JP2014180618A - Functional film forming method and functional film forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of forming a functional film on a surface of a sheet-like substrate by an aerosol deposition method (AD method).SOLUTION: A functional film forming method has: a decompression space forming process of bringing a decompression chamber, which is capable of covering a functional film forming region of a part or all of a substrate in which a protective layer by resist is formed on a surface other than a functional film forming region, into contact with the functional film forming region on the substrate so as to cover the region, and forming a local decompression space in the decompression chamber; a decompression process of reducing pressure in the local decompression space; a film forming process of supplying a fine power material to the local decompression space in a decompressed state, ejecting and colliding the fine powdery material at high speed onto the substrate by an aerosol deposition method to fuse the material, and forming a functional film on a functional film forming region of the substrate; and a removing process of removing the protective layer on the substrate surface.

Description

  The present invention relates to a functional film forming method and a functional film forming apparatus for forming a functional film on a sheet-like substrate.

  A panel used for a flat panel display such as a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, or a plasma display, or a solar cell (PV) or an organic EL illumination has a function corresponding to each panel on a glass substrate or a film substrate. A functional film is formed. These functional films are manufactured by a wet film forming method in which a liquid functional film liquid is uniformly applied to a substrate, or a dry film forming method such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or sputtering. As an example, the slit nozzle coater shown in Patent Document 1 includes a die having a slit nozzle extending in one direction as a coating mechanism, and the die and the substrate are arranged in the coating film forming direction while discharging the coating liquid from the slit nozzle. By relatively moving, a substrate on which a coating liquid film having a uniform thickness is formed is manufactured.

  Such a slit nozzle coater requires drying and baking processes in order to finish the formed coating liquid film into a functional film. In particular, the baking process requires two steps before and after the exposure / development process, that is, a low temperature pre-bake before the exposure / development process and a high temperature post-bake after the exposure / development process.

  On the other hand, the dry film formation including CVD and sputtering shown in Patent Document 2 requires a vacuum apparatus, but does not require the drying process and baking process required for the coating film formation, and particularly uses the semiconductor itself or the semiconductor. Widely used in manufacturing processes such as displays.

JP 2002-66432 A JP-A-5-188399

  These conventional film formation techniques have the following problems. That is, in the wet film formation such as the slit nozzle coater, the drying process and the baking process are indispensable as described above. In these processes, particularly in the drying process, the drying is performed by the flow of the air stream containing the solvent evaporating from the coating liquid. Unevenness may occur. This phenomenon is particularly prominent when drying is performed rapidly. In addition, holding means such as pins are required to hold the substrate being dried or being transported, but due to differences in the heat capacity between the pins and the substrate, a thermal gradient occurs at the contact portion between the pins and the substrate, which also causes uneven drying. Cause.

  On the other hand, in dry film formation such as CVD and sputtering, the above-mentioned problems do not occur, but basically a chamber for storing the entire substrate is necessary, and a substrate having a maximum size of 3 m square is used. This has an impact on the price of equipment and, in turn, the final product price. Further, these dry film formations are inferior to the coating method such as the slit nozzle coater in the decompression time and film formation time of the large chamber, and improvement from this aspect is also desired.

  On the other hand, if the spray coating method that discharges the liquid is used, the disadvantages of the dry film formation can be avoided. However, this method requires a drying process, and it is not necessary to apply only to the area where the functional film is formed. An expensive mask made of metal or glass that masks the area is required.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and does not generate film formation defects such as drying unevenness, which is a problem in the coating method, and at the same time becomes a problem in the conventional dry film forming method. The present invention provides a film forming method and a film forming apparatus using the same, which can reduce the cost of the apparatus and significantly reduce the film forming time.

  In order to solve the above problems, the functional film forming method of the present invention causes a fine powder material for forming a functional film on a sheet-like substrate to collide with the substrate at high speed under a reduced pressure environment, and the collision energy is used to A functional film forming method for fusing fine powder onto a substrate, covering a part or all of the functional film forming region of the substrate in which a restriction region is formed by a resist on the surface other than the functional film forming region A reduced pressure chamber forming step for forming a local reduced pressure space in the reduced pressure chamber, and a reduced pressure space forming step for contacting the functional film forming region on the substrate. Functions by depressurizing step of depressurization, supplying the fine powder material to the local depressurized space in a depressurized state, and injecting and colliding the fine powder material onto the substrate at high speed by the aerosol deposition method Film is formed on the functional film forming region on the substrate, and has a film forming step, and a removing step of removing the restriction area of said substrate surface. According to the above functional film forming method, a functional film can be formed without using a decompression chamber that covers the entire substrate, and without requiring a drying process and a baking process that are problematic in the wet coating method. The method can be realized.

  The functional film forming method of the present invention is further characterized in that, in the film forming step, control is performed so that the reduced pressure state of the local reduced pressure space is maintained at the reduced pressure state reached in the reduced pressure step. According to this method, it is possible to effectively prevent the outside air or the like from entering the chamber during film formation to deteriorate the reduced pressure state.

  The functional film forming method of the present invention further includes a reading step of reading a reference position provided on the substrate and confirming a relative position between the substrate and the decompression chamber from information obtained from the result, and a substrate installation A moving step of moving the decompression chamber to a predetermined position in a plane parallel to the substrate installation plane based on information obtained by the reading step in a plane parallel to the plane; and the decompression moved to the predetermined position And a contact / separation step of moving the chamber to a predetermined height with respect to the substrate. According to this method, the positioning between the substrate and the decompression chamber can be accurately performed, and the functional film can be accurately formed at the film forming position on the substrate.

  The functional film formation method of the present invention is further characterized in that the restriction region in the film formation step has a strength capable of being removed by a solvent, and the removal step is by the solvent. It is said. According to this method, it is possible to cleanly remove the restriction region that has become unnecessary after the formation of the functional film in the removal step.

  In addition, the functional film forming apparatus of the present invention has a seal at the end that comes into contact with the substrate, and covers the substrate from above, thereby forming a local decompression space between the substrate and the substrate. A restriction region removing means for removing a restriction region by a resist formed on a surface other than the functional film forming region, and the decompression chamber contains an aerosol containing a fine powder material for forming the functional film. It has an aerosol supply means for supplying and a decompression means for decompressing the local decompression space, and forms a functional film in a functional film formation region on the substrate covered with the decompression chamber. According to this configuration, a functional film forming apparatus that exhibits the above-described effects can be provided.

  According to the functional film forming method and the functional film forming apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to eliminate the occurrence of defects such as drying unevenness, which has been a problem in the coating method, without increasing the cost of the apparatus. It is possible to realize formation of a functional film on a substrate with a reduced sex film time as a problem.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the film-forming principle used by this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the apparatus structure and connection of this invention. It is a figure which shows the functional film formation area on a board | substrate. It is a perspective view of the film-forming apparatus using the film-forming method of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the pressure reduction chamber used by this invention. It is an expanded sectional view of the seal part of the decompression chamber of the present invention.

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the principle of the functional film forming method of the present invention. The functional film forming method used in the present invention is an aerosol deposition method, commonly referred to as an AD method. In order to simplify the explanation, it will hereinafter be referred to as the AD method. In the AD method, fine powder 1 which is a raw material for film formation is mixed with high-pressure gas 35 to form aerosol 3, and collides with substrate 2 at a speed of 150 m / sec to 1000 m / sec. At the time of collision, the kinetic energy of the fine powder 1 is converted into collision energy and finally becomes thermal energy. The collision surface between the fine powder 1 and the substrate 2 is melted by this thermal energy, and the fine powder 1 is fused to the substrate 2. After the surface of the substrate 2 is covered with the fused fine powder 1, the fine powder 1 is fused and laminated on the fused fine powder 1 until a predetermined thickness is obtained in the same process, for example, as shown in FIG. A functional film is formed on the functional film formation region 4. In order to keep the aerosol speed within the above speed range, the film formation process of the AD method is performed in a reduced pressure environment reduced to about several Torr. In addition, although the shape of the fine powder 1 is shown as a sphere in FIG. 1, any shape can be used in applying the AD method, and an indefinite shape is also included therein.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a functional film forming apparatus 10 according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 schematically shows the entire configuration including a supply path of the functional film forming material (fine powder) 1 of the functional film forming apparatus 10. It is the figure shown in. As shown in FIG. 4, the functional film forming apparatus 10 forms a functional film on a thin plate-like substrate 2 to be supplied. The functional film forming apparatus 10 includes a base 16, a table 12 on which the substrate 2 is placed, a gantry 20 configured to be movable in a certain direction with respect to the table 12 and including a decompression chamber 11, and A control device (not shown) for controlling the operation to be described, an aerosol generator 30 for supplying an aerosol 3 containing a functional film forming material (fine powder) 1 to the decompression chamber, as shown in FIG. And a vacuum pump 40 for reducing the pressure.

  In the following description, the direction in which the gantry 20 or table 12 holding the decompression chamber 11 moves is the X-axis direction, the direction orthogonal to this in the horizontal plane is the Y-axis direction, and both the X-axis and Y-axis directions are orthogonal. The description will be made with the direction to be performed as the Z-axis direction. Furthermore, an embodiment will be described in which a functional film is formed on a predetermined portion of the substrate 2 by multiple film formations by partial film formation of the substrate.

  The base 16 of the functional film forming apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 4 supports each component, for example, the table 12 and the support portion 20, and is a material that is rigid and hardly affected by vibration, such as a stone. It is formed with. The table 12 is used to place and hold the loaded substrate 2 on the surface thereof, and is formed of a material that is also rigid and hardly affected by vibration, such as a stone. Specifically, the table 12 is formed with a plurality of suction holes (not shown) opened on the surface thereof, and these suction holes and a vacuum pump for table (not shown) are connected in communication. Yes. Then, by operating the vacuum pump with the substrate 2 placed on the surface of the table 12, a suction force is generated in the suction hole so that the substrate 2 is sucked and held by suction on the surface side of the table 12. It has become. Further, when the decompression chamber 11 covers the entire substrate, the pressure difference with the substrate adsorption portion is reduced due to the decompression in the chamber and it becomes difficult to hold the substrate. Use means. In this embodiment, the decompression is locally performed on a part of the substrate, so that the substrate can be held by the pressure difference between the non-depressurized portion and the suction portion. Of course, the substrate may be held by the above method other than the vacuum adsorption. Further, the table 12 is provided with a substrate lifting mechanism for moving the substrate 2 up and down. That is, a plurality of pin holes (not shown) are formed on the surface of the table 12, and lift pins (not shown) that can be moved up and down in the Z-axis direction are embedded in the pin holes. Thus, by lifting the lift pins while the substrate 2 is placed on the surface of the table 12, the substrate 2 can be held at a predetermined height position with the tip portion of the lift pins in contact with the substrate 2. It has become.

  The substrate 2 is a thin plate made of glass, silicon, silicon carbide, or resin, and has a thickness of about 0.1 mm to several mm depending on the application. The substrate shape varies depending on the application, and a rectangular shape, a circular shape, or any other shape is used. In this embodiment, the discussion will proceed on the assumption that a rectangular substrate is used. In this embodiment, the functional film forming region 4 and the protective film region 5 other than the functional film forming region 4 shown in FIG. 3 are already formed on the substrate 2 by resist application, exposure, pre-baking, development / cleaning in the previous process. Is formed.

  The gantry 20 is for injecting the aerosol 3 containing the functional film forming material (fine powder) 1 onto the substrate 2 placed on the table 12, the decompression chamber 11 for injecting the aerosol 3, and both ends. It has provided support portions 20a and 20b, a stay 25 that connects the support portions 20a and 20b, and a Y-axis drive portion 22 that drives the decompression chamber 11 in the Y-axis direction. The support portions 20a and 20b support the Y-axis drive unit 22 holding the decompression chamber 11 so as to be capable of moving up and down, and move the decompression chamber 11 in the X-axis direction. The X-axis drive unit 14 And a Z-axis drive unit 21. The Z-axis drive unit 21 moves the decompression chamber 11 up and down, and has a ball screw mechanism (not shown) extending in the Z-axis direction and a slider (not shown) connected to the decompression chamber 11. The slider is attached to the ball screw mechanism. A servo motor (not shown) is attached to the support portions 20a and 20b. By driving and controlling the servo motor and rotating the ball screw, the slider moves in the Z-axis direction. It can be stopped at the position. Thus, the decompression chamber 11 is driven and controlled to move up and down in the Z-axis direction, and operates so as to be able to contact and separate from the table 12. In addition to the combination of the servo motor and the ball screw mechanism of the embodiment of the present invention, any drive mechanism capable of direct drive by a linear servo motor or other equivalent drive can be used for the Z-axis drive unit 21.

  The X-axis drive unit 14 is for driving the gantry 20 in the X-axis direction. The X-axis drive unit 14a and the air slider 17 installed on the support units 20a and 20b and the X installed on the base 16 are used. A rail 15 extending in the axial direction and a linear motor fixed rail 13 are included. Further, the X-axis drive device 14 causes an adsorption / repulsion action with a fixed magnet (not shown) of the drive device main body 14a by sequentially exciting and controlling the linear motor fixed rail 13 attached to the base 16. A driving force for moving the gantry 20 in the X-axis direction is generated. When the gantry 20 moves in the X-axis direction, the decompression chamber 11 attached to the gantry 20 can also travel along the X-axis direction. The amount of movement (position) in the X-axis direction can be obtained from a precision scale (not shown) provided on the rail 15 or the base 16.

  The Y-axis drive unit 22 allows the decompression chamber 11 to move in the Y-axis direction. The Y-axis drive unit 22 includes a drive source 22a and a Y-axis rail 23. Both ends of the Y-axis drive unit 22 are fixed to the support units 20a and 20b. Yes. The drive source 22a is a servo motor, and the Y-axis rail 23 has a ball screw mechanism (not shown). The rotary drive force from the drive source 22a is converted into a linear drive force, and the holder 24 A decompression chamber 11 is held. Furthermore, the holder 24 is provided with a chamber rotation motor 26 that rotates the decompression chamber 11 in the XY plane. Here, the movement amount (position) in the Y-axis direction can be obtained by an encoder incorporated in the drive source 22a.

  With the gantry 20 configured in this manner, the decompression chamber 11 can move up and down in the Z-axis direction with respect to the surface of the table 12, and on the surface of the table 12 while maintaining a predetermined height from the surface of the table 12. It can move along the X-axis and Y-axis directions. The X-axis and Y-axis driving methods can be used as long as the same effect can be expected in addition to the embodiment of the present invention. As an example, the X-axis drive may be a combination of a servo motor and a ball screw. Further, the Y axis may be a linear motor drive, or a combination thereof.

  The aerosol 3 is supplied from the aerosol generator 30 (aerosol supply means) to the decompression chamber 11 shown in FIG. The aerosol generator 30 includes a casing 31, a high-pressure gas supply pipe 37, a mesh 36, and an aerosol discharge pipe 38. The casing 31 is provided with a mesh 36 at an intermediate portion thereof, and the functional film forming material (fine powder) 1 that is supplied does not block the jet port of the high-pressure gas supply pipe 37 and forms the functional film. The material (fine powder) 1 is separated by a mesh 36 having air permeability. The mesh 36 is a material that satisfies the requirements that the functional film forming material (fine powder) 1 is not clogged and does not leak, can hold the weight of the functional film forming material (fine powder) 1, and has air permeability. Any material can be used. In the present invention, a porous material is used.

  FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the decompression chamber 11. The decompression chamber 11 is composed of a chamber body 50, an ejection port 51 for ejecting the aerosol 3 at the tip of the aerosol discharge pipe 38, a seal 52 for maintaining a decompressed state in the chamber, a distance sensor 53, an image sensor 54, and an exhaust port 55. Has been. Further, an exhaust pipe 41 is provided in the decompression chamber 11, and the inside of the decompression chamber 11 can be decompressed by a vacuum pump 40 (decompression unit) shown in FIG. 2 connected to the exhaust pipe 41. Similarly, the exhaust pipe 41 is provided with a filter 42 shown in FIG. 2, which collects the functional film forming material (fine powder) 1 that has become excessive when the functional film is formed, thereby protecting the vacuum pump 40. ing. The decompression chamber 11 is configured to be rotatable in an XY plane by a chamber rotation motor 26. Thereby, the rotation direction error in the XY plane of the functional film formation region 4 and the decompression chamber 11 can be corrected.

  Here, the decompression chamber 11 will be described in detail. The chamber body 50 is a box having an opening on the lower side, which is composed of a top plate and a side plate, and forms a local decompression space between the substrate 2 and the substrate 2 by covering the substrate 2 from above. Further, the chamber body 50 is made of metal or resin and has a structure that can withstand pressure reduction by, for example, an aluminum alloy. On one side of the chamber body 50, the ejection port 51 is connected to the aerosol discharge pipe 38, while on the other side of the chamber body 50, an exhaust port 55 connected to the exhaust pipe 41 is provided. Here, the aerosol discharge pipe 38 and the exhaust pipe 41 preferably have a flexible structure in order to cope with the movement of the decompression chamber 11. The jet outlet 51 to which the aerosol discharge pipe 38 is connected is disposed so as to be located at the approximate center on the XY plane of the chamber body 50, and the distance between the jet outlet 51 and the substrate 2 is set according to the film formation area. Yes. However, if it is determined that it is difficult to form a uniform film by using the single ejection port 51 by comparing the number of the ejection ports 51 with the number of functional film formation regions 4 that require film formation at a time, the ejection ports 51 It is also possible to adopt a structure in which a plurality of are provided. In this case, as long as the uniformity of the film thickness can be maintained even if the aerosol ejection regions overlap, the aerosol ejection regions may be arranged so as to overlap. Next, the shape of the jet outlet 51 and the cross-sectional shape of the pipe immediately before the jet outlet 51 are determined by the required flow velocity of the aerosol 3, for example, the flow velocity in the aerosol discharge pipe 38 for reasons such as fine powder material characteristics and film formation strength. If it is necessary to increase the injection speed and reduce the injection speed, unlike the embodiment, a Venturi tubular structure may be used. In general, the aerosol ejection speed in the AD method is 150 m / sec to 1000 m / sec, but in actual use, it is determined by the characteristics of the functional film material as described above. On the other hand, the vacuum pump 40 shown in FIG. 2 sucks the gas (mainly air) in the decompression chamber 11 from the exhaust port 55 through the exhaust pipe 41, whereby the inside of the decompression chamber 11 is decompressed to a level of several Torr. By depressurizing the inside of the decompression chamber 11 in this way, it is possible to prevent the aerosol 3 from decelerating due to collision with air molecules. In order to maintain the decompression chamber 11 in a decompressed state, a seal 52 is provided at the end of the chamber body 50 that contacts the substrate 2. The seal 52 may have any shape and material as long as it can maintain the above-mentioned reduced pressure state. For example, it may have the shape shown in (1) to (3) in FIG. The seal shape will be described in detail. The contact portion of the seal 52a in FIG. 6A is formed in a hollow shape, and can easily be deformed when the chamber and the substrate come into contact with each other to maintain the sealing performance. The seal 52b in FIG. 6 (2) has a cushion material 52c inside, and exhibits the same effect as the seal 52a. The seal 52d in FIG. 6 (2) is a lip-shaped seal, and the sealing performance can be maintained by bending easily when the chamber and the substrate come into contact with each other. The material of the seal 52 can be selected from a wide range, and can be any material as long as it has elasticity such as most types of rubber materials or resin materials having elasticity, and does not cause permanent deformation due to contact and separation of the chamber. Is available. The distance sensor 53 and the image sensor 54 are used for position control in the Z-axis direction and alignment with the film formation region, and will be described in detail later.

  Here, the functional film formation method in this invention is explained in full detail. When the substrate 2 is transported onto the table 12, it is sucked and fixed to the table 12 by a suction mechanism (not shown). Next, the gantry 20 moves, and an image of a positioning marking (not shown) marked on the substrate 2 is taken by the image sensor 54 provided in the decompression chamber 11. The position of the substrate 2 on the table 12 is recognized by comparing the read value of the positioning marking with the read value of the encoder in the X direction and the Y direction, and the XY plane of the substrate 2 is read by reading the inclination of the positioning marking. The inclination can be recognized and the rotation can be corrected by the chamber rotation motor 26 (this is called a reading step). Thus, the decompression chamber 11 can be accurately moved onto the functional film formation region of the substrate 2 by the position information and the inclination correction.

  When the decompression chamber 11 moves to a predetermined position on the XY plane (this is referred to as a movement process), the distance sensor 53 is then used until the distance between the decompression chamber 11 and the substrate 2 reaches a predetermined value. Then, the decompression chamber 11 is lowered by the Z-axis drive unit 21 (referred to as a contact / separation process), and the local decompression chamber and the substrate 2 are brought into contact with each other to form a local decompression space (referred to as a decompression space formation process). ). The amount of descending is a region where the seal 52 is surely in contact with the substrate 2 and the elasticity of the seal 52 is not lost. This value is determined according to the seal shape and material. This value also depends on the process such as the ejection speed of the aerosol 3 and the film forming process conditions such as the required degree of vacuum.

  When the decompression chamber 11 comes into contact with the substrate 2 and the lowering is completed, the vacuum pump 40 is activated and decompression in the decompression chamber 11 is started (referred to as a decompression step). In the AD method, since a high vacuum is not required, the vacuum reaching value may be about several Torr. After the aerosol 3 is injected, the vacuum pump 40 sucks the gas containing the powder (the remaining part of the aerosol 3), so there is a risk of damage due to the powder. Therefore, the filter 42 is installed at an arbitrary position in the path of the exhaust pipe 41.

  When the decompression in the decompression chamber 11 is completed, the high pressure gas 35 supplied to the casing 31 through the high pressure gas supply pipe 37 is supplied to the aerosol generator 30. The supply amount is adjusted by the regulator 32, and the gas is ejected to the bottom of the casing 31 partitioned by the mesh 36. The jetted high-pressure gas 35 passes through the mesh 36 and is stirred in the functional film forming material (fine powder) 1 and the casing 31 to be aerosolized. The aerosol 3, which is a mixture of the functional film forming material (fine powder) 1 and the high-pressure gas 35, passes through the ejection pipe 38 and is made constant by the classifier 33, and is then sent to the decompression chamber 11.

  The aerosol 3 supplied to the decompression chamber 11 is discharged to the substrate 2 from the ejection port 51, and a functional film is formed on the substrate 2 by the film formation mechanism shown in FIG. 1 (referred to as a film formation process). When the aerosol 3 is released, the pressure in the decompression chamber 11 increases, and the film formation mechanism shown in FIG. 1 may not function over time. Therefore, the vacuum pump 40 operates even during the release of the aerosol 3, thereby maintaining the reduced pressure state in the reduced pressure chamber 11 at a level required for the AD method. However, it is not preferable that the exhaust affects the flow of the aerosol 3. Therefore, it is desirable to install the exhaust port 55 at a position away from the jet port 51, and the suction speed (suction amount) by the vacuum pump 40 does not need to be set to the same setting as during decompression before the aerosol 3 is released. The release amount control of the aerosol 3 or the high-pressure gas 35 may be controlled based on observation of the state of the aerosol 3 in the decompression chamber 11 using an optical sensor or the like. It is also possible to determine the release amount as a function of the release time, for example. Of course, a method of keeping the release rate (release amount) constant can also be used. Which method is adopted is determined by conditions such as a film formation target.

  When a functional film is formed by the decompression chamber 11, a plurality of functional film regions may be formed at the same time. In this case, if the film is formed including the region, the film is also formed in the functional film unnecessary region such as the partition wall, which may cause a problem. Thus, in order to form a plurality of regions at the same time, in the functional film forming method of the present invention, instead of using a mask, a resist protection and region restriction layer (referred to as a restriction region 5) is formed on the substrate 2 in advance. ) And a method of limiting the film formation only to a predetermined region is used. The formation of the regulation region 5 using a resist is performed in a pre-process of the functional film forming process of the present invention using an existing photolithography technique. As described above, in the AD method, the aerosol collides with the target at a high speed. The diameter of the powder contained in the aerosol is on the order of submicron on average, and although the individual collision energy is small, a large number of powders collide, so that the regulation region 5 needs not to be damaged by the collision of the aerosol. On the other hand, the protective and region regulating layer needs to be removed by washing, and it is not preferable to make the layer stronger than necessary. Therefore, the substrate 2 is subjected to the regulation region 5 after the steps from coating, drying, pre-baking, exposure, and development are completed, and then dust on the surface is washed, and then transported to the functional film forming step of the present invention when drying is completed. It is desirable. The restriction region 5 has a strength that is not easily destroyed by the collision of the aerosol by pre-baking that is low-temperature baking. However, since it is not completely high-temperature baking, it can be removed with a solvent.

  When the functional film is completely formed in the functional film region on the substrate 2. The valve (not shown) provided in the ejection pipe 38 is closed to stop the supply of the aerosol 3, and then the valve (not shown) of the vent pipe 57 is opened to return the inside of the decompression chamber 11 to the atmospheric pressure. During this time, the vacuum pump 40 operates for a certain period of time to remove residual powder in the chamber. The residual powder may be removed by using a dedicated exhaust fan with a filter or a blower (not shown) instead of using the vacuum pump 40. When the inside of the decompression chamber 11 returns to the atmospheric pressure and the residual powder in the chamber is removed, the Z-axis drive unit 21 operates to raise the decompression chamber 11. When the raising of the decompression chamber 11 is completed, the X-axis drive unit 14 and the Y-axis drive unit 22 are then operated to move the decompression chamber 11 to the next functional film formation region. The same process is repeated after the movement is completed.

  When the functional film is formed in all functional film forming regions on the substrate 2, the substrate suction mechanism (not shown) of the table 12 is released, and the substrate lifting mechanism (not shown) is activated to lift pins (not shown). ) Rises and lifts the substrate 2, the substrate 2 is unloaded to the restricted area removing means by a transfer device such as a robot (not shown). In the restriction region removing means, the substrate 2 is removed of the restriction region 5 with a solvent or the like, and then the residue is removed with pure water or the like (referred to as a removal step). Subsequently, the substrate 2 is transported to the drying process, and when the drying is completed, the entire process is completed, and the substrate 2 is transported to the next process, for example, the functional film annealing process. On the other hand, after unloading of the substrate 2 is completed, a new substrate is loaded and the functional film formation is repeated.

  In the above embodiment, an example in which the decompression chamber 11 covers a part of the functional film formation region of the substrate 2 has been described. However, since the functional film forming method of the present invention does not use a mask, the decompression chamber 11 can cover the entire substrate 2. In this case, at least the Y-axis drive is unnecessary, and when the substrate 2 is directly loaded and unloaded on the table 12, the X-axis drive can also be omitted. Furthermore, when the rotational position displacement when the substrate 2 is placed on the table 12 falls within a certain range, that is, within the inner surface range of the decompression chamber 11, it is not necessary to adjust the position by rotating the decompression chamber 11. Accordingly, in this case, the chamber rotation motor 26 can be dispensed with. When the entire substrate is covered with the apparatus configuration of this embodiment, the decompression chamber 11 has a cantilever structure, but whether both ends or four corners are required depends on the substrate size. For example, when the substrate size is large, such as a display manufacturing application or a PV application, both ends or four-corner support is required. Further, when the entire substrate is covered with the decompression chamber 11, there is no pressure difference between the table side and the chamber side, so that the substrate and the table cannot be fixed by vacuum suction. In this case, the substrate 2 may be fixed to the table 12 by electrostatic adsorption or mechanical holding.

  In the above embodiment, the table 12 is fixed and the gantry 20 is moved. However, according to the gist of the present invention, the opposite structure, that is, the gantry 20 except the Z-axis drive and the rotational direction drive is excluded. A fixed table and a table on which the substrate is installed may be driven in the XY axis direction. With this configuration, since the table is driven in the XY axis direction, a moving space for about four substrates is required, and there is a disadvantage that the size of the apparatus and the installation area are increased, but the gantry 20 is fixed. Therefore, there is no need to provide flexibility so that the piping of the decompression chamber 11 can cope with the movement, and the piping can be fixed, so that there is an advantage that the design around the piping can be greatly simplified. These driving methods can be combined with each other. For example, the decompression chamber 11 is further fixed in the Z-axis direction or the Z-axis and the rotation direction, and the Z-axis direction or the Z-axis direction and the rotation direction are driven by the table 12. Is also possible. Alternatively, a configuration in which the decompression chamber 11 is driven in the XY axis direction and the Z axis direction is driven by a table, a configuration in which the decompression chamber 11 is completely fixed, and driving in all axial directions is performed by the table 12, or a table 12 It is also possible to limit the drive to only the X axis or only the X axis and the rotation direction, and drive the remaining axes by the decompression chamber 11. Which of these configurations is adopted may be determined according to constraint conditions such as substrate size, installation location restrictions, and required cycle time.

  As described above, by using the functional film forming method of the present invention and the film forming apparatus using this functional film forming method, from a large substrate of 3 m square to a small substrate of about several tens of cm square, A functional film having a quality comparable to that of the conventional coating method can be formed without the need for a drying step after the functional film is formed on the single wafer substrate.

1 Functional film forming material (fine powder)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 Substrate 3 Aerosol 4 Functional film formation area 5 Restriction area 10 Functional film formation apparatus 11 Depressurization chamber 12 Table 30 Aerosol generator 35 High pressure gas 40 Vacuum pump 50 Chamber main body 51 Outlet 52 Seal 55 Exhaust port 57 Vent pipe

Claims (5)

A functional film forming method of causing a fine powder material for forming a functional film on a sheet-like substrate to collide with the substrate at high speed under a reduced pressure environment, and fusing the fine powder on the substrate by collision energy,
Cover the functional film forming region on the substrate with a decompression chamber capable of covering a part or all of the functional film forming region of the substrate in which the resist restricting region is formed on the surface other than the functional film forming region. A reduced pressure space forming step of forming a local reduced pressure space in the reduced pressure chamber,
A decompression step of decompressing the local decompression space;
The fine powder material is supplied to the local decompression space in a reduced pressure state, and the functional film is formed on the substrate by spraying the fine powder material onto the substrate at high speed by an aerosol deposition method to cause collision. Forming a film in the functional film forming region; and
A removal step of removing the restriction region on the substrate surface;
A method for forming a functional film, comprising:   2. The functional film forming method according to claim 1, wherein in the film forming step, control is performed so that the reduced pressure state of the local reduced pressure space is maintained at the reduced pressure state reached in the reduced pressure step.   The reference position provided on the substrate is read, and the reading process for confirming the relative position between the substrate and the decompression chamber from the information obtained from the result, and the reading process is performed in the plane parallel to the substrate installation plane. And moving the decompression chamber to a predetermined position in a plane parallel to the substrate installation plane based on the information obtained, and moving the decompression chamber moved to the predetermined position to a predetermined height with respect to the substrate. The functional film forming method according to claim 1, further comprising a contact / separation step of moving.   The said regulation area | region in the said film formation process has the intensity | strength which can be removed with a solvent, Moreover, the said removal process is based on the said solvent, The Claim 1 thru | or 3 characterized by the above-mentioned. Functional film forming method. A decompression chamber having a seal at an end contacting the substrate and covering the substrate from above to form a local decompression space with the substrate;
A restriction region removing means for removing a restriction region by a resist formed on the surface other than the functional film formation region of the substrate;
With
The decompression chamber has an aerosol supply means for supplying an aerosol containing a fine powder material for forming a functional film, and a decompression means for decompressing the local decompression space, and is covered with the decompression chamber. A functional film forming apparatus for forming a functional film in a functional film forming region on a broken substrate.

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