Online variable sputtering equipment for curved glass coating

Abstract

The utility model relates to the field of curved glass coating, in particular to the field of magnetron sputtering equipment, and particularly relates to online variable sputtering equipment for curved glass coating. The curved glass coating online variable sputtering equipment comprises a positive electrode base and a negative electrode base which can be mounted on a production line, the negative electrode base is provided with a target material mounting position aligned with the positive electrode base, and a sputtering target material is mounted on the target material mounting position; two magnets are vertically mounted on the negative pole base, the S pole of one magnet is aligned with the target material mounting position, and the N pole of the other magnet is aligned with the target material mounting position, so that a main magnetic induction line area is formed on the front surface of the target material mounting position; and a driving device is arranged to drive the magnet to deflect, so that the main magnetic induction line area becomes larger or smaller. The hardware structure of the coating equipment is controlled by the controller, after a software engineer programs the controller, the coating equipment can be used for coating the curved glass after being mounted on a production line, and the thickness of a film coated on the curved surface of the curved glass is relatively uniform.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The utility model relates to the field of curved glass coating, specifically to the field of magnetron sputtering equipment, and particularly relates to a curved glass coating online variable sputtering equipment. BACKGROUND

[0002] See Figure 1 The existing magnetron sputtering equipment comprises a positive electrode base 1 and a negative electrode base 2 arranged oppositely and spaced apart, the positive electrode base 1 is above and the negative electrode base 2 is below, and a sputtering target material 3 is installed at the negative electrode base 2. The magnetron sputtering equipment is installed in a flat glass production line, and the well-produced flat glass 4 to be coated needs to be coated when being coated, and is conveyed by a conveying device in a horizontal horizontal manner and translated through between the positive electrode base 1 and the negative electrode base 2 of the magnetron sputtering equipment, and the target atoms sputtered out by the sputtering target material 3 on the negative electrode base 2 are deposited on the lower surface to form a thin film, that is, the coating process is completed. This way of directly using the magnetron sputtering equipment to coat the glass on the glass production line is called online coating.

[0003] When the above-mentioned magnetron sputtering equipment is used to coat the passing flat glass 4, argon is first introduced between the positive electrode base 1 and the negative electrode base 2, and then part of the argon is discharged to generate argon ions (Ar + ) and electrons, under the action of the electric field formed by the positive electrode and the negative electrode: the electrons go to the positive electrode base 1, collide with the argon atoms in the process, generate more argon ions and electrons (the energy of the electrons after collision and the electrons generated later is less than that of the electrons before collision, and they also go to the positive electrode base 1 and collide with the argon atoms in the process); the argon ions accelerate to the negative electrode base 2 and hit the upper surface of the sputtering target material 3, so that a large number of target atoms are sputtered from the upper surface of the target material. After these target atoms leave the sputtering target material 3, they go to the positive electrode base 1 and are deposited on the lower surface of the passing flat glass 4 to form a thin film. Since the electrons are directly affected by the electric field and go to the positive electrode base 1, their motion path is short (straight line), which will result in a lower probability of the electrons colliding with more argon atoms in the process of motion, and it is not easy to collide with more argon atoms, resulting in fewer argon ions and fewer sputtered target atoms. The number of target atoms deposited on the lower surface of the flat glass 4 in the same time is less, and the film thickness is thinner. Therefore, the existing magnetron sputtering equipment further sets a magnetic field on the basis of setting the above-mentioned electric field. See Figure 1Three vertical magnets 5 are arranged at the negative electrode base 2, and the three magnets 5 are all arranged below the sputtering target material 3, wherein the upper end of the central magnet 5 is S-pole, and the upper end of the two magnets 5 on the left and right are N-pole, so that the magnetic field formed by the three magnets forms two main magnetic field line areas 6 above the sputtering target material 3, and the two main magnetic field line areas 6 (the secondary magnetic field line area has little effect on the electron and argon ion, and can be ignored) are left-right symmetrical and opposite in direction. When the electron and the argon ion are in the main magnetic field line area 6 (and the area within the main magnetic field line area 6) of the magnetic field, the electron and the argon ion are greatly affected by the Lorentz Force of the magnetic field, so that the electron and the argon ion are deflected and move along the main magnetic field line direction (from the N-pole to the S-pole); the electron moves along the main magnetic field line direction, so that the movement path of the electron becomes longer (from a straight line to a curve), and the probability of the electron colliding with the argon atom in the movement path is higher, so that the generated argon ion is more; the argon ion moves along the main magnetic field line direction and bombards on the upper surface of the sputtering target material 3, so that more target material atoms are sputtered from the upper surface of the sputtering target material 3, and the number of the target material atoms deposited on the lower surface of the plane glass 4 in the same time is more, and the film thickness is thicker. The larger the main magnetic field line area 6 of the magnetic field is, the more the number of the electron and the argon ion covered is, the more the sputtered target material atoms are, and the number of the target material atoms deposited on the lower surface of the plane glass 4 in the same time is more, and the film thickness is thicker.

[0004] Due to the fact that the movement directions of the sputtered target material atoms are not completely the same, if the distance between the lower surface of the plane glass 4 and the sputtering target material 3 is far, some target material atoms cannot be deposited on the lower surface of the plane glass 4 due to the fact that the movement direction deviates too much, so that the film formed on the lower surface of the plane glass 4 in the same time is thin; on the contrary, if the distance is close, the film thickness is thick. However, if the magnetic control sputtering equipment is used to carry out on-line film coating on the curved glass, since the lower surface of the curved glass to be coated is curved, the distances between the curved surface and the sputtering target material 3 are not completely the same, so that the film formed on the lower surface of the curved glass is not uniform in thickness, and the use of the curved glass is affected. The utility model discloses a hardware structure of a film coating equipment for software engineers, and the film coating equipment can coat the curved glass after being installed on a production line and make the film coated on the curved surface of the curved glass be relatively uniform in thickness.

[0005] The utility model discloses a hardware structure of a film coating equipment for software engineers, and the film coating equipment can coat the curved glass after being installed on a production line and make the film coated on the curved surface of the curved glass be relatively uniform in thickness.

[0006] To solve the above problems, the utility model provides a curved glass film coating on -line variable sputtering equipment:

[0007] The cathode base and the anode base are oppositely arranged and spaced apart, and the curved glass to be coated is arranged to pass through the cathode base and the anode base in the front-rear direction.

[0008] The anode base is provided with a target material mounting position which is aligned with the cathode base, and the sputtering target material is mounted on the target material mounting position.

[0009] Two magnets are vertically mounted on the anode base, and the two magnets are located at the back of the target material mounting position, are arranged in front and back along the passing direction of the curved glass, and are arranged in parallel to each other.

[0010] The driving device is arranged to drive the magnets to deflect, so that the main magnetic field area is enlarged or reduced.

[0011] Further, the driving device includes a rotating seat, and the magnets are mounted on the rotating seat.

[0012] Further, the cathode base is arranged above and the anode base is arranged below.

[0013] Further, the magnets include at least three magnets, and the three magnets are arranged in front and back along the passing direction of the curved glass, are arranged in parallel to each other, and are located at the back of the target material mounting position.

[0014] Further, the driving device includes at least two driving devices, and the two driving devices are arranged in front and back, and the magnets in front are mounted on the rotating seat of the driving device in front, and the magnets in back are mounted on the rotating seat of the driving device in back.

[0015] Further, the anode base is provided with a cooling mechanism which is arranged to cool the sputtering target material mounted on the target material mounting position.

[0016] Further, a controller is arranged to control the driving device.

[0017] Further, the sputtering target material is included.

[0018] Beneficial effects: the sputtering equipment of the utility model is installed to the production line, the curved surface of the curved glass to be coated, some parts are closer to the target material installation position on the negative electrode base, if the conventional coating is carried out to these parts, the film thickness is easy to be too thick due to the close distance; for this, the sputtering equipment of the utility model can program the controller by the software engineer before coating the part of the curved glass, the hardware structure of the sputtering equipment is controlled by the programmed controller, the controller controls the driving device of the sputtering equipment to drive the magnet to reverse deflect, so that the main magnetic induction line area formed on the front surface of the target material installation position becomes smaller, so that the number of electrons and argon ions covered by the main magnetic induction line area is correspondingly less, the sputtered target material atoms are less, the number of target material atoms deposited on the part of the curved glass in the same time is also less, so that the film thickness of these parts of the curved glass can be kept at the normal value and will not be too thick. The curved surface of the curved glass to be coated, some parts are far away from the target material installation position on the negative electrode base, if the conventional coating is carried out to these parts, the film thickness is easy to be too thin due to the far distance; for this, the controller controls the driving device of the sputtering equipment of the utility model to drive the magnet to forward deflect, so that the main magnetic induction line area formed on the front surface of the target material installation position becomes larger, so that the number of electrons and argon ions covered by the main magnetic induction line area is correspondingly more, the sputtered target material atoms are more, the number of target material atoms deposited on the part of the curved glass in the same time is also more, so that the film thickness of the part of the curved glass can be kept at the normal value and will not be too thin. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 It is the structural schematic diagram of the prior art magnetron sputtering equipment.

[0020] Figure 2 It is the structural schematic diagram of the curved glass coating online variable sputtering equipment of the utility model.

[0021] Figure 3 It is the top view diagram of the negative electrode base of the curved glass coating online variable sputtering equipment of the utility model.

[0022] Figure 4 It is the structural schematic diagram of the curved glass coating online variable sputtering equipment of the utility model to the front part of the curved glass for coating.

[0023] Figure 5 It is the structural schematic diagram of the curved glass coating online variable sputtering equipment of the utility model to the middle part of the curved glass for coating.

[0024] Symbol explanation:

[0025] Figure 1 Symbol explanation of the above:

[0026] 1 - positive electrode base; 2 - negative electrode base; 3 - sputtering target; 4 - flat glass; 5 - magnet; 6 - main magnetic field area.

[0027] Figures 2 to 5 Symbol explanation:

[0028] 1 - positive electrode base; 2 - negative electrode base; 21 - target installation site; 22 - heat conduction plate; 23 - cooling water tank; 24 - mounting seat; 3 - sputtering target; 4 - curved glass; 41 - front part; 42 - middle part; 5 - front driving device; 51 - front driving device driving motor; 52 - front driving device rotating seat; 6 - rear driving device; 61 - rear driving device driving motor; 62 - rear driving device rotating seat; 71 - front magnet; 72 - middle magnet; 73 - rear magnet; 81 - front main magnetic field area; 82 - rear main magnetic field area. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The invention will be further described in conjunction with the specific embodiments.

[0030] The larger the main magnetic field area of the magnetron sputtering device, the more electrons and argon ions it covers, the more target atoms sputtered from the upper surface of the sputtering target, the greater the sputtering amount, and the more target atoms deposited on the part to be plated in the same time, forming a thicker film; otherwise, a thinner film. Since the motion directions of the sputtered target atoms are not completely the same, the farther the part to be plated from the sputtering target, the more target atoms will not be deposited on the part to be plated due to the deviation of the motion direction, resulting in fewer target atoms deposited on the part to be plated in the same time, forming a thinner film; otherwise, a thicker film. During the conveying process of the curved glass to be plated, its lower surface to be plated will pass above the sputtering target in turn; since the lower surface of the curved glass is curved, the distance between the curved glass and the sputtering target at different parts is not completely the same. The curved glass plating online variable sputtering device adjusts the size of the main magnetic field area to be smaller when sputtering the part to be plated of the curved glass which is closer to the sputtering target, so as to reduce the sputtering amount, and adjusts the size of the main magnetic field area to be larger when sputtering the part to be plated of the curved glass which is farther from the sputtering target, so as to increase the sputtering amount. The curved glass plating online variable sputtering device controls the sputtering amount by adjusting the size of the main magnetic field area in real time, so as to dynamically control the number of target atoms deposited on the part to be plated of the curved glass, and make the part to be plated of the curved glass form a film with relatively uniform thickness. The specific structure of the curved glass plating online variable sputtering device is shown below.

[0031] See Figure 2The curved glass coating on-line variable sputtering device comprises a positive electrode base 1 and a negative electrode base 2, the positive electrode base 1 and the negative electrode base 2 are oppositely and spacedly arranged; the sputtering device is installed behind the curved glass 4 (see Figure 4 ) production line (not shown in the figure), the curved glass 4 to be coated produced by the production line passes between the positive electrode base 1 and the negative electrode base 2 along the conveying direction (i.e. the front-rear direction) of the conveying belt (not shown in the figure). The curved glass 4 production line and its conveying belt are prior art, and their specific structure and working principle will not be described here. See Figure 2 , the negative electrode base 2 is provided with a target material mounting position 21 upwardly aligned with the positive electrode base 1, and the sputtering target material 3 is detachably mounted in the target material mounting position 21. A heat conduction plate 22 is arranged below the target material mounting position 21, the top surface of the heat conduction plate 22 is tightly attached to the back surface of the sputtering target material 3, and the lower part is provided with a cooling water groove 23 as a cooling mechanism, which contains cooling water (not shown in the figure), and the sputtering target material 3 is cooled by the cooling water and the heat conduction plate 22.

[0032] A mounting seat 24 is arranged below the cooling water groove 23, which is fixedly installed at the bottom of the negative electrode base 2, and a front driving device 5 (see Figure 3 ) and a rear driving device 6 (see Figure 3 ) are arranged respectively at the front side and the rear side of the mounting seat 24. The front driving device 5 comprises a driving motor 51 and a rotating seat 52 arranged on the rotating shaft of the driving motor 51, the rotating seat 52 extends to the front of the mounting seat 24 (see Figure 2 ), and under the driving of the driving motor 51, it can rotate forward and backward relative to the mounting seat 24 around the horizontal axis of the rotating shaft of the driving motor 51. The rear driving device 6 is the same as the front driving device 5, and is symmetrical in front and back, and also comprises a driving motor 61 and a rotating seat 62. Three vertical magnets 71, 72 and 73 are arranged in front and back along the passing direction of the curved glass 4, and are arranged in parallel with each other, wherein the middle magnet 72 is fixedly installed in the middle part 42 of the mounting seat 24, the front magnet 71 is fixedly installed on the rotating seat 52 of the front driving device 5, and the rear magnet 73 is fixedly installed on the rotating seat 62 of the rear driving device 6. The front magnet 71 and the rear magnet 73 can respectively rotate forward or backward around the horizontal axis with the corresponding rotating seat 52, 62 to deflect forward or backward. The S-pole of the middle magnet 72 is upwardly aligned with the back of the target material mounting position 21, and the N-pole is downwardly aligned with the mounting seat 24, and the N-pole of the front magnet 71 and the rear magnet 73 is upwardly aligned with the back of the target material mounting position 21, and the S-pole is downwardly aligned with the rotating seat 52, 62. In this way, the three magnets 71, 72 and 73 form two main magnetic induction line areas 81 and 82 in front of the target material mounting position 21, and the front magnet 71 deflects forward or backward to make the front main magnetic induction line area 81 larger or smaller, and the rear magnet 73 deflects forward or backward to make the rear main magnetic induction line area 82 smaller or larger.

[0033] The on-line variable sputtering device for coating curved glass is provided with a controller (not shown in the figure) for facilitating real-time adjustment of the sizes of the two main magnetic field regions 81, 82. The controller is preprogrammed according to the curved shape of the curved glass 4 to be coated, and controls the drive motors 51 and 61 of the front and rear drive devices 5 and 6, respectively, to drive the corresponding rotating seats 52 and 62 to rotate in the forward or reverse direction around the horizontal axis according to the preprogrammed control program. See Figure 4 When the curved glass 4 to be coated is conveyed to the position where the front part 41 thereof is located directly above the sputtering target 3 (i.e. the main sputtering region), the front part 41 to be coated is relatively close to the sputtering target 3, and the thickness of the film layer to be coated will be too thick under normal circumstances. Therefore, the controller of the on-line variable sputtering device for coating curved glass controls the drive motor 51 of the front drive device 5 to drive the rotating seat 52 and the front magnet 71 mounted thereon to rotate in the reverse direction around the horizontal axis, so that the front magnet 71 is deflected backward, and the front main magnetic field region 81 becomes smaller. At the same time, the controller controls the drive motor 61 of the rear drive device 6 to drive the rotating seat 62 and the rear magnet 73 mounted thereon to rotate in the forward direction around the horizontal axis, so that the rear magnet 73 is deflected forward, and the rear main magnetic field region 82 becomes smaller. The two main magnetic field regions 81 and 82 are shown in Figure 4 As the two main magnetic field regions 81 and 82 located in front of the sputtering target 3 become smaller, the number of electrons and argon ions covered becomes smaller, the number of target atoms sputtered from the upper surface of the sputtering target 3 becomes smaller, the sputtering amount becomes smaller, and the number of target atoms deposited on the front part 41 of the curved glass 4 within the same time period becomes smaller, so that the film thickness of the front part 41 of the curved glass 4, which is relatively close to the sputtering target 3, can be kept at a normal value without being too thick.

[0034] During the continuous conveying of the curved glass 4 to be coated, the preprogrammed control program of the controller is associated with the shape of the lower surface of the curved glass 4, and the two drive motors 51 and 61 are controlled to drive the corresponding rotating seats 52 and 62 to rotate in the forward or reverse direction around the horizontal axis according to the preprogrammed control program, so that the sizes of the two main magnetic field regions 81 and 82 change accordingly. When the curved glass 4 is conveyed to the position where the middle part 42 thereof is located directly above the sputtering target 3, the controller controls the drive motor 51 of the front drive device 5 to drive the rotating seat 52 and the front magnet 71 mounted thereon to rotate in the forward direction around the horizontal axis, so that the front magnet 71 is deflected forward, and the front main magnetic field region 81 becomes larger. At the same time, the controller controls the drive motor 61 of the rear drive device 6 to drive the rotating seat 62 and the rear magnet 73 mounted thereon to rotate in the reverse direction around the horizontal axis, so that the rear magnet 73 is deflected backward, and the rear main magnetic field region 82 becomes smaller. The two main magnetic field regions 81 and 82 are shown in Figure 5As shown, the middle part 42 of the curved glass to be coated is far away from the sputtering target 3, and the thickness of the film coated under normal circumstances will be too thin. Therefore, the controller of the on-line variable sputtering equipment for coating curved glass controls the driving motor 51 of the front driving device 5 to drive the rotating seat 52 and the front magnet 71 mounted on the rotating seat 52 to rotate forward around the horizontal axis of the rotating shaft, so that the front magnet 71 is deflected forward (the front magnet 71 in the figure is not vertical but slightly inclined forward), and the area 81 of the main magnetic induction line in front will become larger; at the same time, the driving motor 61 of the rear driving device 6 is controlled to drive the rotating seat 62 and the rear magnet 73 mounted on the rotating seat 62 to rotate reversely around the horizontal axis of the rotating shaft, so that the rear magnet 73 is deflected backward (the rear magnet 73 in the figure is not vertical but slightly inclined backward), and the area 82 of the main magnetic induction line in the rear will become larger. The two main magnetic induction line areas 81, 82 are as shown. Figure 5 As the two main magnetic induction line areas 81, 82 in front of the sputtering target 3 become larger, the number of electrons and argon ions covered will become larger, the number of target atoms sputtered from the upper surface of the sputtering target 3 will become larger, the sputtering amount will become larger, and the number of target atoms deposited into the middle part 42 of the curved glass 4 within the same time will become larger, so that the film thickness of the middle part 42 of the curved glass 4 far away from the sputtering target 3 can be kept at a normal value without being too thin. In this way, the whole curved glass 4 passes through the on-line variable sputtering equipment for coating curved glass, and the sputtering target 3 uniformly coats a film on the lower surface, i.e., the coating operation is completed.

[0035] In this embodiment, the on-line variable sputtering equipment for coating curved glass is provided with three magnets 71, 72, 73, thereby forming two main magnetic induction line areas 81, 82 in front and in the rear, and the production personnel can control the front driving device 5 and the rear driving device 6 of the on-line variable sputtering equipment for coating curved glass to drive the front magnet 71 and the rear magnet 73 to deflect, respectively, so as to adjust the sizes of the two main magnetic induction line areas 81, 82 in this way. The sizes of the two main magnetic induction line areas 81, 82 can not be completely the same. Alternatively, the on-line variable sputtering equipment for coating curved glass can be provided with only two magnets, for example, without the rear magnet 73 in this embodiment, and only the front magnet 71 and the middle magnet 72 in this embodiment are reserved, so that only one main magnetic induction line area 81 will be formed in front of the sputtering target 3.

[0036] The above description is only an embodiment of the present application, and does not limit the patent protection range. Those skilled in the art can make non-essential changes or substitutions on the basis of the present application, and still fall within the patent protection range.

Claims

1. A curved glass coating on-line variable sputtering device, comprising a positive electrode base and a negative electrode base capable of being installed on a production line, the positive electrode base and the negative electrode base being oppositely and spaced apart, and between which a curved glass to be coated passes in a front-rear direction; the negative electrode base is provided with a target material installation position aligned with the positive electrode base for installation of a sputtering target material; two magnets are vertically installed on the negative electrode base, the two magnets being located at the back of the target material installation position, being spaced apart in the front-rear direction along the passing direction of the curved glass, and being placed parallel to each other, one of the magnets having an S pole aligned with the target material installation position and the other magnet having an N pole aligned with the target material installation position, so as to form a main magnetic induction line area on the front surface of the target material installation position; characterized in that a driving device is provided to drive the magnets to deflect, so as to increase or decrease the main magnetic induction line area.

2. The sputtering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein The driving device comprises a rotating seat, and the magnets are installed on the rotating seat.

3. The sputtering apparatus of claim 1, wherein The positive electrode base is located above and the negative electrode base is located below.

4. The sputtering apparatus of claim 1, wherein The magnets have at least three, the three magnets being located at the back of the target material installation position, being spaced apart in the front-rear direction along the passing direction of the curved glass, and being placed parallel to each other, the middle magnet having an S pole aligned with the target material installation position and the front and rear magnets having N poles aligned with the target material installation position, the three magnets forming a front and rear main magnetic induction line area on the front surface of the target material installation position.

5. The sputtering apparatus of claim 2, wherein The driving device has at least two, the two driving devices being spaced apart in front and rear, the front magnet being installed on the rotating seat of the front driving device and the rear magnet being installed on the rotating seat of the rear driving device.

6. The sputtering apparatus of claim 1, wherein A cooling mechanism is provided on the negative electrode base, which cools the sputtering target material installed in the target material installation position.

7. The sputtering apparatus of claim 1, wherein A controller is provided, which controls the driving device.

8. Sputter device according to any of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The sputtering target material is provided.

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