JP4573272B2 - Continuous film deposition system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a continuous film forming apparatus for continuously forming a functional thin film on a surface of a belt-shaped film forming substrate while conveying the film.

  A film-forming substrate made of a long film or sheet made of plastic or inorganic material is continuously run and transported in a vacuum chamber, and various functional thin films are formed on the surface by sputtering or vapor deposition. There is a continuous film forming apparatus. In this type of continuous film forming apparatus, it is necessary to perform maintenance and setup operations such as replacement of a sputtering source, replacement and cleaning of a mask, replacement of a film formation base material, and paper feeding for each batch process. In recent years, there has been proposed a continuous film forming apparatus that is excellent in workability and requires less installation space. An example of such a continuous film forming apparatus is shown in FIGS.

  The continuous film forming apparatus has a vacuum chamber 1 and a film forming roll 2 around which a film base material (film forming base material) is wound. The vacuum chamber 1 is provided with a shielding plate 11 that divides the inside of the vacuum chamber 1 up and down, and an unwinding roll 3, a winding roll 4, a free roll 5, and a load cell roll 6 are disposed at the top of the vacuum chamber 1. Are provided with cathode boxes (film forming sources) 7L and 7R on the left and right sides of the film forming roll 2 in the lateral direction (lateral direction). An evacuation pump 10 is attached to the upper back surface of the vacuum chamber 1. The film forming roll 2 is driven by a constant speed motor to convey the film substrate at a constant speed, and the unwinding roll 3 and the winding roll 4 feed back the tension detected by the load cell roll 6 to perform torque rotation control. The film forming process is performed with a predetermined tension.

  A bobbin obtained by winding a film base material in a coil shape is attached to the unwinding roll 3, and the film base material wound around the bobbin is continuously applied to the film forming roll 2 via a free roll 5 and a load cell roll 6. Supplied. After depressurizing the inside of the vacuum chamber 1 to a vacuum, the film substrate supplied to the film forming roll 2 is sputter-deposited on the outer peripheral surface of the film forming roll 2, and then again through the load cell roll 6 and the free roll 5. Then, it is wound around a bobbin mounted on the winding roll 4.

  The vacuum chamber 1 includes a rear wall 21 and a front wall 22 disposed so as to be opposed to each other by a top wall 23 and a bottom wall 24, and a side wall 26L, 26R and is formed on the lower frame 13. The outer frame portion 25 is a fixed chamber portion 15, the side walls 26L and 26R are moving chamber portions 16L and 16R, and the left and right moving chamber portions 16L and 16R are on the back wall 21 side of the fixed chamber portion 15. The hinge mechanism 18 provided at the end can be opened and closed with respect to the fixed chamber 15 in an airtight manner. The rolls such as the film forming roll 2, the unwinding roll 3, and the winding roll 4 are rotatably supported by the back wall 21 and the front wall 22, and the cathode boxes 7L and 7R are the side walls. 26L and 26R are detachably attached.

  For this reason, after the film base material is formed, the left and right moving chamber parts 16L and 16R are simply opened from the fixed chamber part 15, and maintenance and setup work can be easily performed without removing the roll group in the fixed chamber part 15. It can be performed. Further, since the cathode boxes 7L and 7R are also attached to the side walls 26L and 26R, replacement and maintenance can be easily performed. Since these operations can be performed simply by opening the moving chamber portion, the installation space and the maintenance space can be reduced.

In the continuous film forming apparatus, the outer frame portion 25 of the vacuum chamber 1 is the fixed chamber portion 15 and the left and right side walls 26L and 26R are the left and right moving chamber portions 16L and 16R. The method of providing is not limited to this, and can be, for example, each divided portion of the vacuum chamber 1A having a divided structure described in JP-A-2006-77284. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, one side end of the back wall 21 of the vacuum chamber 1A, one side of the front wall 22, the first divided surface 31 passing through the top wall 23 and the bottom wall 24, and the back surface The vacuum chamber 1 </ b> A is divided into a left divided portion 34 </ b> L and a central divided portion 33 by the other side end portion of the wall 21, the other side portion of the front wall 22 and the second divided surface 32 passing through the upper surface wall 23 and the lower surface wall 24. The central division 33 may be the fixed chamber portion 15 and the left division portion 34L and the right division portion 34R may be the left and right moving chamber portions 16L and 16R. In this type, the opening area when the moving chamber portions 16L and 16R are opened becomes wider, and workability such as maintenance is further improved. These, including the continuous film forming apparatus shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, are referred to as a double-side open type continuous film forming apparatus.
JP 2006-77284 A

When the film forming sources 7L and 7R such as a sputtering source are arranged on the side of the film forming roll 2 as shown in the drawing, the both side open type continuous film forming apparatus constitutes a moving chamber section. By attaching to the side walls 26L and 26R, if the moving chamber part is opened from the fixed chamber part, the roll group and the film forming source in the fixed chamber part can be easily accessed, and maintenance and setup such as cleaning and target replacement are possible. Work can be carried out easily. However, depending on the type of film formation, it may be necessary to provide a film formation source also below the film formation roll.

  In this case, by providing a large opening in the front wall 22 and pulling out and attaching the lower film-forming source through this opening, maintenance of the lower film-forming source can be performed. Since the work is troublesome and the drawing allowance is taken into consideration, the maintenance space becomes large, and it is necessary to open a large opening in the front wall 22 for attaching and detaching the film forming source. Therefore, the film forming accuracy may be reduced.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and in a continuous film forming apparatus of both sides open type, even when a film forming source is provided below the film forming roll, the continuous film forming is excellent in maintainability of the lower film forming source. An object is to provide an apparatus.

  The present invention is a continuous film forming apparatus for forming a film while transporting a film-forming substrate, and an outer frame part in which a rear wall and a front wall arranged to face the rear wall are connected by an upper surface wall and a lower surface wall; A vacuum chamber having left and right side walls closing the left and right openings of the outer frame portion, a film forming roll housed in the vacuum chamber and rotatably provided, and a film wound around the film forming roll A lateral film forming source for forming a film on the film forming substrate from the side, a lower film forming source for forming a film from below, an unwinding roll for supplying the film forming substrate to the film forming roll, and after the film forming A winding roll for winding the film-forming substrate, and one side end portion of the back wall of the vacuum chamber and one side end portion or side portion of the front wall, The other side end of the back wall and the other side end of the front wall or the second divided surface passing through the side Then, the vacuum chamber is divided into three parts, a left divided part, a central divided part, and a right divided part, the central divided part is a fixed chamber part, and the left divided part and the right divided part are respectively left and right moving chamber parts, The left and right moving chamber portions are provided to be openable / closable by an opening / closing mechanism with respect to the fixed chamber portion, and the film forming roll, unwinding roll, and winding roll are rotatably supported on the back wall and the front wall of the fixed chamber portion. The lateral film-forming source is detachably provided in the moving chamber portion, and the lower film-forming source is provided in and out of the fixed chamber portion by a retracting mechanism provided in the fixed chamber portion. Is.

According to the continuous film forming apparatus, by opening the left and right moving chamber portions from the fixed chamber portion, it is easy to perform maintenance and setup work for the roll film formation in the fixed chamber portion and the side film forming sources provided in the left and right moving chamber portions. Moreover, since the lower film-forming source can be easily taken out from the opened fixed chamber portion by the withdrawal mechanism, the maintenance can be easily performed. In addition, the installation space and maintenance space of the apparatus can be reduced, and furthermore, since there is no need for an opening for attaching / detaching the lower film forming source to the front wall of the fixed chamber section, there is no risk of lowering the rigidity of the front wall. Therefore, the film can be formed with high accuracy.

  In the continuous film forming apparatus, the left and right moving chamber portions can be constituted by left and right side walls of the vacuum chamber. In this vacuum chamber, the side surface of the outer frame, that is, the surface of the side wall on the side of the outer frame becomes a dividing surface, which moves the flat side wall to the fixed chamber consisting of a simple box-shaped outer frame. It can be a chamber part. For this reason, the structure is simple, so that the manufacture becomes easy and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  In the continuous film forming apparatus, a hinge mechanism can be used as an opening / closing mechanism for opening / closing the left and right moving chambers and an exit / retreat mechanism for moving the lower film forming source. By using the hinge mechanism, it is possible to easily open and close the moving chamber part and to move the lower film forming source in and out of the fixed chamber part by a simple mechanism.

  In this case, a hinge mechanism for opening and closing the left and right moving chamber portions is provided on either the back wall side or the front wall side of the fixed chamber portion, and a hinge mechanism for moving the lower film forming source in and out is provided on the other side. It is preferable. As a result, the movable chamber portion provided with the side film-forming source and the lower film-forming source can be rotated and opened to the opposite side, and the maintenance areas of the side film-forming source and the lower film-forming source do not overlap. Can be. For this reason, maintainability can be improved more.

According to the continuous film forming apparatus of the present invention, the left and right moving chamber portions are opened from the fixed chamber portion, thereby maintaining and setting up the roll film formation in the fixed chamber portion and the side film forming sources provided in the left and right moving chamber portions. In addition, since the lower film-forming source can be easily taken out from the open fixed chamber portion, the maintenance can be easily performed. In addition, installation space and maintenance space are small, and there is no need to provide an opening for attaching and detaching the lower film forming source to the front wall of the fixed chamber. Since the degree is not impaired, highly accurate film formation can be performed.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a continuous film forming apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The same members as those of the conventional continuous film forming apparatus shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted or simplified, and differences will be mainly described.

  In the continuous film forming apparatus according to this embodiment, a rear wall 21 and a front wall 22 arranged to face the rear wall 21 are connected by an upper surface wall 23 and a lower surface wall 24. A vacuum chamber 1 including left and right side walls 26L and 26R to be closed is provided. The outer frame portion 25 is a fixed chamber portion 15 and the side walls 26L and 26R are left and right moving chamber portions 16L and 16R, respectively, and these are hinges provided at the side end portions of the back wall 21 of the fixed chamber portion 15. The mechanism 18 is provided in the fixed chamber portion 15 so as to be freely opened and closed. The outer frame portion 25 is formed by welding and integrating the thick plates constituting the walls of the same portion. In addition, a sealing member is provided on a mating surface between the fixed chamber portion 15 including the outer frame portion 25 and the moving chamber portions 16L and 16R including the side walls 26L and 26R, and the moving chamber portions 16L and 16R are closed. Then, it integrates with the fixed chamber part 15 airtightly.

The interior of the fixed chamber portion 15 is partitioned into an upper portion, a middle portion, and a lower portion in the vertical direction by shielding plates 11A and 11B installed on the back wall 21 and the front wall 22. An unwinding roll 3, a winding roll 4, a free roll 5, and a load cell roll 6 are rotatably supported on the rear wall 21 and the front wall 22 on the upper part. In addition, a film forming roll 2 is rotatably supported in the middle portion, and left and right cathode boxes 7L and 7R serving as sputtering sources are provided on the left and right in the lateral direction with respect to the film forming roll 2 through a mask 12. These are detachably attached to the side walls 26L and 26R. Further, a pair of left and right lower cathode boxes 8L and 8R are also provided at the lower portion so as to face the film forming roll 2 with a mask 12 interposed therebetween. The mask 12 is for depositing a predetermined region of the deposition roll 2. The shielding plates 11A and 11B are for preventing mutual contamination of the sputtered film. In order to make the vacuum chamber 1 compact, the evacuation pump 10 is attached to the upper surface wall 23 of the fixed chamber portion 15 via a gate valve.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the lower cathode boxes 8 </ b> L and 8 </ b> R are respectively attached to a revolving arm 9, and the revolving arm 9 is attached to a hinge mechanism 19 provided at the inner end of the front wall 22 of the fixed chamber portion 15. The lower cathode boxes 8 </ b> L and 8 </ b> R are rotatably moved in and out of the fixed chamber portion 15 by being connected and turning the turning arm 9 by the hinge mechanism 19.

  A cooling water pipe (not shown) is provided in the fixed chamber portion 15 through the lower wall 24 for cooling the lower cathode boxes 8L and 8R. The cooling water pipe is attached to the lower cathode boxes 8L and 8R. It is connected to a metal pipe (not shown) so as to be rotatable in the vicinity of the rotation center of the hinge mechanism 19, and the lower cathode boxes 8L and 8R can be swung into and out of the fixed chamber section 15 with the pipe attached. It is like that. The lower cathode boxes 8L and 8R are detachably connected to an insulating coated wire for power supply provided inside the fixed chamber portion 15 via a connector. For this reason, when the lower cathode boxes 8L and 8R are swung out of the fixed chamber portion 15, the insulation-coated wires can be easily removed. Of course, if there is enough space, the lower cathode boxes 8L and 8R may be swung outwardly from the fixed chamber portion 15 with the insulation covered wires attached.

The film forming operation on the film substrate in this continuous film forming apparatus is basically the same as the conventional one, and the film substrate unwound from the unwinding roll 3 is formed through the free roll 5 and the load cell roll 6. The film is continuously supplied to the roll 2 and deposited on the outer peripheral surface of the film-forming roll 2 by the film-forming atoms released from the targets provided in the left and right side cathode boxes and the lower cathode box, respectively, and then the load cell again. It is wound on the winding roll 4 via the roll 6 and the free roll 5.

When the film base material having been formed is wound on the take-up roll 4, the inside of the vacuum chamber 1 is returned to the atmospheric pressure, and the left and right moving chamber portions 16L and 16R are first moved from the fixed chamber portion 15 as shown in FIG. open is moved away to open the sides of the fixed chamber part 15. Then, the left and right lower cathode boxes 8L and 8R are rotationally moved from the inside to the outside of the fixed chamber portion 15 around the hinge mechanism 19. After the moving chamber portions 16L and 16R and the lower cathode boxes 8L and 8R are opened to the outside of the fixed chamber portion 15 in this way, the bobbin of the unwinding roll 3 and the winding roll 4 is exchanged and a sheet passing operation is performed. After replacing the cathode boxes 7L, 7R, 8L, and 8R as necessary, the lower cathode boxes 8L and 8R are returned to the fixed chamber portion 15 again, and the moving chamber portions 16L and 16R are moved to the fixed chamber portion. 15 is hermetically connected and integrated, and the inside of the vacuum chamber 1 is evacuated, followed by film formation again. Thus, in this continuous film forming apparatus, not only the side cathode boxes 7L and 7R but also the lower cathode boxes 8L and 8R can be easily maintained without providing a special maintenance space. The cathode boxes 8L and 8R can be easily accessed on the back side (lower side).

  In the above embodiment, the hinge mechanisms 18 of the moving chamber portions 16L and 16R are provided at both side ends of the back wall 21, but may be provided at both side ends of the front wall 21 of the fixed chamber portion 15. In this case, however, the hinge mechanisms 19 of the lower cathode boxes 8L and 8R are provided at both end portions inside the back wall 21 of the fixed chamber portion 15 so as to face the hinge mechanisms 18 of the moving chamber portions 16L and 16R. Is preferred. By providing in this way, the maintenance space for the lower cathode boxes 8L and 8R can be made sufficiently wide. In the above embodiment, the lower cathode boxes 8L and 8R are provided on the left and right of the film forming roll 2, but only one of them may be provided. In addition, the cathode box serving as a film forming source is a sputtering source such as balanced magnetron sputtering and unbalanced sputtering, and other film forming sources such as CVD sources and plasma processing sources of other film forming types, depending on the sputtering method. Can be used.

  In the above embodiment, the lower cathode boxes 8L and 8R are moved back and forth by the hinge mechanism 19 in and out of the fixed chamber portion 15, but a slide mechanism is provided on the lower wall 24 of the fixed chamber portion 15, Thereby, the cathode boxes 8L and 8R may be slid outside the opening of the fixed chamber portion 15. Further, the moving chamber portions 16L and 16R are not limited to opening and closing by the hinge mechanism 18, but for example, the moving chamber portions 16L and 16R are moved close to and away from the fixed chamber portion 15 by an appropriate transport mechanism to open and close. You may do it.

  Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the outer frame portion 25 is the fixed chamber portion 15 and the left and right side walls 26L and 26R are the moving chamber portions 16L and 16R. However, the method of providing the fixed chamber portion and the moving chamber portion is not limited thereto. Alternatively, the left divided portion and the right divided portion of the three-divided structure shown in FIG.

It is a notch front view of the continuous film-forming apparatus of embodiment. It is a principal part sectional top view (AA sectional view taken on the line of FIG. 1) of the continuous film-forming apparatus of embodiment. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the moving chamber portion is opened from the fixed chamber portion and the lower cathode box is opened to the outside of the fixed chamber portion. It is a notch front view of the conventional continuous film-forming apparatus. It is a top view of the conventional continuous film-forming apparatus. It is a top view of the other conventional continuous film-forming apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

1 vacuum chamber, 2 film forming roll,
3 unwinding rolls, 4 winding rolls,
7L, 7R side cathode box, 8L, 8R lower cathode box,
15 fixed chamber, 16L, 16R moving chamber,
18, 19 Hinge mechanism, 21 Back wall,
22 front wall, 23 top wall,
24 bottom wall, 25 outer frame,
26L, 26R Side wall

Claims (4)

A continuous film forming apparatus for forming a film while conveying a film forming substrate,
A vacuum chamber having an outer frame portion in which a rear wall and a front wall arranged opposite to each other are connected by an upper surface wall and a lower surface wall, left and right side walls closing right and left openings of the outer frame portion, and the vacuum chamber A film forming roll housed inside the film forming roll, a side film forming source for forming a film on the film forming substrate wound around the film forming roll from the side, and a lower film forming film formed from below. A film source, an unwinding roll for supplying the film-forming substrate to the film-forming roll, and a winding roll for winding the film-forming substrate after film formation,
One side edge of the back wall of the vacuum chamber and one side edge or side of the front wall; the other side edge of the back wall; and the other of the front wall. The vacuum chamber is divided into a left divided part, a central divided part, and a right divided part by a side dividing part or a second dividing surface passing through the side part, the central divided part is a fixed chamber part, and the left divided part and The right split part is a left and right moving chamber part, and the left and right moving chamber parts are provided to be openable and closable by an opening and closing mechanism with respect to the fixed chamber part,
The film forming roll, the unwinding roll and the winding roll are rotatably supported on the back wall and the front wall of the fixed chamber section,
The side film forming source is detachably provided in the moving chamber part,
A continuous film forming apparatus in which the lower film forming source is provided inside and outside the fixed chamber part by a retracting mechanism provided in the fixed chamber part.   The continuous film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the left and right moving chamber portions are constituted by left and right side walls of the vacuum chamber.   3. The continuous film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the open / close mechanism that opens and closes the left and right moving chamber portions and the retract mechanism that retracts and retracts the lower film forming source are hinge mechanisms. A hinge mechanism for opening and closing the left and right moving chamber portions is provided on either the back wall side or the front wall side of the fixed chamber portion, and a hinge mechanism for moving the lower film forming source in and out is provided on the other side. The continuous film-forming apparatus according to claim 3.

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