JP2011195899A - Film-deposition device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To form a film forming apparatus for forming a film while winding a long substrate around a drum and transporting it in the longitudinal direction, preventing the substrate from floating from the drum due to heating of the substrate. Provided is a film forming apparatus capable of stably producing a functional film that suppresses thermal damage to a substrate resulting therefrom.
The above-mentioned problem is solved by having a biasing means for biasing the substrate outward in the width direction while contacting the non-product region of the substrate wound around the drum and being transported together with the substrate.
[Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a film forming apparatus suitable for the production of a functional film such as a gas barrier film, which is formed while a long substrate is wound around a drum and conveyed. The present invention relates to a film forming apparatus that can be significantly reduced.

Various functional films such as gas barrier films, protective films, optical films such as optical filters and antireflection films, etc. in various devices such as optical elements, display devices such as liquid crystal displays and organic EL displays, semiconductor devices, thin film solar cells, etc. (Functional sheet) is used.
Moreover, film formation (thin film formation) by vacuum film-forming methods, such as sputtering, plasma CVD, and vacuum evaporation, is utilized for manufacture of these functional films.

In order to perform film formation efficiently and with high productivity by vacuum film formation, film formation is performed continuously while conveying a long substrate (web-like substrate) in the longitudinal direction. Is preferred.
As an apparatus for carrying out such a film forming method, a so-called roll-to-roll process in which a substrate is sent out from a supply roll formed by winding a long substrate into a roll shape, and the film-formed substrate is wound into a roll shape. (Roll to Roll (hereinafter also referred to as RtoR)) film forming apparatuses are known. This roll-to-roll film forming apparatus inserts a long substrate from a supply roll to a take-up roll through a predetermined path that passes through a film formation position where film formation is performed on the substrate. The film formation is continuously performed on the substrate to be transported at the film formation position while the feeding and the winding of the film-formed substrate by the winding roll are performed in synchronization.

  As such an RtoR film forming apparatus, as shown in Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2, and the like, a substrate is wound around and transported around a cylindrical drum while facing the peripheral surface of the drum. An apparatus for forming a film on a substrate by a provided film forming means is known.

Here, in a film formation method that involves generation of plasma, such as plasma CVD or sputtering, the temperature of the substrate rises during film formation due to heat incidence from the plasma. In vacuum deposition, the substrate temperature rises due to radiant heat from the evaporation source. Furthermore, the substrate temperature rises due to the latent heat of the deposited material.
In RtoR film formation, a plastic film such as polyethylene terephthalate or polyethylene naphthalate is often used as the substrate. Therefore, if the temperature of the substrate rises during film formation, the substrate is damaged by heat.

  In order to prevent the substrate from being damaged by such heating, in a film forming apparatus in which a substrate is wound around a drum and a film is formed by RtoR, a temperature adjusting means is incorporated in the drum, and the drum is cooled during film formation. The temperature of the substrate is prevented from rising.

Here, although it is cooled by the drum, the substrate is thermally deformed (thermal expansion / contraction) to some extent by heating during film formation.
However, since the substrate is pressed against the drum by the tension for transporting the substrate, the expanded substrate is in the width direction (direction orthogonal to the substrate transport direction (longitudinal direction of the substrate)). Can't move and floats up from the drum.
The portion of the substrate that is lifted from the drum significantly reduces the cooling efficiency of the drum. For this reason, the floated portion is damaged by heat in a short time, and may be deformed or melted in a severe case. In addition, a film formed on a substrate that has been subjected to such heat damage also deteriorates such as cracking and peeling.

In order to solve such floating of the substrate from the drum, for example, in Patent Document 1, in vacuum deposition by RtoR using a drum, when depositing a metal film on the substrate, the substrate is charged before deposition. Thus, it is described that after deposition, a voltage is applied between the substrate and the metal film so that the substrate is brought into close contact with the drum by static electricity.
Further, in Patent Document 2, a roller that rotates at an end in the width direction of the substrate (drum) (hereinafter simply referred to as an “end”) is rotated in the circumferential direction of the drum. It is described that a large number are arranged and both ends of the substrate are urged outward in the width direction by rotating the roller in a state where the substrate is sandwiched between the roller and the drum.

JP 2005-146401 A JP-A-53-87205

According to the method described in Patent Document 1, the substrate can be strongly brought into close contact with the drum by an electrostatic force, so that the substrate can be prevented from being lifted due to heating.
However, in the method using an electrostatic force, a film formation method involving generation of an electric field, such as plasma CVD or sputtering, in particular, a film is formed by using the drum as an electrode and applying a bias power to the drum or the drum. The device cannot be used. In addition, in the film formation method that involves generation of plasma, there is also a problem that the electrostatic force of the substrate affects the plasma and the film formation becomes unstable.

Further, according to the method described in Patent Document 2, the end portion of the substrate is biased to the outside in the width direction, whereby the substrate expanded by the heating is moved to the outside in the width direction, resulting from the heating. The floating of the substrate can be prevented. In addition, since this method moves the edge of the substrate outward in the width direction by a mechanical method, there is no inconvenience due to electrostatic force as in the method described in Patent Document 1.
However, this method has a problem that the device configuration becomes complicated and the space increases. In addition, although in the vicinity of the end portion, the roller is slidably contacted with the substrate both in the width direction and in the transport direction, so that the end portion of the substrate may be damaged. Normally, the vicinity of the end portion is not used as a product, but if the end portion is damaged, the handling property of the substrate in the subsequent process is adversely affected.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and is a film forming apparatus for forming a film on a substrate while winding a long substrate around a drum and using electrostatic force Without damaging the substrate, it is possible to prevent the substrate from lifting from the drum due to heating, and to stabilize the proper product without thermal damage of the substrate and film deterioration due to this An object of the present invention is to provide a film forming apparatus that can be manufactured.

  In order to achieve the above object, a film forming apparatus of the present invention is a film forming apparatus for forming a film on a substrate while winding a long substrate around a circumferential surface of a cylindrical drum and transporting it in the longitudinal direction. And abutting against the non-product regions at both ends in the width direction of the substrate wound around the drum, moving together with the substrate in the transport direction of the substrate, and biasing the substrate outward in the width direction. There is provided a film forming apparatus characterized by having a biasing means.

In such a film forming apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that the urging means abuts on a non-film forming region of the substrate.
Preferably, the urging means is two belt-like members that are arranged so as to sandwich the substrate together with the drum and are conveyed so that the distance gradually increases toward the downstream side in the conveying direction. In this case, it is preferable that a mask member for regulating a film forming region in the width direction of the substrate is provided, and the belt-shaped member is in contact with a region of the substrate where film formation is prevented by the mask member. .
The biasing means is built in the drum, and a part of the O-ring protrudes from the surface of the drum, and a region of the O-ring protruding from the drum is directed outward in the width direction of the substrate. Further, it is preferable that the rotation means comprises a rotation means for rotating the O-ring. In this case, the rotation means has a rotation axis in the rotation direction of the drum that contacts the O-ring inside the drum. The rollers are preferably arranged in the rotation direction of the drum, and the roller preferably rotates the O-ring with a pair of two rollers arranged in the axial direction of the drum. Further, it is preferable that the rotating means uses the rotation of the drum as a rotation driving source of the O-ring.
In addition, it is preferable to form a film on the substrate by a film forming method that generates plasma, and to form a film on the substrate by a film forming method in which the drum acts as an electrode of an electrode pair. And preferably includes a power source for applying a bias potential to the drum, and preferably includes a cooling means for cooling the drum, and is further fed from a substrate roll formed by winding the substrate into a roll shape. Then, it is preferable that the substrate is supplied to the drum, and the film-formed substrate is wound again in a roll shape.

According to the present invention having the above-described configuration, in a film forming apparatus for forming a film while winding a long substrate around a drum and transporting it in the longitudinal direction, it contacts the non-product area of the substrate and transports it together with the substrate. The end in the width direction of the substrate is biased outward by the biasing means. Therefore, even if the substrate is heated and expanded by film formation, the expansion can be expanded in the width direction by the urging force to the outside in the width direction by the urging means. It is possible to prevent partial lifting from the drum due to thermal deformation.
Therefore, according to the present invention, it is preferable to prevent the substrate from partially rising from the drum and to be damaged by heat, and to cause partial deformation of the substrate or thermal damage of the substrate. High-quality products can be stably produced without deterioration of the film to be used.

In the present invention, since the urging member moves together with the substrate (and the drum), the substrate and the urging member do not slide in at least the longitudinal direction.
Therefore, damage to the substrate due to sliding contact between the urging member and the substrate can be suppressed, and the adverse effects of the substrate damage on subsequent processes can be greatly reduced.

It is a figure which shows notionally an example of the film-forming apparatus of this invention. It is a schematic perspective view for demonstrating the mask of the film-forming apparatus shown in FIG. It is a conceptual diagram for demonstrating the urging means of the film-forming apparatus shown in FIG. (A) And (B) is a conceptual diagram for demonstrating another example of the urging means of the film-forming apparatus of this invention. (A) And (B) is a conceptual diagram for demonstrating an example of the rotation mechanism of the urging means shown in FIG. It is a conceptual diagram for demonstrating an example of the drive method of the urging | biasing means shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, the film forming apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail based on a preferred embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 conceptually shows an example of a film forming apparatus of the present invention.
A film forming apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 is an apparatus that forms a film by plasma CVD while transporting a long substrate Z in the longitudinal direction, and is formed in the vacuum chamber 12 and the vacuum chamber 12. The unwinding chamber 14, the film forming chamber 16, and the drum 30 are configured.

In the present invention, the substrate Z is not particularly limited, and can be formed by a vapor deposition method (vacuum film forming method) such as a plasma CVD, such as a resin film such as a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) film. Any long film-like material (sheet-like material) can be used.
In addition, a film-like product obtained by forming a layer (film) for expressing various functions such as a flattening layer, a protective layer, an adhesion layer, a reflective layer, and an antireflection layer, using a resin film as a base material The substrate Z may be used.

In the film forming apparatus 10, the long substrate Z is supplied from the substrate roll 32 in the unwinding chamber 14, and is wound while being wound around the drum 30 while being transported in the longitudinal direction (direction of arrow a in the figure). The film is formed in the chamber 16, returned again to the unwinding chamber 14, and wound around the winding shaft 34 (winded in a roll shape). The above-described roll-to-roll (hereinafter referred to as RtoR) A film forming apparatus.
In addition to the illustrated members, the film forming apparatus 10 may include various members such as various sensors and guides that are disposed in an apparatus that performs film formation using RtoR.

The drum 30 is a cylindrical member that rotates counterclockwise in the drawing around the center line.
The drum 30 has a predetermined path in the film forming chamber 16 while a substrate Z guided by a guide roller 40a of the unwinding chamber 14 to be described later is wound around a predetermined area of the peripheral surface and held at a predetermined position. And is sent again to the guide roller 40b in the unwinding chamber 14.

Here, the drum 30 also functions as a counter electrode of a shower electrode 50 in the film forming chamber 16 described later (that is, the drum 30 and the shower electrode 50 constitute an electrode pair). Further, a bias power source 60 is connected to the drum 30. This will be described in detail later.
The drum 30 may be connected not only to the bias power source 60 but also to a grounding (earth) means so that the connection to the bias power source 60 and the grounding can be switched.
Furthermore, as a preferable aspect, the drum 30 also serves as a temperature adjustment unit for the substrate Z during film formation in the film formation chamber 16 and incorporates a temperature adjustment unit. The temperature adjusting means of the drum 30 is not particularly limited, and various temperature adjusting means such as a temperature adjusting means for circulating a refrigerant or the like, a cooling means using a piezo element or the like can be used.

The unwinding chamber 14 includes an inner wall surface 12a of the vacuum chamber 12, a peripheral surface of the drum 30, and partition walls 36a and 36b extending from the inner wall surface 12a to the vicinity of the peripheral surface of the drum 30.
Here, the tips of the partition walls 36a and 36b (opposite end to the inner wall surface of the vacuum chamber 12) are close to the peripheral surface of the drum 30 to a position where they can not come into contact with the substrate Z to be transported, and the unwind chamber 14 is formed. The membrane chamber 16 is separated in a substantially airtight manner.

Such an unwinding chamber 14 includes the above-described winding shaft 34, guide rollers 40 a and 40 b, a rotating shaft 42, and a vacuum exhaust means 46.
The unwinding chamber 14 has two urging belts 60 (60a and 60b), a belt supply shaft 64 on which a belt roll 62 formed by winding the urging belt 60 is mounted, and an urging belt 60. A belt take-up shaft 68, a first belt roller 70, and a second belt roller 72. The two urging belts 60 are in contact with a non-product region of the substrate Z (in the illustrated example, a non-deposition region as a preferred embodiment), which is a feature of the present invention, and the width direction of the substrate Z (longitudinal direction ( That is, it is an urging means for urging the vicinity of the end in the direction orthogonal to the substrate transport direction) to the outside in the width direction of the substrate Z.
This urging means will be described in detail later. In the following description, the width direction of the substrate Z is also simply referred to as the width direction, and the transport direction and the longitudinal direction of the substrate Z are also simply referred to as the transport direction.

  The guide rollers 40a and 40b are normal guide rollers that guide the substrate Z along a predetermined transport path. The take-up shaft 34 is a well-known long take-up shaft for taking up the film-formed substrate Z.

In the illustrated example, a substrate roll 32 formed by winding a long substrate Z into a roll is mounted on a rotating shaft 42. When the substrate roll 32 is mounted on the rotating shaft 42, the substrate Z is passed through a predetermined path that reaches the winding shaft 34 through the guide roller 40a, the drum 30, and the guide roller 40b (see FIG. Inserted).
In the film forming apparatus 10, the feeding of the substrate Z from the substrate roll 32 and the winding of the film-formed substrate Z on the winding shaft 34 are performed in synchronization, and the long substrate Z is transferred along a predetermined transport path. While being transported in the longitudinal direction, film formation is performed on the surface of the substrate Z wound around the drum 30 in the film formation chamber 16.

  The vacuum exhaust means 46 reduces the pressure in the unwinding chamber 14 to a pressure corresponding to the pressure in the film forming chamber 16 (film forming pressure), so that the pressure in the unwinding chamber 14 for feeding and winding the substrate Z is reduced. This is to prevent the film formation in the film formation chamber 16 and the second film formation chamber 24 from being adversely affected.

In the present invention, the vacuum exhaust means 46 is not particularly limited, and vacuum pumps such as turbo pumps, mechanical booster pumps, rotary pumps, and dry pumps, further auxiliary means such as cryocoils, the degree of ultimate vacuum and the amount of exhaust. Various known (vacuum) evacuation means used in a vacuum film forming apparatus using an adjustment means or the like can be used.
In this regard, the same applies to the vacuum exhaust means 56 described later.

In the illustrated film forming apparatus 10, a film forming chamber 16 is disposed below the unwinding chamber 14.
In the illustrated example, the film forming chamber 16 includes an inner wall surface 12a of the vacuum chamber 12, a peripheral surface of the drum 30, and the partition walls 36a and 36b.

In the illustrated film forming apparatus 10, the film forming chamber 16, as an example, forms a film on the surface of the substrate Z by CCP (Capacitively Coupled Plasma) -CVD, and includes a mask 48 and a shower. Electrode 50, source gas supply means 52, high frequency power supply 54, evacuation means 56, and second ground plates 58a and 58b are arranged.
Further, as described above, the bias power source 60 is connected to the drum 30.

The shower electrode 50 is a known shower electrode used for CCP-CVD.
In the illustrated example, the shower electrode 50 has a hollow, substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape as an example, and is disposed with one maximum surface facing the peripheral surface of the drum 30. In addition, a large number of through holes are formed on the entire surface of the shower electrode 50 facing the drum 30.
In addition, in the example of illustration, as a preferable aspect, although the opposing surface with the drum 30 of the shower electrode 50 is curving so that the surrounding surface of the drum 30 may be followed, flat plate shape may be sufficient.

Between the shower electrode 50 and the drum 30, a mask 48 for restricting the film forming region in the width direction is disposed.
The mask 48 is a known mask used in a film forming apparatus using a vapor phase film forming method. As conceptually shown in FIG. 2, the mask 48 is a plate-like member that is curved so as to follow the peripheral surface of the drum 30, and has an opening 48 a through which plasma or the like of the source gas passes.
Accordingly, the film formation in the width direction is performed on the portion corresponding to the opening 48a, and the portion covered with the mask 48 in the width direction (the plate material constituting the mask 48) is a non-film formation region.
The mask 48 may also be a flat surface instead of a curved surface.

In the illustrated example, the shower chamber 50 (film forming means by CCP-CVD) and one mask 48 are arranged in the film forming chamber 16, but the present invention is not limited to this. A plurality of shower electrodes may be arranged in the transport direction of the substrate Z. This is the same when using plasma CVD other than CCP-CVD. For example, in the case of film formation by ICP (Inductively Coupled Plasma) -CVD, an induced electric field (inductive magnetic field) is applied. In order to form a film, a plurality of coils may be arranged in the transport direction.
In addition, the present invention is not limited to using the shower electrode 50, and an ordinary plate electrode and a nozzle for supplying a source gas may be used.

The source gas supply means 52 is a known gas supply means used in a vacuum film forming apparatus such as a plasma CVD apparatus, and supplies a source gas into the shower electrode 50.
As described above, many through holes are supplied to the surface of the shower electrode 50 facing the drum 30. Accordingly, the source gas supplied to the shower electrode 50 is introduced between the shower electrode 50 and the drum 30 from this through hole.

The high frequency power source 54 is a power source that supplies plasma excitation power to the shower electrode 50. As the high-frequency power source 54, all known high-frequency power sources used in various plasma CVD apparatuses can be used.
Further, the vacuum evacuation means 56 exhausts the inside of the film forming chamber 16 and keeps it at a predetermined film forming pressure for film formation by plasma CVD.

Note that in the film formation apparatus of the present invention, the film formed in the CVD film formation chamber is not particularly limited, and an inorganic film such as silicon, silicon oxide, silicon oxynitride, aluminum oxide, or silicon nitride, or DLC (diamond) Any film that can be formed by CVD, such as a transparent conductive film such as a like carbon film), ITO (indium tin oxide) or SnO ₂ , can be used.

As described above, the bias power source 60 is connected to the drum 30.
In the illustrated film forming apparatus 10, the drum 30 functions as a counter electrode of the shower electrode 50 (plasma excitation electrode) in film formation by CCP-CVD. In the film forming apparatus 10, a bias power source 60 is connected to the drum 30 and a bias potential is applied to the drum 30 as a counter electrode, thereby improving film quality such as densification of the film to be formed, and productivity (film formation). Efficiency).

  In the illustrated example, the bias power source 60 (the power source that supplies power to the drum 30) is a high-frequency power source as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and in CCP-CVD, such as an AC or DC pulse power source. All power sources used to apply a bias potential to the counter electrode are available.

In the present invention, the input power for applying a bias potential to the drum 30 is not particularly limited. In general, the higher the bias potential, the higher the film quality and the higher the productivity, but the higher the substrate temperature described later.
However, as will be described in detail later, the present invention can suitably prevent partial lifting of the substrate Z from the drum 30 accompanying the temperature rise during film formation even when a high bias potential is applied. The input power for applying the bias potential is preferably 50 W or more in terms of film quality and productivity.

Here, the film forming apparatus 10 of the present invention is not limited to applying a bias potential to the drum 30, and the drum 30 may be grounded or connected to the ground and the bias power source 60. It may be switchable or may be in an electrically floating state.
However, it is preferable to have a bias power source 60 for applying a bias potential to the drum 30 in that the effect of the present invention can be more suitably exhibited.

In the illustrated film forming apparatus 10, the substrate Z is fed out from the substrate roll 32, guided by the guide roller 40 a, wound around the drum 30, and conveyed in the direction of arrow a while being wound around the drum 30. Film formation by CCP-CVD is performed, guided by the guide roller 40 b, and rolled up by the winding shaft 68.
During film formation, the drum 30 around which the substrate Z is wound is cooled to prevent the substrate Z from being damaged by the heat of film formation.

Here, in the film forming apparatus 10, the two urging belts 60 are also conveyed on the drum 30 together with the substrate Z. The urging belt 60 is a long belt-like material that is fed out from the belt roll 62 and guided by the first belt roller 70 so as to be wound around a predetermined region of the drum 30 and in the non-film formation region in the width direction. The substrate Z is sandwiched with the substrate 30 and conveyed with the substrate Z (that is, the rotation of the drum 30), is guided by the second belt roller 72, is separated from the drum 30, and is wound around the belt winding shaft 68.
Here, the two urging belts 30 are conveyed so that the interval gradually increases toward the downstream side in the conveying direction. The film forming apparatus 10 has the urging belt 60 to prevent the substrate Z heated during film formation from expanding and partially lifting from the drum 30. The substrate Z is caused by the lifting. Prevent thermal damage.

  FIG. 3 conceptually shows a conveying system of the urging belt 60 that imitates the conveying path of the urging belt 60 in a straight line.

The urging belts 60a and 60b, which are long strips, are both wound in a roll shape and loaded on the belt supply shaft 64 as belt rolls 62a and 62b.
The belt supply shaft 64 (and the belt take-up shaft 68) is not limited to loading the belt rolls 62 of the two urging belts 60 by one, but the belt roll 62a of the urging belt 60a, Of course, separate belt supply shafts may be provided for the belt roll 62b of the urging belt 60b.

  Both the first belt roller 70 and the second belt roller 72 are rollers that guide the urging belts 60a and 60b to a predetermined transport path. The first belt roller 70 is formed with a groove 70a for inserting and guiding the urging belt 60a and a groove 70b for inserting and guiding the urging belt 60b. The second belt roller 72 is formed with a groove 72a for inserting and guiding the urging belt 60a and a groove 72b for inserting and guiding the urging belt 60b.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the urging belt 60 (60 a and 60 b) is pulled out from the belt roll 62 (62 a and 62 b) loaded on the belt supply shaft 64 and guided to the first belt roller 70. The belt 30 is wound around the drum 30, passes through an area covered by the mask 48 outside the opening 48 in the width direction, is guided by the second belt roller 72, is separated from the drum 30, and is wound around the belt winding shaft 68. The
In the illustrated example, the first belt roller 70 is in contact with the drum 30 at a position where the substrate Z is wound around the drum 30, and the second belt roller 72 is at a position where the substrate Z is separated from the drum 30. Are arranged as follows. Accordingly, the substrate Z and the urging belt 60 are wound around the same region on the drum 30 and are conveyed together (at the same speed).

Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the gap between the groove 70 a and the groove 70 b of the first belt roller 70 is wider than the loading position of the belt rolls 62 a and 62 b on the belt supply shaft 64. The interval between the groove 72a and the groove 72 is wider than the interval between the groove 70a and the groove 70b of the first belt roller 70, and the interval between the winding positions of the urging belts 60a and 60b on the belt winding shaft 68 is The distance between the groove 72 a and the groove 72 of the second belt roller 72 is wider.
Further, as described above, in the region corresponding to the mask 48, the urging belts 60a and 60b are in contact with the substrate Z at a position covered by the mask 48 outside the opening 48a in the width direction. In the illustrated example, the groove 70a and the groove 70b of the first belt roller 70 are also located on the outer side in the width direction of the opening 48a.

Accordingly, the urging belts 60a and 60b are conveyed in such a manner as to gradually widen the distance downstream in the conveying direction (arrow a direction) while being in contact with the non-deposition region of the substrate Z.
Therefore, the urging belts 60a and 60b urge the non-film forming regions at both ends of the substrate Z outward in the width direction while being transported together with the substrate Z.

As described above, when a film is formed on the substrate Z by a vapor deposition method, the substrate Z is heated by heat from plasma, latent heat of the deposited material, or the like.
In an RtoR apparatus that deposits a substrate Z around a drum and transports the substrate Z, the substrate Z is prevented from being damaged by heat by cooling the drum. However, while being cooled by the drum, the substrate Z is thermally deformed (expanded / contracted) to some extent by heating during film formation.
However, in the conventional film forming apparatus, the expanded substrate Z cannot spread in the width direction due to the frictional force between the substrate Z and the drum. The substrate Z partially lifts from the drum. The portion of the substrate Z that is lifted from the drum is not sufficiently cooled by the drum, and as a result, is damaged by heating, deforms, or melts when severe.

On the other hand, in the film forming apparatus 10 of the present invention, the substrate Z transported by the drum 30 is contacted with the non-film forming region of the substrate Z and is simultaneously transported by the biasing belt 60 that is transported simultaneously in the width direction. Energize towards.
Therefore, even when the substrate Z expands in the width direction, the substrate Z can move outward by the urging force of the urging belt 60 by the amount of expansion, so that the substrate Z is lifted from the drum. There is no. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to suitably prevent the substrate Z from being lifted from the drum 30 due to heating / expansion during the film formation and receiving thermal damage. Therefore, it is possible to stably manufacture an appropriate product that suppresses the occurrence of film peeling and cracking caused by the above.
Further, the urging belt 60 that is the urging means is conveyed together with the substrate Z. Therefore, the burden on the substrate to be urged is extremely small, and it is possible to prevent damage to a non-film formation region (non-product region) where the urging belt 60 abuts due to sliding contact or the like.

In the present invention, the urging belt 60 may be brought into contact with the non-product region in the width direction (preferably, the non-film formation region) only in the film formation region (that is, the region of the opening 48a of the mask 48). That's fine. That is, the urging belt 60 may abut on the product region on the upstream side in the transport direction of the mask 48.
However, the urging belt 60 is in contact with the non-product area of the substrate Z in the entire longitudinal direction as shown in the example in that damage to the substrate Z in the product area can be more reliably suppressed. preferable.

The material for forming the urging belt 60 is not particularly limited, and a material having sufficient heat resistance and strength may be appropriately selected to produce the urging belt. Preferably, a material having characteristics such as being less likely to generate dust, generating less gas (outgas) due to reduced pressure or heating, and having sufficient frictional force is used.
The thickness (width direction) and thickness of the urging belt 60, the pressing force to the drum 30 (conveying tension of the urging belt 60), and the distance between the urging belt 60 between the belt supply shaft 64 and the belt winding shaft 68. The difference or the like may be set / selected as appropriate according to the substrate Z to be used, the heat applied to the substrate by film formation, the transport speed of the substrate Z, the transport tension of the substrate Z, the material and surface properties of the substrate Z, and the like.

  Furthermore, in the illustrated film forming apparatus 10, the urging belt 60 is also wound around the drum by RtoR, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the urging belt is used as an end lesbian belt. 1 and FIG. 3 may be used to rotate the conveyance path.

Hereinafter, the operation of the film forming apparatus 10 will be described.
As described above, when the substrate roll 32 is loaded on the rotating shaft 42, the substrate Z is pulled out from the substrate roll 32, and passes through the guide roller 40a, the drum 30, and the guide roller 40b, and reaches the take-up shaft 34. It is inserted through the transport path.
When the belt roll 62 is loaded on the belt supply shaft 64, the urging belt 60 (60 a and 60 b) is pulled out, passed through the first belt roller 70, the drum 30, and the second belt roller 72, and the belt winding. A predetermined conveyance path reaching the shaft 68 is inserted.

When the substrate Z is inserted, the vacuum chamber 12 is closed, the evacuation means 46 and 56 are driven, and the evacuation of the unwind chamber 14 and the film formation chamber 16 is started. Further, the cooling of the drum 30 is started by the temperature adjusting means.
When the unwinding chamber 14 and the film forming chamber 16 are evacuated to a predetermined vacuum level or less, the source gas supply unit 52 is then driven to supply the source gas to the film forming chamber 16. The driving is adjusted according to the predetermined pressure in the unwinding chamber 16.

When the pressures in the unwinding chamber 14 and the film forming chamber 16 are stabilized at a predetermined pressure, the drum 30 and the like are started to rotate to start transporting the substrate Z, and the high frequency power source 54 and the bias power source 60 are driven to drive the substrate. While transporting Z in the longitudinal direction, deposition on the substrate Z in the deposition chamber 16 is started.
Here, in the present invention, the two urging belts 60 a and 60 b that are in contact with the non-deposition region of the substrate Z and gradually increase in distance are conveyed together with the substrate Z. Therefore, the non-film formation region of the substrate Z is biased to the outside in the width direction, and even if the substrate Z is heated and expanded by film formation, the end of the substrate Z is outside in the width direction by the amount of expansion. Therefore, the substrate Z is not lifted off the drum 30 and the substrate Z can be suitably prevented from being damaged by heat.

The film-formed substrate Z is guided by the guide roller 40 b and wound around the winding shaft 34.
The urging belt 60 is guided by the second belt roller 72, separated from the drum 30, and taken up by the belt take-up shaft 68.

  The film forming apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 uses two urging belts 60 that are brought into contact with the non-film forming region of the substrate Z and are transported together with the substrate and are separated from each other as they go downstream. However, in the present invention, the urging means that abuts the non-product area of the substrate Z and urges the substrate Z outward in the width direction is not limited to the urging belt 60, and various items Is available.

FIG. 4A conceptually shows an example thereof.
In the example shown in FIG. 4A, a groove 80a communicating with the inside is provided in a non-product region (preferably a non-film formation region) at both ends in the width direction of the drum 80 similar to the drum 30 described above. In addition, for example, an O-ring 82 made of heat-resistant rubber is inserted. The O-ring 82 rotates together with the drum 80, protrudes from the surface of the drum 80, and comes into contact with the back surface (non-film-forming surface) of the substrate Z.
As shown conceptually in FIG. 4B, this urging means rotates the O-ring 82 so that the portion (the top portion) of the O-ring 82 that protrudes from the drum 80 is directed outward in the width direction. Thus, the non-product region near the end of the substrate Z is urged outward from the back surface of the substrate Z in the width direction.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a rotation mechanism that rotates the O-ring 82.
5A is a diagram viewed from the transport direction of the substrate Z, and FIG. 5B is a diagram viewed from the direction orthogonal to the transport direction, that is, the rotation axis direction of the drum 80 (the same direction as FIG. 1). It is a figure.

In the rotating mechanism shown in FIG. 5, the O-ring 82 is placed on two heat-resistant rubber rollers 84. Further, a heat-resistant rubber roller 86 is in contact with the lower portion of the two rollers 84. The roller 84 and the roller 86 are pivotally supported by a housing 90 (shown by a dotted line in FIG. 5A for clarity).
A bevel gear (bevel gear) 86a is fixed to the end of the rotation shaft 88b of the roller 86, and the bevel gear 88 is engaged with the bevel gear 86a.
Accordingly, by rotating the rotating shaft 88a of the bevel gear 88 in the direction of the arrow, the roller 86 rotates, the rotation is transmitted to the two rollers 84, and the O-ring 82 placed on the roller 84 is By rotating in the direction indicated by the arrow, the end in the width direction corresponding to the non-product region of the substrate Z is urged outward in the width direction.

In the drum 80 of the illustrated example, such a rotation mechanism is arranged at a predetermined interval, for example, every 20 to 180 ° in the rotation direction of the drum, so that the non-product region near the end of the substrate Z is arranged in the width direction. Energize outside.
The housing 90 of the rotating mechanism is fixed to, for example, a rotating shaft 80a (see FIG. 6) of the drum 80. Therefore, the rotating mechanism of the O-ring 82 rotates together with the drum 80.

In such a rotation mechanism, the rotation means of the bevel gear 88 (rotation shaft 88a) is not particularly limited, and a rotation drive source may be provided for each bevel gear 88, and a known method using a pulley, a belt, a gear, and the like. A plurality of bevel gears 88 may be rotated by a single rotational drive source by a transmission mechanism.
Preferably, the rotation of the drum 80 is a rotational drive source of the bevel gear 88 in the rotation mechanism of the O-ring 82.

FIG. 6 shows a conceptual diagram of an example thereof.
In the example shown in FIG. 6, the rotation shaft 88 a of the bevel gear 88 that meshes with the bevel gear 86 a fixed to the rotation shaft 88 b of the roller 86 is rotatably supported by a bearing 94 fixed to the rotation shaft 80 a of the drum 80. Has been.
As described above, the housing 90 of the rotating mechanism is also fixed to the rotating shaft 80 a of the drum 80. Although not shown, the rotating shaft 88a is rotatably supported between the bevel gear 86a and the bearing 94 by a stay fixed to the housing 90, for example.

A gear 92 is fixed in the middle of the rotating shaft 88a.
Also, in the drum 80, a ring gear (which is annular and has a gear on the side surface) coincides with the rotation axis of the drum 80 and is fixed with respect to the rotation of the drum 80 (that is, does not rotate with the drum 80). A gear 96) is disposed.
The gear 92 of the rotating shaft 88a and the ring gear 96 are engaged with each other.
Therefore, when the drum 80 rotates, the bevel gear 88 (rotary shaft 88a) fixed to the rotating shaft 80a of the drum 80 rotates, and thereby the gear 92 meshing with the ring gear 96 rotates, and the bevel gear 88 is rotated. Rotates. Thereby, as described above, the roller 86 and the roller 84 are rotated, and the O-ring 82 is rotated, and the non-product area of the substrate Z is urged outward in the width direction.
The method for fixing the ring gear 96 is not particularly limited, and various configurations can be used. For example, the drum 30 may be provided with openings on the upper and lower surfaces, and the ring gear 96 may be disposed at both ends in the axial direction of the drum 30 and fixed to the inner wall surface of the vacuum chamber 12 or the like.

The film forming apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 is an apparatus for forming a film on the substrate Z by CCP-CVD, but the present invention is not limited to this, and other plasma CVD such as an ICP-CVD method is also preferably used. Is possible. The film formation performed by the film formation apparatus of the present invention is not limited to plasma CVD, and various film formation methods such as sputtering, vacuum evaporation, and CVD can be used.
In particular, a film forming method involving generation of plasma, such as plasma CVD or sputtering, can be suitably used in that the substrate Z is easily heated and the substrate Z is easily expanded by heating. For this reason, a film forming method for forming a film while applying a bias potential to the drum can be suitably used.

  Although the film forming apparatus of the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described examples, and various improvements and modifications may be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Of course.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail by showing specific examples of the present invention.
[Example]
A silicon oxide film was formed on the substrate Z using the film forming apparatus 10 shown in FIG.

As the substrate Z, a polyester resin film having a width of 700 mm (a polyethylene terephthalate film manufactured by FUJIFILM Corporation) was used.
The urging belt 60 was a synthetic rubber belt having a width of 15 mm. The distance between the urging belts 60a and 60b on the belt supply shaft 64 is 640 mm, and the distance between the urging belts 60a and 60b on the belt winding shaft 68 is 700 mm.

HMDSO (hexamethyldisiloxane), oxygen gas, and nitrogen gas were used as the source gas for the silicon oxide film by CCP-CVD, and the deposition pressure was 80 Pa.
The high frequency power source 54 was a high frequency power source having a frequency of 13.56 MHz, and the plasma excitation power supplied to the shower electrode 50 was 2000 W. In addition, the 50 mm area | region of the width direction both ends was covered with the mask 48, and it was set as the non-film-forming area | region, and the urging | biasing belt 60 let the non-film-forming area | region covered with this mask 48 pass.
The bias power source 60 was a high frequency power source having a frequency of 400 kHz, and the bias power supplied to the drum 30 was 500 W.

Under such film forming conditions, a silicon oxide film was formed on the substrate Z in the film forming apparatus 10. The substrate transfer speed was 2 m / min.
When the substrate Z on which the silicon oxide film was formed was visually confirmed, no deformation or the like due to thermal damage was observed. Further, when the formed silicon oxide film was confirmed by an optical microscope, no peeling or cracking was observed.

[Comparative example]
A silicon oxide film was formed on the substrate Z in the same manner as in the above example except that the urging belts 60a and 60b were not used.
When the substrate Z on which the silicon oxide film was formed was visually confirmed, deformation due to thermal damage was observed in some places. Further, when the formed silicon oxide film was confirmed by an optical microscope, peeling or cracking was observed at a place where the substrate Z was considered to be thermally damaged.
From the above results, the effect of the present invention is clear.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to stably produce a functional film free from thermal damage to the substrate and peeling or cracking of the film caused by this thermal damage. Therefore, it can be suitably used for producing a gas barrier film.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Film-forming apparatus 12 Vacuum chamber 14 Unwinding chamber 16 Film-forming chamber 30,80 Drum 32 Substrate roll 34 Winding shaft 36 Bulkhead 40 Guide roll 42 Rotating shaft 46,56 Vacuum exhaust means 48 Mask exit ground plate 50 Shower electrode 52 Raw material Gas supply means 54 High frequency power supply 60 Bias power supply 62 Belt roll 64 Belt supply shaft 68 Belt take-up shaft 70 First belt roller 72 Second belt roller 82 O-ring 84, 86 Roller 86a, 88 Bevel gear 90 Housing 92 Gear 94 Bearing 96 Ring gear

Claims (12)

A film forming apparatus for forming a film on this substrate while winding a long substrate around the circumferential surface of a cylindrical drum and transporting it in the longitudinal direction,
There is an urging means that abuts against the non-product region at both ends in the width direction of the substrate wound around the drum, moves in the substrate transport direction together with the substrate, and urges the substrate outward in the width direction. A film forming apparatus.   The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the biasing unit is in contact with a non-film forming region of the substrate.   3. The belt-like member that is arranged so as to sandwich the substrate together with the drum and that is conveyed so that the interval gradually increases toward the downstream side in the conveyance direction. 2. The film forming apparatus according to 1. A mask member for regulating a film forming region in the width direction of the substrate;
The film forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the belt-shaped member is in contact with a region of the substrate where film formation is prevented by the mask member. The biasing means is incorporated in the drum, and an O-ring projecting a part of the drum from the surface of the drum;
The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a rotating unit that rotates the O-ring so that a region protruding from the drum of the O-ring is directed outward in the width direction of the substrate.   The film forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the rotation unit is a roller arranged in the rotation direction of the drum, having a rotation axis in contact with the O-ring inside the drum and having a rotation axis in the rotation direction of the drum.   The film forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the roller rotates the O-ring with a pair of two rollers arranged in the axial direction of the drum.   The film forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the rotating unit uses rotation of the drum as a rotation driving source of the O-ring.   The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the film is formed on the substrate by a film forming method that generates plasma.   The film forming method for causing the drum to act as an electrode of an electrode pair performs film formation on the substrate, and has a power source for applying a bias potential to the drum. Film forming equipment.   The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a cooling unit that cools the drum.   The substrate according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the substrate is fed out from a substrate roll formed by winding the substrate in a roll shape, the substrate is supplied to the drum, and the film-formed substrate is wound again in a roll shape. Deposition device.

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