JP2013139637A - Continuous thin film vapor deposition apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a continuous thin film vapor deposition apparatus capable of vapor deposition in a thin-film form on a substrate by evaporating an organic material for a long time.SOLUTION: The continuous thin film vapor deposition apparatus includes a material storage part, a material preheat part, a material transport part, a material evaporation part, and a crucible transport part. In the material storage part, an organic material is stored. In the material preheat part, a crucible, in which the organic material is contained, is preheated to a temperature less than the vaporization point of the organic material. In the material transport part, a fixed quantity of the organic material is delivered from the material storage part, and the organic material is conveyed to the crucible arranged in the material preheat part. In the material evaporation part, the organic material contained in the crucible is evaporated by supplying the transported crucible with heat. In the crucible transport part, the crucible preheated in the material preheat part is carried in the material evaporation part or the crucible whose organic material is consumed is carried out of the material evaporation part.

Description

  The present invention relates to a continuous thin film deposition apparatus, and more particularly to a continuous thin film deposition apparatus that can evaporate an organic material for a long time and deposit it in a thin film form on a substrate.

  The organic light emitting display element is a typical flat display element, and has a structure in which an organic thin film including an organic light emitting layer is interposed between a transparent positive electrode layer and a metal negative electrode layer formed on a substrate. Accordingly, in the manufacture of a substrate having such an organic light emitting display element, an organic material vapor deposition process is performed to form an organic thin film including an organic light emitting layer.

  In order to deposit such an organic thin film on a substrate, a vacuum thermal evaporation method is generally used. In the vacuum thermal evaporation method, heat is applied to the organic material provided in the vacuum chamber of the thin film deposition apparatus using a heater and the like, and the organic material contained therein is evaporated toward the substrate. It is the method of forming the organic thin film of thickness.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional thin film deposition apparatus.

  Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional thin film deposition apparatus includes a crucible 10 containing an organic material to be deposited on a substrate, a heater 20 for heating a raw material of the crucible 10, and a crucible 10 inside the heater 20. The transfer unit 30 which raises / lowers and the nozzle 40 which injects the vaporized organic material are included.

  However, since the amount of organic material that can be accommodated in the crucible 10 is limited in the conventional thin film deposition apparatus, the organic material has to be refilled frequently. For this reason, the thin film deposition apparatus is operated every time during the filling process. There is a problem that you have to stop. Although there is a method of increasing the capacity of the crucible 10, the capacity of the crucible 10 cannot be increased without limit. When the capacity of the crucible 10 is increased, the components related to the apparatus are correspondingly increased. It is necessary to adopt one that can exhibit improved performance. This increases the overall size of the apparatus and raises the manufacturing cost.

  On the other hand, when the capacity of the crucible 10 is increased, a large amount of organic material can be accommodated in the crucible 10. However, at this time, since the organic material in the crucible 10 is heated by the heater 20 for a long time, there is a problem that there is a considerable risk of denaturation of the organic material itself.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve such a conventional problem, and does not produce a crucible containing an organic material in a large capacity, but replaces the crucible having a certain capacity with an organic material. By configuring the material to be continuously supplied, the operation time of the vapor deposition apparatus can be extended, and the capacity of the crucible is appropriately maintained and supplied to prevent the organic material in the crucible from being modified by heat. An object of the present invention is to provide a continuous thin film deposition apparatus that can be used.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, the continuous thin film deposition apparatus of the present invention preheats the material storage unit storing the organic material and the crucible containing the organic material to a temperature below the vaporization point of the organic material. A certain amount of organic material is supplied from the material preheating unit, the material storage unit, a material transfer unit that transfers the organic material to the crucible disposed in the material preheating unit, and heat is supplied to the crucible carried in A material evaporation unit that evaporates the organic material contained in the crucible, and a crucible that carries the crucible preheated by the material preheating unit into the material evaporation unit or carries out the crucible depleted of the organic material from the material evaporation unit And a transfer unit.

  In the continuous thin film deposition apparatus according to the present invention, preferably, the material storage unit includes a hopper in which an organic material is stored, and a hopper vibration unit that supplies vibration with a constant amplitude to the hopper.

  In the continuous thin film deposition apparatus according to the present invention, preferably, the material preheating unit includes a first storage unit and a second storage unit that are each equipped with a heater and store the crucible, and the first storage unit or the second storage unit. A position setting unit that selectively positions the unit at an arbitrary position between the material transfer unit and the material evaporation unit.

  In the continuous thin film deposition apparatus according to the present invention, preferably, the position setting unit is configured to transmit the organic material from the material transfer unit to the first storage unit or the second storage unit, the material evaporation unit. A standby position for waiting for loading or unloading to the material evaporation section on the lower side, a position between the transmission position and the standby position, and rotating between the preheating positions for preheating the crucible.

  In the continuous thin film deposition apparatus according to the present invention, preferably, the material preheating unit further includes a preheating sensor that senses the temperature of the organic material in the crucible preheated by the first storage unit or the second storage unit. .

  In the continuous thin film deposition apparatus according to the present invention, preferably, the material transfer unit includes a bucket that temporarily stores an organic material supplied from the material storage unit, and the material storage unit below the material storage unit. And a transfer unit for reciprocating the bucket between a filling position where the organic material is supplied from and a transmission position where the organic material is transmitted to the material preheating part above the material preheating part.

  In the continuous thin film deposition apparatus according to the present invention, preferably, the bucket is provided at a lower portion of the bucket, is closed at the filling position to receive the organic material, and is opened at the transmission position to release the organic material. A door part is provided.

  In the continuous thin film deposition apparatus according to the present invention, preferably, the material evaporation part is formed on a body part that accommodates the crucible, a heater that surrounds a side part of the body part, and an upper part of the body part. A nozzle through which the evaporated organic material is jetted while heat is supplied from the heater.

  In the continuous thin film deposition apparatus according to the present invention, preferably, the material evaporation unit further includes a sensor for measuring an evaporation rate of the organic material evaporated from the crucible.

  In the continuous thin film deposition apparatus according to the present invention, preferably, the material storage unit, the material transfer unit, the material preheating unit, and the material evaporation are provided by an organic material provided above the material evaporation unit. And a contamination prevention unit for preventing contamination of the unit.

  According to the continuous thin film deposition apparatus of the present invention, the operation time of the apparatus can be extended for a long time.

  According to the continuous thin film deposition apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the organic material in the crucible from being exposed to heat for a long time and to be prevented from being modified by heat.

  In addition, according to the continuous thin film vapor deposition apparatus of this invention, the time concerning a vapor deposition process can be reduced entirely.

  In addition, according to the continuous thin film vapor deposition apparatus of the present invention, the evaporation amount of the organic material can be accurately controlled.

It is a figure which shows an example of the conventional thin film vapor deposition apparatus. It is a figure which shows the continuous thin film vapor deposition apparatus by one Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the material preheating part of the continuous thin film vapor deposition apparatus in FIG. It is a figure explaining the principle of operation of the material preheating part of the continuous thin film vapor deposition apparatus in FIG. It is a figure explaining the operation | movement principle of the material transfer part of the continuous thin film vapor deposition apparatus in FIG. It is a figure which shows the material evaporation part of the continuous thin film vapor deposition apparatus in FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a continuous thin film deposition apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to these examples.

  2 is a view showing a continuous thin film deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a view showing a material preheating part of the continuous thin film deposition apparatus in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a continuous view in FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operation principle of the material preheating unit of the thin film deposition apparatus, FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operation principle of the material transfer unit of the continuous thin film deposition apparatus in FIG. 2, and FIG. It is a figure which shows the material evaporation part of a thin film vapor deposition apparatus.

  Referring to FIGS. 2 to 6, the continuous thin film deposition apparatus 100 of the present embodiment is for evaporating the organic material in the crucible and depositing it on the substrate in a thin film form while continuously supplying the crucible. , A material storage unit 110, a material preheating unit 120, a material transfer unit 130, a material evaporation unit 140, a crucible transfer unit 150, and a contamination prevention unit 160.

  The material storage unit 110 stores an organic material deposited on a substrate in a solid or liquid state, and includes a hopper 111 and a hopper vibration unit 112.

  The hopper 111 stores an amount of organic material that can be used for about 30 days or more at room temperature, and an opening that can transmit a certain amount (for example, about 80 cc) of organic material to a bucket 131 described below is provided on the lower side. Yes.

  The hopper vibration unit 112 supplies vibration with a constant amplitude to the hopper 111, and in this embodiment, supplies vibration that shakes the hopper 111 in the left-right direction. When the organic material is transmitted to the bucket 131 without any vibration, the upper surface of the organic material filled in the bucket 131 is formed in a mountain shape or a valley shape, and the surface area is not uniform. Since the evaporation amount of the organic material is proportional to the surface area of the surface that becomes the boundary with the outside, when the surface area of the organic material that becomes the boundary with the outside is changed, the evaporation amount of the organic material is changed by the material evaporation unit 140 described later. It becomes impossible to control appropriately, and problems arise in the quality of the organic thin film such as the thickness of the organic thin film deposited on the substrate.

  In addition, the organic material transferred to the bucket 131 by the vibration of the hopper vibration unit 112 can be collected in a certain amount, and the certain amount of organic material can be filled in the bucket 131. If the transfer amount of the organic material is not constant, the material evaporation unit 140 cannot appropriately control the evaporation amount due to the remaining amount of organic matter, and there is a problem in the quality of the organic thin film such as the thickness of the organic thin film deposited on the substrate. Will occur.

  Therefore, the upper surface of the organic material filled in the bucket 131 can be flattened by shaking the hopper 111 in the left-right direction by the hopper vibration unit 112, and a uniform surface area can be ensured at all times. Can be supplied to the material evaporation unit 140 to accurately control the evaporation amount of the evaporated organic material.

  The hopper vibration part 112 that linearly reciprocates the hopper 111 in the left-right direction can be configured by a general linear drive unit, and the linear drive unit is not limited as long as it can perform linear reciprocating motion. Since a configuration well known to a normal engineer such as a configuration in which a pneumatic cylinder, a linear motor or a rotary motor and a ball screw are combined can be adopted, detailed description of the configuration is omitted.

  The material preheating unit 120 preheats the crucible 10 containing the organic material to a temperature below the vaporization point of the organic material before the crucible 10 is carried into the material evaporation unit 140.

  The organic material transferred from the material storage unit 110 is placed in a normal temperature state. When the organic material at such a low temperature is immediately carried into the material evaporation unit 140, it takes a considerable time to evaporate the organic material. Therefore, if the organic material is preheated to a predetermined temperature by the material preheating unit 120 before the crucible 10 is carried into the material evaporation unit 140, the evaporation time of the organic material in the material evaporation unit 140 can be shortened. Overall, the deposition process time can be reduced.

  The material preheating part 120 is divided into a first accommodating part 121 and a second accommodating part 122 that can accommodate the crucible 10. A heater 124 that can preheat the crucible 10 is attached to the first housing part 121 and the second housing part 122.

  The material preheating unit 120 includes a position setting unit 123 that selectively positions the first storage unit or the second storage unit at an arbitrary position between the material transfer unit and the material evaporation unit. The unit 123 is configured to be able to rotate the first housing part 121 and the second housing part 122.

  Referring to FIG. 4, the position setting unit 123 is configured to transmit the organic material from the material transfer unit 130 through one of the first storage unit 121 and the second storage unit 122 (for example, the first storage unit 121). It is located at (P1) ((a) of FIG. 4). After that, the position setting unit 123 is used to position the crucible 10 rotating the first housing 121 about 90 degrees at the preheating position (P3) for preheating ((b) of FIG. 4). At this time, a preheating sensor 125 for sensing the temperature of the organic material in the crucible 10 preheated in the first housing part 121 is provided above the preheating position (P3), and the temperature is set to a predetermined appropriate temperature. Senses whether organic materials are preheated.

  After that, the position setting unit 123 rotates the first container 121 from the preheating position (P3) by about 90 degrees, and the second container 122 is carried out of the material evaporator 140 so that the second container 122 is located below the material evaporator 140. The crucible 10 to be placed is placed at the standby position (P2) for standby ((c) of FIG. 4). At this time, the crucible 10 in which the organic material has been consumed is transferred to the second housing part 122 by the crucible transfer part 150. Thereafter, the first accommodation unit 121 is rotated about 180 degrees from the standby position (P2) by the position setting unit 123, and is loaded into the material evaporation unit 140 so that the first accommodation unit 121 is located below the material evaporation unit 140. The crucible 10 to be used is positioned at a standby position (P2) where the crucible 10 stands by below the material evaporation section 140 ((d) in FIG. 4).

  The preheating position (P3) for preheating the crucible 10 is provided between the transmission position (P1) and the standby position (P2), and the position setting unit 123 includes the first accommodation portion 121 or the second accommodation portion 122 in the transmission position (P1). ), The first housing part 121 or the second housing part 122 is rotated so as to be located at either the standby position (P2) or the preheating position (P3).

  The position setting unit 123 of this embodiment is not limited as long as it can rotate, and can employ a configuration well known to ordinary engineers such as a combination of a pneumatic cylinder, a rotary motor, and a belt. Further detailed description will be omitted.

  The material transfer unit 130 is supplied with a certain amount of organic material from the material storage unit 110, transmits the organic material to the crucible 10 disposed in the material preheating unit 120, and includes a bucket 131 and a transfer unit 132.

  The bucket 131 temporarily stores an organic material supplied from the material storage unit 110 and includes a door portion 133 at a lower portion.

  The transfer unit 132 linearly reciprocates the bucket 131. Referring to FIG. 5, the bucket 131 is located at the filling position (P4) where the organic material is supplied from the material storage unit 110 below the material storage unit 110 ((a) of FIG. 5). Thereafter, the bucket 131 is linearly transferred to the upper side of the material preheating unit 120 by the transfer unit 132, and is located at the transmission position (P1) for transmitting the organic material to the crucible 10 accommodated in the material preheating unit 120 ((b of FIG. 5). )). Thus, the transfer unit 132 linearly reciprocates the bucket 131 between the filling position (P4) and the transmission position (P1).

  A door portion 133 is provided at the lower portion of the bucket 131. The filling position (P4) is closed to accommodate the organic material supplied from the material storage unit 110, and the transmission position (P1) is opened to transmit the organic material to the crucible 10 of the material preheating unit 120. To release organic material.

  Since the transfer unit 132 may also be a linear drive unit of various forms capable of linear reciprocation, detailed description of the configuration is omitted.

  The material evaporation part 140 includes a body part 141, a heater 142, and a nozzle 143 to supply heat to the crucible 10 that has been carried in and evaporate the organic material contained in the crucible 10.

  The body part 141 accommodates the crucible 10 carried in by the crucible transfer part 150.

  The heater 142 is provided so as to surround a side portion of the body portion 141 and supplies heat energy capable of evaporating the organic material. The heater 142 is not limited as long as it can supply heat energy capable of evaporating the organic material. For example, a core heater or a lamp heater can be used. In this embodiment, a core heater is used, but a resistance heating wire is wound from the outside of the body portion 141. The resistance heating wire used at this time is made of Ta, W, Mo metal or an alloy wire thereof.

  The nozzle 143 is formed in the upper portion of the body portion 141, and the evaporated organic material is injected while heat is supplied from the heater 142. The nozzle 143 is formed of, for example, a linear through hole having a certain length and a circular through hole having a certain diameter.

  The material evaporating unit 140 further includes a sensor 144 that measures the evaporation amount of the organic material evaporated from the crucible 10. By controlling the evaporation rate according to the measured evaporation amount, an organic thin film having a desired thickness can be deposited.

  The crucible transfer unit 150 carries the crucible 10 preheated by the material preheating unit 120 into the material evaporation unit 140 or carries out the crucible 10 with the organic material consumed from the material evaporation unit 140. The crucible 10 that has been preheated is raised and carried into the material evaporation unit 140, and the crucible 10 with the organic material consumed is lowered and carried out of the material evaporation unit 140.

  The crucible transfer unit 150 moves the organic material up and down while reciprocating the crucible 10 in a direction approaching the heater 142 or away from the heater 142 in the material evaporation unit 140. By adjusting the distance between the organic material in the crucible 10 using the crucible transfer unit 150 and the heater 142, the amount of the organic material to be evaporated can be controlled.

  That is, when the amount of the organic material to be evaporated is less than a preset reference amount, the crucible 10 is moved in a direction approaching the heater 142 so that sufficient heat is supplied to the organic material by the heater 142. The evaporation amount of the organic material can be increased. When the amount of the evaporated organic material is larger than a preset reference amount, the crucible 10 is moved away from the heater 142 and supplied to the organic material by the heater 142. By reducing the generated heat, the evaporation amount of the organic material can be reduced.

  The crucible transfer unit 150 is not limited as long as it can perform a linear reciprocating motion, and a configuration well known to ordinary engineers such as a configuration combining a pneumatic cylinder, a linear motor, a rotary motor and a ball screw can be adopted. Therefore, further detailed description is omitted.

  The contamination prevention unit 160 is provided above the material evaporation unit 140 and prevents the material storage unit 110, the material transfer unit 130, the material preheating unit 120, and the material evaporation unit 140 from being contaminated by the evaporated organic material. . While heat is supplied to the crucible 10 by the heater 142, organic materials and impurities contained in the crucible 10 are prevented from adhering to the chamber.

  Organic materials and impurities adhering to the inside of the chamber contaminate the inside of the chamber where the substrate is deposited. When the vapor deposition apparatus is operated for a long time, the organic material and impurities adhering to the inside of the chamber act as a contamination source, thereby increasing the defect rate of the product. Therefore, it is necessary to temporarily stop the operation of the vapor deposition apparatus and clean the inside of the chamber, and then restart the process. In such a case, there arises a problem that the yield of the apparatus decreases.

  In this way, the contamination prevention unit 160 can prevent the organic material from adhering to the inside of the chamber and can replace the contamination prevention unit 160 itself when contamination occurs. It is possible to improve production yield by enabling continuous production in time.

  The continuous thin film deposition apparatus according to the present embodiment configured as described above is configured so that the organic material continuously evaporates in the material evaporation unit while replacing the crucible containing the organic material. The effect which can extend time for a long time is acquired.

  In addition, the continuous thin film deposition apparatus according to the present embodiment configured as described above accommodates an organic material having a certain capacity without increasing the capacity of the crucible without limitation in order to use the apparatus for a long time. By replacing the crucible itself, an effect can be obtained in which the organic material in the crucible is avoided from being exposed to heat for a long time to be denatured by heat.

  In addition, the continuous thin film deposition apparatus according to the present embodiment configured as described above is configured so that the organic material is preheated to a predetermined temperature by the material preheating unit before the organic material is carried into the material evaporation unit. In addition, it is possible to reduce the time required for the vapor deposition process.

  In addition, the continuous thin film deposition apparatus according to the present embodiment configured as described above supplies the organic material while swinging the hopper in the left-right direction by the hopper vibration unit, and uniforms the upper surface area of the organic material accommodated in the crucible. By maintaining the above, an effect of accurately controlling the evaporation amount of the organic material can be obtained.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the hopper vibration unit supplies vibration with a constant amplitude in the left-right direction to the hopper. However, the hopper vibration unit vibrates with a constant amplitude in the vertical direction or the arc direction. Can also be configured to supply.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the material preheating unit is described as rotating the first storage unit and the second storage unit, but the material preheating unit linearly reciprocates between the first storage unit and the second storage unit. The position can be changed while moving.

  The scope of rights of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications, and can be realized in various forms of embodiments within the scope of the appended claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100: Continuous thin film vapor deposition apparatus 110: Material preservation | save part 120: Material preheating part 130: Material transfer part 140: Material evaporation part 150: Crucible transfer part

Claims (10)

A material storage section in which organic materials are stored;
A material preheating part for preheating the crucible containing the organic material to a temperature below the vaporization point of the organic material;
A material transfer unit that is supplied with a certain amount of organic material from the material storage unit and transmits the organic material to the crucible disposed in the material preheating unit,
A material evaporation section for supplying heat to the crucible carried in and evaporating the organic material accommodated in the crucible;
A continuous thin film deposition comprising: a crucible preheated by the material preheating unit; or a crucible transport unit for carrying out a crucible depleted of organic material from the material evaporation unit. apparatus. The material storage unit is
A hopper in which organic materials are stored;
The continuous thin film deposition apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a hopper vibration unit that supplies vibration with a constant amplitude to the hopper. The material preheating part is
A first housing part and a second housing part, each of which is fitted with a heater and houses the crucible;
2. A position setting unit that selectively positions the first storage unit or the second storage unit at an arbitrary position between the material transfer unit and the material evaporation unit. The continuous thin film deposition apparatus as described. The position setting unit includes the first storage unit or the second storage unit.
A transmission position where the organic material is transmitted from the material transfer section; The continuous thin film deposition apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the crucible is rotated between preheating positions for preheating. The material preheating part is
The continuous thin film deposition apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a preheating sensor that senses a temperature of an organic material in a crucible preheated in the first housing part or the second housing part. The material transfer unit is
A bucket for temporarily storing the organic material supplied from the material storage unit;
The bucket is reciprocated between a filling position where the organic material is supplied from the material storage section below the material storage section and a transmission position where the organic material is transmitted to the material preheating section above the material preheating section. The continuous thin film deposition apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a transfer unit that transfers the film. The bucket is
The continuous thin film according to claim 6, further comprising a door portion provided at a lower portion of the bucket, closed at the filling position to receive an organic material, and opened at the transmission position to discharge the organic material. Vapor deposition equipment. The material evaporation section is
A body part that accommodates the crucible, a heater that is provided to surround a side part of the body part, and an upper portion of the body part that is formed, and while the heat is supplied from the heater, the evaporated organic material is injected. A continuous thin film deposition apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a nozzle. The material evaporation section is
The continuous thin film deposition apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a sensor that measures an evaporation rate of the organic material evaporated from the crucible. A contamination prevention unit provided above the material evaporation unit and configured to prevent contamination of the material storage unit, the material transfer unit, the material preheating unit, and the material evaporation unit by an organic material to be evaporated; The continuous thin film deposition apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: