JP2008019463A - Thin film manufacturing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a thin film manufacturing apparatus capable of supplying the high power of the high frequency range while suppressing the cost of the apparatus, enhancing the film deposition working efficiency while reliably forming the thin film of the excellent film thickness distribution, and sufficiently ensuring the installation space of an impedance matching box while suppressing the thickness of a shield body. <P>SOLUTION: The thin film manufacturing apparatus for depositing a thin film on a surface of a flexible substrate 1 by stopping the flexible substrate 1 to be conveyed in a vacuum chamber 13 in a film deposition chamber 5 in a vacuum state, and applying the voltage between a voltage applying electrode 21 and a grounding electrode 22 comprises a supporting frame 54 which is formed in a frame shape and insulates and fixes the voltage applying electrode 21, a metal diaphragm body 58 fixed to a face opposite to the voltage applying electrode 21 of the supporting frame 54, a power supply structural body 60 which is provided inside the supporting frame 54 to supply the power to the voltage applying electrode 21, a first grounding box 80 to be electrically connected to an inner surface of a wall body 15, and a second grounding body 90 to be electrically connected to the metal diaphragm body 58. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a thin film manufacturing apparatus for forming a thin film on the surface of a flexible substrate conveyed from a feeding chamber toward a winding chamber.

Thin film photoelectric conversion by forming each layer including a photoelectric conversion layer mainly composed of a-Si on the surface of a flexible substrate (hereinafter referred to as substrate) made of a long polymer material plate or a metal plate such as stainless steel. The method for producing an element is widely adopted as a method for producing a thin film photoelectric conversion element excellent in productivity.
As a method for forming a plurality of layers on such a long substrate, a roll-to-roll method in which a layer is formed on a substrate moving in each film formation chamber and a substrate stopped in the film formation chamber are used. There is a stepping roll method in which after the film formation, the substrate portion on which film formation has been completed is sent out of the film formation chamber.

FIG. 6 shows a general stepping roll method in which two substrates (flexible substrates) conveyed in parallel with each other are conveyed in parallel to form a thin film on one surface of each substrate. It is plane sectional drawing which shows an example of a thin film manufacturing apparatus. 7A and 7B are partial cross-sectional views showing details in the vicinity of the film formation chamber. FIG. 7A shows a state during film formation, and FIG.
In the thin film manufacturing apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 6, first, the substrate 101 is pulled out from two carry-in rolls 102 disposed in the feed chamber 111, and the substrate 101 enters the film forming vacuum chamber 113 through the preliminary vacuum chamber 112. . In the vacuum chamber 113 for film formation, two ground electrodes 122 are arranged opposite to each other on the outside of one voltage application electrode 121, and each carried in between the voltage application electrode 121 and the ground electrode 122. The substrate 101 is temporarily stopped in the film formation chamber 105 formed in the film formation vacuum chamber 113 and film formation is performed on the surface. After the film formation is completed, the actuator 124 is activated, and each substrate 101 on which the film has been formed is wound around two transport rolls 103 disposed in the winding chamber 114.

Further, in the thin film manufacturing apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 7, the film forming vacuum chamber 113 is separated from the outside by a wall 115, and the substrate sandwiched between the transport rollers 104 at the time of film forming shown in FIG. When the ground electrode 122 is in close contact with the outer side of 101 and the sealing material 152 of the film forming chamber wall 151 is in close contact with the inner side, the film forming chamber 105 is kept airtight.
Then, a voltage is applied between the voltage application electrode 121 and the ground electrode 122 to generate plasma 106, and the reaction gas is decomposed on the surface of the substrate 101 heated by the heater 123 built in the ground electrode 122. A thin film is formed and film formation is completed.

When the substrate 101 is transferred after the film formation is completed, the transfer roller 104 and each ground electrode 122 are moved about 1 cm outward (in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 7A) by the actuator 124 shown in FIG. Let FIG. 7B shows a state after such movement is performed.
As described above, the substrate 101 can be transported in the direction toward the winding chamber 114 (in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 7B) without contacting the film formation chamber wall 151 and the ground electrode 122. .

FIG. 8 shows a thin film manufacturing apparatus provided in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-256100) as a thin film manufacturing apparatus improved from the general stepping roll type thin film manufacturing apparatus shown in FIGS. FIG.
In FIG. 8, 010 is a thin film manufacturing apparatus for forming a film by a stepping roll method, 1 is a two-row substrate (flexible substrate) conveyed in parallel, 02 is a pair of voltage application electrodes, and 03 is inside A ground electrode provided with a heater 03a, 04 is a shield body, 08 is a film forming chamber, and 09 is a wall body.
Reference numeral 051 denotes an impedance matching unit installed on the upper portion of the wall body 09. The matching unit 051 performs control to minimize the reflected wave from the voltage application electrode 02.
A shield body 04 maintained at a ground potential is disposed between the voltage application electrodes 02. A power supply body 06 (06a, 06b) is connected to the central portion 02a of each voltage application electrode 02 on the shield body 04. Each of the through holes is provided for guiding to the center. Each power feeder 06 (06a, 06b) is inserted into the through-hole to feed power to the central portion 02a of the voltage application electrode 02, whereby each power feeder 06 (06a, 06b) is shielded up to the central portion 02a. It is possible to feed power to the central portion 02a.
JP-A-2005-256100

By the way, in recent years, in a thin film manufacturing apparatus for forming a thin film on the surface of a flexible substrate, a high frequency that is about 2 to 4 times the frequency of 13.56 MHz that has been mainly used conventionally is used as the frequency of the high frequency power source. It is starting.
As a factor that the transition to the high frequency range as described above is progressing,
(1) In addition to an increase in the formation speed of the thin film, it is possible to improve the film quality of the thin film.
(2) When plasma is generated at a high frequency, electrons are trapped between the voltage application electrode and the ground electrode, and the plasma can be maintained at a low application voltage, thus reducing damage caused by energetic particles incident on the substrate during film formation. Will be.

However, in the prior art shown in FIG. 8, it is necessary to connect the conductor 06a of the power feeder 06 to the central portion 02a of the voltage application electrode 02 in order to obtain a good film thickness distribution. Due to the layout, the length of the power supply body 06 is increased, the inductance is increased, and there is a problem in practical power supply that an applied voltage is increased to apply high power in a high frequency range.
Further, in this conventional technique, in order to perform control to minimize the reflected wave from the voltage application electrode 02, the two impedance matching devices 051 are connected to the central portion 02a of the voltage application electrode 02 on the upper side of the wall body 09. A high frequency power supply 052 is connected to a location directly above. For this reason, the two impedance matching devices 051 are installed directly above the power supply body 06, and the thickness of the shield body 04 is accordingly increased. As a result, when the film formation area is increased, the shield body 04 is also increased in size and weight, and there is a problem that assembly and workability are liable to be deteriorated.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and the object thereof is to maintain high-frequency thin film formation while being able to supply high power in a high frequency range while suppressing apparatus cost. An object of the present invention is to provide a thin film manufacturing apparatus capable of improving the film forming work efficiency and suppressing the thickness of the shield body to sufficiently secure an installation space for the impedance matching unit.

  In order to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, the present invention according to claim 1 stops a flexible substrate transported in a vacuum chamber in a vacuum film formation chamber formed inside a box-shaped wall. A thin film is formed on the surface of the flexible substrate by applying a voltage between a voltage applying electrode and a ground electrode which are disposed facing the flexible substrate and face the vacuum film forming chamber. In a thin film manufacturing apparatus for forming a film, a support frame that is formed in a frame shape made of a metal material and insulates and fixes the voltage application electrode, and a metal diaphragm fixed to a surface of the support frame facing the voltage application electrode A power supply structure that is provided inside the support frame and supplies power to the voltage application electrode, a first grounding box that is installed in the vacuum chamber and is electrically connected to the inner surface of the wall, and A second grounding box electrically connected to the metal diaphragm.

In addition to the first aspect of the present invention, preferably, the present invention is configured as in the second aspect.
That is, an electrical introduction body that is insulated from the wall body and is vacuum-blocked from the outside via a sealing material and attached to the wall body, and electrically connects the first grounding box body and the outside world, and the electrical introduction A first connecting member that electrically connects the first grounding box side end of the body and the tip of the power feeding body constituting the power feeding structure, a terminal end of the power feeding body, and the voltage application electrode. A second connection member that is electrically connected, and is configured to be able to supply power to the voltage application electrode in the vacuum chamber from the outside world via the electricity introduction body, the first connection member, and the second connection member. ing.

In the inventions of claims 1 and 2, specifically, the present invention is preferably configured as in claim 3.
That is, the power feeding structure is formed between a power feeding body made of a metal material, an outer peripheral conductor made of a metal material and disposed so as to surround an outer periphery of the power feeding body, and the power feeding body and the outer peripheral conductor. An insulating support that holds and insulates and supports the space gap, and a distal end portion of the outer peripheral conductor is electrically connected to the wall body via the first grounding box body, and an end portion of the outer peripheral conductor Is connected to the metal diaphragm through the second grounding box and is grounded.

  Further, in the present invention according to claim 4, the voltage application electrodes are provided in a pair on the left and right sides corresponding to the flexible substrate conveyed in a pair in the left and right directions in the vacuum chamber. Exhaust ports are respectively formed, and between the pair of left and right voltage application electrodes, an exhaust member having an exhaust passage is fixedly provided to each voltage application electrode, and the exhaust port of each voltage application electrode is The gas is communicated with the exhaust passage of the exhaust member, and the gas in the film forming chamber is discharged to the outside of the wall through the exhaust port of each voltage application electrode and the exhaust passage of the exhaust member.

According to the first to third aspects of the present invention, a support frame that is formed in a frame shape made of a metal material and insulates and fixes the voltage application electrode is provided, and a metal diaphragm is provided on a surface of the support frame that faces the voltage application electrode. A body is fixed, a power supply structure that supplies power to the voltage application electrode is provided inside the support frame, and a first grounding box that is electrically connected to the inner surface of the wall is installed in the vacuum chamber. And a second grounding box that is electrically connected to the metal diaphragm, and the power feeding structure is disposed so as to surround a power feeding body made of a metal material and an outer periphery of the power feeding body made of a metal material. An outer peripheral conductor whose tip is electrically connected to the wall through a first grounding box and whose terminal is connected to the metal diaphragm through a second grounding box; Maintain and insulate the spatial gap formed between the outer conductors Which is configured by a supporting insulating substrate, the following effects can be obtained.
That is, the power feeding body is arranged directly under the first grounding box body while being shielded by the outer peripheral conductor, and the power feeding body and the outer peripheral conductor are respectively extended to the power feeding position, and the center of the voltage application electrode forming a pair By supplying power to the part, it is possible to suppress the inflow of the high-frequency current by the shielding effect by the outer peripheral conductor while applying the high-frequency voltage to each voltage application electrode in the most balanced manner.
Therefore, the potential difference in each voltage application electrode can be suppressed, and the plasma density in the film forming chamber can be made more uniform. This makes it possible to obtain a thin film with a good film thickness distribution even when a high frequency voltage of, for example, about 20 MHz to 100 MHz is applied for the purpose of increasing the speed of forming a thin film on a flexible substrate. The film forming work efficiency can be improved while maintaining the thin film formation with the thickness distribution.

In addition, in the case of a thin film manufacturing apparatus that forms a film in a plurality of rows, as the path of the high-frequency current to be fed, the forward flows through the feeder and reaches the load, and the return flows through the metal diaphragm to determine the inner diameter of the outer conductor. Since there is no path through which a high-frequency current flows around and interferes with other lines, plasma discharge can be controlled independently for each column without interference even when plasma discharge is simultaneously performed on a plurality of columns.
In addition, an electrical lead that introduces high-frequency power into the vacuum chamber can be installed at a position offset as line symmetry in the conveyance direction of the flexible substrate, and the distance between the impedance matching units can be properly maintained, so that the high-frequency current can be maintained. Can prevent interference in a plurality of thin film manufacturing apparatuses.

  And the front-end | tip part of the said outer periphery conductor is electrically connected with the said wall body via a 1st earthing | grounding box body, and a termination | terminus part is connected with the said metal diaphragm body via a 2nd earthing | grounding box body, and is grounded, A first connection member that electrically connects the electricity introduction body and the tip of the power supply body, and a second connection member that electrically connects the terminal portion of the power supply body and the voltage application electrode are each grounded. By surrounding the grounding box body and the second grounding box body, it is possible to prevent discharge to the outside of the reaction chamber, which is likely to occur when power is supplied to the voltage application electrode. As a result, stable discharge is possible, and a good thin film can be formed.

  On the other hand, when the present invention is configured as in claim 2, the power feeding structure is disposed inside the support frame, and when the power is applied to the voltage application electrode from the outside of the vacuum chamber, it is insulated from the wall of the vacuum chamber. The power supply body constituting the power supply structure and the first grounding box side end of the electrical introduction body that vacuum-blocks the external environment via the sealing material and electrically connects the first grounding box body and the external world. By electrically connecting the tip portion with the first connecting member, the impedance matching unit can be installed at a position offset from directly above the feeding structure, and the grounding space of the impedance matching unit can be reduced by suppressing the thickness of the support frame. It can be secured. Thereby, the weight of a support frame can be reduced and the assembly and construction property of a thin film manufacturing apparatus are greatly improved.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, by setting a spatial gap between the power feeding body and the outer peripheral conductor arranged so as to surround the entire circumference of the power feeding body, Capacitance of the capacitor formed between the potentials can be easily changed, and by combining the load impedance related to the voltage application electrode and the plasma discharge and the impedance of the feeding structure, high input power can be obtained in a high frequency range. It is possible to supply power with little input loss on the transmission line.

Further, assuming that the coaxial tube structure of the feeding structure is round, the outer diameter of the feeding body is d, and the inner diameter of the outer conductor is D, the impedance Z of the feeding structure is expressed by Z = 138 Log (D / d). Therefore, by changing the space gap by selecting the outer diameter d of the power feeder and the inner diameter D of the outer conductor, the capacitance of the capacitor formed between the power feeder and the ground potential of the outer conductor is changed. The impedance Z of the power feeding structure can be easily changed.
Therefore, by selecting the outer diameter d of the power feeding body and the inner diameter D of the outer conductor, the capacitor capacity can be changed, and the impedance Z of the feeding structure with respect to the load side impedance such as the area of the voltage application electrode and the capacity of the discharge space. Can be easily set to an optimal value.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, an exhaust port is formed in each of the left and right voltage application electrodes, and an exhaust passage is formed between the left and right voltage application electrodes. Since the exhaust member is fixedly provided to each voltage application electrode, the gas in the film forming chamber is configured to be discharged to the outside of the wall body through the exhaust port of each voltage application electrode and the exhaust passage of the exhaust member. The gas in the film forming chamber can be reliably discharged to the outside of the wall through the exhaust port of each voltage application electrode and the exhaust passage of the exhaust member.
That is, in the present invention, since it is configured to exhaust to the outside of the wall body through the exhaust port of each voltage application electrode and the exhaust passage of the exhaust member, there is a region where the reaction gas in the film forming chamber can be exhausted equally. It becomes possible to effectively suppress the deviation of the flow of the reaction gas in the film forming chamber that spreads and adversely affects the film thickness distribution. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress a deviation in the flow of the reaction gas in the film formation chamber in a wide range, and thus it is possible to deal with a flexible substrate having a wider size.
In addition, by connecting and integrating the voltage application electrodes with an exhaust member, there is no need to exhaust gas separately from the film forming chambers, thereby simplifying the exhaust structure and reducing the apparatus cost. it can.

  Hereinafter, the embodiment of the thin film manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail.

FIG. 1 is a plan sectional view of a thin film manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1 in the above embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 1 in the above embodiment.
The thin film manufacturing apparatus according to this embodiment forms a film by a stepping roll method. In FIGS. 1 to 3, 1 is a flexible substrate (hereinafter referred to as a substrate), 100 is a thin film manufacturing apparatus, It is configured as follows.

A thin film manufacturing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a box-shaped wall body 15, and a feed chamber 11 and a film formation are formed inside the wall body 15 in order from one end side to the other end side. A vacuum chamber 13 and a winding chamber 14 are formed. Two carry-in rolls 2 are arranged facing each other in the feed chamber 11, and two transport rolls 3 are arranged facing each other in the winding chamber 14.
In the thin film manufacturing apparatus 100, two rows of substrates 1 drawn out from the carry-in roll 2 of the transport roll 11 are transported in parallel and enter the film-forming vacuum chamber 13, and are formed inside the film-forming vacuum chamber 13. The film forming chamber 5 is temporarily stopped to form films on the respective surfaces, and then wound around the two transport rolls 3 in the winding chamber 14.

In addition, the thin film manufacturing apparatus 100 includes a voltage application electrode 21 and a ground electrode 22 that are disposed to face each other between two rows of substrates 1 that are transported in parallel, and a shield body 57 that is disposed between the voltage application electrodes 21. As will be described later, a frame body 54 that is insulated and screwed to the voltage application electrode 21 and a power feeding structure 60 that is inserted into the shield body 57 are provided. As shown in FIG. 2, one end of the shield body 57 is connected to the central portion of the voltage application electrode 21 via a second connection plate 91. The ground electrode 22 is disposed opposite to the side of the voltage application electrode 21 facing the substrate 1, and the ground electrode 22 includes a heater 23 for heating the substrate 1.
The voltage application electrode 21 and the ground electrode 22 apply a voltage to the film formation chamber 5 that is airtight during film formation, and plasma for forming a thin film on the surface of the substrate 1 is generated in the film formation chamber 5. Will be generated.

An exhaust member 9 having a hollow portion 72 for exhaust is disposed inside each voltage application electrode 21, and the exhaust member 9 is a hollow portion in which a reaction gas supplied during film formation is perforated. 72 used to evacuate through. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the hollow portion 72 of the exhaust member 9 is configured by two holes that are orthogonal to each other.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, each voltage applying electrode 21 of the present embodiment is provided with an exhaust port 72 a for exhausting gas from the film forming chamber 5. As shown in FIG. 3, each exhaust port 72 a is connected to both end portions of the hollow portion 72 of the exhaust member 9. As a result, the exhaust ports 72a facing each other communicate with the hollow portion 72 of the exhaust member 9, and the reaction gas passes from the exhaust port 72a of each voltage application electrode 21 through the hollow portion 72 of the exhaust member 9 to the wall. It will be discharged to the outside of the body 15.
Further, a sealing material 9a is provided on the surface of the exhaust member 9 that contacts the voltage application electrode 21, and the contact surface is fluid-tightly sealed by the sealing material 9a.
As described above, the voltage application electrodes 21 are connected and integrated by the exhaust member 9, so that it is not necessary to separately exhaust the gas from each film forming chamber 5, so that the exhaust structure is simplified and the apparatus cost is reduced. Can be reduced.

On the other hand, the frame body 54 is made of a conductive member such as stainless steel, for example, and is disposed outside each voltage application electrode 21 with a spacing member 53 having both insulating properties and sealing properties interposed therebetween. Further, grooves are formed on the contact surfaces of the frame body 54 and the voltage application electrode 21 with the spacing member 53, and seal members 53a and 53b are provided in the grooves to seal the contact surfaces in a fluid-tight manner. is doing.
As shown in FIG. 3, each frame body 54 arranged in this way is screwed by a screw 54a covered with an insulating tube for holding electrical insulation with respect to the voltage application electrode 21, respectively. The shield body 57 is screwed with a screw 54c.
As a result, the frame body 54 is conductively coupled to the shield body 57 and is held at the ground potential similarly to the shield body 57.
The shield body 57 is made of, for example, a conductive material such as aluminum, and is disposed between the voltage application electrodes 21 arranged to face each other as described above. The shield body 57 is applied with a voltage by being cut into a frame shape. The electrode 21 is disposed so as to cover the side surface.
The wall 15 separating the film forming vacuum chamber 13 from the outside is at the ground potential, and the shield 57 is connected to the wall 15 so as to be kept at the ground potential.
Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a metal diaphragm 58 is arranged between the voltage application electrodes 21 arranged opposite to each other, and the metal diaphragm 58 is made of a conductive material such as aluminum, for example. The electrode 21 maintains a space that can maintain an electrically insulated space, and both ends thereof are connected to the shield body 57 to be the ground potential of the wall body 15.

As shown in FIG. 2, the power feeding structure 60 is composed of a power feeding body 61 made of a conductive member such as copper or aluminum, and a power feeding body 61 made of a conductive member such as copper or aluminum. A space gap between the outer peripheral conductor 62 and the surrounding outer conductor 62 is formed in a coaxial structure that is held by insulating supports 63a and 63b made of an insulating material and disposed at upper and lower ends.
As shown in FIG. 4 (a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 2), the coaxial structure of the power feeding structure 60 has a round shape surrounding the entire circumference of the power feeding body 61 with a tubular outer conductor 62. When the outer diameter of 61 is d and the inner diameter of the outer conductor 62 is D, the impedance Z of the power feeding structure 60 can be expressed by the following equation (1). Therefore, by selecting the outer diameter d of the power feeder 61 and the inner diameter D of the outer conductor 62 and changing the space gap (from the one having the outer diameter d and the inner diameter D as shown in FIG. By changing the outer diameter d and the inner diameter D to a larger one as in (B), the capacitor capacity formed between the power supply 61 and the ground potential of the outer peripheral conductor 62 can be changed, and the power supply structure The impedance Z of 60 can be easily changed.
Therefore, by selecting the outer diameter d of the power feeding body 61 and the inner diameter D of the outer circumferential conductor 62, the capacitor capacity can be changed, and the power feeding structure body with respect to the load side impedance such as the area of the voltage application electrode 21 and the capacity of the discharge space. It becomes easy to set the impedance Z of 60 to an optimum value.
Z = 138 Log (D / d) (Ω) (1)

FIG. 5 shows various cross-sectional shapes of the power feeding structure 60. In the example of FIG. 5A, a cylindrical bar-shaped power feeding body 61 is surrounded by a cylindrical outer conductor 62. FIG.
In the example of FIG. 5B, the plate-shaped power feeding body 61 is surrounded by a rectangular outer peripheral conductor 62. Further, in the example of FIG. 5C, a round bar-shaped power supply body 61 is surrounded by a rectangular outer peripheral conductor 62. The shapes of the outer peripheral conductor 62 and the power feeding body 61 are not necessarily the shapes shown in FIG. 5, and may be polygonal, for example.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a first ground box 80 is disposed in the upper part of the film forming vacuum chamber 13. The first grounding box 80 is made of, for example, a conductive member such as aluminum, and is fixed to the inner surface of the wall 15 having the ground potential and grounded. Connected and grounded. Further, the inside of the first grounding box body 80 is insulated by the electric introduction body 65 via the wall body 15 and the insulating ring 64, and the film forming vacuum chamber 13 is separated from the outside by a sealing material while blocking the vacuum. It is designed to communicate with the outside world electrically. Further, the first grounding box 80 is connected to and grounded with the outer peripheral conductor 62 of the power feeding structure 60, and the power feeding body 61 is disposed through the first grounding box 80.

As shown in FIG. 2, a first connection plate 81 is disposed in the first ground box 80. The first connection plate 81 is made of, for example, a conductive member such as copper or aluminum, and the power introduction body 65 communicated in the first grounding box body 80 and the power feed that penetrates the first grounding box body 80. The body 61 is connected in the first grounding box body 80. As a result, the high frequency power transmitted from the high frequency power source 52 installed outside the vacuum chamber for film formation 13 is fed through the impedance matching unit 51, the electric introduction body 65, and the first connection plate 81 to the power feeding structure 60. To be transmitted.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the second grounding box 90 is disposed on the shield body 57 side. The second grounding box 90 is made of a conductive member such as aluminum, has the same box shape as the hole provided in the metal diaphragm 58, is connected to the metal diaphragm 58, and is grounded through the shield 57. It is connected to the wall 15 which is a potential and is grounded. The second grounding box 90 is also connected to and grounded with the outer peripheral conductor 62 of the power feeding structure 60, and the power feeding body 61 is disposed through the second grounding box 90.
A second connection plate 91 is disposed above the second grounding box 90 as shown in FIG. The second connection plate 91 is made of a conductive member such as copper or aluminum, for example, and the power supply body 61 and the voltage application electrode 21 penetrating into the second grounding box 90 are connected via the second connection plate 91. The high-frequency power connected from the inside of the second grounding box 90 and transmitted from the high-frequency power source 52 installed in the outside of the film-forming vacuum chamber 13 is a voltage via the power supply structure 60 and the second connection plate 91. It is transmitted to the application electrode 21.

In the thin film manufacturing apparatus 100 configured as described above, as shown in FIG. 2, on the upper side of the wall body 15 at a portion corresponding to a position directly above the central portion of the voltage application electrode 21 to which the second connection plate 91 is connected. The impedance matching unit 51 is installed, and a high frequency power source 52 is connected to the impedance matching unit 51. The impedance matching unit 51 performs control to minimize the reflected wave from the voltage application electrode 21.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the shield body 57 is connected to the central portion of the voltage application electrode 21 from the position corresponding to the impedance matching device 51 on the upper surface side thereof. A through hole 57 a penetrating through the inside thereof is provided corresponding to the voltage application electrode 21. The through hole 57a has a function of guiding the power feeding structure 60 inserted through the through hole 57a to the connection position of the central portion of the voltage application electrode 21, and each power feeding structure 60 is inserted through the through hole 57a. Thus, power can be supplied to the central portion of the voltage application electrode 21.
Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the power feeding body 61 constituting the power feeding structure 60 has a rod shape, and the upper end portion is impedance-matched to the impedance matching device 51 via the electric introduction body 65 and the first connection plate 81. Connected to the device 51. The power feeding body 61 of each power feeding structure 60 is inserted through the through-hole 57a of the shield body 57 while being shielded by the outer peripheral conductor 62 maintained at the ground potential, and is disposed immediately below the through-hole 57a. It is connected to the second connection plate 91 as described above. In this way, the power feeders 61 arranged in the vertically downward direction of the impedance matching device 51 are maintained in the state, and the lower portion thereof is connected to the power feeding position of each voltage application electrode 21 via the second connection plate 91. Each will be connected. With the above connection mode, power is supplied to the central portion of each voltage application electrode 21 through each power supply structure 60.

  As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the power supply body 61 can be guided in a shielded state to the central portion of each voltage application electrode 21 and can be supplied to the central portion. While realizing the power supply state in which the voltage applied to the power supply is evenly distributed, the propagation of electromagnetic waves from the power supply 61 and the influence of the stray capacitance generated between the power supply 61 and the voltage application electrode 21 are suppressed, and each voltage Inflow of high-frequency current to the application electrode 21 can be suppressed.

Next, the outline of the action at the time of film formation in the thin film manufacturing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.
In FIG. 1, at the time of film formation, the flexible substrate 1 stopped in each ground electrode 22 and the film formation chamber 5 is moved toward the frame body 54 by the actuator 24, and the frame body 54 and the flexible substrate are moved. 1 adheres to each other through a sealing material 54a held on the surface of the frame body 54 that contacts the flexible substrate 1. Thereby, the film forming chamber 5 in an airtight state is formed between the voltage applying electrode 21 and the flexible substrate 1, respectively.
The power supply structure 60 connected as described above feeds the output voltage of the high frequency power supply 52 to the center of each voltage application electrode 21, and a high frequency voltage is generated between the voltage application electrode 21 and the ground electrode 22. Each is applied. As a result, plasma is generated in each film forming chamber 5, the reaction gas introduced from an introduction pipe (not shown) is decomposed, and a thin film is formed on the surface of the flexible substrate 1 heated by the heater 23 of the ground electrode 22. It is formed.

At this time, the reaction gas supplied to each film forming chamber 5 is discharged from a hollow portion of the exhaust member 9 through an exhaust port 72a provided in each voltage application electrode 21, as shown in FIG. After being evacuated to 72, the air is exhausted outside through an exhaust port 57b provided in the shield body 57, whereby the pressure in each film forming chamber 5 is maintained.
At this time, by providing the exhaust ports 72a at positions symmetrical to the apparatus center line (AA line) 99 in FIG. 1, there is a region where the reaction gas in the film forming chamber 5 can be exhausted equally. It becomes possible to suppress unevenness of the flow of the reaction gas in the film forming chamber 5 which spreads and adversely affects the film thickness distribution. Further, by providing a plurality of exhaust ports 72a so as to be symmetric with respect to the apparatus center line (AA line) 99, it is possible to more effectively suppress the above-described deviation in the reactant gas flow.
As described above, in the thin film manufacturing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to suppress the deviation of the flow of the reaction gas in the film forming chamber 5 in a wide range, so that a flexible substrate having a wider size. 1 and is excellent in versatility.

While the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made based on the technical idea of the present invention.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, a stepping roll type thin film manufacturing apparatus is used, but a roll-to-roll type thin film manufacturing apparatus may be used.

It is a plane sectional view showing the thin film manufacturing device concerning the embodiment of the present invention. It is a fragmentary sectional view which follows the AA line of FIG. 1 in the said embodiment. It is a fragmentary sectional view which follows the BB line of FIG. 1 in the said embodiment. (A), (B) is explanatory drawing (CC sectional view taken on the line of FIG. 2) which shows the capacity | capacitance design of the electric power feeding structure in the said embodiment. (A), (B), (C) is sectional drawing which shows the various electric power feeding structure in the said embodiment. It is a plane sectional view showing an example of a general thin film manufacturing device of a stepping roll method. FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view showing details in the vicinity of a film forming chamber of the general thin film manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 6, where (A) shows a film forming time and (B) shows a substrate transport time. It is sectional drawing which shows the thin film manufacturing apparatus which concerns on a prior art.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Flexible substrate 2 Carry-in roll 3 Carry-out roll 5 Film-forming chamber 9 Exhaust member 11 Feeding chamber 13 Film-forming vacuum chamber 14 Winding chamber 15 Wall body 21 Voltage application electrode 22 Ground electrode 23 Heater 24 Actuator 51 Impedance matching device 52 High-frequency power supply 54 Frame body 57 Shield body 57a Through hole 58 Metal diaphragm body 60 Power supply structure 61 Power supply body 62 Outer conductor 63a, 63b Insulation support body 64 Insulation ring 65 Electric introduction body 72 Hollow part 72a Exhaust port 80 First grounding box body 81 1st connection board 90 2nd grounding box 91 2nd connection board 100 Thin film manufacturing apparatus

Claims (4)

  The flexible substrate transported in the vacuum chamber is stopped in the vacuum film formation chamber formed inside the box-shaped wall, and is placed facing the vacuum film formation chamber and faces the flexible substrate. In the thin film manufacturing apparatus for forming a thin film on the surface of the flexible substrate by applying a voltage between the voltage applying electrode and the ground electrode, the voltage application is formed in a frame shape made of a metal material. A support frame that insulates and fixes the electrode; a metal diaphragm fixed to a surface of the support frame facing the voltage application electrode; and a power supply structure that is provided inside the support frame and supplies power to the voltage application electrode A first grounding box that is installed in the vacuum chamber and is electrically connected to the inner surface of the wall, and a second grounding box that is electrically connected to the metal diaphragm. A thin film manufacturing apparatus characterized by   An electric introduction body which is insulated from the wall body and is vacuum-blocked from the outside through a sealing material and attached to the wall body, and electrically connects the first grounding box body and the outside world, and the electric introduction body A first connection member that electrically connects the end portion on the first grounding box side and the tip end portion of the power feeding body constituting the power feeding structure, and the terminal portion of the power feeding body and the voltage application electrode are electrically connected And a second connecting member connected to the external power supply, and configured to be able to supply power to the voltage application electrode in the vacuum chamber from the outside world via the electric introduction body, the first connecting member, and the second connecting member. The thin film manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1.   The power feeding structure includes a power feeding body made of a metal material, an outer peripheral conductor made of a metal material and arranged to surround an outer periphery of the power feeding body, and a spatial gap formed between the power feeding body and the outer peripheral conductor. An insulating support that holds and insulates and supports, the tip of the outer conductor is electrically connected to the wall through the first grounding box, and the end of the outer conductor is the end 3. The thin film manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the thin film manufacturing apparatus is connected to the metal diaphragm through a second grounding box and is grounded.   The voltage application electrodes are provided in a pair of left and right sides corresponding to the flexible substrate that is conveyed in a pair in the left and right directions in the vacuum chamber, and each voltage application electrode has an exhaust port formed therein. Between the pair of voltage application electrodes, an exhaust member having an exhaust passage inside is fixed to each voltage application electrode, and an exhaust port of each voltage application electrode communicates with an exhaust passage of the exhaust member, The gas in the film forming chamber is configured to be discharged to the outside of the wall body through an exhaust port of each voltage application electrode and an exhaust passage of the exhaust member. The thin film manufacturing apparatus described.

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