JP2012021194A - Vapor deposition apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vapor deposition apparatus preventing degradation in the quality of a vapor-deposited film by preventing degradation in a vapor deposition material even during a continuous operation.SOLUTION: The vapor deposition apparatus vaporizes a vapor deposition material L filled in an evaporation container 11 and vapor-deposits the vaporized material on a substrate held in the vapor deposition container. The vapor deposition apparatus includes: a container holder 12 for holding and cooling the evaporation container 11; a heating device 15 for heating a surface portion of the vapor deposition material L by a heating lamp 16 and a reflecting plate 17; and a laser beam sensor 19 for detecting the surface position of the vapor deposition material L, wherein the container holder 12 is constituted of a loading part 21 for supporting a bottom part of the evaporation container 11, and an outer peripheral part 23 which covers a side portion of the evaporation container 11 and to which the heating lamp 16 and the reflecting plate 17 are attached. The vapor deposition apparatus further includes: an elevating/lowering device 14 for elevating/lowering the loading part 21; and a control device 9 which controls, based on the surface position of the vapor deposition material L detected by the laser beam sensor 19, the elevating/lowering device 14 to thereby maintain the heating lamp 16 and the reflecting plate 17, and the surface position at the predetermined distance.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vapor deposition apparatus for depositing a vapor deposition material such as a metal material or an organic material on the surface of a substrate, for example.

  For manufacturing a display or the like, for example, a vapor deposition material such as a metal material or an organic material is deposited on the surface of a glass substrate to form a thin film. Usually, the vapor deposition material is heated by a crucible, and the evaporated evaporation material is vacuumed. While being led into the container, it is discharged onto the surface of the member to be deposited disposed in the vacuum container to perform the deposition.

  In such a vapor deposition apparatus used for vapor deposition, the entire crucible containing the vapor deposition material is heated for a long time (see Patent Document 1).

JP-A-6-21112

  By the way, in the case where the above-described vapor deposition apparatus is used for continuous operation in mass production of a display or the like, it is necessary to further increase the temperature of the organic material for a long time (about one week). However, organic materials are susceptible to thermal degradation, and material decomposition occurs when the temperature is increased for a long time. Therefore, the above-described vapor deposition apparatus may not be suitable for mass production because a display manufactured when used for continuous operation may not exhibit predetermined performance.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a vapor deposition apparatus that can prevent deterioration of the quality of a vapor deposition film by preventing the vapor deposition material from deteriorating even when continuously operated.

In order to solve the above problems, a vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention is a vapor deposition apparatus that evaporates a vapor deposition material filled in an evaporation container and deposits it on a substrate held in the vapor deposition container.
A container holding means for holding and cooling the evaporation container; a heating means for heating the upper surface portion of the vapor deposition material filled in the evaporation container by a heating unit; and an upper surface position of the vapor deposition material in the evaporation container. An upper surface detection means to obtain,
The container holding means is composed of a mounting part that supports the bottom of the evaporation container, and an outer peripheral part that covers a side part of the evaporation container and is attached with at least a heating part,
Elevating means for raising and lowering the placement part or the outer peripheral part is provided,
In addition, control means is provided for controlling the elevating means based on the upper surface position detected by the upper surface detecting means to maintain the heating unit and the upper surface position of the vapor deposition material in the evaporation container at a predetermined distance.

The vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 2 of the present invention is the vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heating unit includes a light irradiator that irradiates light to the evaporation container side, and the light irradiator to the evaporation container. Consists of a reflector that reflects the light irradiated to the opposite side to the evaporation container side,
In addition, a transmissive material that can transmit light from the light irradiator is used as a constituent material of the evaporation container.

  Furthermore, the vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 3 of the present invention is the vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the container holding means is provided with a cooling medium passage for allowing the cooling medium to pass through and cooling the evaporation container. is there.

  According to the vapor deposition apparatus, even when the vapor deposition material in the evaporation container evaporates and the upper surface position of the vapor deposition material is lowered, the heating unit and the upper surface position of the vapor deposition material are always maintained at a predetermined distance by the lifting and lowering means and the control means. In addition, the upper surface of the vapor deposition material is heated by the heating unit, and other than the upper surface of the vapor deposition material is cooled by the outer peripheral portion for cooling the evaporation container to which the heating unit is attached. Since it does not become high temperature for a long time, it does not deteriorate, and it is possible to prevent deterioration of the quality of the deposited film formed on the substrate.

It is a whole side view which shows schematic structure of the vapor deposition apparatus which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a principal part enlarged view which shows the vapor deposition unit and raising / lowering apparatus in the vapor deposition apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the control apparatus in the vapor deposition apparatus. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows the raise control of the mounting part in the vapor deposition apparatus, (a) is a figure immediately after the start of vapor deposition, (b) is a figure when the surface height of vapor deposition material falls by evaporation. It is a whole side view which shows schematic structure of the vapor deposition apparatus which concerns on Example 2 of this invention. It is a principal part enlarged view which shows the vapor deposition unit and raising / lowering apparatus in the vapor deposition apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the control apparatus in the vapor deposition apparatus. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows the fall control of the outer peripheral part in the vapor deposition apparatus, (a) is a figure immediately after the start of vapor deposition, (b) is a figure when the surface height of vapor deposition material falls by evaporation.

Hereinafter, the vapor deposition apparatus which concerns on Example 1 of this invention is demonstrated based on FIGS. 1-4.
As shown in FIG. 1, this vapor deposition apparatus is provided with a holder 3 for holding a substrate K as a member to be vapor-deposited on an upper wall portion inside, and an opening 4 for exchanging the substrate K and the opening 4. And a film thickness sensor 6 for detecting the thickness of the vapor deposition film formed on the substrate K by being disposed on the side wall portion inside the vapor deposition vessel 2. And an evaporation unit 7 disposed on the bottom wall portion inside the vapor deposition container 2 to evaporate the liquid vapor deposition material L, and disposed between the evaporation unit 7 and the holder 3 to evaporate from the evaporation unit 7. A shutter device 8 that blocks the vapor deposition material L (hereinafter, the vapor deposition material L is referred to as “evaporation material V”) and a control device (an example of a control unit) that appropriately controls the evaporation unit 7. It consists of.

Hereinafter, the evaporation unit 7 will be described in detail.
As shown in FIG. 2, the evaporation unit 7 has a cylindrical shape having a bottom and a transparent evaporation container (also referred to as a crucible) 11 for filling the vapor deposition material L therein. A container holder (which is an example of a container holding means) 12 that cools from the bottom side, a holder support base 13 that supports the container holder 12, and a lifting device that lifts and lowers the container holder 12 (an example of a lifting means) 14).

  The container holder 12 includes a disk-shaped mounting portion 21 that supports the bottom of the evaporation container 11, and a cylindrical outer peripheral portion 23 that covers the side portion of the evaporation container 11 and the mounting portion 21. For example, a guide groove portion 24 in the vertical direction is formed in the outer peripheral portion 23, and a convex portion 22 guided by the guide groove portion 24 is formed in the mounting portion 21, and the mounting portion 21 is the outer peripheral portion 23. In contrast, it can be moved relative to the vertical direction.

  Cooling medium passages 25 a and 25 b are formed in the mounting part 21 and the outer peripheral part 23, respectively, and the evaporation container 11 supported by the mounting part 21 by allowing a cooling medium (for example, cooling water) to pass therethrough. Is cooled from the side and bottom. More specifically, with respect to the outer peripheral portion 23, a cooling medium introduction port 26b is provided at the lower portion of the outer side surface, and a cooling medium outlet port 27b is provided at the upper portion of the outer side surface. A cooling medium passage 25b is formed in a spiral shape from bottom to top toward 27b. On the other hand, the mounting portion 21 is provided with a cooling medium inlet 26 a and a cooling medium outlet 27 a at the outer edge of the lower surface. The cooling medium inlet 26 a and the cooling medium outlet 27 a They are arranged at point-symmetric positions with the center of the circle as the center of symmetry. Further, the cooling medium passage 25a of the mounting portion 21 is formed from the cooling medium introduction port 26a to the vicinity of the upper surface of the mounting portion 21, and is formed in a spiral shape from the top to the bottom, to the cooling medium outlet 27a. It is formed to connect. Note that tubes 28 through which the cooling medium passes are connected to all the cooling medium introduction ports 26a and 26b and the cooling medium outlet ports 27a and 27b, and these tubes 28 are led to the outside of the vapor deposition vessel 2 and are not shown. It is connected to a cooling medium pump and tank (hereinafter referred to as a cooling device).

  Further, the outer peripheral portion 23 is provided with a heating device (which is an example of a heating means) 15 for heating in order to evaporate the vapor deposition material L filled in the vapor deposition container 2. The heating device 15 is arranged above the outer peripheral portion 23 and is also provided with a ring-shaped heating lamp (which is an example of a light irradiator) 16 that irradiates and heats the surface of the vapor deposition material L with light. A reflection plate 17 that reflects light emitted from the lamp 16 to the opposite side of the evaporation container 11 to the evaporation container 11 side, and a heating lamp 16 and a reflection plate 17 (also referred to as a heating unit) are held on the upper end side. And the lower end side is comprised from the arm part 18 attached to the upper part of the outer surface of the outer peripheral part 23. FIG. Note that the evaporating vessel 11 is made of a transmissive material such as quartz in order to transmit light that irradiates the vapor deposition material L from the heating lamp 16 and the reflection plate 17.

  Further, a laser sensor (which is an example of an upper surface detection means) 19 is provided at the upper end of the outer peripheral portion 23, and the presence or absence of the vapor deposition material L at the upper end height of the outer peripheral portion 23 can be detected by the laser sensor 19. The laser sensor 19 includes a projecting body 19a that emits a laser horizontally from the upper end of the outer peripheral portion 23 to the evaporation container 11, and a detection body 19b that detects a laser from the projecting body 19a that has passed through the evaporation container 11. It consists of. If the laser from the projectile 19a is blocked by the vapor deposition material L and cannot detect the laser, the detector 19b transmits a “non-detection” signal to the control device 9, and the laser is not blocked by the vapor deposition material L. If the laser can be detected, a “detection” signal is transmitted to the control device 9.

  Here, the holder support 13 for supporting the container holder 12 is a thick cylindrical shape, and is arranged so that the axis is in the vertical direction, and the lower end is fixed to the bottom wall portion inside the vapor deposition container 2. In addition, the lower end of the outer peripheral portion 23 is supported by the upper end. Further, the holder support base 13 is formed with a vertical cutout portion through which a part of the lifting device 14 (specifically, the horizontal support member 32, which will be described later) is passed.

  In addition, the lifting device 14 has a lifting base 31 that supports the mounting portion 21 inside the holder support base 13, and an upper surface on one end side is attached to the lower end of the lifting base 31 to support the lifting base 31. An end side passes through the vertical notch of the holder support base 13 and is disposed at the end of the horizontal support member 32 disposed outside the holder support base 13 and the horizontal support member 32 disposed outside the holder support base 13. A horizontally-attached connecting plate 33, a linear bush 34 and a ball nut 36 that are vertically attached to the connecting plate 33, a vertical ball screw 37 screwed into the ball nut 36, and An elevator motor 38 that is connected to the lower end of the ball screw 37 and rotates the ball screw 37 to raise and lower the ball nut 36 and the linear bush 34 can be guided in the vertical direction. Both lower portion is composed of vertical guide shaft 35. attached to the bottom wall portion of the interior of the deposition vessel 2.

  Incidentally, the shutter device 8 shown in FIG. 1 is attached vertically (that is, vertically) from the lower surface near the outer edge of the shielding plate 41 and the shielding plate 41 that is horizontally disposed below the holder 3 and covers the substrate K from below. The rotating shaft 42 that supports and rotates the shielding plate 41 and can switch between blocking / non-blocking of the evaporation material V, and a drive unit that drives the rotating shaft 42 (not shown, for example, a motor). It consists of.

  On the other hand, the control device 9 is provided outside the vapor deposition vessel 2 and is electrically connected to the laser sensor 19 and the lift motor 38 as shown in FIG. 3. The vapor deposition detected mainly by the laser sensor 19 is provided. The evaporation container 11 is automatically raised according to the height (remaining amount) of the surface of the material L, and the surface position of the vapor deposition material L and the upper end of the outer peripheral portion 23 are maintained at a predetermined distance in the vertical direction. More specifically, the control device 9 is connected to the detection body 19b of the laser sensor 19 and receives a signal from the detection body 19b, thereby detecting the presence or absence of the vapor deposition material L at the upper end height of the outer peripheral portion 23. A detection unit 51 that determines whether or not the evaporation material L is detected by the detection unit 51, and a determination unit 52 that determines whether the evaporation material 11 is stopped when the evaporation material L is detected. The elevating / lowering instruction unit 53 for operating the elevating motor 38 according to the determination by the determining unit 52 and the elevating / lowering button 54 for operating the elevating / lowering motor 38 by a button operation to elevate / lower the evaporation container 11. Although not shown, the control device 9 includes an operation button for switching the heating device 15 and the cooling device ON / OFF, an opening / closing button for opening and closing the substrate replacement valve 5, and a shutter device 8 for operating the evaporation material V. A shielding button for switching between blocking / non-blocking is also provided.

Hereinafter, operation | movement of this vapor deposition apparatus 1 is demonstrated.
The substrate replacement valve 5 is opened by the open / close button of the control device 9 in advance, the substrate K is inserted from the opening 4 of the vapor deposition container 2, and the substrate 3 is held by the holder 3. Similarly, the substrate replacement valve 5 is closed by the open / close button. On the other hand, the evaporation container 11 held by the container holder 12 is filled with the vapor deposition material L.

  The surface of the vapor deposition material L is heated by the heating device 15 and the side surface and the bottom surface of the vapor deposition material L need to be cooled by the cooling device. The evaporation container 11 is moved up and down by the lift button 54 of the control device 9 until it is positioned at the upper end height. On the other hand, the shutter button 8 of the control device 9 is operated to switch the shutter device 8 to non-blocking so that the evaporation material V from the evaporation container 11 can reach the substrate K.

  After performing the above-described preparation, first, the heating device 15 and the cooling device are switched from OFF to ON by the operation button of the control device 9. Then, the surface of the vapor deposition material L is heated by irradiation of light from the heating lamp 16 and the reflection plate 17 of the heating device 15, and the side surface and the bottom surface pass through the cooling medium passages 25 a and 25 b of the container holder 12. The cooling medium is cooled. More specifically, the light from the heating lamp 16 and the reflection plate 17 of the heating device 15 is directly or transparently transmitted through the transparent evaporation container 11 and irradiated onto the surface of the vapor deposition material L, and the surface of the vapor deposition material L Is heated. On the other hand, the cooling medium passes from the cooling device through the tube 28 and the cooling medium inlets 26a and 26b of the mounting portion 21 and the outer peripheral portion 23, and the cooling medium passages 25a and 25b of the mounting portion 21 and the outer peripheral portion 23. And is guided to the cooling device by the tube 28. When the cooling medium passes through the cooling medium passages 25a and 25b, heat is taken from the side surface and the bottom surface of the evaporation material L, so that the evaporation material L is removed from the side surface. Cool from the bottom. Therefore, the vapor deposition material L is heated on the evaporating surface, but is cooled from the side surface and the bottom surface below the surface that does not evaporate.

  By the heating described above, the vapor deposition material L in the evaporation container 11 evaporates from the surface, and the evaporated vapor deposition material L (that is, the evaporation material V) reaches the substrate K without being blocked by the shutter device 8. A vapor deposition film is formed.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 4, the vapor deposition material L filled in the evaporation container 11 (see FIG. 4A) gradually decreases due to evaporation and the surface height decreases. By being separated from the heating lamp 16 and the reflection plate 17 and being cooled by the outer peripheral portion 23, the efficiency of evaporation is lowered. However, if the surface height of the vapor deposition material L is reduced in order to prevent this reduction in evaporation efficiency, the surface height of the vapor deposition material L is maintained by raising the evaporation container 11 through the mounting portion 21 by the reduced amount. (See FIG. 4B).

  That is, when the surface of the vapor deposition material L is lower than the upper end height of the outer peripheral portion 23, the laser from the projectile 19 a of the laser sensor 19 is not hindered by the vapor deposition material L, and “detection” is detected from the detection body 19 b of the laser sensor 19. A signal is transmitted to the control device 9. When the detection unit 51 of the control device 9 receives this signal and the vapor deposition material L is no longer detected, the determination unit 52 determines that the evaporating container 11 needs to be raised, and the elevating instruction unit 53 raises the evaporating container 11. The lift motor 38 is operated. When the ball screw 37 is rotated by the lift motor 38, as shown in FIG. 4, the ball nut 36 into which the ball screw 37 is screwed rises, and the connecting plate 33, the linear bush 34, the horizontal support member 32, and the ball nut 36 are integrated. The elevating pedestal 31 also rises, and the elevating container 31 that is pushed up by the elevating pedestal 31 and supported by the placing unit 21 also rises.

  Here, the detection of the vapor deposition material L by the detection unit 51 of the laser sensor 19 and the control device 9 is continued, and when the evaporation container 11 rises, the surface of the vapor deposition material L filled in the evaporation container 11 becomes the outer peripheral part. When it rises to the upper end height of 23, a “non-detection” signal is transmitted from the detection body 19 b of the laser sensor 19 to the control device 9. When the detection unit 51 of the control device 9 receives this signal and detects the vapor deposition material L, the determination unit 52 determines that the elevating stop of the evaporation container 11 is necessary, and the elevating instruction unit 53 stops the elevating motor 38. .

  By this control, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the surface height of the vapor deposition material L is maintained constant, so that the surface of the vapor deposition material L and the heating lamp 16 and the reflector 17 are separated. While the distance is kept constant, the place below the surface of the vapor deposition material L is cooled by the mounting portion 21 and the outer peripheral portion 23. Further, the distance between the surface of the vapor deposition material L and the substrate K is also kept constant.

  When a vapor deposition film having a predetermined thickness is obtained, the shutter device 8 is switched to shut off, the evaporation material V to the substrate K is shut off, the substrate replacement valve 5 is opened, and the vapor deposition film is generated from the opening 4. The substrate K is taken out and replaced with a new substrate K. The predetermined thickness of the deposited film can be known by the film thickness sensor 6.

  As described above, the distance between the surface of the vapor deposition material and the heating lamp and the reflector is kept constant, and the distance between the surface of the vapor deposition material and the substrate is also kept constant, so that the vapor deposition film can be generated stably. can do. Moreover, since it is always cooled and does not become high temperature below the surface of the vapor deposition material, deterioration of the vapor deposition material can be prevented, and deterioration of the quality of the vapor deposition film formed on the substrate can be prevented.

In addition, it is as follows when the structure of the vapor deposition apparatus of the present Example 1 is demonstrated easily.
That is, this vapor deposition apparatus is a vapor deposition apparatus that evaporates the vapor deposition material filled in the evaporation container and deposits it on the substrate held in the vapor deposition container,
A container holding means for holding and cooling the evaporation container; a heating means for heating the upper surface portion of the vapor deposition material filled in the evaporation container by a heating unit; and an upper surface position of the vapor deposition material in the evaporation container. An upper surface detection means to obtain,
The container holding means is composed of a mounting part that supports the bottom of the evaporation container, and an outer peripheral part that covers a side part of the evaporation container and is attached with at least a heating part,
Elevating means for raising and lowering the mounting part up and down with respect to the outer peripheral part is provided,
The elevating means is controlled based on the upper surface position detected by the upper surface detecting means to maintain the heating unit and the upper surface position of the vapor deposition material in the evaporation container at a predetermined distance and are held in the vapor deposition container. Control means for maintaining the substrate and the upper surface position of the vapor deposition material at a predetermined distance is provided.

  Next, the vapor deposition apparatus which concerns on Example 2 of this invention is demonstrated based on FIGS. While the surface of the vapor deposition material decreases due to evaporation, in order to maintain a constant distance between the surface, the heating lamp and the reflector, the mounting portion 21 (evaporation filled with the vapor deposition material L) is used in the first embodiment. In this embodiment, the outer peripheral part (comprising a heating lamp and a reflector) is lowered.

  As shown in FIG. 5, this vapor deposition apparatus is provided with a holder 103 for holding a substrate K, which is a member to be vapor-deposited, on an inner upper wall portion, and an opening 104 for exchanging the substrate K, and the opening 104 A vapor deposition vessel 102 provided with a communication opening portion 110a for introducing a vaporized material (referred to as vaporized vapor deposition material L) V to the bottom wall portion, and a substrate replacement valve 105 that opens and closes the substrate. An introduction port 147 that is attached to the bottom wall portion inside the vapor deposition container 102 and communicates with the communication opening 110a is formed at the lower end, and the evaporation material V is introduced from the communication opening 110a so as to be uniform in the diffusion space 148. Diffusion container 146 which diffuses and emits from a plurality of discharge ports 149 formed on the upper surface, and the thickness of the deposited film formed on the substrate K disposed on the side wall portion inside the deposition container 102 are detected. A film thickness sensor 106, an evaporation chamber 100 which is disposed below the vapor deposition container 102 and has a communication opening 110 b formed in the upper wall portion, and an evaporation unit 107 for evaporating the liquid vapor deposition material L disposed therein, The vapor deposition container 102 and the respective communication openings 110a and 110b of the evaporation chamber 100 are connected to each other, and a communication pipe 144 for introducing the evaporation material V from the evaporation unit 107 in the evaporation chamber 100 into the vapor deposition container 102 and the communication pipe 144 are opened and closed. A communication valve (consisting of a valve main body and a valve driving mechanism for driving the valve main body) 145, and the diffusion container 146 and the holder 103, and the evaporation material V from the evaporation unit 107 is required. A shutter device 108 that interrupts in accordance with the control unit, and a control device (an example of control means) 109 that appropriately controls the evaporation unit 107; Et al constructed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the communication pipe 144 is inserted into a communication opening 110 b formed in the upper wall portion of the evaporation chamber 100, and a lower end portion 144 b of the inserted communication pipe 144 is The evaporating material from the evaporating vessel 111 is made of a transparent elastic material (for example, rubber) and is in close contact with the upper end of an evaporating vessel 111 (which is a constituent member of the evaporating unit 7, which will be described later) disposed in the evaporating chamber 100. V is introduced into the diffusion container 146 without leaking. Further, although not shown in FIG. 5, the connection between the inlet 147 of the diffusion container 146 and the upper end of the communication pipe 144 in the communication opening 110a of the vapor deposition container is performed by a flange joint.

Hereinafter, the evaporation unit 107 will be described in detail.
As shown in FIG. 6, the evaporation unit 107 has a cylindrical shape having a bottom and a transparent evaporation container (also referred to as a crucible) 111 for filling the vapor deposition material L therein. A container holder (an example of a container holder) 112 that cools from the bottom side, a holder support base 113 that supports the container holder 112, and a lifting device that lifts and lowers the container holder 112 (an example of an elevator means) 114).

  The container holder 112 includes a disk-shaped mounting portion 121 that supports the bottom of the evaporation container 111, and a cylindrical outer peripheral portion 123 that covers the side portion of the evaporation container 111 and the mounting portion 121. For example, a guide groove portion 124 in the vertical direction is formed on the outer peripheral portion 123 and a convex portion 122 guided by the guide groove portion 124 is formed on the mounting portion 121, and the outer peripheral portion 123 is formed on the mounting portion 121. In contrast, it can be moved relative to the vertical direction.

  Cooling medium passages 125a and 125b are formed in the mounting part 121 and the outer peripheral part 123, respectively, and the evaporation container 111 supported by the mounting part 121 by allowing the cooling medium (for example, cooling water) to pass therethrough. Is cooled from the side and bottom. More specifically, for the outer peripheral portion 123, a cooling medium introduction port 126b is provided at the lower portion of the outer side surface, and a cooling medium outlet port 127b is provided at the upper portion of the outer side surface, and the cooling medium outlet port is formed from the cooling medium introduction port 126b. A cooling medium passage 125b is formed in a spiral shape from bottom to top toward 127b. On the other hand, the mounting portion 121 is provided with a cooling medium inlet 126 a and a cooling medium outlet 127 a at the outer edge of the lower surface. The cooling medium inlet 126 a and the cooling medium outlet 127 a They are arranged at point-symmetric positions with the center of the circle as the center of symmetry. In addition, the cooling medium passage 125a of the mounting portion 121 is formed from the cooling medium introduction port 126a to the vicinity of the upper surface of the mounting portion 121, and is formed in a spiral shape from the top to the bottom, to the cooling medium outlet 127a. It is formed to connect. In addition, tubes 128 that allow the cooling medium to pass are connected to all the cooling medium introduction ports 126a and 126b and the cooling medium outlets 127a and 127b, and these tubes 128 are guided to the outside of the vapor deposition vessel 102 and are not illustrated. It is connected to a cooling medium pump and tank (hereinafter referred to as a cooling device).

  Further, the outer peripheral portion 123 is provided with a heating device (an example of a heating unit) 115 that heats the vapor deposition material L filled in the vapor deposition container 102 to evaporate. The heating device 115 is disposed above the outer peripheral portion 123 and is also provided with a ring-shaped heating lamp (which is an example of a light irradiator) 116 that irradiates and heats the surface of the vapor deposition material L with light. A reflection plate 117 that reflects light emitted from the lamp 116 to the opposite side of the evaporation container 111 to the evaporation container 111 side, and a heating lamp 116 and a reflection plate 117 (also referred to as a heating unit) are held on the upper end side. In addition, the lower end side includes an arm portion 118 attached to the upper portion of the outer surface of the outer peripheral portion 123. Note that the evaporating vessel 111 is made of a transmissive material such as quartz in order to transmit light that irradiates the vapor deposition material L from the heating lamp 116 and the reflection plate 117.

  Further, a laser sensor (which is an example of an upper surface detection unit) 119 is provided at the upper end of the outer peripheral portion 123, and the presence or absence of the vapor deposition material L at the upper end height of the outer peripheral portion 123 can be detected by the laser sensor 119. The laser sensor 119 includes a projectile 119a that emits a laser horizontally from the upper end of the outer peripheral portion 123 to the evaporation container 111, and a detector 119b that detects a laser from the projectile 119a that has passed through the evaporation container 111. It consists of. In addition, if the laser from the projectile 119a is blocked by the vapor deposition material L and cannot detect the laser, the detector 119b transmits a “non-detection” signal to the control device 109, and the laser is not blocked by the vapor deposition material L. If the laser can be detected, a “detection” signal is transmitted to the control device 109.

  Here, the holder support base 113 that supports the container holder 112 is a columnar base arranged so that the axis is in the vertical direction, and the lower end is fixed to the bottom wall portion inside the evaporation chamber 100. In addition, the lower surface of the mounting portion 121 is supported at the upper end.

  Further, the lifting device 114 has one end side attached to the outer surface of the outer peripheral portion 123 to support the outer peripheral portion 123 and the other end side horizontally attached to the connecting plate 133, and the connecting plate 133. A linear bush 134 and a ball nut 136 which are attached by passing through in the vertical direction, a vertical ball screw 137 screwed into the ball nut 136, and a lower end portion of the ball screw 137 are connected to rotate the ball screw 137. Thus, a lifting motor 138 that lifts and lowers the ball nut 136 and a vertical guide shaft 135 that can guide the linear bush 134 in the vertical direction and that has a lower end attached to the bottom wall portion inside the evaporation chamber 100 are configured. Is done.

  Incidentally, the shutter device 108 shown in FIG. 5 is attached horizontally (ie, vertically) from the lower surface near the outer edge of the shielding plate 141 that is horizontally disposed below the holder 103 and covers the substrate K from below. The rotating shaft 142 that supports and rotates the shielding plate 141 and can switch between blocking / non-blocking of the evaporation material V and a drive unit (not shown, for example, a motor) that drives the rotating shaft 142. It consists of.

  On the other hand, the control device 109 is provided outside the vapor deposition vessel 102 and the evaporation chamber 100, and is electrically connected to the laser sensor 119, the lift motor 138, the film thickness sensor 106, and the communication valve 145 as shown in FIG. Mainly, the outer peripheral part 123 is automatically lowered according to the height (remaining amount) of the surface of the vapor deposition material L detected by the laser sensor 119, and the surface position of the vapor deposition material L and the upper end of the outer peripheral part 123 are Is maintained at a predetermined distance in the vertical direction. Specifically, the control device 109 is connected to the detection body 119b of the laser sensor 119 and receives a signal from the detection body 119b, thereby detecting the presence or absence of the vapor deposition material L at the upper end height of the outer peripheral portion 123. A detecting unit 151 that determines whether or not the outer peripheral portion 123 is required to be lowered if the detecting unit 151 does not detect the vapor deposition material L, and a determination unit 152 that determines whether the outer peripheral portion 123 needs to be stopped if the vapor deposition material L is detected. In addition, there is an elevating instruction unit 153 that operates the elevating motor 138 in accordance with the determination by the determining unit 152, and an elevating button 154 that can operate the elevating motor 138 by button operation to elevate the outer peripheral portion 123. Further, the control device 109 is further connected to the film thickness sensor 106 to measure the thickness of the deposited film detected by the film thickness sensor 106, and the film thickness meter 155 measures the thickness. A valve opening / closing part 156 is provided for closing the communication valve 145 by the valve driving mechanism when the film thickness exceeds a predetermined thickness. Although not shown, the control device 109 has an operation button for switching the heating device 115 and the cooling device ON / OFF, an open / close button for opening and closing the substrate replacement valve 105, and the shutter device 108 for operating the evaporation material V. A shielding button for switching between blocking / non-blocking is also provided.

Hereinafter, operation | movement of this vapor deposition apparatus 101 is demonstrated.
In advance, the substrate replacement valve 105 is opened by the open / close button of the control device 109, the substrate K is inserted from the opening 104 of the vapor deposition container 102, and the substrate K is held by the holder 103. Similarly, the substrate replacement valve 105 is closed by an open / close button. On the other hand, the evaporation container 111 held by the container holder 112 is filled with the vapor deposition material L.

  Since the vapor deposition material L has its surface heated by the heating device 115 and its side and bottom surfaces need to be cooled by the cooling device, the surface of the vapor deposition material L filled in the evaporation container 111 is the outer peripheral portion 123. The outer peripheral portion 123 is moved up and down by the lift button 154 of the control device 109 until it is positioned at the upper end height. On the other hand, the shutter device 108 is operated to be switched to non-blocking by the shielding button of the control device 109 so that the evaporation material V from the evaporation container 111 can reach the substrate K.

  After performing the above-described preparation, first, the heating device 115 and the cooling device are switched from OFF to ON by the operation button of the control device 109. Then, the surface of the vapor deposition material L is heated by irradiation of light from the heating lamp 116 and the reflector 117 of the heating device 115, and the side surface and the bottom surface pass through the cooling medium passages 125 a and 125 b of the container holder 112. The cooling medium is cooled. More specifically, the light from the heating lamp 116 and the reflection plate 117 of the heating device 115 is directly or directly transmitted through the transparent evaporation vessel 111 and irradiated onto the surface of the vapor deposition material L, and the surface of the vapor deposition material L Is heated. Meanwhile, the cooling medium passes from the cooling device through the tube 128 and the cooling medium inlets 126a and 126b of the mounting portion 121 and the outer peripheral portion 123, and the cooling medium passages 125a and 125b of the mounting portion 121 and the outer peripheral portion 123. , And is guided to the cooling device by the tube 128. When the cooling medium passes through the cooling medium passages 125a and 125b, heat is removed from the side surface and the bottom surface of the evaporation material L, so that the evaporation material L is removed from the side surface. Cool from the bottom. Therefore, the vapor deposition material L is heated on the evaporating surface, but is cooled from the side surface and the bottom surface below the surface that does not evaporate.

  Due to the heating described above, the vapor deposition material L in the evaporation container 111 is evaporated from the surface, and the evaporated vapor deposition material L (that is, the evaporation material V) is in close contact with the evaporation container 111 and the lower end portion 144b of the communication pipe 144. Therefore, it is introduced into the diffusion container 146 without leaking out of the communication pipe 144 of the evaporation chamber 100, and further diffused uniformly in the diffusion space 148 of the diffusion container 146, then discharged from the discharge port 149 and blocked by the shutter device 108. Without reaching the substrate K, a deposited film is generated on the substrate K.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 8, the vapor deposition material L filled in the evaporation container 111 (see FIG. 8A) gradually decreases due to evaporation and the surface height decreases. By being separated from the heating lamp 116 and the reflection plate 117 and being cooled by the outer peripheral portion 123, the efficiency of evaporation is lowered. However, if the surface height of the vapor deposition material L is reduced in order to prevent this reduction in evaporation efficiency, the heating device 115 is lowered through the outer peripheral portion 123 by the amount of the reduction, and the surface of the vapor deposition material L and the heating lamp 116. And the distance with the reflecting plate 117 is maintained constant (refer FIG.8 (b)).

  That is, if the surface of the vapor deposition material L is lower than the upper end height of the outer peripheral portion 123, the laser from the projectile 119a of the laser sensor 119 is not hindered by the vapor deposition material L, and “detection” is detected from the detection body 119b of the laser sensor 119. A signal is transmitted to the control device 109. When the detection unit 151 of the control device 109 receives this signal and the vapor deposition material L is no longer detected, the determination unit 152 determines that the outer periphery 123 needs to be lowered, and the elevation instruction unit 153 causes the outer periphery 123 to descend. The lift motor 138 is operated. When the ball screw 137 is rotated by the lifting motor 138, as shown in FIG. 8, the ball nut 136 into which the ball screw 137 is screwed is lowered, and the connecting plate 133, the linear bush 134, and the horizontal support member 132 integrated with the ball nut 136 are also used. While descending, the outer peripheral portion 123 and the heating lamp 116 and the reflector 117 provided on the outer peripheral portion 123 are also lowered by the horizontal support member 132.

  Here, the detection of the vapor deposition material L by the detection unit 151 of the laser sensor 119 and the control device 109 is continued, and the upper end height of the outer peripheral portion 123 is filled in the evaporation container 111 by the lowering of the outer peripheral portion 123. When descending to the surface of the vapor deposition material L, a “non-detection” signal is transmitted from the detection body 119 b of the laser sensor 119 to the control device 109. When the detection unit 151 of the control device 109 receives this signal and the vapor deposition material L is detected, the determination unit 152 determines that it is necessary to stop the lowering of the outer peripheral portion 123, and the elevating instruction unit 153 stops the elevating motor 138. .

  By this control, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the distance between the surface of the vapor deposition material L and the heating lamp 116 and the reflection plate 117 is kept constant and below the surface of the vapor deposition material L. Is cooled by the mounting portion 121 and the outer peripheral portion 123.

  When the film thickness meter 155 detects that a vapor deposition film having a predetermined thickness is obtained, the communication valve 145 is closed by the valve opening / closing unit 156, and the evaporation material to the substrate K is closed. V is cut off. After that, the evaporation material V is surely shut off by the shutter device 108, the substrate replacement valve 105 is opened, the substrate K on which the deposited film is generated is taken out from the opening 104, and replaced with a new substrate K.

  In this way, the distance between the surface of the vapor deposition material and the heating lamp and the reflector is kept constant, and the vaporized material is uniformly diffused in the diffusion container and reaches the substrate. Can be generated. Moreover, since it is always cooled and does not become high temperature below the surface of the vapor deposition material, deterioration of the vapor deposition material can be prevented, and deterioration of the quality of the vapor deposition film formed on the substrate can be prevented.

In addition, it is as follows when the structure of the vapor deposition apparatus of the present Example 2 is demonstrated easily.
That is, the vapor deposition apparatus is a vapor deposition apparatus that evaporates the vapor deposition material filled in the evaporation container and deposits it on the substrate held in the vapor deposition container,
A container holding means for holding and cooling the evaporation container; a heating means for heating the upper surface portion of the vapor deposition material filled in the evaporation container by a heating unit; and an upper surface position of the vapor deposition material in the evaporation container. An upper surface detection means to obtain,
The container holding means is composed of a mounting part that supports the bottom of the evaporation container, and an outer peripheral part that covers a side part of the evaporation container and is attached with at least a heating part,
While providing an elevating means for elevating the outer peripheral portion up and down with respect to the mounting portion,
A diffusion container that is disposed in the vapor deposition container and diffuses the evaporated vapor deposition material, and a communication pipe that connects the diffusion container and the evaporation container,
And a control means for controlling the elevating means based on the upper surface position detected by the upper surface detecting means to maintain the heating portion and the upper surface position of the vapor deposition material in the evaporation container at a predetermined distance. Is.

  In the first and second embodiments, the heating unit is described as a heating device having a heating lamp. However, the heating unit is not limited to this heating device, and may be another heating unit such as a laser irradiation device.

  In the first and second embodiments, the laser sensor is used as an example for detecting the surface of the vapor deposition material filled in the evaporation container. However, other optical sensors may be used.

K substrate L evaporation material V evaporation material 1 evaporation device 4 opening 7 evaporation unit 8 shutter device 11 evaporation container 14 elevating device 15 heating device 16 heating lamp 17 reflecting plate 19 laser sensor 19b detector 21 mounting portion 22 convex portion 23 Outer peripheral portion 24 Guide groove portion 28 Tube 32 Horizontal support member 33 Connecting plate 34 Linear bush 36 Ball nut 100 Evaporating chamber 144 Communication tube 145 Communication valve 146 Diffusion container

Claims (3)

A vapor deposition apparatus that evaporates a vapor deposition material filled in an evaporation vessel and deposits it on a substrate held in the vapor deposition vessel,
A container holding means for holding and cooling the evaporation container; a heating means for heating the upper surface portion of the vapor deposition material filled in the evaporation container by a heating unit; and an upper surface position of the vapor deposition material in the evaporation container. An upper surface detection means to obtain,
The container holding means is composed of a mounting part that supports the bottom of the evaporation container, and an outer peripheral part that covers a side part of the evaporation container and is attached with at least a heating part,
Elevating means for raising and lowering the placement part or the outer peripheral part is provided,
And a control means for controlling the elevating means based on the upper surface position detected by the upper surface detecting means to maintain the heating portion and the upper surface position of the vapor deposition material in the evaporation container at a predetermined distance. Vapor deposition equipment. The heating unit is composed of a light irradiator that irradiates light to the evaporation container side, and a reflector that reflects light emitted from the light irradiator to the opposite side of the evaporation container to the evaporation container side,
The vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a transmissive material capable of transmitting light from the light irradiator is used as a constituent material of the evaporation container.   The vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the container holding means is provided with a cooling medium passage for allowing the cooling medium to pass therethrough and cooling the evaporation container.

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