JP2011179102A - Vapor deposition apparatus for lens - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vapor deposition apparatus capable of stabilizing film characteristics, even on an optical lens disposed at outer peripheral side of a dome. <P>SOLUTION: The vapor deposition apparatus deposits a film through vapor deposition onto an optical lens having a first plane and a second plane. The vapor deposition apparatus is equipped with: a vapor deposition source that injects a vapor deposition material for forming the film; a plurality of lens pallets on which a plurality of lenses can be mounted; and the dome that is located in the direction of injection from the vapor deposition source, has a prescribed slope based on the injection from the vapor deposition source and enables mounting of the plurality of lens pallets. The dome is capable of inverting the lens pallets mounted thereon. When the first plane of the optical lens is disposed on the vapor deposition source side, compared to the second pallet located at center side as an injection target, the first pallet located at outer peripheral side as an injection target has its end at the outer peripheral side positioned closer to the vapor deposition source than its end at the center side, based on the prescribed slope. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vapor deposition (coating) apparatus for an optical lens used in a digital versatile disc (DVD), a Blu-ray disc (BD) digital still camera (DSC) or the like.

  Optical discs and imaging digital devices are also affected by the thinning and large screens of televisions, and the DVD, BD, and DSC markets in particular are expanding rapidly.

  Optical lenses used in digital versatile discs (DVD), Blu-ray discs (BD), digital still cameras (DSC), etc. are usually provided with an anti-reflective coating (AR coating) to improve lens transmittance and protect the lens surface. It is necessary to deposit.

  However, in recent years, there has been an increasing demand for shortening the wavelength of light and increasing the image quality of DSC, and technical demands for further reducing the reflectance of optical lenses have increased.

  In particular, the optical lens has a spherical shape or an aspherical shape, and when vapor deposition is performed on the optical lens, the optical lens 8 is formed from the center of the optical lens 8 such as the portion 9 as shown in FIG. As a result, the shape is abruptly inclined toward the outer peripheral side. An apparatus for vapor deposition on an optical lens normally uses a dome 1 of a rotating body that holds a lens as shown in FIG. 1, and lens pallets 3A, 3B, and 3C (here, a three-stage configuration) in which the optical lens is mounted on the dome 1. The dome is placed on the dome 1.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 7 showing the configuration when the dome is viewed from the side, the vapor deposition material jumps from the vapor deposition source 6 in the direction of the arrow 5 and is vapor deposited on the optical lenses mounted on 3A, 3B, and 3C.

  Usually, the optical lens is often deposited on both sides, and in the above method, after vapor deposition on one side of the optical lens, the lens pallet is taken out from the vapor deposition device, and vapor deposition is performed again on the opposite side to complete double-sided vapor deposition. Therefore, it is necessary to replace the deposition preparation for each side. This is hereinafter referred to as a batch method.

  In recent years, in order to improve this replacement work, an apparatus for automatically reversing a lens pallet in a vapor deposition apparatus has been used. This is hereinafter referred to as a continuous type. In the continuous type, as shown in FIG. 2, the lens pallets 3A, 3B, and 3C are arranged on the triangular dome 4 divided as shown in FIG. 6, and the lens pallet is arranged. In the example of FIG. After the vapor deposition on one side of the optical lens is completed, the triangular dome 4 is inverted as shown in FIG. 6 and the opposite optical lens surface is vapor deposited. Therefore, there is no replacement work and the production efficiency can be improved.

  Conventionally, an antireflection film is vapor-deposited on both surfaces of the optical lens by the vapor deposition method as described above.

  In addition, as a technique relevant to this invention, the technique disclosed by patent document 1 exists, for example.

JP-A-6-003503

  In the batch type or continuous type optical lens vapor deposition apparatus, as shown in FIG. 7 or FIG. 8, the vapor deposition material flies and adheres to one side of the optical lens from the direction of the arrow 5 and is vapor deposited.

  Here, in the batch type vapor deposition apparatus as shown in FIG. 7, the shape of the dome is an arc shape from A to B when viewed in cross section. On the other hand, in the continuous vapor deposition apparatus as shown in FIG. 8, the shape of the dome is a straight line from A to B when viewed in cross section. The reason why the dome has a straight line shape is that a mechanism in which the triangular divided dome 4 is inverted by 180 ° is required in order to perform vapor deposition without replacing both surfaces of the optical lens.

  In the batch type and continuous type vapor deposition apparatuses, the incident angle of the vapor deposition material on the optical lens mounted on the vapor deposition palette at each stage of the dome is relative to the normal line 7 of the vapor deposition palette as shown in FIG. While the incident light is incident at an angle, the lower (3C) direction has a larger angle than the upper (3A) direction. That is, the incident angle is larger in the lower stage (3C) than in the upper stage (3A).

  In particular, regarding the lower stage (3C), the vapor deposition incident angle tends to be larger in the continuous type than in the batch type. This is considered because the continuous dome-shaped cross section is a straight line.

  Therefore, although it is ideal that the incident angle of the vapor deposition material is as high as possible in all stages (3A, 3B, 3C), the incident angle of the vapor deposition material varies and the variation in reflectance characteristics increases. There was a problem. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the optical lens 8 has a shape that inclines sharply toward the outer peripheral side as seen from the center of the optical lens 8, particularly the portion 9. There was a problem of affecting the yield of characteristics.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems. In the vapor deposition apparatus in which the lens pallet is configured to be automatically reversible in the dome, film characteristics (for example, for the optical lens installed on the outer periphery of the dome) An object of the present invention is to provide a vapor deposition apparatus capable of stabilizing the reflectance spectral characteristics.

  That is, an aspect of the present invention relates to a film deposition apparatus that deposits a film on an optical lens having a first surface and a second surface. And the vapor deposition apparatus of this invention is located in the injection direction of the said vapor deposition source, the vapor deposition source which injects the vapor deposition material for forming a film | membrane, the several lens pallet which can install several lenses, and the said vapor deposition source A dome having a predetermined inclination with respect to the injection of the plurality of lenses and capable of installing the plurality of lens pallets, the dome being capable of reversing the installed lens pallets, When the surface is disposed on the vapor deposition source side, the first pallet located on the outer peripheral side as the injection target is based on the predetermined inclination as compared with the second pallet located on the center side as the injection target. Thus, the outer peripheral end is positioned closer to the vapor deposition source than the central end.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, in the vapor deposition apparatus in which the optical lens pallet is configured on the divided dome that can be automatically reversed, the film characteristics can be stabilized even for the optical lens installed on the outer peripheral side on the dome. Can be made.
The present invention can be applied not only to a shape having an inclination like an optical lens but also to a prism-shaped optical component, and may be an optical film configuration having not only an antireflection film but also other optical characteristics, The present invention can also be applied to the improvement of the spectral characteristics due to the variation in the position of the optical lens pallet on the dome in the batch type vapor deposition apparatus.

Conventional batch type vapor deposition dome configuration diagram Conventional continuous vapor deposition dome configuration diagram Cross section of FIG. Cross section of FIG. Diagram showing optical lens palette Diagram showing a continuous triangular inverted dome Conventional batch type vapor deposition illustration Conventional continuous vapor deposition illustration Angle of incidence of vapor deposition material on optical lens pallet Diagram showing optical lens Comparison of batch and continuous dome The figure which shows the structural example 1 which concerns on this Embodiment. The figure which shows the structural example 2 which concerns on this Embodiment. Detailed explanatory drawing of Example 2

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  The main object of the present embodiment is to suppress variations in the antireflection film of the optical lens on the lower side, particularly on the dome, in the continuous vapor deposition apparatus.

  This will be described below in comparison with a batch type vapor deposition apparatus.

[1. Configuration of batch type vapor deposition equipment]
In the batch type vapor deposition apparatus of this embodiment, a dome 1 shape and a lens pallet (3A to 3C) as shown in FIG. 1 are arranged, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the dome. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the vapor deposition material jumps from the vapor deposition source 6 in the direction 5 and is vapor deposited on the optical lens surface on the lens pallet. FIG. 10 shows the outer shape of the optical lens 8 and the lens outer peripheral portion 9.

  In addition, the optical lens made into the object in the form of a present Example has the 1st surface and the 2nd surface. The first surface is configured to have a larger radius of curvature than the second surface.

[2. Configuration of continuous vapor deposition system]
In the continuous vapor deposition apparatus of this embodiment, the shape of the dome 2 as shown in FIG. 2 and the lens pallet (3A to 3C) are arranged, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the dome. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the vapor deposition material jumps from the vapor deposition source 6 in the direction 5 and is vapor deposited on the optical lens surface on the lens pallet. FIG. 6 shows a triangular dome 4 having a split reversing mechanism on the dome, whereby double-sided evaporation of the optical lens can be performed.
[3. Incident angle of vapor deposition material]
FIG. 9 shows the relationship between the normal of the lens pallet and the incident angle of the vapor deposition material.
[4. Configuration example of the present embodiment]
FIG. 11A shows a comparison of the current dome cross-sectional views of the batch type and the continuous type.

  FIG. 11B shows the configuration of the present invention according to the first embodiment, FIG. 11C shows the second embodiment, and FIG. 12 is a detailed explanatory diagram of the second embodiment.

  Here, the vapor deposition apparatus can be realized mainly by the following configuration. As shown in FIG. 11B, the vapor deposition apparatus includes a vapor deposition source 6 for injecting a vapor deposition material, a dome 2 on which a plurality of lens pallets 3 can be installed, and a drive unit that rotationally drives the plurality of lens pallets 3.

  The dome 2 has a predetermined inclination with reference to the spraying of the vapor deposition source. The dome 2 can be provided with a plurality of lens pallets.

  In the dome 2, when the lens pallet is installed so that the vapor deposition material is sprayed on one surface (for example, the first surface of the optical lens), the lens pallet 3D installed on the outer peripheral side is installed on the inner peripheral side. Compared to the pallet 3A (3B), the end on the outer peripheral side is positioned closer to the vapor deposition source than the end on the center side with a predetermined inclination as a reference. In this way, the film characteristics can be stabilized even for the optical lens installed on the outer peripheral side of the dome. The above configuration is particularly effective when a film is deposited on a surface having a large curvature such as the first surface of the optical lens.

  On the other hand, when the lens pallet 3 is rotated in the dome 2, the following occurs.

  In the example shown in Embodiment 1, since the lens pallet 3D shown in FIG. 11B is rotated while being fixed to the rotating mechanism (rotating unit), the lens pallet 3D is centered on the basis of a predetermined inclination. The end portion is positioned closer to the vapor deposition source than the end portion on the outer peripheral side. That is, the end on the center side is close to the vapor deposition source, and the end on the outer peripheral side is far from the vapor deposition source.

In the example shown in Embodiment 2, since the lens pallet 3E shown in FIG. 11C is rotated with only the rotation center fixed, the pallet 3E has an end on the outer peripheral side with a predetermined inclination as a reference. It comes to be located closer to the vapor deposition source than the end on the center side. That is, in the example of Embodiment 2, even if the pallet is inverted, the lens pallet 3E is positioned as shown in FIG. 11C. In this way, the reflectance spectral characteristics can be stabilized with respect to both surfaces of the optical lens.
[5. Explanation of operation of this embodiment]
The optical lens 8 has a spherical or aspherical shape, and when vapor deposition is performed on the optical lens, the optical lens 8 is particularly from the center of the optical lens 8 such as 9 as shown in FIG. As a result, the shape is abruptly inclined toward the outer peripheral side. An apparatus for vapor deposition on an optical lens normally uses a dome 1 of a rotating body that holds a lens as shown in FIG. 1, and lens pallets 3A, 3B, and 3C (here, a three-stage configuration) in which the optical lens is mounted on the dome 1. The dome is placed on the dome 1. Then, the continuous type with high production efficiency in which both surfaces of the optical lens are continuously deposited is divided into the triangular dome 4 as shown in FIG. 6 and the dome 4 is divided into the lens pallets 3A, 3B and 3C as shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 2, the lens pallet is arranged and the entire dome is divided into eight triangular domes 4, and after the vapor deposition of one side of the optical lens is completed, the triangular dome 4 is inverted as shown in FIG. Deposition of the optical lens surface on the opposite side.

  However, the vapor deposition of the optical lens by the continuous device and the batch type will be vapor deposited from the direction of the arrow 5 on the one side of the optical lens, as shown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8. The batch type dome shape as shown in FIG. 7 is a circular arc shape from A to B when viewed in cross section. In contrast, the continuous type dome shape is similar to FIG. If you look at the cross section, it will be a straight line from A to B. When these two cross-sectional views are superimposed, the result is as shown in Fig. 11A, and the tilt on the dome of the lens palette is different between the batch type and the continuous type. The difference is that the incident angle of the vapor deposition material to the optical lens mounted on the vapor deposition pallet of each stage is incident at a certain angle with respect to the normal 7 of the vapor deposition pallet as shown in FIG. In particular, the lower (3C) direction has a larger angle than the upper (3A) direction. Especially for the lower stage (3C), the vapor deposition incident angle tends to be larger in the continuous type than in the batch type.

  Therefore, the present invention is located in the radial direction of the vapor deposition source on the lower side (3C) optical lens pallet arranged in the continuous dome 2 as in Example 1 (FIG. 11B), and the radial direction of the vapor deposition source. The vapor deposition lens pallet is fixed with an inclination so that the lower end portion is closer to the vapor deposition source than the upper end portion (see FIG. 11B 3D). When the triangular dome 4 is rotated 180 ° reversely for vapor deposition on the back side after the single-sided vapor deposition on the lower pallet, the lens pallet also tilts back so as to return to the tilt direction during single-side vapor deposition (FIG. 11C 3E). By using the lens pallet mechanism configured as described above, it is possible to suppress the variation in the incident angle of the vapor deposition material, and to stabilize the variation in the entire reflectance characteristic. As shown in the example of FIG. Like optical It is characterized by having a shape that inclines sharply toward the outer peripheral side when viewed from the center of the cylinder 8, and particularly has a problem of affecting the yield of spectral characteristics on the lower stage (3C) side. In the continuous vapor deposition apparatus, it is possible to provide a vapor deposition method in which the reflectance spectral characteristics of the lower optical lens disposed on the dome in the vapor deposition apparatus is stable.

  According to the present invention, for example, in an optical pickup device using a short wavelength laser diode such as a BD in particular, it is preferable that the light utilization efficiency is as high as possible, and the transmittance of the optical lens mounted on the optical pickup is as follows. It is necessary to make it as large as possible, and the optical lens mounted on the DSC can be deposited with low reflectivity with little variation, thereby contributing to higher image quality and useful for improving the deposition efficiency of optical lenses. It is.

1 Batch type dome 2 Continuous type dome 3 Optical lens palette 3A Optical lens palette (upper)
3B Optical lens palette (middle)
3C optical lens palette (lower)
3D Optical Lens Palette of Example 1 3E Optical Lens Palette of Example 2 4 Triangular Divided Dome 5 Deposition Direction of Evaporation Material 6 Deposition Source 7 Normal Direction of Optical Lens Palette 8 Optical Lens 9 Outer Spherical Surface of Optical Lens

Claims (3)

A film deposition apparatus for depositing a film on an optical lens having a first surface and a second surface,
A deposition source for injecting a deposition material for forming a film;
Multiple lens palettes that can be equipped with multiple lenses,
A dome located in the spray direction of the vapor deposition source, having a predetermined inclination with reference to the spray of the vapor deposition source, and capable of installing the plurality of lens pallets;
The dome is capable of reversing the installed lens pallet;
In the case where the first surface of the optical lens is disposed on the vapor deposition source side, the first pallet located on the outer peripheral side as the ejection target is compared with the second pallet located on the center side as the ejection target. A film deposition apparatus configured such that an end on the outer peripheral side is positioned closer to the deposition source side than an end on the center side with a predetermined inclination as a reference. In the dome, when the first pallet and the second pallet are inverted, the inverted first pallet is compared with the inverted second pallet on the outer peripheral side with respect to the predetermined inclination. An end is configured to be located closer to the vapor deposition source than an end on the center side.
The film deposition apparatus according to claim 1. The first surface has a larger radius of curvature than the second surface.
The film deposition apparatus according to claim 1.

Images