A target material feeding device for physical vapor deposition equipment

Abstract

The present invention discloses a target material feeding device for a physical vapor deposition device, comprising a vacuum deposition chamber (1), a water-cooled crucible (3), one or more target material tubes (4) containing target materials (2), a target material support plate (6), a target material lifting rod (7), a target material waste cleaning device, and a target material filling device. The target material tubes (4) are arranged in sequence and can perform controlled reciprocating motion along the target material support plate (6). The target material lifting rod (7) can move up and down at the bottom of the vacuum deposition chamber (1). The target material waste cleaning device is located directly below the water-cooled crucible (3) and is responsible for cleaning target material residues and target material debris out of the deposition work area. The target material filling device is located below the vacuum deposition chamber (1) and is used to fill the empty target material tube with new target materials. The present invention can provide uninterrupted target material feeding for the preparation of thermal barrier coatings in electron beam physical vapor phase equipment, and is helpful to realize an uninterrupted process without breaking the vacuum of the deposition chamber.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of vacuum deposition, and in particular relates to a target material feeding device for physical vapor deposition equipment. Background Art

[0002] Thermal barrier coating is a key technology for thermal protection of hot end components of aircraft engines. Electron beam physical vapor deposition is currently the most commonly used preparation method in the field of high-performance thermal barrier coating preparation. With the continuous increase in the production efficiency demand for thermal barrier coatings on engine turbine blades, the power of the electron gun used to melt and evaporate the raw material target of the coating has also continued to increase. At present, the power of commonly used target electron guns has reached 100-300kW, and the consumption of target materials has reached 100-200kg / h. The evaporation and deposition processes of the coating are both carried out in vacuum equipment. Before replacing the new target material, the electron beam physical vapor deposition equipment used by thermal barrier coating production units at home and abroad needs to break the vacuum of the entire target chamber or even the deposition chamber, which is difficult to meet the supply demand of the target material under high production efficiency. Therefore, the convenience and efficiency of target filling have become one of the factors restricting the overall production efficiency of physical vapor deposition equipment.

[0003] In addition, the debris or target slag generated during the melting and evaporation of the target material will also affect the continuity of the entire thermal barrier coating process. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to address the above-mentioned problems and propose a solution that can achieve non-stop continuous deposition of the coating without breaking the vacuum of the deposition chamber when filling new targets. The core point is that, on the one hand, multiple target barrels are provided in the target delivery device, and multiple targets are sequentially delivered to the evaporation crucible through the lifting device to supply the raw materials used for coating deposition; on the other hand, a target filling airlock cavity is used to replenish the empty target barrel with new targets while maintaining the vacuum of the deposition chamber. In order to address the problem of debris or target slag, the device of the present invention is equipped with a target waste tank, which can be used with a target waste push rod to clean the target slag out of the delivery work area.

[0005] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the technical solution proposed in the present invention is a target material feeding device for physical vapor deposition equipment, comprising a vacuum deposition chamber, a water-cooled crucible, one or more target material barrels filled with target materials, a target material support plate, a target material lifting rod, a target material waste cleaning device, and a target material filling device, wherein the water-cooled crucible, the target material barrel and the target material support plate are all located in the vacuum deposition chamber, the melting and evaporation of the target material and the deposition of the coating all occur in the vacuum deposition chamber, the water-cooled crucible is fixedly connected in the center area of ​​the vacuum deposition chamber, the target material barrels are arranged in sequence and can be moved along the vacuum deposition chamber. The target material support plate performs controlled reciprocating motion, and the target material support plate is used to support the target material. The target material lifting rod can move up and down at the bottom of the vacuum deposition chamber and form a vacuum seal with the bottom of the vacuum deposition chamber. The target material support plate is provided with a hole just below the mouth of the water-cooled crucible to facilitate the up and down movement of the target material lifting rod. The target material waste cleaning device is located just below the water-cooled crucible, and is responsible for cleaning the target material residue and target material debris out of the deposition work area. The target material filling device is located below the vacuum deposition chamber, and is used to fill the empty target material tube with new target material without breaking the vacuum of the vacuum deposition chamber.

[0006] Preferably, an inter-tube connecting mechanism is provided between the target material tubes, and the target material tubes are connected to form a whole through the inter-tube connecting mechanism.

[0007] Preferably, the inter-tube connection mechanism is located in the middle of the target tube in the vertical direction.

[0008] The target waste cleaning device comprises a target waste cleaning push rod and a target waste trough. The target waste trough is arranged on a target support plate and is located directly below a water-cooled crucible. The front end of the target waste cleaning push rod matches the shape of the target waste trough.

[0009] The target material filling device comprises a target material filling airlock cavity, a plug-in valve, and a filling push rod. The target material filling airlock cavity and the vacuum deposition cavity are separated by a plug-in valve. The filling push rod can move up and down in the target material filling airlock cavity. A target material filling hole is opened on the target material support plate directly above the filling push rod.

[0010] In order to improve the adaptability of the device of the present invention to the field, the target material support plate can be in the shape of a straight line, annular, circular or other common curves.

[0011] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages:

[0012] 1. The present invention can provide uninterrupted target material supply for the preparation of thermal barrier coatings by electron beam physical vapor phase equipment, which helps to realize a continuous process without breaking the vacuum in the deposition chamber during industrial production.

[0013] 2. The target residue cleaning mechanism can prevent the mechanical mechanism from being blocked by target residue.

[0014] 3. The target tube arrangement can be designed to be in-line, annular or circular distribution according to actual needs. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of a target material feeding device for a physical vapor deposition device of the present invention when supplying a target material;

[0016] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of the device when a new target material is loaded;

[0017] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the structure when the target support plate is annular in shape.

[0018] In the figure, the meanings of the reference numerals are: 1-vacuum deposition chamber; 2-target material; 3-water-cooled crucible; 4-target material tube; 5-tube connecting mechanism; 6-target material support plate; 7-target material lifting rod; 8-target material waste cleaning push rod; 9-target material waste trough; 10-target material filling airlock chamber; 11-filling push rod; 12-gate valve; 13-target material filling hole. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] The invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0020] like Figure 1 , 2 As shown, the structure of the target material feeding device for physical vapor deposition equipment of the present invention includes a vacuum deposition chamber 1, a water-cooled crucible 3, a target material tube 4, a tube connecting mechanism 5, a target material support plate 6, a target material lifting rod 7, a target material waste cleaning push rod 8, a target material waste trough 9, a target material filling airlock chamber 10, a filling push rod 11, and a plug valve 12.

[0021] The water-cooled crucible 3, the target barrel 4, the inter-barrel connection mechanism 5, and the target support plate 6 are all located in the vacuum deposition chamber 1, and the melting and evaporation of the target 2 and the deposition of the coating all occur in the vacuum deposition chamber 1. The water-cooled crucible 3 is arranged in the cavity area of ​​the vacuum deposition chamber 1 in a fixed connection manner. The coating raw material target 2 is generally located in the target barrel 4, and more than two target barrels 4 are arranged in sequence and can reciprocate along the length direction of the target support plate 6. Multiple target barrels 4 are connected by the inter-barrel connection mechanism 5 to form a whole. The target support plate 6 is used to support the target 2. The target lifting rod 7 can travel up and down at the bottom of the vacuum deposition chamber 1 and form a vacuum seal with the bottom of the vacuum deposition chamber 1. The target waste trough 9 is arranged on the target support plate 6 and is located directly below the water-cooled crucible 3. The front end of the target waste cleaning push rod 8 matches the shape of the target waste trough 9. The target support plate is provided with a hole just below the mouth of the water-cooled crucible 3 to facilitate the up and down movement of the target lifting rod.

[0022] The target material filling airlock chamber 10 is a relatively independent chamber used to fill the empty target material tube with new target material. The target material filling airlock chamber 10 is separated from the vacuum deposition chamber 1 by a plug valve 12. The filling ejector rod 11 can move up and down in the target material filling airlock chamber to facilitate the delivery of new target material from the top of the target material filling airlock chamber into the vacuum deposition chamber. For this purpose, the target material support plate is provided with a target material filling hole 13 just above the filling ejector rod.

[0023] When the target material feeding device is working, the inside of the vacuum deposition chamber is maintained in a vacuum state for a long time. When a new target material 2 needs to be filled in the target material tube 4, the inside of the target material filling airlock chamber is first restored to atmospheric pressure, and the new target material is placed on the filling push rod. Subsequently, the target material filling airlock chamber is evacuated to the same vacuum pressure as the vacuum deposition chamber, and then the gate valve 12 is opened to push the new target material into the empty target material tube.

[0024] The target material feeding device of the present invention can provide target material feeding uninterruptedly for the preparation of thermal barrier coatings by electron beam physical vapor phase equipment, so as to realize an uninterrupted process without breaking the vacuum of the deposition chamber, wherein the operation mode of continuous target material feeding is as follows: the interior of the vacuum deposition chamber is a vacuum environment, and when a target material tube moves to the bottom of the water-cooled crucible 3, the target material lifting rod lifts the target material in the target material tube to the water-cooled crucible 3 at a set lifting rate, and the target material melts and evaporates under the bombardment of the electron beam. When the target material is about to be consumed, the lifting rod descends to the initial position, the target material waste cleaning push rod operates, and the target material residue and the target material debris in the target material waste tank are cleaned out of the deposition working area. Then, the target material tube moves as a whole, and the next target material tube is moved to the bottom of the water-cooled crucible 3, and the target material lifting rod can lift the second tube target material to the water-cooled crucible 3 for melting and evaporation. By analogy, continuous feeding is realized.

[0025] In the above process, the operation mode of filling the new target material without breaking the vacuum of the vacuum deposition chamber is as follows: the interior of the vacuum deposition chamber 1 is a vacuum environment, while the target material filling airlock chamber 10 is an atmospheric pressure environment, the target material tube 4 is moved as a whole, and an empty target material tube is located just above the target material filling hole 13, then the target material filling airlock chamber 10 is opened, the target material to be filled is placed on the filling push rod 11, the chamber door is closed, and the target material filling airlock chamber 10 is pumped to the same vacuum pressure as the vacuum deposition chamber 1, and then the plug valve 12 is opened, and the target material is lifted upward and filled into the empty target material tube through the filling push rod 11. Then another empty target material tube is moved to just above the filling hole, the filling push rod is retracted, the plug valve is closed, and the target material filling airlock chamber is broken to the atmospheric pressure environment. For the subsequent multiple empty target material tubes, the above method is repeated to complete the filling of the new target material.

[0026] like Figure 3As shown, according to different actual needs, the shape of the target support plate 6 is not limited to a straight line, and can also be set to a ring or other shape. Multiple target tubes 4 are connected to form a whole through an inter-tube connecting mechanism 5 and move as a whole along the ring-shaped target support plate 6.

[0027] The above contents are further detailed descriptions of the present invention in combination with specific preferred technical solutions, and the specific implementation of the present invention cannot be considered to be limited to these descriptions. It should be pointed out that for ordinary technicians in this technical field, several improvements can be made without departing from the principle of the present invention, and these improvements should also be regarded as falling within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A target material feeding device for a physical vapor deposition device, characterized in that: The invention comprises a vacuum deposition chamber (1), a water-cooled crucible (3), one or more target tubes (4) containing target materials (2), a target support plate (6), a target lifting rod (7), a target waste cleaning device, and a target filling device, wherein the water-cooled crucible (3), the target tube (4) and the target support plate (6) are all located in the vacuum deposition chamber (1), the melting and evaporation of the target material (2) and the deposition of the coating all occur in the vacuum deposition chamber (1), the water-cooled crucible (3) is fixedly connected and arranged in the center area of ​​the vacuum deposition chamber (1), the target tubes (4) are arranged in sequence, the target tubes (4) are connected to form a whole through an inter-tube connecting mechanism (5) located in the middle of the target tubes (4), and can perform controlled reciprocating motion along the target support plate (6), the target support plate (6) is used to support the target material (2), and the target lifting rod (7) can The target material supporting plate (6) is provided with a hole at a position directly below the crucible mouth of the water-cooled crucible (3) to facilitate the up and down movement of the target material lifting rod (7). The target material waste cleaning device is located directly below the water-cooled crucible (3) and is responsible for cleaning target material residues and target material debris out of the deposition work area. The target material waste cleaning device comprises a target material waste cleaning push rod (8) and a target material waste trough (9). The target material waste trough (9) is arranged on the target material supporting plate (6) and directly below the water-cooled crucible (3). The front end of the target material waste cleaning push rod (8) matches the shape of the target material waste trough (9). The target material filling device is located below the vacuum deposition chamber (1) and is used to fill the empty target material tube with new target material without breaking the vacuum of the vacuum deposition chamber.

2. The target material feeding device for physical vapor deposition equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that The target material filling device comprises a target material filling airlock chamber (10), a plug valve (12), and a filling push rod (11); the target material filling airlock chamber (10) and the vacuum deposition chamber (1) are separated by the plug valve (12); the filling push rod (11) can move up and down in the target material filling airlock chamber; and the target material support plate (6) is provided with a target material filling hole (13) at a position directly above the filling push rod (11).

3. The target material feeding device for physical vapor deposition equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that The target material support plate (6) is in-line, annular, and circular.

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