CN111118445A

CN111118445A - Alignment and film forming apparatus, alignment and film forming method, and method of manufacturing electronic device

Info

Publication number: CN111118445A
Application number: CN201910369384.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 柏仓一史; 石井博
Original assignee: Canon Tokki Corp
Current assignee: Canon Tokki Corp
Priority date: 2018-10-31
Filing date: 2019-05-06
Publication date: 2020-05-08
Also published as: KR20200049379A; JP2020070491A

Abstract

The invention relates to an alignment apparatus, a film forming apparatus, an alignment method, a film forming method, and a method of manufacturing an electronic device. The alignment device of the present invention includes: a substrate supporting unit for supporting a substrate; a mask supporting unit for supporting the mask; and an electrostatic chuck configured to attract the substrate and attract the mask through the substrate, wherein the substrate supporting unit and the mask supporting unit are movable or rotatable with respect to the electrostatic chuck in at least one of a first direction, a second direction intersecting the first direction, and a rotational direction about a third direction intersecting the first direction and the second direction. According to the present invention, the accuracy of the adsorption between the electrostatic chuck and the substrate and/or the accuracy of the adsorption between the electrostatic chuck and the mask can be improved, and the film formation accuracy can be improved.

Description

Alignment and film forming apparatus, alignment and film forming method, and method of manufacturing electronic device

Technical Field

The invention relates to an alignment apparatus, a film forming apparatus, an alignment method, a film forming method, and a method of manufacturing an electronic device.

Background

In the manufacture of an organic EL display device (organic EL display), when forming an organic light-emitting element (organic EL element; OLED) constituting the organic EL display device, a vapor deposition material evaporated from a vapor deposition source of a film formation device is vapor-deposited on a substrate through a mask on which a pixel pattern is formed, thereby forming an organic layer and a metal layer.

In a film forming apparatus of a vapor-deposition-up method (Depo-up), a vapor deposition source is provided at a lower portion of a vacuum chamber of the film forming apparatus, and a substrate is disposed at an upper portion of the vacuum chamber and vapor-deposited on a lower surface of the substrate. In the vacuum chamber of such a film forming apparatus of the vapor deposition upward method, since only the peripheral edge portion of the lower surface of the substrate is held by the substrate holder, the substrate is deflected by its own weight, which is one of the main causes of deterioration of the vapor deposition accuracy. In a film forming apparatus of a system other than the vapor deposition system, there is a possibility that the substrate is deflected by its own weight.

As a method for reducing the deflection due to the self weight of the substrate, a technique using an electrostatic chuck is being studied. That is, by attracting the entire upper surface of the substrate with the electrostatic chuck, the deflection of the substrate can be reduced.

Patent document 1 (korean patent laid-open publication No. 2017-0061230) discloses a technique for attracting a substrate and a mask to an electrostatic chuck, and discloses a structure for moving the electrostatic chuck in a horizontal direction (XY θ direction).

In a state where the relative position between the electrostatic chuck and the substrate is shifted in the horizontal direction (XY θ direction) due to a substrate conveyance error of the conveyance robot or the like, when the substrate is attracted to the electrostatic chuck, the substrate does not properly adhere to the electrostatic chuck. When the alignment process of the substrate with respect to the mask is performed in such a state, the accuracy of the relative position adjustment of the substrate with respect to the mask is lowered.

In addition, in a state where the relative position between the electrostatic chuck and the mask is shifted due to a mask conveyance error of the conveyance robot or the like, when a voltage for attracting the mask is applied to the electrostatic chuck, the attraction force from the electrostatic chuck does not sufficiently act on the mask, and the adhesion accuracy between the substrate and the mask is lowered.

Disclosure of Invention

A main object of the present invention is to provide an alignment apparatus, a film forming apparatus, an alignment method, a film forming method, and a method of manufacturing an electronic device, which can adjust a relative position between an electrostatic chuck and a substrate and/or between the electrostatic chuck and a mask even when the relative position is shifted in a horizontal direction (XY θ direction).

Means for solving the problems

An alignment device according to a first aspect of the present invention is characterized by comprising: a substrate supporting unit for supporting a substrate; a mask supporting unit for supporting the mask; and an electrostatic chuck configured to attract the substrate and attract the mask through the substrate, wherein the substrate supporting unit and the mask supporting unit are movable or rotatable with respect to the electrostatic chuck in at least one of a first direction, a second direction intersecting the first direction, and a rotational direction about a third direction intersecting the first direction and the second direction.

A film forming apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is a film forming apparatus for forming a film of a vapor deposition material on a substrate through a mask, the film forming apparatus including the alignment apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention.

The alignment method according to the third aspect of the present invention includes: a stage of supporting the substrate by the substrate supporting unit; a stage of supporting the mask by using the mask supporting unit; a pre-alignment stage of performing position adjustment by moving or rotating at least one of the substrate and the mask with respect to an electrostatic chuck in at least one of a first direction, a second direction intersecting the first direction, and a rotational direction having a third direction intersecting the first direction and the second direction as an axis; and an alignment stage for adjusting the relative position of the substrate and the mask.

A film forming method according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is a film forming method for forming a vapor deposition material on a substrate through a mask, the film forming method including: a stage of supporting the mask by using the mask supporting unit; a stage of supporting the substrate by the substrate supporting unit; a pre-alignment step of performing position adjustment by moving or rotating the substrate supported by the substrate support unit relative to the electrostatic chuck in at least one of a first direction, a second direction intersecting the first direction, and a rotational direction about a third direction intersecting the first direction and the second direction; adsorbing the substrate after the position adjustment to the electrostatic chuck; an alignment step of adjusting a position of the mask supported by the mask supporting unit with respect to the substrate attracted by the electrostatic chuck; a step of making the mask after the position adjustment to be adsorbed on the electrostatic chuck through the substrate; and a step of forming a film of an evaporation material on the substrate through the mask.

A method for manufacturing an electronic device according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that an electronic device is manufactured by using the film formation method according to the fourth aspect of the present invention.

According to the present invention, when a relative positional deviation occurs between the electrostatic chuck and the substrate and/or between the electrostatic chuck and the mask in a horizontal direction (XY θ direction), the relative position between the electrostatic chuck and the substrate and/or the relative position between the electrostatic chuck and the mask can be adjusted. This can improve the accuracy of the attraction between the electrostatic chuck and the substrate and/or the accuracy of the attraction between the electrostatic chuck and the mask, and as a result, can improve the film formation accuracy.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a part of a production line of an organic EL display device.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a film forming apparatus.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of an alignment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 (a) to (h) are schematic diagrams for explaining an alignment method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 (a) to (b) are an overall view of the organic EL display device and a cross-sectional view of the organic EL element.

Description of the reference numerals

21: vacuum container

22: substrate support unit

23: mask supporting unit

24: electrostatic chuck

30: alignment table

31: lifting drive mechanism of substrate supporting unit

32: lifting driving mechanism of electrostatic chuck

33: lifting driving mechanism for mask supporting unit

Detailed Description

Preferred embodiments and examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the following embodiments and examples merely illustrate preferred configurations of the present invention by way of example, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to these configurations. In the following description, the hardware configuration and software configuration of the apparatus, the process flow, the manufacturing conditions, the dimensions, the materials, the shapes, and the like are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention to these embodiments unless otherwise specified.

The present invention can be applied to an apparatus for depositing various materials on a surface of a substrate to form a film, and can be preferably applied to an apparatus for forming a thin film (material layer) having a desired pattern by vacuum deposition. As a material of the substrate, any material such as glass, a thin film of a polymer material, or metal can be selected, and the substrate may be, for example, a substrate in which a thin film of polyimide or the like is laminated on a glass substrate. As the vapor deposition material, any material such as an organic material or a metallic material (metal, metal oxide, or the like) may be selected. The present invention is applicable to a film Deposition apparatus including a sputtering apparatus and a CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) apparatus, in addition to the vacuum Deposition apparatus described in the following description. The technique of the present invention can be applied to a manufacturing apparatus for an organic electronic device (for example, an organic EL element, a thin film solar cell), an optical component, and the like. Among these, an apparatus for manufacturing an organic EL element, in which an organic EL element is formed by evaporating a vapor deposition material and depositing the vapor deposition material on a substrate through a mask, is one of preferable application examples of the present invention.

< apparatus for manufacturing electronic device >

Fig. 1 is a plan view schematically showing a partial structure of an apparatus for manufacturing an electronic device.

The manufacturing apparatus of fig. 1 is used for manufacturing a display panel of an organic EL display device for a smart phone, for example. In the case of a display panel for a smartphone, for example, a film for forming an organic EL element is formed on a 4.5 th generation substrate (about 700mm × about 900mm), a 6 th generation substrate having a full size (about 1500mm × about 1850mm), or a half-cut size (about 1500mm × about 925mm), and then the substrate is cut out to produce a plurality of small-sized panels.

The manufacturing apparatus of electronic devices generally includes a plurality of cluster apparatuses 1 and a relay apparatus connecting the cluster apparatuses.

The group device 1 includes: a plurality of film deposition apparatuses 11 for performing processes (e.g., film deposition) on the substrate S, a plurality of mask stockers 12 for storing masks M before and after use, and a transfer chamber 13 disposed at the center thereof. As shown in fig. 1, the transfer chamber 13 is connected to each of the plurality of film forming apparatuses 11 and the mask stocker 12.

A transfer robot 14 for transferring the substrate and the mask is disposed in the transfer chamber 13. The transfer robot 14 transfers the substrate S from the passage chamber 15 of the relay device disposed on the upstream side to the film deposition apparatus 11. The transfer robot 14 transfers the mask M between the film deposition apparatus 11 and the mask stocker 12. The transfer robot 14 is, for example, a robot having a structure in which a robot hand holding the substrate S or the mask M is attached to an articulated arm.

In the film forming apparatus 11 (also referred to as a vapor deposition apparatus), a vapor deposition material contained in a vapor deposition source is heated by a heater to be evaporated, and is deposited on a substrate through a mask. A series of film formation processes such as transfer of the substrate S to and from the transfer robot 14, adjustment (alignment) of the relative positions of the substrate S and the mask M, fixing of the substrate S to the mask M, and film formation (vapor deposition) are performed by the film formation device 11.

In the mask stocker 12, a new mask to be used in a film formation process in the film formation apparatus 11 and an existing mask are stored in two cassettes separately. The transfer robot 14 transfers a used mask from the film deposition apparatus 11 to a cassette of the mask stocker 12, and transfers a new mask stored in another cassette of the mask stocker 12 to the film deposition apparatus 11.

The passage chamber 15 for transferring the substrate S from the upstream side to the group apparatus 1 in the transport direction of the substrate S, and the buffer chamber 16 for transferring the substrate S on which the film formation process is completed in the group apparatus 1 to another group apparatus on the downstream side are connected to the group apparatus 1. The transfer robot 14 of the transfer chamber 13 receives the substrate S from the passage chamber 15 on the upstream side and transfers it to one of the film forming apparatuses 11 (e.g., the film forming apparatus 11a) in the cluster apparatus 1. The transfer robot 14 receives the substrate S, on which the film formation process has been completed in the cluster apparatus 1, from one of the plurality of film formation apparatuses 11 (e.g., the film formation apparatus 11b), and transfers the substrate S to a buffer chamber 16 connected to the downstream side.

Between the buffer chamber 16 and the passage chamber 15, a swirl chamber 17 for changing the orientation of the substrate is provided. The whirling chamber 17 is provided with a transfer robot 18 for receiving the substrate S from the buffer chamber 16, rotating the substrate S by 180 °, and transferring the substrate S to the passage chamber 15. This makes the direction of the substrate S the same between the upstream group device and the downstream group device, thereby facilitating the substrate processing.

The passage chamber 15, the buffer chamber 16, and the swirling chamber 17 are so-called relay devices that connect the group devices, and the relay devices provided on the upstream side and/or the downstream side of the group devices include at least one of the passage chamber, the buffer chamber, and the swirling chamber.

The film forming apparatus 11, the mask stocker 12, the transfer chamber 13, the buffer chamber 16, the whirling chamber 17, and the like are maintained in a high vacuum state during the process of manufacturing the organic light emitting element. The passage chamber 15 is normally maintained in a low vacuum state, but may be maintained in a high vacuum state as needed.

In this embodiment, the structure of the apparatus for manufacturing an electronic device is described with reference to fig. 1, but the present invention is not limited to this, and other types of apparatuses and chambers may be provided, and the arrangement between these apparatuses and chambers may be changed.

For example, the present invention can also be applied to an in-line type manufacturing apparatus as follows: the substrate S and the mask M are joined to each other not in the film formation apparatus 11 but in another apparatus or chamber, and then placed on a carrier (carrier) and subjected to a film formation process while being conveyed through a plurality of film formation apparatuses arranged in a line.

< film Forming apparatus >

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the film formation apparatus 11. In the following description, an XYZ rectangular coordinate system in which the vertical direction is the Z direction (third direction) is used. When the substrate S is fixed in parallel with a horizontal plane (XY plane) during film formation, the width direction (direction parallel to the short side) of the substrate S is defined as the X direction (first direction), and the length direction (direction parallel to the long side) is defined as the Y direction (second direction). The rotation angle around the Z axis is represented by θ (rotation direction).

The film forming apparatus 11 includes: a vacuum vessel 21 maintained in a vacuum atmosphere or an inert gas atmosphere such as nitrogen; and a substrate support unit 22, a mask support unit 23, an electrostatic chuck 24, and a vapor deposition source 25, which are provided inside the vacuum chamber 21. The film deposition apparatus 11 of the present embodiment may further include a frame-shaped mask stage 26 provided so as to be fixed to the vacuum chamber 21.

The substrate support unit 22 is a mechanism that receives and holds the substrate S conveyed by the conveyance robot 14 provided in the conveyance chamber 13, and is also referred to as a substrate holder.

A mask supporting unit 23 is provided below the substrate supporting unit 22. The mask support unit 23 is a mechanism that receives and holds the mask M conveyed by the conveyance robot 14 provided in the conveyance chamber 13, and is also called a mask holder.

The mask M has an opening pattern corresponding to a thin film pattern to be formed on the substrate S, and is supported by the mask supporting unit 23. In particular, a Mask used in manufacturing an organic EL element for a smart phone is a Metal Mask having a Fine opening pattern formed therein, and is also referred to as FMM (Fine Metal Mask).

In the embodiment in which the film deposition apparatus 11 includes the mask stage 26, the mask M is transferred from the mask support unit 23 to the mask stage 26 and is placed on the mask stage 26 in the film deposition process.

An electrostatic chuck 24 for attracting and fixing the substrate by an electrostatic attraction is provided above the substrate support unit 22. The electrostatic chuck 24 has a structure in which a circuit such as a metal electrode is embedded in a dielectric (e.g., ceramic material) matrix. Electrostatic chuck 24 may be a coulombic force type electrostatic chuck, a johnson-rahbeck force type electrostatic chuck, or a gradient force type electrostatic chuck. The electrostatic chuck 24 is preferably a gradient force type electrostatic chuck. By using the gradient force type electrostatic chuck 24, even when the substrate S is an insulating substrate, the electrostatic chuck 24 can satisfactorily perform suction. When the electrostatic chuck 24 is a coulomb force type electrostatic chuck, when positive (+) and negative (-) voltages are applied to the metal electrode, a polarized charge having a polarity opposite to that of the metal electrode is induced to an adherend such as the substrate S by the dielectric matrix, and the substrate S is attracted and fixed to the electrostatic chuck 24 by the electrostatic attraction therebetween.

The electrostatic chuck 24 may be formed of one plate or may be formed to have a plurality of sub-plates. In the case of a single board, a plurality of circuits may be included therein, and the electrostatic attraction may be controlled so as to be different depending on the position in the single board.

As illustrated in fig. 2, a cooling plate 27, for example, may be provided as a cooling mechanism for suppressing a temperature rise of the substrate S on the side opposite to the suction surface of the electrostatic chuck 24. This can suppress the deterioration or degradation of the organic material deposited on the substrate S.

The evaporation source 25 includes: a crucible (not shown) for accommodating a vapor deposition material to be formed on a substrate, a heater (not shown) for heating the crucible, a baffle plate (not shown) for blocking the vapor deposition material from scattering toward the substrate until the evaporation rate from the vapor deposition source becomes constant, and the like. The evaporation source 25 may have various structures depending on the application, and may be, for example, a point (point) evaporation source, a linear (linear) evaporation source, or the like.

Although not shown in fig. 2, the film forming apparatus 11 includes a film thickness detector (not shown) for measuring the thickness of a film deposited on a substrate and a film thickness calculating unit (not shown).

The film forming apparatus 11 is provided with: a lift drive mechanism for vertically moving the substrate support unit 22, the mask support unit 23, the electrostatic chuck 24, and the like (in the Z direction and the third direction); and a horizontal driving mechanism (alignment stage) for moving or rotating the substrate support unit 22 and/or the mask support unit 23 relative to the electrostatic chuck 24 in parallel with the horizontal plane (in at least one of the X direction, the Y direction, and the θ direction) in order to perform pre-alignment (pre-alignment) for adjusting the relative position between the electrostatic chuck 24 and the substrate S or between the electrostatic chuck 24 and the mask M, and alignment for adjusting the relative position between the substrate S and the mask M.

In the present invention, as will be discussed later with reference to fig. 3, in order to adjust the position of the substrate S with respect to the electrostatic chuck 24 and/or the position of the mask M with respect to the electrostatic chuck 24 in the horizontal direction (XY θ direction), an electrostatic chuck elevation drive mechanism for elevating the electrostatic chuck 24 is fixedly provided in the vacuum chamber 21, and an elevation drive mechanism of the substrate support unit 22 and an elevation drive mechanism of the mask support unit 23 are provided so as to be mounted on the alignment stage.

In addition to the above-described elevation drive mechanism and horizontal drive mechanism, an alignment camera (not shown) for imaging alignment marks formed on the substrate S and the mask M through a transparent window (not shown) provided on the upper surface of the vacuum chamber 21 may be provided on the outer upper surface of the vacuum chamber 21.

The film deposition apparatus 11 includes a control unit 28. The control section 28 has functions of conveyance of the substrate S/mask M, pre-alignment and alignment, control of the vapor deposition source 25, control of film formation, and the like. The control unit 28 may be configured by a computer having a processor, a memory (memory), a storage (storage), an I/O, and the like, for example. In this case, the function of the control unit 28 is realized by the processor executing a program stored in the memory or the storage. As the computer, a general-purpose personal computer may be used, or an embedded computer or a PLC (programmable logic controller) may be used. Alternatively, a part or all of the functions of the control unit 28 may be constituted by circuits such as ASICs or FPGAs. The control unit 40 may be provided for each film deposition apparatus, or may be configured such that one control unit controls a plurality of film deposition apparatuses.

< alignment means >

Hereinafter, a structure of an alignment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 3. The embodiment shown in fig. 3 is an example in which the alignment apparatus is embodied as a part of the film formation apparatus 11, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and may be embodied as an apparatus which does not perform a film formation process. For example, before the film forming process is performed, the pre-alignment between the electrostatic chuck 24 and the substrate S or the mask M and the alignment process between the substrate S and the mask M may be performed by an alignment device provided separately from the film forming apparatus 11.

The alignment device of the present embodiment includes: a vacuum vessel 21, a substrate supporting unit 22, a mask supporting unit 23, an electrostatic chuck 24, and an alignment stage 30.

On the outer upper surface of the vacuum chamber 21, in order to perform relative position adjustment (pre-alignment) of the substrate S and/or the mask M with respect to the electrostatic chuck 24 in the horizontal direction (XY θ direction) and relative position adjustment (alignment) between the substrate S and the mask M in the horizontal direction (XY θ direction), there are provided: an alignment stage 30 for moving the substrate support unit 22 and the mask support unit 23 in the horizontal direction (XY θ direction), a substrate support unit elevation drive mechanism 31 for elevating the substrate support unit 22 in the Z-axis direction, an electrostatic chuck elevation drive mechanism 32 for elevating the electrostatic chuck 24 in the Z-axis direction, and a mask support unit elevation drive mechanism 33 for elevating the mask support unit 23 in the Z-axis direction.

The alignment stage 30 receives a driving force for moving in the horizontal direction (XY θ direction) from an alignment stage driving motor 301 fixed to the outer upper surface of the vacuum chamber 21 via a linear guide. That is, a guide rail (not shown) is fixedly provided on the outer upper surface of the vacuum chamber 21, and the linear block is movably provided on the guide rail. An alignment stage substrate plate 302 is mounted on the linear block. The alignment stage substrate plate 302 mounted on the linear block can be moved in the horizontal direction (XY θ direction) along with the entire alignment stage 30 by moving the linear block in the horizontal direction (XY θ direction) by the driving force from the alignment stage driving motor 301 fixed to the outer upper surface of the vacuum chamber 21.

The substrate support unit elevation drive mechanism 31 and the mask support unit elevation drive mechanism 33 are mounted on the alignment stage 30 as described later. Therefore, as the alignment stage moves in the horizontal direction (XY θ direction), the substrate support unit 22 and the mask support unit 23 move in the horizontal direction (XY θ direction) together with the substrate S and the mask M supported by the substrate support unit 22 and the mask support unit 23, respectively.

The substrate support unit elevation drive mechanism 31 is a mechanism that elevates the substrate support unit 22 in the Z-axis direction, and is provided on the alignment stage substrate plate 302. The substrate supporting unit 22 in the vacuum vessel 21 is connected to a substrate supporting unit elevating drive mechanism 31 through the outer upper surface of the vacuum vessel 21. The substrate supporting unit elevating drive mechanism 31 includes: a motor 311 for driving the substrate support unit to move up and down; and a linear guide 312 as a substrate supporting unit elevation driving force transmission mechanism for transmitting the driving force of the substrate supporting unit elevation driving motor 311 to the substrate supporting unit 22. In the present embodiment, the linear guide 312 is used as the substrate support unit elevating drive force transmission mechanism, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and a ball screw or the like may be used.

The electrostatic chuck elevating drive mechanism 32 includes: an electrostatic chuck elevation driving motor 321 for driving the electrostatic chuck 24 in the Z direction and a ball screw 322 as an electrostatic chuck elevation driving force transmission mechanism are provided on an electrostatic chuck elevation driving mechanism base plate 323 fixed to the outer upper surface of the vacuum chamber 21. In the present embodiment, the ball screw 322 is used as the electrostatic chuck elevating driving force transmission mechanism, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and a linear guide or the like may be used.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the electrostatic chuck elevation driving mechanism 32 is not provided on the alignment stage base plate 302 as in the conventional art, but is provided on the electrostatic chuck elevation driving mechanism base plate 323 which is separated from and independently fixed to the outer upper surface of the vacuum chamber 21 from the alignment stage 30, and therefore, even if the alignment stage 30 moves in the horizontal direction (XY θ direction), the electrostatic chuck elevation driving mechanism 32 does not move in the horizontal direction (XY θ direction), and is fixed in the horizontal direction (XY θ direction).

In the present specification, the electrostatic chuck elevating drive mechanism 32 being provided separately from the alignment stage 30 and independently means in a broad sense: the electrostatic chuck elevation drive mechanism 32 is not mounted on the alignment stage 30, and does not receive a driving force for moving in the horizontal direction (XY θ direction) from the alignment stage 30, and in a narrow sense means: the electrostatic chuck elevation drive mechanism 32 is not mounted on the alignment stage 30, but is provided so as to be fixed to the outer upper surface of the vacuum chamber 21 in the horizontal direction (XY θ direction) (that is, fixed so as not to move or rotate in the horizontal direction (XY θ direction)).

The mask support unit elevation drive mechanism 33 is a mechanism for elevating the mask support unit 23 in the Z-axis direction, and is mounted on the alignment stage 30. The mask supporting unit 23 in the vacuum vessel 21 is connected to the mask supporting unit elevating drive mechanism 33 through the outer upper surface of the vacuum vessel 21. The mask support unit elevation driving mechanism 33 includes a mask support unit elevation driving motor 331 and a ball screw 332, and performs a function of elevating the mask support unit 23.

In this way, in the present embodiment, the substrate supporting unit elevating drive mechanism 31 and the mask supporting unit elevating drive mechanism 33 are provided on the alignment stage substrate plate 302 of the alignment stage 30, and the electrostatic chuck elevating drive mechanism 32 is provided separately and independently from the alignment stage 30, and therefore, as the alignment stage 30 moves in the horizontal direction (XY θ direction), the substrate supporting unit elevating drive mechanism 31 and the mask supporting unit elevating drive mechanism 33 (and therefore, the substrate S and the mask M) move or rotate in the horizontal direction (XY θ direction) with respect to the electrostatic chuck elevating drive mechanism 32.

As a result, as will be described later, even when the substrate S supported by the substrate support unit 22 is displaced relative to the electrostatic chuck 24 in the horizontal direction (XY θ direction), the relative position therebetween in the horizontal direction (XY θ direction) can be adjusted, and similarly, even when the mask M supported by the mask support unit 23 is displaced relative to the electrostatic chuck 24, the mask M can be moved in the horizontal direction (XY θ direction) to adjust the relative position with respect to the electrostatic chuck 24.

< alignment method and film Forming method >

With reference to fig. 4, the pre-alignment of the substrate S/mask M with respect to the electrostatic chuck 24, the alignment process of the mask M with respect to the substrate S, and the film formation method including the alignment process will be described.

When the mask replacement timing is reached, as shown in fig. 4 (a), a new mask M is loaded into the vacuum chamber 21 of the film deposition apparatus 11 and supported by the mask support unit 2.

Next, the substrate S on which the vapor deposition material is deposited using the mask M is carried into the vacuum chamber 21 and supported by the substrate support unit 22.

In this state, a pre-alignment process of the substrate S with respect to the electrostatic chuck 24 is performed. In the pre-alignment step of the substrate S, for example, corners of the rectangular electrostatic chuck 24 and an alignment mark formed on the substrate S are imaged by an alignment camera (rough alignment camera), and a relative positional displacement amount of the substrate S with respect to the electrostatic chuck 24 is measured.

In another embodiment, instead of the corner portion of the electrostatic chuck 24, another electrostatic chuck alignment mark formed at the corner portion of the electrostatic chuck 24 may be imaged together with the alignment mark of the substrate to measure the relative positional displacement amount.

In addition, an opening is formed in the electrostatic chuck 24 so that the alignment mark of the substrate S placed below the electrostatic chuck 24 can be seen from above.

When it is found that the relative position between the electrostatic chuck 24 and the substrate S is shifted, the alignment stage 30 is moved in the horizontal direction (XY θ direction), and the relative position between the electrostatic chuck 24 and the substrate S in the horizontal direction (XY θ direction) is adjusted.

In the present embodiment, as described with reference to fig. 3, since the substrate support unit 22 and the substrate support unit elevation drive mechanism 31 are mounted on the alignment stage 30 and the electrostatic chuck elevation drive mechanism 32 is provided separately and independently from the alignment stage 30, the relative position of the electrostatic chuck 24 and the substrate S can be adjusted by moving the alignment stage 30 in the horizontal direction (XY θ direction). As described above, according to the present invention, even when the relative positions of the electrostatic chuck 24 and the substrate S in the horizontal direction (XY θ direction) are shifted from each other due to the substrate conveyance error of the conveyance robot 14, the substrate S can be positionally adjusted with respect to the electrostatic chuck 24, and therefore the substrate S can be favorably adsorbed to the electrostatic chuck 24.

When the position adjustment (substrate pre-alignment) of the substrate S with respect to the electrostatic chuck 24 is completed, the electrostatic chuck 24 is lowered by the electrostatic chuck elevation drive mechanism 32, and a predetermined voltage (Δ V1) is applied to the electrostatic chuck 24, so that the substrate S is attracted to the electrostatic chuck 24, as shown in fig. 4 (d).

Next, as shown in fig. 4 (e), the electrostatic chuck elevation drive mechanism 32 is driven to lower the substrate S attracted by the electrostatic chuck 24 onto the mask M. At this time, the substrate supporting unit 22 may be lowered by the substrate supporting unit elevating drive mechanism 31 in accordance with the lowering of the electrostatic chuck 24.

When the substrate S attracted by the electrostatic chuck 24 is lowered to an alignment measurement position (for example, a measurement position in the fine alignment step), as shown in fig. 4 (f), an alignment mark of the substrate S and the mask is imaged by using an alignment camera (fine alignment camera), and a relative positional displacement amount thereof is measured. When the amount of relative positional displacement between the substrate S and the mask M exceeds a threshold value, the alignment stage 30 on which the mask support unit elevating drive mechanism 33 is mounted is moved in the horizontal direction (XY θ direction), and the relative position between the substrate S and the mask M is adjusted.

Thus, when the relative positional deviation between the substrate S and the mask M is within the threshold value, the electrostatic chuck elevation drive mechanism 32 is driven to lower the electrostatic chuck 24 onto the mask M, as shown in fig. 4 (g). A predetermined voltage (Δ V2) is applied to the electrostatic chuck 24 lowered on the mask M, and the mask M is pulled toward the substrate S, thereby bringing the substrate S into close contact with the mask M.

Next, the shutter of the vapor deposition source 25 is opened, and the vapor deposition material evaporated from the vapor deposition source 25 is vapor-deposited on the lower surface of the substrate through the mask (fig. 4 (h)).

According to the present invention, since the substrate S can be prealigned with respect to the electrostatic chuck 24, the lamination accuracy of the electrostatic chuck/substrate/mask laminate is improved, and as a result, the film formation accuracy is improved.

In fig. 4, the description has been given centering on the structure in which the substrate S is prealigned with respect to the electrostatic chuck 24, but the mask M may be prealigned with respect to the electrostatic chuck 24. That is, after the mask M is loaded into the vacuum chamber 21 by the transfer robot 14 and supported by the mask support unit 23, the relative positional displacement amount between the mask M and the electrostatic chuck 24 may be measured by the same method as the substrate pre-alignment, and the relative position may be adjusted. This can further improve the accuracy of lamination of the electrostatic chuck/substrate/mask laminate, and as a result, can improve the film formation accuracy.

In the embodiment of fig. 4, the alignment between the substrate S and the mask M is performed in a state where the substrate S is attracted by the electrostatic chuck 24, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the alignment between the substrate S supported by the substrate support unit 22 and the mask M on the mask stage 26 may be performed after the mask M is moved from the mask support unit 23 to the mask stage 26.

In the embodiment of fig. 4, the description has been made centering on the structure in which the alignment between the substrate S and the mask M is performed in one stage (i.e., fine alignment) after the pre-alignment of the substrate S, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the alignment process performed after the pre-alignment may be performed in two stages (coarse alignment and fine alignment).

In the above description, the film formation apparatus 11 is configured to perform film formation with the film formation surface of the substrate S facing downward in the vertical direction, i.e., so-called vapor-deposition-up (Depo-up), but is not limited thereto, and may be configured as follows: the substrate S is disposed on the side surface of the vacuum chamber 21 in a vertically standing state, and film formation is performed with the film formation surface of the substrate S parallel to the direction of gravity.

< method for producing electronic device >

Next, an example of a method for manufacturing an electronic device using the film formation apparatus of the present embodiment will be described. Hereinafter, the structure and the manufacturing method of the organic EL display device are exemplified as an example of the electronic device.

First, the organic EL display device manufactured will be described. Fig. 5 (a) is an overall view of the organic EL display device 60, and fig. 5 (b) shows a cross-sectional structure of one pixel.

As shown in fig. 5 (a), a plurality of pixels 62 each including a plurality of light-emitting elements are arranged in a matrix in a display region 61 of an organic EL display device 60. Each light emitting element has a structure including an organic layer sandwiched between a pair of electrodes, and details thereof will be described later. Here, the pixel is the smallest unit that can display a desired color in the display region 61. In the case of the organic EL display device of the present embodiment, the pixel 62 is configured by a combination of the first light-emitting element 62R, the second light-emitting element 62G, and the third light-emitting element 62B showing different light emission from each other. The pixel 62 is often configured by a combination of a red light emitting element, a green light emitting element, and a blue light emitting element, but is not particularly limited as long as it is a combination of a yellow light emitting element, a cyan light emitting element, and a white light emitting element and at least one color is used.

Fig. 5 (B) is a partial cross-sectional view of line a-B of fig. 5 (a). The pixel 62 includes an organic EL element including a first electrode (anode) 64, a hole transport layer 65, one of light-emitting

layers

66R, 66G, and 66B, an electron transport layer 67, and a second electrode (cathode) 68 on a substrate 63. The hole transport layer 65, the

light emitting layers

66R, 66G, and 66B, and the electron transport layer 67 correspond to organic layers. In this embodiment, the light-emitting layer 66R is an organic EL layer that emits red light, the light-emitting layer 66G is an organic EL layer that emits green light, and the light-emitting layer 66B is an organic EL layer that emits blue light. The light-emitting

layers

66R, 66G, and 66B are formed in patterns corresponding to light-emitting elements (also referred to as organic EL elements) that emit red light, green light, and blue light, respectively. The first electrode 64 is formed separately for each light emitting element. The hole transport layer 65, the electron transport layer 67, and the second electrode 68 may be formed in common with the plurality of

light emitting elements

62R, 62G, and 62B, or may be formed for each light emitting element. In order to prevent the first electrode 64 and the second electrode 68 from being short-circuited by foreign matter, an insulating layer 69 is provided between the first electrodes 64. Since the organic EL layer is degraded by moisture and oxygen, a protective layer 70 for protecting the organic EL element from moisture and oxygen is provided.

In fig. 5 (b), the hole transport layer 65 and the electron transport layer 67 are illustrated as one layer, but may be formed of a plurality of layers including a hole blocking layer and an electron blocking layer depending on the structure of the organic EL display element. Further, a hole injection layer having a band structure in which holes can be smoothly injected from the first electrode 64 into the hole transport layer 65 may be formed between the first electrode 64 and the hole transport layer 65. Similarly, an electron injection layer may be formed between the second electrode 68 and the electron transport layer 67.

Next, an example of a method for manufacturing an organic EL display device will be specifically described.

First, a substrate 63 on which a circuit (not shown) for driving the organic EL display device and the first electrode 64 are formed is prepared.

An acrylic resin is formed by spin coating on the substrate 63 on which the first electrode 64 is formed, and the insulating layer 69 is formed by patterning the acrylic resin by photolithography so as to form an opening in a portion where the first electrode 64 is formed. The opening corresponds to a light-emitting region where the light-emitting element actually emits light.

The substrate 63 on which the insulating layer 69 is patterned is sent to a first organic material film forming apparatus, the substrate is held by the substrate supporting unit 22 and/or the electrostatic chuck 24, and the hole transport layer 65 is formed as a common layer on the first electrode 64 in the display region. The hole transport layer 65 is formed by vacuum evaporation. In practice, the hole transport layer 65 is formed to have a size larger than that of the display region 61, and therefore a high-definition mask is not required.

Next, the substrate 63 on which the hole transport layer 65 has been formed is carried into the second organic material film forming apparatus and held by the substrate supporting unit 22 and the electrostatic chuck 24. The substrate and the mask are aligned, the substrate is placed on the mask, and the light-emitting layer 66R that emits red light is formed on the portion of the substrate 63 where the element that emits red light is disposed.

According to the present invention, the substrate support unit elevation drive mechanism 31 and the mask support unit elevation drive mechanism 33 are mounted on the alignment stage 30, and the electrostatic chuck elevation drive mechanism 32 is provided separately and independently from the alignment stage 30, so that the relative positions of the electrostatic chuck 24, the substrate support unit 22, and the mask support unit 23 can be effectively adjusted, and thus film deposition failure can be effectively reduced.

Similarly to the formation of the light-emitting layer 66R, the light-emitting layer 66G emitting green light is formed by a third organic material film-forming device, and the light-emitting layer 66B emitting blue light is formed by a fourth organic material film-forming device. After the completion of the formation of the light-emitting

layers

66R, 66G, and 66B, the electron transport layer 67 is formed over the entire display region 61 by the fifth film formation device. The electron transport layer 67 is formed as a common layer in the

light emitting layers

66R, 66G, and 66B of 3 colors.

The substrate on which the electron transport layer 67 has been formed is moved in the metallic vapor deposition material film formation device to form the second electrode 68.

Thereafter, the substrate is moved to a plasma CVD apparatus to form a protective film 70, thereby completing the organic EL display apparatus 60.

When the substrate 63 patterned with the insulating layer 69 is exposed to an environment containing moisture and oxygen until the formation of the protective layer 70 is completed after being carried into the film forming apparatus, the light-emitting layer made of an organic EL material may be deteriorated by moisture and oxygen. Therefore, in this example, the substrate is carried in and out between the film deposition apparatuses in a vacuum atmosphere or an inert gas atmosphere.

The above embodiments are merely examples of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the configurations of the above embodiments, and can be modified as appropriate within the scope of the technical idea.

Claims

1. An alignment device, comprising:

a substrate supporting unit for supporting a substrate;

a mask supporting unit for supporting the mask; and

an electrostatic chuck for adsorbing the substrate and the mask through the substrate,

the substrate supporting unit and the mask supporting unit are movable or rotatable with respect to the electrostatic chuck in at least one of a first direction, a second direction intersecting the first direction, and a rotational direction having a third direction intersecting the first direction and the second direction as an axis.

2. The alignment device of claim 1,

the alignment apparatus further includes an alignment stage for moving or rotating the substrate supporting unit and the mask supporting unit with respect to the electrostatic chuck in at least one of the first direction, the second direction, and the rotation direction,

the electrostatic chuck is separately provided from the alignment stage.

3. The alignment device of claim 2,

the electrostatic chuck is provided so as to be fixed in the first direction, the second direction, and the rotation direction.

4. The alignment device of claim 3,

the alignment device further comprises a vacuum vessel,

the electrostatic chuck is provided so as to be fixed in the first direction, the second direction, and the rotation direction with respect to the vacuum container.

5. The alignment device of claim 2,

the alignment apparatus further includes a substrate supporting unit driving mechanism for moving the substrate supporting unit in the third direction,

the substrate support unit drive mechanism is mounted on the alignment stage.

6. The alignment device of claim 2,

the alignment apparatus further includes a mask supporting unit driving mechanism for moving the mask supporting unit in the third direction,

the mask support unit drive mechanism is mounted on the alignment stage.

7. The alignment device of claim 2,

the alignment device further comprises an electrostatic chuck drive mechanism for moving the electrostatic chuck in the third direction,

the electrostatic chuck drive mechanism is provided separately from the alignment stage.

8. The alignment device of claim 7,

the electrostatic chuck drive mechanism is provided so as to be fixed in the first direction, the second direction, and the rotation direction.

9. The alignment device of claim 8,

the alignment device further comprises a vacuum vessel,

the electrostatic chuck drive mechanism is provided so as to be fixed in the first direction, the second direction, and the rotation direction with respect to the vacuum vessel.

10. A film forming apparatus for forming a film of a vapor deposition material on a substrate through a mask,

comprising an alignment device according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. An alignment method, comprising:

a stage of supporting the substrate by the substrate supporting unit;

a stage of supporting the mask by using the mask supporting unit;

a pre-alignment stage of performing position adjustment by moving or rotating at least one of the substrate and the mask with respect to an electrostatic chuck in at least one of a first direction, a second direction intersecting the first direction, and a rotational direction having a third direction intersecting the first direction and the second direction as an axis; and

and adjusting the relative position of the substrate and the mask.

12. The alignment method of claim 11,

the pre-alignment stage includes a stage of performing position adjustment by moving or rotating the substrate relative to the electrostatic chuck in at least one of the first direction, the second direction, and the rotational direction.

13. The alignment method of claim 12,

after the pre-alignment stage, a stage of making the substrate adsorbed on the electrostatic chuck is further included,

the alignment stage includes a stage of moving or rotating the mask in at least one of the first direction, the second direction, and the rotation direction with respect to the substrate attracted by the electrostatic chuck.

14. The alignment method of claim 11,

the pre-alignment stage further includes a stage of position adjustment by moving or rotating the mask relative to the electrostatic chuck in at least one of the first direction, the second direction, and the rotational direction.

15. The alignment method of claim 11,

the alignment stage includes a stage of moving or rotating the mask relative to the substrate in at least one of a first direction, a second direction intersecting the first direction, and a rotational direction having a third direction intersecting the first direction and the second direction as an axis.

16. A film forming method for forming a film of an evaporation material on a substrate through a mask, comprising:

a stage of supporting the mask by using the mask supporting unit;

a stage of supporting the substrate by the substrate supporting unit;

a pre-alignment step of performing position adjustment by moving or rotating the substrate supported by the substrate support unit relative to the electrostatic chuck in at least one of a first direction, a second direction intersecting the first direction, and a rotational direction about a third direction intersecting the first direction and the second direction;

adsorbing the substrate after the position adjustment to the electrostatic chuck;

an alignment step of adjusting a position of the mask supported by the mask supporting unit with respect to the substrate attracted by the electrostatic chuck;

a step of making the mask after the position adjustment to be adsorbed on the electrostatic chuck through the substrate; and

and forming a film of an evaporation material on the substrate through the mask.

17. The film forming method according to claim 16,

in the alignment stage, the mask supported by the mask supporting unit is moved or rotated in at least one of the first direction, the second direction, and the rotation direction with respect to the substrate attracted by the electrostatic chuck.

18. A method for manufacturing an electronic device, wherein the film formation method according to claim 16 or 17 is used to manufacture an electronic device.