JPH0230772A - Spray nozzle for forming film of hyperfine particles - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To visually observe the degree of adhesion of hyperfine particles to the inside of a nozzle and to facilitate the washing of the nozzle by forming the nozzle for spraying hyperfine particles with glass. CONSTITUTION:The whole of a spray nozzle 38 for forming a film of hyperfine particles, especially the nozzle tip 46 is formed with transparent glass so that the degree of adhesion of hyperfine particles to the passage 48 of the nozzle 38 can easily be judged by visually observing the adhered particles from the outside. Hyperfine particles adhered to the nozzle 38 can be easily and perfectly removed by washing with an acid other than hydrofluoric acid, e.g., hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid as a washing soln. and the opening of the nozzle tip 46 can be kept accurate.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a spray nozzle used in an ultrafine particle film forming apparatus that forms a coating of ultrafine particles on the surface of an object.

[Prior Art] As an apparatus for forming an ultrafine particle film on the surface of an adsorbed object such as a glass plate or a metal plate, for example
Examples include those disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 64669. Such devices generally include an ultrafine particle generation chamber and a film formation chamber, and the ultrafine particle generation chamber is connected to a gas source that provides an atmospheric gas that also serves as a carrier gas, and a container containing the raw material to be evaporated and A heating means is provided to heat the raw material, and the film forming chamber accommodates the adsorbed material on which a film is to be formed. One end of the gas transfer pipe is connected to a spray nozzle that sprays ultrafine particles toward non-adsorbed substances.4 In the above-mentioned film forming apparatus, the raw material contained in the container is heated, and the raw material is heated in the atmospheric gas. By evaporating the raw material into ultrafine particles, ultrafine particles of the raw material are generated in the ultrafine particle generation chamber. Then, the ultrafine particles thus generated are sent to the film forming chamber through the gas conveyance pipe together with the carrier gas, and are sprayed from the spray nozzle toward the object to be formed, thus forming an ultra-single particle film on the surface of the non-adsorbed object. be done.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In conventional film forming apparatuses, spray nozzles are made of metal materials such as stainless steel, and there are the following problems to be solved.

First, it is not possible to observe the inside of the spray nozzle, especially the inside of the nozzle part where ultrafine particles are sprayed toward non-adsorbable objects, and it is difficult to see how the nozzle part is clogged due to adhesion of chemically active ultrafine particles. is difficult.

Second, acid can be used to clean the spray nozzle, but sometimes it is difficult to completely remove the ultrafine particles that adhere to the inner surface of the nozzle, and the opening area of the nozzle is increased. Unable to maintain accuracy.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and provide a spray nozzle that allows the degree of adhesion of ultrafine particles to be easily determined and that allows the attached ultrafine particles to be easily removed by cleaning. do.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In the spray nozzle of the present invention, the nozzle portion that sprays ultrafine particles toward an adherend surface is formed from a glass material.

[Function] In such a spray nozzle, since the nozzle part is formed from a glass material, ultrafine particles attached to the inner surface of the nozzle part can be easily seen from the outside, and since glass is chemically extremely stable, Almost any acid can be used during cleaning.

[Example] FIG. 1 shows an example of a film forming apparatus equipped with a specific example of a spray nozzle according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the illustrated film forming apparatus includes four ultrafine particle generation chambers 2, each of which includes a first housing 4 that defines an ultrafine particle generation chamber 2, and a second housing 8 that defines a film formation chamber 6.
A crucible 10 is disposed inside, and this crucible 10 is heated by a heating means such as a heater. The heating means is electrically connected to an AC power source 14 disposed outside the first housing 4 . A raw material f-1 (for example, a metal, an alloy, a metal oxide, a carbide, etc.) to be evaporated is contained in the crucible lO, and 1. The raw material is evaporated in the atmosphere by the action of the energizing means, and ultrafine particles are generated. This ultrafine particle generation chamber 2 is connected via a valve member 20 to an atmospheric gas/carrier gas supply a22 that supplies a carrier gas, which may be argon, hydrogen, or the like.

Further, a moving stage 24 is arranged in the film forming chamber 6,
The moving stage 24 is driven by a drive source 26 such as an electric motor.
It is made to reciprocate in the direction shown by arrow 28 by the action of. An object 42 to be attracted, such as a glass plate, is placed on the upper surface of the moving stage 24 as desired. The film forming chamber 6 is connected via a valve member 30 to a vacuum generation source 32 such as a vacuum pump.

The ultrafine particle generation chamber 2 and the film formation chamber 6 are communicated with each other via a gas transfer pipe 34. One end of the Wi feed pipe 34 protrudes into the ultrafine particle generation chamber 2, and a valve member 36 is disposed in the middle thereof.
is installed. A spray nozzle 38 (described later) for spraying ultrafine particles toward the surface of the object 42 placed on the moving stage 24 is connected to the curved end of the transport pipe 34 .

The operation of the film forming apparatus configured as described above is summarized as follows. energizing vacuum generation source 18 and valve member 16;
is opened to exhaust the inside of the ultrafine particle generation chamber 2. On the other hand, the valve member 20 is opened to supply the atmospheric waste and carrier gas to the ultrafine particle generation chamber 2, and the carrier gas pressure in the ultrafine particle generation chamber 2 is set to a predetermined pressure. Then, in such a state,
The raw material 40 contained in the crucible 10 is heated by supplying alternating current to the heating means. As a result, the raw material 40 is dissolved and evaporated, and collides with molecules of the atmosphere scum, so that ultrafine particles of the raw material 40 are generated in the ultrafine particle generation chamber 2.

While performing the ultrafine particle generation operation described above, the vacuum generation source 32 is energized and the valve member 30 is opened to open the film formation chamber 6.
is evacuated, and the pressure inside this film formation chamber 6 is reduced to the ultrafine particle generation chamber 2.
lower than the internal pressure.

Thereafter, the valve member 36 is opened to feed the ultrafine particles in the ultrafine particle generation chamber 2 together with the carrier gas to the film forming chamber 6 through the gas transfer pipe 34 . Since the pressure in the film forming chamber 6 is maintained lower than the pressure in the gas generating chamber 2, the ultrafine particles and carrier residue flow into the film forming chamber 6 through the transport pipe 34 due to the pressure difference between the compartments. The ultrafine particles and carrier gas supplied to the film forming chamber 6 are sprayed from the spray nozzle 38 toward the adsorbed object 42 on the moving stage 24, and the ultrafine particles of the raw material 40 are thus sprayed onto the adsorbed surface of the adsorbed object e142. A membrane is formed as required.

Next, the spray nozzle 38 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4. The spray nozzle 38 shown in FIG.
It has a base 44 connected to the @ end of the gas transport pipe 34, and a nozzle part 46 is integrally provided at the tip of the base 44. As understood from FIGS. 3 and 4, a flow path 48 is formed through the base 44 and the nozzle portion 46, through which ultrafine particles and carrier gas flow.
The portion defined by the base 44 of the flow path 48 has an elliptical cross-sectional shape, and the portion defined by the nozzle portion 46 of the flow path 48 has a portion defined by the base 44 of the flow path 48 in the short axis direction (direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in FIG. The opposing portions (in the left-right direction in the figure and the up-down direction in FIG. 4) are approximately elliptical in shape, narrowing somewhat inward toward the tip, and the opening at the tip is elongated and approximately elliptical. Such a spray nozzle 38 is
The entire body (i.e., the base portion 44 and the nozzle portion 46) is made of a glass material that is transparent and capable of retaining a solid shape, such as hard glass, Pyrex, or Vycor.

The spray nozzle 38 having such a configuration has the following features.

First, since the entire nozzle 38, especially the nozzle part 46, is made of a transparent glass material, the ultrafine particles attached to the stream #I48 can be easily seen from the outside, and the degree of attachment of the ultrafine particles can thereby be checked. It is very easy to know. Particularly in the nozzle section 46, because the flow path 48 is constricted, chemically extremely active ultrafine particles tend to adhere, but adhesion of ultrafine particles in such a region can be easily detected from the outside. be able to.

Second, since the entire nozzle 38 is made of glass material, ordinary acids such as hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, and nitric acid (excluding hydrofluoric acid) can be used as a cleaning liquid when cleaning the nozzle 38. This makes it possible to easily and completely remove ultrafine particles attached to the nozzle 38. In particular, poor cleaning of the nozzle part 46 has a negative effect on the spraying of ultrafine particles, but by using acid as the cleaning liquid, it becomes easy to completely remove the ultrafine particles adhering to the nozzle part 46, and the opening of the nozzle part 46 Thirdly, since the opening of the nozzle part 46 is elongated and approximately elliptical, it is possible to spray ultrafine particles over a relatively wide width toward the surface to be adsorbed, thus improving efficiency. Ultrafine particle films can be easily formed.

Figures 5-A and 5-B show a second specific example of the spray nozzle.

In the second embodiment, the spray nozzle 3.8a consists of an elongated tubular member 60. The tubular member 60 defines a flow path 62 having a circular cross section, and one end thereof (5th-A
The upper end (in the figure) functions as a base connected to the gas transport pipe, and the other end (lower end in Figure 5-A) functions as a nozzle that sprays ultrafine particles toward the surface to be adsorbed.

Also in this second specific example, the spray nozzle 38a,
That is, the tubular member 60 is formed from a glass material, and therefore substantially the same effects as in the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 are achieved.

Figures 6-A and 6-B show a third specific example of the spray nozzle.

The spray nozzle 38b of the third specific example includes a substantially trapezoidal base 70. A tubular connecting portion 72 is provided on one end surface (the upper end surface in FIG. 6-A) of the base portion 70, and this connecting portion 72 is connected to a gas conveying pipe. Also,
# of base 70! A plurality of nozzle portions 74 (20 in total in the illustrated example) are provided on the end surface (lower end surface in FIG. 6-A) for spraying ultrafine particles toward the surface to be attracted. The nozzle portion 74 is composed of an elongated tubular member that defines a flow path 76 having a circular cross section, and ten nozzle portions 74 are arranged substantially continuously in the longitudinal direction of the base portion 70. The set is shown in the vertical direction (6th-B) in Fig. 6-B.
In Figure A, two sets are arranged in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface. The two sets of nozzle portions 74 are arranged somewhat offset in the longitudinal direction of the base portion 70 so as to form a relatively wide, substantially continuous ultrafine particle film. In such a nozzle 38b,
The ultrafine particles (introduced together with the carrier gas) introduced from the connecting portion 72 pass through the base 70 and further pass through the flow path 76 of each nozzle portion 74 and are blown from the open end thereof.

Also in this third specific example, the spray nozzle 38b, that is, the nozzle portion 74, the base portion 70, and the connecting portion 72, are made of glass material, and therefore substantially the same effect as in the first specific example is achieved. Incidentally, instead of forming the entire spray nozzle 38b from a glass material, the nozzle part 7 to which ultrafine particles are particularly likely to adhere and which has a large effect on film formation may be used.
The desired effect can also be achieved by forming the nozzle part 4 (or the base part 70 in addition to the nozzle part 74) from a glass material.

Figures 7-A and 7B show a fourth specific example of the spray nozzle.

The configuration of the spray nozzle 38c of the fourth specific example is as follows:
This is the configuration of the third specific example shown in FIGS. A and 6-B, and the only difference is the arrangement of the nozzle portion 84.

That is, in the fourth specific example, the three nozzle portions 84 constituting the set are arranged in a triangular shape in substantially contact with each other, and the set of nozzle portions 84 has an opening in the longitudinal direction of the base 80. There are three sets arranged at the same time. The configuration of the pond is substantially the same as that of the third specific example.

Also in this fourth specific example, the spray nozzle 38c, that is, the nozzle portion 84, the base portion 80, and the connecting portion 82, are formed of a glass material, and therefore substantially the same effect as in the first specific example is achieved. 6 Furthermore, in this fourth specific example,
The desired effect can also be achieved by forming the nozzle portion 84 (or in addition, the base 80) from a glass material instead of the entire nozzle 38c.

Although various specific examples of the spray nozzle according to the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these specific examples, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. .

[Effects of the Invention] In the spray nozzle of the present invention, since the nozzle part that sprays ultrafine particles toward the surface to be adsorbed is formed from a glass material, the inner surface of the nozzle part, where the adhesion of ultrafine particles is particularly noticeable, can be visually observed from the outside. This allows the degree of adhesion of ultrafine particles to be easily determined. In addition, when forming a film, the nozzle part, which requires high precision, can be cleaned with ordinary acid, making it possible to easily and completely remove the ultrafine particles that have adhered to the inner surface of the nozzle part during repeated use. Negative effects caused by ultrafine particles can be avoided.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a simplified sectional view showing an example of a film forming apparatus equipped with a first specific example of the spray nozzle according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view showing an enlarged view of the first specific example of the spray nozzle. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line ■-■ in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the spray nozzle in FIG. 2, and FIGS. 5A and 5B are spray nozzles according to the present invention, respectively. 6A and 6B are respectively an enlarged front view and a bottom view showing a third specific example of the spray nozzle according to the present invention, FIGS. 7A and 7B are an enlarged front view and bottom view, respectively, of a fourth embodiment of the spray nozzle according to the present invention. Explanation of symbols Ultrafine particle generation chamber Film formation chamber 38. 38a, 38b, 8c Spray nozzle raw material to be adsorbed 46. 74, Nozzle part diagram I]

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A spray nozzle for forming a film, in which the nozzle part for spraying ultrafine particles toward an adherend surface is formed from a glass material.