JP2007239070A - Vacuum vapor deposition apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily realize a thick vapor deposition film, a multi-layered structure, and a large vapor deposition area, and to reduce an installation space of the vacuum vapor deposition apparatus when depositing a layer of a radiation image converter. <P>SOLUTION: A plurality of rotary tables 33 are arranged around a vapor deposition area in the same plane facing the vapor deposition area 32. A plurality of evaporation cells 34 are provided with a predetermined spacing on the same circumference around rotary shafts 36 of the rotary tables 33. The evaporation cells are dispersively arranged on every arrangement position Pc of the evaporation sources for obtaining the most uniform vapor deposition film to the vapor deposition area 32, and vapor deposition is performed by simultaneously using the plurality of evaporation cells. The rotary tables 33 are turned, and the evaporation cells 34 arranged on each rotary table are successively fed to the arrangement positions Pc of the evaporation sources to perform the multi-layered vapor deposition treatment. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum evaporation apparatus for evaporating a film forming material by heating and evaporating it on a substrate in a vacuum evaporation tank.

  An apparatus for depositing a film forming material on a substrate by vacuum deposition is used in various fields, but in recent years, a radiation solid state detector using a photoconductor sensitive to radiation such as X-rays has been used for medical radiography. As a result, vacuum detectors were used to manufacture the detector.

  This radiation solid detector uses a photoconductor sensitive to radiation, such as selenium, as a photoconductor to reduce the radiation exposure received by the subject and improve diagnostic performance. The charge is accumulated in the charge accumulation layer, and the charge is electrically read out. This type of radiation solid state detector has been patented and widely known for several years. For example, in Patent Document 1, a multilayer structure using a plurality of materials is used to improve the response and reading efficiency of the detector. Radiation image detectors have been proposed. This includes a first electrode layer that is transmissive to recording radiation or light emitted by radiation excitation, and a recording photoconductivity that exhibits conductivity when irradiated with the recording radiation or the light. A recording photoconductive layer that exhibits conductivity when irradiated with an electromagnetic wave for reading, and a second electrode layer that is transparent to the electromagnetic wave for reading in this order. A conductive member for outputting an electrical signal of a level corresponding to the amount of latent image charge accumulated in the power storage unit formed between the layer and the reading photoconductive layer is provided in the second electrode layer or the first electrode layer. It is provided between the electrode layer and the second electrode layer, and is formed by forming a large number of layers on the substrate.

In order to manufacture such a radiation solid state detector formed by depositing a large number of various layers of materials on a substrate, a multilayer film forming apparatus is required. As a multi-layer film forming apparatus, for example, as shown in Patent Document 2, a plurality of small second rotary tables are provided on the same circumference around the rotation axis of a large first rotary table. There is known a vacuum vapor deposition apparatus that sequentially moves a plurality of evaporation cells arranged on a second rotary table to an evaporation position by a combination of rotations of a first rotary table and a second rotary table. This device can be equipped with a number of evaporation cells that can handle a large number of evaporation materials so that all evaporation processes can be completed while maintaining a vacuum state. Suitable for multilayer film formation.
JP 2000-284056 A Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-30155

  By the way, in chest X-ray examinations and the like, it is desired to capture a wide range of images at once using a large radiation image conversion panel. Furthermore, in order to increase the quantum efficiency with respect to radiation and increase the sensitivity of the radiation detector, it is desired to increase the thickness of the radiation image conversion layer. Therefore, in order to manufacture a large radiation image conversion panel used for chest X-ray examination or the like, it is necessary to deposit a large number of film forming materials on a large substrate such as 17 inches, for example. The amount of film forming material used for the process is greatly increased as compared with the prior art. As described above, in a multilayer film forming apparatus for manufacturing a large radiation image conversion panel, it is required to perform a vapor deposition process using a large amount of various kinds of vapor deposition materials.

  However, the conventional multilayer film forming apparatus described in Patent Document 2 has a structure in which all film forming materials are arranged only on one evaporation source table, so that the vapor deposition film is thickened and the vapor deposition area is large. In order to cope with the amount and number of evaporation sources that have increased in quantity due to the increase in size, there is a problem that the evaporation source table is enlarged and the installation space of the entire apparatus becomes very large. This is because if a plurality of evaporation cells are arranged adjacent to each other, the adjacent evaporation cells interfere with each other and the purity of the deposited film is impaired. It is necessary to arrange.

  In general, when vapor deposition is performed on a large-area substrate, the influence of the film thickness distribution that appears radially from the evaporation source is increased, and the uniformity of the film is more easily impaired than when vapor deposition is performed on a small-area substrate.

  In the above conventional apparatus, since vapor deposition is performed using one evaporation source at a time, in order to form a uniform film over the entire large substrate surface, it is necessary to rotate or linearly move the substrate. It's not easy. In particular, the thicker the deposited film, the higher the temperature of the substrate, and the properties of the deposited film tend to become non-uniform, and it is extremely difficult to perform precise temperature control while moving the substrate. In this type of radiation detector, uniformity is an extremely important characteristic in order to improve the diagnostic performance of medical images used for diagnosis, and film thickness uniformity is impaired if temperature control during deposition is not sufficient. As a result, the image quality is lowered and the diagnostic performance is lowered.

  In addition, in the heat evaporation of the evaporation source, generally, the evaporation cell container is heated to melt and evaporate the film forming material in the container, but when the temperature inside the solution becomes higher than the melt surface of the film forming material, The occurrence of bumping causes fluctuations on the evaporation surface and causes defects on the evaporation surface. Therefore, temperature control of the film forming material and the evaporation cell is extremely important. However, in the above conventional apparatus, since evaporation is performed using one evaporation source at a time, the evaporation cell increases in proportion to the increase in the thickness of the evaporation film and the increase in the evaporation area. Temperature control of the membrane material becomes even more difficult.

  In view of the above circumstances, the present invention aims to provide a vacuum vapor deposition apparatus that easily achieves thickening of the vapor deposition layer and enlargement of the vapor deposition area in the radiation image converter and reducing the installation space of the apparatus. To do.

  The vacuum vapor deposition apparatus of the present invention is a vacuum vapor deposition apparatus that heats and evaporates the film forming material in the evaporation cell in a vacuum deposition tank and deposits it on a substrate disposed in the vapor deposition area, the same surface facing the vapor deposition area A plurality of first rotary tables arranged around the inner vapor deposition area, and a plurality of first rotary tables spaced from each other at a predetermined interval on the same circumference around the rotation axis of each first rotary table. 1 evaporation cell is provided, and one or more of the plurality of first evaporation cells provided on each first rotary table are arranged to face a predetermined position on the periphery of the vapor deposition area. It is a feature. By rotating each first rotary table, the first evaporation cell used as the evaporation source can be sequentially moved to the position where the evaporation source is arranged.

  Here, the “predetermined position” means a position opposite to an evaporation source arrangement position where a plurality of evaporation sources can be simultaneously used for the evaporation area to obtain the most uniform evaporation film. Therefore, a uniform vapor deposition film can be obtained regardless of the shape of the substrate on the substrate disposed in the vapor deposition area where a uniform vapor deposition film can be obtained. That is, the shape of the substrate may be any shape such as a circle as long as it is within the vapor deposition area.

  Moreover, the vacuum evaporation apparatus of this invention can provide the 2nd rotary table which has a some 2nd evaporation cell so as to oppose a vapor deposition area so that it may oppose the center of a vapor deposition area.

  In the vacuum vapor deposition apparatus of the present invention, when the vapor deposition area is rectangular, it is desirable that the predetermined position is near the four corners of the vapor deposition area.

  In the vacuum vapor deposition apparatus of the present invention, when the vapor deposition area is rectangular, the predetermined position can be set near both ends of the vapor deposition area.

  Moreover, it is desirable that the vacuum vapor deposition apparatus of the present invention further includes an entry / exit means for taking in and out each of the rotary tables from the vapor deposition tank.

  According to the vacuum vapor deposition apparatus of the present invention, a plurality of first rotary tables are provided around the vapor deposition area in the same plane facing the vapor deposition area, and the same circle around the rotation axis of each first rotary table. A plurality of first evaporating cells are provided at predetermined intervals on the circumference, and one or more of the plurality of first evaporating cells provided on each first rotary table is the periphery of the deposition area. Therefore, a large number and a large amount of film forming materials can be distributed and arranged in a plurality of rotary table evaporation cells, and a plurality of evaporation cells can be used simultaneously. Since vapor deposition can be performed, it is possible to effectively utilize the space in the same plane where the evaporation source is arranged, and the space of the entire apparatus can be reduced. In addition, since evaporation can be performed by heating and evaporating a plurality of evaporation cells at the same time, it is possible to perform evaporation processing on a large area substrate without moving the substrate stationary or rotating with a fixed rotation shaft. It is possible to easily adjust the temperature of the substrate. Furthermore, since a large amount of film forming material can be dispersed in a plurality of evaporation cells and the size of each evaporation cell can be reduced, it is easy to adjust the temperature of the film forming material in each evaporation cell.

  Moreover, when providing the 2nd turntable which has several 2nd evaporation cell so as to oppose a vapor deposition area so that it may oppose the center of a vapor deposition area, 1st provided in each 1st turntable It is possible to use a second evaporation cell that stores different film forming materials at the same time as the evaporation process using the evaporation cell, and the amount of each film forming material can be easily controlled during the evaporation process using a plurality of materials simultaneously. It is.

  In addition, when the vapor deposition area is rectangular, the vacuum vapor deposition apparatus of the present invention has rectangular vapor deposition by arranging the evaporation source at four positions near the four corners of the vapor deposition area on the same plane facing the vapor deposition area. It is possible to form a uniform vapor deposition film on the substrate disposed in the area.

  In addition, when the vapor deposition area is rectangular, the vacuum vapor deposition apparatus according to the present invention has a rectangular vapor deposition by arranging the evaporation source at two positions near both ends of the vapor deposition area in the same plane facing the vapor deposition area. It is possible to form a uniform vapor deposition film on the substrate disposed in the area.

  In addition, when the rotary table is further provided with an entry / exit means for taking in / out the deposition table, replenishment of the film forming material and maintainability of the evaporation source are improved. The more materials used, and the thicker the film to be deposited, the greater the amount of deposited or melted film material that accumulates around the evaporation cell during deposition. It is possible to always carry out the treatment with high purity.

  Hereinafter, a first embodiment of a vacuum evaporation apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a vacuum vapor deposition apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of the vacuum vapor deposition apparatus shown in FIG.

  In the present embodiment, in the vacuum deposition apparatus 11 in the vacuum state, the film deposition material 15 in the plurality of evaporation cells 14 is heated and evaporated to be deposited on the substrate 12 a disposed in the rectangular deposition area 12. Two rotary tables 13, 13 in which eight evaporating cells 14 are arranged at a predetermined interval on the same circumference around the shaft 16 are provided on each rotary table 13. The two evaporation cells 14b and 14b, which are arranged alternately with one evaporation cell 14a in between, are located in the vicinity of the four corners of the evaporation area 12 among the eight arrangement positions of the evaporation source. It is arranged at two places on the same plane facing the vapor deposition area 12 so as to be arranged at four places Pa.

  A method of numerical calculation or the like is performed so that the evaporation source disposition position Pa on the two rotary tables 13 and 13 disposed on the same surface facing the vapor deposition area 12 can obtain the most uniform vapor deposition film with respect to the vapor deposition area 12. The number and position of the optimal arrangement positions of the evaporation source differ depending on conditions such as the size and shape of the vapor deposition area 12 and the distance from the vapor deposition source to the vapor deposition area, but the square of the present embodiment As shown in FIG. 1, there are four locations near the four corners of the vapor deposition area 12, as shown in FIG. 1.

  In addition, a pair of guide rails 19, 19 are provided at the lower part of each of the rotary tables 13, and moving means is provided so that the two rotary tables 13 can reciprocate along the guide rails 19, 19. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the moving means of the rotary tables 13 and 13 as seen from the A direction of FIG. 1 as an example. This moving means is provided with a carriage 17 below the shaft 16 of the rotary table 13, and two pairs of wheels 18 and 18 that roll along the guide rails 19 and 19 are attached to both sides thereof. The two rotary tables 13 and 13 can be taken out of the vapor deposition tank 11 for maintenance work of the rotary table 14 or the rotary table 13.

  With the above configuration, during vapor deposition, the rotary tables 13 and 13 are rotated around the rotary shaft 16 by a rotation driving means (not shown) with respect to the substrate 12a that is stationary or rotates in the same plane. Of the eight evaporation cells 14 arranged on the rotary table 13, two evaporation cells used as evaporation sources can be sequentially moved to the arrangement position Pa two by two. It is possible to perform a continuous film forming process on all of one or more film forming materials in the plurality of evaporation cells 14 arranged on the rotary tables 13 and 13 in accordance with a desired vapor deposition process. is there. In this embodiment in which eight evaporation cells 14 are arranged on each rotary table 13, two evaporation cells 14 are used at a time, so that a film can be formed using a maximum of four types of film forming materials 15. .

  Further, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, each moving table 13 can be taken in and out of the vapor deposition tank 11 along the guide rail 19 by the moving means, and the evaporation source or the evaporation source table. Maintenance can be facilitated.

  In addition, although the vapor deposition area 12 made into object in the said 1st Embodiment is a rectangle close | similar to a square like illustration, this may be a square. In particular, in the case of a square shape, it is possible to form a film with a favorable uniform film thickness by disposing the four evaporation cells 14 at equal positions near the four corners, that is, the apexes of the vapor deposition area 12.

  Next, a second embodiment of the vacuum evaporation apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view of a vacuum deposition apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  The vacuum deposition apparatus 20 heats and evaporates the film forming material 25 in the evaporation cell 24 in a vacuum deposition tank 21 and deposits it on a substrate 22a disposed in a relatively elongated rectangular deposition area 22. In this vacuum vapor deposition apparatus 20, each rotary table 23 is provided with a rotary table 23 in which six evaporation cells 24 are arranged at regular intervals on the same circumference around a rotary shaft 26. Further, among the six evaporation cells 24, each one evaporation cell 24a is arranged at two places on the same plane facing the vapor deposition area 22 so as to be arranged at two evaporation source arrangement positions Pb. Is. Here, the arrangement position Pb of the evaporation source is the arrangement position of the evaporation source from which the most uniform vapor deposition film is obtained with respect to the vapor deposition area 22 obtained by a method such as numerical calculation.

  In addition, two sets of guide rails 29 and 29 are provided in the same direction at the lower part of each of the rotary tables 23, and the rotary tables 23 and 23 are arranged along the guide rails 29 and 29 in the vapor deposition tank 21 for maintenance work. A moving means is provided so that it can move to the outside, and the rotary tables 23, 23 in the same side direction of the vapor deposition tank 21 can be taken in and out of the vapor deposition tank 21.

  With the above configuration, during vapor deposition, each rotary table 23, 23 is rotated around a rotation shaft 26 by a rotation driving means (not shown) with respect to a substrate 22a that is stationary or rotates in the same plane. Of the plurality of evaporation cells 24 arranged on the table 23, the evaporation cell used as the evaporation source can be moved sequentially to the arrangement position Pb of the evaporation source, and desired while keeping the vacuum state of the vapor deposition tank 21. In accordance with the vapor deposition process, it is possible to perform the continuous film formation process on all of the one or more film forming materials 25 in the plurality of evaporation cells 24 arranged on each rotary table 23.

  That is, one evaporation cell 24 for storing the same film forming material 25 arranged on each rotary table 23, 23 is used one by one, and a total of two evaporation cells are used as evaporation sources at the same time. In the case of performing the continuous vapor deposition treatment, it is possible to form a multilayer film composed of a maximum of six different film forming materials.

  Next, a third embodiment of the vacuum evaporation apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a plan view of a vacuum vapor deposition apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

  The vacuum deposition apparatus 30 heats and evaporates the film forming material 35 in the evaporation cell 34 in a vacuum deposition tank 31 and deposits it on a substrate 32 a disposed in a square deposition area 32. In this vacuum vapor deposition apparatus 30, a rotary table 33 in which five evaporation cells 34 are arranged at regular intervals on the same circumference around the rotary shaft 36 is provided on the rotary table 33. The four evaporation cells 34 in the same plane facing the vapor deposition area 32 are arranged so that one evaporation cell of the five evaporation cells 34 is arranged at any one of the four positions of the evaporation source arrangement position Pc. It is arranged in. Here, the arrangement position Pc of the evaporation source is the arrangement position of the evaporation source from which the most uniform vapor deposition film is obtained with respect to the vapor deposition area 32 obtained by a method such as numerical calculation.

  In addition, a guide rail 39 is provided so as to pass through two lower portions of the four rotary tables, and a moving means is provided so that each rotary table 33 can reciprocate along the guide rail 39. is there.

  With the above configuration, during vapor deposition, each rotary table 33 is rotated around a rotation shaft 36 by a rotation driving means (not shown) with respect to a substrate 32 that is stationary or rotates in the same plane. The evaporation cell used as the evaporation source among the plurality of evaporation cells 34 arranged on the table 33 can be sequentially moved to the arrangement position Pc of the evaporation source. In accordance with the vapor deposition process, it is possible to perform a continuous film formation process on all of one or more film formation materials in the plurality of evaporation cells 34 arranged on each turntable 33.

  Moreover, all the rotary tables 33 can be taken in and out of the vapor deposition tank 31 from the same direction of the vapor deposition tank 31 along the guide rail 39 provided in the lower part of each rotary table 33. Furthermore, it is possible to simultaneously move the two rotary tables 33 along the same guide rail 39.

  Next, a fourth embodiment of the vacuum evaporation apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a plan view of a vacuum vapor deposition apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

  The vacuum vapor deposition apparatus 40 heats and evaporates the film forming material 45 in the evaporation cell 44 in a vacuum vapor deposition tank 41 and deposits it on a substrate 42 a disposed in the vapor deposition area 42. In this vacuum vapor deposition apparatus 40, the first rotary table 43a in which five first evaporation cells 44a are arranged at a predetermined interval on the same circumference around the rotation shaft 46a, The substrate is arranged such that one of the five first evaporation cells 44a provided on the first rotary table 43a is arranged at any one of the four positions Pd of the evaporation source. 42 are arranged in four locations on the same plane facing 42. Here, the arrangement position Pd of the evaporation source is the arrangement position of the evaporation source from which the most uniform vapor deposition film is obtained with respect to the vapor deposition area 42 obtained by a method such as numerical calculation.

  Further, the second rotary table 43b in which eight second evaporation cells are arranged at a constant interval on the same circumference around the rotation shaft 46b is opposed to the center of the vapor deposition area 42. It is arranged in.

  Also, two sets of guide rails 49, 49 are provided in the same direction at the lower part of each rotary table 43 so that each rotary table 43 can be taken in and out of the vapor deposition tank 41 along the guide rails 49, 49. is there.

  With the above configuration, during vapor deposition, the first rotary table 43a is rotated around the rotation shaft 46a by a rotation driving means (not shown) with respect to the substrate 42a that is stationary or rotates in the same plane, The evaporation cell used as the evaporation source among the plurality of first evaporation cells 44a arranged on each first rotary table 43a can be sequentially moved to the arrangement position Pd of the evaporation source. While maintaining this vacuum state, continuous film formation is performed on all of one or more types of film forming materials in the plurality of first evaporation cells 44a arranged on each first rotating table 43a in accordance with a desired vapor deposition process. It can be processed.

  In addition, a plurality of second evaporation cells 44b arranged on the second rotation table 43b for accommodating different film forming materials simultaneously with the vapor deposition processing by the first evaporation cells 44a provided on each first rotation table 43a. Vapor deposition treatment can be used, and in the vapor deposition treatment using a plurality of materials simultaneously, the amount of each film forming material can be easily controlled. For example, when other elements are finely doped during the formation of the thick film, the first film is deposited by the first evaporation cell 44a on each first rotary table 43a arranged at the evaporation source arrangement position Pd. The second rotary table 43b is rotated around the rotary shaft 46b by a rotary driving means (not shown), and one evaporation is performed between the eight second evaporation cells 44b arranged on the second rotary table 43b. Move the four evaporation cells 44b arranged every other cell in the vicinity of the position Pd of the evaporation source, and simultaneously use the film forming materials of minute other elements in the four evaporation cells 44b. It is possible to perform a vapor deposition process with a uniform film thickness.

  In each of the above embodiments, in the vapor deposition process in which the evaporation cells on the plurality of rotary tables are simultaneously used, the rotary tables 13, 23, 33, 43 used for the vapor deposition process and the evaporation cells 14, 24, 24 arranged on the rotary table are used. There is no particular limitation on the combination of the numbers 34 and 44 and the size.

  Further, the interval between the evaporation cells 14, 24, 34, 44 is constant, but this is because the cells used at the same time can be moved simultaneously to the positions of the evaporation source arrangement positions Pa, Pb, Pc, Pd. As long as this is the case, the interval may not be constant.

  Further, the substrates 12a, 22a, 32a, 42a disposed in the respective vapor deposition areas 12, 22, 32, 42 are provided so as to coincide with the vapor deposition areas 12, 22, 32, 42, but this is a uniform vapor deposition film. Any shape such as a circular shape may be used as long as it fits within the same plane of the respective vapor deposition areas 12, 22, 32, and 42.

The top view of the vacuum evaporation system of 1st Embodiment by this invention The front view which shows schematic structure of the vacuum evaporation system shown in FIG. The side view which shows the moving means of the rotary table seen from the B direction of FIG. The top view of the vacuum evaporation system of 2nd Embodiment by this invention The top view of the vacuum evaporation system of 3rd Embodiment by this invention The top view of the vacuum evaporation system of 4th Embodiment by this invention

Explanation of symbols

10, 20, 30, 40 Vacuum deposition apparatus 11, 21, 31, 41 Deposition tank 12, 22, 32, 42 Deposition area 12a, 22a, 32a, 42a Substrate 13, 23, 33, 43 Rotary table 14, 24, 34 , 44 Evaporation cell 15, 25, 35, 45 Film-forming material 16, 26, 36, 46 Rotating shaft 19, 29, 39, 49 Guide rail Pa, Pb, Pc, Pd Evaporation source arrangement position

Claims (5)

A vacuum deposition apparatus for evaporating a film forming material in an evaporation cell in a vacuum deposition tank by heating and evaporating it on a substrate disposed in a deposition area,
A plurality of first rotary tables arranged around the vapor deposition area in the same plane facing the vapor deposition area, and each having a predetermined value on the same circumference around the rotation axis of the first rotary table; A plurality of first evaporation cells are provided at intervals, and one or more of the plurality of first evaporation cells provided on each of the first rotary tables is a predetermined peripheral edge of the vapor deposition area. A vacuum deposition apparatus, which is disposed opposite to a position.   The vacuum deposition according to claim 1, wherein a second rotary table having a plurality of second evaporation cells is provided so as to face the center of the deposition area so as to face the deposition area. apparatus.   The vacuum deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the deposition area is rectangular, and the predetermined positions are near the four corners of the deposition area.   The vacuum deposition apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the deposition area is rectangular, and the predetermined position is near both ends of the deposition area.   The vacuum deposition apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising an entry / exit means for taking in and out each of the rotary tables from the deposition tank.

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