JP2004214355A - Rotation and revolution type barrel etching device and working method using media - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rotation and revolution type barrel etching device, a processing vessel and a media therefor. <P>SOLUTION: In order to achieve the purpose, the rotation and revolution type barrel etching device is provided with a revolution shaft, provided vertically to the surface of installation of the device, and the inclination of the axis of rotation is 0°-45° with respect to the axis of revolution toward the revolution axis side while a site of at least contacting with etching solution is provided with a resistance to chemicals and the shape of the working vessel is substantially cylindrical while one end of the working vessel is closed by a bottom unit having a predetermined curvature or a bottom unit constituted of the curved bottom with the predetermined curvature and a plane unit and the other end of the same is opened and is sealed tightly by a lid. The inner surface of the working vessel is provided with recesses and projections while a media, having a resistance to chemicals with respect to the etching solution, is used. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a revolving barrel etching apparatus used for etching a piezoelectric element such as a quartz plate, and a processing container and a medium used for the apparatus. The present invention relates to a revolving barrel etching apparatus capable of realizing processing and improving surface roughness, and a processing container and a medium used in the apparatus.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, with the miniaturization of piezoelectric vibrators and oscillators, the frequency of piezoelectric elements for performing etching has been rapidly increased and the miniaturization has been rapidly progressing. In other words, with the miniaturization of electronic components such as piezoelectric vibrators and oscillators, it is necessary to reduce the external size of the piezoelectric element constituting the piezoelectric vibrating plate mounted inside, and at the same time, to reduce the oscillation frequency. As the frequency has been increased, the thickness of the piezoelectric element plate has also been required to be reduced.
[0003]
For example, a crystal plate, which is one of the piezoelectric materials, is cut at an oblique angle from the crystal axis, which is generally called the AT cut, and then lapping or beveling if necessary. The crystal impedance (hereinafter referred to as CI) is improved by chemically dissolving and removing the broken so-called damaged layer. However, if excessive etching is performed, the quartz crystal has a different etching rate (dissolution rate) depending on the crystal axis, and concavities and convexities (hereinafter, referred to as etch pits) on the surface of the piezoelectric element will become apparent.
[0004]
On the other hand, as shown in the following equation, a piezoelectric element such as an AT-cut is dependent on its thickness, and if unevenness is generated on its surface, frequency components are dispersed. Therefore, CI deteriorates particularly in a high-frequency region.
Frequency (kHz) = 1670 (kHz · mm) / Thickness (mm)
[0005]
Thousands of piezoelectric elements are stored in a substantially cylindrical etching container with holes large enough to prevent the piezoelectric elements from popping out during etching. Was charged into an etching bath filled with an etching solution containing an aqueous solution or an aqueous solution containing a surfactant, and the etching process was performed by rocking or rotating the etching process container.
[0006]
Since the activity of the etchant decreases when a chemical reaction with the piezoelectric element progresses in the etching chamber, the replacement with the highly active etchant in the etching chamber must be performed through a hole in the etching chamber. There is.
[0007]
At this time, if the sticking phenomenon occurs between the piezoelectric plates or between the piezoelectric plate and the processing container, the etching is performed on the portion where the sticking phenomenon occurs because the highly active etchant is not sufficiently supplied to the surface of the piezoelectric plate. Processing does not proceed. When this sticking phenomenon occurs partially, a step occurs at the interface. In addition, since the etching process has a higher thickness adjustment accuracy than the lapping process and is also a process of adjusting to the specified frequency, if the adjustment is performed at the same frequency, if the sticking occurs on one entire surface, The damaged layer on one side cannot be completely removed, and the other side is excessively etched. In order to prevent such a state beforehand, it was necessary to rock or rotate the etching processing container in the etching solution to prevent the sticking from occurring on one entire surface.
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-11-230473 [Patent Document 2]
JP-A-07-109200
The applicant has not found any prior art documents related to the present invention other than the prior art documents specified by the above-mentioned prior art document information by the time of filing the present application.
[0009]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, since the size and thickness of the piezoelectric element plate have been rapidly reduced as described above, in the conventional etching processing as shown in FIG. Even when rotated, the frequency of occurrence of the above-mentioned sticking phenomenon increases because the weight of the piezoelectric element plate is light and the impact due to collision between the etching container or the piezoelectric element plates is small. Therefore, there is a problem that a step is formed on the surface of the piezoelectric element due to the etching process, and the CI of the piezoelectric element is deteriorated.
[0010]
Also, it is necessary to make a large number of holes drilled in the etching processing container for replacement of the etching solution so that the piezoelectric element to be etched does not fly out. If the size of the hole in the etching container is reduced, the replacement of the etching solution cannot be performed smoothly, and in addition, the air in the etching container is not exhausted out of the processing container, so that the etching itself cannot be performed. Was.
[0011]
In addition, the etching process itself has the effect of improving the CI by removing the deteriorated layer generated in a process such as a lapping process, and on the other hand, the smooth surface roughness obtained by the etching process results in the generation of etch pits. It also has factors that make it worse.
[0012]
However, the depth of the affected layer of each piezoelectric element plate is slightly different, and the conventional etching process has been focused on removing the affected layer. There is a problem that stabilization of quality in sensitive high-frequency products is difficult due to generation of etch pits.
[0013]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above technical background, and accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a self-revolving barrel etching apparatus, and a processing container and a medium therefor.
[0014]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a revolving plate fixed to a revolving shaft, a revolving shaft provided on the revolving plate, a container holder fixed to the revolving shaft and rotating, and fixed to the container holder. A processing container to be held, a drive motor for rotating the revolving shaft and the rotating shaft independently or in conjunction with each other, and controlling a rotating direction, a number of rotations, and a rotating time, and a self-revolving barrel including a driving and rotating mechanism. In the etching equipment,
The revolving shaft is provided in a direction perpendicular to the device installation surface.
[0015]
Further, the inclination of the axis of the rotation axis is inclined in the range of 0 ° to 45 ° toward the revolution axis with respect to the axis of the revolution axis.
[0016]
Further, a revolving plate fixed to a revolving shaft provided in a direction perpendicular to the apparatus installation surface, a revolving shaft provided on the revolving plate, a container holder fixed to the revolving shaft and revolving, the revolving shaft, A drive motor for rotating the rotation shaft and controlling the rotation direction, the number of rotations, and the rotation time, and a processing container fixed and held by the container holder used in a rotation and revolution type barrel etching apparatus having a drive rotation mechanism At
At least the part that comes into contact with the etching solution has chemical resistance, the shape of the processing container is substantially cylindrical, and one end of the processing container has a bottom portion having a predetermined curvature, or a predetermined curvature portion and a flat portion. It is characterized in that it is closed by the constructed bottom, the other end is open, and the opening has a structure that can be sealed with a lid.
[0017]
Further, a revolving plate fixed to a revolving shaft provided in a direction perpendicular to the apparatus installation surface, a revolving shaft provided on the revolving plate, a container holder fixed to the revolving shaft and revolving, the revolving shaft, A drive motor for rotating the rotation shaft and controlling the rotation direction, the number of rotations, and the rotation time, and a processing container fixed and held by the container holder used in a rotation and revolution type barrel etching apparatus having a drive rotation mechanism At
At least the part that comes into contact with the etching solution has chemical resistance, the shape of the processing container is substantially cylindrical, and one end of the processing container is constituted by a predetermined polygonal weight and a flat portion, and the bottom is closed. The other end is open and the opening has a structure that can be sealed with a lid.
[0018]
Further, a revolving plate fixed to a revolving shaft provided in a direction perpendicular to the apparatus installation surface, a revolving shaft provided on the revolving plate, a container holder fixed to the revolving shaft and revolving, the revolving shaft, A drive motor for rotating the rotation shaft and controlling the rotation direction, the number of rotations, and the rotation time, and a processing container fixed and held by the container holder used in a rotation and revolution type barrel etching apparatus having a drive rotation mechanism At
At least the part that comes into contact with the etching solution has chemical resistance, the shape of the processing container is substantially cylindrical, the inner surface of the processing container has irregularities and the bottom is closed, the other end is open, and the open The mouth has a structure that can be sealed with a lid.
[0019]
Also, a revolving plate fixed to a revolving shaft provided in a direction perpendicular to the device installation surface, a revolving shaft provided on the revolving plate, a container holder fixed to the revolving shaft and revolving, the revolving shaft, and In a processing method using a self-revolving barrel etching apparatus having a drive motor that rotates the rotation shaft and controls the rotation direction, the number of rotations, and the rotation time, and a drive rotation mechanism,
It is characterized in that a medium having chemical resistance to an etching solution is used.
[0020]
By using the above-described revolving barrel etching apparatus, the acceleration generated from the revolving motion is applied to the bottom direction of the processing container, so that the thickness of the wall of the container other than the bottom peripheral portion is made as thin as possible. Further, by making the processing container substantially vertical, it is possible to limit the portion where the piezoelectric plate is etched to the vicinity of the bottom of the processing container, so that the length of the processing container can be reduced. Therefore, an effect that the size of the revolving barrel etching apparatus itself can be reduced is obtained.
[0021]
By using such a self-revolving barrel etching apparatus, a processing container used therefor, and a medium, the sticking phenomenon of the piezoelectric element plate can be suppressed, and the etching processing speed in a reaction solution such as an etching solution is reduced. Since the surface is selectively accelerated at a position where the stress generated by the rotation and orbital movement acts, when the surface of the piezoelectric element has irregularities, etching is performed from the convex part, and as a result, the surface roughness is improved.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
Note that the same reference numerals in each drawing indicate the same objects.
[0022]
FIG. 1 is a view schematically showing an example of a revolving barrel etching apparatus 2 according to the present invention. FIGS. 2 and 3 are schematic cross-sectional views showing one embodiment of the etching container 7 shown in FIG. In FIGS. 1 to 6, a part of the structure 8 is not shown for simplicity of description, and the size is a schematic diagram partially exaggerated.
[0023]
In FIG. 1, a revolving plate 3 constituting a self-revolving barrel etching apparatus 2 housed in a case 1 is provided around a revolving axis 4 formed in a direction perpendicular to an installation surface 21 of the self-revolving barrel etching apparatus 2. Then, the container holder 5 mounted around the both ends of the revolution plate 3 rotates around the rotation axis 6 with the revolution axis of the revolution plate 3 as a symmetric axis.
[0024]
Thus, the container holder 5 and the processing container 7 fixed and held by the container holder 5 revolve around the rotation axis 6 while revolving around the rotation axis 4. Here, the rotation direction of the revolving shaft and the rotation direction of the rotation shaft may be either forward or reverse.
[0025]
Further, the rotation axis 6 is inclined at 45 ° to the revolution axis side with respect to the revolution axis 4. As a result, the acceleration generated from the orbital motion is applied only to the bottom direction of the processing container 7, so that the thickness of the wall of the processing container can be reduced, and the processing container 7 is moved from the container holder 5 by the revolving centrifugal force. This prevents the processing container 7 from falling off and the contents of the processing container 7 from spilling out of the container. Although the embodiment has a structure in which one revolving plate 3 and a pair of processing containers 7 are mounted, a structure in which a plurality of revolving plates 3 are formed and the processing container 7 is mounted on each revolving plate may be used. Needless to say, this case is also within the technical scope of the present invention. Further, one of the two processing containers 7 mounted on one revolving plate 3 may be removed, and a balancer may be mounted instead, so that one processing container 7 is mounted on one revolving plate 3. Absent.
[0026]
As a specific mechanism for rotating the processing vessel 7 around the rotation axis 6 while revolving around the rotation axis 4, a driving motor for rotation and a driving motor for rotation are separately provided, and each of them is provided independently. A driving mechanism may be used. Also, a mechanism may be used in which a drive motor that is commonly used for revolution and rotation is used, and the rotational motion of the motor is divided into revolution and revolution using a belt and a pulley or a planetary gear device. Further, a control mechanism for controlling the start / stop, rotation speed, rotation time, and the like of these drive motors is also provided in the revolving barrel etching apparatus 2. The control mechanism includes a control panel provided outside the case 1. And can be automatically controlled by a program or the like. In FIG. 1, the driving motor for revolution and its control mechanism are not shown because they are built in the structure 8.
[0027]
In order to ensure free movement in the etching container 7 containing the etching solution of the material to be etched such as a piezoelectric element, these are put in the processing container 7 and sealed with a lid 10. Is fixedly supported on the container holder 5, the lid of the case 1 is closed, and each drive motor is rotated at an arbitrary number of rotations according to various commands from the control mechanism to start revolving and rotation of the processing container 7.
[0028]
By revolving the processing container 7, the contents in the processing container 7 are pressed against the bottom 9 inside the processing container 7 by centrifugal force, so that a sufficient pressure is applied to the piezoelectric element plate 13 which has been miniaturized and made higher in frequency. Then, friction is generated between the bottom portion 9 and the piezoelectric element plate 13 and between the piezoelectric element plates 13 by the rotation, so that the protrusions are selectively processed in the etching of the piezoelectric element plate 13. Further, the interaction between the revolution and the rotation promotes the contents to freely move and mix in the processing container, and uniformly etches the entirety of the large number of piezoelectric elements 13 put into the etching. be able to.
[0029]
FIG. 6 shows that the piezoelectric element plate 13 having a deteriorated layer generated by lapping or the like in the processing container 7 according to the present invention is efficiently etched with the etch pits generated by the etching processing being made much smaller than in the past. 3 is a schematic flowchart showing the appearance of the operation. The surface 20 of the wrapped-up piezoelectric element plate 13 initially has sharp irregularities, and the surface of the piezoelectric element plate 13 is gradually etched by etching. Even when etch pits occur on the surface of the surface 13, the etching using the self-revolving barrel etching apparatus 2 of the present invention requires contact between the piezoelectric element 13 and the inner surface 11 of the processing container 7. In addition, since the etching process is selectively performed at the contact portion, and the processing is mainly performed from the convex portion of the surface of the piezoelectric element 13, the etching process with no etch pits and improved surface roughness can be performed. .
[0030]
FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are schematic cross-sectional views each showing one shape of the processing container 7 which is detachably fixed and supported on the container holder 5. The processing container 7 is composed of a substantially cylindrical bottomed main body and a lid 10. The lid 10 is structured so as not to come off from the main body when the processing container 7 revolves and rotates. ing.
[0031]
In the etching process of the strip-shaped piezoelectric element plate 13 or the like, the shape of the surface 11 inside the processing container 7 is made to be a curved surface in order to suppress sticking of the piezoelectric element plate 13 or illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. With such a structure in which the inner surface 11 of the processing container collides with the piezoelectric element plate with the rotation of the processing container 7 and the sticking is removed, uniformity can be achieved, and the characteristics of the piezoelectric element plate 13 are remarkably improved. Can be.
[0032]
Further, by making the shape of the inner surface 11 of the processing container 7 uneven as shown in FIG. 4, the sticking of the strip-shaped piezoelectric element 13 to the processing container 7 is prevented, and the uniformity of the etching processing is further improved. can do.
[0033]
Further, by using the processing container 7 and the medium 12 having chemical resistance to the etching solution 18 shown in the schematic diagram of FIG. 5, the sticking of the strip-shaped piezoelectric element plate 13 to the processing container 7 is prevented. The uniformity of the etching process can be further improved. In FIG. 5, a spherical medium 12 is used, but it goes without saying that the shape of the medium 12 is not limited to a spherical shape.
[0034]
【The invention's effect】
In the self-revolving barrel etching apparatus of the present invention and the processing container used for the same, it is possible to efficiently and efficiently etch a piezoelectric element having a reduced size and a higher frequency in a short time, and to improve the surface roughness thereof. Therefore, an electronic component such as a piezoelectric vibrator using a piezoelectric element plate can be provided inexpensively in a short time.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a view schematically showing an example of a self-revolving barrel etching apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing one embodiment of an etching container to be loaded into the revolving barrel etching apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing one embodiment of another etching processing container to be loaded in the self-revolving barrel etching apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing one shape of an inner surface of a processing container loaded in the self-revolving barrel etching apparatus of the present invention, which is uneven.
FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a state in which a spherical medium is placed as an example in a processing container using the self-revolving barrel etching apparatus of the present invention and etching is performed.
FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart showing a state in which a piezoelectric element plate is etched in a processing container loaded in the self-revolving barrel etching apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing a conventional state in which an etching processing container is rocked or rotated in an etching solution to perform etching processing on a piezoelectric element plate.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Case 2 Revolving barrel etching apparatus 3 Revolving plate 4 Revolving shaft axis 5 Container holder 6 Revolving shaft axis 7 Processing container 8 Structure 9 Bottom 10 Cover 11 Processing container inner surface 12 Media 13 Piezoelectric plate 14 Conventional Etching container 15 Etching tank 16 Rotating shaft 17 Hole 18 of conventional processing container 18 Etching solution 19 Etching solution surface 20 Surface of piezoelectric element 21 Device installation surface

Claims (6)

A revolving plate fixed to a revolving shaft, a revolving shaft provided on the revolving plate, a container holder fixed to the revolving shaft and revolving, a processing container fixed and held by the container holder, the revolving shaft, and In a self-revolving barrel etching apparatus equipped with a drive motor that rotates the rotation axis independently or in conjunction with and controls the rotation direction, the number of rotations, and the rotation time, and a drive rotation mechanism,
A self-revolving barrel etching apparatus, wherein the revolving shaft is provided in a direction perpendicular to an apparatus installation surface. 2. The revolving barrel etching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inclination of the axis of the revolving shaft is inclined in the range of 0 ° to 45 ° toward the revolving axis with respect to the axis of the revolving shaft. 2. The processing container according to claim 1, wherein the processing container has chemical resistance at least at a portion that comes into contact with the etching solution, the processing container has a substantially cylindrical shape, and one end of the processing container has a bottom having a predetermined curvature. Or a processing container characterized in that it is closed by a bottom portion formed by a predetermined curvature portion and a flat portion, the other end is opened, and the opening is sealed by a lid. The processing container according to claim 1, which has chemical resistance at least in a portion that comes into contact with the etching solution, has a substantially cylindrical shape, and one end of the processing container has a predetermined polygonal weight. A processing container comprising a flat surface portion, a closed end, an open end at the other end, and a structure capable of sealing the open end with a lid. The processing container according to claim 1, wherein the processing container has chemical resistance at least at a portion that comes into contact with the etching solution, the processing container has a substantially cylindrical shape, and the processing container has an inner surface with irregularities and a bottom closed. A processing container characterized in that the other end is opened and the opening is sealed by a lid. A revolving plate fixed to a revolving shaft provided in a direction perpendicular to the apparatus installation surface, a revolving shaft provided on the revolving plate, a container holder fixed to the revolving shaft and revolving, the revolving shaft, and the revolving shaft In a processing method using a self-revolving barrel etching apparatus equipped with a drive motor that rotates the shaft and controls the rotation direction, the number of rotations, and the rotation time, and a drive rotation mechanism,
A processing method using a medium having chemical resistance to an etching solution.

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