KR101688175B1 - Parylene coater with plasma treatment function - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a plasma coupling type parylene coater comprising: a vaporization unit vaporizing parylene dimer powder to produce a dimer in the gaseous phase; a pyrolysis unit for pyrolyzing the dimer in the gaseous phase to produce a parylene monomer; a vacuum chamber having a first housing made of a dielectric material and defining an inner space where an object is coated with a parylene polymer by the parylene monomer; and a plasma unit having a plasma generator disposed on an outer side of the first housing to generate plasma in the inner space.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a plasma-coupled parallax coating apparatus,

The present invention relates to a parallax coating apparatus combined with plasma generation.

Generally, paralin is a polymer in which p-xylene is polymerized, and is a polymer substance that can be deposited in various substrates as a thin film. The paralin coating consists of a sequential process of vaporizing the dimer, pyrolysis to the monomer, and thin film deposition on the substrate.

Paralin coating has a weak adhesion between the coating object and the coating film, so that the film tends to be separated by a minute scratch or impact. In order to solve this problem, a surface treatment process is required to increase the adhesion of the parallax coating film to the material of the object. For this purpose, the object is subjected to a plasma treatment in a separate plasma apparatus.

The parallax coating apparatus and the plasma apparatus are separately provided, which not only increases the cost of the coating equipment but also limits the space due to the provision of a separate surface treatment apparatus and the ineffective effect of restoring the product to the parallax coating apparatus after the plasma surface treatment. There is a problem in workability and the like.

Especially, when the product is mounted on the paralyn coating device after the plasma surface treatment, the reliability of the product may be deteriorated due to the occurrence of stains and dust accompanying the product mounting process.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a plasma-bonded parallax coating apparatus incorporating a configuration for plasma treatment in a configuration for coating paralin.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a plasma-bonded parallax coating apparatus capable of preventing the configuration for plasma processing from being contaminated by a configuration for coating paralin.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a plasma-coupled paralyne coating apparatus for vapor-depositing a paralin dimer powder to form a dimer on a substrate; A pyrolysis unit for pyrolyzing the dimer on the gaseous phase to produce a paralin monomer; A vacuum chamber having a first housing formed of a dielectric material defining an inner space in which the object is coated with the paralin polymer by the paralin monomer; And a plasma generator disposed on the outer side of the first housing to generate a plasma in the inner space.

Here, the vacuum chamber may include: a second housing communicating with the first housing at a front side of the first housing and communicating with the vaporizing unit; And a third housing communicating with the first housing at a rear side of the first housing, wherein the plasma unit further includes a gas supplier communicating with the second housing and supplying a gas for plasma to the inner space .

Here, the plasma generator includes: an electrode plate disposed to surround the outer surface of the first housing; And a power generator for supplying power to the electrode plate, and at least one of the second housing and the third housing may be formed of a metal material for grounding.

Here, the plasma generator includes: an electrode plate disposed to surround the outer surface of the first housing; A ground plate disposed to surround an outer surface of the first housing and spaced apart from the electrode plate; And a power generator for supplying power to the electrode plate.

Here, the electrode plate may include a plurality of electrode fingers, and the ground plate may include a plurality of ground fingers disposed between the plurality of electrode fingers.

Here, the plasma generator includes: a coil spirally wound on an outer surface of the first housing; And a power generator for supplying power to the coil.

Here, the plasma generator may include an antenna disposed on the outer surface of the first housing; And a power generator for supplying power to the antenna.

Here, a supporting unit installed in the third housing and supporting the object may be further provided.

Here, the third housing may include a through hole, the support unit may include a support plate disposed on an inner space of the third housing, on which the object is mounted; A rotating shaft connected to the support plate and inserted into the through hole; And a motor connected to the rotating shaft for rotating the supporting plate.

Here, the third housing may have a larger length than the second housing.

According to the plasma-coupled parallax coating apparatus of the present invention having the above-described structure, it is possible to integrate a configuration for plasma treatment into the configuration for coating paralin, and to operate the parallax coating and the plasma treatment under an integrated process .

In addition, the configuration for coating the parallax can prevent the configuration for the plasma processing from being contaminated, and it is possible to fundamentally block the increase in the maintenance necessity accompanying the integrated process operation.

1 is a conceptual view of a plasma-coupled parallax coating apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a exploded and combined cross-sectional view of the vacuum chamber 130 and the plasma unit 140 of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing a plasma unit 140 'according to a modification of the plasma unit 140 of FIG.
4 is a conceptual diagram showing a plasma unit 140 "according to another variant of the plasma unit 140 of Fig.
5 is a conceptual view of a plasma-coupled parallax coating apparatus 100A according to another embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a conceptual view of a plasma-coupled parallax coating apparatus 100B according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a plasma-coupled parallax coating apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the present specification, the same or similar reference numerals are given to different embodiments in the same or similar configurations.

1 is a conceptual view of a plasma-coupled parallax coating apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to this figure, the plasma-coupled parallax coating apparatus 100 may include a vaporizing unit 110, a thermal decomposition unit 120, a vacuum chamber 130, and a plasma unit 140. The plasma-coupled parallax coating apparatus 110 may further include a support unit 150, a vacuum tube 160, a cooling trap 170, and a vacuum pump 180.

The vaporizing unit 110 is a structure for vaporizing a solid phase paraline dimer into a gas phase parylene dimer. To this end, the vaporization unit 110 is charged with a paralyne dimer in powder form.

The pyrolysis unit 120 is a constitution for pyrolyzing a gaseous paralin dimer into a paralin monomer. The monomer is in the form of a highly reactive radical.

The vacuum chamber 130 is a space in which the surface of the object O is coated with the paralin polymer. To this end, the vacuum chamber 130 is in communication with the vaporizing unit 110 and with the vacuum tube 160 through the pyrolyzing unit 120. Thereby, the paralin monomer forms the paralin polymer.

The plasma unit 140 is a configuration for causing plasma to be generated in the vacuum chamber 130. The plasma unit 140, at least the plasma generator, is installed outside the vacuum chamber 130.

The supporting unit 150 is a structure for supporting the object O placed in the vacuum chamber 130.

The vacuum tube 160 is a tube body having both ends communicated with the vaporizing unit 110 and the vacuum chamber 130, respectively. The vacuum tube 160 is also arranged to be wrapped by the pyrolysis unit 120.

The cooling trap 170 cools the gas passing through the vacuum chamber 130. The cooling trap 170 is disposed downstream of the vacuum chamber 130 and communicates with the vacuum chamber 130.

The vacuum pump 180 is disposed next to the cooling trap 170 and is configured to extract the gas in the vacuum chamber 130. Thereby, the vacuum pump 180 maintains the required degree of vacuum.

According to such a configuration, a solid phase parallel dimmer is first introduced into the vaporizing unit 110. Then, the vacuum pump 180 is operated to vacuum the vacuum chamber 130.

The pyrolysis unit 120 is heated to an appropriate temperature (650 ° C or higher), and then the vaporized unit 110 vaporizes the paraline dimer. The vaporized paraffin dimer in the gaseous phase passes through the pyrolysis unit 120 along the vacuum tube 160 and is decomposed into paralin monomers in the form of highly reactive radicals. The paralin monomer is coated in polymer form on the object (O) in the vacuum chamber (130).

In this working process, a plasma can be formed in the vacuum chamber 130 by the plasma unit 140. Such a plasma serves to increase the adhesion of the paralin monomer to the object (O).

Further, since the main constitution of the plasma unit 140 is disposed outside the vacuum chamber 130, it is not coated by the paralin monomer. As a result, the plasma unit 140 is not exposed to the coating process of the paralin monomer with respect to the object O, so that the plasma unit 140 can not function.

The specific configuration of the vacuum chamber 130 and the plasma unit 140 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2 is a exploded and combined cross-sectional view of the vacuum chamber 130 and the plasma unit 140 of FIG.

Referring to the drawings, the vacuum chamber 130 may include a first housing 131, a second housing 133, and a third housing 136. The first to third housings 131 to 136 define the inner space in which the object O (see Fig. 1) is coated by the paralin monomer.

The first housing 131 may be a hollow body having open ends at both ends, for example, a substantially cylindrical body. The first housing 131 is made of a dielectric material such as Quartz or BSG-Borosilicate glass or BPSG-Borophosphosilicate glass.

The second housing 133 communicates with the first housing 131 in front of the first housing 131. The second housing 133 also has an inlet 134 communicating with the vaporization unit 110 (see FIG. 1) via a vacuum tube 160.

The third housing 136 is in communication with the first housing 131 from the rear of the first housing 131. The third housing 136 may be formed in a cylindrical shape like the first housing 131. The third housing 136 may have a longer length than the second housing 133. A through hole 137 and a gauge hole 138 may be formed in the third housing 136. A rotary shaft 153 of the support unit 150 is inserted into the through hole 137 and a vacuum gauge for measuring the degree of vacuum of the internal space may be installed in the gauge hole 138.

The plasma unit 140 may include a plasma generator and a gas supplier.

The plasma generator may have an electrode plate 141 and a power generating unit 143. The electrode plate 141 is a metal plate, and is disposed so as to surround the outer surface of the first housing 131. The power generating unit 143 serves to apply power to the electrode plate 141.

The power generating unit 143 may generate power of various frequencies. For example, a power source having a frequency selected from a low frequency (LF = Low Frequency): 10 kHz to 100 kHz, a medium frequency (MF): x 100 kHz, and a high frequency (RF = Radio Frequency): 13.56 MHz, (Not shown).

A gas supply 147 is connected to the second housing 133 for supplying a plasma gas to the inner space. As the gas supplier 135, a gas tank, a flow rate controller, and the like are omitted, and only a part of the pipe is shown.

At this time, the second housing 133 and the third housing 136 are formed of at least a metal material, and serve as a ground corresponding to the electrode plate 141.

Next, the support unit 150 may have a support plate 151, a rotary shaft 153, and a motor 156. [

The support plate 151 is configured to support the object O (FIG. 1) in the interior space. The rotating shaft 153 is connected to the support plate 151 and extends outwardly through the through hole 137. The motor 156 is connected to the rotating shaft 153 to rotate the rotating shaft 153 and the supporting plate 151.

In this configuration, when the power generating unit 143 applies power to the electrode plate 141, plasma is generated in the inner space (inner space) of the first housing 131. This is due to the structure in which the first housing 131 and the air are disposed as a dielectric between the electrode plate 141 and the contact members (the second housing 133 and the third housing 136). The plasma generated by this method becomes a capacitor-coupled plasma (Capacitor Coupled Plasma).

If the third housing 136 is made of a metal material, it is easy to form the through hole 137 and to insert the rotating shaft 153 into the inner space through the through hole 137.

Further, since the support unit 150 is located on the side of the third housing 136, the object O can be affected by the plasma generated on the first housing 131 side.

In the foregoing, another form of the plasma unit 140 will be described with reference to Figs. 3 and 4. Fig.

3 is a conceptual view showing a plasma unit 140 'according to a modification of the plasma unit 140 of FIG.

Referring to this figure, the plasma unit 140 'may have an electrode plate 141' and a ground plate 145 'as a plasma generator.

The electrode plate 141 'may be located at the center of the outer surface of the first housing 131. The electrode plate 141 'may be in the form of a ring that winds the outer surface of the first housing 131.

In correspondence with the electrode plate 141 ', the ground plate 145' may be formed to surround the first housing 131 while being spaced apart from the electrode plate 141 '. The ground plate 145 'may correspond to both side edges of the electrode plate 141' and may be provided in a pair.

The electrode plate 141 'and the ground plate 145' are arranged side by side. However, the electrode plate 141 'and the ground plate 145' are located at the upper side and the lower side, respectively It is also possible to arrange it.

Next, Fig. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a plasma unit 140 "according to another variant of the plasma unit 140 of Fig.

Referring to this figure, the plasma unit 140 "may have an electrode plate 141" and a ground plate 145 "as a plasma generator.

The electrode plate 141 "is disposed so as to surround the outer surface of the first housing 131. The electrode plate 141" may have a plurality of electrode fingers 142 ".

The ground plate 145 "is arranged next to the electrode plate 141" and is arranged so as to surround the outer surface of the first housing 131 as well. The grounding plate 145 "may also include a plurality of grounding fingers 146 " like the electrode plate 141 ".

Here, a ground finger 146 " may be disposed between the electrode fingers 142 ". Thereby, along the circumferential direction of the first housing 131, the electrode finger 142 "and the ground finger 146" can be alternately arranged.

With this configuration, uniformity of plasma induction along the longitudinal direction of the first housing 131 can be improved.

Next, another type of parallax coating apparatus will be described with reference to Figs. 5 and 6. Fig. Here, the same parts as those of the coating apparatus 100 according to the embodiment described with reference to FIG. 2 will not be described.

5 is a conceptual view of a plasma-coupled parallax coating apparatus 100A according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to this figure, the plasma unit 140A of the plasma-coupled parallax coating apparatus 100A may have a coil 141a and a power generating unit 143a as a plasma generator.

The coil 141a may be spirally wound on the outer surface of the first housing 131. [

The power generating portion 143a is connected to both ends of the coil 141a so that current flows through the coil 141a.

According to this configuration, a magnetic field is induced in the inner space of the first housing 131 as a current flows through the coil 141a. By the magnetic field, the plasma gas collides with each other under the force of the magnetic field, and a plasma state is obtained. Such a plasma is referred to as an inductively coupled plasma.

6 is a conceptual view of a plasma-coupled parallax coating apparatus 100B according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to this figure, the plasma unit 140B of the plasma-coupled parallax coating apparatus 100B may have an antenna 141b and a power generating unit 143b as a plasma generator.

The antenna 141b is disposed on the outer surface of the first housing 131. [ The antenna 141b may have a substrate surrounding the first housing 131 and an antenna circuit formed on the substrate.

The power generating unit 143b may apply a microwave to the antenna 141b. The microwave may have a frequency of 2.45 GHz.

According to this configuration, as the microwave is radiated from the antenna 141b, the plasma gas enters the first housing 131 in the plasma state. Such a plasma is called a microwave plasma.

Now, the utility and operation method of the coating apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

(1) Improvement of adhesion with object

Conventionally, prior to the Paralyn coating, the object (O) was pretreated with plasma to improve the adhesion. For this purpose, two separate apparatuses (paralyn coating equipment and plasma pretreatment equipment) were provided, or even if they were equipped, in separate processes. Accordingly, time consuming and inconvenient are required, exposure of the object O to the outside after the plasma treatment is inevitable, and exposure of such an object O is a cause of deterioration of process efficiency.

The plasma-coupled parallax coating apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention overcomes the inefficiency of time, space and cost by applying plasma pretreatment and paralyn coating in a batch process in the same vacuum chamber 130 As well as the quality of the process.

The process sequence and the used gas are as follows.

[0070] Process sequence: Vacuum arrival → Gas supply for surface treatment → Operation of plasma unit (power supply unit): Surface treatment / Essential → Operation of thermal decomposition unit 120 → End of plasma unit 140 The vaporizing unit 110 is operated, the parallel coating is completed, and the process is terminated (vacuum release, object removal)

* Gas used: oxygen, hydrogen, argon, etc.

(2) Surface treatment of paraline film

Depending on the application, a second functional group may be introduced onto the coated paralin coating layer. At this time, after the completion of the paralin coating, the surface modification of the paralin coating layer can be continuously performed using the plasma. If necessary, the above adhesive strength improving process can be applied together.

The plasma unit 140 is brought to a vacuum state, the plasma unit 140 is operated (adhesion improvement) / selection is made, the thermal decomposition unit 120 is operated, the plasma unit 140 is terminated Completion → functional gas introduction gas supply → plasma surface modification / essential → termination of plasma unit (140) → termination of process (vacuum release, removal of object)

* Gas used: gas, oxygen, hydrogen, fluorine compound etc. required for surface treatment

(3) Cleaning of the deposition chamber

The disadvantage of the conventional apparatus and the limitation of the cleaning method is to remove the parallax coating layer remaining in the vacuum chamber after coating by using the oxygen plasma capable of removing paralin.

Oxygen is injected through the coating apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention and a plasma is generated to remove the inner paralyn coating layer. Plasma cleaning may be performed on the deposition chamber 130 in advance before the paralin coating to prepare the paralin coating in an optimal state.

The plasma unit 140 is brought to a vacuum state, the plasma unit 140 is operated (adhesion improvement) / selection is made, the thermal decomposition unit 120 is operated, the plasma unit 140 is terminated Completion → Vacuum release and removal of object → Vacuum arrival → Plasma unit (140) Cleaning / Mandatory → Cleaning

* Process sequence (Conditioning before Paralyn coating): Vacuum arrival → Plasma unit (140) Cleaning / Mandatory → Cleaning completion → Vacuum release → Object injection → Paralin coating process start

* Gas used: auxiliary gas other than oxygen

(4) Parallel plasma polymerization

Polarization is possible simultaneously with the paralin coating using plasma. In addition to functional modification or surface modification such as hydrophilicity and water repellency on the surface of the above paralin coating layer, a functional plasma necessary for the formation of the paralin coating layer is used together with the paralin. Do.

The plasma unit 140 is brought to a vacuum state and the vaporization unit 110 is operated and the plasma unit 140 is operated. (Simultaneous operation with vaporization unit 110), polymerization, completion of coating process, completion of process (vacuum release, removal of object)

* Gas used: Plasma formation with gas to be polymerized (eg Amino, Aldehyde, Carbxyl, Amnino methyle etc.)

(5) Highly Perfected Parallel Coatings

The most important factor affecting the properties of the thin film of paralin is that the paralin dimer is not completely decomposed into monomers through the pyrolysis unit 120. In this case, the un-decomposed dimer introduced into the deposition chamber 130 is further broken off by using plasma energy (the gas is used as the non-reactive Ar gas or no additional gas is introduced) to secure a highly-perfused parallel coating layer .

Plasma unit 140 is operated and the plasma unit 140 is activated. The plasma unit 140 is operated. The plasma unit 140 is operated. (Simultaneous operation with vaporization unit 110) -> Parallel coating completed -> End of process (vacuum release, object removal)

* Use gas: None, if necessary, trace amount of Ar

The plasma-coupled parallax coating apparatus as described above is not limited to the construction and operation of the embodiments described above. The embodiments may be configured so that all or some of the embodiments may be selectively combined so that various modifications may be made.

100, 100A, 100B: plasma-coupled parallax coating device
110: vaporization unit 120: pyrolysis unit
130: vacuum chamber 131: first housing
133: second housing 136: third housing
140, 140 ', 140 ": plasma unit 141, 141', 141": electrode plate
143: Power generator 145 ', 145 ": Ground plate
147: plasma gas supplier 150: support unit
160: vacuum tube 170: cooling trap
180: Vacuum pump

Claims (10)

A vaporization unit for vaporizing the paralin dimer powder to produce a dimer on the gaseous phase;
A pyrolysis unit for pyrolyzing the dimer on the gaseous phase to produce a paralin monomer;
A first housing formed of a dielectric material defining an inner space in which an object is coated with a paralin polymer by the paralin monomer; a second housing communicating with the first housing at a front side of the first housing and communicating with the vaporizing unit; A vacuum chamber having a housing and a third housing communicating with the first housing at a rear side of the first housing; And
And a plasma generator disposed on the outer side of the first housing to generate a plasma in the inner space,
Wherein the plasma unit further comprises a gas supplier communicating with the second housing and supplying a gas for plasma to the inner space.
delete The method according to claim 1,
The plasma generator includes:
An electrode plate disposed to surround an outer surface of the first housing; And
And a power generator for supplying power to the electrode plate,
Wherein at least one of the second housing and the third housing is formed of a metal material for grounding.
The method according to claim 1,
The plasma generator includes:
An electrode plate disposed to surround an outer surface of the first housing;
A ground plate disposed to surround an outer surface of the first housing and spaced apart from the electrode plate; And
And a power generator for supplying power to the electrode plate.
5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the electrode plate includes a plurality of electrode fingers,
Wherein the ground plate includes a plurality of ground fingers disposed between the plurality of electrode fingers.
The method according to claim 1,
The plasma generator includes:
A coil spirally wound on the outer surface of the first housing; And
And a power generator for supplying power to the coil.
The method according to claim 1,
The plasma generator includes:
An antenna disposed on an outer surface of the first housing; And
And a power generator for supplying power to the antenna.
The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a support unit installed in the third housing and supporting the object.
9. The method of claim 8,
The third housing has a through hole,
The support unit includes:
A support plate disposed in an inner space of the third housing and on which the object is placed;
A rotating shaft connected to the support plate and inserted into the through hole; And
And a motor coupled to the rotating shaft for rotating the support plate.
10. The method of claim 9,
And the third housing has a length larger than that of the second housing.

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