JP2007204810A - Powder treatment device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a powder treatment device capable of uniformly depositing ultra-fine particles on raw material particles. <P>SOLUTION: The powder treatment device 1 deposits the ultra-fine particles in the vacuum atmosphere while moving raw material particles by a moving mechanism, and makes the vapor reach the surface of the raw material while the raw particles are rolled moved by a vibration generator 29. The ultra-fine particles in the vapor are uniformly deposited thereon. Fine charged particles having a large charge to mass ratio are deflected by a deflector 52 and are made to reach the raw particles. By preventing any neutral particles or huge charged particles from reaching the raw material particles, a uniform thin film can be deposited by the ultra-fine particles. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a powder processing apparatus, and more particularly to a powder processing apparatus that forms a thin film on the surface of raw material particles.

  In recent years, a technique for creating highly functional materials by attaching nanometer metal raw material particles or metal oxide raw material particles to raw material particles (micrometer order) has been spreading in the industrial world.

  In the chemical industry, it is common to use a wet method to melt nanometer-size particles, mix the powder in the solution, and stir and disperse it. The market has not been satisfied. In particular, an oily material as the solvent is required to be water-based in consideration of the environmental load of processing, but the aqueous solvent still has problems of melting and dispersion. Therefore, the need for dry processes is increasing.

  For example, in order to attach catalyst particles such as platinum to the electrode of a fuel cell, it is necessary to increase the surface area. Further, since it is a noble metal, the volume is required to be efficiently attached in the electrode. If minimized, the surface area per unit weight is increased. Therefore, in order to effectively carry out the catalytic reaction, it is desirable to uniformly attach metal source particles having a smaller size, for example, a nanometer size, uniformly to the surface of micrometer order electrode particles.

Conventionally, various powder processing apparatuses have been used in response to this requirement. An example of the powder processing apparatus is indicated by reference numeral 200 in FIG.
This powder processing apparatus 200 has a raw material container 202 in which raw material particles 204 as raw materials are arranged, and an adhering material source 203 in which nanoparticles are contained is arranged above the raw material container 202. ing.

  A stirring blade 211 is disposed on the bottom surface inside the raw material container 202, and a high pressure gas is introduced into the adhering material source 203 and the raw material particles 204 are agitated together with the high pressure gas from the nozzle 212 of the adhering material source 203. Ultrafine particles (nanoparticles) 207 are ejected and adhered to the raw material particles 204.

In such a conventional film forming method, since the ultrafine particle powder is carried by the high-pressure gas flow, the flow rate of ultrafine particles per unit time is too large (several hundred microm / min) and small amount (several tens nm / min). ) Cannot be controlled accurately.
As a result, there is a problem that the ultrafine particles adhering to the raw material particles become non-uniform.
Moreover, since it is made to adhere in air | atmosphere, oxidation etc. will occur if it is going to make a highly pure and active metal adhere.

In the powder processing apparatus denoted by reference numeral 300 in FIG. 2, the raw material container 302 is disposed inside the vacuum chamber 310, and the adhering material source 323 is disposed above the raw material container 302.
The periphery of the adherent material source 323 is surrounded by a cooling shroud 325.
A cooling plate 326 is disposed between the adhesion material source 323 and the raw material container 302.

A vacuum pump 327 is connected to the vacuum chamber 310, the inside of the vacuum chamber 310 is evacuated to a high vacuum of 10 ⁻⁴ to 10 ⁻⁵ Pa or less, liquid helium is injected into the cooling shroud 325, and the surface is Cool to about -270 ° C. The cooling plate 326 is in contact with the cooling shroud 325 and is cooled to a temperature similar to that of the cooling shroud 325.

First, helium gas is introduced into the region surrounded by the cooling shroud 325 from the gas introduction system 328, and the helium gas is cooled by the cooling shroud 325.
A sputtering target is disposed in the adhesion material source 321. When sputtering gas is introduced into the adhesion material source 321 and the sputtering target is sputtered, the sputtered particles 327 emitted from the adhesion material source 321 are contained in the cooling shroud 325. Contact with helium gas and rapidly cooled to form ultrafine particles.
Ultrafine particles are discharged into the vacuum chamber 310 from the holes 328 formed in the cooling plate 326.

Also in this raw material container 302, the stirring blade 311 is provided on the bottom surface, the raw material particles 304 are stirred, and the ultrafine particles released into the vacuum chamber 310 reach the surface of the raw material particles 304 and adhere thereto. To do.
However, such a processing method requires cooling with liquid helium or the like and supply of helium gas, and the running cost becomes very high. Also, the adhesion is weak.
JP-A-5-239645 JP-A-7-118864 JP 2002-270417 A

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and to uniformly attach ultrafine particles to the surface of raw material particles.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention moves a film forming chamber that can be evacuated, an attachment material source that releases vapor of a thin film material into the film forming chamber, and an object to be transported. It is a powder processing apparatus having a transport mechanism that passes the position where the vapor reaches in the film chamber, and a vibration generator that vibrates the transport object on the transport mechanism.
Further, the present invention is the powder processing apparatus, wherein the adhesion material source has an emission source that generates vapor of the thin film material, and the emission source includes a cathode electrode made of the thin film material, and the cathode An anode electrode spaced apart from the electrode and a trigger electrode arranged insulated from the cathode electrode, generating a trigger discharge between the cathode electrode and the trigger electrode, In the powder processing apparatus, an arc discharge is induced between the anode electrodes, and the surface of the cathode electrode is evaporated to generate a vapor of the thin film material.
Further, according to the present invention, the attachment material source has a deflecting device that forms a magnetic field line, the vapor emitted from the emission source intersects the magnetic field line, and electrons contained in the vapor are received from the magnetic field line. The powder processing apparatus is configured to reach the moving path of the conveyance object after the traveling direction is bent by the Lorentz force.
In addition, the present invention has a take-out chamber that can be evacuated, and the transfer mechanism is configured to move the transfer object in the film formation chamber to the take-out chamber, and the transfer chamber includes the transfer mechanism. An unloading mechanism for transferring the transfer object on is provided, and the unloading mechanism is configured to unload the transferred transfer object from the inside of the take-out chamber to the outside of the take-out chamber. It is a powder processing apparatus.
Further, the present invention is configured such that the take-out chamber is provided with a carry-out port, and the take-out chamber is evacuated while the inside and outside of the take-out chamber are connected at the carry-out port, and the carry-out mechanism The object to be transported transferred to is a powder processing apparatus configured to be carried out from the carry-out port to the outside of the take-out chamber.
The present invention is also a powder processing apparatus in which an intermediate chamber capable of being evacuated is disposed between the film forming chamber and the take-out chamber.
In addition, the present invention includes a preparation chamber that can be evacuated and a supply device that disposes the object to be transported on the transport mechanism, and the transport mechanism removes the transport object disposed in the preparation chamber. The powder processing apparatus is configured to be carried into the film forming chamber.
In the present invention, the supply device includes a raw material container having an opening in the upper portion and a supply port in the lower portion, the opening is disposed in the atmosphere outside the supply chamber, and the supply port is in the preparation chamber It is the powder processing apparatus arranged in.
The present invention is also a powder processing apparatus in which an intermediate chamber capable of being evacuated is disposed between the preparation chamber and the extraction chamber.
Moreover, this invention is a powder processing apparatus in which the said conveyance mechanism has a belt conveyor which carries the said conveyance target object and conveys.
Moreover, this invention is a powder processing apparatus in which the said conveyance mechanism has several trays which carry the said conveyance target object.
Further, according to the present invention, the transport mechanism includes a transport base, and when the raw material particles are arranged on the transport base as the transport target, the transport target is transported by the vibration force of the vibration generator. It is the comprised powder processing apparatus.
Moreover, this invention is a powder processing apparatus with which the said conveyance mechanism has the inclination conveyance stand in which the said preparation chamber side was high, and the said extraction chamber side had the low inclination formed in the surface.

According to the present invention, the vapor reaches the surface of the raw material particles while rolling and moving in the vacuum atmosphere, so that the ultrafine particles are uniformly attached to the surface of the raw material particles.
Further, since the thin film can be continuously formed without exposing the film formation chamber to the atmosphere, the processing capability is high.

  If a coaxial vacuum arc deposition source is used, ultrafine particles can be strongly adhered to the surface of the raw material particles. Moreover, since a thin film is formed by ultrafine particles, a thin film having strong adhesion can be formed on the surface of the raw material particles. Moreover, if this vapor deposition source is used, a catalyst metal can be made to adhere to the surface of the raw material particle | grains used as a support | carrier, and the thin film can also be formed.

FIG. 3 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view for explaining the powder processing apparatus 1 of the first example of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a schematic transverse sectional view seen from above.
The powder processing apparatus 1 has a vacuum chamber 10. The inside of the vacuum chamber 10 is divided by a plurality of partition plates 11 _{1 to} 11 _{4. The} preparation chamber 13, the inlet-side intermediate chamber 14, the film forming chamber 15, the outlet-side intermediate chamber 16, and the take-out chamber 17 are separated. And are formed. The chambers 13 to 17 are arranged in the order of the preparation chamber 13, the inlet-side intermediate chamber 14, the film forming chamber 15, the outlet-side intermediate chamber 16, and the take-out chamber 17.

Vacuum exhaust devices 19 _{1 to} 19 ₅ are connected to the chambers 13 to 17, respectively, and the chambers 13 to 17 are in a vacuum atmosphere by the operation of the vacuum exhaust devices 19 _{1 to} 19 ₅ .
Each of the partition plates 11 _{1 to} 11 ₄ is formed with two transport ports 20a and 20b arranged in the vertical direction.
In the preparation chamber 13 and the extraction chamber 17, a preparation chamber delivery roll 21 and an extraction chamber winding roll 22 are arranged, respectively.

  The preparation chamber delivery roll 21 and the take-up chamber take-up roll 22 are cylindrical, and their central axes are arranged horizontally and parallel to each other. Between the rolls 21 and 22, a ring-shaped internal conveyance belt 23 is passed through the conveyance ports 20 a and 20 b arranged in the vertical direction so as to be in close contact with the side surfaces of the rolls 21 and 22. Reference numeral 23a is a portion located on the upper side of the internal conveyance belt 23, and reference numeral 23b is a portion located on the lower side.

  The preparation chamber delivery roll 21 and the extraction chamber take-up roll 22 are connected to a motor, and the rolls 21 and 22 are configured to rotate around the central axis by the operation of the motor. This rotation is a direction in which the upper portion 23 a of the internal conveyance belt 23 moves from the preparation chamber 13 toward the extraction chamber 17, and the lower portion 23 b moves from the extraction chamber 17 toward the preparation chamber 13.

  A supply device having a raw material container 41 is arranged in the preparation chamber 13. The raw material container 41 has an opening 44 directed upward, and a supply port 43 formed of a small hole is formed on the bottom surface. The supply port 43 is configured to be openable and closable. When raw material particles having a diameter of several micrometers to several tens of micrometers are introduced into the raw material container 41 from the opening 44 in a state where the supply port 43 is closed, the supply port 43 is introduced. The raw material particles are accumulated in the raw material container 41. When the supply port 43 is opened, the raw material particles 42 accumulated inside fall downward from the supply port 43.

The supply port 43 is disposed above the internal conveyance belt 23, and the dropped raw material particles are placed on the upper portion 23 a of the internal conveyance belt 23.
When the rolls 21 and 22 are rotated and the internal conveyance belt 23 is rotated, the raw material particles on the internal conveyance belt 23 move from the preparation chamber 13 toward the extraction chamber 17. The raw material particles that have exited the preparation chamber 13 pass through the inlet-side intermediate chamber 14, the film forming chamber 15, and the outlet-side intermediate chamber 16 and reach the take-out chamber 17.

  Inside the film forming chamber 15, one or a plurality of adhesion material sources 31 are arranged. As will be described later, each adhering material source 31 is configured to release the vapor of the thin film material toward the surface of the upper portion 23 a of the internal conveyance belt 23, and the vapor is supplied to the internal conveyance belt 23. It reaches the raw material particles that move up and move through the film forming chamber 15, and adheres to the surface of the raw material particles as ultrafine particles having a diameter of 10 nanometers or less. When the amount of adhesion is large, a thin film is formed on the surface of the raw material particles being conveyed.

The powder processing apparatus 1 has one or more vibration generators 29. The vibration generator 29 applies vibration to the internal conveyance belt 23, and the raw material particles on the internal conveyance belt 23 are conveyed while being rolled. It is comprised so that.
Accordingly, in the film forming chamber 15, the vapor of the thin film material arrives while the raw material particles are rolling and moving, and adhere to the entire surface of the raw material particles as ultrafine particles.

  Although the vapor emitted from one adhering material source 31 can reach only a narrow area, the raw material particles placed on the internal conveyance belt 23 sequentially pass through the vapor reaching area of each adhering material source 31 ( Therefore, when leaving the film forming chamber 15, the surface of the raw material particles is covered with ultrafine particles constituting the vapor. When the amount of adhesion is large, a thin film is formed by the adhered ultrafine particles.

The raw material particles to which the ultrafine particles are attached pass through the outlet side intermediate chamber 16 and are carried into the extraction chamber 17.
A take-out chamber delivery roll 25 is arranged inside the take-out chamber 17, and an external take-up roll 26 is arranged outside the vacuum chamber 10.
The take-out chamber delivery roll 25 and the external take-up roll 26 are cylindrical, and their central axes are arranged horizontally and parallel to each other.

In the side wall of the take-out chamber 17, two carry-out ports 24 a and 24 b arranged in the vertical direction are formed in a portion between the take-out chamber delivery roll 25 and the external take-up roll 26.
On the side surfaces of the rolls 25 and 26, a carry-out belt 27 is stretched through the carry-out ports 24a and 24b.
Reference numeral 27a indicates an upper part of the carry-out belt 27, and reference numeral 27b indicates a lower part.

  The take-out chamber delivery roll 25 and the external take-up roll 26 are connected to a motor, and when the motor is operated and the rolls 25 and 26 rotate about the central axis, the upper portion 27a of the carry-out belt 27 is taken out. It is configured to move from the inside of the chamber 17 toward the outside of the vacuum chamber 10.

Inside the take-out chamber 17, the take-up chamber take-up roll 22 is positioned above the take-out chamber feed roll 25, and the raw material particles on the internal conveyance belt 23 reach the end of the take-out chamber take-up roll 22. When the vehicle falls from above the internal conveyor belt 23, it is configured to ride on the carry-out belt 27.
The raw material particles on the carry-out belt 27 are carried out of the vacuum chamber 10 by the carry-out belt 27.

  A receiving tray 35 is disposed below the external winding roll 26, and when the raw material particles carried out of the vacuum chamber 10 reach the end of the external winding roll 26 and fall from the carry-out belt 27, the receiving tray 35. It is comprised so that it can be put on.

  The internal conveyance belt 23 and the carry-out belt 27 rotate at a constant speed. When the raw material particles 42 in the raw material container 41 are continuously supplied onto the internal conveyance belt 23, the raw material particles to which ultrafine particles are attached are It continuously falls on the saucer 35.

  The raw material container 41 has an upper opening 44 located outside the vacuum chamber 10 and is open to the air atmosphere. Even if the raw material particles inside the raw material container 41 are reduced, the belts 23 and 27 and the source of attached material The raw material particles can be replenished without stopping 31.

  In this case, the inside of the preparation chamber 13 is connected to the atmospheric atmosphere outside the vacuum chamber 10 through the inside of the raw material container 41, and when the film formation chamber 15 is evacuated, the inside of the film formation chamber 15 is prepared from the preparation chamber 13. Will flow into.

  The inside of the take-out chamber 17 is also connected to the atmospheric atmosphere outside the vacuum chamber 10 through the outlets 24a and 24b. When the film formation chamber 15 is evacuated, it flows from the take-out chamber 17 into the film formation chamber 15. End up.

  In this powder processing apparatus 1, an inlet-side intermediate chamber 14 and an outlet-side intermediate chamber 16 are provided between the preparation chamber 13 and the film-forming chamber 15 and between the take-out chamber 17 and the film-forming chamber 15, respectively. .

When the film formation chamber 15 is evacuated, the preparation chamber 13, the inlet side intermediate chamber 14, the outlet side intermediate chamber 16, and the extraction chamber 17 are also evacuated together, and the pressure inside each chamber 13 to 17 is increased. But,
Preparation chamber 13> Inlet side intermediate chamber 14> Deposition chamber 15
Extraction chamber 17> Exit side intermediate chamber 16> Deposition chamber 15
The vapor is attached to the particles in an atmosphere having a low pressure.

For example, when a coaxial arc vapor deposition source as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is used as the adhesion material source 31, the preparation chamber 13 is at a level of 10 ⁴ Pa, the inlet side intermediate chamber 14 is at a level of 10 ² Pa, and the film formation chamber 15 is used. Can be 10 ^-1 Pa, the outlet side intermediate chamber 16 can be 10 ² Pa, and the take-out chamber 17 can be 10 ⁴ Pa.

The adhesion material source 31 using a coaxial arc vapor deposition source will be described. Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the attachment material source 31 has an emission source 51 and a deflecting device 52.
The emission source 51 includes a cylindrical anode electrode 54, a cathode electrode 55 disposed inside the anode electrode 54, and a trigger electrode 56 disposed near the cathode electrode 55 in the anode electrode 54. . An insulating member 57 is disposed between the trigger electrode 56 and the cathode electrode 55 and is insulated from each other. The anode electrode 54 has a diameter of 30 mm, and the cathode electrode 55 has a diameter of 10 mm.

  Each of the electrodes 54 to 56 is connected to the power source 60, and the trigger electrode 56 is connected to the trigger electrode 56 more than the cathode electrode 55 in a state where the anode electrode 54 and the vacuum chamber 10 are connected to the ground potential and a negative voltage is applied to the cathode electrode 55. When a large negative voltage is applied in the negative direction, a trigger discharge is generated on the surface of the insulating member 57.

The cathode electrode 55 is made of a thin film material. When vapor of the thin film material is released into the anode electrode 54 by trigger discharge, the pressure in the region inside the anode electrode 54 rises, and the cathode electrode 55, the anode electrode 54, During this period, arc discharge occurs.
The surface of the cathode electrode 55 is melted by the arc discharge, and a large amount of vapor is released from the surface of the anode electrode.

  The arc current flows along the central axis of the anode electrode 54 toward the bottom surface, and electrons inside the anode electrode 54 are emitted from the opening into the vacuum chamber 10 by the Lorentz force of the magnetic field generated thereby.

  The vapor of the thin film material emitted from the cathode electrode 55 includes charged particles and neutral particles. Among them, charged particles having a large charge mass ratio (mass smaller than charge) are , Is attracted to electrons and emitted from the opening.

Reference numeral 61 indicates the vapor released from the opening of the anode electrode 54, and reference numeral 36 indicates the raw material particles placed on the internal conveyance belt 23.
The opening of the anode electrode 54 is directed toward the wall surface on the upper side of the internal conveyance belt 23, and when particles contained in the vapor 61 are discharged from the opening and go straight, the upper portion 23 a of the internal conveyance belt 23. So that it does not collide with the internal conveyor belt 23.

  In the adhesion material source 31, a deflecting device 52 is disposed in the vicinity of the opening of the anode electrode 54 and in the traveling direction of the emitted steam 61, and the steam 61 emitted from the anode electrode 54 is It is configured to enter the inside.

  Two magnets are arranged inside the deflecting device 52. Reference numerals 33a and 33b in FIG. 3 (and FIGS. 7 to 9 to be described later) indicate the two magnets. The N pole and the S pole are opposed to each other and are disposed at the same height. Magnetic field lines are formed between the horizontal lines 33b.

  The opening of the anode electrode 54 is directed to the magnetic lines of force, and the emitted steam 61 is incident perpendicularly to the magnetic lines 33a and 33b. The direction of the lines of magnetic force is the direction in which electrons incident on the lines of magnetic force receive a vertically downward Lorentz force, and charged particles (clusters of 1000 to 2000 atoms) having a large charge mass ratio are attracted to the electrons and It is bent in the same direction, and as a result, enters the raw material particles 36 on the internal conveyance belt 23 and adheres to the surface as ultrafine particles. When the amount of adhesion is large, a thin film is formed.

Reference numerals 62 in FIGS. 5 and 6 indicate trajectories of electrons and charged particles whose traveling direction is bent by the deflecting device 52.
The vapor 61 discharged from the opening of the anode electrode 54 includes large particles and neutral particles having a small charge-mass ratio (mass larger than the charge). These particles are Lorentz caused by magnetic lines of force. Even if the force is received, the amount of deflection is small, or the Lorentz force is not received, and in order to maintain a straight flight, the material particles 36 on the internal transfer belt 23 are not incident on the wall surface of the film forming chamber 15 or the like. Incident.

  Reference numeral 63 in FIG. 6 indicates a charged particle having a large charge-mass ratio and the traveling direction is bent, and reference numeral 65 indicates a particle attached to the raw material particle 36. Reference numeral 64 indicates a particle that travels straight (a large particle or a neutral particle having a small charge-mass ratio).

  Reference numeral 34 in FIG. 3 denotes a shutter, which generates a trigger discharge one or more times and generates an arc discharge one or more times with the shutter 34 closed, and adheres to the surface of the cathode electrode 55. After removing the moisture, the shutter 34 may be opened to start vapor reaching the surface of the raw material particles.

  As described above, the ultrafine particles are adhered to the surface of the raw material particles while moving the raw material particles by the internal transport belt 23, but the transport mechanism for moving the raw material particles is not limited to the internal transport belt 23.

  FIG. 7 shows a powder processing apparatus 2 (second example) using a tray 68 instead of the internal conveyance belt 23, and a plurality of trays 68 are arranged. Each tray 68 is moved by a moving mechanism 67 to reach the take-out chamber 17 from the preparation chamber 13 through the film forming chamber 15 and return from the take-out chamber 17 to the preparation chamber 13.

  The trays 68 are transported one by one in order so as to pass directly under the raw material container 41. When the raw material particles are dropped from the raw material container 41 at the position immediately below, the raw material particles are placed on the tray 68. The supply port 43 of the raw material container 41 is opened when the tray 68 is located directly below.

  The tray 68 on which the raw material particles are placed passes through the inlet side intermediate chamber 14, enters the film forming chamber 15, and after a thin film is formed on the surface thereof by the adhering material source 31, passes through the outlet side intermediate chamber 16 to prepare. Enter chamber 17.

  Inside the preparation chamber 17, the tray 68 is tilted when it reaches the carry-out belt 27, and the raw material particles on which the thin film is formed are configured to fall on the carry-out belt 27, and the raw material placed on the carry-out belt 27. The particles are carried out of the vacuum chamber 10.

In this powder processing apparatus 2, a vibration generating device 69 is provided on the back surface of each tray 68. The raw material particles on the tray 68 are vibrated by the vibration generating device 69 and roll on the tray 68. However, the vapor reaches and a thin film is formed.
Accordingly, even in the powder processing apparatus 2 and the powder processing apparatuses 3 and 4 described below, ultrafine particles adhere uniformly to the surface of the raw material particles, and a thin film is formed.

Next, FIG. 8 shows a powder processing apparatus 3 (third example) using a plate-like conveyance table 71. The partition plates 11 _{1 to} 11 ₄ are provided with a transport port 20c. The transport table 71 is long and is inserted into the transport port 20c. One end of the transport table 71 is located directly below the raw material container 41, and the raw material particles dropped from the raw material container 41 are placed on the transport table 71. Yes. The other end of the transport table 71 is located on the carry-out belt 27.

  This powder processing apparatus 3 also has a vibration generator 72. The vibration generating device 72 is disposed on the back surface of the transfer table 71, and is configured such that when the vibration generating device 72 vibrates the transfer table 71, vibration is applied to the raw material particles placed on the transfer table 71. ing. This vibration is configured to apply a force in the direction of the extraction chamber 17 to the raw material particles to move the raw material particles in the direction of the extraction chamber 17. When the raw material particles move while rolling in the film forming chamber 17, the raw material particles Vapor reaches the surface uniformly, and a thin film is formed.

The transfer table 71 may be arranged horizontally, or like the inclined transfer table 81 of the powder processing apparatus 4 (fourth example) shown in FIG. 9, the preparation chamber 13 side is high and the take-out chamber 17 is low. An inclination can be provided so that the raw material particles fall and move on the slope. The inclined transport table 81 is also provided with a vibration generating device 82 so that the raw material particles move while rolling without being slipped on the tilted transport table 81.
In addition, the vibration generator used by this invention rolls raw material particle | grains, The vibration frequency is not ask | required.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the coaxial arc evaporation source is deflected and used as the adhering material source 31, but it may be directly deposited on the powder without being deflected. In the powder processing apparatus of the present invention, a sputtering target is used, a sputtering gas is introduced, the target surface is sputtered, thin film material vapor (sputtered particles) is generated from the sputtering target, and is adhered to the raw material particle surface. A thin film can also be formed.

The present invention can be used for producing a powder having a catalytic action.
For example, silver is adhered to a graphite electrode in a fuel cell that carries platinum on a cosmetic white powder (titania). Alternatively, it can be used for attaching vanadium sensitive to visible light to titania powder for photocatalyst.

Examples of prior art powder processing equipment Other examples of prior art powder processing equipment The longitudinal cross-sectional view for demonstrating the powder processing apparatus of the 1st example of this invention Cross-sectional view for explaining the powder processing apparatus of the first example of the present invention The figure for demonstrating the adhesion material source used for this invention Diagram for explaining the vapor that reaches the raw material particles Longitudinal sectional view for explaining a powder processing apparatus of a second example of the present invention The longitudinal cross-sectional view for demonstrating the powder processing apparatus of the 3rd example of this invention Longitudinal sectional view for explaining a powder processing apparatus of a fourth example of the present invention

Explanation of symbols

1-4 ... Powder processing apparatus 13 ... Preparation chambers 14, 16 ... Intermediate chamber 15 ... Film formation chamber 17 ... Extraction chamber 23 ... Internal transfer belts 29, 69, 72, 82 ... Vibration generator 31 ... Adhesive material source 41 ... Raw material container 43 ... Supply port 44 ... Opening 51 ... Release source 52 ... Deflector 54 ... Anode electrode 55 ... Cathode electrode 56 ... Trigger electrode 68 ... Tray 71 ...... Transport stand 81 …… Inclined transport stand

Claims (13)

A deposition chamber that can be evacuated;
An attachment material source for releasing vapor of the thin film material into the film forming chamber;
A transport mechanism for moving the transported object disposed and passing the position where the vapor reaches in the film forming chamber;
The powder processing apparatus which has a vibration generator which vibrates the said conveyance target object on the said conveyance mechanism. The attachment material source is a powder processing apparatus having a release source for generating vapor of the thin film material,
The emission source includes a cathode electrode made of the thin film material;
An anode electrode spaced apart from the cathode electrode;
A trigger electrode arranged insulatively with the cathode electrode;
A trigger discharge is generated between the cathode electrode and the trigger electrode, an arc discharge is induced between the cathode electrode and the anode electrode, and the surface of the cathode electrode is evaporated to generate a vapor of the thin film material. Item 1. A powder processing apparatus according to Item 1. The source of adhesive material has a deflection device for forming magnetic field lines;
The vapor emitted from the emission source intersects the magnetic field lines, and the electrons contained in the vapor reach the moving path of the conveyance object after the traveling direction is bent by the Lorentz force received from the magnetic field lines. The powder processing apparatus of Claim 2 comprised so that it might do. Has an extraction chamber that can be evacuated,
The transfer mechanism is configured to move the transfer object in the film forming chamber to the take-out chamber,
The take-out chamber is provided with a carry-out mechanism on which the transfer object on the transfer mechanism is transferred,
The powder processing according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the unloading mechanism is configured to unload the transferred object from the inside of the unloading chamber to the outside of the unloading chamber. apparatus. A carry-out port is provided in the take-out chamber, and the take-out chamber is configured to be evacuated while the inside and the outside of the take-out chamber are connected.
The powder processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the transfer object transferred to the unloading mechanism is configured to be unloaded from the unloading chamber to the outside of the unloading chamber.   The powder processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein an intermediate chamber capable of being evacuated is disposed between the film forming chamber and the extraction chamber. A preparation room that can be evacuated,
A supply device that arranges the object to be transported on the transport mechanism;
The powder processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transfer mechanism is configured to carry the transfer object disposed in the preparation chamber into the film forming chamber. The supply apparatus has a raw material container having an opening in the upper part and a supply port in the lower part,
The powder processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the opening is disposed in the atmosphere outside the supply chamber, and the supply port is disposed in the preparation chamber.   The powder processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein an intermediate chamber capable of being evacuated is disposed between the preparation chamber and the extraction chamber.   The powder processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transport mechanism includes a belt conveyor that transports the transport target object.   The powder processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transport mechanism includes a plurality of trays that transport the object to be transported.   The said conveyance mechanism has a conveyance stand, When the raw material particle | grains are arrange | positioned on the said conveyance stand as said conveyance object, it was comprised so that the said conveyance object might be conveyed with the vibration force of the said vibration generator. The powder processing apparatus of any one of thru | or thru | or 9.   10. The powder processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transport mechanism includes an inclined transport base having a surface formed with a slope that is high on the preparation chamber side and low on the take-out chamber side.

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