JP2001192812A - Vacuum film deposition system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a simple type vacucum film deposition system capable of executing film deposition with daily necessaries such as eyeglass lenses and compact disks(CD) as the objects. SOLUTION: A vacuum film deposition system 1 is composed in such a manner that at least a vacuum chamber 7 and sucking means 8 and 9 are stored on the inside of an exterior cover 2. Moreover, the sucking means 8 and 9 can suck the inside of the vacuum chamber 7 at least to a vacuum atmosphere of at least 10-4 Pa or less. Furthermore, the exterior cover 2 is provided with an operating panel 3 in which all of operating apparatus 5 or the like for operating the vacuum film deposition system 1 is arranged in a concentrated manner.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a simple vacuum film forming apparatus having a compact structure and easy operation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various films such as a semiconductor film and a film on a mirror surface of an automobile have been formed using a vacuum film forming apparatus. The film formation on the target work (substrate) by the vacuum film formation apparatus is generally performed as follows.

A vacuum film forming apparatus is provided with a vacuum chamber whose inside is made into a vacuum atmosphere by a suction means such as a vacuum pump, and a work for forming a film is installed inside the vacuum chamber. Then, a raw material supporting member such as a resistance boat for supporting the raw material material of the film is arranged in the vacuum chamber. The raw material supported by the raw material supporting member is heated by resistance heating or the like, and the inside of the vacuum chamber is heated. Evaporates into the space. Then, the evaporated raw material is sequentially deposited on the surface of the work, and a constant film is formed on the work.

[0004]

Here, in the prior art, in forming a film, a series of processes by operating a vacuum film forming apparatus can be performed, so that a film can be formed on as many works as possible. It was requested that the cost performance of the system could be improved. That is, when the work to be film-formed is a general industrial product, it has been demanded that the production amount per unit time of the work be increased as much as possible and mass production be possible.

[0005] Accordingly, in order to meet such demands, the vacuum chamber of the vacuum film forming apparatus must be enlarged, and suction means such as a vacuum pump for maintaining the vacuum chamber at a required degree of vacuum. Also, it was necessary to employ a large-scale and complicated system, such as sequentially operating a plurality of devices to gradually increase the degree of vacuum.

[0006] In recent years, the necessity of film formation has spread to various kinds of products, and it is desired to form a film on daily necessities such as spectacle lenses and compact discs (CDs) to increase the added value. Such daily necessities are handled at stores and the like for general consumers, and it is sufficient if they can be individually provided to individual consumers. Therefore, it is not required to be able to mass-produce these daily necessities when performing film formation at the store or the like.

On the other hand, if it is attempted to form a film on such daily necessities at a store or the like, an apparatus for forming the film must be installed at the store or the like, or must respond to individual customers. From the point of view of the sales clerk operating at
It is also necessary that the device be configured to be more compact so that its operation can be easily performed.

Therefore, the present invention provides a simple vacuum film forming apparatus for forming a film for daily necessities such as spectacle lenses and compact discs (CDs), which is more compact and easy to operate. It is intended to provide a device.

[0009]

In order to solve the above problems, a vacuum film forming apparatus according to the present invention comprises a substrate holder for holding a substrate, and a vacuum for forming a film on the substrate in a space inside the substrate holder. A chamber, suction means for sucking the inside of the vacuum chamber to make a vacuum atmosphere, a raw material supporting member for supporting the raw material of the coating, and heating the raw material for the coating supported by the raw material supporting member. Heating means for evaporating the inside of the vacuum chamber into the space inside the vacuum chamber, wherein the suction means makes the inside of the vacuum chamber at least 10 ^-4.
It is possible to suck up to a vacuum atmosphere of Pa or less, at least the vacuum chamber and the suction means are housed inside the outer cover, and all the operating devices for operating the vacuum film forming apparatus are centrally arranged. An operation panel is provided (claim 1).

In the vacuum film forming apparatus according to the present invention,
At least, the vacuum chamber and the suction means, which are the structural centers of the apparatus, are housed inside the outer cover and are arranged integrally, so that the entire apparatus can be made compact. Since the inside of the vacuum chamber can be sucked to a vacuum atmosphere of at least 10 ⁻⁴ Pa or less, the suction means can have a sufficient vacuum atmosphere for forming a coating film, while having a complicated mechanism for forming a vacuum atmosphere. It is not necessary to adopt a thing. As a result, the suction means itself can be made compact, so that the entire apparatus can be made compact.

In this vacuum film forming apparatus, operating devices such as operation switches for operating the vacuum film forming apparatus are centrally arranged on the operation panel without being arranged separately. All operations can be performed on the operation panel, and operations can be easily performed without complicated operations for the device.

Thus, the vacuum film forming apparatus of the present invention can be arranged in a limited space because of the compact structure, and the operation thereof is easy and the handling is simple. It will be. Therefore, in a store handling daily necessities, the installation place is often restricted, but there is no difficulty in installing in such a place, and the operation is easy.

In the vacuum film forming apparatus, a front portion may be provided on the outer cover, and the operation panel may be provided on the front portion and a chamber opening / closing door for opening and closing the vacuum chamber may be formed. (Claim 2).

Thus, an operator who handles the apparatus can open and close the vacuum chamber and operate the operation panel from the front of the apparatus, which is more convenient and more operable.

Further, a chamber opening / closing door for opening / closing a vacuum chamber can be formed on the upper surface of the vacuum film forming apparatus. Accordingly, when a configuration in which the dimension in the height direction of the vacuum film forming apparatus is reduced is adopted, it is possible to easily perform the operation on the vacuum chamber.

The suction means can be arranged near the vacuum chamber (claim 4). Thus, the efficiency of sucking the inside of the vacuum chamber can be increased, so that the suction means can be made more compact. If the suction means is arranged below the vacuum chamber, the size of the suction means can be further reduced (claim 5). Thereby, the whole apparatus can be made more compact.

In forming a film on the substrate, plasma can be generated in the vacuum chamber. In generating the plasma and forming a film, the high frequency power supply for supplying high frequency power to the inside of the vacuum chamber through the substrate holder is connected to the high frequency power supply between the substrate holder and the high frequency power supply. And a matching circuit, wherein the high-frequency power supply and the matching circuit are housed inside the exterior cover. According to this configuration, the impedance of the vacuum chamber and the impedance of the high-frequency power supply can be matched by the operation of the matching circuit, a stable high-frequency electric field can be formed in the vacuum chamber, and the generation of plasma can be stabilized. Can be. As a result, a stable film having a strong adhesive force to the substrate can be formed. In this configuration, since the high-frequency power supply and the matching circuit are housed inside the outer cover, the entire device can be made more compact.

In a case where the apparatus is configured to generate the plasma to form a film, a gas cylinder for supplying a predetermined inert gas into the vacuum chamber is provided. And a member for guiding gas from the gas cylinder to the vacuum chamber may be housed inside the exterior cover. As described above, by supplying a certain amount of inert gas into the vacuum chamber, the inside of the vacuum chamber is set to a pressure lower than that at which plasma can be generated, and then to a pressure at which plasma can be generated. By introducing the inert gas into the chamber, the inside of the chamber can be made more clean, and then a state can be made in which plasma can be generated.

In the apparatus configured to generate a plasma to form a film, the suction means may be evacuated so as to generate the plasma after the inside of the vacuum chamber has a predetermined degree of vacuum. The pressure inside the chamber can be adjusted (claim 9). Accordingly, the pressure can be set to a level at which plasma can be generated without providing the gas cylinder, so that the entire apparatus can be configured to be more compact.

[0020] The suction means may be provided with a single pump capable of suctioning from a state where the inside of the vacuum chamber is at atmospheric pressure. Thus, when the inside of the vacuum chamber is sucked to the vacuum atmosphere of 10 ^-4 Pa or less, the suction can be performed by one device, so that the suction means can be made compact, and thus the whole device can be made more compact. Can be.

Further, a sound absorbing material can be attached to the outer cover (claim 11). This makes it possible to absorb various noises caused by the operation of the vacuum film forming apparatus and reduce the noises.

Further, the vacuum film forming apparatus may be configured so that the raw material supporting member to which the raw material material of the coating is applied in advance can be freely attached and detached.
2). According to this configuration, the raw material supporting member can be provided in a state where the raw material is set. When forming a film, the raw material supporting member on which the raw material is set is mounted in a vacuum chamber, and when the film formation is completed, the used raw material supporting member can be removed. This eliminates the need for a troublesome work of supplying the raw material to the raw material support member at each point in time when the film is formed.

In the case where the raw material supporting member is configured to be freely detachable, two or more raw material supporting members may be mounted, and the raw material supporting member may be attached to each raw material supporting member in accordance with the type of the raw material. Thus, each of the raw material supporting members can be configured to be attached only to a specific location (claim 13). Thus, the plurality of raw material supporting members can be reliably mounted at the locations where they are to be mounted without error according to the order in which the films are to be formed, and a plurality of types of films can be reliably formed.

Further, the vacuum film forming apparatus has a raw material supply device capable of supplying two or more raw material materials to one raw material support member. When the film formation is completed, another raw material to be formed next to the one raw material can be supplied (claim 14). As described above, when the configuration is such that the raw material can be sequentially supplied to one raw material support member, the number of raw material support members to be mounted can be reduced even when it is required to form a plurality of types of films. Therefore, a more compact configuration can be achieved.

Further, the vacuum film forming apparatus further includes a cooling water tank for storing cooling water, and a periphery of the raw material supporting member is cooled by heat exchange with cooling water circulated from the cooling water tank. The cooling water tank and a member for circulating the cooling water that exchanges heat with the periphery of the raw material supporting member can be disposed inside the outer cover (claim 15). Thus, the periphery of the raw material supporting member can be cooled, and a necessary member for the cooling can be arranged inside the outer cover, so that the structure can be made more compact.

The operating conditions for operating the vacuum film forming apparatus are controlled by a control device for controlling the operation of the vacuum film forming apparatus so that a specific film corresponding to the type of the substrate can be formed. Is stored, and by operating an operation start switch included in the operation devices, the vacuum film forming apparatus can be operated according to the operation conditions (claim 16). With this, when forming a specific film on a specific substrate, various operation conditions for causing the vacuum film forming apparatus to perform required operations are stored in the control device in advance, so that the operation conditions including many items can be set. There is no need for complicated work of having to input each time. Accordingly, the operation is easy even for an operator who does not particularly have technical knowledge about vacuum film formation.

[0027]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vacuum film forming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The members housed inside the vacuum chamber 7 and the inside of the vacuum chamber 7 are also shown. FIG. 2 is a front view of the vacuum film forming apparatus 1 as viewed from the front.

The vacuum film forming apparatus 1 exemplified in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a simple configuration as a dedicated machine for forming a film on a lens of eyeglasses, which is one of daily necessities, and sells the eyeglasses. Used in stores.

In the example of the film forming apparatus 1, the film is formed so as to be able to form a film based on ion plating which is one of the vacuum film forming methods.
No. 7 discloses an apparatus based on the ion plating method. That is, without using an inert gas,
This is based on a method called so-called gasless ion plating, in which a film can be formed by turning a raw material into plasma in the vacuum chamber 7.

As shown in FIG. 1, the outer periphery of the film forming apparatus 1 is covered by an outer cover 2, and a vacuum chamber 7, a pump 8, and a cylinder 1 are provided inside the outer cover 2.
0, vacuum switch sensor 15, matching box 1
8, a motor 19, a control device 24, a high frequency power supply 16, a heating power supply 17, a cooling water tank 20, and an air cooling fan 21 are housed therein. The exterior cover 2 is provided with a sound-absorbing material, so that various sounds generated during the film forming operation can be absorbed and noise can be reduced.

A chamber opening / closing door 6 is formed on a front portion of the exterior cover 2 which is a front surface of the film forming apparatus 1. By opening the chamber opening / closing door 6 sideways, the inside of the vacuum chamber 7 can be opened to the atmosphere, and by closing the chamber opening / closing door 6, the inside of the vacuum chamber 7 can be made a closed space.

An operation panel 3 is provided on a front portion of the exterior cover 2. The operation panel 3 includes all operation devices such as operation switches and operation buttons for operating the film forming apparatus 1. Are intensively arranged. The operation panel 3 is provided with an operation start switch 5, which is one of the operation switches. When the operation start switch 5 is operated, each part of the film forming apparatus 1 automatically operates by the operation of the control device 24 described later, so that a target film can be formed.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the operation panel 3
If both the and the chamber opening / closing door 6 are provided on the front,
For the operator, the opening / closing of the chamber opening / closing door 6 and the operation on the operation panel 3 can all be performed from the front of the film forming apparatus 1, so that the usability is improved and the operability is further improved.

It is to be noted that only the operation panel 3 is provided on the front part of the film forming apparatus 1, and the chamber opening / closing door 6 is
May be provided on the side surface, the back surface, or the upper surface of the device. Alternatively, only the chamber opening / closing door 6 may be provided on the front portion of the film forming apparatus 1, and the operation panel 3 may be provided on the upper surface. As described above, even if the chamber opening / closing door 6 and the operation panel 3 are provided at different parts, the film forming apparatus 1 is particularly compact in its use, which is particularly inconvenient in use. There is no.

When the chamber opening / closing door 6 is provided on the upper surface, the operation for the inside of the vacuum chamber 7 can be performed particularly when the configuration in which the height dimension of the film forming apparatus 1 is made smaller is adopted. Easy to do. In the case where the chamber opening / closing door 6 is provided on the upper surface, the operation panel 3
Also, if provided on the upper surface, the opening and closing of the chamber opening / closing door 6 and the operation on the operation panel 3 can all be performed from above the film forming apparatus 1.

Although the vacuum chamber 7 forms the center of the structure of the film forming apparatus 1, the overall structure of the film forming apparatus 1 can be made compact and easy to handle in terms of its size and position. Need to be Then, the height dimension and position of the vacuum chamber 7 are
An operation surface serving as a reference on which the operator stands (when the film forming apparatus 1 is installed on the floor and the operator stands and operates on the same floor,
The floor surface is equivalent to the operation surface.
It is desirable that the space be within a range of 0 cm or less, and more desirably, 60 cm or more and 150 cm or less.

When the vacuum chamber 7 is made to fit in the space in such a range, a normal operator (a clerk of an eyeglass shop, etc.) who handles the film forming apparatus 1 can take the vacuum chamber 7 without taking a special posture. This is because work can be performed on the inside of the device 7 and the operation can be easily performed. When the film forming apparatus 1 is configured, if the vacuum chamber 7 is made compact so as to fit in the space in the above range, the vacuum chamber 7 itself can be made compact, and other main members such as the pump 8 can be formed. The film forming apparatus 1 can be made compact, and the entire film forming apparatus 1 can be made compact.

A pump 8 is provided on the back side of the vacuum chamber 7.
And the pump 8 is evacuated through the L-shaped duct 9.
It is connected to the chamber 7. This pump 8 and L-shaped
The mechanism having the duct 9 is a mechanism for evacuating the inside of the vacuum chamber 7.
Suction means for sucking the space to create a vacuum atmosphere
You. Then, the vacuum chamber is suctioned by the pump 8.
10 spaces in bag 7^-FourPa or less. Ma
In addition, this pump 8 operates one device,
The space inside the chamber 7 is changed from the atmospheric pressure ^-FourPa
Suction can be performed to a state where the pressure is as follows. So
And whether the inside of the vacuum chamber 7 is at atmospheric pressure,
Whether it is in a vacuum state is located above the chamber 7
It is detected by the vacuum switch sensor 15.

Further, a conductance valve (not shown) can be provided in the suction means. That is, by adjusting the degree of opening of the conductance valve, the inside of the chamber 7 is temporarily set to a relatively low pressure and a high vacuum state, and then the pressure in the chamber 7 is recovered to some extent to set the vacuum degree to a low vacuum state. Thus, a state in which a discharge for plasma generation to be described later can be caused. By doing so, it is not necessary to necessarily install the gas cylinder 10 described later, and the entire film forming apparatus 1 can be made more compact.

As shown in FIG. 1, when the vacuum chamber 7 and the pump 8 are arranged relatively close to each other, members such as a duct 9 for connecting the pump 8 and the vacuum chamber 7 are formed. Since it is relatively compact, the entire film forming apparatus 1 can be made compact. Further, since the volume to be suctioned by the pump 8 is also reduced, the efficiency of suction in the vacuum chamber 7 can be increased, and
It can itself be more compact.

Further, the pump 8 may be arranged below the vacuum chamber 7. If the pump 8 is arranged below the vacuum chamber, the mechanism for connecting the vacuum chamber and the pump can be made more compact, so that the entire film forming apparatus 1 can be made more compact, and the pump 8 itself can be made more compact. It can be more compact.

On the right side of the vacuum chamber 7, a gas cylinder 1
0 is arranged. The film forming apparatus 1 is configured so that the gas cylinder 10 can be freely attached and detached.
The gas cylinder 10 is filled with an argon (Ar) gas. The gas cylinder 10 is connected to a gas introduction port of the vacuum chamber 7 via a gas introduction pipe (not shown) so that an argon gas is supplied into the vacuum chamber 7. The gas introduction pipe is provided with an on-off valve, and the supply amount of the argon gas can be adjusted by adjusting the on-off valve.

The fact that a certain amount of inert gas can be supplied into the vacuum chamber 7 has the following significance. That is, to generate plasma in the vacuum chamber 7, it is necessary to keep the gas at a constant pressure. However, the inside of the chamber 7 is set to a pressure lower than the pressure at which the plasma can be generated. That is, the inert gas is introduced into the chamber 7 so as to have a pressure at which the gas can be generated. Thereby, the inside of the chamber 7 can be made in a cleaner state, and thereafter, a state in which plasma can be generated can be obtained.

A rotary table 11 is provided at the bottom inside the vacuum chamber 7. This rotary table 1
Numeral 1 is rotated by a constant angle by a motor (not shown). Then, the resistance boat 12 can be mounted on the turntable 11, and in this example, four resistance boats 12 can be mounted. The resistance boat 12 corresponds to a raw material support member for supporting the raw material of the coating.

The resistance boats 12 are heated one by one in a fixed order by intermittently rotating the rotary table 11 by a fixed angle. That is, when the rotary table 11 is rotated by a certain angle, one of the resistance boats 12 is connected to a heating power supply 17 which is a heating means disposed below the vacuum chamber 7 and receives resistance heating. When the resistance boat 12 is heated, the raw material supported by the resistance boat 12 is evaporated into the space in the vacuum chamber 7.

Further, in this film forming apparatus 1, since four resistance boats 12 can be mounted, the four kinds of coatings are formed in a multilayer by sequentially forming the respective raw materials held in each resistance boat. A film can be formed.

In the film forming apparatus 1, the four resistance boats 12 can be freely attached to and detached from the turntable 11. Then, the resistance boat 12 is provided in a state where the raw material for the coating is applied in advance. Accordingly, the resistance boat 12 in which the raw materials are set is mounted on the turntable 11 when performing the film formation, and the resistance boat 12 itself can be removed when the film formation is completed. Thus, the troublesome work of supplying the raw material to the resistance boat is not bothered.

Also, each of the resistance boats 12 can be mounted on only one of the rotary tables 11 so that
It is also possible to fit only at the one location. As a result, the plurality of resistance boats 12 can be securely mounted without error on each corresponding portion on the turntable 11 to be mounted, and according to the order in which the films are to be formed.
Plural types of films can be reliably formed.

In the film forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, the resistance boat is described as an example of the raw material supporting member for supporting the raw material of the coating film.
The filament 26 capable of resistance heating as shown in FIG.
May be used. And the filament 26
The raw material is previously provided to the filament 2
6 may be provided on the turntable 11 so as to be detachable.

Further, the heating means is not limited to a means for performing resistance heating by a heating power supply, but may be any as long as the raw material supported by the raw material supporting member can be evaporated into the space inside the vacuum chamber 7. The raw material may be evaporated.

Also, in the film forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, an example is shown in which a plurality of resistance boats 12 supporting one type of raw material are provided for forming a plurality of types of films. Alternatively, one resistance boat may be provided, and different types of raw materials may be sequentially supplied thereto. FIG.
This is an example of a configuration for providing one resistance boat 27 and supplying a plurality of types of raw materials to the resistance boat 27. FIG. 4 shows an example in which one resistance boat 27 is provided at the bottom in the vacuum chamber 7, and a raw material supply device 28 capable of storing a plurality of types of raw materials is provided facing the resistance boat 27. ing.

The raw material supply device 28 shown in FIG. 4 is configured in a multi-stage manner, and the raw material is stored in each stage. Then, the raw material is supplied to the resistance boat 27 from one stage based on the order in which the films are to be formed, and the supplied raw material is evaporated by the resistance boat 27 to form one kind of film on the substrate 23.

When the formation of one type of film is completed, the source material to be formed next is supplied to the resistance boat 27 from another stage of the raw material supply device 28, and another type of film is formed. You. In this manner, a plurality of types of films can be sequentially formed based on the order in which the films are to be formed.

As shown in FIG. 4, assuming that the raw material can be sequentially supplied to one resistance boat 27,
Even when it is required to form a plurality of types of films, the number of resistance boats 27 to be mounted can be reduced, and the vacuum chamber 7 can be made more compact.

Further, inside the vacuum chamber 7, a substrate holder 14 for mounting a spectacle lens 23 as a substrate is provided at an upper portion thereof. This substrate holder 14
Is rotated by a motor 19 disposed above the vacuum chamber 7 so that a film can be formed while rotating the spectacle lens 23.

The substrate holder 14 is formed of a conductor. An insulating member (not shown) is provided between the substrate holder 14 and the inner wall of the vacuum chamber 7 formed of a conductor (grounded in the film forming apparatus 1). Thereby, the substrate holder 14 and the vacuum chamber 7
A capacitor having a substantially constant capacity is substantially formed by the insulating member (hereinafter, this insulating member is referred to as
"Condenser made of insulating material").

A high frequency power supply (RF) 16 arranged below the vacuum chamber 7 is connected to the substrate holder 14 via a matching box (MN) 18 arranged above the vacuum chamber 7. I have. The matching box 18 is a well-known one including a variable capacitor and a choke coil.

The voltage of the high frequency power supply 16 is applied between the surface of the substrate 23 and the inner wall of the chamber 7 with the space inside the vacuum chamber 7 interposed therebetween. The same voltage is applied between the surface of the substrate 23 and the inner wall of the chamber 7 with the capacitor made of the insulating member interposed therebetween. When the variable capacitor of the matching box 18 is appropriately adjusted,
The impedance in the chamber 7 and the impedance of the high-frequency power supply 16 can be matched by the action of the capacitor by the insulating member and the circuit element of the matching box 18. By supplying the power from the high frequency power supply 16 into the chamber 7 in this manner, plasma is generated in the chamber 7 and the resistance boat 1
The source material evaporated by 2 is excited in the plasma, and a film is formed on the surface of the substrate 23.

According to the film forming apparatus 1, a stable high-frequency electric field can be formed in the chamber 7 by the matching between the impedance in the chamber 7 and the impedance of the high-frequency power supply 16. And a stable film having high strength can be formed. Further, due to the feature of so-called gasless ion plating, the temperature of the substrate 23 does not rise, and the substrate 23 is not damaged.

A DC power supply not shown in FIG. 1 may be provided, and a constant DC bias electric field from the DC power supply may be applied into the chamber 7 together with the high-frequency electric field from the high-frequency power supply 16.

Further, in the film forming apparatus 1, as shown in FIG. 1, a cooling water tank 20 is provided below the vacuum chamber 7. The cooling water tank 20 stores cooling water. The cooling water is circulated through a pipe so as to be guided to an outer portion of the bottom of the vacuum chamber 7. It is cooled by heat exchange with.

The provision of the cooling water tank 20 for cooling has the following significance. That is, the film forming apparatus 1
In this configuration, a current is supplied from the heating power supply 17 to the resistance boat 12 via the turntable 11 in order to resistance-heat the raw material supported by the resistance boat 12, and a heating current is supplied from outside the vacuum chamber 7. Therefore, the vicinity of the resistance boat 12 serving as a supply path is sealed from the outside with an O-ring.
Therefore, since the O-ring is damaged if it is exposed to heat, by cooling the periphery of the resistance boat 12, the periphery of the O-ring can be cooled and the O-ring can be prevented from being damaged. Further, it is possible to prevent a burn when the operator removes the resistance boat 12 after the completion of the film formation.

It is desirable to use pure water as the cooling water. This is because the use of pure water can prevent corrosion and the like of the cooling water tank 20 and the piping, and facilitate maintenance.

The cooling water tank 20 is provided with the air cooling fan 2.
1 so that the cooling efficiency does not decrease. A circulating pump for circulating the cooling water in the cooling water tank 20 is also disposed inside the outer cover 2 and is compact as the film forming apparatus 1.

A control device 24 is arranged above the vacuum chamber 7, and controls the operation of each part of the film forming apparatus 1. The control device 24 is configured by a well-known computer system having a CPU and a memory, and stores an operation routine that describes a procedure for operating each unit of the film forming apparatus 1 in a predetermined order.

The control device 24 also stores operating conditions which are specific conditions for operating each part of the film forming apparatus 1 so that a specific film to be formed can be formed. The operating conditions include the output of a high-frequency power supply 16 for plasma generation, the output of a heating power supply 17 for determining the evaporation rate of the raw material, the rotation speed of the substrate holder 14, the degree of vacuum in the vacuum chamber 7, and the gas cylinder 10. And the order in which the four resistance boats 12 are connected to the heating power supply 17 for heating.

The operating conditions stored in the controller 24 include a film forming time. The film formation time is a time that is used as a criterion for judging that the formation of the film having the target film thickness has been completed after a certain time has elapsed since the start of the film formation. That is, in the film forming apparatus 1, the built-in timer monitors whether or not a predetermined time after the start of the film formation has elapsed. It is determined that the film formation has been completed.

By operating the operation start switch 5 of the operation panel 3, the operation routine is executed by the control device 24, and the operation of the film forming apparatus 1 is controlled according to the operation conditions. .

Next, an example of forming a film using the film forming apparatus 1 described above will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically illustrating a series of steps performed by the film forming apparatus 1.

The chamber opening / closing door 6 is opened, and the substrate holder 14 is opened.
The spectacle lens 23 which is a substrate is set in (S1).
Next, the resistance boat 12 on which the raw material of the film to be formed is set in advance is set on the turntable 11 (S2).

Then, the chamber opening / closing door 6 is closed, and the operation start switch 5 is operated. Accordingly, the control device 24 starts the execution of the operation routine, and starts controlling the operation of the film forming apparatus 1 according to the operation conditions. First, the inside of the vacuum chamber 7 is evacuated by the pump 8 so as to have a required degree of vacuum (S3).

Next, a film is formed on the spectacle lens 23 (S4). In this S4, the substrate holder 14 is rotated by the motor 19 to rotate the spectacle lens 23. Further, in S4, the resistance boat 12 is heated by the heating power supply 17, and the raw material of the coating is removed from the chamber 7.
Evaporated in. In S4, the high-frequency power supply 16
Is started, plasma is generated in the chamber 7 and the evaporated raw material is excited. When a DC power supply is used together with the high-frequency power supply 16, the operation of the DC power supply is also started.

When the degree of vacuum is adjusted by the conductance valve, in S4,
The opening of the conductance valve is controlled.

In S4, the elapse of the film formation time is monitored, and when the elapse of the film formation time is detected, it is determined that the film formation on the eyeglass lens 23 is completed. When it is determined that the film formation is completed for all the resistance boats 12, the operations of the motor 19, the heating power supply 17, the high-frequency power supply 16, and the like are stopped.

Next, the circulation of the cooling water in the cooling water tank 20 is continued as it is, and is used for promoting the cooling of the resistance boat 12 (S5). The cooling of the resistance boat 12 is performed for a fixed time measured by a built-in timer, and the resistance boat 12 is sufficiently cooled so as not to be burned when the resistance boat 12 is taken out.

Next, in order to open the inside of the vacuum chamber 7 to the atmosphere (S6), the operation of the pump 8 is stopped, and a leak valve (not shown) is opened. When the vacuum switch sensor 15 detects that the inside of the vacuum chamber 7 has reached the atmospheric pressure, a completion signal is output (S7). Next, the chamber opening / closing door 6 is opened, and the formed spectacle lens 23 is taken out (S8). In addition, when the film formation is completed, the used resistance boat 12 is also removed from the turntable 11.

As described with reference to FIG. 5, according to the film forming apparatus 1, in forming a film on the spectacle lens 23, the series of steps from S3 to S7 can be performed only by operating the operation start switch 5. Can be run automatically. As a result, the film formation conditions are input to the film formation apparatus 1 one by one.
No complicated operation is required. Therefore, even if the operator has no special technical knowledge on vacuum film formation,
Film formation can be performed by a simple switch operation.

Further, in the film forming apparatus 1 described above, the example in which the substrate on which the film is formed is particularly an eyeglass lens has been described. However, the object on which the film is formed is not limited to the eyeglass lens but may be a CD (compact). Various types of daily necessities, such as a disk, for which film formation is required can be formed as a substrate. Also,
Regarding the place where the vacuum film forming apparatus is installed, it is installed at each place where the substrate (product) to be formed is sold, such as a so-called convenience shop, depending on the type of the substrate.

Further, in the film forming apparatus 1 described above, an example has been described in which plasma is generated by a so-called gasless ion plating method, but plasma is generated by another method to form a film. You can do it. Furthermore, the method of film formation is not limited to a method of forming a film by generating plasma, and various methods of vacuum film formation that can form a film in a vacuum atmosphere, such as vacuum deposition, can be used. In other words, if the vacuum film forming apparatus is provided with a vacuum chamber having a vacuum atmosphere inside and a pump for setting the inside of the vacuum chamber to a vacuum atmosphere, each member constituting the vacuum chamber is integrated by an outer cover. In a compact configuration. Further, in such a vacuum film forming apparatus, by providing an operation panel on which operation switches are arranged in a concentrated manner, all operations can be performed on one operation panel, so that the operation can be facilitated.

[0081]

As described above, in the vacuum film forming apparatus of the present invention, the entire apparatus is made compact,
In addition, it is configured to be easy to operate. Therefore, the vacuum film forming apparatus is easy to use when installed and used in a store selling daily necessities, and has an effect that the operation in the store is easy.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vacuum film forming apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a vacuum film forming apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a filament.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a raw material supply device and a resistance boat.

FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically illustrating a process of forming a film.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vacuum film-forming apparatus 2 Exterior cover 3 Operation panel 5 Operation start switch 6 Chamber opening / closing door 7 Vacuum chamber 8 Pump 9 L-shaped duct 10 Gas cylinder 11 Rotary table 12 Resistance boat 14 Substrate holder 15 Vacuum switch sensor 16 High frequency power supply 17 Heating Power supply 18 Matching box 19 Motor 20 Cooling water tank 21 Air cooling fan 23 Eyeglass lens (substrate) 24 Controller 26 Filament 27 Resistance boat 28 Material supply device

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. A substrate holder for holding a substrate, a vacuum chamber in which a film is formed on the substrate in a space inside the substrate holder, and a suction unit for suctioning the inside of the vacuum chamber into a vacuum atmosphere. A vacuum, comprising: a raw material support member for supporting the raw material material of the coating; and a heating means for heating the raw material material for the coating supported by the raw material support member to evaporate the raw material material in the vacuum chamber. A film forming apparatus, wherein the suction unit can suction the inside of the vacuum chamber to a vacuum atmosphere of at least 10 ⁻⁴ Pa or less, and at least the vacuum chamber and the suction unit are housed inside an outer cover. And an operation panel on which all operation devices for operating the vacuum film forming apparatus are centrally arranged. 2. A front part of the vacuum film forming apparatus is arranged on the exterior cover, and the operation part is provided on the front part and a chamber opening / closing door for opening / closing the vacuum chamber is formed. The vacuum film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The vacuum film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a chamber opening / closing door for opening and closing a vacuum chamber is formed on an upper surface portion of the vacuum film forming apparatus. 4. The vacuum film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the suction unit is disposed near the vacuum chamber. 5. The vacuum film forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the suction unit is disposed below the vacuum chamber. 6. The vacuum film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the film is formed on the substrate by generating plasma in the vacuum chamber. 7. A high-frequency power supply for supplying high-frequency power to the inside of the vacuum chamber via the substrate holder to generate the plasma, and a matching circuit connected between the substrate holder and the high-frequency power supply. The vacuum film forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the high-frequency power supply and the matching circuit are housed inside the outer cover. 8. A gas cylinder for supplying a predetermined inert gas for generating the plasma to the inside of the vacuum chamber, wherein the gas cylinder, and a member for guiding the gas from the gas cylinder to the vacuum chamber, The vacuum film forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the vacuum film forming apparatus is housed inside the outer cover. 9. The suction means is configured to adjust the pressure inside the vacuum chamber so as to generate the plasma after the inside of the vacuum chamber has a predetermined degree of vacuum. 8. The vacuum film forming apparatus according to 7. 10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the suction means includes a single pump capable of suctioning from a state where the inside of the vacuum chamber is at atmospheric pressure. Vacuum deposition equipment. 11. The vacuum film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a sound absorbing material is attached to the exterior cover. 12. The raw material supporting member to which a raw material material of a coating is applied in advance is configured to be freely detachable.
A vacuum film forming apparatus according to claim 1. 13. A structure in which two or more raw material support members can be mounted, and each of the raw material support members is placed at a specific location in a vacuum chamber according to the type of raw material provided to each raw material support member. The vacuum film forming apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the vacuum film forming apparatus is configured to be mounted only on the device. 14. A raw material supply device capable of supplying two or more raw material materials to one raw material support member, wherein when the raw material supply device completes the film formation on the substrate with the one raw material material, The vacuum film forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, configured to supply another raw material to be formed next to one raw material. 15. A cooling water tank for storing cooling water, wherein a periphery of the raw material supporting member is cooled by heat exchange with cooling water circulated from the cooling water tank. The cooling water tank and a member for circulating cooling water that exchanges heat with the periphery of the raw material supporting member are housed inside the outer cover, the cooling water tank and a member for circulating cooling water that exchange heat with the periphery of the raw material supporting member are housed inside the outer cover. Vacuum deposition equipment. 16. A controller for controlling the operation of the vacuum film forming apparatus, wherein the controller operates the vacuum film forming apparatus to form a specific film according to the type of the substrate. 16. An operating condition for the operating device is stored, and by operating an operation start switch included in the operating devices, the vacuum film forming apparatus is configured to operate according to the operating condition. A vacuum film forming apparatus according to any one of the above.