KR101969261B1 - Apparatus and method for removing contaminants of linear ion source - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus for removing a pollutant of an ion gun source, capable of preventing damage to an ion gun source, and a method thereof. The apparatus comprises: a pollutant removal means detachably mounted on an ion gun source; and a separation preventing means having a separation preventing plate mounted on upper portions of a shield and a cathode electrode.

Description

Apparatus and method for removing contaminants of linear ion source}

The present invention relates to a contaminant removal device and a method for removing an ion gun source, and more particularly, to a contaminant removal device and a method for removing contaminants attached to an anode and a cathode without separating the ion gun source. It is about.

Machinery, shipbuilding, automobiles, aviation, etc. are the manufacturing industries that are the foundation of the national industry, and the recent trend of the manufacturing industry is introducing high-speed processing technology to secure international competitiveness by improving productivity. In addition, this processing is very important for various plastic product manufacturers, automobile parts manufacturers, and machine parts manufacturers. In order to cope with this, a cutting tool for high-speed machining is a trend to introduce a high-performance coating film having excellent durability and corrosion resistance. High-performance coating film products (now Ti-Al-Si-N and Ti-Si-N), which are essential for these industries, are imported from developed countries and used in large quantities due to technological dominance. In Korea as well as developed countries, the shortening of mold and tool life is accelerating due to the increase in production speed and operating temperature, exposing limitations on the surface treatment process by ion plating, chemical vapor deposition, and nitriding. Hot molds, which are used for the shape processing of glass, metal and plastic products at a high temperature of 500 to 1000 ° C., are suffering from oxidative and abrasion damages in terms of productivity and product quality.

Surface treatment process, especially plasma reforming technology or surface processing technology, aims at improving the lifespan and functionality of molds, machine parts, processing tools, electronic parts, etc. It is included in most industrial areas such as machinery, bearings, and tools such as metal products, transportation equipment, watches, precision machinery, and electrical machinery, and many of the parts are finished through plasma surface processing.

As a part of the development of environmentally friendly alternative materials, a technology for synthesizing various heat-resistant and wear-resistant hard thin films (TiN, TiCN, ZrN thin films, etc.) by PVD and spray method has been developed, but the simple coatings widely used in the past have a room temperature hardness of 20 ~ 25GPa and 26GPa. When used at the above shear stress and high temperature, the limit appears.

Recently, in the case of forming a thin film through nanosynthesis of different nitride thin films, it has been suggested that the hardness of the thin film is increased by 50 to 100%, and the increase in hardness is reported to be possible in various material combinations. Therefore, it showed the possibility of various wear-resistance applications ranging from 40 to 50 GPa in hardness, especially in nanocomposite thin films.

In order to achieve such surface treatment, vacuum deposition is a typical process. Vacuum deposition is divided into physical vapor deposition and chemical vapor deposition, and physical vapor deposition is evaporation, sputtering, ion plating, arc deposition, Or ion beam assisted deposition. Each of the above-described deposition methods has advantages and disadvantages, and conventionally, one of these deposition methods is used for the thin film. Recently, a hybrid method that combines two or more deposition techniques has emerged. Among these, ion-beam assisted deposition is used as a low pressure deposition source in optical or semiconductor processes and is applied to optical coatings, barrier coatings, protective coatings, cosmetic coatings and flat-panel displays. This process can control the film stoichiometry of the elements constituting the thin film, and can increase the homogeneous properties (denser, bulk-like, etc.) of the thin film. In addition, etching and cleaning process is possible at low temperature, and it has the advantage of reducing the consumption of target by increasing the deposition rate. As shown in FIG. 8, applying the ion-beam assisted deposition process to a Cathodic arc coating system can significantly increase the aforementioned surface hardness. Cathodic arc source is a device that generates plasma by simultaneously igniting high current (several to hundreds of A) and low voltage (several V) at the cathode spot on the cathode (target) surface. Ions emitted from Ti, TiAl, etc.) are laminated on the product together with the reaction gas (N2, etc.) to form a coating film.

As illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10, the ion beam may be provided from a linear ion beam source (LIS). LIS refers to a device that shoots ions by applying a high voltage while injecting gas into the ion gun to form a plasma in a narrow gap. LIS is a plasma formed by the pure electromagnetic field, there is no heat source can be coated at a low temperature. The use of various buffer layers in conjunction with the sputter ensures excellent bonding strength, and has high film hardness due to high ion energy. In the case of Cathodiic Arc, many companies are currently coating and reaching the mass production stage. However, they have lower physical properties (hardness, bonding strength, surface roughness, etc.) than foreign companies.

Here, by applying the characteristics of the LIS, it is possible to synthesize a nanocomposite coating film by the assisted deposition process during the Arc coating process. In the process of film formation, it has been reported that the properties (hardness, oxidation resistance, etc.) of conventional thin films are significantly increased when a thin film having nano-crystals structure is formed in an amorphous matrix. This is shown to be a result that surpasses the properties of conventional nano-multilayers, and is considered to be the property seen in thin films with 3-D nanostructures.

However, the above combination technique brings structural defects in terms of maintenance. In one embodiment, the Ti target is thermally evaporated by arc deposition in a vacuum chamber in order to apply a TiN coating on a specific substrate, and nitrogen (N 2) gas is directly ionized and released through the LIS. At this time, since the whole atmosphere exists mainly in Ti, these metal ions slightly contaminate the anode of the LIS.

In order to prevent this, as shown in FIG. 5, even though the shield 120 is present, metal ions penetrate into the gap A between the shield 120 and the cathode 130, thereby lowering the surface 130a of the cathode 130. ) And anode 140 and is deposited. These attached and deposited metal materials (Ti, TiAl, TiSi, TiAlSi, etc.), if not removed periodically, not only accelerate the replacement time of the ion gun source but also reduce plasma efficiency. In order to remove the contaminants attached to and deposited on the cathode 130 and the anode 140, the LIS must be completely separated from the vacuum chamber. In addition, the production rate is reduced due to the increase of the overall process time according to the increase in the maintenance time, there was a problem that the ion gun source is damaged by the operator during the maintenance process.

Republic of Korea Patent No. 10-1353773 (Registration date 2014.01.14) Republic of Korea Patent No. 10-0898386 (Registration Date 2009.05.12)

The present invention is to solve the above problems. It is an object of the present invention to provide a contaminant removal device and a removal method capable of removing contaminants adhering to the surfaces of a cathode electrode and an anode electrode without separating the ion gun source from the vacuum chamber.

An apparatus for removing pollutants of an ion gun source according to the present invention includes an apparatus for removing pollutants of an ion gun source including a body, a shield, a cathode electrode, and an anode electrode, and includes a pollutant removing unit and a separation preventing unit. The contaminant removing means includes a plurality of balls, and when the compressed gas is supplied, the balls are inserted into the ion gun source to remove contaminants attached to surfaces facing each other of the cathode electrode and the anode electrode. Removably mounted to the ion gun source for injection. The separation preventing means is formed when the ball is injected into the gap between the shield and the cathode electrode is formed in the separation preventing projection is inserted into the gap so that the separation prevention is mounted on top of the shield and the cathode electrode With plate.

In addition, in the contaminant removing apparatus of the ion gun source, the contaminant removing means further comprises a case and a ball escape prevention network. The case accommodates the plurality of balls therein, and a gas injection part into which the compressed gas for injecting the ball is injected is formed at one end thereof, and the other end is detached from the body to allow the ball to be injected by the compressed gas. A threaded portion that is possibly threaded is formed. The ball escape prevention net is mounted inside the case so that the ball does not escape to the gas injection part.

In addition, in the contaminant removal device of the ion gun source, the ball is preferably 1.2 ~ 1.7mm in diameter to move between the cathode electrode and the anode electrode.

Contaminant removal method of the ion gun source according to the present invention is a contaminant removal method of the ion gun source having a body, a shield, a cathode electrode, an anode, the contaminant removal means mounting step, the release prevention plate And a mounting step, a primary compressed gas injection step, a ball recovery step, a separation step, and a secondary compressed gas injection step. The contaminant removing means mounting step includes mounting the contaminant removing means having a plurality of balls inside the case to the ion gun source so that the ball can be supplied between the cathode electrode and the anode electrode. The detachment preventing plate mounting step may include a release preventing plate having a release preventing protrusion inserted into the gap to prevent the ball from being separated into the gap between the shield and the cathode electrode on the shield and the cathode electrode. do. In the primary compressed gas injection step, the ball is injected from the pollutant removing means to separate the pollutants from the surfaces of the cathode electrode and the anode electrode while moving the ball along the upper surface of the anode electrode. Compressed gas is injected into the pollutant removal means. The ball recovery step recovers the ball to the case of the contaminant removing means when the contaminant is separated from the surface by the ball. In the main step, when the ball is recovered to the case, the contaminant removing means and the separation preventing plate are separated from the ion gun source. The secondary compressed gas injection step is a compressed gas to the ion gun source to discharge the pollutant separated from the ion gun source when the pollutant removal means and the separation prevention plate is separated from the ion gun source Inject

In addition, in the method for removing contaminants of the ion gun source, the step of installing the contaminant removing means is preferably equipped with the contaminant removing means having a ball having a diameter of 1.2 to 1.7 mm in the ion gun source. .

According to the present invention, by providing a contaminant removal device that can be attached to the ion gun source mounted in the vacuum chamber to remove contaminants of the ion gun source, the ion gun source is contaminated without separating the ion gun source from the vacuum chamber The material can be easily removed. This can reduce the time spent on maintenance.

In addition, according to the present invention, by providing a contaminant removal device that can remove the contaminants of the ion gun source without separating the ion gun source in the vacuum chamber, it is possible to prevent damage to the ion gun source generated during the maintenance process Can be.

In addition, according to the present invention, by providing a contaminant removal device that can be detachably mounted to the ion gun source, it can be attached to the ion gun source immediately after the coding process to remove the contaminants. Thus, the efficiency of the ion gun source can be improved.

1 is a flow chart of one embodiment of a method for removing contaminants in an ion gun source according to the present invention;
Figure 2 is a conceptual diagram of the contaminant removal means of an embodiment of the contaminant removal device of the ion gun source according to the present invention,
3 is a cross-sectional view of the separation prevention means of an embodiment of the contaminant removal device of the ion gun source according to the present invention;
4 is a plan view of an ion gun source according to the present invention,
5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line Y-Y 'of the ion gun source shown in FIG.
6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line X-X 'of the ion gun source shown in FIG.
7 is a plan view of the separation prevention means is mounted on the ion gun source according to the present invention,
8 is a schematic diagram of an ion-beam assisted deposition process,
9 is a cross-sectional view of the plasma and the plasma of the cathodic arc source,
10 is a cross-sectional view of the plasma and plasma of the LIS.

1 to 7 will be described an embodiment of the contaminant removal device and removal method of the ion gun source according to the present invention.

First, the pollutant removal device of the ion gun source 100 according to the present invention includes a pollutant removal means 10 and the separation prevention means 20.

The pollutant removing means 10 serves to remove contaminants attached to the bottom surface 130a of the cathode electrode 130 and the top surface 140a of the anode electrode 140. To this end, the pollutant removing means 10 includes a case 11, a plurality of balls 15, and a ball detachment prevention network 17.

The case 11 accommodates a plurality of balls 15 therein, and a gas injection part 12 and a screw coupling part 14 are formed. The gas injection unit 12 is formed at one end of the case 11 such that the compressed gas for injecting the ball 15 is injected into the case 11. The screw coupling portion 14 is formed at the other end of the case 11 so that the ball 15 is detachably screwed to the body 110 so that the ball 15 may be injected by the compressed gas.

The ball 15 serves to separate the contaminants attached to the lower surface 130a of the cathode electrode 130 and the upper surface 140a of the anode electrode 140 from the cathode electrode 130 and the anode electrode 140. To this end, a plurality of balls 15 are accommodated in the case 11. Since the gap between the cathode electrode 130 and the anode electrode 140 is approximately 2.0mm, the ball 15 preferably has a diameter of 1.2 to 1.7mm so as to move between the cathode electrode 130 and the anode electrode 140. Do.

Ball detachment prevention network 17 serves to prevent the ball 15 is separated from the gas injection portion 12, for this purpose is mounted inside the case (11).

The separation preventing means 20 serves to prevent the ball 15 from being separated by a gap A between the shield 120 and the cathode electrode 130 when the ball 15 is injected from the case 11. To this end, the separation preventing means 20 is provided with a separation preventing plate 21 and the fixing belt (23).

The anti-separation plate 21 is provided with an anti-separation protrusion 22 which can be inserted into the gap A between the shield 120 and the cathode electrode 130 so that the shield 120 and the cathode electrode 130 are formed on the upper portion of the shield 120 and the cathode electrode 130. Is mounted.

The fixing belt 23 serves to fix the release preventing plate 21 to the ion gun source 100. For this purpose, the fixing belt 23 is fixedly coupled to both sides of the body 110 to prevent the release preventing plate ( 21).

Hereinafter, a method of removing contaminants of the ion gun source 100 using the contaminant removal device of the present embodiment will be described.

Contaminant removal method of the ion gun source according to the present invention is the contaminant removal means mounting step (S11), the release prevention plate mounting step (S13), the primary compressed gas injection step (S15), and ball recovery step (S17) ), And a separation step (S19) and a secondary compressed gas injection step (S21).

In the contaminant removing means mounting step S11, the contaminant removing means 10 having the plurality of balls 15 in the case 11 is disposed between the cathode electrode 130 and the anode electrode 140. It is mounted to the ion gun source 100 so that it can be supplied. At this time, the ion gun source 100 has a coupling hole 101 is formed at one end so that the pollutant removal means 10 can be mounted. Since the ion gun source 100 is vertically mounted to the vacuum chamber in the lengthwise direction, the coupling hole 101 has the ion gun source 100 so that the ball 15 continues to circulate when the compressed gas is injected into the pollutant removing means 10. It is preferably formed at the lower end of the). Here, the coupling hole 101 has a screw thread formed therein so that the screw coupling portion 14 of the case 11 of the contaminant removing means 10 may be inserted and coupled thereto, and the plurality of housings accommodated in the case 11 may be provided. The ball 15 is formed to span the body 110 and the shield 120 so as to be supplied between the cathode electrode 130 and the anode electrode 140. Therefore, the coupling hole 101 is preferably processed into a semi-circular groove at the upper end of the body 110 and the lower end of the shield 120.

In the anti-separation plate mounting step (S13), the anti-separation protrusion 22 is inserted into the gap A to prevent the ball 15 from being separated from the gap A between the shield 120 and the cathode electrode 130. The separation preventing plate 21 is mounted on the shield 120 and the cathode electrode 130 so as to be possible. At this time, the separation prevention plate 21 is fixed with a fixing belt 23 so as not to be separated from the ion gun source 100.

In the first compressed gas injection step S15, the compressed gas is injected into the case 11 so that the ball 15 is injected. Then, the ball 15 moves along the upper surface 140a of the anode electrode 140 to separate contaminants from the lower surface 130a of the cathode electrode 130 and the upper surface 140a of the anode electrode 140.

In the ball recovery step S17, when the contaminants are separated from the lower surface 130a of the cathode electrode 130 and the upper surface 140a of the anode electrode 140 by the ball 15, the ball 15 is transferred to the case 11. Recover. In the present embodiment, since the pollutant removal means 10 is mounted to the lower end of the ion gun source 100, the ball 15 is recovered to the case 11 when the compressed gas injection is stopped.

In the separating step S19, when the ball 15 is recovered to the case 11, the contaminant removing means 10, the shield 120, and the cathode electrode 130 mounted on the one side 110a of the body 110 are upper. Remove the separation prevention plate 21 mounted on the.

In the second compressed gas injection step S21, when the pollutant removing means 10 and the separation prevention plate 21 are separated from the ion gun source 100, the compressed gas is injected into the ion gun source 100. Then, the pollutants separated from the cathode electrode 130 and the anode electrode 140 are discharged into the gap A between the shield 120 and the cathode electrode 130.

In the conventional case, the ion gun source mounted in the vacuum chamber had to be completely separated in order to remove contaminants attached to the cathode electrode and the anode electrode of the ion gun source. Due to this, a lot of time is spent on maintenance, and there is a problem that the ion gun source is damaged by the worker during the maintenance process. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the contaminant removal device may be mounted on the ion gun source 100 mounted in the vacuum chamber to remove contaminants. Thus, contaminants can be easily removed without separating from the vacuum chamber. This can reduce the time spent on maintenance, it is possible to prevent damage to the ion gun source 100 generated during the maintenance process. In addition, it is possible to increase the efficiency of the ion gun source since it can be attached to the ion gun source immediately after the coating process to remove contaminants.

10 contaminant removal means 11 case
12 gas injection part 14 screw connection part
15: Ball 17: Ball escape prevention net
20: departure prevention means 21: departure prevention plate
22: release prevention protrusion 23: fixing belt
100: ion gun source 101: bonding hole
110: body 120: shield
130: cathode electrode 130a: bottom surface
140: anode electrode 140a: top surface

Claims (5)

In the contaminant removal device of the ion gun source having a body, a shield, a cathode electrode, and an anode electrode,
The ion gun source is provided with a plurality of balls, and the ball is injected into the ion gun source to remove contaminants attached to the surfaces of the cathode electrode and the anode electrode facing each other when compressed gas is supplied. Pollutant removal means detachably mounted to the
When the ball is injected, a separation preventing protrusion is inserted into the gap to prevent the ball from being separated by a gap between the shield and the cathode electrode, and the separation prevention plate having a separation preventing plate mounted on an upper portion of the shield and the cathode electrode is formed. Prevention means,
The contaminant removing means accommodates the plurality of balls therein, and a gas injection part into which the compressed gas for injecting the ball is injected is formed at one end thereof, and the other end is provided to the body such that the ball can be injected by the compressed gas. And a case having a threaded portion detachably screwed therein, and a ball detachment prevention net mounted inside the case so that the ball does not escape to the gas injection portion. The method of claim 1,
The ball is a contaminant removal device of the ion gun source, characterized in that the diameter of 1.2 ~ 1.7mm to move between the cathode and the anode electrode. A method of removing contaminants in an ion gun source having a body, a shield, a cathode electrode, and an anode electrode,
A contaminant removal means for mounting contaminant removal means having a plurality of balls inside the case to the ion gun source so that the ball can be supplied between the cathode electrode and the anode electrode;
An anti-separation plate mounting step of mounting an anti-separation plate on which the anti-separation protrusion is inserted into the gap to prevent the ball from escaping into the gap between the shield and the cathode electrode on an upper portion of the shield and the cathode electrode; ,
The contaminant removing means is a compressed gas such that the ball is injected from the pollutant removing means so that the ball moves along the upper surface of the anode electrode and separates contaminants from the surfaces of the cathode electrode and the anode electrode facing each other. The first compressed gas injection step of injecting into,
A ball recovery step of recovering the ball to the case of the contaminant removing means when the contaminant is separated from the surface by the ball;
A separation step of separating the contaminant removing means and the release preventing plate from the ion gun source when the ball is recovered to the case;
When the contaminant removing means and the separation prevention plate is separated from the ion gun source, a second compressed gas injection for injecting a compressed gas into the ion gun source to discharge the pollutant separated from the ion gun source from the ion gun source A method for removing contaminants in an ion gun source, comprising the steps of: The method of claim 3,
The contaminant removing means mounting step is a contaminant removing method of the ion gun source, characterized in that for mounting the contaminant removing means having a diameter of 1.2 ~ 1.7mm to the ion gun source. delete

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