JP2012176869A - Ozone generating apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To miniaturize the size of an ozone generating apparatus, and to reform to an easy production method having inexpensive production cost.SOLUTION: This ozone generating apparatus includes a glass substrate 2 and driving electrodes 3A, 3B. The glass substrate 2 is formed so that an opening part used as discharge spaces 2A, 2B, 2C is arrayed in the in-plane direction of the main surface. The driving electrodes 3A, 3B are electrodes filled in the opening part, and are arranged oppositely across the discharge spaces 2A, 2B, 2C, and the driving voltage is applied thereto. Hereby, dielectric barrier discharge is generated in the discharge spaces 2A, 2B, 2C, to thereby generate ozone.

Description

  The present invention relates to an ozone generator that generates ozone using dielectric barrier discharge.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a conventional ozone generator (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
The ozone generator 100 includes a first metal plate 101, a second metal plate 102, a first glass plate 103, a second glass plate 104, and a spacer 105. The first metal plate 101 is disposed on the first glass plate 103, and the second metal plate 102 is disposed on the second glass plate 104. The first glass plate 103 and the second glass plate 104 are joined via a spacer 105. A driving voltage is applied between the first metal plate 101 and the second metal plate 102, and discharge is generated in the discharge space formed between the first glass plate 103 and the second glass plate 104, generating ozone. To do. The discharge space is configured to be ventilated to the outside and discharge ozone. The first glass plate 103 and the second glass plate 104 are dielectrics, and such a discharge phenomenon that occurs through the dielectric exposed to the discharge space is called dielectric barrier discharge.

Japanese Patent No. 2983153

  Since the conventional ozone generator has a structure in which two metal plates and two glass plates are laminated and bonded via a spacer as described above, the manufacturing process requires a large number of processes and the manufacturing process is complicated as a whole. It was difficult to reduce the manufacturing cost. Further, in order to increase the discharge space, it is necessary to increase the size in the direction of the main surface of the substrate, which is essentially an unsuitable configuration for downsizing. In addition, there is a limit to the thinning of the glass plate from the viewpoint of structural strength, and it is difficult to reduce the driving voltage due to the wide spacing between the electrodes, and the power supply cost has to be increased.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an ozone generator that can be easily downsized and reduced in voltage and can be renovated in a simple manufacturing process.

An ozone generator according to the present invention includes a substrate having an opening serving as a discharge space formed on a main surface, and a pair of drive electrodes to which a drive voltage is applied, facing the in-plane direction of the substrate through the discharge space. And a dielectric layer is provided between the drive electrode and the discharge space.
Alternatively, the substrate is formed of a dielectric material, and a plurality of openings are arranged in the in-plane direction of the main surface, and the openings on both sides of the opening serving as a discharge space are filled, and the discharge space is And a pair of drive electrodes that are opposed to each other in the in-plane direction of the substrate and to which a drive voltage is applied.

  In these configurations, by applying a driving voltage to the pair of driving electrodes facing in the in-plane direction of the substrate through the dielectric and the discharge space, a dielectric barrier discharge is generated in the discharge space to generate ozone. it can. When expanding the size of the discharge space, if the discharge space is increased in the in-plane direction, there is no need to expand the size in the substrate main surface direction, which is suitable for downsizing the ozone generator. In addition, the dielectric layer and the substrate interposed between the drive electrode and the discharge space can be extremely thinned, and the drive voltage can be lowered. Furthermore, the main part of the ozone generator can be configured only by filling the opening provided in the substrate with the electrode, and the manufacturing process can be simplified and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

In the above-described ozone generator, it is preferable to provide a plurality of openings serving as the discharge space, dispose one drive electrode between adjacent openings, and allow the plurality of drive electrodes to be conducted every other array. is there.
In this configuration, the drive electrode sandwiched between the two discharge spaces can be a common drive electrode for the discharge spaces on both sides, and the substrate area can be reduced and the configuration can be simplified.

  In the above-described ozone generation apparatus, the apparatus includes a connection electrode that extends in the arrangement direction of the plurality of openings and conducts the plurality of drive electrodes every other array, and the interval between the drive electrode and the discharge space is It is preferable that the distance between the connection electrode and the discharge space is narrower.

  With this configuration, it is possible to prevent (suppress) the occurrence of creeping discharge on the substrate surface between the connection electrode and the discharge space and the occurrence of dielectric barrier discharge from the connection electrode.

  In the above-described ozone generator, a terminal electrode formed in conduction with the parallel electrode on the main surface of the substrate, and an insulating film formed on both main surfaces of the substrate excluding the discharge space and the formation position of the terminal electrode, It is suitable to provide.

  With this configuration, it is possible to further prevent (suppress) the occurrence of creeping discharge on the substrate surface.

  In the above-described ozone generator, the parallel electrode disposed at the outermost end preferably has a configuration in which an inner region adjacent to the adjacent parallel electrode is covered with the insulating film and the terminal electrode is connected to the outer region. is there.

  With this configuration, it is possible to prevent (suppress) the occurrence of creeping discharge on the substrate surface between the terminal electrode and the discharge space.

  According to the present invention, the drive electrodes are opposed to each other in the in-plane direction of the substrate through the dielectric and the discharge space, and a drive voltage is applied therebetween, thereby generating a dielectric barrier discharge in the discharge space to generate ozone. Can be made. In addition, the main part of the ozone generator can be configured only by providing an opening in the substrate and filling the electrode with the opening, thereby simplifying the manufacturing process and reducing the manufacturing cost. Further, when expanding the size of the discharge space, if the discharge space is increased in the in-plane direction, it is not necessary to expand the size in the substrate main surface direction, which is suitable for downsizing the ozone generator.

It is a figure explaining the structural example of the conventional ozone generator. It is a figure explaining the structural example of the ozone generator which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the manufacturing method of the ozone generator of FIG. It is a figure explaining the electric field strength distribution around the opening part in an Example.

2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating a configuration example of the ozone generator 1 according to the embodiment. FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of a main part, and FIG. 2B is a plan view of the main part.
The ozone generator 1 includes a glass substrate 2, driving electrodes 3A and 3B, insulating films 4A and 4B, terminal electrodes 5A and 5B, and a driving voltage source 6.

  The glass substrate 2 has a rectangular shape in plan view, has a thickness of about 1 mm, and includes discharge spaces 2A, 2B, and 2C that penetrate between both main surfaces. A thicker glass substrate 2 can secure the volume of the discharge space, contributing to a reduction in chip size. The discharge spaces 2A, 2B, 2C are formed in a rectangular shape having a length in the short direction of the substrate 2 of about 1 mm and a width of about 100 μm in plan view, and the discharge spaces 2A, 2B in the longitudinal direction of the substrate 2, respectively. , 2C.

  The drive electrodes 3 </ b> A and 3 </ b> B are U-shaped electrodes opened in the short direction of the substrate in plan view, and are filled in openings provided in the same shape on the substrate 2. The line width in plan view is about 100 μm. The drive electrodes 3A and 3B include connection electrode portions 3A1 and 3B1 extending in the longitudinal direction of the substrate 2, and parallel electrode portions 3A2 extending in the short direction of the substrate 2 from both ends of the connection electrode portions 3A1 and 3B1. , 3A3, 3B2, 3B3. The parallel electrode portion 3A2, the discharge space 2A, the parallel electrode portion 3B2, the discharge space 2B, the parallel electrode portion 3A3, the discharge space 2C, and the parallel electrode portion 3B3 are parallel to each other at an interval of about 100 μm, and are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the substrate 2 in the order of description. Is done. The intervals between the connection electrode portions 3A1, 3B1 and the discharge spaces 2A, 2B, 2C are sufficiently wider than 100 μm, which is the interval between the parallel electrode portions 3A2, 3A3, 3B2, 3B3 and the discharge spaces 2A, 2B, 2C. Thus, discharge is prevented from occurring from the connection electrode portions 3A1 and 3B1.

  The terminal electrode 5A is formed in a region that partially overlaps the parallel electrode portion 3A2 on the upper surface of the substrate 2. The terminal electrode 5B is formed in a region that partially overlaps the parallel electrode portion 3B3 on the upper surface of the substrate 2. The drive voltage source 6 applies a high frequency bias between the terminal electrodes 5A and 5B. The insulating film 4A is formed on the upper surface of the substrate except for the positions where the discharge spaces 2A, 2B, 2C and the terminal electrodes 5A, 5B are formed. The insulating film 4B is formed except for the formation positions of the discharge spaces 2A, 2B, 2C on the lower surface of the substrate 2. By covering the surfaces of the drive electrodes 3A and 3B with the insulating films 4A and 4B, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of creeping discharge at the interface between the substrate 2 and the upper and lower spaces. Further, the terminal electrodes 5A and 5B are connected to positions on the outer side in the arrangement direction of the parallel electrode portions 3A2 and 3B3, and the region on the inner side in the arrangement direction of the parallel electrode portions 3A2 and 3B3 is covered with the insulating film 4A. As a result, the spacing between the terminal electrodes 5A and 5B and the adjacent discharge spaces 2A and 2C is increased, and creeping discharge is prevented from occurring between them.

  In this ozone generator 1, a dielectric layer is formed by the substrate 2 between the discharge spaces 2A, 2B, 2C and the parallel electrode portions 3A2, 3A3, 3B2, 3B3, and a high frequency bias is applied between adjacent parallel electrodes. As a result, dielectric barrier discharge occurs in the discharge spaces 2A, 2B, and 2C. The discharge spaces 2A, 2B, and 2C are vented to the upper space and the lower space of the substrate 2, and ozone generated in the discharge spaces 2A, 2B, and 2C due to the dielectric barrier discharge is discharged to the upper space or the lower space.

  With this configuration, the overall height can be suppressed to the thickness of the substrate 2, and the chip size can be significantly reduced compared to the conventional configuration. Further, the parallel electrode portion 3A3 disposed between the discharge space 2A and the discharge space 2B and the parallel electrode portion 3B2 disposed between the discharge space 2B and the discharge space 2C Since it functions as a common electrode for applying a high frequency bias, the substrate area can be suppressed and the size in the in-plane direction of the ozone generator 1 can be reduced as compared with the case where a high frequency bias is applied to each discharge space with an individual electrode. it can. In addition, the distance between each discharge space and the parallel electrode portion can be made much thinner than before, and the drive voltage can be lowered and the power supply cost can be lowered.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of the manufacturing method of the ozone generator 1, and illustrates cross-sectional views at each stage of the manufacturing process.

First, a glass substrate 12 with no openings is prepared (S1).
Next, the glass substrate 12 is subjected to processing such as etching, and U-shaped openings 13A and 13B that are filled with the drive electrodes 3A and 3B later are formed so as to penetrate between the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate 12. (S2).
Next, after filling the openings 13A and 13B with metal by plating or the like, the surface is polished using the CMP method to form the drive electrodes 3A and 3B (S3).
Next, insulating films 4A and 4B are formed on the surface of the substrate 12 and the drive electrodes 3A and 3B (S4).
Next, the insulating film 4A is etched with a predetermined pattern to form rectangular openings 15A and 15B in which the terminal electrodes 5A and 5B are formed later (S5).
Next, the rectangular openings 15A and 15B are filled with metal by plating or the like to form terminal electrodes 5A and 5B (S6).
Finally, the glass substrate 12 and the insulating films 4A and 4B are subjected to a process such as etching to form openings that become discharge spaces 2A, 2B, and 2C so as to penetrate between the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate. (S7).
With the above manufacturing method, the ozone generator 1 of this embodiment can be manufactured. In this manufacturing method, the main part of the ozone generator can be configured only by providing an opening in the substrate and filling the electrode with it, and the manufacturing process can be simplified and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  Next, the electric field distribution around the opening of the discharge space will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the electric field strength in a state where a drive voltage of 6 kV is applied to the drive electrode pair.

  FIG. 4A shows a structure in which the discharge space 22A, the dielectric layer 22B, and the electrode 23 are provided without the insulating film. In this configuration, a relatively strong electric field is distributed not only in the discharge space 22A but also in the vicinity of the discharge space 22A, the dielectric layer 22B, and the electrode 23 in the upper space. Therefore, in this configuration, there is a risk that creeping discharge occurs at the interface of the dielectric layer 22B exposed in the upper space.

  FIG. 4B shows a configuration in which an insulating film 24, a discharge space 22A, a dielectric layer 22B, and an electrode 23 are provided. As the insulating film 24, an oxide film or nitride film by sputtering or CVD, or a polyimide film by spin coating is formed with a thickness of about 1 to 2 μm. In this case, a relatively strong electric field is distributed in the discharge space 22A and in the vicinity of the discharge space 22A in the upper space, but almost no electric field is distributed in the vicinity of the dielectric layer 22B and the electrode 23. Therefore, in this configuration, the risk of occurrence of creeping discharge at the interface of the insulating film 24 exposed in the upper space is extremely low.

  Thus, it can be confirmed from the electric field distribution that the occurrence of creeping discharge can be prevented by the configuration in which the insulating film is provided.

  The above-described embodiment is merely an example, and the effects of the present invention can be obtained with any configuration as long as the configuration is within the scope of the claims. For example, the discharge space and the electrode in the opening do not necessarily have to penetrate the substrate, and may be constituted by a groove formed on one main surface of the substrate. Further, the dielectric layer exposed to the discharge space may not be integrated with the substrate, and may be formed of, for example, a dielectric film laminated on the electrode.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ozone generator 2 ... Glass substrate 2A, 2B, 2C ... Discharge space 3A, 3B ... Drive electrode 3A1, 3B1 ... Connection electrode part 3A2, 3A3, 3B2, 3B3 ... Parallel electrode part 4A, 4B ... Insulating film 5A, 5B ... Terminal electrode 6 ... Driving voltage source 22A ... Discharge space 22B ... Dielectric layer 23 ... Electrode 24 ... Insulating film

Claims (6)

A substrate in which an opening serving as a discharge space is formed on the main surface;
A driving electrode to which a driving voltage is applied, facing the in-plane direction of the substrate through the discharge space;
With
An ozone generator, wherein a dielectric layer is provided between the drive electrode and the discharge space. A substrate formed of a dielectric material and having a plurality of openings arranged in an in-plane direction of the main surface;
A drive electrode that is filled in the openings on both sides of the opening serving as a discharge space, is opposed to the in-plane direction of the substrate through the discharge space, and a drive voltage is applied;
An ozone generator.   3. The device according to claim 2, further comprising a plurality of openings serving as the discharge spaces, wherein the drive electrodes are arranged one by one between adjacent openings, and the plurality of drive electrodes are conducted every other array direction. Ozone generator.   A connection electrode extending in the arrangement direction of the plurality of openings and conducting the plurality of drive electrodes in every other array; and the distance between the drive electrode and the discharge space is set to the connection electrode and the discharge. The ozone generator of Claim 3 made into the thing narrower than the space | interval with space.   A terminal electrode formed on the main surface of the substrate in conduction with the drive electrode disposed at the outermost end, and an insulating film formed on the main surface of the substrate except for the discharge space and the position where the terminal electrode is formed The ozone generator in any one of Claims 2-4 provided with these.   6. The ozone generator according to claim 5, wherein the drive electrode arranged at the outermost end covers an inner region close to an adjacent drive electrode with the insulating film and connects the terminal electrode to an outer region.

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