KR20160000709A - Wide atmospheric pressure plasma discharge device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a wide atmospheric pressure plasma discharge device which can discharge plasma over a wide range by using a dielectric electrode under atmospheric pressure. The wide atmospheric pressure plasma discharge device includes: a grounded metallic head having a cylindrical mounting space, a gas inlet through which a process gas at atmospheric pressure is injected into the mounting space, and a plasma outlet through which the plasma is discharged from the mounting space; and a dielectric electrode embedded in the mounting space and generating plasma in a gap with the head as a high-voltage current is supplied. The plasma outlet has a slit shape formed long in an axial direction of the mounting space, and the dielectric electrode has a cylindrical shape elongated in the axial direction and located inside the mounting space.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a wide atmospheric pressure plasma discharge device,

The present invention relates to a wide atmospheric pressure plasma discharge apparatus capable of discharging a plasma over a wide range by using a dielectric electrode under atmospheric pressure.

Plasma is a state of matter that is macroscopically electrically neutral, consisting of ions, electrons, radicals, and neutral particles generated by an electric field externally applied in the fourth state of matter. Therefore, it is widely used in the fields of surface modification, etching, coating or sterilization, disinfection, ozone generation, dyeing, wastewater and tap water purification, air purification, and high luminance lamp using ions, electrons and radicals in plasma.

In recent years, a lenticular method, which is one of the methods of implementing a spectacles 3D display, requires a process of bonding a lenticular layer on a flat display surface. In order to perform a surface treatment of a large flat display precisely, uniformly, Environmentally friendly plasma surface treatment is carried out before applying the adhesive.

In addition, the plasma surface treatment is used to improve the cleaning power, adhesive force, and coating power of the surface in LCD, TSP, film, FPCB and electrode manufacturing fields. It is used for cleaning / PR rework / PR ashing of display plate, .

As described above, the plasma used in various fields can be classified into a low-pressure plasma generated at a few milli-torr to tens of torr and an atmospheric-pressure plasma generated at a few tens to 760 torr.

At this time, the low-pressure plasma requires a high-priced vacuum chamber and an exhaust device to maintain the low-pressure state while generating the plasma easily, but there is a limit in mass processing due to the batch type product input method.

On the other hand, since the atmospheric pressure plasma generates plasma at the atmospheric pressure (760 Torr), a high-cost vacuum system is not required, and a continuous process is possible and mass production is possible.

However, since the atmospheric plasma has a short length and exhibits a weak plasma beam characteristic, it is not efficient. To improve this, a spot type plasma apparatus is mounted on a robot and subjected to a surface treatment with a high speed swing, It is difficult to secure uniformity and precision of the processing.

Therefore, there is a demand for an atmospheric pressure plasma discharge apparatus which can ensure uniformity and precision of surface treatment by generating a long and strong plasma beam even at atmospheric pressure, and is capable of efficient batch processing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a wide atmospheric pressure plasma discharge apparatus capable of generating a long and strong plasma beam even at atmospheric pressure.

The present invention relates to a head comprising a cylindrical mounting space, a gas inlet through which the process gas of atmospheric pressure is introduced into the mounting space, and a plasma discharge port through which the plasma is discharged in the mounting space, And a dielectric electrode embedded in the mounting space and generating a plasma between the head and the head as a high voltage current is supplied, wherein the plasma discharge port is slit-shaped in the axial direction of the mounting space, Is a cylindrical shape long in the axial direction on the inside of the mounting space. Therefore, it is possible to generate a wide plasma using a dielectric electrode even at atmospheric pressure.

Further, in the present invention, the dielectric electrode is composed of a cylindrical metal tube and a dielectric film provided to surround the outer circumferential surface of the metal tube. Therefore, a uniform plasma can be generated over the entire outer surface of the dielectric electrode.

Further, in the present invention, the dielectric electrode may further include a non-magnetic scrub in which the metal tube is embedded, and the inlet of the metal tube is connected to an air jacket module for inputting cold air. Therefore, the dielectric electrode to which the high-voltage current is supplied can be effectively cooled.

Further, in the present invention, it is preferable that the dielectric electrode comprises: an insulating cover made of a non-magnetic insulating material provided inside the metal tube; and a plurality of permanent magnets provided in a line in the axial direction inside the insulating cover to increase the ion concentration of plasma by magnetism And further comprises a magnet. Therefore, a strong plasma can be generated.

Further, in the present invention, the dielectric film is made of one of ceramic or quartz.

Further, in the present invention, the process gas supplied to the head is characterized by being nitrogen or argon. Therefore, the length of the plasma beam generated by using the process gas having high purity can be increased.

Further, in the present invention, the gas inlet is connected to the air jacket module to supply a process gas of a desired temperature. Thus, the process gas can be heated or cooled to regulate the temperature.

The wide atmospheric pressure plasma discharge apparatus according to the present invention can generate a plasma beam having a long length and strong even at atmospheric pressure by generating a plasma between a head having a slit shaped plasma discharge port and a cylindrical dielectric electrode and cooling the dielectric electrode.

Therefore, uniformity and precision of the plasma surface treatment can be ensured by using a strong and wide plasma even at atmospheric pressure, and there is an advantage that efficient batch processing is possible.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view schematically showing a wide atmospheric pressure plasma discharge apparatus according to the present invention; FIG.
2 is a view showing an internal structure of a head applied to the present invention;
3 is a view showing an example of a dielectric electrode applied to the present invention.
4 is a view showing another example of a dielectric electrode applied to the present invention.
5 is a view showing an example of an air jacket module applied to the present invention.
6 is a view showing a plasma beam of a wide atmospheric pressure plasma discharge apparatus according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the scope of the inventive concept of the present embodiment can be determined from the matters disclosed in the present embodiment, and the spirit of the present invention possessed by the present embodiment is not limited to the implementation of addition, deletion, Variations.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a wide atmospheric pressure plasma discharge apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an internal structure of a head applied to the present invention.

The wide atmospheric pressure plasma discharge apparatus according to the present invention is configured to include a head 110 and a dielectric electrode 130 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The head 110 is made of a metal material such as aluminum to generate plasma between the dielectric electrode 130 and the upper and lower heads 111 and 112, So that it is easy to process according to the shape. Of course, the head 110 is connected to the ground cable 113 so that it can be grounded.

The upper head 111 includes a process gas inlet 110in through which a process gas is introduced and a gas flow space 111h communicated with the process gas inlet 110in. At this time, as the process gas, a gas having a high purity such as nitrogen or argon can be applied, and this can obtain an effect of lengthening the beam length of the plasma.

Of course, the process gas inlet 110in may be provided on both sides of the upper head 111 to evenly distribute the flow of the process gas within the head 110. FIG.

In addition, the process gas inlet 110in may be provided with an air jacket module 120 so as to cool or heat the process gas to a predetermined temperature, and is not limited thereto.

The lower head 112 includes a mounting space 112h communicated with the gas flow space 111h and a plasma discharge port 110out communicating with the mounting space 112h to discharge the plasma is provided on the lower side do.

The lower head 112 is provided with a cooling gas inlet port 112in and a cooling gas outlet port 112out for cooling the dielectric electrode 130 to be described later. The cooling gas inlet port 112in and the cooling gas outlet port 112in, (112out) are provided in mutually opposite directions to communicate with the mounting space (112h).

An air jacket module 140 is provided in the cooling gas inlet 112in to cool and supply the cooling gas. The cooling gas outlet 112out includes a muffler 150 to reduce the discharge noise of the cooling gas. And is not limited thereto.

In particular, the mounting space 112h is a cylindrical inner circumferential surface of the lower head 112, and is formed in a cylindrical shape larger than a cylindrical dielectric electrode, which will be described later, Provides space to be created.

In addition, the plasma discharge port 110out is formed as a long slit hole in the longitudinal direction at the lower side so as to communicate with the mounting space 112h.

Therefore, plasma generated between the head 110 and the dielectric electrode 130, that is, the mounting space 112h is moved along the circumferential direction of the dielectric electrode 130, and then the plasma discharge port 110out So that the plasma can be ejected in a wide range.

The dielectric layer 130 may include a cylindrical metal tube 131 and a dielectric layer 132 surrounding the outer surface of the metal tube 131. The dielectric layer 132 may be formed of ceramic or quartz have.

The dielectric electrode 130 is connected to the high voltage cable 139 so that a high voltage current can be supplied to the metal tube 131 through the head 110 even if the dielectric electrode 130 is mounted in the mounting space 112h. The cable 139 is powered in a lower frequency band below the RF frequency.

Generally, a RF frequency band power source must be supplied for plasma discharge under a vacuum pressure. The present invention can discharge the plasma even under atmospheric pressure, so that it is not necessary to supply a power source of a high frequency band. It is possible to omit the impedance matching unit required for the impedance matching.

When a high-voltage current is supplied to the dielectric electrode 130 in a low frequency band, a plasma is generated between the dielectric electrode 130 and the head 110, A uniform plasma may be generated on the entire circumference of the electrode 130.

In addition, since the dielectric electrode 130 generates a plasma due to a discharge between the head 110 and the head 110, the dielectric electrode 130 is in a high temperature state. To cool the dielectric electrode 130, a cooling means may be additionally provided. .

3 is a view showing an example of a dielectric electrode applied to the present invention.

An example of the dielectric electrode may include a metal tube 131, a dielectric film 132, and a scrub 133 as shown in FIG.

2) and the cooling gas discharge port 112out (shown in FIG. 2), which are provided in the head described above, can be connected to the metal pipe 131 And the cooling gas can be supplied by cooling to a desired cooling temperature by the air jacket module 140 (shown in FIG. 2) described above.

The scrub 133 is filled in the inner space of the metal tube 131 and is preferably made of a nonmagnetic material that does not affect plasma generation and is made of a material having high heat transfer efficiency. At this time, by controlling the shape or the size of the scrub 133, not only the cooling gas flows into the metal pipe 131 but also the heat transfer area is increased to further enhance the cooling effect.

The operation of the wide plasma discharge apparatus to which the dielectric electrode 130 constructed as above is applied will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG.

When the process gas is introduced through the process gas inlet 110in, the process gas moves along the gas flow space 111h and the mounting space 112h.

When a high-voltage current is supplied to the metal tube 131, a plasma is generated in the process gas due to the discharge between the metal tube 131 and the head 110. The dielectric film 132 prevents the dielectric electrode 130, The plasma is generated uniformly over the entire outer peripheral surface of the substrate.

The process gas inlet 110in is disposed on the upper side of the mounting space 112h and the plasma discharge port 110out is provided on the lower side of the mounting space 112h so that the plasma is discharged through the plasma discharge port 110out It appears as a plasma beam.

At this time, since the dielectric electrode 130 is formed in a long cylindrical shape in the axial direction and the plasma discharge hole 110out is formed in the shape of a long slit hole like the dielectric electrode 130 in the axial direction, a wide plasma beam is produced You can.

When the cooling gas is supplied into the metal pipe 131, the metal pipe 131 is cooled by the scrubbing 133 as the heat transfer area becomes wider. As a result, The cooling effect of the dielectric electrode can be enhanced by the gas. Therefore, even if the dielectric electrode 130 is continuously used to generate plasma, it is possible to effectively prevent the dielectric electrode 130 from being overheated.

4 is a diagram showing another example of the dielectric electrode applied to the present invention.

Another example of the dielectric electrode may include a metal tube 131, a dielectric film 132, and a plurality of permanent magnets 135 as shown in FIG.

The permanent magnets 135 are arranged in a line within the metal tube 131 at a predetermined interval in the axial direction so that ions or electrons contained in the plasma are generated by the magnetic force of the permanent magnets 135, (130).

The permanent magnets 135 may be made of a non-magnetic insulating material so that the magnetism of the permanent magnets 135 does not affect the metal tube 131. In this case, As shown in FIG.

In addition, the above-described scrub may be provided between the metal pipe 131 and the permanent magnets 135, and the cooling gas may be supplied to pass through the scrub, thereby enhancing the cooling effect.

Therefore, when a plasma is generated due to discharge between the head 110 (shown in FIG. 2) and the dielectric electrode 130, ions or electrons of the plasma are generated by the magnetism between the permanent magnets 135, 130, so that the ion concentration of the plasma can be increased by the magnetism, and the length of the plasma beam can be increased.

5 is a view showing an example of an air jacket module applied to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the air jacket module described above is provided with the process gas inlet 110in side to heat or cool the process gas, or to cool the coolant gas with the coolant gas inlet 112in side The heat exchanger 2, the heat exchanging fin 3, the blowing fan 4 and the heat insulating material 5 as shown in Fig. 5, as shown in Fig.

The air jacket 1 is provided with a passage 1a through which gas can pass and a scrub 1b may be installed on the passage 1a in order to increase heat transfer efficiency. Therefore, the flow path 1a is configured to allow the process gas or the cooling gas to pass therethrough, and the scrub 1c can increase the heat transfer efficiency by increasing the heat transfer area.

Of course, the operation of the thermoelectric element 2 can be controlled by providing a temperature sensor at the inlet / outlet ports 1in and 1out of the flow path.

By varying the polarity of the supply current, the thermoelectric element 2 generates high and low temperature portions at both ends. The thermoelectric element 2 can be cooled or heated using a temperature difference based on ambient temperature. Depending on the temperature control range, Can be controlled.

At this time, one end of the thermoelectric element 2 and one end thereof may be a high temperature portion or a low temperature portion, and they are mounted so as to abut on the air jacket 1 and the heat exchange fin 3, respectively.

The heat exchange fin (3) is installed to contact the other end of the thermoelectric element (2) to widen the heat exchange area.

The blowing fan (4) is installed to blow air so that the outside air passes through the heat exchanging pin (3).

The heat insulating material 5 is mounted so as to separate one end of the thermoelectric element 2 from the other end and to insulate the air jacket 1 from the heat exchange fins 4.

Therefore, one end of the thermoelectric element 2 becomes a low temperature portion and the gas passing through the air jacket 1 is cooled, and the other end of the thermoelectric element 2 becomes a high temperature portion. The heat transferred at one end is operated to be radiated by the outside air passing through the heat exchanging pin (4).

On the other hand, one end of the thermoelectric element 2 becomes a high temperature part to heat gas passing through the air jacket 1, and the other end of the thermoelectric element 2 becomes a low temperature part. And one end is operated to absorb heat from the outside air passing through the heat exchange fins 4. [

The air jacket module configured as described above can heat or cool the process gas supplied to the inside of the head and supply it to an appropriate temperature. Further, the cooling gas passing through the dielectric electrode can be cooled and supplied at a low temperature.

6 is a view showing a plasma beam of the wide atmospheric pressure plasma discharge apparatus according to the present invention.

The wide atmospheric pressure plasma discharge apparatus according to the present invention can generate a plasma beam F having a width of 60 mm or more and a length of 30 mm or more as shown in FIG.

Generally, in the atmospheric pressure plasma discharge, it is difficult to generate the plasma beam in a long area in a long area. In the present invention, the flow path structure in which the process gas flows, the flow rate and the hydraulic pressure of the process gas, the size of the power source, By adjusting the concentration of plasma ions, it is possible to increase the concentration of plasma ions, thereby generating a wide and long plasma beam.

As described above, it is possible to perform bulk plasma surface treatment in a large amount in the atmosphere, not in a vacuum chamber, using a wide and strong plasma even at atmospheric pressure, and it is possible to secure uniformity and precision of plasma surface treatment.

110: head 130: dielectric electrode

Claims (7)

A head of a metal material having a cylindrical mounting space, a gas inlet through which the process gas of atmospheric pressure is introduced into the mounting space, and a plasma discharge port through which the plasma is discharged in the mounting space; And
And a dielectric electrode embedded in the mounting space and generating a plasma between the head and the high voltage current supplied thereto,
Wherein the plasma discharge port is formed in a slit shape elongated in the axial direction of the mounting space,
Wherein the dielectric electrode is a cylindrical shape long in the axial direction inside the mounting space. The method according to claim 1,
The dielectric electrode
A cylindrical metal tube,
And a dielectric film provided to surround the outer circumferential surface of the metal tube. 3. The method of claim 2,
The dielectric electrode
Further comprising a scrub of a non-magnetic material,
And an inlet of the metal tube is connected to an air jacket module for inputting cold air. 3. The method of claim 2,
The dielectric electrode
An insulating cover made of a non-magnetic insulating material and disposed inside the metal tube,
Further comprising a plurality of permanent magnets arranged in a line in the axial direction inside the insulating cover to increase the ion concentration of the plasma by magnetism. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the dielectric film is made of one of ceramic and quartz. 6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
Wherein the process gas supplied to the head is nitrogen or argon. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the gas inlet is connected to an air jacket module to supply a process gas at a desired temperature.

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