JPH08165573A - Sputtering device and sputtering gas inlet pipe - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To obtain a sputtering device in which an abnormal discharge is reduced and dust is not generated, by which a magnetic recording medium, etc., free of a dropout and a sputtered film uniform in thickness and quality are obtained and capable of saving maintenance such as cleaning. CONSTITUTION: A target T set on a cathode 10 is sputtered to form a thin film on the surface of a polymer film Fa exposed to a film forming chamber 5 in this sputtering device 1A. A sputtering gas inlet pipe 20 is laid outside a deposition preventive mask 11 set around the cathode 10, and a sputtering gas is ejected into a gap between the film Fa and the mask 11 to form a thin film on the surface of the film Fa.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a magnetic recording medium in which a thin film such as a magnetic recording thin film and its protective thin film is formed by sputtering on the surface of a long polymer film which is a surface treated product. The present invention relates to an improvement of a sputtering device and a sputtering gas introduction pipe that can be used in manufacturing. In the following description, the production of the magnetic recording medium will be described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to a film-shaped surface-treated workpiece, but a flat surface-treated workpiece such as an optical disk. It should be added that is also applicable.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art First, a conventional sputtering apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram of a conventional sputtering device. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 1 generally indicates a sputtering apparatus. In this sputtering apparatus 1, the inside of one chamber surrounded by an outer casing 2 is partitioned by partition plates 3A and 3B to form a vacuum chamber 4 and a film forming chamber 5. The partition plate 3A vertically descends from the ceiling of the outer casing 2 and partitions to the middle of the room. The partition plate 3A stands vertically from the floor of the outer casing 2 in a horizontal position slightly near the vacuum chamber 4 and the room. The window 6 is formed between the two free ends.

Inside the vacuum chamber 4, a cooling can 7 which is a support device for a surface-treated workpiece and which rotates in the direction of arrow R at a constant cylindrical speed forms a part of its outer peripheral surface from the window 6 through the window 6. The long polymer film Fa of the supply roll 8 which is supported in the state of being exposed in the film chamber 5 and which is supported at the upper left position of the vacuum chamber 4 over about half the circumferential surface of the cooling can 7 in this state. The polymer film Fb which has been wound and sputtered, which will be described later, is wound by a winding roll 9 supported at a lower left position of the vacuum chamber 4.

A cathode electrode 10 is disposed in the film forming chamber 5 toward a part of the outer peripheral surface of the cooling can 7 exposed in the film forming chamber 5 from the window 6, and between the both. The deposition mask 11 that covers the periphery of the cathode electrode 10 with
On the cathode electrode 10 side of this deposition mask 11, a sputtering gas introduction pipe (hereinafter simply referred to as “gas introduction pipe”) 12 for supplying a sputtering gas from the lower peripheral portion to the vicinity of the window 6 is arranged. Has been done.

The floor of the vacuum chamber 4 and the film forming chamber 5
Openings 13 and 14 are opened on the floors of the above, and exhaust devices 15 and 16 are connected to the respective openings 13 and 14.

When the protective film is formed on the surface of the magnetic layer already formed on the polymer film by using the sputtering apparatus 1 having such a structure, the magnetic layer is formed on the supply roll 8. The polymer film Fa thus formed is mounted, the polymer film Fa is wound around about half the circumference of the cooling can 7, and the end portion thereof can be wound by the winding roll 9. On the other hand, a protective film material is attached as a target T to the cathode electrode 10. After the preparation as described above, the exhaust devices 15 and 16 are operated to depressurize the vacuum chamber 4 to, for example, about 10 Pascal and the film forming chamber 5 to about 1 Pascal to apply a voltage to the cathode electrode 10. It is applied and heated, and from the gas introduction pipe 12,
For example, argon gas is introduced.

Next, when the plasma P is generated in the vicinity of the window 6, the cooling can 7 and the like are started to rotate in the direction of arrow R, the polymer film Fa is run at a predetermined speed, and the window A protective film material is sputtered on the surface of the magnetic layer of the polymer film Fa exposed in the film forming chamber 5 from the portion 6. Then, the protective film can be formed on the surface of the magnetic layer.

[0008]

However, as described above, since the sputtering gas is introduced on the cathode electrode 10 side of the deposition mask 11 by the gas introduction tube 12 provided in the lower peripheral portion thereof, this Gas introduction pipe 12
If the sputtered film adheres to the and the sputtered film is an insulating film, the insulating film is charged, so that arcing occurs or the adhered sputtered film is peeled off, which becomes flakes and causes dust. This has led to an increase in dropouts of magnetic recording media. Therefore, it was necessary to regularly clean the gas introduction pipe 12.

Further, the conventional gas introducing pipe 12 is simply a pipe which is arranged perpendicularly to the running direction of the polymer film Fa and has a plurality of small holes formed at a predetermined pitch, or such a pipe is doubled. Since the pipe was a pipe, a difference in the concentration distribution of the sputtering gas occurred in the width direction of the polymer film Fa, and a sputtered film having a uniform film quality could not be formed.

Furthermore, since the gas introduction tube 12 blows out the sputtering gas in the vicinity of the internal type cathode electrode 10, an abnormal discharge tends to occur on the back side of the cathode electrode 10 and inside the cathode electrode 10. Therefore, the sputtering apparatus of the present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, reduces abnormal discharge, prevents the generation of dust, and obtains a magnetic recording medium in which dropout does not occur, and the film thickness,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a sputtering apparatus which can obtain a sputtered film having a uniform film quality and can save maintenance such as cleaning.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the sputtering apparatus of the present invention is provided with a cathode electrode, a surface-treated workpiece supporting device arranged facing the cathode electrode, and a peripheral portion of the cathode electrode. In the sputtering device in which the deposition mask and the gas introduction pipe are arranged in the film forming chamber, the gas introduction pipe is arranged outside the deposition mask, and the sputtering gas is supplied to the surface-treated workpiece supporting device and the sputtering device. The above problem was solved by being configured to jet a thin film on the surface of the surface-treated workpiece by being jetted into a gap with the deposition mask.

In one embodiment of the sputtering apparatus of the present invention, the gas introduction pipe is arranged outside the deposition mask, and the sputtering gas is applied to the surface-treated workpiece supporting device and the deposition target. It is squirting in the gap with the mask. Furthermore, in another embodiment of the sputtering apparatus of the present invention, a structure in which the gas introduction pipe is arranged on the inner surface of the deposition mask is used, and sputtering gas is supplied to the surface-treated workpiece supporting device and the deposition mask. It spurts into the gap. In still another embodiment of the sputtering apparatus of the present invention, the window is formed by a pair of upper and lower partition plates, and the surface-treated workpiece supporting device is provided in the vicinity of the window in one of the rooms where the space is partitioned. And a cathode electrode near the window of the other chamber at a position facing the surface-treated workpiece supporting device, and at a position between the cathode electrode and the surface-treated workpiece supporting device. In a sputtering device in which a deposition mask and a gas introduction pipe are arranged around the cathode electrode, the gas introduction pipe is arranged on the upper partition plate, and the sputtering gas is It is jetted into the gap between the surface-treated workpiece support device and the deposition mask.

Further, the gas introducing pipe is constituted by a tournament-like conduit so that a sputtered film having a uniform film quality can be obtained. As one gas introduction pipe constituted by the tournament-like conduit, a quadrilateral flat body having a first pair of sides and a second pair of sides having a width substantially equal to the width of the surface-treated workpiece is used. A first concave groove carved on a plane from a central portion of one side of the first pair toward both sides of the second pair so as to spread over almost the entire width and branch relatively shallowly into a tournament shape. And adjacent to all the ends of this first tournament-shaped groove, and one second groove that is deeper than the first groove so that all the ends are conductive, and this second groove The one side edge is continuous with the entire length of one side edge opposite to the one side of the first pair, and is carved far shallower than the depth of the tournament-shaped first concave groove that is spread over almost the entire width. And a third recessed groove and a through hole formed at the tip of the first recessed groove, the same shape as the main body. Combining the flat lid of,
Fixing, a tournament-like conduit is provided at the first groove portion, a gas reservoir is provided at the second groove portion, and a blowing slit having a slight gap is formed at the third groove portion. And a hood having a width exceeding the entire width of the tournament-like conduit is fixed along one side of the surface of the lid on the side of the blowing slit, and a gas supply pipe is connected to the through hole. Good to do.

If the surface-treated workpiece is a long polymer film sheet, the surface-treated workpiece supporting device is constituted by a cylindrical cooling can, and a part of the peripheral surface of the cooling can is used as the above-mentioned. The polymer film sheet may be sequentially supported and supplied, and the sputtering gas may be supplied from the gas introduction tube into the gap between the supported polymer film sheet and the cathode electrode.

[0015]

Therefore, the number of elements for depositing the sputtered film near the cathode electrode is reduced, the number of arcing is reduced, and the generation of dust is reduced, so that the sputtered film with less dropout can be obtained. Further, since a uniform gas concentration can be generated in the width direction, a sputtered film having a uniform film thickness and film quality can be obtained. Since it is desired to deposit the sputtered film on the gas introduction pipe or the like, maintenance work such as cleaning these can be omitted.

[0016]

EXAMPLES Next, the sputtering apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a sputtering apparatus that is a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partial conceptual diagram of a sputtering apparatus that is a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. It is a partial conceptual diagram of the sputtering apparatus which is a 3rd Example, FIG. 4 is a top view of the gas introduction pipe of this invention which can be used for the sputtering apparatus of this invention, and FIG. 5 is the gas shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of the gas introduction pipe of FIG. 4, showing a part of a state in which the introduction pipe is attached to the sputtering apparatus 1A shown in FIG. 1. In the following explanation,
The same parts as those of the conventional sputtering device 1 are designated by the same reference numerals in the following description.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1A generally indicates a sputtering apparatus 1A according to the first embodiment of the present invention. This sputtering device 1A, like the sputtering device 1 of the prior art, divides the inside of one room surrounded by the outer casing 2 into a partition plate 3A,
A vacuum chamber 4 and a film forming chamber 5 are formed by partitioning with 3B. The partition plate 3A vertically descends from the ceiling of the outer casing 2 and partitions to the middle of the room. The partition plate 3A stands vertically from the floor of the outer casing 2 in a horizontal position slightly near the vacuum chamber 4 and the room. The window 6 is formed between the two free ends.

Inside the vacuum chamber 4, a cylindrical cooling can 7, which is a device for supporting a surface-treated workpiece, is supported with a part of its outer peripheral surface exposed to the film forming chamber 5 through the window 6. In this state, the long polymer film Fa of the supply roll 8 supported at the upper left position of the vacuum chamber 4 is wound around the half circumference surface of the cooling can 7, and the sputtered polymer described later is used. The film Fb is configured to be wound by the winding roll 9 supported at the lower left position of the vacuum chamber 4.

In the film forming chamber 5, a cathode electrode 10 is arranged from the window 6 toward a part of the outer peripheral surface of the cooling can 7 exposed in the film forming chamber 5, and both of them. An adhesion-preventing mask 11 that covers the periphery of the cathode electrode 10 is provided between them. Further, in this sputtering apparatus 1A, a gas introduction tube 20 described later, which is suitable for the sputtering apparatus 1A of the present invention, which will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, is provided outside the upper part of the deposition mask 11. The sputtering gas was made to be able to be ejected into the gap between the cooling can 7 exposed to the window 6 and the deposition mask 11.

Like the prior art sputtering apparatus 1, the floor of the vacuum chamber 4 and the floor of the film forming chamber 5 are provided with openings 13 and 14, respectively.
Exhaust devices 15 and 16 are connected to 4.

When the protective film is formed on the surface of the magnetic layer already formed on the polymer film by using the sputtering apparatus 1A having such a structure, as in the conventional sputtering apparatus 1, A polymer film Fa on which a magnetic layer is formed is mounted on the supply roll 8, the polymer film Fa is wound around about half the circumference of the cooling can 7, and the end thereof can be wound by a winding roll 9. To do. On the other hand, a protective film material is mounted as a target T on the cathode electrode 10. After preparing in this manner, the exhaust devices 15 and 16 are operated to move the vacuum chamber 4 to, for example,
The film formation chamber 5 is depressurized to about 10 Pascal, the voltage is applied to the cathode electrode 10, and argon gas is supplied from the gas introduction pipe 20 to the cooling can 7 and the deposition mask 11. Squirt into the gap.

Next, with the plasma P generated in the vicinity of the window 6, the cooling can 7 and the like are started to rotate in the direction of the arrow R, and the polymer film Fa is run at a predetermined speed, and the window is opened. A protective film material is sputtered on the surface of the magnetic layer of the polymer film Fa exposed in the film forming chamber 5 from the portion 6 to form a film on the surface of the magnetic layer.

As described above, the sputtering apparatus 1A of the present invention
Since the gas introducing pipe 20 is arranged outside the upper part of the deposition mask 11 so that the sputtering gas is ejected into the gap between the cooling can 7 and the deposition mask 11, the sputtered particles will be sputtered by the gas introduction pipe 20. Does not stick to

Next, referring to FIG. 2, a sputtering apparatus 1B which is a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the sputtering apparatus 1B, the gas introduction pipe 20 is arranged at the lower end portion of the upper partition plate 3A on the film forming chamber 5 side in the sputtering apparatus 1A.
The other configuration is the same as the configuration of the sputtering apparatus 1A except for the above.

Therefore, in this sputtering apparatus 1A as well, the sputtering gas from the gas introduction tube 20 can be jetted into the gap between the cooling can 7 exposed at the window 6 and the deposition mask 11, so that sputtered particles are generated. It does not adhere to the gas introduction pipe 20 at all.

FIG. 3 shows a sputtering apparatus 1C which is a third embodiment of the present invention different from the above two embodiments. In this sputtering apparatus 1C, the gas introduction pipe 20 is arranged on the inner surface of the upper deposition mask 11, and the sputtering gas is ejected into the gap between the cooling can exposed in the window 6 and the deposition mask 11. Configured to let. Therefore,
Also in this sputtering apparatus 1C, sputtered particles do not adhere to the gas introduction pipe 20 at all.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, an embodiment of the gas introducing pipe 20 of the present invention, which is suitable for use in each of the above-mentioned sputtering apparatuses, will be described. The gas introducing pipe 20 of this embodiment has a rectangular flat plate main body 21 having a width wider than that of the polymer film Fa and a thin flat plate cover 2 having the same shape as the main body 21.
6 and a wide hood 27 fixed along one side of the surface of the lid 26.

On one plane of the main body 21, there is formed a first concave groove that is carved from a central portion of one long side thereof, spreads over almost the entire width toward both short sides, and is branched relatively shallowly into a tournament shape. Adjacent to all the ends of the first tournament-shaped groove, and one second rectangular parallelepiped groove deeper than the first groove so that all the ends are electrically connected, and this second groove. The tournament-shaped first recessed groove which is conducted over the entire length of one side edge of the recessed groove and which is spread over almost the entire width of the one side edge portion on the other long side opposite to the one long side. A third groove and a single through hole formed at the tip of the first groove are formed so that the groove is much shallower than the depth.

When the lid 26 is fitted and fixed to one flat surface of the main body 21 thus processed, the tournament-shaped conduit 22 is formed in the first concave groove portion, and the second concave groove portion is formed. In the gas reservoir 23, a blowing slit 24 having a slight gap is formed in the third groove portion,
The through hole serves as a gas supply pipe receiver 25. Then, a hood 27 extending from the blowing slit 25 and having a width exceeding the entire width of the tournament-shaped conduit 22 is fixed to a shallow step portion formed on the surface of the lid 26 on the blowing slit 24 side. Has been done.

FIG. 5 shows the gas introduction pipe 2 having such a structure.
0 is attached to the sputtering apparatus 1A of the first embodiment shown in FIG. However, only a part of the sputtering apparatus 1A is shown. That is, with the lid 26 side up,
With the body 21 side down, the front end of the hood 27 is separated by the partition plate 3A.
Is fixed to the outer surface of the deposition-inhibitory mask 11 in a positional relationship of being close to
Connected.

Therefore, the gas introducing pipe 20 having such a structure.
When, for example, a sputtering gas such as argon gas is supplied from the gas supply pipe 30, the sputtering gas is supplied to the gas reservoir 24 at an equal partial pressure by the tournament-shaped conduit 22, and is uniformly discharged from the blowing slit 24. Further, the polymer film Fa can be blown out to the gap between the cooling can 7 and the deposition mask 11 by the hood 27, and can be jetted uniformly over the entire width of the polymer film Fa exposed at the window 6 portion. Therefore, the thin film deposited on the polymer film Fa has uniform film quality and film thickness. Further, since the gas introduction pipe 20 is located outside the deposition mask 11, it is not contaminated by sputtered particles. The sputtering gas after the sputtering is exhausted to the outside of the vacuum chamber 4 and the film forming chamber 5 by the exhaust devices 15 and 16.

Reactive sputtering can be performed by using a reactive gas as the sputtering gas. For example,
Nitrogen gas N ₂ as a reactive gas from the gas supply pipe 30
And the target T is sputtered using silicon Si, a silicon nitrite, which is an insulating thin film, can be formed on the surface of the surface-treated workpiece.

[0033]

As described above, according to the sputtering apparatus and the sputtering gas introduction pipe of the present invention, 1. The number of arcing times is reduced because the number of elements that deposit the sputtered film near the cathode electrode is reduced, so that the generation of dust is reduced and a sputtered film with less dropout is obtained. Moreover, since a uniform gas concentration can be generated in the width direction, a sputtered film having a uniform film thickness and film quality can be obtained. Since there is no locally high gas pressure inside or on the back side of the cathode electrode, abnormal discharge is reduced. Further, since it is desired to deposit the sputtered film on the gas introduction pipe or the like, it is possible to obtain various excellent effects such as saving the labor of maintenance such as cleaning these.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a sputtering apparatus that is a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial conceptual diagram of a sputtering apparatus that is a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partial conceptual diagram of a sputtering apparatus that is a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a top view of a sputtering gas introduction tube of the present invention that can be used in the sputtering apparatus of the present invention.

5 shows a part of a state in which the sputtering gas introduction pipe shown in FIG. 4 is attached to the sputtering apparatus 1A shown in FIG. 1, and is a cross section taken along line AA of the sputtering gas introduction pipe in FIG. It is a figure.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram of a conventional sputtering device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Fa polymer film T target P plasma 1A Sputtering device which is the first embodiment of the present invention 1B Sputtering device which is the second embodiment of the present invention 1C Sputtering device which is the third embodiment of the present invention 2 Outer casing 3A Partition plate 3B Partition plate 4 Vacuum tank 5 Film forming chamber 6 Window 7 Cooling can 8 Supply roll 9 Winding roll 10 Cathode electrode 11 Deposition mask 13 Opening 14 Opening 15 Exhaust device 16 Exhaust device 20 Sputtering gas introducing pipe (gas introducing 21) Main body 22 Tournament-like conduit 23 Gas reservoir 24 Blow-off slit 25 Gas supply pipe receiver 26 Lid 27 Hood 30 Gas supply pipe

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A deposition chamber in which a cathode electrode, a surface-treated workpiece supporting device disposed facing the cathode electrode, a deposition mask disposed in the peripheral portion of the cathode electrode, and a sputtering gas introduction pipe are provided. In the sputtering apparatus arranged in the above, the sputtering gas introduction pipe is arranged on the side of the deposition mask, and the sputtering gas is ejected into the gap between the surface-treated workpiece supporting device and the deposition mask, A sputtering apparatus characterized in that a thin film can be formed on the surface of a surface-treated workpiece. 2. The sputtering gas introduction pipe is arranged outside the deposition mask, and the sputtering gas is ejected into a gap between the surface-treated workpiece supporting device and the deposition mask. The sputtering apparatus according to claim 1. 3. The sputtering gas introducing pipe is arranged on an inner surface of the deposition mask, and the sputtering gas is ejected into a gap between the surface-treated workpiece supporting device and the deposition mask. Item 1. The sputtering apparatus according to Item 1. 4. A surface-treated workpiece supporting device is disposed in the vicinity of the window in one of the rooms in which the window is formed by a pair of upper and lower partition plates and the space is partitioned, and the surface-treated workpiece is processed. A cathode electrode near the window of the other chamber at a position facing the object support device, and a position between the cathode electrode and the surface-treated workpiece support device, disposed in the peripheral portion of the cathode electrode. In the sputtering apparatus having the deposition mask and the sputtering gas introduction tube arranged as described above, the sputtering gas introduction tube is arranged on the upper partition plate, and the sputtering gas is attached to the surface-treated workpiece supporting device and the deposition target. A sputtering apparatus, characterized in that a thin film can be formed on the surface of the surface-treated workpiece by being ejected into a gap between the mask and the mask. 5. The sputtering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sputtering gas introduction pipe is configured by a tournament-shaped pipe line. 6. The surface-treated workpiece is a long polymer film sheet, and the surface-treated workpiece supporting device is composed of a cylindrical rotating cooling can. One of the cooling cans is a cooling can. It is characterized in that the polymer film-like sheet is sequentially supported and supplied on the peripheral surface, and the sputtering gas is supplied from the sputtering gas introduction pipe into the gap between the supported polymer film-like sheet and the deposition mask. The sputtering apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5. 7. The sputtering gas introducing pipe formed of the tournament-shaped conduit extends over the entire width of the polymer film-like sheet.
2. The sputtering apparatus according to 1. 8. The sputtering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the thin film formed on the surface-treated workpiece is a magnetic recording thin film and / or a protective thin film. 9. A flat plate main body of a quadrilateral comprising a first pair of sides and a second pair of sides, on one plane of the main pair, starting from the central portion of the first pair of sides, the second pair of sides. To the both sides of the first groove adjacent to all the ends of the first tournament groove and the first groove that is carved in a tournament shape that is relatively shallow and spreads over almost the entire width, so that all the terminals are conductive. To
One second groove that is deeper than the first groove and is continuous with the entire length of one side edge of the second groove and that is on the opposite side of the first pair of sides. A single penetrating hole formed on the edge of the third groove and the first groove, which is carved much shallower than the depth of the tournament-shaped first groove that spreads over almost the entire width of the side portion. A flat lid having the same shape as that of the main body is joined and fixed, and a tournament-shaped conduit is formed at the first concave groove portion, and a gas is formed at the second concave groove portion. A width that exceeds the entire width of the tournament-shaped conduit along one side of the surface of the lid body on the side of the blowing slit is formed by forming a blowing slit with a slight gap at the third groove. The gas supply pipe is configured by fixing the hood of, and connecting the gas supply pipe to the through hole.