Method of modifying a surface of an insulator

Details Method of modifying a surface of an insulator Method of modifying a surface of an insulator

1999-08-10

2001-08-07

Padgett, Marianne (Department: 1762)

Coating processes

Direct application of electrical, magnetic, wave, or...

Polymerization of coating utilizing direct application of...

C427S506000, C427S524000, C427S525000, C427S527000, C427S551000, C427S596000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06270857

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for surface modification by irradiating an insulator with an electron beam to modify the surface of the insulator.
2. Description of the Related Art
A method has been employed which subjects a work which must be processed to surface modification to modify a variety of physical and chemical characteristics including hardness, elasto-plasticity, electric conductivity, lubricity, durability, moisture resistance, corrosion resistance, wettability and gas permeability. As the foregoing method, a method (hereinafter called an “electron-beam applying method ”) has been known with which a work which must be processed is irradiated with an electron beam to modify the surface of the work.
The electron-beam applying method is, as shown in
FIG. 1
, performed such that a work
101
which must be processed and which is secured to a holder
100
in a vacuum chamber is irradiated with an electron beam
103
emitted from an electron-beam source
102
. The foregoing electron-beam applying method is not required to heat the work
101
. Moreover, control of the energy of the electron beam which must be applied enables a variety of characteristics of the work
101
to be modified. Therefore, the electron-beam applying method has widely been used in an industrial field for manufacturing semiconductors.
The electron-beam applying method of the foregoing type, however, has been limited to a case in which the work
101
which must be processed is made of a material, such as metal, having conductivity. If the work
101
which must be processed is made of an insulator, such as plastic, the electron-beam applying method is limited to a case, for example, a polymerizing process, which does not require a process which must be completed in a short time. The reason for this lies in that employment of the electron-beam applying method in a case where the work
101
which must be processed is an insulator causes electric charges to be accumulated in the work
101
which must be processed. Thus, a so-called a “charged-up state ” is realized. In the foregoing case, effective irradiation of the work
101
which must be processed with the electron beam cannot be performed. Hence it follows that the time to complete the process is elongated excessively when the electron-beam applying method is applied to the insulator. As a result, there arises a problem in that the productivity cannot easily be improved.
When the work
101
which must be processed is made of an insulator, such as glass, the conventional electron-beam applying method causes the glass work
101
to be heated owing to irradiation with the electron beam. As a result, conductivity is realized so that the charge-up state is neutralized. When the conventional electron-beam applying method is applied to the insulator, such as plastic, there arises a problem in that the work
101
which must be processed is melted or deformed owing to the heat generated by the electron beam.
OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for surface modification of an insulator which is capable of effectively performing surface modification by using an electron-beam applying method if an insulator is subjected to the surface modification.
According to the present invention, it provides a method for surface modification of an insulator by electron beam being irradiated on the insulator; the improvement: applying pulse-shape voltage to the insulator while the electron beam is irradiated on the insulator.
According to the foregoing method for surface modification of an insulator arranged to apply the pulse-shape voltage, a fact that the insulator is brought into an electrical non-equilibrium, that is, a charge-up state, can be prevented even if the insulator is continuously irradiated with electron beams. Therefore, even the insulator can continuously and effectively be irradiated with the electron beams. As a result, time required to complete the process can be shortened, causing the productivity to be improved.
According to the present invention, surface modification using the electron-beam applying method can be applied to plastic, which is the insulator. Therefore, the plastic can efficiently be subjected to the surface modification. That is, according to the present invention, plastic can be subjected to surface modification using electron-beam applying method so that physical and chemical characteristics are improved which include hardness, elasto-plasticity, electric conductivity, lubricity, durability, moisture resistance, corrosion resistance, wettability and gas permeability. Therefore, the present invention enables a variety of materials which have been made of metal or glass into low-cost plastic. Hence it follows that a significant industrial advantage can be obtained.


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Adler, et al., Repetitively Pulsed Metal Ion Beams for Ion Implementation, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, 1985, 123-128, B6, Elsevier Science Publishers B.v., North Holland, No Month.
Conrad, Sheath Thickness and Potential Profiles of Ion-Matrix Sheaths for Cylindrical and Sphereical Electrodes,J. Appl. Phys., Aug. 1, 1987, 777-779, 63 (3), American Institute of Physics, College Park, MD, USA.
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