JP5434859B2 - Method and apparatus for stretching wrinkles on can roll - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a wrinkle-stretching method and apparatus for a long heat-resistant resin film on a can roll, and in particular, continuously forming a long heat-resistant resin film such as sputtering while conveying the long heat-resistant resin film along the outer peripheral surface of the can roll. The present invention relates to a wrinkle-stretching method and apparatus for reducing film wrinkles generated by a thermal load when performing a film treatment.

  Many types of flexible wiring boards obtained by coating a metal film on a heat-resistant resin film are used in liquid crystal panels, notebook computers, digital cameras, mobile phones, and the like. As a material for this flexible wiring board, a heat-resistant resin film with a metal film in which a metal film is formed on one or both sides of a heat-resistant resin film is used, and photolithography or etching is applied to the heat-resistant resin film with a metal film. A flexible wiring board having a predetermined wiring pattern can be obtained by applying a thin film technology such as the above. Therefore, with the recent miniaturization and higher density of wiring patterns, it is becoming increasingly important that the heat-resistant resin film with metal film itself is flat and free from wrinkles.

  As a method for producing this type of heat-resistant resin film with a metal film, conventionally, a method in which a metal foil is attached to a heat-resistant resin film with an adhesive (a method for producing a three-layer substrate), a heat-resistant resin solution on a metal foil Coating and drying to manufacture (casting method) and heat-resistant resin film by vacuum film forming method, or by forming metal film by vacuum film forming method and wet plating method (metalizing method) ) Etc. are known. Examples of the vacuum film forming method in the metalizing method include a vacuum deposition method, a sputtering method, an ion plating method, and an ion beam sputtering method.

  For example, as a metallizing method, Patent Document 1 discloses a method in which a chromium layer is sputtered on a polyimide insulating layer and then copper is sputtered to form a conductor layer on the polyimide insulating layer. In Patent Document 2, a first metal thin film formed by sputtering using a copper nickel alloy as a target and a second metal thin film formed by sputtering using copper as a target are laminated on a polyimide film in this order. The material for flexible circuit boards obtained by this is disclosed. In general, a heat resistant resin film such as a polyimide film is used as a substrate, and a sputtering web coater is generally used for vacuum film formation.

  By the way, in the vacuum film-forming method described above, it is generally said that the sputtering method is excellent in adhesion, but the heat load applied to the heat-resistant resin film is larger than that in the vacuum vapor deposition method. It is also known that when a large heat load is applied to the heat resistant resin film during film formation, the film is likely to be wrinkled. In order to prevent the generation of wrinkles, the sputtering web coater, which is a manufacturing device for heat-resistant resin films with metal films, employs a structure that cools the heat-resistant resin film during sputtering from the back using a can roll with a cooling function. Has been.

  For example, Patent Document 3 discloses a winding type (roll-to-roll type) vacuum sputtering apparatus that is an example of a sputtering web coater. This winding type vacuum sputtering apparatus is provided with a cooling roll that plays the role of the above-mentioned can roll, and the film is brought into close contact with the cooling roll by a sub-roll provided at least on the film feeding side or the feeding side of the cooling roll. Control is taking place.

  However, when high power is applied to the sputtering cathode in order to improve the film formation rate, for example, only a can roll having a water-cooling cooling function may cause insufficient cooling of the heat-resistant resin film with a metal film, resulting in film wrinkles. There was a thing. Therefore, in order to reduce this wrinkle, a method of contacting (adhering) the can roll with an expanded roll or the like in a state where the film has been spread in the width direction in advance, or a pair of wheels are brought into contact with both edges of the film. A method of spreading the film in the width direction, and a method of spreading a film in the width direction by installing a wheel on the can roll have been proposed.

  As for a method of spreading the film in the width direction in advance using an expand roll, for example, Patent Document 4 describes a method of spreading the wrinkles of the film in the air (floating state). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the rubber expanded roll 1 made into a banana shape is rotated and brought into close contact with the long heat-resistant resin film F being conveyed in the direction of the arrow A. A method for reducing wrinkles by spreading the heat-resistant resin film F in the width direction is shown.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the warm roll 2 having a spiral groove 2a formed on the surface thereof is used, and the long heat-resistant resin film F being conveyed is adhered in the direction of arrow A while rotating the worm roll 2. Shows a method for reducing wrinkles by spreading the long heat-resistant resin film F in the width direction.

  As for the method of spreading the film in the width direction with a pair of wheels, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, the rotation shaft 3a is not parallel to the direction orthogonal to the transport direction (arrow A) of the long heat-resistant resin film F. A pair of inclined wheels 3 are arranged on the film conveyance path so as to be inclined, and both edges of the long heat resistant resin long heat resistant resin film F being conveyed with respect to the pair of inclined wheels 3 A method of reducing wrinkles by spreading the film F in the width direction by contacting the portions is known.

  That is, in this method, the rotating shaft 3a of the pair of inclined wheels 3 rotates obliquely with respect to the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction (arrow A) of the long heat resistant resin film F, and thus the long heat resistant resin film F is expanded in the width direction to reduce the generation of wrinkles. In this method, it is more effective to perform wrinkle stretching using the two pairs of inclined wheels 3 so that the pair of inclined wheels 3 can come into contact with both sides of the long heat-resistant resin film F, respectively.

  For another method of spreading the film in the width direction with a pair of wheels, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, instead of the pair of inclined wheels 3 having the rotating shaft 3 a inclined, a spiral shape is used. A method using a pair of grooved wheels 4 in which grooves 4a are formed is known. Also in this apparatus, when the pair of grooved wheels 4 rotate, the long heat-resistant resin film F is expanded in the width direction, and the generation of wrinkles is reduced. In addition, also in this method, wrinkle elongation is performed using two pairs of grooved wheels 4 so that the pair of grooved wheels 4 can contact from both sides of the long heat-resistant resin film F in the same manner as described above. It is more effective.

  Furthermore, you may arrange | position the apparatus shown in above-mentioned FIG.3 and FIG.4 on the outer peripheral surface of a can roll. In this case, wrinkle stretching is performed while sandwiching both edges of the film between the pair of wheels and the outer peripheral surface of the can roll. For example, Patent Document 5 discloses an apparatus for extending wrinkles on a can roll. In this apparatus, as in FIG. 3, the rotation axes of a pair of wheels that contact both edges of the film are arranged obliquely rather than parallel to the direction perpendicular to the film transport arrow. In addition, a drive belt is slanted on a pair of wheels contacting both edges of the film.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-98994 Japanese Patent No. 3447070 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-247073 JP 2005-247475 A International Publication No. 2005/001157 pamphlet

  The conventional wrinkle-stretching method as described above is a short distance in the film conveyance direction when a roll or wheel for wrinkle-stretching contacts the surface of the heat-resistant resin film before or during film formation by sputtering. Since the film is spread at once in the width direction, excessive tension is applied to the film or the back surface may be scratched. Furthermore, in order to perform effective wrinkle stretching, it is necessary to bring the rolls and wheels into contact with a considerably wide area from both ends of the heat-resistant resin film. For this reason, the effective film formation width without contact with the roll or wheel, that is, the width that can be used as the wiring board cannot be made wide, and the material cost may be excessive.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such a conventional problem, and the problem is that when the metal film is formed by sputtering while the heat resistant resin film is in contact with the surface of the can roll, the heat resistance is increased. Wrinkle stretching method and apparatus on a can roll that can reduce generation of heat-resistant resin film wrinkles even when a large heat load is applied to the resin film, and particularly reduce generation of wrinkles due to stretching in the width direction of the film Is to provide.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present inventor conducted extensive research and as a result, formed a metal film by sputtering while conveying a long film made of a heat-resistant resin such as a polyimide film along the outer peripheral surface of the can roll. At that time, a plurality of pairs of wheels are sequentially arranged along the film conveyance path on the outer peripheral surface of the can roll, and both edges of the long film are sandwiched between the plurality of pairs of wheels and the can roll, and the long film By adjusting the direction of the rotation shafts of these pairs of wheels so that a large force is gradually applied in the width direction of the long film as it is conveyed from the upstream side to the downstream side along the conveyance path, It has been found that the generation of wrinkles due to the elongation in the width direction is satisfactorily reduced. The present invention has been completed based on such technical findings.

  That is, the wrinkle-stretching method of the long heat resistant resin film provided by the present invention is carried out by dry thin film forming means on the surface of the film while the back surface of the long heat resistant resin film is brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the can roll. When performing the film forming process, both edges of the film are sandwiched between the can roll using at least three pairs of wheels sequentially arranged along the film conveyance path on the outer peripheral surface of the can roll, and A method of stretching a wrinkle of a film by applying a force in a width direction, wherein at least three pairs of wheels are arranged such that the force in the width direction sequentially increases from an upstream side to a downstream side of a film conveyance path. The inclination angle of the rotating shaft of the rotating shaft from the rotating shaft of the can roll is increasing sequentially.

  Moreover, the wrinkle-stretching device for a long heat-resistant resin film provided by the present invention is a dry thin film forming means on the surface of the film while the back surface of the long heat-resistant resin film is brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the can roll and conveyed. A wrinkle-stretching device that stretches the wrinkles of the film that occurs when film formation is performed, and sandwiches both edges of the film with the can roll and applies the widthwise force to the film on the outer peripheral surface of the can roll And at least three pairs of wheels arranged sequentially along the upper film transport path, the at least three pairs of wheels being a can roll of a rotating shaft of the wheel from the upstream side to the downstream side of the film transport path The angle of inclination from the rotation axis of each of them increases sequentially.

  According to the present invention, since the film can be gradually spread in the width direction, an excessive force is not applied to the film, and the occurrence of wrinkles in the width direction of the film can be satisfactorily reduced without damaging the film. be able to. Therefore, even when a large heat load is applied to the heat-resistant resin film by sputtering film formation or the like, generation of film wrinkles can be effectively suppressed, and a high-quality heat-resistant resin film with a metal film can be provided.

It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the conventional wrinkle-stretching apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the other example of the conventional wrinkle-stretching apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the further another example of the conventional wrinkle-stretching apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the further another example of the conventional wrinkle-stretching apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows one specific example of the sputtering web coater in which the wrinkle-stretching apparatus which concerns on this invention is used suitably. It is a schematic diagram which shows one specific example of the wrinkle-stretching apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a side view when the wrinkle-stretching apparatus shown in FIG. 6 is seen from the direction parallel to the rotating shaft of a can roll, and its partial plan view. It is a schematic diagram of the wrinkle-stretching apparatus shown for the comparison with the wrinkle-stretching apparatus shown in FIG.

  The wrinkle-stretching method and apparatus for a long heat-resistant resin film of the present invention are formed on the surface of the film by dry thin film forming means while the back surface of the long heat-resistant resin film is brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the can roll. When the film treatment is performed, both edges of the film are sandwiched between the can roll using at least three pairs of wheels sequentially arranged along the film conveyance path on the outer peripheral surface of the can roll, and the width of the film is reduced. By applying a directional force, the wrinkles of the film are extended.

  Then, when these at least three pairs of wheels rotate with the rotation of the can roll, the rotation axis of the wheel can be rotated so that the force in the width direction sequentially increases from the upstream side to the downstream side of the film transport path. The tilt angle from the rotation axis of the roll is increasing sequentially.

  Hereinafter, a specific example of the wrinkle-stretching method and apparatus for a long heat-resistant resin film according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. First, the manufacturing apparatus of the heat resistant resin film with a metal film in which the wrinkle-stretching method and apparatus of one specific example of this invention are used suitably is demonstrated. FIG. 5 shows a sputtering web coater 50 as a specific example of an apparatus for producing a heat-resistant resin film with a metal film. With this sputtering web coater 50, a metal film can be efficiently formed continuously on one side of the long heat-resistant resin film F.

  Specifically, the sputtering web coater 50 is provided in the vacuum chamber 51, and after performing a predetermined film forming process on the long heat resistant resin film F unwound from the unwinding roll 52, the winding web coater 50 is wound. A take-up roll 64 is used for winding. A motor-driven can roll 56 in which a temperature-controlled refrigerant circulates is arranged in the film conveyance path between the unwind roll 52 and the take-up roll 64.

  In the film conveyance path from the unwinding roll 52 to the can roll 56, a free roll 53 for guiding the long heat resistant resin film F, a tension sensor roll 54 for measuring the tension of the long heat resistant resin film F, A motor-driven feed roll 55 is arranged in this order for adjusting based on the peripheral speed of the can roll 56 and bringing the long heat-resistant resin film F into close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the can roll 56.

  Similarly, the film heat transfer path from the can roll 56 to the take-up roll 64 is adjusted based on the peripheral speed of the can roll 56 so that the long heat-resistant resin film F adheres to the outer peripheral surface of the can roll 56. A motor-driven feed roll 61, a tension sensor roll 62 that measures the tension of the long heat-resistant resin film F, and a free roll 63 that guides the long heat-resistant resin film F are arranged in this order.

  Further, the unwinding roll 52 and the winding roll 64 are maintained in tension balance of the long heat-resistant resin film F by a powder clutch or the like, and are driven by a motor that rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the can roll 56. The long heat-resistant resin film F is unwound from the unwinding roll 52 by the feed rolls 55 and 61 and wound around the winding roll 64.

  In the vicinity of the can roll 56, a dry thin film is formed for forming a metal film on the surface of the long heat-resistant resin film F by a dry thin film processing method such as sputtering so as to face the outer peripheral surface of the can roll 56. Means magnetron sputtering cathodes 57, 58, 59 and 60 are arranged. The sputtering web coater 50 uses a plate-like target for sputtering a metal film. However, when a plate-like target is used, nodules (foreign material growth) may occur on the target. .

  When this becomes a problem, a cylindrical rotary target that does not generate nodules (growth of foreign matter) and has high target use efficiency may be used. In this sputtering web coater 50, the magnetron sputtering cathode is used as the dry thin film forming means, but the present invention is not limited to this, and other film forming means such as vapor deposition may be used.

  These magnetron sputtering cathodes 57, 58, 59, and 60 are not opposed to regions 65, 66, 67, 68, and 69 on the film transport path of the can roll 56, that is, each of the magnetron sputtering cathodes 57, 58, 59, and 60. A wrinkle-stretching device is installed at the front part or rear part in the film transport direction. The number of wrinkle stretching devices to be installed may be one or more, and may be installed in any of these regions 65, 66, 67, 68 and 69.

  The reason why the wrinkle stretching device is not provided in the region where the magnetron sputtering cathodes 57, 58, 59 and 60 are opposed is that the wrinkle stretching device is provided in the region where the magnetron sputtering cathodes 57, 58, 59 and 60 are opposed. This is because the wrinkle-stretching apparatus can serve as a mask during film formation to inhibit sputtering. In addition, the wrinkle-stretching apparatus can be problematic in terms of heat resistance against heat generated by exposure to sputtering plasma. Furthermore, it is because a wheel of a wrinkle-stretching device is contaminated by sputtering, and there is a possibility that foreign matters are generated when this wheel rotates.

  Next, a wrinkle stretching device provided on the film conveyance path of the above-described can roll 56 will be described. As shown in FIG. 6, the wrinkle stretching apparatus 10 has five pairs of wheels 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 that are sequentially arranged along the film conveyance path 56 a on the outer peripheral surface of the can roll 56. . These five pairs of wheels 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 are arranged so as to be symmetrical with respect to a central plane that includes a center line 56 b parallel to the transport direction A of the film transport path 56 a and is perpendicular to the film transport path 56 a. Thus, both edges of the film F can be sandwiched between the can roll 56.

  Further, when these five pairs of wheels 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 rotate along with the rotation of the can roll 56, the force in the width direction of the film applied to the film F by each wheel is applied to the film transport path 56 a. Are arranged so as to increase sequentially from the upstream side (upper side in FIG. 6) to the downstream side (lower side in FIG. 6). That is, these five pairs of wheels 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 are located at positions where the central portion of each wheel is not downstream from the point where the rotation axis and the center plane of the film transport path 56a intersect. Has been placed.

  In other words, the central portion of each wheel is located on a plane that passes through the intersection of the rotation axis and the central plane of the film conveyance path 56a and is perpendicular to the film conveyance direction, or located upstream of the plane. doing. Further, the inclination angle of the rotating shaft of the wheel from the rotating shaft of the can roll 56 is sequentially increased from the upstream side to the downstream side of the film transport path 56a. This will be described more specifically with reference to FIG.

  As described above, the five pairs of wheels 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 are arranged symmetrically with respect to the center plane of the film transport path 56 a, and therefore, in the following description, the film transport path 56 a Only the five wheel groups arranged on the right side (the left side in FIG. 6) in the film transport direction will be described. These five wheel groups can be rotated around rotation shafts 11a, 12a, 13a, 14a, and 15a, respectively, and can be rotated along with the rotation of the can roll 56 by a driving means (not shown).

  The rotation axes 11a, 12a, 13a, 14a and 15a and the straight lines 56c parallel to the rotation axis of the can roll 56 are respectively formed, that is, from the straight lines 56c of the rotation axes 11a, 12a, 13a, 14a and 15a. The inclination angles are assumed to be inclination angles C11, C12, C13, C14, and C15, respectively. At this time, the directions of the rotating shafts 11a, 12a, 13a, 14a, and 15a are adjusted so that these inclination angles have a relationship of C11 <C12 <C13 <C14 <C15.

  As described above, the inclination angles of the rotation shafts of the five pairs of wheels 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 from the rotation shaft of the can roll 56 are gradually increased from the upstream side to the downstream side of the film transport path 56a. By increasing the force, the force in the width direction applied to the film F by each wheel when rotating with the rotation of the can roll 56 can be sequentially increased.

  That is, as can be seen from FIG. 6 showing the wheel 15 as a representative, the force of the direction S is applied to the contact portion between the film F and the wheel 15 by the rotation of the wheel 15 accompanying the rotation of the can roll 56. When the force in the direction S is divided into a force S1 in the film conveyance direction and a force S2 in the direction perpendicular to the film conveying direction, the latter force S2 is a force in the width direction applied to the film F. The wrinkles are widened.

  Then, the inclination angle of each of the five pairs of wheels 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 from the rotation axis of the can roll 56 is sequentially increased from the upstream side to the downstream side of the film transport path 56a. Thus, the force S2 applied to the film F from each wheel can be sequentially increased from the upstream side to the downstream side of the film transport path 56a. As a result, the film F can be gradually widened in the width direction, so that excessive force is not applied to the film F, and the wrinkles in the width direction of the film F are satisfactorily generated without damaging the film F. Can be reduced.

  Here, the difference in inclination angle between any two adjacent wheels in the film transport direction is preferably 5 ° or less. That is, in the case of FIG. 6, it is preferable that C12-C11 ≦ 5 °, C13-C12 ≦ 5 °, C14-C13 ≦ 5 °, and C15-C14 ≦ 5 °. This is because if the difference between the inclination angles exceeds 5 °, the heat-resistant resin film F is forcibly spread over a short distance in the film conveying direction, and the back surface is scratched or a large slip occurs. Because there is a fear.

  In addition, it is desirable that the inclination angle of each of the five pairs of wheels 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 from the rotation axis of the can roll 56 be kept within 20 °. That is, in the case of FIG. 6, it is preferable that C11 ≦ 20 °, C12 ≦ 20 °, C13 ≦ 20 °, C14 ≦ 20 °, and C15 ≦ 20 °. This is because if this angle exceeds 20 °, a force is applied to the heat-resistant resin film to force it, and as described above, the back surface of the film may be scratched or a large slip may occur. is there.

  In the wrinkle stretching device 10 of this specific example, five pairs of wheels are used, but the number is not limited to this number as long as it can be gradually expanded in the width direction in contact with the film. There should be at least three pairs of wheels. When this number is 2 pairs or less, the adhesion of the long resin film to the can roll deteriorates. Here, the continuous wheel means that two wheels adjacent to each other in the film transport direction are close to each other without contacting each other.

  The distance between these adjacent wheels is appropriately determined from the diameter of the wheel or the diameter of the can roll. FIG. 7 shows a side view of the wrinkle-stretching device 10 when viewed from a direction parallel to the rotation axis of the can roll 56 together with a partial plan view thereof. FIG. 7 shows a state in which five pairs of wheels 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 are continuously provided, and the five wheels without touching any two adjacent wheels. It can be seen that is disposed on the arc so as to be in contact with the heat-resistant resin film F on the can roll 56. In FIG. 7, the rotation directions of the wheels and the can roll 56 are also indicated by arrows.

  The diameter and width of each wheel are appropriately determined from the number of installed wrinkle stretching devices, the total number of wheel pairs per each wrinkle stretching device, the diameter of the can roll, and the type and number of film forming means. In general, the wheel diameter is preferably in the range of about 1 cm to 10 cm. The width of the wheel is preferably in the range of about 1 mm to 10 mm.

  Further, in these five pairs of wheels 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, all the wheels located on any one side with respect to the center plane perpendicular to the film transport path 56 a including the center line 56 b of the film transport path 56 a. It is preferable that the connection portions with the films on the respective film transport paths 56a are arranged on a single line L1 parallel to the film transport direction. By arranging the wheels in this way, all the wheels positioned on one side with respect to the central plane are connected to the film F on each film transport path 56a by 5 mm from the end of the film F. Can be kept within the area M1.

  As a result, a large film formation effective width that can be used as a wiring board can be secured, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. In other words, the part of the film surface that contacts the outer periphery of the wheel made of resin is contaminated and cannot be used as a product. Therefore, it is desirable to make the wheel contact as close as possible to the end of the film, thereby increasing the effective film formation width. Can be taken widely.

  FIG. 8 is a schematic view of the wrinkle stretching apparatus shown for comparison with the wrinkle stretching apparatus shown in FIG. In the wrinkle stretching apparatus 20 of FIG. 8, the five pairs of wheels 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 are symmetrical with respect to the central plane perpendicular to the film transport path 56a, and are optional with respect to the central plane. As for all the wheels located on one side, the connection portions with the film F on the respective film transport paths 56a are arranged on one line L2. Also in this case, it is possible to spread the heat resistant resin film F in the width direction. However, since the area of the region M2 from the end portion of the heat resistant resin film F to the portion where the wheel contacts is larger than that in the case of FIG. 6, it cannot be said that it is not preferable in that the effective film formation width is narrowed.

  In the present invention, the outer peripheral portion in contact with the heat-resistant resin film F in each wheel included in the five pairs of wheels is not formed of a metal or hard chrome plating surface, but has a large friction with the heat-resistant resin film. Desirably, it is covered with butyl rubber, polyurethane, silicon rubber, or Viton.

  These five pairs of wheels are rotated in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the can rolls by driving means such as a motor, respectively, with the rotation of the can rolls. Thereby, since the force in the width direction is applied to the film F along with the force in the transport direction, the generated wrinkles are forcibly extended in the width direction. Therefore, by using this wrinkle stretching apparatus for a sputtering web coater, a heat-resistant resin film with a metal film free from defects caused by film wrinkles can be obtained by a metalizing method.

  The peripheral speed of each wheel is preferably the same as or slightly higher than the peripheral speed of the can roll. This is because if the peripheral speed of the wheel is slower than the peripheral speed of the can roll, the wheel becomes a resistance for film conveyance, and on the contrary, there is a high possibility of causing wrinkles. The rotation of each wheel may be interlocked by belt driving or the like, or may be independently rotated by an independent driving method.

  As a specific example of the heat-resistant resin film with a metal film produced by the dry thin film forming means, a laminated structure in which a film made of a Ni-based alloy and the like and a Cu film are laminated on the surface of the heat-resistant resin film can be mentioned. . A heat-resistant resin film with a metal film having such a laminated structure is processed into a flexible wiring board by a subtractive method. Here, the subtractive method is a method of manufacturing a flexible wiring substrate by removing a metal film (for example, the Cu film) not covered with a resist by etching.

  The film made of the Ni alloy or the like is called a seed layer, and its composition is determined by characteristics such as electrical insulation and migration resistance required for the heat-resistant resin film with a metal film. For this seed layer, for example, various known alloys such as Ni—Cr alloy, Inconel, Cond Tantan, and Monel can be used. When it is desired to further increase the thickness of the metal film (Cu film) of the heat-resistant resin film with metal film, the metal film may be formed using a wet plating method.

  In the wet plating method, there are a case where a metal film is formed only by electroplating treatment, and a case where electroless plating treatment is performed as primary plating and wet plating methods such as electrolytic plating treatment are combined as secondary plating. Specific conditions for the wet plating process may be various conditions of a conventionally used wet plating method.

  Examples of the heat resistant resin film used for the heat resistant resin film with a metal film include a polyimide film, a polyamide film, a polyester film, a polytetrafluoroethylene film, a polyphenylene sulfide film, a polyethylene naphthalate film, or a liquid crystal polymer. Can be mentioned. Among these, an optimum material is selected in consideration of flexibility as a flexible substrate with a metal film, strength necessary for practical use, electrical insulation suitable as a wiring material, and the like.

  In the above description, as a heat-resistant resin film with a metal film, a laminated structure in which a metal film such as a Ni-Cr alloy or Cu is laminated on a long heat-resistant resin film is described as an example. However, an oxide film, a nitride film, a carbide film, or the like may be formed instead of or in addition to the metal film.

  Hereinafter, the wrinkle stretching method according to the present invention will be specifically described with reference to examples and comparative examples.

[Example]
A metal film was formed on the heat resistant resin film F using a sputtering web coater (manufacturing apparatus for heat resistant resin film with metal film) 50 shown in FIG. The can roll 56 was made of aluminum and had a diameter of 900 mm and a width of 750 mm. The surface of this can roll 56 was subjected to hard chrome plating. For the long heat-resistant resin film F, a heat-resistant polyimide film “UPILEX (registered trademark)” manufactured by Ube Industries, Ltd. having a width of 500 mm, a length of 500 m, and a thickness of 25 μm was used.

  In the film conveyance path 56a on the outer peripheral surface of the can roll 56, five wrinkle stretching devices are provided in five regions 65, 66, 67, 68, 69 where the magnetron sputter targets 57, 58, 59, 60 are not opposed to each other. 10 was provided. These five wrinkle-stretching devices 10 were all the same, and each had five pairs of wheels 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15. Each wheel had a diameter of 20 mm and a width of 3 mm, and the mounting pitch of the rotating shafts of two adjacent wheels was 25 mm. Moreover, the outer peripheral part of the wheel which contacts the heat resistant resin film F was covered with butyl rubber.

  When the five pairs of wheels 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 rotate along with the rotation of the can roll 56, the wheels are added to the heat-resistant resin film F from the upstream side to the downstream side of the film transport path 56 a by the wheels. The inclination angle of the rotating shaft of the wheel from the rotating shaft of the can roll 56 was sequentially increased so that the generated force in the width direction was sequentially increased. Specifically, in FIG. 6, C11 = 0 °, C12 = 2 °, C13 = 4 °, C14 = 6 °, and C15 = 8 °. Moreover, in all the wheels located in one arbitrary side with respect to the center plane perpendicular | vertical to the film conveyance path | route 56a among these five pairs of wheels 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15, each with the film on a film conveyance path | route The connecting portion was positioned 3 mm from the end of the film.

  The metal film formed on the heat-resistant resin film F was formed by forming a Cu film on the Ni—Cr film as a seed layer. For this reason, a Ni—Cr target was used for the magnetron sputter target 57, and a Cu target was used for the magnetron sputter targets 58, 59 and 60. Further, 300 sccm of argon gas was introduced, and film formation was performed with power control of 10 kW applied to each cathode.

  The tension of the unwinding roll 52 and the winding roll 64 was 80N. Further, the peripheral speed of the upstream motor drive feed roll 55 is 99.9% of the peripheral speed of the can roll 56, and the peripheral speed of the downstream motor drive feed roll 61 is 100.1% of the peripheral speed of the can roll 56. It was. With this setting, the heat-resistant resin film F was gradually pulled, and could be strongly adhered to the surface of the can roll 56. Moreover, although the can roll 56 was controlled at 20 ° C. by water cooling, a cooling effect due to heat conduction could not be expected unless the heat resistant resin film F was tightly adhered to the outer peripheral surface of the can roll 56.

And the said heat resistant resin film F is set to the unwinding roll 52, The front-end | tip part has the free roll 53, the tension sensor roll 54, the feed roll 55, the can roll 56, the feed roll 61, the tension sensor roll 62, and the free roll It was attached to the take-up roll 64 via 63. Next, the vacuum chamber 51 was evacuated to 5 Pa using a plurality of dry pumps, and then evacuated to 3 × 10 ⁻³ Pa using a plurality of turbo molecular pumps and a cryocoil.

  And after setting the conveyance speed of the heat resistant resin film F to 3 m / min, argon gas was introduced into each magnetron sputter cathode 57, 58, 59, 60 and electric power was applied, and the seed layer of the Ni—Cr film and its The formation of a Cu film to be formed thereon was started.

  When the film forming process is performed, the heat resistant resin film F is observed from the observation window capable of observing the surface of the heat resistant resin film F on the outer peripheral surface of the can roll 56, and the magnetron sputtering cathodes 57 and 58 are observed. The heat-resistant resin film F immediately after film formation after passing through the film-forming zones 59, 60 is seen to float from the can roll 56 which causes wrinkles in a direction parallel to the film conveying direction. It was. However, every time it passes through the positions of the regions 65, 66, 67, 68, 69 to which the wrinkle-stretching device 10 is attached, the float disappears.

  When the length of 290 m of the heat-resistant resin film F passed, the power to the plasma in each plasma reaction chamber and each magnetron sputter cathode 57, 58, 59, 60 was stopped, and the introduction of each gas was also stopped. Next, conveyance of the heat resistant resin film F was stopped and each pump was stopped. Thereafter, the atmosphere was released through a vent, and the end portion of the heat resistant resin film F was removed from the unwinding roll 52. Finally, all the heat-resistant polyimide film F was taken up on a take-up roll 64 and then removed. When the heat resistant resin film F wound up on the winding roll 64 was developed in the atmosphere and checked for wrinkles, no wrinkles were found.

[Comparative example]
For comparison, a metal film was formed on the heat-resistant resin film F in the same manner as in the above example except that the wrinkle stretching apparatus 10 was not attached on the can roll 56 of the sputtering web coater 50.

  As a result, when the film forming process is being performed, the heat resistant resin film F is observed from the observation window capable of observing the surface of the heat resistant resin film F on the outer peripheral surface of the can roll 56. The heat-resistant resin film F immediately after film formation after passing through the film-forming zones 57, 58, 59, 60 floats the heat-resistant resin film F from the can roll 56 which causes wrinkles in a direction parallel to the film conveyance direction. Each time it passed through the magnetron sputtering cathodes 57, 58, 59, 60, the float of the heat resistant resin film F tended to increase.

  Further, after the film formation was completed, the heat resistant resin film F taken up by the take-up roll 64 was developed in the atmosphere to confirm the presence or absence of wrinkles. There were wrinkles.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Banana-like expand roll 2 Warm roll 3 One pair of inclined roll 4 One pair of grooved roll 10, 20 Wrinkle-stretching device 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 Wheel pair 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 Wheel pair 50 Sputtering web coater 51 Vacuum chamber 52 Unwinding roll 53, 63 Free roll 54, 62 Tension sensor roll 55, 61 Feed roll 56 Can roll 57, 58, 59, 60 Magnetron sputtering cathode 64 Winding roll F Long heat resistant resin the film

Claims (11)

  Along the film transport path on the outer surface of the can roll, when the film surface is subjected to film formation by dry thin film forming means while the back surface of the long heat resistant resin film is in contact with the outer surface of the can roll and transported A method of stretching the wrinkles of the film by sandwiching both edges of the film with the can roll using at least three pairs of wheels arranged sequentially and applying a force in the width direction to the film. In at least three pairs of wheels, the inclination angle of the rotating shaft of the wheel from the rotating shaft of the can roll is sequentially increased so that the force in the width direction sequentially increases from the upstream side to the downstream side of the film transport path. A wrinkle stretching method characterized by that.   2. The wrinkle stretching method according to claim 1, wherein a difference in inclination angle between any two wheels adjacent to each other in the film transport direction of the film transport path is 5 ° or less.   The at least three pairs of wheels are arranged symmetrically with respect to a central plane that includes the center line of the film transport path and is perpendicular to the film transport path, and all the wheels located on any one side with respect to the center plane are The wrinkle-stretching method according to claim 1, wherein the connecting portions with the film on each film transport path are arranged on a single line parallel to the film transport direction.   The at least three pairs of wheels are arranged symmetrically with respect to a central plane that includes the center line of the film transport path and is perpendicular to the film transport path, and all the wheels located on any one side with respect to the center plane are The wrinkle-stretching method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a connection portion with the film on each film conveyance path exists in an area within 5 mm from the end of the film. .   The wrinkle-stretching method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the at least three pairs of wheels are provided in a front portion and / or a rear portion of the dry thin film forming means in a film transport path. .   This is a wrinkle-stretching device that stretches the wrinkles of the film that occurs when a film is formed on the surface of the film by dry thin film forming means while the back surface of the long heat-resistant resin film is brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the can roll. And at least three pairs of wheels sequentially arranged along the film conveyance path on the outer peripheral surface of the can roll so as to sandwich both edges of the film with the can roll and apply a force in the width direction to the film. The at least three pairs of wheels are characterized in that the inclination angle of the rotating shaft of the wheel from the rotating shaft of the can roll increases sequentially from the upstream side to the downstream side of the film conveying path. Stretching device.   The wrinkle-stretching device according to claim 6, wherein a difference in the inclination angle between any two wheels adjacent to each other in the film conveyance direction of the film conveyance path is 5 ° or less.   The at least three pairs of wheels are arranged symmetrically with respect to a central plane that includes the center line of the film transport path and is perpendicular to the film transport path, and all the wheels located on any one side with respect to the center plane are The wrinkle-stretching device according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the connecting portions with the film on each film transport path are arranged on a single line parallel to the film transport direction.   The at least three pairs of wheels are arranged symmetrically with respect to a central plane that includes the center line of the film transport path and is perpendicular to the film transport path, and all the wheels located on any one side with respect to the center plane are The wrinkle stretching apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein a connection portion with the film on each film conveyance path exists in an area within 5 mm from the end of the film. .   The wrinkle stretching apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein the at least three pairs of wheels are provided in a front portion and / or a rear portion of the dry thin film forming unit in a film conveyance path. .   The wrinkle-stretching device according to any one of claims 6 to 10, wherein an outer peripheral portion of each wheel of the at least three pairs of wheels is covered with butyl rubber, polyurethane, silicon rubber, or viton.

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