JP2007291936A - Differential evacuation container - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a differential evacuation container formed by disposing a device operated at a pressure lower than that in a first vacuum container in a second vacuum container, enabling the easy installation of a vacuum pump for evacuating the second vacuum container when the second vacuum container is housed in the first vacuum container and both vacuum containers are differentially evacuated, and enabling a reduction in facility cost. <P>SOLUTION: The second vacuum container 5 having a low pressure operating device A is housed, together with the vacuum pump 7, in the first vacuum container 1 evacuated by a vacuum pump 3 and an auxiliary pump 4. The inside 2 of the first vacuum container 1 is communicated with the inside 6 of the second vacuum container 5 through a small opening 9 with a small conductance formed in the wall of the second vacuum container 5. Though the vacuum pump 7 evacuates the inside 6 of the second vacuum container 5, the pressure (back pressure) in the space into which the evacuated air is discharged is equal to the pressure inside 2 the first vacuum container 1, but the atmospheric pressure. Therefore, the vacuum pump 7 does not require the auxiliary pump. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a differential evacuation vessel for forming a pressure difference in a vacuum atmosphere, and more particularly to a differential evacuation vessel having a simple configuration.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a ceramic film manufacturing apparatus in which a conventional differential type vacuum evacuation vessel is used. In the manufacturing apparatus, an electron gun chamber 102 is disposed in a lower portion of a vacuum chamber 101 evacuated by a main vacuum exhaust device P 1, and the electron gun chamber 102 is a local vacuum provided outside the vacuum chamber 10. It is evacuated by the exhaust device P2. In addition, zirconium (ZrO ₂ ), which is the target material 103, is attached to the crucible C at the lower part of the vacuum chamber 101, and a shutter 104 is provided above the target material 103 so that it can be opened and closed. A base material 105 is mounted on the upper portion of the vacuum chamber 101, and a base material heating device 106 and a thermal sensor 107 are disposed in the vicinity of the base material 105. An oxygen gas inlet 111 is provided between the target material 103 and the base material 105.

When forming the ZrO ₂ thin film made of ceramic, the inside of the vacuum chamber 101 is once evacuated to a degree of vacuum of about 10 ⁻⁴ Pa, and then the base material 105 is heated to a temperature of 500 ° C. or higher. The target material 103 is irradiated with an electron beam and melted, and the shutter 104 is opened to form a film on the base material 105. At the same time, oxygen gas is introduced from the inlet 111. The degree of vacuum in the vacuum chamber 101 at this time is in the range of 0.01 to 20 Pa, and the degree of vacuum in the electron gun chamber 102 is 10 ⁻³ Pa or less (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  The electron gun chamber 102 is provided in the vacuum chamber 101, and the pressure in the electron gun chamber 102 is made lower than the pressure in the vacuum chamber 101 when the pressure of the atmosphere in which the electron gun exists is high, that is, the electron gun chamber. This is because if the pressure in 102 is high, the electron beam collides with the remaining gas molecules to generate unnecessary ions, and troubles such as arc discharge due to high voltage electron gun breakdown are likely to occur.

Although the main vacuum evacuation device P1 and the local vacuum evacuation device P2 shown in FIG. 4 are shown with their configurations omitted, a high-performance vacuum pump that can evacuate to a high vacuum level of 10 ⁻² Pa or higher. For example, the back pressure on the discharge side of an oil diffusion pump or turbo molecular pump is not atmospheric pressure, and a series of auxiliary pumps consisting of a mechanical booster pump and an oil rotary pump are connected to the discharge side of the high performance vacuum pump (For example, refer nonpatent literature 1).

JP-A-11-106907 Vacuum Handbook, 3rd edition (August 1989), 25 pages (published by ULVAC Corporate Center, Inc.)

  In the case of the above-described conventional example, the vacuum chamber 101 is evacuated by the main evacuation device P1, and the electron gun chamber 102 provided in the vacuum chamber 101 is evacuated to the atmosphere side outside the vacuum chimba 101. The local vacuum exhaust device P2 is connected. Therefore, it is necessary to make a hole in the container wall of the vacuum chamber 101. In addition, as described above, the high performance main evacuation device P1 and the local evacuation device P2 each require an auxiliary pump, so that the differential type evacuation container of the conventional example increases the equipment cost and the vacuum chamber. The work man-hour is increased by making a hole in the 101 container wall.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and is a differential type vacuum evacuation vessel in which a second vacuum vessel provided with a device operated at a pressure lower than the pressure in the first vacuum vessel is provided in the first vacuum vessel. It is an object of the present invention to provide a differential vacuum evacuation vessel that can be easily connected to a vacuum pump that evacuates two vacuum vessels and that can reduce equipment costs.

  The above problem can be solved by the configuration of claim 1, and the solution means will be described as follows.

  The differential vacuum evacuation vessel according to claim 1 is a second vacuum vessel including a device for operating at a higher degree of vacuum than the low degree of vacuum in a first vacuum vessel having a relatively low degree of vacuum. And the inside of the first vacuum vessel and the inside of the second vacuum vessel are communicated with each other through an opening having a small conductance formed on the vessel wall of the second vacuum vessel, In the differential evacuation vessel in which the vessel and the second vacuum vessel are evacuated independently, the second vacuum vessel is housed in the first vacuum vessel together with a dedicated high performance vacuum pump. Is.

  In such a differential type vacuum evacuation vessel, since the pressure in the first vacuum vessel becomes the back pressure of the high-performance vacuum pump dedicated to the second vacuum vessel, only the second vacuum vessel and the vacuum pump dedicated thereto are used in the first vacuum vessel. It is only necessary to accommodate the inside of one vacuum vessel, and it is not necessary to evacuate the second vacuum vessel with a dedicated high-performance vacuum pump and an auxiliary pump as in the prior art. Further, it is not necessary to make a hole in the container wall of the first vacuum container and connect the second vacuum container in the first vacuum container and the high performance vacuum pump for the second vacuum container installed on the atmosphere side.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the dedicated high performance vacuum pump of the second vacuum container is a magnetic bearing type turbo molecular pump.

Such a differential vacuum evacuation vessel has an ultimate vacuum level of about 10 ⁻⁷ Pa even if the magnetic bearing type turbo molecular pump is relatively small, and the second vacuum vacuum vessel is accommodated in the first vacuum vessel. In addition to having sufficient exhaust performance as a high-performance vacuum pump dedicated to vacuum vessels, and because it is based on magnetic bearings, as in the case of using turbo molecular pumps with ball bearings containing oils and fats as bearings 1 The inside of a vacuum vessel is not contaminated by fats and oils.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the second vacuum container is an electron gun chamber having an electron gun inside.

  In such a differential evacuation vessel, an electron beam from an electron gun is radiated into a space with a high degree of vacuum, so that an event that easily occurs when radiated into a space with a low degree of vacuum, for example, an electron beam Does not collide with the remaining gas molecules to generate unnecessary ions, or the high voltage electron gun causes dielectric breakdown and arc discharge.

  The differential vacuum evacuation container according to claim 4 is a container constituting a take-up vacuum deposition apparatus in which the differential vacuum evacuation container forms a metal film on a plastic film, and the first vacuum container includes the A rotary cooling drum that travels with a plastic film wound thereon is provided, and the inside of the first vacuum vessel is partitioned into an upper space and a lower space by a partition plate that is provided through a gap with the rotary cooling drum at the center, An unwinding roll and a winding roll for the plastic film are disposed in the upper space, an evaporation source for evaporating metal is disposed in the lower space, and the electron gun chamber as the second vacuum container has a dedicated height. The electron is installed in the upper space together with a vacuum pump of performance and travels with the rotary cooling drum to the undeposited portion of the plastic film. Are those set from the room of the electron gun to illuminate an electron beam.

  Such a differential type vacuum evacuation container is a wind-up type vacuum vapor deposition apparatus having the container as a constituent element, and a positively charged portion is separately charged by negatively charging a portion of a plastic film that is wound around a rotating cooling drum and is not yet deposited. In addition to being able to adhere to the peripheral surface of the rotating cooling drum to which an electric potential is applied, the electron gun chamber is not subject to radiant heat from the high-temperature evaporation source by the partition plate, and metal vapor from the evaporation source adheres and accumulates. Can prevent.

  According to the differential vacuum evacuation vessel of claim 1, since the auxiliary pump is not required for the high performance vacuum pump dedicated to the second vacuum vessel, the equipment cost is reduced correspondingly, and the first as in the prior art. No need to connect the high-performance vacuum pump dedicated to the second vacuum vessel provided on the atmosphere side by making a hole in the vessel wall of the vacuum vessel to the second vacuum vessel in the first vacuum vessel, thus reducing the work man-hours can do.

  According to the differential vacuum evacuation vessel of claim 2, the magnetic bearing type turbo molecular pump is used for the high performance vacuum pump dedicated to the second vacuum vessel, and the inside of the first vacuum vessel is not contaminated with fats and oils. The process in the first vacuum vessel can be performed in a clean state without being bothered by the effects of the kind.

  According to the differential type vacuum evacuation container of claim 3, since the electron gun is disposed in the second vacuum container having a high degree of vacuum, the electron beam collides with the remaining gas molecules to generate unnecessary ions. In addition, since the high voltage electron gun does not break down and cause arc discharge, the process in the first vacuum vessel can be performed smoothly.

  According to the differential type vacuum evacuation vessel of claim 4, in the take-up type vacuum vapor deposition apparatus having the vessel as a constituent element, an electron gun chamber can be used to apply an electron to a portion of the plastic film wound around the rotary cooling drum that has not yet been vapor deposited. Because it is negatively charged by irradiating the beam, the plastic film can be sufficiently cooled by being in close contact with the peripheral surface of a rotating cooling drum to which a positive potential is separately applied, and the electron gun chamber is evaporated at a high temperature by a partition plate. Because it is isolated from the source, it does not receive radiant heat from the evaporation source and does not rise in temperature, so it operates exactly as set, and metal vapor from the evaporation source does not adhere or deposit, and the electron gun chamber is in the first vacuum Compared with the case where the metal vapor is deposited and deposited in the lower space of the container, the maintenance work of the electron gun chamber is extremely easy.

When a device that operates at a pressure lower than the pressure in the first vacuum vessel, for example, a pressure of about (1/10), is installed in the first vacuum vessel, one of the following may be adopted. .
(1) Use a vacuum pump whose exhaust speed is about 10 times larger than that of a normal vacuum pump.
(2) As in Patent Document 1 described as a conventional example, the periphery of a device that is operated at a pressure lower than the pressure in the first vacuum vessel is covered with a wall to form a second vacuum vessel, and the second vacuum vessel is Then, the vacuum pump is evacuated to a pressure of about (1/10) of the first vacuum container by another vacuum pump different from the vacuum pump that exhausts the first vacuum container. That is, differential vacuum evacuation is performed between the first vacuum container and the second vacuum container.

  However, with the means (1), if there is a vacuum pump whose exhaust speed is 10 times, it is possible to make the entire vacuum vessel have a high degree of vacuum, so that there is no need to perform differential vacuum exhaust. It is difficult from the viewpoint of cost to find a vacuum pump whose exhaust speed is 10 times. Also, the simultaneous use of 10 vacuum pumps having a normal exhaust speed greatly increases the cost. Accordingly, the means (1) is not practical, and the differential vacuum evacuation container (2) is usually employed.

  FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are diagrams schematically showing the structure of a differential type vacuum evacuation vessel in the case of the present invention and the case of the conventional example, and FIG. 1 shows the differential evacuation vessel of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows a conventional differential evacuation vessel according to the above (2). In FIG. 2 showing the conventional example, the interior 2 of the first vacuum vessel 1 is evacuated by the vacuum pump 3 of the first vacuum vessel and its auxiliary pump 4 through the exhaust pipe 1h. The inside 2 accommodates a second vacuum container 5 having a device A that is operated at a pressure (high vacuum) lower than the pressure in the first vacuum container 1, and the second vacuum container 5 is a first vacuum container 5. Vacuum evacuation is performed by a vacuum pump 7 provided on the outside of the first vacuum vessel 1 and its auxiliary pump 8 through an exhaust pipe 2h attached to the vessel wall of the vacuum vessel 1 with a hole. The interior 2 of the first vacuum container 1 and the interior 6 of the second vacuum container 5 are communicated with each other through an opening 9 formed in the container wall of the second vacuum container 5. The opening area of the opening 9 is made as small as possible to reduce the conductance. This suppresses the gas existing in the inside 2 of the first vacuum vessel 1 from excessively entering the inside 6 of the second vacuum vessel 5 from the opening, and the degree of vacuum in the first vacuum vessel 1 and the second vacuum This is to maintain a differential pressure from the degree of vacuum in the container 5.

  On the other hand, in FIG. 1 showing the present invention, a second vacuum vessel 5 similar to that in FIG. 2 is produced, and only a dedicated high-performance vacuum pump 7 is attached to the exhaust pipe 2h ′ of the second vacuum vessel 5. Is stored in the interior 2 of the first vacuum vessel 1. The inside 2 of the first vacuum vessel 1 and the inside 6 of the second vacuum vessel 5 are communicated with each other through an opening 9 having a small conductance as in the case of the conventional example. In the case of the present invention, the vacuum pump 7 evacuates the inside 6 of the second vacuum vessel 5, but the space for discharging the exhaust is the inside 2 of the first vacuum vessel 1, and the pressure is not atmospheric pressure. The auxiliary pump 8 as in FIG. 2 is not necessary. Further, since the set of the second vacuum vessel 5 and the vacuum pump 7 is accommodated in the interior 2 of the first vacuum vessel 1, a hole is formed in the vessel wall of the first vacuum vessel 1 to provide the exhaust pipe 1h shown in FIG. I don't need that.

A magnetic bearing type turbo molecular pump (TMP) is used for the vacuum pump 7 of the second vacuum vessel 5 in the differential vacuum exhaust vessel of the present invention. In a turbo molecular pump using a ball bearing as a bearing, the oils and fats used in the ball bearing become a gas release source to contaminate the inside 2 of the first vacuum vessel 1, and deteriorated oils and fats cause the turbo molecular pump to move. This is because there is a fear of hindering the smooth rotation of the wing. And even if a magnetic bearing type turbo molecular pump is small, it has an ultimate vacuum of about 1 × 10 ⁻⁷ Pa, so that it is sufficient for evacuation performance, and the smaller one is easier to install. Will not wait.

  Hereinafter, a winding type vacuum vapor deposition apparatus having a differential type vacuum evacuation vessel as a constituent element according to an embodiment will be described. Inside the vacuum vessel, the metal vapor evaporates from the evaporation source placed below the rotating cooling drum while the long plastic film fed from the unwinding roller is wound around the rotating cooling drum at a predetermined holding angle (center angle). The film is deposited on the film surface to form a metal film and is wound up on a winding roller. Winding-type vacuum deposition is widely performed in the past, but in such vacuum deposition, the film is transferred to a rotating cooling drum. If not sufficiently adhered, heat generated when metal vapor adheres and solidifies causes thermal deformation such as shrinkage and blistering of the plastic film after deposition, so-called heat loss. In order to prevent this heat loss, it is necessary to sufficiently adhere the plastic film to the peripheral surface of the rotary cooling drum.

  For this purpose, for example, in a continuous vacuum vapor deposition apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 02-239428, a plastic film wound around a rotary cooling drum is provided in a portion where the metal vapor has not yet adhered. An electron beam is irradiated from an electron gun to negatively charge the plastic film, a positive potential is applied to the rotating cooling drum, and adhesion between the plastic film and the rotating cooling drum is enhanced by electrostatic attraction.

  A vacuum deposition apparatus for a plastic film having an electron gun similar to the above-described vacuum deposition apparatus, but the second vacuum container having an electron gun inside and having a higher degree of vacuum than the first vacuum container for deposition. A vacuum deposition apparatus in which the electron gun chamber is housed in a first vacuum container together with a dedicated high-performance vacuum pump will be described as an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a configuration of a winding type vacuum vapor deposition apparatus 10 provided with a differential type vacuum evacuation vessel according to the present embodiment. In the take-up vacuum deposition apparatus 10, the internal space of the first vacuum vessel 11 is partitioned into an upper space 11a and a lower space 11b by a partition plate 12 provided with a rotary cooling drum 14 in the center and a gap. The electron gun chamber 31 as the second vacuum container and the magnetic bearing turbo molecular pump 41 as the dedicated vacuum pump are arranged in the upper space 11a. In addition, an unwinding roller 13 and a winding roller 15 are arranged in the upper space 11a, and an evaporation source 16 is provided in the lower space 11b. The first vacuum vessel 11 has an oil diffusion pump (DP) 22 and a mechanical booster pump (MB) 23 and a rotary pump (RP) 24 as auxiliary pumps via an exhaust pipe 21 provided in the lower space 11b. It is evacuated by an evacuation system consisting of

  The film F to be deposited is a long insulating plastic film cut to a predetermined width. For example, a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) film, a PPS (polyphenylene sulfide) film, an OPP (stretched polypropylene) film, or the like is used. . The film F is unwound from the unwinding roller 13, and is wound on the winding roller 15 through the plurality of guide rollers 17, the rotary cooling drum 14, the voltage application roller 18, and the plurality of guide rollers 19. Each of the unwinding roller 13 and the winding roller 15 is provided with a rotational drive mechanism (not shown).

  The rotary cooling drum 14 is cylindrical and made of metal such as stainless steel, and a cooling mechanism for circulating cooling water, a drive mechanism for the rotary cooling drum 14 and the like are provided therein. A film F is wound around the circumferential surface of the rotary cooling drum 14 at a predetermined holding angle, and the film F is cooled by the rotary cooling drum 14 during the later-described electron beam irradiation and formation of a vapor deposition film by metal vapor.

  The electron gun chamber 31 is evacuated by the above-described dedicated magnetic bearing type turbo molecular pump (TMP) 41, and the discharge gas is discharged into the upper space 11 a of the first vacuum vessel 11. An electron gun 33 is disposed inside the electron gun chamber 31, and an electron beam 34 emitted from the electron gun 33 passes through an opening formed in the container wall of the electron gun chamber 31 as indicated by an arrow. The film F that passes through the corresponding small hole 32 and travels with the rotary cooling drum 14 is irradiated to the undeposited portion of the film F to charge the film F negatively. Since the electron beam is irradiated to the film F that is in close contact with the rotary cooling drum 14, the electron beam is irradiated while the film F is cooled.

  There are cases where the electron gun is arranged in a lower space below the partition plate. However, in such an arrangement, the electron gun receives a radiant heat from a high-temperature evaporation source and rises in temperature, making it difficult to operate normally. In addition, there is a problem that the evaporated metal vapor adheres to the electron gun and easily deposits, and it is extremely difficult to remove the deposit.

  The evaporation source 16 disposed below the rotary cooling drum 14 accommodates a metal to be vapor-deposited and has a mechanism for heating and evaporating the metal with a known heating means such as resistance heating, induction heating, or electron beam heating. I have. From the evaporation source 16, metal vapor adheres to the surface of the film F that travels with the rotary cooling drum 14, and is cooled and solidified to form a coating. As the vapor deposition metal, not only a single metal element such as Al, Co, Cu, Ni, Ti, but also two kinds of metal alloys such as Fe—Co, Al—Zn, Cu—Zn, or multi-component alloys are applied. A plurality of evaporation sources may be provided according to the number of metal elements to be used.

  Further, a DC power source 20 is provided to apply an appropriate DC voltage between the voltage application roller 18 that contacts the metal coating surface of the deposited film F and the rotary cooling drum 14. Is connected to the positive electrode of the DC power supply 20, and the voltage application roller 18 is connected to the negative electrode. Therefore, the film F, which is negatively charged by being irradiated with the electron beam 34 before being deposited, is attracted and adhered to the peripheral surface of the rotary cooling drum 14 to which a positive potential is applied by electrostatic attraction. Further, since a negative potential is applied to the deposited metal film by the voltage application roller 18, the side on which the metal film is formed is positive in the rotary cooling drum 14 inside the film F on which the metal film is formed. The contacting side is negatively polarized. Accordingly, the negatively polarized surface is adsorbed and adhered to the rotary cooling drum 14 to which a positive potential is applied by electrostatic attraction. That is, before and after the formation of the metal film by vapor deposition, the film F is guaranteed to adhere to the rotary cooling drum 14 and is reliably cooled.

Next, the operation of the take-up vacuum deposition apparatus 10 will be described. When the metal film is formed on the film F by the winding type vacuum vapor deposition apparatus 10, the film F is unwound from the unwinding roller 13 in the first vacuum container 11, wound around the rotary cooling drum 14, and wound around the winding roll 15. The film F is set to take, and the evaporation source 16 is heated to dissolve the metal, and is covered with a shutter (not shown) to prepare for the start of vapor deposition. On the other hand, the rotary pump 24 belonging to the first vacuum vessel 11, the mechanical booster pump 23, and the oil diffusion pump 22 are activated in this order to evacuate the first vacuum vessel 11, and the oil diffusion pump 22 of the first vacuum vessel 11 The magnetic bearing type turbo molecular pump 41 accommodated in the first vacuum vessel 11 is activated and the inside of the electron gun chamber 31 as the second vacuum vessel is evacuated in accordance with the activation. The electron gun chamber 31 is once evacuated to a vacuum of about 10 ⁻⁴ Pa.

Thereafter, by adjusting the exhaust speed of the oil diffusion pump 22 of the first vacuum container 11 and the magnetic bearing type turbo molecular pump 41 of the electron gun chamber 31, the inside of the first vacuum container 11 is caused by water vapor or the like released from the film F. Although the pressure in the electron gun chamber 31 rises, the pressure in the first vacuum vessel 11 is set to about 2 × 10 ⁻² Pa, for example, and the pressure in the electron gun chamber 31 as the second vacuum vessel is set to 2 × 10, for example. A pressure difference is formed between the pressure in the first vacuum vessel 11 and the pressure in the electron gun chamber 31 at about ⁻³ Pa.

  In accordance with the formation of the differential pressure, the film F is unwound from the unwinding roller 13, passes through the rotary cooling drum 14 that has already been cooled, and starts running of the film F wound around the winding roll 15. A film F is irradiated with an electron beam 34 from an electron gun 33 in the gun chamber 31 through a small hole 32 in the electron gun chamber 31, and a predetermined DC voltage is applied between the voltage application roll 18 and the rotary cooling drum 14 by the DC power supply 20. Apply. In this case, since the degree of vacuum of the electron gun chamber 31 which is the second vacuum container is set to an order of magnitude higher than the degree of vacuum of the first vacuum container 11, the electron beam 34 is exposed to the residual gas when irradiated with the electron beam 34. The electron beam is irradiated in an extremely stable state without causing unnecessary ions by colliding with molecules and without causing high voltage electron gun 33 to break down and cause arc discharge. Then, the evaporation source 16 is opened to evaporate the metal vapor and start the evaporation.

  After the start of vapor deposition, the film F that is wound around the rotary cooling drum 14 travels immediately after the start of contact with the rotary cooling drum 14 immediately before the formation of the metal film by the metal vapor, in the electron gun chamber 31. The electron beam 34 from the gun 33 is irradiated and charged negatively. At this time, since the film F is in contact with the rotary cooling drum 14, the irradiation with the electron beam 34 is performed in a state where the film F is cooled.

  The negatively charged film F irradiated with the electron beam is brought into close contact with the rotary cooling drum 14 to which a positive potential is applied by the DC power supply 20 by electrostatic attraction. And the metal vapor | steam evaporated from the evaporation source 16 adheres to the surface of the film F in the cooled state, and a metal film is formed by cooling and solidifying.

  A negative potential of the DC power supply 20 is applied to the metal coating formed on the film F via the voltage application roller 18. Therefore, in the film F on which the metal coating is formed, the side on which the metal coating is formed is positively polarized and the side in contact with the rotary cooling drum 14 is negatively polarized. Accordingly, an electrostatic adsorption force is generated between the negatively polarized film F and the rotary cooling drum 14 to which a positive potential is applied, so that the film F has a peripheral surface of the rotary cooling drum 14. During the formation of the metal coating, the film F is wound around the winding roll 15 without causing heat loss.

  As described above, before the metal coating is formed, the film F is negatively charged by the irradiation of the electron beam 34 and is brought into close contact with the rotary cooling drum 14. After the metal coating is formed, the voltage application roller that contacts the metal coating is formed. Since the negatively polarized surface of the film F is brought into close contact with the rotary cooling drum 14 by the DC power supply voltage applied between the rotary cooling drum 14 and the rotary cooling drum 14, the film F is negatively charged before the metal coating is formed. Even if the generated charge is released and disappears to the metal film to be formed thereafter, the charge disappeared by application of a negative potential from the voltage application roller 18 to the metal film is compensated. That is, even after the metal coating is formed, the close contact between the film F and the rotary cooling drum 14 is maintained, and the cooling of the film F by the rotary cooling drum 14 is ensured.

As an example, the winding vapor deposition apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 3 is used to evaporate Co vapor from an evaporation source 16 in which Co is heated by an electron gun and melted, and has a thickness of 6 μm, a width of 127 mm, and a length of 5 Vapor deposition for forming a Co film on one side of the PET film was carried out at a winding speed of 30 m / min for a PET film of 1,000 m. In this vapor deposition, the degree of vacuum in the first vacuum vessel 11 was 1 to 3 × 10 ⁻² Pa, and the degree of vacuum in the electron gun chamber 31 was 1 × 10 ⁻³ Pa. The electron gun 33 with a rating of 15 kV and 0 to 20 mA was used.

  In the above vapor deposition, the degree of vacuum in the electron gun chamber 31 is made an order of magnitude higher than the degree of vacuum in the first vacuum vessel 11, so that the electron beam 34 emitted from the electron gun 33 collides with the molecules of the residual gas. As a result, it was confirmed that unnecessary ions are not generated and that the high voltage electron gun 33 does not break down and cause arc discharge. Further, since the PET film was irradiated with the electron beam 34, no thermal deformation such as shrinkage and swelling was observed in the PET film on which the Co coating was formed.

  In the embodiment described above, the first vacuum vessel 11 is evacuated by the oil diffusion pump 22 and the mechanical booster pump 23 and the rotary pump 24 which are auxiliary pumps. The turbo turbo molecular pump 41 is housed in the first vacuum vessel 11 together with the electron gun chamber 31, and the magnetic bearing turbo molecular pump 41 naturally secures an appropriate back pressure. Therefore, the mechanical booster pump and the rotary pump Do not need.

  On the other hand, only the electron gun chamber 31 is disposed in the first vacuum container 11, a hole is formed in the container wall of the first vacuum container 11, an exhaust pipe is provided, and the first vacuum container 11 is installed on the atmosphere side outside the first vacuum container 11. Considering the case where the inside of the electron gun chamber 31 is evacuated by connecting the magnetic bearing type turbo molecular pump 41, a mechanical booster pump and a rotary pump are provided on the discharge side of the magnetic bearing type turbo molecular pump 41 in that case. It is necessary to provide an auxiliary pump. According to the take-up type vacuum evaporation apparatus 10 using the differential type vacuum exhaust container of the present invention, a magnetic bearing type turbo molecular pump while ensuring a predetermined differential pressure between the first vacuum container 11 and the electron gun chamber 31. The auxiliary pump can be omitted for 41, thereby reducing the equipment cost and the effect of the present invention which can reduce the installation area.

  As described above, the differential evacuation vessel of the present invention has been described by way of an embodiment. Of course, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made based on the technical idea of the present invention.

For example, in the embodiment, the degree of vacuum in the first vacuum vessel 11 is 1 to 3 × 10 ⁻² Pa, and the degree of vacuum in the electron gun chamber 31 that is the second vacuum vessel is 1 × 10 ⁻³ Pa. Depending on the case, the degree of vacuum in the first vacuum vessel 11 may be set to a level of 10 ⁻¹ Pa, and the degree of vacuum in the electron gun chamber 31 may be set to a level of 10 ⁻² Pa. In the embodiment, a differential pressure of one digit is formed between the first vacuum vessel 11 and the second vacuum vessel 31, but it goes without saying that a differential pressure of two digits or more may be provided.

  Also, the ceramic film manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 4 cited as a conventional example is based on a local vacuum exhaust device P2 in which an electron gun chamber 102 provided in a vacuum chamber 101 evacuated by a main vacuum exhaust device P1 is installed on the atmosphere side. The vacuum chamber 101 is evacuated to a degree of vacuum higher than the degree of vacuum in the vacuum chamber 101. The differential evacuation vessel of the present invention is applied to the ceramic film manufacturing apparatus, and the electron gun chamber 102 is evacuated locally. By housing in the vacuum chamber 101 together with the device P2, auxiliary pumps in the local vacuum exhaust device P2 can be omitted.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 08-203457 discloses a column (electron gun chamber) whose degree of vacuum is 10 ⁻⁶ Torr by a column vacuum exhaust system, and a vacuum degree of 10 ⁻² Torr by a chamber vacuum exhaust system. An electron beam processing machine including a chamber (work processing chamber) on which a workpiece of an object to be processed by an electron beam is placed is disclosed. The differential vacuum exhaust container of the present invention is applied to the electron beam processing machine. The column (electron gun chamber) can be accommodated in the chamber (work processing chamber) together with the column vacuum exhaust system, and auxiliary pumps in the column vacuum exhaust system can be omitted.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-258369 discloses a sample chamber in which a first vacuum pump is evacuated to a vacuum degree of 1 × 10 ⁻³ mmHg and a sample on a stage to be two-dimensionally scanned is irradiated with condensed X-rays. A casing connected to the sample chamber, differentially evacuated by a third vacuum pump, and provided with a lens system for focusing photoelectrons generated from the sample; and a second vacuum pump connected to the casing And an electron energy spectrometer that selects only photoelectrons having a predetermined energy upon receiving the focused photoelectrons generated from the sample and focused to a vacuum degree of 1 × 10 ⁻⁴ mmHg, and a selected photoelectron detector. A scanning X-ray electron microscope comprising a spectroscopic chamber is disclosed. The differential vacuum evacuation container of the present invention is applied to the scanning X-ray electron microscope, and the spectroscopic chamber and the casing are connected to respective vacuum pumps. With Charge accommodated into the room, the auxiliary pumps of accommodating the vacuum pump can be omitted.

  In addition to the apparatus described above, differential evacuation is performed in an exposure apparatus, a mass spectrometer, and the like using extreme ultraviolet rays. Needless to say, the differential evacuation container of the present invention can also be applied to these apparatuses.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the differential type | mold vacuum exhaust container of this invention modelly. It is a figure which shows the structure of the differential type evacuation container of a prior art example as a model. It is the schematic which shows the structure of the winding-type vacuum evaporation system of the embodiment which uses the differential type vacuum exhaust container. It is the schematic which shows the structure of the ceramic film manufacturing apparatus in which the differential type vacuum evacuation container of a prior art example is used.

Explanation of symbols

1 ... 1st vacuum vessel, 2 ... Inside of 1st vacuum vessel,
3 ... vacuum pump of the first vacuum vessel,
4 ... Auxiliary pump of the vacuum pump of the first vacuum vessel,
5 ... the second vacuum vessel, 6 ... the inside of the second vacuum vessel,
7 ... the vacuum pump of the second vacuum vessel,
8 ... Auxiliary pump of the vacuum pump of the second vacuum vessel,
9 ... Opening of the second vacuum vessel, 10 ... Winding type vacuum deposition apparatus,
11 ... 1st vacuum container of a winding-type vacuum deposition apparatus, 12 ... Partition plate,
13 ... unwinding roller, 14 ... rotating cooling drum, 15 ... winding roller,
16 ... evaporation source, 18 ... voltage application roller, 20 ... DC power supply,
22 ... Oil diffusion pump, 23 ... Mechanical booster pump,
24 ... Rotary pump, 31 ... Second vacuum container (electron gun chamber),
32 ... a small hole in the second vacuum container (electron gun chamber), 33 ... an electron gun,
34 ... Electron beam, 41 ... Magnetic bearing type turbo molecular pump, F ... Film

Claims (4)

In the first vacuum container having a relatively low vacuum degree, a second vacuum container having an apparatus that operates at a vacuum degree higher than the low vacuum degree is accommodated, and the inside of the first vacuum container The inside of the second vacuum vessel communicates with an opening having a small conductance formed in the vessel wall of the second vacuum vessel, and the first vacuum vessel and the second vacuum vessel are independent of each other. In the differential type vacuum evacuation vessel to be evacuated,
The differential vacuum exhaust container, wherein the second vacuum container is accommodated in the first vacuum container together with a dedicated high performance vacuum pump.   The differential vacuum exhaust container according to claim 1, wherein the dedicated vacuum pump of the second vacuum container is a magnetic bearing type turbo molecular pump.   The differential vacuum exhaust container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the second vacuum container is an electron gun chamber having an electron gun therein. The differential vacuum evacuation container is a container that constitutes a take-up vacuum deposition apparatus in which a metal film is formed on a plastic film, and a rotary cooling drum that travels with the plastic film wound around the first vacuum container. The first vacuum vessel is partitioned into an upper space and a lower space by a partition plate provided with a center of the rotary cooling drum and a gap, and an unwinding roll for the plastic film in the upper space. A winding roll is disposed, an evaporation source for evaporating metal is disposed in the lower space, and the electron gun chamber as the second vacuum container is installed in the upper space together with a dedicated high-performance vacuum pump. Irradiating an electron beam from the electron gun in the electron gun chamber to an undeposited portion of the plastic film traveling with the rotary cooling drum. Differential evacuation container according to claim 3, characterized in that it is set to.

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