JP2011208197A - In-line plasma film forming apparatus and plasma film forming method using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an in-line plasma film forming apparatus which prevents a film from being formed in a part not intended of a substrate to be processed, by effectively suppressing the plasma from coming around.SOLUTION: The in-line plasma film forming apparatus 1A includes: a plurality of conveyance rollers 3 conveying the substrate 100 to be processed on a conveyance passage 4; a plasma generating unit generating plasma so as to face an upper face of the substrate 100 to be processed, to form a film on the upper face of the substrate 100 to be processed; and a film formation preventing member 5 preventing film formation on a lower face of the substrate 100 to be processed. The film formation preventing member 5 is disposed to substantially cover a region, in a plan view from above, opposing to the region where the plasma is generated, via the conveyance passage 4, the region excluding a part where the conveyance roller 3 is positioned, and the film formation preventing member includes a planar film formation preventing face 5a disposed so as to face the lower face of the substrate 100 to be processed, wherein the width of the film formation preventing face 5a is larger than the width of the objective substrate 100.

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-line type plasma film forming apparatus for forming a film on a surface of a substrate to be processed using plasma while conveying the substrate to be processed, and a plasma film forming method using the same.

  In recent years, solar cells have attracted attention from the viewpoint of environmental protection. A solar cell generates electric power by receiving sunlight and performing photoelectric conversion, and has various structures. For example, a solar cell called a thin film solar cell is known.

  In the thin film solar cell, a semiconductor element having a photoelectric conversion function is formed on a substrate made of any of a glass substrate, a metal substrate, a plastic substrate, a resin substrate, a semiconductor substrate, and the like, and a metal film is further formed on the semiconductor element. The electrode layer is formed by forming a film. Here, as a semiconductor element having a photoelectric conversion function, a three-layer structure in which an impurity-added semiconductor layer / intrinsic semiconductor layer / impurity-added semiconductor layer is stacked, or a structure in which the three-layer structure is further stacked in multiple stages. Is used.

  A plasma film forming method is known as a film forming method suitable for increasing the area or mass production of the thin film solar cell described above. The plasma film forming method is a film forming method in which a film is formed on the surface of a substrate to be processed using plasma, and more specifically, there are a plasma chemical vapor deposition (plasma CVD) method and a plasma sputtering method.

  In the plasma CVD method, a material as a raw material is supplied to a surface of a substrate to be processed in a gas state to form plasma, and this is reacted on the surface of the substrate to be processed, thereby depositing a reactant on the surface of the substrate to be processed. This is a film forming method for forming a film. On the other hand, in the plasma sputtering method, gas molecules are turned into plasma to form ions, which are bombarded with the material target to knock out atoms contained in the material target, and the bombarded atoms are ejected from the surface of the substrate to be processed. It is a film-forming method to be deposited on.

  Among these, the plasma sputtering apparatus using the plasma sputtering method has a feature that it can be introduced into an in-line type production facility relatively easily as compared with the plasma CVD apparatus using the plasma CVD method. Many are introduced in the manufacturing process of a thin film solar cell. For example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-26866), an in-line type plasma sputtering apparatus is often used for forming an electrode layer in a thin film solar cell.

  In recent years, Non-Patent Document 1 (T. Goto, T. Matsuoka and T. Ohmi, “Rotation magnet sputtering: Damage-free novel magnetron sputtering using rotating helical magnet with very high target utilization” J. Vac. Sci. As disclosed in Technol. A 27 (4), 653 (2009)), a thin film solar cell in which a semiconductor layer to be a power generation layer is formed on a substrate to be processed using a plasma sputtering method has been studied. ing.

  Further, in Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-33206), by providing an intermediate layer made of a transparent metal oxide between an amorphous semiconductor layer and a microcrystalline semiconductor layer using a plasma sputtering method, It has been proposed to make a thin film solar cell with improved photoelectric conversion efficiency.

  Furthermore, in Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-37317), a silicon oxide film is formed on the back electrode surface made of a transparent metal oxide by plasma sputtering for film defect inspection of a thin film solar cell. It has been proposed.

  As described above, the application range of the plasma film forming method has been expanded in various film forming processes, and has become a very important technique. In particular, an in-line type plasma film forming apparatus that can be introduced into an in-line type production facility has been intensively developed as a film forming apparatus suitable for increasing the area of the thin film solar cell described above or mass production. .

JP 2001-26866 A JP 2009-33206 A JP-A-8-37317

T. Goto, T. Matsuoka and T. Ohmi, "Rotation magnet sputtering: Damage-free novel magnetron sputtering using rotating helical magnet with very high target utilization" J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 27 (4), 653 (2009 )

  By the way, in the in-line type plasma film forming apparatus, since the plasma film forming process is usually performed with the substrate to be processed being placed on the transport roller, the plasma is applied to the back side of the substrate to be processed. Wrapping becomes a problem. Here, the wraparound of the plasma means that the plasma reaches not only the surface of the substrate to be processed but also the back surface side of the substrate to be processed which is not intended to be formed.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a problem in the conventional in-line type plasma film forming apparatus. As shown in FIG. 12, when the above-described plasma wraparound occurs, a film 102 is formed on the periphery on the back surface side of the substrate 100 to be processed, and desired electrical characteristics cannot be obtained as a product. This leads to problems such as causing the problem and the appearance of the product being impaired. For example, if the above-described thin film solar cell is taken as an example, a leakage current occurs due to an obstacle in patterning using a laser at the peripheral portion on the back side of the substrate to be processed on which the film has been formed. In addition, since the back surface finally becomes a light receiving surface, the appearance is also impaired.

  Therefore, in the in-line type plasma film forming apparatus, it is important to effectively suppress the plasma wraparound, and if the plasma wraparound cannot be effectively suppressed, the yield will be lowered. .

  In addition, as described above, in recent years, the size of the substrate to be processed for performing the plasma film forming process in the in-line type plasma film forming apparatus has been dramatically increased. Deflection due to is becoming prominent. The bending of the substrate to be processed not only induces a trouble of transporting the substrate to be processed in the in-line type plasma film forming apparatus, but also causes variations in the film thickness of the film to be formed.

  In order to prevent this, it is conceivable to increase the number of transport rollers. However, in such a case, not only the manufacturing cost of the in-line type plasma film forming apparatus increases, but also a lot of time is taken for maintenance. This will increase the running cost. Therefore, in the inline-type plasma film forming apparatus, it is an important issue how to suppress the bending of the substrate to be processed without increasing the number of transport rollers.

  In particular, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem of plasma wraparound, and effectively suppresses the plasma wraparound to prevent a film from being formed on an unintended portion of the substrate to be processed. It is an object of the present invention to provide an in-line type plasma film forming apparatus and a plasma film forming method using the same.

  An inline-type plasma film forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a transfer path for transferring a substrate to be processed, and a transfer substrate positioned below the transfer path and supported while supporting a lower surface of the substrate to be processed. Conveying means for conveying on the path, a plasma generating unit for forming a film on the upper surface of the substrate to be processed by generating plasma so as to face the upper surface of the substrate to be processed conveyed on the conveying path, and the conveying path And a film formation preventing member for preventing a film from being formed on the lower surface of the substrate to be processed conveyed on the conveyance path. The transport means includes a plurality of transport rollers arranged along the transport direction of the substrate to be processed. The film formation preventing member is disposed so as to substantially satisfy a region excluding a portion where the conveyance roller is located and a region facing the conveyance path with respect to a region where plasma is generated. It includes at least a planar film-formation prevention surface provided so as to face the lower surface of the substrate to be processed that is transported on the transport path. Further, the width of the film formation preventing surface in the direction orthogonal to the transfer direction of the substrate to be processed is larger than the width of the substrate to be processed in the direction orthogonal to the transfer direction of the substrate to be processed.

  In the in-line type plasma film forming apparatus according to the present invention, the distance between the film formation preventing surface and the lower surface of the substrate to be processed conveyed on the conveyance path is greater than 0 mm and 5.0 mm or less. It is preferable to be provided at the position.

  In the in-line type plasma film forming apparatus according to the present invention, each of the transport rollers has a plurality of roller portions arranged along a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the substrate to be processed. Preferably, in that case, the width of the film formation preventing surface in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the substrate to be processed is larger than the arrangement interval of the roller portions disposed along the direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the substrate to be processed. Larger is preferred.

  In the in-line type plasma film forming apparatus according to the present invention, the film formation preventing member is provided so as to protrude from the film formation preventing surface toward the transfer path side and is transferred on the transfer path. It is preferable to include a support protrusion that contacts the lower surface of the substrate and supports the substrate to be processed.

  In the in-line type plasma film forming apparatus according to the present invention, it is preferable that the support height of the support protrusion with reference to the film formation preventing surface is greater than 0 mm and not greater than 5.0 mm.

  In the in-line type plasma film forming apparatus according to the present invention, it is preferable that the support protrusion is detachably provided to the film formation preventing member.

  In the in-line type plasma film forming apparatus according to the present invention, the support protrusion is made of one resin selected from the group consisting of ethylene tetrafluoride resin, polypropylene resin and polyvinyl chloride resin. It is preferable to contain.

  In the in-line type plasma film forming apparatus according to the present invention, it is preferable that the support protrusion has a shape capable of point contact or line contact with the lower surface of the substrate to be processed which is transported on the transport path. . In that case, for example, it is preferable that the support protrusion has a semi-cylindrical shape or a hemispherical shape.

  In the inline-type plasma film forming apparatus according to the present invention, the arrangement interval of the conveyance rollers arranged along the conveyance direction of the substrate to be processed is L, and the contact position of the support protrusion with the substrate to be processed And the arrangement interval L and the distance 1 are 0.30 ≦ l / L ≦ 0.55, where l is the distance between the arrangement position of the conveying roller located on the downstream side of the support protrusion and l Is preferably satisfied.

  The plasma film forming method according to the present invention is characterized in that a film is formed on the upper surface of a substrate to be processed using any of the above-described inline-type plasma film forming apparatuses.

  According to the present invention, an inline-type plasma film forming apparatus capable of effectively suppressing plasma wraparound and preventing a film from being formed on an unintended portion of the substrate to be processed, and a plasma forming apparatus using the same. It can be a membrane method.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the apparatus structure of the in-line type plasma film-forming apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a top view at the time of seeing the conveyance path of the in-line type plasma film-forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 from upper direction. It is a schematic diagram which shows the apparatus structure of the in-line type plasma film-forming apparatus in Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a top view at the time of seeing the conveyance path of the in-line type plasma film-forming apparatus shown in FIG. 3 from upper direction. It is an expansion perspective view of the support protrusion shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. It is a top view at the time of seeing the conveyance path of the in-line type plasma film-forming apparatus which concerns on the 1st modification based on Embodiment 2 of this invention from upper direction. It is a top view at the time of seeing the conveyance path of the in-line type plasma film-forming apparatus which concerns on the 2nd modification based on Embodiment 2 of this invention from upper direction. It is a top view at the time of seeing the conveyance path of the in-line type plasma film-forming apparatus concerning the 3rd modification based on Embodiment 2 of the present invention from the upper part. It is an expansion perspective view which shows the other example of the support protrusion of the in-line type plasma film-forming apparatus in Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the apparatus structure of the in-line type plasma film-forming apparatus in Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the apparatus structure of the in-line type plasma film-forming apparatus in Embodiment 4 of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the subject in the conventional in-line type plasma film-forming apparatus.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following first and second embodiments, the case where the present invention is applied to an in-line plasma CVD apparatus as an in-line type plasma film forming apparatus will be described as an example. In the following third and fourth embodiments, The case where the present invention is applied to an inline type plasma sputtering apparatus as an inline type plasma film forming apparatus will be described as an example. In the following embodiments, the same or common parts are denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and the description thereof will not be repeated individually.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an apparatus configuration of an inline-type plasma film forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a top view of a conveyance path of the inline-type plasma film forming apparatus shown in FIG. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the in-line type plasma film forming apparatus in this embodiment is a so-called in-line type plasma CVD apparatus (hereinafter also simply referred to as a plasma CVD apparatus). The plasma CVD apparatus 1A in the present embodiment includes a chamber 2, a plurality of transfer rollers 3 as transfer means, an anode 11 and a cathode 12 as plasma generation units, a film formation preventing member 5, a high-frequency power source 13, And a matching unit 14.

  The chamber 2 corresponds to a reaction vessel for partitioning an external space and a processing space, and has, for example, a box shape. One of the pair of opposing side surfaces of the chamber 2 is provided with a slit-shaped carry-in port 2a for carrying the substrate 100 before processing into the processing space. On the other side surface, a slit-shaped carry-out port 2b for carrying out the processed substrate 100 after processing from the processing space is provided. Further, a gas discharge part 2 c for discharging a material gas, which will be described later, filled in the processing space is provided on the lower surface of the chamber 2.

  A plurality of conveyance rollers 3 are provided in alignment inside and outside the chamber 2, and thereby the conveyance path 4 is configured to connect the carry-in port 2 a and the carry-out port 2 b described above. The transport path 4 is a path for transporting the substrate 100 to be processed, and is provided in a straight line so as to cross the chamber 2. The conveyance roller 3 is positioned below the conveyance path 4 and conveys the substrate to be processed 100 supported while supporting the lower surface of the substrate to be processed 100 on the conveyance path 4 in the direction of arrow A in the figure.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the transport roller 3 includes a roller unit 3 a that is a plurality of rotating rollers arranged along a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the substrate 100 to be processed, and the plurality of roller units 3 a. And a shaft portion 3b that supports the shaft, and the substrate portion 100 is transported by the shaft portion 3b being rotationally driven by a driving unit (not shown). A plurality of transport rollers 3 including the plurality of roller portions 3 a and the shaft portions 3 b are arranged in parallel to each other along the transport direction of the substrate 100 to be processed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the anode 11 and the cathode 12 are arranged vertically so as to sandwich the transport path 4 at a predetermined position in the chamber 2. The anode 11 corresponds to a plate-shaped voltage application electrode, and is disposed above the transport path 4 with a predetermined distance from the transport path 4 so that the lower surface thereof faces the transport path 4. The cathode 12 corresponds to a flat ground electrode, and is arranged below the transport path 4 with a predetermined distance from the transport path 4 so that the upper surface thereof faces the transport path 4.

  One end of a gas introduction pipe 10 for introducing a material gas into the chamber 2 is connected to the anode 11, and the material gas introduced through the gas introduction pipe 10 is conveyed inside the anode 11. A flow path for discharging in a shower shape toward the path 4 side is formed. The other end of the gas introduction pipe 10 is connected to a material gas supply source (not shown), whereby the material gas is introduced into the processing space in the chamber 2 along the arrow B1 direction shown in the drawing. Become. The material gas introduced into the chamber 2 is filled in the chamber 2 and then discharged from the gas discharge portion 2c located below the cathode 12 in the direction of arrow B2 in the figure. Here, as the material gas, a gas corresponding to the composition of the film to be deposited on the substrate 100 is appropriately selected.

  The high frequency power supply 13 is electrically connected to the anode 11 via the matching unit 14. Further, as described above, the cathode 12 is grounded. As a result, a pulsed voltage is applied to the anode 11 by the high-frequency power source 13 and the matching unit 14, and a discharge occurs between the anode 11 and the cathode 12, and the material that fills the space between the anode 11 and the cathode 12. The gas will be turned into plasma. The space located between the anode 11 and the cathode 12 corresponds to a region where plasma is generated, and faces the upper surface (corresponding to the surface to be formed) of the substrate 100 to be processed which is transferred on the transfer path 4. By generating plasma in this manner, a desired film is formed on the upper surface of the substrate to be processed 100 transported in the region.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the film formation preventing member 5 is provided below the transport path 4 and on the cathode 12. The film formation preventing member 5 is an anti-film formation member for preventing a film from being formed on the lower surface (corresponding to the back surface on which the film is not intended to be formed) of the substrate to be processed 100 conveyed on the conveyance path 4. It is a member that corresponds to a landing plate and prevents plasma from wrapping around. The material of the film formation preventing member 5 is not particularly limited. However, when the film formation preventing member 5 is provided in contact with the cathode 12 as in the present embodiment, it is necessary to configure it with an insulating member. The surface of the film formation preventing member 5 may be subjected to roughing such as sandblasting in order to prevent the film from being formed.

  More specifically, the film formation preventing member 5 is a region facing the region where the plasma is generated with the conveyance path 4 interposed therebetween (that is, a region above the cathode 12 and below the conveyance path 4) and the conveyance roller 3. It is arranged so as to substantially fill the region excluding the portion where is located when viewed from above. The film formation preventing member 5 has a flat upper surface provided so as to face the lower surface of the substrate 100 to be processed which is transported on the transport path 4, and the upper surface prevents wraparound of plasma. This corresponds to the film formation preventing surface 5a.

  Here, it is preferable that the film formation preventing member 5 has a shape that fills the region as much as possible. In the present embodiment, the film formation prevention member 5 adjacent to the transport roller 3 The protruding portion 5b is provided at the end portion so that the end portion has a shape along both the roller portion 3a and the shaft portion 3b. In addition, the upper surface of the portion where the protruding portion 5b is not provided and the upper surface of the portion where the protruding portion 5b is provided are continuously formed so that the upper surface of the protruding portion 5b is also the film formation preventing surface 5a. Has been.

  In addition, since both the roller portion 3a and the shaft portion 3b rotate for transporting the substrate to be processed 100, the film formation preventing member 5, the roller portion 3a, and the shaft portion 3b are not in contact with each other. is required. However, as described above, since the film formation preventing member 5 preferably satisfies the above region as much as possible, as the gap provided between the film formation preventing member 5 and the roller portion 3a and the shaft portion 3b, In any part, it is preferable to be 5 mm or less.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the film formation preventing surface 5 a has a width Z in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the substrate to be processed 100 (direction of arrow A shown in the drawing) from the width Y of the substrate to be processed 100 in the direction. Is also made up of large. Further, as described above, the transport roller 3 has a plurality of roller portions 3a in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the substrate 100 to be processed, and the width Z of the film formation preventing surface 5a is determined by the adjacent rollers. It is configured to be larger than the arrangement interval X of the portions 3a. That is, the arrangement interval X of the roller portions 3a, the width Y of the substrate 100 to be processed, and the width Z of the film formation preventing surface 5a satisfy the condition of X <Y <Z. With this configuration, it is possible to effectively prevent the wraparound of the plasma at the end in the width direction of the substrate 100 to be processed by the film formation preventing surface 5a while preventing the substrate 100 from being bent in the width direction. it can.

  The width Z of the film formation preventing surface 5a and the width Y of the substrate to be processed 100 preferably satisfy the condition of Z ≧ 1.05 × Y. With this configuration, even when there is an increase or decrease in the region where plasma is generated that can occur when the pressure of the processing space in the chamber 2 is changed, it is possible to reliably prevent the plasma from wrapping around. .

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the film formation preventing surface 5a is provided at a position where the distance g between the lower surface of the substrate 100 to be processed conveyed on the conveyance path 4 is 0 mm <g ≦ 5.0 mm. ing. With such a configuration, the wraparound of plasma at the end in the width direction of the substrate to be processed 100 can be effectively prevented by the film formation preventing surface 5a. Here, when the distance g between the lower surface of the substrate to be processed 100 conveyed on the conveyance path 4 is larger than 5.0 mm, the distance between the lower surface of the substrate to be processed 100 and the film formation preventing surface 5a. However, the size of the plasma is insufficient to prevent the plasma from flowing around, and the plasma flows into the gap between them, so that the film formation on the lower surface of the substrate 100 to be processed cannot be sufficiently prevented. When the distance g is 0 mm, the entire lower surface of the substrate to be processed 100 comes into contact with the film formation preventing surface 5a, and scratches or the like are generated on the lower surface of the substrate to be processed 100. This may cause a conveyance trouble due to friction between them.

  The distance d (see FIG. 1) between the upper surface of the substrate to be processed 100 conveyed on the conveyance path 4 and the lower surface of the anode 11 affects the discharge start voltage Vs. Since the film thickness of the film formed on the upper surface of the substrate 100 is affected, it is preferable to set the arrangement position of the conveyance roller 3 so that the distance d is constant in the conveyance direction of the substrate 100 to be processed. In this case, a plurality of transfer rollers 3 are provided below the transfer path 4 where the anode 11 and the cathode 12 serving as the plasma generation unit are located, along the transfer direction of the substrate to be processed 100 (the direction of arrow A shown in the figure). In this case, the film formation preventing member 5 is divided according to the number of the plurality of transport rollers 3 and disposed between the plurality of transport rollers 3.

  In plasma CVD apparatus 1A in the present embodiment described above, a region below transfer path 4 corresponding to a region where plasma is generated is substantially filled with the region as viewed from above. Since the film formation preventing surface 5a of the film formation preventing member 5 is disposed on the lower surface of the substrate 100 to be processed which is conveyed on the conveyance path 4, the film formation preventing surface 5a is covered. Therefore, it is possible to effectively suppress the plasma from entering the lower surface of the substrate 100 to be processed, and it is possible to prevent a film from being formed on the periphery of the lower surface of the substrate 100 to be processed.

  Therefore, by using the plasma CVD apparatus 1A in the present embodiment, a plasma CVD apparatus that can prevent film formation on an unintended portion of the substrate 100 to be processed can be obtained, and plasma can be generated using the plasma CVD apparatus 1A. By performing the film formation process, a plasma film formation method that can prevent film formation on an unintended portion of the substrate to be processed 100 can be obtained.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an apparatus configuration of the inline-type plasma film forming apparatus in Embodiment 2 of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a view of the conveyance path of the inline-type plasma film forming apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the support protrusion shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the inline-type plasma film forming apparatus in the present embodiment is a so-called inline-type plasma CVD apparatus. The plasma CVD apparatus 1B in the present embodiment has the same configuration in most part as the plasma CVD apparatus 1A in the first embodiment of the present invention described above, and the film formation preventing surface 5a of the film formation preventing member 5 is formed. The only difference is that the support protrusions 6 are provided at predetermined positions.

  The support protrusion 6 is provided so as to protrude from the film formation preventing surface 5 a toward the transport path 4, and supports the target substrate 100 by contacting the lower surface of the target substrate 100 transported on the transport path 4. It is a part to do. The support protrusion 6 is for preventing the substrate to be processed 100 from being bent along the transport direction of the substrate to be processed 100.

  The support protrusion 6 may be made of any material having excellent heat resistance and wear resistance. Preferably, the support protrusion 6 is made of, for example, a tetrafluoroethylene-based resin, a polypropylene-based resin, or polyvinyl chloride. It is made of a chemically stable material containing any one of the series resins as a main raw material. If the support protrusion 6 is composed of any one of these tetrafluoroethylene resin, polypropylene resin or polyvinyl chloride resin as a main raw material, impurities such as moisture and carbon are present in the processing space in the chamber 2. Mixing can be prevented, and the adhesion of the film to be formed to the support protrusions 6 is weakened, so that it can be easily removed.

  Here, the tetrafluoroethylene-based resin has a heat resistance temperature of about 250 ° C. and a moisture content of approximately 0%, and thus is suitable as a material for the support protrusion 6. Polypropylene resin is suitable as a material for the support protrusion 6 because its heat-resistant temperature is about 100 ° C. and its moisture content is approximately 0%. In addition, the polyvinyl chloride resin is suitable as a material for the support protrusion 6 because its heat-resistant temperature is about 80 ° C. and its moisture content is approximately 0%. Further, from the viewpoint of wear resistance, it is particularly preferable that the support protrusion 6 is formed of a polyvinyl chloride resin, but the support protrusion 6 is formed of a tetrafluoroethylene resin or a polypropylene resin. In some cases, it can be used sufficiently.

  The support protrusion 6 is preferably configured such that the support height with respect to the film formation preventing surface 5a is greater than 0 mm and equal to or less than 5.0 mm. Here, the reason why the support height of the support protrusion 6 is preferably in the above range is that the distance g between the substrate to be processed 100 transported on the transport path 4 and the film formation preventing surface 5a (see FIG. 3). ), The substrate 100 to be processed that is transported on the transport path 4 can be stably supported by the support protrusions 6 and the plasma on the lower surface of the substrate 100 to be processed This is because the wraparound can be reliably prevented by the film formation preventing surface 5a.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 5, the support protrusion 6 is configured to have, for example, a semi-cylindrical shape. In the case of such a configuration, the contact portion 6a that is a contact position between the support protrusion 6 and the substrate to be processed 100 is linear as illustrated, and the support protrusion 6 is transported on the transport path 4. A line contact is made with the lower surface of the substrate 100. Therefore, it can prevent that the to-be-processed substrate 100 contacts with the said support protrusion 6 and is damaged by comprising in this way.

  When the support protrusion 6 has a semi-cylindrical shape, it is preferable that the support protrusion 6 is disposed so that the curved surface thereof faces the transport direction of the substrate 100 to be processed. According to this configuration, the front end surface of the substrate to be processed 100 in the transport direction is guided by the curved surface of the support protrusion 6 and can easily get over the support protrusion 6, thereby preventing a transport trouble from occurring. it can.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the position at which the support protrusion 6 is provided is L, which is an arrangement interval of the conveyance rollers 3 arranged along the conveyance direction of the substrate 100 to be processed (direction of arrow A shown in the figure). When the distance between the contact portion 6a, which is the contact position of the support protrusion 6 with the substrate 100 to be processed, and the position of the transport roller 3 positioned on the downstream side of the support protrusion 6, is set to l. It is preferable that the distance L and the distance l satisfy the condition of 0.20 ≦ l / L ≦ 0.65 (a position where the condition is satisfied is indicated by a region C1 in the drawing), and further, these arrangements It is more preferable that the distance L and the distance 1 satisfy the condition of 0.30 ≦ l / L ≦ 0.55 (a position where the condition is satisfied is indicated by a region C2 in the drawing). By configuring in this way, it is possible to reliably prevent the substrate 100 to be processed from being bent along the transport direction.

  By using the plasma CVD apparatus 1B in the present embodiment described above, in addition to the effects described in the first embodiment of the present invention described above, an effect that can further suppress the bending of the substrate 100 to be processed is obtained. That is, without increasing the transport roller 3 in the transport direction of the substrate 100 to be processed, the occurrence of bending in the transport direction of the substrate 100 to be processed can be prevented, and the upper surface and anode of the substrate 100 to be transported on the transport path 4 can be prevented. 11 can be configured such that the distance d (see FIG. 3) between the lower surface of the substrate 11 and the lower surface of the substrate 11 is more reliably constant in the transport direction of the substrate 100 to be processed. For this reason, there is no need to complicate the apparatus configuration, and there are obtained an advantage that the installation cost can be suppressed and an advantage that the workability at the time of maintenance is improved and the running cost can be suppressed.

  Therefore, by using the plasma CVD apparatus 1B in the present embodiment, a plasma CVD apparatus having a simple configuration that can prevent film formation on an unintended portion of the substrate to be processed 100 and can form a film with a desired film thickness. In addition, by performing plasma film formation using the plasma CVD apparatus 1B, film formation on an unintended portion of the substrate to be processed 100 can be prevented and a film having a desired film thickness can be formed at low cost. It can be set as the plasma film-forming method which can be formed into a film.

  In addition, in plasma CVD apparatus 1B in this Embodiment mentioned above, it is preferable that the support protrusion 6 is comprised so that attachment or detachment to the film-forming prevention member 5 is possible. According to this configuration, it is possible to perform plasma film formation processing by replacing the support protrusions 6 of various materials according to the film formation conditions. Therefore, the support protrusions 6 suitable for the film formation conditions are selected. Occurrence of various problems can be prevented beforehand. Further, with the configuration described above, the support protrusion 6 is detached from the film formation preventing member 5 and maintenance work of the support protrusion 6 and the film formation prevention member 5 (that is, removal of the attached film, etc.) is performed separately. Therefore, it is possible to remove the film attached with a cloth or the like without using a special chemical solution, thereby facilitating maintenance work. In addition, if configured as described above, it is possible to replace only the support protrusion 6 even when the support protrusion 6 is worn or the like, so it is not necessary to replace all the film formation preventing members 5. Cost effects can also be obtained.

  6 to 8 are plan views of the in-line type plasma film forming apparatus according to the first to third modifications based on the present embodiment, as viewed from above. In the present embodiment described above, the case where the support protrusion 6 is provided only at one place on the film formation preventing surface 5a of the plasma CVD apparatus 1B is exemplified. However, a plurality of support protrusions 6 are provided on the film formation prevention surface 5a. Also good. In the first to third modifications, layout examples in the case where a plurality of support protrusions 6 are provided on the film formation preventing surface 5a are shown.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in the first modification, two support protrusions 6 are provided in the region C2, and in addition, one support protrusion 6 is provided in the region C1. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 7, in the 2nd modification, the support protrusion 6 is provided in two places in the said area | region C2, and the case where two support protrusions 6 are provided in the said area | region C1 in addition to this is shown. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, in the third modified example, three support protrusions 6 are provided in the region C2, and in addition, three support protrusions 6 are provided in the region C1. As described above, by providing the plurality of support protrusions 6 on the film formation preventing surface 5a, it is possible to further suppress the bending along the transport direction of the substrate 100 to be processed. The arrangement position of the support protrusion 6 is not limited to the above, and the arrangement position can be appropriately changed according to the size, thickness, material, and the like of the substrate 100 to be processed.

  FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective view showing another example of the support protrusion of the inline-type plasma film forming apparatus in the present embodiment. In the present embodiment described above, the case where the support protrusion 6 provided on the film formation preventing surface 5a of the plasma CVD apparatus 1B is a semi-cylindrical shape is illustrated. However, as shown in FIG. It is also possible to use one having When configured in this way, the contact portion 6a that is the contact position between the support protrusion 6 and the substrate to be processed 100 is dotted as shown in the figure, and the support protrusion 6 is transported on the transport path 4. Point contact is made with the lower surface of the substrate 100. Therefore, it can prevent that the to-be-processed substrate 100 contacts with the said support protrusion 6 and is damaged by comprising in this way. In addition, the shape of the support protrusion 6 is not limited to the above, and may be any shape.

(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an apparatus configuration of an inline-type plasma film forming apparatus according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the inline-type plasma film forming apparatus in this embodiment is a so-called inline-type plasma sputtering apparatus (inline-type DC magnetron sputtering apparatus (hereinafter also simply referred to as a plasma sputtering apparatus)). The plasma sputtering apparatus 1 </ b> C in the present embodiment includes a chamber 2, a plurality of transfer rollers 3 as transfer means, a cathode 21 as a plasma generation unit, a material target 28, a support frame 29, and a film formation prevention member 5. And a power supply connection portion 23 are mainly provided. Here, the configuration of the chamber 2, the plurality of transport rollers 3, and the transport path 4 constituted by the transport rollers 3 is the same as that of the plasma CVD apparatus 1A in the first embodiment of the present invention described above. The detailed description will not be repeated here.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the cathode 21 is disposed above the transport path 4 at a predetermined position in the chamber 2. The cathode 21 corresponds to a flat voltage application electrode, and is arranged above the transport path 4 with a predetermined distance from the transport path 4 so that the lower surface thereof faces the transport path 4. The cathode 21 is connected to a DC power source (not shown) via a power supply connecting portion 23. A central magnet 22 a and an outer peripheral magnet 22 b are attached to the lower surface of the cathode 21. The central magnet 22a is disposed at the center of the lower surface of the cathode 21, and the outer peripheral magnet 22b is annularly disposed along the peripheral edge of the lower surface of the cathode 21 so as to surround the central magnet 22a.

  The cathode 21 is covered with an electrically grounded cathode shield 24, and a material target 28 is attached to a position below the cathode shield 24. The material target 28 is for generating sputtered particles by sputtering, and a material target corresponding to the composition of the film to be deposited on the substrate 100 is appropriately selected. The cathode shield 24 is supported in the insulator 25 and located in the chamber 2, and a cooling water introduction pipe 26 and a cooling water discharge pipe 27 for introducing and discharging cooling water are attached to the cathode shield 24. It has been. The cooling water introduction pipe 26 and the cooling water discharge pipe 27 cool the cathode 21 with the cooling water flowing inside, and the cooling water introduced from the cooling water introduction pipe 26 along the direction of arrow D1 in the figure is , Used for cooling the cathode 21, and then discharged from the cooling water discharge pipe 27 along the direction of arrow D2 in the figure.

  A gas introduction pipe 20 is provided at a predetermined position on the upper surface of the chamber 2, and the gas introduction pipe 20 is connected to a gas supply source (not shown). As a result, the gas is introduced into the processing space in the chamber 2 along the direction of the arrow B1 shown in the drawing through the gas introduction pipe 20. The gas introduced into the chamber 2 fills the chamber 2, and is then discharged from the gas discharge portion 2c located below the cathode 12 in the direction of arrow B2 in the figure. Here, the gas introduced by the gas introduction pipe 20 is mainly a rare gas such as argon.

  In a state where a voltage is applied to the cathode 21, semicircular magnetic lines of force are generated on the material target 28, and a strong light emission plasma is formed in a donut shape in the space below the material target 28 and above the conveyance path 4. Is done. The space corresponds to a region where plasma is generated, and thus plasma is generated so as to face the upper surface of the substrate to be processed 100 (corresponding to the surface to be formed). Thereby, gas molecules are turned into plasma and become ions, and when the ions collide with the material target 28, atoms contained in the material target 28 are sputtered out as sputtered particles toward the substrate 100 to be processed. Then, the sputtered particles struck out from the material target 28 are deposited on the upper surface of the substrate to be processed 100 transported in the region, whereby a desired film is formed.

  The support frame 29 is a flat plate member for supporting the film formation preventing member 5, and is disposed below the transfer path 4 in the chamber 2. The film formation preventing member 5 is provided below the transport path 4 and on the support frame 29. The film formation preventing member 5 is an anti-film formation member for preventing a film from being formed on the lower surface (corresponding to the back surface on which the film is not intended to be formed) of the substrate to be processed 100 conveyed on the conveyance path 4. It is a member that corresponds to a landing plate and prevents plasma from wrapping around.

  More specifically, the film formation preventing member 5 is a region facing the region where the plasma is generated across the conveyance path 4 (that is, a region above the support frame 29 and below the conveyance path 4) and a conveyance roller. The region excluding the portion where 3 is located is arranged so as to substantially fill the region as viewed from above. The film formation preventing member 5 has a flat upper surface provided so as to face the lower surface of the substrate 100 to be processed which is transported on the transport path 4, and the upper surface prevents wraparound of plasma. This corresponds to the film formation preventing surface 5a.

  Since the specific configuration, shape, material, arrangement position, and the like of the film formation preventing member 5 are the same as those in the first embodiment of the present invention described above, description thereof will not be repeated here.

  The distance d (see FIG. 10) between the upper surface of the substrate to be processed 100 conveyed on the conveyance path 4 and the lower surface of the material target 28 does not affect the discharge start voltage Vs. Since the film thickness of the film formed on the upper surface of the substrate 100 is affected, it is preferable to set the arrangement position of the conveyance roller 3 so that the distance d is constant in the conveyance direction of the substrate 100 to be processed. In this case, a plurality of transport rollers 3 are arranged along the transport direction of the substrate to be processed 100 (in the direction of arrow A shown in the drawing) below the transport path 4 where the cathode 21 as the plasma generation unit is located. In this case, the film formation preventing member 5 is divided according to the number of the plurality of transport rollers 3 and arranged between the plurality of transport rollers 3.

  In the plasma sputtering apparatus 1C in the present embodiment described above, the region below the transport path 4 corresponding to the region where plasma is generated is substantially filled with the region as viewed from above. Since the film formation preventing surface 5a of the film formation preventing member 5 is disposed on the lower surface of the substrate 100 to be processed which is conveyed on the conveyance path 4, the film formation preventing surface 5a is covered. Therefore, it is possible to effectively suppress the plasma from entering the lower surface of the substrate 100 to be processed, and it is possible to prevent a film from being formed on the periphery of the lower surface of the substrate 100 to be processed.

  Therefore, by using the plasma sputtering apparatus 1C in the present embodiment, a plasma sputtering apparatus that can prevent film formation on an unintended portion of the substrate to be processed 100 can be obtained, and plasma can be generated using the plasma sputtering apparatus 1C. By performing the film formation process, a plasma film formation method that can prevent film formation on an unintended portion of the substrate to be processed 100 can be obtained.

(Embodiment 4)
FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing an apparatus configuration of an inline-type plasma film forming apparatus in Embodiment 4 of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the in-line type plasma film forming apparatus in the present embodiment is a so-called in-line type plasma sputtering apparatus (in-line type DC magnetron sputtering apparatus). The plasma sputtering apparatus 1D in the present embodiment has the same configuration as that of the plasma sputtering apparatus 1C in the third embodiment of the present invention described above, and most of the film formation preventing surface 5a of the film formation preventing member 5 is formed. The only difference is that the support protrusions 6 are provided at predetermined positions.

  The support protrusion 6 is provided so as to protrude from the film formation preventing surface 5 a toward the transport path 4, and supports the target substrate 100 by contacting the lower surface of the target substrate 100 transported on the transport path 4. It is a part to do. The support protrusion 6 is for preventing the substrate to be processed 100 from being bent along the transport direction of the substrate to be processed 100 (the direction of arrow A shown in the drawing). Note that the specific configuration, shape, support height, material, arrangement position, and the like of the support protrusion 6 are all the same as those in the above-described second embodiment of the present invention, and therefore the description thereof will not be repeated here. .

  By using the plasma sputtering apparatus 1D according to the present embodiment described above, in addition to the effects described in the third embodiment of the present invention described above, an effect that can further suppress the bending of the substrate 100 to be processed is obtained. That is, without increasing the transport rollers 3 in the transport direction of the substrate to be processed 100, the occurrence of bending in the transport direction of the substrate to be processed 100 can be prevented, and the upper surface and material of the substrate to be processed 100 transported on the transport path 4. The distance d (see FIG. 11) between the lower surface of the target 28 can be configured to be more reliably constant in the transport direction of the substrate 100 to be processed. For this reason, there is no need to complicate the apparatus configuration, and there are obtained an advantage that the installation cost can be suppressed and an advantage that the workability at the time of maintenance is improved and the running cost can be suppressed.

  Therefore, by using the plasma sputtering apparatus 1D in the present embodiment, a plasma sputtering apparatus having a simple configuration that can prevent film formation on an unintended portion of the substrate to be processed 100 and can form a film with a desired film thickness. In addition, by performing plasma film formation using the plasma sputtering apparatus 1D, film formation on an unintended portion of the substrate to be processed 100 can be prevented and a film having a desired film thickness can be formed at low cost. It can be set as the plasma film-forming method which can be formed into a film.

  In the above-described third and fourth embodiments of the present invention, the case where the present invention is applied to an in-line DC magnetron sputtering apparatus has been described as an example. However, in the formation of a dielectric film or the like, An in-line RF magnetron sputtering apparatus using a high frequency power source is used. In that case, a high-frequency power source may be used as a power source, and a matching unit may be provided between the high-frequency power source and the cathode.

  In the following, a case where a plasma sputtering apparatus according to the above-described fourth embodiment of the present invention is actually manufactured and a plasma film forming process is performed using this apparatus will be described as an example. The effect of the present invention can be obtained by confirming the film formation state of the substrate to be processed in the examples and the comparative examples by removing the film preventing member and performing the plasma film formation process as a comparative example. The conditions and results of the verified verification test will be described.

  In the examples and comparative examples, the same substrate to be processed was used in both dimensions and materials. As a substrate to be processed, an insulating substrate having a thickness of 4.0 mm, 100.0 cm × 140.0 cm, an insulating substrate having a thickness of 1.8 mm, 56.0 cm × 92.5 cm, and a thickness of 4.0 mm Three types with an insulating substrate of 56.0 cm × 92.5 cm were used.

  The arrangement interval X (see FIG. 2) of adjacent roller portions (diameter 7.4 cm) in the manufactured plasma sputtering apparatus is 23.0 mm in all cases, and the width Z (FIG. 2) of the film formation preventing member in the example. All are 105.0 mm. Further, the width Y (see FIG. 2) of the substrate to be processed is either 100.0 cm or 56.0 cm, respectively.

  Further, the shape of the support protrusion in the manufactured plasma sputtering apparatus is a semi-cylindrical shape as shown in FIG. 5, and the length a along the transport direction of the substrate to be processed (the direction of arrow A in the figure) is 5 The length b along the direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the substrate to be processed was set to 3.0 mm. Further, the support protrusions are arranged at only one position as shown in FIG. 4, and the arrangement position is set such that the distance l shown in FIG. 4 is 19.3 cm. Here, since the arrangement interval L of the conveying rollers is 38.1 cm, the ratio 1 / L between the distance l and the arrangement interval L is 0.507.

  In each of the comparative examples, a film (a film as indicated by reference numeral 102 in FIG. 12) having a width from the end of about 4.0 mm to 7.0 mm is formed on the periphery of the back surface (that is, the bottom surface) of the substrate to be processed. Was filmed. The reason why the film is formed is presumed to be that plasma wraps around.

  On the other hand, in the examples, no film was formed on the back surface of the substrate to be processed. This is presumed to be because the wraparound of plasma was prevented by installing the film formation preventing member described above.

  As described above, it has been experimentally confirmed that by applying the present invention, it is possible to effectively suppress the wraparound of plasma and prevent a film from being formed on an unintended portion of the substrate to be processed.

  The above-described embodiments and examples disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects and are not restrictive. The technical scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  1A, 1B In-line type plasma CVD device, 1C, 1D In-line type plasma sputtering device, 2 chamber, 2a carry-in port, 2b carry-out port, 2c gas discharge unit, 3 transport roller, 3a roller unit, 3b shaft unit, 4 transport path, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 5 Film-forming prevention member, 5a Film-forming prevention surface, 5b Projection part, 6 Support protrusion, 6a Contact part, 10 Gas introduction pipe, 11 Anode, 12 Cathode, 13 High frequency power supply, 14 Matching device, 20 Gas introduction pipe, 21 Cathode , 22a Central magnet, 22b Outer magnet, 23 Power supply connection part, 24 Cathode shield, 25 Insulator, 26 Cooling water introduction pipe, 27 Cooling water discharge pipe, 28 Material target, 29 Support frame, 100 Substrate, 102 Film.

Claims (11)

A transport path for transporting the substrate to be processed;
A transport unit that is positioned below the transport path and transports the substrate to be processed supported on the lower surface of the substrate to be processed on the transport path;
A plasma generation unit that forms a film on the upper surface of the substrate to be processed by generating plasma so as to face the upper surface of the substrate to be processed that is transported on the transport path;
A deposition preventing member that is positioned below the transport path and prevents a film from being formed on the lower surface of the substrate to be processed transported on the transport path;
The transport means includes a plurality of transport rollers arranged along the transport direction of the substrate to be processed,
The film formation preventing member is disposed so as to substantially fill a region facing the region where the plasma is generated with the conveyance path therebetween and excluding a portion where the conveyance roller is located, as viewed from above. At least a planar film-formation prevention surface provided to face the lower surface of the substrate to be processed conveyed on the conveyance path;
An in-line type plasma film forming apparatus, wherein a width of the film formation preventing surface in a direction orthogonal to a transfer direction of the substrate to be processed is larger than a width of the substrate to be processed in a direction orthogonal to the transfer direction of the substrate to be processed.   The in-line type plasma according to claim 1, wherein the film formation preventing surface is provided at a position where a distance from a lower surface of the substrate to be processed conveyed on the conveyance path is greater than 0 mm and equal to or less than 5.0 mm. Deposition device. Each of the transport rollers has a plurality of roller portions arranged along a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the substrate to be processed,
The width of the film formation preventing surface in a direction orthogonal to the transfer direction of the substrate to be processed is larger than an arrangement interval of the roller portions arranged along a direction orthogonal to the transfer direction of the substrate to be processed. 2. The in-line type plasma film forming apparatus according to 2.   The film formation preventing member includes a support protrusion that is provided so as to protrude from the film formation prevention surface toward the conveyance path side and abuts against a lower surface of the substrate to be processed conveyed on the conveyance path to support the substrate to be processed. The in-line type plasma film forming apparatus according to claim 1.   The inline-type plasma film forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a support height of the support protrusion with respect to the film formation preventing surface is greater than 0 mm and equal to or less than 5.0 mm.   The in-line type plasma film forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the support protrusion is provided detachably with respect to the film formation preventing member.   The said support protrusion contains one resin selected from the group which consists of a tetrafluoroethylene resin, a polypropylene resin, and a polyvinyl chloride resin as a main raw material. Inline type plasma deposition system.   The inline-type plasma film forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the support protrusion has a shape capable of making point contact or line contact with a lower surface of a substrate to be processed that is transported on the transport path.   The in-line type plasma film forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the support protrusion has a semi-cylindrical shape or a hemispherical shape.   The arrangement interval of the conveyance rollers arranged along the conveyance direction of the substrate to be processed is L, and the contact position of the support protrusion with the substrate to be processed and the arrangement position of the conveyance roller located downstream of the support protrusion 10, wherein the arrangement interval L and the distance l satisfy a condition of 0.30 ≦ l / L ≦ 0.55. The in-line type plasma film forming apparatus described.   11. A plasma film forming method, wherein film formation is performed on an upper surface of a substrate to be processed using the in-line type plasma film forming apparatus according to claim 1.

Images