KR20120072086A - Apparatus to deposit powder using aerosol - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A powder deposition apparatus using aerosol is provided to coat different kinds of coating materials in a multi-layer or composite layer while keeping a vacuum inside a process chamber. CONSTITUTION: A powder deposition apparatus using aerosol comprises a process chamber(1), a stage(3), a vacuum pump(5), aerosol chambers(7,9,11), discharge pipes(13,15,17), discharge quantity control valves(19,21,23), a supply pipe(25), a jet nozzle(27), a shut-off vale(29), and a carrier gas chamber(31). The stage is provided in the process chamber and fixes a target(S). The vacuum pump forms a vacuum inside the process chamber. The aerosol chambers accommodate different kinds of deposition powder. The discharge pipes discharges aerosol from the aerosol chambers. The discharge quantity control valves are installed in the discharge pipes and control the discharge amount of aerosol. The supply pipe supplies aerosol to the process chamber. The jet nozzle is installed in the process chamber and connected to the supply pipe to spray aerosol to the target. The shut-off valve controls the supply of aerosol to the process chamber. The carrier gas chamber is connected to the aerosol chambers through respective carrier gas supply pipes.

Description

Powder deposition apparatus using aerosol {Apparatus to deposit powder using aerosol}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a powder deposition apparatus using an aerosol capable of depositing fine ceramic powder in a thin film forming a mixed layer or multilayer on a surface of an electronic component or a mechanical component such as a heat dissipation substrate for a light emitting diode (LED). .

In general, a powder deposition apparatus using an aerosol is to coat or deposit a fine ceramic powder as a thin film on an electronic component or a mechanical component such as a heat dissipation substrate for an LED.

Aerosol deposition is a carrier gas that enters an aerosol chamber containing ceramic powder, loads fine ceramic powders suspended in the aerosol chamber and transports them into a vacuum deposition chamber to nozzle the fine ceramic powders. By spraying on the target (Target) such as a substrate in the deposition chamber through to form a thin ceramic coating layer on the target.

The coating layer deposited by the aerosol deposition method is a dense ceramic coating at room temperature, thereby preventing softening or oxidation even on targets such as plastic or metal. In addition, the aerosol deposition method is sprayed by coating the ceramic powder as a raw material, and in the process, since the chemical change hardly occurs in the ceramic powder, the chemical composition of the raw material is maintained in the coating layer as it is.

The conventional deposition apparatus using an aerosol has a problem that only a single type of ceramic powder injected into an aerosol chamber may be formed as a coating layer on a target such as a substrate.

In the conventional deposition method using an aerosol deposition apparatus, when heterogeneous ceramic powder must be added to form a multilayer ceramic powder, the vacuum maintained during the previous process must be broken. Oxygen and nitrogen included react with the interface of the ceramic powder and the ceramic thin film having high reactivity to form unwanted oxides and nitrides, which has a problem of impairing the properties of the high quality ceramic coating layer.

In addition, in order to perform a test for a variety of stoichiometric ratio, there is a problem in that productivity is reduced because it is cumbersome to perform the operation according to the conditions for each step, such as mixing the ceramic powder and mixing, and vacuum forming.

In addition, the process of depositing using one aerosol chamber will greatly reduce the yield of the process and the throughput that can be processed within a certain time, and there is a problem of producing a result that does not meet the increasingly high performance of the product .

Accordingly, the present invention has been proposed to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a powder deposition apparatus using an aerosol to form a high quality ceramic thin film coating layer at room temperature.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to allow the user to form a coating layer of a thin film as a multi-layer or mixed layer on the target of different ceramic powders having various chemical composition ratios while maintaining a vacuum according to the design of the process to improve the quality of the result An object of the present invention is to provide a powder deposition apparatus using an aerosol that can increase and improve productivity.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a powder deposition apparatus using an aerosol that can form a ceramic thin film by the calculation of various stoichiometric ratios to quickly perform a variety of high-quality experiments to improve the characteristics of the coating layer It is.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a delivery deposition apparatus using an aerosol is suitable for mass production of small quantities of a variety of products and advantageous to mass production.

In order to achieve the object of the present invention as described above, the present invention provides a process chamber, a stage provided in the process chamber and the target is fixed, a vacuum pump for forming a vacuum in the chamber, heterogeneous powder for deposition Aerosol chambers respectively accommodated in the aerosol chambers, discharge passages for discharging aerosols contained in the aerosol chambers, discharge control valves installed in the discharge passages to regulate aerosol discharge, the discharge passages A supply pipe which is connected to and supplies an aerosol contained in the aerosol chambers to the process chamber, which is installed inside the process chamber and is connected to the supply pipe to supply an aerosol to the target, which is provided to the supply pipe. Shut-off valve for supplying or blocking aerosols to the chamber , And is connected to each of the carrier gas supply conduit to the aerosol chamber provides a powder deposition apparatus using the aerosol comprises a carrier gas, the carrier gas chamber housed.

The stage is composed of a three-axis movement stage that is moved in three axes in the x, y, z direction by a drive source, it is preferable that a fixing means for fixing the target is provided.

Preferably, the stage or the chamber is provided with a shutter which is driven by a driving source and capable of transmitting or blocking an aerosol injected from the injection nozzle to the target.

Preferably, the discharge conduits are provided with filters for filtering the aerosol supplied to the chamber.

The discharge control valve or the shutoff valve is preferably made of a flow control valve that can adjust the flow rate of the aerosol.

Preferably, the stage, the vacuum pump, the discharge control valve and the shutoff valve are electrically connected to a controller and controlled by the controller.

The shutter is electrically connected to a controller and opening and closing may be controlled by the controller.

The present invention can select heterogeneous aerosols in the aerosol chamber required by continuously maintaining the vacuum in the process chamber to coat the heterogeneous coating material on the target in a multi-layered or mixed layer to increase the quality of the resulting product and improve productivity. There is an effect to improve.

The present invention has the effect of quickly performing a high-quality experiment that can improve the properties of the coating layer by forming a ceramic thin film by calculation of various stoichiometric ratios.

The present invention provides a structure capable of forming various types of coating layers on the target, and is suitable for small quantity production of various types and has excellent mass productivity.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of a powder deposition apparatus using an aerosol for explaining an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a view for explaining an example of forming a coating layer on a target by selecting an aerosol containing different kinds of powders to explain an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a view showing a process of forming a coating layer consisting of a mixed layer mixed with different kinds of ceramic powder to explain an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a view showing a process of forming a coating layer consisting of a multi-layered ceramic powder is sequentially deposited to explain an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a general configuration diagram of a powder deposition apparatus using an aerosol for explaining another example of an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art may easily implement the present invention. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. In order to clearly illustrate the present invention, parts not related to the description are omitted, and the same or similar components are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the specification.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of the present invention, showing a powder deposition apparatus using an aerosol.

The powder deposition apparatus using the aerosol of the embodiment of the present invention, the process chamber 1, the stage 3, the vacuum pump 5, the aerosol chambers (7, 9, 11), the discharge pipe (13, 15, 17) For example, the discharge control valves 19, 21, and 23, the supply line 25, the injection nozzle 27, the shutoff valve 29, and the carrier gas chamber 31 may be included.

Process chamber 1 is preferably made of a structure in which the interior is made of space and the vacuum pressure can act. The process chamber 1 is where electronic or mechanical parts, such as heat dissipation substrates for light emitting diodes (LEDs), can be disposed therein to coat (or deposit) these parts (hereinafter referred to as targets). to be.

The stage 3 is arranged inside the process chamber 1 and the target S can be fixed. The stage 3 is preferably made of a structure capable of transferring the target S in three axes in the x (horizontal), y (vertical), and z (height) directions by a drive source (not shown). The three-axis structure of the stage 3 may be a combination of linear motors or a structure applied to a conventional robot arm.

In addition, the stage 3 is provided with fixing means capable of fixing the target S. FIG. As the fixing means for fixing the target S, an air chuck (not shown) or a clamping device (not shown) may be used.

On the other hand, the target S may be used as the heat radiation board for the LED as described above. If a thin ceramic coating layer is formed on the heat dissipation substrate for the LED, the heat dissipation performance may be improved by maximizing the thermal conductivity. The target S that may be applied in the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the heat dissipation board for the LED, and may be various electronic components or mechanical components.

The vacuum pump 5 may include a rotary pump and a vacuum booster for generating a vacuum. The vacuum pump 5 is piped to the process chamber 1 to generate a vacuum so that the process chamber 1 remains in a vacuum state.

The aerosol chambers 7, 9, 11 may each contain a different kind of ceramic powder. In the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, for example, three aerosol chambers 7, 9, and 11 are illustrated for convenience. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the number may be increased as necessary. The aerosol chambers 7, 9, 11 preferably comprise a closed space so as to maintain a vacuum pressure therein. The degree of vacuum of the aerosol chambers 7, 9, 11 is preferably provided at a lower level than the vibration of the process chamber 1. These aerosol chambers 7, 9, and 11 may maintain a constant vacuum after inputting respective ceramic powders. However, as another example of the embodiment of the present invention, the vacuum degree may be maintained by connecting separate vacuum devices to the aerosol chambers 7, 9, and 11.

The ceramic powders accommodated in the aerosol chambers 7, 9, and 11 may be different according to the type of the target S.

The discharge conduits 13, 15, 17 are connected to the aerosol chambers 7, 9, 11, respectively, so as to withdraw the aerosol from the aerosol chambers 7, 9, 11, and the discharge conduits 13, 15, 17. ) May be connected to one and connected to the supply line (25). The discharge conduits 13, 15, 17 are passages through which the aerosols contained in the aerosol chambers 7, 9, 11 can be delivered to the process chamber 1. Discharge pipes 13, 15, and 17 are provided with discharge control valves 19, 21, and 23 corresponding to discharge pipes 13, 15, and 17, respectively, to control the discharge of the aerosol. Discharge control valves (19, 21, 23) may be used to control the flow rate independently of each other. These discharge control valves 19, 21, 23 can serve to pass the flow rate determined by the operator's setting.

The supply passage 25 is connected to the process chamber 1 to supply an aerosol into the process chamber 1. And the supply pipe 25 is the injection nozzle 27 is coupled to the front end. The injection nozzle 27 serves to uniformly inject the aerosol contained in the aerosol chambers 7, 9, 11 to the target S. In addition, a supply valve 25 may be provided with a shutoff valve 29 for supplying or blocking aerosol to the process chamber 1. The shutoff valve 29 may be a flow control valve or valves that operate on, off.

On the other hand, a carrier gas chamber 31 is connected to the above-mentioned aerosol chambers 7, 9, and 11 by a carrier gas supply line 33. Therefore, the carrier gas contained in the carrier gas chamber 31 is supplied with the carrier gas. It can be supplied to the aerosol chambers 7, 9, 11 along the conduit 33.

On the other hand, the shutter 35 is provided in the process chamber 1 or the stage 3. The shutter 35 may partially or temporarily block the aerosol injected from the injection nozzle 27 from being delivered to the target S. For example, at the time when coating (or deposition) is completed by the aerosol injected from the injection nozzle 27, the remaining aerosol may be injected even when the aerosol is blocked by blocking the shutoff valve 29. The remaining aerosol injected from the injection nozzle 27 can be blocked by using the reference numeral 35.

It may be driven by a separate drive source (M) of such a shutter (35). The shutter 35 is preferably disposed between the injection nozzle 27 and the target S.

On the other hand, the discharge conduits 13, 15 and 17 are respectively provided with filters 37, 39 and 41 correspondingly. The filters 37, 39, 41 are for filtering the aerosol supplied to the process chamber 1.

Through the embodiment of the present invention made as described above will be described in detail the process formed in the ceramic coating layer of the thin film on the target (S).

2 is a configuration diagram for explaining a process of forming a coating layer made of different types of ceramic mixed layers. With different types of ceramic powder contained in the aerosol chambers 7, 9, and 11, the carrier gas in the carrier gas chamber 31 travels through the carrier gas supply line 33 to each aerosol chamber 7, 9. , 11).

The aerosol chambers 7, 9, 11 are then mixed with ceramic powder and carrier gas into an aerosol state. This aerosol state is possible because the aerosol chambers 7, 9, 11 maintain a low degree of vacuum.

The operator selects two aerosol chambers 7, 9 to open the discharge control valves 19, 21 as shown in FIG. 2. In this case, the discharge control valves 19 and 21 are set to discharge a constant flow rate through the discharge control valves 19 and 21.

Then, the aerosol containing the two types of ceramic powder is mixed with each other while being discharged through the discharge pipes (13, 51). At this time, when the operator opens the shutoff valve 29, the two kinds of aerosols are delivered to the injection nozzle 27 through the supply line 25.

In the injection nozzle 27, two kinds of mixed aerosols are injected toward the target S. In this case, when the shutter 35 is opened, two kinds of mixed aerosols sprayed from the spray nozzles 27 are sprayed onto the target S, thereby forming a coating (or deposition). The process chamber 1 is, of course, in a state of maintaining a higher degree of vacuum than that of the aerosol chambers 7, 9 described above by the vacuum pump 5.

3 illustrates a process of coating (or depositing) the mixed powders p1 and p2 included in the two aerosols on the target S in order. That is, when two kinds of fine ceramic powders p1 and p2 are sprayed and collide with the target S, two pieces of fine ceramic powders p1 and p2 are crushed and some pieces are stuck to the target S or are strongly bonded. And the next fine ceramic powder impinges on it. Then, the two fine ceramic powders that are collided are pulverized to form a layer L1 that forms a strong bond, and then the fine ceramic powder collides thereon to form a ceramic thin film layer composed of the mixed layer L2.

4 shows an example in which a coating layer is formed in multiple layers as another example of an embodiment of the present invention. This example will only be described in comparison with the description of the above-described embodiment. In the above-described embodiment, the discharge control valves 19 and 21 provided in the two aerosol chambers 7 and 9 are simultaneously opened so that the mixed two aerosols are injected to the target S, but the implementation of the present invention. As an example, the coating layer may be formed in multiple layers by sequentially opening the discharge control valves 19 and 21 that open these aerosol chambers 7 and 9.

That is, after the discharge control valve 19 connected to the first aerosol chamber 7 is formed to form the coating layer L3 on the target S, the second aerosol chamber 9 is maintained while maintaining the vacuum of the process chamber 1. By forming the coating layer (L4) on the target (S) by opening the discharge control valve 21 connected to the) will be able to form a coating layer in two layers. Of course, by repeatedly performing this operation, it is easy to obtain the required number of multilayer coating layers.

Therefore, the embodiment of the present invention can form a coating layer of the multi-layered or mixed layer on the target (S) while maintaining the vacuum of the process chamber 1 can reduce the manufacturing process and increase the quality of the resulting product while improving productivity. .

In addition, the embodiment of the present invention can quickly perform a high-quality experiment that can improve the characteristics of the coating layer by forming a ceramic thin film by the calculation of the various stoichiometric ratio of the experimenter.

In particular, the embodiment of the present invention has an advantage that is suitable for small quantity production and appearance of multi-type through a structure capable of forming various types of coating layer on the target.

5 is a view for explaining another example of an embodiment of the present invention, it shows a powder deposition apparatus using an aerosol.

Another example of the embodiment of the present invention described with reference to FIG. 5 will be described only in the difference compared to the above-described embodiment and the same parts will be replaced by the description of the above-described embodiment.

Another example of embodiment of the present invention further includes a controller C for controlling the driving source of the stage, the vacuum pump 5, the discharge control valves 19, 21, 23, the shutter 35, and the shutoff valve 29. can do. The controller C is electrically connected to the driving source, the vacuum pump 5, the discharge control valves 19, 21, 23, the shutter 35, and the shutoff valves 29 of the stage described above. Enables integrated control at

This example can further reduce work time and improve efficiency by integrating control and setting of individual drives and valves in a main unit such as a computer.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the contrary, And it goes without saying that the invention belongs to the scope of the invention.

1. process chamber,
3. stage,
5. vacuum pump,
7, 9, 11. aerosol chamber,
13, 15, 17. discharge line,
19, 21, 23. emissions control valve,
25. Supply pipeline,
27. Injection nozzle,
29. Shut-off valve,
31. carrier gas chamber,
33. Carrier gas supply line,
35. Shutter,
37, 39, 41.Filter

Claims (7)

Process chamber,
A stage provided inside the process chamber and to which a target is fixed;
A vacuum pump for forming a vacuum in the chamber,
Aerosol chambers each containing heterogeneous deposition powder,
Discharge conduits provided in the aerosol chambers and for discharging aerosols contained in the aerosol chambers,
A plurality of discharge control valves installed in the plurality of discharge pipe passages to control aerosol emission;
A supply pipe connected to the discharge pipe paths to supply an aerosol to the process chamber,
An injection nozzle installed inside the chamber and connected to the supply pipe to inject an aerosol to the target;
A shutoff valve provided in the supply passage and supplying or blocking an aerosol to the process chamber, and
A carrier gas chamber connected to each of the aerosol chambers by a carrier gas supply line and containing a carrier gas;
Powder deposition apparatus using an aerosol comprising a. The method according to claim 1,
The stage is
A powder deposition apparatus using an aerosol consisting of a three-axis movement stage is moved in three axes by a drive source, the fixing means for fixing the target. The method according to claim 1,
The stage or the process chamber
A powder deposition apparatus using an aerosol is driven by a drive source and provided with a shutter that can be aerosol injected from the injection nozzle to the target or blocked. The method according to claim 1,
The discharge pipes
Powder deposition apparatus using an aerosol provided with filters for filtering the aerosol supplied to the process chamber. The method according to claim 1,
The discharge control valve or the shutoff valve
Powder deposition apparatus using an aerosol consisting of a flow control valve that can adjust the flow rate of the aerosol. The method according to claim 1,
And a driving source for driving the stage, the vacuum pump, the discharge control valve, and the shutoff valve are electrically connected to a controller and controlled by the controller. The method according to claim 3,
The shutter is
And a driving source for driving the shutter, wherein the driving source is controlled by a controller to open and close the shutter.

Images