JP2010177343A - Device for manufacturing thin film laminate - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device for manufacturing a thin film laminate, which transports a band-shaped flexible substrate in a vertical posture and suppresses hanging and creases of the substrate. <P>SOLUTION: The device for manufacturing a thin film laminate, by which thin films are laminated on a surface of a flexible substrate 1 while transporting the substrate 1 in a horizontal direction with its breadthwise direction as a perpendicular direction, includes a plurality of holding roller units 5 each of which includes a pair of holding rollers 51 and 52 holding an upper edge part of the flexible substrate 1 between them, support mechanism portions 53, 54, 55 supporting respective holding rollers so that they are rotatable and can be brought into contact with and separated from each other, and an urging means giving a pressure to the holding rollers through the support mechanism portions. Furthermore, respective holding roller units include, in a fixed electrode frame portion 20 of a film forming portion, driving means 7 which are supported so as to be shakable around axes in a direction crossing a substrate transport surface and are mutually coupled by link members 6 so as to keep revolving shafts of respective holding rollers parallel with each other and displace the link members forward/backward in a substrate transport direction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for producing a thin film laminate such as a thin film photoelectric conversion element by forming a plurality of thin films on a strip-like flexible substrate.

  A rigid substrate is usually used as a substrate for a thin film laminate such as a semiconductor thin film. However, a flexible substrate such as a plastic film is used for the purpose of improving productivity and reducing costs due to the convenience of handling through a roll. May be used. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a plurality of strips arranged in the transport direction of the flexible substrate while intermittently transporting a strip-shaped flexible substrate (polyimide film) supplied from an unwinding roll at a predetermined pitch. An apparatus for manufacturing a thin film laminate in which a plurality of thin films having different properties are laminated on the flexible substrate and wound as a product roll in a film forming unit is disclosed.

JP 2005-72408 A

  In such a thin film laminate manufacturing apparatus, the film forming type is performed while the width direction of the belt-like flexible substrate is made to coincide with the horizontal direction, and the width direction of the belt-like flexible substrate is made to coincide with the vertical direction. There is a type in which a film is formed while being conveyed. The latter has advantages such as a smaller installation area and less contamination of the substrate surface than the former. However, if the transport span is increased, it becomes difficult to keep the transport height constant against gravity. The tendency that wrinkles occur on the surface of the flexible substrate or the flexible substrate hangs down becomes significant.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a device that grips the upper and lower side edges of a flexible substrate with a gripping member (pad) and pulls it in the width direction during a stop period in step conveyance of the flexible substrate. . However, since this apparatus repeatedly grips, pulls, and releases the flexible substrate, it is difficult to keep the conveyance height of the flexible substrate constant. It cannot be implemented in a continuous film forming apparatus that forms a film while being conveyed.

  Therefore, the upper and lower clamping rollers that sandwich the upper and lower side edges of the flexible substrate are disposed between the film forming units, and the rotation direction of the clamping unit of each clamping roller depends on the conveyance direction of the flexible substrate. The upper and lower side edges of the flexible substrate are subjected to upward and downward lifting and lowering forces so as to have an oblique angle upward and downward with respect to the height of the flexible substrate. An apparatus for manufacturing a thin film laminate that can adjust the thickness has been developed.

  In this apparatus, the lifting force (lowering force) with respect to the upper edge (lower edge) of the flexible substrate is related to the deflection angle and clamping pressure of the clamping roller. Increasing the pressure increases the lifting force (lowering force). At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the flexible substrate 1 tends to be twisted around the sandwiching roller 50 in the vicinity of the sandwiching roller. Therefore, in order to spread wrinkles and slack that occur in a wider range, the sandwiching roller When a plurality of slabs are installed in the substrate transport direction, the stretching action of the individual clamping rollers interferes with each other, and a new problem arises that a stretching effect corresponding to the equipment cannot be obtained.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and its purpose is to extend the occurrence of drooping and wrinkles on a flexible substrate while conveying the belt-like flexible substrate in a vertical position. An object of the present invention is to provide a manufacturing apparatus for a thin film laminate that can be suppressed and can manufacture a high-quality product.

  In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a film forming section (2) installed on a transport path of the substrate while transporting a strip-shaped flexible substrate in the horizontal direction with its width direction set to the vertical direction. The thin film laminate manufacturing apparatus for laminating and forming thin films on the surface of the substrate, wherein the pair of sandwiching rollers (51, 52) sandwiching the upper edge of the substrate and the pair of sandwiching rollers are rotatable And a plurality of support mechanism parts (53, 54, 55) that are detachably supported, and biasing means (56) that applies pressure to the pair of sandwiching rollers via the support mechanism parts. The sandwiching roller unit (5) is provided, and each of the sandwiching roller units is arranged in parallel in the substrate transport direction, and the axis of the fixed electrode frame (20) of the film forming unit intersects the substrate transport surface. Supported so that it can swing around Link members (6) are connected to each other so that the rotation shafts of the sandwiching rollers are maintained in parallel to each other, and further provided with drive means (7) for moving the link members forward and backward in the substrate transport direction. It exists in the manufacturing apparatus of a thin film laminated body.

  Since the apparatus for manufacturing a thin film laminate according to the present invention is configured as described above, the driving device and the link member are used to equalize all the sandwiching roller pairs arranged in parallel in the transport direction of the belt-like flexible substrate. The angle can be easily set and adjusted in the same phase, and the tension of the holding roller is stably applied over a wide range of the flexible substrate in the film forming section, and the flexible substrate is conveyed in a vertical posture. However, the occurrence of drooping or wrinkles on the substrate can be suppressed over a wide range of the film forming portion, which is advantageous in producing a high-quality product. Also, there is an advantage that it is possible to cope with a reciprocating film forming process including conveyance of the flexible substrate in the reverse direction by reversing all the nipping roller units simultaneously by the driving means and the link member.

  In a preferred aspect of the present invention, an upper end position sensor (8) for detecting an upper end position of the substrate in the film forming unit, and a control unit for controlling the driving unit based on a detection value of the upper end position sensor, It has more.

  As described above, in the apparatus configuration according to the present invention, the tension of the holding roller can be stably applied over a wide range of the flexible substrate in the film forming unit, and therefore, a small number of detection points, for example, one point Also by detecting the upper end position at the detection point, the upper end position of the flexible substrate can be kept constant over a wide range of the film forming unit.

  In a further preferred aspect of the present invention, a pair of lower sandwiching rollers that sandwich the lower edge of the substrate, a support mechanism that supports the pair of lower sandwiching rollers in a rotatable manner and in contact with each other, and A plurality of lower clamping roller units having biasing means for applying pressure to the pair of lower clamping rollers via the support mechanism, and arranged in parallel in the substrate transport direction, and the film formation The lower link is supported by the fixed electrode frame portion of the portion so as to be swingable about an axis in a direction intersecting the substrate transport surface, and the rotation axes of the respective lower clamping rollers are maintained parallel to each other. A plurality of lower clamping roller units (5 ') connected to each other by members, a lower drive means (7') for moving the lower link member forward and backward in the substrate transport direction, and the film forming section Detect the top position of the board at That the upper end position sensor (8 '), and further comprising a control means for controlling said drive means based on a detection value of the upper end position sensor.

  With this configuration, it is possible to stably apply the tension of the plurality of sandwiching rollers from both sides in the vertical width direction over a wide range of the flexible substrate in the film forming unit, and a continuous type in which heating flaws are likely to occur. This is particularly advantageous for the film forming process. In particular, the upper and lower positions are detected at the same time, and the detected values are reflected in the upper and lower drive means, so that the flexible substrate can be extended in the vertical width direction over a wide area of the film forming unit. Is advantageous in maintaining a constant value.

  In a further preferred aspect of the present invention, the thin film forming region of the substrate and the plurality of pairs of upper sandwiching rollers and the plurality of pairs of lower sandwiching rollers are respectively extended along the substrate transport direction, A pair of guide members (23, 23) for supporting the substrate on both upper and lower sides of the thin film forming region is further provided.

  With this configuration, even when a plurality of sandwiching rollers (units) are arranged at a relatively narrow pitch on each of the upper and lower sides of the thin film formation region, interference generated by the tension of each sandwiching roller by the upper and lower guide members. The wrinkles are alleviated, the propagation to the thin film formation region is suppressed, and a positioning effect due to the flexible substrate being supported by each guide member can be expected.

It is a schematic side view which shows one film-forming part of the manufacturing apparatus which concerns on this invention embodiment. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is a schematic side view which shows the expansion effect | action in the edge part of the flexible substrate clamped by one clamping roller.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows one film forming unit 2 in an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a continuous film forming type thin film laminate manufacturing apparatus. The thin-film laminate manufacturing apparatus transports the strip-shaped flexible substrate 1 (flexible film) in the horizontal direction with the width direction set to the vertical direction, and at least one component arranged in parallel along the transport path. In the film part 2, a thin film is laminated on the surface of the flexible substrate 1.

  Guide rolls 3 and 4 for guiding the flexible substrate 1 to the film forming unit 2 are disposed on the upstream side and the downstream side in the transport direction of the film forming unit 2, and on the upstream side and the downstream side in the transport direction, An unwinding / winding roll for the flexible substrate 1 is disposed via a feed roller and a tension roller that constitute the conveying means. As a drive system such as a feed roller and an unwinding / winding roll, a driving system that can be driven in both forward and reverse directions is employed to cope with the reciprocating film forming process. The film forming unit 2 and the transporting unit are disposed in a vacuum chamber maintained at a predetermined degree of vacuum, and the basic configuration is the same as that of the prior art, so that illustration is omitted.

  The film forming unit 2 is composed of a vapor deposition apparatus for performing chemical vapor deposition such as plasma CVD or physical vapor deposition such as sputtering, and is disposed opposite to both sides of the flexible substrate 1 as shown in FIG. Electrode 21 (high frequency electrode or target) and a ground electrode 22 with a built-in heater. The electrode 21 and the ground electrode 22 are fixedly arranged with a predetermined gap with respect to the flexible substrate 1 and are configured to perform continuous film formation without contact.

  The flexible substrate 1 is stretched between the guide rolls 3 and 4 given a predetermined transport tension by a transport means, and is transported through the film forming unit 2 while being heated by the heater. As described above, tension and heating wrinkles are likely to occur near the center, and droop due to their own weight can occur. Therefore, in order to control the position of the flexible substrate 1 in the vertical direction in the film forming unit 2 and maintain the transport height constant, the flexible substrate 1 extends in the vertical width direction, so On the side, four nipping roller units 5 and 5 ′ are arranged in parallel along the transport direction F.

  The upper and lower sandwiching roller units 5 and 5 'basically have the same structure, and as shown in FIG. 2, each pair of sandwiching rollers (51, 51) sandwiching the upper and lower side edges of the flexible substrate 1, respectively. 52). One of the nipping rollers is a fixed roller 51, and the other is a movable roller 52. The fixed rollers and the lower end portions (roller support shafts) of the movable side support members 53 and 54 are rotatable via bearings so as to receive a thrust load. It is supported by.

  A bracket 55 extending in a direction intersecting with the conveyance surface is fixed to an intermediate portion of the fixed side support member 53, and a movable side support member 54 is fixed to the front end portion of the bracket 55 via a shaft 54a. The member 53 is supported so as to be able to swing in a direction in which the member 53 comes into contact with and away from the member 53. A spring 56 (compression spring) is interposed between the upper end portions 53 b and 54 b of the fixed side support member 53 and the movable side support member 54 that extend upward from the bracket 55, and due to the elastic force of the spring 56. The movable side support member 54 is urged clockwise in FIG. 2, and the movable roller 52 is pressed against the fixed roller 51.

  An adjustment screw 56a is provided between one end of the spring 56 and the upper end portion 53b of the fixed side support member 53, and the adjustment screw 56a is rotated to adjust the initial displacement of the spring 56. Thus, the pressing force of the sandwiching rollers (51, 52), that is, the sandwiching force with respect to the flexible substrate 1 can be adjusted.

  In each of the sandwiching roller units 5 and 5 ′ configured as described above, a fixed-side support member 53 is rotatably supported on a shaft 53 a protruding from the fixed frame portion 20 of the electrode 21. The upper end portion 53b of each fixed side support member 53 is connected to each other by link members 6 and 6 'constituting a parallel link mechanism. One end of 6 'is connected to actuators 7, 7' such as servo motors.

  With this configuration, the actuators 7 and 7 'are operated, and the upper and lower link members 6 and 6' are moved forward and backward in the transport direction F (R), so that the rotation axis directions of the sandwiching rollers (51 and 52) are parallel to each other. In this state, the declination angle (± θ) of the nipping rollers (51, 52) of the nipping roller units 5, 5 ′, that is, the angle of the nipping surface with respect to the conveyance direction F (R) in the roller rotation direction, It can be adjusted simultaneously in both forward and reverse angle ranges.

  Further, sensors 8, 8 'for detecting the upper end position and the lower end position of the flexible substrate 1 are disposed on the upper and lower sides of the center of the film forming unit 2 in the transport direction F (R). Is connected to a control device (not shown). The control device is set to control the actuators 7 and 7 'based on the detection values of the sensors 8 and 8' to control the displacement of the upper and lower link members 6 and 6 '.

  Further, the film forming unit 2 is between the thin film form region of the electrode 21 and the sandwiching portions of the sandwiching rollers (51, 52) arranged along the transport direction F (R) on both upper and lower sides thereof. A pair of upper and lower guide members 23, 23 for supporting the flexible substrate 1 is provided. The guide members 23 and 23 extend along the upper and lower edges of the electrode 21 and have smooth and low-friction guide surfaces that can guide the flexible substrate 1 with a small sliding resistance. The guide members 23, 23 protrude toward the conveying surface with respect to the clamping surfaces of the clamping rollers (51, 52), and can be supported while the flexible substrate 1 is slightly bent.

  Next, the operation based on the above embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

  In the continuous film formation process, the flexible substrate 1 is guided by the guide rolls 3 and 4 and continuously conveyed in the conveyance direction F toward the left in FIG. A predetermined thin film is formed on the surface of the flexible substrate 1 by passing between the electrode 21 and the ground electrode 22. At this time, the edge portions on the upper and lower sides of the flexible substrate 1 are sent out while being sandwiched between the sandwiching rollers (51, 52) of the respective sandwiching roller units 5, 5 ′ arranged in parallel in the transport direction F, and The rotation direction on the clamping surface of each clamping roller has a predetermined declination (± θ) toward the diagonally upward (5) / diagonally downward (5 ′) with respect to the conveying direction F, respectively. A lifting / lowering force is applied to the edges on the upper and lower sides of the substrate, whereby the flexible substrate 1 is stretched in the vertical width direction.

  The lifting force / lowering force depends on the deflection angle (± θ) when the contact pressure of each clamping roller is constant, and therefore the upper end position / lower end position of the flexible substrate 1 by the sensors 8, 8 ′. Based on the detected value, the actuators 7 and 7 'are controlled, and the upper and lower link members 6 and 6' are moved forward and backward so that the deflection angles (± θ) of the nipping roller units 5 and 5 'are simultaneously adjusted on the upper and lower sides. By adjusting, the lifting force / lowering force is adjusted over a wide range between the guide rolls 3 and 4, and the degree of expansion and the upper end position / lower end position of the flexible substrate 1 are maintained within a certain range.

  The deflection angle (± θ) of each of the sandwiching roller units 5 and 5 ′ is adjusted within a relatively small angle range of ± 0.1 ° to 6 °. Although depending on the surface properties and contact pressure of the flexible substrate 1 and the sandwiching rollers (51, 52), when the declination (± θ) increases, dynamic friction becomes dominant, and the lifting force and the lowering force do not increase.

  Further, when the declination (± θ) is adjusted to a relatively large angle within the above angle range, the developing tensions of the individual sandwiching roller units 5 and 5 ′ adjacent in the transport direction F interfere with each other. In addition, the flexible substrate 1 is supported by the guide members 23 and 23 arranged between the sandwiching surfaces of the sandwiching roller units 5 and 5 ′ and the thin film forming region, so that the upper and lower edges of the flexible substrate 1 are supported. In addition, the interference wrinkles at the portion are alleviated and the propagation to the thin film formation region is suppressed, and the film forming process can be stably performed by the positioning effect by the guide members 23 and 23.

  After the film formation process of a predetermined length for the flexible substrate 1 continuously conveyed in this way is completed, both the unwinding side / winding side feed roller and the unwinding / winding roll are reversed, The upper and lower link members 6 and 6 ′ are displaced leftward in FIG. 1 by the actuators 7 and 7 ′ so that the deflection angles (± θ) of the nipping roller units 5 and 5 ′ can be reversed simultaneously on the upper and lower sides. By carrying out the film forming process on the already formed thin film while continuously transporting the flexible substrate 1 in the reverse direction R, the flexible substrate 1 is transported in the same manner as in the forward direction (F). It is possible to control the degree of expansion and the upper end position / lower end position.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, In addition to the above, various deformation | transformation and a change are further possible based on the technical idea of this invention. .

  For example, in each of the above embodiments, the case where the compression spring (56) is used as the urging means has been shown. However, by appropriately changing the connection point for the fixed side and movable side support members (53, 54), the tension spring can be used. It can also be configured. Further, the spring (56) may be changed to various springs such as a spiral spring, a torsion spring, and a leaf spring other than the coil spring. Further, the form in which the fixed side and movable side support members (53, 54) contact and separate from each other can be replaced by linear sliding, but efficient swinging (pivot rotation) is advantageous. .

  In each of the above embodiments, the case where one of the nipping rollers in each nipping roller unit is a fixed roller has been described, but both of the nipping rollers may be movable rollers. In this case, for example, the support members (53, 54) are both supported by the bracket (55) so as to be swingable, and the bracket (55) is swingable by the shaft (53a) on the fixed frame portion (20). It can be implemented in the form of being supported and connected to the link member (6).

  Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the clamping roller units are installed on both the upper and lower sides of the substrate transport path has been described. In the case where priority is given to the control of the conveyance height with respect to the drooping of the conductive substrate, a clamping roller unit, a sensor, and an actuator can be installed only on the upper side of the conveyance path.

  Moreover, although the case where the present invention is implemented in a continuous film forming process in which the film forming process is performed while continuously conveying a flexible substrate has been described in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this. Alternatively, it is possible to carry out a step film formation process in which the flexible substrate is intermittently conveyed and the film formation process is performed in each film formation unit during the stop period.

  The present invention can be applied to a manufacturing apparatus and a processing apparatus for various thin film stacks using a flexible substrate, such as a semiconductor thin film such as an organic EL, in addition to a thin film stack manufacturing apparatus for solar cells.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Flexible substrate 2 Film-forming part 3, 4 Guide roll 5, 5 'Nipping roller unit 6, 6' Link member 7, 7 'Actuator (drive means)
8, 8 'sensor 20 fixed frame portion 21 electrode 22 ground electrode 51 fixed roller 52 movable roller 53 fixed side support members 53a, 53a' shaft 54 movable side support member 55 bracket 56 spring 56a adjustment screw

Claims (4)

A thin film stack in which a thin film is stacked on the surface of the substrate in a film forming section installed in the substrate transport path while transporting a strip-shaped flexible substrate in the horizontal direction with the width direction set to the vertical direction A body manufacturing device,
A pair of sandwiching rollers that sandwich the upper edge of the substrate, a support mechanism that supports the pair of sandwiching rollers so as to be rotatable and capable of contacting and separating from each other, and the pair of sandwiching rollers via the support mechanism A plurality of clamping roller units having biasing means for applying pressure;
Each of the clamping roller units is arranged in parallel in the substrate transport direction, and is supported by the fixed electrode frame portion of the film forming unit so as to be swingable about an axis in a direction intersecting the substrate transport surface, respectively. An apparatus for manufacturing a thin film laminate, further comprising drive means connected to each other by a link member so that the rotation shafts of the sandwiching rollers are maintained in parallel with each other and moving the link member forward and backward in the substrate transport direction.   The thin film according to claim 1, further comprising: an upper end position sensor that detects an upper end position of the substrate in the film forming unit; and a control unit that controls the driving unit based on a detection value of the upper end position sensor. Laminate manufacturing equipment.   A pair of lower clamping rollers that clamp the lower edge of the substrate, a support mechanism that supports the pair of lower clamping rollers so that they can rotate and can be brought into contact with and separated from each other, and the pair via the support mechanism A plurality of lower clamping roller units having biasing means for applying a pressing force to the lower clamping roller, arranged in parallel in the substrate transport direction, and each of the fixed electrode frame portions of the film forming unit, It is supported so as to be able to swing around an axis in a direction intersecting the substrate transport surface, and is connected to each other by a lower link member so that the rotation shafts of the respective lower clamping rollers are maintained parallel to each other. A plurality of lower clamping roller units, lower drive means for moving the lower link member forward and backward in the substrate transport direction, and a lower position sensor for detecting a lower position of the substrate in the film forming unit, Control means The upper end position sensor and based on the respective detected values of the lower end position sensor, the driving means and the is configured to control the lower driving means, apparatus for manufacturing a thin film laminate of claim 2. The thin film forming region of the substrate and the plurality of pairs of upper sandwiching rollers and the plurality of pairs of lower sandwiching rollers are respectively extended along the substrate transport direction, and the substrate is placed above and below the thin film forming region. The thin film laminate manufacturing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a pair of guide members that are supported on both sides.

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