KR102097719B1 - Apparatus for Coating Flexible Sheet - Google Patents

Abstract

A deposition apparatus, comprising: a process chamber; A drum that is provided in the process chamber and moves the flexible object in a predetermined direction while rotating; An ion source provided opposite to the drum in the process chamber and stacking a predetermined stack on one side of the flexible object; And a raw material supply unit for supplying the precursor of the laminate to the ion source. In the ion source, one side facing the flexible object is opened, the other side is closed, a plurality of stimuli are alternately spaced apart on the open side, and the other side is magnetically connected to the closed side, thereby accelerating the closed loop of plasma electrons at the open side Forming a magnetic field portion; An electrode spaced apart from the magnetic field portion under the accelerated closed loop of the magnetic field portion; And it is filled between at least the inner surface of the magnetic field part excluding the space of the accelerated closed loop and the outer surface of the electrode, and includes an insulating fixing part for fixing and fixing the electrode to the magnetic field part. It is supplied as an object to be treated.

Description

Flexible workpiece deposition device {Apparatus for Coating Flexible Sheet}

The present invention relates to a deposition apparatus, and more particularly, to a flexible workpiece deposition apparatus for depositing a predetermined material on a flexible workpiece.

The transparent conductive thin film is used as a transparent electrode for LCDs, OLEDs, LEDs, optical devices, solar cells, touch panels, etc. These transparent conductive thin films transmit light in the visible light region to make them transparent to the human eye and have electrical conductivity. good.

Transparent conductive thin films generally include indium oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), tin oxide (SnO), and aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) as target materials. Used, and manufactured by coating with a magnetron sputtering method.

In general, when the oxide conductive thin film is coated by applying the sputtering method, the deposition rate is very low compared to the PECVD method. In the mass production process, in-line equipment is equipped with multiple sputter cathodes to thin the material with a low deposition rate. Has been done. However, as the substrate type is changed from a plate-like material such as glass to a polymer material aimed at lowering the mass production and manufacturing cost, the equipment type is also changing from in-line to roll-to-roll, and in the case of roll-to-roll equipment, Likewise, in order to solve the process problem by increasing the number of cathodes, there are additional difficulties such as an increase in the size of equipment and a thermal shock problem applied to the substrate.

Nevertheless, recent electronic devices applied to information electronic devices such as mobile phones and game machines have to be made thin, light, and resistant to impact, and thus require a thin film process of laminating a transparent conductive thin film on a polymer substrate such as a PET film. Is increasing. The touch panel field is also one of them.

However, even if the PECVD process has a high deposition rate, a polymer film such as a PET film is difficult to process at 200 ° C. or higher, so a PECVD process that requires a process at 400 ° C. cannot be applied. Therefore, it is necessary to find a new thin film deposition process capable of depositing at room temperature and having a higher deposition rate than the sputtering process.

The present invention is to solve the difficulties such as deposition rate and process temperature for forming an oxide thin film on a polymer film, it is possible to lower the temperature applied to the substrate, low deposition temperature and high deposition rate even for flexible films such as polymer films An object of the present invention is to provide a flexible apparatus for depositing a flexible object capable of forming an oxide thin film.

A flexible workpiece deposition apparatus for achieving this purpose includes a process chamber, a drum, an ion source, and a raw material supply.

Since the drum is provided in the process chamber and the refrigerant is injected therein, the flexible object is moved in a constant direction in a cooled state while rotating.

The ion source is provided opposite the drum in the process chamber, and a predetermined stack is stacked on one side of the flexible object.

The ion source includes a magnetic field portion, an electrode, and an insulating fixed portion.

The magnetic field portion is open on one side facing the flexible object and closed on the other side. A plurality of magnetic poles are alternately spaced on one side of the open magnetic field, and the other side of the magnetic field is connected to the magnetic core to form an accelerated closed loop of plasma electrons on one side of the magnetic field to amplify plasma ion density. The electrode is spaced apart from the magnetic field portion under the accelerated closed loop of the magnetic field portion.

The insulating fixing portion is filled between at least the inner surface of the magnetic field portion and the outer surface of the electrode, excluding the space of the accelerating closed loop, thereby fixing the electrode in the magnetic field portion.

An ion source having such a configuration generates plasma ions for a laminate from a percursor and supplies it to a flexible object.

The raw material supply unit supplies the precursor of the laminate to the ion source.

In a flexible workpiece deposition apparatus, the insulating fixture of the ion source may have a depression on the end face facing the open side. The depression may have a protrusion projecting from the edge to the center.

In a flexible workpiece deposition apparatus, stimulation of the ion source may consist of a precursor inlet, a precursor channel, and a precursor diffusion slit.

The precursor inlet is a place where the precursor is introduced, and may be configured as a tube.

The precursor channel communicates with the precursor inlet, and is formed long inside the stimulus along the longitudinal direction.

The precursor diffusion slit communicates with the precursor channel and communicates in the direction of the accelerated closed loop, diffusing the precursor in the direction of the accelerated closed loop.

In a flexible workpiece deposition apparatus, a raw material supply unit includes a raw material container, a vaporization unit, and a mass flow controller (MFC).

The raw material container holds the liquid raw material.

The vaporization unit heats the raw material container or applies ultrasonic vibration to form a precursor from the liquid raw material.

MFC controls the amount of precursor supplied to the ion source.

In a flexible workpiece deposition apparatus, the flexible workpiece is a polymer film, the laminate is TiO ₂ , SiO ₂ , or Al ₂ O ₃ , and the liquid raw material is TiCl ₄ , tetramethyldisiloxane (TMSSO), or TMAL ( trimthylaluminum).

In a flexible workpiece deposition apparatus, another example of a raw material supply unit may be configured with a raw material container for storing gas raw materials and an MFC for controlling the amount of gas raw materials supplied to an ion source. In this case, the flexible object to be treated is a polymer film, the laminate is diamond-like carbon (DLC), and the gas source may be methane gas.

In a flexible workpiece deposition apparatus, the flexible workpiece is a polymer film, and the laminate may have a multilayer structure in which SiO ₂ and SiO ₂ are paired with one of Nb ₂ O ₅ , Ta ₂ O ₃ , and TiO ₂ .

In a flexible workpiece deposition apparatus, the ion source can form multiple accelerated closed loops of plasma electrons.

In a flexible workpiece deposition apparatus, the ion source may be provided in a number according to the thickness, type, and stacking order of the laminate.

According to the flexible object deposition apparatus having such a configuration, a deposition process can be performed at a low temperature, so that a desired laminate can be laminated to a flexible film such as a polymer film having a low melting point without damaging the substrate. .

The apparatus for depositing a flexible object can minimize etch contaminants generated by the ion source itself, thereby preventing etch contaminants from being deposited on electrodes or stimuli of the ion source. Through this, it is possible to prevent contaminants from being deposited on the polymer film, in which only the desired material is to be deposited.

The flexible workpiece deposition apparatus is simple in structure because an electrode is fixed in a magnetic field portion by an insulating fixing portion, and a separate device for maintaining a constant distance between the electrode and the magnetic pole is not required. Here, the insulating fixing part is provided inside the ion source applied in the process of ionizing the precursor.

The apparatus for depositing a flexible object can greatly reduce the occurrence of short circuits and arcs due to the depressions or protrusions of the insulating fixture.

1A is a configuration diagram of a flexible workpiece deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
1B is a perspective view showing the arrangement of the delivery roll, winding roll, guide roll, drum and ion source of FIG. 1A.
Figure 1c is a cross-sectional view showing the ion source and the raw material supply of Figure 1a.
2A and 2B show other embodiments of a flexible workpiece deposition apparatus.
3 illustrates a multi-loop ion source used in a flexible workpiece deposition apparatus.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1A is a configuration diagram of a flexible workpiece deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the flexible workpiece deposition apparatus includes a process chamber 100, a delivery roll 210, a winding roll 220, guide rolls 230a and 230b, a drum 300, and an ion source ( 400), a power supply unit 450, a raw material supply unit 500, and the like.

The process chamber 100 provides an enclosed space for depositing a thin film on a flexible workpiece, such as the polymer film 250. A vacuum pump 110 is coupled to one side of the process chamber 100, and the vacuum pump 110 maintains an internal space at a predetermined process pressure while discharging internal gas.

A non-reactive gas or a reactive gas is injected into the process chamber 100 according to a process. Examples of the non-reactive gas include Ar, Ne, He, and Xe, and examples of the reactive gas include N ₂ , O ₂ , CH ₄ , and CF ₄ . In some cases, a non-reactive gas and a reactive gas may be mixed and used. For example, when the oxide layer is deposited on the polymer film 250, oxygen gas may be injected in addition to argon gas.

The delivery roll 210 is a roll that supplies the polymer film 250, and rotates to supply the polymer film 250 to the drum 300.

The winding roll 220 is a roll for recovering the polymer film 250, and receives the polymer film 250, which has been deposited, from the drum 300 while being rotated, while being wound.

The guide rolls 230a and 230b guide the polymer film 250 supplied from the delivery roll 210 to the drum 300, and the polymer film 250 thinly deposited from the drum 300 to the winding roll 220. To guide. Guide rolls (230a, 230b) may be provided with a number.

The drum 300 moves the polymer film 250 in one direction while making surface contact with one surface of the polymer film 250. The drum 300 may be provided with a cooling channel through which cooling water flows, and through this, the polymer film 250 in surface contact may be cooled.

The ion source 400 is provided to face the drum 300 and deposits a thin film on one surface of the polymer film 250.

The ion source 400 forms a closed loop of a circle or ellipse between magnetic poles by the magnetic field of the magnet and the electric field of the electrode installed therein, and the electrons move at a high speed in the closed loop, colliding with an internal gas such as a precursor, , As a result, plasma ions are generated from the internal gas. The high potential difference near the electrode generates plasma electrons from the internal gas, and the magnetic and electric fields activate the plasma in the closed loop space. The negative charge in the plasma containing plasma electrons undergoes a cyclotron motion along the closed loop, and the positive charge containing plasma ions is bounced off toward the polymer film 250 by the electric field. Positive charges, such as plasma ions, move to the polymer film 250 with energy and are deposited in a thin film form. As described above, the ion source 400 is a method of generating plasma ions from an internal gas such as a precursor near its opening and returning the cations by reflecting them back into the process chamber, thereby avoiding process defects due to etching of the electrode inner wall or contamination of impurities. Can be lowered.

The ion source 400 is used for injecting energy in addition to depositing a thin film on the polymer film 250, or modifying the surface of the polymer film 250 before depositing the thin film on the polymer film 250 or Alternatively, it may be used for post-treatment after depositing a thin film.

The raw material supply unit 500 may include a raw material container 510, a vaporization unit 520, and an MFC 530.

The raw material container 510 stores liquid raw materials. The liquid raw material may be TiCl ₄ , tetramethyldisiloxane (TMDSO), trimthylaluminum (TMAL), or the like.

The vaporization unit 520 may heat the raw material container 510 or apply ultrasonic vibration, thereby forming a precursor from the liquid raw material in the raw material container 510. Here, the precursor may be a material before ionization, that is, Ti, Si, Al, etc., and the gases of the precursors Ti, Si, and Al are generated from liquids of TiCl ₄ , tetramethyldisiloxane (TMSSO), and trimthylaluminum (TMAL), respectively. .

The MFC 530 controls the amount of precursor supplied into the ion source 400.

The raw material supply unit 500 may use a raw material that is a gas rather than a liquid. In this case, the raw material supply unit 500 may be composed of only the raw material container 510 and the MFC 530. As a gas raw material, methane gas may be used, and in this case, the deposit deposited on the polymer film 250 may be carbon, for example, diamond-like carbon (DLC).

1B is a perspective view showing the arrangement of the delivery roll, winding roll, guide roll, drum and ion source of FIG. 1A.

As shown in Fig. 1B, the polymer film 250 is a thin film strip type, and there is also a width of about 1.5m. As a result, the delivery roll 210, the winding roll 220, the guide rolls 230a, 230b, the drum 300, and the ion source 400 are configured in a rectangle having a length of at least 1.5 m or more.

Figure 1c is a cross-sectional view showing the ion source and the raw material supply of Figure 1a.

As shown in FIG. 1C, the ion source 400 includes magnetic field portions 411, 413a, 413b and 415, electrodes 423, and an insulating fixing portion 431.

The magnetic field part is composed of a magnet 411, magnetic poles 413a, 413b, a magnetic core 415, and the like to form a circular or elliptical closed loop space therein. The closed loop space formed by the magnetic field is opened in the direction of the magnetic poles 413a and 413b and closed in the direction of the magnetic core 415.

The magnet 411 is disposed between the magnetic pole 413a and the magnetic core 415. The magnet 411 is composed of a permanent magnet or an electromagnet. In this case, the outer magnetic pole 413b is connected to the magnetic core 415 at the lower end of the magnet portion 411.

The magnetic poles 413a and 413b are spaced apart at predetermined intervals. The poles 413a and 413b are alternately arranged with N poles and S poles around the closed loop. For example, when the central pole 413a is the N pole and the outer pole 413b is the S pole, the top of the magnet 411 connected to the central pole 413a is the N pole, and the magnet 411 The bottom is the S pole. The outer magnetic pole 413b is magnetically coupled to the lower S pole of the magnet 411 through the magnetic core 415 to exhibit the S pole.

The magnetic core 415 magnetically couples the lower end of the magnet 411 and the outer magnetic pole 413b, and is a passage through the magnetic force line of the S pole, which is the lower end of the magnet 411, and is made of a material having a high magnetic permeability. The magnetic core 415 is connected to the outer magnetic pole 413b so that the outer magnetic pole 413b has an S pole, and the magnetic force line of the S pole, which is the lower end of the magnet 411, does not affect the magnetic force line of the N pole, which is the upper end. That is, the magnetic influence by the magnet 411 itself is minimized.

The stimulus 413b has a precursor injection for supplying a precursor to the ion source 400. The precursor injection portion is composed of a precursor inlet GT, a precursor channel GC, and a precursor diffusion slit GS.

The precursor inlet GT is a passage through which the precursor is supplied from the outside.

The precursor channel GC is connected to the precursor inlet GT, and forms a predetermined space therein along the longitudinal direction of the magnetic pole 413b. The precursor channel GC disperses the precursor flowing from the precursor inlet GT in the longitudinal direction of the stimulus 413b.

The precursor diffusion slit GS communicates with the precursor channel GC and the closed loop space, and is formed in a slit shape that is cut / opened in the closed loop direction along the longitudinal direction of the magnetic pole 413b.

When the precursor is introduced through the precursor inlet GT, the precursor channel GC is evenly distributed in the longitudinal direction of the stimulus 413b, and then the precursor diffusion slit GS closes the precursor to the loop. Spread out in the direction.

The electrode 423 is provided in a space between the magnetic poles 413a and 413b, that is, a lower portion of the closed loop space. A power source V is connected to the electrode 423, and the power source V is a high voltage of AC or DC.

When a high voltage is applied to the electrode 423, heat is generated in the electrode 423. Therefore, in order to cool the heat, a cooling tube CT made by processing an electrode may be provided in the electrode 423. The cooling tube CT is made of a metal having excellent electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity, and cooling water flows in the cooling tube CT.

The insulating fixing part 431 is filled between the inner surface of the magnetic field part and the outer surface of the electrode 423 to fix the electrode 423 inside the magnetic field part. At this time, the insulating fixing part 431 is not filled in a space between at least the central magnetic pole 413a and the outer magnetic pole 413b. In addition, the insulating fixing part 431 is not filled in a part of the space of the portion where the magnetic poles 413a and 413b and the electrode 423 face each other, to form a closed loop with the magnetic field portion and the electrode 423. When filling the insulating fixing portion 431 between the inner surface of the magnetic field portion and the outer surface of the electrode 423, it may be filled in all spaces, or some space within a range that does not affect the fixing of the electrode 423 and the magnetic field portion You can only fill it.

The insulating fixing part 431 is ceramic, mica, steatite, quartz glass, soda glass, lead glass, polyester, polyethylene, polystyrene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, natural rubber, ebonite, butyl rubber, chloroprene rubber , Silicone rubber, epoxy resin varnish formal resin, fluorine resin, Teflon resin, and engineering plastics such as PEEK.

The insulating fixing part 431 may include a recessed part on the end face in the direction of the magnetic poles 413a and 413b. The depression may be variously formed into triangles, squares, circles, polygons, and the like. The depression is located between the poles 413a, 413b and the electrode 423, and it is possible to effectively prevent a short circuit when adding a contamination prevention function to a portion while increasing the surface length. When the etch contaminants generated by the plasma ion itself, or by plasma electrons, etc. are etched by the ion source or the attached equipment in the process chamber, when the etch contaminants are deposited on the end faces of the insulating fixture 431, the contaminants cause stimuli 413a, 413b and The electrode 423 may be shorted. In the short circuit, plasma ions or etch contaminants must be deposited on the entire inner surface of the depression. Due to the nature of the deposition, it is not easy to deposit plasma ions or etch contaminants within the depression. As a result, the recessed portion of the insulating fixing portion 431 may be an effective means of preventing short circuit between the magnetic poles 413a and 413b and the electrode 423. Furthermore, when the width or depth of the depression is adjusted, the short circuit preventing effect of the magnetic poles 413a and 413b and the electrode 423 can be enhanced.

The recessed portion of the insulating fixing part 431 may further form a protrusion projecting from the edge to the center of the recessed part, in which case plasma ions or etching contaminants may be more difficult to be deposited.

In addition, a cover for partially closing the opening of the depression may be further provided. If the cover is further provided, plasma ions or etch contaminants are almost impossible to be deposited on the lower surface of the cover, so that the short circuit between the magnetic poles 413a and 413b and the electrode 423 can be more effectively blocked.

2A and 2B show other embodiments of a flexible workpiece deposition apparatus.

2A is a deposition apparatus having two ion sources, and may be used when two thin films of different types are deposited on the polymer film 250 or when one thin film is deposited as two layers. For example, it can be used when the high-refractive oxide film and the low-refractive oxide film are alternately deposited on the polymer film 250, where the high-refractive oxide film includes Nb ₂ O ₅ , Ta ₂ O ₃ , TiO _2, and the like. The oxide film is SiO ₂ .

2B is a deposition apparatus having three or more ion sources, which can be used when two thin films of different kinds are deposited in pairs on the polymer film 250 or when one thin film is deposited as three or more layers. You can. For example, this may be the case where one of Nb ₂ O ₅ , Ta ₂ O ₃ , and TiO ₂ , which is a high refractive oxide film, and SiO ₂ , which is a low refractive oxide film, are alternately stacked.

As described above, a deposition apparatus having a plurality of ion sources may be used when multiple types of deposits are deposited on the polymer film 250 or when different stacks are sequentially stacked, and even if one type of deposit is deposited, It can also be used to increase the thickness.

3 illustrates a multi-loop ion source used in a flexible workpiece deposition apparatus.

The ion source of the apparatus for depositing a flexible object may be configured with multiple accelerated closed loops of plasma electrons. As shown in FIG. 3, the electromagnetic field portion includes magnet portions 611a and 611b and magnetic pole portions 613a to 613c. , Consisting of a magnetic core portion 615, and forms two circular or elliptical loop spaces therein. The loop space formed by the electromagnetic field is opened in the direction of the magnetic pole portions 613a to 613c, and closed or opened in the direction of the magnetic core portion 615.

The magnet parts 611a and 611b are disposed at the lower ends of the magnetic pole parts 613a and 613b, respectively, and are composed of permanent magnets or electromagnets. For example, the upper end of the central magnet portion 611a is composed of an N pole and a lower end is an S pole, so that a magnetic field is formed by the magnetic pole portion and the magnetic core portion to form a closed circuit.

In the case of FIG. 3, the relationship between the number of multi-loops formed and the number of magnet arrays may be expressed as "number of magnet arrays = (2 × number of loops)-1". Here, the number of magnet arrays and the number of loops are natural numbers of 1, 2, 3, ....

The magnetic pole parts 613a to 613c are arranged to be spaced apart at a predetermined distance in the direction of the substrate. The poles 613a to 613c are alternately arranged with N poles and S poles with a loop therebetween. For example, if the central magnetic pole portion 613a is the N pole, the adjacent magnetic pole portion 613b is the S pole, and the edge magnetic pole portion 613c is the N pole by the magnetic core portion 615. In this case, the lower end of the central magnetic pole portion 613a is coupled to the upper N pole of the magnet portion 611a, and the lower end of the adjacent magnetic pole portion 613b is respectively coupled to the upper S pole of the magnet portion 611b.

The magnetic core part 615 connects the lower ends of the entire magnet parts 611a and 611b and the edge magnetic pole parts 613c to become a passage of the entire magnetic field, and thereby the edge magnetic pole parts 613c have an S pole.

The electrodes 623a and 623b are provided below the loop space between the pole portions 613a to 613c. The power sources V11 and V12 are supplied to the electrodes 623a and 623b, and the power sources V11 and V12 may be the same voltage or different voltages.

The insulating fixing portions 633a and 633b are filled between the inner surface of the magnetic field portion and the outer surface of the electrodes 623a and 623b, thereby fixing the electrodes 623a and 623b inside the magnetic field portion. Hereinafter, a detailed description of the insulation fixing parts 633a and 633b will be replaced with the description of the insulation fixing part 431 of FIG. 1A.

The present invention has been described above based on various embodiments, but this is for illustrating the present invention. Those skilled in the art will be able to variously modify or modify the technical idea of the present invention based on the above embodiment. However, such variations or modifications can be interpreted as being included in the claims below.

100: process chamber 110: vacuum pump
210: delivery roll 220: winding roll
230a, 230b: guide roll 250: polymer film
300: drum 400, 401-450: ion source
500: raw material supply unit 510: raw material container
520: vaporization unit 530: MFC

Claims (11)

In the deposition apparatus,
Process chamber;
A drum that is provided in the process chamber and moves the flexible object in a predetermined direction while rotating;
An ion source provided opposite to the drum in the process chamber and stacking a predetermined stack on one surface of the flexible object; And
It includes a raw material supply for supplying the precursor of the laminate to the ion source,
In the ion source, one side facing the flexible object is opened, the other side is closed, a plurality of magnetic poles are alternately arranged on the open side, and the other side of the closed is magnetically connected, and the plasma is on the open side. A magnetic field portion forming an electron accelerated closed loop; An electrode spaced apart from the magnetic field portion under the accelerated closed loop of the magnetic field portion; And at least the filling between the inner surface of the magnetic field portion and the outer surface of the electrode, except for the space of the closed loop, the electrode is embedded in the magnetic field portion and fixed with an indentation on the end face toward the open side An apparatus for depositing a flexible object, including a government, generating plasma ions for the laminate from the precursor and supplying the plasma ion for the laminate to the flexible object. delete The method of claim 1, wherein the depression is
A flexible workpiece deposition apparatus having a protrusion projecting from the edge to the center. The method of claim 1, wherein the stimulation of the ion source
A precursor inlet through which the precursor flows;
A precursor channel communicating with the precursor inlet and formed along the longitudinal direction inside the stimulus;
And a precursor diffusion slit in communication with the precursor channel and in the direction of the accelerated closed loop. The method of claim 1, wherein the raw material supply unit
A raw material container for storing liquid raw materials;
A vaporization unit to form a precursor from the liquid raw material by applying heating or ultrasonic vibration to the raw material container;
And a mass flow controller (MFC) for controlling the amount of the precursor supplied to the ion source. The method of claim 5,
The flexible workpiece is a polymer film,
The laminate is TiO ₂ , SiO ₂ , or Al ₂ O ₃ , and
The liquid raw material is TiCl ₄ , TMDSO (tetramethyldisiloxane), or TMAL (trimthylaluminum), flexible workpiece deposition apparatus. The method of claim 1, wherein the raw material supply unit
A raw material container for storing gas raw materials;
And a mass flow controller (MFC) for controlling the amount of the gas raw material supplied to the ion source. The method of claim 7,
The flexible workpiece is a polymer film,
The laminate is diamond like carbon (DLC), and
The gas raw material is methane gas, flexible apparatus to be deposited. According to claim 1,
The flexible workpiece is a polymer film,
The laminate is a pair of one of Nb ₂ O ₅ , Ta ₂ O ₃ , TiO ₂ and SiO ₂ , a flexible apparatus for depositing a workpiece. The method of claim 1, wherein the ion source
A flexible apparatus for depositing a workpiece to be formed by multiple forming the accelerated closed loop of the plasma electrons. The ion source according to claim 1 or 10,
A flexible object to be deposited apparatus provided with a plurality according to the thickness, type, and stacking order of the laminate.

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