A multi-target winding coating system

Abstract

This utility model discloses a multi-target roll-to-roll coating system, including a water-cooled coating roller, multiple vacuum coating chambers, multiple isolation chambers, a transition chamber, an unwinding chamber, and a rewinding chamber. Along the substrate conveying direction, the vacuum coating chambers and isolation chambers are alternately distributed on the outer periphery of the water-cooled coating roller. A transition chamber is provided between the two vacuum coating chambers located at the substrate inlet and substrate outlet ends. The unwinding chamber and rewinding chamber are both connected to the transition chamber. Each vacuum coating chamber is also connected to a coating chamber evacuation mechanism, each isolation chamber is also connected to an isolation chamber evacuation mechanism, and the transition chamber is also connected to a transition chamber evacuation mechanism. This roll-to-roll coating system has a simple structure and is easy to modify based on existing roll-to-roll coating systems. After application in production, it can effectively prevent the cross-contamination of reactive gases between adjacent coating chambers, significantly improving the coating quality and effect of the substrate. It can be better applied to the processing of multi-layer films with different media and requiring different reactive gases.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of vacuum coating technology, and in particular to a multi-target winding coating system. Background Technology

[0002] Roll-to-roll coating systems are commonly used in vacuum coating processes for flexible substrates. Since these systems are typically integrated units, when multiple layers of coating are required, multiple vacuum coating chambers are usually arranged around the periphery of a water-cooled coating roller to coat each layer. However, in existing roll-to-roll coating systems, the coating chambers are continuously arranged around the periphery of the water-cooled coating roller, and one or two sets of vacuum equipment are generally used to simultaneously evacuate multiple chambers. In actual production, this easily leads to the following problems: Because channels for the substrate must pass through each coating chamber, reactant gases can cross-contaminate between adjacent chambers during continuous production. This can affect the vacuum level within the coating chambers. Furthermore, when different materials are to be coated, different reactant gases are required in the corresponding vacuum coating chambers. The cross-contamination of these reactant gases can easily introduce impurities into the coated film, affecting the coating effect on the substrate. Utility Model Content

[0003] The purpose of this invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and provide a multi-target roll-up coating system that can effectively prevent the cross-contamination of reactive gases between adjacent coating chambers and improve the coating effect of the substrate.

[0004] The technical solution of this utility model is as follows: a multi-target roll-to-roll coating system, comprising a water-cooled coating roller, multiple vacuum coating chambers, multiple isolation chambers, a transition chamber, an unwinding chamber, and a rewinding chamber. Along the substrate conveying direction, the vacuum coating chambers and isolation chambers are alternately distributed on the outer periphery of the water-cooled coating roller. A transition chamber is provided between two vacuum coating chambers located at the substrate inlet and substrate outlet ends. The unwinding chamber and the rewinding chamber are both connected to the transition chamber. Each vacuum coating chamber is also connected to a coating chamber extraction mechanism, each isolation chamber is also connected to an isolation chamber extraction mechanism, and the transition chamber is also connected to a transition chamber extraction mechanism. In this structure, by adding an isolation chamber between any two adjacent vacuum coating chambers, and connecting the isolation chamber to a corresponding isolation chamber extraction mechanism, during continuous coating processing, some of the working gas in the vacuum coating chamber flows into the isolation chamber through a partition and is then extracted by the isolation chamber extraction mechanism. This prevents the working gas in adjacent vacuum coating chambers from interconnecting and affecting the purity of the coated layer, thereby improving the coating quality and effect of the substrate.

[0005] The surface of the water-cooled coating roller has a channel between itself and the vacuum coating chamber, isolation chamber, and transition chamber for the substrate to pass through. The width of the channel can be set according to the actual thickness of the substrate being processed.

[0006] The vacuum pumping mechanism for the coating chambers consists of molecular pumps, with each vacuum coating chamber connected to a separate molecular pump. Each vacuum coating chamber contains a pair of rotating magnetron targets and is filled with a working gas corresponding to the coating layer. By utilizing these independent molecular pumps, the vacuum level within the vacuum coating chamber can be maintained at 3 × 10⁻⁶ during the coating process. - 1 Within the range of Pa, and each vacuum coating chamber does not interfere with the others.

[0007] The vacuum extraction mechanism for each isolation chamber is a molecular pump, with each isolation chamber connected to an independent molecular pump. By providing an independent molecular pump for each isolation chamber, the vacuum level in each chamber can be controlled at 10 during the coating process. -2 ~ 10 -3 Within the range of Pa, when the working gas of an adjacent vacuum coating chamber enters the isolation chamber, it can be quickly pumped out by the molecular pump in the isolation chamber to prevent the working gases of adjacent vacuum coating chambers from interconnecting and affecting each other.

[0008] The transition chamber air extraction mechanism is a transition chamber air extraction molecular pump. The outer wall of the unwinding chamber is also equipped with a corresponding unwinding chamber air extraction molecular pump, and the outer wall of the winding chamber is also equipped with a corresponding winding chamber air extraction molecular pump.

[0009] Vacuum lock valves are respectively installed at the connection between the transition chamber and the unwinding chamber, and at the connection between the transition chamber and the winding chamber.

[0010] The unwinding chamber and rewinding chamber are respectively located on the top two sides of the transition chamber, which is situated above the water-cooled coating roller. The vacuum coating chambers and isolation chambers are alternately distributed along the outer periphery of the water-cooled coating roller on both sides of the transition chamber. This structural design makes the entire roll-to-roll coating system more compact, allowing for more than ten pairs of rotating magnetron targets (corresponding to more than ten vacuum coating chambers) to be distributed around the outer periphery of a single water-cooled coating roller. This effectively achieves one-time forming of thicker film layers on the substrate, simplifies the coating process, reduces the control difficulty of the roll-to-roll coating system, and avoids the problem of scratches on the substrate or film layer caused by asynchronous operation of multiple water-cooled coating rollers during the winding process. Furthermore, placing the unwinding and rewinding chambers above the water-cooled coating roller makes the overall equipment structure more compact, significantly reducing the film travel length and minimizing waste of ineffective film (substrate) at the end of the coating process.

[0011] A partition is installed between adjacent vacuum coating chambers and isolation chambers, with one side of the partition being the vacuum coating chamber and the other side being the isolation chamber. This partition isolates adjacent vacuum coating chambers from the isolation chamber, creating two independent vacuum chambers. This structure is simple to implement and facilitates improvements to existing roll-to-roll coating equipment. It also enables the creation of compact roll-to-roll coating systems.

[0012] In the unwinding chamber, a heater is provided between each guide roller after the substrate is released from the unwinding roller, which can preheat the substrate to further improve the coating effect of the substrate.

[0013] In the unwinding chamber, an unwinding tension measuring roller is installed at the exit of the substrate; in the winding chamber, a winding tension measuring roller is installed at the entrance of the substrate. Both the unwinding tension measuring roller and the winding tension measuring roller are used to detect the tension of the substrate in real time during the substrate conveying process to ensure smooth substrate conveying.

[0014] The above-mentioned roll-to-roll coating system operates on the following principle: After the substrate is released from the unwinding chamber, it first enters the transition chamber for surface treatment using an ion source. Then, it is conveyed by the rotation of the water-cooled coating roller, sequentially passing through each vacuum coating chamber for coating. After all film layers are coated, the substrate re-enters the transition chamber and then enters the rewinding chamber for winding. During the coating process, an isolation chamber is added between any two adjacent vacuum coating chambers. Therefore, during continuous coating, some of the working gas in each vacuum coating chamber flows into its adjacent isolation chamber through a partition and is then removed by the corresponding isolation chamber's pump. This prevents the working gas in adjacent vacuum coating chambers from interconnecting and affecting the purity of the coated layer, thereby improving the coating quality and effect on the substrate.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, this utility model has the following advantages: This roll-to-roll coating system has a simple structure and is easy to modify based on existing roll-to-roll coating systems. When applied to production, it effectively prevents cross-contamination of reactant gases between adjacent coating chambers, significantly improving the coating quality and effect on the substrate. It can be better applied to the processing of multi-layer films with different media and requiring different reactant gases.

[0016] This roll-to-roll coating system has a compact structure. More than ten pairs of rotating magnetron targets can be distributed on the outer circumference of a single water-cooled coating roller (which corresponds to more than ten vacuum coating chambers). This effectively achieves one-time forming of thicker film layers on substrates, simplifies the coating process, reduces the control difficulty of the roll-to-roll coating system, and avoids the problem of scratches on the substrate or film layer caused by asynchronous operation of the rollers during the winding process when using multiple water-cooled coating rollers.

[0017] Meanwhile, in this roll-to-roll coating system, the unwinding chamber and the rewinding chamber are placed above the water-cooled coating roller, making the overall equipment structure more compact and greatly reducing the length of film travel, thus minimizing the waste of ineffective film (substrate) at the end of coating. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of this roll-to-roll coating system.

[0019] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A magnified view of a section showing the alternating distribution of vacuum coating chambers and isolation chambers.

[0020] The components indicated by the reference numerals in the above figures are as follows: 1 is a water-cooled coating roller, 2 is a vacuum coating chamber, 3 is an isolation chamber, 4 is a transition chamber, 5 is an unwinding chamber, 6 is a winding chamber, 7 is a molecular pump for evacuating air from the coating chamber, 8 is a molecular pump for evacuating air from the isolation chamber, 9 is a molecular pump for evacuating air from the transition chamber, 10 is a molecular pump for evacuating air from the unwinding chamber, 11 is a molecular pump for evacuating air from the winding chamber, 12 is a vacuum lock valve, 13 is a partition, 14 is an unwinding roller, 15 is a guide roller, 16 is a heater, 17 is an unwinding tension measuring roller, 18 is a winding tension measuring roller, 19 is a winding roller, 20 is an ion source, 21 is a rotating magnetron target, and 22 is a substrate. Detailed Implementation

[0021] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the embodiments, but the implementation of the present invention is not limited thereto. Example

[0022] This embodiment describes a multi-target roll-to-roll coating system, such as... Figure 1 As shown, the structure includes a water-cooled coating roller 1, multiple vacuum coating chambers 2, multiple isolation chambers 3, a transition chamber 4, an unwinding chamber 5, and a rewinding chamber 6. Along the conveying direction of the substrate 22, the vacuum coating chambers and isolation chambers are alternately distributed on the outer periphery of the water-cooled coating roller. A transition chamber is provided between the two vacuum coating chambers located at the substrate inlet and substrate outlet ends. The unwinding chamber and the rewinding chamber are both connected to the transition chamber. Each vacuum coating chamber is also connected to a coating chamber extraction mechanism, each isolation chamber is also connected to an isolation chamber extraction mechanism, and the transition chamber is also connected to a transition chamber extraction mechanism. In this structure, by adding an isolation chamber between any two adjacent vacuum coating chambers and connecting the isolation chamber to a corresponding isolation chamber extraction mechanism, during continuous coating processing, some of the working gas in the vacuum coating chamber flows into the isolation chamber through a partition and is then extracted by the isolation chamber extraction mechanism. This prevents the working gas in adjacent vacuum coating chambers from interconnecting and affecting the purity of the coated layer, thereby improving the coating quality and effect of the substrate.

[0023] In the above structure, a channel is provided between the surface of the water-cooled coating roller and the vacuum coating chamber, isolation chamber, and transition chamber for the substrate to pass through. The width of the channel can be set according to the actual thickness of the substrate being processed.

[0024] The vacuum pumping mechanism for the coating chamber consists of a vacuum pumping molecular pump 7, with each vacuum coating chamber individually connected to one pump. Each vacuum coating chamber is equipped with a pair of rotating magnetron targets 21 and filled with a working gas corresponding to the coating layer. Using these independent vacuum pumps, the vacuum level within the vacuum coating chamber can be maintained at 3 × 10⁻⁶ during the coating process. -1Within the Pa range, and without interference between the vacuum coating chambers. The isolation chamber evacuation mechanism consists of an isolation chamber evacuation molecular pump 8, with each isolation chamber connected to an independent isolation chamber evacuation molecular pump. By setting an independent isolation chamber evacuation molecular pump for each isolation chamber, the vacuum level of each isolation chamber can be ensured to be controlled within 10 Pa during the coating process. -2 ~ 10 -3 Within the range of Pa, when the working gas of an adjacent vacuum coating chamber enters the isolation chamber, it can be quickly removed by the isolation chamber molecular pump to prevent the working gases of adjacent vacuum coating chambers from interconnecting and affecting each other. The transition chamber evacuation mechanism is a transition chamber evacuation molecular pump 9, and the outer wall of the unwinding chamber is also equipped with a corresponding unwinding chamber evacuation molecular pump 10, and the outer wall of the winding chamber is also equipped with a corresponding winding chamber evacuation molecular pump 11.

[0025] Vacuum lock valves 12 are installed at the connection between the transition chamber and the unwinding chamber, and at the connection between the transition chamber and the winding chamber. For example... Figure 1 As shown, the unwinding chamber and the rewinding chamber are located on the top sides of the transition chamber, which is situated above the water-cooled coating roller. The vacuum coating chambers and isolation chambers are alternately distributed along the outer periphery of the water-cooled coating roller on both sides of the transition chamber. This structural design makes the entire roll-to-roll coating system more compact, allowing for the distribution of more than ten pairs of rotating magnetron targets (corresponding to more than ten vacuum coating chambers) on the outer periphery of a single water-cooled coating roller. This effectively achieves one-time forming of thicker film layers on the substrate, simplifies the coating process, reduces the control difficulty of the roll-to-roll coating system, and avoids the problem of scratches on the substrate or film layer caused by asynchronous operation of multiple water-cooled coating rollers during the winding process. Furthermore, placing the unwinding and rewinding chambers above the water-cooled coating roller makes the overall equipment structure more compact, significantly reducing the film travel length and minimizing waste of ineffective film (substrate) at the end of the coating process.

[0026] like Figure 2 As shown, a partition 13 is installed between adjacent vacuum coating chambers and isolation chambers. One side of the partition is the vacuum coating chamber, and the other side is the isolation chamber. The partition isolates the adjacent vacuum coating chambers and isolation chambers, forming two independent vacuum chambers. This structure is simple and easy to implement, and it is convenient to improve existing roll-to-roll coating equipment. At the same time, it can also realize a compact roll-to-roll coating equipment.

[0027] In the unwinding chamber, a heater 16 is provided between each guide roller 15 after the substrate is released from the unwinding roller 14, which can preheat the substrate to further improve the coating effect. In the unwinding chamber, an unwinding tension measuring roller 17 is provided at the substrate exit; in the winding chamber, a winding tension measuring roller 18 is provided at the substrate entrance. Both the unwinding tension measuring roller and the winding tension measuring roller are used to detect the tension of the substrate in real time during the substrate conveying process to ensure smooth substrate conveying.

[0028] The above-mentioned roll-to-roll coating system operates as follows: After the substrate is released from the unwinding chamber, it first enters the transition chamber and undergoes surface treatment via the ion source 20. Then, it is conveyed by the rotation of the water-cooled coating rollers, sequentially passing through each vacuum coating chamber for coating. After all film layers are coated, the substrate re-enters the transition chamber and then enters the winding chamber where it is wound up by the winding roller 19. During the coating process, because an isolation chamber is added between any two adjacent vacuum coating chambers, during continuous coating, some of the working gas in each vacuum coating chamber flows into its adjacent isolation chamber through a partition and is then removed by the corresponding isolation chamber pump. This prevents the working gas in adjacent vacuum coating chambers from interconnecting and affecting the purity of the coated layer, thereby improving the coating quality and effect of the substrate.

[0029] As described above, the present invention can be well implemented. The above embodiments are only preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of implementation of the present invention. That is, all equivalent changes and modifications made in accordance with the content of the present invention are covered by the scope of protection claimed by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A multi-target roll-to-roll coating system, characterized in that, It includes a water-cooled coating roller, multiple vacuum coating chambers, multiple isolation chambers, a transition chamber, an unwinding chamber, and a rewinding chamber. Along the substrate conveying direction, each vacuum coating chamber and each isolation chamber is alternately distributed on the outer periphery of the water-cooled coating roller. A transition chamber is provided between the two vacuum coating chambers located at the substrate inlet end and the substrate outlet end. The unwinding chamber and the rewinding chamber are connected to the transition chamber. Each vacuum coating chamber is also connected to a coating chamber evacuation mechanism, each isolation chamber is also connected to an isolation chamber evacuation mechanism, and the transition chamber is also connected to a transition chamber evacuation mechanism.

2. The multi-target roll-to-roll coating system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The surface of the water-cooled coating roller has a channel between it and the vacuum coating chamber, isolation chamber, and transition chamber for the substrate to pass through.

3. The multi-target roll-to-roll coating system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The vacuum pumping mechanism for the coating chamber is a vacuum pumping molecular pump, with each vacuum coating chamber connected to a separate vacuum pumping molecular pump.

4. The multi-target wrap-around coating system of claim 1, wherein: The air extraction mechanism of the isolation chamber is an isolation chamber air extraction molecular pump, and each isolation chamber is individually connected to an isolation chamber air extraction molecular pump.

5. The multi-target roll-to-roll coating system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The transition chamber extraction mechanism is a transition chamber extraction molecular pump.

6. The multi-target roll-to-roll coating system according to claim 1, characterized in that, Vacuum lock valves are respectively installed at the connection between the transition chamber and the unwinding chamber, and at the connection between the transition chamber and the winding chamber.

7. The multi-target roll-to-roll coating system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The unwinding chamber and the rewinding chamber are respectively located on the top two sides of the transition chamber. The transition chamber is located above the water-cooled coating roller. Each vacuum coating chamber and each isolation chamber are alternately distributed along the outer periphery of the water-cooled coating roller on both sides of the transition chamber.

8. The multi-target roll-to-roll coating system according to claim 1, characterized in that, A partition is installed between adjacent vacuum coating chambers and isolation chambers, with the vacuum coating chamber on one side of the partition and the isolation chamber on the other side.

9. The multi-target roll-to-roll coating system according to claim 1, characterized in that, In the unwinding chamber, a heater is provided between each guide roller after the substrate is released from the unwinding roller.

10. The multi-target roll-to-roll coating system according to claim 1, characterized in that, In the unwinding chamber, an unwinding tension measuring roller is provided at the exit of the substrate; in the winding chamber, a winding tension measuring roller is provided at the entrance of the substrate.

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