JP5595235B2 - Deposition equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a film forming apparatus for forming a functional material into a film on a thin film substrate (film or foil).

  In recent years, technologies for forming functional materials into films on substrates (plastic thin film substrates are called films and metal thin film substrates are called foils) have been used in recording media, batteries, sensors, and film displays. It is especially needed in such fields.

As a method of generating film material particles (functional material particles) and forming them as a film on a film or foil, techniques of vapor deposition and sputter film formation are common.
As a transport body for transporting a substrate, a drum or belt method that transports at high speed by a roll-to-roll method is generally used in order to increase mass productivity. In order to improve the product yield, it is preferable to form a uniform film over the entire width of the substrate. However, if both ends of the transport body in the direction parallel to the substrate transport direction are opened in order to form a film over the entire width of the substrate, there is a problem that the substrate cannot be separated from the substrate transport body due to the adhered film. Therefore, the film is formed by masking both end portions of the transport body in the direction parallel to the substrate transport direction.

  When the film is formed with both ends masked in this way, the portion hidden by the mask becomes a loss. Further, the film thickness in the vicinity of the mask may differ depending on the shape of the mask edge. On the other hand, a method for making the film thickness in the vicinity of the mask uniform by devising the shape of the mask edge has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

5A and 5B are a side view and a partially cutaway view of the front view of the DVC tape film forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1. FIG.
5A and 5B, the film-like substrate 101 is supplied and wound up by a method called roll-to-roll in mass production. Reference numeral 102 denotes a substrate transport body that transports the substrate 101. A functional material generation source 104 is disposed below the substrate transport body 102. A shutter 106 in which a window 106 a is formed is disposed at a position immediately before the film material particles 107 generated from the functional material generation source 104 arrive at the base 101 on the base transport body 102. A film formation width regulating mask 105 is disposed between the substrate 101 on the substrate transport body 102 and the shutter 106. Reference numeral 108 denotes a functional material film formed by adhering the film material particles 107 that have passed through the window 106 a of the shutter 106 and the window 105 c formed in the film formation width regulating mask 105 to the base 101. The entire film forming apparatus 100 is housed in a vacuum chamber.

  In FIG. 5A, the base body 101 is transported in the direction of the arrow Y1, and the base body transport body 102 rotates in the direction of the arrow R about the shaft 103. The width of the substrate 101 is 620 mm, the width of the substrate carrier 102 is 700 mm, and the width of the substrate carrier 102 is 80 mm wider than the width of the substrate 101 as shown in FIG. The window 105c has a tapered shape in which the opening on the substrate transport body 102 side is narrower than the opening on the shutter 106 side so that the film thickness of the film 108 in the vicinity of the film formation width regulating mask 105 is as equal to that of the flat portion. Is formed. Further, the mask width of the film formation width regulating mask 105 is set to 605 mm narrower by 7.5 mm narrower on one side and 15 mm narrower on both sides with respect to the film width of 620 mm.

Thus, in the film forming apparatus of Patent Document 1 in which there is a portion (7.5 mm on one side and 15 mm on both sides) hidden by the film forming width regulating mask 105, the film forming loss is about 3%.
Further, depending on the taper shape of the film formation width regulating mask 105, the film thickness control becomes insufficient, and a predetermined film thickness cannot be maintained in the vicinity of the film forming width restriction mask 105 at several millimeters to several tens of millimeters. It becomes loss.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-200011

  In such a conventional film forming apparatus, the amount of heat received from the film material particles changes in a portion that is not masked by the film forming width regulating mask 105. For this reason, heat cannot be received evenly over the entire width of the substrate, and thermal wrinkles are generated, which may significantly reduce the yield.

The present invention can form a uniform film over the entire width of the substrate, not only reducing loss costs, but also contributing to prevention of yield reduction due to thermal wrinkles and improvement of product reliability, as well as leakage from both sides of the substrate. An object of the present invention is to provide a film forming apparatus capable of preventing the material from adhering to the shaft of the carrier .

The film forming apparatus of the present invention includes a substrate transport body that rotates about the axis in the transport direction of the sheet-shaped substrate and has a width narrower than the width of the substrate in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction, and the substrate transport body The functional material generation source for generating film material particles toward the one surface side of the substrate transported to the substrate and the shaft between the substrate and the substrate transport body are provided independently of the shaft, and in plan view. And a mask having a shape covering the edge of the substrate.

According to the present invention, a uniform film can be manufactured over the entire width of the substrate, and not only the loss cost is reduced, but also it contributes to the prevention of yield reduction due to thermal wrinkles and the improvement of product reliability, and the film material leaked from both sides of the substrate. Can be prevented from adhering to the shaft of the substrate transport body .

(A) Side view of main part of film forming apparatus of embodiment 1 of the present invention, (b) Partial cutaway view of front view of main part of film forming apparatus of embodiment 1 of the present invention (A) Side view of main part of film forming apparatus of embodiment 2 of the present invention, (b) Partial cutaway view of front view of main part of film forming apparatus of embodiment 2 of the present invention (A) Side view of main part of film forming apparatus of embodiment 3 of the present invention, (b) Partial cutaway view of front view of main part of film forming apparatus of embodiment 3 of the present invention Sectional drawing which shows the whole film-forming apparatus of Embodiment 1 of this invention (A) Side view of film forming apparatus of Patent Document 1, (b) Partial cutaway view of front view of film forming apparatus of Patent Document 1

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same structure and description is abbreviate | omitted suitably.
(Embodiment 1)
1A and 1B show the main part of a film forming apparatus 200 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, FIG. 1A is a side view, and FIG. 1B is a partially cutaway view of a front view. It is.

  In the film forming apparatus 200, a sheet-like (thin film-like) substrate (film or foil) 101 is stretched around the peripheral surface of a drum, which is a substrate carrier 102, as shown in FIG. . The sheet-like substrate 101 is supplied and wound by a method called roll-to-roll, and is sent out in the arrow Y1 direction. The substrate transport body 202 is integrated with the shaft 103 and is driven in the direction of the arrow R about the shaft 103. The width (X direction) of the substrate transport body 202 is narrower than the width of the substrate 101, and both sides of the substrate 101 protrude from the peripheral surface of the substrate transport body 202 as shown in FIG.

  A generation source 104 containing a functional material such as Co is disposed below the substrate transport body 202 supported by the shaft 103 and rotating in the direction of arrow R. The functional material of the generation source 104 is heated and evaporated by a heat source such as an electron beam or a heater (not shown), and the film material particles 107 fly in various directions. A shutter 106 in which a window 106 a is formed is disposed at a position immediately before the film material particles 107 generated from the generation source 104 arrive at the base 101 on the base transport body 202. The width of the window 106a is formed wider than the width of the base 101 as shown in FIG. Masks 205 a and 205 b are arranged between the back surface of the substrate 101 protruding from the peripheral surface of the substrate transport body 102 and the shaft 103. The masks 205a and 205b are for capturing the film material particles 107 that have deviated from the surface of the substrate 101 among the film material particles 107 that have passed through the window 106a of the shutter 106, as shown in FIG. is there. Reference numeral 108 denotes a functional material film formed by adhering the film material particles 107 that have passed through the window 106 a of the shutter 106 to the base 101. The entire film forming apparatus 200 is housed in a vacuum chamber.

  The material particles 107 arriving at the surface of the base 101 arrive at the surface of the base 101 without any limitation and reach both sides of the base 101 because the window 106a of the shutter 106 is formed wider than the width of the base 101. A uniform film 108 can be formed.

  An example of the material of the substrate 101 is PET. In order to form the film 108 thickly, the substrate 101 may reciprocate over the functional material source 104 many times. The substrate transport body 202 is made of SUS304.

As the substrate transport body 202, a belt-like member may be used instead of a drum-like member.
The substrate transport body 202 is configured with a cooling unit that cools the substrate 101 passing therethrough so that the substrate 101 is not melted or broken. As the cooling means, a refrigerant passage is formed in the substrate transport body 202, and the refrigerant cooled to about −25 ° C. to 0 ° C. flows through the refrigerant passage. When a polymer material film is used as the substrate 101, it is necessary to keep the substrate 101 below its glass transition point. In the case of a PET film, the glass transition point is 70 to 80 ° C., and the substrate 101 is cooled to 70 ° C. or less by the cooling means of the substrate transport body 202 described above.

  A shutter 106 and masks 205a and 205b are provided in order to define a portion where the film material particles 107 adhere to the substrate 101. The shutter 106 is intended to shield the substrate traveling direction.

  The window 106a of the shutter 106 is formed at the center of the substrate traveling direction. When the film material particle 107 hits a portion other than the window 106a, it is blocked and does not reach the substrate 101. Since the film material particles 107 adhere to the surface of the base 101 only through the window 106a, the time during which the base 101 is exposed to the film material particles 107 can be accurately determined and a stable film thickness can be obtained.

The masks 205 a and 205 b are provided to prevent the film material particles 107 from leaking from both sides of the base 101 and adhering to the surface of the shaft 103.
The film forming apparatus 200 according to the first embodiment is characterized in that the width of the substrate transport body 202 is narrower than the width of the substrate 101.

  In the conventional film forming apparatus 100, the film forming width restriction mask 105 is provided on the surface of the base 101 inside the both ends. Since the film material particles 107 do not adhere to the portion hidden by the film formation width regulating mask 105, it cannot be used as the functional material film 108, resulting in a loss. Further, the uniformity of the film 108 is deteriorated near the film formation width regulating mask 105, and the loss is further increased.

In contrast, in the film forming apparatus 200 of the first embodiment, the mask 205a, 205b are outside the substrate 101, it is disposed at a position not fogged in the substrate 101 in the vicinity of the side of the substrate 101. That is, in the film forming apparatus 200 according to the first embodiment, the masks 205 a and 205 b are provided on the inner side of the surface of the substrate 101, that is, at a position close to the shaft 103. As will be described later in detail, by arranging at this position, effects other than the improvement of the uniformity of the film 108 can be produced.

Here, the effect by the width | variety of the base | substrate conveyance body 202 narrower than the width | variety of the base | substrate 101 which is the characteristics of the film-forming apparatus 200 of this Embodiment 1 is demonstrated.
In the conventional film forming apparatus as shown in FIG. 5B, the film material particles 107 leaking from both sides of the base 101 adhere to the base transport body 102. On the other hand, in the film forming apparatus 200 according to the first embodiment, the film material particles 107 leaking from both sides of the base 101 and the masks 205a and 205b adhere mainly to the surface of the shaft 103 as deposits. In the conventional film forming apparatus, since the film material particles 107 adhere to the substrate transport body 102 that directly affects the transport of the substrate 101, the transport state of the substrate 101 may be adversely affected depending on the state. On the other hand, in the film forming apparatus 200 according to the first embodiment, since it adheres to the shaft 103 (or the end surface of the substrate transport body 202) that does not directly affect the transport of the substrate 101, the adverse effect on the transport state of the substrate 101 is reduced. it can.

  In addition, it is necessary to remove this deposit at the time of the cleaning maintenance performed regularly. Therefore, in the film forming apparatus 200 according to the first embodiment, a release agent such as a silicon-based resin is previously applied to the end surface of the substrate transport body 202 and the shaft 103 so that the film material particles 107 attached during cleaning can be easily removed. It is also effective to apply it.

  Here, the size (the amount of protrusion) of the portion where the substrate 101 protrudes from the substrate transport body 202 is important. When the substrate 101 protrudes greatly from the substrate transport body 202, there is an influence of heat and tension, and it becomes impossible to achieve prevention of generation of heat wrinkles, which is the original purpose. Further, when the substrate 101 is too small than the substrate transport body 202, the substrate transport body 202 is detached from the substrate 101 due to the running accuracy of the substrate 101, and a part of the surface is exposed. The amount of protrusion of the substrate 101 (difference in the width between the substrate transport body 202 and the substrate 101) is preferably designed as appropriate according to the material properties (thermal properties and mechanical properties) of the substrate 101. The amount of protrusion in the first embodiment will be described later.

  In addition to the amount of protrusion, the difference in diameter between the substrate carrier 202 and the shaft 103 is also important. If the difference between the diameters is too large, the radial gap between the shaft 103 and the substrate transport body 202 becomes large, and the possibility that the film material particles 107 will wrap around and adhere to the side surface of the substrate transport body 202 increases. Therefore, it is desirable that the difference between the diameters of the substrate carrier 202 and the shaft 103 is not more than four times the height of the masks 205a and 205b.

The first embodiment will be described with reference to an example of a DVC tape (Digital Video Cassette Tape) that is a recording medium.
The film material of the substrate 101 is PET, the thickness is 4.2 μm, the width is 620 mm, and the predetermined film thickness is 0.2 μm ± 0.01 μm. In the case of this substrate 101, the width of the substrate transport body 202 was made 3 mm smaller on one side than the width of the substrate 101. That is, in the first embodiment, the width of the substrate transport body 202 is 614 mm. Here, the amount of protrusion was set to 3 mm on one side because the running accuracy of the base body 101 was ± 0.5 mm, and when the base body 101 protruded by 5 mm or more by the inventors' experiments, the cooling of the protruding portion was insufficient. This is because it was found that thermal wrinkles that seem to occur. Table 1 shows the relationship between the amount of protrusion and thermal wrinkles.

前述したように、このはみ出し量は基体１０１の材料の特性（熱特性や機械特性）、及び膜材料粒子の特性（膜材料の熱エネルギーや厚み等）により熱ジワが発生しない程度に適宜設計されるものであり、前述した寸法に必ずしも捉われる必要はない。

As described above, the amount of protrusion is appropriately designed so as not to generate thermal wrinkles due to the material characteristics (thermal characteristics and mechanical characteristics) of the substrate 101 and the characteristics of the film material particles (thermal energy and thickness of the film material). It is not necessarily limited to the above-mentioned dimensions.

(Embodiment 2)
2 (a) and 2 (b) show a film forming apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, FIG. 2 (a) is a side view, and FIG. 2 (b) is a partially cutaway view of the front view. .

  The substrate transport body 202 of the first embodiment described above is a single drum having a diameter in the width direction (X direction). In the film forming apparatus 300 according to the second embodiment, FIG. As shown, a drum in which concave portions 302a and 302b having annular grooves are formed on the inner side from the end of the substrate transport body 302 is used. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in this point. The entire film forming apparatus 300 is housed in a vacuum chamber.

  In the second embodiment, since the recesses 302a and 302b are formed on the surface of the substrate transport body 302 in this way, the center of the peripheral surface of the substrate transport body 302 is larger in diameter than the recesses 302a and 302b. A central portion 302c having a width slightly narrower than the width is formed. On both sides of the central portion 302c, end portions 302d and 302e having larger diameters than the concave portions 302a and 302b are formed in the same manner as the central portion 302c with the concave portions 302a and 302b therebetween. Here, the widths of the recesses 302a and 302b are “H”, and the steps between the recesses 302a and 302b and the central portion 302c and the end portions 302d and 302e are “T”.

  The center of the substrate 101 conveyed in the direction of the arrow Y1 is supported by the central portion 302c of the substrate conveyance body 302. The interval between the end portions 302 d and 302 e is formed wider than the width of the base 101. In the second embodiment, both side ends of the base 101 are located in a section where the recesses 302a and 302b exist.

  A shutter 106 in which a window 106 a is formed is disposed at a position immediately before the film material particles 107 generated from the generation source 104 arrive at the base 101 on the base transport body 302. The width of the window 106 a is wider than the base 101.

  In the vicinity of the window 106a of the shutter 106, between the end portions 302d and 302e of the substrate transport body 302, masks 305a and 305b are disposed adjacent to the end portions 302d and 302e. More specifically, the mask and 305a and 305b are disposed between the shutter 106 and the peripheral surfaces of the end portions 302d and 302e of the substrate transport body 302, and the central portion is supported by the substrate transport body 302 and the substrate transport body. It is arranged close to the side end portion of the base body 101 protruding from 302.

  Thus, the film material particles 107 arriving at the surface of the substrate 101 arrive at the surface of the substrate 101 without any restriction because the window 106a of the shutter 106 is formed wider than the width of the substrate 101. A uniform film 108 can be formed up to both sides of 101.

  The film material particles 107 leaking from the gap between the base 101 and the masks 305a and 305b are deposited on the bottoms of the recesses 302a and 302b. The film material particles 107 are removed when the recesses 302a and 302b are cleaned. It is also effective to preliminarily apply a release agent such as a silicon-based resin inside the recesses 302a and 302b so that the film material particles 107 adhering during cleaning can be easily removed.

The second embodiment will be described with reference to an example of a DVC tape (Digital Video Cassette Tape) that is a recording medium.
The film material of the substrate 101 is PET, the thickness is 4.2 μm, the width is 620 mm, and the predetermined film thickness is 0.2 μm ± 0.01 μm. The diameter of the central portion 302c and the end portions 302d and 302e of the substrate transport body 302 is 1000 mm, the width H of the recess portions 302a and 302b is H = 30 mm, and the step T between the end portions 302d and 302e is T = 10 mm.

  The reason why H = 30 mm is used to facilitate the cleaning operation for removing the deposited film material particles 107, and is not necessarily this size. It is considered that H = 10 mm to 100 mm. T = 10 mm is a value obtained from the processing length of the substrate and the thickness of the film material, and it is not necessary to be limited by this dimension. It is realistic that T = about 10 mm to 50 mm.

(Embodiment 3)
3 (a) and 3 (b) show a film forming apparatus according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention, FIG. 3 (a) is a side view, and FIG. 3 (b) is a partially cutaway view of the front view. .

  The substrate transport body 202 of the above-described first embodiment is a drum whose end surface is flush, but in this third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3B, the end surface of the substrate transport body 402 has recesses 402f, A drum formed with 402 g is used. The third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in this point. Further, in the third embodiment, the tip of the mask 405a is inserted into the recess 402f in the vicinity of the back surface of the base 101. The tip of the mask 405b is inserted into the recess 402g in the vicinity of the back surface of the base 101. A gap C is formed between the outer diameter portion 160 inside the recesses 402f and 402g and the tips of the masks 405a and 405b.

  When the tip of the masks 405a and 405b enters the back side of the substrate 101 protruding from the substrate transport body 402 in this way, the film material particles 107 removed from the substrate 101 are shielded by the masks 405a and 405b, and the shaft 103 Therefore, the shaft 103 is not soiled. Accordingly, it is possible to save the trouble of applying a release agent to the shaft 103 or cleaning the shaft 103. The whole is housed in a vacuum chamber. The rest is the same as in the first embodiment.

The third embodiment will be described with reference to an example of a DVC tape (Digital Video Cassette Tape) that is a recording medium.
The film material of the substrate 101 is PET, the thickness is 4.2 μm, the width is 620 mm, and the predetermined film thickness is 0.2 μm ± 0.01 μm. The gap C needs to be reduced to some extent in order to prevent wraparound, but it is not preferable that the gap C is too small due to mechanical accuracy.

  Regarding the depth D of the recesses 402f and 402g, the deeper the depth D, the more the adhesion to the shaft 103 can be prevented. On the other hand, the deeper the depth D, the more the cooling of the tip of the substrate transport body 402 (drum). Is insufficient. Therefore, in Embodiment 3, the depth D is set to 10 to 30 mm.

  The width of the substrate transport body 402 was 3 mm smaller on one side than the width of the substrate 101, and the width of the substrate transport body 402 was 614 mm. Here, the reason why the size is reduced by 3 mm on one side is that the traveling accuracy of the conveyance of the substrate 101 is ± 0.5 mm, and if the substrate 101 protrudes from the substrate conveyance body 402 by 5 mm or more, the cooling of the protruding portion of the film is insufficient. This is because thermal wrinkles that are considered to occur. This is understood from the experimental results of the inventors shown in Table 1 above.

  As described above, the amount of protrusion is appropriately designed according to the material characteristics (thermal characteristics and mechanical characteristics) of the substrate 101 and the characteristics of the film material particles (thermal energy and thickness of the film material). It is not always necessary to be caught in the dimensions.

  The diameter of the shaft 103 was 960 mm, which is 40 mm smaller. The reason why the diameter is reduced by 40 mm and the radius is reduced by 20 mm is that by making these dimensions, the masks 405 a and 405 b can be easily produced, and can be obtained at low cost, and the strength of the shaft 103 can be sufficiently maintained. .

(Embodiment 4)
FIG. 4 shows a vacuum deposition apparatus 500 for DVC in which the film forming apparatus 200 of the first embodiment is housed in a vacuum chamber. This vacuum vapor deposition apparatus 500 has substantially the same configuration even when the film forming apparatus of the second and third embodiments is housed in a vacuum chamber instead of the film forming apparatus 200 of the first embodiment. Then, only the case where the film-forming apparatus 200 of Embodiment 1 is stored in a vacuum chamber is demonstrated.

  The operation of this vacuum deposition apparatus 500 that performs oblique deposition will be described. The inside of the vacuum chamber 130 is connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) via an exhaust port 131 and kept in a vacuum state. In this vacuum chamber 130, a long film-like non-magnetic substrate 101 is fed out from the supply roll 111, The substrate 101 is transported along the surface of the substrate transport body 202 having a cooling function. The incident vapor deposition angle is determined using the shutter 106 while the substrate 101 is being conveyed, and the surface of the ferromagnetic material 150 (Co 100%) in the stationary functional material generation source 104 is irradiated with the electron beam 120B from the electron gun 120. The functional material film 108 is formed on the substrate 101 by changing the ferromagnetic material 150 to the film material particles 107 and performing oblique deposition.

  Until the ferromagnetic metal 150 is melted, the window 106a of the shutter 106 is closed to prevent the ferromagnetic metal 150 from adhering to the base 101. When such a ferromagnetic metal 150 is deposited, gas is supplied from the gas supply device 194 to the deposited metal so as to be uniform. The substrate 101 on which the ferromagnetic metal thin film has been formed in this way is wound around the winding roll 112.

  Each of the above embodiments is merely an example, and the same technology as the structure of the film transport body that realizes the gist of the present invention does not depart from the present invention.

  The present invention is effective not only in the field of electronics, but also in the production of food and other packages, wrapping paper, or functional sheets intended for food use or other purposes.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100,200,300,400 Film-forming apparatus 101 Base | substrate 102,202,302,402 Base | substrate conveyance body 103 Axis 104 Generation source 106 Shutter 106a Window 107 Film | membrane material particle 108 Film | membrane 111 Supply roll 112 Winding roll 120 Electron gun 120B Electron beam DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 130 Vacuum chamber 131 Exhaust port 150 Ferromagnetic material 160 Outer diameter part 194 Gas supply apparatus 205a, 205b Mask 302a, 302b Recessed part 302c, 302f, 302g Center part 302d, 302e End part 500 Vacuum deposition apparatus

Claims (6)

A substrate transport body that rotates about the axis in the transport direction of the sheet-shaped substrate and has a width narrower than the width of the substrate in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction;
A functional material generation source for generating film material particles toward one surface side of the substrate transported to the substrate transport body;
A mask having a shape that is provided independently of the shaft between the substrate and the shaft of the substrate transport body and covers an edge of the substrate in plan view;
A film forming apparatus comprising: 2. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the mask prevents the film material particles leaking from both sides of the substrate from adhering to the shaft of the substrate transport body. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a shutter disposed between the base and the functional material generation source. The substrate transport body has a recess formed on an end surface around the shaft,
The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a tip of the mask is inserted into a recess formed on a side surface of the substrate transport body. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate transport body includes a cooling unit therein. The film-forming apparatus in any one of Claims 1-5 which apply | coated the release agent to the adhesion position of film | membrane material particle.

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