阅读说明：本技术 膜处理方法及膜制造方法 (Film processing method and film manufacturing method ) 是由 冈村贤吾 高原健 早川孝宏 花见道广 谷卓行 于 2018-06-04 设计创作，主要内容包括：公开一种由膜处理装置(1)进行的处理方法，该膜处理装置(1)具备：第1放电电极单元(3)和第2放电电极单元(4)、以及交流电源(5)，第1放电电极单元(3)和第2放电电极单元(4)分别具有形成磁场的磁体(3b)、(4b)，交流电源(5)能够交替地切换第1放电电极单元(3)和第2放电电极单元(4)的极性。在该处理方法中，通过由交流电源(5)供给的高频功率，在交替地切换第1放电电极单元(3)和第2放电电极单元(4)的极性的同时，产生等离子体(P)，从而进行对膜(F)的预定表面处理。(Disclosed is a treatment method performed by a film treatment device (1), wherein the film treatment device (1) is provided with: the discharge electrode device comprises a 1 st discharge electrode unit (3), a 2 nd discharge electrode unit (4), and an alternating current power supply (5), wherein the 1 st discharge electrode unit (3) and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit (4) are respectively provided with magnets (3b) and (4b) forming magnetic fields, and the alternating current power supply (5) can alternately switch the polarity of the 1 st discharge electrode unit (3) and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit (4). In the treatment method, plasma (P) is generated while alternately switching the polarities of a 1 st discharge electrode unit (3) and a 2 nd discharge electrode unit (4) by high-frequency power supplied from an alternating current power supply (5), thereby performing a predetermined surface treatment on a film (F).)

1. A film treatment method comprising:

preparing a plasma processing apparatus including a 1 st discharge electrode unit and a 2 nd discharge electrode unit, each of the 1 st discharge electrode unit and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit having a magnet that forms a magnetic field, and an alternating current power supply that is electrically connected to the 1 st discharge electrode unit and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit and is capable of alternately switching polarities of the 1 st discharge electrode unit and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit; and

performing surface treatment of the film by supplying high-frequency power from the ac power supply to the 1 st and 2 nd discharge electrode units to generate plasma in the plasma treatment apparatus, and conveying the film as a treatment target through the plasma treatment apparatus to perform surface treatment of the film by the plasma,

generating the plasma to perform surface treatment of the film while alternately switching polarities of the 1 st discharge electrode unit and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit by the high-frequency power supplied from the alternating current power supply.

2. The film processing method according to claim 1, wherein the frequency of the high-frequency power is between 1kHz and 400 kHz.

3. The film processing method according to claim 1, wherein the frequency of the high-frequency power is between 10kHz and 100 kHz.

4. The film processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the 1 st discharge electrode unit and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit are each provided with a flat plate electrode, and the 1 st discharge electrode unit and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit are arranged in parallel.

5. The film processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the alternating-current power supply supplies predetermined power to the 1 st discharge electrode unit and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit so that a process intensity Epd is 100[ W · s/m ] with respect to a product of an electrode width in a film width direction used for the plasma process and a process speed²]The above.

6. The film processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the alternating-current power supply supplies a predetermined power to the 1 st discharge electrode unit and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit so that a process intensity Epd is 200[ W · s/m ] with respect to a product of an electrode width in a film width direction used for the plasma process and a process speed²]The above.

7. The film processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the plasma processing apparatus further comprises a case in which the 1 st discharge electrode unit and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit are arranged,

in the step of performing the surface treatment of the film, an inert gas is introduced into the cartridge body.

8. The membrane treatment method according to claim 7, wherein in the step of performing the surface treatment of the membrane, oxygen is further introduced into the cartridge body.

9. The film processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the film is a polyethylene terephthalate film, and a half-peak width of a C-C bond separated from a C1s waveform in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurement of a film-processed surface is 1.255eV or more and 1.585eV or less.

10. The film treatment method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein, in the step of performing the surface treatment of the film, the distance between the 1 st and 2 nd discharge electrode units and the film is in a range of 10mm or more and 50mm or less.

11. The film treatment method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein, in the step of performing the surface treatment of the film, a transport speed of the film is 2 m/sec or more and 20 m/sec or less.

12. The film treatment method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the surface treatment step of the film is repeated 2 times or more for the same piece of the film.

13. A film manufacturing method comprising:

a step of subjecting the film to vapor deposition pretreatment by the film treatment method according to any one of claims 1 to 12; and

a step of forming a vapor deposition layer on the treatment face of the film on which the vapor deposition pretreatment step has been performed.

14. A film manufacturing method comprising:

a step of subjecting the film to lamination pretreatment of other layers by the film treatment method according to any one of claims 1 to 12; and

a step of laminating other layers on the treated side of the film on which the lamination pretreatment step has been performed.

15. The film production method according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the adhesion force of the film to the vapor-deposited layer or the other layer is 3N/15mm or more under a normal condition (dry type) and 1N/15mm or more under a condition of adding water (wet type) as measured according to JIS K6854-2 (180 degree peel) and JIS K6854-3 (T type peel).

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a film processing method and a film manufacturing method.

Background

Patent document 1 discloses an example of a vapor deposition film manufacturing method. In the method for producing a vapor-deposited film, as a pretreatment for vapor deposition, plasma treatment using a discharge electrode of a planar magnetron system is performed while continuously advancing a base film.

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

However, in the treatment method shown in patent document 1, it is difficult to cause a high voltage such as a cathode drop on the membrane surface, the drop of which tends to become small. In addition, in the magnetron discharge according to the direct current method, the magnetron electrode side is generally a cathode (cathode), and a large amount of ions and electrons such as argon (Ar) are mixed in the vicinity of the cathode electrode, so that the plasma density increases at the cathode electrode side, and the plasma density decreases as the distance from the cathode electrode increases. Therefore, a predetermined process (plasma process) for the film may not be efficiently performed. Further, the cathode electrode often becomes a cathode (cathode) by a direct current method, and electric charges are concentrated on an insulating film or the like deposited on a non-corroded portion or the like of the surface of the cathode electrode. Therefore, there is a possibility that abnormal discharge such as arc discharge may occur, and particularly, in the case where large power is applied or discharge is performed for a long time, there is a possibility that the plasma processing operation becomes unstable.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a film processing method and a film manufacturing method that can improve the processing capability for a film and can also perform a plasma processing operation stably.

Means for solving the problems

One aspect of the present invention relates to a film treatment method including: preparing a plasma processing apparatus including a 1 st discharge electrode unit and a 2 nd discharge electrode unit, the 1 st discharge electrode unit and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit each having a magnet forming a magnetic field, and an alternating current power supply electrically connected to the 1 st discharge electrode unit and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit and capable of alternately switching polarities of the 1 st discharge electrode unit and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit; and performing surface treatment of the film, wherein high-frequency power is supplied from an alternating current power supply to the 1 st discharge electrode unit and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit to generate plasma in the plasma treatment apparatus, and the film to be treated is conveyed through the plasma treatment apparatus to perform surface treatment of the film by the plasma. In this film processing method, plasma is generated to perform surface processing of the film while alternately switching the polarities of the 1 st discharge electrode unit and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit by high-frequency power supplied from an alternating current power supply (for example, a sine wave or a rectangular wave may be used).

In this film processing method, 2 discharge electrode units are used to generate plasma for film processing, and high-frequency power as alternating current is supplied to these discharge electrode units. According to this method, since the polarities of the electrode units are alternately switched at a predetermined cycle, the charging of the electric charges generated in the insulating film or the like deposited on the electrode surface is slowed, and the arc is hard to be generated. Further, since the charging is slowed down, higher power can be supplied to each discharge electrode unit, so that ions in plasma irradiated on the film surface increase, and the processing becomes easy. Thus, according to the film processing method of the present invention, it is possible to stably perform a plasma processing operation while improving the processing ability for a film. In the above surface treatment method, plasma is generated between the 1 st discharge electrode unit and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit, and the plasma is generated on a bridge (bridge) to approach the film by a magnetic field generated by a magnet. That is, according to the above-described processing method, a decrease in plasma density in the vicinity of the film can be suppressed as compared with the direct current method.

In the above film processing method, the frequency of the high-frequency power may be 1kHz to 400kHz, or 10kHz to 100 kHz. In this case, since the polarity switching of the 1 st and 2 nd discharge electrode units is appropriately performed, the charging in each discharge electrode unit is appropriately slowed down. Therefore, high power can be input without generating abnormal discharge such as arc discharge.

In the above film processing method, the 1 st discharge electrode unit and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit may be configured to have flat electrodes, respectively, and the 1 st discharge electrode unit and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit may be arranged in parallel. In this case, since a flat-type (so-called flat-type) magnetron plasma processing apparatus can be used, the configuration of the apparatus can be easily simplified. In addition, since the film to be processed is directly processed in a flat state, more uniform processing can be realized. Further, since the film is exposed to the plasma for a longer time than the film is conveyed on the roller and processed, the processing can be performed more efficiently. As the plasma processing apparatus used herein, a cylindrical (so-called rotary) magnetron plasma processing apparatus may be used instead of the flat-plate magnetron plasma processing apparatus. In this case, the 1 st and 2 nd discharge electrode units may have a cylindrical electrode configuration.

In the above film processing method, the alternating current power source may be applied to the No. 1The electric electrode unit and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit are supplied with predetermined powers so that the plasma treatment intensity Epd is 100[ W · s/m ] with respect to the product of the electrode width in the film width direction and the treatment speed for the plasma treatment²]Above, preferably 200[ W.s/m ]²]The above. In this case, by supplying higher power to each discharge electrode unit, ions in the plasma irradiated on the film surface are increased, and the film to be processed can be processed more reliably. The plasma treatment intensity Epd can be represented by the following formula (1) or (2) where the treatment power [ W ]]Is the power from an AC power supply, the electrode width [ m ] in the film running direction]Area of electrode [ m ]²]Electrode width/electrode area of discharge electrode unit, processing speed [ m/s ]]Is the transport speed of the film being treated.

[ equation 1]

Another aspect of the present invention relates to a film manufacturing method including: a step of subjecting the film to vapor deposition pretreatment by any one of the above-described film treatment methods; and a step of forming a vapor deposition layer on the treatment face of the film on which the vapor deposition pretreatment step has been performed. In addition, other examples of the film production method may include: a step of performing lamination pretreatment of another layer on the film by any one of the above-described film treatment methods; and a step of laminating another layer on the treated surface of the film on which the lamination pretreatment step has been performed. In either production method, the adhesion force of the film to the vapor-deposited layer or other layer is preferably 3N/15mm or more under normal conditions (dry type) and 1N/15mm or more under water-added conditions (wet type) as measured in accordance with JIS K6854-2 (180 degree peel) and JIS K6854-3 (T type peel).

Further, another aspect of the present invention relates to a film treatment apparatus, which is a plasma treatment apparatus used in any one of the above-described film treatment methods, comprising: the plasma processing apparatus includes a case having an inlet and an outlet for passing a conveyed film in and out of the plasma processing apparatus, a 1 st discharge electrode unit and a 2 nd discharge electrode unit disposed in the case and having magnets forming a magnetic field, and an alternating current power supply electrically connected to the 1 st discharge electrode unit and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit and capable of alternately switching polarities of the 1 st discharge electrode unit and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit. According to this plasma processing apparatus, the processing apparatus including the vapor deposition apparatus and the like can be downsized, and the operation thereof can be stabilized. The cassette may be housed in a vacuum chamber, or the cassette itself may have the function of a vacuum chamber. That is, the following configuration may be adopted: an exhaust system is provided in a case housing the 1 st and 2 nd discharge electrode units so that the pressure can be set separately from the other chambers.

In the film processing apparatus, the 1 st discharge electrode unit and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit may be configured to include plate electrodes, respectively, and the 1 st discharge electrode unit and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit may be arranged in parallel. In this case, since a flat-plate type magnetron plasma processing apparatus can be used, the configuration of the apparatus can be easily simplified.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a film processing method and a film manufacturing method capable of improving the processing capability for a film and also capable of stably performing a plasma processing operation.

Brief description of the drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic sectional view schematically showing a film processing apparatus (plasma processing apparatus) used in a film processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 1(a) and (b) show a switched state.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of frequency signals of high-frequency power supplied to each discharge electrode unit of the film processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

Fig. 3(a), (b) and (c) are sectional views showing an example of a laminated film including a vapor-deposited layer manufactured by the film processing apparatus shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 4(a) and (b) are cross-sectional views showing an example of a laminate film in which other layers are laminated, which is manufactured by the film processing apparatus shown in fig. 1.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments of a film processing method and a film manufacturing method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description, the same reference numerals may be used for the same elements or elements having the same functions, and a repetitive description will be omitted.

Fig. 1 is a schematic sectional view schematically showing a film processing apparatus (plasma processing apparatus) used in a film processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 1, a film processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is a magnetron plasma processing apparatus which is disposed in, for example, a vacuum apparatus and discharges each other by applying an alternating voltage to 2 magnetrons/cathodes. The film processing apparatus 1 is configured to include: the discharge electrode assembly includes a case 2, a 1 st discharge electrode unit 3 and a 2 nd discharge electrode unit 4 arranged in parallel in the case 2, and an alternating current power supply 5 electrically connected to the 1 st discharge electrode unit 3 and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit 4. A film F to be processed is inserted into the film processing apparatus 1, and a predetermined surface processing is performed by plasma P generated inside the apparatus. The magnetron plasma processing apparatus is an apparatus in which a magnet (S pole, N pole) is disposed on the back side of an electrode to form a magnetic field G, and high-density plasma is generated to perform ion etching or the like (including amorphization of the surface of a substrate, functional group change, and the like). The electrodes of the 1 st discharge electrode unit 3 and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit 4 are arranged in parallel in a direction (TD; referred to as "film width direction". the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of fig. 1) perpendicular to the running direction (MD; left-right direction in fig. 1) of the film F. Further, by designing the electrode width in the film width direction to be equal to or larger than the width of the film F, the treatment can be performed uniformly over the entire surface of the film.

As described above, the cartridge 2 is a casing which is disposed inside the vacuum apparatus and the inside of which is in a predetermined reduced pressure state. The cassette body 2 is provided with an inlet 2a and an outlet 2b so that a film F as a surface treatment object using plasma P can be inserted and output.

The 1 st discharge electrode unit 3 and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit 4 are each an electrode unit of a flat-plate type (planar type) magnetron plasma processing apparatus, and include: flat plate- like electrodes 3a and 4a (flat plate electrodes), and magnets 3b and 4b that are arranged on the back surfaces of the flat plate- like electrodes 3a and 4a and form a magnetic field. The flat plate- like electrodes 3a and 4a may be made of, for example, stainless steel, but may be made of a metal such as aluminum (Al), titanium (Ti), niobium (Nb), tantalum (Ta), or zirconium (Zr). Each of the magnets 3b and 4b is constituted by a plurality of permanent magnets (e.g., neodymium magnets or the like) whose S and N poles are paired, and the magnetization directions of the adjacent magnets are different. By such magnets 3b and 4b, thereby forming a magnetic field G in the space, the 1 st discharge electrode unit 3 and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit 4 can generate high-density plasma. The 1 st discharge electrode unit 3 and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit 4 having such a configuration are electrically connected to both ends of an ac power supply 5, respectively. It is preferable that the magnetic field G formed by the magnets 3b and 4b is formed in a ring shape (circular ring shape) in a plan view (when viewed from above in the drawing).

Although described in detail later, the 1 st and 2 nd discharge electrode units 3 and 4 are configured to be switched by high-frequency power supplied from the alternating-current power supply 5 so that when one electrode unit functions as a cathode, the other electrode unit functions as an anode. The 1 st and 2 nd discharge electrode units 3 and 4 having such a structure are electrically connected to an ac power supply 5 in a state where neither is grounded.

The ac power supply 5 is a plasma generation power supply for supplying predetermined high-frequency power to the 1 st discharge electrode unit 3 and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit 4. High-frequency power as alternating current is supplied to the 1 st discharge electrode unit 3 and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit 4 by the alternating current power supply 5, and a state is formed in which: when one discharge electrode cell becomes a cathode, the other discharge electrode cell becomes an anode, and charged particles move back and forth between the 1 st discharge electrode cell 3 and the 2 nd discharge electrode cell 4 (see fig. 1(a) and (b)). That is, magnetron discharge is alternately performed in the 1 st discharge electrode unit 3 and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit 4 by a high-frequency signal from the alternating-current power supply 5.

The high-frequency power supplied from the ac power supply 5 is, for example, 3kW or more. Further, in the film processing apparatus 1, the alternating current power supply 5 may supply predetermined power to the 1 st discharge electrode unit 3 and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit 4 so that the processing intensity Epd is 100[ W · s/m ] with respect to the product of the electrode width (electrode length in the traveling direction) for plasma processing and the processing speed²]The above. "Epd" herein can be represented by the following formula (1) or (2), wherein the processing power [ W ]]Is the power from the AC power source 5, the electrode width [ m ] in the traveling direction of the film F]Area of electrode [ m ]²]Electrode width/electrode area of discharge electrode unit, processing speed [ m/s ]]Is the transport speed of the film being treated.

[ formula 2]

The electrode areas in the above equations (1) and (2) refer to the areas of the cathode electrodes, but since the cathode electrodes in the present invention are alternately switched between the electrodes 3a and 4a to apply an alternating voltage, the area of the cathode electrode is equal to a value obtained by adding the areas of 2 electrodes and dividing by 2, and is equal to the area of one electrode if the electrodes 3a and 4a have the same shape.

The frequency of the high-frequency power supplied from the ac power supply 5 is, for example, a frequency of 1kHz to 400kHz, and more preferably a frequency of 10kHz to 100 kHz. Although a large voltage drop occurs on the surface side of the magnetron electrode and a small voltage drop occurs on the surface (lower surface in the figure) side of the film F, the film processing apparatus 1 can supply higher power to each discharge electrode cell by polarity switching processing by ac. In addition, by the magnetic field G generated by the magnet, plasma is generated in a bridge-like manner so as to approach the film F. Thereby, the film processing apparatus 1 can increase the processing strength of the surface of the film F.

The film F subjected to the surface treatment by the film treatment apparatus 1 having the above-described configuration is not particularly limited, and various known materials can be used, and examples thereof include polyester films such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyethylene naphthalate (PEN). As the film F, a polyolefin-based film such as Polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP), a polyamide-based film such as nylon 6 or nylon 66, a polystyrene film, a polycarbonate film, a polyimide film, a cellulose-based film, or the like can be used. The film F may be a stretched film or an unstretched film. The surface of the film F may be subjected to surface treatment such as corona treatment, and the film F may contain various additives and stabilizers such as an antistatic agent, an ultraviolet inhibitor, a plasticizer, and a lubricant. The thickness of the film F is not particularly limited, but is preferably in the range of, for example, 6 μm to 100 μm in consideration of processability and the like.

Next, a surface treatment method of the film F using the film treatment apparatus 1 will be described. First, as a processing method, the film processing apparatus 1 having the above-described apparatus configuration is prepared.

Subsequently, 1 or more kinds of inert gases, for example, composed of argon (Ar), helium (He), or nitrogen (N), are introduced into the cassette body 2 of the film processing apparatus 1. As the inert gas to be introduced, argon gas as a rare gas is preferably used. At this time, oxygen (O) may also be introduced₂) And (3) gas with high isoreactivity. Next, when a predetermined gas is introduced, the pressure inside the case 2 is adjusted to be, for example, 0.1Pa or more and less than 50 Pa. When the pressure is 0.1Pa or less, the discharge is difficult to stabilize and stable surface treatment cannot be performed, while when the pressure is 50Pa or more, the self-bias is lowered and it may be difficult to sufficiently obtain the effect of the plasma P. In the region where the pressure in the case 2 is 40Pa or more, the magnetic induction effect by the magnets 3b and 4b of the respective electrodes is slightly weakened, and therefore, the pressure in the case 2 is preferably in the range of 1Pa to 25 Pa.

Next, in a state where a predetermined inert gas or the like is introduced into the case 2 and adjusted to a predetermined pressure, a predetermined high-frequency power is supplied from the ac power supply 5 serving as a plasma generation power supply to the 1 st discharge electrode unit 3 and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit 4. That is, an alternating voltage is applied to the 1 st and 2 nd discharge electrode units 3 and 4. By supplying such high-frequency power, the discharge by the 1 st discharge electrode unit 3 and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit 4 is alternately performed at a predetermined cycle (for example, 40 kHz). The frequency of the high-frequency power is preferably in the range of, for example, 1kHz to 400kHz, more preferably 10kHz to 100 kHz. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, when the frequency is 40kHz, the period as the alternating current signal is 25 μ s, and the polarity of the 1 st discharge electrode unit 3 and the polarity of the 2 nd discharge electrode unit 4 are switched between the positive polarity and the negative polarity every 12.5 μ s so that the polarities thereof are different.

Subsequently, when plasma P is generated by the 1 st and 2 nd discharge electrode units 3 and 4 and the ac power supply 5, the film F to be processed is conveyed so as to pass over the 1 st and 2 nd discharge electrode units 3 and 4 while continuing the polarity switching. At this time, the surface of the side to be surface-treated faces the 1 st discharge electrode unit 3 and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit 4. The distance between the 1 st and 2 nd discharge electrode units 3 and 4 and the film F is preferably in the range of 5mm to 100mm, and more preferably in the range of 10mm to 50mm, and the film F is transported in the cassette body 2 so that the distance is in the above range.

Then, the film F passing through the inside of the cassette 2 is sent out at a predetermined conveyance speed, and the plasma processing is performed on the processing surface of the film F. The transport speed (speed per second) of the film F may be, for example, 2[ m/sec ] or more and 20[ m/sec ] or less, but is not limited thereto. By such a treatment, for example, a pretreatment (adhesion treatment) for breaking the crystal structure of the surface of the film F to be amorphous and performing vapor deposition, or a pretreatment (adhesion treatment) for laminating (including bonding or the like) another film may be performed. The above plasma treatment may also be repeated for the film F (for example, the same treatment is repeated 2 to 3 times).

In the case where the film F is a polyethylene terephthalate film, for example, the above-described treatment is preferably performed so that the half-peak width of the C-C bond separated from the C1s waveform in the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy on the film surface is in the range of 1.255eV or more and 1.585eV or less (here, the X-ray is MgK α and the output is 100W as the measurement conditions in the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy), and by setting the half-peak width of the C-C bond to 1.255eV or more and 1.585eV or less, it can be demonstrated that the above-described plasma treatment is performed on the corona-treated surface.

Next, when the vapor deposition process is performed, a thin film layer is formed on the processing surface of the film F after the film formation pretreatment by using a film formation method such as a vacuum vapor deposition method, a sputtering method, an ion plating method, or a Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) method. In view of productivity and the like, it is preferable to use a vacuum vapor deposition method. As the thin film layer, for example, a transparent gas barrier layer made of alumina or silica can be formed. The thickness of the thin film layer as the gas barrier layer may vary depending on the application and the composition, but is preferably in the range of, for example, 5nm to 300 nm. When the film thickness is less than 5nm, the film thickness is insufficient, and the function as a gas barrier layer cannot be sufficiently exhibited. On the other hand, when the film thickness exceeds 300nm, the flexibility cannot be maintained, and the thin film is likely to crack. In addition, productivity is also deteriorated. In view of performance and productivity, the film thickness is more preferably 10nm to 200 nm. By providing the chamber for performing the vapor deposition process so as to be continuous or integrated with the above-described film processing apparatus 1, it is possible to perform the process on-line (within the same system) to improve productivity. A gas barrier coating layer may be formed on the vapor deposition layer, and a protective layer may be further provided thereon.

Fig. 3 shows an example of a laminated film formed by performing such vapor deposition treatment. As shown in fig. 3(a), the adhesion treated layer 13 was formed on the corona treated layer 12 formed on one surface of the PET film 11 by the plasma treatment, thereby forming a film F1. As shown in fig. 3b, a vapor deposition layer 14 (e.g., an alumina layer or the like) is formed on the adhesion treated layer 13, whereby a film F1a having a vapor deposition layer can be obtained. As shown in fig. 3(c), a gas barrier coating layer 15, a 1 st surface layer 16 (e.g., a nylon layer, etc.), and a 2 nd surface layer 17 (e.g., a CPP (cast polypropylene) layer, etc.) are further laminated in this order on the vapor-deposited layer 14 of the film F1a, whereby a laminated film F1b can be formed. As for the 1 st surface layer 16, for example, the thickness thereof may be 10 to 50 μm. The 2 nd surface layer 17 may be composed of unstretched polypropylene (CPP), but may also be composed of Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE), Linear Low Density Polyethylene (LLDPE), ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer resin (EVA), ionomer, acrylic copolymer resin, or the like. As described above, it is preferable to perform the treatment such that the half-width of the C — C bond separated from the C1s waveform in the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurement of the film surface is in the range of 1.255eV or more and 1.585eV or more, thereby improving the adhesion to the vapor deposition layer by the modification effect of the film treated surface and maintaining the barrier property when used as a barrier film. Further, the treatment may be performed such that the half-width of the C-C bond separated from the C1s waveform in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurement of the film surface is in the range of 1.255eV or more and 1.560eV or less.

In addition, in the case where the pretreatment of the film F is followed by a treatment (including bonding) of laminating another film, another layer may be laminated on the film F, and a material constituting another layer such as a thermoplastic resin layer may be extrusion-molded on the treated surface of the film F by an extruder or the like, for example. Fig. 4 shows an example of a laminated film formed by performing such lamination pretreatment. In the example shown in fig. 4(a), the adhesion treated layer 23 is formed by the plasma treatment on the side opposite to the corona treated layer 22 formed on one surface of the PET film 21, and a film F2 is formed. Then, as shown in fig. 4(b), the thermoplastic resin layer 24 extruded from the extruder is laminated on the adhesion treated layer 23, whereby a film F2a in which other layers are laminated can be formed. On the side opposite to the side on which the lamination treatment is performed (corona treatment layer 22 side), a vapor deposition layer 14 as shown in fig. 3 may be additionally provided, or a reactive ion etching treatment layer, an anchor coat layer, or the like may be provided between the vapor deposition layer as a barrier layer and the PET film as a base material to laminate the vapor deposition layer and the PET film. In the example of fig. 4, the corona treatment layer 22 is provided on the side opposite to the surface subjected to the lamination treatment, but the corona treatment layer 22 is not necessarily provided. As described above, it is preferable to perform the treatment such that the half-value width of the C — C bond separated from the C1s waveform in the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurement of the film surface is in the range of 1.255eV or more and 1.585eV or more, thereby improving the adhesion to the thermoplastic resin such as a polyolefin film of polyethylene, polypropylene or the like by the modification effect of the film-treated surface. Further, a thermoplastic resin such as an adhesive polyolefin obtained by, for example, graft-polymerizing maleic anhydride or the like to introduce a functional group into polyolefin can be used.

As described above, in the film processing method according to the present embodiment, 2 discharge electrode units are used to generate plasma P for film processing, and high-frequency power as alternating current is supplied to these discharge electrode units. Therefore, according to this method, since the polarities of the respective electrode units are alternately switched at a predetermined cycle, the charging of the electric charges generated in the insulating film or the like deposited on the electrode surface is slowed, and it is difficult to generate the arc. Further, since the charging is slowed down, higher power can be supplied to each discharge electrode cell, ions in plasma irradiated to the film surface increase, and the progress of the treatment can be promoted. Thus, according to the film processing method of the present embodiment, it is possible to stably perform the plasma processing operation while improving the processing capability for the film.

In this film processing method, the frequency of the high-frequency power may be set to 1kHz to 400kHz, preferably 10kHz to 100 kHz. In this case, since the polarity switching of the 1 st and 2 nd discharge electrode units is appropriately performed, the charging in each discharge electrode unit can be appropriately slowed down. Since the charging is slowed, a large power can be input without causing abnormal discharge such as arc discharge.

In the film processing method, the 1 st discharge electrode unit and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit are respectively configured to be provided with flat electrodes, and the 1 st discharge electrode unit and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit are arranged in parallel. Thus, a planar magnetron plasma processing apparatus can be used, and the structure of the apparatus can be simplified. In addition, since the film to be processed is directly processed in a flat state, more uniform processing can be realized. Further, since the film is exposed to the plasma for a longer time than the film is conveyed on the roller and processed, the processing can be performed more efficiently.

In the film processing method, the alternating-current power source may supply power as high-frequency power to the 1 st discharge electrode unit and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit so that the processing intensity Epd is 100[ W · s/m ] with respect to a product of the electrode width in the film width direction and the processing speed for the plasma processing²]The above. In this case, since the pressure drop on the film surface side can be further increased, the plasma treatment can be more reliably performed on the film to be processed.

The plasma processing apparatus used in the film processing method includes: the discharge electrode unit includes a 1 st discharge electrode unit and a 2 nd discharge electrode unit each having a magnet forming a magnetic field, and an alternating current power supply capable of alternately switching polarities of the 1 st discharge electrode unit and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit. According to this plasma processing apparatus, the processing apparatus including the vapor deposition apparatus and the like can be downsized, and the operation thereof can be stabilized.

In the film processing apparatus, the 1 st discharge electrode unit and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit are each configured to include a flat plate electrode, and the 1 st discharge electrode unit and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit are arranged in parallel. Thus, a planar magnetron plasma processing apparatus can be used, and the structure of the apparatus can be simplified easily.

While the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications may be made. For example, although the 1 st discharge electrode unit 3 and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit 4 each including a flat plate-like electrode are used in the film processing apparatus, 2 discharge electrode units each including a cylindrical electrode (rotary cathode) may be used instead of the above-described configuration. In this case, in the 1 st discharge electrode unit 3 and the 2 nd discharge electrode unit 4, 2 cylindrical electrodes are arranged in a manner of covering the magnets instead of the flat plate electrodes 3a and 4 a. The film processing method can be carried out even when a magnetron plasma processing apparatus using such a cylindrical electrode is used. In this case, it is apparent that the cylinder height of the electrode portion corresponds to the electrode width in the film width direction.