JP2008098059A - Atmospheric pressure plasma generating device, plasma treating method, and device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To carry out treatment only to a treating part of a treating object stably, efficiently, and with good productivity with a simple structure and control. <P>SOLUTION: In a plasma head 10, a gas is supplied into a reaction space 11 and a high frequency electric field is impressed to generate a primary plasma 16, and preferably, by making this primary plasma 16 collide with a mixed gas region 20, secondary plasma 21 is generated, and the generated secondary plasma 21 is blown out from a blowing port. A suction port 22 is installed in the vicinity of the blowing port of the plasma head 10, and this suction port 22 is connected to a suction means 23 through an opening and closing control means 25 and thereby, blowing and stopping of the plasma is carried out by opening and closing control of the opening and closing control means 25. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an atmospheric pressure plasma generator, a plasma processing method and an apparatus that can easily and efficiently process only a processing portion of an object to be processed.

  Conventionally, an inert gas is turned into plasma near atmospheric pressure (at a pressure in the range of 500 to 1500 mmHg), a reactive gas is turned into plasma by the generated inert gas radicals, and the surface of the workpiece is irradiated with the generated plasma. Plasma processing apparatuses that perform plasma processing such as surface cleaning, metal oxide reduction, resist removal, surface modification, etching, and film formation are known. In addition, in a conventional plasma processing apparatus, an inert gas and a reactive gas are mixed at a predetermined ratio from the beginning, supplied to one end of a cylindrical reaction vessel, and mixed by applying a high-frequency electric field to the reaction vessel. Typically, gas is turned into plasma, and the generated plasma is blown out from the other end of the reaction vessel to irradiate the object to be processed.

In addition, a plasma head that generates atmospheric pressure plasma and blows out a plasma jet from an outlet is provided, and the object to be processed and the plasma head are relatively moved so that a specific processing position of the object to be processed is opposed to the plasma head. There is known a method of performing a plasma process by providing a moving unit and spraying a plasma jet on a specific processing location of an object to be processed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-251304

  However, in the plasma processing method described in Patent Document 1, mixing of an inert gas and a reactive gas is performed not only when a plasma jet is applied to a processing portion of an object to be processed but also during movement between the processing portions. It is necessary to continuously supply the gas or at least the inert gas and continuously blow out the plasma jet. The reason is that once the generation of the plasma jet is stopped, it takes time to ignite the plasma again to generate a stable plasma jet, and the productivity is significantly reduced.

  In addition, since the plasma jet is continuously blown out, it is possible to stably irradiate the processing portion of the object to be processed with the plasma jet and prevent the plasma jet from being irradiated to other than the processing portion. There is a problem that it is difficult. That is, in order to obtain a stable plasma jet irradiation state for the processing location and not to be irradiated at all other than the processing location, it is necessary to control the relative movement of the plasma head and the object to be processed in a complicated manner. There exists a problem that the structure of an installation and a control mechanism becomes complicated.

  In the configuration of the plasma head described in Patent Document 1, plasma is generated by applying a high-frequency electric field to a mixed gas of an inert gas and a reactive gas. In that case, only the inert gas is used. Since the plasma is not generated unless the applied power is increased as compared with the case where the plasma is generated, a large input power is required to generate the plasma, and there is a problem that the apparatus is enlarged and the processing efficiency is lowered.

  Furthermore, since the lifetime of the plasma-ized reactive gas in the plasma generated as described above is short, the plasma jet disappears quickly when blown out from the blowout port of the plasma head. If the distance between them is not shortened, the plasmaized reactive gas will not work effectively, the efficiency of the plasma processing will deteriorate, and the distance range in which the plasma processing can be performed will be limited to a small size, so that the movement control during processing will be complicated. There is also a problem.

  The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, can stably and efficiently process only the processing portion of the object to be processed, and can perform processing with high productivity with a simple configuration and control. An object of the present invention is to provide an atmospheric pressure plasma generation apparatus, a plasma processing method, and an apparatus.

  An atmospheric pressure plasma generator of the present invention supplies a gas into a reaction space and applies a high-frequency electric field to generate atmospheric pressure plasma, and blows out the generated atmospheric pressure plasma from an outlet, and an outlet of the plasma head. A suction unit connected to a suction port provided in the vicinity of the port, and an opening / closing control unit disposed in a suction passage between the suction port and the suction unit.

  When the present inventors supply gas into the reaction space and apply a high-frequency electric field to generate atmospheric pressure plasma and irradiate the workpiece with the plasma to perform plasma processing, the processing efficiency by the plasma itself is improved. At the same time, the process of switching between treatment and non-treatment is performed instantaneously and stably, and while intensive research is being carried out with the aim of efficiently performing plasma treatment only at the treatment location, the vicinity of the blowout outlet where the plasma from the plasma head is blown out It has been found that when sucked, plasma blowing stops while maintaining the plasma ignition state, and when the suction is stopped, stable plasma is blown out instantly. The present invention is based on this discovery. Since the suction port is provided in the vicinity of the blowing port and connected to the suction unit via the opening / closing control unit, the plasma blowing is instantaneously stopped when the opening / closing control unit is opened. When closed, the plasma ignition state is maintained, so that the required plasma is blown out instantaneously, and the atmospheric pressure plasma blowing and stopping can be switched instantaneously in accordance with the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing control means.

  In addition, the plasma head supplies a first inert gas into the reaction space and applies a high frequency electric field to blow out a primary plasma, and a mixture of the second inert gas and the reactive gas. A plasma expansion part that blows out secondary plasma generated by colliding primary plasma with the gas region from the blowout port, and the suction port is opened in the vicinity of the blowout port of the plasma development part, By blowing out the primary plasma in which the inert gas is turned into plasma from the reaction space and colliding with the mixed gas region of the second inert gas and the reactive gas, the second inert gas collided with the primary plasma is avalanche. Phenomenologically turns into plasma and expands to the entire mixed gas region, forming a secondary plasma in which the reactive gas is turned into plasma by radicals of the second inert gas turned into plasma By blowing this secondary plasma to the processing location of the workpiece, the processing location can be efficiently plasma-treated, and in this case, the suction port is opened near the blowout port of the plasma developing section. Thus, the above-described effects can be achieved while ensuring efficient plasma treatment with secondary plasma. In addition, high-frequency electric field is only applied to the reaction space where primary plasma is generated, so it requires only a small amount of power. Also, because the input power is low, the plasma temperature of the generated secondary plasma is low and components with low heat resistance are mounted or installed. It is also possible to obtain an effect that plasma treatment of a substrate having low heat resistance such as a processed substrate can be easily performed. The plasma generator is preferably an inductive coupling method that applies a high-frequency electric field having a frequency equal to or higher than the VHF frequency band from a coil or an antenna, and is preferably a plasma generator that generates thermal plasma.

  In addition, the plasma processing method of the present invention supplies atmospheric gas into a reaction space provided in the plasma head and applies a high-frequency electric field to generate atmospheric pressure plasma. The generated atmospheric pressure plasma is blown out from the outlet of the plasma head. A plasma processing method for processing by blowing the blown plasma on a processing portion of the object to be processed, and processing the processing portion by moving the plasma head and the object to be processed relative to each other in the range other than the processing portion. The plasma is blown out while maintaining the plasma by sucking in the vicinity of the blow-out port, and the plasma is blown off while stopping the suction at the processing point.

  According to this configuration, by sucking at a position near the blowout port of the plasma head other than the processing point, the plasma blowing can be stopped instantaneously while maintaining the plasma, and the plasma processing can be stopped. Since plasma is maintained by stopping, plasma can be blown out instantaneously and stably, and plasma processing can be performed efficiently, and plasma processing can be performed stably and efficiently only on the processing location of the workpiece. can do. Further, it is not necessary to move the plasma head away from the workpiece during non-processing, and it is possible to perform plasma processing only at a processing point with a simple configuration and control with high productivity and low cost. Note that the consumption of expensive gas can be reduced by reducing the gas supply amount during non-treatment.

  Further, the plasma blown out from the outlet of the plasma head supplies the first inert gas to the reaction space provided in the plasma head and applies a high-frequency electric field to blow out the primary plasma from the reaction space. A secondary plasma generated by forming a mixed gas region mainly containing the second inert gas and mixing an appropriate amount of reactive gas and colliding the primary plasma with the mixed gas region is not covered by the secondary plasma. By spraying on the processing location of the processed product, the processing location can be efficiently plasma-treated as described above.

  The first inert gas and the second inert gas may be different, but if the same kind of inert gas is used, the development of the secondary plasma is stabilized and the gas supply structure Is preferable because it becomes simple.

  In addition, the first inert gas and the second inert gas are preferably selected from argon, helium, xenon, neon, nitrogen, or one or more mixed gases thereof. .

  In addition, the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention generates atmospheric pressure plasma by supplying a gas into the reaction space and applying a high-frequency electric field, and supplies the generated atmospheric pressure plasma from the outlet and the gas. Gas supply means, a high-frequency power source for applying a high-frequency electric field, a suction means connected to a suction port provided in the vicinity of the blowout port of the plasma head, and a suction passage between the suction port and the suction unit. Open / close control means, moving means for relatively moving the object to be processed and the plasma head, means for recognizing the timing when the plasma head faces the processing location of the object to be processed, gas supply means, high frequency power supply, and opening / closing control means And a control means for controlling the moving means. The control means closes the open / close control means when the plasma head faces the processing location of the object to be processed. It is intended to open when facing the unnecessary portions.

  According to this configuration, the plasma head is moved relative to the object to be processed by the moving means, and the opening / closing control means is opened by the control means when the plasma head is positioned opposite the processing unnecessary portion of the object to be processed. By closing the position when facing the location, the plasma treatment is performed by blowing out plasma only at the treatment location, and the plasma treatment method can be implemented to exert the effect.

  In addition, the plasma head collides with the plasma generation unit that blows out the primary plasma composed of the first inert gas that has been converted into plasma, and the mixed gas region of the second inert gas and the reactive gas to generate plasma. A high-frequency electric power source that applies a high-frequency electric field to the plasma generation unit, and a gas supply means supplies a first inert gas to the plasma generation unit. When the first inert gas supply means and the mixed gas supply means for supplying the second inert gas and the reactive gas to the mixed gas region are formed, the secondary plasma is processed at the processing location of the workpiece as described above. It is possible to efficiently perform plasma processing on the processing portion.

  Further, when the mixed gas supply means supplies a mixed gas in which the second inert gas and the reactive gas are mixed in advance to the mixed gas region, the mixed gas region can be formed with a simple configuration and the second inert gas can be formed. Since the active gas and the reactive gas are evenly mixed, uniform plasma treatment can be realized stably.

  Further, the mixed gas supply means includes a second inert gas supply means for supplying the second inert gas to the mixed gas region and a reactive gas supply means for supplying the reactive gas to the mixed gas region. The reactive gas can be adjusted to an arbitrary concentration and mixed, and a desired plasma treatment can be performed.

  Further, if the moving means includes a robot device and the plasma head is mounted on a movable head that can move in the X, Y, and Z directions of the robot device, plasma processing can be performed with extremely high versatility.

  According to the atmospheric pressure plasma generator of the present invention, the opening / closing control is achieved by providing a suction port in the vicinity of the plasma outlet in the plasma head that generates and blows off the atmospheric pressure plasma and is connected to the suction unit via the opening / closing control unit. When the means is opened, the plasma blowing can be stopped instantaneously while the plasma ignition state is maintained. When the means is closed, the plasma ignition state is maintained, so that the required plasma is blown out instantaneously. Along with this, it is possible to instantaneously switch between blowing and stopping the atmospheric pressure plasma.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a plasma processing apparatus using the atmospheric pressure plasma generation apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

(First embodiment)
First, a first embodiment of the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the atmospheric pressure plasma processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a robot apparatus 2 as a moving unit that can move and position in three axial directions. The robot apparatus 2 is configured by attaching a movable head 4 so as to be movable and positioned in a vertical direction (Z-axis direction) to a movable body 3 that can be moved and positioned in two axial directions (XY directions) orthogonal to each other in a horizontal plane. A plasma head 10 is installed on the movable head 4. On the other hand, the workpiece 5 is carried into and out of the movable range of the plasma head 10 by the carry-in / carry-out unit 7 and is positioned and fixed at a predetermined position.

  As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the processing object 6 to be subjected to the plasma processing is distributed in a plurality of places on the workpiece 5. As such an object to be processed 5, for example, as shown in FIG. 2A, an example of a circuit board 8 in which a land disposition area for mounting electronic components is a processing location 6, or as shown in FIG. 2B. There are examples of flat panel displays 9 such as liquid crystal panels and plasma display panels in which the anisotropic conductive film is attached to the treatment site 6, and each of them performs surface modification of the land surface and cleaning of the attachment surface by plasma treatment. It is.

  The configuration of the plasma head 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b). A coiled antenna 13 is disposed around a cylindrical reaction vessel 12 made of a dielectric material that forms a reaction space 11 having a circular cross section, and a high frequency voltage is applied to the antenna 13 from a high frequency power source 14 to generate a high frequency in the reaction space 11. By applying an electric field and supplying the first inert gas 15 from the upper end 12 a of the reaction vessel 12, the primary plasma 16 is blown out from the lower end 12 b of the reaction vessel 12. This reaction vessel 12 constitutes a plasma generation unit.

  A rectangular tube-shaped mixed gas container 17 is disposed around the vicinity of the lower end 12b of the reaction container 12, and a plurality of gas supply ports 19 for supplying the mixed gas 18 to the inside are disposed at the upper part of the four peripheral walls. The mixed gas container 17 extends downward from the lower end 12 b of the reaction container 12, and the lower end open mixed gas in which the primary plasma 16 collides with a portion below the lower end 12 b of the reaction container 12 to generate the secondary plasma 21. Region 20 is formed. This mixed gas container 17 constitutes a plasma developing part.

  A suction port 22 is provided in the vicinity of the lower end opening of the mixed gas container 17, and an opening / closing control means 25 such as an electromagnetic opening / closing valve is disposed in the middle of a suction passage 24 connecting the suction port 22 and the suction means 23. As the suction means 23, an ejector suction device having a simple mechanism or various other vacuum pumps can be applied. The opening / closing control means 25 is preferably arranged in the vicinity of the suction port 22 in order to improve the on / off response of the suction action at the suction port 22. When the opening / closing control means 25 is opened and the suction action at the suction port 22 is turned on, the secondary plasma 21 is minimized in the mixed gas container 17 while maintaining the ignition state of the primary plasma 16 as shown in FIG. When the secondary plasma 21 is not blown out from the lower end of the mixed gas container 17 and the opening / closing control means 25 is closed and the suction action at the suction port 22 is turned off, immediately, as shown in FIG. The next plasma 21 expands greatly and blows out from the lower end of the mixed gas container 17.

  As the high frequency power supply 14 for supplying a high frequency voltage to the antenna 13, an output frequency band having an RF frequency band, a VHF frequency band, or a microwave frequency band can be used. When the RF frequency band, the VHF frequency band, or the microwave frequency band is used, a matching unit (matching circuit) that suppresses a reflected wave generated by the antenna 13 is interposed between the high-frequency power source 14 and the antenna 13. It is necessary to disguise.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the control configuration of the plasma processing apparatus 1 is based on an operation program and control data stored in the storage unit 32 in advance by the control unit 31, and a robot apparatus 2 as a moving unit of the plasma head 10. The high frequency power source 14, the open / close control means 25, and the flow rate control unit 27 that controls the gas supply from the gas supply unit 26 to the plasma head 10 are configured to control the operation. The control of the opening / closing control means 25 by the control unit 31 is a process start recognition means 33 for recognizing the timing at which the plasma head 10 faces the processing location 6 of the workpiece 5, that is, the start and end of processing for the processing location 6. Based on the signal input from the processing end recognition means 34, the opening / closing control means 25 is closed by the processing start signal and the suction action at the suction port 22 is stopped, so that the plasma processing is performed on the processing location 6, and the processing ends. The opening / closing control means 25 is opened by a signal and suctioned by the suction port 22, so that the plasma processing for the processing location 6 is completed. In addition, the flow rate control unit 27 is controlled in synchronization with the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing control means 25 to increase / decrease the supply amount of the mixed gas 18 to the mixed gas container 17 and reduce the gas consumption amount when the plasma processing is not performed. You may make it plan. In the present embodiment, the process start recognizing unit 33 and the process end recognizing unit 34 are configured to recognize by comparing the control data stored in the storage unit 32 and the current position data from the robot apparatus 2. However, a means for recognizing when the plasma head 10 faces the start point and the end point of the processing location 6 may be provided.

  Specifically, the gas supply unit 26 and the flow rate control unit 27 are configured as shown in FIG. That is, the gas supply unit 26 includes a first inert gas source 28 that supplies the first inert gas 15 and a mixed gas source 29 that supplies a mixed gas 18 of the second inert gas and the reactive gas. And pressure regulating valves 28a and 29a are provided at the respective gas outlets. The first inert gas 15 is supplied to the reaction vessel 12 via a first flow rate control device 27a including a mass flow controller and the mixed gas 18 is supplied via a second flow rate control device 27b including a mass flow controller and the like. And is supplied to the mixed gas container 17. These first and second flow rate control devices 27 a and 27 b constitute a flow rate control unit 27, which is controlled by the control unit 31.

As the first and second inert gases, a single gas or a plurality of mixed gases selected from argon, neon, xenon, helium, and nitrogen are applied. In addition, reactive gases such as oxygen, air, oxidizing gases such as CO ₂ and N ₂ O, reducing gases such as hydrogen and ammonia, and fluorine-based gases such as CF ₄ are applicable depending on the type of plasma treatment. Is done. Although nitrogen gas is not literally an inert gas, it exhibits a behavior similar to that of the original inert gas in the generation of atmospheric pressure plasma, and can be used in substantially the same manner. It is assumed that the active gas contains nitrogen gas.

  In the above configuration, the primary plasma 16 is supplied to the mixed gas 18 in the mixed gas region 20 by supplying the mixed gas 18 into the mixed gas container 17 while the primary plasma 16 is blown out from the lower end 12 b of the reaction vessel 12. Collide with each other to generate a secondary plasma 21, which develops in the entire region of the mixed gas region 20 and further blows downward from the mixed gas region 20. By irradiating the processing location 6 of the workpiece 5 with the secondary plasma 21, a desired plasma processing is performed. Since the secondary plasma 21 develops greatly in this way, even if the interval between the lower end 12b of the reaction vessel 12 and the workpiece 5 is large, the region in the plane direction is larger than the cross-sectional area of the reaction vessel 12. This plasma treatment can be performed efficiently and reliably in a short time.

  Here, the configuration of the plasma head 10 and a specific example of the supply gas will be described. In FIG. 3A, the inner diameter R1 of the reaction container 12 is 0.8 mm, the inner diameter R2 of the mixed gas container 17 is 5 mm, and the mixed gas container 17 is. The apparatus is configured such that the distance L1 = 1 mm between the lower end of the gas and the workpiece 5 and the distance L2 = 4 mm between the lower end of the reaction vessel 12 and the lower end of the mixed gas vessel 17, and the first inert gas 15 is argon gas. The flow rate is set to 50 sccm, argon gas or helium gas is used as the second inert gas, oxygen gas is used as the reactive gas, the mixture ratio is set to 10: 1, and the flow rate of the mixed gas is set to 550 sccm. did. Then, the first inert gas 15 is supplied to the reaction vessel 12, a predetermined high-frequency electric field is applied, and the mixed gas 18 of the second inert gas and the reactive gas is supplied into the mixed gas vessel 17. When the secondary plasma 21 was generated and the surface of the workpiece 5 was irradiated with the secondary plasma 21, the surface treatment of the workpiece 5 could be effectively performed in a short time.

  Next, the plasma processing process of the processing location 6 of the workpiece 5 by the plasma processing apparatus 1 having the above configuration will be described.

  When the workpiece 5 is loaded into the loading / unloading unit 7 and positioned at a predetermined position, the robot apparatus 2 starts to operate, and the plasma head 10 is moved to the processing start point of the first processing point 6 of the workpiece 5. Move towards. In addition, a primary plasma 16 is generated by supplying a first inert gas 15 to a reaction vessel 12 as a plasma generating unit and applying a high-frequency electric field by a high-frequency power source 14, and the primary plasma 16 is mixed gas vessel 17. Then, the mixed gas 18 is supplied to the mixed gas container 17 and the secondary plasma 21 is generated as described above, and this state is continuously maintained thereafter. Further, until the plasma head 10 approaches the processing start point, the opening / closing control means 25 is opened, and suction from the suction port 22 is performed, so that the secondary plasma 21 does not blow out as shown in FIG. Maintained.

In this state, when the plasma head 10 approaches the processing start point, as shown in FIG. 7, the opening / closing control unit 25 is closed based on the detection signal of the processing start recognition unit 33 at time t ₀ , and immediately after t _The suction from the suction port 22 is stopped at _one point, and as shown in FIG. 3 (a), the secondary plasma 21 is blown out to start the plasma processing at the processing location 6, and then the plasma head is maintained while maintaining the plasma processing state. When 10 moves on the processing location 6, the plasma processing of the processing location 6 is performed. Next, at time t ₂ , the opening / closing control means 25 is opened based on the detection signal from the processing end recognition means 34, and immediately after the time t ₃ , the secondary plasma 21 stops blowing, and the plasma processing is immediately stopped. The plasma processing at the processing location 6 is completed.

Subsequently, the operation of the robot apparatus 2 continues, and the plasma head 10 moves toward the processing start point of the next processing location 6 of the workpiece 5. In the meantime, the state in which the primary plasma 16 is blown out to the mixed gas container 17 is maintained, and even if the ignition state of the secondary plasma 21 is maintained, the secondary plasma 21 is not blown out, and plasma processing is not performed at all. When the processing start point is approached at time t ₄ , the opening / closing control means 25 is closed based on the detection signal from the processing start recognition means 33, and the secondary plasma 21 is blown out as described above at time t ₅ immediately after. Plasma processing at the next processing location 6 is started. Thereafter, the above operation is repeated until the plasma processing of all the processing points 6 of the workpiece 5 is completed. When the plasma processing of all the processing points 6 is completed, the workpiece 5 is unloaded at the loading / unloading unit 7, the next workpiece 5 is loaded, and the plasma processing is performed in the same manner.

  As described above, since the opening / closing control means 25 can switch the blowing and stopping of the secondary plasma 21 with good responsiveness by the suction / stop at the suction port 22, according to the present embodiment, FIG. As shown in FIG. 8A, after the plasma head 10 is lowered from the position A to the processing start point B of the first processing point 6, the plasma head 10 is moved toward the processing end point C (= D). Thus, the first processing portion 6 is subjected to plasma processing, and then the plasma head 10 is moved toward the processing start point E (= F) of the next processing portion 6 while maintaining its height, and processing is performed from that position. By repeating the operation of performing plasma processing while moving toward the end point G (= H) and moving toward the next processing point 6 from the same position H, the height position of the plasma head 10 is maintained. Multiple locations Point 6 only can be stably plasma treatment, in the movement path of the plasma head 10 is straight, it is possible to perform the movement control with good productivity plasma treatment because it is simple.

  On the other hand, conventionally, as shown in FIG. 8B, after the plasma head 10 is lowered from the position A to the height at which the processing start point B of the first processing location 6 can be plasma processed, After the head 10 is moved toward the processing end point C, the first processing portion 6 is subjected to plasma processing, and then the plasma head 10 is moved to the D position where the plasma processing is not performed on the workpiece 5. Then, the plasma head 10 is moved toward the E position above the processing start point F of the next processing position 6 while maintaining the height thereof, and the F position at which the plasma processing can be performed from the E position. It is necessary to repeat the operation of performing the plasma processing while moving toward the processing end point G and then moving the plasma head 10 up to the H position and moving toward the next processing location 6. Therefore, there is a problem that the moving path and moving control of the plasma head 10 is poor productivity of the plasma treatment for a complex.

  In the plasma head 10 of the above-described embodiment, the mixed gas container 17 is illustrated as having a rectangular tube shape as shown in FIG. 3, but a cylindrical shape or an inverted prefix quadrangular pyramid shape or prefix having a diameter that decreases downward. It may be conical. In the configuration example of FIG. 3, the mixed gas 18 is supplied into the mixed gas container 17 from all of the plurality of gas supply ports 19, but the second reactive gas and the reactive gas are separately supplied to each gas. The gas may be supplied from the supply port 19 into the mixed gas container 17, and these gases may be mixed in the mixed gas container 17 to form the mixed gas region 20.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the example using the robot apparatus 2 carrying the plasma head 10 was shown as a moving means to move the plasma head 10 and the to-be-processed object 5 relatively, a moving means is limited to this. Instead, for example, the transporting means for transporting the workpiece 5 may be a moving means, and the plasma head 10 may be a fixed position. Further, means for moving the workpiece 5 and the plasma head 10 may be provided.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the following description of the embodiment, the same components as those in the preceding embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, description thereof is omitted, and only differences will be mainly described.

  The difference between the first embodiment and the present embodiment is the configuration of the plasma head 10. In the plasma head 10 of the first embodiment, a cylindrical reaction vessel 12 is used, and a high-frequency electric field is applied to the reaction space 11 from an antenna 13 disposed around the reaction vessel 12, and the periphery of the lower end 12b of the reaction vessel 12 is used. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, a pair of electrodes 42 a, and a pair of electrodes 42 a are disposed on the opposing long walls of a rectangular tube-shaped reaction vessel 41. 42b, the reaction vessel 41 is made of a dielectric, or a dielectric is arranged on at least one of the opposing surfaces of the electrodes 42a, 42b, and a high frequency voltage is applied from the high frequency power source 14 between the electrodes 42a, 42b. A high frequency electric field is applied to the reaction space 11 in the reaction vessel 41. Thus, the first inert gas 15 is supplied from the upper end of the reaction vessel 41, and the primary plasma 16 is blown out from the lower end of the reaction vessel 41 by applying a high-frequency electric field in the reaction space 11.

  Further, a mixed gas container 43 is disposed adjacent to one side of the lower end portion of the reaction container 41, and a second inert gas and a reactive gas are supplied from a gas supply port 44 provided at the upper part of the mixed gas container 43. The mixed gas 18 is supplied. The outer wall and both end walls of the reaction vessel 41 and the mixed gas vessel 43 extend long downward to form a mixed gas region 20 having an open lower end, and the primary plasma is applied to the mixed gas flowing out from the mixed gas vessel 43 to the mixed gas region 20. 16 collides to generate secondary plasma 21 and blow out from the lower end opening. Further, a suction port 22 is provided in the vicinity of the lower end of the mixed gas container 43, and is connected to the suction means 23 through the opening / closing control means 25 in the suction passage 24.

  Also in the present embodiment, the secondary plasma 21 is generated by the primary plasma 16 colliding with the mixed gas 18 in the mixed gas region 20 in a state where the open / close control means 25 is closed, and is expanded to the entire region. The secondary plasma 21 is blown downward from the lower end opening of the mixed gas region 20, and the secondary plasma 21 is irradiated to the processing portion 6 of the workpiece 5, whereby a desired plasma processing is performed, and the opening / closing control means 25. Is opened, the secondary plasma 21 is minimized while the secondary plasma 21 is maintained in an ignition state, the blowing is stopped, and the plasma processing is stopped.

  In the configuration example shown in FIG. 9, the mixed gas container 43 is disposed on one side of the reaction container 41. However, the mixed gas container 43 is disposed on both sides of the reaction container 41 and supplied from both sides. The primary plasma 16 may collide with the mixed gas 18 effectively, and the primary plasma 16 is more effective against the mixed gas 18 by inclining the outer walls of the mixed gas containers 43 on both sides. The secondary plasma 21 may be generated more efficiently and the suction action at the suction port 22 at the lower end may be more effectively acted.

(Third embodiment)
Next, a third embodiment of the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The difference between the present embodiment and the above embodiment is also the configuration of the plasma head 10.

  In the first and second embodiments, the mixed gas containers 17 and 43 for supplying the mixed gas 18 are arranged around the lower ends of the reaction containers 12 and 41 to generate the secondary plasma 21 and blow it out. Although an example in which the plasma treatment is performed with the secondary plasma 21 has been shown, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, the plasma head 10 is configured only by the reaction vessel 41 that blows out the primary plasma 16. A suction port 22 is provided in the vicinity of the lower end opening of the reaction vessel 41, and is connected to the suction means 23 via the opening / closing control means 25 in the suction passage 24.

  Even in this configuration, the plasma processing can be performed with the blown-out primary plasma 16 in a state where the suction from the suction port 22 is stopped, and when the suction is performed from the suction port 22, the primary plasma 16 is ignited in the reaction space 11. While maintaining the state, the blowing of the primary plasma 16 from the lower end of the reaction vessel 41 can be stopped.

  According to the atmospheric pressure plasma generator and the plasma processing method and apparatus of the present invention, a suction port is provided in the vicinity of the plasma outlet in the plasma head that generates and blows off the atmospheric pressure plasma, and is connected to the suction unit through the opening / closing control unit. As a result, the blowing and stopping of the atmospheric pressure plasma can be instantaneously switched in accordance with the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing control means, so that it can be suitably used for plasma processing only at specific locations on various substrates.

The perspective view which shows the whole structure of 1st Embodiment of the plasma processing apparatus of this invention. The top view which shows two examples of a to-be-processed object. The structure of the plasma head in the same embodiment is shown, (a) is a longitudinal sectional view, (b) is a perspective view. The longitudinal cross-sectional view of the plasma blowing stop state in the plasma head in the same embodiment. The block diagram which shows the structure of the control apparatus in the embodiment. The block diagram of the gas supply part in the embodiment. Explanatory drawing of the operation timing in the embodiment. Explanatory drawing of the operation state in the embodiment and a prior art example. The longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the structure of the plasma head in 2nd Embodiment of the plasma processing apparatus of this invention. The longitudinal cross-sectional view of the plasma head in 3rd Embodiment of the plasma processing apparatus of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Plasma processing apparatus 2 Robot apparatus (moving means)
Reference Signs List 4 movable head 5 workpiece 6 processing location 10 plasma head 11 reaction space 12, 41 reaction vessel (plasma generator)
14 High-frequency power source 15 First inert gas 16 Primary plasma 17, 43 Mixed gas container (plasma developing part)
18 Mixed Gas 20 Mixed Gas Region 21 Secondary Plasma 22 Suction Port 23 Suction Unit 24 Suction Passage 25 Opening / Closing Control Unit 26 Gas Supply Unit 28 First Inert Gas Source 29 Mixed Gas Source 31 Control Unit 33 Processing Start Recognition Unit 34 Processing Termination recognition means

Claims (11)

  Connects to a plasma head that supplies gas into the reaction space and generates a high-pressure plasma by applying a high-frequency electric field, and blows out the generated atmospheric pressure plasma from the air outlet, and a suction port provided near the air outlet of the plasma head And an opening / closing control means disposed in a suction passage between the suction port and the suction means.   The plasma head includes a plasma generation unit that blows out a primary plasma generated by supplying a first inert gas into the reaction space and applying a high-frequency electric field, and a mixed gas region of the second inert gas and the reactive gas. 2. A plasma expansion part that blows out secondary plasma generated by colliding primary plasma to the air outlet from the air outlet, and the suction port is opened in the vicinity of the air outlet of the plasma expansion part. Atmospheric pressure plasma generator.   Gas is supplied into the reaction space provided in the plasma head and a high-frequency electric field is applied to generate atmospheric pressure plasma. The generated atmospheric pressure plasma is blown out from the outlet of the plasma head, and the blown-out plasma is processed into the workpiece. A plasma processing method for spraying and processing a part, and when processing the processing part by relatively moving the plasma head and the object to be processed, the plasma is sucked in the vicinity of the outlet of the plasma head in a range other than the processing part. A plasma processing method characterized in that the blowing of plasma is stopped while being maintained, and suction is stopped and the plasma is blown at a processing location.   The plasma blown out from the outlet of the plasma head supplies a first inert gas to the reaction space provided in the plasma head and applies a high-frequency electric field to blow out the primary plasma from the reaction space. 4. A secondary plasma generated by forming a mixed gas region in which an appropriate amount of a reactive gas is mixed with an inert gas mainly and colliding the primary plasma with the mixed gas region. Plasma processing method.   The plasma processing method according to claim 4, wherein the first inert gas and the second inert gas are the same kind of inert gas.   The first inert gas and the second inert gas are selected from argon, helium, xenon, neon, nitrogen, or one or more mixed gases thereof. 6. The plasma processing method according to 4 or 5.   A gas head is supplied into the reaction space and a high-frequency electric field is applied to generate atmospheric pressure plasma. A plasma head that blows out the generated atmospheric pressure plasma from the outlet, a gas supply means for supplying gas, and a high-frequency electric field are applied. A high-frequency power source, a suction unit connected to a suction port provided in the vicinity of the blowout port of the plasma head, an opening / closing control unit disposed in a suction passage between the suction port and the suction unit, Moving means for relatively moving the plasma head, means for recognizing the timing at which the plasma head faces the processing location of the workpiece, gas supply means, high-frequency power supply, opening / closing control means, and control means for controlling the moving means The control means closes the opening / closing control means when the plasma head faces the processing place of the workpiece, and opens it when facing the processing unnecessary place. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim and.   The plasma head includes a plasma generating unit that blows out a primary plasma composed of a first inert gas that has been turned into plasma, and a mixture in which the primary plasma collides with a mixed gas region of a second inert gas and a reactive gas. A high-frequency electric power source that applies a high-frequency electric field to the plasma generation unit, and a gas supply unit that supplies a first inert gas to the plasma generation unit. 8. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising: an inert gas supply means; and a mixed gas supply means for supplying a second inert gas and a reactive gas to the mixed gas region.   9. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the mixed gas supply means supplies a mixed gas obtained by previously mixing the second inert gas and the reactive gas to the mixed gas region.   The mixed gas supply means comprises a second inert gas supply means for supplying a second inert gas to the mixed gas region, and a reactive gas supply means for supplying a reactive gas to the mixed gas region. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 8.   The plasma processing apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the moving means includes a robot apparatus, and the plasma head is mounted on a movable head movable in the X, Y, and Z directions of the robot apparatus.

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