JP2906338B2 - Stamper electroforming equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a stamper electroforming apparatus for manufacturing a stamper for duplicating an information recording medium such as an optical disk from a glass master by electroforming.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a typical conventional electroforming apparatus 30 for a stamper, and FIG. The electroforming apparatus 30 includes an electroforming tank 31 and an adjustment tank 5.
It consists of 0. The electroforming liquid is sent from the adjusting tank 50 to the electroforming tank by the pump 53 through the inflow pipe 52, and the electroforming liquid overflowing in the electroforming tank is returned to the adjusting tank 50 by the discharge pipe 51. A filter 54 is provided in the middle of the inflow pipe 52. Inside the electroforming tank 31, a tip jig 32 at the cathode tip and an anode case 34 are installed so as to face each other. Tip jig 32
A glass master 35 for performing electroforming is attached to the substrate. The anode case 34 is filled with granular nickel. The current flows from the anode electrode 43 to the surface of the glass master 35 via the anode case 34 and the electroforming solution to deposit nickel.
Further, the electric power reaches the cathode electrode 33 via the power supply shaft 42. The energizing shaft 42 and the tip jig 32 rotate in the electroforming tank so that electroforming is performed uniformly on the surface of the glass master.

The glass master 35 is attached to a tip jig 32 as shown in FIG. That is, after the glass master is brought into contact with the surface of the tip jig, the cover ring 39 is covered, and the ring presser 41 rotating about the ring presser shaft 41 is used.
To fix the cover ring. The current is the glass master 35
Conductive clip 38, conductive ring 37, conductive plate 3 from the surface
6 to a cathode electrode via a current-carrying shaft 42. The conductive clip 38 is a metal piece about 10 mm wide,
There are four or eight places.

When the glass master is attached to or detached from the tip jig, the energizing shaft is flipped up to expose the tip jig from the electroforming liquid to the air.

[0005]

Since the conventional electroforming apparatus rotates the cathode, the components are delicate and complicated, and a trouble often occurs in a system through which current flows. In particular, a “brush” that connects the rotating energized shaft 42 and the electrode is not suitable for flowing a large current, and if it is overpowered, it may spark and be damaged. In addition, since the glass master is attached and detached from the front side of the tip jig, the energizing mechanism of the glass master surface is complicated, and the work of attaching and detaching the glass master is not only troublesome, but also the conductive clip 38 is attached to the glass master surface. Because the contact area is small,
Slight imperfections in mounting could cause so-called "burning" and adversely affect the quality of the stamper.

The present invention does not rotate the cathode, and
By mounting the glass master from the top of the electroforming tank, that is, from the back side not facing the anode, into the electroforming tank, it is easy to mount and take out the glass master, simplify the power supply mechanism, and allow a large current to flow. To shorten the electroforming time.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an electroforming apparatus comprising an electroforming tank for performing electroforming and an adjusting tank for supplying an electroforming solution to the electroforming tank. An upper portion has an annular support for mounting a glass master, the annular support has an energization mechanism for passing an electric current from the surface of the glass master, and an electroforming liquid outlet is provided at the bottom of the electroforming tank, and a side portion is provided. An electroforming apparatus in which an electroforming liquid inlet is provided and an anode case is fixed above the electroforming liquid discharge port, and a glass master is mounted on the annular support from above the electroforming tank. And a stamper electroforming apparatus characterized in that the stamper can be taken out.

[0008] The glass master is mounted so as to be seated on the annular support portion. To fix the mounted glass master,
For example, a lid that can be opened and closed can be provided on the upper part of the electroforming tank, and the lid can be used to press the glass master disk toward the annular support.

It is desirable that the electroforming solution uniformly and efficiently contacts the surface of the glass master. For this purpose, for example, a plurality of electroforming solution inlets are provided, and all the electroforming solution inlets are oriented in the same direction. The problem can be solved by inclining in the same direction from the center of the electroforming tank.

As an energizing mechanism for passing an electric current from the surface of the glass master, for example, an annular supporting portion is formed by a titanium ring, and a cathode electrode is connected to the titanium ring so that the energizing mechanism can also be used.

Since the mounting and unloading of the glass master can be performed from the upper part of the electroforming tank, this operation can be automatically performed using, for example, a robot having a suction head at the tip.

[0012]

According to the electroforming apparatus of the present invention, since the cathode does not rotate, there is no dynamic contact with the current-carrying mechanism, that is, there is no component like a conventional brush, and a large and reliable current can flow. Since the glass master is mounted on the annular support so as to be seated on the annular support, a sufficient contact area can be obtained by forming a portion of the annular support that comes into contact with the surface of the glass master with an electric conductor to form a current-carrying mechanism. Is less likely to cause film burning. Since the glass master can be simply mounted and removed from the upper part of the electroforming tank, such an operation is simple, and automation can be easily performed by using a general-purpose robot.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings showing embodiments. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an electroforming tank 2 of an electroforming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment, FIG.
FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the lid 16, and FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the entire electroforming apparatus 1. In FIG. 2, a part of the glass master is cut away.

As shown in FIG. 4, the electroforming apparatus 1 includes an electroforming tank 2 for performing electroforming and an adjusting tank 25 for supplying an electroforming solution to the electroforming tank 2.
Consists of The electroforming liquid is sent from the adjustment tank 25 to the electroforming tank 2 by the inflow pipe 23, and returns to the adjustment tank 25 by the discharge pipe 24. FIG. 4 omits details such as a pump and a filter for sending out the electroforming liquid. A series of electroforming processes are managed by the control unit 26 and are automatically performed. Opening and closing of the lid of the electroforming tank, and mounting and taking out of the glass master to the electroforming tank are automatically performed by a robot having a suction head 28 at the end of the arm. That is, prior to electroforming, the suction head is sucked on the upper surface of the lid of the electroforming tank, and is slightly rotated to remove the lid and place it in a predetermined place, and to suck the glass master cut from a stock yard (not shown). It is installed in the electroforming tank, and the lid is sucked again to cover the electroforming tank. After electroforming is performed according to a command from the control unit 26, the robot removes the lid, adsorbs the electroformed glass master and places it in a predetermined place, and further places the glass master cut from the stock yard in the electroforming tank. Wear it and repeat this.

In FIG. 1, an electroforming tank 2 has a substantially cylindrical shape with a bottom. At its upper part, an annular support portion 3 for mounting a glass master is formed so as to project inward from the inner wall of the electroforming tank. The glass master 22 is mounted so as to be seated on the annular support 3 from above, and the upper part of the electroforming tank is closed by the glass master. The ring-shaped support portion is a ring made of titanium, to which the cathode electrode 11 is connected, and which also serves as a power supply mechanism for supplying power to the surface of the glass master 22. A protection ring 12 made of resin is provided outside the annular support portion 3 so that nickel does not deposit on the outside of the annular support portion. Also,
14 is a spacer between the electrodes.

Outside the uppermost part of the electroforming tank 2, four claws 15 are provided as shown in FIGS. On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the cover 16 is provided with a notch 21 corresponding to the claw 15. When covering the lid, the claws 15 and the cuts 21 may be combined and placed on the electroforming tank, and then slightly rotated. On the lower surface of the lid 16, a pressing body 17 that is rotatable about a shaft 20 is provided. Since a lower surface of the pressing body 17 is provided with a pressing plate 18 urged downward by a spring 19, the pressing plate 18 presses and fixes the glass master disk downward by covering the lid 16. Such a lid is not necessary,
It is only necessary that the glass master is fixed by an appropriate means during the electroforming process.

An electroforming liquid outlet 4 is provided at the bottom of the electroforming tank 2 and six electroforming liquid inlets 5 are provided at the side. A discharge pipe is connected to the discharge pipe connection part 8 of the electroforming liquid discharge port 4, and an inflow pipe is connected to the inflow pipe connection part 7 of the electroforming liquid inflow port 5, and connected to the adjustment tank. The electroforming liquid sent from the inflow pipe is
It flows into the electroforming tank from six electroforming liquid inlets 5 arranged annularly. As shown in FIG. 2, all of the electroforming liquid inlets 5 are inclined rightward with respect to the center of the electroforming tank. Therefore, the electroforming solution generates a water flow that rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 2, and the electroforming solution uniformly and efficiently contacts the surface of the glass master as in the case where the glass master rotates. After filling the electroforming bath with the electroforming solution, the same amount as the inflow amount is discharged from the electroforming solution discharge port 4. An adjusting plate 13 is provided above the electroforming liquid discharge port. This is a plate provided with a large number of through-holes, which restricts the flow of the electroforming liquid discharged, keeps the inside of the electroforming tank at a high pressure, and prevents the occurrence of voids in the tank. Not something.

An anode case 6 is fixed above the electroforming solution outlet 4 and below the electroforming solution inlet 5. The upper and lower sides of the anode case 6 are mesh plates, and the inside is filled with granular nickel. An anode energizing ring 9 is provided in contact with the outside of the anode case 6, and an anode electrode 10 is connected to the ring.

In the electroforming apparatus of the present invention, since the inside of the electroforming tank is completely sealed, there is no problem because the electroforming solution does not spill even if the entire electroforming tank is installed at an angle.

[0020]

According to the electroforming apparatus of the present invention, since the cathode does not rotate, a large and reliable current can be supplied and the electroforming time can be reduced. Further, since the glass master and the energizing mechanism can be brought into contact with a sufficient area, even if a large current is applied, there is little risk of film burning and a high quality stamper can be manufactured. Since the glass master can be simply mounted and removed from the upper part of the electroforming tank, such an operation is simple, and automation can be easily performed by using a general-purpose robot.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an electroforming tank 2 of an electroforming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the electroforming tank 2.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the lid 16;

FIG. 4 is an overall explanatory diagram of the electroforming apparatus 1.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a conventional stamper electroforming apparatus 30.

6 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a tip jig of the electroforming apparatus 30. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electroforming apparatus 2 Electroforming tank 3 Annular support part 4 Electroforming liquid discharge port 5 Electroforming liquid inflow port 6 Anode case 7 Inflow pipe connection part 8 Drain pipe connection part 9 Anode conduction ring 10 Anode electrode 11 Cathode electrode 12 Protection ring DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 13 Adjusting plate 14 Spacer 15 Claw 16 Lid 17 Pressing body 18 Pressing plate 19 Spring 20 Shaft 21 Cut 22 Glass master 23 Inflow pipe 24 Discharge pipe 25 Adjustment tank 26 Control unit 27 Robot 28 Suction head 30 Electroforming device 31 Electroforming tank 32 Tip Jig 33 Cathode Electrode 34 Anode Case 35 Glass Master 36 Conductive Plate 37 Conductive Ring 38 Conductive Clip 39 Cover Ring 40 Ring Holder 41 Ring Holder Shaft 42 Electricity Shaft 43 Anode Electrode 50 Adjustment Tank 51 Discharge Pipe 52 Inflow Pipe 53 Pump 54 filter

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-59-150094 (JP, A) JP-A-6-179998 (JP, A) Japanese Utility Model Application No. 58-141435 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Application No. 64- 41131 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model 62-74338 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) C25D 1/00 G11B 7/26

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. An electroforming apparatus comprising an electroforming tank for performing electroforming and an adjusting tank for supplying an electroforming liquid to the electroforming tank, wherein a glass master is mounted on an upper part of a bottomed cylindrical electroforming tank. It has a support portion, the annular support portion has an energizing mechanism for passing an electric current from the surface of the glass master, an electroforming solution outlet at the bottom of the electroforming tank, and an electroforming solution inlet at the side. An electroforming apparatus provided with an anode case fixed to an upper portion of an electroforming solution discharge port, wherein a glass master can be mounted and removed from above the electroforming tank with respect to the annular support portion. Stamper electroforming equipment 2. An electroforming apparatus for a stamper according to claim 1, wherein an openable and closable lid is provided on an upper portion of the electroforming tank, and the glass master mounted on the annular support is pressed against the annular support by the lid. Stamper electroforming equipment 3. The electroforming apparatus for a stamper according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of electroforming liquid inlets are provided, and all the electroforming liquid inlets are inclined in the same direction from the center of the electroforming tank. Stamper electroforming apparatus characterized by the following: 4. The electroforming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the annular support portion is formed of a titanium ring, and a cathode electrode is connected to the titanium ring so that the titanium ring also functions as an energizing mechanism. Stamper electroforming equipment 5. An electroforming apparatus for a stamper according to claim 1, wherein a glass master is automatically mounted on and removed from an annular support portion in the apparatus by a robot. Casting equipment