KR20130013345A - Horizontal equipment for plasma thermal spray and horizontal plasma thermal spraying method thereby - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A horizontal plasma thermal spraying device capable of easily making a necessary atmosphere for a spraying work and a horizontal plasma spraying method using the same are provided to horizontally arrange a substrate, thereby moving a plasma gun in a horizontal direction of the horizontally arranged substrate. CONSTITUTION: A chamber(12) has an openable and sealable structure. A support structure(30) is arranged inside the chamber. The support structure horizontally supports a substrate loaded on the top. A transfer rail(28) is extended to a first axial direction on the top of the support structure. A first axial direction guide rail(18) is horizontally arranged in parallel at the both sides inside the chamber. A first axial direction LM block(20) is combined to the top of the first axial direction guide rail. A second axial direction guide rail(22) is extended to the second axial direction at the first axial direction LM block of the both sides intersecting the axis line of a first direction guide rail. A second axis direction LM block(24) is combined to the top of the second axial direction guide rail. A spraying nozzle spraying a plasma arc includes a plasma gun(26).

Description

Horizontal Plasma Spraying Device and Horizontal Plasma Spraying Method {HORIZONTAL EQUIPMENT FOR PLASMA THERMAL SPRAY AND HORIZONTAL PLASMA THERMAL SPRAYING METHOD THEREBY}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a horizontal plasma spraying device. In particular, a large-area electrostatic chuck (ESC) used in manufacturing processes such as flat panel displays (FPDs) including semiconductors, LCDs and OLEDs, lighting devices such as OLEDs, and solar cells, etc. The present invention relates to a horizontal plasma spraying apparatus capable of plasma spraying by placing a large-area target object such as an electrostatic chuck) horizontally.

The present invention also relates to a horizontal plasma spraying method using such a horizontal plasma spraying device.

In general, plasma spraying uses an ultra high temperature and high velocity plasma jet that ionizes gases such as Ar, He, and N ₂ into an electric arc to form a plasma, and melts and injects powders such as ceramics and metals into nozzles as heat sources. Encapsulation technology. This concept of plasma spraying is explained in FIG.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is explanatory drawing explaining the concept of DC plasma spraying.

Referring to FIG. 1, plasma spraying is performed by the plasma gun 1. The gun 1 is composed of a moving body 3 having a gas inlet 2, a cathode 4 disposed in the gas inlet 2 formed in the moving body 3, and a gas inlet 2 of the dry body 3. An anode 5 arranged at the tip and a powder inlet 6 are included. Plasma spraying by the plasma gun 1 is injected into the plasma gas through the gas inlet 2 and the injected plasma gas is converted into a plasma arc by a high voltage direct current high power between the cathode 4 and the anode 5 is injected Powders, such as ceramics and metal, injected through the powder inlet 6 are sprayed onto the substrate 7 to be processed in a molten state to form a coating layer on the substrate 7. Such plasma spraying related technologies are disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2008-0082283 (published on September 11, 2008), Korean Patent No. 10-1007675 (registered on Jan. 5, 2011), and Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2009-161789 (2009. 7. 23 publication).

Meanwhile, large area electrostatic chucks (ESCs), which hold and support substrates such as wafers and glass, manufacture flat panel displays (FPDs) such as semiconductors, LCDs, and OLEDs, lighting devices such as OLEDs, solar cells, and electronic components. Widely used in preprocessing and other vacuum installations. Such an electrostatic chuck literally generates an electrostatic force between the adsorbed body and the chuck to adsorb and fix it.

In the case where the coating layer is formed by using the above-described plasma spray using the large-area electrostatic chuck as the object to be treated, conventionally, the plasma gun is operated by the articulated robot by the articulated robot in a state in which it is vertically disposed in the hermetically sealed chamber. You can do it.

However, such a conventional technique requires that the electrostatic chuck to be processed is arranged vertically, so that the space of the chamber for processing must be large and thus it is difficult to configure the chamber in a hermetic manner, and above all, the atmosphere inside the chamber (for example, argon Or nitrogen), which is a basic problem that is difficult to properly configure and maintain.

In addition, the vertical plasma spray treatment requires a preheating process for removing moisture or foreign matter from the surface to be treated before the thermal spraying, which is caused by the vertical arrangement of the target object. Since it proceeds with heat, the replacement cycle of consumable parts in the plasma gun is unnecessarily shortened, thereby increasing the manufacturing cost. Further, when the plasma spray film is formed, the minute holes (for example, He gas holes on the surface of the electrostatic chuck) on the surface to be treated are blocked or narrowed due to the vertical arrangement of the object to be treated, which is cumbersome every time at regular intervals in the middle of the work. Hole drilling requires low productivity.

In the present invention, the invention was made in view of the above-mentioned conventional matters, and the plasma spray treatment can be performed by horizontally arranging a substrate to be treated such as an electrostatic chuck in a large area, thereby greatly reducing the plasma spray treatment space and thereby reducing the thermal spraying process. It is an object of the present invention to provide a horizontal plasma spraying device and a horizontal plasma spraying method using the same, which can easily make a necessary atmosphere.

The horizontal plasma spraying device according to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object is a horizontal plasma spraying device for forming a predetermined sprayed film on the surface of the substrate by the plasma spraying, the chamber and the chamber which can be opened and closed; And a support structure horizontally supporting the substrate disposed inside the chamber and loaded thereon, the transfer rail extending in a first axial direction thereon, and disposed horizontally parallel to both sides in the chamber, A first axial guide rail coupled to the axial LM block and the first axial LM block on both sides are arranged to extend in a second axial direction at a right angle to the axis of the first guiding guide rail, And a second axial guide rail coupled to the biaxial LM block, and an injection hole for generating a plasma arc and spraying the generated plasma arc. The injection port may comprise a plasma gun which chakseol vertically lower side in the second axial linear motion block disposed on the second axis direction guide rail so as to face the substrate.

In addition, the horizontal plasma spraying device may further include a transport stage is prepared outside the chamber and the transport rail is disposed on the upper side and the carriage for supporting the substrate horizontally from the transport rail, the substrate The carriage which supports horizontally can be moved on the conveyance rail of the said support structure. In addition, when the substrate is loaded and unloaded in the chamber, the carriage is disposed in front of the open chamber and the transfer rail of the carriage is aligned with the transfer rail of the support structure disposed inside the chamber. The carriage supporting the substrate horizontally may be moved between the carriage and the support structure.

In addition, the carriage may include a heat exchange coil arranged in the upper frame in contact with the bottom surface of the substrate to cool or heat the substrate. At this time, the heat exchange coil may be adjusted to a temperature range of 10 ~ 150 ℃.

The plasma gun may spray the plasma arc onto the substrate while moving in one or more of the first and second axis directions.

In addition, in the horizontal plasma spraying method according to another aspect of the present invention, a predetermined thermal spraying film may be formed by spraying a plasma arc on the surface of the substrate arranged horizontally using the horizontal plasma spraying device described above. In this case, the plasma spraying may be performed in an atmosphere formed inside the chamber, including purifying or depressurizing oxygen and moisture in the chamber, and filling the chamber with at least one of argon and nitrogen. Can be.

According to the present invention, plasma spraying for a large-area substrate such as an electrostatic chuck is performed while the substrate 32 is horizontally disposed and the plasma gun is moved horizontally with respect to the horizontally disposed substrate. For example, the space of the chamber can be reduced by, for example, 1/7 to 1/6 times as compared to the use of the chamber, and thus the chamber is easily sealed and the atmosphere in the chamber can be easily formed and maintained.

Referring to the present invention in more detail based on the accompanying drawings as follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Explanatory drawing explaining the concept of DC plasma spraying.
2 is a front view of the device of the present invention;
FIG. 2A is an enlarged view of a couple indicated by a dotted circle in FIG. 2; FIG.
3 is a right side view of the device of the present invention;
Figure 3a is an enlarged view of the couple shown by the dotted circle in Figure 3;
Figure 4 is a side view showing a moving table on which the substrate is supplied.
4A is an enlarged view of a portion indicated by a dotted circle in FIG. 4.
5 is an explanatory view showing that the substrate is transferred into the chamber by the transfer table.
6 is an explanatory view showing that the substrate is completely transferred into the chamber.
7 is a front view showing that the plasma spraying operation is performed on the substrate by the plasma gun.
8 is a side view showing that the operation shown in FIG. 7 is performed.

First, FIG. 2 is a front view of a horizontal plasma spraying device according to the present invention, FIG. 2A is an enlarged view of a portion indicated by a dotted circle in FIG. 2, and FIG. 3 is a right side view of the horizontal plasma spraying device according to the present invention. 3A is an enlarged view of a portion indicated by a dotted circle in FIG. 3.

2, 2A, 3, and 3A, the Y-axis guide rail 18 is horizontally paralleled by the support 14 and the support 16 on both sides in the sealed chamber 12 having the door 10. Is placed. As described above, the Y-axis guide rails 18 arranged horizontally on both sides in the chamber 12 are Y-axis L-blocks operated by a motor (not shown) on the Y-axis guide rails 18. 20) are combined.

In this specification, for the sake of convenience, the terms "X-axis direction" and "Y-axis direction" refer to a rectangular coordinate system, and the "Y-axis direction" refers to the Y-axis direction toward the front of FIG. 2 and the "X-axis direction". Denotes the X-axis direction perpendicular to the same plane as the Y-axis direction.

In addition, the X-axis direction guide rails 22 which are perpendicular to the axis of the Y-axis direction guide rails 18 are installed on both Y-axis direction M blocks 20 so as to extend across. Then, on the X-axis direction guide rails 22, the X-axis direction M block 24 is disposed, and the plasma gun 26 is installed so that the injection hole is directed vertically downward.

On the other hand, in the chamber 12 in the middle between the support 14 on both sides is disposed on the support structure 30 is extended to the conveying rail 28 in the Y-axis direction. The support structure 30 is mounted with a substrate in the form of a large-area electrostatic chuck, as will be described in detail later to enable plasma spraying.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a moving table on which a large-area substrate is mounted, and FIG. 4A is an enlarged view of a portion indicated by a dotted circle in FIG. 4.

4 and 4A, the substrate 32 is mounted on a transfer table 34 prepared outside of the hermetic chamber 12 having a booth shape and transferred to the support structure 30 of the chamber 12. To this end, the transfer table 34 has a caster 36 on the lower side and a transfer rail 38 is disposed on the upper side, and the lower transfer wheel 40 on the transfer rail 38 on the transfer rail 38. The guided carriage 42 is engaged.

The carriage 42 is generally large enough to support a large area substrate 32, such as a quadrangle, and a heat exchange coil 44 is arranged in the upper frame of the carriage 42 so that it is required during the coating operation of the substrate 32. Allow to maintain the temperature. In general, the heat generated by the molten material adsorbed on the substrate during the thermal spray coating of the plasma solution depends on the size of the substrate, the internal temperature of the chamber, and the dust collecting capability. The present inventors have observed that the electrostatic chuck, especially for LCD manufacturing, observes the temperature of about 70 ° C. during the thermal spraying process and the temperature of about 50 ° C. for the LCD 4 ~ 5 generation size substrate during the thermal spraying process. Could. Therefore, the temperature of the substrate 32 required to ensure the quality of the sprayed coating to be coated is preferably maintained at about 40 ℃, and thus the temperature adjustment range of the heat exchange coil 44 is 10 ~ 150 ℃, preferably May be from 20 to 60 ℃.

The operation of the present invention as described above is as follows.

5 is an explanatory view showing that the substrate is transferred into the chamber by the transfer table, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing that the substrate is completely transferred into the chamber. 7 is a front view showing that the plasma spraying operation is performed on the substrate by the plasma gun, and FIG. 8 is a side view showing the operation shown in FIG.

4, 4A and 5 to 8, first, a substrate 32 in the form of an electrostatic chuck, for example, an object to be plasma sprayed, is placed on a carriage 42 mounted on a transfer table 34. It is placed horizontally. The heat exchange coil 44 arranged in the upper frame of the carriage 42 maintains the temperature required for the coating operation. The carriage 34 is disposed in front of the chamber 12 in which the inlet is opened by the opening of the door 10, and the support structure in which the transfer rail 38 of the carriage 34 is disposed inside the chamber 12. It is aligned with the transfer rail 28 of 30 (refer FIG. 5).

Subsequently, the carriage 42 on which the substrate 32 is placed is transferred from the transfer table 34 outside the chamber 12 to the transfer rail 28 of the support structure 30 inside the chamber 12 with the aid of the transfer wheel 40. It is transported to the side and loaded into the chamber 12 so that it is placed in the inner center of the chamber 12 (see FIG. 6).

In addition, in order to perform plasma spraying by the plasma gun, the door 10 of the chamber 12 is sealed and the chamber 12 has an atmosphere for plasma spraying of the substrate 32. In this case, as an example, the oxygen and moisture inside the chamber 12 may be first removed or reduced through purification or reduced pressure, and then may be atmosphered with argon and / or nitrogen. As a result, a thermal spraying film having excellent crack resistance, porosity, and hardness can be obtained, and in particular, a low resistance metal film can be formed by preventing the bonding with oxygen during the plasma spraying process.

In addition, a coating operation by plasma spraying of the plasma gun 26 is performed on the substrate 32 placed on the support structure 30 disposed inside the chamber 12 and placed in the center of the chamber 12. (See FIGS. 7-8). When viewed from the front (FIG. 2), the Y-direction L-block 20 moves back and forth along the Y-direction guide rails 18 arranged horizontally on both sides, and the X is placed across the L-block 20. As the directional guide rail 22 is moved to the left and right accordingly, the plasma gun 26 is freely moved around the XY axis to perform plasma spraying. As a result, a coating layer by plasma spraying is formed on the surface of the substrate 32 arranged horizontally in the chamber 12.

When the operation process of the plasma spraying by the plasma gun 26 is completed, the door 10 is opened and the carriage 34 is disposed in front of the chamber 12 in which the inlet is opened, and the transfer rail of the carriage 34 is provided. 38 is aligned with the transfer rail 28 of the support structure 30 disposed inside the chamber 12. Subsequently, in the chamber 12, the carriage 42 on which the substrate 32 is placed is transferred to the conveyance table 34 to unload the substrate 32.

As described above, according to the present invention, the plasma spraying operation for the large-area substrate 32 is performed while the substrate 32 is horizontally disposed and the plasma gun is horizontally moved with respect to the substrate 32 disposed horizontally. Since the work is performed, the space of the chamber can be reduced by, for example, 1/7 to 1/6 times as compared with the conventional vertical chamber, thereby facilitating the composition of the atmosphere in the chamber.

Anyone with ordinary skill in the art will be able to make various modifications, changes, and additions within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Such modifications, changes, and additions should be regarded as belonging to the claims. . For example, although the shape of the large-area substrate is exemplified here as a quadrangular shape, the shape of the substrate is not limited thereto. As another example, the present invention may further include a dust collector (not shown) and / or an exhaust device (not shown) for removing dust by collecting and exhausting dust and the like in the chamber generated during the plasma spray treatment.

10: door, 12: chamber, 14: support, 16: support, 18: Y-axis guide rail, 20: Y-axis L block, 22: X-axis guide rail, 24: X-axis El block, 26: Plasma gun, 28: transfer rail, 30: support structure, 32: substrate, 34: transfer table, 36: caster, 38: transfer rail, 40: transfer wheel, 42: carriage, 44: heat exchange coil.

Claims (9)

In the horizontal plasma spraying device for forming a predetermined sprayed film on the surface of the substrate 32 by plasma spraying,
A chamber 12 capable of being opened and closed;
A support structure (30) horizontally supporting the substrate (32) disposed inside the chamber (12) and loaded thereon, the transfer rail (28) extending in a first axial direction thereon;
A first axial guide rail 18 disposed horizontally parallel to both sides in the chamber 12 and having a first axial L block 20 coupled thereto;
The first axial direction M block 20 is disposed at a right angle to the axis line of the first direction guide rail 18 and extends in the second axial direction, and the second axial direction M block 24 is coupled to the upper side. A second axial guide rail 22;
And an injection hole for generating a plasma arc and injecting the generated plasma arc, wherein the injection hole is disposed on the second axial guide rail 22 to face the substrate 32. And horizontal plasma spraying device (26) mounted below and vertical to (24). The method of claim 1,
The transfer table 34 is provided on the outside of the chamber 12 and a transfer rail 38 is disposed at an upper portion thereof and the carriage 42 for guiding the substrate 32 horizontally on the transfer rail 38 is guided. Further, the carriage 42 supporting the substrate 32 horizontally is moved onto the transfer rail 28 of the support structure 30 so that the substrate 32 is loaded on the support structure 30 Horizontal plasma spraying apparatus characterized in that the. The method of claim 2,
When the substrate 32 is loaded and unloaded in the chamber 12, the transfer table 34 is disposed in front of the open chamber 12 and the transfer rail 38 of the transfer table 34. The carriage 42 and the carriage 42, which are aligned with the transfer rail 28 of the support structure 30 disposed in the chamber 12 and horizontally support the substrate 32, are supported. Horizontal plasma spraying device, characterized in that moved between the structure (30). The method of claim 2,
The carriage (42) comprises a heat exchange coil (44) arranged in an upper frame in contact with the bottom of the substrate (32) to cool or heat the substrate (32). 5. The method of claim 4,
The heat exchange coil 44 is a horizontal plasma spraying device, characterized in that adjusted to a temperature range of 10 ~ 150 ℃. The method of claim 1,
And said substrate (32) is an electrostatic chuck. The method of claim 1,
And the plasma gun (26) sprays the plasma arc onto the substrate (32) while moving in one or more of the first and second axis directions. A predetermined thermal spraying film can be formed by spraying a plasma arc on the surface of the substrate 32 arranged horizontally using the horizontal plasma spraying device according to any one of claims 1 to 7. Equilibrium Plasma Spraying Method. 9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein the plasma spraying is performed in an atmosphere formed in the chamber (12) including the following steps.
Purifying or depressurizing oxygen and moisture in the chamber (12);
Filling said chamber (12) with at least one of argon and nitrogen.

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