Multi-chamber magnetic control multilayer optical coating equipment and method

Abstract

The invention discloses multi-chamber magnetic control multilayer optical coating equipment and method.The multi-chamber magnetic control multilayer optical coating equipment comprises a main container, the main container is provided with a plurality of coating chambers, the main container comprises a workpiece conversion chamber and a conveying line, the conveying line is arranged between a feeding side and a discharging side, and the feeding side and the discharging side are at least provided with one pretreatment chamber; a plurality of coating chambers are arranged on the rest periphery of the workpiece conversion chamber, and a center lifting assembly used for lifting at least one material frame cylinder is arranged in the center of the workpiece conversion chamber; vacuum isolation is carried out before film coating pieces enter the film coating chambers for film coating, the multiple film coating chambers are arranged to be matched with the pretreatment chamber, waiting continuous operation can be carried out in the internal vacuum closed space, and the central lifting assembly can be well matched with feeding and discharging actions of the multiple film coating chambers, so that the working efficiency is improved. The vacuum stability between the coating chambers can be effectively improved, so that the consistency of the film performance of a workpiece after coating is improved, the coating quality of the workpiece is improved, and meanwhile, the coating productivity of a single machine is greatly improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of coating equipment, and in particular to a multi-chamber magnetically controlled multi-layer optical coating equipment and method. Background Art

[0002] The working principle of magnetron sputtering is that electrons collide with argon atoms in the process of flying to the substrate under the action of the electric field E, ionizing them to produce Ar positive ions and new electrons; the new electrons fly to the substrate, and the Ar ions are accelerated to fly to the cathode target under the action of the electric field, and bombard the target surface with high energy, causing the target material to sputter. Among the sputtered particles, neutral target atoms or molecules are deposited on the substrate to form a thin film.

[0003] At present, the mainstream magnetron sputtering machines on the market adopt single-chamber, dual-chamber or multi-chamber designs, which are divided into fixed drum and movable drum transmission designs. Generally, this type of equipment has a slow production rhythm, small production capacity, low efficiency, and due to discontinuous production, differences in production environment, and unstable vacuum environment, the product consistency is poor.

[0004] Based on this, the present invention designs a multi-chamber magnetically controlled multi-layer optical coating device and method to solve the above problems. Summary of the invention

[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide a multi-chamber magnetically controlled multi-layer optical coating device and method to solve the problems raised in the above-mentioned background technology.

[0006] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following technical solutions: A multi-chamber magnetron multilayer optical coating device and method, comprising a main container, the main container is provided with a plurality of coating chambers for coating coated parts, the main container comprises a workpiece conversion chamber and a conveyor line, the workpiece conversion chamber is provided with a feed side and a discharge side, the conveyor line is provided with a material rack barrel for mounting a plurality of the coated parts, a conveyor line for conveying the material rack barrel is provided between the feed side and the discharge side, an inner conveyor frame for cooperating with the conveyor line to convey the material rack barrel is integrated in the main container, at least one pretreatment chamber is provided on the feed side and the discharge side, a plurality of the coating chambers are provided on the remaining four sides of the workpiece conversion chamber, a central lifting assembly for lifting at least one material rack barrel is provided in the center of the workpiece conversion chamber, each chamber of the main container is equipped with a vacuum suction assembly, and adjacent chambers are provided with vacuum sealing assemblies.

[0007] Preferably, the workpiece conversion chamber is a tetrahedron, and the pretreatment chamber includes a feed pretreatment chamber, a first discharge pretreatment chamber and a second discharge pretreatment chamber. The right side and rear side of the workpiece conversion chamber are respectively provided with a coating chamber, the front side of the workpiece conversion chamber is provided with a feed pretreatment chamber for feeding, and the left side of the workpiece conversion chamber is sequentially provided with the first discharge pretreatment chamber and the second discharge pretreatment chamber.

[0008] Preferably, the vacuum sealing component includes a conversion chamber door lock component and a vacuum opening and closing door component. The vacuum sealing component arranged at the connection between the workpiece conversion chamber and the surrounding chambers is the conversion chamber door lock component. The vacuum sealing component is arranged between adjacent pretreatment chambers and at the feed port and the discharge port for sealing.

[0009] Preferably, the vacuum opening and closing door assembly adopts a side sliding door driving structure.

[0010] Preferably, the conversion chamber lock door assembly adopts a lifting drive structure, specifically including a conversion vacuum door for isolation and sealing and a side elevator for driving the conversion vacuum door to rise and fall, and the side elevator is arranged on the top of the workpiece conversion chamber.

[0011] Preferably, the central lifting assembly includes a lifting tray, guide columns and a central elevator. The guide columns are provided in plurality and are built into the four corners of the workpiece conversion chamber. The lifting tray is vertically slidably installed on the plurality of guide columns as a whole and is used to lift the material rack tube upward. The lifting tray is embedded in the bottom of the inner conveying frame, and a central elevator for lifting the lifting tray is provided at the top of the workpiece conversion chamber.

[0012] Preferably, a rotating assembly is provided on the top of each of the coating chambers and the pretreatment chambers, a docking assembly for engaging with the rotating assembly is provided on the top of the material rack barrel, a fixing pin assembly is provided at the central axis position of the material rack barrel, and a rotating support mechanism for engaging with the bottom is provided at the bottom of the coating chamber and the pretreatment chamber.

[0013] Preferably, the material rack cylinder includes the fixing pin assembly, and a plurality of brackets are radially arranged on the top and bottom of the fixing pin assembly, and the outer ends of the brackets are connected to the coating part by clamping.

[0014] Another object of the present invention is to provide: a multi-chamber magnetron multilayer optical coating method, which specifically comprises the following steps: Step 1: First, the pretreatment chamber on the feed side performs ion surface treatment and heat treatment on the coating part 43 on the rack cylinder 4; Step 2: Then enter the workpiece conversion chamber 11 and be lifted to the upper part by the central lifting assembly. After the coating is completed in one of the coating chambers 12, the material rack cylinder 4 is sent out through the workpiece conversion chamber 11 to the pretreatment chamber on the discharge side and then discharged; Step 3: the material rack 4 to be coated is lowered and sent into the empty coating chamber 12; Step 4: When there is no temporary storage rack cylinder 4 in the central lifting assembly, the uncoated rack cylinder 4 is transported again from the pretreatment room on the feeding side, and the production is circulated in sequence.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: the present invention performs vacuum isolation on the coated parts before they enter the coating chamber for coating, and multiple coating chambers are arranged to cooperate with the pretreatment chamber, so that continuous waiting operations can be carried out in the internal vacuum-sealed space. The central lifting assembly can well cooperate with the loading and unloading actions of multiple coating chambers, and can effectively improve the vacuum stability between the coating chambers, thereby improving the consistency of the film performance of the workpiece after coating, improving the coating quality of the workpiece, and at the same time greatly improving the coating capacity of a single machine. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings required for describing the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other accompanying drawings can be obtained based on these accompanying drawings without paying creative work.

[0017] Figure 1 It is a vertical cross-sectional view of the present invention; Figure 2 for Figure 1 A top view of Figure 3 for Figure 1 Rear and side view; Figure 4 It is a structural schematic diagram of the material rack cylinder; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the main container; Figure 6 It is the structural diagram of molecular pump; Figure 7 It is a structural schematic diagram of a vacuum opening and closing door assembly; Figure 8 is a structural schematic diagram of the central lifting assembly; Fig. 9 It is a structural schematic diagram of the side lifting assembly.

[0018] In the accompanying drawings, the components represented by the reference numerals are listed as follows: Shell main container 1, feed pretreatment chamber 10, workpiece conversion chamber 11, coating chamber 12, first discharge pretreatment chamber 13, second discharge pretreatment chamber 14, vacuum opening and closing door assembly 15, rotating assembly 16, conveyor line 2, mechanical vacuum pump 3, exhaust pipe 30, molecular pump 31, material rack barrel 4, fixing pin assembly 41, docking assembly 42, coating part 43, electric cabinet 5, lifting tray 6, guide column 60, central elevator 61, conversion vacuum door 62, side elevator 63. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0020] See also Figure 1-9 , the present invention provides a technical solution: A multi-chamber magnetron multilayer optical coating device comprises a main container 1, wherein the main container 1 is provided with a plurality of coating chambers 12 for coating a coating part 43, the main container 1 comprises a workpiece conversion chamber 11 and a conveyor line 2, the workpiece conversion chamber 11 is provided with a feed side and a discharge side, the conveyor line 2 is provided with a material rack barrel 4 for mounting a plurality of the coating parts 43, a conveyor line 2 for conveying the material rack barrel 4 is provided between the feed side and the discharge side, an inner conveyor frame for cooperating with the conveyor line 2 to convey the material rack barrel 4 is integrated in the main container 1, at least one pretreatment chamber is provided on the feed side and the discharge side, a plurality of the coating chambers 12 are provided on the remaining four sides of the workpiece conversion chamber 11, a central lifting assembly for lifting at least one material rack barrel 4 is provided in the center of the workpiece conversion chamber 11, each chamber of the main container 1 is equipped with a vacuum suction assembly, and adjacent chambers are provided with vacuum sealing assemblies.

[0021] During operation, the material rack tube 4 equipped with multiple coated parts 43 is first transported to the pretreatment chamber through the conveyor line 2. The feed pretreatment chamber generally includes ion surface treatment and heat treatment devices for pre-treating the coating of the coated parts 43. After the treatment is completed, the vacuum sealing components of the workpiece conversion chamber 11 and the pretreatment chamber on the feed side are opened, and then the material rack tube 4 is lifted by the central lifting component, waiting for the material rack tube 4 that has completed coating to be moved out of the coating chamber 12. After the material rack tube 4 that has completed coating is transported from the coating chamber 12 to the workpiece conversion chamber 11, it is transported to the pretreatment chamber on the discharge side through the internal conveyor frame of the workpiece conversion chamber 11. When the coating is finished, the uncoated material rack tube 4 is taken down from the rack and transported to an empty coating chamber 12 for coating operation, so as to carry out continuous operation. Therefore, the present invention performs vacuum isolation on the coating workpiece 43 before it enters the coating chamber 12 for coating, and multiple coating chambers 12 are provided to cooperate with the pretreatment chamber, so that continuous operation can be carried out in the internal vacuum-sealed space. The central lifting assembly can well cooperate with the feeding and discharging actions of multiple coating chambers 12, and can effectively improve the vacuum stability between the coating chambers 12, thereby improving the consistency of the film performance of the workpiece after coating, improving the coating quality of the workpiece, and greatly improving the coating capacity of a single machine.

[0022] The workpiece conversion chamber 11 is a tetrahedron, and the pretreatment chamber includes a feed pretreatment chamber 10, a first discharge pretreatment chamber 13, and a second discharge pretreatment chamber 14. The right side and the rear side of the workpiece conversion chamber 11 are respectively provided with a coating chamber 12, and the front side of the workpiece conversion chamber 11 is provided with a feed pretreatment chamber 10 for feeding, and the left side of the workpiece conversion chamber 11 is provided with the first discharge pretreatment chamber 13 and the second discharge pretreatment chamber 14 in sequence; When working, Figure 1As described, the workpiece conversion chamber 11 here is a tetrahedron, and two coating chambers 12, a feed pretreatment chamber 10 and two pretreatment chambers on the discharge side are arranged around it, namely the first discharge pretreatment chamber 13 and the second discharge pretreatment chamber 14. The central lifting assembly arranged in the workpiece conversion chamber 11 here only needs to wait for lifting a single material rack barrel 4 to meet the production rhythm. The workpiece conversion chamber 11 here can space out two material rack barrels 4 at the fastest speed at the same time. In order to ensure the stability and comfort of the discharge, two pretreatment chambers are arranged on the discharge side, and the central lifting assembly can temporarily store a material rack barrel 4, and the feed pretreatment chamber 10 can temporarily store a material rack Cylinder 4, therefore, only one feed pretreatment chamber 10 is set corresponding to the feed side. For the need of faster production rhythm, the height of the workpiece conversion chamber 11 can be increased, so that the central lifting assembly can be lifted to a higher height, thereby ensuring the passage of a single material rack cylinder 4 at the bottom. Under the premise, the central lifting assembly can temporarily store multiple uncoated material rack cylinders 4 at a time, and the corresponding workpiece conversion chamber 11 can also be provided with more coating chambers 12 to cooperate with it, and more corresponding pretreatment chambers also need to be set. For example, the workpiece conversion chamber 11 is a hexahedron or other polyhedron. As for the direction of the feed side and the discharge side, it can be set as needed, which will not be repeated here.

[0023] Among them, the vacuum sealing component includes a conversion chamber lock door component and a vacuum opening and closing door component 15. The vacuum sealing component arranged at the connection between the workpiece conversion chamber 11 and the surrounding chambers is the conversion chamber lock door component. The vacuum sealing component is arranged between adjacent pretreatment chambers and at the feed port and the discharge port for sealing.

[0024] Wherein, the vacuum opening and closing door assembly 15 adopts a side sliding door driving structure; The conversion chamber lock door assembly adopts a lifting drive structure, specifically including a conversion vacuum door 62 for isolation and sealing and a side lifter 63 for driving the conversion vacuum door 62 to lift and lower, and the side lifter 63 is arranged on the top of the workpiece conversion chamber 11; During operation, there is enough space between the pretreatment chambers to set up the side sliding door drive structure. Specifically, a variety of drive forms can be used to ensure that the door body is sealed, such as Figure 7 The side sliding door driving structure includes a sealed door body, wherein a sealing valve is arranged on the door body, the door body is slidably installed as a whole and is equipped with a sealing strip. In order to ensure the tightness of opening and closing, a gear magnetic strip mechanism with a self-locking structure is used for driving movement, which will not be repeated here.

[0025] The central lifting assembly includes a lifting tray 6, a guide column 60 and a central lift 61. The guide columns 60 are provided in plurality and built in the four corners of the workpiece conversion chamber 11. The lifting tray 6 is vertically slidably mounted on the plurality of guide columns 60 as a whole and is used to lift the material rack tube 4 upward. The lifting tray 6 is embedded in the bottom of the inner conveying frame. The top of the workpiece conversion chamber 11 is provided with a central lift 61 for lifting the lifting tray 6. When working, Figure 8 As described above, in order to facilitate the lifting of the lifting tray 6, a top frame slidably mounted on multiple guide columns 60 is also provided. The central elevator 61 directly pulls the top frame, and the top frame directly pulls the bottom lifting tray 6 upward from the side through a traction rope. The main purpose here is not to interfere with the transportation of the material rack barrel 4. Therefore, they are all set at the corners for traction and lifting. As for other lifting methods, they will not be repeated here, as long as the lifting function is met.

[0026] Among them, each of the coating chamber 12 and the top of the pretreatment chamber is provided with a rotating assembly 16, the top of the material rack barrel 4 is provided with a docking assembly 42 for engaging with the rotating assembly 16, the central axis position of the material rack barrel 4 is provided with a fixing pin assembly 41, and the bottom of the coating chamber 12 and the pretreatment chamber is provided with a rotating support mechanism that engages with the bottom of the 4; During operation, the set rotating component 16 can cooperate well with the material rack barrel 4 to rotate, wherein the rotating component 16 includes a servo motor, a lifting cylinder, and a card joint, wherein the output end of the servo motor is connected to the lifting cylinder, and the telescopic end of the lifting cylinder is connected to the card joint. When the material rack barrel 4 moves to the bottom of the rotating component 16, the lifting cylinder drives the card joint to engage with the docking component 42 to complete the connection, and then drives the material rack barrel 4 to rotate on the rotating support mechanism. The rotating support mechanism can be a bearing seat with a lifting function, which will not be repeated here. In summary, the set rotating component 16 cooperates with the docking component 42 of the material rack barrel 4 to better perform pretreatment and coating treatment.

[0027] The material rack barrel 4 includes the fixing pin assembly 41, and a plurality of brackets are radially arranged on the top and bottom of the fixing pin assembly 41, and the outer ends of the brackets are connected to the coating member 43 through 40; Wherein, the conveyor line 2 includes a plurality of rotating stations for cooperating with the docking assembly 42 .

[0028] The vacuum suction assembly includes a plurality of mechanical vacuum pumps 3 , a suction pipe 30 and a molecular pump 31 .

[0029] Wherein, a plurality of electric cabinets 5 are arranged on one side of the main container 1, and the electric cabinets 5 are used to control power supply.

[0030] A multi-chamber magnetron multilayer optical coating method specifically comprises the following steps: Step 1: First, the pretreatment chamber on the feed side performs ion surface treatment and heat treatment on the coating part 43 on the rack cylinder 4; Step 2: Then enter the workpiece conversion chamber 11 and be lifted to the upper part by the central lifting assembly. After the coating is completed in one of the coating chambers 12, the material rack cylinder 4 is sent out through the workpiece conversion chamber 11 to the pretreatment chamber on the discharge side and then discharged; Step 3: the material rack 4 to be coated is lowered and sent into the empty coating chamber 12; Step 4: When there is no temporary storage rack cylinder 4 in the central lifting assembly, the uncoated rack cylinder 4 is transported again from the pretreatment room on the feeding side, and the production is circulated in sequence.

[0031] In the description of this specification, the description with reference to the terms "one embodiment", "example", "specific example", etc. means that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, the schematic representation of the above terms does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described can be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner.

[0032] The preferred embodiments of the present invention disclosed above are only used to help illustrate the present invention. The preferred embodiments do not describe all the details in detail, nor do they limit the invention to the specific implementation methods described. Obviously, many modifications and changes can be made according to the content of this specification. This specification selects and specifically describes these embodiments in order to better explain the principles and practical applications of the present invention, so that those skilled in the art can understand and use the present invention well. The present invention is limited only by the claims and their full scope and equivalents.

Claims

1. A multi-chamber magnetron multilayer optical coating device, comprising a main container (1), wherein the main container (1) is provided with a plurality of coating chambers (12) for coating a coating object (43), characterized in that: The main container (1) comprises a workpiece conversion chamber (11) and a conveyor line (2), wherein the workpiece conversion chamber (11) is provided with a feed side and a discharge side, and a material rack barrel (4) for mounting a plurality of the coated parts (43) is provided on the conveyor line (2), and a conveyor line (2) for conveying the material rack barrel (4) is provided between the feed side and the discharge side, and an inner conveyor frame for cooperating with the conveyor line (2) to convey the material rack barrel (4) is integrated in the main container (1), and at least one pretreatment chamber is provided on the feed side and the discharge side, and a plurality of the coating chambers (12) are provided on the remaining four sides of the workpiece conversion chamber (11), and a central lifting assembly for lifting at least one of the material rack barrels (4) is provided in the center of the workpiece conversion chamber (11), and each chamber of the main container (1) is equipped with a vacuum suction assembly, and adjacent chambers are provided with vacuum sealing assemblies.

2. The multi-chamber magnetically controlled multi-layer optical coating device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The workpiece conversion chamber (11) is a tetrahedron, and the pretreatment chamber comprises a feed pretreatment chamber (10), a first discharge pretreatment chamber (13) and a second discharge pretreatment chamber (14). The right side and rear side of the workpiece conversion chamber (11) are respectively provided with a coating chamber (12), the front side of the workpiece conversion chamber (11) is provided with a feed pretreatment chamber (10) for feeding, and the left side of the workpiece conversion chamber (11) is provided with a first discharge pretreatment chamber (13) and a second discharge pretreatment chamber (14) in sequence.

3. The multi-chamber magnetically controlled multi-layer optical coating device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The vacuum sealing component comprises a conversion chamber door lock component and a vacuum opening and closing door component (15); the vacuum sealing component provided at the connection between the workpiece conversion chamber (11) and each chamber around it is the conversion chamber door lock component; the vacuum sealing component is provided between adjacent pretreatment chambers and at the feed inlet and the discharge outlet for sealing.

4. The multi-chamber magnetically controlled multi-layer optical coating device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The vacuum opening and closing door assembly (15) adopts a side sliding door driving structure.

5. The multi-chamber magnetically controlled multi-layer optical coating device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The conversion chamber lock door assembly adopts a lifting drive structure, specifically comprising a conversion vacuum door (62) for isolating and sealing, and a side lifter (63) for driving the conversion vacuum door (62) to rise and fall, wherein the side lifter (63) is arranged on the top of the workpiece conversion chamber (11).

6. The multi-chamber magnetron multilayer optical coating device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The central lifting assembly comprises a lifting tray (6), a guide column (60) and a central lift (61); the guide columns (60) are provided in plurality and are built into the four corners of the workpiece conversion chamber (11); the lifting tray (6) is vertically slidably mounted on the plurality of guide columns (60) as a whole and is used to lift the material rack tube (4) upward; the lifting tray (6) is embedded in the bottom of the inner conveying frame; and a central lift (61) for lifting the lifting tray (6) is provided at the top of the workpiece conversion chamber (11).

7. The multi-chamber magnetically controlled multi-layer optical coating device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A rotating assembly (16) is disposed on the top of each of the coating chambers (12) and the pretreatment chambers, a docking assembly (42) for engaging with the rotating assembly (16) is disposed on the top of the material rack barrel (4), a fixing pin assembly (41) is disposed at the central axis position of the material rack barrel (4), and a rotating support mechanism for engaging with the bottom of the (4) is disposed on the bottom of each of the coating chambers (12) and the pretreatment chambers.

8. The multi-chamber magnetically controlled multi-layer optical coating device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The material rack barrel (4) comprises the fixing pin assembly (41), and a plurality of brackets are radially arranged on the top and bottom of the fixing pin assembly (41), and the outer ends of the brackets are clamped to the coating member (43) via (40).

9. A multi-chamber magnetron multilayer optical coating method, according to a multi-chamber magnetron multilayer optical coating device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The specific steps include: Step 1: firstly, the pretreatment chamber on the feed side performs ion surface treatment and heat treatment on the coating part (43) on the material rack cylinder (4); Step 2: Then enter the workpiece conversion chamber (11) and be lifted to the upper part by the central lifting assembly. After the coating is completed in one of the coating chambers (12), the material rack cylinder (4) is sent out through the workpiece conversion chamber (11) to the pretreatment chamber on the discharge side and then discharged; Step 3: the material rack cylinder (4) to be coated is lowered and sent into an empty coating chamber (12); Step 4: When there is no temporary storage rack cylinder (4) in the central lifting assembly, the uncoated rack cylinder (4) is transported again from the pretreatment room on the feeding side, and the production is circulated in sequence.

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