Atmospheric pressure plasma treatmet apparatus and atmospheric pressure plasma treatment method

• US 20030113479A1
• Filed: 08/16/2002
• Published: 06/19/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Konica Corporation (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Konica Corporation (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Inventors: Fukuda, Kazuhiro, Kondo, Yoshikazu, Toda, Yoshiro, Mizuno, Wataru, Oishi, Kiyoshi, Nishiwaki, Akira
• Granted Patent: US 6,849,306 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 427/569
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32009 Arrangements for generation of plasma specially adapted for examination or treatment of objects, e.g. plasma sources plasma generation in general H05H1/24
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32825 Working under atmospheric pressure or higher

Abstract

An atmospheric pressure plasma treatment apparatus is disclosed which comprises a first electrode and a second electrode opposed to each other, a discharge space between the opposed electrodes, a voltage application means for applying voltage across the discharge space, a gas supply means for supplying a reactive gas and an inert gas to the discharge space, wherein the reactive gas at the discharge space is excited at atmospheric pressure or at approximately atmospheric pressure by applying voltage through the voltage application means to generate discharge plasma, and a substrate is exposed to the discharge plasma to be subjected to surface treatment, and wherein the reactive gas is not directly in contact with the discharge surface of the first electrode or the second electrode.

Claims

1. An atmospheric pressure plasma treatment apparatus comprising a first electrode and a second electrode opposed to each other in which a discharge space is formed between the opposed electrodes, a voltage application device for applying voltage across the discharge space, a gas supply device for supplying a reactive gas and an inert gas to the discharge space, wherein the reactive gas at the discharge space is excited at atmospheric pressure or at approximately atmospheric pressure by applying voltage through the voltage application device to generate discharge plasma, and a substrate is exposed to the discharge plasma to be subjected to surface treatment, and wherein the reactive gas is not directly in contact with the discharge surface of the first electrode or the second electrode.

2. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment apparatus of claim 1, wherein the gas supply device comprises a reactive gas supply device for supplying the reactive gas to the discharge space and an inert gas supply device for supplying the inert gas to the discharge space, and is constructed so that the reactive gas and the inert gas are supplied to the discharge space, separately.

3. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment apparatus of claim 2, wherein the atmospheric pressure plasma treatment apparatus is constructed so that the substrate is provided so as to cover a discharge surface of the second electrode, the reactive gas is supplied to the side of the second electrode and the inert gas is supplied to the side of the first electrode.

4. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment apparatus of claim 2, wherein the atmospheric pressure plasma treatment apparatus is constructed so that the substrate is provided so as to cover the surface of the second electrode, the first electrode is comprised of plural electrodes arranged at an interval, and the gas supply device is constructed so that the inert gas and the reactive gas are supplied from at least one of the intervals between the two adjacent electrodes of the plural electrodes to the surface of the substrate provided on the second electrode.

5. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment apparatus of claim 2, wherein the reactive gas supply device comprises a temperature controlling device.

6. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment apparatus of claim 5, wherein the temperature controlling device is a device for heating the reactive gas.

7. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment apparatus of claim 6, wherein the temperature controlling device controls to temperature higher than temperature at which the reactive gas gives a saturated vapor pressure at its concentration.

8. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first electrode or the second electrode is a dielectric coated electrode in which a metal base material is coated with a dielectric layer.

9. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment apparatus of claim 8, wherein the dielectric layer is a layer formed by thermally spraying ceramic on a base material to form a ceramic layer, and then sealing the ceramic layer.

10. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus comprises a cooling device for cooling the first electrode or the second electrode.

11. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first electrode and the second electrode both have planar surfaces, and the surfaces of the first electrode and the second electrode are provided so as to insert the same plane and so as to be in parallel with each other.

12. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second electrodes is a rotatory roll electrode.

13. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment apparatus of claim 12, wherein the second electrode is a rotatory roll electrode, and the first electrode is comprised of plural electrodes, the surface of the plural electrodes being substantially in parallel with the surface of the second electrode.

14. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment apparatus of claim 12, wherein the second electrode is a rotatory roll electrode, and the first electrode has a concave surface which is substantially in parallel with the curved surface of the second electrode.

15. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment apparatus of any one of claims 1 through 14, wherein the first electrode is a voltage application electrode and the second electrode is a ground electrode.

16. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment apparatus of claim 1, wherein a layer is formed on the substrate by the surface treatment.

17. An atmospheric pressure plasma treatment method comprising the steps of:

supplying a reactive gas and an inert gas to a discharge space formed between a first electrode and a second electrode opposed to each other;

applying voltage across the discharge space;

exciting the reactive gas at atmospheric pressure or at approximately atmospheric pressure to generate discharge plasma; and

subjecting a substrate to surface treatment by exposing the substrate to the discharge plasma;

wherein the reactive gas is not directly in contact with the discharge surface of the first electrode or the second electrode.

18. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment method of claim 17, wherein the reactive gas and the inert gas are supplied to the discharge space, separately.

19. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment method of claim 18, wherein the substrate is provided so as to cover a discharge surface of the second electrode, the reactive gas is supplied to the side of the second electrode and the inert gas is supplied to the side of the first electrode.

20. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment method of claim 18, wherein the substrate is provided so as to cover the surface of the second electrode, the first electrode is comprised of plural electrodes arranged at an interval, and the inert gas and the reactive gas are supplied from at least one of the intervals between the two adjacent electrodes of the plural electrodes to the surface of the substrate provided on the second electrode.

21. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment method of claim 17, wherein the temperature of the reactive gas is controlled.

22. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment method of claim 21, wherein the reactive gas is controlled to be a temperature higher than temperature at which the reactive gas gives a saturated vapor pressure at its concentration.

23. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment method of claim 17, wherein the first electrode or the second electrode is a dielectric coated electrode in which a metal base material is coated with a dielectric layer.

24. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment method of claim 23, wherein the dielectric layer is a layer formed by thermally spraying ceramic on a base material to form a ceramic layer, and then sealing the ceramic layer.

25. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment method of claim 17, wherein the first electrode or the second electrode is cooled.

26. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment method of claim 17, wherein the first electrode and the second electrode both have planar surfaces, and the surfaces of the first electrode and the second electrode are provided so as to insert the same plane and so as to be in parallel with each other.

27. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment method of claim 17, wherein at least one of the first and second electrodes is a rotatory roll electrode.

28. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment method of claim 27, wherein the second electrode is a rotatory roll electrode, and the first electrode is comprised of plural electrodes, the surface of the plural electrodes being substantially in parallel with the surface of the second electrode.

29. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment method of claim 27, wherein the second electrode is a rotatory roll electrode, and the first electrode has a concave surface which is substantially in parallel with the curved surface of the second electrode.

30. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment method of claim 17, wherein the voltage applied is a high frequency voltage with a frequency exceeding 100 kHz.

31. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment method of claim 30, wherein the output of the high frequency voltage is not less than 1 W/cm².

32. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment method of claim 17, wherein the reactive gas comprises a component selected from an organometallic compound and an organic compound.

33. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment method of claim 32, wherein the organometallic compound is selected from the group consisting of a metal alkoxide, an alkylated metal and a metal complex.

34. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment method of claim 33, wherein the reactive gas comprises a component selected from helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, radon and nitrogen.

35. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment method of claim 33, wherein the reactive gas comprises a component selected from oxygen, ozone, hydrogen peroxide, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, water vapor, nitrogen oxides and ammonia.

36. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment method of claim 17, wherein the inert gas comprises a component selected from helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, radon, and nitrogen.

37. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment method of claim 36, wherein the inert gas comprises a component selected from oxygen, ozone, hydrogen peroxide, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, nitrogen, water vapor, nitrogen oxides and ammonia.

38. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment method of claim 17, wherein the first electrode is a voltage application electrode and the second electrode is a ground electrode.

39. The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment method of claim 17, wherein a layer is formed on the substrate by the surface treatment.