JP6202098B2 - Film forming apparatus and film forming method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a film forming apparatus, and more particularly to a film forming apparatus and a film forming method for performing film formation by sputtering on a resin workpiece.

  For example, injection molded resin products are used for reflectors and instruments for automobile headlamps. For these resin products, film formation by sputtering using a metal such as aluminum as a target is performed for the purpose of providing a mirror finish or a metallic texture.

  In addition, after the film formation by sputtering, a silicon oxide protective film or the like is formed by plasma CVD in order to prevent oxidation of the metal film. That is, the workpiece after film formation by sputtering is transferred to another film formation apparatus, and plasma CVD using a monomer gas such as HMDSO (hexa-methyl-di-siloxane) is performed in the chamber of the film formation apparatus. Thus, a protective film is formed on the surface after the film formation by sputtering.

  An apparatus that performs film formation by sputtering and composite film formation or polymerization film formation in the same chamber has also been proposed. Patent Document 1 discloses a film forming apparatus in which a sputtering electrode and a composite film forming or polymerization film forming electrode are arranged at positions separated by a predetermined distance. In this film forming apparatus, first, a work and a sputtering electrode are arranged to face each other, and after introducing an inert gas into the chamber, direct current is applied to the sputtering electrode to perform film formation by sputtering. Next, the workpiece is moved so that the workpiece and the electrode for composite film formation or polymerization film formation are opposed to each other, and a monomer gas such as HMDSO is introduced into the chamber, and then a high frequency is applied to the electrode for composite film formation or polymerization film formation. A voltage is applied to perform composite film formation or polymerization film formation. The film forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1 has a configuration in which a shutter is arranged on a target that is not used.

JP 2011-58048 A

  At the time of film formation on such a resin work, it is preferable to form the work that is sent out from the injection molding machine at a constant interval in a manner linked with the work production cycle of the injection molding machine. However, in the conventional film formation apparatus, in order to perform suitable film formation, it is necessary to reduce the pressure in the chamber before film formation to about 10 −3 Pa (pascal), and the decompression takes a long time. Needed.

  For this reason, conventionally, it has been necessary to once deposit a certain amount of a workpiece that has been injection-molded by an injection molding machine, and then perform film formation by sputtering or plasma CVD in another factory. In such a case, in order to perform high-quality film formation, it is necessary to sufficiently evacuate and remove the adsorbed gas such as moisture adhering to the surface of the workpiece. For this reason, conventionally, a large number of workpieces are installed in a chamber and the chamber is fully evacuated with an ultra-high vacuum pump such as an oil diffusion pump, turbo molecular pump, or cryopump to adsorb moisture or the like. The film was formed after removing the gas. Accordingly, not only a large apparatus is required, but also a long time is required for processing.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a film forming apparatus and a film forming method capable of completing a film forming process on a resin workpiece in a short time. To do.

The invention described in claim 1 is a film forming apparatus for performing film formation by sputtering on a resin work, and a chamber for storing the work, and the inside of the chamber is 0.1 Pascal or more and 1.0 Pascal. Pressure reducing means for reducing the pressure to less than the pressure, an inert gas supply unit for supplying an inert gas into the chamber, a target material, a sputtering electrode disposed in the chamber, and a surface area of the target material On the other hand, a direct-current power source for applying a direct-current voltage to the sputter electrode, a CVD electrode disposed in the chamber, and a high-frequency voltage to the CVD electrode so that the input power is 25 watts or more per square centimeter. A high frequency power source to be applied, a source gas supply unit for supplying source gas into the chamber, and the target by contacting the sputter electrode. A contact position covering the bets material, characterized by comprising a shutter movable between a retracted position in which it separates from the sputter electrode.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, further comprising a gas supply unit for supplying a gas having a dew point of 0 degrees Celsius or less into the chamber.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the decompression means includes a turbo molecular pump having a maximum exhaust speed of 300 liters or more per second.

The invention according to claim 4 is a film forming method for performing film formation by sputtering on a resin workpiece, and carrying in the injection molded resin workpiece into the chamber from the injection molding machine. A step of depressurizing the chamber to a pressure of 0.1 Pascal or more and less than 1.0 Pascal, an inert gas supply step of supplying an inert gas into the chamber, and a target material. A DC voltage applying step for applying a DC voltage to the sputter electrode so as to have an input power of 25 watts per square centimeter or more with respect to the surface area of the target material, and a shutter and by placing the contact position covering the target material by said sputter electrode contact, the target material said sheet A shutter placement step for covering with a ter, a source gas supply step for supplying a source gas into the chamber, a high-frequency application step for applying a high-frequency voltage to a CVD electrode disposed in the chamber, and an atmospheric pressure in the chamber And a carrying-out process for carrying out the work after film formation from the chamber.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect of the invention, in the venting step, a gas having a dew point of 0 degrees Celsius or less is supplied into the chamber.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect of the present invention, in the decompression step, the chamber is evacuated at an evacuation rate of 300 liters or more per second.

According to the first and fourth aspects of the present invention, suitable film formation can be performed even when the pressure in the chamber before film formation is about 0.1 Pascal or more and less than 1.0 Pascal. Is possible. For this reason, it is possible to reduce the time required for film formation, and it is possible to form a workpiece that is sent out from the injection molding machine at a constant interval in a manner linked with the production cycle of the workpiece by the injection molding machine. Further, film formation by sputtering and film formation by plasma CVD can be continuously performed in a short time in the same chamber.

According to the second and fifth aspects of the invention, it is possible to reduce the moisture contained in the air from adhering to the chamber, and it is possible to shorten the evacuation time during the next film forming process. It becomes.

According to the third and sixth aspects of the invention, it is possible to perform evacuation in a shorter time while reducing the size of the entire apparatus, thereby shortening the time required for film formation.

1 is a schematic front view of a film forming apparatus according to the present invention. It is a side surface schematic diagram which shows the principal part of the film-forming apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a side surface schematic diagram which shows the raising / lowering operation | movement of the shutter 51 by a shutter raising / lowering mechanism. It is a side surface schematic diagram which shows the raising / lowering operation | movement of the shutter 51 by a shutter raising / lowering mechanism. It is a side surface schematic diagram which shows the raising / lowering operation | movement of the shutter 51 by a shutter raising / lowering mechanism. It is a side surface schematic diagram which shows the raising / lowering operation | movement of the shutter 51 by a shutter raising / lowering mechanism. It is the elements on larger scale which show the support operation | movement of the shutter 51 by a shutter support mechanism. It is the elements on larger scale which show the support operation | movement of the shutter 51 by a shutter support mechanism. It is the elements on larger scale which show the support operation | movement of the shutter 51 by a shutter support mechanism.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a film forming apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing an essential part thereof.

  The film forming apparatus according to the present invention performs film formation by sputtering and film formation by plasma CVD on a resin workpiece. In particular, during film formation by sputtering, before film formation is started. The pressure in the chamber is set to a medium vacuum of 0.1 Pascal or more and less than 1.0 Pascal to shorten the time required for film formation. In the present invention, in particular, when a film is formed on a resin workpiece, a DC voltage is applied to the sputter electrode so that the input power is 25 watts or more per square centimeter with respect to the surface area of the target material. By applying this, even when the pressure in the chamber before the start of film formation is a medium vacuum of 0.1 Pascal or more and less than 1.0 Pascal, it is possible to perform suitable film formation. This is based on the finding of the inventor of the invention.

  The film forming apparatus includes a chamber 10 composed of a main body 11 and an opening / closing part 12. The opening / closing part 12 is movable between a carry-in / carry-out position for carrying the injection-molded resin workpiece W and a closed position constituting the chamber 10 sealed with the main body 11 via the packing 14. It has become. In a state where the opening / closing part 12 is moved to the carry-in / carry-out position, an opening for carrying the work W into and out of the chamber 10 is formed on the side surface of the chamber 10. In addition, a work placement portion 13 for placing the work W is disposed so as to pass through a passage hole formed in the opening / closing portion 12. The workpiece placement unit 13 is movable relative to the opening / closing unit 12 with the workpiece W placed thereon.

  In addition, the film forming apparatus includes a sputter electrode 23 including an electrode portion 21 and a target material 22. The sputter electrode 23 is attached to the main body 11 in the chamber 10 via an insulating member (not shown). The main body 11 constituting the chamber 10 is grounded by a grounding portion 19. The sputter electrode 23 is connected to a DC power source 41.

  As the DC power source 41, one that can apply a DC voltage to the sputter electrode 23 is used so that the input power is 25 watts or more per square centimeter with respect to the surface area of the target material 22. That is, the DC power supply 41 inputs 25 watts or more per square centimeter as the input power to the sputtering electrode 23 with respect to the surface area of the target material 22.

  Further, this film forming apparatus includes a CVD electrode 24. The CVD electrode 24 is attached to the main body 11 in the chamber 10 through an insulating member (not shown), like the sputtering electrode 23. The CVD electrode 24 is connected to a matching box 46 and a high frequency power source 45.

  In addition, as the high frequency power supply 45 described above, for example, one that generates a high frequency of about several tens of MHz (megahertz) can be used. Here, the high frequency described in this specification means a frequency of 20 kHz (kilohertz) or more.

  The main body 11 constituting the chamber 10 is connected to an inert gas supply unit 33 such as argon via an on-off valve 31 and a flow rate adjustment valve 32. The main body 11 constituting the chamber 10 is connected to a source gas supply unit 36 such as HMDS or HMDS (hexa-methyl-di-silazane) via an on-off valve 34 and a flow rate adjustment valve 35. The main body 11 constituting the chamber 10 is connected to a dry air supply unit 83 via an on-off valve 81 and a flow rate adjustment valve 82. Further, the main body 11 constituting the chamber 10 is connected to a turbo molecular pump 37 via an on-off valve 39, and the turbo molecular pump 37 is connected to an auxiliary pump 38 via an on-off valve 48. Further, the auxiliary pump 38 is also connected to the main body 11 constituting the chamber 10 through an on-off valve 49.

  As the above-described turbo molecular pump 37, a pump having a maximum exhaust speed of 300 liters or more per second is used. When the turbo molecular pump 37 is used, the pump itself can be reduced in size while obtaining a large exhaust speed. For this reason, the film forming apparatus itself can be miniaturized.

  Further, as the dry air supplied from the above-described dry air supply unit 83, one having a dew point of 0 degrees Celsius or less is used. Instead of dry air, an inert gas having a dew point of 0 degrees Celsius or less may be used.

  In addition, the film forming apparatus includes a shutter 51 that can move up and down between a contact position that covers the target material 22 by contacting the sputter electrode 23 and a retracted position near the bottom of the chamber 10. The shutter 51 is made of a conductive material such as metal and a non-magnetic material. As a material of the shutter 51, for example, aluminum can be adopted.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the shutter 51 is lifted from the retracted position toward the contact position by driving the air cylinder 53 while being supported from below by the cylinder rod 54 of the air cylinder 53. The shutter 51 is supported by a slide pin 62 (see FIGS. 7 to 9) at the tip of the cylinder rod in the air cylinder 61 fixed to the main body 11 in the chamber 10 by the L-shaped bracket 18 at the contact position. The The air cylinder 53 functions as a shutter lifting mechanism that lifts the shutter 51 from the retracted position toward the contact position by supporting the shutter 51 from below. The air cylinder 61 supports the shutter 51 at the contact position. Functions as a shutter support mechanism.

  Hereinafter, the raising / lowering operation | movement of the shutter 51 is demonstrated. 3 to 6 are schematic side views showing the lifting and lowering operation of the shutter 51 by the shutter lifting and lowering mechanism. 7 to 9 are partially enlarged views showing the support operation of the shutter 51 by the shutter support mechanism.

  FIG. 3 shows a state in which the shutter 51 is disposed at the retracted position near the bottom of the main body 11 constituting the chamber 10 below the sputtering electrode 23. In this state, the shutter 51 is supported by a support portion 52 attached to the bottom of the main body 11. At this time, the cylinder rod 54 of the air cylinder 53 is in a contracted state accommodated in the main body of the air cylinder 53.

  When the shutter 51 is moved from the retracted position shown in FIG. 3 to a contact position that covers the target material 22 by contacting the sputter electrode 23, the shutter 51 is first supported by the cylinder rod 54 of the air cylinder 53. By extending the cylinder rod 54, the shutter 51 is raised to a position directly below the sputter electrode 23 as shown in FIG. In this state, as shown in FIG. 7, the lower surface of the target material 22 in the sputtering electrode 23 and the front surface of the shutter 51 are separated by a minute distance d.

  As shown in FIG. 7, a concave portion 59 having a tapered surface is formed on the edge of the shutter 51. The recesses 59 are formed at the positions of the four corners of the rectangular shutter 51 in plan view. On the other hand, the air cylinder 61 described above is disposed at a position facing the recess 59 when the shutter 51 is raised by the action of the air cylinder 53. The air cylinder 61 is fixed to the main body 11 in the chamber 10 by an L-shaped metal fitting 18, and a slide pin 62 at the tip of the cylinder rod in the air cylinder 61 passes through the main body 11. A tapered portion having a shape corresponding to the tapered surface of the recess 59 formed in the shutter 51 is formed at the tip of the slide pin 62.

  Next, from the state shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, the slide pin 62 at the tip of the cylinder rod in the air cylinder 61 is extended toward the shutter 51. At this time, first, as shown in FIG. 8, the tip of the slide pin 62 is disposed at a position facing the upper end of the recess 59 formed in the shutter 51. Then, when the slide pin 62 further moves to the shutter 51 side from this state, the tip of the slide pin 62 enters the recess 59 formed in the shutter 51. At this time, due to the action of the tapered surface of the recess 59 and the tapered portion of the tip of the slide pin 62, the shutter 51 moves upward in accordance with the intrusion operation into the recess 59 at the tip of the slide pin 62. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 9, the shutter 51 is disposed at a contact position that covers the target material 22 by contacting the sputtering electrode 23, and is supported at that position.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 6, the cylinder rod 54 of the air cylinder 53 is lowered and the cylinder rod 54 is brought into a contracted state housed in the main body of the air cylinder 53. Thereby, a space in which the workpiece W can be arranged is formed below the sputter electrode 23 and the shutter 51.

  Next, a film forming operation by the film forming apparatus having the above configuration will be described. When the film forming operation is performed by the film forming apparatus, the injection-molded work W is transferred from the injection molding machine and transferred into the chamber 10. At this time, the opening / closing part 12 is moved to the loading / unloading position, and the work W placed on the work placing part 13 is opposed to the sputter electrode 23 in the chamber 10 as indicated by a virtual line in FIG. Place it at the position you want. At this time, as shown by a solid line in FIGS. 1 and 2, the shutter 51 is disposed at a retracted position near the bottom of the chamber 10.

  In this embodiment, four workpieces W are injection-molded and discharged in one shot from the preceding injection molding machine, and these four workpieces W are collectively carried into a film forming apparatus for film formation. Processing. As a result, the film forming operation can be performed efficiently, and adsorbed gas such as moisture can be prevented from adhering to the workpiece W. When two workpieces having the same size as above are discharged from the injection molding machine in one shot, two injection molding machines and one film forming apparatus may be combined. When eight workpieces having the same size as above are discharged from the injection molding machine in one shot, one injection molding machine and two film forming apparatuses may be combined. That is, the combination of the injection molding machine and the film forming apparatus may be considered according to the amount and size of the work discharged from the injection molding machine and the cycle time.

  Next, the opening / closing part 12 is arranged at a closed position, and the inside of the chamber 10 is depressurized from 0.1 Pascal to a medium vacuum of less than 1 Pascal. At this time, since the turbo pump 37 having a maximum pumping speed of 300 liters per second or more is used, the chamber 10 has a time of about 20 seconds, from 0.1 Pascal to a medium vacuum of less than 1 Pascal. The pressure can be reduced. If necessary, the pressure is reduced at a high speed to about 100 Pascal using an auxiliary pump 38 such as a dry pump before the pressure is reduced by the turbo molecular pump 37.

  Next, by opening the on-off valve 31, an inert gas such as argon is supplied from the inert gas supply unit 33 into the chamber 10 so that the degree of vacuum in the chamber 10 is 0.5 to 3 Pascals. Next, the chamber 10 is filled with an inert gas. A DC voltage is applied from the DC power supply 41 to the sputter electrode 23. Thereby, a thin film of the target material 22 is formed on the surface of the workpiece W by a sputtering phenomenon.

  In this sputtering step, a DC voltage is applied from the DC power supply 41 to the sputtering electrode 23 so that the input power is 25 watts or more per square centimeter relative to the surface area of the target material 22 in the sputtering electrode 23. Thereby, even if the inside of the chamber 10 is a medium vacuum, a thin film of the target material 22 is suitably formed on the surface of the resin workpiece W. For example, when a film made of aluminum is executed on a resin workpiece W, a thin film having high reflectivity and high adhesion can be suitably formed.

  In addition, before performing the above sputtering process, by performing the same pre-sputtering process as the above-described sputtering process in a state where the workpiece W is not disposed in the chamber, moisture, an insulator, and the like attached to the target electrode 23 are removed. You may make it remove.

  When film formation by sputtering is completed by the above steps, film formation by plasma polymerization is subsequently executed. This plasma polymerization is a kind of plasma CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition). When performing plasma polymerization, as shown by a solid line in FIG. 1, the work W placed on the work placement unit 13 is placed at a position facing the CVD electrode 24 in the chamber 10. 1 and 2, the shutter 51 is disposed at a contact position that covers the target material 22 by contacting the sputter electrode 23. In this state, the shutter 51 is supported by the slide pin 62 in the air cylinder 61 as shown in FIG. Further, the cylinder rod 54 of the air cylinder 53 is in a contracted state housed in the main body of the air cylinder 53 as shown in FIG.

  In this state, by opening the on-off valve 34, the source gas is supplied from the source gas supply unit 36 into the chamber 10, and the degree of vacuum in the chamber 10 is 0.1 to 10 Pascals. The inside is filled with raw material gas. Then, a high frequency voltage is applied from the high frequency power supply 45 to the CVD electrode 24 via the matching box 46 to perform film formation by plasma polymerization. Thereby, a thin film of the source gas is deposited on the surface of the workpiece W by the plasma polymerization reaction.

  When film formation by plasma polymerization is completed, the inside of the chamber 10 is vented. At this time, the inside of the chamber 10 is vented by dry air by opening the on-off valve 81 and supplying dry air from the dry air supply unit 83 into the chamber 10. As a result, it is possible to prevent moisture contained in the air from adhering to the chamber, and it is possible to shorten the evacuation time during the next film formation process.

  Then, after placing the opening / closing unit 12 at the loading / unloading position, the workpiece mounting unit 13 is moved, and the workpiece W after completion of the film deposition placed on the workpiece mounting unit 13 is unloaded from the chamber 23 to 1. End the processing of the cycle.

  In the embodiment described above, the case where the present invention is applied to a film forming apparatus that continuously executes film formation by sputtering and film formation by plasma CVD in the same chamber 10 has been described. You may apply this invention to the film-forming apparatus which performs only a film | membrane.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Chamber 11 Main body 12 Opening / closing part 13 Work place part 19 Grounding part 21 Electrode part 22 Target material 23 Sputter electrode 31 Opening / closing valve 32 Flow rate adjustment valve 33 Supply part of inert gas 34 Opening / closing valve 35 Flow rate adjustment valve 36 Supply of source gas Source 37 Turbo molecular pump 38 Auxiliary pump 39 Open / close valve 41 DC power supply 45 High frequency power supply 46 Matching box 48 Open / close valve 49 Open / close valve 51 Shutter 81 Open / close valve 82 Flow control valve 83 Dry air supply unit W Workpiece

Claims (6)

A film forming apparatus for performing film formation by sputtering on a resin workpiece,
A chamber for storing workpieces;
Decompression means for depressurizing the inside of the chamber to a pressure of 0.1 Pascal or more and less than 1.0 Pascal;
An inert gas supply unit for supplying an inert gas into the chamber;
A sputter electrode comprising a target material and disposed in the chamber;
A direct-current power source for applying a direct-current voltage to the sputtering electrode so that the input power is 25 watts or more per square centimeter with respect to the surface area of the target material;
A CVD electrode disposed in the chamber;
A high frequency power source for applying a high frequency voltage to the CVD electrode;
A source gas supply unit for supplying source gas into the chamber;
A shutter that is movable between a contact position that covers the target material by contacting the sputter electrode and a retreat position that is separated from the sputter electrode;
A film forming apparatus comprising: The film forming apparatus according to claim 1,
A film forming apparatus further comprising a gas supply unit for supplying a gas having a dew point of 0 degrees Celsius or less into the chamber. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1,
The decompression means is a film forming apparatus having a turbo molecular pump having a maximum exhaust speed of 300 liters or more per second. A film forming method for performing film formation by sputtering on a resin workpiece,
A carrying-in process of carrying the injection-molded resin workpiece into the chamber from the injection molding machine;
A pressure reducing step for reducing the pressure in the chamber to a pressure of 0.1 Pascal or more and less than 1.0 Pascal;
An inert gas supply step of supplying an inert gas into the chamber;
A direct current voltage is applied to the sputtering electrode provided with the target material so that the input power is 25 watts or more per square centimeter with respect to the surface area of the target material with respect to the sputtering electrode provided in the chamber. DC voltage application process,
The shutter, by placing the contact position covering the target material by said sputter electrode contact, a shutter arrangement step of covering the target material by the shutter,
A source gas supply step for supplying a source gas into the chamber;
A high-frequency application step of applying a high-frequency voltage to a CVD electrode disposed in the chamber;
A vent step for venting the chamber to atmospheric pressure;
An unloading step of unloading the workpiece after film formation from the chamber;
A film forming method comprising: In the film-forming method of Claim 4,
In the venting step, a film forming method for supplying a gas having a dew point of 0 degrees Celsius or less into the chamber. In the film-forming method of Claim 4,
In the depressurization step, a film forming method for exhausting from the chamber at an exhaust rate of 300 liters or more per second.

Images