Vacuum Arc Deposition Equipment

Abstract

By evaporating a negative electrode member (11), this vacuum arc vapor deposition device (1) deposits the material of the negative electrode member (11) on the surface of a substrate. The vacuum arc vapor deposition device (1) is provided with a trigger (12) which starts arc discharge by contacting the discharge surface of the negative electrode member (11); a delivery mechanism (13) which delivers the negative electrode member (11) towards the trigger (12); and a moving mechanism (14) which moves the trigger (12) such that position of contact between the discharge surface and the trigger (12) is changed within the discharge surface.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vacuum arc deposition apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] Hard carbon films, which are mainly composed of carbon and are generally called DLC (Diamond-Like Carbon) films, have been attracting attention in recent years as materials with low friction and excellent adhesion resistance. Such DLC films are broadly divided into hydrogen-containing DLC ​​films, which are formed using hydrocarbon gas as the carbon raw material, and hydrogen-free DLC films, which are formed using solid carbon as the carbon raw material. Among these, hydrogen-free DLC films in particular have high hardness and heat resistance, and also have a small coefficient of friction in oil, so they are used as surface treatment films for substrates such as molds for lens molding, automobile parts, and tools.

[0003] Furthermore, as an apparatus for depositing a film on the surface of a substrate, a vacuum arc plasma deposition apparatus is disclosed in Patent Document 1. The vacuum arc plasma deposition apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a cathode which is an evaporation source, a trigger electrode which ignites an arc discharge by contacting the cathode, releases a cathode material, and generates plasma, and a rotating shaft which rotates the trigger electrode in the opposite direction. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication "JP 2019-112708 A" Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the vacuum arc plasma deposition apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, when a metallic cathode is used, the arc spot moves actively when the trigger electrode comes into contact with the cathode, so there is little possibility that the cathode will be worn unevenly at the contact portion with the trigger electrode. However, in the vacuum arc plasma deposition apparatus, when a cathode mainly composed of carbon is used, the arc spot does not move easily when the trigger electrode comes into contact with the cathode, so there is a problem that the cathode will be worn unevenly at the contact portion with the trigger electrode.

[0006] An aspect of the present invention aims to reduce the cost of a negative electrode member by improving the utilization efficiency of the negative electrode member by uniformly wearing down the discharge surface of the negative electrode member even when the negative electrode member is made mainly of carbon. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A vacuum arc deposition apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention is a vacuum arc deposition apparatus that deposits a material of a cathode member mainly composed of carbon on a surface of a substrate by evaporating the cathode member by arc discharge, and includes a trigger that starts the arc discharge by contacting a discharge surface of the cathode member, a sending mechanism that sends the cathode member toward the trigger, and a moving mechanism that moves the trigger so that the contact point between the discharge surface and the trigger is changed within the discharge surface. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to one aspect of the present invention, even when a negative electrode member containing carbon as a main material is used, the discharge surface of the negative electrode member is uniformly worn to improve the utilization efficiency of the negative electrode member, thereby making it possible to reduce the cost associated with the negative electrode member. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a vacuum arc deposition apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2]2 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of an arc evaporation source provided in the vacuum arc evaporation apparatus shown in FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a cathode member and a trigger provided in the arc evaporation source shown in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] 3 is a diagram for explaining movement of a trigger by a movement mechanism included in the arc evaporation source shown in FIG. 2. FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a cathode member and a trigger provided in a vacuum arc evaporation apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] [Embodiment 1] (Configuration of Vacuum Arc Evaporation Apparatus 1) Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a vacuum arc deposition apparatus 1 according to embodiment 1 of the present invention. In Fig. 1, the direction from the negative electrode member 11 toward the trigger 12 is the positive X direction, the direction from the duct 20 toward the container 30 is the positive Z direction, and the direction perpendicular to the positive X direction and the positive Z direction is the Y direction.

[0011] As shown in Fig. 1, the vacuum arc deposition apparatus 1 includes an arc evaporation source 10, a duct 20, a magnetic field generating member 21, a filter 22, a container 30, and a rotary table 31. The vacuum arc deposition apparatus 1 is an apparatus that deposits the material of the cathode member 11 on the surface of a substrate 32 by evaporating the cathode member 11, which is mainly composed of carbon, by arc discharge. In other words, the vacuum arc deposition apparatus 1 is an FVA (Filtered Vacuum Arc) type apparatus that forms a DLC film as the material of the cathode member 11 on the surface of the substrate 32. The DLC film does not contain hydrogen.

[0012] (Configuration of arc evaporation source 10) Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an arc evaporation source 10 provided in the vacuum arc evaporation apparatus 1 shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the configurations of a cathode member 11 and a trigger 12 provided in the arc evaporation source 10 shown in Fig. 2. As shown in Fig. 2, the arc evaporation source 10 includes the cathode member 11, the trigger 12, a delivery mechanism 13, a moving mechanism 14, a protective resistor 15, an arc power supply 16, and a container 17. The arc evaporation source 10 is a mechanism for evaporating the cathode member 11.

[0013] (Configuration of negative electrode member 11) The negative electrode member 11 is a columnar member protruding toward the trigger 12 and is a member mainly composed of graphite carbon. The negative electrode member 11 is connected to the delivery mechanism 13 via a connection member 131. The shape of the negative electrode member 11 is cylindrical. The diameter of the negative electrode member 11 is 50 mm, and the length of the negative electrode member 11 along the X direction is 250 mm. The shape of the negative electrode member 11 is not limited to a cylindrical shape and may be, for example, a triangular prism or a quadrangular prism.

[0014] (Configuring Trigger 12) 3, the trigger 12 is a member that starts an arc discharge by coming into contact with the discharge surface 11A of the negative electrode member 11. The trigger 12 is plate-shaped or rod-shaped and extends in the Z direction. When the trigger 12 is plate-shaped, the side surface 12A of the trigger 12 may be perpendicular to the discharge surface 11A, or the side surface 12A may be inclined with respect to the discharge surface 11A. The trigger 12 is made of a high-melting point material such as a carbon fiber reinforced carbon matrix composite (CC composite), molybdenum, or tungsten.

[0015] Furthermore, trigger 12 has contact portion 12B that extends in the Z direction and makes contact with discharge surface 11A. Contact portion 12B of trigger 12 may face discharge surface 11A. When trigger 12 faces discharge surface 11A, length L1 of contact portion 12B along the extension direction of trigger 12 is equal to or greater than length L2 of discharge surface 11A along said extension direction. This allows contact portion 12B of trigger 12 to correspond to the entire surface of discharge surface 11A, thereby allowing discharge surface 11A to be worn evenly.

[0016] (Configuration of the sending mechanism 13) The delivery mechanism 13 delivers the negative electrode member 11 toward the trigger 12. Specifically, the delivery mechanism 13 may deliver the negative electrode member 11 toward the trigger 12 at a constant speed, or may deliver the negative electrode member 11 intermittently toward the trigger 12. This allows the trigger 12 and the discharge surface 11A of the negative electrode member 11 to be in uniform contact with each other, even if the negative electrode member 11 is worn away by the trigger 12, and allows the discharge surface 11A to be worn away uniformly.

[0017] The delivery mechanism 13 delivers the negative electrode member 11 toward the trigger 12 on the condition that the trigger moving operation by the moving mechanism 14 for bringing the trigger 12 into contact with the discharge surface 11A has been performed a predetermined number of times. The trigger moving operation is, for example, the reciprocating movement of the trigger 12. In other words, the delivery mechanism 13 delivers the negative electrode member 11 toward the trigger 12 on the condition that the reciprocating movement of the trigger 12 by the moving mechanism 14 has been performed a predetermined number of times.

[0018] There is a possibility that the negative electrode member 11 and the trigger 12 will no longer come into contact with each other due to wear of the negative electrode member 11 by the trigger 12. For this reason, by sending the negative electrode member 11 toward the trigger 12 after the trigger 12 has reciprocated a predetermined number of times, it is possible to send out the negative electrode member 11 toward the trigger 12 by the required amount. This allows the negative electrode member 11 and the trigger 12 to be in appropriate contact with each other, and the initiation of arc discharge by the trigger 12 can be stabilized.

[0019] (Configuration of moving mechanism 14) The moving mechanism 14 is connected to the rotating shaft 141, and rotates the rotating shaft 141 to which the trigger 12 is connected. The moving mechanism 14 moves the trigger 12 by rotating the rotating shaft 141. The trigger 12 is connected to the rotating shaft 141 via a connecting part 142. The moving mechanism 14 moves the trigger 12 so that the contact point between the discharge surface 11A and the trigger 12 is changed within the discharge surface 11A. This will be specifically described below.

[0020] 3, the movement mechanism 14 moves the trigger 12 from position P1 where the trigger 12 does not face the discharge surface 11A, through position P2 where the trigger 12 faces the discharge surface 11A, to position P3 where the trigger 12 does not face the discharge surface 11A. The movement mechanism 14 also moves the trigger 12 from position P3, through position P2, to position P1. The movement mechanism 14 does not stop the trigger 12 at position P2. This changes the contact point between the discharge surface 11A and the trigger 12 within the discharge surface 11A.

[0021] In this way, the movement mechanism 14 reciprocates the trigger 12 in an arc extending in the Y direction between positions P1 and P3. In other words, the movement mechanism 14 reciprocates the trigger 12 with the discharge surface 11A as a reference. When the trigger 12 is located at position P2, the contact portion 12B of the trigger 12 comes into contact with the discharge surface 11A, thereby starting an arc discharge.

[0022] The movement mechanism 14 reciprocates the trigger 12 with respect to the discharge surface 11A so that the time during which the trigger 12 moves is shorter than the time during which the trigger 12 stops. This makes it possible to start an arc discharge by the trigger 12, and also makes it possible to minimize the time during which the trigger 12 faces the discharge surface 11A when the trigger 12 moves. This allows the material of the negative electrode member 11 to be vapor-deposited on the surface of the substrate 32 to proceed smoothly.

[0023] (Other configurations of the arc evaporation source 10) Protective resistor 15 is connected between moving mechanism 14 and the positive electrode of arc power supply 16. This connects trigger 12 to the positive electrode of arc power supply 16. Protective resistor 15 is a resistor that prevents a large current from flowing through arc power supply 16 when trigger 12 comes into contact with discharge surface 11A to start an arc discharge.

[0024] The negative electrode of arc power supply 16 is connected to connection member 131, and cathode member 11 is connected to the negative electrode of arc power supply 16. As a result, a negative voltage is applied to cathode member 11 by arc power supply 16, and trigger 12 is grounded via protective resistor 15.

[0025] The accommodation section 17 is connected to the duct 20 and accommodates the negative electrode member 11. A space SP extending in the X direction is formed in the accommodation section 17, and the negative electrode member 11 is disposed in the space SP. A first opening 171 and a second opening 172 are formed in the accommodation section 17. The connection member 131 passes through the first opening 171, and the rotation shaft 141 passes through the second opening 172.

[0026] A magnetic field generating member 173 is disposed around the housing portion 17. The magnetic field generating member 173 is, for example, a magnetic coil, and is wound around the outer wall of the housing portion 17. The magnetic field generating member 173 guides the material of the negative electrode member 11, which is discharged from the discharge surface 11A by the arc discharge, to the duct 20.

[0027] The duct 20 is connected to the arc evaporation source 10 and the container 30, and serves to guide the material of the negative electrode member 11, which is discharged from the discharge surface 11A by the arc discharge, to the container 30. In this manner, the duct 20 forms a path from the discharge surface 11A to the container 30. The duct 20 extends in the positive direction of X and is bent in an arc shape toward the container 30.

[0028] At least one magnetic field generating member 21 is disposed around the duct 20. The magnetic field generating member 21 is, for example, a magnetic coil, and is wound around the outer wall of the duct 20. Both ends of the magnetic field generating member 21 are connected to a power source (not shown), and the material of the negative electrode member 11 discharged from the discharge surface 11A is bent along the duct 20 bent in an arc shape.

[0029] When a current flows through the magnetic field generating member 21 by a power source (not shown), a magnetic field is generated inside the duct 20. The magnetic field generating member 21 attracts the material of the negative electrode member 11 discharged from the discharge surface 11A by the arc discharge and bends the material of the negative electrode member 11 along the duct 20 by the magnetic field generated inside the duct 20.

[0030] As a result, the material of the negative electrode member 11 reaches the container 30. The material of the negative electrode member 11 that has arrived at the container 30 is evaporated onto the surface of the base material 32. In this manner, the magnetic field generating member 21 attracts the material of the negative electrode member 11 discharged from the discharge surface 11A, thereby guiding the material of the negative electrode member 11 to the container 30.

[0031] At least one filter 22 is disposed inside the duct 20. The filter 22 removes droplets contained in the material of the negative electrode member 11. The droplet particles contained in the material of the negative electrode member 11 discharged from the discharge surface 11A are larger and heavier than other particles contained in the material, and therefore remain inside the duct 20 without being attracted by the magnetic field generating member 21, and are removed by the filter 22.

[0032] The filter 22 is attached to the inner wall of the duct 20. The filter 22 is a plate with an opening at its center. Particles of the material of the negative electrode member 11 other than droplet particles pass through the opening at the center of the filter 22 and reach the inside of the container 30. The configuration for uniformly wearing away the discharge surface 11A of the negative electrode member 11 by the trigger 12 can also be applied to the vacuum arc deposition device 1 that removes droplets.

[0033] The container 30 contains a rotating table 31 and substrates 32. The inside of the container 30 is vacuum. The rotating table 31 holds a plurality of substrates 32 and rotates at a constant speed by a driving device (not shown). The substrates 32 are workpieces on which a film is to be formed, such as a mold for forming lenses, an automobile part, or a tool.

[0034] The substrate 32 rotates while revolving in conjunction with the rotation of the turntable 31 by a linkage mechanism (not shown). This allows a film to be formed uniformly on the surface of each of the multiple substrates 32. Although both the turntable 31 and the substrate 32 rotate, the rotation speed of the substrate 32 is faster than the rotation speed of the turntable 31, so that a film can be formed sufficiently on the surface of the substrate 32.

[0035] (Variation 1) As described above, the moving mechanism 14 rotates the trigger 12, but the moving mechanism 14 may also reciprocate the trigger 12 in one direction. For example, the moving mechanism 14 may reciprocate the trigger 12 in the Y direction, or may reciprocate the trigger 12 in the Z direction. When the moving mechanism 14 reciprocates the trigger 12 in the Z direction, the contact portion 12B of the trigger 12 extends in the Y direction.

[0036] (Variation 2) If the same place of the trigger 12 always comes into contact with the negative electrode member 11, the trigger 12 will wear out quickly and the tip surface of the trigger 12 will become uneven, causing ignition failure. Therefore, the movement mechanism 14 may relatively change the contact position of the trigger 12 with the negative electrode member 11 by moving the rotation shaft 141 in the Y direction or the Z direction.

[0037] By relatively changing the contact position of the trigger 12 with the negative electrode member 11 within the YZ plane, it is possible to reduce the number of times the same place of the trigger 12 comes into contact with the negative electrode member 11, thereby extending the life of the trigger 12. For example, even if 1000 ignitions are required to form a thick film on the surface of the substrate 32, it is possible to reduce ignition failures due to wear of the trigger 12 and to perform stable film formation for a long period of time without replacing the trigger 12 midway.

[0038] In this case, it is preferable that the length L1 of the trigger 12 is at least twice the length L2 of the discharge surface 11A. Methods for changing the contact position of the trigger 12 with the negative electrode member 11 include, for example, (i) slightly moving the trigger 12 in the YZ plane in synchronization with the progress of the negative electrode member 11, or (ii) significantly moving the trigger 12 in the middle of the film formation so that the entire tip of the negative electrode member 11 comes into contact with the unused portion of the trigger 12, but are not limited to these and various other methods may be used as appropriate.

[0039] (Movement of trigger 12 by moving mechanism 14) 4 is a diagram for explaining the movement of the trigger 12 by the movement mechanism 14 included in the arc evaporation source 10 shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 4, the discharge surface 11A may be inclined with respect to the X direction. The movement mechanism 14 may move the trigger 12 parallel to either the plane α or the projection plane PR. The plane α is a plane that includes three points A1, A2, and A3 on the circumference C1 of the discharge surface 11A, and the projection plane PR is a projection plane obtained by projecting the discharge surface 11A onto a plane β perpendicular to the traveling direction of the negative electrode member 11, that is, the positive direction of X.

[0040] For example, the movement mechanism 14 may move the trigger 12 in a direction D1 or D2 parallel to the plane α, or in a direction D3 or D4 parallel to the projection plane PR. In the case of Fig. 3, the movement mechanism 14 moves the trigger 12 parallel to the projection plane PR.

[0041] [Example] A graphite carbon cathode member 11 having a diameter of 50 mm and a length of 250 mm and a CC composite trigger 12 were used, and the cathode member 11 was fed out at a rate of 2 mm per hour by a feed mechanism 13. At this time, arc discharge was started with an arc current of 150 A to form a film on the substrate 32. As a result, a film could be formed on the substrate 32 for a total of about 100 hours, and the discharge surface 11A of the cathode member 11 could be uniformly worn away.

[0042] As a result, even when using a negative electrode member 11 whose main material is carbon, which makes it difficult for the arc spot to move, the discharge surface 11A of the negative electrode member 11 is uniformly worn by the moving trigger 12. This improves the utilization efficiency of the negative electrode member 11, and reduces the cost of the negative electrode member 11. In addition, since long-term discharge is possible, the film formed on the surface of the substrate 32 by vapor deposition of the material of the negative electrode member 11 can be made thicker.

[0043] [Embodiment 2] A second embodiment of the present invention will be described below. For convenience of explanation, the same reference numerals are given to members having the same functions as those described in the first embodiment, and the explanations thereof will not be repeated. Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a negative electrode member 11 and a trigger 121 provided in a vacuum arc deposition apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0044] The vacuum arc evaporation apparatus according to the second embodiment differs from the vacuum arc evaporation apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment in that the trigger 12 is changed to a trigger 121. The trigger 121 has a plurality of plate-like members 121A. The shapes of the plurality of plate-like members 121A are similar to the shape of the trigger 12.

[0045] The multiple plate-like members 121A are connected to the connection portion 142 and are arranged concentrically at equal intervals around the connection portion 142. The movement mechanism 14 rotates the multiple plate-like members 121A by rotating the rotation shaft 141 connected to the connection portion 142. As a result, each plate-like member 121A comes into contact with the discharge surface 11A in order.

[0046] The rotating shaft 141 and the connecting portion 142 are disposed at a position offset from the negative electrode member 11 on the YZ plane. The moving mechanism 14 intermittently rotates the plurality of plate-like members 121A. In this case, the operation of the moving mechanism 14 to rotate the rotating shaft 141 and the connecting portion 142 by a predetermined angle so that at least one plate-like member 121A contacts the discharge surface 11A corresponds to an example of the trigger moving operation described above.

[0047] When the movement mechanism 14 stops the rotation of the multiple plate-like members 121A during the intermittent rotation of the multiple plate-like members 121A, it stops the rotation of the multiple plate-like members 121A so that each plate-like member 121A stops at a position not facing the discharge surface 11A. This allows the deposition of the material of the negative electrode member 11 onto the surface of the base material 32 to proceed smoothly.

[0048] [Additional Notes] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. The technical scope of the present invention also includes embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in the different embodiments. Furthermore, new technical features can be formed by combining the technical means disclosed in the respective embodiments. [Explanation of symbols]

[0049] 1. Vacuum arc deposition equipment 11 Cathode member 11A discharge surface 12, 121 Trigger 12B Contact part 13 Delivery mechanism 14 Moving mechanism 20 Duct 21 Magnetic field generating member 22 Filters 30 containers 32 Base material L1 Length of contact area L2 Length of the discharge surface

Claims

1. A vacuum arc deposition apparatus for depositing a material of a cathode member mainly composed of carbon on a surface of a substrate by evaporating the cathode member by arc discharge, comprising: a trigger that initiates the arc discharge by contacting the discharge surface of the negative electrode member; a delivery mechanism for delivering the negative electrode member toward the trigger; a moving mechanism that moves the trigger so that a contact point between the discharge surface and the trigger is changed within the discharge surface, the moving mechanism performs a trigger moving operation for bringing the trigger into contact with the discharge surface, The vacuum arc deposition apparatus, wherein the delivery mechanism delivers the negative electrode member toward the trigger on condition that the trigger moving operation by the moving mechanism has been performed a predetermined number of times.

2. A vacuum arc deposition apparatus for depositing a material of a cathode member mainly composed of carbon on a surface of a substrate by evaporating the cathode member by arc discharge, comprising: a trigger that initiates the arc discharge by contacting the discharge surface of the negative electrode member; a delivery mechanism for delivering the negative electrode member toward the trigger; a moving mechanism that moves the trigger so that a contact point between the discharge surface and the trigger is changed within the discharge surface, the trigger has a contact portion for contacting the discharge surface; A vacuum arc deposition apparatus characterized in that, when the trigger faces the discharge surface, the length of the contact portion along the extension direction of the trigger is equal to or greater than the length of the discharge surface along the extension direction.

3. 3. The vacuum arc deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the movement mechanism moves the trigger so as to contact the entire surface of the discharge surface.

4. A container for containing the substrate; a duct forming a path from the discharge surface to the vessel; a magnetic field generating member that is disposed around the duct and that attracts the material of the negative electrode member discharged from the discharge surface to guide the material of the negative electrode member to the container; 4. The vacuum arc deposition apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a filter disposed inside the duct for removing droplets contained in the material of the negative electrode member.

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