JP2010077479A - Vacuum film deposition apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vacuum film deposition apparatus for depositing a thin film on a surface of a web-like synthetic resin-made film by the sputtering method which is capable of uniforming the amount of residual gas inside the synthetic resin-made film and on the surface thereof in the width direction of the synthetic resin-made film. <P>SOLUTION: A drying means has an infrared ray lamp heater for heating a synthetic resin-made film, a non-contact type thermometer, and a partial pressure vacuum gauge for measuring the amount of residual gas in vacuum. Each infrared ray lamp heater, each non-contact type thermometer, and each partial pressure vacuum gauge are arranged at the spacing of 200-500 mm in the width direction of the synthetic resin-made film and parallel to the traveling direction of the synthetic resin-made film. The film quality can be uniformed in the width direction of the synthetic resin-made film by providing a control means for controlling the infrared ray lamp heater and the non-contact type thermometer so that the amount of residual gas measured by the partial pressure vacuum gauge is constant. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a take-up vacuum film forming apparatus for forming a thin film on the surface of a web-like synthetic resin film such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or triacetyl cellulose (TAC) using a sputtering method in a vacuum atmosphere.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 4, it has a winding shaft (1) having a winding means capable of winding at a constant tension such as a torque motor, and a constant back tension by a torque control means such as a powder clutch. A plurality of idle rollers (3) having an unwinding shaft (2) that enables unwinding of the web-shaped synthetic resin film while applying the pressure and restricting the travel of the synthetic resin film (9) between the two shafts. 4) and a tension roll (7, 8) equipped with a tension detector (5, 6) for detecting the tension and appropriately feeding back to the winding shaft (1) or the unwinding shaft (2), Further, a temperature control drum (10) for forming a film, and a film forming means including an electrode (11) and a plurality of process gas ejection pipes (17, 18) are disposed from the unwinding shaft (2) to a predetermined value. Winding while tension is applied The web-like synthetic resin film (9) is formed on the surface of the synthetic resin film (9) by the film forming means on the temperature control drum (10), and then with a predetermined tension. The film was wound around the winding shaft (1), and a film (13) having a thin film formed on the surface could be obtained.

  However, the conventional technique as shown in FIG. 4 has the following problems. When a thin film is formed on a web-shaped synthetic resin film by sputtering, the residual gas or moisture of the synthetic resin film changes the conditions during film formation, so it is dried before the synthetic resin film enters the film formation chamber. It was necessary to let it. In that case, conventionally, a method of bringing the film into contact with a temperature control roll to increase the film temperature for drying or a method of drying with a lamp heater has been employed (see Reference 1).

  In these temperature control methods, it was considered that degassing and moisture generated from the synthetic resin film become constant by keeping the substrate temperature constant, and the state inside the synthetic resin film becomes uniform. However, in actuality, when contacting with the temperature control drum, the degassing generated at the center of the synthetic resin film flows to the end, creating a gap between the synthetic resin film and the temperature control drum and inducing the generation of wrinkles. Even if wrinkles were suppressed, a phenomenon in which the dry state was different between the central portion and the end portion was generated.

  In addition, when a non-contact lamp heater is used, the drying speed changes due to the pressure difference in the width direction due to the gas flowing to the exhaust port side of the vacuum device, and the drying state changes in the width direction of the synthetic resin film. I was born.

As a result, the resulting film quality has a distribution that remarkably represents the dry state of the synthetic resin film. In order to adjust the distribution, it has been necessary to deal with such problems as changing the introduction of gas in the width direction during film formation. . However, the drying conditions and the drying state in the width direction are different depending on the type and width of the synthetic resin film and the storage state before putting the synthetic resin film in the vacuum film forming apparatus, and there is a limit to the adjustment in the film forming chamber.
Even if the difference in the dry state is small, it greatly affects the properties of the film formed in the film formation chamber. Especially when a transparent conductive film is formed by sputtering, the reaction inserted between the electrode and the film. Even if the gas distribution is made uniform, there has been a problem that the film quality such as conductivity is not uniform.

JP2002-20863

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide means for solving the above-mentioned problems. In a vacuum film forming apparatus for forming a thin film on the surface of a web-like synthetic resin film by sputtering, the inside of the synthetic resin film and An object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum film forming apparatus capable of making the amount of residual gas on the surface uniform in the width direction of the synthetic resin film.

The invention according to claim 1 is an unwinding / winding chamber having unwinding means for unwinding the web-like synthetic resin film and unwinding means for winding the synthetic resin film in a vacuum atmosphere. And a temperature adjusting drum installed between the unwinding means and the winding means, and a film forming means for forming a thin film on the surface of the synthetic resin film running on the temperature adjusting drum using a sputtering method. In a vacuum film-forming apparatus comprising: a film-forming chamber having; and a drying unit that is installed between the unwinding unit and the temperature control drum and performs drying of the synthetic resin film,
The drying means includes an infrared lamp heater for heating the synthetic resin film, a non-contact type thermometer, and a vacuum partial pressure meter for measuring a residual gas amount in a vacuum,
The infrared lamp heater, the non-contact type thermometer, and the vacuum partial pressure gauge are installed one by one at intervals of 200 mm to 500 mm in the width direction of the synthetic resin film and in parallel with the running direction of the synthetic resin film. ,
A vacuum film forming apparatus comprising a control means for controlling the infrared lamp heater and the non-contact type thermometer so that a residual gas amount measured by the vacuum partial pressure meter is constant.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the vacuum partial pressure gauge simultaneously measures an oxygen partial pressure and a water pressure in a residual gas, and the control means has a ratio of the oxygen partial pressure and the water pressure to the synthetic resin film width. 2. The vacuum film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the infrared lamp heater and the non-contact thermometer are controlled so as to be constant in a direction.

  By using the vacuum film forming apparatus of the present invention, a synthetic resin film is measured by an infrared lamp heater while measuring the temperature of a non-contact thermometer so that the partial pressure of residual gas measured by a plurality of vacuum partial pressure meters is constant. By adjusting the temperature, the film quality in the width direction of the synthetic resin film can be made uniform.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the vacuum film-forming apparatus of the present invention comprises an unwinding means (unwinding shaft (2)) and a synthetic resin film for unwinding a web-shaped synthetic resin film (9) in a vacuum atmosphere. Sputtering method on the surface of the synthetic resin film (9) running on the unwinding / winding chamber having the winding means (winding shaft (1)) for winding (9) and the temperature control drum (10) Of a synthetic resin film (9) installed between a film forming chamber having a film forming means for forming a thin film by using an unwinding means and an unwinding means (unwinding shaft (2)) and a temperature control drum (10). And a drying means (19) for performing the above.

2 and 3, the drying means includes an infrared lamp heater (20) for heating the synthetic resin film, a non-contact thermometer (21), and a vacuum component for measuring the amount of residual gas in the vacuum. A pressure gauge (22), and an infrared lamp heater (20), a non-contact type thermometer (21), and a vacuum partial pressure gauge (22) at intervals of 200 mm to 500 mm in the width direction of the synthetic resin film (9), And one piece of each is installed in parallel with the synthetic resin film (9) traveling direction.
Furthermore, a control means for controlling the infrared lamp heater (20) and the non-contact type thermometer (21) is provided so that the residual gas amount measured by the vacuum partial pressure gauge (22) becomes constant.

In the present invention, the infrared lamp heater (20), the non-contact type thermometer (21), and the vacuum partial pressure gauge (22) are arranged at intervals of 200 mm to 500 mm in the width direction of the synthetic resin film (9), and the synthetic resin film. (9) The temperature of the non-contact thermometer (21) is set so that the partial pressure of the residual gas measured by the plurality of vacuum partial pressure gauges (22) becomes constant by installing each one parallel to the traveling direction. The film quality in the width direction of the synthetic resin film (9) can be made uniform by adjusting the temperature of the synthetic resin film (9) with the infrared lamp heater (20) while measuring the above.
Normally, the synthetic resin film (9) is divided into two to three parts by installing an infrared lamp heater (20), a non-contact type thermometer (21), and a vacuum partial pressure gauge (22), thereby making the synthetic resin film. It becomes possible to make the dry state of a film (9) uniform.

In the present invention, the infrared lamp heater (20), the non-contact type thermometer (21), and the vacuum partial pressure meter (22) are installed at intervals of 200 mm to 500 mm in the width direction of the synthetic resin film (9). If the distance is less than 200 mm, control is difficult unless the distance between the heater and the substrate is reduced, and the apparatus becomes complicated. If the interval is larger than 500 mm, it is difficult to control in the width direction, which is not preferable.
The installation interval of the infrared lamp heater (20) and the like is appropriately changed depending on the width of the synthetic resin film (9).

The web-like synthetic resin film (9) used in the present invention is made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), triacetyl cellulose (TAC), polycarbonate (PC) or those subjected to hard coat treatment or easy-contact treatment. However, any material can be used as long as it is long enough to bend and wind.
Moreover, the thickness is about 20 μm to 200 μm, and the width is about 1000 mm to 2000 mm.

  The infrared lamp heater (20) used in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as the temperature can be appropriately adjusted, but a halogen lamp heater is preferable because it is close to the infrared absorption wavelength of the film.

  The non-contact thermometer (21) used in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as the temperature can be measured in a non-contact manner, but an infrared thermocouple is preferably used.

  The vacuum partial pressure gauge (22) used in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it can measure the amount of residual gas, but it can simultaneously measure the oxygen partial pressure and moisture pressure of the residual gas. Therefore, it is preferable to use MALIN manufactured by ULVAC.

  The control means used in the present invention can control the infrared lamp heater (20) and the non-contact type thermometer (21) so that the residual gas amount measured by the vacuum partial pressure gauge (22) is constant. If possible, the infrared lamp heater (20) and the non-contact type thermometer are not particularly limited, but the ratio of the oxygen partial pressure and the water pressure is constant in the width direction of the synthetic resin film (9). It is more preferable that (21) can be controlled.

  The vacuum film-forming apparatus of the present invention has the same configuration as that of the conventional FIG. 4 except for the drying means (19), and the web-like synthetic resin film (9) unwinding / winding-up chamber is a film forming chamber. However, it may be provided in a vacuum environment, but may be provided outside and provided in a vacuum film forming apparatus by providing unwinding means and winding means.

  Moreover, although it is set as the mechanism conveyed to the film-forming chamber in the state wound around the temperature control drum (10), what has another conveyance form may be sufficient.

  Moreover, the partition between the film forming chamber and the other region is formed as close to the temperature control drum (10) as it does not come into contact with the web-shaped synthetic resin film (9). Is possible.

  EXAMPLES Hereinafter, although an Example and a comparative example further demonstrate this invention, this invention is not restrict | limited to the following example.

<Example 1>
A synthetic resin film that has been hard-coated on a PET film with a film thickness of 188 μm and a film width of 1000 mm is transported, and three halogen heaters divided at intervals of 350 mm in the width direction are installed in parallel to keep the moisture pressure constant in the width direction. Then, a drying process was performed, and an ITO film was formed by sputtering.
The film forming conditions were a film forming pressure of 2 × 10 ⁻³ Pa, a DC power output of 8 kW, and a winding speed of 10 m / min.
As a result, the distribution in the width direction of the surface resistance value of the obtained ITO film is shown in FIG.
In addition, FIG. 5B shows the distribution of the surface resistance value after annealing treatment (heating at 150 ° C. for 1 hour), which is a general ITO film evaluation method.

<Example 2>
A synthetic resin film that has been hard-coated on a PET film with a film thickness of 188 μm and a film width of 1000 mm is transported, and three halogen heaters divided at intervals of 350 mm in the width direction are installed in parallel, and the ratio of oxygen partial pressure to moisture pressure is set. A drying process was performed so as to be constant in the width direction, and an ITO film was formed by sputtering.
The film forming conditions are the same as in Example 1.
As a result, the distribution in the width direction of the surface resistance value of the obtained ITO film is shown in FIG.
Further, the distribution of the surface resistance value after the annealing treatment (heating at 150 ° C. for 1 hour) as in Example 1 is shown in FIG.

<Comparative Example 1>
A synthetic resin film that had been hard-coated on a PET film having a film thickness of 188 μm and a film width of 1000 mm was transported, dried only with the temperature of the synthetic resin film being constant in the width direction, and an ITO film was formed by sputtering.
As a result, the distribution in the width direction of the surface resistance value of the obtained ITO film is shown in FIG.
Further, the distribution of the surface resistance value after the annealing treatment (heating at 150 ° C. for 1 hour) as in Example 1 is shown in FIG.

  5-7, the horizontal axis shows the length (mm) in the width direction of the synthetic resin film, and the vertical axis shows the surface resistance value (Ω / □) in the width direction of the synthetic resin film. The line drawn in the center shows the center line of the film.

From Example 1, it was confirmed that the distribution of the surface resistance value before the annealing treatment was made uniform as compared with Comparative Example 1. It can be seen that the surface resistance value distribution after the annealing treatment is stable, but the distribution in the film width direction is slightly mountain-shaped.
From Example 2, it was confirmed that the resistance value distribution after heating was uniform in the initial stage.
From Comparative Example 1, it can be seen that the distribution of the resistance value considered to be the influence of the distribution of the degas amount from the synthetic resin film. In particular, it can be seen that the film quality change after the annealing treatment is large and the resistance value distribution is greatly disturbed, which is not suitable for practical use.

That is, an infrared lamp heater, a non-contact type thermometer, and a vacuum partial pressure meter are installed one by one at intervals of 200 mm to 500 mm in the width direction of the synthetic resin film and in parallel with the synthetic resin film running direction. Thus, it can be seen that the film quality in the width direction of the synthetic resin film can be made uniform.
In addition, as shown in Example 1, the ratio of the oxygen partial pressure and the water pressure is made constant in the width direction as shown in Example 2, rather than controlling the water pressure amount to be constant in the width direction. By controlling in this way, it turns out that the film quality in the width direction of the synthetic resin film can be made more uniform.

It is a schematic explanatory drawing which shows the whole figure of the winding-type vacuum film-forming apparatus in this invention. It is the partial schematic which shows the schematic of the drying means of the vacuum winding apparatus concerning this invention. It is a partial expanded sectional view which shows an example of the drying means of the vacuum winding apparatus concerning this invention. It is a schematic explanatory drawing which shows the whole view of the winding type vacuum film-forming apparatus in a prior art. (A) It is a figure which shows the width direction distribution of the surface resistance value in Example 1. FIG. (B) It is a figure which shows the width direction distribution of the surface resistance value after the annealing process in Example 1. FIG. (A) It is a figure which shows the width direction distribution of the surface resistance value in Example 2. FIG. (B) It is a figure which shows the width direction distribution of the surface resistance value after the annealing process in Example 2. FIG. (A) It is a figure which shows the width direction distribution of the surface resistance value in the comparative example 1. FIG. (B) It is a figure which shows the width direction distribution of the surface resistance value after the annealing process in the comparative example 1. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Winding shaft, 2 ... Unwinding shaft, 3, 4 ... Idle roller, 5, 6 ... Tension detector, 7, 8 ... Tension roller, 9 ... Film, 10 ... Temperature control drum, 11 ... Film forming means ( Electrode, sputter target, etc.), 12 ... web-shaped synthetic resin film, 13 ... web-shaped synthetic resin film, 14, 15 ... nip roller, 16 ... dancer roller, 17, 18 ... gas supply pipe, 19 ... Drying means, 20 ... infrared lamp heater, 21 ... non-contact thermometer, 22 ... vacuum partial pressure gauge.

Claims (2)

An unwinding / winding chamber having unwinding means for unwinding the web-shaped synthetic resin film and unwinding means for winding the synthetic resin film in a vacuum atmosphere; and the unwinding means and the winding A film-forming chamber having a temperature-controlling drum installed between the device, a film-forming device for forming a thin film on the surface of the synthetic resin film running on the temperature-controlling drum using a sputtering method, and the unwinding In a vacuum film forming apparatus comprising: a drying unit installed between the unit and a temperature control drum for drying the synthetic resin film,
The drying means includes an infrared lamp heater for heating the synthetic resin film, a non-contact type thermometer, and a vacuum partial pressure meter for measuring a residual gas amount in a vacuum,
The infrared lamp heater, the non-contact type thermometer, and the vacuum partial pressure gauge are installed one by one at intervals of 200 mm to 500 mm in the width direction of the synthetic resin film and in parallel with the running direction of the synthetic resin film. ,
A vacuum film forming apparatus comprising: control means for controlling the infrared lamp heater and the non-contact thermometer so that a residual gas amount measured by the vacuum partial pressure meter is constant. The vacuum partial pressure gauge measures the oxygen partial pressure and the water pressure simultaneously in the residual gas, and the control means controls the infrared ray so that the ratio of the oxygen partial pressure and the water pressure is constant in the width direction of the synthetic resin film. The vacuum film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lamp heater and the non-contact type thermometer are controlled.

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