JP4734894B2 - Pressure gradient ion plating film deposition system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum film forming apparatus for forming a thin film on one surface of a substrate by an ion plating method, and in particular, an electrically insulating substance for a film substrate that can be unwound from a roll and wound on a roll. The present invention relates to a pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus and a film forming method capable of continuously, stably and efficiently forming a thin film made of

Conventionally, a vacuum film forming apparatus for forming a thin film on a substrate by using a pressure gradient ion plating method is shown in, for example, vacuum (Vol. 27, No. 2, page 64 (1984) to Non-Patent Document 1). As is known, it is known as a known technique.
Vacuum Vol. 27, No. 2, page 64 (1984) FIG. 7 shows a pressure gradient ion plating apparatus. The ion plating apparatus shown in FIG. 7 generates a thin film by vapor deposition on a substrate 13 disposed in a vacuum chamber 12 by generating plasma in a vacuum chamber 12 by a pressure gradient type plasma gun 11 (hereinafter also simply referred to as a plasma gun). Is formed. More specifically, the plasma gun 11 includes a cathode 15 connected to the negative side of the discharge power source 14, an annular first intermediate electrode 16 connected to the positive side of the discharge power source 14 via a resistor, and a second intermediate electrode 16. An intermediate electrode 17 is provided, and the discharge gas is supplied from the cathode 15 side, and the discharge gas is put into a plasma state and flows out from the second intermediate electrode 17 into the vacuum chamber 12. The vacuum chamber 12 is connected by a vacuum pump (not shown), and the inside thereof is kept in a predetermined reduced pressure state. A converging coil 18 is provided outside the short tube portion 12A that protrudes toward the second intermediate electrode 17 of the vacuum chamber 12 so as to surround the short tube portion 12A. A hearth 19 made of a conductive material connected to the positive side of the discharge power source 14 is placed in the lower part of the vacuum chamber 12, and a conductive or insulating material serving as a thin film material is placed in a recess on the hearth 19. Contains a vapor deposition material. Further, a hearth magnet 21 is provided inside the hearth 19. And the plasma beam 22 is formed toward the vapor deposition raw material 20 from the 2nd intermediate electrode 17, the vapor deposition raw material 20 is evaporated, it adheres to the lower surface of the base material 13, and a thin film is formed. The focusing coil 18 has a function of contracting the cross section of the plasma beam 22, and the hearth magnet 21 has a function of guiding the plasma beam 22 to the hearth 19.

When an electrically insulating material is formed by the apparatus shown in FIG. 7, the insulating material adheres to the surface of the hearth (anode portion) 19 and the inner surface of the vacuum chamber 12, and the surface of the hearth 19 is particularly electrically insulated. As a result, the energization in the vacuum chamber 12 becomes impossible, and as a result, the phenomenon that each part of the electrode is charged up proceeds with the elapse of the film formation time.
Electrons that attempt to enter such areas where insulating materials adhere and charge up progresses and cannot be energized are reflected and either neutralized by coupling with ions, or finally electrically The reflection of electrons will be repeated until it reaches a place where it can return.
For this reason, the continuous stable control with respect to the plasma beam 22 cannot be performed, and there arises a problem that the stability of the film formation is impaired.
As a technique for solving such a problem, a technique for forming an electrically insulating material is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-269636 (Patent Document 1).
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-269636, an insulating tube that surrounds a plasma beam generated at a plasma gun outlet toward a vacuum chamber and protrudes in an electrically floating state; The above problem is solved by providing an electron return electrode that surrounds the outer periphery of the insulating tube and has a higher potential than the plasma outlet. However, in the case of depositing an electrically insulating substance, the structure described here is not a structure that takes into account the problem of charging the deposited substrate, but obtains a stably deposited substrate. I couldn't, and it was a problem.

On the other hand, Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-21349 discloses a method of continuously forming a thin film made of an electrically insulating material on a substrate such as a film that can be unwound from a roll and wound on the roll. (Patent Document 2).
However, in the case of forming an electrically insulating substance, the problem described herein is due to the above-mentioned problem caused by the progress of charge-up and the problem of charging the formed substrate. In view of this, the film cannot be formed sufficiently stably, which is a problem.

As described above, in recent years, various vacuum film forming apparatuses for forming a thin film on a target substrate using a pressure gradient ion plating method have been disclosed. In the case of depositing a substance, a vacuum film-forming apparatus that can form a film on a target substrate sufficiently stably and can efficiently and stably form a film-formed substrate. Therefore, a vacuum film forming method has been demanded.
The present invention corresponds to this, and can be applied to the case where an electrically insulating material is formed, can be formed sufficiently stably on a target substrate, and is continuously formed. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum film-forming apparatus and a vacuum film-forming method using a pressure gradient ion plating method, which can obtain a film-formed substrate stably.
In particular, a thin film made of an electrically insulating material is continuously, stably and efficiently formed on a substrate such as a film that can be unwound from a roll and wound on the roll. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum film forming apparatus and a vacuum film forming method.

The pressure gradient type ion plating film forming apparatus of the present invention includes a pressure gradient type hollow cathode type ion plating film forming unit having a pressure gradient type plasma gun. A vacuum film forming apparatus that forms a thin film on one surface of the material, and the hearth magnet for guiding the plasma beam emitted from the pressure gradient plasma gun to the deposition material placed on the hearth has a magnetron structure It is characterized by.
And it is said pressure gradient type ion plating type film-forming apparatus, Comprising: The horizontal magnetic flux density of the surface of the said hearth magnet is 1 mT to 500 mT , It is characterized by the above-mentioned.
In addition, in any one of the above-described pressure gradient type ion plating film forming apparatuses, the hearth magnet allows the plasma beam emitted from the plasma gun to be spread in the substrate width direction and / or the substrate. It is characterized by being arranged so as to spread in the transport direction.
Further, any one of the above-described pressure gradient type ion plating film forming apparatus, comprising: a vapor deposition material conveyance unit that integrally conveys the vapor deposition material and a hearth on which the vapor deposition material is placed; and the vapor deposition material conveyance unit Is characterized in that the deposition position of the plasma beam on the deposition material is changed by integrally transporting the deposition material and the hearth.
Also, any one of the above-described pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatuses is characterized in that an electron feedback electrode for returning floating electrons is provided.
6. The pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the ion plating film forming unit is directed to a side surface of the film forming chamber and toward an outlet of the pressure gradient plasma gun. A projecting short tube portion of the vacuum chamber, a focusing coil surrounding the short tube portion and contracting a cross section of the plasma beam from the pressure gradient plasma gun; The first electron feedback electrode is provided in the short tube portion, which surrounds the periphery of the plasma beam and feeds back electrically floating electrons. To do.
The pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 6, wherein a deposition material in a film forming chamber, a region irradiated with a plasma beam, and a film forming part of the substrate A second electron feedback electrode for returning electrically floating electrons is disposed on the opposite side of the pressure gradient plasma gun with respect to the vertical direction connecting the two. is there.
Further, in any one of the above-described pressure gradient type ion plating film forming apparatuses, the ion plating film forming unit controls a plasma beam converged through the focusing coil by a magnetic field and / or an electric field. In addition, the plasma beam shape control unit is provided to make the shape of the plasma beam incident on the vapor deposition material wide in a sheet shape in the width direction of the substrate.
Further, any one of the above-described pressure gradient type ion plating film forming apparatuses is provided with a substrate transport mechanism for continuously supplying a substrate.
Further, in any one of the above-described pressure gradient type ion plating type film forming apparatus, a base material band removing unit that removes the base material charge generated by the film forming, after the film forming region part of the base material transport mechanism And the base material charge removal unit is a plasma discharge device.
Further, any one of the above-described pressure gradient type ion plating film forming apparatuses is characterized in that a plasma discharge processing apparatus is provided upstream of the film forming region portion of the substrate transport mechanism. .
Further, in any one of the above-described pressure gradient type ion-plating film forming apparatuses, a film forming chamber for forming a film and a substrate transporting chamber for transporting the substrate are placed in a vacuum chamber under pressure. It is characterized by being partitioned and arranged.

Specifically, in the pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus according to claim 13, a film forming drum is provided on the base material transport chamber side, and the base material transport unit includes: A part of the film-forming drum is installed as a film-forming region part so as to protrude toward the film-forming chamber side, and between the film-forming chamber and the substrate transfer chamber, Except for the periphery of the film formation area of the drum, the film formation drum and the partitioning portion are physically partitioned by the partition, and the film formation chamber and the substrate transfer chamber are partitioned by pressure. The material is transported along the periphery of the film formation drum, and the base material is placed along the periphery of the film formation drum in the film formation chamber side and the film formation region of the film formation drum. The film is formed on one surface of the base material.
Further, in the pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus described above, the position in the vicinity of the film forming drum on the film forming chamber side of the base material transfer chamber, the upstream side and the downstream side in the substrate transport direction in the coating region portion And a vacuum chamber (also referred to as a plasma seal chamber) that is formed in a pressure-divided state by a film-forming drum and a physical partition and is evacuated. The vacuum chamber has a pressure of 1 × 10 ⁻⁵ Pa to 1 × 10 ⁻² Pa.
In addition, any one of the above-described pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatuses is characterized in that the vacuum chamber includes an electron feedback electrode that feeds back electrically floating electrons. .
Alternatively, in the pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus according to claim 14, in the vicinity of the film forming drum on the film forming chamber side of the base material transport chamber, on the downstream side in the substrate transport direction in the coating region portion. A third electron return electrode for returning electrically floating electrons is provided in a partition chamber that is pressure-partitioned with the opening facing the position and the film formation drum side. . Also, in any one of the above-described pressure gradient type ion plating film forming apparatuses, the film forming drum is set to a potential that is electrically higher than the potential of each of the electron feedback electrodes. To do.
Further, in any one of the above-described pressure gradient type ion plating film forming apparatuses, the film forming drum is electrically set to a floating level.
Further, in any one of the above-described pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatuses, an insulating or insulating film is provided between the film forming drum, the pressure gradient plasma gun, and the electron feedback electrode. A partition plate held at a potential is provided.
Further, in any one of the above-described pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatuses, the base material transport unit includes a base material unwinding unit for supplying the base material to the film forming drum, and a base material. A substrate take-up unit for winding from the film forming drum, unwinding and supplying the substrate to the film forming drum, and winding the substrate from the film forming drum. The film is formed while the film is continuously conveyed.
Further, in any one of the above-described pressure gradient type ion plating film forming apparatuses, the film forming drum is formed of a material containing at least one of stainless steel, iron, copper, and chromium. It is characterized by.
In any one of the above-described pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatuses, the film forming drum has an average surface roughness Ra of 10 nm or less.
Further, in any one of the above-described pressure gradient type ion plating film forming apparatuses, the film forming drum can be used at a temperature between −20 ° C. and + 200 ° C. by using a cooling medium and / or a heat source medium or a heater. It is characterized by having a temperature control unit that can be set to a constant temperature.
Further, in any one of the above-described pressure gradient type ion plating film forming apparatuses, the film forming drum has an insulating property in a non-covered region portion that is a region portion that is not covered by the substrate on which the film is formed. The insulating non-covered region is one or more of Al, Si, Ta, Ti, Nb, V, Bi, Y, W, Mo, Zr, and Hf. It is characterized by being coated with an oxide film or nitride film.
Alternatively, the insulating non-covering region is coated with a molded body, tape, or coating film of any one of polyimide resin, fluororesin, and mica.

The pressure gradient ion plating film forming method of the present invention forms a thin film on one surface of a substrate by an ion plating method using a pressure gradient type hollow cathode ion plating film forming part having a pressure gradient type plasma gun. This is a vacuum film formation method in which a plasma beam emitted from a pressure gradient plasma gun is guided to a deposition material placed on the hearth by a magnetron-structured hearth magnet (also referred to as a magnet), and film formation is performed. It is characterized by.
In the pressure gradient ion plating film forming method described above, the plasma beam from the pressure gradient plasma gun is controlled by an electric field and / or a magnetic field, and is formed in a sheet shape in the width direction of the substrate. The film is incident on the vapor deposition material, and energy is applied to the vapor deposition material to form a film.
In addition, any one of the pressure gradient ion plating film forming methods described above is characterized in that film formation is performed while electrically floating electrons are returned.
The pressure gradient ion plating film forming method according to any one of the above, wherein the film formation is performed using the pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 28. To do.

Here, the ion plating film forming unit refers to a configuration that contributes to ion plating film formation disposed on the film forming chamber side, and includes all functional units that contribute to ion plating film formation.
In addition, here, “the film formation chamber and the substrate transfer chamber are separated in pressure” means that when the film formation operation is performed while the substrate is transferred, the film formation chamber and the substrate transfer chamber are However, the pressure can be individually controlled within the pressure range required for the film forming operation, and the flow of gas and moisture from the substrate transfer chamber side to the film forming chamber can be prevented at a practical level. It means that the deposition material or plasma can be prevented from flowing into the transfer chamber side.
Here, the vapor deposition material transport unit can transport the vapor deposition material and the hearth as a unit, and includes the case where the hearth itself is part of the vapor deposition material transport unit.
Here, “A and / or B” includes all cases of A, A and B, and B.
Here, “the direction connecting A and B” means the direction connecting the center of A and the center of B.

(Function)
In the pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus of the present invention, the hearth magnet for guiding the plasma beam emitted from the pressure gradient type plasma gun to the vapor deposition material placed on the hearth has a magnetron structure. When such a magnetron structure is adopted, since electrons move along the magnetic field, electric charges are not accumulated locally, and as a result, the magnetron structure does not have heat locally and stably. Plasma can be guided to the surface, and as a result, it is possible to stably form a film continuously for a long time.
In other words, the hearth magnet is not heated locally, it is possible to form a stable and uniform film continuously for a long time, and the hearth magnet life can be extended and used. Depending on the size and arrangement, it is easy to spread the plasma beam emitted from the plasma gun in the width direction of the substrate and / or in the direction of conveyance of the substrate. .
In addition, energy can be simultaneously applied to the vapor deposition material having a large area, and as a result, the deposition rate can be greatly improved.
The horizontal magnetic flux density on the surface of the hearth magnet, 500 mT from 1 mT, preferably 300mT from 1 mT, more preferably it is preferred to 100mT from 1 mT.
By setting the horizontal magnetic flux density on the surface of the hearth magnet from 1 mT to 500 mT , it becomes possible to concentrate the plasma on the vapor deposition material on the hearth magnet, efficiently applying energy to the vapor deposition material, and melting and sublimating the base material. It becomes possible to form a film on top. If it is 1 mT or more, it is sufficient to converge the electrons, and the stronger the effect, the better the effect.
On the other hand, when the horizontal magnetic flux intensity is higher than 500 mT , there is a problem that the magnet becomes expensive, and its installation and handling become difficult and impractical.
That is, by adopting such a configuration, it becomes possible to continuously supply the film forming material for a long time, and it is possible to stably form a plasma discharge for a long time, and further, there is no change in film quality during the film forming. The film can be continuously formed for a long time.

In simple terms, a magnetron consists of a base plate processed with a conductive metal such as copper and a structure surrounded by a magnet arranged continuously without end and a magnet arranged at one point or a rod in the center. In the case of film formation, for example, a structure in which one or a plurality of magnetron structures each having a rectangular structure with a long side is arranged as shown in FIG. 5 is used.
As the hearth magnet, as shown in FIG. 6 (a), the long side of the rectangular magnetron structure is arranged in a direction orthogonal to the plasma gun emission direction, or as shown in FIG. 6 (b). In addition, by arranging a plurality of rectangular magnetron structures parallel to the plasma gun emission direction, it is possible to guide the plasma to a wide area of the film forming material, and film formation over a large area becomes possible.
A structure in which one or a plurality of magnetron structures each having a rectangular structure with a long side are arranged so that the plasma beam emitted from the plasma gun spreads in the substrate width direction and / or the substrate conveyance direction. use.
By doing so, it becomes possible to irradiate a large area of the vapor deposition material with a wide range of plasma, and it is possible to stably form a film at a high speed and with a good distribution over a large area substrate. It becomes possible.
The magnetron structure is described in the Thin Film Handbook (edited by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and Thin Film No. 131 Committee, published by Ohm Co., Ltd., published on December 10, 1995, first edition, sixth edition, pages 186 to 188). Thus, it has been widely used in sputtering and the like.
The arrangement of the magnets, that is, the structure provided by devising the magnetic field, makes it possible to restrain electrons on the surface of the structure, the frequency of ionization collisions is extremely high, and very large target (material) impact current density can be easily achieved. Obtainable.
Further, the vapor deposition material and the hearth are integrally conveyed, thereby providing a vapor deposition material conveyance unit that changes the irradiation position of the plasma beam on the vapor deposition material, thereby providing a continuous operation for a long time. Thus, it is possible to form a film, and it is possible to extremely reduce the number of times the deposition material is replenished, thereby improving productivity.
As the vapor deposition material transport unit, for example, a hearth magnet (also referred to as a magnet) is arranged at a predetermined position, and the pre-deposition material transport unit is a base material on which a vapor deposition material and a hearth on which the vapor deposition material is placed are formed. The form which conveys integrally in the direction orthogonal to the width direction and / or the width direction is mentioned.

Further, by adopting the structure of claim 5 provided with an electron feedback electrode for returning electrically floating electrons, it is possible to efficiently return reflected electrons (floating electrons) generated during film formation. In particular, an insulating material can be stably and continuously deposited.
Specifically, the ion plating film forming section includes a short tube portion of the vacuum chamber that protrudes toward the side surface of the film forming chamber and toward the outlet portion of the pressure gradient plasma gun. And a converging coil for contracting the cross section of the plasma beam from the pressure gradient type plasma gun, and guiding the plasma beam to the surface of the vapor deposition material disposed in the film forming chamber. A first electron feedback electrode that surrounds the periphery of the plasma beam and electrically feeds back floating electrons; and a deposition material in a film forming chamber and a region irradiated with the plasma beam; A second electron feedback electrode for returning electrically floating electrons is disposed on a side opposite to the pressure gradient type plasma gun with respect to a vertical direction connecting with a deposition portion of the substrate. Name the configuration of item 7 It is possible.
In addition, by setting it as the structure of Claim 7 which has arrange | positioned the 2nd electron feedback electrode, the reflected electron formed in the vapor deposition material surface can be efficiently returned, without causing abnormal discharge, It becomes possible to form a film stably for a long time.
Furthermore, since the electron focusing magnet is incorporated in the second electron feedback electrode, electrons can be effectively drawn into the second electron feedback electrode using the magnetic field, and the reflected electrons are effectively fed back. This makes it possible to stably form a film for a long time.
In this case, the magnetic field strength on the magnet surface is also preferably 1 mT to 500 mT in terms of horizontal magnetic flux density.

  Further, in the case of the configuration according to claim 8, wherein the plasma beam shape control unit is provided, the plasma beam from the pressure gradient type plasma gun is widened in a sheet shape in the width direction of the substrate by the plasma beam shape control unit. By being formed and incident on the vapor deposition material, uniform energy supply to the vapor deposition material and uniform film formation on the film formation region can be stably performed.

Moreover, specifically, the structure of Claim 9 provided with the base material conveyance mechanism for supplying a base material continuously can be mentioned.
Then, the substrate forming mechanism is provided with a substrate band removing unit that removes the substrate charging generated by the film formation downstream of the film forming region unit of the substrate transport mechanism. It is possible to remove the electrification of the material, and thereby it is possible to prevent damage to the base material and deterioration in quality due to the electrification.
As the base material charge removing unit, for example, any processing device such as a plasma discharge device, an electron beam irradiation device, a static elimination bar, a glow discharge device, or a corona treatment device can be used.
When a discharge is formed by using a plasma processing apparatus or a glow discharge processing apparatus, a discharge gas such as argon, oxygen, nitrogen, helium or the like is supplied alone or in the vicinity of the base material, and AC plasma, DC plasma, arc Any discharge method such as discharge, microwave, and surface wave plasma can be used.
In addition, by adopting the configuration of claim 12 provided with a plasma discharge treatment device in front of the film formation region portion of the base material transport mechanism, it is possible to remove the adhesion of moisture and organic substances on the surface of the base material before film formation. The charge can be removed, and the effects of chemical modification (improvement of wettability) and physical modification (roughening) of the surface of the substrate can be obtained, and the adhesion to the film-forming material is improved. When the film is formed, the deposition material has an effect of forming a dense and highly adhesive film by improving migration on the surface of the base material, and as a result, a high-quality film can be formed. It becomes possible.

In addition, a configuration in which the film forming chamber for forming a film and the base material transport chamber for transporting the base material are partitioned and arranged in a vacuum chamber in a pressure manner. In particular, as a form suitable for forming a film on a roll-like base material that can be continuously supplied, such as a film or a coil, the base material transport chamber side has a film forming drum, The base material transport unit is installed so that a part of the film forming drum is projected toward the film forming chamber side as a film forming region portion, and the film forming chamber, the base material transport chamber, Between the film formation drum and the partitioning portion, except for the periphery of the film formation region of the film formation drum, and the film formation chamber and the substrate transfer chamber are pressurized. And the substrate is transported along the periphery of the film formation drum, and the film formation chamber side, the film formation area of the film formation drum Oite, and a base material in a state of and along the periphery of the film-forming drum, in which deposited on one surface of the base material include film forming apparatus having a structure in the form of claim 14.
In these cases, since the film formation chamber and the substrate transfer chamber are partitioned in pressure, the inflow of gas and moisture generated from the substrate from the substrate transfer chamber side to the film formation chamber can be prevented, The inflow of vapor deposition material and plasma from the film formation chamber to the substrate transfer chamber side can be prevented.
Inflow of gas and moisture generated from the substrate into the film formation chamber can be avoided, and there is an advantage that a high-quality film can be obtained during film formation.
In addition, the substrate transfer chamber can be made to have a higher degree of vacuum than the film formation chamber, and a vacuum pressure higher than a vacuum pressure of 10 ⁻¹ Pascal (hereinafter also referred to as Pa). Is effectively prevented from being charged, abnormal discharge does not occur, stable film formation and substrate transport are possible, and the device operates without damaging the components installed in the substrate transport section It is supposed to be possible.
The base material transfer chamber is depressurized by a vacuum exhaust pump, and the ultimate pressure is 100 Pa to 0.0001 Pa. Even during actual film formation, the film formation chamber is in the range of 100 Pa to 0.0001 Pa and prevents the inflow of plasma. The vacuum needs to be about 10 to 1000 times higher than the pressure of 100.
Further, from the viewpoint of preventing abnormal discharge due to plasma, the base material transfer chamber is preferably at a vacuum higher than 0.1 Pa, preferably higher than 0.01 Pa, more preferably 0.001 Pa or less.

Further, in the vicinity of the film forming drum on the film forming chamber side of the base material transfer chamber, on the upstream side and the downstream side in the substrate transport direction in the coating film region portion, the film forming drum and the physical partition are used for pressure. The plasma chamber is formed in a state of being partitioned and vacuumed to be evacuated, whereby the plasma flowing from the film forming chamber is quickly evacuated in the vacuum chamber, Discharge is unlikely to occur in the material transfer chamber, which can adversely affect the quality and work caused by plasma flowing from the film formation chamber on the substrate before and after film formation, and the vacuum in the substrate transfer chamber. The abnormal discharge due to the decrease in the temperature can be surely eliminated.
Furthermore, by providing an electron feedback electrode for returning electrically floating electrons to the vacuum chamber, the plasma flowing from the deposition chamber to the base material before and after the deposition is more surely achieved. It is possible to reliably eliminate the adverse effects on quality and work due to, and abnormal discharge due to a decrease in the degree of vacuum in the substrate transfer chamber.
Such a vacuum chamber locally blocks the plasma flowing into the substrate transfer chamber, and from this point of view, it is also called a plasma seal chamber.
When the vacuum degree of the vacuum chamber is higher than 1 × 10 ⁻² Pa, discharge occurs, and when it is lower than 1 × 10 ⁻⁵ Pa, a special high vacuum pump such as an ion pump is used for the vacuum. It is necessary and inefficient from the viewpoint of work, and is preferably 1 × 10 ⁻⁵ Pa to 1 × 10 ⁻² Pa.

Alternatively, by providing the third electron feedback electrode without providing the aforementioned vacuum chamber, a state close to the degree of vacuum of the film forming chamber at the time of vapor deposition in the vicinity of the film forming drum is provided. Thus, the floating electrons can be reliably returned to the third electron feedback electrode in the partition chamber.
In addition, the amount of floating electrons generated in the film formation region portion on the downstream side in the substrate transport direction is much larger than that in the film formation region portion on the upstream side in the substrate transport direction, and the floating electrons are effectively returned. . Further, in the vicinity of the film forming drum on the film forming chamber side of the base material transfer chamber, the upstream position in the substrate transport direction in the coating film region portion, and a second partition that pressure-divides with the opening toward the film forming drum side. In the case where the third electron feedback electrode for returning the electrically floating electrons is provided in the partition chamber, the grasp of the floating electrons in the vicinity of the film formation drum can be ensured, and stable. It enables energy supply to the vapor deposition material.

Further, the film-forming drum is set to a potential that is electrically higher than the potential of the electron feedback electrode, so that floating electrons are fed back from the vicinity of the film-forming drum to the electron feedback electrode. In this case, the film forming system is made stable so that the film forming drum is set to an electrically floating level, and more stable film formation is possible.
When the potential of the film-forming drum is set lower than the potential of the electron return electrode or the potential of other parts in the apparatus, the plasma generated in the film-forming chamber is prevented from falling to a place with a large potential difference. Therefore, stable film formation cannot be performed unless the potential is at least higher than the potential of the electron feedback electrode.
Here, the electrical floating level means a state in which the device is designed and configured so as to be electrically insulated from other device parts.
In spite of being designed to ensure insulation, when a refrigerant is used for temperature adjustment such as cooling or heating of the film formation drum, the piping and the refrigerant have some conductivity. Therefore, a state having a resistance of 100Ω to 1000Ω with respect to the earth level (ground level) is also included in the scope of the present invention.

In addition, by having a partition plate that is insulative or held at an insulating potential is provided between the film forming drum, the pressure gradient plasma gun, and the electron return electrode. The floating electron does not move so as to straddle between the respective parts, and the film forming system can be made stable.
By ensuring this insulation, the plasma does not drop electrically, and stable film formation is possible by preventing abnormal discharge of the plasma.

  The base material transport unit includes a base material unwinding unit for supplying the base material to the film forming drum, and a base material winding unit for winding the base material from the film forming drum. 23. The substrate is unwound and supplied to the film formation drum, the substrate is wound from the film formation drum, and film formation is performed while the substrate is continuously conveyed. With this structure, a thin film made of an electrically insulating material is continuously, stably and efficiently formed on a substrate that can be unwound from a roll and wound on the roll. It is possible to provide a vacuum film forming apparatus that can

  In order to uniformly form a film on a wide base material, a plurality of the pressure gradient type plasma gun, a converging coil, an electronic feedback electrode, and the like are installed in parallel in the base material width direction. It is also possible.

The film-forming drum is formed of a material containing at least one of stainless steel, iron, copper, and chrome, so that the drum itself has good heat mobility. It is easy to control.
In order to prevent the surface of the drum from being damaged, a hard chrome hard coat treatment or the like may be applied to the drum surface.
Specifically, the temperature control using a cooling medium and / or a heat source medium or a heater can be mentioned as a simple method, but in particular, restrictions from related mechanical members (for example, heat-resistant parts such as bearings). From the viewpoint of versatility, etc., it should be equipped with a temperature control part that can be set to a constant temperature between −20 ° C. and + 200 ° C., and the control characteristic (stability) each time is the heat generated by film formation. A mode in which temperature control is performed within a set temperature ± 2 ° C. at the time of loading is preferable.

The film-forming drum has a surface average roughness Ra of 10 nm or less, preferably 5 nm or less, more preferably 2 nm or less.
Usually, the surface roughness of a plastic film is usually 10 nm to 50 nm, 5 nm to 10 nm with a substrate specially processed with surface flatness, and 5 nm or less when the surface is flattened by coating. The surface of the film forming drum is preferably within the above range in order to have temperature flatness such as cooling and heating efficiently because of the surface flatness.

In addition, the film-forming drum has an insulating property on the non-covered area that is not covered by the substrate on which the film is formed, so that it is possible to prevent power from flowing during film formation. Stable film formation becomes possible.
As the insulating non-covered region, one or more oxide films or nitride films of Al, Si, Ta, Ti, Nb, V, Bi, Y, W, Mo, Zr, and Hf are coated. Is mentioned.
Of course, the insulating non-covered region may be coated with any one of a polyimide resin, a fluororesin, and a mica, a tape, and a coating film.
Here, the coating film includes all films formed by various coating methods and includes films formed by painting, baking painting, and sintering.

By adopting such a configuration, the pressure gradient type ion plating film forming method of the present invention can stably guide the plasma to the surface of the vapor deposition material. It is possible to provide a vacuum film forming method using a pressure gradient ion plating method that can form a film.
Furthermore, it can cope with the case where an electrically insulating material is formed, can be formed sufficiently stably on a target substrate, can be continuously formed, and can be stably formed. It is possible to provide a vacuum film forming method using a pressure gradient ion plating method, which can obtain a filmed substrate.

As described above, the present invention includes a hearth magnet having a magnetron structure in a vacuum film forming apparatus using a pressure gradient type ion plating method, or a vacuum forming method using a pressure gradient type ion plating method. In the film method, a magnetron structure hearth magnet was used, and it was possible to stably form a film continuously for a long time.
Furthermore, it can cope with the case where an electrically insulating material is formed, can be sufficiently stably formed on the target substrate, and can stably form the formed substrate. It is possible to provide a vacuum film forming apparatus and a vacuum film forming method using a pressure gradient ion plating method.
In particular, when the substrate is strip-like, long, and can be wound and unwound in a roll, pressure gradient ion plating can efficiently and stably obtain a deposited substrate. A vacuum film forming apparatus and a vacuum film forming method using the method can be provided.
That is, a thin film made of an electrically insulating material is continuously, stably and efficiently formed on an insulating plastic film substrate that can be unwound from a roll and wound on the roll. It is possible to provide a vacuum film forming apparatus and a vacuum film forming method.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a structural sectional view of a first example of an embodiment of a pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 illustrates the positional relationship among a film forming drum, a deposition material, and a plasma gun. 3A is a cross-sectional view of the film-forming drum in A1-A2 of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3B is an external view of the film-forming drum viewed from the film-forming chamber side. 4 (a) is a diagram for explaining the arrangement of the magnetron structure of the hearth magnet, and FIG. 4 (b) is a diagram for explaining the arrangement of the magnetron structure of another hearth magnet. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a magnetron structure magnet member used for a hearth magnet, and FIG. 6 is a structural cross section of a second example of the embodiment of the pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus of the present invention. 8 (a) and 8 (b) are respectively subordinate drawings. It is a diagram showing a form of hearth magnet.
In FIG. 4, the thick dotted line indicates the position of the magnet (magnet).
5B is a diagram showing a cross section taken along line C1-C2 in FIG. 5A, and FIG. 5A is a diagram viewed from the C3 side in FIG. 5B.
1 to 5, 100 is a film forming chamber, 101 is a short tube section, 110 is a plasma gun (a pressure gradient plasma gun), 111 is a first intermediate electrode, 112 is a second intermediate electrode, and 115 is a discharge. Power source, 116 is cathode, 120 is hearth, 125 is hearth magnet (also called hearth magnet), 130 is vapor deposition material, 140 is a converging coil, 150 is a first electron return electrode, 155 is a plasma beam shape controller ( (Also referred to as a magnet for plasma beam control), 160 is a discharge gas (Ar gas here), 165 is a plasma beam, 170 is a deposition plate, 171 is an opening, 180 is a vacuum pump, 190 is a partition, and 200 is a base material Transport chamber, 210 is a base material transport unit, 211 is a base material unwinding unit, 212 is a film forming drum, 212A is a film forming region, 212B is a non-covering region, 212a is a drum, 212 Is a rotating shaft, 212c is an insulating tape, 212d is a rotating bearing, 213 is a base material winding unit, 214 and 215 are conveyance rolls (also referred to as guide rolls), 220 is a base material pretreatment unit, and 230 is a base material rear side. Processing unit (also referred to as substrate charge removal unit), 240 is a vacuum pump, 280 is a base material, 290 is a vacuum chamber (also referred to as plasma seal chamber), 291 is a partition unit, 295 is a vacuum pump, 300 is a vacuum chamber, 411 is Magnets 411A are magnet members (also referred to as magnetron structures), 411a is a base plate, and 411b is a coating.
6 and 8, 11 is a plasma gun, 12 is a vacuum chamber, 12A is a short tube section, 13 is a base material (substrate here), 14 is a discharge power source, 15 is a cathode, and 16 is a first intermediate electrode. , 17 is a second intermediate electrode, 18 is a converging coil, 19 is a hearth, 20 is a deposition material, 21 is a magnet for hearth (also referred to as a hearth magnet), 21a to 21d are magnets, 21A and 21B are magnets, and 22 is a plasma. A beam, 22A is a discharge gas, and 24 is a vacuum exhaust section.

First, an example of an embodiment of a pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
The pressure gradient type ion plating film forming apparatus of this example is a vacuum film forming apparatus that forms a thin film on one surface of a base material 280 made of a film that can be wound and unwound in a roll shape in a strip shape or a long shape. In particular, the hearth magnet for guiding the plasma beam emitted from the pressure gradient type plasma gun to the deposition material placed on the hearth has a magnetron structure, and the magnet is not heated locally, This is a vacuum film forming apparatus that can be used for a long period of time with stable and uniform film formation, and can be used with a longer magnet life.
Then, one magnetron structure shown in FIG. 5 is used as the hearth magnet 125 so that the plasma beam 165 emitted from the plasma gun 110 spreads in the width direction of the substrate 280 as shown in FIG. The longitudinal direction is the width direction of the base material 280, and the length is substantially matched to the length of the hearth.

  The pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus of this example includes a film forming chamber 100 for forming a film and a substrate transfer chamber 200 for transferring a substrate in one vacuum chamber 300. And the base material transfer chamber 200 side, the base material 280 is transported along the periphery thereof, and the film formation drum 212 for forming a film in the state where the base material is aligned, and the base material 280 are used for film formation. A substrate unwinding unit 211 for supplying the drum 212 and a substrate winding unit 213 for winding the substrate 280 from the film forming drum 212 are provided, and a part of the film forming drum 212 is provided. A base material transport unit 210 for transporting the base material 280, which projects toward the film forming chamber 100 side as the film forming region unit 212A, is arranged, and a pressure gradient type is provided on the film forming chamber 100 side. Pressure gradient type hollow cathode type The film forming section (not shown) is provided, and the area around the film forming area 212A of the film forming drum 212 is between the film forming chamber 100 and the substrate transport chamber 200. Except that the film formation drum 212 and the partition unit 190 are physically partitioned, and the film formation chamber 100 and the substrate transfer chamber 200 are separated in pressure. The substrate 280 is wound up, and film formation is performed while the substrate 280 is continuously conveyed.

In this example, the vacuum pump 180 and the vacuum pump 240 individually control the degree of vacuum on the film forming chamber 100 side and the substrate transfer chamber 200 side, respectively.
The substrate transfer chamber 200 is depressurized by the vacuum exhaust pump 240, and the ultimate pressure is 100 Pa to 0.0001 Pa. Even in the actual film formation, the range is from 100 Pa to 0.0001 Pa, and in order to prevent plasma flow, The vacuum needs to be about 10 to 1000 times higher than the pressure of the film chamber 100.
Further, in the base material transport chamber, the base material transport chamber has a higher vacuum than 0.1 Pa, preferably more than 0.01 Pa, from the viewpoint of making it difficult to cause abnormal discharge due to plasma leakage from the film forming chamber or charging of the base material. High vacuum, more preferably higher than 0.001 Pa is preferred.
By making the base material transfer chamber in a high vacuum in this way, it is possible to suppress abnormal discharge in the base material transfer chamber, and to control components such as the guide rolls 214 and 215 and the film tension in the base material transfer chamber. The tension detector (not shown) and the resin parts for ensuring insulation are no longer damaged, the stability and reliability of the equipment are improved, the frequency of equipment parts replacement is reduced, and maintenance is maintained. There is an advantage that becomes easier.
As described above, here, the ion plating film forming section refers to a configuration that contributes to ion plating film formation disposed on the film forming chamber side, and each of the elements that contribute to ion plating film formation. Includes all functional parts.

Further, the ion plating film forming section is provided with a short tube section 101 of the vacuum chamber protruding from the side surface of the film forming chamber 100 toward the outlet portion of the pressure gradient type plasma gun 110. A surface of a deposition material 130 that includes a focusing coil 140 that surrounds the tube portion 101 and contracts a cross section of the plasma beam 165 from the pressure gradient type plasma gun 110, and the plasma beam 165 is disposed in the film forming chamber 100. Then, a thin film is formed on one surface of the base material 280 in the film formation region 212A of the film formation drum 212. Furthermore, the short tube portion 101 surrounds the plasma beam 165 and electrically A first electron feedback electrode 150 for returning the floating electrons is provided.
In this example, as described above, the film forming chamber 100 and the base material transfer chamber 200 are separated in pressure, and the ion plating film forming unit includes the converging coil 140 and is disposed in the short tube unit 101. By providing 150 electron feedback electrodes for returning electrically floating electrons, it is possible to stably supply energy to the vapor deposition material.
In order to uniformly form a film on a wide substrate, a plurality of pressure gradient plasma guns, electron return electrodes, etc. may be installed in parallel in the substrate width direction.
Needless to say, the film formation chamber 100 and the base material transfer chamber 200 are separated in pressure, so that inflow of gas and moisture generated from the base material 280 into the film formation chamber 110 can be avoided. A membrane is obtained.
The film forming drum 212 is set to an electric potential that is electrically higher than the electric feedback electrode 150, thereby preventing floating electrons from returning from the vicinity of the film forming drum 212 to the electron feedback electrode 150. Thus, the film forming system is stable, but more stable film formation is possible particularly when the film forming drum is electrically set to the floating level. Note that if the potential of the film formation drum 212 is low, plasma generated in the film formation chamber 100 is prevented from falling to a place where the potential difference is large, so that the potential is at least higher than the potential of the first electron feedback electrode 150. If it is not set to, stable film formation cannot be performed.
In this example, the first electron feedback electrode 150 is provided at a position away from the vapor deposition material 130, and the vapor deposition material 130 is less likely to adhere to the electron feedback electrode 150.

In the pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus of this example, the plasma beam 165 that has passed through the focusing coil 140 is controlled between the focusing coil 140 in the deposition chamber 100 and the vapor deposition material 130 by the magnetic field of the magnet. In addition, a plasma beam shape control unit 155 is provided that makes the shape of the plasma beam incident on the vapor deposition material wide in a sheet shape in the width direction of the substrate.
The plasma beam shape control unit 155 of this example is a configuration in which a pair of sheet-like magnets having opposite polarities (N poles or S poles) are arranged to face each other, whereby the plasma beam 165 incident on the vapor deposition material. Is formed into a sheet and a wide evaporation source is formed, so that a uniform film can be formed on a wide substrate.
Moreover, you may install this sheet-like magnet and a vapor deposition source in parallel with respect to the base-material width direction like a plasma gun and an electronic return electrode.
Here, the positional relationship among the film forming drum 212, the vapor deposition material 130, and the plasma gun 110 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the pressure gradient type plasma gun 110 is provided on the upstream side in the transport direction of the base material 280 in the coating region 212 </ b> A, and the base material of the film formation drum from the side surface side of the film formation chamber 100. The plasma beam 165 is incident in a direction orthogonal to the width direction 280W.
Here, from the viewpoint of uniformity of film formation on the base material 280, the shape of the vapor deposition material 130 placed in the recess in the hearth 120 is the region where the base material 280 is formed on the film formation drum 212. It is a substantially rectangular shape corresponding to the length to be covered, and is substantially matched with the rotational axis position of the film forming drum 212.
The incident plasma beam 165 is widened into a sheet shape by the plasma beam shape control unit 155, and is uniformly incident on the entire vapor deposition material 130 having a length covering the region where the substrate 280 is formed. The energy is evenly supplied.
As a result, vapor deposition is performed uniformly in the width direction on the base material 280 along the film forming drum 212 above the vapor deposition material 130.

Further, the deposition material does not adhere to an unnecessary portion of the base material 280 disposed so as to cover the film formation drum 212 in the film formation region 212A of the film formation drum 212 of the film formation chamber 100. A deposition preventing plate 170 having a predetermined opening 171 for controlling the deposition material deposition region is provided.
This prevents the deposition material from adhering to unnecessary portions, and enables stable film formation on the base material 280 that covers the film formation region portion 212A of the film formation drum 212 stably.

Further, in the pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus of this example, the film was generated by film formation on the base material transfer chamber 200 side at a position subsequent to the film forming region 212A of the film forming drum 212. A substrate post-processing unit 230 comprising a plasma discharge device for removing the substrate charging is provided, and the substrate transport chamber side 200 is provided with a base in a position before the film formation region 212A of the film formation drum 212. The surface of the material 280 is removed to remove moisture and organic substances, and the surface of the substrate 280 is roughened to improve the wettability of the substrate surface and to improve the adhesion at the time of film formation. A substrate pretreatment unit 220 including a plasma discharge treatment apparatus is provided.
In this example, between the film forming chamber 100 and the base material transfer chamber 200, the film forming drum 212 and the partitioning unit 190 are used for physicality except for the periphery of the film forming region 212 A of the film forming drum 212. The film formation chamber 100 and the base material transfer chamber 200 are pressure-partitioned, and the influence of each process by the substrate pretreatment unit 220 and the base material posttreatment unit 230 is directed to the film formation chamber 100 side. Is not enough.
The substrate pretreatment unit 220 and the substrate posttreatment unit 230 are respectively a surface treatment (surface roughening or modification) for adhesion and removal of moisture and organic substances on the surface of the substrate 280 and adhesion with the film. However, in addition to the plasma processing apparatus, any processing apparatus such as an electron beam irradiation apparatus, an infrared lamp, a UV lamp, a charge removal bar, or a glow discharge apparatus can be used.
In the plasma processing apparatus and the glow discharge apparatus, discharge gas such as argon, oxygen, nitrogen, and helium is supplied alone or mixed in the vicinity of the base material 280 to form a discharge.
As a form of discharge, any system such as AC plasma, DC plasma, microwave, surface wave plasma, or the like is used.
In particular, in a film forming apparatus using a pressure gradient ion plating system, it is important to perform charge removal in the substrate post-processing section.
After film formation, the substrate post-processing apparatus must be used to remove the charge. (1) The film is wound around the drum and cannot be smoothly conveyed. (2) The charged film is deteriorated in film quality and the base material is colored. It is essential to remove the electrification, because it causes problems such as deterioration of physical properties and (3) accumulation of electric charge on the take-up roll and difficulty in handling and post-processing.

Further, in this example, the film-forming drum and the film-forming drum 212 are positioned in the vicinity of the film-forming drum 212 on the film-forming chamber 100 side of the base material transport chamber 200 and on the upstream and downstream positions in the transport direction of the substrate 280 in the coating region 212A A vacuum chamber 290 that is formed in a state of being physically partitioned by a physical partition and is evacuated is provided.
As a result, the plasma flowing from the film forming chamber 100 is evacuated quickly in the vacuum chamber 290 so that the discharge is less likely to occur in the base material transfer chamber. Thus, it is possible to reliably eliminate the adverse effects on the quality and work caused by the plasma flowing from the film forming chamber 100 and the abnormal discharge due to the decrease in the degree of vacuum in the substrate transfer chamber.
Such a vacuum chamber 290 locally blocks the plasma flowing into the base material transfer chamber, and from this point of view, it is also called a plasma seal chamber.
When the degree of vacuum in the vacuum chamber is higher than 1 × 10 ⁻² Pa, discharge is generated. When the degree of vacuum is lower than 1 × 10 ⁻⁵ Pa, a special high vacuum pump such as an ion pump is used for the vacuum. And is inefficient from the work surface, and is preferably 1 × 10 ⁻⁵ Pa to 1 × 10 ⁻² Pa.

The film forming operation of the ion plating film forming unit (not shown in the figure number, see FIG. 3) of this example and the operation of each unit will be briefly described below.
The mechanism for generating the plasma beam 165 and the mechanism for causing the controlled plasma beam to enter the vapor deposition material 130 and evaporating the vapor deposition material to form a film on the substrate 280 are basically the ion plate shown in FIG. It is exactly the same as a ting device.
A known pressure gradient type plasma gun 110 generates plasma in the film forming chamber 100 of the vacuum chamber 300, and the film forming drum 212 disposed above the film forming chamber 100 and above the film forming chamber 100 is evaporated. A thin film is formed by vapor deposition on the base material 280 covered along the film formation region 212A.
The plasma gun 110 includes a cathode 116 connected to the negative side of the discharge power source 115, and an annular first intermediate electrode 111 and second intermediate electrode 113 connected to the positive side of the discharge power source 115 via a resistor. The discharge gas is supplied from the side 116, and the discharge gas is put into a plasma state so as to flow out from the second intermediate electrode 112 into the film forming chamber 100 of the vacuum chamber 300.
The film forming chamber 100 of the vacuum chamber 300 is connected by a vacuum pump 180, and the inside thereof is kept in a predetermined reduced pressure state.
Further, a converging coil 140 is provided outside the short tube portion 101 protruding toward the second intermediate electrode 112 of the vacuum chamber 300 so as to surround the short tube portion 101.
A hearth 120 made of a conductive material connected to the positive side of the discharge power source 115 is placed under the film forming chamber 100 of the vacuum chamber 300, and becomes a thin film material in a recess on the hearth 120. A conductive or insulating vapor deposition material 130 is contained.
A hearth magnet 125 is provided inside the hearth 120.
Then, a plasma beam 165 is formed from the second intermediate electrode 112 toward the vapor deposition material 130, the vapor deposition material 130 is evaporated, adheres to the base material 280, and a thin film is formed.
In this example, the short tube section 101 is surrounded by the position of the short tube section 101 where the plasma beam 165 is emitted from the second intermediate electrode 112, and the convergence is performed so that the cross section of the plasma beam from the pressure gradient type plasma gun 110 is contracted. A plasma beam shape controller 155 that includes a coil 140 and controls the shape of the contracted plasma beam 165 that passes through the focusing coil 140 and expands to a predetermined width in a sheet shape in the width direction of the substrate 280. The plasma beam 165 from the second intermediate electrode 112 is shrunk in cross section, and is further controlled to be spread in a sheet shape in the width direction of the base material 280 to a predetermined width to be uniform to the deposition material 130. Incident.
In this example, one magnetron structure shown in FIG. 5 is arranged so that its longitudinal direction is the width direction of the base material 280, and the plasma beam 165 spreads in the width direction of the base material 280. Thus, it is guided to the hearth 120.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the recessed part which puts the vapor deposition material of the hearth 120 is set to the width | variety direction of the base material 280, makes it the length in the width direction, and the vapor deposition material 130 is mounted uniformly in this recessed part longitudinal direction. The vapor deposition material 130 is uniformly evaporated in the substrate width direction, passes through the opening 171 of the deposition preventing plate 170, and is formed on the substrate 280.
In this way, the film is formed. During the film formation, the base material 280 rotates along with the film formation drum 212 and rotates together with the film formation drum 212, and is continuously deposited in the belt-like longitudinal direction.
The substrate 280 is transported along with the rotation of the film forming drum 212 and is continuously formed in the belt-like longitudinal direction.

The substrate transport mechanism unit 210 operates as follows.
The substrate 280 is supplied to the film formation drum 212 from the substrate unwinding section 211 via the guide roll 214, and the substrate 280 is discharged from the film formation drum 212. To the substrate roll 213 through the guide roll 215 to form a substrate transport mechanism as a whole.
As described above, in this example, the substrate pretreatment unit 220 including a plasma discharge device is provided on the base material transfer chamber side 200 at a position before the film formation region 212A of the film formation drum 212. Thus, moisture and organic substances on the surface of the base material 280 are removed and the surface of the base material is roughened, and the film formation region of the film formation drum 212 is formed on the base material transfer chamber 200 side. The substrate post-processing unit 230 including a plasma discharge device is provided at a position subsequent to the unit 212A, thereby removing the charging of the substrate generated by the film formation. It is possible to obtain a finished substrate.
The base material transport mechanism 210 transports the base material 280 while applying a certain tension to the base material 280.
Usually, an AC drive system or a DC drive system is used for transport system control, a driving motor is used at least for the film forming drum 212, the substrate unwinding unit 211, and the substrate winding unit 213, and tension measurement is performed. A tension pick-up roll is used.
In the conveyance control method, for example, the film formation drum 212 is set as a master roll, used as a tension pickup roll signal, and a necessary torque signal is sent to each motor to control the substrate conveyance.
The tension required for transporting the base material is appropriately changed depending on the type, thickness, and physical properties of the base material 280. As a result, after processing, in this example, after film formation, wrinkles occur on the roll edge and on the front and back surfaces. It is set so that it can be wound into a rolled state in the same manner as before processing without being damaged. The substrate 280 can be conveyed at a speed of 0.1 m / min to 1000 m / min by combining a drive motor and gears.

The film forming drum 212 will be described with reference to FIG.
The film-forming drum 212 shown in FIG. 1 shows a cross section taken along B1-B2 in FIG.
The film-forming drum 212 in this example rotates around the rotation shaft 212b and conveys the base material 280 along the periphery thereof. During the conveyance, as described above, the evaporated deposition material 130 is evaporated. The film is formed by passing through the opening 171 of the deposition preventing plate 170, and the film can be continuously formed on the belt-shaped substrate 280 together with the conveyance of the substrate 280 of the film formation drum 212. It is.
In this example, as the film formation drum 212, from the viewpoint of film formation temperature control, the set temperature is efficiently transmitted to the base material, excellent in heat resistance, excellent in workability, and having sufficient physical strength. From the viewpoint of having, it is formed of a metal material, in particular, a material containing any one or more of stainless steel, iron, copper, and chromium, although not shown, it is constant using a cooling medium and / or a heat source medium or a heater. A temperature control unit that can set the temperature is provided, thermal damage to the substrate can be reduced, and stable film formation is possible.
Further, a hard chrome film hard coat or the like may be formed on the surface for protection.
The substrate 280 can be cooled and heated by the film formation drum 212.
The temperature control unit is versatile and, when using a member that can be easily configured, relatively easily, by using a cooling or heating mechanism such as a refrigerant or a heat medium, between −20 ° C. and + 200 ° C. A constant temperature can be set.

In the film formation drum 212, the vapor deposition material 130 that has been heated at the time of film formation adheres to the surface of the base material 280 to form a vapor deposition film. When the base material 280 has low heat resistance such as a film, Usually, it is desirable to cool, and the temperature is controlled to a constant temperature between −10 ° C. and + 20 ° C.
In this case, if the film formation drum 212 is kept cooled after the film formation is completed, dew condensation occurs on the drum surface (film surface) when returning from the reduced pressure to the atmospheric pressure, so the drum is cooled by heating. It is preferable that the structure be able to quickly return to room temperature.
Moreover, when the base material 280 has heat resistance, the method of heating and using a drum up to about 200 degreeC is also preferable.
As in the case where the substrate 280 is not limited to a film but is a silicon wafer or glass, the higher the temperature of the substrate surface at the time of film formation, the denser and better the film generally formed. Are known.
In order to perform these cooling and heating, for example, a temperature controller having a cooling source and a heating source is used, and an ethylene glycol aqueous solution or oil is used as a temperature medium. A method of circulating through the membrane drum is preferred.
In addition, as a heating method, an infrared lamp, an ultraviolet lamp, or a heater roll can be used alone or in combination.

Further, the film-forming drum 212 is set to a potential that is electrically higher than the potential of the electronic feedback electrode 150 or is set to a floating level.
By setting the potential of the film forming drum higher than the potential of the electron return electrode or the potential of other parts in the apparatus, it is possible to prevent leakage of plasma generated in the film forming chamber. This makes it possible to form a stable film.
Even when the drum is electrically set to the floating level, it is possible to similarly suppress the flow of electricity into the drum, and the same effect can be obtained.
Here, the electrical floating level means a state in which the device is designed and configured so as to be electrically insulated from other device components.
In spite of being designed to ensure insulation, when a refrigerant is used for temperature adjustment such as cooling or heating of the film formation drum, the piping and the refrigerant have some conductivity. Therefore, a state having a resistance of 100Ω to 1000Ω with respect to the earth level (ground level) is also included in the scope of the present invention.
When the surface of the film formation drum 212 is in contact with the substrate 280, it is preferable that the entire surface of the film formation drum 212 is electrically insulated from the film formation portion.
In addition, it is preferable that the side surface of the film formation drum and the rotating shaft be provided with insulating clothing as much as possible so that the metal surface that causes electric flow is not exposed.
With such a configuration, it is possible to prevent power from flowing during film formation, and stable film formation is possible.
In this example, as shown in FIG. 3, in order to prevent film formation on the film formation drum 212, an insulating tape 212 c is pasted on the drum surface and the side surface portion.
The insulating tape 212c is attached so that the entire surface of the film formation drum 212 is covered with the base material 280 and the insulating tape 212c.
At least the non-covered region 212B, which is a region not covered by the substrate 280 on which the film formation drum 212 is formed, is made insulative. In order to control the temperature, the film formation region of the substrate 280 is Directly touch the drum surface.
From the viewpoint of adhesion to the substrate 280 and efficiency of heat conduction to the substrate 280, the average roughness Ra of the surface of the film forming drum 212 is 10 nm or less, preferably 5 nm or less, more preferably 2 nm or less. Preferably there is.
You may give damage prevention clothing like a hard chromium coat on the surface.
The insulating non-cover region 212B is coated with one or more oxide films or nitride films of Al, Si, Ta, Ti, Nb, V, Bi, Y, W, Mo, Zr, and Hf. Or the insulating non-covered region portion is coated with a molded body, tape or coating film of any one of polyimide resin, fluororesin and mica.
By securing this insulating portion, plasma does not drop electrically, and stable film formation is possible.

As a modification of this example, although not shown in the figure, the film forming drum 212, the pressure gradient type plasma gun 110, and the electron feedback electrode 150 are maintained at an insulating or insulating potential between the respective parts. The thing which provided the partition plate is mentioned.
In this case, between each part of the film-forming drum 212, the pressure gradient plasma gun 110, and the electron feedback electrode 150, a partition plate that is insulative or held at an insulating potential is provided, so The floating electrons do not move so as to cross over the film, and the film forming system can be made more stable.

Further, the vapor deposition material that is integrally transported in the width direction (280 W in FIG. 2) of the substrate 280 to be deposited or a direction orthogonal thereto, and continuously changes the irradiation position of the plasma beam on the vapor deposition material 130. It is good also as a form provided with the conveyance part (not shown).
It is preferable that the vapor deposition material transfer unit does not affect the film forming quality, can control the transfer, and does not restrict the design of the entire film forming chamber 100.
The vapor deposition material 130 and the hearth 120 are separate bodies, and a form in which the vapor deposition material 130 and the hearth 120 are placed, or a form in which the hearth 120 itself is part of the vapor deposition material conveyance unit may be used.
For example, a configuration in which a pulse motor is used as a drive source and the carrier is moved on a predetermined moving shaft may be used.
By providing a vapor deposition material transfer unit (not shown), uniform energy supply to the vapor deposition material 130 and uniform film formation on the film formation region 212A can be performed continuously for a long time. Accordingly, it is possible to continuously perform film formation on one surface of a long strip-shaped film substrate.

As another modification, although not illustrated, in this example, the vertical direction connecting the vapor deposition material 130 in the region irradiated with the plasma beam and the deposition target portion of the substrate 280 is used as a reference. And a film forming apparatus having a second electron feedback electrode for returning electrically floating electrons on the opposite side to the pressure gradient type plasma gun 110.
In this case, it is possible to efficiently return the reflected electrons formed on the surface of the vapor deposition material, and it is possible to stably form a film for a long time without causing abnormal discharge.
Furthermore, since the electron focusing magnet is incorporated in the second electron feedback electrode, electrons can be effectively drawn into the second electron feedback electrode using the magnetic field, and the reflected electrons are effectively fed back. This makes it possible to stably form a film for a long time.
The magnetic field strength on the magnet surface is preferably 1 mT to 500 mT in terms of horizontal magnetic flux density.
If it is 1 mT or more, it is sufficient to converge the electrons, and the stronger the effect, the better the effect.
On the other hand, when the horizontal magnetic flux density is higher than 500 mT , there is a problem that the magnet becomes expensive, and its installation and handling become difficult and impractical.
As yet another modification, although not shown in the figure, in this example or the sex film apparatus provided with the second electron return electrode described above, the film forming drum on the film forming chamber 100 side of the base material transfer chamber 200 is used. In the vicinity of 212, a position downstream of the coating region 212A in the transport direction of the substrate 280, and in a partition chamber that is pressure-divided with the opening toward the film formation drum 212, the electrically floating electrons are fed back. A film forming apparatus having a third electron feedback electrode can be given.
As a result, the reflected electrons can be returned more effectively, and the film can be stably formed for a long time.

Next, a second example of the embodiment of the pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus of the present invention will be given and briefly described with reference to FIG.
The pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus of the second example is the same as the conventional pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus shown in FIG. A plasma beam shape control unit 37 that controls the plasma beam 22 that has passed through the focusing coil 18 by the magnetic field of the magnet so that the shape of the plasma beam incident on the deposition material is widened like a sheet in the width direction of the substrate. Further, the hearth magnet for guiding the plasma beam emitted from the pressure gradient type plasma gun to the vapor deposition material placed on the hearth has a magnetron structure.
As in the first example, the second example is a vacuum film forming apparatus that forms a thin film on one surface of a base material 280 made of a film that can be wound and unwound in a roll shape, in the form of a strip and a long shape. The hearth magnet for guiding the plasma beam emitted from the pressure gradient type plasma gun to the vapor deposition material placed on the hearth has a magnetron structure, but in the case of the second example, the plasma gun 11 As shown in FIG. 4B, the longitudinal direction of the magnetron structure as shown in FIG. 4B is set so that the plasma beam 22 emitted from the base material 13 spreads in the width direction and the length direction of the base material 13. A plurality of materials 280 are arranged in the conveying direction, and a plurality of the materials 280 are positioned in the width direction and are arranged substantially in accordance with the length of the hearth.
Thereby, it is possible to irradiate a large area of the vapor deposition material with plasma widely, and it is possible to stably form the film on the large area base material with good distribution and high speed.
Of course, the magnet will not be heated locally, stable and uniform film formation will be possible continuously for a long time, and it will be possible to use the magnet with a long life, enabling a highly uniform sex film. Yes.

Further, a film forming example using the pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus of the first example of the embodiment shown in FIGS.
<Film formation example 1>
The pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus of the first example of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 was used.
SiO ₂ sintered bodies (manufactured by High-Purity Chemical Laboratory, purity 99.99% or more) were arranged in the width direction 400 mm × length direction 400 mm on the movable hearth 120 as the vapor deposition material 130 for film formation.
A polyethylene terephthalate film (manufactured by Unitika, PET (trade name), thickness 12 μm, width 300 mm, length 8000 m) was prepared as the substrate 280.
The base material 280 was set in the apparatus, and the inside of the base material transfer chamber 200 and the film forming chamber 100 was depressurized to 5 × 10 ⁻⁴ Pa by a vacuum exhaust pump.
Thereafter, the film formation drum temperature was 0 ° C., the base material 280 was conveyed at 10 m / min, and the plasma processing apparatus as the base material post-processing unit 220 was discharged with an argon gas of 100 sccm.
Next, 10 sccm of argon is caused to flow through the plasma gun 110 as a discharge gas 160 to cause an initial plasma discharge, and then the plasma discharge current is increased to 100 A, and the substrate is formed at a pressure of 3 × 10 ⁻² Pa in the film forming chamber 100. A film having a length of 280 m and 280 m was formed.
(Evaluation)
The substrate conveyance state, film formation stability, and plasma leakage into the substrate conveyance chamber were visually observed.
Fluorescence X-ray analysis of the Si (silicon) amount of the film formed by sampling three points in total, one point in the width direction and two points at both ends of the substrate 80 mm away from the center every 1000 m after the start of film formation The film thickness was measured with an apparatus (RIX3100, manufactured by Rigaku Denki Kogyo Co., Ltd.).
The results are shown in Table 1.

成膜例１においては、表１に示すとおり、成膜基材幅方向位置、長さ方向に対して安定的にばらつきなく成膜を行うことができた。

In the film formation example 1, as shown in Table 1, the film formation was stably performed with no variation with respect to the position and the length direction of the film formation base material.

<Comparative Example 1>
In film formation example 1, instead of using the magnetron structure hearth magnet net (125 in FIG. 1) shown in FIG. 5A, a hearth magnet having the structure shown in FIG. 8B is used. In the same manner as above, film formation and evaluation were performed.
The results are shown in Table 2.
The numerical values are standardized assuming that the Si intensity in the film formation example 1 at 1000 m conveyance is 1.

比較例１においては、表２に示すとおり、成膜基材幅方向位置、長さ方向に対して分布が大きく、安定的に成膜することができなかった。
またＳｉ量も成膜例１に比較して少なく、成膜速度も低下することが判明した。

In Comparative Example 1, as shown in Table 2, the distribution was large with respect to the film forming substrate width direction position and the length direction, and stable film formation was not possible.
Further, it was found that the amount of Si was smaller than that in the first film formation example, and the film formation speed was reduced.

As described above, the pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus of the first example of the embodiment includes the magnetron structure hearth magnet, so that the film can be stably formed for a long time. It is said.

1 is a configuration cross-sectional view of a first example of an embodiment of a pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus of the present invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the positional relationship of the drum for film-forming, vapor deposition material, and a plasma gun. 3A is a cross-sectional view of the film formation drum in A1-A2 of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3B is an external view of the film formation drum as viewed from the film formation chamber side. FIG. 4A is a diagram for explaining the arrangement of the magnetron structure of the hearth magnet, and FIG. 4B is a diagram for explaining the arrangement of the magnetron structure of another hearth magnet. . It is the figure which showed one example of the magnet member of the magnetron structure used for the magnet for hearts. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a second example of an embodiment of the pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus of the present invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the conventional pressure gradient type ion plating type | formula film-forming apparatus. FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B are diagrams showing the form of a conventional hearth magnet, respectively.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Deposition chamber 101 Short tube part 110 Plasma gun (pressure gradient type plasma gun)
111 First intermediate electrode 112 Second intermediate electrode 115 Discharge power supply 116 Cathode 120 Hearth 125 Hearth magnet (also referred to as Hearth magnet)
130 Vapor Deposition Material 140 Converging Coil 150 First Electron Return Electrode 155 Plasma Beam Shape Control Unit (also referred to as a plasma beam control magnet)
160 Discharge gas (Ar gas here)
165 Plasma beam 170 Depositing plate 171 Opening 180 Vacuum pump 190 Partition unit 200 Base material transport chamber 210 Base material transport unit 211 Base material unwinding unit 212 Film formation drum 212A Film formation region 212B Non-covering region portion 212a Drum 212b Rotation Shaft 212c Insulating tape 212d Rotating bearing 213 Substrate winding part 214, 215 Conveyance roll (also referred to as guide roll)
220 Substrate pretreatment unit 230 Substrate posttreatment unit (also referred to as substrate charge removal unit)
240 Vacuum pump 280 Base material 290 Vacuum chamber (also called plasma seal chamber)
291 Partition 295 Vacuum pump 300 Vacuum chamber 411 Magnet (magnet)
411A Magnet member (also called magnetron structure)
411a Base plate 411b Coating 11 Plasma gun 12 Vacuum chamber 12A Short tube part 13 Base material (substrate here)
14 Discharge power supply 15 Cathode 16 First intermediate electrode 17 Second intermediate electrode 18 Converging coil 19 Hearth 20 Vapor deposition material 21 Hearth magnet (also called Hearth magnet)
21a-21d Magnet 21A, 21B Magnet 22 Plasma beam 22A Discharge gas 24 Vacuum exhaust part

Claims (25)

A pressure gradient type hollow cathode type ion plating film forming part having a pressure gradient type plasma gun is provided, and the film forming part forms a thin film on one surface of the substrate by an ion plating method .
The hearth magnet for guiding the plasma beam emitted from the pressure gradient type plasma gun to the vapor deposition material placed on the hearth is a pressure gradient type ion plating film forming apparatus having a magnetron structure ,
In the vacuum chamber, a film forming chamber for film formation and a base material transport chamber for transporting the base material are partitioned in a pressure manner, and arranged.
A film forming drum is provided on the base material transfer chamber side, and the base material transfer unit is set to protrude toward the film forming chamber side with a part of the film forming drum as a film forming region part. The film forming chamber and the base material transfer chamber are physically separated by the film forming drum and the partitioning portion except for the periphery of the film forming region portion of the film forming drum. The film formation chamber and the base material transfer chamber are partitioned, and the base material is transported along the periphery of the film formation drum. In the film formation region portion, the base material is placed along the periphery of the film formation drum, and is formed on one surface of the base material.
In the vicinity of the film forming drum on the film forming chamber side of the base material transfer chamber, on the upstream side and downstream side of the film region in the substrate transport direction, the film forming drum and the physical partition are used for pressure partitioning. A pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus, characterized in that a vacuum chamber is provided that is formed in a vacuum and is evacuated. 2. The pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a horizontal magnetic flux density on a surface of the hearth magnet is 1 mT to 500 mT. apparatus. 3. The pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the hearth magnet allows a plasma beam emitted from a plasma gun to be transmitted in a substrate width direction. And a pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus, wherein the film is disposed so as to spread in at least one of the substrate transport directions . The pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: a vapor deposition material conveyance unit that integrally conveys the vapor deposition material and a hearth on which the vapor deposition material is placed. And the vapor deposition material transport unit is configured to change the irradiation position of the plasma beam to the vapor deposition material by integrally transporting the vapor deposition material and the hearth. Deposition device. 5. The pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an electron feedback electrode for returning electrically floating electrons. 6. Gradient ion plating film deposition system. 6. The pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the ion plating film forming portion is protruded toward a side surface side of the film forming chamber and toward an outlet portion of the pressure gradient type plasma gun. In addition, a short tube portion of the vacuum chamber is disposed, and a converging coil that surrounds the short tube portion and contracts a cross section of the plasma beam from the pressure gradient plasma gun is provided, and the plasma beam is disposed in the film forming chamber. The pressure is characterized in that a first electron feedback electrode is provided in the short tube portion, surrounding the periphery of the plasma beam and returning electrically floating electrons. Gradient ion plating film deposition system. The pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 6, wherein a deposition material in a region irradiated with a plasma beam and a film forming portion of a substrate are formed in the film forming chamber. A pressure gradient type ion characterized in that a second electron feedback electrode for returning electrically floating electrons is disposed on the opposite side of the pressure gradient type plasma gun with respect to the vertical direction to be connected. Plating-type film forming equipment. 8. The pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ion plating film forming unit passes through the focusing coil by at least one of a magnetic field and an electric field. 9. Pressure gradient, characterized in that it has a plasma beam shape control unit that controls the converged plasma beam so that the shape of the plasma beam incident on the deposition material is widened like a sheet in the width direction of the substrate Type ion plating film deposition system. 9. The pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a base material transport mechanism for continuously supplying the base material. Pressure gradient type ion plating film deposition system. 10. The pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate charge generated by the film formation is removed downstream of the film forming region of the substrate transport mechanism. A pressure gradient type ion plating film forming apparatus, comprising a base material charge removing unit that performs the above process. 11. The pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the base material charge removing unit is a plasma discharge apparatus. 12. The pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a plasma discharge processing apparatus before the film forming area of the substrate transport mechanism. A pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus characterized by 13. The pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the vacuum chamber has a pressure of 1 × 10 ⁻⁵ Pa to 1 × 10 ⁻² Pa. A pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus characterized by the above. 14. The pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising an electron feedback electrode that feeds back electrically floating electrons to the vacuum chamber. A pressure gradient type ion plating film forming apparatus. The pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein the position is near the film forming drum on the film forming chamber side of the base material transport chamber, on the downstream side in the substrate transport direction in the coating region part, A pressure gradient ion plate characterized in that a third electron feedback electrode for returning electrically floating electrons is provided in a partition chamber that is pressure-divided with the opening facing the film forming drum side. Filming system. 16. The pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the film forming drum is set to a potential that is electrically higher than the potential of each of the electron feedback electrodes. A pressure gradient type ion plating film forming apparatus. 17. The pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the film forming drum is electrically set to a floating level. Type ion plating film deposition system. The pressure gradient type ion plating film forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 17 , wherein the film forming drum, the pressure gradient type plasma gun, and the electron feedback electrode are disposed between the respective parts. A pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus, characterized in that a partition plate that is insulative or maintained at an insulating potential is provided. 19. The pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate transport unit is configured to wind a substrate for supplying a substrate to the film formation drum. An unloading section and a substrate winding section for winding the substrate from the film-forming drum; unwinding and feeding the substrate to the film-forming drum; A pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus characterized in that film formation is performed while winding and continuously conveying a substrate. 20. The pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the film forming drum includes at least one of stainless steel, iron, copper, and chromium. A pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus, characterized by being formed of a material. 21. The pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the film forming drum has an average surface roughness Ra of 10 nm or less. A pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus. The pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 21 , wherein the film forming drum uses at least one of a heat source medium or a heater and a cooling medium . A roll-up pressure gradient type ion plating film forming apparatus having a temperature control unit capable of setting a constant temperature between −20 ° C. and + 200 ° C. 23. The pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the film forming drum is a non-covered area which is an area not covered with a film forming substrate. A pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus, characterized in that the part is insulative. 24. The pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus according to claim 23 , wherein the insulating non-covered region is formed of Al, Si, Ta, Ti, Nb, V, Bi, Y, W, Mo, A pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus, wherein the film is coated with one or more oxide films or nitride films of Zr and Hf. 24. The pressure gradient ion plating type film forming apparatus according to claim 23 , wherein the insulating non-covered region is formed of any one of a polyimide resin, a fluororesin, and a mica, a tape, and a coating film. A pressure gradient ion plating film forming apparatus characterized by being coated.

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