KR101255591B1 - Coating apparatus for uniform coating - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a coating apparatus capable of forming a uniform coating layer on the coated body, and more particularly, the target holder is automatically moved in accordance with the shape change of the coated body to maintain a constant distance between the coated body and the target. The present invention relates to a coating apparatus capable of forming a uniform coating layer.
The present invention is provided with a target provided to implement the coating of the coating body through the discharge in a vacuum space, the target holder which can be moved up and down via a driving means; And a distance measuring system which is electrically connected to the driving means and provides the distance measuring result to the driving means so that the coating becomes uniform in response to the shape change of the coated body through the distance measurement between the coated body and the target. It provides a coating apparatus capable of a uniform coating comprising a.
According to an aspect of the present invention, even if the shape of the coated body changes, it is possible to provide a coating apparatus which can maintain a constant distance between the target body and the target corresponding to this, thereby avoiding a coating layer of a constant thickness It can be formed on the coating.

Description

Coating device capable of uniform coating {COATING APPARATUS FOR UNIFORM COATING}

The present invention relates to a coating apparatus capable of forming a uniform coating layer on the coated body, and more particularly, the target holder is automatically moved in accordance with the shape change of the coated body to maintain a constant distance between the coated body and the target. The present invention relates to a coating apparatus capable of forming a uniform coating layer.

Sputtering is widely used as a method for depositing a thin film on an object. Sputtering is a technique of depositing a coating layer on a coated body by releasing atoms or molecules of a target and attaching the released atoms or molecules to a coated body. The best characteristic of the sputtering process is that Since the movement of a material is not a chemical or thermal phenomenon but a physical phenomenon, almost all materials can be used as targets.

The principle of sputtering is briefly described as follows. Usually, metal atoms or molecules are thrown out by hitting an inert element such as argon against a target made of a metal plate, and then the protruding metal atoms or molecules are deposited on the surface of the coated body. More specifically, when a direct current or RF (radio frequency) power is applied to a target while argon (Ar) gas, which is an inert material, is flowed into a sputtering gas in a chamber in which vacuum is maintained, a plasma between a substrate and a target to be deposited is formed. plasma) occurs. In such a plasma, argon gas is ionized into cations by a high output discharge ammeter. The argon cations thus formed are accelerated to the cathode by a direct current ammeter and impinge on the target surface. The atoms of the target protrude out of the target surface by such a full elastic collision, and the protruding atoms are attached to the coated body to form as a film. It will be.

As described above, sputtering is not limited to depositing only the metal used as the target on the coated body, and simultaneously injecting an argon gas and a reactive gas such as oxygen or nitrogen causes the atoms of the target and the reactive gases to By reacting and depositing on the coating material, there is an advantage that it is possible to deposit materials such as metal oxide or metal nitride.

Recently, by using such reactive sputtering, a metal compound is deposited not only on a metal body but also on a coated body such as glass and plastic, and the thickness of the metal compound is controlled to implement a deposition film of various colors, that is, a color coating.

On the other hand, one process of charging the coated body and forming a coating on the coated body is also called a process or batch (BATCH). Although the uniformity of the coating layer formed on the coating is important, the uniformity of the coating layer between the batches is also important. That is, since the shape, thickness, or type of the coated body or the target may vary between the arrangement and the arrangement, the distance between the target and the coated body should be kept constant in order to form the coating layer uniformly. Furthermore, the distance between the target and the coated body not only directly affects the coating thickness, but also directly or indirectly in the physical properties such as crystallinity (crystal structure), component (composition), surface roughness (roughness), and microstructure of the coating layer. As it affects, it is an important factor to be controlled when coating. In particular, the color coating can be said that the control of the distance is very important because the color change occurs even in the thickness of several tens of nanometers.

As a result, in the above-described general thin film deposition or sputtering for color coating, an important point is that the thin film or coating layer formed on the coated body must have a constant thickness. A certain distance must be maintained. However, when the shape of the coated body is complicated or when sputtering another shaped target body after sputtering a target body having a certain shape, it is difficult to keep the distance between the target and the coated body constant or at every sputtering time. There is a problem in that the distance between the target and the coated body must be set individually. In addition, even if set individually, since the uniformity of the coating may be lost due to subtle errors, there is a need for a technology development that can solve such a disadvantage.

One side of the present invention is to measure the distance between the target body and the target by using a distance meter to automatically move the target holder, so that even if the shape of the target body changes, the distance between the target body and the target is kept constant. It is an object of the present invention to provide a coating apparatus.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a coating apparatus in which the distance between the coated body and the target is kept constant even if the shape of the coated body changes, so that the thickness of the coating layer formed on the coated body can be kept constant.

The present invention is provided with a target provided to implement the coating of the coating body through the discharge in a vacuum space, the target holder which can be moved up and down via a driving means; And a distance measuring system which is electrically connected to the driving means and provides the distance measuring result to the driving means so that the coating becomes uniform in response to the shape change of the coated body through the distance measurement between the coated body and the target. It provides a coating apparatus capable of a uniform coating comprising a.

Preferably, the distance measuring system is configured to be connected to the driving means through a device control unit so as to maintain a constant distance between the target holder and the coated body with respect to the distance variation between the target body and the target.

The range finder is preferably capable of transmitting and receiving a laser or infrared.

The distance measuring system may be connected to the target holder to be variable in position through a moving means, and in this case, the distance measuring system may be provided with an anti-fouling film to prevent contamination by the coating material.

The range finder may be mounted on an inner wall of the coating apparatus.

The range finder may be fixedly associated with a shield connected to an upper portion of the coating apparatus, wherein the range finder may include a shutter inside or outside the range finder to prevent contamination by coating material. Do.

The to-be-coated body may have a reflective layer.

The coated body may rotate, and the coating may be a color coating.

According to an aspect of the present invention, even if the shape of the coated body changes, it is possible to provide a coating apparatus which can maintain a constant distance between the target body and the target corresponding to this, thereby avoiding a coating layer of a constant thickness It can be formed on the coating.

1 is a schematic diagram showing that the distance between the target and the coated body is changed according to the thickness change of the coated body.
2 is a schematic diagram showing a change in arrangement of the target and the coated body, (a) shows a form in which the target and the coated body in a horizontal form, (b) shows a form in which the target and the coated body are arranged in a vertical form.
Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing the rotational shape of the coated body according to the change of the arrangement of the target and the coated body, (a) is a case where the target and the coated body is arranged in a horizontal form, (b) is the target and the coated It shows the case where a sieve is a form arrange | positioned in the vertical form.
4 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the coating apparatus of the present invention.
5 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the coating apparatus of the present invention.
6 is a cross-sectional view showing a coating apparatus in which a target and a to-be-coated body are disposed in a vertical form, (a) is a sectional view seen from above, and (b) is a sectional view seen from the front.

The present invention is provided with a target provided to implement the coating of the coating body through the discharge in a vacuum space, the target holder which can be moved up and down via a driving means; And a distance measuring system which is electrically connected to the driving means and provides the distance measuring result to the driving means so that the coating becomes uniform in response to the shape change of the coated body through the distance measurement between the coated body and the target. It relates to a coating apparatus comprising a.

As described above, in the coating apparatus of the present invention, an inert element such as argon is caused to strike a target made of a metal plate, and then a metal atom or molecule is thrown out, and the protruding metal atom or molecule is formed on the surface of the coated body. It uses the principle of sputtering to be deposited. Of course, when the target is made of an insulator, it is difficult to sputter with a DC ammeter, so RF sputtering may be used, but the present invention includes such a concept. In addition, the coating apparatus of the present invention can be applied to a vacuum deposition system to which the sputtering principle is applied, that is, an arc coating apparatus, an ion plating apparatus, an evaporation apparatus, and the like.

In order for the deposition or coating by sputtering to be performed smoothly, the coating apparatus of the present invention needs to have a vacuum inside the reaction, for example, inside the chamber. This is because sputtering does not proceed well in the atmospheric pressure state, and a reasonably high power (voltage or current) is required for the progression to occur. In addition, as the inside of the apparatus (chamber) in which the reaction proceeds with the above is in a vacuum state, it is possible to prevent contamination of the coated body or the target by impurities or impurity gas. In general, the vacuum state means having a pressure range of 1 × 10 ⁻³ to 1 × 10 ⁻¹ torr, but is not limited thereto, and may be changed by coating conditions. On the other hand, since atoms or molecules emitted from the target are to be laminated on the coated body to form a coating layer, an internal electric field must be formed, thereby forming the coating layer through discharge.

4 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the coating apparatus of the present invention. Hereinafter, the coating apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 4. However, it should be noted that the coating apparatus shown in FIG. 4 is merely an example for describing the present invention in detail and does not limit the scope of the present invention.

As shown in Figure 4, the coating apparatus 1 of the present invention is provided with a target 30 provided to implement the coating of the coating body 10, the vertical movement through the drive means 50 is Possible target holder 40. In more detail, a to-be-coated body holder 20 capable of seating and fixing the to-be-coated body 10 is provided below the coating apparatus 1, and the to-be-coated body holder 20 is coated. The to-be-coated body 10 is seated and fixed thereon. In addition, a target holder 40 capable of fixing the target 30 and the target 30 so as to face the to-be-coated body 10 and the to-be-coated holder 20 is provided. Preferably, the target 30 and the coated body 10 are disposed at predetermined intervals. If the person skilled in the art knows the type of target or the coated body, the flow rate of argon gas, In consideration of factors such as the power applied to the coating apparatus, the thickness of the desired coating layer, it is possible to easily derive an appropriate distance between the target and the coated body.

The target holder 40 can be moved up and down through the driving means 50. Even though the shape of the coated body 10 is changed through this, the target 30 and the coated body are formed so that a coating layer having a desired thickness is formed. The distance of (10) can be kept constant. 1 is a schematic diagram showing that the distance between the target and the coated body is changed according to the thickness change of the coated body. As shown in FIG. 1, for example, the distance between the target 30 and the target body 10 for forming a target coating layer is X, which is greater than the thickness of the target body 10 during sputtering. If the thickness of the coated body 10 is increased by ΔX in the sputtering process performed after the initial sputtering, the target holder 40 and the coated body 10 are moved by moving the target holder 40 by ΔX in the upward direction. The distance of) is maintained at X, so that a coating layer having a uniform thickness can be obtained.

2 is a schematic diagram showing a change in arrangement of the target and the coated body, (a) shows a form in which the target and the coated body in a horizontal form, (b) shows a form in which the target and the coated body are arranged in a vertical form. As shown in FIG. 2, the target and the coated body may be disposed in a horizontal form or a vertical form. When the target and the coated body are arranged in a horizontal form, the target moves up and down, and when the target is arranged in a vertical form, the target moves left and right. As a result, the above-mentioned 'up and down movement' of the target holder 40 includes both the concept of up, down, left and right movements according to the arrangement of the target and the coated body. Of course, the target located on the upper side and the coated body located on the lower side may be arranged in the opposite form, that is, the coated body on the upper side and the target on the lower side.

The drive means 50 is preferably made of a drive mechanism 52 for moving the target holder 40 and a power supply device 54 for supplying power to move the drive mechanism 52, Although not shown in Figure 4, it is preferable to include a power supply for supplying power to the power supply (54). On the other hand, the target 30 may be circular, but may have a rectangular or rectangular shape, and the coated body may also be formed in various forms, by rotating the coated body holder, the coated body 10 also It can be rotated to form a uniform coating on the coated body. Rotation of the to-be-coated body holder may be achieved by driving another drive means below the to-be-coated body holder, which is different from the drive means 52 capable of moving the target holder.

Moreover, distance measurement can be performed easily and precisely by rotating a to-be-coated body. That is, the distance measuring system measures the distance between the target body and the target even when the target body is stopped. However, even when the target body is rotated, even in the case of a complex body, the entire body of the target body Since the distance between the targets can be measured, this can be averaged or dataized to allow more precise and easier coating. Furthermore, the distance measurement can be precisely performed without having a large number of distance measuring instruments, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost.

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing the rotational shape of the coated body according to the change of the arrangement of the target and the coated body, (a) is a case where the target and the coated body is arranged in a horizontal form, (b) is the target and the coated 3 shows a case in which the sieve is arranged in a vertical form. As shown in FIG. 3, when the sieve is arranged in a horizontal form, one surface of the coated body is coated, and when the sieve is arranged in a vertical form, Several sides can be coated.

It is preferable that the coating apparatus 1 of this invention is provided with the distance measuring system 60 which can measure the distance between the to-be-coated body 10 and the target 30. FIG. Before the first sputtering, the distance between the coated body 10 and the target 30 is measured by the distance measuring device 60, and the coated body to be put into the sputtering process performed after the initial sputtering. In measuring the distance, when the shape is changed in comparison with the previous coated body and the distance between the coated body 10 and the target 30 is changed, the driving means 50 is moved to maintain a constant distance. If the shape of the body to be coated is complicated, the distance measuring device 60 calculates an average thickness of the body to be coated and gives a signal (result of a distance measurement) to the driving means 50. Received drive device can be moved to a certain distance, it is possible to form a uniform coating layer on the to-be-coated body which has a complex shape and the average thickness can be changed.

The distance between the target and the target to be recognized through the distance meter 60 is the information is input to the device control unit 80, the information input to the device control unit 80 is linked to the driving means 50 The driving means moves by the required distance, and since this can be done automatically, it can eliminate the inconvenience of adjusting the distance one by one. Of course, if it is necessary to adjust the distance directly by the user's intention, the driving means may be moved manually.

The apparatus control unit may also serve to correct the distance by the target reduction by utilizing a database derived from a previously input formula or experience with respect to the sputtering power or the amount of target thickness that decreases with time.

On the other hand, the distance measuring system 60 may be changed in position through the movement means 70 associated with the target holder 40, before the sputtering is moved to the front of the target to measure the distance between the coated body, sputtering In the case where the coating reaction proceeds smoothly, the distance meter 60 is moved to the rear portion of the target holder 40 so as not to interfere. In addition, through the movement, the range finder 60 may be prevented from being contaminated by the coating reaction material generated during sputtering. In order to prevent contamination by the coating material, the range finder is preferably provided with a contamination preventive film, and in this case, there is an effect of extending the service life of the range finder 60. In addition, when the antifouling film is soiled, simply replacing with a new antifouling film can reduce the process time and cost.

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the coating apparatus of the present invention, as shown in Figure 5, the range finder 60 may be fixed to the shield 90 is connected to the upper portion of the coating apparatus is connected. . The shield is a means for preventing sputtering from occurring between the target and the target holder, and preventing only the target from being sputtered. In general, since the target holder is longer than the target, argon ions formed inside the coating apparatus (chamber) hit the target holder during sputtering, so that the material may be ejected from the target holder. The coating on the devices makes it possible to generate contamination. For this reason, it is a component which prevents sputtering of a target holder by providing a shield in the side part of a target holder. The shield also serves to prevent sputtering of devices connected to the target holder as well as the target holder. When the distance meter is attached to the shield 90, it is not variable as described above, but is fixedly attached.

In addition, the distance measuring system may be provided with a shutter 100 to protect the camera lens therein, which is a principle for protecting the camera lens, that is, when the camera is taken, the shutter is opened, if not taken the shutter Uses the principle of closing. If it is difficult to mount the shutter inside the range finder, as shown in FIG. 5, the shutter 100, which can be changed through rotation, is provided to almost contact the range finder, thereby preventing contamination of the range finder. can do.

On the other hand, since the temperature inside the coating apparatus (chamber) may be increased or the shield itself may be heated by sputtering, the range finder may also be unreasonable by high temperature. In this case, the above problem can be solved by mounting the range finder to a certain distance from the shield or by allowing the coolant to flow through the range finder and the shield.

The range finder may measure a distance between a target and a target to be coated by transmitting and receiving a laser or an infrared ray, and is preferably in the form of a sensor capable of transmitting and receiving the laser or infrared ray. If the material to be coated is a material that does not reflect the laser or infrared light, for example, a material such as ceramics, a thin film-shaped reflective layer is provided on the upper or side surface of the coated material to reflect the laser or infrared light well. The distance measurement through the range finder can be facilitated by making it possible, and the reflecting layer is not particularly limited as long as the reflecting layer has a high reflectivity such as a mirror or a metal plate and can reflect the signal transmitted from the range finder.

6 is a cross-sectional view showing a coating apparatus in which the target and the coated body are disposed in a vertical form, (a) is a cross-sectional view as seen from above, and (b) is a cross-sectional view as seen from the front. Can be mounted. If four targets are provided, as shown in FIG. 5, the four targets are arranged to form an angle of 90 °, and a distance meter is attached and fixed to the inner wall of the coating apparatus between the targets. The distance between the coatings is measured.

A typical sputtering apparatus generally includes a shutter, which covers the target so that fine impurities and oxide films, etc., present on the surface are not directly deposited on the coated body when the target is exposed to air, and sputtering in this state The contaminants are deposited on the inner surface of the shutter at the target so that the coated body serves to form only the target coating layer.

Therefore, when the sputtering process is performed, the shutter is initially positioned in front of the target so that an uncontaminated coating layer of the coated body can be formed, and then impurities or impurities in the surface of the target can be formed. When disappearing, it is possible to position the shutter in front of the range finder, it is possible to prevent contamination of the range finder. Of course, in this case, since there is a disadvantage in that the contamination of the shutter can not be prevented at the beginning of the sputtering process, it is preferable that the shutter further includes a shutter in the antifouling film or inside thereof.

The shutter may be continuously rotated, but each may be driven individually, and may move back to its original position after the movement instead of one-way rotation to perform the function of the shutter.

Although the cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 6 shows when the target and the coated body are disposed in a vertical form, the present invention is not limited thereto, and when the target and the coated body are disposed in a horizontal form, a distance to an upper or lower inner wall of the coating apparatus is shown. By attaching a measurement system, coating can be performed by applying the same principle as described above.

If the coated body is enlarged like a car and has a complicated shape, the target body includes a plurality of targets including the distance measuring system, and the targets are moved to maintain a constant distance between the coated body and each target. In addition, uniform coating can be applied to complex and enlarged coated bodies.

The coating layer formed on the coating layer may be a color coating, the coating apparatus of the present invention can be preferably applied in this case. The color coating may be variously changed in color by depositing (coating) a metal compound on the coated body through injection of a reactive gas and adjusting the thickness of the metal compound to be coated. That is, when the target color is determined, even if the shape of the coated body is changed to any shape, the distance between the coated body and the target should be kept constant so that a coating layer having a target thickness should be formed. As a result, since the coating apparatus of the present invention can be controlled to maintain a constant distance between the target and the coated body according to the change in the shape of the coated body, it is possible to express a more excellent effect.

1 coating device 10 coated body
20: coated body holder 30: target
40: target holder 50: driving means
52: drive mechanism 54: power supply device
60: distance measuring instrument 70: moving means
80: device control unit 90: shield
100: shutter

Claims (11)

A target holder provided to implement coating of the coated body through discharge in a vacuum space, the target holder being movable up and down via a driving means; And
A distance measuring system electrically connected to the driving means and providing the distance measuring result to the driving means such that the coating becomes uniform in response to the shape change of the coated body through the distance measurement between the target body and the target. Configured by
The range finder is provided to satisfy one or more of the following conditions (a), (b) and (c),
Coating device capable of uniform coating, characterized in that the to-be-coated body rotates.
(a) The distance measuring system is connected to the target holder to change the position via the moving means.
(b) The range finder is fixedly associated with a shield connected to the top of the coating apparatus.
(c) The range finder is mounted on the inner wall of the coating apparatus. The uniform coating of claim 1, wherein the distance measuring system is configured to maintain a distance between the target holder and the coated body in response to a distance change between the target body and the target in association with the driving means through a device control unit. Coating device available. The coating apparatus of claim 1, wherein the range finder is capable of uniform coating capable of transmitting and receiving a laser or infrared light. delete The coating apparatus of claim 1, wherein the distance measuring system includes a contamination prevention film to prevent contamination by the coating material. delete The method of claim 1, wherein the range finder meets the conditions of (b) or (c), and the range finder is provided with a shutter inside or outside the range finder to prevent contamination by coating material. Coating device capable of coating. delete The coating apparatus of claim 1, wherein the coated body includes a reflective layer. delete The coating apparatus of claim 1, wherein the coating is a color coating.

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