JP4725253B2 - Winding-type composite vacuum surface treatment apparatus and film surface treatment method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a roll-up type composite surface treatment apparatus capable of performing various surface treatments such as drying, pretreatment, and thin film formation on a film, and a method for performing film surface treatment using this apparatus.

  In recent years, a functional film having a thin film formed on the surface of a plastic film or the like as a base material has been actively developed. For example, in the packaging field, by forming a thin film made of at least one metal oxide selected from SiOx, MgO, AlOx, etc. on the film surface, it is transparent and food preservation that has a gas barrier property such as oxygen and water vapor. A gas barrier film having excellent properties is provided.

In the electronics field, antireflection films and the like that prevent reflection on the display surface and improve visibility are widely used as display applications. This antireflective film has a different refractive index in which a high refractive index layer such as TiO ₂ , ZrO, and Nb ₂ O ₅ , a middle refractive index layer such as Al ₂ O ₃ , and a low refractive index layer such as SiO ₂ are laminated. A multilayer thin film is formed on a film.

  In addition, with the progress of miniaturization of pixels in a liquid crystal display, a highly accurate pattern is essential for a flexible circuit board connected to the liquid crystal display, and at the same time, electrical reliability associated with a narrow pitch is further demanded. Yes. Therefore, recently, dissimilar metal layers such as nickel and chromium are provided on the polyimide film by sputtering, vapor deposition, etc., and electrolytic copper plating is applied on the metal layer. It has become important to produce a copper polyimide flexible substrate.

  When manufacturing these functional films, it is necessary to form various thin films in order to impart functionality to the base film. However, the single-wafer type is inferior in productivity and manufacturing cost. It is desirable to form a thin film while moving it periodically. As an apparatus for that purpose, a winding type vacuum film forming apparatus that continuously forms a thin film while moving a film between rolls in a vacuum environment is generally used.

  As the most basic winding-type vacuum film forming apparatus used conventionally, there is one having a structure described in JP-A-2002-060931. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, a thin film forming section 3 having a thin film forming means (not shown) is installed in a vacuum chamber 1 together with a film 2 conveying means, and the inside of the vacuum chamber 1 is a vacuum pump. It is exhausted to a high vacuum by an exhaust system 4 composed of, for example. The film 2 continuously fed from the unwinding roll 5 is formed into a film by the thin film forming unit 2 on one film forming drum 7 while being wound by the winding roll 6.

  As for the above thin film forming means, there are a vacuum deposition method and a sputtering method as a physical film formation method, and a chemical vapor deposition method (CVD) or the like is used as a chemical film formation method. The vacuum deposition method is a method of forming a thin film on a substrate by heating and evaporating a film forming material by resistance heating or electron gun irradiation. A plasma-assisted vapor deposition method is also known in which plasma is formed between an evaporation source and a substrate for the purpose of adhesion and densification of a thin film during vapor deposition. The plasma is formed by applying a DC or AC voltage to a discharge electrode installed in a vacuum film forming apparatus or irradiating a microwave with a microwave using a waveguide. can do.

  In addition, the sputtering method uses a target obtained by forming a film forming material into a plate shape, generates plasma between the substrate and the target using the plasma generation method using the target as a discharge electrode, and uses a potential gradient. In this method, a target material is knocked out by irradiating and colliding ions with a target surface to form a thin film of the target material on a substrate. Furthermore, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is a method in which an inorganic or organic material or a mixture thereof is vaporized and introduced as a raw material gas in the vicinity of a substrate, and a thin film is formed on the substrate by a chemical reaction using heating or plasma. It is a method of forming. When plasma is used, an apparatus configuration similar to sputtering can be used.

  In any of the above-described thin film forming means, it has been confirmed that the use of plasma during film formation has an effect on the adhesion and densification of the thin film. Therefore, the means for forming a thin film using plasma is to improve gas barrier properties for gas barrier films, to improve optical properties for antireflection films, and to improve adhesion between the film and copper layer for copper polyimide flexible substrates, etc. On the other hand, it has been put to practical use as an effective method.

  However, in the winding type vacuum film forming apparatus as shown in FIG. 1, it is easy to form a single layer thin film. However, when laminating a plurality of thin films, a plurality of thin film formations are performed along the running direction of the film. It is necessary to arrange the means or to make the film reciprocate so that a plurality of thin film forming means can be passed depending on the number of times required for lamination.

As a winding-type vacuum film forming apparatus used for forming such a thin film, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-178436 discloses a plurality of film forming drums 7a and 7b in a vacuum chamber 1 as shown in FIG. An arranged film forming apparatus is described. According to this film forming apparatus, the film 2 fed from the unwinding roll 5 and taken up by the take-up roll 6 passes through the plurality of film forming drums 7a and 7b. Thin films of different materials can be sequentially formed on the film 2 at a low temperature by the plurality of cathode assemblies 8 provided to face the circumferential surface.
JP 2002-060931 A JP 2003-178436 A

  In the case of the conventional winding type vacuum surface treatment apparatus described above, it has been difficult to perform a plurality of surface treatments simultaneously with one apparatus. For example, if various surface treatment means are arranged so as to be continuously in contact with the peripheral portions of the film formation drum in the apparatus and a plurality of processes are to be carried out at different film processing positions, the apparatus is not only enlarged. There are problems that the film is wrinkled and the quality is deteriorated. Therefore, in order to perform a plurality of surface treatments on the film, it is necessary to use a plurality of different processing apparatuses. However, in the method using a plurality of different processing apparatuses, the processing man-hours and costs are increased, and at the same time, the film is exposed to the air while being transferred between the apparatuses. There was a problem that it was easily lowered.

  In view of such a conventional situation, the present invention can perform a plurality of surface treatments simultaneously with the same apparatus, and defects such as pinholes and reduced adhesion occur in the formed thin film. It is an object of the present invention to provide a roll-up type composite vacuum surface treatment apparatus that does not cause wrinkles in the film and that can be reduced in size and cost by being multifunctional.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the take-up type composite vacuum surface treatment apparatus provided by the present invention includes a pair of film take-up and unwinding units in a substantially cylindrical vacuum vessel provided with a vacuum pump for evacuating the entire vacuum vessel. A roll, a rotatable can roll whose axial center substantially coincides with the center of the vacuum container, and a surface treatment means disposed opposite the can roll, and is unwound or wound between the film winding and unwinding rolls. A surface treatment apparatus for performing a surface treatment on a film moving along a can roll,
A plurality of surface treatment means that are fixed to a rotating shaft installed on the bottom plate of the vacuum vessel so that the side facing the can roll is at an angle larger than 180 °, and arranged so as to be substantially opposed to the can roll. A pair of surface treatment means, a protrusion on the peripheral wall of the vacuum vessel that is extended to the outside of the vacuum vessel so that the pair of surface treatment means can rotate about the rotation axis, and a space between the vacuum vessel peripheral wall and the can roll A pair of first shielding plates that are fixed to the vacuum vessel bottom plate so as to be substantially shielded and separate the processing zone in which the surface treatment means pair is disposed from the pair of film winding and unwinding rolls, and are fixed to the vacuum vessel bottom plate. A plurality of second shielding plates that extend from near the can roll to near the vacuum vessel peripheral wall and divide the inside of the treatment zone into a plurality of treatment chambers including a pair of surface treatment means, a vacuum vessel bottom plate, and a first shielding plate before the can roll. Plate, is fixed to one of the second shielding plate provided with a plurality of mask plate covering the non-film processing position substantially opposed to the surface treatment unit pair in each processing chamber,
In each treatment chamber in the treatment zone, the pair of surface treatment means is rotated about the rotation axis so that one surface treatment means of the pair of surface treatment means is substantially opposed to the can roll and the other surface treatment means is placed in the peripheral wall protrusion. The surface treatment means that substantially opposes the film processing position in each processing chamber can be changed by moving the film to the position.

  In the take-up type composite vacuum surface treatment apparatus of the present invention, each processing chamber is shielded in an almost airtight state by the plurality of second shielding plates, and each processing chamber is installed on the peripheral wall of the vacuum vessel. The surface treatment can be performed with different pressures and gas types in each processing chamber. The surface treatment means is any one of a heater means for film drying, an ion source for surface treatment, a plasma generation means for film pretreatment, and a sputtering means for thin film formation. Furthermore, it is preferable that the said can roll has a heating-cooling means and the temperature control of the can roll surface is possible.

  The present invention also uses the above-described winding-type composite vacuum surface treatment apparatus of the present invention, and moves the film in one direction along the can roll while roughly positioning the film treatment position of the surface treatment means pair in each treatment chamber. The surface treatment of the film is performed by the one surface treatment means facing each other, and after the surface treatment is finished, the pair of surface treatment means is rotated around the rotation axis, and the one surface treatment means used previously is the peripheral wall protrusion. And the other surface treatment means is substantially opposed to the can roll, thereby changing the surface treatment means substantially opposite the film treatment position in each treatment chamber, and moving each film while moving the film along the can roll again. Provided is a film surface treatment method characterized in that the surface treatment of the film is performed by the other surface treatment means substantially opposite to the film treatment position in the room.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to perform a plurality of surface treatments simultaneously with the same apparatus by providing multifunctional apparatuses, and it is possible to provide a relatively compact and low-cost roll-up type composite vacuum surface treatment apparatus. . In addition, a plurality of surface treatments can be completed in the same apparatus, and it is not necessary to replace a film in the middle of processing with another apparatus, so that not only the processing steps can be shortened and the processing cost can be kept low, but also the processing. Since the intermediate film is not exposed to the atmosphere, defects such as pinholes and reduced adhesion in the formed thin film can be eliminated.

  Furthermore, if each of the partitioned processing chambers is shielded in an almost airtight state and a processing chamber vacuum pump is installed in each processing chamber, each processing chamber can be differentially evacuated. Even more various surface treatments can be performed by selecting treatment conditions of pressure and gas type.

  The winding type composite vacuum surface treatment apparatus of the present invention and a film processing method using the same will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 4, for example, the surface treatment apparatus of the present invention has a pair of film winding and winding inside a substantially cylindrical vacuum vessel 10 equipped with a vacuum pump (not shown) for the entire apparatus. Out rolls 11a and 11b, a can roll 12 which is rotatably provided with the axial center of the vacuum container 10 being substantially coincident, a film transport guide roll, and a plurality of surface treatment means are provided. For example, the film 13 is surface-treated while being moved in accordance with the rotation of the can roll 12 while being unwound from one film winding / unwinding roll 11a and being wound around the other film winding / unwinding roll 11b. It has come to be.

  The vacuum vessel 10 includes a substantially cylindrical vacuum vessel peripheral wall 10a, a vacuum vessel bottom plate 10b, and a vacuum vessel top plate (not shown). Inside the vacuum vessel 10, a plurality of surface treatment means pairs 15a, 15b, 15c each consisting of two surface treatment means are arranged substantially opposite to the can roll 12, and each of the rotations is fixed to the vacuum vessel bottom plate 10b. A shaft 16 is provided so as to be rotatable. Each surface treatment means pair 15a, 15b, 15c is composed of two surface treatment means fixed to the respective rotary shafts 16 as will be described later. And the peripheral wall protrusion part 14 is provided in the vacuum vessel surrounding wall 10a of the arrangement position so that these surface treatment means pair 15a, 15b, 15c can rotate.

  In addition, a pair of first shielding plates 20 are disposed and fixed on the vacuum vessel bottom plate 10b so as to substantially contact the vacuum vessel peripheral wall 10a, the surface of the can roll 12 and the vacuum vessel top plate (not shown), and a plurality of surface treatments are performed. The processing zone in which the means pair 15a, 15b, 15c is arranged is separated from the pair of film winding / unwinding rolls 11a, 11b and shielded so as to be almost airtight. Further, the inside of the processing zone in which a plurality of pairs of surface processing means 15a, 15b, 15c are arranged is fixed to the vacuum vessel bottom plate 10b, and the vacuum vessel peripheral wall 10a, the surface of the can roll 12, and the vacuum vessel top plate (not shown). ) Are sealed in a hermetic state by a plurality of second shielding plates 21 arranged so as to be substantially in contact with each other, and are partitioned into a plurality of processing chambers A, B, and C each including a pair of surface treatment means 15a, 15b, and 15c. Has been.

  In each of the processing chambers A, B, and C, surface treatment means pairs 15a, 15b, and 15c each including two surface treatment means are disposed. The two surface treatment means constituting each surface treatment means pair 15a, 15b, and 15c are arranged on the vacuum vessel bottom plate 10b in a state where the side facing the can roll 12 is disposed at an angle larger than 180 °. Each is fixed to the rotary shaft 16. Examples of the surface treatment means include a heater means for film drying, an ion source for surface treatment, a plasma generation means for film pretreatment, and a sputtering means for thin film formation. For example, the surface treatment means pair 15a in the treatment chamber A of FIG. 3 is composed of a heater means 17a for drying a film and a sputtering means 18a for forming a thin film.

  The pair of surface treatment means 15a, 15b, and 15c composed of the two surface treatment means can be rotated around the rotation shaft 16, respectively. Accordingly, the two surface treatment means whose sides facing the can roll 12 are held at an angle larger than 180 ° are rotated about the rotating shaft 16 so that one surface treatment means is substantially opposed to the can roll 12. At the same time, the other surface treatment means can be moved into the peripheral wall protruding portion 14 so as not to face the can roll 12, so that the surface treatment means facing the film treatment position of each treatment chamber A, B, C can be changed. Can do.

  For example, in the processing chamber A in the state shown in FIG. 3, the heater means 17a for film drying, which is one surface processing means of the surface processing means pair 15a, is at the film processing position substantially opposite to the can roll 12, and the other surface The thin film forming sputtering means 18a, which is a processing means, is arranged and selected so as to move into the peripheral wall protruding portion 14 and not to face the can roll 12. Next, by rotating the surface treatment means pair 15a, the heater means 17a, which is one surface treatment means, moves into the peripheral wall projection 14, and at the same time, the sputtering means 18a, which is the other surface treatment means, moves to the can roll 12. The film processing position is approximately opposite to the film processing position.

  On the other hand, the surface of the can roll 12 is covered with a plurality of mask plates 22 except for a film processing position that is substantially opposite to each pair of surface processing means 15a, 15b, 15c. These mask plates 22 are fixed to any one of the vacuum vessel bottom plate 10 b, the first shielding plate 20, and the second shielding plate 21 in front of the can roll 12. Accordingly, the film 13 that moves with the can roll 12 is subjected to surface treatment only at the film processing position not covered with the mask plate 22 and is not subjected to surface treatment at the position covered with the mask plate 22. For example, in the processing chamber A in the state shown in FIG. 3, the effect of the drying process by the heater means 17 a for drying the film can be obtained only at the film processing position that is not covered with the mask plate 22.

  By using the surface treatment apparatus of the present invention described above, each treatment in the treatment zone can be carried out continuously in one direction in the vacuum vessel if the treatment is possible under the same gas type and the same pressure. By using a plurality of surface treatment means while appropriately changing in a chamber, different treatments can be performed simultaneously or the same treatment can be performed in a plurality of treatment chambers.

  For example, in the state of FIG. 3, the heater 17a in the processing chamber A, the plasma generating means 19b in the processing chamber B, and the plasma generating means in the processing chamber C are located at the film processing positions in the processing chambers. 19c substantially oppose each other. Therefore, the inside of the vacuum vessel 10 or its processing zone is set to the same gas type and the same pressure, and the film 13 unwound from one film winding / unwinding roll 11a is wound around the other film winding / unwinding roll 11b. In addition, the film 13 moving along the can roll 12 is subjected to a drying process by the heater means 17a in the processing chamber A, and in the processing chambers B and C, the film surface is pretreated with plasma by the plasma generating means 19b and 19c. be able to. At that time, the inside of the vacuum vessel 10 can be evacuated by a vacuum pump for the whole, and further a gas for plasma processing can be flowed into the vacuum vessel 10 and maintained at a predetermined pressure.

  Next, after the above surface treatment is completed for one roll of film roll, the surface treatment means pairs 15a, 15b, 15c of the treatment chambers A, B, C are rotated counterclockwise around the respective rotation shafts 16. For example, in the case of the processing chamber A, the sputtering means 18a is substantially opposed to the can roll 12, and the heater means 17a is moved into the peripheral wall protruding portion 14 so as not to face the can roll 12. Similarly, in the processing chambers B and C, the other surface processing means is made substantially opposite to the can roll 12 by rotating the surface processing means pair 15b and 15c. Thereby, the sputtering means 18a, 18b, and 18c are opposed to the film processing positions of the processing chambers A, B, and C, respectively, and the state shown in FIG. 4 is obtained.

  Thereafter, the sputtering means of each of the processing chambers A, B, and C is moved while moving the film 13 of the one roll of film roll in the reverse direction, that is, from the film winding / unwinding roll 11b toward the film winding / unwinding roll 11a. A thin film can be formed on the surface of the film 13 by 18a, 18b, and 18c. At that time, the inside of the vacuum vessel 10 is evacuated by a vacuum pump for the whole, and further, argon gas for sputtering or the like is caused to flow into the vacuum vessel 10 to be kept at a predetermined pressure. Moreover, in order to control the temperature of the surface of the can roll 12 as needed, the can roll 12 can be provided with heating and cooling means.

  Thus, in the surface treatment apparatus of the present invention provided with a plurality of different surface treatment means, a plurality of surface treatments can be simultaneously applied to the film with the same apparatus. Therefore, complex processing of complex processes is possible, and even when the same kind of thin film is formed, even if one cathode target is consumed, a film can be formed using another target. , A long-time treatment or a thickening treatment can be performed.

  Another surface treatment apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In this surface treatment apparatus, the processing chambers A, B, and C are partitioned by the two first shielding plates 20 and the plurality of second shielding plates 21 and simultaneously shielded in an airtight state. , C are provided with processing chamber vacuum pumps 23a, 23b, 23c. Further, in order to evacuate the portions other than the processing chambers A, B, and C of the vacuum vessel 10, an overall vacuum pump (not shown) is also installed as in the above-described apparatus. The devices shown in FIGS. 5 to 6 are the same as those in FIGS. 4 to 5 unless otherwise specified, and the same portions are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIGS.

  According to the surface treatment apparatus of FIGS. 5 to 6, the process chamber vacuum pumps 23 a, 23 b, and 23 c are provided for each of the process chambers A, B, and C that are shielded and partitioned substantially in an airtight state. Therefore, differential evacuation is performed by the vacuum pumps 23a, 23b, and 23c for the processing chambers, and different pressures and gas types are selected in the processing chambers A, B, and C to perform more complicated surface treatment. Is possible. In addition, the entire vacuum pump is used to evacuate the portions other than the processing chambers A, B, and C in the vacuum vessel 10, and different gas types in the processing chambers A, B, and C are not mixed. Can be.

  For example, in the state of FIG. 5, while the film 13 heading from one film winding / unwinding roll 11 a to the other film winding / unwinding roll 11 b moves along the can roll 12, a vacuum atmosphere is formed in the processing chamber A. In the processing chambers B and C, the film surface can be pretreated with plasma by the plasma generating means 19b and 19c in a plasma processing gas atmosphere. Thereafter, the surface treatment means pair 15a, 15b, 15c of each treatment chamber A, B, C is rotated counterclockwise about the rotation shaft 16 to change the respective surface treatment means as shown in FIG. State.

  That is, in the processing chamber A, the heater unit 17 a is moved into the peripheral wall protruding portion 14 so as not to face the can roll 12, and the sputtering unit 18 a is substantially opposed to the can roll 12. Similarly, in the processing chambers B and C, the plasma generation means 19b and 19c are moved into the peripheral wall protrusion 14, respectively, and at the same time, the sputtering means 18b and 18c are substantially opposed to the can roll 12. At this time, a thin film is formed on the surface of the film 13 moving along the can roll 12 by sputtering means 18a, 18b, and 18c, respectively, with the atmosphere in the processing chambers A, B, and C being an argon atmosphere of a constant pressure.

  Thus, in the surface treatment apparatus of the present invention having a plurality of different surface treatment means and a plurality of treatment chamber vacuum pumps as shown in FIGS. 5 to 6, a plurality of surface treatments are simultaneously performed on the film by the same apparatus. In addition, it is possible to perform surface treatment under different gas types or pressures in each processing chamber, so that various surface treatments can be performed in an overlapping manner as compared with the apparatus shown in FIGS. It becomes possible.

[Example 1]
3-4, the processing chamber A includes a surface processing means pair 15a composed of a sputtering means 18a and a heater means 17a, and the processing chamber B includes a sputtering means 18b and a plasma generation means 19b. A pair of surface treatment means 15b and a pair of surface treatment means 15c consisting of a sputtering means 18c and a plasma generation means 19c were attached to the processing chamber C, respectively. The two surface treatment means of each pair of surface treatment means 15a, 15b, 15c held the side facing the can roll 12 at an angle of 210 °. The sputtering means 18a and 18b were both equipped with a Cu sputtering target, and the sputtering means 18c was equipped with a Cr sputtering target.

First, in the state shown in FIG. 3, the whole vacuum pump in which a film 13 made of polyimide having a length of 1000 m and a thickness of 25 μm is attached to one winding / unwinding roll 11 a and the inside of the vacuum vessel 10 is installed on the vacuum vessel bottom plate 10 b. Then, O ₂ gas was introduced to keep the inside of the vacuum vessel 10 at 6.7 Pa (50 mm Torr). Rotating the can roll 12 in each of the processing chambers A, B, C while winding the film 13 unwound at a speed of 10 m / min from the one winding / unwinding roll 11a to the other winding / unwinding roll 11b. A surface treatment was applied to the film 13 moving in accordance with the above.

  That is, in the processing chamber A, the film 13 was heated and dried by supplying electric power to the heater means 17a and maintaining the temperature at 150 ° C. In the processing chambers B and C, the surface of the film 13 is activated or roughened by supplying 3 kW of power from the high frequency power source to each plasma electrode of the plasma generating means 19b and 19c to generate plasma discharge. Pretreatment was performed. These surface treatments were continuously carried out for about 100 minutes to finish the treatment of the film 13 made of one roll of polyimide, and the film 13 was wound around the other winding / unwinding roll 11b.

  Next, without breaking the vacuum state of the vacuum vessel 10, the surface treatment means pair 15a, 15b, 15c of each treatment chamber is rotated counterclockwise around the rotation shaft 16, and the respective surface treatment means are moved. Replaced. For example, in the case of the processing chamber A, the sputtering means 18 a is substantially opposed to the can roll 12, and the heater means 14 a is moved into the peripheral wall protrusion 14 so as not to face the can roll 12. The processing chambers B and C were similarly set to the state shown in FIG. Thereafter, the inside of the vacuum vessel 10 was evacuated with a vacuum pump for the whole, and then argon gas was introduced to keep the inside of the vacuum vessel 10 at a pressure of 2.7 Pa (20 mm Torr). In this state, while conveying the film 13 made of polyimide wound around the winding / unwinding roll 11b to the winding / unwinding roll 11a at a speed of 5 m / min, in each processing chamber A, B, C, A thin film was formed on the film 13 that moved in accordance with the rotation of the can roll 12.

  That is, power was supplied to the sputtering means 18 a, 18 b, and 18 c in each of the processing chambers A, B, and C, and the target material was knocked out from the sputtering target to form a thin film of the target material on the film 13. Specifically, by a film forming process for about 200 minutes, a thin Cr film having a thickness of about 20 nm is first formed in the processing chamber C by the sputtering means 18c, and then in the processing chambers B and A by the sputtering means 18b and 18a. A thin film of Cu having a thickness of about 200 nm was sequentially stacked.

  The polyimide film 13 having been subjected to the above surface treatment is taken out of the vacuum vessel 10, and a Cu layer is further formed on the laminated thin film of Cr and Cu by a wet plating method to a thickness of 8 μm. A substrate was used. In the obtained copper polyimide flexible substrate, since the film was not exposed to the air during the surface treatment, the occurrence of pinholes was small, and the adhesion of the metal layer to the polyimide film was also good.

[Example 2]
5-6, the processing chamber A provided with the processing chamber vacuum pump 23a is provided with the sputtering means 18a and the heater means 17a, and the processing chamber B provided with the processing chamber vacuum pump 23b. The sputtering means 18b and the plasma generation means 19b were attached to the processing chamber C, and the sputtering means 18c and the plasma generation means 19c were attached to the processing chamber C provided with the processing chamber vacuum pump 23c. The sputtering means 18a and 18b were both equipped with a Cu sputtering target, and the sputtering means 18c was equipped with a Cr sputtering target.

First, in the state shown in FIG. 5, a film 13 made of polyimide having a length of 1000 m and a thickness of 25 μm is attached to one winding / unwinding roll 11a, and an overall vacuum pump (not shown) provided on the vacuum vessel bottom plate 10b. The portions other than the processing chambers A, B, and C of the vacuum vessel 10 are evacuated, and the processing chambers A, B, and C of the vacuum vessel 10 are further evacuated using the vacuum pumps 23a, 23b, and 23c for the processing chambers. Evacuated. Thereafter, the processing chamber A having the heater means 17a was kept evacuated, and O ₂ gas was introduced into the other processing chambers B and C to keep the inside at 6.7 Pa (50 mm Torr).

  In this state, while winding the film 13 unwound at a speed of 10 m / min from the winding / unwinding roll 11a onto the other winding / unwinding roll 11b, each processing chamber A, B, C A surface treatment was applied to the film 13 that moved in accordance with the rotation. That is, in the processing chamber A, the film 13 was heated and dried by supplying electric power to the heater means 17a and maintaining the temperature at 150 ° C. In the processing chamber B, 2 kW electric power is supplied from the high frequency power source to the plasma electrode of the plasma generating means 19b, and in the processing chamber C, 3 kW electric power is supplied from the high frequency power source to the plasma electrode of the plasma generating means 19b. By performing the above, a pretreatment for activating or roughening the surface of the film 13 was performed. These surface treatments were continuously carried out for about 100 minutes to surface-treat the film 13 made of one roll of polyimide.

  Next, without breaking the vacuum state of the vacuum vessel 10, the surface processing means pairs 15a, 15b, 15c of the processing chambers A, B, C are respectively rotated counterclockwise around the rotation shaft 4, respectively. The surface treatment means was replaced. For example, in the case of the processing chamber A, the sputtering means 18 a is substantially opposed to the can roll 12, and the heater means 14 a is moved into the peripheral wall protrusion 14 so as not to face the can roll 12. The processing chambers B and C were similarly set to the state shown in FIG. Thereafter, the vacuum vessel 10 was evacuated with a vacuum pump for the whole, and then argon gas was introduced to keep the inside of the vacuum vessel 10 at a pressure of 2.7 Pa (20 mm Torr).

  In this state, while the polyimide film 13 wound on the winding / unwinding roll 11b is conveyed to the winding / unwinding roll 11a at a speed of 5 m / min, the film moves in accordance with the rotation of the can roll 12. 13, a thin film was formed in each of the processing chambers A, B, and C. That is, power was supplied to each sputtering means 18 a, 18 b, 18 c and the target material was knocked out from the sputtering target to form a thin film of the target material on the film 13. Specifically, by processing for about 200 minutes, first, a thin film of about 20 nm in thickness is formed in the processing chamber C by the sputtering means 18c, and then in the processing chambers B and A, the total thickness is about 200 nm by the sputtering means 18b and 18a. Cu thin films were sequentially laminated.

  The film 13 made of polyimide after the above surface treatment was taken out of the vacuum vessel 10 and then, similarly to Example 1, a Cu layer was further formed on the laminated thin film of Cr and Cu by a wet plating method to a thickness of 8 μm. By forming this, a copper polyimide flexible substrate was obtained. In the obtained copper polyimide flexible substrate, since the film is not exposed to the air during the surface treatment, the occurrence of pinholes is small, and the adhesion of the metal layer to the polyimide film is more than in the case of Example 1. It was further improved.

[Comparative example]
As an example of processing in a conventional general winding type vacuum surface processing apparatus in which a plurality of surface treatments cannot be performed unless the vacuum state is broken in the middle, except that one surface processing means is fixed in each processing chamber. Surface treatment was carried out as follows using the surface treatment apparatus shown in FIGS. 7 to 8 having basically the same structure as in Example 1 above. 7-8, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to FIG. 3-4 and an identical part.

That is, first, in the state of FIG. 7, as the surface treatment means of the vacuum vessel 10, the processing chamber A has the heater means 17a, the processing chamber B has the plasma generation means 19b, and the processing chamber C has the plasma generation means 19c. , Each attached. A film 13 made of polyimide having a length of 1000 m and a thickness of 25 μm is attached to one winding / unwinding roll 11a, and the inside of the vacuum vessel 10 is evacuated, and then O ₂ gas is introduced to make the inside of the vacuum vessel 10 6 It was held at 0.7 Pa (50 mm Torr).

  While the polyimide film 13 unwound from the winding / unwinding roll 11a is moved along the can roll 12 at a speed of 10 m / min, in the processing chamber A, the heater means 17a is maintained at a temperature of 150 ° C. In the processing chambers B and C, the surface of the film 13 is activated or activated by supplying plasma power to the plasma electrodes of the plasma generating means 19b and 19c from a high frequency power source to generate plasma discharge. A pretreatment for roughening was performed. These surface treatments were continuously performed for about 100 minutes, and the treatment of the film 13 made of one roll of polyimide was completed.

  Thereafter, the vacuum vessel 10 was vacuum leaked to return to atmospheric pressure, and the polyimide film 13 dried and plasma-treated as described above was taken out. The film 13 taken out was transferred to the apparatus shown in FIG. 8 and mounted on the winding / unwinding roll 11b. Further, as the surface treatment means of the vacuum vessel 10, the treatment chambers A and B have sputtering means 18a and 18b having a Cu sputtering target, and the treatment chamber C has sputtering means 18c having a Cr sputtering target. Attached.

  In this state, the inside of the vacuum vessel 10 was evacuated and then Ar gas was introduced to keep the inside of the vacuum vessel 10 at a pressure of 2.7 Pa (20 mm Torr). While the film 13 is transported from the winding / unwinding roll 11b to the winding / unwinding roll 11a at a speed of 5 m / min, the film 13 moves in accordance with the rotation of the can roll 12 in each processing chamber A, B, C. A thin film was formed. Specifically, by processing for about 200 minutes, a Cr thin film having a thickness of about 20 nm is first formed in the processing chamber C, and then a Cu thin film having a total thickness of about 200 nm is sequentially stacked in the processing chambers B and A. did.

  The film 13 made of polyimide after the above surface treatment was formed by forming a Cu layer to a thickness of 8 μm on the laminated thin film of Cr and Cu by wet plating as in Example 1 to obtain a copper polyimide flexible substrate. It was. Since the obtained copper polyimide flexible substrate exposes the film once processed to the air in the middle, the occurrence of pinholes is larger than in the case of Example 1, and the polyimide film has a metal layer. The adhesion was slightly inferior.

It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the most basic structure of the conventional winding type vacuum film-forming apparatus. It is general | schematic sectional drawing which shows the other structure of the conventional winding type vacuum film-forming apparatus. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows one specific example of the winding type composite vacuum surface treatment apparatus of this invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state where the surface treatment means of the apparatus of FIG. 3 is moved. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the other specific example of the winding type composite vacuum surface treatment apparatus of this invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view showing a state in which the surface treatment means of the apparatus of FIG. 5 is moved. It is general | schematic sectional drawing which shows the winding type composite vacuum surface treatment apparatus of a comparative example. FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state where the surface treatment means of the apparatus of FIG. 7 is replaced.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vacuum chamber 2 Film 3 Thin film formation part 7, 7a, 7b Film-forming drum 8 Cathode assembly 10 Vacuum container 10a Vacuum container surrounding wall 10b Vacuum container bottom plate 11a, 11b Winding unwinding roll 12 Can roll 13 Film 14 Circumferential wall protrusion 15a 15b, 15c Surface treatment means pair 16 Rotating shaft 17a Heater means 18a, 18b, 18c Sputtering means 19b, 19c Plasma generating means 20 First shielding plate 21 Second shielding plate 22 Mask plate 23a, 23b, 23c Vacuum pump for processing chamber

Claims (5)

In a substantially cylindrical vacuum vessel equipped with a vacuum pump that evacuates the entire vacuum vessel, a pair of film winding and unwinding rolls, a rotatable can roll having an axial center substantially coincided with the vacuum vessel, and a can roll And a surface treatment device arranged to face the film, and is a surface treatment device for performing a surface treatment on the film that is unwound or wound between the film winding and unwinding rolls and moves along the can roll,
A plurality of surface treatment means that are fixed to a rotating shaft installed on the bottom plate of the vacuum vessel so that the side facing the can roll is at an angle larger than 180 °, and arranged so as to be substantially opposed to the can roll. A pair of surface treatment means, a protrusion on the peripheral wall of the vacuum vessel that is extended to the outside of the vacuum vessel so that the pair of surface treatment means can rotate about the rotation axis, and a space between the vacuum vessel peripheral wall and the can roll A pair of first shielding plates that are fixed to the vacuum vessel bottom plate so as to be substantially shielded and separate the processing zone in which the surface treatment means pair is disposed from the pair of film winding and unwinding rolls, and are fixed to the vacuum vessel bottom plate. A plurality of second shielding plates that extend from near the can roll to near the vacuum vessel peripheral wall and divide the inside of the treatment zone into a plurality of treatment chambers including a pair of surface treatment means, a vacuum vessel bottom plate, and a first shielding plate before the can roll. Plate, is fixed to one of the second shielding plate provided with a plurality of mask plate covering the non-film processing position substantially opposed to the surface treatment unit pair in each processing chamber,
In each treatment chamber in the treatment zone, the pair of surface treatment means is rotated about the rotation axis so that one surface treatment means of the pair of surface treatment means is substantially opposed to the can roll and the other surface treatment means is placed in the peripheral wall protrusion. A roll-up type composite vacuum surface treatment apparatus capable of changing the surface treatment means that is substantially opposite to the film processing position in each processing chamber by being moved to the position.   Each processing chamber is shielded in an almost airtight state by the plurality of second shielding plates, and each processing chamber has a processing chamber vacuum pump installed on the peripheral wall of the vacuum vessel, and each processing chamber has a different pressure. The wind-up type composite vacuum surface treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the surface treatment can be performed with a gas type.   The surface treatment means is any one of a heater means for film drying, an ion source for surface treatment, a plasma generation means for film pretreatment, and a sputtering means for thin film formation. The winding type composite vacuum surface treatment apparatus according to 2.   The winding type composite vacuum surface treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the can roll has a heating / cooling means, and the temperature of the can roll surface can be controlled. Using the take-up type composite vacuum surface treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, while moving the film in one direction along the can roll, the film treatment position of the pair of surface treatment means is approximately set in each treatment chamber. The surface treatment of the film is performed by one surface treatment means facing each other, and after the surface treatment is finished, the pair of surface treatment means is rotated around the rotation axis, and the one surface treatment means used earlier is the peripheral wall protrusion. And the other surface treatment means is substantially opposed to the can roll, thereby changing the surface treatment means substantially opposite the film treatment position in each treatment chamber, and moving each film while moving the film along the can roll again. A surface treatment method for a film, characterized in that the surface treatment of the film is performed by the other surface treatment means substantially opposite to the film processing position in the room.

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