JP2013237914A - Film deposition device and film deposition method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a film deposition device equipped with a mask convey in/out mechanism reduced in complication of mechanism and capable of reducing influence of particles, and capable of performing film deposition with high precision; and to provide a film deposition method.SOLUTION: A perpendicularly held substrate and a mask 81 are aligned with each other in a vacuum deposition chamber 1 and vapor deposition is carried out on the substrate; a vacuum isolation valve arranged in an adjacent part with a mask exchange chamber 5 is opened; the upper part of the mask is gripped by a first mask grip in the vacuum deposition chamber; the mask is moved on first and second convey rails, which are respectively arranged in the vacuum deposition chamber and the mask exchange chamber, to a position, wherein the mask can be gripped by a second mask grip, by a first conveying drive part; the mask is gripped by the second mask grip and then gripping by the first grip is released; the mask is moved on the first and second convey rails by a second conveying drive part; and the mask is conveyed out to the mask exchange chamber.

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus that requires a mechanism for transporting a large mask, and more particularly to a film forming apparatus and a film forming method for transporting a mask in a vertical posture and performing film formation by vacuum deposition in an organic EL film forming process or the like.

  Organic EL displays are attracting attention as a new technology that replaces liquid crystal panel displays due to features such as high definition and low power consumption. In this organic EL display, an organic EL film is formed on a glass substrate by vacuum deposition. However, an apparatus capable of vapor deposition on a larger glass substrate (hereinafter simply referred to as a substrate) is required to increase the screen size and reduce the manufacturing cost. It has been demanded. In addition, with the increase in size of the substrate, the mask is also required to have a large size and high rigidity.

  In the conventional horizontal deposition of a small substrate, the mask is transported by a horizontal roller outside the film formation range, and in a very small mask, it is transported by a vacuum robot. However, when depositing a large substrate in a vertical state, the large mask is transported in a vertical posture because it is not practical to switch from horizontal transport in a vacuum apparatus to a vertical posture.

  In the case of carrying the mask vertically, there is a method in which a guide and a driving mechanism using a roller for receiving the weight of the mask and the like are installed on the lower side of the mask, and an auxiliary guide as an anti-sway is provided on the upper side of the mask. As an auxiliary guide, there are a method in which a mask is sandwiched between rollers (Patent Document 1), and a method in which a V guide or V roller is provided on the mask and transported while positioning with the V roller or V guide on the apparatus side (Patent Document 2).

JP 2011-65868 A JP 2011-96393 A

  However, in the vertical transfer of the mask, there are problems such as the concern about the generation of particles from the mechanism that supports the mask on the upper part and the complexity of the transfer mechanism. Particles falling from the mask upper support mechanism affect the film formation result, leading to a decrease in yield. Further, the complicated mechanism leads to an increase in the cost of the film forming apparatus and the cost of the organic EL panel.

  In the method described in Patent Document 1, since the roller contacts the mask, there is a high possibility that particles are generated, and it is difficult to install the cover. In the method described in Patent Document 2, it is easier to install the cover than the former, but it is necessary to provide a V guide or V roller on the mask, and considering the cleaning of the mask, simplification of the mechanism is desired.

  A first object of the present invention is to provide a film forming apparatus or a film forming method capable of forming a film with high accuracy, having a mask carry-in / out mechanism capable of reducing the influence of particles in a large panel manufacturing apparatus. .

  A second object of the present invention is to provide a film forming apparatus or a film forming method having a mask carry-in / out mechanism in a large panel manufacturing apparatus that suppresses the complexity of the mechanism.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has at least the following features.
A mask lower part holding part that holds the lower part of the mask for transport is provided, the mask fixed to the suspended alignment base is aligned with the mask and the substrate facing the mask, and the vapor deposition material is transferred to the substrate. A vacuum deposition chamber for vapor deposition, an adjacent portion adjacent to the vacuum deposition chamber, a mask exchange chamber for carrying the mask into and out of the vacuum deposition chamber, and provided in the adjacent portion, A vacuum isolating means for isolating a vacuum; first and second transport rails for transporting the mask; provided on both sides of the vacuum isolating means; respectively provided on both sides of the vacuum isolating means; Lower fixing portions are provided on both sides of the first and second transport driving units for moving the first and second transport rails, respectively, and the vacuum isolation means. A movable mask gripping portion including a first mask gripping portion that grips and moves one end side of the mask, and a first gripping portion drive portion that drives a gripping operation of the first mask gripping portion. First and second linear guide shafts supported by the moving mask gripping portion and moved by the first mask gripping portion, and linear guide shaft support portions supported at the other end of the linear motion guide shaft. A carry-in / out guide mechanism.

  In addition, the present invention is provided in a deposition step for aligning a substrate and a mask held vertically in a vacuum deposition chamber and depositing a deposition material on the substrate, and adjacent to the vacuum deposition chamber and the mask exchange chamber. An opening step of opening a vacuum isolation valve; a gripping step of gripping an upper portion of the mask by a first mask gripping in the vacuum deposition chamber; and the mask is provided in the vacuum deposition chamber by a first transport driving unit. A first moving step of moving the first transfer rail and the second transfer rail provided in the mask exchange chamber to a position where the second transfer piece can be held by the second mask holding unit provided in the mask exchange chamber. And a gripper replacement step of gripping the mask with the second mask gripper and then releasing the grip of the first mask gripper, and And a second moving step of moving the mask by the second transport driving unit on the first transport rail and the second transport rail until the mask enters the mask exchange chamber. It is characterized by that.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it can provide the film-forming apparatus or film-forming method which has a mask carrying in / out mechanism which can reduce the influence of a particle in a large sized panel manufacturing apparatus, and can form into a film with high precision.
In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a film forming apparatus or a film forming method having a mask carry-in / out mechanism that suppresses the complexity of the mechanism in a large panel manufacturing apparatus.

It is a conceptual diagram of the organic EL device manufacturing apparatus which is embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic diagram and operation | movement explanatory drawing of a structure of the conveyance chamber of the organic EL device manufacturing apparatus of this embodiment, and a vacuum evaporation chamber. It is a figure which shows one Embodiment of an alignment part. It is a figure which shows an example of the mask used by this embodiment. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the mask carrying in / out mechanism of this embodiment which carries in / out a mask between a process chamber and a mask exchange chamber. It is a figure which shows the carrying in / out operation | movement of the mask by a mask carrying in / out mechanism. It is the figure which showed the process carrying in / out guide mechanism in the processing chamber shown in FIG. 5 in detail. It is a figure which shows one Embodiment of a process opening / closing transmission part. It is a figure which shows the more detailed structure and operation | movement of a process carrying-out drive mechanism and an exchange carrying-in / out drive mechanism.

  An embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, taking an organic EL device manufacturing apparatus as an example of a film forming apparatus. The organic EL device manufacturing apparatus is not simply a structure in which an issuance material layer (EL layer) is formed and sandwiched between electrodes, but a hole injection layer or transport layer on the anode, an electron injection layer or transport layer on the cathode, etc. A multilayer structure in which various materials are formed as a thin film is formed. FIG. 1 shows an example of the manufacturing apparatus.

  The organic EL device manufacturing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is roughly divided into a load cluster 13 that carries a substrate 6 to be processed, four clusters (A to D) that process the substrate 6, between each cluster, or between the cluster and the load cluster 13, or It is comprised from the five delivery chambers 14 installed between the following processes (sealing process). In this embodiment, the substrate is transported with the deposition surface of the substrate as the upper surface, and the substrate is erected and deposited when vapor deposition is performed.

  The load cluster 13 includes a load lock chamber 13R having a gate valve 10 and a substrate transfer robot 15R that receives the substrate from the load lock chamber 13R and rotates to carry the substrate 6 into the delivery chamber 14a. Each of the load lock chambers 13R and each of the delivery chambers 14 has a gate valve 10 in the front and rear, and delivers the substrate to the load cluster 13 or the next cluster while controlling the opening and closing of the gate valve 10 and maintaining a vacuum.

  Each cluster (A to D) includes a transfer chamber 2 having a single transfer robot 15 and two processing chambers 1 (first) arranged on the top and bottom of the drawing for receiving a substrate from the transfer robot 15 and performing a predetermined process. 1 subscripts a to d indicate clusters, and second subscripts u and d indicate upper and lower sides). A gate valve 10 is provided between the transfer chamber 2 and the processing chamber 1.

  As shown in the drawing of FIG. 1, in the present embodiment, a mask exchange chamber 5 is provided adjacent to the processing chamber 1 for vapor deposition processing, and adjacent to the processing chamber 1 via a vacuum isolation valve, for example, a gate valve 10B. The mask exchange chamber 5 is a chamber that can maintain the same degree of vacuum as the processing chamber 1 at least during mask exchange. For example, the mask exchange chamber 5bd shown in the drawing of FIG. 1 is responsible for exchanging the mask 81 on the L line of the vacuum deposition chamber 1ad and the R line of the vacuum deposition chamber 1bd.

  Although the configuration of the processing chamber 1 varies depending on the processing content, a vacuum deposition chamber 1bu in which a light emitting material as a deposition material is deposited in vacuum to form an EL layer will be described as an example. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram and an operation explanatory diagram of the configuration of the transfer chamber 2b and the vacuum deposition chamber 1bu. The transfer robot 15 in FIG. 2 has a link-structure arm 151 that can move up and down as a whole (see arrow 153) and can turn left and right, and has a comb-like hand 152 at the tip of the transfer robot. .

  As shown in FIG. 2, the basic concept of the processing of the present embodiment is that two processing lines are provided in one vacuum deposition chamber, while one of the lines (for example, R line) is deposited, the other In the L line, the substrate is carried in and out, the substrate 6 and the mask 81 are aligned, and preparation for vapor deposition is completed. By alternately performing this process, it is possible to reduce the time during which it is wasted without being deposited on the substrate.

  In order to realize the above, the vacuum deposition chamber 1bu aligns the substrate 6 and the mask, performs the deposition on the necessary portion of the substrate 6, and delivers the substrate to the transfer robot 15, and the deposition unit 7 Two processing delivery units 9 for moving the substrate 6 to the right R line and the left L line are provided, and a vapor deposition unit 7 that moves between the two lines to evaporate the light emitting material and deposit it on the substrate 6 is provided. Have.

  First, the processing delivery unit 9 will be described. The processing delivery unit 9 can deliver the substrate 6 without interfering with the comb-like hand 152 of the transport robot 15, and the comb-like hand 91 having a means 94 for fixing the substrate 6, and the comb-like hand 91. Hand turning driving means 92 for turning the substrate 6 upright and moving it to the alignment unit 8 is provided. As the means 94 for fixing the substrate 6, means such as electrostatic adsorption or mechanical clamping are used in consideration of being in a vacuum.

  The vapor deposition unit 7 includes a vertical drive unit 76 that moves the evaporation source 71 in the vertical direction along the rail, and a left and right drive base 78 that moves the evaporation source 71 along the rail 75 between the left and right alignment units. The evaporation source 71 has a light emitting material that is a vapor deposition material inside, and a stable evaporation rate can be obtained by heating control (not shown) of the vapor deposition material. As shown in the drawing of FIG. 71 has a structure of spraying from a plurality of holes 73 aligned with 71. If necessary, in order to improve the properties of the deposited film, the additive is also heated and deposited at the same time. In this case, the evaporation source and the pair or a plurality of evaporation sources are deposited in parallel vertically.

  One embodiment of the alignment unit is shown in FIG. The wall of the vacuum chamber and the gate valve are omitted. The alignment unit 8 includes a mask 81, an alignment base 82 for fixing the mask 81, an alignment driving unit 83 and an alignment driven unit 84 for moving the alignment base for alignment, an alignment optical system 85 for detecting an alignment mark, and a mask. 1 includes a processing carry-in / out driving mechanism 86 that moves to a mask exchange chamber 5 described later, and a control device 20 (see FIG. 1) shown in FIG.

  Next, an example of the mask 81 used in this embodiment shown in FIG. 4 will be described before briefly explaining the alignment method in this embodiment. The mask 81 is roughly divided into a mask portion 81M and a frame 81F that supports the mask portion. As shown in the drawing, the mask portion 81M has an opening 81h at a location corresponding to a portion to be deposited on the substrate 6. In this example, an opening corresponding to red is shown in a mask for depositing red (R), green (G), and blue (B) light emitting materials. The size of the mask becomes 2000 mm × 2000 mm with the increase in size of the substrate, and its weight also exceeds 300 kg. The size of the window varies depending on the color, but on average is about 30 μm in width and about 150 μm in height. The thickness of the mask 81M is about 50 μm and tends to be thinner in the future. A plurality of alignment marks 81m and 6m are provided at positions corresponding to the mask portion and the substrate, respectively. The substrate or mask is moved and aligned so that both alignment marks are in a predetermined positional relationship. In the embodiments described below, alignment is performed by moving a mask.

  Hereinafter, the alignment method in the present embodiment will be briefly described. The alignment base 82 is rotatably supported by four rotation support portions in total near the four corners, two locations 81a and 81b at the top, and 81c and 81d provided below each of the two locations. .

  The positional deviations (ΔX, ΔZ, θ) between the substrate 6 and the mask 81 at the center of the substrate are detected by alignment optical systems 85 provided at four locations shown in FIG. Based on this result, the rotation support portion 81a provided on the upper portion of the alignment base 82 is moved in the X and Z directions indicating the rotation support portion 81b provided on the upper portion of the alignment base 82 in the Z direction to eliminate the positional deviation and align. To do. At this time, along with the movement of the alignment base 82, the rotation support portion 81a moves in the X direction, and the rotation support portions 81c and 81d provided in the lower portion of the alignment base 82 move in the X and Z directions. The rotation support unit 81b is driven by an alignment drive unit 83R having a drive motor provided on the upper wall 1T of the vacuum deposition chamber 1bu. The rotation support unit 81a is driven and passively by an alignment drive unit 83L, and the rotation support unit 81c. 81d is driven by alignment driven portions 84R and 84L provided under the lower wall 1Y of the vacuum deposition chamber 1bu.

The mechanism 83 for alignment is provided on the atmosphere side through the seal portion, specifically, on the upper wall 1T of the vacuum deposition chamber 1bu or below the lower wall IY. Further, the camera, light source, and the like of the alignment optical system 85 that must be provided in the vacuum deposition chamber 1bu are provided with a protruding portion that protrudes from the atmosphere to the vacuum side.
As a result, dust or the like that adversely affects vacuum deposition is prevented from being brought into the vacuum, and this also improves maintainability.
In addition, 87 and 88 are components of the mask carry-in / out mechanism 30 described below.

  Next, a schematic configuration of the mask loading / unloading mechanism 30 according to the present embodiment for loading / unloading the mask 81 between the processing chamber 1 which is a vacuum deposition chamber and the mask exchange chamber 5 and an operation concept of mask loading / unloading are illustrated in FIG. 5 will be described. In FIG. 5, parts other than the mask carry-in / out conveyance mechanism are omitted in order to avoid confusion. Parts that do not move are always indicated by solid lines.

  First, a schematic configuration of the mask carry-in / out mechanism 30 will be described. The mask carry-in / out mechanism includes a process mask carry-in / out mechanism 31 provided in the process chamber 1 and an exchange mask carry-in / out mechanism 32 provided in the mask exchange chamber 5. Since the processing mask carry-in / out mechanism 31 and the replacement mask carry-in / out mechanism 32 have the same structure except for some differences, the processing mask carry-in / out mechanism 31 will be described first.

  The processing mask loading / unloading mechanism 31 includes a processing loading / unloading guide mechanism 80 for guiding mask loading / unloading provided at the upper part of the mask 81 and a process for moving the mask 81 at the time of mask loading / unloading provided at the lower part of the mask 81. A carry-in / out drive mechanism 86 is provided.

The process carry-in / out guide mechanism 80 is fixed to the alignment base 82 and has a pair of process mask gripping portions 87 and 88 capable of gripping both upper end sides of the mask 81. One processing mask gripping portion 87 is a processing mask holding portion that has a processing mask gripping portion 87h that is a kind of clamp that grips the mask 81 and can be moved left and right. The other mask gripping portion 88 is a processing fixed mask gripping portion having a mask gripping portion 88h that grips the mask 81 and can be opened and closed without moving.
Further, the process carry-in / out guide mechanism 80 is connected to the process moving mask holding part 87 and the process fixed mask holding part 88, and has two linear motion guide shafts 89 on which the mask holding part 87h moves.

  The processing carry-in / out driving mechanism 86 moves the mask 81 along the alignment base 82 on the transport rail 82r fixed to the alignment base 82, and moves a processing mask gripping portion 87h that grips the mask 81, which will be described later. It has a mechanism.

On the other hand, the exchange mask carry-in / out mechanism 50 is an exchange carry-in / out guide mechanism 50 provided symmetrically about the opening 10k of the gate valve 10B with respect to the process carry-in / out guide mechanism 80 and the process carry-in / out drive mechanism 86. And an exchange carry-in / out drive mechanism 56. That is, in the exchange carry-in / out guide mechanism 50, the exchange movement mask gripping portion 57 is located at a position far from the opening 10k, and the exchange fixed mask grasping portion 58 is located at a position near the opening 10k. Is provided. Further, the replacement mask carry-in / out mechanism 50 has two linear motion guide shafts 59 in the same manner as the process carry-in / out guide mechanism 80.
Furthermore, the exchange carry-in / out guide mechanism 50, the exchange carry-in / out drive mechanism 56 and the transport rail 52 r are fixed to a set base 52 having the same shape as the alignment base 82.

  In the above description, the exchange carry-in / out guide mechanism 50 is provided symmetrically with the process carry-in / out guide mechanism 80, but the process carry-in / out guide mechanism 80 may be provided in a state shifted to the right. Further, the exchange loading / unloading drive mechanism 56 is not necessarily symmetrical with the process loading / unloading driving mechanism 86, and may be provided so as to satisfy a predetermined condition as described in FIG.

  Next, the loading / unloading operation of the mask 81 by the mask loading / unloading mechanism 30 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 shows a state transition from the processing chamber 1 on the left side to the mask exchange chamber 5 on the right side. A solid line indicates a state in which the transfer is started in the processing chamber 1, a broken line indicates a state in which the opening 10 k is straddled, and a one-dot chain line indicates a state just before completion of unloading to the mask exchange chamber 5.

  First, in order to maintain the degree of vacuum in the processing chamber 1, the mask exchange chamber 5 is set to a predetermined vacuum state, and then the gate valve 10B is opened (S1). Since the process moving mask holding part 87 and the process fixing mask holding part 88 hold the mask 81 for fixing to the alignment base 82 at the time of vapor deposition, the process fixing mask holding part 88 is used after S1 or in parallel with S1. Is released (S2). At the same time, the replacement moving mask gripping portion 57 and the replacement fixed mask gripping portion 58 of the mask replacement chamber 5 are also opened or confirmed, and the replacement moving mask gripping portion 57 is moved to the replacement fixing mask gripping portion 58 side (S3). ).

  Next, the processing carry-in / out driving mechanism 86 is driven, and the mask 81 is moved to a position where the exchange movement mask gripping portion 57 can grip the mask 81, and is in a state indicated by a broken line in FIG. 5 (S4). Then, in order to shift the drive of the mask 81 to the exchange carry-in / out drive mechanism 56, the grip of the processing movement mask gripping portion 87 is released and the mask 81 is gripped by the replacement movement mask gripping portion 57 (S5). Thereafter, the exchange loading / unloading drive mechanism 56 is driven to move the mask 81 further to the right from the state indicated by the alternate long and short dash line, and the mask 81 is completely carried out to the mask exchange chamber 5 to close the gate valve 10B (S6). Thereafter, the mask 81 is gripped by the replacement fixed mask gripping portion 58 (S7). If the operation of S8 can be performed while maintaining the degree of vacuum of the replacement fixed mask gripping portion 58, it is not necessary to close the gate valve 10B.

  Next, the mask 81 is replaced with a new mask by some method (S8). In the operations from S1 to S6, the positions of the processing chamber 1 and the mask exchange chamber 5 are switched, and a new mask is carried into the processing chamber (S9).

  According to the mask carry-in / out mechanism 30 of the present embodiment described above, the generation of particles can be suppressed by holding the upper side of the mask with the processing mask gripping portion 87 which is a kind of clamp. Since the particles from above the mask are only guides, they can be handled by conventional cover attachment. As a result, a film forming apparatus or a film forming method capable of forming a film with high accuracy can be provided.

Further, according to the mask carry-in / out mechanism 30 of the present embodiment described above, the processing carry-in / out guide mechanism 80 and the exchange carry-in / out guide mechanism 50 prevent the mask 81 from shaking during loading / unloading, and the conveyance rails 52r, 82r By supporting the mask 81, the mask 81 can be reliably carried in and out between the processing chamber 1 and the exchange chamber 5.
Furthermore, according to the mask carry-in / out mechanism of the present embodiment described above, the state in which the mask 81 is carried into the processing chamber 1 is immediately fixed to the alignment base 82, and the mask 81 is changed to the alignment base again. There is no need for a mechanism to be fixed to. As a result, it is possible to provide a film forming apparatus or a film forming method having a mask carry-in / out mechanism in which the mechanism is not complicated.

  Next, more detailed configurations of the processing carry-in / out guide mechanism 80 and the exchange carry-in / out guide mechanism 50 will be described. Since both mechanisms have the same configuration except for symmetry, the processing carry-in / out guide mechanism 80 will be described as a representative.

  FIG. 7 is a view showing the processing carry-in / out guide mechanism 80 in the processing chamber 1 shown in FIG. 5 in more detail. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a processing opening / closing transmission unit 87g that transmits an opening / closing operation of the mask holding unit 87h illustrated in FIG.

First, the process movement mask holding part 87 which comprises the process carrying in / out guide mechanism 80 is demonstrated. The processing movement mask gripping portion 87 is openable and closable, and includes a processing mask gripping portion 87h that grips the mask 81, a processing opening / closing drive portion 87d that includes a driving means that drives the gripping body 87hb, and the rotation of the driving means. And a processing opening / closing transmission portion 87g for transmitting to the body. The processing mask gripping portion 87h has a pair of gripping bodies 87Lh and 87Rh, and has an adhesive rubber or resin 87hh that can be used in a vacuum on its opposing surface. The process opening / closing drive part 87d has, for example, a motor 87dm as a drive means, and is fixed to the alignment base 82.
Of the two linear motion guide shafts 89 (89d, 89g), one linear motion guide shaft 89d is directly connected to and supported by the rotation shaft of the motor 87dm. The linear motion guide shaft 89d and the linear motion bearing 89db constituting the linear motion guide are rotatably attached to the processing opening / closing transmission portion 87g in a state where rotation in the circumferential direction is locked with respect to the linear motion guide shaft 89d. .
The other linear motion guide shaft 89g is fixedly supported by the processing opening / closing drive part 87d. The linear motion guide shaft 89g and the linear motion bearing 89gb constituting the linear motion guide are fixed to the processing opening / closing transmission portion 87g so as to support the rotating shaft of the gripping body 87Lh.

The process opening / closing transmission part 87g has four gears as shown in FIG.
The drive shaft gear 87gd is fixed to the linear motion bearing 89db. Accordingly, as the motor 87dm rotates, the linear motion guide shaft 89d, the linear motion bearing 89db, and the drive shaft gear 87gd rotate together, and the gripping posture can be maintained even if the processing movement mask gripping portion 87 moves.
The left drive shaft gear 87gL engages with the drive shaft gear 87gd and rotates the gripping body 87Lh on the left side in the drawing in the direction of the arrow L by the rotation. The right drive shaft gear 87gR engages with the drive shaft gear 87gd via the rotation direction adjusting gear 87gm, and the rotation rotates the grip body 87Rh on the right side in the drawing in the direction of the rotation.

  The processing movement mask gripping portion 87 described above can firmly grip the mask 81 with the pair of gripping bodies 87Lh and 87Rh by driving the motor 87dm. Then, the processing movement mask gripping portion 87 moves the two masks 89d and 89g together with the processing mask gripping portion 87h and the processing opening / closing transmission portion 87g while holding the mask 81. Can do.

On the other hand, the processing fixed mask holding portion 88 basically has the same structure as the processing moving mask holding portion 87, but there are the following three points.
First, the process opening / closing transmission part 88g is fixed to the process opening / closing drive part 88d. Accordingly, the processing mask holding portion 88h does not move.
Secondly, the linear motion guide shaft 89d is not connected to the drive shaft of the motor 88dm built in the processing opening / closing drive portion 88d, but is rotatably supported by a bearing 89da fixed to the processing opening / closing transmission portion 88g. .
Third, the rotation shaft of the drive shaft gear 88gd is connected to the drive shaft of the motor 88dm.

  In the processing fixed mask gripping portion 88 described above, the mask 81 can be simply gripped or released by driving the motor 87dm without moving the processing mask gripping portion 87h and the processing opening / closing transmission portion 87g.

  As a result, the process fixed mask holding unit 88 holds the mask 81 together with the process moving mask holding unit 87 when vapor deposition is performed on the substrate 6, and when the mask 81 is replaced, the holding of the mask 81 is released. Loading and unloading can be made possible.

  In addition, since it is not necessary to perform processing in the mask exchange chamber 5, the replacement fixing mask gripping portion 57 of the exchange loading / unloading guide mechanism 50 does not necessarily have a gripping function like the processing fixing mask gripping portion 88. Therefore, in that case, the replacement fixed mask gripping portion 57 may be a mechanism that supports the two linear motion guide shafts 89d and 89g in a rotatable manner, and a linear motion guide shaft support portion.

  Further, if the processing carry-in / out guide mechanism 80 does not require the function of holding the mask 81 during substrate deposition, the processing fixed mask gripping portion 88 does not need to have a gripping function. Good. In that case, the processing carry-in / out guide mechanism 80 may be fixed to another structure in the vacuum deposition chamber, or a mask upper side fixing means for holding the upper side of the mask 81 in the vacuum deposition chamber. It is necessary to provide. As the mask upper side fixing means, other clamping devices, means using an electromagnet, and the like are conceivable.

  Further, in the above description, a so-called linear guide is used as the linear motion guide shaft and the linear motion bearing, but a ball spline may be used.

According to the embodiment described above, generation of particles can be suppressed by using rubber or resin that can be used in a vacuum for the gripping body. As a result, a film forming apparatus or a film forming method capable of forming a film with high accuracy can be provided.
Moreover, according to embodiment described above, the mask 81 can be reliably hold | gripped by using the rubber | gum or resin which can be used in a vacuum for a holding body.

  Next, more detailed configurations and operations of the processing carry-out drive mechanism 86 and the exchange carry-in / drive mechanism 56 will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in the drawing of FIG. 1, in this embodiment, a mask exchange chamber 5 is provided through a gate valve 10B adjacent to the processing chamber 1 for vapor deposition. The mask exchange chamber 5 is a chamber that can maintain the same degree of vacuum as the processing chamber 1 at least during mask exchange. In the following description, the mask exchange chamber 5bd in charge of exchanging the mask 81 of the L line of the vacuum deposition chamber 1ad and the R line of the vacuum deposition chamber 1bd shown in the drawing of FIG. 1 will be described as an example.
Note that the L and R lines of the vacuum vapor deposition chamber 1ad and the vacuum vapor deposition chamber 1bd are opposite to each other in the figure because they are opposite to those of the vacuum vapor deposition chamber 1bu shown in FIG.

  On both sides of the gate valve 10b, there are a process carry-out drive mechanism 86 and an exchange carry-in / drive mechanism 56. Since each carry-out drive mechanism basically has the same structure, in FIG. 9, the reference numerals are distributed to both mechanisms in order to avoid complexity.

Both carry-out drive mechanisms (56, 86) were formed by mask transport drive means (exchange transport drive unit: 56B, processing transport drive unit: 86B) and a plurality of rollers that transport the mask 81 provided under the mask. The mask lower fixing portion 81k is provided on the bottom side of the transfer rail (52r, 82r) and the mask lower fixing portion 81k which is provided at the lower portion of the mask and moves integrally with the mask placed and fixed. It has a rack 81r with which a pinion (small gear: 56 g, 86 g) meshes. The interval between the pinions that are the drive gears of the two mask conveying portions is arranged to be an interval LD shorter than the lateral length LS of the mask 81. Therefore, since LS> LD, since at least one pinion meshes with the rack 81r, the mask can be moved forward and backward by controlling the two pinions in cooperation.
In addition, as shown in the drawing, the mask lower fixing portion 81k is provided with a plurality of rollers 56dr that are transported while sandwiching the mask 81 in cooperation with the pinion on the base opposite to the rack side. Further, in the mask lower fixing portion 81k, a triangular pyramid-shaped recess in which a triangular pyramid-shaped protrusion provided in the lower portion of the mask is accommodated in order to detachably and securely fix the mask 81 to the mask lower fixing portion 81k. A plurality of (not shown) are provided.

  The conveyance rails (52r, 82r) have an H shape as shown in the drawing so that the mask can be smoothly conveyed even if the rack 81r is present. The transport rails 82r and 52r use low grease bearings in order to reduce gas that adversely affects vacuum deposition.

As shown in FIG. 9, the process transfer drive unit 86B includes a chamber transfer drive motor 86m provided below the lower wall 1Y of the chamber 1 on the atmosphere side, a pinion 86g engaged with the rack 81r of the mask 81, and a seal unit 86s for vacuum sealing. Have In addition, the processing conveyance drive unit 86B includes two bevel gears 86k1 and 86k2 for converting the rotation axis by 90 degrees, a gear support 86h, and a seal portion 86s for vacuum sealing.
In the above embodiment, roller-shaped rails are used as the transport rails 52r and 82r, but linear guide rails may be used.

In the above embodiment, the seal portion 86s of the processing chamber transport driving portion 86B is provided between the transport driving motor 86m and the bevel gear 86k1, but the bevel gear housing portion is provided in the cylindrical body protruding from the lower wall 1Y of the processing chamber 1. A vacuum seal such as a magnetic fluid seal may be provided between the bevel gear housing and the pinion. In this case, many of the mechanisms are provided on the atmosphere side through the seal portion as in the case of the alignment mechanism portion 83, and dust and the like that adversely affect vacuum deposition can be prevented from being brought into the vacuum.
The exchange carry-in / out drive mechanism 56 has the same configuration as the process carry-out drive mechanism 86.

  In this embodiment, the alignment optical system 85 is used to determine whether the mask 81 is set at a desired position on the alignment base 82. As shown in FIG. 4, the alignment is controlled so that the alignment marks 6m and 81m provided on the substrate 6 and the mask 81 overlap. Therefore, if both alignment marks 6m and 81m are imaged together by the camera of the alignment optical system 85, it is determined that they are set. Of course, a sensor such as a switch may be provided at the end of the mask upper fixing portion 82u.

  According to the present embodiment, a simple mechanism for supporting the mask lower fixing portion held by the mask with the rollers on both sides of the gate valve 10B between the processing chamber 1 such as a vacuum deposition chamber and the mask exchange chamber 5 is ensured. The process chamber 1 such as a vacuum deposition chamber can be completely separated from the mask exchange chamber 5 by closing the gate valve 10B after loading.

1: Processing chamber (vacuum deposition chamber) 2: Transfer chamber 5: Mask exchange chamber 6: Substrate 7: Deposition unit 8: Alignment unit 10, 10B: Gate valve 20: Control device 30: Mask loading / unloading mechanism 31: Processing mask loading Out mechanism
32: Replacement mask loading / unloading mechanism 50: Replacement loading / unloading guide mechanism 52: Set base 52r: Transport rail 56: Replacement loading / unloading drive mechanism 56B: Exchange transport driving unit 57: Replacement moving mask gripping unit 57d, 58d: Replacement opening / closing driving unit 57h, 58h: Replacement mask gripping part 57g, 58g: Exchange opening / closing transmission part 58: Replacement fixing mask gripping part 59: Linear motion guide shaft 71: Deposition source 80: Process loading / unloading guide mechanism 81: Mask 81k: Mask lower part fixing part 82 : Alignment base 82r: Transport rail 86: Processing loading / unloading drive mechanism 86B: Processing transport driving unit 87: Processing moving mask gripping part 87hh: Adhesive rubber or resin 87d, 88d: Processing opening / closing driving part 87h, 88h: Processing mask gripping part 87g, 88g: Processing opening / closing transmission part 88: Processing fixed mask gripping part 89: Linear motion guide shaft 1 0: organic EL device manufacturing apparatus

Claims (10)

A mask lower part fixing part for holding the lower part of the mask for transport, and the mask fixed to the suspended alignment base;
A vacuum deposition chamber for performing alignment between the mask and the substrate facing the mask, and depositing a deposition material on the substrate;
A mask exchange chamber comprising an adjacent portion adjacent to the vacuum deposition chamber, and a mask exchange chamber for carrying the mask into and out of the vacuum deposition chamber;
A vacuum isolating means provided in the adjacent portion for isolating the vacuum of the vacuum deposition chamber;
First and second transport rails respectively provided on both sides of the vacuum isolation means for transporting the mask;
First and second transport driving portions respectively provided on both sides of the vacuum isolation means for moving the mask lower fixing portion on the first and second transport rails;
A first mask gripping part that is provided on both sides of the vacuum isolation means and grips and moves one end of the mask; and a first gripping part drive part that drives a gripping operation of the first mask gripping part; A moving mask gripping portion, a linear motion guide shaft supported at one end by the moving mask gripping portion and moved by the first mask gripping portion, and a linear motion guide shaft support supported at the other end side of the linear motion guide shaft First and second loading / unloading guide mechanisms comprising a portion;
A film forming apparatus comprising: The film forming apparatus according to claim 1,
The first carry-in / out guide mechanism is fixed to the alignment base via the moving mask gripping part and the linear motion guide shaft support part,
The second carry-in / out guide mechanism is fixed to a set base corresponding to the alignment base provided in the mask exchange chamber via the movable mask gripping part and the linear guide shaft support part. A film forming apparatus characterized by the above. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1,
The first carry-in / out guide mechanism is fixed to the structure of the vacuum deposition chamber via the moving mask gripping part and the linear guide shaft support part,
A film forming apparatus comprising mask upper side fixing means for fixing the mask to the alignment base in the vacuum deposition chamber. In the film-forming apparatus in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 3,
The linear motion guide shaft support portion includes a second mask gripping portion that grips the other end side of the mask, and a second gripping portion drive portion that drives a gripping operation of the second mask gripping portion,
A film forming apparatus, comprising: a fixed mask holding portion that fixes the second mask holding portion and supports the other end side of the linear guide shaft. In the film-forming apparatus in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 4,
A film forming apparatus, wherein rubber or resin is provided on a gripping portion for gripping the mask of the first mask gripping portion and the second gripping portion. In the film-forming apparatus in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 5,
The linear motion drive shaft includes first and second linear motion drive shafts;
The first gripper drive unit includes a linear motion bearing that locks the rotation of the first linear motion drive in the circumferential direction, and the rotational drive shaft of the first gripper drive unit is configured to move the first linear drive. Connected to the dynamic drive shaft,
The first mask gripping part is a clamp in which two gripping bodies rotate and open and close, and the rotation axis of one gripping body of the two gripping bodies can rotate the second linear motion guide shaft in the circumferential direction. Go to
The film forming apparatus, wherein the moving mask gripping unit includes an opening / closing transmission unit that transmits the rotation of the rotation drive shaft to the opening / closing operation of the two gripping bodies. The film forming apparatus according to claim 6.
The film forming apparatus, wherein the linear motion guide shaft and the linear motion belling are configured by ball splines. A deposition step of aligning a substrate and a mask held vertically in a vacuum deposition chamber and depositing a deposition material on the substrate;
An opening step of opening a vacuum isolation valve provided adjacent to the vacuum deposition chamber and the mask exchange chamber;
A gripping step of gripping an upper portion of the mask by a first mask gripping in the vacuum deposition chamber;
In the mask exchange chamber, the mask is provided by the first transfer driving unit on the first transfer rail provided in the vacuum deposition chamber and on the second transfer rail provided in the mask exchange chamber. A first movement step for moving to a position that can be gripped by the second mask gripping portion;
A gripper replacement step of gripping the mask with the second mask gripper and then releasing the grip of the first mask gripper;
Then, a second moving step of moving the mask by the second transport driving unit on the first transport rail and the second transport rail until the mask enters the mask exchange chamber;
A film forming method comprising: The film forming method according to claim 8.
The film forming method, wherein each of the first mask holding part and the second mask holding part has two holding parts for holding both upper end sides of the mask. The film forming method according to claim 8.
A film forming method comprising the step of closing the vacuum isolation valve after the second moving step.

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