JP2009242838A - Vertical electroplating apparatus and method of plastic film with plating film using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vertical plating apparatus having a means for grasping a lower side of a web as moving countermeasure for the web in a plating vessel to hang the web in the width direction to transport, wherein the ununiformity of a plating film which occurs by the turbulence of liquid flow due to the opening and closing of a movable gate each when the lower side grasping part is goes out from the plating vessel is prevented. <P>SOLUTION: A lower side support rotating body 23 of the web rotating only in the plating vessel is included. As a result, a part largely opened and closed in the lower side of the plating vessel is eliminated to reduce the turbulence of the plating liquid and the uniform plating film is obtained. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vertical electrolytic plating apparatus, and more particularly to a vertical electrolytic plating apparatus for a long web and a method for producing a plastic film with a plating film.

  In recent years, as flexible circuit boards that have come to be used in electronic devices, electronic components, semiconductor packages, and the like, wiring boards in the form of a combination of a polyimide film or polyester film web and copper foil have attracted attention. On this substrate, a so-called “three-layer type”, in which a copper foil is bonded to a web via an adhesive, and a metal film formed by plating or the like without using an adhesive on the web, commonly known as “2”. There is a flexible circuit board called “layer type”. Of these, the latter two-layer type is attracting more attention as the wiring pitch of the circuit advances.

  The two-layer flexible circuit board is formed by, for example, a PVD method such as a vacuum deposition method, a sputtering method or various ion plating methods, a so-called CVD method for vaporizing and vapor-depositing a metal-containing chemical, etc. A manufacturing method in which electrolytic copper plating is performed using, for example, a continuous electroplating apparatus for web as described in Patent Document 1 after vapor deposition or after plating various metals by an electroless plating method is generally used.

  By the way, in recent years, fine pitches of circuit patterns have been advanced with the increase in the density of electronic circuits. As the fine pitch is advanced, the wiring width and the line-to-line width are narrowed, so that the size of the defects allowed for the substrate is small and the number is reduced. That is, an extremely high quality substrate material has been demanded.

  Patent Document 1 is a type of plating apparatus that performs power feeding and conveyance by a power feeding roll that contacts the entire width of a plating target web. When this apparatus is used, defects such as minute scratches are very likely to occur due to contact with the power supply roll.

  In order to solve these problems, a plating apparatus of a type in which only the upper end portion of the web is gripped by the feeding electrode and conveyed while feeding is also proposed, but this method does not require a feeding roll that contacts the entire width. Therefore, although it is effective in suppressing scratches, especially when the web to be plated is a flexible plastic film, the web sways due to the liquid flow in the plating tank, and scratches occur due to contact with structures such as the tank wall. Or inconveniences such as film thickness unevenness due to fluctuations in the distance between the electrodes. Although the plating apparatus which provided the guide in order to prevent this is indicated by patent documents 2, the fine scratch resulting from contact and the crack and dent which arise by involving the foreign material in plating solution, etc. in the part which a guide contacts There is a risk of such defects.

  Patent Document 3 discloses a plating apparatus that clamps and conveys both upper and lower ends of a web with a clip. If this method is used, defects such as a web sway and a scratch due to contact with a guide are eliminated.

JP 2006-307338 A JP 2007-2111294 A JP 2007-138279 A

  In order to wind up without damaging the plated surface of the web, a method of fixing and transporting the upper and lower ends of the web as in Patent Document 3 is preferable. However, when the lower end of the web is clamped as in Patent Document 3, the clamper itself must enter and exit the plating tank.

  In the vertical plating tank, a movable weir must be provided on the lower side of the plating tank in order for the clamper holding the lower end portion to enter and exit the plating tank. That is, every time the clamper enters and exits the plating tank, the movable weir opens and a large amount of plating solution flows out.

  Therefore, the subject that the large capacity | circulation pump for replenishing the plating solution which flowed out is needed arises. Moreover, the large outflow of the plating solution has a problem that the liquid flow of the plating solution in the plating tank is disturbed and nonuniform portions are generated in the formed plating layer.

  Further, when the web is gripped by the clamper, the tension applied to the web is cut at that time, and there is a problem that the web is likely to be wrinkled.

The present invention has been conceived to solve the above problems. That is,
According to a preferred form of the invention,
A vertical electrolytic plating apparatus used for forming an electrolytic plating film on the surface of the long web while conveying the width direction of the long web in a substantially vertical direction,
A feeding electrode in contact with the surface of the long web;
Upper gripping means for gripping the upper end of the long web;
A lower support rotating body for gripping the lower end of the long web;
Web conveying means for conveying the web;
A plating tank;
A vertical electrolytic plating apparatus having an anode installed in the plating tank is provided.

  Moreover, the manufacturing method of the plastic film with a plating film characterized by performing an electroplating process using such a vertical electroplating apparatus is provided.

  In the present invention, the “web” means paper, non-woven fabric, plastic film or the like having a conductive thin film on at least one side thereof, or a metal foil or the like and having a thickness with respect to the width. Is thin enough and long enough.

  According to the vertical plating apparatus of the present invention, since it has at least a pair of rotating bodies that nip the lower end portion of the web from the front and back, the web can be conveyed in the plating tank while holding the lower end portion, and the rotation can be performed. Since the body does not enter and exit the plating tank, the effect that the plating solution does not flow out in large quantities can be obtained. That is, a large-capacity circulation pump is not required, and the plating solution flow is not disturbed, so that a stable quality plating layer can be obtained.

  Further, according to the preferred embodiment of the vertical plating apparatus of the present invention, the drive system of the rotating body that nips the web is independent of the drive system of the web conveyance system, so that tension is applied to the web in the plating tank. You can continue. That is, it is possible to obtain an effect that wrinkles are hardly generated on the web.

  Hereinafter, the case of applying the example of the best embodiment of the present invention to an electrolytic copper plating apparatus for a plastic film will be described as an example with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a plastic film electrolytic copper plating apparatus (hereinafter also referred to as “plating apparatus”) 10 of the present embodiment. The plating apparatus 10 includes a pre-processing unit 13, a plating unit 17, a post-processing unit 15, and a film transport unit 16. Moreover, the unwinding device 18 and the winding device 19 may be included.

  In the unwinding device 18, a plastic film 11 with a conductive thin film (hereinafter also simply referred to as “plastic film 11” or “web 11”) in which a conductive thin film 112 is preliminarily provided on one surface or both surfaces of the plastic film 111 is wound. The plastic film 11 with a conductive thin film is unwound from the raw fabric roll 12 and supplied to the plating unit 17. Although the unwinding device 18 is used as the shaft of the original fabric roll 12 in FIG. 1, a driving motor may be provided here, or a nip roll for unwinding may be disposed in the next stage of the original fabric roll 12.

  The winding device 19 winds up the plastic film 11 that has been pretreated, plated, and posttreated.

  For the plastic film 111, a resin material such as polyethylene, nylon, and polyimide is preferably used. Particularly for use as a flexible circuit board, a polyimide film is preferably used from the viewpoint of heat resistance during soldering in a subsequent process. As the conductive thin film 112, a metal having good conductivity such as copper, nickel, chromium, or an alloy thereof is preferably used, and a dry coating method such as a sputtering method, a CVD method, a vapor deposition method, or an electroless plating method is used. In general, the film is formed.

  The plastic film 11 unwound from the unwinding device 18 is supplied to the plating device 10. The plating apparatus 10 includes a film transport unit 16 that transports the supplied plastic film 11, a pre-processing unit 13 that performs cleaning of the film before plating, and post-processing that cleans and dries the film after plating. It consists of a part 15 and a plating part 17 for forming an electrolytic plating film on the plastic film 11.

  The film transport unit 16 applies tension to the plastic film 11 and determines the transport speed. The film transport unit 16 is configured to hold the film largely on the drive roller, or between the drive roll and the nip roller. What is comprised so that it may convey by pinching, and what was comprised so that it may hold | grip both ends of a film with things, such as pliers, and drive this, may be used suitably. FIG. 1 shows an example in which the web 11 is sandwiched between the driving roller 56 and the nip roller 57 driven by the driving device 50 and conveyed.

  Such a film transport unit 16 may be provided in one place in the plating apparatus. However, in order to perform film tension control during plating with high accuracy, it is preferable to provide one each at the entrance and the exit of the plating apparatus 10. In order to suppress quality defects such as scratches on the film, it is more preferable that the film is conveyed by a nip roller that nips at least the upper end of the film, preferably only the upper and lower ends of the film. In this case, it is preferable to make contact with the width from 0.1 to 10% of the entire film width from the film end, and it is more preferable to make the contact width as small as possible.

  FIG. 2 is a conceptual view of the plated portion 17 of FIG. 1 viewed from the side (in the direction of reference numeral 100 in FIG. 1). The plating unit 17 includes a plating tank 14 in which a plating solution 21 and an anode 141 are accommodated. The plastic film 11 electrically connected to the cathode 22 is conveyed in a state of being immersed in the plating solution 21, and is subjected to electrolytic plating treatment by being energized.

  The anode 141 is a soluble anode made of pure copper or a copper alloy, a highly conductive and highly corrosion-resistant material such as titanium or iridium, or an insoluble material formed by applying precious metal plating such as platinum to these materials. An anode is preferably used. The insoluble anode is particularly preferable because impurities such as anode sludge are hardly generated when copper ions are generated, and the quality of the plating film can be greatly improved.

  In order to stir the plating solution 21, it is preferable to circulate the plating solution 21 in the plating tank 14. For this purpose, a circulation system is preferably used in which the plating solution 21 is separately pumped from a storage tank (not shown) to the plating tank 14 and the overflowed liquid is returned to the storage tank. At this time, it is more preferable that the liquid pumped up is sprayed so as to directly hit the plastic film 11. This is because the liquid circulation on the surface of the plastic film 11 is extremely improved, and the factors that suppress the deposition of plating such as a thick electric double layer and lack of copper ions can be eliminated, and high-speed plating is possible.

  In the plating tank 14, the plastic film 11 is in a state in which it is likely to be shaken by the liquid flow. If the plastic film 11 is shaken by the liquid flow, it will come into contact with the structure in the tank and cause quality defects such as scratches, or unevenness in the film thickness distribution as the distance between the electrodes 141 changes. It occurs. Therefore, it is necessary to support the plastic film 11.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the upper end portion of the plastic film 11 is held by the upper holding means, and the lower end portion of the plastic film 11 is held by the lower support rotating body. A preferred specific example of the upper gripping means 24 is a clip, and a preferred specific example of the lower support rotating body 23 is a nip roller.

  There is also a method of gripping the upper and lower ends of the plastic film 11 with clips, but this method requires a large opening (for example, a movable weir) to pass the clip under the plating tank 14 having a high hydraulic pressure. The leakage amount of the liquid 21 becomes extremely large. This is not preferable for the generation of the plating film because the circulation amount of the plating solution 21 becomes too large, and it is necessary to increase the capacity of the circulation system, or the liquid flow at the entrance and exit of the plating tank 14 is disturbed. In order to solve this problem, in the present embodiment, the lower support rotating body 23 such as a nip roller which does not need to enter and exit from the inside and outside of the plating tank 14 is supported.

  Therefore, even if it is not a nip roller, the lower side is gripped by a clip that circulates only inside or outside the tank, or the lower side is gripped by a belt that rotates only inside or outside the tank. A structure may be used.

  FIG. 3 shows an example in which the lower support rotating body 23 is constituted by a nip roller. FIG. 3 is a view of the plating tank 14 as viewed from above. Here, from above means from the direction of reference numeral 101 in FIG. In FIG. 3, the upper gripping means 24 is omitted. A plastic film 11 is conveyed from the left side to the right side of the drawing tank 14. The nip rollers 204 and 203 sandwich the plastic film. Since the nip roller holds the plastic film in this way, the plastic film 11 is plated while being transported in the plating tank 14 without floating.

  Further, since the nip roller rotates only in the plating tank 14, it is not necessary to provide an opening such as a movable weir on the lower side of the plating tank 14 with the conveyance of the plastic film 11. That is, a large amount of the plating solution does not periodically flow out. Note that the anode 141 is disposed on the side facing the conductive film 112, but is not limited to this position.

  FIG. 4 shows a case where the lower side of the film is gripped by a belt that rotates only in the plating tank. Inside the belt 205, rollers 201a to 201c are disposed at triangular positions. Similarly, rollers 202a to 202c are disposed inside the belt 206 at triangular positions. The belts 205 and 206 hold the plastic film 11 from the front and the back. In this case as well, it is not necessary to open the lower side of the plating tank 14 with the conveyance of the plastic film 11 as in FIG.

  In any method, the lower support rotating body 23 of the plastic film 11 is not provided with a drive system, and is configured to be driven and rotated by the plastic film 11, thereby eliminating the need for precise control of the drive system. Therefore, it is preferable to reduce the cost of the apparatus.

  However, when the mechanical loss of the lower support rotating body 23 is large, a dedicated drive system may be provided for active driving. In this case, by controlling the speed of the lower support rotating body 23 to be synchronized with the transport speed of the plastic film 11, it is more preferable because the generation of transport wrinkles can be prevented.

  As a synchronous control method, the actual plastic film conveyance speed is monitored, and the rotational speed of the lower support rotating body 23 is controlled so as to match it. 11 is preferably used.

  By adopting a method in which the torque is controlled so as to give a rotational torque equivalent to the mechanical loss of the lower support rotating body 23 and the plastic film 11 is conveyed, the influence on the conveyance of the plastic film 11 can be minimized. It is more preferable.

  Referring again to FIG. 1, the plating unit 17 </ b> B in FIG. 1 shows a state where the synchronization signal Sbsy from the driving device 50 of the film transport unit 16 is sent to the driving device 52 of the lower support rotating body 23. The driving device 52 rotates the lower support rotating body according to the synchronization signal of the film transport unit 16.

  The drive device 52 may be provided on all of the lower support rotating bodies in one plating tank, or may be a part thereof. For example, in the case of the rotating belt shown in FIG. 4, the plastic film can be suitably held and conveyed if the rollers 201c and 202c have the driving device 52. In addition, the plating part 17A has shown the case where the drive device is not installed in the lower side support rotary body.

  Further, the portion where the lower support rotator 23 is in contact with the plastic film conductive surface 112 is used as a conductor, and the power is supplied from the lower support rotator 23 by being electrically connected to the power source for plating. This is preferable because the potential distribution in the width direction of the plastic film 11 can be made more uniform and the film thickness distribution can be made uniform.

  In this case, it is preferable to install a shielding plate or the like (not shown) so that the periphery of the lower support rotating body 23 can be securely shielded, because it is possible to suppress the plating metal from being deposited on the conductor portion. In addition, since it is difficult to completely prevent the plating metal from being deposited on the conductor portion, the lower support is configured so that it can gradually move in the separating direction as the thickness of the metal deposited on the lower support rotating body 23 increases. It is preferable to periodically replace the rotating body 23 or to perform regular maintenance for peeling the deposited metal.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of a configuration in which the lower support rotating body 23 can move. The plating tank 14 is filled with a plating solution 21 and an anode 141 is provided. The lower support rotating body 23 includes a power feeding roller 214 and a nip roller 203. The power supply roller is connected to the cathode of the plating power source 60 via the cathode terminal 61, and the anode 141 is connected to the anode of the plating power source 60 via the anode terminal 62.

  The nip roller is installed at the bottom of the plating tank, for example, in a groove structure so as to be movable in the thickness direction of the web 11. A spring 231 is disposed between the wall of the plating tank and the plating tank, and always presses the nip roller 203 against the power supply roller 214.

  In this way, the nip roller 203 is movably pressed against the power supply roller 214, so that the web 11 can be held with a predetermined pressure even if metal is deposited on the surface of the power supply roller 214.

  The upper gripping means 24 may have the same structure as the lower support 23, and an example is shown in FIG. Like the lower support rotating body, it is composed of a power supply roll 224 and a nip roll 203, and the nip roll 203 is urged against a power supply roll by a spring 231. The power supply roll is connected to the cathode of the plating power supply 60 via the cathode terminal 63.

  Referring again to FIG. 1, when the lower support rotating body 23 is used as an electrode, the lower rotating body 23 is connected to the cathode of the plating electrode 60 via the power supply terminal 61. The anode side of the plating electrode 60 is connected to the anode electrode 141 via the power supply terminal 62.

  Further, it is preferable that the rotation center axis of the lower support rotating body 23 is set at 90 degrees with respect to the transport direction of the plastic film 11. When wrinkles are generated in the plastic film 11 and it is desired to apply a slight tension in the width direction of the plastic film 11, the film is transported with respect to the transport direction of the plastic film 11 with respect to the rotation center axis of the lower support rotating body 23. More preferably, the direction is set to 0 degree and an angle of 45 degrees or more and less than 90 degrees.

  FIG. 10 shows a conceptual diagram of suitable angles. The rotating shaft 230 of the lower rotating body is set at an angle of 45 degrees or more and less than 90 degrees from the transport direction 120 of the film 11.

  The contact width of the lower support rotating body 23 to the plastic film 11 is preferably in the range of 5 to 10% from the end of the film, and more preferably as small as possible.

  Next, the upper gripping means will be described. As the upper gripping means 24, a clip is preferably used, and the same roller (example shown in FIG. 5) and belt structure as the lower support rotating body 23 described above can be used. Regardless of the structure of any upper gripping means 24, the contact width to the plastic film 11 is preferably 5 to 10% from the end of the film, and the contact width should be as small as possible. preferable.

  In any of the upper gripping means 24, a dedicated drive system is not provided, and it is configured to be driven by the plastic film 11, so that there is no need for precise control of the drive system, and no additional equipment for driving is required. Therefore, the apparatus cost can be reduced, which is preferable.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of the structure. With reference to FIG. 6A, the upper gripping means 24 is fixed to the wheel 28 via a bracket 29. The wheels 28 are movably installed on the rails 27. With reference to FIG. 6 (b), this rail is annularly arranged outside the plating tank 14. The upper gripping means 24 is arranged on the rail without any gap.

  The upper gripping means 24 grips the film 11 with the clip closed immediately before the plating tank 14. FIG. 6A shows a state where the film 11 is held. The upper gripping means 24 itself does not have a drive system, but moves according to the gripped film. This movement pushes out the upper gripping means 24 that is in front on the rail, and the entire upper gripping means moves.

  Note that the upper gripping means 24 that moves according to the film only needs to be configured to push out the upper gripping means 24 that is in front on the rail. It is also possible to extend the rod forward from the gripping means 24 so that the rod pushes out the front upper gripping means 24.

  However, when the mechanical loss of the upper gripping means 24 is large, a dedicated independent drive system may be provided for active driving. In this case, by controlling the speed of the upper gripping means 24 to be synchronized with the transport speed of the plastic film 11, it is more preferable because the generation of transport wrinkles can be prevented.

  Referring again to FIG. 1, the plating unit 17 </ b> B in FIG. 1 shows a state in which the synchronization signal Susy from the driving device 50 of the film transport unit 16 is sent to the driving device 51 of the upper gripping means 24. The driving device 51 moves the upper gripping means 24 in accordance with the synchronization signal from the film transport unit 16. A system for driving the upper gripping means may be called an upper gripping means driving system.

  The upper gripping means driving system may transport the gripped film at exactly the same speed as the film transport unit 16 or may release the drive until the film is released after gripping the film. While gripping the film, the driving of the upper gripping means driving system may be released because the plastic film is tensioned by the film transport unit 16 in the plating apparatus of this embodiment, so that the film is gripped. This is because the upper gripping means can be pulled with a film. When the upper gripping means driving system is provided and the upper gripping means does not grip the film, the upper gripping means may be driven independently of the film transport unit 16 at all.

  As a method of synchronous control, the actual plastic film conveyance speed is monitored and the speed of the upper gripping means 24 is controlled so as to match it, or the rotational torque is controlled to be constant and the speed is adjusted to the plastic film 11. A method of controlling in such a manner is preferably used. By adopting a method in which the torque is controlled so as to give a rotational torque equivalent to the mechanical loss of the upper gripping means 24 and the transport speed of the plastic film 11 is adopted, the influence on the transport of the plastic film 11 can be minimized. preferable.

  The upper gripping means 24 may also serve as a power feeding electrode. By providing a feeding electrode in the portion of the upper gripping means 24 that contacts the plastic film conductive surface 112, the gripping force by the upper gripping means 24 becomes the contact pressure between the electrode surface and the film conductive surface as it is, and can be firmly attached. preferable.

  A specific example of such upper gripping means 24 is shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 7A, the clip-shaped upper gripping means 24 includes a receiving side member 311, a movable member 312, and a hinge pin 313 that movably connects these two members. Further, a feeding electrode 314 may be disposed on the conductive thin film 112 side of the plastic film 11.

  The clip-shaped upper gripping means 24 grips the plastic film 11 with the receiving side member 311 and the movable member 312. A plurality of upper gripping means 24 are attached to the rotating belt 26 of FIG. 1 and move in the plating tank 14 while gripping the plastic film 11. After leaving the plating tank 14, the movable member is opened and the plastic film 11 is opened as shown in FIG.

  When the feeding electrode is disposed on the movable member, the entire upper gripping means 24 becomes the cathode and becomes a target for metal deposition from the plating solution. Accordingly, it is preferable to perform a process such as covering the portion other than the power supply electrode 314 with an insulator. Specifically, an insulating material such as a resin is applied to the surface other than the power supply electrode 314 of the upper gripping means 24, and an insulating film is formed on the surface.

  A plurality of upper gripping means 24 may be disposed on an annular track installed on the plating apparatus side. A plurality of annular tracks may be installed in the plating apparatus. A plurality of upper gripping means arranged on one annular track may be called an upper gripping means group.

  In the example of FIG. 7, a state in which the feeding electrode is provided on the movable member is shown, but the upper gripping unit 24 and the feeding electrode may be provided separately. As a power supply electrode in this case, a structure using a nip roller as a power supply electrode, a structure gripped by a clip provided with a power supply electrode, a structure in which an endless belt-shaped power supply electrode is in close contact with the plastic film conductive surface 112, a plate electrode A structure in which the plastic film is in sliding contact with the plastic film conductive surface 112 can be suitably used.

  In any feed electrode structure, the contact width of the feed electrode with the plastic film conductive surface 112 is preferably 0.1 to 10% from the end of the film, and is 0.3 to 2%. Contact is more preferable from the viewpoint of reducing contact resistance, and contact with a width of 0.3 to 2% is particularly preferable from the viewpoint of reducing contact resistance and preventing contact scratches.

  The power supply electrode is preferably arranged so as not to be in direct contact with the plating solution 21. This is because the power supply electrode is also plated. When the power supply electrode is immersed in the plating solution 21 together with the plastic film 11, it is preferable to coat the power supply electrode with an insulator such as resin or rubber except for the contact surface with the film conductive surface 112 of the power supply electrode.

  When the power supply electrode is not immersed in the plating solution 21 together with the plastic film 11, it is preferable to dispose the power supply electrode outside the plating tank 14. More preferably, the liquid level is locally lowered in the plating tank 14 so that the film conductive surface 112 is exposed and contacted therewith.

  The power supply electrode needs to be electrically connected to the power supply for plating. When the power supply electrode is a rotating body, it is preferable to energize through a rotatable electrical connector such as a slip ring.

  In the case of a structure in which the power feeding electrode moves together with the plastic film, a method of providing a power receiving terminal that is electrically connected to the power feeding electrode and moves together with the power feeding electrode and energizing through the power receiving terminal is preferably used. .

  FIG. 8 shows a specific example. The plating tank 14 is filled with a plating solution 21 and an anode 141 is provided. The plastic film 11 is held at the upper end by the upper gripping means 24, held at the lower end by the lower support rotating body 23, and conveyed in the plating tank 14. Here, the power supply electrode 314 is disposed on the movable member 313 of the upper gripping means 24 and contacts the conductive thin film 112 of the plastic film 11.

  The power supply electrode 314 is connected to the power receiving terminal 402 via the cable 404. The power receiving terminal 402 is always in contact with the cathode bar 401 arranged along the moving route of the upper gripping means 24 and supplies power to the power feeding electrode.

  A method in which the power receiving terminal is in contact with the cathode bar 401 fixed to the apparatus side and electrically connected to the plating power source and is energized while sliding is preferable because the apparatus configuration can be simplified. In this case, it is more preferable that the cathode bar 401 is disposed in a portion other than directly above the plating tank, so that dust such as abrasion powder due to sliding is hardly brought into the plating tank.

  More preferably, a cathode rotating body that is fixed to the apparatus side and connected to a plating power source via a rotatable electrical connector such as a slip ring is provided, and a cathode rotating body that rotates on the spot is disposed, and the power receiving terminal is connected to the cathode rotating body. By configuring so as to be energized while being in rolling contact, it is possible to energize without generating abrasion powder. As the cathode rotating body in this case, a roller-shaped or endless belt-shaped one can be suitably used.

  A specific example is shown in FIG. The point that the plastic film 11 is conveyed in the plating tank 14 in which the anode 141 is disposed and is filled with the plating solution 21 is the same as FIG. The feeding electrode 314 disposed on the movable member 312 of the upper gripping unit 24 is energized while being in rolling contact with the cathode rotating body 411 fixed on the apparatus side. The cathode rotating body is connected to a plating power source on the apparatus side by a rotary connector 413 and is rotatably installed by a bearing 412. The upper gripping means 24 moves above the plating tank 14 by holding means (not shown).

  The plating apparatus as described above is preferably used for electrolytic plating of a plastic film, which is a flexible web, and particularly preferably used for manufacturing a film with copper for a flexible circuit board that requires particularly strict surface quality.

  It is preferable that the conveyance of the plastic film 11 and the driving of the upper gripping means 24 or the lower support rotating body 23 are separated and dedicated driving control is performed respectively. A film with a metal plating film tends to have internal stress due to its structure. One of the major reasons for this is that the film tension during plating is left as well as the internal stress of the metal film itself.

  If there is an internal stress, the substrate is distorted because stress relaxation occurs when the plated film is patterned, but it is preferable to keep this within a certain value. Therefore, it is necessary to control the internal stress, and for that purpose, it is desirable to control the tension applied to the plastic film with high accuracy.

  Here, when the conveyance of the plastic film 11 and the driving of the upper gripping means 24 or the lower support rotating body 23 are under the same control, when only the film tension is to be changed, the influence is exerted on other conveyance systems. Therefore, optimization becomes extremely difficult.

  On the other hand, if each control is independent, optimal control is possible for each, and optimization becomes extremely easy. In the case of the plating apparatus 17 having a plurality of plating tanks 14, by providing one system of the upper gripping means 24 or the drive system of the lower support rotating body 23 for each plating tank, it is possible to perform optimum control with higher accuracy. Therefore, it is more preferable.

  Although this invention can be utilized suitably for a vertical electrolytic copper plating apparatus, the application range is not restricted to these.

It is a conceptual diagram of the electrolytic copper plating apparatus of a plastic film. It is the conceptual diagram which looked at the plating tank 14 of FIG. 1 from the side. It is the figure which looked at the plating tank from the top. It is the figure which looked at the plating tank from the top. It is a figure which shows an example of the lower side support rotary body from which nip thickness changes. It is a figure which shows the specific example of the upper holding means which does not have a drive means. It is a figure which shows an example of an upper holding means. It is a figure which shows the specific example which supplies electric power to an upper holding means. It is a figure which shows the specific example which supplies electric power to an upper holding means. It is a figure which shows the preferable angle between the rotating shaft of a lower side support rotary body, and a web.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Plastic film 111 with a conductive thin film Plastic film 112 Conductive thin film 12 Original fabric roll 13 Pretreatment part 14 Plating tank 141 Anode 15 Post-processing part 16 Film conveyance part 17 Plating apparatus 18 Unwinding apparatus 19 Winding apparatus 21 Plating liquid 22 Cathode 23 Lower support rotating body 24 Upper gripping means 26 Rotating belt 311 Receiving side member 312 Movable member 313 Hinge pin 314 Feed electrode


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Claims (18)

A vertical electrolytic plating apparatus used for forming an electrolytic plating film on the surface of the long web while conveying the width direction of the long web in a substantially vertical direction,
A feeding electrode in contact with the surface of the long web;
Upper gripping means for gripping the upper end of the long web;
A lower support rotating body for gripping the lower end of the long web;
Web conveying means for conveying the web;
A plating tank;
A vertical electrolytic plating apparatus having an anode installed in the plating tank. An upper gripping means driving system for driving the upper gripping means;
The vertical electrolytic plating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the upper gripping means driving system and the driving of the web conveying means for conveying the long web are independent of each other. The vertical electrolytic plating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a conveyance speed of the upper gripping unit is synchronized with a conveyance speed of the long web determined by the web conveyance unit. 4. The vertical electrolysis according to claim 3, comprising a plurality of upper gripping means groups each having a plurality of upper gripping means arranged on one annular track, and each having the independent drive system. Plating equipment. 3. While the upper gripping means is gripping the long web, the upper gripping means is configured to be transported following the long web regardless of the upper gripping means drive system. The vertical electroplating apparatus in any one of -4. The vertical electrolytic plating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the upper gripping unit is not provided with an inherent drive system and is transported following the long web. The web conveying means is
At least a pair of nip rollers for niping at least the upper end of the long web;
The vertical electrolytic plating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a drive source for driving at least one side of the nip roller. It is described in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 7 which has an insulator on the surface except for the surface which contacts the said elongate web surface among the plating liquid contact parts in which the said feeding electrode contacts a plating solution. Vertical electrolytic plating equipment. The upper gripping means includes the feeding electrode,
Having a mechanism for holding the upper end of the long web from the front and back by opening and closing the member including the feeding electrode,
The vertical electrolytic plating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the upper holding means is configured to be opened and closed outside the plating tank. The power feeding electrode is a nip roller that nips an upper end portion and / or a lower end portion of the long web, and has a power feeding terminal that feeds power to a roller in contact with a plating forming surface of the long web. A vertical electrolytic plating apparatus according to any one of claims 9 to 9. The power feeding electrode is energized by bringing a power receiving terminal electrically connected to the power feeding electrode into contact with a cathode bar disposed at a position off the top of the plating tank, thereby moving the upper gripping means. The vertical electrolytic plating apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the power receiving terminal is configured to slide with the cathode bar. The energization to the power feeding electrode is performed by a cathode rotating body disposed so as to be in rolling contact with a power receiving terminal electrically connected to the power feeding electrode. Vertical electrolytic plating equipment. The lower support rotating body is at least a pair of rotating bodies provided inside the plating tank and disposed so as to nip the lower end portion of the long web. A vertical electrolytic plating apparatus according to claim. The vertical electrolytic plating apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the lower support rotating body is not provided with an inherent drive system and is driven to rotate by the long web. The vertical electrolytic plating apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the lower support rotary body has a lower support rotary body drive system that rotates in synchronization with a conveyance speed of the long web. The angle which the rotation center axis | shaft of the said lower side support rotary body and the conveyance direction of the said elongate web make in a parallel plane with the said elongate web exists in the range of 45 degrees-90 degrees. A vertical electrolytic plating apparatus according to claim 1. The vertical electrolytic plating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 16, further comprising a power supply terminal that supplies power to the lower support rotating body. An electroplating process is performed using the vertical electroplating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein the method for producing a plastic film with a plating film is provided.

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