JP2000080466A - Vacuum arc deposition device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vacuum arc deposition device capable of obtaining a desired film thickness distribution and moreover small in the restriction of the shape of the material to be vapor-deposited. SOLUTION: This vacuum arc deposition device is provided with a cathode as an evaporating source and an anode executing arc discharge with the cathode in a vacuum vessel placed with the material to be vapor-deposited and provided with an arc power source capable of controlling the value of the electric current to be charged to the cathode or anode, and the evaporating source has a long- length body long in the height direction of the material to be vapor-deposited and is arranged around the material to be vapor-deposited.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vacuum arc evaporation apparatus used for abrasion-resistant and sliding-resistant coating of tools and mechanical parts.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a vacuum arc vapor deposition apparatus, there is an apparatus described in JP-A-7-173617 (prior art 1) and an apparatus described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-37232 (prior art 2). . In the apparatus of the prior art 1, a cylindrical evaporation source is disposed at the center of a vacuum vessel, and an object to be deposited is disposed so as to surround the evaporation source.

Further, in this apparatus, anodes are arranged near both ends of the evaporation source, and the input current to each anode can be controlled independently. By controlling the input current balance to each anode, By arbitrarily scanning the arc spot generated in the evaporation source, a thin film having a uniform or desired thickness distribution can be formed on the deposition target. Further, the device of prior art 2 has a plurality of evaporation sources arranged side by side in the vertical direction on the side wall of the vacuum vessel.

[0004]

In the prior art 1, since the evaporation source is located at the center of the vacuum vessel, the processing space is a hollow cylindrical space between the evaporation source and the vacuum vessel. Therefore, although it is suitable for processing a cylindrical object to be deposited, it cannot accommodate a solid large-diameter object or the like, and the shape of the object to be deposited is restricted.

On the other hand, in the prior art 2, since the evaporation source is provided on the side wall of the vacuum vessel and the processing space is not a hollow cylindrical shape as in the prior art 1, the shape of the object to be deposited is less restricted than in the prior art 1. . However, in the prior art 2, a plurality of evaporation sources are arranged side by side in the longitudinal direction of the deposition target, and the interval between the evaporation sources is fixed. It is uniquely determined by the arrangement of the evaporation source, and it is difficult to obtain a desired film thickness distribution.

Further, there is a limit in reducing the interval between the evaporation sources. Depending on a desired film thickness distribution, it is difficult to arrange a plurality of evaporation sources in the vertical direction as in the prior art 2.
There are things that cannot be achieved. The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a vacuum arc vapor deposition apparatus that can obtain a desired film thickness distribution and has less restrictions on the shape of an object to be deposited. I do.

[0007]

The present invention takes the following technical means to achieve the above object. That is, the vacuum arc vapor deposition apparatus of the present invention includes, in a vacuum vessel in which an object to be deposited is arranged, a cathode as an evaporation source, and an anode for performing arc discharge between the cathode and the cathode or the anode. A vacuum arc vapor deposition apparatus provided with an arc power supply capable of controlling the input current value of the vapor deposition source, wherein the evaporation source is a long body that is long in the height direction of the deposition target, and is disposed around the deposition target. It is characterized by having been done.

By adopting such a configuration, a desired film thickness distribution can be obtained, and the shape of the object to be deposited is less restricted, and a solid large-diameter object can be processed. In addition, it is preferable that a plurality of the evaporation sources are arranged in a circumferential direction of the object to be deposited, and further that the plurality of evaporation sources are made of different types of evaporation materials, respectively, and the object to be deposited is axially centered in a height direction. It is preferable to provide a turning means for turning around.

In this case, a polymetal-based multilayer film can be formed with a desired film thickness distribution. Further, the evaporation source may be provided around the object to be evaporated, and may include a rotating means for rotating the object to be deposited around an axis in a height direction. In this case, a desired film thickness distribution can be obtained, and the number of objects to be deposited can be reduced, so that the apparatus can be configured at low cost.

Further, in the present invention, a magnetic field forming means for controlling the position of an arc spot generated in the evaporation source by a magnetic force is disposed outside the vacuum vessel and at a position behind the evaporation source. can do. In this case, the control of the arc spot is further improved by the control by the magnetic force in addition to the control of the applied current. Further, since the magnetic field forming means is disposed outside the vacuum vessel, the structure of the apparatus is simplified.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 show a vacuum arc evaporation apparatus 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. This vacuum arc vapor deposition apparatus 1 is mainly configured to include two evaporation sources 5 facing the side wall of the vacuum vessel 3 and a table 8 on which a deposition target 7 is placed at the bottom of the vacuum vessel 3.

The two evaporation sources 5 are arranged on the side wall of the vacuum vessel 3 so as to face each other. in this way,
The evaporation source 5 is arranged around a table 8 on which the object 7 is placed. If the object 7 can be stored in a space surrounded by the evaporation source 5, the shape is restricted. Absent. In particular,
It is suitable for a large-diameter solid long object 7 to be deposited. Each of the evaporation sources 5 is a long body that is long in the height direction of the deposition target 7, and more specifically, is formed in a rectangular shape that is long in the height direction of the vacuum vessel 3. Specifically, width 150mm, length 1000
mm is preferable.

The upper anodes 9a and 9b and the lower anodes 9c and 9 are located near both ends of the evaporation source 5 in the longitudinal (vertical) direction.
d is arranged. The upper anodes 9a and 9b are
In the vicinity of each end in the longitudinal direction, a pair is disposed on both sides in the width direction of the evaporation source 5. Also, the lower anode 9
Similarly, c and 9d are paired. Further, the paired anodes are connected to each other.

The anode 9 is not limited to this, but may be any position where arc discharge can be performed between the anode 9 and the evaporation source 5 as a cathode. An upper cathode electrode 10a and a lower cathode electrode 10b are connected to both ends in the vertical direction of each of the evaporation sources 5, and a cathode of an arc power supply is connected to these cathode electrodes 10a and 10b. The arc power supplies include four first to fourth arc power supplies 11a and 11b, as shown in FIG.
11c and 11d. First and second arc power supplies 11
The cathodes a and 11b are connected to the upper cathode electrode 10 of the evaporation source 5.
a and the third and fourth arc power supplies 11c and 11d
Is connected to the lower cathode electrode 10b of the evaporation source 5. In addition, these cathodes and the vacuum container 3 are insulated.

The upper anodes 9a, 9b are connected to the anodes of the first and third arc power supplies 11a, 11c, and the lower anodes 9c, 9d are connected to the second and fourth arc power supplies 1
It is connected to the anodes 1b and 11d. Each of the arc power supplies 11a, 11b, 11c, and 11d can independently control the output current by a control device (not shown).

The table 8 is connected to a rotary actuator 13 outside the vacuum vessel 1 via a drive shaft 15 so that the object 7 placed on the table 8 can be moved vertically (in a height direction). It can be turned around the heart. That is, the table 8, the rotary actuator 13 and the drive shaft 15 constitute a rotating unit for rotating the object 7 to be deposited.

In order to form a thin film on the object to be deposited 7 by the vacuum arc evaporation apparatus having the above-described structure, first, the inside of the vacuum vessel 1 is evacuated by a vacuum pump (not shown) to maintain a vacuum state at a predetermined pressure. A reactive gas such as nitrogen is introduced into the vacuum vessel 1 from a reactive gas introduction line (not shown). Oxygen, methane, acetylene, and the like can be used as the reactive gas. When a vacuum arc discharge is generated from the evaporation source 5 by an igniter (not shown), an arc spot where an arc current is concentrated appears on the surface of the evaporation source 5, and the evaporation source material (target material) evaporates.

The vapor of the evaporated target material moves toward the object 7 placed on the table 8 in the vacuum vessel 3 to form a thin film on the object 7. At this time, the deposition target 7 is rotating in the space surrounded by the evaporation source 5 by the table 8, and a thin film having a uniform thickness is formed in the circumferential direction of the deposition target 7. Here, FIGS. 1 and 2
In the above, an example in which two evaporation sources 5 are provided is illustrated, but an example in which more evaporation sources 5 are provided may be used. Also, 1
One evaporation source 5 may be used. Even if it is one, the evaporation substance is uniformly irradiated in the circumferential direction of the deposition target 7 by the rotation of the table 8.

A negative voltage (bias voltage) is applied to the object 7 by a power source (not shown) as needed, and a thin film is formed while accelerating ions in the vapor. In addition, a reactive gas such as nitrogen may be introduced into the vacuum vessel as needed to form a thin film of a compound with the target material. In this embodiment,
For example, each arc power supply 11 is controlled by a control device (not shown).
a, 11b, 11c, and 11d are set as follows. Current IA of first arc power supply 11a = 240A Current IB of second arc power supply 11b = 260A Current IC of third arc power supply 11c = 240A Current ID of fourth arc power supply 11d = 260A The current of each arc power supply is set as described above. In this case, as shown in FIG. 3, IA + IB = IC + ID = 500 A flows uniformly at the upper and lower ends of the evaporation source 5 for the cathode current.
b, IA + IC = 480A IB + ID = 520A flows through the lower anode electrodes 9c and 9d, and the anode current balance can be changed while keeping the cathode current balance uniform.

Similarly, by appropriately setting IA to ID, the balance of only the cathode current can be changed, or the balance of both the cathode and the anode can be controlled. By independently controlling the cathode current and the anode current in this way,
The movement (position) of the arc spot on the object 7 can be arbitrarily controlled. Also, the evaporation source 5 has a sufficient height to form a thin film having a uniform thickness over the entire height of the long evaporation target 7. Therefore, by scanning the position of the arc spot evenly over the entire evaporation surface, a thin film having a uniform thickness can be formed on the surface of the deposition target 7. in this way,
According to the present embodiment, in addition to the uniformity in the circumferential direction, the uniformity of the thin film in the vertical direction can be ensured.

On the other hand, by intentionally distributing the positions of the arc spots, it is possible to obtain a desired film thickness distribution (for example, increase the thickness of only a specific portion). Further, one evaporation source 5 and the other evaporation source 5 can be made of different evaporation materials. When the plurality of evaporation sources 5 include the evaporation sources 5 made of different types of evaporation substances, a multi-metal-based multilayer film having a uniform film thickness can be formed by rotating the object 7 on the table 8. Can be.

In this case, as the evaporating substance, for example, titanium, titanium aluminum, chromium, molybdenum or the like can be used. The multilayer film formed on the deposition target 7 is a single-layer film of titanium nitride, titanium aluminum nitride, titanium aluminum oxynitride, titanium carbonitride, chromium nitride, chromium oxynitride, molybdenum nitride, molybdenum oxynitride, or the like. Becomes

FIG. 4 shows a vacuum arc vapor deposition apparatus 1 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. This second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the magnetic field forming means 17 is provided outside the vacuum vessel 3 of the evaporation source 5 (on the back side of the evaporation source 5).
Are provided to control the arc spot by magnetic force in addition to controlling the input current to the cathode or the anode. The magnetic field forming means 17 is composed of a magnet made of an electromagnet or a permanent magnet.

The magnetic field forming means 17 is connected to a motor 23 via a potentiometer 21 by a wire 19, and is connected to the motor 23 in the height direction of the vacuum vessel 3 (that is, the evaporation source 5).
(Longitudinal direction). The magnetic field forming means 17 generates the magnetic field lines as shown in FIG. 4, and when the magnetic field lines are generated, the position of the arc spot can be affected by the force generated by the action of the arc current flowing through the evaporation source 5.
By adjusting the height of the magnetic field forming means 17, the position of the arc spot can be arbitrarily controlled, the controllability of the arc spot is improved, and the uniformity of the film thickness is improved.

According to the second embodiment, since both the magnetic field forming means and the moving means including the motor 23 are arranged outside the vacuum vessel 3, the structure of the entire apparatus can be simplified. Become. Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. That is, for example, the evaporation source 5
Need not be provided directly on the side wall of the vacuum vessel 3, but may be provided indirectly on the side wall via another member. Also, even if it is not provided for the side wall of the vacuum vessel 3,
What is necessary is just to arrange around the to-be-deposited object 7 so that it may surround.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention, a desired film thickness distribution can be obtained, and restrictions on the shape of an object to be deposited can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a vacuum arc evaporation apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an arc power supply circuit diagram according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of a vacuum arc evaporation apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vacuum arc evaporation apparatus 3 Vacuum container 5 Evaporation source 7 Object to be deposited 8 Table 9a, 9b Upper anode 9c, 9d Lower anode

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A vacuum vessel in which an object to be deposited is arranged, a cathode as an evaporation source, and an anode for performing arc discharge between the cathode and the cathode, and a value of a current supplied to the cathode or the anode is controlled. A vacuum arc evaporation apparatus equipped with a possible arc power supply, wherein the evaporation source is a long body that is long in a height direction of the object to be deposited, and is disposed around the object to be deposited. Vacuum arc evaporation apparatus. 2. The vacuum arc evaporation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the evaporation sources are arranged in a circumferential direction of the object. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of evaporation sources are made of different types of evaporation materials, and are provided with rotating means for rotating the object to be deposited around an axis in a height direction thereof. The vacuum arc evaporation apparatus according to claim 2. 4. An evaporation source is provided around the object to be evaporated.
2. The vacuum arc vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a rotation unit configured to rotate the object to be deposited around an axis in a height direction thereof. 5. A magnetic field forming means for controlling a position of an arc spot generated in the evaporation source by a magnetic force at a position behind the evaporation source outside the vacuum vessel. Item 5. The vacuum arc evaporation apparatus according to any one of Items 1 to 4.