CN116288148A

CN116288148A - Mask assembly, evaporation equipment and evaporation method

Info

Publication number: CN116288148A
Application number: CN202310335049.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 杨一新
Original assignee: Ji Hua Laboratory
Current assignee: Ji Hua Laboratory
Priority date: 2023-03-30
Filing date: 2023-03-30
Publication date: 2023-06-23

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a mask assembly, vapor deposition equipment and a vapor deposition method, wherein the mask assembly comprises at least one mask frame and a mask sheet arranged on a bearing surface of the mask frame; the mask frame comprises a mask frame and at least one supporting beam positioned in a surrounding area of the mask frame; the bearing surface of the supporting beam is flush with the bearing surface of the mask frame. The mask plate alignment device can reduce the problem that the mask plate is deformed by gravity, is suitable for mask plates of various sizes, improves the alignment accuracy of a target substrate, and improves the evaporation effect.

Description

Mask assembly, evaporation equipment and evaporation method

Technical Field

The disclosure relates to the technical field of display, in particular to a mask assembly, evaporation equipment and an evaporation method.

Background

An OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) display is replacing an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display ) with its excellent performance. In an evaporator for manufacturing an OLED device, a precision Metal Mask (FMM) is required, and a display panel manufactured using the FMM has excellent performance.

And the larger the size, the higher the production efficiency is, the larger the substrate is needed to manufacture the large-size OLED device. The larger the size of the mask is, the larger the mask is deformed under the influence of gravity, temperature and other environments, so that the mask, particularly the mask corresponding to the large-sized substrate, is the problem to be solved in the current emergency.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the above technical problems or at least partially solve the above technical problems, the present disclosure provides a mask assembly, vapor deposition equipment and vapor deposition method, which can reduce the problem that the mask is deformed due to gravity, and is suitable for mask of various sizes, improve the alignment accuracy of a target substrate, and improve the vapor deposition effect.

In a first aspect, the present disclosure provides a mask assembly, including at least one mask frame and a mask disposed on a bearing surface of the mask frame;

the mask frame comprises a mask frame and at least one supporting beam positioned in a surrounding area of the mask frame; the bearing surface of the supporting beam is flush with the bearing surface of the mask frame.

In some embodiments, a plurality of rows of sequentially arranged mask sheets are arranged on the mask frame; the extending direction of the mask sheet is parallel to the extending direction of the supporting beam; gaps between two adjacent columns of mask plates of the same mask frame are overlapped with the supporting beams.

In some embodiments, the edges of the mask sheet are secured to the support beams and/or the mask frame.

In some embodiments, a spacer is disposed at a gap between two adjacent columns of the mask pieces of the same mask frame; the gasket is located on the support beam.

In some embodiments, the shim is secured to the support beam.

In some embodiments, the mask assembly includes a target substrate placement area in which a target substrate is placed;

the gasket structure is fixed with the mask frame outside the target substrate setting area.

In some embodiments, the gap between two adjacent columns of the mask pieces of the same mask frame is smaller than a preset value.

In some embodiments, the bearing surface of the support beam is provided with grooves; the mask is fixed in the groove.

In some embodiments, the bearing surface of the support beam is provided with a groove into which the edge of the shim is secured.

In some embodiments, a constant temperature liquid pipe is disposed within the support beam.

In some embodiments, the bearing surface of the support beam is provided with grooves; a supporting platform is arranged in the groove;

the edge of the mask is fixed in the groove, and the bearing surface of the supporting platform is flush with one side, deviating from the mask frame, of the mask.

In some embodiments, the mask disposed on the bearing surface of the mask frame is a monolithic structure.

In some embodiments, the spacers at the gaps between two adjacent rows of masks of the same mask frame overlap with edges of the two adjacent rows of masks, and the masks are located on a side of the spacers facing away from the support beam.

In some embodiments, the length of the shim is less than the length of the mask sheet in a direction parallel to the extension of the support beam.

In some embodiments, the mask frame is integrally formed with the support beam.

In some embodiments, x mask frames are included; each mask piece on the x mask frames corresponds to an evaporation pattern;

dividing each mask piece on the x mask frames into x groups;

mask plates meeting the i+nx columns are sequentially arranged on the i mask frame according to the column serial numbers to form the i mask plate;

the distance between the edges of adjacent rows of mask pieces on the same mask frame is smaller than the sum of the widths of other rows of mask pieces between the row serial numbers of the adjacent rows of mask pieces;

wherein i and x are positive integers, and i is less than or equal to x; x is greater than 1; n is a non-negative integer.

In a second aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure further provide an evaporation apparatus, including an evaporation source and any one of the mask assemblies provided in the first aspect, the mask assembly being disposed between the evaporation source and a target substrate.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides an evaporation method using a mask assembly, applied to any one of the mask assemblies provided in the first aspect, the method including:

and evaporating the target substrate by adopting the mask assembly.

Compared with the prior art, the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure has the following advantages:

the disclosure provides a mask assembly, which comprises at least one mask frame and a mask sheet arranged on a bearing surface of the mask frame; the mask frame comprises a mask frame and at least one supporting beam positioned in a surrounding area of the mask frame; the bearing surface of the supporting beam is flush with the bearing surface of the mask frame. This disclosure is provided with a supporting beam in the mask frame, and the mask piece can set up in supporting beam top, and supporting beam then can play the supporting role to the mask piece, and wherein, the size of mask piece also can be selected according to the demand, and large-size mask piece also can be supported by supporting beam, avoids the mask piece to put the mask frame on unsettled completely, and then receives gravity influence sagging, leads to mask piece deformation, influences the coating by vaporization effect. The mask plate alignment device can reduce the problem that the mask plate is deformed by gravity, is suitable for mask plates of various sizes, improves the alignment accuracy of a target substrate, and improves the evaporation effect.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the disclosure and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present disclosure or the solutions in the prior art, the drawings that are required for the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described below, and it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that other drawings can be obtained from these drawings without inventive effort.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a mask plate in the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a mask assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a mask assembly according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a mask assembly according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a mask assembly according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a mask assembly along the AA' direction according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a mask assembly according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a support beam provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a mask assembly according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a mask assembly according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view of yet another support beam provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view of yet another support beam provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional view of yet another support beam provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a schematic view of a mask assembly according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a schematic cross-sectional view of yet another support beam provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 16 is a schematic view of a mask assembly according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of a mask assembly according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 18 is a schematic cross-sectional view of yet another support beam provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 19 is a schematic view of a mask assembly according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram of a mask assembly according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 21 is a schematic structural view of yet another mask assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 22 is a vapor deposition pattern formed on a target substrate by vapor deposition using the mask assembly of FIG. 21;

fig. 23 is a schematic diagram of an evaporation pattern of a left mask plate in the mask assembly shown in fig. 21 after a first evaporation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 24 is a schematic view of an evaporation pattern of a right mask plate in the mask assembly shown in fig. 21 after a second evaporation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 25 is a schematic structural view of yet another mask assembly provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram of a mask assembly according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 27 is a vapor deposition pattern formed after vapor deposition using the 1 st mask plate of the mask assembly of FIG. 26;

FIG. 28 is a vapor deposition pattern formed after vapor deposition using the 2 nd mask plate of the mask assembly of FIG. 26;

fig. 29 is a schematic structural diagram of an evaporation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 30 is a schematic structural diagram of another vapor deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

In order that the above objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure may be more clearly understood, a further description of aspects of the present disclosure will be provided below. It should be noted that, without conflict, the embodiments of the present disclosure and features in the embodiments may be combined with each other.

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure, but the present disclosure may be practiced otherwise than as described herein; it will be apparent that the embodiments in the specification are only some, but not all, embodiments of the disclosure.

In the process of manufacturing the OLED, a vapor deposition machine is required to be used for completing pattern vapor deposition, a precise metal mask plate is required to be used, the precise metal mask plate is provided with the mask plate, the mask plate is easily sagged and deformed under the influence of dead weight, alignment between the mask plate and a target substrate is difficult, and the larger the mask plate is, the larger the size of the mask plate is correspondingly increased, and the influence of gravity is larger. Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a mask in the prior art, as shown in fig. 1, including a mask frame and a mask, where the mask is commonly used for vapor deposition to form a vapor deposition pattern (the vapor deposition pattern includes a plurality of rectangular patterns on the right side in fig. 1). However, since the mask frame only comprises the peripheral frames, the edges of the mask sheet can only be lapped on the peripheral frames of the mask frame, and the part without the peripheral frames is in a suspended state, so that the lower surface of the mask sheet is not sufficiently supported, and the mask sheet can sag to deform under the influence of dead weight, thereby influencing the evaporation effect.

In view of the above technical problems, the present disclosure provides a mask assembly, and fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of the mask assembly provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in fig. 2, including at least one mask frame 11 and a mask sheet 12 disposed on a bearing surface of the mask frame.

The mask frame 11 includes a mask frame 111 and at least one support beam 112 located in an area surrounded by the mask frame, and a bearing surface of the support beam 112 is flush with a bearing surface of the mask frame 11.

Specifically, the mask assembly comprises a mask frame 11, the mask frame 11 comprises a mask frame 111 and at least one supporting beam 112 located in a surrounding area of the mask frame, the mask frame 111 only comprises surrounding frames, the supporting beams 112 are arranged in a hollow part in the central area of the mask frame 111, at least one supporting beam 112 is arranged, the mask sheet 12 is placed on the mask frame 111, firstly, the mask frame 111 can play a supporting part on the edge of the mask sheet 12 in contact with the mask sheet, the supporting beams 112 are needed for the edge part, which is not in contact with the mask frame 111, of the mask sheet 12, and the supporting beams support the suspended edge part of the mask sheet 12, so that the periphery of the mask sheet 12 is supported, the influence of dead weight on sagging is reduced, and the situation that deviation occurs in alignment of the mask sheet and a target substrate during evaporation is avoided. And the bearing surface of the supporting beam 112 is flush with the bearing surface of the mask frame 111 and is in the same plane, so that when the mask 12 is placed on the mask frame 111, the protruding condition can not occur, but the supporting beam is always kept horizontal, and the alignment effect is good when the supporting beam is aligned with the target substrate later.

Illustratively, fig. 1 provides a mask frame 111, three support beams 112 and four mask sheets 12, and it can be seen that the leftmost mask sheet 12 is disposed on the mask frame 111 along the left edge in the length direction, the right edge is disposed on the support beam 112, the two middle mask sheets 12 are disposed on the support beam 112 along the two side edges in the length direction, the rightmost mask sheet 12 is disposed on the support beam 112 along the left edge in the length direction, and the right edge is disposed on the mask frame 111, so that the periphery of each mask sheet 12 is acted by the supporting force, the influence of gravity is reduced, and the deformation of the mask sheets 12 is avoided.

Optionally, fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of another mask assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in fig. 3, two mask frames are exemplarily provided, namely a first mask frame and a second mask frame, where the left side is the first mask frame, including a first mask frame 111a and a first support beam 112a, and a plurality of first mask pieces 12a, and four edges of the first mask pieces 12a are disposed on the first mask frame 111a or the first support beam 112a to provide a supporting force for the first mask pieces 12 a. The right side is a second mask frame, which includes a second mask frame 111b, a second support beam 112b, and a plurality of second mask sheets 12b, wherein four edges of the second mask sheets 12b are disposed on the second mask frame 111b or the second support beam 112b, so as to provide a supporting force for the second mask sheets 12 b. In the right drawing, if the second mask plates 12b on both sides are directly provided on the second mask frame 111b along the longitudinal edges, the support beam between the second mask frame 111b and the second mask plates 12b may be omitted. When the two mask plates provided in fig. 3 are used for evaporation, one mask plate needs to be evaporated firstly, then the second mask plate needs to be evaporated, and evaporation patterns on the two mask plates are combined to form a complete evaporation pattern, so that the utilization rate of the target substrate is improved.

This disclosure is provided with a supporting beam in the mask frame, and the mask piece can set up in supporting beam top, and supporting beam then can play the supporting role to the mask piece, and wherein, the size of mask piece also can be selected according to the demand, and large-size mask piece also can be supported by supporting beam, avoids the mask piece to put the mask frame on unsettled completely, and then receives gravity influence sagging, leads to mask piece deformation, influences the coating by vaporization effect. The mask plate alignment device can reduce the problem that the mask plate is deformed by gravity, is suitable for mask plates of various sizes, improves the alignment accuracy of a target substrate, and improves the evaporation effect.

It should be noted that, the number of mask frames of the mask assembly provided in the embodiment of the disclosure is not limited, and one mask frame may be provided, two mask frames may be provided, or a plurality of mask frames may be provided, and the mask assembly is selected according to actual requirements. In addition, the mask sheets and the mask support beams in the above embodiments are arranged in rows or columns, which is not limited and not illustrated in the disclosure, and are conventional technical means in the art, and have no influence on technical effects.

In some embodiments, fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of another mask assembly according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in fig. 4, a mask frame is provided with a plurality of rows of sequentially arranged mask plates 12, an extending direction of the mask plates 12 is parallel to an extending direction of the support beam 112, and a part of edges and gaps of two adjacent rows of mask plates 12 of the same mask frame overlap with the support beam 112.

For example, a plurality of rows of sequentially arranged mask plates 12 are disposed on the mask frame, the extending direction of the mask plates 12 is parallel to the extending direction of the supporting beam 112, a part of the edges of two adjacent rows of mask plates 12 of the same mask frame in the extending direction overlaps the supporting beam 112, a gap D exists between the two adjacent rows of mask plates 12 of the same mask frame, and the exposed part of the gap D is a part of the supporting beam 112, so that a part of the edges of the two adjacent rows of mask plates 12 of the same mask frame and the gap overlap the supporting beam 112. Under the structure, the mask is smaller in size, and the absolute expansion amount of a single mask is reduced under the influence of temperature and other environments, so that the mask and a target substrate are easy to align, and the alignment success rate can be improved.

Optionally, a plurality of rows of sequentially arranged mask plates are arranged on the mask frame, the extending direction of the mask plates is parallel to the extending direction of the supporting beam, and part of the edges of two adjacent rows of mask plates of the same mask frame and the gaps overlap with the supporting beam. The effect of the mask sheets and the support beams arranged in a column arrangement manner is the same as that of the mask frames formed in a row arrangement manner, and the mask frames are not described in detail herein, and may be arranged in a row arrangement or a column arrangement in the following embodiments.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 4, the edges of the mask sheet 12 are secured to support beams 112 and/or mask frame 111.

Specifically, according to the position of the mask 12, the edge of the mask 12 can be fixed on the supporting beam 112 or the mask frame 111, the influence of the dead weight on the mask 12 can be reduced by fixing, the peripheral edge can be prevented from being expanded by heating, and the expansion amount of the mask influenced by the environment can be reduced.

For example, in fig. 4, the dotted line portion is the edge of the mask 12, and the edge of the mask 12 in the extending direction contacts the supporting beam 112, so that the edge of the mask 12 in the extending direction contacts the supporting beam 112, the edge of the mask 12 in the width direction contacts the mask frame 111, and the fixed mask 12 does not move. In addition, when the mask sheet 12 is fixed, a certain force can be applied to the mask sheet 12, for example, the mask sheet 12 is pulled outwards, after the mask sheet is provided with tension, the edge is fixed on the support beam 112 or the mask frame 111, and the mask sheet 12 is provided with tension, so that the expansion amount when the mask sheet is affected by temperature can be reduced.

When fixing, can adopt multiple process mode to go on, for example fix through the welding mode, heat or pressurization is fixed it, or uses ultrasonic welding, and ultrasonic welding speed is faster, also can use spot welding or bonding's mode, all can fix the mask piece on supporting beam and/or mask frame, and specific fixing mode can be selected according to actual demand.

In some embodiments, fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of another mask assembly provided in an embodiment of the disclosure, and fig. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the mask assembly along the AA' direction provided in an embodiment of the disclosure, as shown in fig. 5 and fig. 6, a spacer 13 is disposed at a gap between two adjacent columns of mask sheets 12 of the same mask frame, and the spacer 13 is located on the support beam 112.

For example, if the mask size is smaller, a gap exists between two adjacent rows of mask pieces 12 of the same mask frame, and a target substrate is placed on the mask assembly, where the thickness of the target substrate is, for example, 0.7mm, and if the gap is too large, the target substrate sags under the influence of gravity, so as to affect the evaporation effect. The embodiment of the present disclosure is thus provided with a spacer 13 at the gap position for shielding the gap. As shown in fig. 5, a spacer 13 is disposed above the gap between two adjacent rows of mask sheets 12, the spacer 13 is located above the support beam 112, and the support beam 112 may also support the spacer 13. Fig. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of AA' in fig. 5, and a specific structural relationship among the support beam 112, the mask sheet 12, and the spacer 13 can be obtained according to fig. 6. The spacer 13 is specifically configured to make the plane where the mask 12 contacts the target substrate smoother, thereby avoiding sagging of the target substrate and avoiding damage to the target substrate caused by uneven edges of the mask assembly. It should be noted that the disclosed embodiments are not limited to gasket materials.

Optionally, the thickness of the spacer of the same mask frame is the same as the thickness of the adjacent two columns of mask pieces of the same mask frame. The spacer is placed in the gap between the mask sheets, and when the thickness of the spacer is the same as that of the mask sheets, the contact plane between the spacer and the target substrate can be kept at the same level.

In some embodiments, the shims are fixed to the support beam.

Specifically, can fix the gasket on supporting beam equally, make the gasket more firm, improve the stability and the usability of whole mask subassembly, adapt to multiple environmental requirement, can not appear becoming flexible because of the angle change. When the gasket is fixed, various process modes can be adopted, for example, the gasket is fixed in a welding mode, heating or pressurizing is adopted to fix the gasket, or ultrasonic welding is adopted, the ultrasonic welding speed is high, spot welding or bonding modes can be adopted, the mask can be fixed on the supporting beam and/or the mask frame, the specific fixing mode can be selected according to actual requirements, and the method is not limited.

In some embodiments, fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of still another mask assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure, and as shown in fig. 7, the mask assembly includes a target substrate setting area S1, where a target substrate is placed in the target substrate setting area S1.

The spacer 13 is fixed to the mask frame 111 outside the target substrate arrangement region S1.

Specifically, the mask assembly comprises a target substrate setting area S1, when the mask assembly is used for evaporation, a target substrate is placed on the surface of the mask assembly, and an evaporation pattern on the mask assembly is evaporated onto the target substrate, so that the target substrate setting area S1 is arranged on the mask assembly, the target substrate is placed in the target substrate setting area S1, the alignment of the target substrate and the mask assembly is more accurate, and the position of the evaporation pattern is also more accurate. The spacer 13 is placed on the mask frame, when the spacer 13 is fixed on the mask frame 111, the spacer 13 may be fixed with the mask frame 111 outside the target substrate setting area S1, for example, the spacer is fixed in a dashed circle frame in fig. 7, and when the spacer is fixed outside the target substrate setting area S1, even if a fixed trace, such as a welding trace or an adhesive trace, is generated, the fixed trace will not affect the target substrate setting area S1, and when the target substrate is placed on the mask assembly during vapor deposition, the target substrate will be scratched, or the target substrate and the vapor deposition effect will not be affected.

Optionally, the area of the target substrate arrangement region is greater than or equal to the area of the target substrate. In order to ensure that the target substrate arrangement region can completely cover the target substrate, the area of the target substrate arrangement region should be larger than or equal to the area of the target substrate, and the area outside the target substrate arrangement region will not overlap with the target substrate.

In some embodiments, the gap between two adjacent columns of mask sheets of the same mask frame is smaller than a preset value.

Specifically, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the gap between two adjacent rows of mask sheets of the same mask frame needs to be smaller than a preset value, because the mask sheets are all placed on the mask frame, the mask sheets need to be in contact with the mask frame and/or the support beam, if the gap is too large, the edges of the mask sheets in the extending direction may not be in contact with the edges of the support beam in the extending direction, so the gap between two adjacent rows of mask sheets of the same mask frame should be smaller than the preset value, where the preset value is the size of the gap between the adjacent mask sheets after the edges of the mask sheets in the extending direction overlap with the edges of the support beam in the extending direction. Because the mask assembly needs to be aligned with the target substrate, the target substrate is placed on the mask sheet, if the gap is too large, the target substrate can sag under the influence of gravity, flatness is affected, and then the pattern effect of evaporation is affected.

In some embodiments, fig. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a support beam according to an embodiment of the disclosure, where, as shown in fig. 8, a supporting surface of the support beam 112 is provided with a groove 113, and the mask 12 is fixed in the groove 113.

Specifically, a groove 113 is provided on the bearing surface of the supporting beam 112, the mask 12 is placed on the supporting beam 112, and the edge of the mask 12 is bent downward into the groove 113, and the edge of the mask 12 is fixed in the groove 113. Because the groove is lower than the bearing surface of the supporting beam 112, and the mask 12 is thinner, for example, 0.02mm, no bulge is generated after the mask 12 is bent into the groove 113, but the mask 12 is completely in the groove 113, the welding trace or the bonding trace generated by fixing is also remained in the groove and cannot be higher than the bearing surface of the supporting beam 112, so that the bearing surface of the supporting beam 112 cannot be bulged, when the target substrate is placed on the mask assembly to be contacted with the mask 12, the bulge cannot be contacted with the target substrate, and the target substrate is prevented from being scratched by the bulge. It should be noted that, the dashed line in fig. 8 is shown as an opening on the mask sheet, which is used to display the vapor deposition pattern in the vapor deposition process, the dashed line in the following figures acts the same as the opening, and the explanation is not repeated, and the mask sheet in the following embodiments is shown by lines, and a form of filling pattern is not used, which is only for better understanding.

Exemplary, fig. 9 and 10 are schematic structural diagrams of another mask assembly according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, and as shown in fig. 9 and 10, two mask frames are provided, fig. 9 provides a first mask frame, a cross-sectional view along a direction of the first mask frame BB' can see a specific structure of the first trench 113a, and a portion of the edge of the first mask sheet 12a overlapped with the first support beam 113a is bent downward into the first trench 113a and fixed in the first trench 113a, and the edge of the first mask sheet 12a located at the leftmost and rightmost sides is fixed on the first mask frame 111 a. Fig. 10 provides a second mask frame, and a cross-sectional view along the direction of the second mask frame CC' can see the specific structure of the second trench 113b, where the edge of the second mask sheet 12b overlaps the second support beam 113b, is bent downward into the second trench 113b, and is fixed in the second trench 113b, and the edges of the second mask sheets 12b located at the leftmost and rightmost sides are fixed in the second trench 113b, where the fixing may be performed by welding, bonding, or other fixing processes.

Alternatively, the trench shape may include multiple types, and the embodiments of the present disclosure further provide trenches of different structures, and, for example, fig. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view of still another support beam provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure, two trenches 113 are provided on the bearing surface of each support beam 112, and each trench carries two mask pieces 12 on two sides, where each trench only fixes the mask piece 12 on the side where it is located, and the bearing space is larger. Fig. 12-13 are schematic cross-sectional views of another support beam according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in fig. 12 and 13, the space of the groove 113 provided on the bearing surface of the support beam 112 is larger, so that the volume space of the support beam 112 is reduced, and the weight of the support beam 112 is reduced, and the support beam 112 is suitable for a light-weight mask assembly, and the bottom of the support beam 112 in fig. 13 is provided with a radian, so that the gas can reach the target substrate through the gas during evaporation, thereby reducing blocking, and facilitating improvement of evaporation effect. Thus, the grooves may comprise a variety of shapes, sizes and numbers, and may be configured according to actual needs, which is not limited by the present disclosure, and is not illustrated.

In some embodiments, fig. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of still another mask assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure, as shown in fig. 14, a bearing surface of a supporting beam 112 is provided with a groove 113, and an edge of a spacer 13 is fastened in the groove 113.

As shown in the lower diagram of fig. 14, a mask frame is provided, and a spacer 13 is provided on the mask frame, wherein an edge of the spacer 13 in the extending direction is provided on the supporting beam 112, and a cross-sectional structure is obtained along the AA' direction, that is, in the upper diagram of fig. 14, it can be seen that an edge of the mask sheet 12 contacting the supporting beam 112 is completely fixed in the groove 113, and a spacer 13 is further provided between two adjacent columns of mask sheets 12, and the edge of the spacer 13 is also bent into the groove 113 and fastened in the groove 113. Wherein the dotted line of the upper graph is the opening on the mask sheet. In the above structure, when a larger gap exists between two adjacent rows of mask pieces 12, the gap part can be filled by the gasket 13, so that the suspension area of the contact surface with the target substrate is reduced. The effect of fixing the spacer 13 in the groove is the same as the effect of fixing the mask 12 in the groove, so as to avoid the damage to the target substrate caused by the fastening trace on the bearing surface of the supporting beam 112.

Alternatively, when the mask assembly includes a spacer, the grooves of the support beam may also include various types, wherein the shape of the grooves is the same as that provided in the embodiment without the spacer, and reference is made to the above embodiment and the drawings.

In some embodiments, fig. 15 is a schematic cross-sectional view of yet another support beam provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in fig. 15, with a constant temperature liquid pipe 114 disposed within the support beam 112.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, the supporting beam 112 is further provided with a constant temperature liquid pipe 114, the constant temperature liquid pipe 114 can flow through constant temperature liquid, the constant temperature liquid can provide a constant temperature environment for the mask assembly, for example, a lower temperature environment is provided, the expansion amount of the mask 12 in a high temperature environment is larger, if the mask 12 is in a lower temperature environment, the expansion amount of the mask 12 can be effectively reduced, and the evaporation effect is improved. It should be noted that, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the shape, the size and the number of the constant-temperature liquid pipes are not limited, and the section of the constant-temperature liquid pipe in the drawing is circular, but may be other shapes, which is only illustrated. Alternatively, a spacer can be arranged on the basis, and the spacer is arranged between two adjacent rows of mask sheets.

In some embodiments, fig. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of still another mask assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure, as shown in fig. 16, a supporting surface of a supporting beam 112 is provided with a groove 113, and a supporting platform 115 is disposed in the groove 113.

The edge of the mask sheet 12 is fixed in the groove 113 and the bearing surface of the support platform 115 is flush with the side of the mask sheet 12 facing away from the mask frame.

Specifically, the supporting beam 112 has a supporting surface provided with a groove 113, and a supporting platform 115 is disposed in the groove 113, the edge of the mask 12 is bent downward and fixed in the groove 113, the target substrate is placed on the mask 12, and too large a gap between two adjacent rows of masks 12 can cause the sagging of the target substrate under the influence of gravity. Therefore, the supporting platform 115 is disposed in the groove 113, and the bearing surface of the supporting platform 115 is flush with the side of the mask 12 away from the mask frame, i.e. the bearing surface of the supporting platform 115 and the mask 12 together support the target substrate, so as to avoid sagging of the target substrate. The support platform 115 is connected with the support beam 112 through the contact part, so that the stability is improved.

Optionally, the support platform 115 and support beam 112 are formed in 3D printing.

In some embodiments, the mask sheet disposed on the bearing surface of the mask frame is a monolithic structure.

Fig. 17 is a schematic structural diagram of another mask assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in fig. 17, the mask sheets disposed on the mask frames are of a whole structure, two mask frames are provided in the figure, a first mask frame is disposed on the left side, a second mask frame is disposed on the right side, a first mask sheet 12a is disposed on the bearing surface of the first mask frame, a second mask sheet 12b is disposed on the bearing surface of the second mask frame, the first mask sheet 12a and the second mask sheet 12b are of a whole structure, and are not divided, and the mask frames and the support beams bear the mask sheets together.

Optionally, if the supporting beam is provided with a groove, the mask sheet can be directly pressed downwards for welding and fixing. Fig. 18 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another support beam according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in fig. 18, where a mask 12 is covered on a mask frame, and a mask 12 is also covered on a trench 113 of a support beam 112, when the mask 12 is fixed, the mask 12 above the trench 113 may be directly pressed down to bend into the trench 113, fix the mask in the trench, bend and fix the mask in each edge of the trench 113, or optionally fix the mask in a certain point, such as the lowest point, of the trench 113, which is not limited in the present disclosure.

In some embodiments, the spacers at the gaps between two adjacent rows of masks of the same mask frame overlap the edges of the two adjacent rows of masks, and the masks are located on the side of the spacers facing away from the support beam.

Illustratively, fig. 19 and 20 are schematic structural diagrams of a further mask assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure, where two mask frames are provided, as shown in fig. 19 and 20, a first mask frame is provided in fig. 19, a second mask frame is provided in fig. 20, a schematic cross-sectional view of the first mask frame along BB 'is shown in fig. 19, and a schematic cross-sectional view of the second mask frame along CC' is shown in fig. 20. As can be seen from fig. 19, the gaps between two adjacent rows of first mask plates 12a of the same mask frame are provided with first gaskets 13a, the first gaskets 13a overlap with the edges of the two adjacent rows of first mask plates 12a, the first mask plates 12a are located at one side of the first gaskets 13a away from the first support beam 112a, and the edges of the first mask plates 12a located at the leftmost side and the rightmost side are fixed on the first mask frame 111a in the order of placing the first support beam 112a, the first gaskets 13a, the first mask plates 12a upwards from the mask frame. The second mask frame in fig. 20 is placed in the same manner as the first mask frame, the second spacers 13b are disposed at the gaps between two adjacent rows of second mask sheets 12b of the same mask frame, the second spacers 13b overlap with the edges of the two adjacent rows of second mask sheets 12b, the second mask sheets 12b are disposed on one side of the second spacers 13b facing away from the second support beam 112b, the second spacers 13b, the second mask sheets 12b are sequentially placed from the mask frame upward, the edges of the second mask sheets 12b disposed on the leftmost side and the rightmost side are disposed on the second spacers 13b, and the second spacers 13b are disposed on the second support beam 112 b.

The gasket can be a supporting piece with strong supporting force, and the contact area between the supporting force and the mask can be increased by the existence of the gasket, so that the supporting force is improved. In the prior art, the technical features that only the mask sheet is supported by the support sheet, and the support beam is not arranged are also included.

In some embodiments, the length of the spacer is less than the length of the mask sheet in a direction parallel to the extension of the support beam.

With continued reference to fig. 19, for example, the length of the first spacer 13a is smaller than the length of the first mask 12a, and in consideration of the process of fixing, when the length of the spacer is smaller than the length of the mask, the spacer can be completely fixed on the mask frame by performing welding or other fixing operations, and no gap is left at the edge.

In some embodiments, the mask frame is integrally formed with the support beam.

Specifically, mask frame and supporting beam integrated into one piece when the preparation need not to singly produce the postnatal, and processing again is assembled fixedly, and the manufacturing process is more quick. The mask frame and the supporting beam of integrated into one piece can not have the fastening trace to connect more firmly, mask frame rigidity is stronger.

dividing each mask piece on the x mask frames into x groups;

Specifically, the mask assembly may include x mask frames, where each mask piece on the x mask frames corresponds to an evaporation pattern, and after the mask plates formed by sequentially adopting the 1 st to the x mask assemblies are used for evaporating the target substrate, gaps between effective evaporation areas of adjacent mask pieces may be reduced, so that the utilization rate of the target substrate may be improved.

After the masks are sequentially arranged, the effective evaporation areas of the sequentially arranged masks correspond to evaporation patterns, and the embodiment of the disclosure divides each mask on x mask frames into x groups, wherein the masks meeting the ith + nx column are sequentially arranged on the ith mask frame according to the column sequence number to form the ith mask plate.

For example, the mask plates in the 1 st column, the mask plates in the 1 st+x column, the mask plates in the 1 st+2x column, … and the mask plates in the 1 st+nx column are sequentially arranged on the 1 st mask frame according to the column numbers to form the 1 st mask plate; the mask plates in the 2 nd row, the mask plates in the 2+x row, the mask plates in the 2+2x row, … and the mask plates in the 2+nx row are sequentially arranged on the 2 nd mask frame according to the row serial numbers to form the 1 st mask plate; …; the x-th mask plate, the x+x-th mask plate, the x+2x-th mask plate, … and the x+nx-th mask plate are sequentially arranged on the x-th mask frame according to the sequence numbers to form the x-th mask plate.

The distance between the edges of adjacent rows of mask sheets on the same mask frame is smaller than the sum of the widths of other rows of mask sheets between the row serial numbers of the adjacent rows of mask sheets. The embodiment of the disclosure comprises x mask plates, when evaporation is performed on a target substrate, the 1 st to the x mask plates are sequentially adopted to perform evaporation on the target substrate, and because the distance between the edges of the adjacent row of mask plates on the same mask frame is smaller than the sum of the widths of other row of mask plates between the row serial numbers of the adjacent row of mask plates, the mask plates adopted by the adjacent two times of evaporation can have an overlapping area. For example, the 1+2x-column mask of the 1 st mask has an overlapping area with the 2+2x-column mask of the 2 nd mask. Accordingly, by adopting the mask assembly evaporation disclosed by the invention, the gaps between the effective evaporation areas of the adjacent sequence number mask plates can be reduced, and the utilization rate of the target substrate is improved.

Referring now to x 2, fig. 21 is a schematic structural diagram of another mask assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure, as shown in fig. 21,

the disclosed embodiments provide a mask assembly that includes multiple columns of mask sheets 12 (7 columns are exemplarily provided in fig. 21) and 2 mask frames. The mask sheets 12 of the plurality of columns correspond to vapor deposition patterns formed on the target substrate, that is, the mask sheets of the 1 st column to the 7 th column correspond to vapor deposition patterns formed on the target substrate. The left side view in fig. 21 shows, in order from left to right, a 1 st row mask 121, a 3 rd row mask 123, a 5 th row mask 125, and a 7 th row mask 127. The right side view of fig. 21 shows, in order from left to right, a 2 nd row mask sheet 122, a 4 th row mask sheet 124, and a 6 th row mask sheet 126.

Embodiments of the present disclosure divide the columns of mask sheets 12 into 2 groups. The 1 st row of mask plates, the 3 rd row of mask plates, the 5 th row of mask plates and the 7 th row of mask plates are sequentially arranged on the 1 st mask frame 11a to form the 1 st mask plate (such as a left mask plate in fig. 21). The 2 nd row of mask plates, the 4 th row of mask plates and the 6 th row of mask plates are sequentially arranged on the 2 nd mask frame 11b to form the 2 nd mask plate (as the right mask plate in fig. 21). That is, the mask plates in the odd columns are provided on the 1 st mask frame 11a (not shown) and the 1 st support beam 112a, and the mask plates in the even columns are provided on the 2 nd mask frame 11b (not shown) and the 2 nd support beam 112 b.

The distance between the edges of adjacent rows of mask sheets on the same mask frame is smaller than the sum of the widths of other rows of mask sheets between the row serial numbers of the adjacent rows of mask sheets.

Illustratively, as shown in fig. 21, the mask sheets of columns 1 to 3 are described as an example. The distance between the right edge of the 1 st column mask sheet and the left edge of the 3 rd column mask sheet on the 1 st mask frame is A1. The mask plates between the 1 st row of mask plates and the 3 rd row of mask plates on the 1 st mask frame are the 2 nd row of mask plates, the 2 nd row of mask plates are positioned on the 2 nd mask frame, and the width of the 2 nd row of mask plates is A2.

Because the distance between the edges of the adjacent row of mask plates on the same mask frame is smaller than the sum of the widths of the other row of mask plates between the row serial numbers of the adjacent row of mask plates, when the mask assembly is adopted for evaporation, the 1 st mask plate and the 2 nd mask plate are adopted for evaporation in sequence, so that the setting positions of the 1 st row of mask plates and the 3 rd row of mask plates can be partially overlapped with the setting positions of the 2 nd row of mask plates when the 1 st mask plate is adopted for evaporation.

As shown in fig. 21, the position where the right edge of the 1 st row of mask plates is set when the 1 st mask plate is used for vapor deposition and the left edge of the 2 nd row of mask plates is set when the 2 nd mask plate is used for vapor deposition may have an overlapping region X1, and the position where the left edge of the 3 rd row of mask plates is set when the 1 st mask plate is used for vapor deposition and the right edge of the 2 nd row of mask plates is set when the 2 nd mask plate is used for vapor deposition may have an overlapping region X2. I.e. the sum of the length of A1, the length of X1 and the length of X2 is equal to the length of A2. Therefore, the right edge of the pattern evaporated in the effective evaporation area of the 1 st row of mask plates and the left edge of the pattern evaporated in the effective evaporation area of the 2 nd row of mask plates can be in seamless connection. The right edge of the pattern evaporated in the effective evaporation area of the 2 nd row of mask plates and the left edge of the pattern evaporated in the effective evaporation area of the 3 rd row of mask plates can be in seamless connection, and the limit of the edge distance outside the effective evaporation area of each mask plate is avoided. Fig. 22 is a vapor deposition pattern formed on a target substrate by vapor deposition using the mask assembly shown in fig. 21. In fig. 21, B1 represents the set position corresponding to the 1 st row of mask plates when vapor deposition is performed by using the 1 st mask plate, B3 represents the set position corresponding to the 3 rd row of mask plates when vapor deposition is performed by using the 1 st mask plate, B2 represents the set position corresponding to the 2 nd row of mask plates when vapor deposition is performed by using the 2 nd mask plate, C1 represents the pattern position of vapor deposition in the effective vapor deposition area of the 1 st row of mask plates when vapor deposition is performed by using the 1 st mask plate, C3 represents the pattern position of vapor deposition in the effective vapor deposition area of the 3 rd row of mask plates when vapor deposition is performed by using the 1 st mask plate, and C2 represents the pattern position of vapor deposition in the effective vapor deposition area of the 2 nd row of mask plates when vapor deposition is performed by using the 2 nd mask plate. As shown in fig. 22, the distance between the right edge of the pattern evaporated in the effective evaporation area of the 1 st row of mask plates and the left edge of the pattern evaporated in the effective evaporation area of the 2 nd row of mask plates is reduced to 0. The distance between the right edge of the pattern evaporated in the effective evaporation area of the 2 nd row of mask plates and the left edge of the pattern evaporated in the effective evaporation area of the 3 rd row of mask plates is reduced to 0, so that the utilization rate of the target substrate is improved. As can be seen from comparing fig. 22 and fig. 1 (right side view in fig. 1), the target substrate with the same area is obtained in fig. 1 by vapor deposition patterns of 4 rows and 5 columns, and in fig. 22 by vapor deposition patterns of 4 rows and 6 columns, and the target substrate has higher utilization rate by adopting the scheme of the embodiment of the present disclosure.

In fig. 22, each row of mask plate effective vapor deposition regions has a precise vapor deposition pattern, and the specific form of the precise vapor deposition pattern is not limited here.

In addition, in the embodiment of the disclosure, compared with the mode that each mask is sequentially arranged on one mask frame in the prior art, the size of a single mask can be reduced, so that the absolute expansion amount of the single mask due to the influence of temperature and other environments is reduced, the alignment of the mask and a target substrate is easy, and the alignment success rate can be improved. For example, when the above mask assembly is used for vapor deposition to prepare an OLED display panel, a plurality of vapor deposition unit patterns (fig. 22 exemplarily shows 24 vapor deposition unit patterns in total in 4 rows and 6 columns) similar to the array arrangement in fig. 22 are formed. Each vapor deposition unit pattern corresponds to one OLED display panel area. A single OLED display panel is formed by subsequent cutting of the large version shown in fig. 22. Because the size of the single mask sheet is reduced, the absolute expansion amount of the single mask sheet is reduced due to the influence of temperature and other environments, the size of the evaporation pattern of the unit pixel of the OLED display panel in the effective evaporation area of the mask sheet can be reduced, and the resolution ratio of the prepared OLED display panel can be improved.

It should be noted that the multiple columns of mask sheets may be further divided into three groups, four groups, or more groups, which are not particularly limited herein. The principle of dividing into three groups, four groups or more so as to achieve the improvement of the utilization rate of the target substrate is similar to the principle of dividing into two groups described above, and will not be described here. In addition, the data may be divided into rows, which will not be described in detail herein.

Optionally, the mask assembly further corresponds to an evaporation method, and the 1 st to the x-th mask plates are sequentially adopted to perform evaporation on the target substrate.

Specifically, referring to the following description taking x equal to 2 as an example, as shown in fig. 22, the left mask plate (labeled as the 1 st mask plate) in fig. 22 and the right mask plate (labeled as the 2 nd mask plate) in fig. 22 are sequentially used to perform evaporation on the target substrate, and since the 1 st mask plate and the 2 nd mask plate are complementary in pattern, evaporation can be performed sequentially to complete evaporation on the target evaporation pattern.

Optionally, fig. 23 is a schematic diagram of an evaporation pattern of a left mask plate in the mask assembly shown in fig. 21 after a first evaporation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and fig. 24 is a schematic diagram of an evaporation pattern of a right mask plate in the mask assembly shown in fig. 21 after a second evaporation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The mask sheets of columns 1 to 3 are described as examples.

The setting positions of the 1 st row of mask plates and the 3 rd row of mask plates can be partially overlapped with the setting positions of the 2 nd row of mask plates when the 1 st mask plate is adopted for vapor plating. As shown in fig. 21, the position where the right edge of the 1 st row of mask plates is set when the 1 st mask plate is used for vapor deposition and the left edge of the 2 nd row of mask plates is set when the 2 nd mask plate is used for vapor deposition may have an overlapping region X1, and the position where the left edge of the 3 rd row of mask plates is set when the 1 st mask plate is used for vapor deposition and the right edge of the 2 nd row of mask plates is set when the 2 nd mask plate is used for vapor deposition may have an overlapping region X2. Therefore, the distance between the right edge of the pattern evaporated in the effective evaporation area of the 1 st row of mask and the upper edge of the pattern evaporated in the effective evaporation area of the 2 nd row of mask is obviously reduced, for example, seamless connection can be realized. The distance between the right edge of the pattern evaporated in the effective evaporation area of the 2 nd row of mask plates and the left edge of the pattern evaporated in the effective evaporation area of the 3 rd row of mask plates is obviously reduced, for example, seamless connection can be realized, and the distance is not limited by the edge distance outside the effective evaporation area of each mask plate. As shown in fig. 24, the distance between the right edge of the pattern evaporated in the effective evaporation area of the 1 st row of mask and the left edge of the pattern evaporated in the effective evaporation area of the 2 nd row of mask is reduced to 0. The distance between the right edge of the pattern evaporated in the effective evaporation area of the 2 nd row of mask plates and the left edge of the pattern evaporated in the effective evaporation area of the 3 rd row of mask plates is reduced to 0, so that the utilization rate of the target substrate is improved.

Based on this, with continued reference to fig. 1 and 24, as shown in fig. 1, the vapor deposition pattern of the prior art is on the right, and the film material deposited by the existence of the gap is in addition to the desired vapor deposition pattern, so that the vapor deposition pattern needs to be cut twice in the lateral direction when cutting, so that the vapor deposition cell patterns of different columns can be separated. As shown in fig. 24, in the vapor deposition pattern obtained by vapor deposition twice in this embodiment, since there is no gap or a small gap between each vapor deposition unit pattern in the lateral direction on the mask sheet, only one cutting is required. Based on the arrangement, the number of the cutting tools is small when the cutting process is performed, and the production efficiency is improved.

Optionally, the evaporation pattern includes a plurality of evaporation unit patterns arranged in an array; each row of mask piece corresponds to a row of vapor deposition unit patterns of the vapor deposition pattern.

Fig. 25 is a schematic structural diagram of another mask assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in fig. 25, each row of mask pieces corresponds to a row of vapor deposition unit patterns 21 of the vapor deposition pattern. That is, the effective vapor deposition area of each row of mask corresponds to a row of vapor deposition unit patterns of the vapor deposition pattern.

When vapor deposition is carried out on the target substrate, the 1 st to the x-th mask plates are sequentially adopted to carry out vapor deposition on the target substrate, and as the distance between the edges of the adjacent row of mask plates on the same mask frame is smaller than the sum of the widths of the other row of mask plates between the row serial numbers of the adjacent row of mask plates, the mask plates adopted by the adjacent two times of vapor deposition can have an overlapping area. By the arrangement, gaps among effective evaporation areas of adjacent sequence number mask plates can be reduced, and the utilization rate of the target substrate is improved.

Optionally, the evaporation pattern includes a plurality of evaporation unit patterns arranged in an array; each row of mask plates corresponds to part of the vapor deposition unit patterns in the previous row and part of the vapor deposition unit patterns in the next row of vapor deposition patterns except the first row and the last row of mask plates.

Illustratively, as shown in fig. 21, the 1 st row of mask pieces of the left mask plate in fig. 21 is the first row of mask pieces, and the 7 th row of mask pieces is the last row of mask pieces. The 1 st row of mask plates corresponds to only a part of a row of vapor deposition unit patterns of the vapor deposition pattern, and the 7 th row of mask plates corresponds to only a part of a row of vapor deposition unit patterns of the vapor deposition pattern. The 3 rd row of mask plates, the 5 th row of mask plates of the left mask plate in fig. 21, and the 2 nd row of mask plates, the 4 th row of mask plates and the 6 th row of mask plates of the right mask plate in fig. 21 all correspond to part of the vapor deposition unit patterns in the previous row and part of the vapor deposition unit patterns in the next row of vapor deposition patterns. Therefore, each of the first and last rows of mask sheets corresponds to a part of the vapor deposition unit pattern in the previous row and a part of the vapor deposition unit pattern in the subsequent row of the vapor deposition pattern. The arrangement can enable the edge distance of the pattern evaporated by the mask sheets with the adjacent row serial numbers to be 0, and further improve the utilization rate of the target substrate.

Alternatively, the vapor deposition pattern is a vapor deposition unit pattern.

Illustratively, fig. 26 is a schematic structural diagram of yet another mask assembly provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure; fig. 27 is a vapor deposition pattern formed after vapor deposition using the 1 st mask plate of the mask assembly shown in fig. 26. Fig. 28 is a vapor deposition pattern formed after vapor deposition using the 2 nd mask plate of the mask assembly shown in fig. 26. Fig. 26 is a schematic structural diagram of the 1 st mask, and fig. 26 is a schematic structural diagram of the 2 nd mask. After vapor deposition is performed on the upper and lower masks in fig. 26, the distance between the edge of the pattern obtained after vapor deposition on the upper mask and the edge of the pattern obtained after vapor deposition on the lower mask is 0, so as to obtain the pattern as shown in fig. 28. After the mask assembly shown in fig. 26 is sequentially subjected to vapor deposition through the 1 st mask plate and the 2 nd mask plate, a completed vapor deposition unit pattern can be formed, so that the mask assembly provided by the embodiment of the disclosure is adopted for vapor deposition, and the manufacture of large-size devices, such as the vapor deposition of a large-size OLED display panel, can be realized.

The embodiment of the disclosure also provides an evaporation device, which comprises an evaporation source and the mask assembly according to any embodiment, wherein the mask assembly is arranged between the evaporation source and the target substrate.

In some embodiments, the evaporation apparatus comprises at least one evaporation chamber; the evaporation chamber comprises a plurality of evaporation areas; and evaporating the target substrate by adopting a plurality of mask plates of the mask assembly in a one-to-one correspondence manner in the evaporation areas.

In some embodiments, the evaporation areas of the same evaporation chamber can be communicated, and share the same evaporation source; and adopting an evaporation source to sequentially scan and evaporate each evaporation area. Fig. 29 is a schematic structural diagram of an evaporation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and as shown in fig. 29, an evaporation chamber is provided, where the evaporation chamber includes a plurality of evaporation areas, a first R evaporation area 102a, a second R evaporation area 102B, a first G evaporation area 103a, a second G evaporation area 103B, a first B evaporation area 104a, a second B evaporation area 104B, and a first buffer area 101a and a second buffer area 101B. The evaporation areas are in one-to-one correspondence with the mask plates of the mask assembly to evaporate the target substrate, so that the number of the evaporation chambers can be saved, and the equipment cost is reduced.

Alternatively, the same evaporation source can be used for scanning evaporation of the evaporation area at a time. Fig. 30 is a schematic structural diagram of another evaporation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in fig. 30, an evaporation source 31 is provided, and the same evaporation source 31 is used to sequentially evaporate the first mask plate 1a and the second mask plate 1b, so that the number of evaporation sources is reduced, and the cost of the apparatus is reduced.

The above embodiment is described by taking only one configuration of the vapor deposition apparatus as an example. The evaporation equipment can include a plurality of evaporation chambers, and the evaporation zone's that different evaporation chambers include quantity can be the same or different, and this disclosure also does not limit the quantity of evaporation zone that evaporation chamber contained, and the quantity of evaporation source also can be according to actual conditions selection.

The embodiment of the disclosure also provides an evaporation method using the mask assembly, where the method may use the mask assembly described in any embodiment, and the method includes:

and evaporating the target substrate by adopting a mask assembly.

Specifically, the target substrate is placed on the mask assembly, and then the whole target substrate can be placed in evaporation equipment, and evaporation can be performed on the target substrate according to the arrangement requirements of different evaporation areas.

Optionally, when the mask assembly is used for evaporating the target substrate, the method includes:

the relative movement between the evaporation source and the mask assembly is controlled, and the moving direction is parallel to the plane of the mask assembly and perpendicular to the length direction of the mask sheet.

Specifically, controlling the relative movement between the evaporation source and the 1 st mask plate comprises fixing the 1 st mask plate, and controlling the evaporation source to move along the length direction parallel to the plane of the 1 st mask plate and perpendicular to the mask plate. Controlling the relative movement between the evaporation source and the 1 st mask plate can also comprise fixing the evaporation source, and controlling the 1 st mask plate to move along the length direction parallel to the plane of the 1 st mask plate and perpendicular to the mask plate.

Optionally, when the mask plate is used for evaporating the target substrate, the method further comprises:

controlling the relative movement speed of the evaporation source and the mask assembly to be smaller than that of the second position at the first position;

wherein the first position refers to the position of the evaporation source below the mask; the second position refers to a position where the evaporation source is not below the mask.

Specifically, during vapor deposition, only the vapor deposition unit pattern on the mask sheet is required to be vapor deposited, and the vapor deposition is not required to be performed on the position (for example, the position where the mask sheet is not disposed on the spacer or the support beam) where the mask sheet is not disposed in the mask assembly, but it is unavoidable that the vapor deposition is performed when the evaporation source passes through the first shielding portion. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the movement speed when the evaporation source passes through a position where evaporation is not required, and to increase the normal movement speed when the evaporation source passes through a mask sheet where evaporation is required.

Based on this, a position of the evaporation source below the mask is referred to as a first position, a position of the evaporation source not below the mask is referred to as a second position, and a relative movement speed of the evaporation source and the mask should be smaller at the first position than at the second position. The arrangement can avoid the waste of evaporation materials at the second position, and the overall movement time is reduced because the relative movement speed is increased at the second position, so that the evaporation time is saved and the waste of the evaporation materials is avoided.

It should be noted that in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" and the like are used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. Moreover, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one … …" does not exclude the presence of other like elements in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

The foregoing is merely a specific embodiment of the disclosure to enable one skilled in the art to understand or practice the disclosure. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown and described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. The mask assembly is characterized by comprising at least one mask frame and a mask piece arranged on a bearing surface of the mask frame;

2. The mask assembly according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of rows of sequentially arranged mask pieces are arranged on the mask frame; the extending direction of the mask sheet is parallel to the extending direction of the supporting beam; and part of the edges of the mask sheets in two adjacent columns of the same mask frame are overlapped with the supporting beams through gaps.

3. Mask assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that the edges of the mask sheet are fixed to the support beams and/or the mask frame.

4. The mask assembly according to claim 2, wherein a spacer is arranged at a gap between two adjacent columns of the mask sheets of the same mask frame; the gasket is located on the support beam.

5. The mask assembly of claim 4, wherein the spacer is fixed to the support beam.

6. The mask assembly of claim 4, wherein the mask assembly includes a target substrate placement area for placement of a target substrate therein;

7. The mask assembly of claim 2, wherein a gap between two adjacent columns of the mask sheets of the same mask frame is smaller than a preset value.

8. The mask assembly according to claim 1, wherein the bearing surface of the support beam is provided with grooves; the mask is fixed in the groove.

9. The mask assembly of claim 5, wherein the bearing surface of the support beam is provided with a groove, and the edge of the spacer is fastened in the groove.

10. The mask assembly according to claim 1, wherein a constant temperature liquid pipe is provided in the support beam.

11. The mask assembly according to claim 2, wherein the bearing surface of the support beam is provided with grooves; a supporting platform is arranged in the groove;

12. The mask assembly of claim 1, wherein the mask sheet disposed on the bearing surface of the mask frame is of unitary construction.

13. The mask assembly of claim 4, wherein the spacers at the gaps between adjacent rows of the mask plates of the same mask frame overlap edges of the adjacent rows of mask plates, the mask plates being located on a side of the spacers facing away from the support beam.

14. The mask assembly of claim 13, wherein the spacer has a length that is less than a length of the mask sheet in a direction parallel to an extension of the support beam.

15. The mask assembly of claim 1, wherein the mask rim is integrally formed with the support beam.

16. The mask assembly of any one of claims 1-15, comprising x mask frames; each mask piece on the x mask frames corresponds to an evaporation pattern;

dividing each mask piece on the x mask frames into x groups;

17. An evaporation apparatus comprising an evaporation source and the mask assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 16, the mask assembly being disposed between the evaporation source and a target substrate.

18. A method of vapor deposition using a mask assembly, wherein the mask assembly of any one of claims 1-16 is used, the method comprising:

and evaporating the target substrate by adopting the mask assembly.