Vacuum coating equipment

Abstract

The utility model relates to the technical field of coating, and discloses vacuum coating equipment which comprises a vacuum box body, a vacuum sputtering chamber, a first cooling chamber and a second cooling chamber which can be communicated in sequence are arranged in the vacuum box body, a central heater is arranged in the middle of the first cooling chamber, a side heater is arranged on the side edge of the first cooling chamber, and the central heater is connected with the second cooling chamber. The temperatures of the central heater and the side heaters are adjustable, the vacuum sputtering chamber comprises a plated part moving part, a first target material and a second target material, and the plated part moving part can move among the vacuum sputtering chamber, the first cooling chamber and the second cooling chamber; the central heater and the side heater are arranged corresponding to the position of the moving part of the plated part in the vacuum sputtering chamber and the first cooling chamber, and the central heater and the side heater capable of adjusting the temperature are arranged corresponding to the moving part of the plated part in the first cooling chamber, so that the vacuum annealing temperature of the plated part can be controlled and adjusted; and the phenomena that the edge of the plated part is blackened and the resistance is increased are reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of film coating, in particular to a vacuum film coating device. Background Art

[0002] Indium tin oxide (ITO) conductive film is a conductive film composed of indium oxide and tin oxide in different proportions. It effectively combines the conductivity of metal with the light transmittance of crystal. It is currently widely used in flat panel display devices, solar cells, electrochromic functional films, infrared remote sensing detection and other fields.

[0003] With the continuous development of flat panel display products, the demand for ITO conductive film is increasing, and the requirements for its optoelectronic performance are also increasing. ITO conductive film is often coated by magnetron sputtering. The specific magnetron sputtering production process usually adopts vertical suspension production. During the film formation process, a heater is used for continuous heating until it reaches the corresponding last ITO sputtering target position, and then enters the first transition vacuum chamber, where it naturally cools down to complete the curing of the film layer performance, and then enters the second transition chamber, and finally leaves the second transition chamber to enter the atmosphere outside the coating room, and unloads the coated conductive glass at the loading and unloading station, thus completing the entire coating process.

[0004] In the case of suspended production, the height of the vertical ITO target determines the effective coating height of the conductive glass for suspended coating. Especially when coating ITO conductive film products with a film thickness of more than 1000 angstroms, some products will have a slight blackening of the film layer reflecting light and a slight increase in resistance at the upper and lower limits of the effective coating height, i.e. the top edge and the bottom edge.

[0005] Therefore, how to reduce the blackening and increased resistance of the top and bottom edges of the ITO conductive film during coating has become a technical problem that urgently needs to be solved in the industry. Utility Model Content

[0006] The utility model aims to solve at least one problem in the background technology. To this end, the utility model proposes a vacuum coating device, which can realize controllable adjustment of the vacuum annealing temperature after the plated object is coated, thereby reducing the phenomenon of blackening and increased resistance of the top edge and bottom edge of the plated object.

[0007] A vacuum coating device according to an embodiment of the first aspect of the utility model comprises a vacuum box, wherein the vacuum box comprises a vacuum sputtering chamber, a first cooling chamber and a second cooling chamber, one end of the vacuum sputtering chamber is connected with one end of the first cooling chamber, and the other end of the first cooling chamber is connected with the second cooling chamber, wherein a central heater is arranged in the middle of the first cooling chamber, and a side heater is arranged on the side of the first cooling chamber, the temperature of the central heater and the side heater are adjustable, the vacuum sputtering chamber comprises a movable part of a plated component, a first target material and a second target material, the movable part of the plated component can move between the vacuum sputtering chamber, the first cooling chamber and the second cooling chamber, and the central heater and the side heater are arranged corresponding to the position of the movable part of the plated component in the vacuum sputtering chamber and the first cooling chamber.

[0008] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the side heater includes a first heating part, a second heating part and a third heating part, and the first heating part, the second heating part and the third heating part are sequentially stacked and connected in a vertical direction.

[0009] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the temperatures of the first heating unit, the second heating unit and the third heating unit can be set independently.

[0010] According to another embodiment of the present invention, one end of the central heater is connected to the top of the first cooling chamber.

[0011] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the central heater includes a plurality of U-shaped heating wires, and the plurality of U-shaped heating wires are sequentially connected end to end to achieve heat transfer.

[0012] According to another embodiment of the present utility model, the central heater further includes a first cover plate and a second cover plate, and the U-shaped heating wire is arranged between the first cover plate and the second cover plate.

[0013] According to another embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of through holes are formed on the first cover plate and / or the second cover plate, and the first cover plate and / or the second cover plate are copper cover plates.

[0014] According to another embodiment of the present invention, at least one temperature sensor is disposed in the first cooling chamber, and the temperature sensor is disposed on the central heater and / or the side heater.

[0015] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the vacuum coating equipment further includes a temperature control system, and the temperature control system is electrically connected to the temperature sensor, the central heater and the side heater.

[0016] According to another embodiment of the utility model, the vacuum sputtering chamber, the first cooling chamber and the second cooling chamber are each provided with two gate valves, and the plated component moving part moves between the vacuum sputtering chamber, the first cooling chamber and the second cooling chamber through the gate valves.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, the utility model has the following beneficial effects:

[0018] The utility model discloses a vacuum coating equipment, comprising a vacuum box body, wherein the vacuum box body comprises a vacuum sputtering chamber, a first cooling chamber and a second cooling chamber, one end of the vacuum sputtering chamber is connected with one end of the first cooling chamber, and the other end of the first cooling chamber is connected with the second cooling chamber, wherein a central heater is arranged in the middle of the first cooling chamber, and a side heater is arranged on the side of the first cooling chamber, the vacuum sputtering chamber comprises a plated component moving part, a first target material and a second target material, the plated component moving part can move between the vacuum sputtering chamber, the first cooling chamber and the second cooling chamber, the central heater and the side heater are arranged corresponding to the position of the plated component moving part in the vacuum sputtering chamber and the first cooling chamber, and by arranging the temperature-adjustable central heater and the side heater corresponding to the plated component moving part in the first cooling chamber, the vacuum annealing temperature of the plated component can be controllably adjusted during the process in the first cooling chamber, thereby reducing the phenomenon that the top edge and the bottom edge of the plated component become black and the resistance becomes high.

[0019] Additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will be given in part in the following description, and in part will become apparent from the following description, or will be learned through the practice of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] The accompanying drawings are only used to illustrate the embodiments and are not considered to be limitations of the present invention. In addition, the same reference symbols are used to represent the same components throughout the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings:

[0021] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an embodiment of the vacuum coating equipment provided by the present application;

[0022] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of an embodiment of a side heater provided by the present application;

[0023] Figure 3 A front view of an embodiment of a central heater provided for the present application;

[0024] Figure 4 A top view of an embodiment of a central heater provided by the present application;

[0025] The meanings of the marks in the figure are:

[0026] 10. Vacuum coating equipment;

[0027] 100. Vacuum chamber;

[0028] 110. vacuum sputtering chamber; 111. plated component moving part; 112. first target material;

[0029] 113. Second target material;

[0030] 120, first cooling chamber; 121, central heater; 1211, U-shaped heating wire;

[0031] 1212, first cover plate; 1213, second cover plate; 1214, through hole;

[0032] 122. Side heater; 123. Temperature sensor;

[0033] 1221, a first heating unit; 1222, a second heating unit; 1223, a third heating unit;

[0034] 130. Second cooling chamber;

[0035] 140. Gate valve;

[0036] 200. Parts to be plated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] The embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below, and examples of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals throughout represent the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the present invention, and cannot be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0038] In the description of the present invention, it is to be understood that a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise specified, "plurality" means two or more.

[0039] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installation", "connection" and "connection" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or it can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two components. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0040] In order to illustrate the vacuum coating equipment provided by the present application, the following is a detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the text description of the embodiments.

[0041] Reference below Figure 1-Figure 4 The vacuum coating device 10 according to the first embodiment of the utility model is described as follows: Figure 1-Figure 4 As shown, the vacuum coating equipment 10 includes a vacuum box 100, specifically, the vacuum box 100 includes a vacuum sputtering chamber 110, a first cooling chamber 120 and a second cooling chamber 130, wherein one end of the vacuum sputtering chamber 110 is connected to one end of the first cooling chamber 120, and the other end of the first cooling chamber 120 is connected to the second cooling chamber 130, wherein the vacuum sputtering chamber 110 includes a plated component moving part 111, a first target material 112 and a second target material 113, the plated component moving part 111 is used to carry the plated component 200, and the plated component moving part 111 can move between the vacuum sputtering chamber 110, the first cooling chamber 120 and the second cooling chamber 130, the plated component 200 is subjected to SiO2 layer and ITO layer sputtering in sequence in the vacuum sputtering chamber 110, and after the sputtering is completed, the plated component 200 enters the first cooling chamber 120 along with the plated component moving part 111 for cooling, and passes through the first After the cooling chamber 120, the temperature is lowered again through the second cooling chamber 130 to finally complete the entire coating process. Furthermore, a central heater 121 is arranged in the middle of the first cooling chamber 120, and a side heater 122 is arranged on the side of the first cooling chamber 120, wherein the temperatures of the central heater 121 and the side heater 122 can be adjusted, and the central heater 121 and the side heater 122 are arranged corresponding to the positions of the movable part 111 of the plated component in the vacuum sputtering chamber 110 and the first cooling chamber 120. It can be seen that by arranging the central heater 121 and the side heater 122 with adjustable temperatures in the first cooling chamber 120 corresponding to the movable part 111 of the plated component, the vacuum annealing temperature of the plated component 200 can be controllably adjusted in the first cooling chamber 120, thereby reducing the blackening and increased resistance of the top and bottom edges of the plated component 200.

[0042] It should be noted that in the vacuum sputtering chamber 110, target positions can be set on both sides of the vacuum sputtering chamber 110, and the height of the target position needs to be set corresponding to the height of the plated object 200. The plated object 200 is sputtered with SiO2 layer and ITO layer in sequence in the vacuum sputtering chamber 110.

[0043] It should be noted that, in combination with the performance requirements of the plated workpiece 200, the temperature of the central heater 121 and the side heater 122 is generally controlled at 160°C-220°C. It is understandable that the set temperatures of the central heater 121 and the side heater 122 will be different for different products. Generally, to achieve the same surface temperature of the plated workpiece 200 in the first cooling chamber 120, the heating temperature of the relatively thin plated workpiece 200 (such as 0.4mm, 0.55mm) is 10-20°C lower. In addition, when cooling, the relatively thin plated workpiece 200 cools down faster, and the relatively thick plated workpiece 200 (such as 1.1mm and above) is correspondingly slower. In addition, the central heater 121 and the side heater 122 also have a temperature fluctuation range in actual use. Under normal settings, there is + / -10°C. For example, if it is set at 160°C, it may actually be 150°C or 170°C.

[0044] According to one embodiment of the utility model, Figure 2 As shown, the side heater 122 includes a first heating part 1221, a second heating part 1222 and a third heating part 1223, which are sequentially superimposed and connected in the vertical direction. It can be understood that by setting the side heater 122 as a separate first heating part 1221, a second heating part 1222 and a third heating part 1223, the heating efficiency and temperature of the plated object 200 by the side heater 122 can be guaranteed to be uniform in the vertical direction. When coating, the plated moving part 111 is usually loaded in two rows. Since there will be performance differences in the upper and lower rows, it is often necessary to adjust the performance differences of the upper or lower rows. The side heater 122 adopts the upper, middle and lower segmentation method to better meet the differentiated adjustment needs, thereby improving its scope of application.

[0045] According to one embodiment of the utility model, Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the temperatures of the first heating section 1221, the second heating section 1222 and the third heating section 1223 can be set independently. It can be understood that when coating is performed, the moving section 111 of the plated workpiece is usually loaded in two rows. Since there will be performance differences between the upper and lower rows, it is often necessary to adjust the performance differences of the upper or lower rows. Therefore, the temperatures of the first heating section 1221, the second heating section 1222 and the third heating section 1223 can be set independently to meet different application scenarios and improve their scope of application.

[0046] According to one embodiment of the utility model, Figure 3 and Figure 4As shown, one end of the central heater 121 is connected to the top of the first cooling chamber 120. It can be understood that the position of the central heater 121 needs to be reasonably set in the first cooling chamber 120 to meet the heating requirements, while also taking into account the ease of installation and disassembly. Therefore, the central heater 121 can be connected to the top of the first cooling chamber 120 by hanging. Furthermore, the hanging length of the central heater 121 can be 1.2-1.5 meters, the effective working height is 1-1.2 meters, and the width can be 0.3-0.5 meters, so as to meet the heating requirements while avoiding excessive occupation of the internal space of the first cooling chamber 120.

[0047] According to one embodiment of the utility model, Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the central heater 121 includes a plurality of U-shaped heating wires 1211, and the plurality of U-shaped heating wires 1211 are connected end to end in sequence to achieve heat transfer. Specifically, the central heater 121 is composed of a plurality of U-shaped heating wires 1211 surrounded and combined, and the central heater 121 can be made of stainless steel material, thereby reducing costs while meeting heating requirements.

[0048] According to one embodiment of the utility model, Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the central heater 121 also includes a first cover plate 1212 and a second cover plate 1213, and the U-shaped heating wire 1211 is arranged between the first cover plate 1212 and the second cover plate 1213. It can be understood that the first cover plate 1212 and the second cover plate 1213 are used to fix the U-shaped heating wire 1211 and transfer the heat of the U-shaped heating wire 1211 to the first cover plate 1212 and the second cover plate 1213, thereby achieving uniform heat dissipation.

[0049] According to one embodiment of the utility model, Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, a plurality of through holes 1214 are provided on the first cover plate 1212 and / or the second cover plate 1213, and the first cover plate 1212 and / or the second cover plate 1213 are copper cover plates. It can be understood that the plurality of through holes 1214 are provided on the first cover plate 1212 and / or the second cover plate 1213, which can further enhance the transfer and dissipation of heat, and using copper as the material of the cover plate can save costs.

[0050] According to one embodiment of the utility model, Figure 3 and Figure 4As shown, at least one temperature sensor 123 is arranged in the first cooling chamber 120, and the temperature sensor 123 is arranged on the central heater 121 and / or the side heater 122. It can be understood that the function of the temperature sensor 123 is to realize temperature detection, and determine whether the central heater 121 and / or the side heater 122 needs to be adjusted according to the detected value.

[0051] According to one embodiment of the utility model, the vacuum coating equipment 10 also includes a temperature control system (not shown in the figure), which is electrically connected to the temperature sensor 123, the central heater 121 and the side heater 122. It can be understood that after receiving the signal from the temperature sensor 123, the temperature control system decides whether to adjust the temperature of the central heater 121 and the side heater 122 according to the actual required ambient temperature.

[0052] According to one embodiment of the utility model, Figure 1 As shown, the vacuum sputtering chamber 110 , the first cooling chamber 120 and the second cooling chamber 130 are each provided with two gate valves 140 , and the plated moving part 111 moves between the vacuum sputtering chamber 110 , the first cooling chamber 120 and the second cooling chamber 130 through the gate valves 140 .

[0053] The vacuum coating equipment provided above for the present application is a preferred embodiment and cannot be understood as limiting the scope of protection of the present application. Those skilled in the art should know that various improvements or replacements can be made without departing from the concept of the present application, and all improvements or replacements should be within the scope of protection of the present application, that is, the scope of protection of the present application should be based on the claims.

[0054] In the absence of conflict, the above embodiments and features in the embodiments may be combined with each other.

Claims

1. A vacuum coating device, characterized in that: It includes a vacuum box, which includes a vacuum sputtering chamber, a first cooling chamber and a second cooling chamber. One end of the vacuum sputtering chamber is connected to one end of the first cooling chamber, and the other end of the first cooling chamber is connected to the second cooling chamber. A central heater is provided in the middle of the first cooling chamber, and a side heater is provided on the side of the first cooling chamber. The temperatures of the central heater and the side heater are adjustable. The vacuum sputtering chamber includes a movable part of a plated component, a first target material and a second target material. The movable part of the plated component can move between the vacuum sputtering chamber, the first cooling chamber and the second cooling chamber. The central heater and the side heater are provided in the vacuum sputtering chamber and the first cooling chamber corresponding to the position of the movable part of the plated component.

2. The vacuum coating equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The side heater includes a first heating part, a second heating part and a third heating part, and the first heating part, the second heating part and the third heating part are sequentially stacked and connected in a vertical direction.

3. The vacuum coating equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first heating part, the second heating part, and the third heating part may be individually set in temperature.

4. The vacuum coating equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: One end of the central heater is connected to the top of the first cooling chamber.

5. The vacuum coating equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The central heater comprises a plurality of U-shaped heating wires, and the plurality of U-shaped heating wires are connected end to end in sequence to achieve heat transfer.

6. The vacuum coating equipment according to claim 5, characterized in that: The central heater further includes a first cover plate and a second cover plate, and the U-shaped heating wire is arranged between the first cover plate and the second cover plate.

7. The vacuum coating equipment according to claim 6, characterized in that: A plurality of through holes are formed on the first cover plate and / or the second cover plate, and the first cover plate and / or the second cover plate are copper cover plates.

8. The vacuum coating equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: At least one temperature sensor is disposed in the first cooling chamber, and the temperature sensor is disposed on the central heater and / or the side heater.

9. The vacuum coating equipment according to claim 8, characterized in that: The vacuum coating equipment further includes a temperature control system, which is electrically connected to the temperature sensor, the central heater and the side heater.

10. The vacuum coating equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The vacuum sputtering chamber, the first cooling chamber and the second cooling chamber are each provided with two gate valves, and the plated object moving part moves among the vacuum sputtering chamber, the first cooling chamber and the second cooling chamber through the gate valves.

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