WO2012018075A1

WO2012018075A1 - Surface treatment device and surface treatment method

Info

Publication number: WO2012018075A1
Application number: PCT/JP2011/067854
Authority: WO
Inventors: 正久東; 敦夫中谷; 栄作中尾
Original assignee: 株式会社島津製作所
Priority date: 2010-08-04
Filing date: 2011-08-04
Publication date: 2012-02-09
Also published as: JPWO2012018075A1; JP5811092B2; CN103052734A

Abstract

This surface treatment method comprises a step for accommodating a container in which an object to be treated is accommodated, and a treatment step for treating a surface of the object while the container is caused to perform a reciprocating motion and/or a swinging motion, and the object is caused to roll in the container.

Description

Surface treatment apparatus and surface treatment method

The present invention relates to a surface treatment apparatus and a surface treatment method for performing a surface treatment such as forming a thin film on the surface of an object to be treated or diffusing impurity ions.

A spherical solar cell in which an n-type impurity is diffused in a p-type silicon substrate is known. When diffusing impurity ions on the surface of such a spherical member, or forming a passivation film such as SiN _x (silicon nitride) for preventing reflection and improving performance, surface treatment on a normal substrate and In a similar method, it is difficult to process to a uniform thickness.

As a method of forming a thin film on the surface of a spherical object by sputtering or plasma CVD, a hexagonal barrel is placed in a vacuum chamber, and the hexagonal barrel is placed in a direction perpendicular to gravity. A method is known in which a thin film is formed while rotating an object disposed in a hexagonal barrel barrel while rotating about an arranged shaft (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2006-257472 A

In the method described in the above-mentioned prior document, the object to be processed accommodated in the hexagonal cylinder barrel rises with the rotation of the hexagonal cylinder barrel and drops on the surface of the object to be processed by the action of gravity. A thin film is formed. If it does in this way, a spherical to-be-processed object will raise with rotation of a hexagonal cylinder barrel, will be rotated by the operation | movement which falls by the effect | action of gravity, and a thin film will be formed in the whole surface.
However, when the object to be processed is spherical, particularly when it is a minute member, the object to be processed has a small effect of rising following the rotation of the hexagonal barrel, and the height of the object to be processed is extremely small. turn into. In other words, the objects to be processed are gathered in a substantially linear thick layer in the immediate vicinity of the lowest part of the hexagonal cylindrical barrel, so that almost no stirring action is performed. For this reason, it has been difficult to form a film with a uniform thickness on the object to be processed.

A surface treatment apparatus according to the present invention includes a container in which an object to be treated is accommodated, a surface treatment unit having a space in which the container is accommodated, and a treatment chamber into which a gas for treating the surface of the object to be treated is introduced. And a container driving mechanism for causing the container in which the object to be processed is accommodated to perform at least one of a reciprocating operation and a swinging operation.
A surface treatment apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is the surface treatment apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the surface treatment unit includes an electrode plate having a flat surface facing the container, and the container driving mechanism includes the container, the electrode The object to be processed contained in the container is configured to roll in a plane substantially parallel to the plate.
A surface treatment apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention is the surface treatment apparatus according to any one of the first aspect and the second aspect, wherein the surface treatment unit includes an electrode plate having a flat surface facing the container. The container drive mechanism is configured to swing the container in a direction perpendicular to the electrode plate.
The surface treatment apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the surface treatment apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the container drive mechanism has at least a pair of rollers and a drive unit that drives the rollers. .
A surface treatment apparatus according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the surface treatment apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects. The container drive mechanism includes a stopper that stops the movement of the container.
The surface treatment apparatus according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the surface treatment apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the surface treatment unit forms a thin film on the surface of a spherical, columnar or polyhedral object to be treated. It has a plasma generation unit for film formation.

The surface treatment method according to the seventh aspect of the present invention includes a housing step for housing a container in which the object to be processed is stored, and at least one of a reciprocating operation and a swinging operation of the container to place the object in the container. And a processing step of processing the surface of the object to be processed while rolling.
A surface treatment method according to an eighth aspect of the present invention is the surface treatment method according to the seventh aspect, wherein the container is caused to perform at least one of a reciprocating motion and a rocking motion in a plane substantially perpendicular to gravity.
A surface treatment method according to a ninth aspect of the present invention is the surface treatment method according to the seventh aspect or the eighth aspect, wherein the container is swung in the direction of gravity.

According to the present invention, there is an effect that the surface of the object to be processed can be uniformly processed by reciprocating or swinging the container.

The block diagram of the in-line type plasma CVD apparatus of this invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II for explaining the transport system structure of the film forming chamber of FIG. The perspective view of the conveyance mechanism provided in the film-forming chamber of FIG. (A)-(C) is a side view for explaining the reciprocating motion of the container. FIGS. 5A to 5C are cross-sectional views showing the state of rolling of the object to be processed in the container in FIGS. 4A to 4C, respectively. FIGS. 7A to 7C are side views for explaining a first modified example of the operation of the container. FIGS. FIGS. 7A to 7H are side views for explaining a second modified example of the operation of the container. FIGS. FIGS. 9A to 9C are side views for explaining a third modification of the operation of the container. FIGS. Sectional drawing which shows the 1st modification of a container accommodating part. Sectional drawing which shows the 2nd modification of a container accommodating part.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a surface treatment apparatus and a surface treatment method of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an in-line plasma CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention. The plasma CVD apparatus 1 includes a load chamber 10, a heating chamber 20, and a film formation chamber 30.

The load chamber 10 is a chamber for mounting the container 51 containing the object to be processed on the cart 41. The container 51 is formed with an accommodating portion 52 that opens from the upper surface in the thickness direction. The accommodating portion 52 has a flat bottom surface, and a small object to be processed such as a spherical shape, a cylindrical shape, or a polyhedron is accommodated in the accommodating portion 52. The load chamber 10 is provided with a transport mechanism 60A. The transport mechanism 60 </ b> A includes a large number of rollers 11. A cart 41 is mounted on the roller 11. Details of the transport mechanism will be described later.

The heating chamber 20 is a chamber for preheating the object to be processed. The heating chamber 20 is provided with a lamp heater 22 and a transport mechanism 60B. The transport mechanism 60 </ b> B includes a large number of rollers 21. The workpiece is heated by a lamp heater. Further, a vacuum pump 25 for exhausting the gas in the heating chamber 20 is provided via the gas valve 27 and piping.

The film forming chamber 30 is a chamber for performing processing on the surface of the object to be processed. The film forming chamber 30 is provided with a transport mechanism 60C. The transport mechanism 60 </ b> C includes a large number of rollers 31. A cart 41 is mounted on the roller 31, and a sheathed heater 33 is provided on the lower surface of the cart 41 to heat the object to be processed contained in the container 51 via the cart 41.
An electrode plate 34 is provided above the sheathed heater 33 and the roller 31. An RF power source 35 is connected to the electrode plate 34. In addition, a mass flow controller 36 and an introduction gas valve for adjusting the flow rate of the source gas supplied into the film forming chamber 30 are provided. An exhaust valve 39 and a vacuum pump 38 are provided for exhausting gas flowing through the mass flow controller 36 and the gas introduction valve 37 during film formation.

2 is a cross-sectional view of the region including the transport mechanism 60C and the sheathed heater 33 in the film forming chamber 30 of FIG. 1 taken along the line II-II. FIG. 3 shows the cart 41, the container 51, and the transport mechanism 60C. It is a perspective view. However, in FIG. 3, the base 61, the support mechanism, and the like are not shown for the convenience of the drawing. The

transport mechanisms

60A and 60B have the same structure as the transport mechanism 60C.
In the transport mechanism 60C, the roller 31 and the mechanism for driving the roller 31 are formed symmetrically on the left and right.
Although only two pairs of each roller 31 are shown in FIG. 1, in practice, a large number of pairs are arranged with one pair on the left and right. In FIG. 3, four pairs are illustrated, but this is an example and can be an appropriate number. Each roller 31 is rotatably supported on a base 61 (see FIG. 2) by a rotation shaft 77 thereof. A motor 62 is disposed outside the base 61, and a rotating shaft 63 of the motor 62 is coupled to a bevel gear 64. A bevel gear 72 meshes with the bevel gear 64. The shaft angle between the bevel gear 64 and the bevel gear 72 is 90 degrees.

A shaft 71 is provided at the center of the bevel gear 72. Four bevel gears 73 are provided on the shaft 71. Each bevel gear 73 is disposed in a region corresponding to the rotation shaft 77 of the roller 31, and a bevel gear 74 that meshes with each bevel gear 73 is provided on the rotation shaft 77 of each roller 31. The shaft angle of the bevel gear 73 and the bevel gear 74 is 90 degrees.

A cart 41 is mounted on the roller 31. The cart 41 is moved in the rotation direction of the roller 31 by driving the motor 62 and rotating the roller 31. A container 51 is fixed on the cart 41 by a fixing tool (not shown). Accordingly, the container 51 is moved integrally with the cart 41 by the roller 31.

The transport mechanism 60C is configured as described above, and as shown in FIG. 3, when the rotating shaft 63 of the motor 62 rotates clockwise as indicated by the → mark, the bevel gear 64-the bevel gear 72-the shaft 71- The rotating shaft 77 of the roller 31 is rotated counterclockwise via the bevel gear 73-bevel gear 74, and the cart 41 mounted on the roller 31 is conveyed in the left direction. When the rotation shaft 63 of the motor 62 is rotated counterclockwise, the rotation shaft 77 of the roller 31 is rotated clockwise through the same transmission path, and the cart 41 mounted on the roller 31 is conveyed to the right. .

A sheathed heater 33 is provided between the left and right rollers 31 on the lower surface of the cart 41. The sheathed heater 33 has a structure in which a heating element 82 such as a nichrome wire is held in a metal case 81 and an inorganic insulating material is firmly filled therebetween. The sheathed heater 33 is disposed on the lower surface of the cart 41 so as to be close to the cart 41, and quickly heats the target object accommodated in the accommodating portion 52 of the container 51 via the cart 41 and the container 51. To do.

Next, a method for forming a thin film on the surface of the object to be processed by the plasma CVD apparatus 1 will be described.
First, the container 51 in which the object to be processed is accommodated in the accommodating portion 52 is attached to the cart 41 mounted on the roller 11 of the load chamber 10. The cart 41 to which the container 51 is attached may be disposed on the roller 11 so that the object to be processed is accommodated in the accommodating portion 52 of the container 51.
As an example of a to-be-processed object, the element for solar cells which has an n type diffused layer on the surface of spherical p-type silicon can be mentioned. The solar cell element is a spherical body having a diameter of about 0.5 to 1.0 mm. This illustration is not meant to limit the invention, but is intended to clarify.

Opening the gate valve 2 and driving the motor to rotate the roller 11 conveys the cart 41 and the container 51 to the heating chamber 20. The gate valve 2 is closed, the heating chamber 20 is evacuated by the vacuum pump 25, and the object to be processed accommodated in the accommodating portion 52 of the container 51 is preheated by the lamp heater 22.

Next, by opening the gate valve 3 and driving the motor to rotate the roller 21, the cart 51 and the container 51 containing the preheated object to be processed are conveyed to the film forming chamber 30. The gate valve 3 is closed, and the film forming chamber 30 is evacuated by the vacuum pump 38. The raw material is introduced into the film forming chamber 30 by adjusting the flow rate by the mass flow controller 36 while heating the object in the container 52 of the container 51 by the sheath heater 33. Further, power is supplied from the RF power source 35 to the electrode plate 34. When the cart 41 is made of carbon or the like, plasma is generated using the electrode plate 34 as a cathode and the cart 41 as an anode.

An example of forming SiNx as a passivation film on the surface of a spherical solar cell element to be processed will be described. In this example, SiH ₄ (silane), NH 3 (ammonia), and N ₂ (nitrogen gas) are supplied as source gases. During this film forming process, the motor 63 is driven to reciprocate the cart 41 and the container 51 in the left-right direction in FIG. 1, and the object to be processed accommodated in the accommodating part 52 of the container 51 is contained in the accommodating part 52. Roll.

4A to 4C are side views showing the movement states of the cart 41 and the container 51 conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 60C. FIGS. 5A to 5C are respectively the same as FIG. FIG. 6 is a view for illustrating a rolling state of an object to be processed 55 accommodated in an accommodating portion 52 of a container 51 at positions corresponding to (C) to (C).
FIG. 4A shows a state before the motor 62 rotates. In this state, the cart 41 and the container 51 are stationary, and the bottom surface of the container 52 of the container 51 is substantially flat. Therefore, the workpiece 55 accommodated in the container 52 of the container 51 is As shown in FIG. 4 (A), it is distributed almost uniformly over the entire bottom surface of the accommodating portion 52.

From the state of FIG. 4A, the motor 62 is driven to rotate the rotating shaft 63 in the clockwise direction, and the roller is passed through the transmission path of the bevel gear 64 -the bevel gear 72 -the shaft 71 -the bevel gear 73 -the bevel gear 74. 31 is rotated counterclockwise. As a result, the container 51 is moved together with the cart 41 in the direction of the left arrow (left side) shown in the figure, and the state shown in FIG. 4B is obtained. When the motor 62 is stopped at this position, as shown in FIG. 5B, the workpiece 55 accommodated in the accommodating portion 52 of the container 51 rotates the bottom surface of the accommodating portion 52 by the action of inertia force. It moves while contacting the inner wall on the left side of the accommodating portion 52.

Next, the rotating shaft 63 of the motor 62 is rotated counterclockwise, which is the reverse direction, and the roller 31 is rotated clockwise through the same transmission path as described above. As a result, the container 51 is moved together with the cart 41 in the direction of the → mark (right side) shown in the figure, and the state shown in FIG. When the motor 62 is stopped at the timing when the cart 41 and the container 51 reach the position shown in FIG. 4 (C), as shown in FIG. 5 (C), the object to be processed accommodated in the accommodating portion 52 of the container 51. 55 moves while rotating the bottom surface of the housing portion 52 by the action of inertial force, and abuts on the right inner wall of the housing portion 52.

The driving shown in FIGS. 4B to 4C is repeated, and during this time, the film formation on the object 55 is continued, so that a thin film is uniformly formed on the entire surface of each object 55. can do. For example, in the case where the object 55 is the above-described solar cell element, the entire surface of the solar cell element is supplied by supplying SiH ₄ (silane), NH 3 (ammonia), and N ₂ (nitrogen gas) as source gases. Then, SiN _x is formed in a uniform film thickness.

In the above-described embodiment, the container 51 is reciprocated to form a thin film on the surface of the object to be processed 55 while rolling the bottom surface of the accommodating part 52 of the spherical object to be processed 55. The thin film formed on the entire surface can have a uniform thickness. Further, since the object to be processed 55 is accommodated in the accommodating part 52 having a substantially flat bottom surface, the object to be processed 55 is widely dispersed on the bottom surface of the accommodating part 52 and the rolling area is widened. Rolling is ensured, and the amount of objects to be processed that can be accommodated in the accommodating portion 52 can be increased.
Note that other operations may be performed on the container 51 instead of the reciprocating operation. The modification is shown below.

(Variation 1 of container operation)
6A to 6C are diagrams for explaining a method of swinging the container 51. FIG.
The transport mechanism 60 has a support shaft 67 at the center of the base 61 that serves as the center of swinging of the base 61. FIG. 6A shows a state in which the base 61 is stationary in a direction substantially perpendicular to the gravity (horizontal direction). From this state, when the base 61 is rotated clockwise about the support shaft 67 as shown by the arrow ↑ in the figure, the container 51 is tilted downward with the cart 41 as shown in FIG. 6B. To do. For this reason, the target object accommodated in the accommodating part 52 of the container 51 moves to the lower right side while the target object 55 rotates the bottom surface of the accommodating part 52.

Next, when the base 61 is rotated counterclockwise about the support shaft 67 as shown by the ↓ mark in the figure, the container 51 is moved upward together with the cart 41 as shown in FIG. 6C. Tilt. For this reason, the object to be processed accommodated in the accommodating part 52 of the container 51 moves downward on the left side while the object to be processed 55 rotates the bottom surface of the accommodating part 52. While repeatedly performing the operations shown in FIGS. 6B to 6C, a thin film is formed on the surface of the object to be processed.
A thin film having a uniform thickness can also be formed on the surface of the object to be processed by swinging the container in which the object to be processed is accommodated.
As a structure for driving the base 61, an appropriate driving mechanism such as connecting a rod of a reciprocating cylinder or an eccentric cam rotated by a motor to the end of the base 61 is adopted. Can do.

(Variation 2 of container operation)
FIGS. 7A to 7H are views for explaining a method for causing a container to perform a combined operation of a reciprocating operation and a swinging operation.
FIG. 7A shows a state where the base 61 is stationary in a state (horizontal state) perpendicular to gravity.
In this state, the motor 62 is driven and the roller 31 is rotated to move the cart 41 and the container 51 in the left direction as indicated by ←, and the base 61 is supported by the support shaft 67 as indicated by ↑. As shown in FIG. 7B, the container 51 is slightly lowered to the right.

From the state of FIG. 7B, the motor 62 is further driven in the same direction, the roller 31 is rotated, and the cart 41 and the container 51 are moved further leftward as indicated by ← and ↑ As shown in FIG. 7, when the base 61 is further rotated clockwise about the support shaft 67, the container 51 is further lowered to the right as shown in FIG.

In the state of FIG. 7C, the motor 62 is rotated in the reverse direction, the roller 31 is rotated in the reverse direction, and the cart 41 and the container 51 are moved in the right direction as indicated by the → mark, and the ↓ mark is displayed. As shown, when the base 61 is rotated counterclockwise about the support shaft 67, the container 51 is slightly lowered to the right as shown in FIG.
From the state of FIG. 7D, the motor 62 is further driven in the same direction, the roller 31 is rotated, and the cart 41 and the container 51 are moved further to the right as shown by the → mark, and As shown in FIG. 7, when the base 61 is further rotated counterclockwise around the support shaft 67, the cart 41 and the container 51 are in a horizontal state as shown in FIG.

From the state of FIG. 7E, the motor 62 is further driven in the same direction, the roller 31 is rotated, and the cart 41 and the container 51 are moved further to the right as indicated by the → mark, and the ↓ mark As shown in FIG. 6, when the base 61 is further rotated counterclockwise around the support shaft 67, the container 51 is slightly raised to the right as shown in FIG.
From the state of FIG. 7F, the motor 62 is further driven in the same direction, the roller 31 is rotated, and the cart 41 and the container 51 are further moved to the right as shown by the → mark, and the ↓ mark As shown, when the base 61 is further rotated counterclockwise about the support shaft 67, the container 51 is further raised to the right as shown in FIG.

From the state of FIG. 7G, the motor 62 is driven in the reverse direction, the roller 31 is rotated, and the cart 41 and the container 51 are moved in the left direction as indicated by ← and as indicated by ↑. When the base 61 is rotated clockwise about the support shaft 67, the container 51 is slightly lowered to the right as shown in FIG.
From the state of FIG. 7H, the motor 62 is driven in the same direction and the roller 31 is rotated to move the cart 41 and the container 51 further to the left as indicated by ← and as indicated by ↑. When the base 61 is further rotated clockwise about the support shaft 67, the container 51 becomes horizontal as shown in FIG.

The driving shown in FIGS. 7A to 7H is repeatedly performed, and during this time, the film formation on the target object 55 is continued to form a thin film uniformly on the entire surface of each target object 55. can do.
In the second variation of the container operation, the container 51 is reciprocated in the horizontal direction and is swung in the direction in which the gravity acts, so that the object to be processed accommodated in the container 52 of the container 51 is Horizontal inertial force and gravity act. For this reason, it is possible to further ensure the rolling of the object to be processed.

(Variation 3 of container operation)
8A to 8C show examples in which the inertial force acting on the object to be processed can be further increased.
In the transport mechanism 60 of this embodiment, stoppers 68 are provided at both ends of the base 61. The distance between the stoppers 68 is larger than the length of the cart 41, and the cart 41 can reciprocate between the stoppers 68. Moreover, the outer side surface of the both sides of the container 51 is contact | abutted to the stop pin 56 planted by the cart 41, and the movement to a length direction is controlled.

FIG. 8A shows a state where the motor 62 is not driven and is stopped. From this state, the motor 62 is driven, and the cart 31 and the container 51 are moved in the leftward direction indicated by ← in FIG. If the motor 62 is continuously driven, the left end of the cart 41 collides with the left stopper 68 as shown in FIG. 8B. Due to the impact caused by the collision, the object to be processed accommodated in the accommodating portion 52 of the container 51 rolls reliably.

When the state shown in FIG. 8B is reached, the drive of the motor 62 is stopped and immediately after that, the motor 62 is rotated in the reverse direction. Then, the cart 41 and the container 51 are moved in the right direction as indicated by the → mark, and this time, the right end of the cart 41 is caused to collide with the right stopper 68 as shown in FIG. Thereafter, the driving of the motor 62 is stopped, and immediately after that, reverse rotation is performed. As a result, the state shown in FIG. 8B is obtained after the state shown in FIG. In this manner, the operations shown in FIGS. 8A to 8C are repeated, and during this time, the film formation on the target object 55 is continued, so that the entire surface of each target object 55 is uniformly distributed. A thin film can be formed.

In this embodiment, the cart 41 is caused to collide with the stopper 68, and the workpiece 55 accommodated in the accommodation portion 52 of the container 51 is rolled by the impact force at that time, and the cart 41 collides with the stopper 68. Since the impact at that time is larger than when the motor 62 is suddenly stopped, the rolling of the object to be processed in the accommodating portion 52 is ensured. Further, the impact force can be set to an arbitrary magnitude by adjusting the conveyance speed of the container 51.

Moreover, the shape of the accommodating part 52 of the container 51 can also be variously modified, and the modified example is shown below.
(Variation 1 of the shape of the accommodating portion)
FIG. 9 shows a cross-sectional view of a modified example of the accommodating portion 52 of the container 51. In this modification, gentle inclined portions 52 b are formed on both side edges of the bottom surface 52 a of the accommodating portion 52. A steep slope 52c is formed following the gentle slope 52b. The gentle inclined portion 52b prevents a minute object to be processed from being caught in a vertical corner portion that is a boundary portion between the bottom surface and the side surface, thereby restricting rolling. Further, the steep inclined portion 52c prevents the object to be processed from jumping out of the accommodating portion 52 from the gentle inclined portion 52b.

(Modification 2 of shape of housing part)
FIG. 10 shows a cross-sectional view of another modified example of the container 51. In this modification, the bottom surface 52d of the accommodating portion 52 has an arc shape. The side surface of the accommodating portion 52 is a straight steeply inclined surface 52e with R at the end. Further, an overhang portion 52f is formed on the upper portion of the steeply inclined surface 52e. The overhang portion 52 f prevents the object to be processed from jumping out of the storage portion 52. Moreover, the overhang portion 52 f still drops the object to be processed that has jumped out of the storage portion 52 into the storage portion 52 again.

The roughness of the bottom surface of the container 52 also affects the rolling operation of the object to be processed. If the object to be processed is spherical, the bottom surface of the accommodating portion 52 may be a mirror surface. Further, in order to apply some frictional force to the object to be processed and the bottom surface of the housing portion, fine irregularities may be formed on the bottom surface of the housing portion 52. When the object to be processed is a polyhedron, if the bottom surface of the accommodating part 52 is a mirror surface, one surface of the object to be processed slides on the bottom surface of the accommodating part 52 and is difficult to roll. In such a case, it is recommended to form fine irregularities on the bottom surface of the accommodating portion 52. However, it should be noted that if the fine unevenness formed on the bottom surface of the accommodating portion 52 is too deep or the pitch of the unevenness is larger than each surface size of the polyhedron, the polyhedron will be retained in the recess. .

As described above, according to the present invention, at least one of the reciprocating operation and the swinging operation is performed on the container 51, so that the object 55 is moved on the surface of the object 55 while rolling the bottom surface of the container 52. Since the thin film is formed, the thin film formed on the entire surface of the object 55 can be made to have a uniform thickness. Further, since the object to be processed 55 is accommodated in the accommodating part 52 having a substantially flat bottom surface, the object to be processed 55 is widely dispersed on the bottom surface of the accommodating part 52, and the rolling area is widened. The moving operation can be further ensured, and the amount of the object to be processed that can be accommodated in the accommodating portion 52 can be increased to improve the productivity.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where a thin film is formed on the object to be processed has been described as an example. However, the object to be processed is diffused or irradiated with an ion beam or the like to cause physical or chemical changes. The present invention can be applied to various types of processing including the case where the process is performed.

The apparatus for processing the object to be processed is not limited to the plasma CVD apparatus but can be applied to other apparatuses such as a sputtering apparatus. Although the example in which the container is reciprocated in the horizontal state has been described, the container may be moved in a two-dimensional manner instead of a one-dimensional manner, such as by swinging the container in the horizontal state. Further, the operation of the container may be a combination of these operations and the swinging operation in the direction of gravity.

The processing object 55 has been described in the embodiment in which the processing object 55 is accommodated in a container 51 different from the cart 41. It can also be set as the form to do.

In addition, the surface treatment apparatus of the present invention can be variously modified and configured. In short, the surface treatment apparatus has a container that accommodates the object to be treated, and a space that accommodates the container. A surface processing unit having a processing chamber into which a gas for processing is introduced, and a container driving mechanism for causing a container in which an object to be processed is accommodated to reciprocate or swing. If it is.

In addition, the present invention provides an accommodating process for accommodating a container in which an object to be treated is accommodated, and the object to be processed while rolling the object to be processed in the container by causing the container to reciprocate or swing. The present invention is applied to any of the surface treatment methods including a treatment process for treating the surface of the body.

Although various embodiments and modifications have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these contents. Other embodiments conceivable within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention are also included in the scope of the present invention.

The disclosure of the following priority application is hereby incorporated by reference.
Japanese Patent Application 2010 No. 175176 (filed on Aug. 4, 2010)

Claims

A container in which an object is stored;
A surface treatment unit having a space for accommodating the container and having a treatment chamber into which a gas for treating the surface of the object to be treated is introduced;
A surface treatment apparatus comprising: a container driving mechanism that causes the container in which an object to be processed is accommodated to perform at least one of a reciprocating operation and a swinging operation.
2. The surface treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the surface treatment unit includes an electrode plate having a flat surface facing the container, and the container driving mechanism is configured to place the container in a plane substantially parallel to the electrode plate. Then, the object to be processed accommodated in the container is rolled.
3. The surface treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the surface treatment unit includes an electrode plate having a flat surface facing the container, and the container driving mechanism includes the container and the electrode. Swing motion in a direction perpendicular to the plate.
4. The surface treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the container drive mechanism includes at least a pair of rollers and a drive unit that drives the rollers.
5. The surface treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the container driving mechanism includes a stopper that stops the movement of the container.
6. The surface treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the surface treatment unit includes a plasma generation unit for forming a thin film on the surface of a spherical, columnar, or polyhedral object.
A housing step for housing a container in which the object to be processed is housed;
And a processing step of processing the surface of the object to be processed while rolling the object in the container by causing the container to reciprocate or swing.
8. The surface treatment method according to claim 7, wherein the container is caused to perform at least one of a reciprocating motion and a rocking motion in a plane substantially perpendicular to gravity.
9. The surface treatment method according to claim 7, wherein the container is swung in the direction of gravity.