Functional Film Production via Adhesive Release Layer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for producing functional films with laminated structures face issues such as air entrainment during winding, leading to tight winding and film defects, and prolonged depressurization times that reduce productivity, especially in large-scale vacuum deposition processes.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the use of an adhesive laminate film with a peel force of 0.01 N/25 mm to 0.06 N/25 mm is applied to protect the coating film during winding and vacuum processing, which is peeled off before inorganic film formation to prevent damage and defects, while ensuring optimal adhesion and minimizing residue.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If a film roll is wound with a winding hardness of 70 to 95 to prevent winding misalignments, then winding stability is improved, but air entrainment occurs causing tight winding and film defects
Solution Approach 1:
A release film is introduced as an intermediary layer between the coating film and the substrate. This release film prevents direct contact between the coating film and substrate, thereby preventing air entrainment while maintaining winding stability through controlled adhesion properties.
Solution Approach 2:
The release film is removed (taken out) from the final functional film structure before inorganic film formation. This extraction of the intermediary layer eliminates the harmful air entrainment effect while preserving the beneficial winding stability, resulting in a defect-free functional film.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the pressure is reduced to 20 Torr for at least 2 minutes to prevent winding misalignments, then winding stability is improved, but productivity decreases due to prolonged depressurization time
Solution Approach 1:
The release film is applied to the coating film before the vacuum deposition process begins. This preliminary action prevents air entrainment and tight winding during the actual deposition, eliminating the need for prolonged pre-depressurization time and thereby improving productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The release film acts as a mediator that prevents direct adhesion between the coating film and substrate during vacuum processing. This intermediary layer eliminates the need for extended depressurization to prevent winding misalignments, allowing for faster production cycles.
3Reliability
If a laminate film with strong adhesion is used to protect the coating film, then protection effectiveness is improved, but film rupture occurs during peeling off
Solution Approach 1:
The adhesion properties of the release film are precisely controlled to fall within a specific range (0.01 N/25 mm to 0.06 N/25 mm). This parameter optimization ensures sufficient protection during winding while enabling clean peeling without film rupture, balancing protection effectiveness with processability.
Solution Approach 2:
The release film exhibits different adhesion characteristics at different stages: sufficient adhesion during winding for protection, but controlled low adhesion during peeling to prevent rupture. This local quality variation in adhesion properties resolves the contradiction between protection effectiveness and film integrity.
4Ease of manufacture
If the coating film is directly wound without a release film, then manufacturing simplicity is improved, but tight winding causes film defects and inorganic film formation failure
Solution Approach 1:
The release film is a thin intermediary layer that prevents direct contact between the coating film and substrate during winding. This simple intermediary structure prevents tight winding and film defects while adding minimal complexity to the manufacturing process, maintaining ease of manufacture.
Solution Approach 2:
The release film is a separate, removable layer that is taken out before inorganic film formation. This extraction approach prevents tight winding and maintains film smoothness while adding only temporary complexity during the winding stage, which is removed before the critical inorganic film deposition.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach effectively suppresses cracks and deficiencies in the inorganic film, maintains film smoothness, and enhances productivity by preventing air entrainment and reducing depressurization time, resulting in high-quality functional films suitable for various applications like optical elements and thin-film solar cells.
Implementation Method 1
an adhesive laminate film with a peel force of 0.01 N/25 mm to 0.06 N/25 mm is applied to protect the coating film during winding and vacuum processing
Implementation Method 2
loading the film roll wound up in the prior step into a vacuum film-forming apparatus
Implementation Method 3
forming an inorganic film on the coating film on the substrate
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a functional film, which can suppress the occurrence of defects such as cracks/deficiencies of an inorganic film when the inorganic film is formed on a coating film by a vacuum film-forming method and which is of high productivity and a method for producing the functional film. After a coating film (12) is coated on a support, dried and cured, the resultant support is wound up while superimposing a laminate film (82) on the surface of the coating film layer to make a film roll (42), the film roll (42) is loaded into a vacuum film-forming apparatus (22), and the laminate film (82) is peeled off from the coating film (12) before forming an inorganic film on the coating film. Here, as the laminate film (82), an adhesive film having an adhesive layer having a peel force of 0.01 N/25 mm or more and 0.06 N/25 mm or less against the coating film is used.