JP4979650B2 - In-line film forming apparatus and method for manufacturing magnetic recording medium - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-line type film forming apparatus that performs film forming processing while sequentially transferring a substrate to be formed between a plurality of chambers, and a method for manufacturing a magnetic recording medium using the in-line type film forming apparatus.

  In recent years, the recording density has been remarkably improved in the field of magnetic recording media used in hard disk drives and the like, and recently, the recording density has been increasing at an astonishing rate of about 100 times in 10 years.

  Such a magnetic recording medium has, for example, a structure in which a seed film, a base film, a magnetic recording film, a protective film, and a lubricant film are sequentially laminated on both surfaces or one surface of a nonmagnetic substrate. The film is manufactured using an in-line film forming apparatus that performs film forming processing while sequentially transporting a substrate held by a carrier between a plurality of chambers (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Specifically, the in-line film forming apparatus has a structure in which a plurality of chambers 101a and 101b for performing film forming processes are connected via a gate valve 102, as schematically shown in FIG. In each chamber 101a, 101b, a plurality of bearings 103 supported so as to be rotatable about a horizontal axis are provided side by side in the conveying direction of the carrier 104, and the carrier 104 is placed on the plurality of bearings 103. It is possible to move.

  On the other hand, the carrier 104 has a plurality of holders 106 on a support base 105. These holders 106 can be elastically deformed around a hole 107 in which the substrate D is disposed, and around the hole 107. And a plurality of support members 108 attached to each other. The holder 106 can detachably hold the substrate D fitted inside the support members 108 while bringing the outer peripheral portions of the substrate D into contact with the plurality of support members 108.

The magnetic recording medium can be continuously manufactured using such an in-line type film forming apparatus, the substrate is not contaminated when handling the processing substrate, and the manufacturing process is reduced with fewer handling steps. Can be made more efficient, the product yield can be improved, and the productivity of the magnetic recording medium can be increased.
JP 2002-288888 A

  By the way, in the above-described conventional in-line film forming apparatus, when the carrier 104 passes between the chambers 101a and 101b, the carrier 104 vibrates in the vertical direction, and the vibration is transmitted to the substrate D held by the holder 108. As a result, scratches may occur near the outer periphery of the substrate D in contact with the support member 108.

  This is because the bearing 103 cannot be disposed between the chambers 101a and 101b in which the gate valve 102 is located, and the interval between the bearings 103a and 103b located on the inlet side and the outlet side of the chambers 101a and 101b becomes wide. to cause. That is, when the carrier 104 passes between the bearings 103a and 103b located on the entry side and the exit side of the chambers 101a and 101b, the carrier 104 slightly vibrates in the vertical direction, so that the vibration (impact) is generated. The substrate D is transferred to the substrate D held by the holder 108, and the substrate D fitted inside the support member 108 is slightly rotated. At this time, it was found that scratches occurred near the outer periphery of the substrate D in contact with the support member 108.

  Such a scratch (scratch scar) is considered to occur every time the carrier 104 passes between the plurality of chambers 101a and 101b connected via the gate valve. In addition to concern about the effects of the bias, there is also concern about the occurrence of bias sparks after changing the substrate.

  Further, in the conventional in-line type film forming apparatus, when the carrier 104 passes between the chambers 101a and 101b, as shown in FIG. 11, the guide rail 104a provided at the lower end of the carrier 104 has an inlet-side bearing. Wearing the guide rail 104a may cause wear due to contact with the 103a.

  In order to prevent the wear of the guide rail 104a, for example, as shown in FIG. 12, it is conceivable to provide a rubber wheel 109 on the outer periphery of the bearing 103a to alleviate the impact applied to the guide rail 104a. However, in this case, a new problem such as contamination of the chambers 101a and 101b occurs when the wheels 109 are worn and generate dust.

  Therefore, the present invention has been proposed in view of such a conventional situation, and it is possible to mitigate the impact applied to the carrier when the carrier passes between the chambers connected via the gate valve. It is an object of the present invention to provide an in-line type film forming apparatus and a method of manufacturing a magnetic recording medium using such an in-line type film forming apparatus.

The present invention provides the following means.
(1) a plurality of chambers that perform film formation under a reduced-pressure atmosphere;
A carrier for holding a substrate to be deposited in the plurality of chambers;
A transport mechanism for sequentially transporting the carrier between the plurality of chambers,
The plurality of chambers are connected via gate valves, and in each chamber, a plurality of bearings supported rotatably around a horizontal axis are provided side by side in the transport direction of the carrier. The carrier is movable on the bearing,
The in-line film forming apparatus is characterized in that the bearings positioned on the entry side and the exit side of the chambers connected via the gate valve are rotatably attached to a support shaft having a buffer mechanism. .
(2) The support shaft having the buffer mechanism has the bearing attached to the distal end side thereof, and the base end side is fitted and supported in a shaft hole formed in the attachment member.
The in-line type film forming apparatus according to (1), wherein the buffer mechanism includes a buffer member interposed between the support shaft and the shaft hole.
(3) The buffer member is an O-ring, and a plurality of the O-rings are arranged side by side in the axial direction between the support shaft and the shaft hole. The in-line film forming apparatus according to item (2), wherein the in-line film forming apparatus is set so as to decrease in order toward the side.
(4) The in-line type film forming apparatus according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the carrier includes a guide rail with which the plurality of bearings are engaged.
(5) The carrier includes a holder provided with a hole portion for disposing the substrate on the inside, and a plurality of support members attached to the periphery of the hole portion of the holder so as to be elastically deformable. 5. The substrate according to any one of (1) to (4) above, wherein the substrate fitted inside the support member is detachably held while the outer peripheral portion of the substrate is brought into contact with the member. Inline film deposition system.
(6) The inline-type film forming apparatus according to (5), wherein a groove portion with which an outer peripheral portion of the substrate is engaged is provided at the front end portion of the plurality of support members.
(7) The in-line film forming apparatus according to any one of (1) to (6), wherein the transport mechanism includes a drive mechanism that drives the carrier in a non-contact state.
(8) A magnetic recording medium comprising a step of forming at least a magnetic layer on the surface of the substrate using the in-line film forming apparatus according to any one of (1) to (7). Manufacturing method.

As described above, in the inline-type film forming apparatus according to the present invention, it is possible to mitigate the impact applied to the carrier when the carrier passes between the chambers connected via the gate valve. It is possible to prevent the held substrate from being scratched or the like from being worn at the contact portion between the carrier and the bearing.
Therefore, in the method for manufacturing a magnetic recording medium according to the present invention, by using such an in-line film forming apparatus, it is possible to increase the manufacturing capability of the magnetic recording medium and to manufacture a high-quality magnetic recording medium. is there.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
In the present embodiment, a case where a magnetic recording medium mounted on a hard disk device is manufactured using an in-line film forming apparatus that performs a film forming process while sequentially transferring a substrate to be formed between a plurality of chambers. An example will be described.

(Magnetic recording medium)
A magnetic recording medium manufactured by applying the present invention has a soft magnetic layer 81, an intermediate layer 82, a recording magnetic layer 83, and a protective layer 84 sequentially laminated on both surfaces of a nonmagnetic substrate 80, for example, as shown in FIG. Further, a lubricating film 85 is formed on the outermost surface. The soft magnetic layer 81, the intermediate layer 82 and the recording magnetic layer 83 constitute a magnetic layer 810.

  The nonmagnetic substrate 80 is made of an Al alloy substrate such as an Al—Mg alloy mainly composed of Al, ordinary soda glass, aluminosilicate glass, crystallized glass, silicon, titanium, ceramics, and various resins. Any substrate can be used as long as it is a non-magnetic substrate.

  Among them, it is preferable to use an Al alloy substrate, a glass substrate such as crystallized glass, and a silicon substrate, and the average surface roughness (Ra) of these substrates is preferably 1 nm or less, more preferably It is 0.5 nm or less, and among these, 0.1 nm or less is particularly preferable.

The magnetic layer 810 may be an in-plane magnetic layer for an in-plane magnetic recording medium or a perpendicular magnetic layer for a perpendicular magnetic recording medium, but a perpendicular magnetic layer is preferable in order to achieve a higher recording density. The magnetic layer 810 is preferably formed from an alloy mainly composed of Co. For example, as the magnetic layer 810 for a perpendicular magnetic recording medium, for example, soft magnetic FeCo alloys (FeCoB, FeCoSiB, FeCoZr, FeCoZrB, FeCoZrBCu, etc.), FeTa alloys (FeTaN, FeTaC, etc.), Co alloys (CoTaZr, CoZrNB, CoB) Etc.), an intermediate layer 82 made of Ru, etc., and a recording magnetic layer 83 made of 60Co-15Cr-15Pt alloy or 70Co-5Cr-15Pt-10SiO ₂ alloy can be used. . Further, an orientation control film made of Pt, Pd, NiCr, NiFeCr or the like may be laminated between the soft magnetic layer 81 and the intermediate layer 82. On the other hand, as the magnetic layer 810 for the in-plane magnetic recording medium, a laminate of a nonmagnetic CrMo underlayer and a ferromagnetic CoCrPtTa magnetic layer can be used.

  The total thickness of the magnetic layer 810 is 3 nm or more and 20 nm or less, preferably 5 nm or more and 15 nm or less. The magnetic layer 810 can obtain sufficient head input / output according to the type of magnetic alloy used and the laminated structure. What is necessary is just to form. The film thickness of the magnetic layer 810 requires a certain thickness of the magnetic layer in order to obtain a certain level of output during reproduction, while parameters indicating recording / reproduction characteristics deteriorate as the output increases. Therefore, it is necessary to set an optimum film thickness.

Examples of the protective layer 84 include carbonaceous layers such as carbon (C), hydrogenated carbon (H _X C), nitrogenated carbon (CN), alumocarbon, silicon carbide (SiC), SiO ₂ , Zr ₂ O ₃ , A commonly used protective layer material such as TiN can be used. Further, the protective layer 84 may be composed of two or more layers. The film thickness of the protective layer 84 needs to be less than 10 nm. This is because if the thickness of the protective layer 84 exceeds 10 nm, the distance between the head and the recording magnetic layer 83 increases, and sufficient input / output signal strength cannot be obtained.

  Examples of the lubricant used for the lubricating film 85 include a fluorine-based lubricant, a hydrocarbon-based lubricant, and a mixture thereof, and the lubricant layer 85 is usually formed with a thickness of 1 to 4 nm.

(Magnetic recording / reproducing device)
An example of a magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus using the magnetic recording medium is a hard disk apparatus as shown in FIG. This hard disk device includes a magnetic disk 96 that is the magnetic recording medium, a medium driving unit 97 that rotationally drives the magnetic disk 96, a magnetic head 98 that records and reproduces information on the magnetic disk 96, a head driving unit 99, and a recording medium. A reproduction signal processing system 100. Then, the magnetic reproduction signal processing system 100 processes the input data, sends a recording signal to the magnetic head 98, processes the reproduction signal from the magnetic head 98, and outputs the data.

(In-line deposition system)
Specifically, when manufacturing the magnetic recording medium, for example, an in-line film forming apparatus (magnetic recording medium manufacturing apparatus) to which the present invention is applied as shown in FIG. By sequentially laminating at least the soft magnetic layer 81, the intermediate layer 82, the recording magnetic layer 83, and the protective layer on both surfaces of the substrate 80 to form the magnetic layer 810 and the step of forming the protective layer 84, A high-quality magnetic recording medium can be obtained stably.

  Specifically, an in-line type film forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied includes a robot stand 1, a substrate cassette transfer robot 3 placed on the robot stand 1, a substrate supply robot chamber 2 adjacent to the robot stand 1, The substrate supply robot 34 disposed in the substrate supply robot chamber 2, the substrate mounting chamber 52 adjacent to the substrate supply robot chamber 2, corner chambers 4, 7, 14, 17 for rotating the carrier 25, and each corner chamber A plurality of chambers 5, 6, 8-13, 15, 16, 18-20 disposed between 4, 7, 14, 17, a substrate removal chamber 54 disposed adjacent to the chamber 20, and substrate mounting An ashing chamber 3A disposed between the chamber 52 and the substrate removal chamber 54; a substrate removal robot chamber 22 disposed adjacent to the substrate removal chamber 54; And the installed substrate removal robot 49, and a plurality of carriers 25 to be transported between these chambers is schematically configured.

  In addition, each chamber 2, 52, 4-20, 54, 3A is connected to two adjacent walls, respectively, and in the connecting portion of each chamber 2, 52, 4-20, 54, 3A, When the gate valves 55 to 71 are provided and these gate valves 55 to 71 are closed, the inside of each chamber becomes an independent sealed space.

  Further, in each chamber 2, 52, 4 to 20, 54, 3A, while the carrier 25 is sequentially transported by a transport mechanism described later, in each chamber, on both surfaces of the nonmagnetic substrate 80 held by the carrier 25, The above-described soft magnetic layer 81, intermediate layer 82, recording magnetic layer 83, and protective layer 84 are sequentially formed, so that the magnetic recording medium shown in FIG. 1 is finally obtained. Each of the corner chambers 4, 7, 14, and 17 is a chamber for changing the moving direction of the carrier 25, and a mechanism for rotating the carrier 25 to move to the next chamber is provided therein.

  The substrate cassette transfer robot 3 supplies the nonmagnetic substrate 80 to the substrate mounting chamber 2 from the cassette in which the nonmagnetic substrate 80 before film formation is stored, and removes the nonmagnetic film after film formation removed in the substrate removal chamber 22. The magnetic substrate 80 (magnetic recording medium) is taken out. An opening opened to the outside and 51 and 55 for opening and closing the opening are provided on one side wall of the substrate attaching / detaching chambers 2 and 22.

  Inside the substrate mounting chamber 52, the nonmagnetic substrate 80 before film formation is held on the carrier 25 using the substrate supply robot 34. On the other hand, inside the substrate removal chamber 54, the nonmagnetic substrate 80 (magnetic recording medium) after film formation held by the carrier 25 is removed using the substrate removal robot 49. The ashing chamber 3 </ b> A ashes the carrier 25 transported from the substrate removal chamber 54 and then transports the carrier 25 to the substrate mounting chamber 52.

  Of the plurality of chambers 5, 6, 8-13, 15, 16, 18-20, the chambers 6, 8 constitute a patterning chamber. The patterning chamber is provided with a mechanism for patterning the mask layer. On the other hand, the reforming chamber is constituted by the chambers 10, 11, and 12. In the reforming chamber, a portion of the recording magnetic layer 83 that is not covered with the mask layer after patterning is subjected to reactive plasma treatment or ion irradiation treatment to be modified into a non-magnetic material, and the remaining magnetism A mechanism for forming a magnetic recording pattern 83a composed of a body is provided. On the other hand, the chambers 16 and 18 constitute a removal chamber. The removal chamber is provided with a mechanism for removing the mask layer. On the other hand, the chambers 19 and 20 constitute a protective layer forming chamber. The protective layer forming chamber is provided with a mechanism for forming the protective layer 84 on the recording magnetic layer 83.

  The configurations of the chambers 5, 6, 8 to 13, 15, 16, and 18 to 2 for performing these film forming processes are basically the same except that the configuration of the processing apparatus is different depending on the processing contents. Therefore, the specific configuration will be described collectively in the chamber 70 shown in FIG.

  In this chamber 70, as shown in FIG. 5, two processing apparatuses 71 that perform film formation processing on the nonmagnetic substrate 80 held by the carrier 25 are arranged opposite to each other on both sides of the carrier 25. Yes.

  For example, when the film forming process is performed by sputtering, the two processing apparatuses 71 form a cathode unit for generating sputter discharge, and when the film forming process is performed by the CVD method, a film forming space is formed by the CVD method. In the case where the electrode unit and the film forming process are performed by the PVD method, an ion gun or the like is used.

  Further, the chamber 70 is provided with a gas introduction pipe 72 for introducing a raw material gas and an atmospheric gas therein. The gas introduction pipe 72 is provided with a valve 73 whose opening and closing is controlled by a control mechanism (not shown), and the gas supply from the gas introduction pipe 72 is controlled by opening and closing the valve 73.

  The chamber 70 is provided with a gas discharge pipe 74 connected to a vacuum pump (not shown). The chamber 70 can be evacuated and exhausted through a gas discharge pipe 74 connected to the vacuum pump.

  As illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 6, the carrier 25 includes a support base 26 and a plurality of holders 27 provided on the upper surface of the support base 26. In the present embodiment, since the two holders 27 are mounted, the two nonmagnetic substrates 80 held by the holders 27 are replaced with the first film-forming substrate 23 and the second film-forming substrate 24, respectively. Shall be treated as

  In the present embodiment, for example, in a state where the carrier 25 is stopped at the first processing position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 4, the two processing apparatuses 71 are placed on both surfaces of the first film-forming substrate 23 on the left side of the carrier 25. The film forming process or the like is performed, and then the carrier 25 moves to the second processing position indicated by the broken line in FIG. 5, and the two processing apparatuses 71 are the carriers in the state where the carrier 25 is stopped at the second processing position. A film forming process or the like can be performed on both surfaces of the second film forming substrate 24 on the right side of 25.

  In addition, when there are four processing apparatuses 71 facing the first and second film formation substrates 23 and 24 on both sides of the carrier 25, the carrier 25 is not required to be moved and is held by the carrier 25. A film forming process or the like can be simultaneously performed on the first and second film forming substrates 23 and 24.

  The two holders 27 are arranged so that the first and second film-formation substrates 23 and 24 are held vertically (the main surfaces of the substrates 23 and 24 are parallel to the direction of gravity), that is, the first and second 2 The main surfaces of the film-forming substrates 23 and 24 are provided in parallel to the upper surface of the support table 26 so that the main surfaces are substantially orthogonal to the upper surface of the support table 26 and are substantially on the same surface.

  Each holder 27 is slightly larger in diameter than the outer periphery of the film forming substrates 23 and 24 in a plate body 28 having a thickness of about 1 to several times the thickness of the first and second film forming substrates 23 and 24. A circular hole 29 is formed.

  A plurality of support members 30 are attached around the hole 29 of each holder 27 so as to be elastically deformable. These support members 30 are formed by arranging the outer peripheral portions of the first and second film-forming substrates 23 and 24 disposed inside the hole 29 at the lowermost fulcrum located at the lowest position on the outer periphery, and the lower fulcrum A fixed interval around the hole 29 of the holder 27 so as to support at three points with a pair of upper side fulcrum located on the upper side on the outer periphery which is symmetrical with respect to the center line along the gravity direction passing through Are provided side by side.

  As a result, the carrier 25 has the first and second components fitted inside the supporting members 30 while the outer peripheral portions of the first and second film-forming substrates 23 and 24 are brought into contact with the three supporting members 30. The film substrates 23 and 24 can be detachably held on the holder 27. The first and second deposition substrates 23 and 24 are attached to and detached from the holder 27 when the substrate supply robot 34 or the substrate removal robot 49 pushes the support member 30 of the lower fulcrum downward.

  As shown in FIG. 6, each support member 30 is made of a spring member bent in an L shape, and its proximal end is fixedly supported by the holder 27 and its distal end protrudes toward the inside of the hole 29. In this state, they are arranged in slits 31 formed around the hole 29 of the holder 27. Further, although not shown in the drawings, a V-shaped groove portion with which the outer peripheral portions of the first and second film-forming substrates 23 and 24 are engaged is provided at the distal end portion of each support member 30.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the in-line film forming apparatus includes a drive mechanism 201 that drives the carrier 25 in a non-contact state as a transport mechanism that transports the carrier 25.

  The driving mechanism 201 includes a plurality of magnets 202 arranged so that N poles and S poles are alternately arranged below the carrier 25, and a rotating magnet 203 arranged below the carrier 25 along the conveying direction of the carrier 25. N poles and S poles are alternately formed in a double spiral on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating magnet 203.

  A vacuum partition wall 204 is interposed between the plurality of magnets 202 and the rotating magnet 203. The vacuum partition wall 204 is formed of a material having a high magnetic permeability so that the plurality of magnets 202 and the rotating magnet 203 are magnetically coupled. The vacuum partition wall 204 surrounds the periphery of the rotary magnet 203 to isolate the inside of the chamber 70 from the atmosphere side.

  The rotating magnet 202 is connected to a rotating shaft 206 that is driven to rotate by a rotating motor 205 via a plurality of gears that mesh with each other. As a result, it is possible to rotate the rotating magnet 204 around the axis while transmitting the driving force from the rotating motor 205 to the rotating magnet 204 via the rotating shaft 206.

  The drive mechanism 201 configured as described above rotates the carrier 25 by rotating the rotating magnet 204 around the axis while magnetically coupling the magnet 202 on the carrier 25 side and the rotating magnet 204 in a non-contact manner. A linear drive is performed along the axial direction of the magnet 204.

  In the chamber 70, a plurality of main bearings 75 that are rotatably supported around the horizontal axis are provided side by side in the carrier 25 transport direction as a guide mechanism for guiding the carrier 25 to be transported. On the other hand, the carrier 25 has a guide rail 76 with which a plurality of main bearings 75 are engaged with the lower side of the support base 26, and the V-shaped groove portion of the guide rail 76 has a longitudinal length of the support base 26. It is formed along the direction.

  In the chamber 70, a pair of sub-bearings 77 supported so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis are provided so as to sandwich the carrier 25 therebetween. Similar to the plurality of main bearings 75, the pair of sub-bearings 77 are provided in a plurality in a line in the transport direction of the carrier 25.

  The main bearing 75 and the sub-bearing 77 are bearings that reduce the friction of machine parts and ensure a smooth rotational movement of the machine. Specifically, the main bearing 75 and the sub-bearing 77 are formed of rolling bearings and are provided with a frame ( It is rotatably attached to a support shaft (not shown in FIG. 5) fixed to the attachment member.

  The carrier 25 moves on the plurality of main bearings 75 in a state where the plurality of main bearings 75 are engaged with the guide rail 76 and is sandwiched between the pair of sub bearings 77 so that the inclination of the carrier 25 is increased. It is prevented.

  By the way, in the in-line type film forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied, when the carrier 25 passes between the chambers 70b and 70c connected via the gate valve 70a, as schematically shown in FIGS. In order to alleviate the impact applied to the carrier 25, main bearings 75a and 75b positioned on the entry side and the exit side of the chambers 70b and 70c, respectively, are rotatably attached to a support shaft 78 having a buffer mechanism.

  Specifically, the support shaft 78 having the buffer mechanism has a main bearing 75 attached to the distal end side thereof, and the base end side thereof is fitted into a shaft hole 79 a formed in the frame 79 and is cantilevered. A buffer member 90 is provided between the support shaft 78 and the shaft hole 79a. The buffer member 90 is made of a rubber or resin elastic member such as fluororubber, is formed in a cylindrical shape, and is fitted between the support shaft 78 and the shaft hole 79a.

  In the in-line type film forming apparatus having the above-described structure, the main bearings 75a and 75b positioned on the entry side and the exit side of the chambers 70b and 70c, respectively, cause an impact when the carrier 25 passes between the chambers 70b and 70c. In order to absorb, the vertical vibration of the carrier 25 can be reduced and the impact applied to the substrate 80 held by the holder 28 can be mitigated. As a result, the carrier 25 is placed near the outer periphery of the substrate D fitted inside the support member 108. Scratches can be prevented from occurring.

  Further, in this in-line film forming apparatus, it is possible to mitigate the impact applied to the guide rail 76 when the carrier 25 passes between the chambers 70b and 70c. As a result, the guide rail 76 becomes the main bearing 75a on the entry side. It is possible to prevent wear due to contact.

  Further, in the in-line film forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied, another buffering mechanism can be configured as shown in FIG. 9, for example. Specifically, in this buffer mechanism, a plurality of O-rings 91a, 91b, 91c, which are buffer members, are arranged side by side in the axial direction between the support shaft 78 and the shaft hole 79a. The O-rings 91a, 91b, 91c are set so that the hardness decreases in order from the distal end side to the proximal end side of the support shaft 78. For example, when three O-rings 91a, 91b, 91c are arranged as in the present embodiment, the O-ring 91a located on the distal end side of the support shaft 78 is harder than the O-ring 91b located in the middle. The O-ring 91c positioned on the base end side of the shaft 78 may be softer than the O-ring 91b positioned in the middle. The O-rings 91a, 91b, 91c are made of a rubber or resin elastic member such as fluoro rubber formed in a ring shape.

  When the buffer mechanism as described above is used, when the main bearings 75a and 75b come into contact with the guide rail 76, the tip end side of the support shaft 78 that supports the main bearings 75a and 75b swings in the vertical direction (so-called It is possible to further reduce the impact applied to the guide rail 76 by suppressing the swinging.

  As described above, in the in-line film forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied, the impact applied to the carrier 25 when the carrier 25 passes between the chambers 70b and 70c connected via the gate valve 70a can be reduced. Thus, it is possible to prevent the nonmagnetic substrate 80 held by the carrier 25 from being damaged or the like from being worn at the contact portion between the carrier 25 and the main bearings 75a and 75b. Therefore, by using such an in-line film forming apparatus, it is possible to increase the manufacturing capability of the magnetic recording medium and to manufacture a high-quality magnetic recording medium.

(Method of manufacturing magnetic recording medium)
A method of manufacturing a magnetic recording medium to which the present invention is applied uses the above-mentioned in-line film forming apparatus to attach a plurality of first or second film-forming substrates 23 and 24 (nonmagnetic substrate 80) held on a carrier 25 to a plurality. A magnetic layer 810 composed of a soft magnetic layer 81, an intermediate layer 82, and a recording magnetic layer 83 is formed on both surfaces of the nonmagnetic substrate 80 while being sequentially conveyed between the chambers 2, 52, 4 to 20, 54, 3 A Then, a magnetic recording medium is manufactured by sequentially laminating the protective layer 84 and further forming the lubricating film 85 on the outermost surface.

  In the method for manufacturing a magnetic recording medium to which the present invention is applied, it is possible to increase the manufacturing capability of the magnetic recording medium 80 and to manufacture a high-quality magnetic recording medium 80 by using the in-line film forming apparatus. .

It is sectional drawing which shows an example of the magnetic recording medium manufactured by applying this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows an example of a magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus. It is a top view which shows the structure of the in-line-type film-forming apparatus to which this invention is applied. It is a side view which shows the carrier of the in-line type film-forming apparatus to which this invention is applied. It is a side view which shows the principal part of the in-line type film-forming apparatus to which this invention is applied. It is sectional drawing which shows the principal part of the in-line type film-forming apparatus to which this invention is applied. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating conveyance of the carrier between the chambers of the in-line-type film-forming apparatus to which this invention is applied. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of a buffer mechanism. It is sectional drawing which shows the other structure of a buffer mechanism. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating conveyance of the carrier between the chambers of the conventional in-line type film-forming apparatus. It is sectional drawing for demonstrating the contact with the guide rail and bearing of the carrier in the past. It is sectional drawing for demonstrating the contact of a guide rail and a bearing at the time of providing a wheel in the outer peripheral part of the bearing shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Substrate cassette transfer robot stand 2 ... Substrate supply robot chamber 3 ... Substrate cassette transfer robot 3A ... Ashing chamber 4, 7, 14, 17 ... Corner chamber 5, 6, 8-13, 15, 16, 18-20 ... Chamber 22 ... Substrate removal robot chamber 23 ... First film formation substrate 24 ... Second film formation substrate 25 ... Carrier 26 ... Support base 27 ... Holder 28 ... Plate body 29 ... Circular hole 30 ... Support member 30a ... Groove 31 ... Slit 32 ... Ring member 33 ... Mesh member 34 ... Substrate supply robot 49 ... Substrate removal robot 52 ... Substrate removal chamber 54 ... Substrate removal chamber 70 ... Chamber 71 ... Processing device 72 ... Gas introduction pipe 73 ... Valve 74 ... Gas exhaust pipe 75 ... Main bearing 76 ... Guide rail 77 ... Sub bearing 78 ... Support shaft 79 ... Frame (mounting member)
79a ... shaft hole 80 ... nonmagnetic substrate 81 ... soft magnetic layer 82 ... intermediate layer 83 ... recording magnetic layer 84 ... protective layer 85 ... lubricating film 90 ... buffer members 91a, 91b, 91c ... O-ring 810 ... magnetic layer 201 ... drive Mechanism (conveyance mechanism)
202 ... Magnet 203 ... Rotating magnet 204 ... Vacuum partition 205 ... Rotating motor 206 ... Rotating shaft

Claims (8)

A plurality of chambers for performing a film forming process in a reduced-pressure atmosphere;
A carrier for holding a substrate to be deposited in the plurality of chambers;
A transport mechanism for sequentially transporting the carrier between the plurality of chambers,
The plurality of chambers are connected via gate valves, and in each chamber, a plurality of bearings supported rotatably around a horizontal axis are provided side by side in the transport direction of the carrier. The carrier is movable on the bearing,
The in-line film forming apparatus is characterized in that the bearings positioned on the entry side and the exit side of the chambers connected via the gate valve are rotatably attached to a support shaft having a buffer mechanism. . The support shaft having the buffer mechanism has the bearing attached to the distal end side thereof, and the base end side is fitted and supported in a shaft hole formed in the attachment member.
The in-line type film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the buffer mechanism includes a buffer member interposed between the support shaft and the shaft hole.   The buffer member is an O-ring, and a plurality of the shock-absorbing members are arranged in the axial direction between the support shaft and the shaft hole, and the hardness of the O-ring is directed from the distal end side to the proximal end side of the support shaft. The in-line film forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the in-line film forming apparatus is set so as to become smaller in order.   The in-line film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the carrier has a guide rail with which the plurality of bearings are engaged.   The carrier includes a holder provided with a hole portion for disposing the substrate on the inside, and a plurality of support members attached to the periphery of the hole portion of the holder so as to be elastically deformable. 5. The in-line film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate fitted inside the support member is detachably held while contacting the outer peripheral portion of the substrate.   The in-line type film forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a groove portion with which an outer peripheral portion of the substrate is engaged is provided at a tip portion of the plurality of support members.   The in-line film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transport mechanism includes a drive mechanism that drives the carrier in a non-contact state.   A method for producing a magnetic recording medium, comprising the step of forming at least a magnetic layer on the surface of the substrate using the in-line film forming apparatus according to claim 1.

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