JP2003308967A - Vacuum evaporation system for thin film deposition - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently form films of two or more layers without taking out a substrate, on the surface of which the films have been formed on, from a vacuum chamber each time, therefore, without making the film contact with air and moisture, and to form the film only on the surface of the substrate without depositing by distributing molecules of a film-forming material in a vacuum chamber. <P>SOLUTION: The inside of the vacuum chamber 2 is divided in two or more vaporizing rooms 6 and 7 and a film-forming room 8 which is connected to these vaporizing rooms 6 and 7 through molecule passage windows 13 and 14. Molecular beam source cells 9 and 10 are arranged towards the molecule passage windows 13 and 14, respectively, in the above vaporizing rooms 6 and 7. A substrate 12 is arranged so that it may be movable between two or more molecule passage windows 13 and 14 in the above film-forming room 8, and also it may counter to the molecular beam source cells 9 and 10 at the positions of each molecule passage window 13 and 14. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to heating a film-forming material to sublimate, melt, or evaporate the film-forming material to generate molecules of the film-forming material. The present invention relates to a vacuum vapor deposition apparatus for thin film deposition, which is used for growing a film by discharging molecules toward the solid surface and depositing molecules on the solid surface.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A thin film deposition apparatus called a vacuum vapor deposition apparatus or a molecular beam epitaxy apparatus places a substrate in a vacuum chamber capable of reducing the pressure to a high vacuum, heats it to a required temperature, and grows it on a thin film growth surface of the substrate. A molecular beam source cell such as a Knudsen cell is installed for this purpose. The film forming material housed in the crucible of this molecular beam source cell is heated by a heater to sublimate or melt and evaporate, and the vaporized molecules generated by this are incident on the thin film growth surface of the substrate, and a thin film is epitaxially grown on that surface. Thus, a film of a film forming material is formed.

The molecular beam source cell used in such a thin film deposition apparatus has a high thermal and chemical stability, such as PB.
The film-forming material is stored in a crucible made of N (pyrolytic boron nitride) or the like, and this film-forming material is heated by an electric heater provided outside the crucible, whereby the film-forming material is sublimated or melted. , To generate film-forming molecules.

In recent years, in the fields of displays and optical communication,
Research and development of organic electroluminescence elements (organic EL elements) are under way. This organic EL device is
It is an element in which a light emitting layer is formed of an organic low molecule or an organic polymer material having an L light emitting ability, and its characteristics are drawing attention as a self light emitting element. For example, its basic structure is
A film of a hole transport material such as triphenyldiamine (TPD) is formed on the hole injecting electrode, and a fluorescent substance such as aluminum quinolinol complex (Alq ₃ ) is laminated on the film as a light emitting layer, and further Mg, Li, Ca, etc. Is a metal electrode having a small work function as an electron injection electrode.

As described above, when a thin film is formed, a plurality of films are sequentially formed by forming a light emitting layer composed of the above-mentioned organic electroluminescence, and forming a metal electrode or a transparent conductive film on the light emitting layer. I have something to do.

[0006]

When a plurality of films are sequentially formed in this way, if the substrate is taken out of the vacuum chamber each time each film is formed, depending on the material of the film, air or air may be included. The water content may deteriorate the film and may cause defects in the film. Further, it is necessary to depressurize the inside of the vacuum chamber each time to a vacuum state having a required degree of vacuum, which takes time and trouble.

Further, particularly in the case of a film forming material in which molecules are easily dispersed in a vacuum space, such as organic electroluminescence, molecules of the film forming material adhere to the inner wall of the vacuum chamber,
Accumulates. Since various devices are arranged inside the vacuum chamber, there is a problem that it is difficult to remove the deposited film forming material, and it takes a lot of time to clean it.

The present invention has been made in view of the problems in the vacuum vapor deposition apparatus using such a conventional film thickness meter, and its first object is to take out a substrate having a film formed on its surface from the vacuum chamber one by one. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently form a multi-layered film without contacting the film with air or moisture.
A second object of the present invention is to allow a film to be formed only on the surface of a substrate without the molecules of the film forming material being dispersed and deposited in the vacuum chamber.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention divides the interior of the vacuum chamber 2 into a plurality of evaporation chambers 6 and 7 and a film forming chamber 8, and the evaporation chambers 6 and 7 are Molecules generated from the molecular beam source cells 9 and 10 housed therein are emitted from the evaporation chambers 6 and 7 to the film formation chamber 8 through the molecule passage windows 13 and 14 of the evaporation chambers 6 and 7, and are on the film formation chamber 8 side. It was made to deposit on the substrate 12. Further, the substrate 12 is made movable between the plurality of molecule passage windows 13 and 14, and molecules generated from the molecular beam source cells 9 and 10 in the plurality of evaporation chambers 6 and 7 are sequentially deposited on the surface thereof. So that a film can be formed.

That is, in the molecular beam source cell for thin film deposition according to the present invention, molecules of the film forming material are generated from the molecular beam source cells 8 and 9 in the vacuum chamber 2, and this is generated on the substrate 12.
For depositing and depositing on the surface of the vacuum chamber 2, a plurality of evaporation chambers 6 and 7 and a film forming chamber 8 communicating with the evaporation chambers 6 and 7 and the molecular passage windows 13 and 14.
And the molecular beam source cells 9 and 10 are arranged in the evaporation chambers 6 and 7 toward the molecular passage windows 13 and 14, respectively.
A substrate 12 is arranged in the film forming chamber 8 so as to be movable between a plurality of molecule passage windows 13 and 14 and to face the molecule beam source cells 9 and 10 at the positions of the molecule passage windows 13 and 14, respectively. It was done.

In such a molecular beam source cell for thin film deposition,
Molecules generated from the molecular beam source cells 9 and 10 respectively housed in the plurality of evaporation chambers 6 and 7 are ejected from the evaporation chambers 6 and 7 to the film formation chamber 8 through the molecule passage windows 13 and 14, and the film formation chamber 8 is formed. Since it is deposited on the substrate 12 on the side, another layer can be sequentially deposited in the vacuum space while moving the substrate 12 between the plurality of molecular passage windows 13 and 14. Further, the inside of the vacuum chamber 2 is divided into a plurality of evaporation chambers 6 and 7 and a film formation chamber 8, and the molecules generated in the evaporation chambers 6 and 7 are radiated from the molecule passage windows 13 and 14 to the substrate 12 side. Therefore, molecules that are radiated in a direction different from the film formation surface of the substrate 12 and do not deposit on the film formation surface of the substrate 12 adhere to the wall surfaces of the evaporation chambers 6 and 7. Therefore, molecules of the film-forming material do not deposit on the entire inner wall surface of the vacuum chamber 2.

For example, the deposition-proof containers 16 and 17 surrounding the circumferences of the molecular beam source cells 9 and 10 are housed in the vacuum chamber 2, and the inside of the vacuum chamber 2 includes a plurality of evaporation chambers 6 and 7 and a film forming chamber 8. When the cells are partitioned into, the molecules that do not deposit on the substrate 12 adhere to the inner wall surfaces of the deposition-inhibiting containers 16 and 17. Therefore, if the deposition-inhibiting containers 16 and 17 are taken out of the vacuum chamber 2 at any time and the inner wall surfaces thereof are cleaned, the adhered film components can be easily removed.

Further, the molecular beam source cells 9 and 10 are attached to the opening / closing doors 4 and 5 of the vacuum chamber 2, and the opening / closing doors 4 and 5 are closed so that the molecular beam source cells 9 and 10 are evaporated chambers of the vacuum chamber 2. When inserted into the evaporation chambers 6 and 7, the opening and closing doors 4 and 5 of the vacuum chamber 2 can be stored in or taken out from the evaporation chambers 6 and 7 only by opening and closing. Therefore, these molecular beam source cells 9, 10 evaporation chambers 6,
7 can be easily stored or taken out.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described specifically and in detail with reference to the drawings.
1 to 3 are perspective views showing an embodiment of a molecular beam source cell for thin film deposition according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, a cylindrical vacuum chamber 2 is fixed on a chassis 1 having a controller, a display unit and the like. The vacuum chamber 2 has a cylindrical body 3 and opening / closing doors 4 and 5 that open and close openings at both ends thereof. The vacuum chamber 2 forms an airtight space inside by closing the opening / closing doors 4 and 5. A vacuum pump such as a turbo molecular pump (not shown) is connected to the vacuum chamber 2, and the inside of the vacuum chamber 2 can be depressurized to a required vacuum space.

Inside the vacuum chamber 2, the opening / closing doors 4 and 5 on both sides of the vacuum chamber 2 are opened, and the deposition-proof container 1 is opened from the opening.
6 and 17 are stored. The deposition-inhibiting containers 16 and 17 are in the shape of a partially cylindrical container having a flat upper surface, and by being inserted into the lower part of the vacuum chamber 2, the lower part of the vacuum chamber 2 is divided into two end parts thereof, and each of them is evaporated The chambers 6 and 7 are formed. These deposition-proof containers 16 and 17 are provided in the vacuum chamber 2
It is fixed to the vacuum chamber 2 with a screw or the like while being housed inside. As shown in FIG. 3, the deposition-proof containers 16 and 17 can be removed from the body 3 of the vacuum chamber 2 with the opening / closing doors 4 and 5 on both sides of the vacuum chamber 2 open, and then taken out from the opening. I can.

As shown in FIG. 1, a portion of the vacuum chamber 2 above the deposition-inhibiting vessels 16 and 17 is a film forming chamber 8. The film forming chamber 8 and the evaporation chambers 6 and 7, respectively. The passage is through only the molecule passage windows 13 and 14. Shutters 18 and 19 are provided on the molecular passage windows 13 and 14, and the molecular passage windows 13 and 1 are provided by the shutters 18 and 19.
4 is opened and closed

Molecular beam source cells 9 and 10 are housed in the evaporation chambers 6 and 7 in the deposition-inhibiting containers 16 and 17, respectively. Figure 2
3, the molecular beam source cells 9 and 10 are attached to the inside of the opening / closing doors 4 and 5, and the opening / closing doors 4 and 5 are closed as shown in FIG. ,
It is housed in the evaporation chambers 6 and 7 formed by 17.
In this state, each molecular beam source cell 9 and 10 has a molecular passage window 1
It faces 3,14.

For example, of the two evaporation chambers 6 and 7, the molecular beam source cell 9 housed in one of the evaporation chambers 6 emits molecules of the organic material, and the organic material is heated at a temperature of about 500 ° C. Sublimate or evaporate to generate the molecule. In the illustrated example, there are six molecular beam source cells 9. The molecular beam source cell 10 housed in the other evaporation chamber 7 emits molecules of a metal material, and melts and evaporates the metal at a temperature of 1500 ° C. or higher to generate the molecules. The illustrated example has two molecular beam source cells 10.

On the film forming chamber 8 side, the deposition-proof containers 16 and 17 are provided.
A substrate holder 11 is provided on the above. The substrate holder 11 has a disk shape, and a substrate 12 for forming a thin film is mounted on the peripheral portion of the lower surface thereof. In the illustrated example, six substrates 12 are mounted at 60 ° intervals.

As shown by the arrow in FIG. 1, the substrate holder 11 is intermittently rotated at intervals of 60 ° by the rotating mechanism 15, and the substrate 12 moves. 2 at the position where the board 12 stops
The position is right above the molecule passage windows 13 and 14 opened and closed by the shutters 18 and 19, and the shutter 1
When the substrates 8 and 19 are opened, the substrate 12 has the molecular passage windows 13 and 1
It opposes each molecular beam source cell 9 and 10 through 4. Further, film thickness meters 20 and 21 are arranged adjacent to the substrate 12 on the molecular passage windows 13 and 14, and the shutter 1
When the molecular passage windows 13, 14 are opened by 8, 19, these film thickness gauges 20, 21 also face the molecular beam source cells 9, 10.

In the vacuum vapor deposition apparatus having such a structure, the two deposition-proof containers 16 and 17 are housed and fixed in the vacuum chamber 2, and further the molecular beam source cell 9 is provided inside the opening / closing doors 4 and 5. 10 is attached, the opening and closing doors 4 and 5 are airtightly closed, and the molecular beam source cells 9 and 10 are housed in the evaporation chambers 6 and 7 in the deposition-proof containers 16 and 17, respectively. In this state, the inside of the vacuum chamber 2 is depressurized to a required degree of vacuum by a vacuum pump (not shown).

After that, the film-forming materials in the molecular beam source cells 9 and 10 are heated to the necessary temperatures as described above, and the film-forming materials are sublimated or vaporized to generate molecules. It fires toward the passage windows 13 and 14. Then, the shutters 18 and 19 open the molecule passage windows 13 and 14, respectively, and among the substrates 12 mounted on the substrate holder 11,
The molecules are deposited on the surface of the substrate 12 facing the molecular beam source cells 9 and 10 through the molecule passage windows 13 and 14 to form a film. At this time, the film thickness on the surface of the substrate 12 is monitored by the film thickness meters 20 and 21, and when the film thickness reaches a required value, the shutters 18 and 19 are used to pass the molecular passage windows 13 and 14, respectively.
Is closed and film formation is stopped.

After that, the substrate holder 1 is rotated by the rotating mechanism 15.
1 is intermittently rotated at intervals of 60 °, and films are sequentially formed on the substrate 12. In the example shown in the figure, the film formation location is directly above the two molecule passage windows 13 and 14, and films of different materials are sequentially formed there. For example, in the illustrated example, after the organic film is formed by the molecules of the organic material emitted from the molecular beam source cell 9, the substrate 12 is rotated by rotating the substrate holder 11.
Move to above the molecular passage window 14 facing the molecular beam source cell 10. Then, here, the metal film is formed by the molecules of the metal material emitted from the molecular beam source cell 10.

In the illustrated example, the evaporation chambers 6 and 7 are two chambers, but three or more evaporation chambers can be provided. This is, for example, arranged in the cylindrical body 3 to accommodate three or more deposition-proof containers, or a plurality of cylindrical bodies 3 are provided so as to cross each other, and the deposition-proof containers are inserted from both ends thereof. Three or more deposition-proof containers can be housed in the vacuum chamber 2. Thereby, the vacuum chamber 2 can be divided into three or more evaporation chambers.

When the film formation on the substrate 12 is completed, the opening / closing doors 4 and 5 are opened as shown by arrows in FIG.
As shown in FIG.
Taken out of. In this state, the molecular beam source cells 9, 10
Can be removed from the open / close doors 4 and 5 and replaced.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, opening / closing doors 4, 5
With the vacuum chamber 2 open.
The deposition-inhibitory containers 16 and 17 can be removed from the vacuum chamber 2 and cleaned by removing the deposition-inhibiting containers 16 and 17 from the vacuum chamber 2 as shown by the arrow. The inner wall of the vacuum chamber 2 is shielded from the molecular beam source cells 9 and 10 by the deposition-proof containers 16 and 17 except the molecular passage windows 13 and 14, so that the film forming material does not adhere thereto.

[0028]

As described above, in the vacuum vapor deposition apparatus according to the present invention, the vacuum chamber 2 is provided with a plurality of evaporation chambers 6 and 7 each having the molecular beam source cells 9 and 10. Since it is possible to sequentially form films on the substrate 2 at the positions of the molecule passage windows 13 and 14, the substrates 12 having films formed on the surfaces thereof are taken out of the vacuum chamber one by one, and a plurality of layers can be formed without contacting the film with air or moisture. The film can be formed efficiently.

Further, since the molecular beam source cells 9 and 10 are surrounded by the evaporation chambers 6 and 7 and face the film forming surface of the substrate 12 only through the molecular passage windows 13 and 14, the vacuum chamber 2 of the vacuum chamber 2 is provided. The molecules of the film forming material are not dispersed and deposited on the inner wall. That is, since the film can be formed only on the surface of the substrate 12, the inner wall of the vacuum chamber 2 can be prevented from being contaminated.

In particular, the deposition-proof containers 16 and 17 surrounding the molecular beam source cells 9 and 10 are housed in the vacuum chamber 2, and the interior of the vacuum chamber 2 is divided into a plurality of evaporation chambers 6 and 7 and a film forming chamber 8. When partitioned, molecules that are radiated in a different direction from the substrate 12 and do not deposit on the film formation surface of the substrate 12 are deposited on the deposition-preventing container 16,
It adheres to the inner surface of 17. Therefore, the adhesion-preventing container 16,
If the film 17 is taken out of the vacuum chamber 2 and cleaned, the adhered film components can be easily removed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of a vacuum evaporation apparatus according to the present invention with a vacuum chamber closed.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a vacuum vapor deposition apparatus according to the same embodiment of the present invention with an opening / closing door of a vacuum chamber opened.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a vacuum vapor deposition apparatus according to the same embodiment of the present invention in a state in which an opening / closing door of a vacuum chamber is opened and an adhesion-preventing container is taken out from the vacuum chamber.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 vacuum chamber 6 evaporation chamber 7 evaporation chamber 8 Molecular beam source cell 9 Molecular beam source cell 12 substrates 13 molecule passage window 14 molecule passage window 16 Protective container 17 Protective container

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. Molecules of a film forming material are generated from molecular beam source cells (8) and (9) in a vacuum chamber (2),
In a thin film deposition vacuum deposition apparatus that deposits and deposits this on the surface of a substrate (12), a plurality of evaporation chambers (6) and (7) are formed in the vacuum chamber (2) and these evaporation chambers (6). ), (7) and the film formation chamber (8) communicating with the molecule passage windows (13), (14), and the evaporation chamber (6),
Molecular beam source cells (9) and (10) are arranged in (7) toward the molecular passage windows (13) and (14), respectively, and a plurality of molecular passage windows ( 13) and (14) so as to be movable, and respective molecular passage windows (13),
A vacuum vapor deposition apparatus for thin film deposition, characterized in that a substrate (12) is arranged so as to face the molecular beam source cells (9) and (10) at a position (14). 2. Molecule passage windows (13) and (14), respectively.
And the deposition chambers (16) and (17) surrounding the molecular beam source cells (9) and (10) arranged toward the molecular passage windows (13) and (14) of the vacuum chamber (2). )
The thin film deposition according to claim 1, wherein the vacuum chamber (2) is divided into a plurality of evaporation chambers (6) and (7) and a film forming chamber (8) by being housed in the chamber. Vacuum deposition equipment for use. 3. The molecular beam source cells (9), (10) are attached to the opening / closing doors (4), (5) of the vacuum chamber (2), and by closing the opening / closing doors (4), (5). The thin film deposition vacuum according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the molecular beam source cells (9), (10) are inserted into the evaporation chambers (6), (7) of the vacuum chamber (2). Vapor deposition equipment.