JP2665008B2 - Continuous vacuum deposition equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial application field> The present invention relates to a continuous vacuum vapor deposition apparatus for continuously vapor-depositing metal or nonmetal on a substrate such as paper or plastic film.

<Conventional technology> Conventionally, a thin film forming method of depositing a metal or a non-metal on a substrate such as paper or plastic film is performed by loading a substrate wound in a coil shape in a vacuum container, exhausting the vacuum container sufficiently, and then removing the substrate. In general, a batch method is used in which the substrate is continuously transported from the atmosphere into the deposition chamber, and a pressure gradient is generated around the deposition chamber to seal the atmosphere side and the high vacuum chamber. Although the concept of the system itself is publicly known, practical use as a complete continuous vapor deposition apparatus has not yet been achieved. This batch type conventional example and the differential exhaust system will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. FIG. As shown in FIG. 11, the substrate 1 wound in a coil shape is pulled out from the unwinding reel 6 and wound around the plurality of deflector rolls 3 and the cooling rolls 4 in the vapor deposition chamber 2 and then wound up on the winding reel. 5 to be wound up.
The traveling of the substrate 1 is started after the vapor deposition chamber 2 reaches a predetermined degree of vacuum by the exhaust pump unit 29, and the vapor deposition on the substrate 1 by the vapor deposition device 7 on the cooling roll 4 so that the temperature rise due to vapor deposition is reduced. Traveling continues. The vapor deposition device 7 has a configuration in which a plurality of storage containers 9 for storing the vapor deposition material 8 are arranged below the cooling roll 4 at a constant interval in the width direction with respect to the substrate 1 and a heating device 10 for the storage container 9 is provided. Then, the evaporation material 8 is evaporated toward the substrate 1. At this time, since the evaporated vaporized material 8 spreads not only directly above but also in an oblique direction, it has a gap with both ends of the substrate 1 so that it does not come off the substrate 1 and adhere to the cooling roll 4 itself. An edge mask 11 is provided at a position overlapping the part.

For this reason, the vapor deposition work is a batch work in which the number of storage containers 9 and the position of the edge mask 11 are manually set in advance according to the width of the substrate for each coil, and vacuum evacuation, heating, running, vapor deposition, and opening to the atmosphere are repeated. Has become.

FIG. 12 shows a state in which a differential evacuation system for continuously supplying the substrate 1 from the atmosphere into a vacuum is provided before and after the vapor deposition chamber in FIG. By Schiller, vacuum deposition). As shown in the figure, a plurality of seal rolls 15a, 15b, 15c, 15d,
The entrance side sealing device 12 is configured by arranging the pressure chambers 15e and forming the pressure chambers 12a, 12b, 12c, and 12d, respectively. Furthermore,
A plurality of seal rolls 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d, 16e are arranged at a portion where the substrate 1 is discharged from the vapor deposition chamber 2, and the pressure chambers 13a, 1
The outlet side sealing device 13 is formed by forming 3b, 13c, 13d. Each of the pressure chambers 12a to 12d and 13a to 13d of the inlet-side seal device 12 and the outlet-side seal device 13 is connected to an exhaust pump unit 29, and generates a pressure gradient from the atmosphere to a vacuum, thereby performing vapor deposition. The chamber 2 is maintained at a predetermined degree of vacuum.

However, the conventional technique has the following problems.

First, the amount of exhaust for generating a pressure gradient from the atmosphere side to the high vacuum side becomes enormous, and the exhaust pump system becomes very large.

Next, when the substrate passes through the pressure chambers, the airflow flowing from the gaps between the pressure chambers causes the substrate to flutter and cause damage or damage.

Further, since the vapor deposition material evaporates from the storage container and spreads and flies, it is not only vapor-deposited on the substrate but also trapped by an edge mask or the like.

Further, since the vapor deposition material is stored in a plurality of storage containers and evaporated, the vapors spread upward from two adjacent storage containers overlap each other to form a vapor deposition film. In order to make them uniform in the direction, the vapor deposition material temperature of each storage container had to be individually controlled, and skill was required.

Therefore, the present inventors have already developed a continuous vacuum vapor deposition apparatus that solves the above problems (1) (Japanese Patent Application No.
-99038). The outline of the apparatus is shown in FIG. 13 and FIG. As shown in both figures, in this device, the inlet seal device and the outlet seal device are integrated to reduce the number of seal rolls to reduce the displacement. That is, a set of three seal rolls for the vapor deposition chamber 2
Multiple pressure chambers 1 partitioned by 115a, 115b, 115c, 115d
16a, 116b, 16c, and 116d are continuously provided, and the substrate 1 guided from the atmosphere to the vapor deposition chamber 2 is passed through one of the two roll gaps of a set of three seal rolls 115a to 115d. The substrate 1 discharged from the vapor deposition chamber 2 to the atmosphere is passed through the other side. The pressure chambers 16a to 116d are provided with deflector rolls 117a, 117b, 117c, and 117d, respectively, and the substrate 1 is wound to suppress fluttering of the substrate 1. Therefore, a sealing device having such a configuration
By providing 14, the above problem can be solved.

Further, as shown in FIG. 14, a channel 17 is provided between the cooling roll 4 and the vapor deposition material container 9 so as to surround the vapor evaporated from the container 9. This channel
17 is not in contact with the cooling roll 4 and the vapor deposition material storage container 9, and a gap is provided therebetween. Also, this channel 17
Has a double structure, the inside of which is in contact with the vapor is a heat retaining layer which is kept at a temperature higher than the melting point of the vapor deposition material, and the outside thereof is a heat insulating layer. For this reason, the vapor deposition material other than the amount to be vapor-deposited on the substrate 1 is captured by the channel 17, turns into a liquid, and returns to the storage container 9, thereby improving the yield of the vapor deposition material.

Further, by making the edge mask 11 freely movable in the width direction of the substrate 1, the edge mask 11 is relatively moved in accordance with the width of the substrate 1, so that the overlap between the substrate 1 and the edge mask 11 always becomes a very small amount. Control.

In addition, since the evaporation material storage container 9 is formed as a long container integrally with the width direction of the substrate, the evaporation surface is continuous in the width direction, and the thickness of the evaporation film deposited on the substrate becomes uniform. Therefore, the above problem can be solved by the configuration of FIG.

<Problem to be Solved by the Invention> However, in the above-described apparatus, when paper or a plastic film having moisture adhered to the surface is used as the substrate 1, when the substrate 1 is loaded into the vapor deposition chamber 2, the moisture is reduced in a vacuum. Due to the vapor deposition, there is a problem that the degree of vacuum in the vapor deposition chamber 2 is reduced and the vapor deposition rate is reduced. In addition, the substrate that had not been dried to an appropriate amount of water could not be said to have the deposition material 8 easily attached thereto. Further, there is a problem that a local defective deposition part called so-called scum occurs.

For this reason, conventionally, a separate process for drying the moisture-containing substrate 1 before vapor deposition to make the moisture content about 2 to 3% was sometimes provided.

However, this is a separate process, which not only increases man-hours and costs, but also takes time because the drying speed is slow.
There was a problem with low productivity. For example, the equilibrium moisture in the normal atmosphere is 7 to 8%. With a normal paper dryer, high moisture can be dried at a high speed up to 7 to 8%, but the drying does not proceed more easily. Appropriate 2
It took a long time to dry to ~ 3% moisture.

The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional technique, and has as its object to provide a continuous vacuum vapor deposition apparatus that can be performed as a step that is continuous to a vapor deposition step without making a drying step a separate step. Things.

<Means for Solving the Problems> The configuration of the present invention for achieving the above object includes a plurality of pressure chambers partitioned by a set of three seal rolls, and a substrate, which is a derivative, is formed in each pressure chamber by a seal roll. A sealing device having a deflector roll to be wound; an uncoiler which attaches the substrate bonding and cutting means and carries the substrate into the sealing device; and a bonding device which attaches and cuts the substrate and unloads the substrate from the sealing device. Koira and
A continuous vacuum vapor deposition apparatus having a channel and an edge mask between a cooling roll located above and a vapor deposition chamber containing a long-sized vapor deposition material storage container. A dielectric heating device for drying the guided substrate by dielectric heating is provided in the pressure chamber, and the dielectric heating device has a flat plate electrode.
Further, the dielectric heating device may have a grid electrode instead of the flat plate electrode, and further, the dielectric heating device may
A tunnel type oven using a belt conveyor may be used, or a bent waveguide may be installed in the dielectric heating chamber.

<Operation> In general, since water is a dielectric substance, as shown in FIG. 15 (a), a positive ion and a negative electron bound in the vicinity form a pair as shown in FIG. Does not exist.

Here, when a strong electric field is applied as shown in FIG. 15 (b), pairs of ions and electrons are aligned in the direction of the electric field, and when this electric field is reversed as shown in FIG. And electron pairs also change to the opposite arrangement. Thus, the application of the alternating electric field causes rotation and vibration of the dipole in the molecule, and generates heat due to the internal friction. At that time, the power loss converted into heat in the dielectric is given by the following equation.

Here, f indicates the frequency [Hz] of the dielectric heating, E indicates the electric field strength, and ε _r and tan δ indicate the dielectric constant and the dielectric loss tangent of the substance, respectively. As is apparent from this equation, the amount of heat generated is proportional to the frequency of the dielectric heating and proportional to the loss factor (ε _r tan δ).

Therefore, the moisture contained in the substrate that has passed through the high-frequency dielectric heating device is distributed not only on the surface but also inside the substrate as described in (1) above.
As shown in the equation, heat is generated, the temperature rises, and finally, it evaporates. In addition, since it is in a vacuum, water evaporates easily,
It will dry quickly.

<Example> Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on an example shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the drawing, the apparatus has a seal chamber 14 in which an inlet-side seal device and an outlet-side seal device are integrated, so that the number of seal rolls is reduced and the amount of exhaust gas is reduced. That is, a set of three seal rolls 115a, 1
A plurality of pressure chambers 116a, 11 partitioned by 15b, 115c, 115d
6b, 16c, 116d are provided continuously, and one set of three seal rolls 1
One of the two roll gaps 15a to 115d is passed through the substrate 1 guided from the atmosphere to the vapor deposition chamber 2 and the other is passed through the substrate 1 discharged from the vapor deposition chamber 2 to the atmosphere. I make it plank. Each of the pressure chambers 116a to 116d is connected to the exhaust pump unit 29, and is adjusted to have a predetermined pressure gradient. In addition, each pressure chamber 116a-116d
Have deflector rolls 117a, 117b, 117c and 117d, respectively.
Is provided, and the substrate 1 is wound, whereby fluttering of the substrate 1 is suppressed. The substrate 1 is unwound from the uncoiler 19, is vapor-deposited in the vapor deposition chamber 2 via the pressure chambers 116 a to 116 d, and is then wound up by the coiler 20. The uncoiler 19 is provided with two unwinding reels 6 rotatably, and includes a pressing roll 21 and a cutting machine 22. The coiler 20 is provided with two take-up reels 5 rotatably provided, and a pressing roll
21, a cutting machine 22 is provided.

Further, the present embodiment is characterized in that a dielectric heating chamber 34 is added. That is, the dielectric heating chamber 34 continues to the pressure chamber 116d.
The substrate 1 carried into the pressure chamber 116d is guided to the dielectric heating chamber 34 by a plurality of guide rolls 33, and then guided to the vapor deposition chamber 2. In the dielectric heating chamber 34, a plurality of plate electrodes 37 are arranged in parallel with each other,
These plate electrodes 37 are electrically connected to the high voltage power supply 32. FIG. 2 shows the electric circuit. As shown in the figure, when the substrate 1 is inserted as a dielectric 38 between the plate electrodes 37, it is functionally equivalent to a capacitor. The plate electrode 37 was connected to a high-voltage power supply 32 via a matching element 36, an oscillating vacuum tube 39, and a choke 35 so as to constitute a resonance capacitor of a high-frequency oscillation circuit in which the above occurs. Therefore, when a current is supplied from the high-voltage power supply 32, resonance occurs between the plate electrode 37 and a strong alternating electric field is applied to the substrate 1, which is a dielectric 38, and the internal friction of the dipole in the molecule is increased. Generates heat. Therefore, the temperature of the substrate 1 rises and the substrate 1 is dried appropriately. Further, since the temperature of the substrate 1 may be too high, the cooling roll 30 is installed and
To adjust the temperature.

In the above embodiment, the plate electrode 37 is used, but the shape of the electrode plate can be variously changed depending on the shape of the substance to be heated and the application. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, a grid-like electrode 31 may be used. This makes it easy for the vapor generated from the substrate 1 to escape, which is advantageous when the generated vapor amount is large. As described above, the determination of the structure of the electrode plate is the main technique in the case of high-frequency heating, but the vacuum tube that is the center of the high-frequency oscillator must be capable of oscillating at high frequency with high power, for example, A triode vacuum tube developed as a broadcasting transmission tube may be used.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 4 and FIG.

In this embodiment, a tunnel-type oven-type dielectric heating chamber 134 using a belt conveyor is provided. That is, a belt conveyor 132 for moving the substrate 1 is installed in the dielectric heating chamber 134, and a tunnel-type applicator 133 that covers the belt conveyor 132 is arranged. A microwave power supply (not shown) is connected to the tunnel type applicator 133, and the microwave 131 is irradiated. For this reason, the substrate 1 guided by the belt conveyor 132 to the tunnel type applicator 133 receives a strong alternating electric field due to the microwave 131, and generates heat due to internal friction of dipoles in molecules. Therefore, substrate 1
Temperature rises, and it will dry moderately. As described above, in the tunnel-type oven system, since the substrate 1 moves, uniform heating is relatively easy. However, a stirrer may be used. When a large number of microwave ovens are used, more uniform heating can be achieved by making the directions of coupling to the tunnel type applicator 133 orthogonal to each other and changing the direction of the electric field in various ways. In the tunnel oven, the most important part is the opening of the entrance of the applicator 133. This is because it is necessary to prevent radio wave leakage. There are roughly two methods for preventing radio wave leakage. One of them is a method of providing an impedance mismatching portion such as a choke and reflecting the radio waves therein. When the width of the opening is wide, it is often ineffective. The other is to provide a long introduction part in the opening and attach a radio wave absorber to this part to absorb the microwave 131 leaking to the outside.

Other configurations are the same as those of the above-described first embodiment, and have the same functions and effects.

FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 show a third embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, a bent waveguide 231 is installed in the dielectric heating chamber 234. That is, the waveguide 231 is bent along the traveling direction of the substrate 1, one end thereof is closed, and the microwave 232 is introduced from the other end. Here, the waveguide 231 is provided with a narrow opening along the traveling direction of the radio wave, and the thin substrate 1 is made to pass therethrough. As described above, since the waveguide 231 is repeatedly folded, the electric field is strongest in the central portion of the waveguide. When the substrate is passed through the central portion, the heating can be efficiently performed. In particular, when the substrate is thin, such as paper, the tunnel-type oven as in the above-described embodiment cannot be sufficiently manufactured and the heating efficiency is often low, but as in the present embodiment, the folded waveguide 231 is used. If it is used, heating can be performed efficiently.

Other configurations are the same as those of the above-described embodiment, and have the same functions and effects.

FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 relate to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in both figures, in this embodiment, the partition walls 332 are arranged in a staggered manner within the pressure 116d, thereby forming a bent waveguide channel 330 as a whole and generating microwaves in the waveguide channel 330. A device (not shown) is connected. As shown in FIG. 10, the partition 332 is provided with a narrow opening along the traveling direction of the radio wave so that the thin substrate 1 can pass therethrough. Therefore,
When the microwave is bent from the microwave generator and introduced into the waveguide channel 330, the electric field becomes strongest at the center of the tube, and the substrate 1 is efficiently heated.

Other configurations are the same as those of the above-described embodiment, and have the same functions and effects.

<Effects of the Invention> As described above in detail based on the embodiments, the present invention appropriately reduces the degree of vacuum in the deposition chamber because the substrate is appropriately dried by dielectric heating before the substrate is deposited. In addition, the occurrence of defective deposition can be suppressed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an electric circuit of a dielectric heating apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view, FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a tunnel type oven system, FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a bent waveguide, FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 9 is a view taken along line IX-IX in FIG. 8, and FIG. FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a deposition chamber of a conventional vacuum deposition apparatus, FIG. 12 is a sectional view of a conventional continuous vacuum deposition apparatus, and FIG. 13 is a continuous vacuum deposition apparatus according to the prior application. 14 is a sectional view of a vapor deposition chamber of a continuous vacuum vapor deposition apparatus according to the prior application, and FIGS. 15 (a), 15 (b) and 15 (c) are explanatory views of the heating action of the present invention. In the drawings, 1 is a substrate, 2 is a deposition chamber, 3 is a deflector roll, 4 is a cooling roll, 5 is a take-up reel, 6 is an unwinding reel, 7 is a deposition device, 8 is a deposition material, and 9 is a deposition material storage container. , 10 is a heating device, 11 is an edge mask, 14 is a sealing device, 17 is a channel, 19 is an uncoiler, 20 is a coiler, 21 is a pressing roll, 22 is a cutting machine, 32 is a high-voltage power supply, 33 is a deflector roll, 34, 134 and 234 are dielectric heating chambers, 35 is a choke, 36 is a rectifying element, 37 is a plate electrode, 38 is a dielectric, 39 is a vacuum tube for oscillation, 115a to 115d are seal rolls, 116a to 116d are pressure chambers, 117a to 117d Is a deflector roll, 131, 232, 331 are microwaves, 132 is a belt conveyor, 133 is a tunnel type applicator, 231 is a bent waveguide, 330 is a bent waveguide channel, and 332 is a partition.

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A sealing device comprising a plurality of pressure chambers partitioned by a set of three seal rolls, each seal having a deflector roll for winding a dielectric substrate on the seal roll, and A channel between an uncoiler with cutting means and carrying the substrate into the sealing device, a coiler with bonding and cutting means and carrying the substrate out of the sealing device, and a cooling roll positioned above And a vapor deposition chamber having an edge mask and an elongate vapor deposition material storage container therein, wherein the substrate guided from the pressure chamber to the vapor deposition chamber is dried by dielectric heating. A continuous vacuum vapor deposition device, wherein a dielectric heating device is provided in the pressure chamber, and the dielectric heating device has a plate electrode. 2. The continuous vacuum vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said dielectric heating device has a grid electrode instead of said plate electrode. 3. The continuous vacuum vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said dielectric heating apparatus is of a tunnel type using a belt conveyor. 4. The continuous vacuum vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said dielectric heating apparatus is provided with a bent waveguide in a dielectric heating chamber.