JP2008296390A - Transfer apparatus and transfer method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a new transfer apparatus which can attain the enlargement of the area of nano imprinting, the increase of throughput, and the improvement of quality and a transfer method using the apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: In the transfer method, a transfer plate 31a with a prescribed micropattern formed is pushed to a base film F1 the surface of which is coated with a resin in advance to transfer the micropattern to the resin. After the transfer plate 31a is worked cylindrically and fitted attachably/detachably to a rotary shaft 32 through an elastic layer 31b, while the base film F1 is delivered continuously to be pushed to the surface of the transfer plate 31a on the rotary shaft 32 by a nip roll 33, the prescribed micropattern is transferred continuously onto the resin J. Since the prescribed micropattern can be transferred surely and consecutively onto the base film F1, the enlargement of the area of the nano imprinting, the increase of the throughput, and the improvement of the quality can be attained easily. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention provides, for example, a transfer that can easily transfer (mold) a fine concavo-convex pattern (hereinafter referred to as a “fine pattern”) of several tens to several hundreds of nano-regions, such as nano-imprint technology. The present invention relates to an apparatus and a transfer method.

  The nanoimprint technology is a molding technology that transfers a desired uneven pattern by pressing a metal mold called a nano stamper (transfer plate) on a substrate coated with a resin thin film. Compared with certain optical lithography and electron beam direct writing methods, nanoscale processing is possible at a simpler and lower cost, so it can be applied to various fields such as optical devices, storage media, biochips, and thin displays as well as semiconductors. Has been studied.

  However, the current nanoimprint technology is a so-called batch process, and only a fixed size (nano stamper size) can be obtained in one print processing unit. For example, this nanoimprint technology can be used for diffusion films for liquid crystal panels and the like. In manufacturing an antireflection film, a wire / grid polarizing film, etc., increasing the area and increasing the throughput are issues.

Therefore, the present inventors are examining the possibility of increasing the area and increasing the throughput of nanoimprint products by applying conventional techniques such as those shown in Patent Documents 1 to 4 below.
That is, the present inventors processed a nano stamper that has been a flat plate in the form of a roll (roll stamper), and provided it between a feeding roll that feeds the base film and a winding roll that winds the base film, The roll stamper is continuously brought into contact with the resin on the base film continuously fed from the feed roll, and the fine pattern on the surface of the roll stamper is continuously transferred onto the base film.
Japanese Patent No. 2533379 Japanese Patent No. 32186662 JP-A-2005-161531 JP-A-5-325272

However, it has been found that when the conventional techniques as shown in Patent Documents 1 to 4 are applied to the nanoimprint process as they are, the following problems occur.
First, the conventional transfer plate (nano stamper) has a thickness of 0. Since it is made of a Ni alloy thin plate of several mm, it is not easy to attach it firmly to the roll surface of the rotating shaft without peeling during operation. That is, when the roll stamper is rotated at a high speed in order to increase the throughput, the transfer plate (nano stamper) is integrated with the rotating shaft by an adhesive or welding so that the transfer plate (nano stamper) does not peel off or shift from the rotating shaft. It must be fixed to the head, and the work is not easy.

  Moreover, since the transfer film (nano stamper) adheres to the substrate film, such as resin (resin), dust, dust, oil, etc., it must be cleaned or replaced regularly. If the plate (nano stamper) is fixed to the rotating shaft by an adhesive or welding as described above, the rotating shaft must be detached and washed, and the operation is not easy.

Next, when the roundness (unevenness) of the roll stamper surface exceeds 200 μm, for example, the contact surface pressure between the base film and the roll stamper is not constant, and as a result, the fine uneven pattern transferred from the resin The film thickness may fluctuate greatly and processing quality may be greatly impaired.
Therefore, the present invention has been devised in order to effectively solve such problems, and the object of the present invention is a novel technique capable of achieving a large area and high throughput of nanoimprint processing by reliably avoiding such disadvantages. A transfer device and a transfer method are provided.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel transfer apparatus and transfer method that can realize high-quality nanoimprint processing.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1
Transfer having a transfer roll that contacts a base film fed from a feed roll and transfers a predetermined fine pattern onto the surface thereof, and a winding roll that winds the base film on which the predetermined fine pattern is transferred by the transfer roll A device,
The transfer roll includes a transfer cylinder in which the predetermined fine pattern is formed on the outer peripheral surface in contact with the base film and an elastic layer is formed on the inner peripheral surface thereof, and is inserted inside the transfer cylinder to A rotating shaft that detachably attaches the transfer cylinder via the elastic layer; and a nip roll that contacts the transfer cylinder inserted into the rotating shaft and presses the base film against its outer peripheral surface. Characteristic transfer device.

The invention of claim 2
The transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the nip roll is provided at a junction between the transfer cylinder inserted into the rotating shaft and the base film.
The invention of claim 3
3. The transfer device according to claim 1, wherein at least a surface of the nip roll is made of an elastically deformable material.
The invention of claim 4
4. The transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the transfer cylinder is formed by bending a rectangular transfer plate having the predetermined fine pattern into a cylindrical shape so that the fine pattern is located outside. 5. The transfer device is characterized in that both edges are butt welded after processing.

The invention of claim 5
5. The transfer device according to claim 4, wherein the butt welding of the transfer plate is performed by microplasma welding.
The invention of claim 6
The transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the transfer cylinder is formed by a roll electroforming method.
The invention of claim 7
The transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the rotation shaft engages and holds a plurality of divided blocks obtained by dividing the surface layer portion in the circumferential direction, and the divided blocks. A transfer apparatus comprising a moving shaft that moves a block in a radial direction.

The invention of claim 8
8. The transfer apparatus according to claim 7, wherein boundary portions in the circumferential direction of the respective divided blocks mesh with each other in a comb shape.
The invention of claim 9
9. The transfer device according to claim 1, wherein a predetermined resin is applied to a predetermined position of a base film on which a predetermined fine pattern is transferred by the transfer roll on the downstream side of the transfer roll. And a sub-transfer roll that transfers a predetermined fine pattern onto the resin applied by the sub-applying unit.

On the other hand, the invention of claim 10
A method for transferring a fine pattern to a resin by pressing a transfer plate on which a predetermined fine pattern is formed on a substrate film whose surface has been previously coated with a resin. Processed into a cylindrical shape so as to be positioned on the surface, and after forming an elastic layer on its inner peripheral surface and detachably attached to the rotating shaft, the base film is brought into contact with the surface of the transfer plate on the rotating shaft The transfer method is characterized by continuously transferring a predetermined fine pattern onto the resin while continuously feeding the substrate film and pressing the substrate film against the surface of the transfer plate with a nip roll.

The invention of claim 11
The transfer method according to claim 10, wherein a predetermined resin is further applied to a predetermined position of the base film on which the predetermined fine pattern has been transferred, and then the base film is applied to the surface of the cylindrical sub-transfer plate. The transfer method is characterized in that a predetermined fine pattern is continuously transferred onto the resin while being continuously sent out so as to come into contact.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to perform continuous processing of nanoimprint processing, and it is possible to easily achieve high throughput and large area.
In addition, an elastic layer is formed inside the transfer cylinder and the surface is transferred while pressing the surface with a pressure roller, so the surface pressure of the base film is constant, and the resin coating thickness is uniform and high quality nanoimprint Can be processed.
In addition, since only the transfer cylinder can be easily detached from the rotating shaft, the attaching / detaching operation and the cleaning operation can be performed very easily.
Further, the elastic layer on the inner side of the transfer cylinder is elastically deformed, so that it is possible to absorb the influence of unevenness and gaps on the surface of the rotating shaft.

According to invention of Claim 2, since the said nip roll was provided in the confluence | merging part of the transfer cylinder and base material film which were inserted by the rotating shaft, this nip roll was used as a guide roll which guides a base film to the transfer cylinder side. Can also be used.
According to the invention of claim 3, when the nip roll comes into contact with the transfer cylinder in a pressed state, the surface thereof is elastically deformed and comes into contact with the transfer cylinder in a planar shape having a certain area. The film thickness of the resin can be made uniform.
According to the invention of claim 4, since this transfer cylinder can be formed from the rectangular transfer plate obtained by the conventional manufacturing method as described above, the transfer cylinder is manufactured easily and at a lower cost than the case of newly manufacturing separately. be able to.

According to the invention of claim 5, even if it is a thin plate that is usually difficult to butt-weld, butt-welding can be surely performed. Therefore, a Ni alloy thin plate conventionally used as a transfer plate for nanoimprint processing, The transfer plate according to the present invention can be applied as it is.
According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, if the transfer cylinder formed by roll electroforming is used, bending work and butt welding work become unnecessary.
According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the diameter of the rotary shaft is reduced when the transfer cylinder is detached, so that the transfer cylinder can be easily and reliably attached and the diameter of the rotary shaft is increased when inserted, The transfer cylinder can be firmly held without being detached or loosened.

According to invention of Claim 8, since the boundary part of the circumferential direction of each division | segmentation block which comprises this rotating shaft has meshed | engaged mutually in the comb shape, the division | segmentation block formed when the rotation shaft expands in diameter especially Since the shape of the gaps (grooves) is a waveform or a zigzag shape, it is possible to suppress an adverse effect at the time of transfer due to the existence of the gaps.
According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, on the downstream side of the transfer roll, there is further provided a sub-application portion for applying a predetermined resin, and a sub-transfer roll for transferring a predetermined fine pattern onto the resin applied by the sub-application portion. Therefore, the predetermined fine pattern can be subsequently transferred to the portion of the base film where the predetermined fine pattern could not be transferred by the upstream transfer roll.

According to invention of Claim 10, since a predetermined | prescribed fine pattern can be continuously transcribe | transferred on a base film, the enlargement of nanoimprint processing and the increase in throughput can be achieved easily. At the same time, since only the transfer cylinder can be easily detached from the rotating shaft as in the first aspect of the invention, attachment / detachment, cleaning work, etc. can be performed very easily. In addition, an elastic layer is formed inside the transfer cylinder and the surface is transferred while pressing the surface with a pressure roller. Therefore, the surface pressure of the base film is constant, and the film thickness of the resin is uniform and high quality nanoimprint. Can be processed.
According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, as in the ninth aspect, the predetermined fine pattern can be subsequently transferred to the portion of the base film where the predetermined fine pattern could not be transferred by the upstream transfer roll. .

Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a fine pattern transfer apparatus 100 according to the present invention.
The transfer apparatus 100 is an apparatus for continuously producing, for example, a wire / grid polarizing film using the nanoimprint technology as described above. As shown in the drawing, the transfer apparatus 100 is a tape-shaped substrate wound in a roll shape. A feeding roll 10 that continuously feeds the material film F1, a coating part 20 that applies a transfer resin J to one surface of the base film F1 that is fed from the feeding roll 10, and a transfer resin J that is applied by the coating part 20 The transfer roll 30 that continuously transfers a predetermined fine pattern to the base film F1 coated with the coating, the curing unit 40 that cures the fine pattern on the base film F1 transferred by the transfer roll 30, and this curing A supply roll 50 that continuously feeds and supplies a protective film F2 for protecting the fine pattern cured in the section 40; After the protective film F2 and the base film F1 are overlapped, the winding roll 60 continuously wound up and various guide rolls 61 to 76 constituting the flow paths of the films F1 and F2 are mainly configured. Has been.

Here, the base film F1 fed out from the feed roll 10 is not particularly limited. For example, in the case of obtaining the wire / grid polarizing film, light (including ultraviolet rays and radiation) is used. ) And the property of being transparently wound around the roll axis. For example, PET (polyethylene terephthalate), PMMA (acrylic), PC (polycarbonate), COP (cycloolefin polymer), TAC (triacetyl cellulose), PET provided with an easy adhesion layer, and the like can be used.
Also, the size and film thickness of the base film F1 are not particularly limited. For example, when producing a wire grid polarizing film or the like, a film having a width of about 100 mm to 1500 mm and a film thickness of about 30 μm to 300 μm. Often used.

  Next, the application part 20 is for applying the transfer resin J to one surface of the base film F1, and the structure thereof is a known one as disclosed in the prior art document. (Gravure, die, roll, spray, microgravure) can be used as they are. That is, for example, as shown in the drawing, the lower end side of the gravure roll 22 is immersed in the resin tank 21 to which the transfer resin J is supplied, and the lower surface of the base film F1 just after being fed to the upper end side of the gravure roll 22 The gravure roll 22 is rotated in a state where the side is brought into contact with the holding roller 23 from above, whereby the resin J in the resin tank 21 is continuously provided at a constant thickness on the lower surface side of the base film F1. Can be applied.

Here, the transfer resin J applied to the base film F1 is not particularly limited as long as the transfer of the fine pattern is easy and the shape can be stably maintained. Currently, known UV curable resins as shown below are optimal, but besides this UV curable resin, thermosetting resins such as PF (phenol resin), MF (melamine), FRP (glass fiber reinforced plastic), It is also possible to use an electron beam curable resin or the like.
And as this ultraviolet curable resin which can be used as this resin J, the well-known thing which consists of a photopolymerizable prepolymer, a photopolymerizable monomer, and a photoinitiator can be used. A material that is easy to release so as to be easily peeled off and has good compatibility with the base film F1 is desirable.

  As the photopolymerizable prepolymer, acrylates such as unsaturated polyesters, epoxy acrylates, urethane acrylates and polyether acrylates can be used. As photopolymerizable monomers, lauryl acrylate, 2 -Monofunctional monomers such as ethylhexyl acrylate, 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate, 1,6-hexanediol monoacrylate, cyclopentadiene acrylate, 1,3-butanediol diacrylate, 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate, diethylene glycol diacrylate Polyfunctional monomers such as acrylate and trimethylolpropane triacrylate can be used. As the photoinitiator, for example, benzophenone, benzoin and its derivatives, benzoin ether, benzyl dimethyl ketal and the like can be used.

  Also, the coating thickness of the resin J applied by the coating unit 20 is not particularly limited. For example, as described below, the height of the fine pattern transferred to the resin J is 10 μm or less. 1 to 15 μm may be used, but the range of 3 to 15 μm is preferable in order to absorb the surface precision unevenness of the fine pattern on the transfer roll 30 side and perform reliable transfer. If the coating thickness of the resin J is too thick, the resin excessively overflows at the contact portion with the transfer roll 30. Therefore, in the above example, the upper limit is more preferably about 10 μm, which is substantially the same as the height of the fine pattern.

On the other hand, when the height of the fine pattern transferred to the resin J is about 10 to 100 μm, it is desirable to apply it with a thickness obtained by adding about 1 to 10 μm to the pattern volume. For example, when the fine pattern is a cross-sectional waveform and the height is 25 μm, the pitch is 50 μm, and the apex angle is 90 degrees, the coating thickness of the resin J is 12.5 to 22.5 μm.
Further, when the ultraviolet curable resin as described above is used, the viscosity is preferably, for example, several mPa · s to 100 mPa · s, and several mPa · s to 50 mPa · s in view of high-speed productivity. The viscosity of the ultraviolet curable resin can be easily adjusted by adding an appropriate amount of a low-viscosity monofunctional monomer or a solvent (such as ethanol), for example. Further, in the resin J, various additives such as a release agent, a leveling agent, and an antifoaming agent may be appropriately added.

  Next, the transfer roll 30 continuously transfers (molds) a predetermined fine pattern to the transfer resin J applied on the base film F1, as shown in FIG. A transfer cylinder 31 having a predetermined fine pattern formed on the outer peripheral surface, a rotation shaft 32 inserted inside the transfer cylinder 31 and detachably holding the transfer cylinder 31, and a position parallel to the rotation shaft 32 The nip roll 33 is mainly configured.

  First, as shown in FIG. 3, the transfer cylinder 31 includes a rectangular transfer plate 31a having a predetermined fine pattern on one side (the lower surface side in the example shown in the figure), and the other side of the transfer plate 31a (example shown in the figure). In this case, the rectangular transfer plate 31a has a cylindrical shape so that the fine pattern is on the outside and the elastic layer 31b is on the inside as shown in the figure. The two edges are butt-welded and formed into a cylindrical shape. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, it is detachably attached to the rotating shaft 32 by being inserted outside the rotating shaft 32 from the opening of the end face.

  As the transfer plate 31a constituting the transfer cylinder 31, a Ni electroformed thin plate having a thickness of 0.1 to 1.0 mm formed from an electroforming mold can be used as it is as in the conventional case. The surface hardness is preferably at least Hv300 or more from the viewpoint of contact with the base film F1, handling during cleaning and attachment / detachment. In addition, when such a Ni electroformed thin plate is used, if the fine pattern has a height of several μm or more, DLC (diamond-like carbon) treatment or Cr plating treatment is performed on the surface to increase the surface hardness. Can be raised. Further, when the height of the fine pattern is 1 μm or less, Ni alloys such as Ni / B, Ni / P, and Ni / Co can be used instead of the Ni electroformed thin plate. Further, the surface hardness may be increased by heat treatment.

  Then, the transfer cylinder 31 is obtained by bending the transfer plate 31a into a cylindrical shape so that the fine pattern is located on the outer side, and butt-welding both edges thereof. As a butt welding method, the following microplasma welding method is used, and the current value, plasma gas, shield gas, electrode diameter, nozzle diameter, cap diameter, torch angle, arc length, welding speed, etc. are finely adjusted. Then, welding can be performed even with a Ni electroformed thin plate having a thickness of about 0.1 to 1.0 mm.

  Here, the microplasma welding method is such that a low current (about 3 A) arc generated in a water-cooled nozzle (non-migration type plasma arc) is passed through a narrow hole at the tip of the nozzle and further thinned by a thermal pinch effect. This is a welding method in which an arc column is generated and a small amount of H (hydrogen) is added to the shielding gas in order to reach the welding workpiece while the arc column is thin, and the cooling pinch effect is maintained on the surface of the arc column by the divergence heat. The arc column obtained by this welding method can be generated even at an extremely low current, and a stable arc can be obtained even at a minimum current of 0.1 A.

Therefore, when such a microplasma welding method is used, the transfer plate 31a is not melted down by the welding heat, and the butt welding can be surely performed. Incidentally, in the case of stainless steel, heat resistant corrosion resistant alloy steel, titanium steel, etc., welding is possible even if the plate thickness is about 0.01 mm (10 μm).
As the transfer cylinder 31, in addition to the transfer plate 31a processed into a cylindrical shape as described above, it is also possible to use a transfer cylinder 31 formed in a cylindrical shape from the beginning by a roll electroforming method.

  This roll electroforming method is, for example, a method in which a resin film having a fine pattern is attached to the inside of a cylindrical body as a mold so that the fine pattern surface faces inward, and the inside is Ni electroformed. Thereafter, the resin film is removed from the cylindrical body together with the Ni film electroformed on the inner side, and the transfer film 31 having a fine pattern formed on the outer surface is obtained by peeling the resin film from the Ni film. .

  On the other hand, the elastic layer 31b superimposed on one surface of the transfer plate 31a may have any function to support the transfer plate 31a so as to be elastically deformable. For example, a known rubber material as exemplified below is used. Can be used. That is, as a rubber material applicable as the elastic layer 31b, natural rubber (NR), isoprene rubber (IR), styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), butadiene rubber (BR), chloroprene rubber (CR), nitrile rubber (NBR) ), Butyl rubber (IIR), ethylene propylene rubber (EPDM), urethane rubber (AU, EU), silicone rubber (VMQ, FVMQ), acrylic rubber (ACM), chlorosulfonated polyethylene rubber (CSM), fluoro rubber (FKM, FEPM, FFKM), hydrogenated nitrile rubber (HNBR), epichlorohydrin rubber (CO, ECO), polysulfide rubber, etc. are mentioned. It is desirable to use silicon rubber.

Further, the thickness of the elastic layer 31b is not particularly limited, but if it is too thin, the elastic deformation amount of the transfer plate 31a is too small to exhibit its function. Thickness is necessary. From the viewpoint of handling, the upper limit of the thickness is about 5.0 mm, and a desirable thickness is 0.1 mm to 1.0 mm.
The elastic layer 31b may be formed on the inner peripheral surface of the transfer plate 31a after butt welding, in addition to being previously formed on the transfer plate 31a before butt welding as described above. good. As a forming method in this case, for example, a sheet-like silicon rubber for the elastic layer is cut in accordance with the width and length of the cylindrical transfer plate 31a, and then the rubber is formed so as to follow the inner circumference thereof. For example, a method of inserting and expanding the transfer plate 31a (transfer cylinder 31) on the reduced rotation shaft 32 and fixing the transfer plate 31a (transfer cylinder 31) can be used.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the rotation shaft 32 for detachably holding the transfer cylinder 31 has a plurality (four in the present embodiment) of which the surface layer portion is divided in the circumferential direction. It is mainly composed of divided blocks 34, 34, 34, 34 and a moving shaft 35 that engages and holds the divided blocks 34, 34, 34, 34 and moves in the radial direction.
4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the internal structure of the rotating shaft 32, FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. Above C ′ (upper half) is a state in which each of the divided blocks 34, 34, 34, 34 has moved radially outward and the outer diameter of the portion has increased, and from the center lines C and C ′. The lower part (lower half) shows a state in which each of the divided blocks 34, 34, 34, 34 moves radially inward and the outer diameter of the part is reduced.

  The moving shaft 35 has an outer shaft 35a whose both ends are supported by bearings 36 and 37, an inner shaft 35b which is inserted into the center of the outer shaft 35a and is slidable in the longitudinal direction, and the inner shaft 35b. Are mainly composed of four expansion / contraction members 35c, 35c, 35c, 35c connected to the tip of each of them, and tapered portions 35d respectively formed on the outside of the expansion / contraction members 35c, 35c, 35c, 35c Each of the blocks 34, 34, 34, 34 engages with a tapered portion 35 e formed inside the blocks 34, 34, 34 slidably in the axial direction.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, when the inner shaft 35b is slid to the left in the drawing with respect to the outer shaft 35a, each of the divided blocks 34, 34, 34, 34 moves outward in the radial direction and the portion expands. On the contrary, when the inner shaft 35b is restored from this state, the entire divided blocks 34, 34, 34, 34 are moved radially outward to reduce the diameter of the portion.
Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, when the diameter is expanded, a certain amount of gap is generated at the boundary in the circumferential direction of each of the divided blocks 34, 34, 34, 34. Then, the boundary portions in the circumferential direction of the respective divided blocks 34, 34, 34, 34 are brought into close contact with each other so that the gap is eliminated (closed).

  The above-mentioned inner diameter φ of the transfer cylinder 31 is sufficiently larger than at least the outer diameter (for example, 400 mm) in a state where the rotation shaft 32 is most contracted, and the rotation shaft 32 is expanded most. Is smaller than the outer diameter (for example, 405 mm) (400 mm <inner diameter φ <405 mm), and can be easily attached and detached by reducing the diameter of the rotary shaft 32 when the transfer cylinder 31 is attached or detached, and this rotary shaft can be used for transfer. By expanding the diameter 32, the transfer cylinder 31 can be reliably held on the rotating shaft 32 side while preventing idling and eccentricity.

Further, by matching the inner diameter of the transfer cylinder 31 with the outer dimension of the rotating shaft 32 when the diameter of the rotary cylinder 32 is increased, the roundness (shake) of the outer periphery of the transfer cylinder 31 can be minimized.
Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the boundary portions in the circumferential direction of the divided blocks 34, 34, 34, 34 constituting the outer peripheral portion of the rotating shaft 32 are formed in a comb shape and mesh with each other. It is in a state. Accordingly, the teeth are in close contact with each other in the circumferential direction in the most contracted state, whereas a certain gap is generated between the teeth in the expanded state.

Further, the moving shaft 35 and the respective divided blocks 34, 34, 34, 34 constituting the rotating shaft 32 are provided with cooling water lines (not shown) vertically and horizontally, and cooling water having a predetermined temperature is supplied to the cooling water lines. In particular, the surface temperature of each of the divided blocks 34, 34, 34, 34 can be arbitrarily adjusted.
Further, in order to facilitate attachment / detachment of the transfer cylinder 31 to / from the rotary shaft 32, one of the bearings 36 and 37 that support the rotary shaft 32 can be easily removed. The shaft 32 can be supported in a cantilever manner.
Further, a drive motor (not shown) is connected to the rotary shaft 32 via a gear 38, and is capable of rotating, and a control (not shown) so that the rotation speed is synchronized with the feed speed of the base film F1. It is regulated by the circuit.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the nip roll 33 positioned parallel to the rotary shaft 32 integrally covers an elastic portion 33b having a constant coating thickness around a shaft portion 33a supported at both ends. As shown in FIG. 8, the base film F1 is pressed against the outer peripheral surface (fine pattern) of the transfer cylinder 31 in contact with the surface of the transfer cylinder 31 inserted on the rotating shaft 32. It has become.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the nip roll 33 can be moved away from the rotary shaft 32 in the radial direction as appropriate so that it does not get in the way when the transfer cylinder 31 is attached to or detached from the rotary shaft 32.

  The elastic portion 33b can also be made of a known rubber material or the like, similarly to the elastic layer 31b for supporting the transfer plate 31a so as to be elastically deformable. That is, natural rubber (NR), isoprene rubber (IR), styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), butadiene rubber (BR), chloroprene rubber (CR), nitrile rubber (NBR), butyl rubber (IIR), ethylene propylene rubber (EPDM) , Urethane rubber (AU, EU), silicone rubber (VMQ, FVMQ), acrylic rubber (ACM), chlorosulfonated polyethylene rubber (CSM), fluoro rubber (FKM, FEPM, FFKM), hydrogenated nitrile rubber (HNBR), Epichlorohydrin rubber (CO, ECO), polysulfide rubber, and the like can be used, and it is desirable to use urethane rubber having particularly high heat resistance and excellent elastic deformation as well as electrical characteristics and non-adhesiveness. .

  Moreover, the length of this nip roll 33 needs to be more than the width | variety of the base film F1 at least. The outer diameter of the nip roll and the thickness of the elastic portion 33b are not particularly limited, but are appropriately selected in consideration of the diameter of the rotating shaft. For example, an outer diameter of about 30 mm to 300 mm and a thickness of the elastic portion 33 b of about 3 mm to 50 mm are suitable.

  The curing unit 40 is for curing and fixing the fine pattern transferred onto the resin J by the transfer roll 30 as shown in FIG. 1, and includes a curing device corresponding to the type of the resin J. Has been. That is, for example, when the resin J is an ultraviolet curable resin as described above, an ultraviolet lamp for irradiating ultraviolet rays (UV) having a wavelength capable of curing the resin, a housing thereof, or the like is used. Is an electron beam curable resin, an irradiator for irradiating an electron beam for electron beam crosslinking of the resin is used. Further, when the resin J is a thermosetting resin, the resin is heated. The heater will be used.

Next, an example of the operation of the transfer apparatus 100 of the present invention having such a configuration and a transfer method using the transfer apparatus 100 will be described.
First, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, after the transfer cylinder 31 is inserted into the rotating shaft 32 of the transfer roll 30, the base film F1 fed out from the feed roll 10 is guided to the guide rolls 61 to 76 in the drawing. And the leading end is wound around the winding roll 60 so as to wind around the transfer roll 30 in the middle of the path.

Similarly, the protective film F2 is fed out from the supply roll 50, and is stretched in order according to a route as shown in the figure, and is overlapped with the base film F1 flowing from the transfer roll 30 side at the guide roller 73 portion. After that, the tip is wound around the winding roll 60.
And in this state, when the supply roll 10, the transfer roll 30, the supply roll 50, and the take-up roll 60 are each rotated at a predetermined speed in the direction of the arrow in the drawing, the base film F1 is continuously provided from the supply roll 10. It is paid out and moves along the route.

The base film F1 fed from the feed roll 10 passes through the coating portion 20 immediately after the feed roll 10, whereby the transfer resin J is continuously formed on one side (the lower side in the example in the figure) with a predetermined thickness. After the coating, the guide rolls 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69 and 70 are sequentially passed to reach the transfer roll 30 side.
At this time, the guide rolls 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, and 70 are not coated with the other surface, that is, the transfer resin J, on the base film F1. Since this is guided to the transfer roll 30 while being in contact with the surface (back side), the resin J does not adhere to each of the guide rolls 64 to 70, and its thickness varies. Can be prevented.

  Then, the base film F1 that has reached the transfer roll 30 side through the last guide roll 70 is then brought into contact with the surface of the transfer cylinder 31 so as to be pressed by the nip roll 33 of the transfer roll 30, and the transfer cylinder It flows downstream with the rotation of 31. As a result, the fine pattern of the transfer cylinder 31 is continuously transferred onto the resin J as shown in FIG. 8, and the resin J is cured and transferred by, for example, ultraviolet rays irradiated from the curing unit 40. The pattern is immediately fixed.

9 to 11 show the process of transferring the fine pattern to the base film F1 in the transfer roll 30. FIG. FIG. 9 shows the positional relationship among the transfer cylinder 31, the rotary shaft 32, and the nip roll 33 constituting the transfer roll 30, and FIGS. 10 and 11 are a part, a part b, It is the elements on larger scale which show c section.
As shown in the figure, the nip roll 33 of the transfer roll 30 is brought into contact with the transfer cylinder 31 inserted on the rotary shaft 32 in a pressed state by being elastically deformed so that the surface portion of the elastic portion 33b is crushed. Yes. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 11, the contact portion is elastically deformed by the pressing force so that the transfer plate 31a and the elastic layer 31b on the transfer cylinder 31 side are also dented to the rotating shaft 32 side. A contact surface (plane) is formed.

  As a result, the base film F1 flowing in this portion receives a constant pressing force when passing through the flat contact surface, and the outer periphery of the transfer cylinder 31 against the resin J applied to the base film F1. Since the fine pattern on the surface is in pressure contact, the fine pattern on the outer peripheral surface of the transfer cylinder 31 is reliably transferred onto the resin J. Further, even when the thickness of the resin J of the base film F1 is non-uniform, the thickness is uniform (expands) by passing between the transfer cylinder 31 and the nip roll 33 while being pressurized. Therefore, high-quality transfer can be achieved.

  The base film F1 on which the fine pattern is transferred and fixed in this way further passes through the guide rolls 71 and 72 on the downstream side of the transfer roll 30 and reaches the guide roll 73 to form the fine pattern. The protective film F <b> 2 that is sequentially drawn from the supply roll 50 side is superimposed on the surface that has been made, passes through the guide rolls 75 and 76 in order, and is continuously taken up by the take-up roll 60.

  In addition, it does not specifically limit as protective film F2 superimposed on this base film F1, For example, when PET with an easily bonding layer whose thickness is about 100 micrometers is used as base film F1, this protective film Untreated PET having a thickness of about 50 μm can be used as F2. Moreover, what has self-adhesiveness can also be used as this protective film F2. For example, LDPE / EVA, PP / EVA, etc. can be used.

  As described above, in the present invention, after the transfer cylinder 31 obtained by processing the transfer plate 31a having a fine pattern, which has been a flat plate, into a cylindrical shape, is detachably attached to the rotary shaft 32 to form the transfer roll 30, the base film F1 is formed. Since a predetermined fine pattern is continuously transferred onto the resin J while being in contact with the surface of the transfer roll 30, nanoimprint processing can be continuously performed, and high throughput and large area can be easily achieved. Can be achieved.

In addition, when transferring the fine pattern onto the base film F1, the base film F1 is not only simply brought into contact with the transfer cylinder 31, but the base film F1 is formed by the elastically deformable nip roll 33 and the elastic layer 31b. Since the sheet is passed through the transfer cylinder 31 more positively (sandwiched), the fine pattern can be transferred reliably.
Furthermore, as described above, according to the present invention, only the transfer cylinder 31 can be easily removed from the transfer roll 30, so that the attaching / detaching work such as cleaning and replacement of the transfer cylinder 31 can be performed very easily.

Further, since the transfer cylinder 31 can be formed from the rectangular transfer plate 31a obtained by the conventional manufacturing method as described above, it can be manufactured easily and inexpensively as compared with a case of newly manufacturing separately. .
Further, as described above, the diameter of the rotary shaft 32 is reduced when the transfer cylinder 31 is detached, so that the transfer cylinder 31 can be easily and reliably attached and detached, and the diameter of the rotary shaft 32 is increased when inserted. Therefore, the transfer cylinder 31 can be firmly held without being loosened or detached. This reliably prevents transfer defects due to separation, idle rotation, slipping, etc. of the transfer cylinder 31 during operation.

  Further, as described above, since the boundary portions in the circumferential direction of the divided blocks 34, 34, 34, 34 constituting the rotary shaft 32 are meshed with each other in a comb shape, particularly when the diameter of the rotary shaft is expanded. Since the gaps (grooves) between the formed divided blocks 34, 34, 34, and 34 have a waveform or zigzag shape, adverse effects during transfer due to the existence of the gaps can be minimized.

In the present invention, the boundary portions in the circumferential direction of the divided blocks 34, 34, 34, and 34 are engaged with each other in a comb-like shape, and the gaps are zigzag in the circumferential direction. It is possible to eliminate such an inconvenience.
In addition, by providing the elastic layer 31 b that can be elastically deformed on the inner surface of the transfer cylinder 31, the elastic layer 31 b is deformed on the contact surface with the rotation shaft 32, thereby eliminating the influence of the unevenness of the rotation shaft 32. .
In this embodiment, after the fine pattern is transferred, the protective film F2 is continuously overlaid thereon. However, this step is omitted and the fine pattern is transferred and cured. You may make it wind up.

  Further, when there is a portion lacking in the fine pattern on the base film F1, the same resin J as that of the upstream side application unit 20 is further applied to the downstream side of the transfer roll 30, as shown in FIG. A second application part 25 (sub-application part) and a second transfer roll (sub-transfer roll) 80 having substantially the same structure as that of the transfer roll 30 are provided, and a new fine pattern is formed in a portion lacking the fine pattern. If formed in an overlapping manner, the fine pattern can be transferred substantially continuously over a long distance. Here, the 2nd application part 25 (sub application part) means the application part which apply | coats resin to the transfer pattern defect part of the transfer cylinder welding part in a continuous coating film, and the uncoated part in an intermittent coating film.

Specifically, a fine pattern defect (weld trace) on the base film F1 is obtained from the rotational speed of the upstream transfer roll 30, the position of the weld line of the transfer cylinder 31, and the like. The same resin J can be intermittently overcoated from the two coating portions 25, and a fine pattern can be superimposed and transferred and fixed thereon.
Note that this step is not necessarily performed continuously after the transfer and fixing of the fine pattern by the transfer roll 30, and the entire amount of the base film F1 is once wound on the take-up roll 60 without the protective film F2 being laminated. After the removal, it may be set again on the feeding roll 10, and the fine pattern may be transferred and fixed again to the defective portion of the fine pattern. As a result, the transfer roll 30 can be reused as it is as a means for transferring and fixing the fine pattern for the second time as it is, so that the cost required for the equipment can be saved.
In addition, when the transfer cylinder 31 of the transfer roll 30 is integrally formed by the roll electroforming method described above, this step may be performed when a fine pattern joint remains.

Next, an example of a transfer method by the transfer apparatus 100 of the present invention having the above configuration will be described using specific numerical values.
(Example)
First, a Ni electroforming mold (thickness 0.3 mm) having a fine pattern of L / S (wave shape) with a pitch of 130 nm and a height of 130 nm is bent into a cylindrical shape, and both ends thereof are microplasma welded. The transfer cylinder having an inner diameter of 82.5 mm was produced by butt welding.
Thereafter, a silicon rubber sheet (hardness 50, thickness 0.3 mm) was mounted as an elastic layer on the transfer cylinder. The transfer cylinder equipped with this elastic layer was inserted on a rotating shaft whose outer diameter was 80 mm to 85 mm, and the diameter of the transfer cylinder was increased, and the transfer cylinder was fixed on the rotating shaft. The rotating shaft is machined so that the outer diameter becomes 82 mm when the diameter is expanded. The roundness of the outer periphery of the transfer cylinder fixed by expanding the diameter of the rotating shaft in this way was 65 μm.

  On the other hand, a single-sided easy-to-adhesive Toyobo A4100 (manufactured by Toyobo Co., Ltd.) having a width of 135 mm and a thickness of 50 μm is used as the base film, and UV curing is applied to the easily-adhesive surface by a gravure roll with a # 225 oblique line and a pattern width of 40 mm Resin (M309 manufactured by Toagosei Co., Ltd./Daicel Citec Co., Ltd. HDDA / Irgacure I907 = 50/50/3 parts manufactured by Ciba Specialty Chemical Chemicals Co., Ltd., 23 ° C., resin viscosity 20 mPa · s) 40 mm wide × 1 μm coated thickness It was applied with.

In addition, a metal halide UV lamp is used as an apparatus for curing the resin, and this is disposed at the apex of the transfer cylinder fixed on the rotating shaft (when the base film is closest), and irradiated with an illuminance of 150 mW / cm ^2. did.
Further, an ultraviolet curable resin on the base film was pressed against the transfer cylinder using a urethane rubber nip roll having an outer diameter of 30 mm, an elastic portion thickness of 10 mm, and a hardness of A50.

The fine pattern is transferred and cured and fixed on the base film while rotating the feed shaft of the base film at 1 m / min and the rotating shaft with the transfer cylinder fixed at the same rotational speed of 1 m / min as the base film. did. At this time, the width of the UV curable resin on the base film spread about twice on the transfer cylinder.
Thereafter, the base film on which the fine pattern is formed avoids the welded portion, freezes the eight positions corresponding to the 45 ° interval in the circumferential direction of the transfer cylinder, and confirms the cross section with a scanning electron microscope (SEM), The shape transferability and the film thickness of the UV curable resin were measured.

As a result, the film thickness of the ultraviolet curable resin was an average of 0.5 μm and a standard deviation of 0.05 μm, and the surface property was smooth even visually.
Further, it was confirmed that the fine pattern on the transfer cylinder side was accurately transferred onto the substrate film with almost no loss of the shape.
In addition, a wire grid polarizing film is then produced through a series of treatments such as AL deposition and etching on the fine pattern on the substrate film, and its optical characteristics are measured with VAP-7070 manufactured by JASCO Corporation. As a result, the visibility corrected single transmittance was 37% and the visibility corrected polarization degree was 99.95%, and it was confirmed that the conditions for practical use were sufficiently satisfied.

(Comparative example)
In Example 1, a Ni electroforming mold was welded to an inner diameter of 82 mm to produce a transfer cylinder.
The transfer cylinder was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the diameter of the transfer cylinder was directly fixed to the rotating shaft without using a silicon rubber sheet. The roundness of the outer periphery of the transfer cylinder whose diameter was increased and fixed to the rotating shaft was 65 μm.
As a result, it was confirmed that the fine pattern on the transfer cylinder side was accurately transferred on the base film film with almost no loss of the shape. The deviation was 0.3 μm, and a horizontal step was also observed visually in the roll circumferential direction, that is, the base film longitudinal direction.

  In addition, a wire grid polarizing film is then produced through a series of treatments such as AL deposition and etching on the fine pattern on the substrate film, and its optical characteristics are measured with VAP-7070 manufactured by JASCO Corporation. As a result, it was confirmed that the transmittance correction single transmittance was 37% and the visibility correction polarization degree was 99.95%, and it was confirmed that the conditions for practical use were satisfied. It was unavoidable.

1 is an overall view showing an embodiment of a transfer device 100 of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of a transfer roll. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a manufacturing method of a transfer cylinder. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the structure of a rotating shaft. It is the sectional view on the AA line in FIG. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line B-B in FIG. 4. It is a partial enlarged plan view which shows the boundary part between division | segmentation blocks. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the base film obtained with the transfer apparatus 100 of this invention. It is a side view which shows the transfer process by a transfer roll. (A) is the elements on larger scale which show the a section in FIG. 9, (B) is the elements on larger scale which show the b section in FIG. It is the elements on larger scale which show the c section in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows other embodiment of the transfer apparatus 100 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Transfer apparatus 10 ... Feeding roll 20 ... Application | coating part 25 ... Sub application | coating part 30 ... Transfer roll 31 ... Transfer cylinder 31a ... Transfer plate 31b ... Elastic layer 32 ... Rotating shaft 33 ... Pressure roller (nip roll)
34 ... Divided block 35 ... Moving shaft 40 ... Curing part 50 ... Supply roll 60 ... Winding roll 61-76 ... Guide roll 80 ... Sub-transfer roll (sub-transfer plate)
F1 ... Base film F2 ... Protective film J ... Resin

Claims (11)

Transfer having a transfer roll that contacts a base film fed from a feed roll and transfers a predetermined fine pattern onto the surface thereof, and a winding roll that winds the base film on which the predetermined fine pattern is transferred by the transfer roll A device,
The transfer roll includes a transfer cylinder in which the predetermined fine pattern is formed on the outer peripheral surface in contact with the base film and an elastic layer is formed on the inner peripheral surface thereof, and is inserted inside the transfer cylinder to A rotating shaft that detachably attaches the transfer cylinder via the elastic layer; and a nip roll that contacts the transfer cylinder inserted into the rotating shaft and presses the base film against its outer peripheral surface. Characteristic transfer device. The transfer device according to claim 1,
The transfer device, wherein the nip roll is provided at a junction between the transfer cylinder inserted into the rotating shaft and the base film. In the transfer device according to claim 1 or 2,
The transfer device according to claim 1, wherein at least a surface of the nip roll is made of an elastically deformable material. The transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The transfer cylinder is formed by bending a rectangular transfer plate having the predetermined fine pattern into a cylindrical shape so that the fine pattern is located outside, and then butt-welding both edges thereof. The transfer device. The transfer apparatus according to claim 4,
The transfer apparatus, wherein the butt welding of the transfer plate is performed by microplasma welding. In the transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The transfer cylinder, wherein the transfer cylinder is formed by a roll electroforming method. In the transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The rotating shaft includes a plurality of divided blocks obtained by dividing the surface layer portion in the circumferential direction, and a moving shaft that engages and holds the divided blocks and moves the divided blocks in the radial direction. Transfer device. The transfer device according to claim 7,
2. A transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein boundary portions in the circumferential direction of the divided blocks mesh with each other in a comb shape. In the transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
On the downstream side of the transfer roll, a sub-coating portion that applies a predetermined resin to a predetermined position of a base film on which a predetermined fine pattern has been transferred by the transfer roll, and a resin applied by the sub-coating portion A transfer device further comprising a sub-transfer roll for transferring a predetermined fine pattern. A method of transferring the fine pattern to the resin by pressing a transfer plate on which a predetermined fine pattern is formed on a substrate film having a resin previously applied to the surface,
The transfer plate is processed into a cylindrical shape so that the fine pattern is located on the outer peripheral surface, an elastic layer is formed on the inner peripheral surface, and then detachably attached to a rotating shaft, and then the substrate film is rotated. It is characterized by continuously feeding the substrate film in contact with the surface of the transfer plate on the shaft and continuously transferring a predetermined fine pattern onto the resin while pressing the base film against the surface of the transfer plate with a nip roll. And transfer method. The transfer method according to claim 10, wherein
After further applying a predetermined resin to a predetermined position of the base film to which the predetermined fine pattern has been transferred, while continuously feeding the base film in contact with the surface of the cylindrical sub-transfer plate, A transfer method characterized by continuously transferring a predetermined fine pattern onto the resin.

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