JP6167345B2 - Deposition equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a film forming apparatus.

  A film forming apparatus for forming a film on a long film has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This film forming apparatus includes a film forming chamber, a high-frequency electrode and a ground electrode arranged in the film forming chamber, a supply roller for supplying a film to be formed into a film forming zone in the film forming chamber, and a film forming zone. A take-up roller for taking up the film formed. In this film forming apparatus, the film is disposed in surface contact with the surface of the ground electrode in the film forming zone.

JP 2008-202069 A

  However, in the film forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1, when the film is charged due to friction between the film and the roller, the film may be attracted to the surface of the ground electrode. In this case, the take-up roller cannot take up the film, and there is a possibility that a malfunction of the film forming apparatus may occur.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described reasons, and an object thereof is to provide a film forming apparatus capable of suppressing the occurrence of malfunction.

In order to achieve the above object, a film forming apparatus according to the present invention comprises:
A chamber;
A supply roller disposed outside the film formation zone in the chamber, a long film is wound, and the film is rotated to supply the film to the film formation zone;
A take-up roller that is disposed outside the film formation zone and winds the film supplied from the supply roller to the film formation zone by rotating;
A high-frequency applying unit that generates plasma in the film-forming zone by applying a high-frequency magnetic field to the material gas supplied to the film-forming zone;
An electrode portion disposed on a surface opposite to a surface on which film is formed in the film supplied to the film formation zone;
An insulating member that is interposed between the film supplied to the film formation zone and the electrode part and has a small charge amount compared to the charge amount when the film and the electrode part are in contact with the film; .

In addition, a film forming apparatus according to the present invention includes:
The width of the insulating member in the direction perpendicular to the thickness direction of the film and the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the film and the width of the film formation planned region in the film are larger than the width of the electrode part, Also good.

In addition, a film forming apparatus according to the present invention includes:
It may further comprise a mask part that covers an area outside the projection area of the electrode part of the film to be formed in the thickness direction of the film.

  According to the present invention, since the insulating member as described above is interposed between the film and the electrode part, malfunction occurs due to the film that can be generated in the conventional film forming apparatus being sucked to the electrode part. Can be suppressed.

It is a schematic block diagram of the film-forming apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows a part of film-forming apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the characteristic of the film-forming apparatus which concerns on embodiment, (A) is a figure which shows a part of film-forming apparatus which concerns on a comparative example, (B) is the film-forming which concerns on embodiment It is a figure which shows the film thickness distribution of the DLC film produced using the apparatus and the film-forming apparatus which concerns on a comparative example.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The film formation apparatus according to this embodiment is a so-called roll-to-roll film formation apparatus. As shown in FIG. 1, the film forming apparatus includes a chamber 101, a supply roller 151, a take-up roller 152, guide rollers 153 and 154, a high-frequency applying unit 102, an electrode unit 109, an insulating member 110, and the like. And a mask unit 103. Hereinafter, the Z-axis direction in FIG. This film forming apparatus forms a DLC (diamond-like carbon) film on the upper surface side of the film F supplied to the film forming zone S in the vicinity of the electrode portion 109 in the chamber 101. In the film formation zone S, the film F is arranged in a stretched state between the two guide rollers 153 and 154.

  A material gas is supplied from the material gas supply source 111 to the film formation zone S in the chamber 101 through a gas supply pipe P <b> 1 communicating with the inside of the chamber 101. The material gas supply source 111 supplies a hydrocarbon gas such as methane or acetylene to the deposition zone S.

  In addition, a vacuum pump 108 is attached to the chamber 101 via an exhaust pipe P2 communicating with the inside of the chamber 101. By driving the vacuum pump 108, the gas in the chamber 101 is exhausted through the exhaust pipe P2, and the inside of the chamber 101 is decompressed. A dielectric window 141 is attached to the upper portion of the chamber 101.

  The supply roller 151 is disposed outside the film formation zone S in the chamber 101 (on the −Y direction side in FIG. 1). The supply roller 151 is wound with a long film F. When the supply roller 151 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow AR1, the film F wound around the supply roller 151 is supplied to the film formation zone S via the guide roller 153. The film F is made of a resin material such as PET (polyethylene terephthalate).

  The winding roller 152 is disposed outside the film formation zone in the chamber 101 (on the + Y direction side in FIG. 1). The take-up roller 152 takes up the film F conveyed from the film formation zone S via the guide roller 154 by rotating in the direction indicated by the arrow AR2. When the take-up roller 152 is driven by a motor (not shown), the film F is stretched between the guide rollers 153 and 154 in the film formation zone S in the direction indicated by the arrow AR3. Be transported.

  The high-frequency application unit 102 includes a high-frequency generation source 102 a that generates high-frequency power, a matching unit 102 b, and a coil 102 c that is disposed outside the chamber 101 and faces the dielectric window 141 of the chamber 101. The shape of the coil 102c is preferably a shape capable of forming a uniform magnetic field in the film formation zone S. For example, the shape described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-228738 previously disclosed by the applicant of the present application is used. Can be adopted. The high frequency application unit 102 can generate a high frequency magnetic field having a uniform intensity in a direction parallel to the coil surface of the coil 102c. The film formation zone S is located between the coil 102 c and the electrode unit 109 in the chamber 101. The high-frequency applying unit 102 generates plasma in the film formation zone S by applying a high-frequency (for example, frequency 13.56 MHz) magnetic field to the material gas supplied to the film formation zone S.

  The electrode portion 109 is disposed on the lower surface side of the film F supplied to the film formation zone S. The electrode portion 109 is a plate-like member made of a metal such as Al, SUS, or Cu, and is disposed with its upper surface facing the lower surface of the film F.

  The bias applying unit 106 applies a high-frequency voltage (for example, a high-frequency voltage having a frequency of 13.56 MHz) that oscillates between a negative voltage of 0 V and −2000 V to the electrode unit 109. The bias applying unit 106 includes a high frequency generation source 106a and a matching unit 106b.

  The insulating member 110 is interposed between the film F supplied to the film formation zone S and the electrode portion 109. The insulating member 110 is made of a material whose charge amount of the film F when in contact with the film F is smaller than the charge amount of the film F when the film F and the electrode portion 109 are in contact with each other. In other words, the insulating member 110 has a lower degree of isolation from the PET than the PET forming the film F and the metal forming the electrode portion 109 in the triboelectric charging table, that is, PET. It is made of a material closer to Specifically, the insulating member 110 is formed of a fluororesin such as polytetrafluoroethylene or a PEEK (polyether ether ketone) resin.

  The insulating member 110 has, for example, a sheet shape having a thickness of 1 to 3 mm. When the thickness of the insulating member 110 is less than 1 mm, the insulating member 110 may be deformed by heat. Further, the width of the insulating member 110 in the X direction and the width of the film F in the X direction are larger than the width of the electrode portion 109 in the X direction, as shown in FIG. For example, when the width of the electrode portion 109 in the X direction is 1000 mm, the width of the insulating member 110 in the X direction is set to 1500 mm.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the mask part 103 covers the area outside the projection area in the Z direction of the electrode part 109 (−Y direction side and + Y direction side) on the upper surface of the film F. The mask portion 103 is made of glass or the like.

  As described above, in the film formation apparatus according to the present embodiment, the insulating member 110 is interposed between the film F supplied to the film formation zone S and the electrode unit 109 and is in contact with the film F. The charge amount of the film F is smaller than the charge amount of the film F when the film F and the electrode portion 109 are in contact with each other. Thereby, even if the film F supplied to the film formation zone S is slid in a state of being in contact with the insulating member 110, the amount of charge of the film F is small, so that the sticking of the film F to the insulating member 110 can be suppressed. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of malfunction due to the film F being attracted to the electrode portion 109.

  Next, the film thickness distribution of the DLC film formed by the film forming apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described in comparison with the film forming apparatus according to the comparative example. In the film forming apparatus according to the comparative example, as illustrated in FIG. 3A, the width in the X direction of the insulating member 9110 and the width in the X direction of the film F are substantially the same as the width in the X direction of the electrode portion 109. . The film thickness distribution of the DLC film formed by the film forming apparatus according to this comparative example is as shown by a broken line T2 in FIG. In the distribution indicated by the broken line T2, the film thickness in the vicinity of both ends in the X-axis direction on the upper surface of the film F is thicker than the film thickness at the center. In addition, the dashed-dotted line of FIG. 3 (B) has shown the both ends of the film F. FIG.

  On the other hand, the film thickness distribution of the DLC film formed by the film forming apparatus according to the present embodiment is as shown by a solid line T1 in FIG. In the distribution indicated by the solid line T1, the difference between the film thickness in the vicinity of both ends in the X-axis direction on the upper surface of the film F and the film thickness in the center is smaller than the distribution indicated by the broken line T2. That is, the DLC film formed by the film forming apparatus according to this embodiment has a smaller variation in film thickness than the DLC film formed by the film forming apparatus according to the comparative example.

  Thus, in the film forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the width of the insulating member 110 in the X direction is larger than the width of the electrode portion 109 in the X direction and the width of the film F in the X direction. large. Here, the entire upper surface of the film F is a film formation scheduled area where a DLC film is to be formed. Thereby, as described with reference to FIG. 3B, the variation in the film thickness of the DLC film formed on the film F is reduced.

  By the way, when the region on the ± Y direction side in FIG. 1 of the projection region of the electrode portion 109 on the upper surface of the film F is exposed to the plasma formed in the film formation zone S, it decomposes containing impurities such as oxygen. Product (eg, CHO) may be deposited. In this case, a DLC film is formed on the decomposition product containing impurities on the film F.

  On the other hand, the film forming apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a mask unit 103 that covers the region on the ± Y direction side in FIG. 1 of the projection region of the electrode unit 109 on the upper surface of the film F. Thereby, before and after the film F is conveyed to the film formation zone S, it can prevent that the decomposition product containing an impurity accumulates on the film F, Therefore A film quality can be improved.

[Modification]
Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment. In the case where the film F is formed of, for example, a polyamide-based resin, the insulating member 110 is compared with the degree of isolation between the polyamide-based resin forming the film F and the fluororesin or PEEK resin in the triboelectric charging table. Further, it may be formed of a material other than a fluororesin and a PEEK resin having a small degree of isolation from the polyamide-based resin. Specifically, the insulating member 110 may be made of glass or the like.

  In the above-described embodiment, ion bombarding may be performed on the upper surface of the film F before forming the DLC film. In this case, a high frequency magnetic field is applied to the Ar gas in the chamber 101 by the high frequency application unit 102 while Ar gas is introduced into the chamber 101 and the electrode unit 109 is maintained at the ground potential before the DLC film is formed. . Thereby, the contaminated layer formed on the upper surface of the film F is removed by the impact of Ar ions hit against the upper surface of the film F, so that the adhesion of the DLC film can be improved.

  In the above-described embodiment, in order to block the gas released from the film F, a gas barrier layer made of a DLC film thinner than the film to be formed may be formed on the upper surface of the film F in advance. Thereby, the film quality of the DLC film can be improved.

  In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the entire upper surface of the film F is a film formation scheduled region where the DLC film is scheduled to be formed has been described. For example, a part of the upper surface of the film F is scheduled to be formed. It may be a region. In this case, if the width in the X direction of the insulating member 110 and the width in the X direction of the film formation scheduled region on the film F are larger than the width in the X direction of the electrode portion 109, the width in the X direction of the insulating member 110 is the film. It may be smaller than the width of F in the X direction.

  In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the mask unit 103 covers the entire region on the ± Y direction side in FIG. 1 of the projection region of the electrode unit 109 on the upper surface of the film F has been described. It is not limited. For example, the mask portion may be configured to cover a part of the projection region of the electrode portion 109 on the upper surface of the film F in the vicinity of the film formation zone S in the region on the ± Y direction side in FIG.

In the above-described embodiment, an example of forming a DLC film has been described. However, the type of film to be formed is not limited to this. For example, a Si-based film such as a SiN film or a SiON film is formed. You may do. In this case, the material gas supply source 111 may supply SiH ₄ and nitrogen or SiH ₄ , nitrogen and oxygen into the chamber 101.

As mentioned above, although each embodiment and modification (including what was written in the description. The same is true hereinafter) of the present invention have been described, the present invention is not limited to these. The present invention includes a combination of the embodiments and modifications as appropriate, and a modification appropriately added thereto.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is suitable for manufacturing a DLC film to be attached to a side wall of an elevated road, a building, a bumper of an automobile, or a door mirror.

101: chamber, 102: high frequency application section, 102a, 106a: high frequency generation source, 102b, 106b: matching unit, 102c: coil, 103: mask section, 106: bias application section, 108: vacuum pump, 109: electrode section, 110: Insulating member, 111: Material gas supply source, 141: Dielectric window, 151: Supply roller, 152: Winding roller, 153, 154: Guide roller, F: Film, P1: Gas supply pipe, P2: Exhaust pipe , S: deposition zone

Claims (3)

A chamber;
A supply roller disposed outside the film formation zone in the chamber, a long film is wound, and the film is rotated to supply the film to the film formation zone;
A take-up roller that is disposed outside the film formation zone and winds the film supplied from the supply roller to the film formation zone by rotating;
A high-frequency applying unit that generates plasma in the film-forming zone by applying a high-frequency magnetic field to the material gas supplied to the film-forming zone;
An electrode portion disposed on a surface opposite to a surface on which film is formed in the film supplied to the film formation zone;
An insulating member that is interposed between the film supplied to the film formation zone and the electrode part and has a small charge amount compared to the charge amount when the film and the electrode part are in contact with the film; Comprising
Deposition device. The width of the insulating member in the direction perpendicular to the thickness direction of the film and the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the film and the width of the film formation scheduled region in the film are larger than the width of the electrode portion,
The film forming apparatus according to claim 1. A mask portion that covers a region outside the projected region of the electrode portion of the film in the thickness direction of the film of the electrode portion;
The film forming apparatus according to claim 2.