HK1144447B - Film forming apparatus and film forming method - Google Patents

Description

Film forming apparatus and film forming method

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a film forming apparatus and a film forming method for forming a film on a surface of a workpiece.

Background

For example, in decorative coating of workpieces such as a body case of a cellular phone and a door handle of an automobile, various types of film formation such as an optical thin film such as an antireflection film, an insulating film, and a protective film are possible, and various types of film formation methods such as a sputtering method, an ion plating method, and a vapor deposition method are known as film formation methods.

For example, in the sputtering method, a thin sputtering gas is filled in a vacuum chamber, and glow discharge is performed in the vacuum chamber using a target material as one electrode. Then, positive ions of plasma generated by the glow discharge collide with the target material, and atoms (sputtered particles) struck from the target material are deposited on the surface of the workpiece to form a thin film. In addition to the sputtering gas, a reactive sputtering method is also known in which a reactive gas such as oxygen or nitrogen is introduced into a vacuum chamber to form a compound thin film. When the workpiece to be film-formed is made of metal, the sputtering film formation may be performed in a state where the workpiece itself is at a high temperature.

In the vacuum vapor deposition method, a vapor deposition material is heated in a vacuum chamber to evaporate or sublimate the vapor deposition material, and the sputtered vapor deposition material is attached to the surface of a workpiece disposed in the vacuum chamber to form a thin film. In the vacuum vapor deposition method, a metal such as aluminum or a resin may be used as a vapor deposition material.

However, when film formation is performed by using different types of film formation methods, since the workpieces are moved between apparatuses by the various film formation methods, there is a problem that foreign matter adheres to the surfaces of the workpieces during the movement, or a film formed on the surface is exposed to the outside air and oxidized to deteriorate the film, and further, a predetermined function cannot be realized.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide a film forming apparatus and a film forming method which can prevent adhesion of foreign matters, deterioration of films and the like generated along with movement of workpieces.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a film forming apparatus according to claim 1, comprising: a vacuum tank in which a vacuum is formed; a workpiece holding device which is disposed in the vacuum chamber and holds and rotates a workpiece to be subjected to film formation; a sputtering apparatus in which a target material is placed in a vacuum chamber, and sputtering particles are sputtered from the target material by discharging in a gas atmosphere into which a sputtering gas is introduced, and the sputtered particles are deposited on a workpiece to form a film; a deposition device which is provided in the vacuum chamber, has a material heating mechanism for heating a deposition material to a predetermined heating temperature, and performs film formation by heating to evaporate or sublimate the deposition material and attach the deposition material to a workpiece; and a control mechanism for operating the sputtering device and the evaporation device in an alternative mode.

The film forming apparatus according to claim 2 further comprises a shutter plate that is disposed between the heat source and the vapor deposition material in the vacuum chamber at least when the sputtering device is in operation, and prevents heat from the heat source from heating the vapor deposition material.

In the film forming apparatus according to claim 3, the plasma generated when the sputtering device is operated is used as a heat source, and the shutter plate is disposed between the plasma and the deposition material at least when the sputtering device is operated.

The film forming apparatus according to claim 4 further comprises a workpiece heating mechanism for heating the workpiece.

The film forming apparatus according to claim 5 further comprises a shutter plate that is movable between a shielding position at which the shutter plate is disposed between the workpiece and the vapor deposition material and an allowing position at which the shutter plate is retracted from between the workpiece and the vapor deposition material to allow the vapor deposition device to perform vapor deposition on the workpiece, the shutter plate being located at the shielding position when the workpiece heating mechanism is operated and located at the allowing position when the vapor deposition device is operated.

The film forming apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a shutter cooling mechanism for cooling the shutter plate.

In the film forming apparatus according to claim 7, the work holding means holds a plurality of works.

The film forming method according to claim 8, comprising: a housing step of housing a workpiece to be film-formed in a vacuum chamber and making the vacuum chamber vacuum; a sputtering step of performing discharge in a gas atmosphere into which a sputtering gas is introduced to sputter sputtering particles from a target material and deposit the sputtering particles on a workpiece housed in a vacuum chamber to form a film; a deposition step, executed before or after the sputtering step, of heating the deposition material to evaporate or sublimate the deposition material and adhere the deposition material to the workpiece housed in the vacuum chamber to form a film; and a taking-out step of taking out the workpiece on which the film is formed by the sputtering step and the deposition step from the vacuum chamber.

In the film forming method according to claim 9, in the sputtering step, the vapor deposition material is prevented from being heated by heat from a heat source in the vacuum chamber.

In the film forming method according to claim 10, the heat source in the vacuum chamber is blocked from transferring heat to the deposition material.

In the film forming method according to claim 11, the heat is blocked by a shutter plate disposed between the heat source and the vapor deposition material.

In the film forming method according to claim 12, the shutter plate is cooled.

In the film forming method according to claim 13, the periphery of the vapor deposition material is cooled.

The film forming method according to claim 14 further comprises a heating step of heating the workpiece accommodated in the vacuum chamber in the sputtering step.

In the film forming method according to claim 15, in the sputtering step, the shutter plate for blocking heat is located at a shielding position disposed between the workpiece and the vapor deposition material, and in the vapor deposition step, the shutter plate is located at an allowable position where vapor deposition is allowed while being retracted from between the workpiece and the vapor deposition material.

In the film forming method according to claim 16, in the housing step, the plurality of workpieces are housed in the vacuum chamber.

Effects of the invention

According to the above configuration of the present invention, since the sputtering step of forming a film by sputtering is performed in a state where the workpiece is housed in the vacuum chamber and the deposition step of forming a film by deposition is performed before or after the sputtering step in the same vacuum chamber, the sputtering and the deposition are performed in the same vacuum chamber, and therefore, the workpiece does not need to be moved between apparatuses, and it is possible to prevent adhesion of foreign matter and/or deterioration of the film due to such movement.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing a configuration of a film forming apparatus using the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of the sputtering apparatus.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a sputtering apparatus.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of the vapor deposition device.

Fig. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a film forming apparatus that rotates a turntable (carousel) about a horizontal axis.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing an example of a vapor deposition device in which a vapor deposition material is directly heated by a filament (filament).

Description of the symbols

2 film Forming apparatus

3 vacuum tank

4 rotating disc

7 workpiece

10 sputtering device

11. 51 vapor deposition device

25. 55 gate plate

45 vapor deposition material

Detailed Description

FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a film forming apparatus 2 embodying the present invention. A cylindrical turntable 4 as a workpiece holding device is disposed inside the substantially cylindrical vacuum chamber 3. The turntable 4 is rotatable about a vertical rotation shaft 4a, and is rotated at a predetermined speed by a motor 5. The vacuum chamber 3 is connected to a vacuum pump 6, and the inside thereof is adjusted to a degree of vacuum necessary for sputtering and vacuum deposition.

The turntable 4 holds a plurality of workpieces 7 to be film-formed on its outer peripheral surface, and each workpiece 7 rotates together with the turntable 4. The plurality of works 7 are held in a state of being arranged in a matrix along the outer peripheral surface of the turntable 4, for example. Further, the vacuum vessel 3 is opened by a known structure after being exposed to atmospheric pressure in order to load or unload the turntable 4 and the workpiece 7, and to perform operations such as replacement of target members, repair, and repair, which will be described later.

In the vacuum chamber 3, a 1 st film forming table 8 and a 2 nd film forming table 9 are provided at appropriate intervals in the rotation direction of the turntable 4, and by the rotation of the turntable 4, each workpiece 7 is repeatedly passed through the 1 st film forming table 8 and the 2 nd film forming table 9 to form a film. Further, the conveyance of the work 7 may not be performed by the rotation, and the film may be formed on each work 7 by each table at one time.

The 1 st film forming stage 8 is a stage for forming a film by sputtering, and a sputtering apparatus 10 is disposed. The 2 nd film forming stage 9 is a stage for forming a film by vacuum deposition, and a deposition device 11 is disposed. In this embodiment, 1 sputtering apparatus 10 and 1 deposition apparatus 11 are assembled, but the number of the above-described assemblies may be increased as appropriate depending on the type of film to be formed on the surface of the workpiece, the number of layers to be stacked, and the like.

The control section 12 controls each section of the film formation apparatus 2 to perform a film formation step including a sputtering step of forming a film by the sputtering device 10 and a deposition step of forming a film by the deposition device 11. In this embodiment, the vapor deposition step is performed after the sputtering step, but the sputtering step may be performed after the vapor deposition step, or both may be performed alternately.

Further, a heater 13 as a workpiece heating means is disposed along the inner peripheral surface of the vacuum chamber 3. When the film is formed on the metal workpiece 7 by the sputtering method, the heater 13 heats the workpiece 7 by the current from the heater power supply 14. This makes the work 7 at a high temperature and performs stable film deposition by sputtering. Various mechanisms can be used for the method of heating the workpiece 7, and for example, in the case where the workpiece 7 is a metal having a large electric resistance to some extent, induction heating by electromagnetic induction can be used.

The DC power supply 15 supplies electric power for sputtering, and applies a voltage so that the vacuum chamber including the turntable 4 serves as an anode and the sputtering apparatus 10 serves as a cathode. The gas supply unit 16 supplies a gas during sputtering to the sputtering apparatus 10. As the gas, a sputtering gas such as argon gas may be supplied, and when reactive sputtering is performed, a reactive gas such as oxygen gas or nitrogen gas may be supplied together.

The water feeder 17 supplies cooling water to the sputtering apparatus 10, and can prevent the sputtering apparatus 10 from becoming hot. The motor 18 rotates a target member described later, and the motor 19 opens and closes a shutter plate 21 of the sputtering apparatus 10.

The heating power source 22 supplies power for heating the vapor deposition material to the vapor deposition device 11 during the vapor deposition step. In the sputtering step, the water feeder 23 supplies cooling water to the vapor deposition device 11 in order to prevent the temperature of the vapor deposition material from being increased by heat from the heater 13 and the workpiece 7 heated by the heater or by heat from plasma. The motor 24 opens and closes a shutter plate 25 provided in the vapor deposition device 11.

The sputtering apparatus 10 is shown in fig. 2 in appearance and in fig. 3 in cross section. The sputtering apparatus 10 includes a target member 26, a sleeve (socket) 27, and the like in addition to the shutter plate 21. The sleeve 27 is hollow and cylindrical, and houses a rotatable cylindrical target member 26 therein. The target member 26 and the sleeve 27 are attached to the vacuum chamber 3 such that the axial centers thereof are parallel to the rotary shaft 4a of the turntable, and the target member 26 is exposed to the turntable 4 side through an opening 27a provided in the sleeve 27. In the gap formed between the target 26 and the sleeve 27, the gas from the gas supply unit 16 is supplied through the introduction pipe 29, and the periphery of the target 26 is made rich in gas.

The target member 26 has a target layer 32 formed thereon, and the target layer 32 covers the outer peripheral surface of the conductive support cylinder 31. The target layer 32 is made of a target material formed on the workpiece 7 of, for example, aluminum, titanium, silicon, or the like. The support cylinder 31 is connected to the negative electrode of the DC power supply 15, and glow discharge is performed using the target member 26 as a cathode in the sputtering step.

A hollow tube 34 fixed to the sleeve 27 is inserted into the hollow portion of the target member 26, and a magnet member 35 is disposed inside the sealed portion. The magnet member 35 is configured such that small magnets 35b and 35c are fixed to a support member 35a made of iron. The support member 35a has an elongated shape along the axial center of the support cylinder 31. The N-poles of the magnets 35b face the turntable, and are aligned in a line in the longitudinal direction at the center of the surface of the support member 35a on the turntable side, and the S-poles of the magnets 35c face the turntable side, and are arranged in a rectangular shape so as to surround the periphery of the magnets 35 b.

The magnet member 35 configured as described above is used for magnetron sputtering, and the plasma is trapped (pressed Write める) near the surface of the target layer 32 by the magnetic force of each magnet 35b, 35 c. The hollow cylinder 34 is eccentrically disposed so as to be closer to the turntable side in the support cylinder 31, and the magnets 35b and 35c are brought closer to the target, thereby improving the above-described effect. Further, the rotation from the motor 18 is transmitted to the drive shaft 26a, and the target member 26 is rotated about the axial center. Thereby, the entire peripheral surface of the target layer 32 is used for sputtering.

The cooling water from the water feeder 17 is supplied between the support cylinder 31 and the hollow cylinder 34 through the water supply pipe 36a, and the cooling water passing between the support cylinder 31 and the hollow cylinder 34 is discharged to the outside of the vacuum chamber 3 through the water discharge pipe 36 b. By passing the cooling water between the support cylinder 31 and the hollow cylinder 34 in this way, it is possible to prevent the target member 26, the magnet member 35, and the like from becoming high in temperature during the sputtering process.

The shutter plate 21 is disposed outside the sleeve 27, and is movable between a closed position, which covers the opening 27a in front of the opening 27a, and an open position, which is retracted from the front of the opening 27a to expose the target layer 32 to the turntable 4 side, using, for example, the water supply pipe 36a and the water discharge pipe 36b as rotation axes. The shutter plate 21 is in the open position during the sputtering process by the motor 19.

Fig. 4 shows a vapor deposition device 11. The vapor deposition device 11 includes a main body 40 and the shutter plate 25, and the main body 40 includes a cylindrical inner tube 41, an outer tube 42, a heater 43, and the like.

The inner cylinder 41 defines a plurality of heating chambers 41a arranged in the axial direction by partitioning the hollow interior, and the respective heating chambers 41a accommodate the vapor deposition material 45. That is, the inner tube 41 is a casing for accommodating the vapor deposition material 45.

As the vapor deposition material 45, a material that evaporates or sublimates by heating is used, and various materials such as metal and resin can be used according to the function of a desired thin film. Particularly in sputtering, materials such as organic materials that can be damaged and/or decomposed by plasma are useful. The purpose of forming a thin film by vapor deposition is not limited, and for example, a thin film for protecting a film formed by a sputtering method, a thin film for preventing fingerprints from adhering to the surface thereof, or a thin film serving as a base of a thin film formed in a sputtering step may be formed by vapor deposition.

A linear heater 43, for example, a resistive heating element, is disposed in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the inner tube 41 as a material heating means, and an end 43a thereof is connected to the heating power supply 22. During vapor deposition, the heater 43 supplies current from the heating power source 22 to heat the inner cylinder 41, thereby evaporating or sublimating the vapor deposition material 45. The outer cylinder 42 is disposed outside the inner cylinder 41 with an appropriate space from the inner cylinder 41. The outer tube 42 is provided with openings 46 communicating with the respective heating chambers 41a corresponding to the respective heating chambers 41a, and the vapor deposition material 45 is arranged in the heating chambers 41a through the openings 46, and the vapor deposition material 45 evaporated or sublimated in the heating chambers 41a is scattered toward the work 7.

As a material heating means for heating the vapor deposition material 45 to evaporate or sublimate the material, various types of means such as a heating method and arrangement can be used. For example, the heater 43 may be disposed inside the heating chamber 41a to heat the inner tube 41 and heat the vapor deposition material 45 to evaporate or sublimate the material, or the heater may directly heat the vapor deposition material 45. Further, the inner tube 41 or the vapor deposition material 45 may be configured to generate heat by electromagnetic induction.

The shutter plate 25 is assembled to be rotatable along the outer periphery of the outer cylinder 42 between a closed position (shielding position) covering the front surface of each opening 46 and an open position (allowing position) retracted from the front surface of the opening 46. The shutter plate 25 is in a closed position for shielding heat during a sputtering process as described later, and is moved to an open position after film formation can be stably performed after heating of the inner tube 41 is started during a vapor deposition process.

In the sputtering step, the plasma generated in the vicinity of the sputtering apparatus 10 serves as a heat source, or in the sputtering step for the workpiece 7 made of metal, the heater 13 and the workpiece 7 heated thereby serve as a heat source, and the vapor deposition apparatus 11 and the vapor deposition material 45 stored therein are heated by heat, particularly radiant heat, from the heat source, and the vapor deposition material 45 may evaporate or sublimate. In order to prevent this, the vapor deposition device 11 needs to shield heat from the outside or cool the device.

In the vapor deposition device 11, the opening 46 is covered with the shutter plate 25 in the sputtering step, and the shutter plate 25 is interposed between the vapor deposition material 45 and the heat source such as the plasma or the work 7, and therefore the heat from the heat source is not directly transmitted to the vapor deposition material 45. Further, the outer side of the inner tube 41 is covered with the outer tube 42, so that heat from the heat source is not directly transmitted to the inner tube 41.

Further, the hollow portion 25a formed inside the shutter plate 25 and the space (hereinafter referred to as a gap portion) 47 formed between the inner tube 41 and the outer tube 42 allow the cooling water from the water supply unit 23 to flow therethrough, thereby cooling the entire apparatus, that is, the periphery of the vapor deposition material and preventing the temperature of the vapor deposition material from increasing. The cooling water flowing through the hollow portion 25a of the shutter plate 25 is discharged from the water conduit 25b serving as the rotation shaft and is discharged to the outside of the vacuum chamber 3 through the water discharge pipe 25c serving as the other rotation shaft. Further, by making the inner diameter of the outer cylinder 42 larger than the outer diameter of the inner cylinder 41, an appropriate space is formed between the outer cylinder 42 and the inner cylinder 41. The gap 47 is configured to introduce cooling water through a water conduit 48a provided on the upper surface of the outer cylinder 42, and the cooling water is discharged to the outside of the vacuum chamber 3 through a water discharge pipe 48b provided on the lower surface of the outer cylinder 42.

The inner cylinder 41 is preferably made of a material having high thermal conductivity from the viewpoint of heating the vapor deposition material 45 by the heater 43, and the shutter plate 25 and the outer cylinder 42 are preferably made of a material having excellent heat insulating properties from the viewpoint of a function of shielding heat from the outside.

Next, the operation of the above-described structure will be described. The vacuum chamber 3 is opened, and a workpiece 7 to be a film-formed object is mounted on the turntable 4 and accommodated in the vacuum chamber 3. Further, the evaporation material 45 is placed in each heating chamber 41 a. Then, the vacuum chamber 3 is closed, and the vacuum pump 6 is operated to set the vacuum chamber 3 to a predetermined degree of vacuum necessary for sputtering.

When the workpiece 7 is made of metal, the shutter plate 25 of the vapor deposition device 11 is moved to the closed position, and cooling water is supplied from the water supply unit 23 to start cooling the main body 40 and the shutter plate 25. Then, after the rotation of the turntable 4 is started, the heater power supply 14 starts to energize the heater 13, thereby heating the workpiece 7 rotating together with the turntable 4.

When a temperature sensor, not shown, detects that the workpiece 7 has reached a predetermined temperature, the sputtering process is started. In the sputtering step, first, a gas is supplied between the target 26 and the sleeve 27 through the introduction pipe 29, and the gas flows into the vacuum chamber 3 from the opening 27 a. Thus, the surface of the target layer 32 for sputtering exposed to the opening 27a is placed in a gas atmosphere rich in a sputtering gas and a reaction gas.

After the shutter plate 21 is confirmed to be in the closed position and the rotation of the target 26 is started, a voltage is applied between the turntable 4 and the target 26 by the DC power supply 15. Thereby, discharge is started between the turntable 4 and the target member 26 through the conductive shutter plate 21, and plasma of the sputtering gas is generated. Then, when the film formation is performed in a stable state, the shutter plate 21 is set to the open position, and the sputtering film formation is started.

When the shutter plate 21 is in the open position, the sputtering particles struck from the surface of the target layer 32a are scattered toward the workpiece 7 and deposited on the surface of the workpiece 7 of the target material, thereby forming a film. When the reactive gas is introduced, the sputtered atoms come into contact with atoms and ions of the reactive gas present on the way toward the workpiece 7, and deposit a choking compound or an oxide of the target material on the surface of the workpiece 7.

Film formation by the sputtering apparatus 10 is performed on the workpieces 7 facing the sputtering apparatus 10, but by repeatedly passing each workpiece 7 through the 1 st film formation table 8 on which the sputtering apparatus 10 is disposed while rotating together with the turntable 4, a film is formed on the surface of each workpiece 7 by sputtering, and the film thickness thereof increases.

As described above, during the sputtering step, the heater 13, the heated workpiece 7, plasma generated in the vicinity of the target member 26, and the like serve as heat sources, and heat from the heat sources is transferred to the vapor deposition device 11. However, since the inner tube 41 and the vapor deposition material 45 block heat by the outer tube 42 and the shutter plate 25, and cool water flows through the hollow portion 25a and the gap portion 47, there is almost no temperature increase, and the vapor deposition material 45 does not evaporate or sublimate.

When the film is formed by sputtering and the desired film thickness is reached, the heating of the heater 13 is stopped, and the power supply from the DC power supply 15 is stopped to stop the sputtering process. Further, based on, for example, the measurement results of the experiment, the film thickness in the sputtering step can be known from the input power of the DC power supply 15, the sputtering time, and the like.

After the sputtering step is completed, the temperature in the vacuum chamber 3 containing the workpiece 7 is waited to be lowered to a predetermined temperature while continuing the flow of cooling water to the deposition device 11. When the temperature in the vacuum tank 3 becomes equal to or lower than the predetermined temperature, the supply of the cooling water is stopped, and the supply of the electric current from the heating power source 22 to the heater 43 is started, thereby heating the inner tube 41. The vacuum vessel was adjusted to a degree of vacuum necessary for vapor deposition.

By the heating, the vapor deposition material 45 is heated through the inner tube 41 and evaporated or sublimated. For example, when a certain time has elapsed after the start of heating, or the temperature of the inner cylinder 41 measured by a temperature sensor not shown reaches a certain level, it is detected that the evaporation or sublimation state of the vapor deposition material 45 has stabilized, and the shutter plate 25 is set to the open position to expose the opening 46. As a result, the vapor deposition material 45 heated and evaporated or sublimated in the heating chamber 41a is scattered from the opening 46 into the vacuum chamber 3, and adheres to the workpiece 7 held on the turntable 4 to form a film. Further, since the heating chamber 41a accommodating the vapor deposition material 45 is being heated, the deposition material 45 that has been scattered adheres little to the inner surface of the heating chamber 41 a.

Film formation by the vapor deposition device 11 is mainly performed on the surface of each workpiece 7 passing through the 2 nd film formation stage 9 by rotation of the turntable 4 with respect to the workpiece 7 facing the vapor deposition device 11, and the film thickness is increased by repeatedly passing each workpiece 7 through the 2 nd film formation stage 9, as in sputtering. Then, the vapor deposition device 11 is operated until the film has a desired film thickness, and after the shutter plate 25 is moved to the closing position, the heater 43 is turned off, and the vapor deposition process is ended.

Even when the workpiece 7 is made of plastic resin or the like, the sputtering step and the vapor deposition step are performed as described above, but the heater 13 is not used to heat the workpiece 7. In this case, the vapor deposition material 45 is not affected by the heat from the heater 13, but affected by the heat from the plasma. Therefore, as in the case of the metal workpiece 7, the shutter plate 25 is set to the closed position, and the shutter plate 25 and the vapor deposition device 11 are cooled by passing cooling water therethrough.

As described above, the film by the sputtering step and the film by the vapor deposition step are laminated on the surface of the workpiece 7. Then, after the vacuum vessel 3 is vented to atmospheric pressure, the vacuum vessel 3 is opened, and the respective work pieces 7 after film formation are taken out. Since both the sputtering step and the vapor deposition step are performed in the vacuum chamber 3, foreign matter is not attached to the film surface or the film is not exposed to the outside air and is not deteriorated in each step.

Fig. 5 shows an example in which a turntable is rotated about a horizontal axis and a vapor deposition device is disposed below the turntable. Since the contents other than the following description are the same as those of the first embodiment, substantially the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted.

The turntable 4 is rotatably supported by a support member 49 with a rotation shaft 4a of the turntable 4 being in a horizontal posture, and the turntable 4 is rotated in an arrow direction by a motor. The sputtering device 10 is disposed on the side of the turntable 4, and the vapor deposition device 11 is disposed below the turntable 4. As in the first embodiment, the sputtering apparatus 10 is assembled such that the axial direction of the target member, sleeve, or the like, which is cylindrical, is parallel to the rotation axis 4a of the turntable 4.

The vapor deposition device 11 is also arranged with its opening 46 facing the turntable 4, and the heating chambers 41a are arranged in the direction of the rotation axis 4a of the turntable 4. Therefore, each heating chamber 41a is in a posture of facing the opening 46 upward, and the vapor deposition material 45 evaporated or sublimated in the inside thereof is efficiently splashed and attached to the work 7.

Fig. 6 shows a different example of the vapor deposition device. In this example, as the vapor deposition device 51, a plurality of heating units 52 are disposed on the 2 nd film formation stage 9. Each heating unit 52 is a member formed by winding a filament 53 into a cage shape, and the vapor deposition material 45 is placed inside the heating unit 52. Each filament 53 is connected to a heating power supply 54. The heating unit 52 generates heat by the power supplied from the heating power source 54, and the vapor deposition material 45 evaporates or sublimates.

The shutter plate 55 moves between a shielding position where it enters between the heat source and the heating section 52, i.e., the evaporation material 45, and an allowing position where it retreats from the shielding position and at least the evaporated or sublimated evaporation material is allowed to splash and adhere to the workpiece 7. The mask position is set during the sputtering step, and the allowable position is set during the deposition step. In this example, the vapor deposition material 45 is prevented from being heated by the heat of the heat source only by the shutter plate 55 during the sputtering step.

The vapor deposition device described in each of the above embodiments is merely an example, and the vapor deposition device used in the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the vapor deposition material may be directly heated by a heating element such as a filament, or may be heated by passing the vapor deposition material through a crucible in which the vapor deposition material is placed. Further, a method of directly heating the vapor deposition material placed in the crucible by a heating element, a method of forming the heating element in a container shape such as a cage shape or a boat shape, and then placing the vapor deposition material therein to heat, or the like may be employed.

The position of the vapor deposition device may be set as appropriate in consideration of the shape and position of the workpiece to be vapor-deposited, the position of the sputtering device, and the like. When the workpiece is held on the turntable, a deposition apparatus is disposed at the center of the turntable, whereby deposition can be efficiently performed on each workpiece. In this case, a thin film to be deposited is formed on the surface of the workpiece facing the inside of the turntable, and if a mechanism for rotating the workpiece itself is provided at a position where the workpiece is held, for example, so as to alternately change the surface facing the outer periphery and the surface facing the inner periphery of each workpiece, the thin film to be deposited can be formed on each surface around the rotation axis of the workpiece.

The shutter plate for shielding the heat emitted from the heat source to the evaporation material may take into consideration the characteristics of the evaporation material, and may be inserted between the evaporation material and the heat source affecting the evaporation material during the sputtering process to block the heat from the heat source from the evaporation material. Therefore, for example, when only the influence of the radiant heat of the plasma is taken into consideration, the shutter device can be inserted between the plasma generated by the sputtering device and the vapor deposition material, so that the vapor deposition material is not sublimated or evaporated by the heat from the plasma. Further, if the shutter plate allows the vapor deposition of the vapor deposition device on the workpiece in the vapor deposition step, the shutter plate may be fixed at a position where the shutter plate enters between the heat source, for example, plasma, and the vapor deposition material.

Industrial applicability

The present invention is used for surface decorative coating of plastics, metal products, and the like.

Claims (15)

1. A film forming apparatus is characterized by comprising:

a vacuum tank in which a vacuum is formed;

a sputtering device that performs film formation by causing sputtering particles to be scattered from a target material disposed in the vacuum chamber by performing discharge in a gas atmosphere in the vacuum chamber into which a sputtering gas is introduced, and depositing the scattered sputtering particles on a workpiece;

a deposition device disposed in the vacuum chamber, for depositing a deposition material by evaporating or sublimating the deposition material and adhering the deposition material to a surface of a workpiece;

a workpiece holding device which is disposed in the vacuum chamber, holds a workpiece to be a target of film formation, and moves the workpiece to a position where film formation is performed by the sputtering device and a position where film formation is performed by the deposition device; and

a control means for operating the deposition device to form a film before and/or after the operation of the sputtering device,

the vapor deposition device includes:

an inner cylinder, in which a heating chamber for accommodating a deposition material is formed;

an outer cylinder provided outside the inner cylinder at a predetermined interval; and

a material heating mechanism which works when the film of the evaporation material is formed, heats the evaporation material in the heating chamber to evaporate or sublimate the evaporation material,

the inner tube and the outer tube have a double-tube structure, and the outer tube has an opening communicating with the heating chamber, and the evaporation material evaporated or sublimated in the heating chamber is splashed to the outside through the opening.

2. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1,

the vapor deposition apparatus further includes a shutter plate that is located at a closed position where the opening is closed while the sputtering apparatus is performing film formation, and is located at an open position where the opening is opened when the vapor deposition apparatus is performing film formation.

3. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1,

the material heating mechanism is mounted on the inner cylinder, and heats the inner cylinder to heat the evaporation material in the heating chamber for evaporation or sublimation.

4. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1,

the vapor deposition material is an organic material.

5. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1,

the vapor deposition apparatus further includes a water supply mechanism that operates when the sputtering apparatus forms a film, prevents a temperature rise of the vapor deposition material so that the vapor deposition material does not evaporate or sublimate by supplying water to the vapor deposition apparatus, and stops supplying water to the vapor deposition apparatus when the vapor deposition apparatus forms a film.

6. The film forming apparatus according to claim 5,

the water supply mechanism is used for supplying water to a gap formed between the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder, thereby preventing the temperature of the evaporation material from rising.

7. The film forming apparatus according to claim 5,

the deposition apparatus includes a shutter plate having a hollow interior, the shutter plate being located at a closed position where the opening is closed during film formation by the sputtering apparatus, the shutter plate being located at an open position where the opening is opened during film formation by the deposition apparatus,

the water supply mechanism is configured to supply water to a gap formed between the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder and a hollow interior of the shutter plate, thereby preventing a temperature of the evaporation material from rising.

8. The film forming apparatus according to claim 5,

further comprises a workpiece heating mechanism for heating the workpiece,

the control means operates the workpiece heating means before film formation by the sputtering apparatus is started.

9. A film forming method is characterized by comprising:

a housing step of housing a workpiece to be film-formed in a vacuum chamber and making the vacuum chamber vacuum;

a sputtering step of forming a film by sputtering particles from a target material disposed in a vacuum chamber and depositing the sputtered particles on a workpiece by performing discharge in a gas atmosphere into which a sputtering gas is introduced;

a deposition step, executed before and/or after the sputtering step, of heating a deposition material disposed in advance in a heating chamber of an inner cylinder, which is disposed in a vacuum chamber and has a double-layer cylinder structure, so as to evaporate or sublimate the deposition material, to cause the deposition material to be splashed out of an opening provided in an outer cylinder, which is in communication with the heating chamber, and to adhere to a workpiece housed in the vacuum chamber, thereby forming a film; and

and a taking-out step of taking out the workpiece on which the film is formed by the sputtering step and the deposition step from a vacuum chamber.

10. The film forming method according to claim 9,

in the sputtering step, the opening is closed by a shutter plate to perform heat insulation, and in the vapor deposition step, the opening is opened to allow the vapor deposition material to splash.

11. The film forming method according to claim 9,

in the vapor deposition step, the vapor deposition material in the heating chamber is heated by heating the inner cylinder to evaporate or sublimate the vapor deposition material.

12. The film forming method according to claim 9,

the vapor deposition material is an organic material.

13. The film forming method according to claim 9,

in the sputtering step, water is passed through a gap formed between the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder to prevent the temperature of the deposition material from rising and prevent the deposition material from evaporating or subliming,

in the vapor deposition step, the passage of water through the gap is stopped.

14. The film forming method according to claim 13,

in the sputtering step, the opening is closed by a shutter plate to insulate heat, and water is passed through the inside of the hollow shutter plate and a gap formed between the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder to prevent the temperature of the evaporation material from rising,

in the vapor deposition step, the shutter plate is retracted from the opening to open the opening, thereby allowing the vapor deposition material to splash.

15. The film forming method according to claim 13,

before the sputtering step, a workpiece heating step of heating the workpiece accommodated in the vacuum chamber is started, and water is introduced to prevent the temperature of the deposition material from rising.