JP7488071B2 - Powder film forming apparatus and powder film forming method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a powder coating apparatus and a powder coating method for performing a coating process on powder.

Conventionally, atomic layer deposition processing technology is known as a technique for forming a film on powder. In this technology, powder is alternately exposed to two types of source gases, and a film is formed on the powder through the mutual reaction of the source gases.

Patent Document 1 discloses a technique in which powder piled up on a belt conveyor is transported by the belt conveyor so as to pass through a number of gas storage units, and a film is formed on the powder in sequence. Patent Document 2 discloses a technique in which, in a state in which a reaction vessel is filled with a first source gas, powder is dropped into the reaction vessel to cause ions of the first source gas to adhere to the powder, and after the first source gas is completely discharged from the reaction vessel, the reaction vessel is filled with a second source gas, and the powder is dropped again to form a film on the powder.

US Patent Application Publication No. 2018/0363136 US Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0015106

In the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, the powder is transported by a belt conveyor, so a certain gap is formed between the partition wall separating adjacent gas storage units and the powder on the belt conveyor. Therefore, when different source gases come into contact with each other in the gap and react, there is a problem that a film thicker than the original set value is irregularly formed on the powder, and the reactants generated by the reaction are mixed into the powder. In addition, in the technology disclosed in Patent Document 2, the process of filling the reaction vessel with the source gas and then completely discharging the source gas must be repeated every time one atomic layer is formed, so there is a problem that the film formation process time for the powder is long.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above problems, and aims to provide a powder film forming apparatus and a powder film forming method that can perform a continuous film forming process on powder while suppressing the mixing of raw material gases other than on the surfaces of the particles that make up the powder.

A powder film forming apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention is a powder film forming apparatus that performs a film forming process on powder, and includes an apparatus main body, a first gas supply unit capable of supplying a first raw material gas, a second gas supply unit capable of supplying a second raw material gas different from the first raw material gas, at least one film forming processing unit provided in the apparatus main body and capable of forming a film on the surface of powder particles by a reaction between gas molecules of the first raw material gas and gas molecules of the second raw material gas, at least one film forming processing unit having a powder flow path having multiple tops and multiple bottoms and allowing powder to flow in a moving direction that intersects the vertical direction while meandering up and down, and a powder moving mechanism capable of continuously moving powder along the powder flow path in the at least one film forming processing unit. The at least one film forming processing unit has a plurality of powder storage units each constituting the bottom of the powder flow path and storing powder, and a plurality of gas storage units each constituting the top of the powder flow path, connecting adjacent powder storage units among the plurality of powder storage units to each other and storing gas therein, the plurality of gas storage units including at least a first gas storage unit that receives the first raw material gas from the first gas supply unit and stores the first raw material gas, and a second gas storage unit that receives the second raw material gas from the second gas supply unit and stores the second raw material gas, the powder moving mechanism moves the powder in the powder flow path so that the powder flows from the powder storage unit to the gas storage unit and is exposed to the gas in the gas storage unit, and the powder flows from the gas storage unit to the next powder storage unit, and the plurality of powder storage units have a shape that stores the powder so that the stored powder can prevent gas from flowing along the powder flow path between adjacent gas storage units.

According to this configuration, when the powder moves continuously through the powder flow path of the film forming processing unit, the powder is exposed to the first and second raw material gases in the first and second gas storage units in sequence, and a film can be continuously formed on the powder by the reaction of the respective gas molecules adsorbed on the surface of each particle. In addition, the multiple powder storage units are capable of preventing gas from flowing along the powder flow path between adjacent gas storage units by the stored powder. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the raw material gases from coming into contact with each other except on the surfaces of the particles that make up the powder.

In the above configuration, it is preferable that, in the plurality of gas storage sections, the first gas storage section and the second gas storage section are arranged alternately along the movement direction, and each of the plurality of powder storage sections is in communication with the first gas storage section and the second gas storage section, respectively.

According to this configuration, each powder storage section of the film forming processing section is connected to the first gas storage section and the second gas storage section, respectively, and the space between the first gas storage section and the second gas storage section can be sealed by the stored powder. Therefore, the source gases are prevented from moving back and forth between the first gas storage section and the second gas storage section. As a result, the source gases are prevented from coming into contact with each other in areas other than the surfaces of the particles that make up the powder, and the two gases are prevented from reacting with each other. In addition, it is possible to reduce the size of the powder film forming apparatus in the direction of movement compared to a case in which another gas storage section that stores a gas other than the source gas, such as a purge gas storage section, is included.

In the above configuration, it is preferable that the device further includes a purge gas supply unit capable of supplying a purge gas that is different from the first raw material gas and the second raw material gas and is used to remove the excess first raw material gas or the second raw material gas from within the powder, and that the first gas storage unit and the second gas storage unit are alternately arranged along the moving direction in the multiple gas storage units, and that the multiple gas storage units further include multiple purge gas storage units that are respectively arranged between the first gas storage unit and the second gas storage unit in the powder flow path and receive the purge gas from the purge gas supply unit and store the purge gas.

According to this configuration, by disposing multiple purge gas storage sections between the first gas storage section and the second gas storage section and storing the purge gas, it is possible to prevent the first and second raw material gases from coming into contact with each other except on the surface of the powder, and to remove excess raw material gas from the powder that has passed through the gas storage sections. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the excess gas molecules of the first and second raw material gases from reacting with each other and generating unnecessary reaction products.

In the above configuration, it is preferable to further include a pressure adjustment mechanism that adjusts the pressure of the purge gas storage unit so that the pressure of the purge gas storage unit is lower than the pressure of the first gas storage unit and the pressure of the second gas storage unit, and an exhaust mechanism that exhausts the purge gas from the purge gas storage unit.

According to this configuration, each purge gas storage section is set to a negative pressure relative to each gas storage section, so that the excess first and second raw material gases remaining in the powder are easily attracted to each purge gas storage section. Therefore, the exhaust mechanism can reliably exhaust these excess gases together with the purge gas.

The above configuration may further include a pressure adjustment mechanism that adjusts the pressure of the purge gas storage unit so that the pressure of the purge gas storage unit is higher than the pressure of the first gas storage unit and the pressure of the second gas storage unit, and an exhaust mechanism that exhausts the purge gas from the purge gas storage unit.

With this configuration, the purge gas storage section is set to a positive pressure relative to each gas storage section, so that the excess first and second source gases remaining in the powder can be prevented from flowing into each purge gas storage section and coming into contact with each other.

In the above configuration, the first gas storage section and the second gas storage section are arranged alternately along the movement direction in the plurality of gas storage sections, and the plurality of gas storage sections may further include a plurality of dummy gas storage sections each arranged between the first gas storage section and the second gas storage section in the powder flow path, and may further include an exhaust mechanism connected to the dummy gas storage sections.

This configuration can prevent the first and second raw material gases from coming into contact with each other except on the surfaces of the powder particles. In addition, the exhaust mechanism can prevent the first and second raw material gases that have entered and accumulated in the dummy gas storage section from coming into contact with each other.

In the above configuration, the device body includes a bottom wall, a top wall disposed above the bottom wall, at least three first partitions disposed at intervals from each other on the top wall of the device body in the moving direction and extending downward from the top wall to define the powder flow path, each having a first partition tip portion disposed at a predetermined interval from the bottom wall, and at least three first partitions disposed at intervals from each other in the moving direction on the bottom wall of the device body so as to be disposed between the first partitions adjacent to each other in the moving direction among the at least three first partitions and extending downward from the bottom wall. and a plurality of second partitions each extending upward from the top wall and defining the powder flow path, each having a second partition tip disposed at a predetermined interval from the top wall, and it is desirable that among the at least three first partitions, a plurality of pairs of the first partitions adjacent to each other in the movement direction define the plurality of gas storage sections at least in a portion above the second partition tip, and that among the plurality of second partitions, at least a pair of the second partitions adjacent to each other in the movement direction define the powder storage section so as to sandwich the first partition tip from both sides.

According to this configuration, the first partition and the second partition arranged in the device body can define multiple gas storage sections and powder storage sections, respectively. In this case, the gas storage sections or powder storage sections are arranged close to each other on either side of each partition, so the size of the powder deposition device can be reduced compared to when the gas storage sections and powder storage sections are arranged at a distance from each other.

In the above configuration, it is desirable that the device body be tilted so that the downstream portion of the device body in the direction of movement is positioned lower than the upstream portion of the device body in the direction of movement.

With this configuration, the powder flow path can be arranged downward along the direction of movement, so that the movement of the powder can be promoted by the action of gravity.

In the above configuration, it is desirable that the multiple film-forming processing units are connected to each other so that the powder that has passed through the first gas storage unit and the second gas storage unit of the at least one film-forming processing unit passes through the first gas storage unit and the second gas storage unit of another film-forming processing unit among the multiple film-forming processing units.

According to this configuration, the film formation process can be performed continuously on the powder in multiple film formation processing units, so that the film formation process can be performed efficiently. In addition, the flow of the first and second source gases between each film formation processing unit can be suppressed by the powder, and the reaction of the two gases can be suppressed except on the surfaces of the particles that make up the powder.

In the above configuration, it is preferable that the multiple film forming processing units are connected to each other so that the powder flow path is arranged in a spiral shape around a central axis extending in the vertical direction.

With this configuration, the film formation process on the powder can be performed continuously in multiple film formation processing units, and the installation area of the film formation processing device can be reduced compared to when multiple film formation processing units are connected to each other along the horizontal direction.

In the above configuration, it is desirable that a portion of the powder flow path of the at least one film-forming processing unit downstream in the movement direction from the second gas storage unit communicates with a portion of the powder flow path of the at least one film-forming processing unit upstream in the movement direction from the first gas storage unit so that the powder can repeatedly pass through the same first gas storage unit and the same second gas storage unit of the at least one film-forming processing unit.

According to this configuration, the powder can be repeatedly passed through the same first gas storage section and second gas storage section, so that the film formation process can be performed continuously on the powder. Therefore, compared to the case where the powder passes through the first gas storage section and the second gas storage section once each, it is not necessary to line up a large number of powder storage sections and gas storage sections, and it is possible to configure with a minimum number of powder storage sections and gas storage sections.

In the above configuration, it is preferable to further include a vacuum pump that exhausts gas from the first gas storage unit and the second gas storage unit of the at least one film formation processing unit.

With this configuration, the required amount of raw material gas can be supplied while evacuating each gas storage unit, so the purity of the raw material gas in each gas storage unit can be increased. As a result, a high-purity film formation process can be performed on the powder.

In the above configuration, it is preferable that the powder moving mechanism includes a vibration generating unit that applies vibrations to the device body in specific directions including the moving direction and the up-down direction.

According to this configuration, vibrations in a specific direction are applied to the device body, so that a moving force for moving through the powder flow path can be applied to the powder. Therefore, the powder can be stably moved so that it passes through each gas storage unit without having a mechanical moving mechanism that directly contacts the powder, such as a rotating blade member. Therefore, compared to a case in which a mechanical moving mechanism as described above is provided, the device can be simplified, and the particles that make up the powder can be prevented from being crushed by the mechanical moving force. In addition, it is possible to prevent parts of the blade member from being mixed into the powder (contamination).

In the above configuration, it is preferable that at least one of the first gas supply unit and the second gas supply unit has a gas tank that stores the first raw material gas or the second raw material gas, and a gas ejection unit that is disposed in the powder stored in the powder storage unit and is capable of receiving raw material gas from the gas tank and ejecting the raw material gas toward the first gas storage unit or the second gas storage unit. In this case, it is further preferable that the gas ejection unit is disposed downstream of the first powder storage unit or the second powder storage unit.

With this configuration, when the gas ejection section ejects the raw gas, the ejection force fluidizes the powder, promoting the powder flow into the gas storage section.

The powder film forming method according to another aspect of the present invention is a powder film forming method for performing a film forming process on powder, and includes a preparation step of preparing an apparatus main body having a powder flow path that has multiple tops and multiple bottoms and allows powder to flow in a moving direction that intersects the vertical direction while meandering up and down; a powder storage step of storing powder in a region of the powder flow path below the multiple tops and separating the multiple tops with the stored powder; a gas storage step of storing a first source gas in one of the multiple tops and storing a second source gas different from the first source gas in the other top downstream of the one top in the moving direction; and a film forming step of continuously moving the powder in the moving direction along the powder flow path in the apparatus main body to expose the powder to the first source gas and the second source gas in sequence, and performing a film forming process on the surfaces of the powder particles by a reaction between the gas molecules of the first source gas and the gas molecules of the second source gas.

In the above method, it is preferable that the film forming process includes moving the powder in the movement direction by applying vibrations to the device body in specific directions including the movement direction and the up-down direction.

The present invention provides a powder film forming apparatus and a powder film forming method that can continuously perform a film forming process on powder while suppressing the mixing of raw material gases other than on the surfaces of the particles that make up the powder.

1 is a schematic front cross-sectional view of a powder film forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional front view of a powder film forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional front view of a powder film forming apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a schematic perspective view of a powder film forming apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a schematic horizontal cross-sectional view of a powder film forming apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a schematic perspective view of a powder film forming apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a schematic front cross-sectional view of a powder film forming apparatus according to a modified embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a powder film forming apparatus 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention (first embodiment) will be described with reference to the drawings. The powder film forming apparatus 1 according to this embodiment performs a film forming process on powder by atomic layer deposition. FIG. 1 is a schematic front cross-sectional view of the powder film forming apparatus 1 according to this embodiment. The powder film forming apparatus 1 has an apparatus main body 10, a raw material gas exhaust section 120, a first gas supply section 121, a purge gas supply section 122, a second gas supply section 123, a purge gas exhaust section 124, and a powder moving mechanism 125. In the following, a case where a film of alumina (Al ₂ O ₃ ) is formed on powder (e.g., metal powder, iron powder) by the powder film forming apparatus 1 will be described as an example.

The device body 10 corresponds to the main body of the powder deposition device 1, and in this embodiment has a rectangular parallelepiped housing structure. Inside the device body 10, a powder flow path 100 that allows the powder to flow is formed so as to pass through multiple gas storage units, as described in detail below.

The raw material gas exhaust section 120 is composed of a vacuum pump, and puts each gas storage section in the apparatus body 10 into a vacuum state (vacuum drawing). The raw material gas exhaust section 120 has a first gas exhaust section 120A and a second gas exhaust section 120B. The first gas exhaust section 120A puts the first gas storage section 101 into a vacuum state and exhausts the first raw material gas from the first gas storage section 101. Similarly, the second gas exhaust section 120B puts the second gas storage section 103 into a vacuum state and exhausts the second raw material gas from the second gas storage section 103. The first gas exhaust section 120A and the second gas exhaust section 120B are arranged independently of each other, thereby preventing the first raw material gas and the second raw material gas from coming into contact with each other in each exhaust path.

The first gas supply unit 121 is capable of supplying a first source gas to the first gas storage unit 101 in the apparatus body 10. In this embodiment, TMA (trimethylaluminum) is used as the first source gas.

The second gas supply unit 123 is capable of supplying a second source gas different from the first source gas to the second gas storage unit 103 in the apparatus body 10. In this embodiment, water vapor (H ₂ O) or oxygen plasma is used as the second source gas.

The purge gas supply unit 122 is capable of supplying a purge gas to the purge gas storage unit 102 in the apparatus body 10. The purge gas is a gas different from the first raw material gas and the second raw material gas, and is used to remove excess of the first raw material gas and the second gas from the powder. In this embodiment, nitrogen gas is used as the purge gas.

The purge gas exhaust section 124 is a vacuum pump provided independently of the raw gas exhaust section 120, and exhausts the purge gas from the purge gas storage section 102.

The powder moving mechanism 125 is capable of continuously moving the powder F along the powder flow path 100 in the film forming processing section 100C described below in the device body 10. In this embodiment, the powder moving mechanism 125 includes a vibration generating section that applies vibration to the device body 10 in a specific direction (arrow D1 in FIG. 1) that includes the moving direction of the powder F (rightward) and the up and down directions.

The device body 10 has a supply side storage chamber 100A, a discharge side storage chamber 100B, and a plurality of film forming processing units 100C arranged between the supply side storage chamber 100A and the discharge side storage chamber 100B. The supply side storage chamber 100A is arranged at the left end of the device body 10, and a powder supply port 10P that receives powder F is opened on its upper surface. Similarly, the discharge side storage chamber 100B is arranged at the right end of the device body 10, and a powder discharge port 10Q that discharges powder F is opened on its lower surface. In addition, the powder supply port 10P and the powder discharge port 10Q are each equipped with an openable cover (not shown).

Each of the multiple film-forming processing units 100C forms a film on the surface of the particles constituting the powder F by a reaction between the gas molecules of the first raw material gas and the gas molecules of the second raw material gas. Note that FIG. 1 shows in detail one of the multiple film-forming processing units 100C. In the device body 10, other film-forming processing units 100C are continuously arranged on the upstream side (left side) and downstream side (right side) of the film-forming processing unit 100C in FIG. 1. Such multiple film-forming processing units 100C constitute the aforementioned powder flow path 100. As shown by arrows D2 and D3 in FIG. 1, the powder flow path 100 has multiple tops and multiple bottoms and allows the powder F to flow in a horizontal movement direction (rightward) while meandering up and down.

The deposition processing unit 100C has a first gas storage unit 101, a purge gas storage unit 102 arranged downstream of the first gas storage unit 101, a second gas storage unit 103, and another purge gas storage unit 102 arranged downstream of the second gas storage unit 103 (above, multiple gas storage units), each of which constitutes the top of the powder flow path 100, and four powder storage units 105 (multiple powder storage units) arranged adjacent to each other below these gas storage units and each of which constitutes the bottom of the powder flow path 100.

The first gas storage section 101 constitutes a part of the powder flow path 100. The first gas storage section 101 receives the first raw material gas from the first gas supply section 121 and stores the first raw material gas.

The second gas storage section 103 constitutes a part of the powder flow path 100. The second gas storage section 103 is disposed downstream of the first gas storage section 101 in the movement direction, receives the second raw material gas from the second gas supply section 123, and stores the second raw material gas.

Each purge gas storage section 102 is disposed between the first gas storage section 101 and the purge gas storage section 102 in the powder flow path 100, and receives the purge gas from the purge gas supply section 122 and stores the purge gas.

The multiple powder storage sections 105 are arranged below the first gas storage section 101, the purge gas storage section 102, and the second gas storage section 103, straddling different gas storage sections from each other. In other words, each of the multiple gas storage sections connects adjacent powder storage sections among the multiple powder storage sections to each other. As shown in FIG. 1, each powder storage section 105 stores powder F up to the vicinity of the upper end of the second partition section 112 described below. In addition, the multiple powder storage sections 105 have a shape that stores powder so that the stored powder can prevent gas from flowing along the powder flow path 100 between adjacent gas storage sections.

Here, the structure in which the above-mentioned gas storage sections and powder storage sections are formed within the device body 10 will be described in more detail. As shown in FIG. 1, the device body 10 has a bottom wall 10B, a top wall 10T disposed above the bottom wall 10B, a plurality of first partitions 111 (at least three first partitions), and a plurality of second partitions 112 (a plurality of second partitions).

The first partitions 111 are arranged at intervals in the movement direction on the top wall 10T of the device body 10, and each extends downward from the top wall 10T to define the powder flow path 100. Each first partition 111 has a tip portion (lower end portion, first partition tip portion) that is arranged at a predetermined interval from the bottom wall 10B.

The second partitions 112 are arranged at intervals in the movement direction on the bottom wall 10B of the device body 10 so that each is disposed between adjacent first partitions 111 among the multiple first partitions 111 in the movement direction, and each extends upward from the bottom wall 10B to define the powder flow path 100. Each second partition 112 has a tip portion (upper end portion, second partition tip portion) that is disposed at a predetermined interval from the top wall 10T.

As shown in FIG. 1, among the multiple first partitions 111, pairs of adjacent first partitions 111 in the movement direction define a first gas storage section 101, a purge gas storage section 102, and a second gas storage section 103, respectively, in at least a portion of the space between the first partitions 111 above the tip of the second partition 112.

Furthermore, among the multiple second partitions 112, multiple pairs (at least one pair) of second partitions 112 adjacent to each other in the movement direction each define the powder storage section 105 so as to sandwich the first partition 111 (first partition tip) between the second partitions 112 from both the left and right sides.

1, when the powder F is fed from the powder supply port 10P into the supply side storage chamber 100A while the powder moving mechanism 125 applies vibration in the direction indicated by the arrow D1 to the device body 10, the powder F moves downstream in the moving direction in response to the vibration. The powder F stored in the powder storage section 105 located at the most upstream side of the film forming processing section 100C passes under the first partition section 111 as indicated by the arrow D2, and then overcomes the second partition section 112 as indicated by the arrow D3. By repeating such movements, the powder F is eventually stored in each powder storage section 105 as shown in FIG. 1. Next, the first gas supply section 121, the purge gas supply section 122, and the second gas supply section 123 supply the corresponding gas to the first gas storage section 101, the purge gas storage section 102, and the second gas storage section 103, respectively. At this time, the powder F stored in each powder storage section 105 defines and seals the lower surface of each gas storage section. The first gas supply section 121, the purge gas supply section 122, and the second gas supply section 123 may sequentially supply gas from the gas storage section sealed by the powder F. In this way, in the film forming processing section 100C, the powder F passes through the first gas storage section 101, the purge gas storage section 102, the second gas storage section 103, and another purge gas storage section 102 in order. Then, when the powder F flows into the first gas storage section 101, trimethylaluminum, which functions as a precursor, adheres to the surface of the particles of the powder F. At this time, one aluminum group is bonded to the oxygen group on the surface of the particles of the powder F (base) to form a nucleus, and the methyl group in the trimethylaluminum is detached from the powder F. Then, the film grows laterally (in the direction along the surface) starting from this nucleus, and an aluminum layer (layer) is formed on the particles of the powder F. When the oxygen groups on the surface of the particles of powder F are filled, no more aluminum groups can adhere to the particles of powder F, and the trimethylaluminum present around powder F becomes surplus. Therefore, when powder F enters the purge gas storage section 102 as it is moved by the powder moving mechanism 125, the surplus trimethylaluminum around powder F is exhausted by the purge gas exhaust section 124 together with the purge gas (nitrogen) in the purge gas storage section 102.

Next, when the powder F flows into the second gas storage section 103, the oxygen group in the water vapor adheres to the aluminum group on the surface of the particles of the powder F, and a layer of oxygen groups is formed to encase the powder F. Similarly, in the next purge gas storage section 102, after the excess water vapor (oxygen group) is exhausted, trimethylaluminum adheres to the oxygen group in the first gas storage section 101 of the film forming processing section 100C further downstream. By repeating such a process, a film of alumina (Al ₂ O ₃ ) containing multiple aluminum atomic layers is formed on the surface of the particles of the powder F discharged from the powder discharge port 10Q. In this way, in this embodiment, a film can be continuously formed on the powder F. In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, a purge gas storage section 102 is disposed between the first gas storage section 101 and the second gas storage section 103, and the powder F stored in the two powder storage sections 105 isolates (seals) the first gas storage section 101 and the second gas storage section 103 from each other. This prevents the first source gas (trimethylaluminum) and the second source gas (water vapor) from reacting with each other and generating and adhering alumina in portions (e.g., the inner walls of the first gas storage section 101 and the second gas storage section 103) other than the particle surfaces constituting the powder F. When the film-forming process is performed on the powder F as described above, the powder F that is initially used only to seal each gas storage section and has not been subjected to sufficient film-forming process may be re-introduced from the powder supply port 10P into the supply-side reservoir chamber 100A and reused.

The structure of the film forming processing unit 100C according to this embodiment shown in FIG. 1 can be understood as follows, based on the first gas storage unit 101 and the second gas storage unit 103. The film forming processing unit 100C has a first gas storage unit 101, a first purge gas storage unit 102A, a second gas storage unit 103, a second purge gas storage unit 102B, a first powder storage unit 100J, a second powder storage unit 100K, and two intermediate powder storage units 100M and 100N.

A first purge gas storage section 102A is disposed between the first gas storage section 101 and the second gas storage section 103. Similarly, a second purge gas storage section 102B is disposed downstream of the second gas storage section 103 (between the second gas storage section 103 and the next first gas storage section 101). The first purge gas storage section 102A and the second purge gas storage section 102B constitute a part of the powder flow path 100. The first purge gas storage section 102A and the second purge gas storage section 102B receive purge gas from the purge gas supply section 122 and store the purge gas.

1, the first powder storage section 100J corresponds to the powder storage section 105 immediately upstream of the first gas storage section 101. The first powder storage section 100J constitutes a part of the powder flow path 100. The first powder storage section 100J is connected from below to the upstream part of the first gas storage section 101 in the movement direction, and is capable of storing powder F supplied to the first gas storage section 101. The first powder storage section 100J stores powder F so as to prevent the first raw material gas from flowing from the first gas storage section 101 to the purge gas storage section 102 upstream of the first gas storage section 101. In addition, in the case of the film forming processing unit 100C shown in FIG. 1 being the film forming processing unit 100C located most upstream, the first powder storage unit 100J prevents the first source gas from flowing from the first gas storage unit 101 to the supply side storage chamber 100A.

The second powder storage section 100K corresponds to the powder storage section 105 immediately upstream of the second gas storage section 103 in FIG. 1. The second powder storage section 100K constitutes a part of the powder flow path 100. The second powder storage section 100K is connected from below to the upstream part of the second gas storage section 103 in the movement direction, and is capable of storing the powder F supplied to the second gas storage section 103. The second powder storage section 100K is connected from below to the downstream part of the first purge gas storage section 102A in the movement direction, and is capable of receiving the powder F that has passed through the first purge gas storage section 102A.

The intermediate powder storage section 100M is connected from below to the downstream portion of the first gas storage section 101 in the moving direction and the upstream portion of the first purge gas storage section 102A in the moving direction, and is capable of storing powder F. The intermediate powder storage section 100M stores powder F such that the stored powder F prevents the first raw material gas and the purge gas from flowing between the first gas storage section 101 and the first purge gas storage section 102A.

Furthermore, the intermediate powder storage section 100N corresponds to the powder storage section 105 immediately downstream of the second gas storage section 103. The intermediate powder storage section 100N constitutes a part of the powder flow path 100. The intermediate powder storage section 100N is connected from below to the downstream part of the second gas storage section 103 in the moving direction, and is capable of storing (accepting) the powder F that has passed through the second gas storage section 103. In addition, the intermediate powder storage section 100N is connected from below to the upstream part of the second purge gas storage section 102B in the moving direction, and stores the powder F supplied to the second purge gas storage section 102B, and stores the powder F so that the stored powder F suppresses the flow of the second raw material gas and the purge gas between the second gas storage section 103 and the second purge gas storage section 102B.

1 has a flow control valve 122C (see FIG. 2, pressure adjustment mechanism) capable of controlling the amount of purge gas supplied to the purge gas storage unit 102. The flow control valve 122C adjusts the pressure of the first purge gas storage unit 102A and the pressure of the second purge gas storage unit 102B so that the pressure of the first purge gas storage unit 102A and the pressure of the second purge gas storage unit 102B are lower than the pressure of the first gas storage unit 101 and the pressure of the second gas storage unit 103. On the other hand, the purge gas exhaust unit 124 exhausts the purge gas from the first purge gas storage unit 102A and the second purge gas storage unit 102B. Therefore, since each purge gas storage section 102 is set to a negative pressure relative to the first gas storage section 101 and the second gas storage section 103, the surplus first and second raw material gases remaining in the powder F are easily attracted to each purge gas storage section 102. Therefore, the purge gas exhaust section 124 can reliably exhaust these surplus gases together with the purge gas.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the raw material gas exhaust section 120 and the purge gas exhaust section 124 exhaust gas from the first gas storage section 101, the purge gas storage section 102, and the second gas storage section 103. Therefore, the required amount of raw material gas can be supplied while evacuating each gas storage section, and the purity of the raw material gas in each gas storage section can be increased. As a result, a high-purity film formation process can be performed on the powder F.

As described above, in this embodiment, the powder moving mechanism 125 continuously moves the powder F through the powder flow path 100 of the film forming processing unit 100C, and the powder F is exposed to the first raw material gas and the second raw material gas in the first gas storage unit 101 and the second gas storage unit 103 in sequence, so that a film can be continuously formed on the surface of the particles of the powder F through the reaction of the gas molecules of both gases. In addition, each powder storage unit 105 arranged between the first gas storage unit 101 and the second gas storage unit 103 of the film forming processing unit 100C can seal between the first gas storage unit 101 and the second gas storage unit 103 by the stored powder F. Therefore, the movement of each raw material gas between the first gas storage unit 101 and the second gas storage unit 103 is suppressed. As a result, it is possible to suppress the raw material gases from coming into contact with each other in a portion other than the surface of the particles of the powder F in any of the gas storage units, such as the wall surface of the gas storage unit, and to suppress the reaction of the two gases.

In addition, in this embodiment, the first gas storage section 101 and the second gas storage section 103 are alternately arranged along the movement direction in the multiple gas storage sections, and the multiple gas storage sections further include multiple purge gas storage sections 102 that are arranged between the first gas storage section 101 and the second gas storage section 103 in the flow of powder F in the powder flow path 100 and receive the purge gas from the purge gas supply section 122 and store the purge gas. With this configuration, the first raw material gas and the second raw material gas are prevented from coming into contact with each other except on the surface of the particles of the powder F, and the excess of the second raw material gas can be removed from the powder F that has passed through the second gas storage section 103 in the second purge gas storage section 102B. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the excess second raw material gas from reacting with the first raw material gas in the next processing step and generating a reaction product independent of the powder F.

In addition, in this embodiment, the multiple first partitions 111 and multiple second partitions 112 arranged in the device body 10 form a powder flow path 100 that meanders up and down within the device body 10, and can define the first gas storage section 101, the second gas storage section 103, and the powder storage section 105, respectively. In particular, since the gas storage sections or powder storage sections are arranged close to each other on either side of each partition, the size of the powder deposition device 1 in the movement direction of the powder F can be reduced compared to when the gas storage section and the powder storage section are arranged at a distance from each other.

In addition, in this embodiment, multiple film formation processing units 100C are connected to each other within the apparatus body 10 so that powder F that has passed through the first gas storage unit 101 and the second gas storage unit 103 of one film formation processing unit 100C passes through the first gas storage unit 101 and the second gas storage unit 103 of another film formation processing unit 100C further downstream, thereby forming a continuous powder flow path 100. At this time, the second purge gas storage portion 102B of one of the multiple film forming processing portions 100C communicates with the first powder storage portion 100J of the other film forming processing portion 100C downstream of the one of the multiple film forming processing portions 100C in the moving direction, and the first powder storage portion 100J stores the powder F so as to prevent the first raw material gas and the second raw material gas from flowing between the second gas storage portion 103 of the one film forming processing portion 100C and the first gas storage portion 101 of the other film forming processing portion 100C by the stored powder F. Therefore, the film forming process on the powder F can be performed continuously and efficiently in the multiple film forming processing portions 100C. In addition, the flow of the first raw material gas and the second raw material gas between each film forming processing portion 100C is suppressed by the layer of powder F, and the reaction of both gases can be suppressed except on the surface of the powder F. In addition, the second purge gas storage unit 102B, which is disposed between the second gas storage unit 103 of the first film formation processing unit 100C and the first gas storage unit 101 of the other film formation processing unit 100C, also has the function of preventing the raw material gases from coming into contact with each other, similar to the above.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the powder moving mechanism 125 includes a vibration generating unit capable of applying vibration to the device body 10. Therefore, by applying vibration in a specific direction to the device body 10, a moving force for moving the powder F through the powder flow path 100 can be applied. Therefore, the powder F can be stably moved so as to pass through each gas storage unit without having a mechanical moving mechanism that directly contacts the powder F, such as a rotating blade member. In particular, compared to a case in which the mechanical moving mechanism as described above is provided, the device can be simplified and the particles constituting the powder F can be prevented from being crushed by the mechanical moving force. In addition, it is possible to prevent a part of the blade member from being mixed into the powder (contamination).

The powder film forming method according to the present embodiment is a powder film forming method for performing a film forming process on powder, and includes a preparation step of preparing an apparatus body 10 having a powder flow path 100 having multiple tops and multiple bottoms and allowing powder to flow in a horizontal moving direction while meandering up and down; a powder storage step of storing powder F in a region of the powder flow path 100 below the multiple tops and separating the multiple tops with the stored powder F; a gas storage step of storing a first raw material gas in one of the multiple tops and storing a second raw material gas different from the first raw material gas in the other top downstream of the one top in the moving direction; and a film forming step of continuously moving powder F along the powder flow path in the moving direction to expose the powder F to the first raw material gas and the second raw material gas in sequence, and performing a film forming process on the surfaces of the particles of the powder F by a reaction between the gas molecules of the first raw material gas and the gas molecules of the second raw material gas.

According to this method, the powder F is exposed to the first and second raw material gases in sequence at multiple apexes, and a film can be continuously formed on the powder F through the reaction of the two gases. In addition, the stored powder F can seal the spaces between the multiple apexes of the powder flow path 100. This prevents the raw material gases from moving back and forth between the multiple apexes. As a result, it is possible to prevent the raw material gases from coming into contact with each other in areas other than the surfaces of the particles that make up the powder F, and to prevent the two gases from reacting with each other.

In the above method, the film forming process includes moving the powder F in the movement direction by applying vibrations to the device body 10 in specific directions including the movement direction and the up-down direction. With this method, the powder F can be stably moved so as to pass through each apex.

2 is a schematic front cross-sectional view of the powder film forming apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the first gas storage unit 101, the purge gas storage unit 102, and the second gas storage unit 103 are described as being supplied with the source gas and the purge gas from above, but the present invention is not limited to this. As shown in FIG. 2, the first gas supply unit 121 has a first gas tank 121A that stores the first source gas, and a first gas nozzle 121B. Similarly, the purge gas supply unit 122 has a purge gas tank 122A (gas tank) that stores the purge gas and a purge gas nozzle 122B, and the second gas supply unit 123 has a second gas tank 123A that stores the second source gas, and a second gas nozzle 123B. At least one of the first gas supply unit 121, the purge gas supply unit 122, and the second gas supply unit 123 may have the above-mentioned structure.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the first gas nozzle 121B, the purge gas nozzle 122B and the second gas nozzle 123B (all gas ejection sections) are disposed in the powder F stored in the first powder storage section 100J, the intermediate powder storage sections 100M and 100N and the second powder storage section 100K in FIG. 1, respectively, and each gas can be ejected toward the first gas storage section 101, the purge gas storage section 102 and the second gas storage section 103.

According to this configuration, each gas nozzle is arranged downstream of each powder storage section so as to be able to spray the same type of raw material gas as the gas storage section toward the upstream part of the gas storage section arranged further downstream in the flow direction of the powder F. Therefore, when the gas nozzle sprays the raw material gas, the spray force can fluidize the powder and promote transportation by vibration. Note that, as each of the gas nozzles described above being arranged in the powder F, the gas nozzles may be arranged on the wall or bottom surface of the powder storage section and the tip of the nozzle may be exposed in the powder F.

Figure 3 is a schematic front cross-sectional view of a powder film forming apparatus 1 according to a third embodiment of the present invention. In the above first and second embodiments, the inside of the box-shaped apparatus main body 10 is divided by a plurality of first partitions 111 and a plurality of second partitions 112 to form the powder flow path 100. However, as shown in Figure 3, the apparatus main body 10 may be made of a pipe (tube material) that meanders up and down. In this case, the first gas storage section 101, each purge gas storage section 102, and the second gas storage section 103 are formed at the top of the pipe, and a powder storage section 105 that stores powder F is formed at the bottom of the pipe. Even in such a configuration, the powder moving mechanism 125 applies vibration to the apparatus main body 10, so that the powder F passes through each gas storage section and a film formation process can be performed on the particles that constitute the powder F.

Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view of a powder film forming apparatus 1 according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, multiple film forming processing units 100C are connected to each other so that the powder flow path 100 is arranged in a spiral shape around a central axis extending in the vertical direction. With this configuration, film forming processing can be performed continuously on the powder F in the multiple film forming processing units 100C, and the installation area of the powder film forming apparatus 1 can be reduced compared to when the multiple film forming processing units 100C are connected to each other along the horizontal direction. When the powder F is transported down the spiral, vibration is applied in the direction of the arrow D1 in Figure 4, and when the powder F is transported up the spiral, vibration is applied in the direction of the arrow D1' in Figure 4.

5 and 6 are schematic horizontal cross-sectional and perspective views of a powder deposition apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a single deposition processing unit 100C is disposed in a cylindrical device body 10, and its upstream and downstream sides are connected to each other.

In detail, the second purge gas storage section 102B (see FIG. 1) of the film forming processing section 100C communicates with the first powder storage section 100J (see FIG. 1) of the film forming processing section 100C so that the powder F can repeatedly pass through the first gas storage section 101 and the second gas storage section 103 of the same film forming processing section 100C (infinite loop shape). The first powder storage section 100J of the film forming processing section 100C stores the powder F so that the stored powder F prevents the first raw material gas and the second raw material gas from flowing between the second gas storage section 103 and the downstream first gas storage section 101. By applying vibration in the direction of arrow D1 in FIG. 6, the powder F passes through each first partition section 111 as shown by arrow D2 in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, and the powder F can overcome each second partition section 112 as shown by arrow D3 in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6.

According to this configuration, the powder F can be continuously subjected to film formation processing by passing the powder F through the same first gas storage section 101 and second gas storage section 103. Therefore, the size of the powder film formation device 1 can be reduced compared to when more film formation processing sections are connected to each other, and compared to when the powder F passes through the same first gas storage section 101 and second gas storage section 103 once each, it is not necessary to line up a large number of powder storage sections and gas storage sections, and it can be configured with a minimum number of powder storage sections and gas storage sections. As a result, film formation can be efficiently performed on the powder F. Note that the infinite loop structure shown in Figures 5 and 6 may be one in which multiple film formation processing sections 100C are connected in series and arranged in a loop.

The powder film forming device 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention and the film forming method using the same have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and the following modified embodiments are possible.

(1) In the above first embodiment, the raw material gas exhaust section 120, the first gas supply section 121, the purge gas supply section 122, the second gas supply section 123, and the purge gas exhaust section 124 are described as being arranged as shown in FIG. 1, but the number of these structures is not limited to the above embodiment. As an example, one first gas exhaust section 120A may be connected to multiple first gas storage sections 101 and exhaust the first raw material gas from each first gas storage section 101. Similarly, one second gas exhaust section 120B may be connected to multiple second gas storage sections 103 and exhaust the second raw material gas from each second gas storage section 103. Furthermore, one purge gas exhaust section 124 may be connected to multiple purge gas storage sections 102 and exhaust the purge gas from each purge gas storage section 102. The same applies to other embodiments. Furthermore, in each embodiment, the number of film forming processing units 100C arranged within the device body 10 is not limited, and at least one film forming processing unit 100C may be arranged.

(2) In the above first embodiment, the device body 10 is described as being arranged to extend in the horizontal direction, but the present invention is not limited to this. In FIG. 1, the device body 10 may be arranged at an incline so that the downstream portion of the device body 10 in the moving direction is positioned lower than the upstream portion of the device body 10 in the moving direction. With this configuration, the powder flow path 100 can be set to slope downward along the moving direction, so that the movement of the powder F can be promoted by the action of gravity. Note that in this case as well, the powder F is moved in a moving direction that includes at least the horizontal direction. Also, in other embodiments, the device body 10 may be similarly inclined.

(3) In the above first embodiment, the first purge gas storage section 102A is disposed between the first gas storage section 101 and the second gas storage section 103, and the second purge gas storage section 102B is disposed downstream of the second gas storage section 103. However, these purge gas storage sections 102A and 102B do not have to be disposed, and only one of the purge gas storage sections 102 may be disposed.

Figure 7 is a schematic front cross-sectional view of a powder deposition apparatus according to a modified embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 7, the first gas storage section 101 and the second gas storage section 103 may be arranged alternately along the moving direction, and each powder storage section 105 may be arranged so as to straddle the first gas storage section 101 and the second gas storage section 103 from below. That is, in this modified embodiment, the first purge gas storage section 102A, the second purge gas storage section 102B, and the intermediate powder storage sections 100M and 100N in Figure 1 are not provided, and each of the multiple powder storage sections 105 communicates from below with the upstream part of one of the first gas storage section 101 and the second gas storage section 103 in the moving direction, and communicates from below with the downstream part of the other of the first gas storage section 101 and the second gas storage section 103 in the moving direction. With this configuration, it is possible to reduce the size of the powder deposition device 1 in the direction of movement compared to when the device has a purge gas storage section 102 as in the first embodiment.

(4) In the above first embodiment, the purge gas exhaust unit 124 exhausts the purge gas from the first purge gas storage unit 102A and the second purge gas storage unit 102B, and each purge gas storage unit is set to a negative pressure relative to the first gas storage unit 101 and the second gas storage unit 103. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The flow control valve 122C (pressure adjustment mechanism) may adjust the pressure of each purge gas storage unit so that the pressure of the purge gas storage units 102A and 102B is higher than the pressure of the first gas storage unit 101 and the pressure of the second gas storage unit 103. In this case, since each purge gas storage unit is set to a positive pressure relative to each gas storage unit, it is possible to prevent the excess of the first raw material gas and the second raw material gas remaining in the powder from flowing into each purge gas storage unit and coming into contact with each other.

(5) Furthermore, the movement direction of the powder F in the powder deposition device 1 is not limited to the right direction (horizontal direction), but may be a substantially horizontal direction inclined upward or downward from the horizontal direction, or may be a specified movement direction that intersects with the up-down direction at an acute angle, as long as the powder F can move. The specified direction includes the horizontal direction and the substantially horizontal direction. Furthermore, in order to transport the powder F stably, it is preferable that the angle between the movement direction and the horizontal direction be set to within 60 degrees, and it is even more preferable that the angle be set to within 45 degrees.

(6) In the above embodiment, the first gas storage section 101 and the second gas storage section 103 are alternately arranged along the moving direction, and a plurality of purge gas storage sections 102 are arranged between the first gas storage section 101 and the second gas storage section 103. However, instead of the purge gas storage section 102, a dummy gas storage section that does not store a dedicated gas may be arranged. That is, the purge gas is not supplied from the purge gas supply section 122 to the dummy gas storage section. Even in such a case, the first raw material gas and the second raw material gas can be prevented from coming into contact with each other except on the surface of the particles of the powder F. In addition, in order to exhaust each raw material gas that has flowed into the dummy gas storage section, an exhaust mechanism similar to the purge gas exhaust section 124 is connected to the dummy gas storage section. As a result, it is possible to prevent the first raw material gas and the second raw material gas that have entered and remained in the dummy gas storage section from coming into contact with each other.

1 Powder film forming apparatus 10 Apparatus body 10B Bottom wall 10T Top wall 100 Powder flow path 100A Supply side storage chamber 100B Discharge side storage chamber 100C Film forming processing unit 100J First powder storage section 100K Second powder storage section 100M, 100N Intermediate powder storage section 101 First gas storage section (gas storage section)
102 Purge gas storage section (gas storage section)
103 Second gas storage section (gas storage section)
105 Powder storage section 10P Powder supply port 10Q Powder discharge port 111 First partition section 112 Second partition section 120 Raw material gas exhaust section 120A First gas exhaust section 120A
120B Second gas exhaust section 120B
121 First gas supply unit 121A First gas tank 121B First gas nozzle 122 Purge gas supply unit 122A Purge gas tank 122B Purge gas nozzle 122C Flow control valve (pressure adjustment mechanism)
123 Second gas supply unit 123A Second gas tank 123B Second gas nozzle 124 Purge gas exhaust unit (exhaust mechanism)
125 Powder moving mechanism F Powder

Claims (16)

A powder film forming apparatus for performing a film forming process on powder,
A device body,
a first gas supply unit capable of supplying a first source gas;
a second gas supply unit capable of supplying a second source gas different from the first source gas;
at least one film-forming processing unit provided in the apparatus body and capable of forming a film on a surface of a powder particle by a reaction between gas molecules of the first raw material gas and gas molecules of the second raw material gas, the at least one film-forming processing unit having a powder flow path having a plurality of tops and a plurality of bottoms and allowing the powder to flow in a moving direction intersecting with a vertical direction while meandering up and down;
a powder moving mechanism capable of continuously moving powder along the powder flow path in the at least one film forming processing unit;
Equipped with
The at least one film forming processing unit includes:
a plurality of powder reservoirs each constituting the bottom of the powder flow path and configured to store powder;
a plurality of gas storage sections each constituting the top of the powder flow path, connecting adjacent ones of the plurality of powder storage sections to each other, and storing a gas therein, the plurality of gas storage sections including at least a first gas storage section receiving the first raw material gas from the first gas supply section and storing the first raw material gas, and a second gas storage section receiving the second raw material gas from the second gas supply section and storing the second raw material gas;
having
the powder moving mechanism moves the powder in the powder flow path such that the powder flows from the powder storage section to the gas storage section, whereby the powder is exposed to the gas in the gas storage section, and the powder flows from the gas storage section to a next powder storage section;
a powder deposition apparatus, wherein the plurality of powder storage sections have a shape for storing powder such that the stored powder can prevent gas from flowing along the powder flow path between adjacent gas storage sections. In the plurality of gas containing sections, the first gas containing sections and the second gas containing sections are alternately arranged along the moving direction,
The powder deposition apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of powder storage sections is in communication with the first gas storage section and the second gas storage section, respectively. a purge gas supply unit capable of supplying a purge gas which is different from the first raw material gas and the second raw material gas and is used to remove an excess of the first raw material gas or the second raw material gas from a powder;
In the plurality of gas containing sections, the first gas containing sections and the second gas containing sections are alternately arranged along the moving direction,
2. The powder deposition apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of purge gas accommodating sections each arranged between the first gas accommodating section and the second gas accommodating section in the powder flow path, the purge gas being received from the purge gas supply section and accommodating the purge gas. a pressure adjusting mechanism that adjusts the pressure of the purge gas storage unit so that the pressure of the purge gas storage unit is lower than the pressure of the first gas storage unit and the pressure of the second gas storage unit;
an exhaust mechanism that exhausts the purge gas from the purge gas storage unit;
The powder deposition apparatus according to claim 3 , further comprising: a pressure adjustment mechanism that adjusts the pressure of the purge gas storage unit so that the pressure of the purge gas storage unit is higher than the pressure of the first gas storage unit and the pressure of the second gas storage unit;
an exhaust mechanism that exhausts the purge gas from the purge gas storage unit;
The powder deposition apparatus according to claim 3 , further comprising: In the plurality of gas containing sections, the first gas containing sections and the second gas containing sections are alternately arranged along the moving direction,
the plurality of gas storage units are respectively disposed between the first gas storage unit and the second gas storage unit in a powder flow path , and further include a plurality of dummy gas storage units to which a purge gas, which is a gas different from the first source gas and the second source gas and is used to remove an excess of the first source gas or the second source gas from the powder, is not supplied ,
The powder deposition apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising an exhaust mechanism connected to the dummy gas storage unit. The device body includes:
The bottom wall and
A top wall disposed above the bottom wall;
At least three first partitions are disposed on the top wall of the device body at intervals in the moving direction and extend downward from the top wall to define the powder flow path,
At least three first partitions, each having a first partition tip portion disposed at a predetermined interval from the bottom wall;
a plurality of second partition portions that are disposed at intervals from one another in the movement direction on the bottom wall of the device body so as to be respectively disposed between adjacent first partition portions among the at least three first partition portions in the movement direction, and that extend upward from the bottom wall to define the powder flow path, each of the second partition portions having a second partition tip portion that is disposed at a predetermined interval from the top wall;
having
A plurality of pairs of the first partition portions adjacent to each other in the moving direction among the at least three first partition portions define the plurality of gas storage portions at least in a portion above the second partition tip portion,
7. The powder deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one pair of the second partition portions, which are adjacent to each other in the movement direction among the plurality of second partition portions, defines the powder storage portion so as to sandwich the first partition tip portion from both sides. The powder deposition device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the device body is tilted so that a downstream portion of the device body in the moving direction is positioned lower than an upstream portion of the device body in the moving direction. The at least one film forming processing unit has a plurality of film forming processing units,
9. The powder deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of film deposition processing sections are connected to each other such that powder that has passed through the first gas storage unit and the second gas storage unit of one of the plurality of film deposition processing sections passes through the first gas storage unit and the second gas storage unit of another of the plurality of film deposition processing sections. The powder deposition device according to claim 9, wherein the multiple deposition processing units are connected to each other so that the powder flow path is arranged in a spiral shape around a central axis extending in the vertical direction. The powder deposition device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein a portion of the powder flow path of the at least one deposition processing unit downstream in the movement direction from the second gas storage unit is connected to a portion of the powder flow path of the at least one deposition processing unit upstream in the movement direction from the first gas storage unit, so that the powder can repeatedly pass through the same first gas storage unit and the second gas storage unit of the at least one deposition processing unit. The powder deposition apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising a vacuum pump that exhausts gas from the first gas storage unit and the second gas storage unit of the at least one deposition processing unit. The powder deposition device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the powder movement mechanism includes a vibration generating unit that applies vibrations to the device body in specific directions including the movement direction and the up-down direction. At least one of the first gas supply unit and the second gas supply unit is
a gas tank that contains the first source gas or the second source gas;
a gas ejection unit that is disposed in the powder stored in the powder storage unit and is capable of receiving a source gas from the gas tank and ejecting the source gas toward the first gas storage unit or the second gas storage unit;
The powder deposition apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising: A powder coating method for performing a coating process on powder, comprising the steps of:
a preparation step of preparing an apparatus body having a powder flow path formed therein, the powder flow path having a plurality of tops and a plurality of bottoms and allowing the powder to flow in a moving direction intersecting the up-down direction while meandering up and down;
a powder storing step of storing powder in a region of the powder flow path below the plurality of peaks, and separating the plurality of peaks with the stored powder;
a gas storing step of storing a first source gas in one of the plurality of tops and storing a second source gas different from the first source gas in another top downstream of the one top in the moving direction;
a film-forming process in which the powder is continuously moved in the moving direction along the powder flow path in the apparatus body to sequentially expose the powder to the first source gas and the second source gas, and a film-forming process is performed on surfaces of particles of the powder by a reaction between gas molecules of the first source gas and gas molecules of the second source gas;
The powder film forming method includes the steps of: The powder film forming method according to claim 15, wherein the film forming process includes moving the powder in the movement direction by applying vibrations to the device body in specific directions including the movement direction and the up-down direction.

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