JPS6138265B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing decorative items such as glass tableware, pots, cosmetic containers, lighting equipment, decorative panels, etc., by forming a film mainly composed of copper on the surface of glass containers, etc. by sputtering. In addition, it is suitable for applying copper luster to the surface of transparent articles.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a material that can be used without impairing the beauty of the material itself, such as glass or plastic.
To provide a decoration method using sputtering that makes the metallic luster of a precious metal look beautiful using a copper thin film.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing the above-mentioned ornaments at low cost and easily.

The structure of the present invention is to coat the surface of an article to be decorated such as glass or plastic with chromium or a metal alloy containing chromium as an undercoat to a thickness of 30 Å to 130 Å by sputtering, and then to form a copper layer by sputtering. Topcoat 30Å with the same material as the undercoat above.
It is characterized by being coated by sputtering to a thickness of ~130 Å.

In the present invention, the undercoat film thickness is 30 Å or more.
The reason why the thickness is limited to 130 Å is that if the thickness is less than 30 Å, the adhesion of the copper layer to the object to be decorated will become unstable, and if it exceeds 130 Å, the transparent brightness will be lost.

In addition, the reason why the top coat film thickness is limited to 30 Å to 130 Å is that if it is less than 30 Å, there will be areas where the wear resistance decreases, and the protection of the copper layer will not be sufficient, resulting in a golden-yellow luster over a long period of time. This is because there is a risk of shading, and when the thickness exceeds 130 Å, transparent brightness is lost as in the case of an undercoat.

Practical materials for the undercoat and topcoat of the present invention are stainless steel, chrome or chrome alloys, such as chrome steel. These metals are selected because chrome has good adhesion to both glass or plastic and copper, and has excellent corrosion resistance and wear resistance.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described together with a manufacturing apparatus thereof.

FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal sectional view of a sputtering apparatus used for carrying out the present invention.

A removable bell gear container 2 is mounted on the base 1 to form a vacuum chamber, its exhaust pipe 3 is connected to an exhaust system such as a vacuum pump, and the gas introduction pipe 4 is connected to a gas cylinder, etc. via a pressure reducing valve. communicate with. On the base 1,
A large gear 5 with teeth carved on its outer periphery is fixed, and a ring-shaped gear 6 coaxial with the large gear and having teeth with a larger diameter than the large gear 5 is rotatably supported by a thrust ball bearing 7 and directly driven by a motor 8. A small gear 9 is engaged with the ring-shaped gear 6, and a planetary gear 11 fitted into a shaft 10 rotatably established on the ring-shaped gear 6 is engaged with the fixed large gear 5. Therefore, the ring gear 6 is rotated by the motor drive, and the planetary gear 11 revolves around the fixed large gear 5 while rotating. A branch 12 is provided on the shaft 10 as appropriate, and a workpiece G such as a glass is attached to the branch.

A plurality of targets 13 are arranged on the side wall of the container 2, and a magnetron-type magnet 14 is arranged behind the targets 13 to superimpose a magnetic field on the sputtering. About half of the plurality of targets are connected to the cathode of the first DC power supply 15 for sputtering transparent metal, and the remaining half are connected to the cathode of the second DC power supply 16 for sputtering copper,
Each anode is connected to the container 2 via the switch 17, and an anode circuit is formed between the object to be processed via the container 2 and the shaft 10.

When using this device, the inside of the container 2 is evacuated, a controlled inert gas is introduced from the gas introduction pipe 4 to adjust the inside of the container to a predetermined atmosphere, and the motor 8 is used to evacuate the object to be processed. Rotate and revolve. At the same time, sputtering is performed by applying a DC voltage between the target and the object to be processed.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention using such a sputtering device will be described. In both examples, after creating a vacuum of 5×10 ^-5 Torr in the container 2, 100% Ar inert gas was introduced to reduce the gas pressure to 7.
It was controlled at ×10 ⁻³ Torr to 4×10 ⁻⁴ Torr.

Example 1 Using glass as the object to be decorated, stainless steel was first sputtered to form an undercoat with a thickness of 50 Å, and then copper was sputtered to form an undercoat with a thickness of 50 Å.
A 1000 Å copper layer was formed and then stainless steel was again sputtered to form a 50 Å thick topcoat.

The glass thus obtained has an almost transparent undercoat 21 and a copper layer 2 on the surface of the glass 20, as shown in an enlarged view of the surface layer in FIG.
2. Three layers consisting of an almost transparent top coat 23 were formed, and the appearance was a bright copper color close to gold. In addition, the adhesion strength of the forming layer is so strong that it cannot be tested by peeling with adhesive tape, and no wear of the top coat was observed in an abrasion test in which gauze was held in the hand and rubbed vigorously several hundred times. No peeling of the undercoat was observed.

Example 2 Three-layer molding was carried out under the same conditions as in Example 1, except that the undercoat and top coat were each 100 Å thick.

The peel strength and abrasion resistance were extremely good as in Example 1. Compared to Example 1, the appearance was less golden and more coppery.

Example 3 Three layers were formed under the same conditions as in Example 1, except that the undercoat thickness was 50 Å and the top coat thickness was 150 Å.

The peel strength and abrasion resistance were extremely good as in Example 1. When viewed from the front, no difference was observed compared to Example 2, and when viewed from the back, that is, the inner surface of the glass, it was copper-colored like Example 2.

Example 4 Using glass as the object to be decorated, chrome steel (3% chrome) was sputtered to form a 50 Å thick undercoat, then copper was sputtered to form a 1000 Å thick copper layer, and then Next, the same chromium alloy used for the undercoat was sputtered again to form a top coat with a thickness of 50 Å. exterior,
The same peel strength and abrasion resistance as in Example 1 were obtained.

Example 5 Three layers were formed under exactly the same conditions as in Example 1, and then a thin layer of acrylic transparent resin was sprayed thereon and dried at a temperature of 150°C. The appearance is Example 1
There was no difference between the sample and the sample, and no discoloration as seen in the comparative example described below was observed.

Example 6 After forming three layers under exactly the same conditions as in Example 4, a thin layer of the transparent resin used in Example 5 was sprayed thereon and dried at a temperature of 150°C. The appearance was the same as that of Example 4, and no discoloration was observed.

Example 7 The surfaces of various plastic molded products were coated with silicone plastic to a thickness of 1 μm to 2 μm as an undercoat, and then placed in the container shown in Figure 1 and heated with 100% Ar and 3×10 ^-3 Torr. Thickness is measured by sputtering chrome steel (3% chrome) in an atmosphere.
Form a 100Å undercoat, then Ar100
%, sputtering copper in an atmosphere of 5×10 ^-3 Torr to form a 1000 Å thick copper layer, then sputtering again.
The atmosphere was returned to 100% Ar and 3×10 ^-3 Torr, and a chromium alloy was sputtered to form a top coat with a thickness of 100 Å. After taking it out of the container, apply acrylic resin to the surface and heat it to 150℃.
It was dried. The appearance was a beautiful copper color, and no discoloration was observed.

Comparative Example 1 Three layers were formed under the same conditions as in Example 2, except that the undercoat thickness was 150 Å.

The peel strength and abrasion resistance were extremely good as in Example 1. The appearance was slightly darker than that of Example 2, and was particularly dark when viewed from the back side, that is, the inside surface of the glass. This is thought to be due to the 150 Å stainless steel undercoat becoming opaque.

Comparative Example 2 Stainless steel was sputtered to form a 50 Å thick undercoat, then a 1000 Å thick copper layer was formed by sputtering, and directly on top of that,
A protective film was formed by spraying a thin layer of the transparent resin used in Example 5. The appearance turned yellow and no metallic luster was observed.

According to the present invention, since a thin film of stainless steel or chromium alloy is formed as an undercoat by sputtering, it has good adhesion to glass etc. and is substantially translucent. The copper layer can be seen through it, resulting in a very bright metallic luster decoration.
Furthermore, since the copper or copper alloy is covered with an undercoat and a topcoat and is not directly exposed to the atmosphere, it does not corrode, is hygienic, and can maintain a beautiful metallic luster forever. Furthermore, copper has the advantage of being cheaper and more economically efficient than gold, silver, platinum, etc.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, since the same material as the undercoat is used for sputtering for the top coat, it is sufficient to provide two types of targets on the side wall of the bell gear type container, and therefore, it is possible to arrange a large number of targets of one type. Since it is possible to set
It becomes possible to rotate the decorated article at high speed without causing thickness unevenness of the forming layer, and productivity is improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a sputtering apparatus used for carrying out the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view showing the state of the surface layer of an article obtained by the present invention. 20... Glass body, 21... Undercoat,
22...Copper layer, 23...Top coat.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. After coating the surface of an article to be decorated such as glass or plastic with chromium or a metal alloy containing chromium as an undercoat to a thickness of 30 Å to 130 Å by sputtering, a copper layer is formed by sputtering, and the above undercoat is applied on top of the copper layer. A decoration method by sputtering, characterized in that the same material as above is applied as a top coat to a thickness of 30 Å to 130 Å by sputtering.