JP2002256432A - Apparatus for forming multilayer film - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve such a problem that a conventional apparatus for forming a multilayer film takes much time for transferring a substrate between cavities, reduces a productive efficiency, and raises prices of products, because it employs a robot for transferring the substrate and a gate valve for opening/closing the cavities. SOLUTION: The apparatus 1 for forming the multilayer film has a rotating table 2 for opening/closing a cavity 4 and transferring the substrate 10 with its rotation and up-and-down movements. Thereby, the apparatus does not need the gate valve and the substrate transferring robot, which are expensive and take much time for the operation, and can increase the speed of transferring the substrate 10 between the cavities 4, which consumes a substantially needless time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an organic LED, for example.
TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a multilayer film forming apparatus used when it is necessary to form a multilayer film from different materials, such as in the manufacture of a device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 3 and 4 show an example of the configuration of a conventional multilayer film forming apparatus 90 of this type. This multilayer film forming apparatus 90 is usually called a cluster system. Is what it is. An airtight chamber 91 is provided at the center of the multilayer film forming apparatus 90, and a substrate transfer robot 92 is installed in the airtight chamber 91.

A load lock chamber 93 and a number of cavities 94 corresponding to the number of layers required for film formation are connected to the outer periphery of the hermetic chamber 91 via a gate valve 95. A vacuum pump 96 is individually provided for each of the pumps 94. Although not shown, a vacuum pump is also provided in the hermetic chamber 91 so that the inside of the hermetic chamber 91 is properly evacuated, and the load lock chamber 93 is provided with a carry-in / out port 97.

Next, a description will be given of a process for forming a film on the substrate 10 by the multilayer film forming apparatus 90 configured as described above. First, the loading / unloading port 97 is opened with the gate valve 95 of the load lock chamber 93 closed, and the substrate 10 is loaded into the load lock chamber 93. Thereafter, the loading / unloading port 97 is closed, and the inside of the load lock chamber 93 is evacuated by the vacuum pump 96 to make an appropriate vacuum state.

Thereafter, the gate valve 95 of the load lock chamber 93 is opened, and the substrate 10 is transferred from the load lock chamber 93 through the airtight chamber 91 by the substrate transfer robot 92 to the cavity 9.
4 and the gate valve 95 of the cavity 94 is closed. As shown in FIG. 4, the cavity 94 is provided with an evaporator 94a and a shutter 94b, and a film is formed on the substrate 10 by opening the shutter 94b.

When the film thickness reaches a specified thickness, the shutter 9
4b is closed, the gate valve 95 is opened, and the substrate 10 is taken out by the substrate transfer robot 92 and transferred to the next cavity 94 through the airtight chamber 91. This process is repeated to form a predetermined number of layers. The evaporator 94a continues to evaporate in preparation for the next process. Depending on the required film member, a film forming apparatus using another method such as a sputtering apparatus is provided instead of the evaporating apparatus 94a.

[0007]

However, in the above-described conventional multilayer film forming apparatus 90, firstly, the gate valve 95 must be opened and closed every time the cavity 94 is moved in and out. It takes a long time to move between them, and the time for this movement is a loss time not directly related to film formation. In the conventional multilayer film forming apparatus 90, the above-mentioned loss time accounts for 25 to 35% of the entire manufacturing time, and there is a problem that production efficiency is significantly impaired.

[0008] Second, even during the time for the movement, it is necessary to stabilize the film forming rate.
As described above, since the evaporating device 94a cannot be stopped, during this moving time, for example, the evaporation of organic substances and the like is continued, and the material is wasted in proportion to the above-mentioned loss time, thereby increasing the cost. Causes a problem.

Third, the conventional multilayer film forming apparatus 9
In the case of 0, there are many movable parts such as the substrate transfer robot 92 and the gate valve 95, so that the apparatus becomes large and the cost is high, and the substrate transfer robot 92 and the gate valve 95 are required to have high accuracy during operation. Therefore, maintenance requires time and expense, and also in this respect, the productivity is reduced and a problem that causes an increase in the cost of the product is caused.

[0010]

According to the present invention, as a specific means for solving the above-mentioned conventional problems, a lower surface near the outer periphery is rotatable at the center and movable in the vertical direction. A rotary table having a substrate holder, an airtight chamber for accommodating the rotary table, and a plurality of cavities provided on a lower surface of the airtight chamber corresponding to a position where the substrate holder of the rotary table is provided; When lowering the rotary table, the substrate holder is held at a predetermined position in the cavity, alignment with the mask plate is performed, and the lower surface of the rotary table serves as a lid for sealing the cavity, and the rotary table is raised. When the airtight chamber is communicated with the cavity, the substrate holder is pulled out of the cavity, and the rotary table is rotated. It becomes freely, thereby solves the problem by providing a multi-layer film forming apparatus characterized by conveying between the cavity of the substrate holder is performed.

[0011]

Next, the present invention will be described in detail based on an embodiment shown in the drawings. 1 and 2 is a multilayer film forming apparatus according to the present invention. The multilayer film forming apparatus 1 has, for example, a disc shape and is axially fixed at its center to rotate and move up and down. A rotary table 2 that can be freely adjusted,
An airtight chamber 3 which accommodates the rotary table 2 and has an appropriate vacuum state inside by a vacuum pump 6;
And a plurality of cavities 4 which are provided in the lower part of the chamber and are chambers for performing film formation using different materials, respectively, as main constituent members.

A plurality of substrate holders 5 are provided on the lower surface 2a near the outer periphery at a fixed distance from the center of the turntable 2 as the same number as the cavities 4 (eight are shown in the drawing). I have. In the actual implementation,
The number of the cavities 4 and the substrate holders 5 is an appropriate number for a multilayer film such as an organic LED element required for a product for which the multilayer film forming apparatus 1 is manufactured.

Here, in the present invention, the cavities 4 are formed in a so-called pot-like shape having an opening 4a in the bottom surface 3a of the hermetic chamber 3. Except for the outlet, an evaporator 4b and a shutter 4c are provided as in the conventional example, and a vacuum pump (not shown) is provided in each cavity 4.

One of the cavities 4 is used to carry the material (substrate 10) into the hermetic chamber 3, and to perform the multi-layer film formation on the substrate 10 outside the multilayer film forming apparatus 1. A load lock chamber 7 provided with a dedicated vacuum pump 8 and the like is provided so that the chamber can be used as a substrate loading / unloading chamber for loading / unloading the substrate.

Here, the relationship between the rotary table 2, the airtight chamber 3, and the cavity 4 in the present invention will be described. As described above, the rotary table 2 moves up and down and rotates in the airtight chamber 3. Are configured as free. When the rotary table 2 is moved upward (up), the substrate holder 5 is pulled out of the cavity 4, whereby the rotary table 2 including the substrate holder 5 is brought into contact with other components. It is set to be in a state where rotation can be freely performed without occurrence.

When the turntable 2 can be lowered, the substrate holder 5 and the cavity 4 are assumed to be in position, and when the turntable 2 is lowered, the substrate holder 5 is moved downward. Is to be inserted into the cavity 4. When the lower surface 2a of the rotary table 2 and the bottom surface 3a of the hermetic chamber 3 come into contact with each other, a predetermined position in the cavity 4 is given to the substrate holder 5, and alignment with the mask plate is also performed. It is assumed.

In addition, an O-ring 4d is provided surrounding the opening 4a of the cavity 4, and is in close contact with the lower surface 2a of the rotating table 2 which has descended, and makes each cavity 4 independent of the airtight chamber 3. State. Therefore, each cavity 4 can be made to correspond to the film forming conditions corresponding to each member by the associated vacuum pump, evaporator 4b, shutter 4c, and the like.

When the film formation is completed, the shutter 4
When the rotary table 2 is lifted and the rotary table 2 is lifted, the substrate holder 5 escapes from the cavity 4 again, and the rotary table 2 becomes freely rotatable. It is only necessary to rotate the lens by the angle described above and lower it to perform the subsequent process.

Next, the operation and effect of the multilayer film forming apparatus 1 of the present invention having the above-described configuration will be described. In the present invention, when forming and forming a film, the airtight chamber 3 and the cavity 4 are separated and connected without using a gate valve as in the conventional example. By doing so, the time required for separation and connection can be significantly reduced.

More specifically, while the time required for film formation is two to three minutes, the conventional gate valve is opened and closed, and the substrate transport robot transports the substrate to the next process cavity. Required about 1 minute, and the total time required for one step was 3 to 4 minutes.

On the other hand, the multilayer film forming apparatus 1 of the present invention
Then, the time required to transfer the substrate 10 to the cavity 4 in the next step may be about 6 seconds, and therefore, the time required for one step is reduced to 2.1 to 3.1 minutes, thereby improving the productivity. Is improved by 29% to 43%.

Also, as described above, the evaporator 4
b indicates that the evaporation is continued during the time when the substrate 10 is being conveyed. Therefore, the conveyance time is a time that causes a loss in the evaporated material as it is. This means that if the film formation time is 2 minutes and the transport time is 1 minute, the evaporation material is 5 minutes.
Although the loss is 0%, the loss is only 5% if the transport time is reduced to 6 seconds (0.1 minutes) for the same film formation time of 2 minutes.
, Which will be dramatically reduced.

Further, in the multilayer film forming apparatus 1 of the present invention,
Since the transfer of the substrate 10 and the opening and closing of the lid of the cavity 4 can be performed only by the rotation and the vertical movement of the rotary table 2, movable parts such as a substrate transfer robot and a gate valve, which require precise operations, are not required. The cost of the entire film forming apparatus 1 can be reduced, and the maintenance can be simplified.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention, a rotary table rotatable at the center and movable in the vertical direction and having a substrate holder on the lower surface near the outer periphery, and the rotary table And a plurality of cavities provided corresponding to the position where the substrate holder of the rotary table is provided on the lower surface of the airtight chamber, and when lowering the rotary table, the substrate holder is The rotary table is held at a predetermined position in the cavity, alignment with the mask plate is performed, and the lower surface of the rotary table serves as a lid for sealing the cavity. When the rotary table is lifted, the airtight chamber and the cavity are closed. And the substrate holder is pulled out of the cavity, and the turntable is rotatable. First, by using a multi-layer film forming apparatus in which transfer is performed between cavities of a semiconductor device, firstly, it takes a long time to transfer a substrate to move to the next process, which is a loss time. Reducing the loss time by shortening it to about / 10 has an extremely excellent effect on improving the productivity of a product requiring multilayer film formation such as an organic LED element.

Secondly, since the evaporator continues to evaporate during the transportation time to ensure the quality of the product, the evaporation material is lost during the transportation time.
For example, the material loss of 50% is reduced to about 5% by shortening the transport time to about 1/10, and the cost of the organic LED element is extremely reduced. It has an effect.

Furthermore, the cost of the entire apparatus can be reduced and the maintenance can be simplified by eliminating the need for a substrate transfer robot and a gate valve, which are expensive and require precise adjustment, etc., in the configuration of the multilayer film forming apparatus. Accordingly, the production equipment is inexpensive and the maintenance cost is low, so that an excellent effect of further reducing the cost of the organic LED element and the like can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing an embodiment of a multilayer film forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing a conventional example.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Multilayer film-forming apparatus 2 ... Rotary table 2a ... Lower surface 3 ... Airtight chamber 3a ... Bottom 4 ... Cavity 4a ... Opening 4b ... Evaporator 4c ... Shutter 4d ... O-ring 5 ...... Substrate holders 6, 8 Vacuum pump 7 Load lock chamber

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Mutsumi Morita F-term (reference) in Stanley Electric Co., Ltd. 2-9-13 Nakameguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 3K007 AB18 DA00 DB03 EB00 FA00 FA01 4K029 BA62 BD00 CA01 DB06 5F103 AA01 AA08 BB36 BB38 BB49

Claims (2)

[Claims] A rotary table having a substrate holder on a lower surface near an outer periphery, the rotary table being rotatable about a center and movable in a vertical direction, an airtight chamber for accommodating the rotary table, and the airtight chamber. A plurality of cavities provided on a lower surface of the rotary table in correspondence with a position where the substrate holder is provided, and when the rotary table is lowered, the substrate holder is held at a predetermined position in the cavity. The lower surface of the turntable serves as a lid for closing the cavity, and when raising the turntable, the airtight chamber and the cavity communicate with each other, the substrate holder is pulled out of the cavity, and the turntable rotates. A multi-layer film forming apparatus, wherein the apparatus is movable, whereby the transfer between the cavities of the substrate holder is performed. 2. The multilayer film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one of the cavities is a load lock chamber.