JP6421490B2 - Can roll and sputtering apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a can roll and a sputtering apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to a can roll cured to prevent adhesion of a film forming substance and a sputtering apparatus including the can roll.

  In a liquid crystal panel, a notebook computer, a digital camera, a mobile phone, and the like, a flexible wiring board in which a wiring pattern is formed on a heat resistant resin film is used. The flexible wiring board can be obtained by subjecting a resin film with a metal film, in which a metal film is formed on one side or both sides of a heat resistant resin film, to a patterning process by a thin film technique such as photolithography or etching. In recent years, the wiring pattern of a flexible wiring board has been increasingly miniaturized and densified, and accordingly, a high-quality resin film with a metal film that does not contain impurities is required.

  As a method for producing a resin film with a metal film, 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 method in which a metal foil is coated with a heat-resistant resin solution and then dried (casting method) ), A method of forming a metal film on a heat-resistant resin film by a vacuum film forming method alone or by using a combination of a vacuum film forming method and a wet plating method (metalizing method) and the like are known.

  Among the manufacturing methods, examples of the vacuum film forming method used in the metalizing method include a vacuum deposition method, a sputtering method, an ion plating method, and an ion beam sputtering method. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a method of forming a conductor layer made of copper by sputtering copper on a polyimide insulating layer to form a chromium layer and then sputtering copper.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a sputtering apparatus for continuously forming a film on a long resin film. This sputtering apparatus is provided with a cooling roller (also referred to as a can roll) that winds and cools a long resin film conveyed by roll-to-roll. If such a sputtering apparatus is used, the resin film with a metal film can be manufactured by the process by a continuous metalizing method.

  By the way, the above sputtering apparatus strikes ions on a target attached to a sputtering cathode, knocks out particles constituting the target, and deposits the particles (sputtered particles) on the surface of the film formation substrate. Some of the sputtered particles do not go to the substrate to be deposited, but are scattered and adhered to other places, for example, the can roll itself. There exists a problem that this peels and contaminates the resin film with a metal film which is a product.

  On the other hand, in Patent Document 3, a covering sheet is attached to a support such as a can roll, and the sputtered particles scattered from the deposition target substrate are attached to the covering sheet instead of the support. Is disclosed. By exchanging the covering sheet to which the film-forming substance is adhered, it is possible to prevent the product from being contaminated.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-98994 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-247073 JP 2006-77286 A

  However, in the technique of Patent Document 3, since a thin film-like base material is stacked on the covering sheet, if the covering sheet is wrinkled, the base material is also wrinkled, and the film-forming substance becomes uneven. There is a problem of adversely affecting the film-formed product. In addition, it is practically difficult to attach the cover sheet to the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical can roll without wrinkles, and each time the cover sheet is replaced, an operator is required to perform careful work, and a great deal of labor is required.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a can roll and a sputtering apparatus that can prevent contamination by sputtered particles and reduce adverse effects on a film-formed product.

The can roll of the first invention is a can roll provided in a sputtering apparatus for forming a film on a belt-shaped film forming substrate by a sputtering method, the can roll main body and the outer peripheral surface of the can roll main body, A curing band wound around an exposed portion that protrudes from the film-forming substrate, and the curing band is composed of a plurality of bands divided in the axial direction of the can roll body, and of the plurality of bands, The substrate side band disposed on the film forming substrate side is wound around the position where the edge of the film forming substrate overlaps, and is directly wound around the outer peripheral surface of the can roll body, Of the plurality of bands, an end side band adjacent to the base material side band has an edge superimposed on the base material side band, and the edge is disposed at a position away from the edge of the film formation substrate. It is characterized by.
The can roll of the second invention is characterized in that, in the first invention, a width dimension of the base material side band is 60 mm or less.
The can roll of the third invention is characterized in that, in the first or second invention, the base material side band has stretchability.
The can roll according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first, second, or third aspect , the base material side band is formed of the same material as the film formation base material.
A sputtering apparatus according to a fifth aspect is characterized by including the can roll according to the first, second, third, or fourth aspect.

According to the first invention, since the curing zone is wound around the exposed portion of the can roll body, it is possible to prevent the sputter particles from adhering to the can roll body, and the maintenance work is easy. Moreover, since a curing zone consists of a some belt | band | zone, a base material side belt | band | zone can be made narrow. Therefore, it is easy to wind the base material side band that overlaps the film formation target base material without causing wrinkles on the outer peripheral surface of the can roll body, and the adverse effect on the film-formed product can be reduced. Further, since the base material side band is wound directly around the can roll body, the base material side band is not easily displaced during the operation of the sputtering apparatus, and adverse effects on the film-formed product can be reduced. In addition, since no other band is sandwiched between the base material side band and the can roll main body, the base material side band is in a flat state and is not easily wrinkled.
According to the second aspect of the invention, since the base material side band is sufficiently narrow, it is possible to apply force evenly when holding and extending the end part of the base material side band by hand in the attaching operation. For this reason, it is easy to wind the base material side band in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the can roll body without causing wrinkles.
According to the third aspect of the invention, the base material side band has stretchability and can be stretched in the longitudinal direction. By pulling the end of the base material side band in the attaching operation and winding it so as to extend in the longitudinal direction, the base material side band can be closely attached to the outer peripheral surface of the can roll body.
According to the fourth invention, since the base material side band and the film formation target substrate are the same material, they have the same coefficient of thermal expansion, and the adverse effect on the film-formed product can be reduced.
According to the fifth aspect , since the curing zone is wound around the exposed portion of the can roll main body, it is possible to prevent the sputter particles from adhering to the can roll main body, and the maintenance work is easy. Moreover, since a curing zone consists of a some belt | band | zone, a base material side belt | band | zone can be made narrow. Therefore, it is easy to wind the base material side band that overlaps the film formation target base material without causing wrinkles on the outer peripheral surface of the can roll body, and the adverse effect on the film-formed product can be reduced.

It is a front view of the can roll concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing of the attachment methods, such as a curing zone of the can roll. It is explanatory drawing of the attachment methods, such as a curing zone of the can roll. It is explanatory drawing of a sputtering device.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
<Sputtering device>
As shown in FIG. 4, a sputtering apparatus A according to an embodiment of the present invention conveys a belt-shaped film-forming substrate f continuously by a roll-to-roll method, and forms a film-forming substrate f by a sputtering method. Is a device for producing a film-formed product mf, which is also referred to as a sputtering web coater.

  In the vacuum chamber 10, the sputtering apparatus A performs a sputtering process while winding the film-forming substrate f transported from the unwinding roll 41 toward the winding roll 48 around the can roll C and cooling it. Since the can roll C cools the film-forming substrate f heated by the sputtering process, a refrigerant circulates inside. Since the present embodiment is characterized by this can roll C, it will be described in detail later.

  By using a long resin film as the film-forming substrate f and forming a conductive film on the long resin film, a resin film with a conductive film can be continuously produced as the film-formed product mf. A resin film with a conductive film is obtained by laminating a conductive film on at least one surface of a resin film. In addition to a metal film such as a copper thin film, the conductive film includes an alloy film, a conductive oxide film such as an ITO (tin-added indium oxide) film and an ATO (tin-added antimony oxide) film. As the resin film, besides a polyethylene terephthalate film, a heat resistant resin film such as a polyimide film can be used. In particular, as a heat-resistant resin film used for a resin film with a metal film, polyimide film, polyamide film, polyester film, polytetrafluoroethylene film, polyphenylene sulfide film, polyethylene naphthalate film, liquid crystal polymer film Etc. are preferred.

The vacuum chamber 10 is provided with various devices such as a dry pump, a turbo molecular pump, and a cryocoil (not shown). After reducing the pressure in the vacuum chamber 10 to about 1 × 10 ⁻⁴ Pa, the pressure is adjusted to about 0.1 to 10 Pa by introducing a sputtering gas such as argon gas or oxygen gas added according to the purpose. The shape and material of the vacuum chamber 10 are not particularly limited as long as the vacuum chamber 10 can withstand the reduced pressure state.

  In the vacuum chamber 10, in addition to the unwinding roll 41, the winding roll 48, and the can roll C, various types of rolls that demarcate the transport path of the film formation substrate f are provided. That is, free rolls 42 and 47, tension sensor rolls 43 and 46, and feed rolls 44 and 45 are provided in the vacuum chamber 10, and the film-forming substrate f is wound around these rolls.

  In the conveyance path from the unwinding roll 41 to the can roll C, a free roll 42, a tension sensor roll 43, and a feed roll 44 are provided. The film-forming substrate f unwound from the unwinding roll 41 is guided by the free roll 42, the tension is measured by the tension sensor roll 43, and introduced into the can roll C by the feed roll 44.

  A feed roll 45, a tension sensor roll 46, and a free roll 47 are provided on the conveyance path from the can roll C to the take-up roll 48. The film-formed product mf subjected to the sputtering process on the can roll C is sent out by the feed roll 45, the tension is measured by the tension sensor roll 46, guided by the free roll 47, and taken up by the take-up roll 48. .

  The can roll C rotates by driving the motor. The rotation speeds of the feed rolls 44 and 45 are adjusted with respect to the peripheral speed of the can roll C, whereby the film forming substrate f can be brought into close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the can roll C and conveyed. The unwinding roll 41 and the winding roll 48 are torque controlled by a powder clutch or the like, and the tension balance of the film-forming substrate f is maintained.

  At the position facing the outer peripheral surface of the can roll C, four sputtering cathodes 51 to 54 are provided along the conveyance path of the film forming substrate f. Each of the sputtering cathodes 51 to 54 has a target attached to the surface facing the outer peripheral surface of the can roll C, and sputtered particles sputtered from the target are deposited on the surface of the film-forming substrate f to conduct electricity. A film is formed.

  For example, by attaching a nickel alloy target to the sputtering cathode 51 on the upstream side of the conveyance path and attaching a copper target to the sputtering cathodes 52 to 54 on the downstream side, the surface of the long resin film that is the film formation substrate f A resin film mf with a copper thin film in which a base metal layer made of a nickel alloy and a copper thin film layer are laminated can be manufactured. In addition to the nickel alloy, the base metal layer can be made of a metal or alloy such as chromium, nickel-chromium alloy, constantan, or monel. The composition is selected according to required properties such as electrical insulation and migration resistance of the resin film with metal film.

  Using the sputtering apparatus A, a film-formed product mf can be manufactured by forming a conductive film on the film-forming substrate f. In the case of a resin film with a metal film, in order to further increase the thickness of the metal film, the metal film may be further laminated by subjecting the resin film with a metal film to wet plating. When the wet plating process is performed, the metal film may be formed only by the electroplating process, or the metal film may be formed by using both the electroless plating process and the electrolytic plating process. Moreover, the flexible wiring board used for a liquid crystal television, a mobile telephone, etc. is obtained by patterning with a subtractive method etc. with respect to the resin film with a metal film.

<Can Roll>
Next, the can roll C which is a characteristic part of the present embodiment will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the can roll C includes a can roll main body 1 and a curing band 2 wound around the outer peripheral surface of the can roll main body 1. The can roll main body 1 is a cylindrical roll, and a refrigerant circulates therein. Although the raw material of the can roll main body 1 is not specifically limited, For example, it forms with stainless steel and the surface is hard-chrome plated.

  A film-forming base material f such as a long resin film is wound around a substantially central portion of the can roll body 1. Since the width dimension of the can roll main body 1 is set larger than the width dimension of the film-forming substrate f, both end portions of the can roll main body 1 are exposed. The curing zone 2 is wound around this exposed portion (the portion protruding from the film-forming substrate f) to prevent the sputter particles from adhering to the can roll body 1.

  The curing zone 2 is composed of a plurality of zones divided in the axial direction of the can roll body 1. In this embodiment, the curing band 2 is adjacent to the substrate-side band 21 disposed on the film-forming substrate f side (center side of the can roll main body 1), the substrate side band 21, and on the end side of the can roll main body 1 It consists of two bands with the end side band 22 arranged. These base material side belt | band | zone 21 and the end side belt | band | zone 22 are wound around the outer peripheral surface of the can roll main body 1, and are affixed on the contact | adherence state.

  Since the curing band 2 includes two bands 21 and 22, the base material side band 21 can be narrowed. The width dimension of the base material side band 21 is preferably 40 mm or more and 60 mm or less. This is because, as will be described later, if the width of the base material side band 21 is 60 mm or less, the width of the base material side band 21 is sufficiently narrow so that the work of attaching the base material side band 21 becomes easy. Further, if the width dimension of the base material side band 21 is set to 40 mm or more, the overlap width between the base material side band 21 and the film forming substrate f and the overlap width between the end side bands 22 can be sufficiently secured.

  The end side band 22 preferably has a width dimension that covers the space between the base side band 21 and the end of the can roll body 1. This is because the end side belt 22 having such dimensions can cover the entire exposed portion of the can roll body 1 and reliably prevent the sputtered particles from adhering to the can roll body 1.

  The substrate side band 21 is wound around a position where the edges of the film formation substrate f overlap. Therefore, the edge of the film-forming substrate f is superimposed on the edge portion of the substrate side band 21 near the center of the can roll body 1. Although the overlap width is not particularly limited, it is preferable to make the overlap width larger than the swing width of the film formation substrate f. For example, the overlapping width is preferably 10 mm. If it does so, it can prevent that the outer peripheral surface of the can-roll main body 1 is exposed by the shake of conveyance of the film-forming base material f.

  Although the material of the base material side belt | band | zone 21 is not specifically limited, The raw material which has a stretching property is preferable, and the same material as the film-forming base material f is more preferable especially. When using the same resin film as the film formation base material f as the base material side band 21, in addition to a polyethylene terephthalate film, a heat resistant resin film such as a polyimide film can be used. Examples of the heat resistant resin film include polyimide films, polyamide films, polyester films, polytetrafluoroethylene films, polyphenylene sulfide films, polyethylene naphthalate films, liquid crystal polymer films, and the like. Although the thickness of the base material side belt | band | zone 21 is not specifically limited, 25-75 micrometers is preferable.

  If the thermal expansion coefficient of the base material side band 21 on which the film formation target substrate f overlaps is different from the thermal expansion coefficient of the film formation target substrate f, the film formation product mf may be adversely affected. Specifically, when the coefficient of thermal expansion of the base material side band 21 is smaller, the film-formed product mf may be prevented from expanding, and the film-formed product mf may be wrinkled. Further, when the coefficient of thermal expansion of the base material side band 21 is larger, there is a possibility of affecting the physical properties of the film-formed product mf. However, if the base material side band 21 and the film formation base material f are made of the same material, their thermal expansion coefficients are the same, so that the adverse effect on the film-formed product mf can be reduced.

  The end-side band 22 is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the can-roll body 1 so that the edge portion near the center of the can-roll body 1 overlaps the edge portion of the end-side band 22 near the end of the can-roll body 1. . Therefore, the base material side band 21 is directly wound around the outer peripheral surface of the can roll main body 1 without the other band 22 being sandwiched between the base material side band 21 and the can roll main body 1. It is preferable that the edge of the end side band 22 near the center of the can roll body 1 is located farther from the edge of the film formation substrate f than the swing width of the conveyance. That is, the edge of the film formation substrate f is set so as to overlap only the substrate side band 21 and not the end side band 22.

  Although the material of the end side belt | band | zone 22 is not specifically limited, The material which has a stretching property like the base material side belt | band | zone 21 is preferable, and the same material as the film-forming base material f is more preferable especially. The base material side band 21 and the end side band 22 are not necessarily made of the same material. The operation cost can be reduced by using an inexpensive material for the end side belt 22.

<Installation work>
Next, the attaching operation of the curing band 2 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 2A, first, one end of the base material side band 21 is attached to the position where the edge of the film formation base material f overlaps on the outer peripheral surface of the can roll body 1. And the base material side belt | band | zone 21 is wound at least once around the outer peripheral surface of the can-roll main body 1, and the other end is affixed. At this time, the other end of the base material side band 21 is wound while being pulled by hand. If the base material side belt | band | zone 21 is formed with the raw material which has elasticity, such as a resin film, the base material side belt | band | zone 21 can be extended in a elongate direction. By pulling the end of the base material side band 21 by hand and winding it so as to extend in the longitudinal direction, the base material side band 21 can be closely attached to the outer peripheral surface of the can roll main body 1.

  Since the base material side belt | band | zone 21 is narrow, it is easy to make the base material side belt | band | zone 21 closely_contact | adhere to the outer peripheral surface of the can-roll main body 1, and to wind. In particular, if the width of the base material side band 21 is set to 60 mm or less, the width is sufficiently narrow. Therefore, when the end portion is held and stretched by hand, a force can be applied evenly. Therefore, it becomes easier to wind the base material side band 21 in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the can roll body 1 without causing wrinkles. Thus, since the winding work of the base material side belt | band | zone 21 is easy, the base material side belt | band | zone 21 can be affixed without a wrinkle irrespective of a worker's skill.

  Since a part of the base material side band 21 is overlapped with the film formation base material f, if the wrinkles are generated, the cooling of the film formation base material f becomes non-uniform and the formed conductive film becomes non-uniform. This adversely affects the film-formed product mf. However, since it is easy to wind the base material side band 21 around the outer peripheral surface of the can roll body 1 as described above without causing wrinkles, the film forming base material f can be cooled uniformly, and the uniform conductive film m can be formed. A film can be formed. In this way, adverse effects on the film-formed product mf can be reduced.

  As shown in FIG. 2 (B), the base material side band 21 is attached to the can roll main body 1 with a tape 31 at the edge near the end of the can roll main body 1. Although the kind of tape 31 is not specifically limited, It is preferable to use the tape of the same material as the base material side belt | band | zone 21, for example, a polyimide tape. The method of attaching the tape 31 is not particularly limited. For example, when the diameter of the can roll main body 1 is 800 mm, a plurality of tapes 31 having a length of about 50 mm are prepared, and these are arranged along the circumferential direction of the can roll main body 1. The intervals between them may be 150 to 200 mm in the circumferential direction of the can roll body 1.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3C, one end of the end-side band 22 is pasted so that a part of the base-side band 21 overlaps. And the end side belt | band | zone 22 is wound at least once around the outer peripheral surface of the can-roll main body 1, and the other end is affixed. Since the film-forming substrate f does not overlap the end-side belt 22, even if wrinkles are generated, the film-formed product mf is not adversely affected. Therefore, the end side belt | band | zone 22 should just be affixed to such an extent that it does not peel during the driving | operation of sputtering apparatus A.

  As shown in FIG. 3D, both ends of the end side band 22 are fixed with tapes 32 and 33. The edge of the end side band 22 near the center of the can roll body 1 is attached to the base side band 21 with the tape 32. Further, the edge of the end side band 22 near the end of the can roll main body 1 is attached to the side surface of the can roll main body 1 with the tape 33. The type of the tapes 32 and 33 is not particularly limited, but it is preferable to use a tape made of the same material as the base material side band 21, for example, a polyimide tape. The method for attaching the tapes 32 and 33 is not particularly limited. For example, when the diameter of the can roll main body 1 is 800 mm, a plurality of tapes 32 having a length of about 50 mm are prepared and pasted along the circumferential direction of the can roll main body 1, and the interval between them is set to the can roll main body 1. The interval may be 150 to 200 mm in the circumferential direction. Further, a plurality of tapes 33 having a length of about 50 mm are prepared, and they are pasted along the axial direction of the can roll main body 1 so that the interval between them is 150 to 200 mm in the circumferential direction of the can roll main body 1. . In FIG. 1, the tapes 31 to 33 are omitted.

  When the sputtering process is performed using the sputtering apparatus A including the above-described can roll C, the sputtered particles knocked out from the targets of the sputtering cathodes 51 to 54 are deposited on the surface of the deposition target substrate f. Further, the sputtered particles scattered off the deposition target substrate f adhere to the curing zone 2. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the sputtered particles from adhering to the can roll body 1.

  Since the film forming material M can be removed by exchanging the curing zone 2 to which the film forming material M is adhered, the maintenance work is facilitated. Moreover, it is possible to manufacture a high-quality film-formed product mf that is free from contamination by the film-forming material M that has been peeled off.

  In the present embodiment, the end side band 22 overlaps the base material side band 21, but the base material side band 21 may overlap the end side band 22. However, since the base side band 21 is directly fixed to the can roll body 1 when the end side band 22 overlaps the base side band 21, the base side band 21 is less likely to be displaced during the operation of the sputtering apparatus A. The adverse effect on the film-formed product mf can be reduced. Further, since no other band is sandwiched between the base material side band 21 and the can roll main body 1, the base material side band 21 is in a flat state and is not easily wrinkled.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the curing band 2 is configured by the two bands 21 and 22, but may be configured by three or more bands.

Example 1
Operation was performed using the sputtering apparatus A according to the above embodiment. The sputtered particles scattered off the deposition target substrate f adhered to the curing zone 2 and did not adhere to the can roll body 1. The frequency of maintenance work to replace the curing zone 2 was 2 times / month. Moreover, since it is not necessary to grind the can roll main body 1, consumption of the can roll main body 1 could be suppressed.

(Comparative Example 1)
The sputtering apparatus was operated without using the curing zone 2. The sputtered particles scattered off the deposition target substrate f adhered to the can roll body 1. In the maintenance work, the sputtered particles adhering to the can roll body 1 were polished with a wrapping film. The frequency of maintenance work was 2-3 times / day.

  From the above, it was confirmed that Example 1 can significantly reduce the frequency of maintenance work as compared with Comparative Example 1. From this, according to Example 1, it turned out that a worker's labor can be reduced and operation efficiency can be improved.

A Sputtering apparatus C Can roll 1 Can roll body 2 Curing band 21 Base material side band 22 End side band 31 to 33 Tape 10 Vacuum chamber 41 Unwinding roll 42 Free roll 43 Tension sensor roll 44 Feed roll 45 Feed roll 46 Tension sensor roll 47 Free Roll 48 Winding roll 51-54 Sputtering cathode

Claims (5)

A can roll provided in a sputtering apparatus for forming a film on a belt-shaped film-forming substrate by a sputtering method,
The can roll body,
A curing zone wound around the exposed portion of the outer surface of the can roll body that protrudes from the film-forming substrate;
The curing band is composed of a plurality of bands divided in the axial direction of the can roll body,
Of the plurality of bands, the substrate-side band disposed on the film-forming substrate side is wound around a position where the edge of the film-forming substrate overlaps, and the outer peripheral surface of the can roll body Is wound directly on the
Of the plurality of bands, an end side band adjacent to the base material side band has an edge superimposed on the base material side band, and the edge is disposed at a position away from the edge of the film formation substrate. and has <br/> it can roll, characterized in. Width of the base material side band, can roll as claimed in claim 1, wherein a is 60mm or less. The can roll according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the base material side belt has elasticity. The can roll according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the base material side band is formed of the same material as the film formation base material. A sputtering apparatus comprising the can roll according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4 .

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