CN114630925A

CN114630925A - Film forming apparatus

Info

Publication number: CN114630925A
Application number: CN202080075134.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 恩地卓也; 小森常范
Original assignee: Toray Engineering Co Ltd
Current assignee: Toray Engineering Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-10-29
Filing date: 2020-09-04
Publication date: 2022-06-14
Anticipated expiration: 2040-09-04
Also published as: WO2021084911A1; CN114630925B; JP2021070837A; JP7291606B2

Abstract

The invention provides a film forming apparatus which can form a functional film on a substrate without reducing the performance of the functional film. Specifically, the film forming apparatus includes: a film forming chamber (7) for forming a thin film on the film forming surface side of the substrate (2) conveyed in a roll-to-roll manner; a guide member (8) that, by coming into contact with the film formation surface side of the base material (2) or the opposite side thereof, guides the conveying direction of the base material (2) and thereby forms a conveying path for the base material (2); and a protective member bonding unit (9a) which is located on the downstream side of the film forming chamber (7) in the transport path of the substrate (2), is provided between the film forming chamber (7) and the guide member (8) which is first in contact with the film forming surface side of the substrate (2), and bonds a flexible protective member (B) to the film forming surface side of the substrate (2).

Description

Film forming apparatus

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a film forming apparatus for forming a functional film having a predetermined function on a band-shaped substrate by a vacuum film forming method.

Background

In recent years, a method of improving the function of a product such as a plastic film by coating a functional film as a thin film on the surface of the product has been applied to various fields. A barrier film formed by forming a barrier film for the purpose of oxidation resistance, moisture permeation prevention, and the like on a plastic film is an example, and other transparent conductive films, antireflection films, and the like may be formed on a substrate.

Such a film formation substrate is formed by a film formation apparatus shown in patent document 1 below, for example. Fig. 9 shows a schematic diagram of the film forming apparatus described in patent document 1. In the film formation apparatus 100, a barrier film, which is one of functional films, is formed on a substrate 101 by a plasma CVD method, which is one of vacuum film formation methods. Specifically, the raw material gas supplied to the barrier film in the film forming chamber 102 is decomposed by the plasma, and the decomposed raw material gas is deposited on the substrate 101, thereby forming a thin film as the barrier film on the substrate 101.

In the film formation apparatus 100 of fig. 9, the long strip-shaped substrate 101 wound around the wind-up roll 106 and unwound from the wind-up roll 105 is conveyed along a conveyance path formed by the main roll 103 and the guide roll 104. In particular, when the substrate 101 is conveyed along the main roller 103, a thin film is formed on the substrate 101 by the film forming chamber 102 provided opposite to the main roller 103.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2016-060942

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

However, in the film formation apparatus 100, the performance of the functional film formed on the substrate 101 may be degraded. Specifically, in the film forming apparatus 100, the guide roller 104 forming the transport path of the substrate 101 has the film formation surface side roller 104a in contact with the film formation surface side of the substrate 101 and the back surface side roller 104b in contact with the surface opposite to the film formation surface of the substrate 101, but when the substrate 101 on which the thin film of the functional film is formed in the film forming chamber 102 is in contact with the film formation surface side roller 104a having a hard surface, there is a problem that the functional film is damaged and its performance is lowered. Further, if the film formation device is configured so that the film formation surface side roller which is in contact with the substrate on which the thin film of the functional film is formed does not exist, there is a problem that the transport path of the substrate is limited, and as a result, the device becomes large.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a film formation apparatus and a film formation method capable of forming a functional film on a substrate without degrading the performance of the functional film.

Means for solving the problems

In order to solve the above problem, a film forming apparatus according to the present invention includes: a film forming chamber for forming a thin film on a film forming surface side of a substrate transported in a roll-to-roll manner; a guide member that forms a substrate transport path by contacting the film formation surface side of the substrate or the opposite side thereof to guide the substrate transport direction; and a protective member bonding unit which is disposed on the downstream side of the film forming chamber in the substrate transport path, is disposed between the guide member which is first in contact with the film forming surface side of the substrate and the film forming chamber, and bonds a flexible protective member to the film forming surface side of the substrate.

According to the film forming apparatus of the present invention, a functional film can be formed on a substrate without degrading the performance of the functional film. Specifically, the protective member bonding section which is provided on the downstream side of the film forming chamber in the transport path of the substrate and between the guide member which is first brought into contact with the film forming surface side of the substrate and the film forming chamber and bonds the flexible protective member to the film forming surface side of the substrate is provided, whereby the thin film formed on the substrate can be prevented from physically contacting the guide roller, and therefore, the thin film can be prevented from being damaged by contact with the surface of the guide roller.

In the surface of the protective member on the side facing the base material, the adhesive force of the portions facing the both end portions of the base material in the width direction of the base material may be higher than the adhesive force of the portions between the both end portions.

Thus, when the protective member is peeled from the base material, the peeling of the film from the base material can be reduced.

The protective member may face only a part of the base material in the width direction of the base material.

This causes a gap between the guide roller and the portion of the substrate to which the protective member is not attached, thereby preventing the film from physically contacting the guide roller.

The substrate may be reversed in the transport direction, and the protective member attaching portion may be provided on both sides of the transport path of the substrate with the film forming chamber therebetween.

Thus, even when the substrate is reversely conveyed in the film forming apparatus to form a film, the thin film formed on the substrate can be prevented from physically contacting the guide roller.

Further, the substrate may be wound in a state where the protective member is attached to the substrate.

This prevents the film from contacting the back surface of the substrate in the wound state of the substrate.

Further, the roll may further include a protective member peeling section for peeling the protective member from the base material before winding the base material.

This prevents winding displacement due to winding in a state where the protective member is bonded, and allows only the base material to be wound.

The protective member peeled by the protective member peeling section may be sent to the protective member bonding section to form a circulation path of the protective member.

This makes it possible to shorten the length of the protection member to be prepared.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

According to the film forming apparatus of the present invention, a functional film can be formed on a substrate without degrading the performance of the functional film.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic view showing a film deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a protective member according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a schematic view showing a protective member according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a schematic view showing a protective member according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a film deposition apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing a film deposition apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing a film deposition apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing a film deposition apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 9 is a schematic view showing a conventional film deposition apparatus.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a film formation apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is a front view.

The film forming apparatus 1 is an apparatus for forming a thin film by performing a surface treatment on a substrate, and for example, a barrier film, which is a functional film for the purpose of oxidation resistance and prevention of moisture permeation, is formed on a flexible plastic film, and is used for a protective film for food, a flexible solar cell, and the like. Specifically, in the case of a flexible solar cell, after a solar cell including electrode layers, a photoelectric conversion layer, and the like is formed on a strip-shaped base material such as a plastic film, a barrier film is formed by forming 2 or more thin films on the solar cell by the film forming apparatus 1. This can effectively prevent moisture from penetrating into the solar cell, and can form a flexible solar cell having excellent oxidation durability.

The film forming apparatus 1 includes: a bundle holding roller 3 and a bundle holding roller 4, which are 2 bundle holding rollers for holding a bundle of flexible base materials; a main roller 5 disposed between the bundle holding roller 3 and the bundle holding roller 4; a main roller chamber 6 accommodating the main roller 5; and film forming chambers 7 for forming a thin film, wherein the base material 2 fed from one of the bundle holding rolls (bundle holding roll 3) is passed through each film forming chamber 7 while being conveyed along the outer peripheral surface 51 of the main roll 5, thereby forming a thin film on the base material 2, and the thin film is wound up by the other bundle holding roll (bundle holding roll 4).

The rotation direction of the main roller 5 is as indicated by an arrow in fig. 1, and the direction of the arrow (counterclockwise direction) is the conveyance direction of the substrate 2 at this time.

The film formation apparatus 1 further includes a protective member bonding portion 9a, and by bonding the protective member B to the film formation surface side of the substrate 2 on which the thin film is formed, the guide roller 104a, which is a roller member forming the transport path of the substrate 2 and is in contact with the film formation surface side of the substrate 2, is prevented from being in physical contact with the thin film formed on the substrate 2.

The bundle holding roller 3 and the bundle holding roller 4 each have a core 31 and a core 41 of a substantially cylindrical shape, and the base material 2 is wound around these core 31 and core 41 to form a bundle of the base material 2.

By rotationally driving these

core portions

31 and 41, the substrate 2 can be fed out or wound up. That is, so-called roll-to-roll conveyance is performed by the bundle holding roller 3 and the bundle holding roller 4, and the rotation of the core 31 and the core 41 is controlled by a control device, not shown, so that the feed speed or the take-up speed of the substrate 2 can be increased or decreased. Specifically, in the embodiment of fig. 1, the bundle holding roller 3 is located upstream of the main roller 5 in the transport path of the substrate, and therefore, the bundle holding roller 3 serves as a roller for sending out the substrate 2, and conversely, the bundle holding roller 4 serves as a roller for winding up the substrate 2. Then, in a state where the substrate 2 receives a pulling force from the core 41 located on the downstream side, the core 31 located on the upstream side is rotated, whereby the substrate 2 is fed to the downstream side, and the substrate 2 is fed at a constant speed without being deflected by appropriately applying a brake to the core 31. Further, by adjusting the rotation of the core 41, the substrate 2 fed out can be prevented from being warped, and conversely, the substrate 2 can be wound up without applying a tension to a necessary degree or more.

Here, the substrate 2 is a flexible, thin plate-like elongated body extending in one direction, and a flat plate-like elongated body having a thickness of 0.01mm to 0.2mm and a width of 5mm to 1600mm can be applied. The material is not particularly limited, and for example, a resin film such as PET (polyethylene terephthalate) can be suitably used.

In this way, the bundle holding roller 3 and the bundle holding roller 4 form a pair of rollers, one of which feeds out the substrate 2 and the other of which winds up the substrate 2 at the same winding speed as the feeding speed, and thereby the substrate 2 can be conveyed while maintaining the tension applied to the substrate 2 at a predetermined value.

The main roller 5 is provided between the bundle holding roller 3 and the bundle holding roller 4 in the transport path of the base material 2, and is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape having a larger diameter than the core portion 31 and the core portion 41 of the bundle holding roller. The outer peripheral surface 51 of the main roller 5 is formed into a curved surface having a constant curvature in the circumferential direction, and is driven and controlled by a control device, not shown, to rotate. The bundle holding roller 3 and the bundle holding roller 4 are controlled to rotate in accordance with the rotation operation of the main roller 5, and thereby the base material 2 fed out from the bundle holding roller 3 is conveyed along the outer circumferential surface 51 of the main roller 5 in a state of being loaded with a predetermined tension. That is, in a state where the base material 2 is along the outer circumferential surface 51 of the main roller 5, the bundle holding roller 3 and the bundle holding roller 4 rotate in conjunction with the conveyance of the base material 2 in accordance with the rotation of the main roller 5, whereby the base material 2 is conveyed from the bundle holding roller 3 to the bundle holding roller 4 in a posture where the surface thereof faces the respective film forming chambers 7 in a state where the entire base material 2 is tensioned.

By conveying the substrate 2 in a tensioned state and forming a film in the film forming chamber 7 while conveying the substrate 2 in this manner, it is possible to prevent the substrate 2 from shaking at the time of film formation, improve the accuracy of the thickness of the thin film deposited on the substrate 2, and prevent the generation of particles due to shaking of the substrate 2. Further, since the film formation can be performed while the substrate 2 is supported in a more flat state by increasing the radius of curvature of the main roller 5, the substrate 2 after the film formation can be prevented from warping, and the distance between the substrate 2 and the plasma electrode 72 in the film formation chamber 7 is substantially uniform, thereby facilitating the formation of a thin film having a uniform film thickness. The conveying speed of the substrate 2 during film formation is 40 to 50 m/min.

Further, by setting the tension from the main roller 5 to the bundle holding roller 4 as the take-up roller to be slightly higher than the tension from the bundle holding roller 3 as the delivery roller to the main roller 5, the base material 2 can be further closely adhered to the main roller 5.

The main roller chamber 6 is a space surrounded by a cover to house the main roller 5 and maintain a constant pressure in the chamber. The main roller chamber 6 includes a partition 61 in addition to a cover forming an exterior of the film forming apparatus 1, and the main roller chamber 6 and a film forming chamber 7 described later are partitioned in the film forming apparatus 1 by the partition 61. The partition portion 61 forms a mode in which only a part of the substrate 2 conveyed along the outer peripheral portion 51 of the main roller 5 is exposed to the film forming chamber 7.

In addition, the present embodiment adopts the following aspects: the vacuum pump 71 is provided only on the film forming chamber 7 side, and the main roll chamber 6 is also depressurized together with the film forming chamber 7 by the operation of the vacuum pump 71, but a vacuum pump may be provided also on the main roll chamber 6 side.

When a vacuum pump is also provided in the main roll chamber 6, the pressure in the main roll chamber 6 is preferably set higher than the pressure in the film forming chamber 7 in order to prevent particles generated in the film forming chamber 7 from being wound outside the film forming chamber 7.

In the present embodiment, the bundle holding roller 3 and the bundle holding roller 4 are housed in the main roller chamber 6, but they may be provided outside the main roller chamber 6. However, by providing these in the main roller chamber 6 as in the present embodiment, the substrate 2 and the substrate 2 after film formation (film formation substrate) can be protected from exposure to the atmosphere.

The film forming chamber 7 is a mechanism for forming a thin film on the substrate 2 by a plasma CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) method which is one of vacuum film forming methods. The film forming chamber 7 has: a vacuum pump 71 for reducing the pressure in the chamber, a plasma electrode 72 for applying a high voltage for generating plasma, and a raw material gas supply unit 73 for supplying a raw material gas, which is a raw material of the thin film formed on the substrate 2, into the chamber. In the present embodiment, a plasma forming gas, which is a source material of the plasma, is also supplied from the source gas supply unit 73.

In the film forming chamber 7, a voltage is applied to the plasma electrode 72 in a state where the inside of the film forming chamber 7 is reduced in pressure by the vacuum pump 71 and the plasma forming gas is supplied from the raw material gas supply unit 73, thereby generating plasma in the vicinity of the plasma electrode 72 and making the inside of the film forming chamber 7a plasma atmosphere. In the state where the plasma atmosphere is formed, the raw material gas is supplied from the raw material gas supply unit 73, and thus the raw material gas is decomposed (activated) by the plasma, and a thin film is formed on the film formation surface of the substrate 2 facing the film formation chamber 7.

In the present embodiment, a pressure control mechanism, not shown, is further provided for controlling the pressure in the film forming chamber 7 by reducing the pressure, and the pressure in the film forming chamber 7 is reduced by the vacuum pump 71 until the pressure reaches a predetermined pressure before the supply of the raw material gas. In the present embodiment, the pressure inside the film forming chamber 7 is reduced to 10^-2The raw material gas is supplied after Pa or less. Then, the film is formed in a state where the inside of the film forming chamber 7 is brought to about 0.5Pa to 3.0Pa by supplying the raw material gas.

In the present embodiment, 2 film forming chambers 7 (

film forming chambers

7a and 7b) are provided along the outer peripheral surface 51 of the main roller 5 so as to face the region of the outer peripheral surface 51 where the substrate 2 is in contact, and the thin film is formed on the substrate 2 in sequence by the

film forming chambers

7a and 7b by conveying the substrate 2 and forming the film in each film forming chamber 7 by the rotation of the bundle holding roller 3, the bundle holding roller 4, the main roller 5, and the like. Note that, although each of the 2 film forming chambers 7 includes the vacuum pump 71, the plasma electrode 72, and the source gas supply unit 73, in fig. 1, for convenience of drawing, only the vacuum pump 71, the plasma electrode 72, and the source gas supply unit 73 included in the film forming chamber 7a are denoted by reference numerals.

The plasma electrode 72 has a substantially U-shape extending in the width direction (Y-axis direction) of the main roller 5, and only a substantially linear portion of the substantially U-shaped plasma electrode 72 is shown in fig. 1 in cross section. A high-frequency power supply, not shown, is connected to an end of the plasma electrode 72.

The folded portion of the plasma electrode 72 is located outside the film forming chamber 7, and only the substantially linear portion of the plasma electrode 72 faces the substrate 2 on the main roller 5.

The plasma electrode 72 is surrounded by an electrode cover 74 having an opening in a direction facing the main roller 5. The film forming chamber 7 is in a reduced pressure state, but the electrode cover 74 can suppress the diffusion of the plasma forming gas supplied to the vicinity of the plasma electrode 72, and facilitate the formation and maintenance of the plasma.

The raw material gas supply unit 73 is a tubular member provided near the main roller 5 in the film forming chamber 7 and extending in the width direction (Y-axis direction) of the main roller 5, and is connected to a raw material gas supply mechanism (not shown) outside the film forming apparatus 1 via a pipe. The raw material gas supply unit 73 has 2 or more openings in the Y-axis direction, and supplies the raw material gas substantially uniformly over the entire width direction (Y-axis direction) of the substrate 2 in the vicinity of the film formation surface of the substrate 2 on the main roller 5.

In the present embodiment, the source gas supply unit 73 is also connected to a plasma forming gas supply mechanism, not shown, outside the film forming apparatus 1 via a pipe, and the plasma forming gas is also supplied from the source gas supply unit 73 to the vicinity of the plasma electrode 72 in the film forming chamber 7 as described above.

Here, in the present embodiment, the source gas is, for example, HMDS (hexamethyldisilazane) gas. The HMDS gas contains silicon and carbon, and forms a silicon carbide (SiC) -based thin film having high adhesion by supplying argon gas, nitrogen gas or the like as a plasma-forming gas, and also supplies oxygen gas as a plasma-forming gas,form dense SiO with high barrier property₂And (3) a membrane.

Here, in the present embodiment, SiO₂The film has high barrier properties as described above, and is a film having a function that is greatly related to the barrier properties of the barrier film as a functional film.

In contrast, the density ratio of the silicon carbide thin film to SiO₂The film is lower in barrier property than SiO₂The film is low, almost independent of the barrier properties of the barrier film, and therefore SiO independent₂In contrast to membranes, there are no strict limitations on the composition. Instead, the silicon carbide-based thin film has high adhesion as described above, and is formed by bonding SiO to the substrate 2₂Between films, and SiO₂Film and SiO₂The silicon carbide-based thin film is formed between the films, and a barrier film having not only high barrier properties but also high flexibility can be formed.

In the present description, SiO having barrier properties is used from the viewpoint of a barrier film₂The film is referred to as a barrier layer, and the silicon carbide-based thin film having adhesion is referred to as a buffer layer, and in the embodiment of fig. 1, the buffer layer is formed in the film forming chamber 7a, and the barrier layer is formed in the film forming chamber 7 b. That is, the surface layer of the film is a barrier layer.

The guide roller 8 is referred to as a guide member in the present invention, and is one form of a member forming a conveyance path of the base material 2, and is a cylindrical roller body disposed at a predetermined relative position with respect to the bundle holding roller 3, the bundle holding roller 4, and the main roller 5. Each guide roller 8 has its center axis as a rotation axis, and the direction of the rotation axis is the same as the direction of the rotation axes of the bundle holding roller 3, the bundle holding roller 4, and the main roller 5. The base material 2 wound out of the bundle holding roller 3 is brought into contact with a part of the outer peripheral surface of each guide roller 8, advances in the guide conveying direction along the outer peripheral surface of the guide roller 8, and is wound around the bundle holding roller 4. At this time, the transport path of the base material 2 is determined by the arrangement of the guide rollers 8, and each guide roller 8 feeds out the base material 2 to the downstream side while rotating by the frictional force with the base material 2. Further, the wrap angle of the substrate 2 with respect to the main roller 5 is adjusted by the guide roller 8 provided near the main roller 5, and a sufficient wrap angle is secured so that the substrate 2 is conveyed on the main roller 5 without slipping.

In the present description, the guide roller that is in contact with the surface (film formation surface) of the substrate 2 on which the thin film is to be formed, among the guide rollers 8, is referred to as a film formation surface side roller 8a, and the roller that is in contact with the surface on the opposite side of the film formation surface is referred to as a back surface side roller 8 b.

The protective member bonding section 9a is located downstream of the film forming chamber 7 in the transport path of the substrate 2, is located between the film forming surface side roller 8a which is first in contact with the film forming surface side of the substrate 2 and the film forming chamber 7, and is a member for bonding the protective member B to the substrate 2 on which a thin film is formed, and is a nip roller facing the outer peripheral surface 51 of the main roller 5 in the present embodiment. The protective member B is pressed against the base material 2 by sandwiching the base material 2 and the protective member B together by the protective member attaching portion 9a and the main roller 5, thereby attaching the protective member B to the base material 2.

Fig. 2 shows a protective member B in one embodiment of the present invention, fig. 2(a) is a diagram showing a positional relationship between the protective member B and the base material 2, and fig. 2(B) is a diagram showing a positional relationship between the base material 2 and the film formation surface side roller 8a to which the protective member B is bonded.

The protective member B is a flexible, long strip-shaped body made of resin, paper, or the like, and has adhesiveness over the entire surface on the side facing the base material 2. As shown in fig. 2(a), the protective member B is bonded to the film formation surface side of the base material 2 so as to face the film formation surface side.

Here, as described above, since the protective member B is bonded by the protective member bonding portion 9a located on the downstream side of the film forming chamber 7, the protective member B is bonded to the substrate 2 in a state where the thin film M is formed on the substrate 2. That is, the thin film M is positioned between the base material 2 and the protective member B, and when the base material 2 and the protective member B are guided by the film formation surface side roller 8a, the protective member B is in contact with the surface of the film formation surface side roller 8a, not the thin film M, as shown in fig. 2 (B). Therefore, the thin film M formed on the substrate 2 can be prevented from coming into physical contact with the film formation surface side roller 8a, and therefore, even if minute irregularities due to adhesion of particles or the like are formed on a part of the outer peripheral surface of the film formation surface side roller 8a, damage to the thin film M due to the minute irregularities can be prevented.

Further, since the protective member bonding portion 9a is located on the downstream side of the film forming chamber 7, the protective member B is not bonded to the substrate 2 when a thin film is formed in the film forming chamber 7, and therefore the protective member B does not interfere with the formation of the thin film on the substrate 2 in the film forming chamber 7.

Returning to fig. 1, in the film deposition apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, a bundle holding roller 91 is provided in the vicinity of the protective member attaching portion 9 a. The protective member B wound out from the bundle holding roller 91 is guided to the protective member bonding portion 9a, and the protective member B is fed to a position where the base material 2 and the protective member B are sandwiched by the protective member bonding portion 9a and the main roller 5 along a part of the outer peripheral surface of the protective member bonding portion 9 a.

The bundle holding roller 91 is a cylindrical roller body around which the protective member B to be bonded to the base material 2 is wound, and the protective member B is unwound from the bundle holding roller 91 to be supplied to the protective member bonding portion 9 a.

The tip end portion of the protective member B wound around the bundle holding roller 91 is manually guided to the protective member bonding portion 9a and bonded to the base material 2. From this state, the conveyance of the base material 2 by the bundle holding roller 3, the bundle holding roller 4, and the main roller 5 is started, and thus the thrust force for winding out the protective member B from the bundle holding roller 91 is generated by pulling the base material 2 to which the protective member B is bonded in the conveyance direction by the main roller 5 and the bundle holding roller 4. Therefore, the bundle holding roller 91 may not have a driving source such as a motor.

In the present embodiment, the film deposition apparatus 1 is further provided with a protective member peeling section 9B that peels the protective member B from the substrate 2 immediately before the substrate 2 is taken up by the bundle holding roller 4. The protective member peeling section 9b is a nip roller composed of a pair of cylindrical roller bodies that sandwich the base material 2 at a position in front of the bundle holding roller 4. The protective member B separates the protective member B from the base material 2 along the outer peripheral surface of one of the pair of roller bodies forming the protective member peeling section 9B.

Further, a bundle holding roller 92 is provided near the protective member peeling section 9B, and the protective member B peeled from the base material 2 is guided to the bundle holding roller 92 and wound.

The bundle holding roller 92 is a cylindrical roller body, is attached to a driving source such as a motor not shown, and is rotationally driven with its central axis as a rotation axis. The protective member B is first peeled from the base material 2 by hand at the position of the protective member peeling section 9B, and is taken up by the bundle holding roller 92. Thereafter, the protective member B is automatically and continuously peeled off from the base material 2 at the position of the protective member collecting unit 9B by the rotational driving of the bundle holding roller 92, and is wound up by the bundle holding roller 92. Here, the speed of recovering the protective member B by the bundle holding roller 92 is the same as the speed of recovering the base material 2 by the bundle holding roller 4.

After the formation of the thin film on the entire substrate 2 is completed and the protective member B is completely wound around the bundle holding roller 92, the bundle holding roller 92 is replaced with the bundle holding roller 91, whereby the protective member B can be reused.

Here, the portion indicated by a thick line in fig. 1 indicates a portion where the protective member B is conveyed. This is also true in the following figures. As can be seen from fig. 1, in the transport path of the substrate 2, the transport path of the protective member B coincides with the transport path of the substrate 2 at the portion between the protective member attaching portion 9a and the protective member peeling portion 9B, and the protective member B is attached to the substrate 2 only at this portion. Since the film formation surface side roller 8a located downstream of the film formation chamber 7 is entirely located on the path indicated by the thick line, the thin film on the base material 2 can be completely prevented from contacting the film formation surface side roller 8a until being wound by the bundle holding roller 4, and thus the surface of the film formation surface side roller 8a can be prevented from being damaged. Therefore, the film forming apparatus 1 of the present invention can form a thin film on the substrate 2 without degrading the performance of the thin film.

Further, immediately before the substrate 2 is wound up by the bundle holding roller 4, the protective member peeling section 9B peels off the protective member B, whereby particles and the like adhering to the film before the protective member B is adhered to the substrate 2 by the protective member adhering section 9a are transferred to the adhesive surface of the protective member B, and the bundle holding roller 4 can wind up the substrate 2 without adhering particles to the substrate 2.

In addition, it is possible to prevent a winding displacement that may occur when the bundle holding roller 4 winds the base material 2 together with the protective member B, and to wind only the base material 2.

In the present embodiment, in order to prevent the film from peeling off together with the protective member B when the protective member B is peeled off by the protective member peeling section 9B, the adhesive force of the protective member B is preferably relatively weak within a range of conditions in which the protective member B does not shift while being conveyed together with the substrate 2.

Next, a protective member B according to another embodiment is shown in fig. 3. In this embodiment, the protective member B has strong adhesive portions B1 at both widthwise ends of the surface on the side facing the substrate 2, and has weak adhesive portions B2 therebetween. The weak adhesive portion B2 may have a weaker adhesive force than the strong adhesive portion B1, and may have no adhesive force.

As described above, when the protective member B has a strong adhesive force, the film may be peeled off together with the protective member B. Here, while the thin film formed on the substrate 2 often requires performance as a thin film particularly at the inner side in the width direction, the thin films formed at both ends in the width direction may be cut, discarded, or the like in a subsequent process, and the expectation on performance is small; or a thin film is not originally formed at the end in the width direction. In this case, the strong adhesive portions B1 facing the both ends in the width direction of the base material 2 are bonded to the film formation surface side of the base material 2 with strong adhesion, while the adhesion between the base material 2 and the protective member B is weak at the portion between the both ends of the base material 2, whereby the protective member B can be prevented from peeling off together with the important portion of the film when peeling off the base material 2.

Next, a protective member B according to still another embodiment is shown in fig. 4. Fig. 4(a) is a diagram showing a positional relationship between the protective member B and the base material 2, and fig. 4(B) is a diagram showing a positional relationship between the base material 2 to which the protective member B is bonded and the film formation surface side roller 8 a. In this embodiment, the protective member B is bonded to only a part of the base material 2 in the width direction of the base material 2 while facing the base material 2. In the embodiment of fig. 4(a), the protective members B are attached only to both ends in the width direction of the base material 2.

When the substrate 2 to which the protective member B is partially bonded is brought into contact with the film formation surface side roller 8a in this manner, the gap S shown in fig. 4(B) is formed between the portion of the substrate 2 to which the protective member B is not bonded and the film formation surface side roller 8a, and therefore the thin film M formed on the substrate 2 can be prevented from coming into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the film formation surface side roller 8 a.

In this embodiment, it is preferable to select a portion where the film is not expected to have a small performance because the both ends in the width direction of the substrate 2, such as the both ends in the width direction of the substrate 2, are cut and discarded in the subsequent step, or a portion where the film is not originally formed, so that when the protective member B is peeled off from the substrate 2, the important portion of the film can be prevented from being peeled off together with the protective member B. The use of such a protective member B is useful when the dimension of the base material 2 in the width direction is relatively small and the base material is less likely to be bent.

Fig. 5 shows a film deposition apparatus 1 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

In the film deposition apparatus 1, the rotation directions of the

beam holding rollers

3 and 4 can be reversed, and thereby the transport direction of the substrate 2 can be reversed. In fig. 1, the substrate 2 is taken out from the bundle holding roller 3 and the substrate 2 is taken up on the bundle holding roller 4, but by reversing the rotation directions of the bundle holding roller 3, the bundle holding roller 4 and the main roller, the bundle holding roller 4 becomes the delivery side and the bundle holding roller 3 becomes the take-up side, contrary to the above. Then, by performing film formation while reversing the transport direction of the substrate 2 at predetermined intervals, the substrate 2 is formed while reciprocating in the film formation apparatus 1.

Here, in this embodiment, in order to be able to bond the protective member B to the substrate 2 on the downstream side of the film forming chamber 7 even when the conveying direction of the substrate 2 is reversed, the protective member bonding portion 9a and the protective member peeling portion 9B are provided on both sides of the conveying path of the substrate 2 with the film forming chamber 7 therebetween. Thus, even when the substrate 2 is transported and film-formed by reversing the direction in the film forming apparatus 1, the thin film formed on the substrate 2 can be prevented from physically contacting the film formation surface side roller 8 a.

In the film deposition apparatus 1, as shown by a thick line in fig. 5, the protective member B may be bonded to the film formation surface of the substrate 2 by using the protective member bonding section 9a and the protective member peeling section 9B located upstream of the film deposition chamber 7 in the transport direction of the substrate 2 until immediately before the film deposition in the film deposition chamber 7. This can prevent particles and the like from adhering to the film formation surface of the substrate 2.

Fig. 6 shows a film deposition apparatus 1 according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

In the film deposition apparatus 1, the protective member B peeled from the substrate 2 by the protective member peeling section 9B is guided to the protective member bonding section 9a by the guide of 2 or more guide rollers, and bonded to the substrate 2 again. That is, a circulation path of the protective member B is formed so that the protective member B is reused. Here, each guide roller 95 may be a free roller that is not connected to a driving source, or a part of the guide rollers 95 may be connected to a driving source to assist the force for circulating the protection member B.

In the case of the film deposition apparatus 1 of the embodiment shown in fig. 1, it is necessary to prepare the protective member B having the same length as the base material 2 in advance, but in the film deposition apparatus 1 of the embodiment, the protective member B having a length capable of forming the circulation path is sufficient, and the length of the protective member B to be prepared can be made short.

Further, by providing the circulation paths of the protective members B on both the upstream side and the downstream side of the film forming chamber 7 as shown in fig. 7, when the conveying direction of the base material 2 can be reversed, the protective members B can protect the thin film formed on the base material 2 regardless of the conveying direction in which the base material 2 is conveyed, and can prevent the thin film from coming into contact with the film formation surface side roller 8 a. Further, by using the protective member bonding section 9a and the protective member peeling section 9B located on the upstream side of the film forming chamber 7 in the transport direction of the substrate 2, the protective member B is bonded to the film forming surface of the substrate 2 immediately before the film formation by the film forming chamber 7, and it is possible to prevent particles and the like from adhering to the film forming surface of the substrate 2.

Fig. 8 shows a film deposition apparatus 1 according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

In the film forming apparatus 1, the substrate 2 is wound around the bundle holding roller 4 in a state where the protective member B is bonded to the protective member bonding portion 9 a. By winding the substrate 2 together with the protective member B in this manner, the film can be prevented from contacting the back surface of the substrate 2 in the state where the substrate 2 is wound.

In the film deposition apparatus 1 of this embodiment, as shown in fig. 8, when the protective member B is also bonded to the substrate 2 wound out from the bundle holding roller 3 in advance, the protective member B can be peeled from the substrate 2 by the protective member peeling section 9B provided on the upstream side of the film deposition chamber 7 before the film deposition is performed in the film deposition chamber 7.

With the above film formation apparatus, a functional film can be formed on a substrate without degrading the performance of the functional film.

Here, the film forming apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment, and may be another embodiment within the scope of the present invention. For example, although the present description shows an embodiment in which the barrier film corresponds to the functional film, the present invention is not limited to this, and the film forming apparatus of the present invention may be used to form other functional films such as a transparent conductive film and an antireflection film.

The guide member forming the conveyance path of the base material is not limited to the roller body like the guide roller 8 described above, and may be, for example, a belt.

In the present description, the thin film is formed by using a plasma CVD method, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and other CVD methods such as a catalytic chemical vapor deposition method (Cat CVD) or other vacuum film formation methods such as a sputtering method and a vapor deposition method may be used.

In the above description, the number of the film forming chambers is 2, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the number may be 1 or 3 or more.

In the above description, the substrate is a PET film, but the substrate is not limited to this, and may be another resin film such as a PEN film. The substrate is not limited to the resin film, and may be a metal film, for example.

In the above description, the adhesive force is used in the manner of bonding the substrate and the protective member, but the invention is not limited thereto, and for example, static electricity may be used.

Description of the symbols

1 film Forming apparatus

2 base material

3 bundle holding roller

4 bundle of holding rolls

5 Main roll

6 main roller chamber

7 film forming chamber

7a film forming chamber

7b film forming chamber

8 guide roller (guide member)

8a film-forming surface side roller

8b back side roller

9a protective member attaching part

9b protective member peeling part

31 core part

41 core part

51 outer peripheral surface

61 spacer part

71 vacuum pump

72 plasma electrode

73 raw material gas supply unit

74 electrode cover

91 bundle holding roller

92 bundle holding roller

95 guide roller

100 film forming apparatus

101 base material

102 film forming chamber

103 main roller

104 guide roller

104a film formation surface side roller

104b back side roller

B protective Member

B1 Strong adhesive part

B2 weak bond

M film

S gap

Claims

1. A film deposition apparatus is characterized by comprising:

a film forming chamber for forming a thin film on a film forming surface side of a substrate transported in a roll-to-roll manner;

a guide member that forms a substrate transport path by contacting the film formation surface side of the substrate or the opposite side thereof to guide the substrate transport direction;

and a protective member bonding unit which is disposed on the downstream side of the film forming chamber in the substrate transport path, is disposed between the guide member which is first in contact with the film forming surface side of the substrate and the film forming chamber, and bonds a flexible protective member to the film forming surface side of the substrate.

2. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a surface of the protective member facing the substrate has a higher adhesive force at portions facing both ends of the substrate in a width direction of the substrate than at portions between both ends.

3. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the protective member faces only a part of the substrate in a width direction of the substrate.

4. The film forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a direction of conveyance of the substrate is reversible, and the protective member attaching portion is provided on both sides of a conveyance path of the substrate with the film forming chamber therebetween.

5. The film forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the substrate is wound up in a state where the protective member is bonded to the substrate.

6. The film forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a protective member peeling section for peeling the protective member from the substrate before winding the substrate.

7. The film forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the protective member peeled by the protective member peeling section is sent to the protective member bonding section to form a circulation path of the protective member.