JP2016060942A - Method and apparatus for forming thin film, and base material having thin film - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and apparatus for forming a thin film, capable of laminating a thin film on a base material without incorporating foreign matters.SOLUTION: An apparatus for forming a thin film comprises: a conveyance part for conveying a base material 2 in a predetermined conveying direction; and a film formation chamber 7 having a partition wall part for surrounding a part of a film formation surface of the base material 2 conveyed by the conveyance part and for forming a closed space between the partition part and the film formation surfaces to form the thin film on the film formation surface. Out of partition parts 8 being a part of the partition wall part and being members for partitioning the internal and external spaces of the film formation chamber 7 in the conveying direction, partition parts 8 on the upstream side in at least the conveying direction includes foreign matter removing means for removing foreign matters P adhering to the surface of the base material 2 on the side of the film formation surface.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention is a thin film forming apparatus for forming a thin film on a strip-shaped base material, and is a thin film for forming a thin film with high purity on a base material by passing the base material through a film forming chamber. The present invention relates to a forming apparatus and a thin film forming method, and a substrate with a thin film manufactured by the thin film forming apparatus and the thin film forming method.

  In recent years, a barrier film in which a barrier film is formed on the surface of a plastic film for the purpose of, for example, preventing oxidation or preventing water intrusion has been used.

  Such a barrier film is formed by a thin film forming apparatus shown in Patent Document 1 below. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the thin film forming apparatus 100 includes a main roll chamber 101, a main roll 102 accommodated in the main roll chamber 101, an unwinding roll 104 that feeds a belt-like base material 103, and a base material 103. And a take-up roll 105 that winds the base material 103 delivered from the unwind roll 104 along the outer peripheral surface 102a of the main roll 102 by the take-up roll 105. It is designed to be transported. Then, by providing the partition 106 on the outer diameter side of the main roll 102, film forming chambers 107a to 107d are formed in the circumferential direction of the main roll 102, and electrodes are provided inside the film forming chambers 107a to 107d. When a thin film source gas is supplied to the film forming chambers 107a to 107d and a high frequency voltage is applied to each electrode, the raw material gas becomes a plasma state, and a thin film is formed on the substrate 103 by plasma CVD.

  In such a thin film forming apparatus 100, the film forming chamber 107a, the film forming chamber 107b, the film forming chamber 107c, and the film forming chamber 107c are formed in a state where the base material 103 supplied from the unwinding roll 104 is along the outer peripheral surface 102a of the main roll 102. By passing through the film chamber 107d, a predetermined thin film is sequentially stacked on the substrate 103.

JP 2001-303249 A

  However, in the above thin film forming apparatus, the film quality of the formed thin film may be deteriorated. Specifically, there is a possibility that minute foreign matters such as particles are attached to the surface (surface on which the thin film is formed) of the base material 103 fed out from the unwinding roll 104, and the film forming chambers 107a to 107d. When forming a thin film on the base material 103, the film attached to the wall surface of each film forming chamber may be peeled off and scattered, and may adhere to the surface of the base material 103 as a foreign substance. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 8, the foreign matter P is caught between the base material 103 and the thin film M1 or between adjacent thin films, and a step (portion surrounded by an ellipse in FIG. 8) occurs in the thin film. End up. As described above, there is a problem that voids are generated in the portions where the steps of each thin film are generated, and moisture permeates through the voids, so that the original performance of the thin film such as barrier properties cannot be exhibited. Further, when this thin film is formed on an organic EL element or a solar cell element, there is a problem that local defects such as dark spots occur due to the ingress of moisture into the thin film.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a thin film forming apparatus and a thin film forming method capable of laminating a thin film on a base material without biting foreign matter.

  In order to solve the above problems, a thin film forming apparatus of the present invention includes a transport unit that transports a base material in a predetermined transport direction, and a partition wall that surrounds a part of the film forming surface of the base material transported by the transport unit. And a film forming chamber for forming a closed space between the film forming surface and forming a thin film on the film forming surface, and forming the film with respect to the transport direction as a part of the partition wall Of the partition portions that are members for partitioning the space inside and outside the chamber, at least the partition portion on the upstream side with respect to the transport direction has a foreign matter removing means for removing foreign matters attached to the surface of the substrate on the film forming surface side. It is characterized by being provided.

  According to the thin film forming apparatus, foreign matter can be removed before the thin film is stacked in the film forming chamber, so that foreign matter is prevented from being caught between the base material and the thin film or between the thin film and the thin film. be able to.

  Further, the foreign matter removing means is configured to blow the gas onto the surface of the base material on the film forming surface side to peel off the foreign matter from the film forming surface, and the film forming surface together with the gas blown by the blowing portion. It is good also as a structure which has a collection | recovery part which collects the foreign material peeled off from the surface of the side.

  According to this structure, a foreign material can be peeled off from a base material without damaging a base material in non-contact with a base material.

  Further, the foreign matter removing means has a contact member that comes into contact with the surface of the base material on the film forming surface side, and the adhesive force between the contact member and the foreign matter is the film forming surface side of the base material. It is good also as a structure higher than the adhesive force between the surface of this and a foreign material.

  According to this configuration, the contact member peels off the foreign matter from the base material, and at the same time, the contact member contacts the surface on the film forming surface side, thereby restricting communication between the spaces sandwiching the partition portion having the foreign matter removing means. In addition, the movement of gas from one side of both spaces to the other side can be prevented.

  Further, in order to solve the above-described problem, the thin film forming method of the present invention includes a partition wall that surrounds a part of the film forming surface of the substrate, and forms a closed space between the film forming surface and the film. A thin film forming method for transporting a base material to a film forming chamber for forming a thin film on a forming surface and forming a thin film on a surface of the base material on the film forming surface side, immediately before the base material is transported to the film forming chamber. In the partition part, which is a part of the partition part and is a member that partitions the space inside and outside the film forming chamber with respect to the transport direction of the substrate, at least the partition part on the upstream side with respect to the transport direction is provided. It has a foreign matter removing step of removing foreign matter adhering to the surface of the substrate on the film forming surface side by the foreign matter removing means.

  According to the thin film forming method, foreign matter can be removed before the thin film is stacked in the film forming chamber, so that foreign matter is prevented from being caught between the base material and the thin film or between the thin film and the thin film. be able to.

  In order to solve the above problems, the substrate with a thin film of the present invention has a partition wall that surrounds a part of the film formation surface of the substrate, forms a closed space with the film formation surface, and A substrate with a thin film, which is transported to a film forming chamber for forming a thin film on the film forming surface, and a thin film is formed on the surface on the film forming surface side by the film forming chamber, and the substrate is transported to the film forming chamber. Immediately before the separation, the partition part is a part of the partition part and is a member that partitions the space inside and outside the film forming chamber with respect to the transport direction of the substrate. The foreign matter adhering to the surface on the film forming surface side of the substrate is removed by the foreign matter removing means.

  The base material with a thin film can remove foreign matter before the thin film is stacked in the film forming chamber, so that the foreign matter is prevented from being caught between the base material and the thin film or between the thin film and the thin film. Can do.

  According to the thin film forming apparatus and the thin film forming method of the present invention, a thin film can be laminated on a substrate without biting in foreign matter.

It is the schematic which shows the thin film formation apparatus in one Embodiment of this invention, and is a perspective view. It is the schematic which shows the thin film formation apparatus in one Embodiment of this invention, and is a front view. It is the schematic which shows the foreign material removal means in this embodiment. It is the schematic which shows the base material with which the thin film was laminated | stacked by the thin film forming apparatus of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the foreign material removal means in other embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the foreign material removal means in other embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the conventional thin film forming apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the base material with which the thin film was laminated | stacked by the conventional thin film formation apparatus.

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

  1 and 2 are schematic views of a thin film forming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The thin film forming apparatus 1 is for forming a thin film by performing a surface treatment on a base material. For example, a thin film forming apparatus 1 is used for forming a barrier film on a plastic film for the purpose of preventing oxidation and preventing moisture intrusion, Used for protective films, flexible solar cells, etc. Specifically, in the case of a flexible solar cell, a solar cell composed of each electrode layer, a photoelectric conversion layer, and the like is formed on a band-shaped substrate such as a plastic film, and then the thin film forming apparatus 1 uses the solar cell. A barrier film is formed by forming a plurality of thin films on the cell. Thereby, the penetration | invasion of a water | moisture content into a photovoltaic cell is prevented effectively, and the flexible solar cell excellent in the oxidation characteristic can be formed.

  The thin film forming apparatus 1 includes an unwinding roll 3 that feeds out a base material 2, a winding roll 4 that winds up the supplied base material 2, and a main roll disposed between the unwinding roll 3 and the winding roll 4. It has a roll 5, a main roll chamber 6 for accommodating these, and a film forming chamber 7 (film forming chambers 7 a to 7 d) for forming a thin film, and the base material 2 fed from the unwinding roll 3 is used as the main. A thin film is formed on the substrate 2 by being passed along the outer peripheral surface 51 of the roll 5 while passing through each film forming chamber 7, and is wound up by the winding roll 4.

  The unwinding roll 3 and the winding roll 4 have a substantially cylindrical core portion 31 and a core portion 41, and the base material 2 is wound around the core portion 31 and the core portion 41. By rotating the portion 41, the substrate 2 can be sent out or taken up. That is, by controlling the rotation of the core portion 31 and the core portion 41 by a control device (not shown), the feeding speed or the winding speed of the base material 2 can be increased and decreased. Specifically, the base material 2 is sent to the downstream side by rotating the upstream core portion in a state where the base material 2 receives a tensile force from the downstream side, and a brake is appropriately applied to the upstream core portion. By applying, the base material 2 is sent out at a constant speed without bending. In addition, by adjusting the rotation of the downstream core portion, it is possible to prevent the substrate 2 that has been sent out from being bent, and conversely, the substrate 2 can be wound up so that an unnecessary tension is not applied. It is like that.

  Here, the base material 2 is a thin plate-like long body extending in one direction, and a long body having a flat plate shape with a thickness of 0.01 mm to 0.2 mm and a width of 5 mm to 1000 mm is applied. Moreover, although it does not specifically limit as a material, In addition to metal materials, such as stainless steel and copper, a plastic film etc. are used suitably.

  As described above, the unwinding roll 3 and the winding roll 4 are paired, one of which feeds the base material 2 and the other of which winds the base material 2 at the same winding speed as the feeding speed. It is possible to transport the substrate 2 while maintaining the tension applied to 2 at a predetermined value.

  The main roll 5 is a transport unit for transporting the base material 2 supplied from the upstream unwinding roll 3 to the downstream winding roll 4 while maintaining the posture of the base material 2 during film formation. . The main roll 5 is disposed between the unwinding roll 3 and the winding roll 4, and is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape having a larger diameter than the core portion 31 and the core portion 41. The outer peripheral surface 51 of the main roll 5 is formed as a curved surface having a constant curvature in the circumferential direction, and is driven and controlled according to the rotation of the core portion 31 and the core portion 41 by a control device (not shown) and sent out from the unwinding roll 3. The base material 2 is conveyed in a state in which a predetermined tension is applied by contacting the outer peripheral surface 51 of the main roll 5. That is, the main roll 5 rotates in accordance with the rotation of the unwinding roll 3 and the take-up roll 4 while the base 2 is in contact with the outer peripheral surface 51 of the main roll 5. In a stretched state, the surface of the film forming chamber 7 is conveyed from the unwinding roll 3 to the winding roll 4 in a posture facing each film forming chamber 7. By transporting and forming a film with the base material 2 stretched in this way, fluttering of the base material 2 during film formation can be prevented, and the film thickness accuracy of the thin film laminated on the base material 2 is improved. In addition, the generation of particles due to flapping of the substrate 2 can be prevented. Further, by increasing the radius of curvature of the main roll 5, film formation is performed while the base material 2 is supported in a more flat state, and thus it is possible to prevent warping of the base material 2 after film formation. it can.

  The main roll chamber 6 is for accommodating the main roll 5 and keeping the pressure in the chamber constant. A vacuum pump 61 is connected to the main roll chamber 6. By operating the vacuum pump 61, the pressure in the main roll chamber 6 can be controlled. In the present embodiment, the pressure is set to be lower than that of each film forming chamber 7. In the present embodiment, the unwinding roll 3 and the winding roll 4 are accommodated in the main roll chamber 6, but a configuration in which these are provided outside the main roll chamber 6 may be employed. By providing these in the main roll chamber 6 as in the present embodiment, it is possible to protect the substrate 2 and the substrate 2 after film formation (film formation substrate) from being exposed to the atmosphere.

  The film forming chamber 7 is for forming a thin film on the substrate 2. In the present embodiment, four film forming chambers 7 (film forming chambers 7 a to 7 d) are continuously provided along the main roll 5 in the main roll chamber 6, and in this description, the conveyance direction of the base material 2 is concerned. The film forming chamber 7a, the film forming chamber 7b, the film forming chamber 7c, and the film forming chamber 7d are sequentially called from the upstream side (the one closer to the unwinding roll 3). Here, when the film forming chamber 7a, the film forming chamber 7b, the film forming chamber 7c, and the film forming chamber 7d are not distinguished, they are simply referred to as the film forming chamber 7.

  Each film forming chamber 7 is formed by disposing a partition portion 8 on the outer diameter side of the main roll 5. Specifically, five partition portions 8 a to 8 e are provided on the outer diameter side of the main roll 5 toward the outer peripheral surface 51 of the main roll 5, so that each partition portion 8 and the wall surface of the main roll chamber 6 A partition wall portion of each film forming chamber 7 is formed, and the film forming surface of the base material 2 on the main roll 5 (the surface opposite to the surface in contact with the main roll 5, indicated by hatching in FIG. 1) The film forming chambers 7a to 7d that surround a part and form a closed space with a part of the film forming surface are continuously formed in the transport direction of the base material 2. Here, each film forming chamber 7 shares a partitioning portion 8 which becomes a part of the partition wall of the film forming chamber 7 with the adjacent film forming chamber 7. Specifically, for example, the partition 8b is a partition wall of the film forming chamber 7a and a partition wall of the film forming chamber 7b.

  Thereby, for example, when the base material 2 is transported along the main roll 5 from the unwinding roll 3 to the winding roll 4, the base material 2 that has passed through the partitioning portion 8a is transported into the film forming chamber 7a. The base material 2 that has passed through the partition portion 8b is transported into the film forming chamber 7b, and then the base material 2 that has passed through the partition portion 8c is transported into the film forming chamber 7c, and then the base material that has passed through the partition portion 8d. By transporting 2 into the film forming chamber 7d, a thin film is sequentially formed on the surface of the base material 2 on the film forming surface side by each film forming chamber 7.

  In this embodiment, in order to prevent the partition 8 from interfering with the base 2 and damaging the base 2, there is a slight gap between the base 2 on the main roll 5 and the end of the partition 8. A gap is provided. Therefore, the space formed between the film forming chamber 7 and the base material 2 is not strictly a closed space, but in this description, even a space having a slight gap is called a closed space. And

  A vacuum pump 71 is connected to each film forming chamber 7, and by operating the vacuum pump 71, the inside of each film forming chamber 7 can be set to a predetermined pressure. In the present embodiment, the inside of the film forming chamber 7 is depressurized until a predetermined pressure is reached before supplying the source gas.

  These film forming chambers 7 are provided with a film forming source using a plasma CVD method as a surface treatment for the substrate 2. That is, the film forming chamber 7 is provided with a substantially U-shaped plasma electrode 72 that is connected to a high-frequency power source (not shown) and generates plasma in a closed space in the film forming chamber 7. A raw material gas pipe (not shown) is connected. Thereby, when the base material 2 passes through each film forming chamber 7, a predetermined thin film is formed on the surface of the base material 2 on the film forming surface side. That is, when a source gas is supplied into the film forming chamber 7, a high frequency voltage is applied to the plasma electrode 72 by a high frequency power source, whereby plasma is generated around the plasma electrode 72, and the source gas is generated by this plasma. When excited, the inside of the film forming chamber 7 becomes a plasma atmosphere, and a predetermined thin film is formed on the surface of the base 2 on the film forming surface side. In the present embodiment, in the film forming chamber 7a and the film forming chamber 7c, by supplying HMDS (hexamethyldisilazane) gas, argon gas, and hydrogen gas as source gases, a highly adhesive Si compound film (first thin film) In the film formation chamber 7b and the film formation chamber 7d, HMDS and oxygen gas are supplied as source gases, so that a dense and high-barrier SiO2 film (second thin film) is formed.

  With the thin film forming apparatus 1 having the above-described configuration, the first thin film and the second thin film are alternately stacked, and a barrier film having both high barrier properties and adhesiveness can be formed on the substrate 2.

  Next, the structure of the partition part 8 in this embodiment is demonstrated.

  The details of the partition portion 8 in the present embodiment are shown in FIG. The partition portion 8 is a member that partitions the space inside and outside the film forming chamber 7 in the conveyance direction of the substrate 2, and has an outer wall portion 81. The outer wall portion 81 has a shape in which a plurality of plate-like bodies are combined. With this outer wall portion 81, the partition portion 8 extends from the outer peripheral portion of the thin film forming apparatus 1 toward the main roll 5, and the main roll 5 And has a hollow box shape having an opening only in a direction (facing the base material 2). This hollow portion (inside the partition 8) is referred to as a differential pressure chamber 82 in this description.

  The dimension of the partition part 8 in the depth direction (Y-axis direction) is the same as the dimension in the depth direction of each film forming chamber 7, and the partition part 8 has a slight gap between the partition part 8 and the substrate 2. 2 are separated so as to block two adjacent spaces (the film forming chamber 7b and the film forming chamber 7c in FIG. 3).

  The differential pressure chamber 82 is provided with an exhaust port 83. The exhaust port 83 is connected to an exhaust device (not shown), and the differential pressure chamber 82 is exhausted by the exhaust device.

  In this embodiment, an inner wall 84 is further provided at the end of the differential pressure chamber 82 with respect to the conveyance direction of the base material 2, and the differential pressure chamber 82 is provided with an exhaust port 83 and an exhaust port 83 by the inner wall 84. It is divided into the parts which do not have. In this description, a region having the exhaust port 83 of the differential pressure chamber 82 is referred to as a recovery unit, and a portion not having the exhaust port 83 is referred to as a spray unit, and both the recovery unit and the spray unit are opposed to the substrate 2. Has an opening.

  A jet outlet 85 is provided in the blowing portion, and the jet outlet 85 is connected to a gas supply device (not shown), and a gas such as argon gas is blown toward the base material 2 from the jet outlet 85. Further, as indicated by arrows in FIG. 3, this gas is blown from the jet outlet 85 to the film forming surface of the base material 2 so as to go from the outside to the inside of the partition portion 8, and jetted from the jet outlet 85. After hitting the base material 2, the gas enters the recovery unit and is discharged from the exhaust port 83 to the outside of the thin film forming apparatus 1.

  When the gas is blown onto the film forming surface of the base material 2 as described above, the base material 2 is transported on the main roll 5 and passes through the vicinity of the partition portion 8 as shown in FIG. Since the foreign matter P adhering to 2 is peeled off and collected by the collecting part of the differential pressure chamber 82, the foreign matter P can be prevented from being brought into the adjacent film forming chamber 7. That is, the partition part 8 has a foreign matter removing means, and the foreign matter removing step is performed by the foreign matter removing means before the thin film is formed on the surface of the substrate 2 on the film forming surface side.

  In addition, since the foreign matter removing step is performed without contact with the base material 2, the foreign matter P can be peeled off from the base material 2 without damaging the base material 2. The foreign matter P may be a thin film that adheres to the inner wall of the film formation chamber 7 during film formation in addition to the particles attached when the base material 2 is exposed to the outside air before being brought into the thin film forming apparatus 1. This may peel off and adhere to the substrate 2.

  Further, by blowing the gas onto the base material 2, the pressure in the vicinity of the film forming surface between the partition portion 8 and the base material 2 can be made higher than the pressure in both spaces partitioned by the partition portion 8. Thereby, the gas blown to the base material 2 from a blowing part can have the role of the wall which prevents the movement of the gas from one space which pinches | interposes the partition part 8 to the other space.

  Moreover, the temperature of the base material 2 may be controlled by controlling the temperature of the gas blown to the base material 2 and applying this gas to the base material 2.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the atmospheric pressure in the recovery portion of the differential pressure chamber 82 is lower than the atmospheric pressure in both of the two spaces that sandwich the partition portion 8 having the differential pressure chamber 82. Specifically, for example, the pressure in the recovery part of the differential pressure chamber 82 included in the partition 8c in FIG. 3 is lower than the pressure in the film forming chamber 7b and the film forming chamber 7c. As a result, if there is no gas ejection from the blowing part, the air flow between the differential pressure chamber 82, the film formation chamber 7b, and the film formation chamber 7c is transferred from the film formation chamber 7b to the differential pressure chamber 82, or The direction from the film chamber 7c to the differential pressure chamber 82 is less likely to cause an airflow in the direction from the film formation chamber 7b to the film formation chamber 7c, or from the film formation chamber 7c to the film formation chamber 7b. This makes it difficult for gas to enter from the film forming chamber 7 to the adjacent film forming chamber 7, and changes in the film quality of the thin film formed on the substrate 2 due to mixing of the source gas from the adjacent film forming chamber 7. It can be prevented from occurring.

  On the other hand, even when the pressure in the differential pressure chamber 82 is higher than the pressure in both of the two spaces sandwiching the partition 8 having the differential pressure chamber 82, the film formation chamber 7 moves to the adjacent film formation chamber 7. It is possible to make it difficult for the gas to enter. In this case, it is possible to further prevent the film quality of the thin film formed on the substrate 2 from changing by filling the differential pressure chamber 82 with an inert gas such as argon gas by a gas supply mechanism (not shown).

  FIG. 4 shows the base material 2 on which the thin film is laminated by the thin film forming apparatus 1 provided with the partition portion 8 having the foreign substance removing means as described above. The thin film forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 2 has four film forming chambers 7, a film forming chamber 7 a, a film forming chamber 7 b, a film forming chamber 7 c, and a film forming chamber 7 d, and the thin film is formed by each film forming chamber 7. Since it is formed on the substrate 2, a substrate with a thin film in which four thin films M 1, M 2, M 3 and M 4 are laminated on the substrate 2 can be formed.

  Here, in this embodiment, each film forming chamber 7 has a partition part 8 as a part of the partition wall part, and these partition parts 8 have a foreign substance removing means. It is possible to form a thin film by the film formation chamber 7 in a state where the foreign matter P is removed when 2 is conveyed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the foreign matter P from being caught between the base material 2 and the thin film M1 and between the thin films.

  Next, the foreign matter removing means in another embodiment is shown in FIG.

  In this embodiment, the spraying part is provided in the approximate center of the differential pressure chamber 82 with respect to the transport direction of the base material 2, and the opening of the recovery part is located on both sides of the base material 2 in the transport direction across the spraying part. positioned.

  In this embodiment, the pressure of the recovery part of the differential pressure chamber 82 is the same in both of the two spaces (the space of the film forming chamber 7b and the film forming chamber 7c in FIG. 5) sandwiching the partition 8 having the differential pressure chamber 82. It is lower than atmospheric pressure. As a result, the foreign matter P peeled off from the base material 2 by the operation of the spraying part and floating in the recovery part is discharged from the recovery part without entering the film forming chamber 7 having a high atmospheric pressure. In addition to the effect that gas does not easily enter from the film forming chamber 7 to the adjacent film forming chamber 7, the foreign matter P can be reliably taken into the collecting unit.

  Next, the foreign matter removing means in still another embodiment is shown in FIG.

  In the partition portion 8 in this embodiment, a cylindrical contact member 86 is provided in the differential pressure chamber 82 as foreign matter removing means. The central axis of the contact member 86 extends in the central axis direction (Y-axis direction) of the main roll 5, and the height (dimension in the central axis direction) of the contact member 86 is the depth direction (Y-axis) of the partition portion 8. Direction).

  The abutting member 86 is held by the holding portion 87 so as to be rotatable about the central axis as the center of rotation. The holding portion 87 is connected to the outer wall portion 81 through a spring 88, and the contact member 86 held by the holding portion 87 is pressed against the base material 2 by the force of the spring 88. The contact member 86 pressed against the base material 2 rotates while the base material 2 is conveyed.

  Here, the surface of the contact member 86 is made sticky, and the adhesive force between the contact member 86 and the foreign matter P is made higher than the adhesive force between the base material 2 and the foreign matter 2. Yes. Thereby, when the base material 2 passes the contact member 86, the foreign matter P adhering to the base material 2 is transferred to the contact member 86, so that the foreign matter P on the base material 2 is removed. In addition, as a method for giving the surface of the contact member 86 adhesive, a method of coating the surface of the contact member 86 with an adhesive material, a method of making the material of the contact member 86 highly adhesive such as rubber, etc. There is.

  Further, since the contact member 86 is in contact with the base material 2, the contact member 86 becomes a wall that blocks the entrance of gas between the adjacent film forming chambers 7 across the partition portion 8. It is possible to prevent the film quality of the thin film formed on the base material 2 from being changed due to mixing of the raw material gas from the film forming chamber 7. Further, the base member 2 can be further prevented from flapping by pressing the base member 2 from the opposite side of the main roll 5 by the contact member 86. Here, by controlling the temperature of the contact member 86, the temperature of the base material 2 that contacts the contact member 86 may be controlled.

  In the differential pressure chamber 82, a recovery member 89 having a higher adhesive force with the foreign matter P than the contact member 86 is further provided. The collection member 89 is cylindrical like the contact member 86, the diameter of the collection member 89 is larger than the diameter of the contact member 86, and the central axis extends in the central axis direction (Y-axis direction) of the main roll 5. The height (dimension in the central axis direction) of the recovery member 89 is substantially equal to the dimension in the depth direction (Y axis direction) of the partition portion 8. The recovery member 89 is rotatable about the central axis as the center of rotation, and is held by the holding portion 87 so as to be always in contact with the contact member 86. Thereby, the recovery member 89 rotates with the rotation of the contact member 86.

  Since the collection member 89 is provided, the foreign material P collected by the contact member 86 from the base member 2 is collected by the collection member 89 from the contact member 86, and thus the foreign material P adhered to the contact member 86. Can be prevented from reattaching to the substrate 2.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 6, the partition part 8 is arrange | positioned below with respect to the base material 2 regarding the gravitational direction, and since the opening of the differential pressure chamber 82 is facing upward, the contact member 86 and the recovery member 89 Even if the adhered foreign matter P is peeled off, the foreign matter P falls in the direction of gravity, so that the foreign matter P can be prevented from entering the film forming chamber 7 from the partition portion 8. Further, the pressure in the differential pressure chamber 82 is lower than the pressure in both of the two spaces (the space of the film forming chamber 7b and the film forming chamber 7c in FIG. 6) sandwiching the partition portion 8 having the differential pressure chamber 82. This also has an effect of preventing the foreign matter P peeled off from the contact member 86 and the recovery member 89 from entering the film forming chamber 7.

  By the above thin film forming apparatus and thin film forming method, it is possible to form a substrate with a thin film on which thin films are laminated without biting foreign matter.

  In the above description, a case where a plurality of film forming chambers 7 are continuously provided in the conveyance direction of the base material 2 is described. However, film forming is performed between the film forming chamber 7 and the film forming chamber 7. A space other than the chamber 7 may be provided. In this case, the foreign matter removing means described in this description is provided at least on the upstream partition 8 in the transport direction of the base material 2, so that the foreign matter P is removed immediately before the base material 2 is transported into the film forming chamber 7. Since it can remove, it can prevent that a foreign material bites between a base material and a thin film and a thin film and a thin film.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the number of film forming chambers 7 is four has been described. However, the number of film forming chambers 7 may be other than four or only one.

  Further, the foreign matter removing means is not limited to a mechanism that blows gas onto the base material 2 as described above and a mechanism that causes a member having a high adhesive force to contact the base material 2, but may be another mechanism. For example, a mechanism for collecting static electricity on the inner wall of the differential pressure chamber 82 and adsorbing the foreign matter P to the static electricity may be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Thin film forming apparatus 2 Base material 3 Unwinding roll 4 Winding roll 5 Main roll 6 Main roll chamber 7 Deposition chamber 7a Deposition chamber 7b Deposition chamber 7c Deposition chamber 7d Deposition chamber 8 Partition part 8a Partition part 8b Partition 8b Part 8c Partition part 8d Partition part 8e Partition part 31 Core part 41 Core part 51 Outer peripheral surface 61 Vacuum pump 71 Vacuum pump 72 Plasma electrode 81 Outer wall part 82 Differential pressure chamber 83 Exhaust port 84 Inner wall 85 Jet outlet 86 Contact member 87 Holding part 88 Spring 89 Recovery member 100 Thin film forming apparatus 101 Main roll chamber 102 Main roll 102a Outer peripheral surface 103 Base material 104 Unwinding roll 105 Winding roll 106 Partition part 107 Deposition chamber 107a Deposition chamber 107b Deposition chamber 107c Film chamber 107d deposition chamber M1 thin M2 thin M3 thin M4 film P foreign matter

Claims (5)

A transport unit for transporting the substrate in a predetermined transport direction;
A film forming chamber that has a partition wall that surrounds a part of the film forming surface of the base material conveyed by the conveying unit, and forms a thin film on the film forming surface by forming a closed space with the film forming surface. When,
With
Among the partition portions that are part of the partition wall and are members that partition the space inside and outside the film formation chamber with respect to the transport direction, at least the partition portion on the upstream side with respect to the transport direction includes the film of the base material A thin film forming apparatus, characterized in that a foreign matter removing means for removing foreign matter adhering to the surface on the forming surface side is provided.   The foreign matter removing means is configured to blow a gas on the surface of the base material on the film forming surface side to peel off the foreign matter from the film forming surface, and the gas on the film forming surface side together with the gas sprayed by the blowing portion. The thin film forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a recovery unit that recovers the foreign matter peeled off from the surface.   The foreign matter removing means has a contact member that comes into contact with the surface of the base material on the film forming surface side, and the adhesive force between the contact member and the foreign matter is the surface of the base material on the film forming surface side. The thin film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the thin film forming apparatus has a higher adhesive force between the surface and the foreign matter. Having a partition wall surrounding a part of the film forming surface of the substrate, forming a closed space between the film forming surface and transporting the substrate to a film forming chamber for forming a thin film on the film forming surface; It is a thin film forming method for forming a thin film on the surface of the substrate on the film forming surface side,
Immediately before the base material is transported to the film forming chamber, at least the transport among the partition portions that are part of the partition wall and are members that partition the space inside and outside the film forming chamber in the transport direction of the base material. A thin film forming method comprising a foreign matter removing step of removing foreign matter adhering to the surface of the substrate on the film forming surface side by foreign matter removing means provided in the partition section upstream of the direction. A partition wall that surrounds a part of the film formation surface of the substrate, and is transported to a film formation chamber that forms a closed space between the film formation surface and forms a thin film on the film formation surface. A substrate with a thin film in which a thin film is formed on the surface on the film forming surface side by a chamber,
Immediately before the base material is transported to the film forming chamber, at least the transport among the partition portions that are part of the partition wall and are members that partition the space inside and outside the film forming chamber in the transport direction of the base material. A base material with a thin film, characterized in that the foreign matter attached to the surface of the base material on the film forming surface side is removed by the foreign matter removing means provided in the partition on the upstream side in the direction.

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