conductive pattern formed thereon is scanned and irradiated along each groove 19. The irradiation diameter of the laser light is the width of the conductive pattern 34 (about 0.2 mm in this case). Thereby, the surface of the conductive pattern 34 is flattened, and the reflection direction of the radio wave can be determined. This step is shown as S5 in FIG.
[0030]
After the insulating substrate 17 is formed in this manner, the reflector 11 is formed by bonding the insulating substrate 17 to the upper surface of the reflector main body 12 with the second adhesive layer 16 and then covering the upper surface with the protective film 18. . This assembly process is indicated by S6 in FIG.
[0031]
According to such a reflector 11, the conductive pattern 34 can be formed by electroless plating in the groove 19 formed in the insulating substrate 17 by the laser light L. Since electroless plating does not involve exposure and development processing, a large-scale dark room for exposing the entire insulating substrate 17 to light is not required, and furthermore, blurring of a transferred image due to exposure engineering can be prevented. Since the reflector 11 can be formed, the diameter of the reflector 11 can be easily increased.
[0032]
In addition, since the conductive pattern 34 formed by electroless plating can have a shape without a cut (seam), the shape accuracy can be improved. In other words, conventionally, a plurality of tiles each having a conductive pattern formed thereon are bonded to the upper surface of the insulating substrate 17, but in this case, a seam is formed in the conductive pattern, so that the shape accuracy is reduced. May be reduced.
[0033]
However, according to the method of the present invention described above, since the conductive pattern 34 having no seam can be formed, the shape accuracy thereof can be improved. 6 and 7 show a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 shows a reflector 41 made by the method of the second embodiment. Note that the same parts as those of the reflector 11 of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. In other words, the reflector 41 of this embodiment is configured such that the insulating substrate 17 formed of the same material as that of the first embodiment into a predetermined curved shape is formed on the upper surface of the core 13 of the reflector main body 12 by the second adhesive layer 16 and the skin layer 40. Fixed through.
[0034]
Next, when the reflector main body 12 is held on a holding table 27 of a laser processing device 26 shown in FIG. 2 and a groove 19 is formed on the upper surface thereof by a predetermined pattern, for example, Cu Then, a conductive metal wire 42 is inserted and fixed. Here, an adhesive may be used for the adhesive fixing, but a material having an adhesive property to the insulating substrate 17 itself is used here. Thus, the metal line 42 forms a conductive pattern 43. After forming the conductive pattern 43, the reflector 41 is formed by covering the upper surface of the insulating substrate 17 with the protective film 18. The groove 19 is preferably formed by a laser in terms of accuracy, but may be formed simultaneously with a mold or the like at the time of forming the insulating substrate 17, or may be formed by cutting.
[0035]
According to such a reflector 41, the conductive pattern 43 can be formed by inserting and fixing the metal wire 42 into the groove 19 formed in the insulating substrate 17 by the laser light L. It is preferable that the length of the metal wire 42 be equal to the length of the groove 19 without any joint. The insertion is performed by a device or a person. Therefore, the formation of the conductive pattern 43 does not involve exposure or development, so that a dark room is not required and the diameter of the reflector 41 can be easily increased. Here, as for the metal wire 42, the reflection surface facing the protective film 18 is curved similarly to the insulating substrate 17, and as a result, the surface of the reflector 41 is preferably smooth. As in the embodiment, it is preferable to flatten the plane of the conductive pattern 43 with laser light L after forming the conductive pattern 43. This is to determine the reflection direction of the radio wave.
[0036]
Further, the groove 19 is formed in the insulating substrate 17 after the reflector main body 12 is assembled. Since the reflector body 12 having the sandwich structure is usually assembled by autoclaving, the insulating substrate 17 may be deformed under the influence of heat at that time. However, since the groove 19 is formed in the insulating substrate 17 after the reflector main body 12 is assembled, it is possible to prevent the dimensional accuracy (grid accuracy) of the groove 19 from decreasing.
[0037]
Further, since the metal wire 42 can be provided in the groove 19 without any seam, the shape accuracy of the conductive pattern 43 can be improved.
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and can be variously modified. For example, the metal to be electrolessly plated in the first embodiment is not limited to Cu, but may be another metal. In short, it is only necessary that the metal can be electrolessly plated and have conductivity.
Further, the metal wire provided in the groove in the second embodiment is not limited to Cu, and may be another metal as in the first embodiment.
[0039]
【The invention's effect】
According to the first aspect of the present invention, a conductive pattern is formed by providing a metal by electroless plating in a groove of an insulating substrate formed in a predetermined pattern by laser light.
[0040]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, a conductive pattern is formed by providing a metal wire in a groove formed in a predetermined pattern on an insulating substrate.
Therefore, according to the first and second aspects of the present invention, it is not necessary to perform exposure and development processing in a dark room to form a conductive pattern, so that a large-diameter reflector can be easily manufactured. Moreover, since a seamless conductive pattern can be formed, the accuracy of the grid shape can be improved.
[0041]
Further, according to the second aspect of the present invention, since the conductive pattern can be formed without immersing the reflector in a liquid such as an etchant, the material of the reflector member is not deteriorated by the etchant.
[0042]
According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the laser light is processed with a short wavelength, it is possible to form a conductive pattern in which the roundness of the edge portion is suppressed due to the short wavelength.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a conductive pattern having excellent corrosion resistance, low cost, and high electrical conductivity can be formed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an enlarged sectional view showing a part of a reflector according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a processing apparatus for processing a groove in the insulating substrate.
3A is an explanatory view of the laser light intensity distribution before being formed by the slit, FIG. 3B is an explanatory view of the laser light intensity distribution after the same is formed, and FIG. () Is a sectional view of a groove formed in the insulating substrate.
FIG. 4 is a manufacturing process diagram of the reflector.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of each manufacturing step of the reflector.
FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view showing a part of a reflector according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a manufacturing process diagram of the reflector.
FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram of a general reflector.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of an arrangement relationship between a reflector and a power supply unit.
[Explanation of symbols]
17 ... insulating substrate 19 ... groove 21 ... metal 33 ... metal film 34 ... conductive pattern 42 ... metal wire.

Claims (4)

In a method of manufacturing a reflector antenna in which a conductive pattern is formed on a curved insulating substrate,
A first step of forming grooves in a predetermined pattern on the insulating substrate by laser light;
A second step of depositing a metal charged with a charge opposite to the surface on the surface of the groove charged by the laser light;
A third step of providing a metal wire serving as the conductive pattern in the groove by electroless plating using the metal attached to the groove as a nucleus, and a third step of manufacturing the reflector antenna. In a method of manufacturing a reflector antenna in which a conductive pattern is formed on a curved insulating substrate,
A first step of forming grooves in the insulating substrate in a predetermined pattern;
A second step of providing a metal wire serving as the conductive pattern in the groove. 2. A method of manufacturing a reflector antenna, comprising: 2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the laser light is ultraviolet light. 3. The method for manufacturing a reflector antenna according to claim 1 , wherein the conductive pattern includes copper.

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