CN103097569B - Vacuum film forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

A vacuum film forming apparatus (100) according to the present invention is a film forming apparatus for forming a film on a plurality of substrates (20) in a vacuum state, and includes: a plurality of substrate supports (23) for supporting the substrate; a substrate unit (2) for supporting and transporting a plurality of substrate supports (23); and a vacuum chamber (1) having a carrying-in port (10) for carrying in and out the substrate unit (2) and a carrying-in port door (11) for opening and closing the carrying-in port (10) and forming a vacuum state. The substrate unit (2) supports a plurality of substrate supports (23) so as to be arranged in series in the conveying direction to the vacuum tank (1); the carrying-in port (10) is formed in accordance with the size of the base unit (2). With this, the vacuum film forming apparatus (100) can reduce the time required for moisture to be discharged and suppress the time required for the film forming process.

Description

Vacuum film forming device

technical field

The present invention relates to a vacuum film forming apparatus for forming films on a plurality of substrates in a vacuum state.

Background technique

In recent years, various articles have been manufactured using thin films. Examples of products to which the film is applied include reflectors used in automobile lamps. The reflector can be produced by holding the substrate in a vacuum chamber provided in a vacuum film forming apparatus and operating a film forming unit such as an evaporation source to form a thin film on the substrate. More specifically, the reflector is formed by laminating a reflective film for reflecting light and a protective film for protecting the reflective film on the substrate. In this way, by laminating a protective film on a reflective film made of a metal material (for example, aluminum), deterioration over time of the reflective film can be suppressed.

As a vacuum film-forming apparatus used in the manufacture of reflectors in this way, it is disclosed that a film-forming unit and a substrate holder are provided on the inner surface side of the door of a vacuum chamber, and that the film-forming unit and the substrate are formed when the door is closed. A vacuum film-forming apparatus having a structure in which a holder is arranged in a space inside a vacuum chamber (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

For example, the vacuum film-forming apparatuses disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 have a structure in which a left-right symmetrical door is provided on one vacuum chamber, and a base material holder and the like are mounted on the door. While the film-forming process is being performed on the base material on this door, the base material can be attached and detached on the other door.

Prior art literature:

Patent Document 1: International Publication No. 2009/084408;

Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent No. 4246570.

Contents of the invention

Problems to be solved by the invention:

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, there is a problem that the time required for the film formation process is long.

More specifically, the vacuum film-forming apparatuses of Patent Documents 1 and 2 are formed so that one door (the first door) is closed and the substrate placed on the door is subjected to film-forming processing (several minutes of batch processing time). period), the other door (second door) is exposed to the air outside the vacuum tank (outside air).

Here, when the vacuum film forming apparatus is operated, for example, when manufacturing the above-mentioned reflector, the surface of the side of the door forming a part of the inner wall of the vacuum chamber (the side of the inner wall of the vacuum chamber), that is, the side on which the substrate is provided The surface is covered by film-forming substances. When the side surface of the inner wall of the vacuum chamber of the door is covered with a film-forming substance, moisture is very easily adsorbed, and the amount of moisture adsorption increases according to the time the surface is exposed to the outside air. When moisture is adsorbed on the side of the inner wall of the vacuum tank of such a door, it takes time to discharge the moisture, and the batch processing takes a long time.

Therefore, in order to suppress the amount of moisture adsorption, it is necessary to reduce the time during which the inner wall side of the vacuum chamber of the door covered with the film-forming substance is exposed to the outside air.

However, in the vacuum film-forming apparatuses of Patent Documents 1 and 2, while the first door is closed and the film-forming process is performed, the second door is exposed to outside air and absorbs moisture. And, when the film-forming process on the base material installed on the first door is completed, the door is opened to carry out detachment of the film-formed base material, etc., and at the same time, the second door is closed to perform the processing of the base material set on the door. film-forming treatment. At this time, the second gate has absorbed more water, so the film-forming treatment time is further prolonged.

Also, the surface area of the door depends on the jig size of the substrate and the number of substrates placed on the door, and the larger the surface area, the greater the moisture adsorption.

In this way, in the vacuum film forming apparatuses disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, since the base material and the like are arranged on the door, one door is exposed to the outside air during the several minutes of the batch processing time, and the amount of moisture adsorption increases. Big. In addition, in order to efficiently arrange the base material, the surface area of the door is increased, and as a result, the moisture adsorption amount is increased.

Therefore, in the vacuum film-forming apparatuses disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, it takes time to discharge the adsorbed moisture, and the time required for the film-forming process becomes longer.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum film-forming apparatus capable of reducing the time required for water discharge so that the time required for film-forming processing can be suppressed.

Means to solve the problem:

The vacuum film forming apparatus according to the present invention is a vacuum film forming apparatus that forms films on a plurality of substrates in a vacuum state in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and includes: a plurality of supporting parts for supporting the substrates; A conveying unit of the plurality of supporting parts; and a vacuum tank having an opening for loading and unloading the conveying unit and a door for opening and closing the opening, and for forming a vacuum state; the conveying unit supports The plurality of support parts are arranged in a row in a conveyance direction to the vacuum tank, and the opening part is formed according to the size of the conveyance unit.

Here, the base material refers to a member to be formed into a film, for example, a molded body molded in a specific shape is given as an example.

According to the above configuration, since the vacuum chamber includes the opening and the door, the conveyance unit supporting the support part can be carried into or out of the vacuum chamber through the opening.

Also, since the transport unit is arranged in series in the transport direction to support a plurality of support units, the size of the transport unit depends on the size of each support unit to be supported. That is, the cross-sectional area when the conveyance unit is cut perpendicular to the conveyance direction corresponds to the size of one support portion.

Here, the opening size of the opening is formed according to the size of the conveyance unit. That is, the opening size of the opening is such that one supporting portion supported by the conveyance unit can enter and exit from the vacuum chamber, and more specifically, it is a cross-sectional area when the conveyance unit is cut perpendicular to the conveyance direction.

In addition, the size of the door for opening and closing the opening is also reduced as much as possible together with the opening size of the opening. That is, the surface area of the door portion is reduced as much as possible.

However, the side surface of the inner wall of the vacuum chamber at the door is covered with film-forming substances generated during the film-forming process of the base material, and thus is in a state where it is very easy to absorb moisture.

In the vacuum film forming apparatus according to the present invention, the time during which the inner wall of the vacuum chamber at the door is exposed to the outside air is only during the period when the transport unit enters and exits the vacuum chamber. That is, like the vacuum film forming apparatuses disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the amount of moisture adsorption can be reduced without leaving the door portion (door) exposed to the outside air during the film forming process time.

In addition, the surface area of the door portion is reduced as much as possible as described above, so the amount of moisture absorbed by the door portion can be reduced.

In this manner, in the vacuum film forming apparatus of the present invention, the amount of water absorbed by the door portion can be suppressed.

Therefore, the vacuum film-forming apparatus according to the present invention exhibits the effect of reducing the time required for water discharge and suppressing the time required for film-forming processing.

In addition, in the vacuum film forming apparatus according to the present invention, in the above configuration, the transfer unit may be formed to include one or more vaporizers for forming a film by heating and evaporating the film forming material on the base material supported by the support portion. A source; a structure in which the support parts and the evaporation source are arranged in series in the conveyance direction, and the evaporation source is arranged between the support parts.

According to the above configuration, since the plurality of support parts are arranged in series in the conveyance direction, the support parts can be arranged in series in the conveyance direction with respect to the conveyance unit. Moreover, since the evaporation source is provided between the supporting parts, a film can be formed on the substrate supported by the supporting parts sandwiching the evaporation source by the evaporation method in the vacuum chamber formed in a vacuum state.

In addition, according to the vacuum film forming apparatus of the present invention, in the above configuration, the support unit may be configured to rotatably support the substrate.

According to the above configuration, since the supporting portion rotatably supports the substrate, the substrate can be rotated during the film forming process, and the film forming process can be uniformly performed on the entire substrate.

Furthermore, in the vacuum film forming apparatus according to the present invention, in the above configuration, the transport unit may be mounted and a moving table capable of moving the transport unit in a direction different from the transport direction on a horizontal plane may be provided.

According to the above configuration, since the moving table is provided, the transport unit can be moved to another location by the moving table, and at the same time, a new transport unit can be moved to the front of the vacuum chamber to be conveyed to the vacuum chamber. That is, it is possible to efficiently switch the conveyance unit loaded into the vacuum tank.

In addition, in the vacuum film forming apparatus according to the present invention, in the above configuration, the door may be configured to move left and right relative to the opening to open and close the opening.

In addition, according to the vacuum film forming apparatus of the present invention, in the above structure, the door may be formed such that one side part is connected to the vacuum chamber through a hinge, and the door can be opened and closed in an arc with the hinge as an axis. Describe the structure of the opening.

Invention effect:

The present invention is constituted as described above, and it is possible to reduce the time required for water discharge to suppress the time required for the film formation process.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an example of a schematic structure of a vacuum film forming apparatus according to the present embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example of a structure related to vacuum exhaust processing in a vacuum film forming apparatus according to the present embodiment;

3 is a block diagram of an example of a structure related to vacuum exhaust processing in the vacuum film forming apparatus according to the present embodiment;

4 is a diagram schematically showing an example of an arrangement of substrates in a substrate unit according to a modified example of the present embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing an example of an arrangement of substrates in a substrate unit according to a modified example of the present embodiment.

detailed description

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, in all the drawings below, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same or corresponding constituent members, and description thereof will be omitted.

(Structure of Vacuum Film Formation Equipment)

First, the configuration of a vacuum film forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1 . FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an example of a schematic configuration of a vacuum film forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment.

In this embodiment, a resin molded body constituting a reflector of a headlamp is used as an example as the base material 20, and a reflective film composed of an evaporated film of aluminum is sequentially formed on the surface of the base material 20 in a vacuum. , and a batch-type film-forming device that forms a protective film made of synthetic resin.

As shown in FIG. 1 , a vacuum film forming apparatus 100 has a structure including a vacuum chamber 1 , a substrate unit (transport unit) 2 , an exhaust unit 4 , a common base 5 , and a transfer base 6 .

The vacuum chamber 1 is an airtight container for forming a lower pressure state (vacuum) than its surroundings, and is formed in a substantially cubic shape in the present embodiment. However, the shape of the vacuum chamber 1 is not limited to such a cube, as long as it can form a desired vacuum state. Furthermore, the vacuum chamber 1 has an inlet (opening) 10 through which the substrate unit 2 can be taken in and out, and an inlet door (door) 11 for opening and closing the inlet 10 . In this embodiment, the entrance door 11 is provided as a sliding door, and can be opened and closed by sliding left and right with respect to the entrance 10 . In addition, when the import door 11 is closed, a sealing member (not shown) is attached to the contact portion between the import port 10 and the import door 11 to ensure airtightness.

In addition, although the entrance door 11 is a sliding door, it is not limited thereto, and one side of the entrance door 11 may be joined to the vacuum tank 1 by a hinge, and the hinge may be used as an axis to draw an arc to open. Closed hinged door.

In this embodiment, the side on which the inlet 10 is provided in the vacuum tank 1 is called the front, the side opposite to it is called the back, and the left and right sides connected to the front are called the left side and the right side, respectively, and The upper surface is referred to as an upper surface.

Moreover, the vacuum chamber 1 is equipped with the plasma discharge electrode 12 on the left side surface of the external shape as shown in FIG. The plasma discharge electrode 12 is an electrode for discharging plasma when forming a film on the substrate 20 arranged in the vacuum chamber 1 by plasma polymerization.

The exhaust unit 4 is a unit for vacuum exhausting the inside of the vacuum chamber 1, and includes an auxiliary vacuum pump (Roots pump (roots pump) 31 and oil rotary pump 32) and a high vacuum pump (oil diffusion pump 33 and cold trap ( cooltrap) 34). In addition, in order to control the flow of air between these various pumps and the vacuum tank 1, a main valve 13, a roughing vacuum valve 14, a foreline valve 15, a vent valve 16, and Gate valve (gate valve) 17. In addition, in FIG. 1 , the gate valve 17 and the cold trap 34 are not shown in the figure due to the limited size of the page. The description of the vacuum chamber 1 related to the vacuum exhaust process, the exhaust unit 4 and other valves including the main valve 13 provided on the upper surface of the vacuum chamber 1 in FIG. 1 will be described in detail below.

In addition, the above-mentioned vacuum chamber 1 and exhaust unit 4 are supported together by a common base 5 .

The substrate unit 2 is a member that holds the substrate 20 by a substrate support (support portion) 23, and is loaded on a moving table 25 provided on the transfer base 6 so as to be able to move together with the moving table 25, or to be able to It moves on a rail (second rail 52 ) provided on the moving table 25 .

That is, on the surface of the transfer base 6 , the first rail 51 is provided in a direction perpendicular to the transfer direction (replacement direction) to the vacuum chamber 1 of the base material unit 2 . Furthermore, by moving the moving table 25 guided by the first rails 51 , the base material unit 2 mounted on the moving table 25 can be moved to the direction of replacement, that is, to the left and right with respect to the loading port 10 .

In addition, a second rail 52 is provided on the moving table 25 along the conveyance direction (carry-in direction or carry-out direction). Also, a track is provided inside the vacuum tank 1 to be connected to the second track 52, and the substrate unit 2 can move from the second track 52 to the track (vacuum tank track 53) in the vacuum tank 1. Vacuum tank 1 goes in and out.

In addition, in this embodiment, the mobile platform 25 is formed to move in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction, but the moving direction is not limited to this, as long as it moves in a direction different from the conveyance direction so that the load on the mobile platform 25 Different substrate units 2 above can be carried in and out of the vacuum chamber 1 alternately.

As described above, the movable substrate unit 2 includes, as shown in FIG. The body 23 and the support base 24 of the evaporation source 21.

The substrate support 23 has a rod-shaped shaft portion extending vertically and upwardly from the support base 24 , and the substrate 20 can be attached to the shaft portion. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1 , two substrates 20 can be fixed with one substrate support 23 . Moreover, when the substrate unit 2 is arranged at an appropriate position in the vacuum chamber 1 , power is supplied to a drive motor not shown, and the substrate 20 can be rotated around the shaft of the substrate support 23 (autorotation).

The evaporation source 21 heats and evaporates a film-forming material (evaporation material) in a vacuum so that it adheres to the substrate 20 . The evaporation source 21 is composed of two evaporation resistance heating electrodes 28 extending upward from the support base 24 in the vertical direction, and a bridge for evaporation between the evaporation resistance heating electrodes 28 at a certain interval in the vertical direction. Filaments 27 of material are formed. In this embodiment, although aluminum or its alloy is used as an evaporation material, it is not limited to this.

The support base 24 can support and fix the substrate support 23 and the evaporation source 21 , and can move guided by the second rail 52 provided on the moving table 25 and the vacuum tank rail 53 provided in the vacuum tank 1 . That is, a plurality of wheels corresponding to the widths of the second rail 52 and the vacuum tank rail 53 are provided on the side of the support base 24 , and the wheels can move on the second rail 52 and the vacuum tank rail 53 . With this, the substrate unit 2 can enter and exit from the vacuum chamber 1 in the conveyance direction.

(Structure related to vacuum exhaust processing in vacuum film forming equipment)

The vacuum film forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is configured to form an aluminum film, a protective film, and the like on a substrate 20 in a vacuum chamber 1 in a vacuum state. Therefore, the vacuum film forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is configured to perform a vacuum exhaust process to vacuum the inside of the vacuum chamber 1 when the substrate 20 is placed in the vacuum chamber 1 . Hereinafter, the configuration related to this vacuum exhaust process will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 . FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are block diagrams showing an example of the configuration related to the vacuum exhaust process in the vacuum film forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , the exhaust unit 4 is configured to include an auxiliary vacuum pump (Roots pump 31 and oil rotary pump 32 ) and a high vacuum pump (oil diffusion pump 33 and cold trap 34 ). In addition, in order to control the flow of air between these various pumps and the vacuum chamber 1 , a main valve 13 , a rough valve 14 , a foreline valve 15 , an exhaust valve 16 , and a gate valve 17 are provided.

More specifically, the main valve 13 is provided in an exhaust passage formed between the vacuum tank 1 and the exhaust port of the oil diffusion pump 33 , and controls the opening and closing of the exhaust passage. The rough valve 14 controls the opening and closing of piping between the vacuum chamber 1 and the auxiliary vacuum pump (the Roots pump 31 and the oil rotary pump 32 ) when performing rough pumping and exhausting. In addition, the foreline valve 15 controls the opening and closing of piping between the oil diffusion pump 33 and the auxiliary vacuum pump (especially the Roots pump 31 ). The exhaust valve 16 controls the opening and closing of piping provided to communicate the vacuum chamber 1 and the outside air. The gate valve 17 controls opening and closing of piping between the vacuum chamber 1 and the cold trap 34 .

The vacuum film forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is configured to evacuate the inside of the vacuum chamber 1 from atmospheric pressure to a vacuum by dividing it into rough evacuation and high vacuum evacuation, and evacuating in stages.

First, the oil rotary pump 32 and the auxiliary vacuum pump of the Roots pump 31 are continuously operated until the atmospheric pressure reaches the operating pressure of the high vacuum pump. In addition, the oil rotary pump 32 is a vacuum pump configured to evacuate an oil-sealed space during one rotation of the rotor. Moreover, the Roots pump 31 is installed between the vacuum tank 1 and the oil rotary pump 32, and also functions as a booster pump.

In the stage of rough pumping and exhausting, the main valve 13 , the foreline valve 15 , the exhaust valve 16 and the gate valve 17 are closed, and only the roughing valve 14 is opened. Then, the oil rotary pump 32 and the Roots pump 31 perform exhaust (rough exhaust) until the inside of the vacuum tank 1 reaches the operating pressure of the high vacuum pump from the atmospheric pressure.

When the inside of the vacuum tank 1 reaches the working pressure of the high vacuum pump, the rough valve 14 in the opened state as shown in FIG. Thereby, the vacuum tank 1 communicates with the oil diffusion pump 33 , and the oil diffusion pump 33 communicates with the auxiliary vacuum pump (the Roots pump 31 and the oil rotary pump 32 ). In addition, the vacuum chamber 1 communicates with the cold trap 34 .

Furthermore, the oil diffusion pump 33 , the auxiliary vacuum pump (the Roots pump 31 and the oil rotary pump 32 ), and the cold trap 34 are continuously operated to vacuum exhaust until a predetermined vacuum region is reached. In addition, the oil diffusion pump 33 heats the oil to form steam, and sprays the steam from a narrow gap, taking gas molecules together with the oil molecules to work. Also, the cold trap 34 traps water vapor present in the vacuum chamber 1 .

When the inside of the vacuum chamber 1 reaches a predetermined degree of vacuum, the film formation process on the substrate 20 is performed. In the vacuum film forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, a vacuum evaporation method is used to form a reflective film on the substrate 20 . That is, a reflective film is formed on the substrate 20 fixed to the substrate supports 23 using the evaporation source 21 disposed between the substrate supports 23 . In addition, at this time, the substrate 20 is rotated around the axis of the substrate support 23 in the vacuum chamber 1 , whereby a reflective film is uniformly formed on the surface of the substrate 20 .

After the reflective film is formed, a protective film is formed on the reflective film. In the step of forming the protective film, a resin film is formed on the surface of the substrate 20 by a plasma polymerization method. At this time, the substrate 20 is also rotated in the vacuum chamber 1 to uniformly form a protective film (resin film) on the surface of the substrate 20 .

In this manner, when the predetermined film formation process on the substrate 20 is completed, the main valve 13 , the back-line valve 15 , and the gate valve 17 are closed, and the exhaust valve 16 is opened. With this, the pressure in the vacuum chamber 1 can be returned to atmospheric pressure.

Afterwards, the carrying-in door 11 is opened, and the processed substrate unit 2 is carried out from the vacuum chamber 1, and a separately prepared substrate unit 2 is carried in instead. In this way, the base material unit 2 is replaced by opening and closing the carry-in door 11 .

(Loading and unloading processing of base unit)

Next, the structure related to the carrying-in and carrying-out process of the above-mentioned base material unit 2 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 again.

On the substrate unit 2 , two substrate supports 23 are arranged in series to sandwich the evaporation source 21 along the conveyance direction to the vacuum chamber 1 . The substrate unit 2 is mounted on the second rail 52 provided on the movable table 25 as described above, and is guided by the second rail 52 so as to be able to enter and exit the vacuum chamber 1 . With this, the operator can carry the substrate unit 2 into the vacuum chamber 1 or carry out the substrate unit 2 accommodated in the vacuum chamber 1 .

Moreover, the moving table 25 is mounted on the first rail 51 provided on the conveyance base 6 . The first rail 51 is provided to extend in a direction substantially perpendicular to the second rail 52 on the horizontal plane. Therefore, the moving table 25 can move on the surface of the conveyance base 6 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the conveyance direction (replacement direction).

Here, in this embodiment, the moving table 25 is provided on the surface of the transfer base 6, and two base material units 2 are mounted on the moving table 25, respectively. Therefore, in the two base material units 2 , one direction is slid in the insertion direction so as to reach a position corresponding to the loading port 10 . Then, the slid substrate unit 2 can be carried into the vacuum chamber 1 along the conveyance direction.

In addition, the substrate unit 2 after the film formation process is moved from the vacuum chamber 1 to a predetermined position on the moving table 25, and the moving table 25 is slid in the direction of replacement by the transfer base 6, so that this time the film-forming process is not processed. The substrate unit 2 is located at a position corresponding to the import port 10 .

By forming such a structure, it is possible to detach the base material 20 from the other base material unit 2 after the film formation process and replace it with a new one that has not been subjected to the film formation process while the film formation process is being performed on one base material unit 2 . The substrate 20.

Here, in the substrate unit 2 , two substrate supports 23 are respectively arranged with the evaporation source 21 therebetween along the conveyance direction with respect to the vacuum chamber 1 . That is, the substrate support 23 , the evaporation source 21 , and the substrate support 23 are arranged in series in the conveyance direction in this order.

Therefore, when the substrate unit 2 is viewed from above, the width of the substrate unit 2 in which the conveyance direction is the longer direction and perpendicular to the conveyance direction corresponds to the size of the substrate support 23 .

Therefore, the opening width (opening size) of the loading port 10 only needs to correspond to the dimension width of the base material support body 23 of the base material unit 2. The entire surface of the side opposite to the base unit 2 is open.

Therefore, the surface area of the inlet door 11 that blocks the inlet 10 is also smaller than that of a configuration in which the entire surface of the vacuum chamber 1 facing the substrate unit 2 is opened as the inlet 10 .

That is, in the vacuum film forming apparatus 100 according to this embodiment, the surface area of the entrance door 11 can be reduced, thereby reducing the amount of moisture adsorbed on the back surface (the inner wall side of the vacuum chamber) of the entrance door 11 .

In addition, the time during which the back surface of the carrying-in door 11 is exposed to outside air is only the time required for carrying in and carrying out the base material unit 2 . That is, compared with the structure in which the other door is always exposed to the outside air during the film-forming process of the base material 20 equipped on one door as in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the exposure of the entrance door 11 to the outside air is reduced. time for outside air. Therefore, the amount of moisture absorbed by the carry-in door 11 can be reduced.

Moreover, in this embodiment, when carrying in and carrying out the base material unit 2 to the vacuum tank 1 as shown in FIG. Therefore, it is necessary to secure a space corresponding to the width of the import door 11 on the left side of the vacuum chamber 1 so that the import door 11 can move.

However, compared with the structure in which the entire surface of the vacuum chamber 1 facing the base unit 2 is opened as in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the space to be secured in advance for moving the import door 11 is reduced.

More specifically, assuming that the width of the entrance door 11 is about half of the width of the vacuum chamber 1, the vacuum film forming apparatus 100 according to this embodiment is installed on the same installation area, and has the same dimensions as that of the patented vacuum film forming apparatus 100. In the case of the door vacuum film-forming apparatus having the same structure as Documents 1 and 2, about 1.5 times as many apparatuses can be installed in the former.

In addition, in the case where the import port 10 of the vacuum chamber 1 is formed on the left half of the front of the vacuum chamber 1 as shown in FIG. The space that should be secured in advance for moving is further reduced.

Thus, in the vacuum film forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, the space to be secured in advance for the movement of the carrying-in door 11 can be reduced, and thus the degree of freedom of its installation location can be increased. Moreover, compared with the vacuum film-forming apparatuses disclosed in patent documents 1 and 2, it can arrange|position densely.

In addition, in the vacuum film forming apparatus 100 according to this embodiment, since the structure related to the opening and closing mechanism of the inlet door 11 and the structure related to the movement of the substrate unit 2 are very simple mechanisms as described above, It is also possible to easily automate the film-forming process of the substrate 20 .

(Modification 1)

Hereinafter, modifications of the vacuum film forming apparatus 100 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 . 4 and 5 are diagrams schematically showing an example of the arrangement of the base material 20 in the base material unit 2 according to a modified example of the present embodiment.

The substrate unit 2 included in the vacuum film forming apparatus 100 according to this embodiment is formed to include two substrate supports 23 as shown in FIG. 1 , and one evaporation source 21 is arranged between these substrate supports 23. . However, the number of substrate supports 23 and evaporation sources 21 is not limited thereto. For example, as shown in FIG. 4 , it may also be formed to include three substrate supports 23 and two evaporation sources 21, and the three substrate supports 23 are arranged in one direction (transportation direction) and each substrate support 23 is provided with the structure of evaporation source 21. Furthermore, each base material 20 supported by the base material holder 23 may be configured to rotate around the axis of the base material holder 23 during the film formation process.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 5 , a plurality of base materials 20 may be provided on the same plane for each base material support 23 . Furthermore, a structure may be adopted in which the evaporation sources 21 are respectively provided between the groups of the substrates 20 formed on each substrate support 23 , that is, between two different substrate supports 23 .

More specifically, on each substrate support 23, a plurality of rotation axes extending in the same direction as the central axis (in the example of FIG. four rotation axes). Furthermore, a mounting jig (not shown) for the base material 20 is respectively provided on the rotation shaft, and the base material 20 is mounted on each rotation shaft by the jig. Each substrate 20 is configured to revolve around the center axis of each substrate support 23 as a rotation axis and to rotate around its spin axis during the film formation process.

In this way, the structure in which the substrate supports 23 are arranged in series in the conveyance direction can further reduce the width of the substrate unit 2 (or, a cross section cut perpendicular to the conveyance direction), and as a result, the opening of the import port 10 can be reduced. The size and the size of the import door 11 that opens and closes the import port 10 are preferable in terms of reducing the amount of moisture absorbed by the import door 11 .

(Modification 2)

In addition, the vacuum film forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is formed such that the moving table 25 is provided on the transfer base 6, and by moving left and right in the switching direction, while one substrate unit 2 is performing the film forming process, The other base unit 2 is configured to attach and detach the base material 20 .

However, it is not limited to this structure, and the transfer base 6 may be formed as a belt conveyor that moves in one direction, and the mobile table 25 on which the base material unit 2 with the base material 20 is mounted is placed on the belt conveyor at predetermined intervals. Arranged, and the film-forming process is performed sequentially.

That is, when the moving table 25 on which the base material unit 2 is loaded is transported to the front of the load-in port 10 by the transport base 6 , the load-in door 11 is opened, and the base material unit 2 is loaded into the vacuum chamber 1 . Furthermore, when the substrate unit 2 is subjected to the film formation process and carried out from the vacuum chamber 1, the new substrate unit 2 is conveyed to the front of the import port 10, and the substrate unit 2 after the film formation process is moved to the conveyance base 6 destination move.

In this manner, the substrate units 2 may be arranged at predetermined intervals on a conveyance base moving in a certain direction, and the film-forming process may be sequentially performed.

From the above description, many improvements, other embodiments, and the like of the present invention will be clear to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the above description should be interpreted as an example only, and is provided for the purpose of teaching the most preferable mode for carrying out the present invention to those skilled in the art. Details of structure and/or function may be substantially changed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Industrial applicability:

The vacuum film-forming apparatus of the present invention is useful as an apparatus for forming a metal film, a protective film, and the like on automobiles, decoration of home appliance parts, resins for optical use, glass parts, and the like.

Symbol Description:

1 vacuum tank;

2 substrate unit (handling unit);

4 exhaust unit;

5 common bases;

6 handling base;

10 loading port (opening);

11 move the entrance door (gate);

12 plasma discharge electrodes;

13 main valve;

14 Rough pumping valve;

15 foreline pipeline valve;

16 exhaust valve;

17 gate valve;

20 substrates;

21 evaporation source;

23 substrate support body (support part);

24 support bases;

25 mobile stations;

27 filaments;

28 resistance heating electrodes for evaporation;

31 roots pump;

32 oil rotary pump;

33 oil diffusion pump;

34 cold traps;

51 first track;

52 second track;

53 vacuum groove track;

100 vacuum film forming device.

Claims (5)

1. a vacuum film formation apparatus, is the vacuum film formation apparatus under vacuum conditions to multiple base material film forming, possesses:

For supporting multiple support sectors of described base material；

Heating evaporation filmogen, for forming the more than one evaporation source of film on the base material being supported in described support sector；

Possesses the handling unit of the evaporation source of more than the plurality of support sector and one, described handling unit carries the base material supported by this support sector, and described handling unit is so that the plurality of support sector and described evaporation source are supporting the plurality of support sector and described evaporation source to the form configuring and arranging between this support sector this evaporation source in upright arrangement on the carrying direction of described vacuum tank；With

There is the peristome for moving into and take out of described handling unit and the door portion for this peristome of opening and closing, and for forming the vacuum tank of vacuum state；

Described peristome is formed according to the size of described handling unit。

2. vacuum film formation apparatus according to claim 1, it is characterised in that described support sector rotatably supports base material。

3. vacuum film formation apparatus according to claim 1, it is characterised in that possess the described handling unit of loading, and mobile of this handling unit can be moved in the horizontal plane on the direction different from described carrying direction。

4. vacuum film formation apparatus according to claim 1, it is characterised in that described door portion moves left and right relative to described peristome, thus this peristome of opening and closing。

5. vacuum film formation apparatus according to claim 1, it is characterised in that the sidepiece that described door portion is formed as is engaged with described vacuum tank by hinge, and draw peristome described in arc ground opening and closing with this hinge for axle。