JP3788632B2 - Continuous ion plating equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Industrial application fields]
The present invention relates to a continuous ion plating apparatus that performs continuous ion plating on a material to be processed.
[0002]
[Prior art]
An ion plating apparatus heats and evaporates a material in a vacuum, ionizes the evaporated material by discharge or the like, and collides and solidifies the material ions (positive ions) on the surface of a material to be treated (cathode) such as a steel plate. This is a film forming process for forming a film. Such an ion plating apparatus has an advantage that a denser and stronger film can be formed than a normal vacuum vapor deposition apparatus, and is used for film formation of TiN, Al—Mn alloy, Ti—Cr alloy, and the like.
[0003]
FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a conventional ion plating apparatus for ion plating on a steel plate 1 of a cut plate (sheet material), including a vacuum film forming chamber 6, a crucible 5, an electron gun 3, a power source 3a thereof, and a plasma generator. 7, a bias power source 8, etc., the material 4 in the crucible 5 is heated and evaporated by the electron beam 2 from the electron gun 3, and plasma is added to the evaporated material by the plasma generator 7 to ionize the material ions ( The positive ions are accelerated toward the steel plate 1 (cathode) by the potential difference, and the evaporation material collides and solidifies on the surface of the steel plate. In addition, in order to ionize evaporation material, another means, such as RF coil 7a and arc discharger 7b, is also applied.
[0004]
In FIG. 3, in order to hold the steel plate 1 to the cathode, the steel plate 1 is held insulated from the film forming chamber 6, and the film forming chamber 6 is set as an anode (+) and the steel plate 1 is set as a cathode (−), and the bias is interposed therebetween. A power source 8 (DC 500 to 1000 V) is installed, and a bias is applied between the steel plate 1 and the evaporation source (the crucible 5) to perform ion plating. Further, in order to emit an electron beam (−) from the electron gun 3, the main body of the electron gun 3 and the film forming chamber 6 are set as an anode (+), and the electron generator 3 b of the electron gun 3 is set as a cathode (−). An electron gun power supply 3a (for example, about DC 30 kV) is installed. Further, normally, the film forming chamber 6 (anode side) is grounded and grounded to prevent electric leakage.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a continuous ion plating apparatus for continuously ion plating a steel plate. The continuous ion plating apparatus is composed of an inlet and outlet vacuum seal device, a preheating chamber, a film forming chamber, and the like. The steel sheet 1 unwound from the uncoiler at atmospheric pressure is vacuumed by the inlet vacuum seal device. Then, after preheating in the preheating chamber, a film is formed in the film forming chamber, and the formed steel sheet is taken out to atmospheric pressure by a vacuum seal device on the outlet side and wound by a recoiler.
[0006]
However, in the continuous ion plating apparatus of FIG. 4, in order to hold the steel plate 1 on the cathode, not only the steel plate 1 is insulated from the film forming chamber, but also an uncoiler, recoiler, inlet and outlet side vacuum seal devices, spare In all devices such as heating chambers, it was necessary to insulate the steel plate from the seal line (ground potential). For this reason, for example, it is necessary to use an insulating material for a bearing portion of a roller for driving the steel plate 1, which not only makes the structure complicated, but also has a problem of low insulation performance and poor reliability. In particular, a high-speed continuous ion plating apparatus performs film formation at a line speed of 200 to 500 m / min and operates continuously for several hundred hours. It took a long time to operate and there was a risk that the operating rate would drop significantly.
[0007]
The present invention has been made to solve such problems. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a continuous ion plating apparatus capable of performing ion plating in a state where a steel plate is grounded (grounded) without being insulated from a seal line (ground potential).
[0008]
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the present invention, a vacuum film forming chamber for depositing a material on a material to be continuously run, a crucible installed in the film forming chamber to store the material, and the material in the crucible are evaporated by an electron beam. In a continuous ion plating apparatus comprising: an evaporation device that causes the material to be ionized; and a bias electrode that is provided in the vicinity of the crucible so as to face the material to be processed; A bias power source for applying an electrode to a positive potential is provided, thereby forming an electric field from the crucible toward the material to be processed. The crucible is grounded via an ammeter, and an electron beam of an electron beam incident on the crucible A continuous ion plating apparatus is provided that is configured to pass through an ammeter .
[0010]
According to the configuration of the present invention described above, the insulating performance is low and the structure is replaced by ion plating based on complicated steel plate insulation, the steel plate can be grounded, and an electric field from the crucible to the workpiece can be formed. With a simple structure, ion plating can be performed in a state where the steel plate is grounded without being insulated from the seal line (ground potential). Further, the current flowing from the crucible to the ground can be measured by the ammeter, and the intensity (current) of the electron beam can be accurately measured.
[0011]
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the film forming chamber includes a bias wall insulated from the film forming chamber and surrounding the crucible, and the bias wall is applied to a positive potential by the bias power source. With this configuration, a bias voltage having the same potential as the crucible is applied to the bias wall surrounding the crucible, thereby preventing the deposition of evaporated material ions (positive ions) on the inner wall of the film formation chamber, stabilizing the plasma, and ionizing particles. Can be concentrated on the material to be processed.
[0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, common parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. Figure 1 is a block diagram showing a continuous ion plating equipment according to the reference example. In this figure, a continuous ion plating apparatus 10 of a reference example is installed in a vacuum film forming chamber 16 for depositing a material 4 on a material 1 (for example, a steel plate) that runs continuously, and a film forming chamber 16. And a crucible 15 for storing the material 4, an evaporator 13 for evaporating the material 4 in the crucible 15, and an ionizer 17 for ionizing the evaporated material.
[0013]
The inside of the vacuum film forming chamber 16 is evacuated by a vacuum device (not shown) and is maintained at a degree of vacuum suitable for vapor deposition (for example, about 10 ⁻³ to 10 ⁻⁵ torr). A vacuum sealing device 9 is installed on the upstream side and the downstream side of the vacuum film forming chamber 16, and the processing object 1 is introduced from the outside air into the vacuum while the inside of the vacuum film forming chamber 16 is kept in vacuum. In addition, it can be taken out from the vacuum to the outside air.
[0014]
In this figure, the evaporator 13 comprises an electron gun 3 and an electron gun power source 3a, and the material 4 in the crucible 15 is heated and evaporated by the electron beam 2 from the electron gun 3. Further, a magnetic field generator (not shown) for generating a magnetic field for directing the direction of the electron beam 2 toward the crucible 15, for example, an electromagnet is provided. In this figure, the ionizer 17 includes an RF coil 17a and a plasma generator 17b. The RF coil 17a is a coil (Radio Frequency Coil) that generates a high frequency, and can generate a high frequency such as a microwave to directly ionize the evaporation element (or material). Moreover, the plasma generator 17b discharges between the electrodes provided inside, discharge | releases the ionized gas, and ionizes an evaporation element. These may be used alone or in combination, or the evaporation element may be ionized by another means such as arc discharge.
[0015]
The continuous ion plating apparatus 10 of FIG. 1 further includes a bias power supply 18 that applies the material 1 to be grounded and applies the crucible 15 to a positive potential. The bias power source 18 is, for example, DC 500 to 1000 V, the cathode (−) is grounded, and the anode (+) is connected to the crucible 15. Further, the material 1 to be processed, the roller for supporting or driving the material 1 to be processed, the vacuum seal device 9, the vacuum film forming chamber 16, and the like are all grounded. The electron gun power source 3 a is, for example, about DC 30 kV, and its anode (+) is grounded and its cathode (−) is connected to the electron generator 3 b of the electron gun 3.
[0016]
With the above-described configuration, most of the continuous ion plating apparatus 10 is held at the ground potential (0 V), the crucible 15 is held at a positive potential, and the electron generator 3 b of the electron gun 3 is held at a negative potential. The potential difference of the electron gun 3 with respect to the crucible 15 is larger than the potential of the bias power source 18 as compared with the example of FIG. 3, but the same electron beam 2 is emitted by lowering the voltage of the electron gun power source 3a. can do.
[0017]
In FIG. 1, the continuous ion plating apparatus 10 of the reference example further includes a bias wall 20 that is insulated from the film forming chamber 16 and surrounds the crucible 15 in the film forming chamber 16. The bias wall 20 is applied to the same + potential as the crucible 15 by the bias power source 18. With the above-described configuration, the insulating performance is low and the structure is replaced by ion plating with a complicated steel plate insulation, the material to be treated 1 can be grounded, and an electric field from the crucible 15 toward the material to be treated 1 can be formed. An electric field directed from the crucible to the material to be processed can be formed in a state where the material to be processed 1 is grounded (grounded) without being insulated from the seal line (ground potential) with a simple structure, and ion plating becomes possible. .
[0018]
Further, by providing the bias wall 20 described above, a bias voltage having the same potential as that of the crucible 15 can be applied to the bias wall 20 surrounding the crucible 15, thereby forming a film formation chamber for ionized evaporated particles (positive ions). 16 can be prevented from adhering to the inner wall, plasma can be stabilized, and ionized particles can be concentrated on the material to be treated.
[0019]
Figure 2 is a block diagram showing an implementation form of a continuous ion plating apparatus according to the present invention. In this figure, a bias electrode 22 is provided in the vicinity of the crucible 15 so as to face the material 1 to be processed, and the bias power source 18 applies the material 1 to the ground potential and the bias electrode 22 to a positive potential. The crucible 15 is connected to the cathode (−) of the bias power source 18 and is grounded via the ammeter 23. Other configurations are the same as those of the reference example of FIG.
[0020]
With the configuration in FIG. 2, an electric field from the crucible 15 toward the material to be processed 1 can be formed between the bias electrode 22 and the material 1 to be processed while the crucible 15 is grounded. Further, the current flowing from the crucible 15 to the ground can be measured by the ammeter 23, and the intensity (current) of the electron beam 2 by the electron gun 3 can be accurately measured. In the example of FIG. 2, the potential difference of the electron gun 3 with respect to the crucible 15 is the same as that of the example of FIG. 3, and the electron beam 2 similar to the conventional one can be emitted.
[0021]
In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, Of course, it can change variously in the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention.
[0022]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the continuous ion plating apparatus of the present invention has an excellent effect that ion plating can be performed in a state where the steel plate is grounded (grounded) without being insulated from the seal line (ground potential).
[Brief description of the drawings]
1 is a configuration diagram showing a continuous ion plating equipment according to the reference example.
Is a block diagram showing an implementation form of a continuous ion plating apparatus according to the invention, FIG.
FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a conventional ion plating apparatus that performs ion plating on a steel plate 1 of a cut plate (sheet material).
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a continuous ion plating apparatus that performs continuous ion plating on a steel plate.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Material to be treated (steel plate)
2 Electron beam 3 Electron gun 3a Electron gun power supply 3b Electron generator 4 Material 5 Crucible 6 Film forming chamber 7 Plasma generator 7a RF coil 9 Vacuum seal device 10 Continuous ion plating device 13 Evaporating device 15 Crucible 16 Vacuum film forming chamber 17 Ionizer 17a RF coil 17b Plasma generator 18 Bias power supply 20 Bias wall 22 Bias electrode 23 Ammeter

Claims (3)

A vacuum film forming chamber for depositing a material on a material to be continuously run, a crucible installed in the film forming chamber for storing the material, an evaporator for evaporating the material in the crucible by an electron beam, and an evaporation In a continuous ion plating apparatus provided with an ionization device that ionizes the obtained material,
A bias electrode provided near the crucible facing the material to be processed, and a bias power source that applies the bias electrode to a positive potential with the material to be processed as a ground potential, thereby forming an electric field from the crucible toward the material to be processed. And
The continuous ion plating apparatus , wherein the crucible is grounded through an ammeter, and is configured so that electrons of an electron beam incident on the crucible can pass through the ammeter .   2. The continuous ion plate according to claim 1, further comprising a bias wall that is insulated from the film forming chamber and surrounds the crucible in the film forming chamber, and the bias wall is applied to a positive potential by the bias power source. Device.   The continuous ion plating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the evaporation apparatus is a charged particle irradiation apparatus that irradiates charged particles on a material in a crucible.

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