JP2022086585A - Transport device and deposition apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a transport device facilitating maintenance of a defensive plate for covering the ceiling of a transportation space, in an in-line type deposition apparatus.SOLUTION: There is provided a transport device in an in-line type deposition apparatus, for depositing, while transporting a substrate. The transport device includes a ceiling part 26 for forming a ceiling of a transportation space of the transport device, multiple defensive plates 501-504 for covering the inner surface of the ceiling part, and a removable structure 27 capable of removing the defensive plate from the ceiling part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to a substrate transfer device and a film forming device.

In the manufacture of organic EL displays and the like, an in-line type film forming apparatus that deposits a vapor-deposited substance on a substrate using a mask is known. Reference 1 shows a film forming apparatus that performs film formation while transporting a substrate in a chamber for film formation.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-173170

Here, on the ceiling portion of the chamber space, a protective plate is provided to prevent the evaporative material discharged from the evaporation source included in the film forming apparatus from adhering to and accumulating on the wall of the chamber space. In addition, in order to prevent the evaporative material that has adhered to the adhesive plate on the ceiling and solidified from falling onto the substrate or the drive structure of the film forming apparatus, causing film forming defects or malfunction of the film forming apparatus, it is periodically performed. Maintenance work is required to replace or clean the protective plate.

The present invention provides a technique for facilitating maintenance of a protective plate covering the ceiling of a transport space of an in-line film forming apparatus.

According to one aspect of the present invention, it is a transport device of an in-line type film forming apparatus that forms a film while transporting a substrate.
A ceiling portion that forms the ceiling of the transport space of the transport device, and
A plurality of protective plates covering the inner surface of the ceiling portion,
A detachable structure that allows the protective plate to be attached and detached from the ceiling,
A transport device comprising the above is provided.

According to the present invention, it is possible to facilitate the maintenance of the protective plate that covers the ceiling of the transport space of the in-line film forming apparatus.

The schematic diagram of the film forming apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment. The figure which shows the film forming process of a film forming apparatus. The figure which shows the separation of a transport unit and a vapor deposition unit. The schematic diagram of the transport unit which concerns on one Embodiment. Sectional drawing of the transport unit in surface X. Sectional drawing of the transport unit on the surface Y. The figure which shows the removal of the top surface protection plate from the top surface side. The figure which shows the removal of the top surface protection plate from the side surface side.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Although a plurality of features are described in the embodiment, not all of the plurality of features are essential for the invention, and the plurality of features may be arbitrarily combined. Further, in the attached drawings, the same or similar configurations are given the same reference numbers, and duplicate explanations are omitted.

<Overview of film forming equipment>
1 (A) and 1 (B) are schematic views showing a film forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. The film forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 (A) and 1 (B) is an in-line type film forming apparatus that forms a film while conveying a substrate. The film forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is applied to a manufacturing line of an electronic device such as a display panel of an organic EL display device for a smartphone. The film forming apparatus 1 includes a transport unit 2, a vapor deposition unit 3, and a frame 4.

The transport unit 2 is a device for transporting a mask tray on which a substrate masked by a mask such as a metal mask having an opening pattern corresponding to a thin film pattern formed on the substrate is arranged from the carry-in inlet 5 to the carry-out port 6. be. Further, an opening is arranged on the bottom surface of the transport unit 2 so that the vapor deposition material discharged from the vapor deposition source of the vapor deposition unit 3 is vapor-deposited on the substrate arranged on the mask tray.

The vapor deposition unit 3 has a vapor deposition source described later, and has an opening on the top surface side of the vapor deposition unit 3 for discharging the vapor deposition material to the substrate conveyed by the transfer unit 2. Further, the elevating mechanism 41 and the slide mechanism 42 arranged on the vapor deposition unit 3 or the frame 4 separate the transport unit 2 and the vapor deposition unit 3, which will be described later.

The frame 4 has a structure for supporting the transport unit 2 and the vapor deposition unit 3. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the frame 4 includes the elevating mechanism 41 and the slide mechanism 42, but at least one of the elevating mechanism and the slide mechanism may be provided in the vapor deposition unit 3.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1B, in the present embodiment, the film forming apparatus 1 includes three vapor deposition units 3A to 3C (collectively referred to as vapor deposition units 3), and one or more types are provided on the substrate to be conveyed. The vapor deposition material can be continuously vapor-deposited. In the example of FIG. 1B, the elevating mechanism 41 is omitted. The number of vapor deposition units 3 and the type of vapor deposition material emitted by each vapor deposition unit 3 can be arbitrarily changed. Further, the elevating mechanism 41 and the slide mechanism 42 may elevate or slide a plurality of vapor deposition units 3 together, or may elevate or slide them separately.

2 (A) to 2 (D) show the film forming process of the film forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. Here, a cross-sectional view of the film forming apparatus 1 of FIG. 1A on the surface XZ is shown. In FIGS. 2A to 2D, the frame 4 is omitted.

FIG. 2A shows a film forming apparatus 1 in a state where the mask tray 201 on which the substrate is arranged is carried in from the carry-in inlet 5. The transport unit 2 includes openings 21A to 21C (collectively referred to as openings 21) corresponding to the respective vapor deposition units 3. The vapor deposition unit 3 includes the corresponding vapor deposition sources 31A to 31C (collectively referred to as the vapor deposition source 31). In FIG. 2A, the carried-in mask tray 201 is conveyed onto the opening 21 of the transfer unit 2 by a plurality of transfer rollers 22 included in the transfer unit 2.

FIG. 2B shows a film forming apparatus 1 in a state where the mask tray 201 is conveyed over the opening 21A and the vapor deposition material is discharged from the vapor deposition source 31A of the vapor deposition unit 3A. In FIG. 2B, the vapor deposition material is discharged upward from the vapor deposition source 31A while the substrate is being conveyed. As a result, the vapor deposition material is vapor-deposited on the substrate according to the mask pattern. The film forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described as performing vapor deposition in a state where the mask tray 201 is moving, but the movement is temporarily stopped or decelerated while the mask tray 201 is located on the opening 21. The transport speed of the mask tray 201 may be controlled. As a result, the film forming apparatus 1 can control the vapor deposition material having an appropriate thickness to be deposited on the substrate.

FIG. 2C shows a state in which the vapor-deposited substrate is transported by the transport unit 2 and the mask tray 201 is transported on the opening 21B corresponding to the next vapor deposition unit 3B. Here, the vapor deposition material is discharged from the vapor deposition source 31B of the vapor deposition unit 3B. Then, the film forming apparatus 1 advances the transfer of the mask tray 201 and performs the next vapor deposition by the next vapor deposition unit 3C, and as shown in FIG. 2D, the mask tray 201 in which the vapor deposition is completed is carried out from the carry-out port 6. Will be done. In this way, thin-film deposition can be performed from a plurality of thin-film deposition units 3 before being transported from the carry-in inlet 5 to the carry-out port 6 by the transfer roller 22 of the transfer unit 2.

Subsequently, the separation of the transport unit 2 and the vapor deposition unit 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 (A) and 3 (B). The vapor deposition material discharged from the vapor deposition source 31 of the vapor deposition unit 3 adheres to the side wall or the top surface of the transport unit 2, drops and adheres to the substrate being transported, and the vapor deposition process may fail. Further, the thin-film deposition material adhering to the side wall or the top surface of the transport unit 2 may fall and adhere to the transport roller 22, so that the substrate being transported may be soiled or the transport roller 22 may malfunction. Therefore, a protective plate is provided on the side wall and the top surface of the transport unit 2, and maintenance is required to periodically clean or replace the protective plate.

Further, the dust generated by the contact between the transport roller 22 and the mask tray 201 flies up due to the air flow generated by the rotation of the transport roller and the discharge of the vapor-deposited material, adheres to the substrate and the drive structure of the film forming apparatus 1, and the film forming process fails. Or the transport unit 2 may malfunction. Therefore, the transport roller 22 is provided with a dust collecting cover for preventing the generated dust from being scattered, and maintenance such as replacement or cleaning of the dust collecting cover may be performed periodically.

In such a case, the transport unit 2 and the vapor deposition unit 3 are separated, and the transport space in the transport unit 2 is accessed from the opening 21 on the bottom surface side of the transport unit 2, thereby improving the convenience of work during maintenance. do. In the separation of the transport unit 2 and the vapor deposition unit 3, as shown in FIG. 3A, the vapor deposition unit 3 moves downward relative to the transport unit 2 by the elevating mechanism 41 provided in the frame 4. As will be described later, the thin-film deposition unit 3 according to the present embodiment includes a portion that enters above the Z-axis from the opening 21 when connected to the transport unit 2, so that the vapor deposition unit 3 is lowered by the elevating mechanism 41. Is required. This makes it possible for the vapor deposition unit 3 to move in the horizontal direction with respect to the transport unit 2.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 3B, the slide mechanism 42 included in the frame 4 causes the vapor deposition unit 3 to move relatively horizontally with respect to the transport unit 2. As a result, the transport space inside the transport unit 2 can be accessed from below the transport unit 2 held by the frame 4, and the convenience of maintenance can be improved. Further, since the inside of the vapor deposition unit 3 can be accessed from above the vapor deposition unit 3, the convenience of maintenance of the vapor deposition unit 3 can be improved.

Subsequently, FIG. 4 shows the structure of the transport unit 2. The transport unit 2 includes an opening 21 on the bottom surface, a plurality of transport rollers 22, a top surface protection portion 23, a side wall protection portion 24, a housing 25, and a top surface lid 26. In FIG. 4, only a part of the side wall adhesive portion 24 is shown.

The top surface protective portion 23 is detachably arranged from the housing 25 so as to facilitate maintenance such as removal of the vapor-deposited material deposited on the top surface side of the transport path in the transport unit 2. In the present embodiment, the top protection portion 23 is arranged on the top cover 26, and when the top cover 26 is removed from the housing 25, the top protection portion 23 is also removed from the housing 25 together with the top lid 26. .. Further, the top surface protection portion 23 is formed of a plurality of protection plates (top surface protection plates), and each top surface protection plate can be separately removed from the housing 25 or the top surface lid 26. The structure in which the top cover 26 supports the plurality of top protection plates will be described later with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. Further, the detailed structure of the housing 25, the top cover 26, and the top protection portion 23 will be described later with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

The side wall protective portion 24 includes a protective plate that can be attached to and detached from the side wall of the housing 25 in the transport unit 2 to prevent the vapor deposition material from being deposited on the inner side wall of the housing 25. At the time of maintenance, the maintenance work can be easily performed by removing the side wall adhesive portion 24 from the housing 25, replacing it, or cleaning it. The side wall protective portion 24 according to the present embodiment is also formed by a plurality of side wall protective plates, and each side wall protective plate can also be separately removed from the housing 25.

The top cover 26 is arranged on the top surface side of the housing 25, and the top cover 26 can be removed from the housing 25 by lifting the top cover 26 upward. As a result, the transport space can be accessed from the top surface side of the housing 25. That is, the top cover 26 is a ceiling portion that forms the ceiling of the transport space inside the transport unit 2, and the housing 25 is a side wall portion that forms the side wall of the transport space. Further, the top surface protection portion 23 is a protection portion that covers the ceiling portion of the transport space, and the side wall protection portion 24 is a protection portion that covers the side wall portion of the transport space.

Subsequently, the detailed structure of the transport unit 2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the transport unit 2 on the surface 401 of FIG. Further, in FIG. 5, the vapor deposition unit 3 is also shown.

In FIG. 5, a guide roller 27 is arranged on the top cover 26, and the top protective plates 501 to 504 are supported by the guide roller 27. That is, the portion of the top surface protective plates 501 to 504 that abuts on the guide roller 27 functions as a slide structure (detachable structure) that movably supports the protective plate along the top cover 26. .. In the present embodiment, the moving direction of the guide roller 27 is a direction intersecting the transport direction of the substrate, and is the Y-axis direction in FIG. In the example of FIG. 5, the guide roller 27 is arranged on the top cover 26, and the top surface protective plates 501 to 504 are shown to include a rolling surface on which the guide roller 27 rolls. However, in another example, a rail may be arranged on the top cover 26, and rollers rolling along the rail may be arranged on the top protective plates 501 to 504. Further, as the detachable structure in which the top cover 26 detachably supports the top protective plates 501 to 504, any structure such as a hook type fastening member may be used in addition to the slide structure.

Further, as shown in circles 506 to 508, the top surface protective plates adjacent to each other in the direction intersecting the slide direction on the horizontal surface with the top surface protective plate form a labyrinth structure. Here, the labyrinth structure means that adjacent protective plates overlap each other in the direction perpendicular to the surface covered by the protective plates, that is, in the vertical direction. In the top surface protective plates 501 to 504, adjacent protective plates overlap in the vertical (Z-axis) direction. As a result, even if the positions of the adjacent top protection plates 501 to 504 change slightly, the top protection plates 501 to 504 can cover the inner surface of the ceiling of the transport space, and the guide roller 27 and the top cover can be covered. It is possible to prevent the vapor deposition material from adhering to the 26 and the housing 25.

Further, as shown in the circle 509, the side wall protective portion 24 attached to the side surface of the housing 25 and covering the side surface of the transport space forms a labyrinth structure with the top surface protective plate 501 adjacent to the side wall protective portion 24. do. As a result, even if the position of the top surface protective plate 501 is slightly changed, it is possible to prevent the vapor-filmed material from adhering to the guide roller 27, the top surface lid 26, and the housing 25.

Further, the top cover 26 according to the present embodiment has an engaging structure with the housing 25, and can be removed from the housing 25 by disengaging the housing 25 from the top lid 26. .. When removing the top cover 26 from the housing 25, the top lid 26 can be removed using the crane by attaching the hook of the crane to the hook hole 505 provided in the top lid 26.

Subsequently, the detailed structure of the transport unit 2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the transport unit 2 on the surface 402 of FIG. Further, in FIG. 6, the vapor deposition unit 3 is also shown.

In FIG. 6, one of the guide rollers 27 in the sliding direction corresponds to the stopper 606 provided on the housing 25 or the top cover 26 of the transport unit 2. The other side in the slide direction hits the cover 28. The cover 28 has a locking structure in which it is possible to switch whether or not the top surface protective plates 601 to 605 are removable by the guide roller 27. In the example of FIG. 6, the cover 28 is in a closed state in which the top surface protective plates 601 to 605 cannot be individually removed from the top surface lid 26. On the other hand, as will be described later with reference to FIG. 8, by switching the cover 28 to the open state, the top surface protective plates 601 to 605 are guided by the guide rollers 27 from the opening of the housing 25 covered by the cover 28 in the closed state. Can be removed individually along. Further, the top surface protective plate is individually attached from the opening of the housing 25 along the guide roller 27, and the top surface is slid until it comes into contact with the stopper 606 or another top surface protective plate already attached. The protective plate can be attached without aligning in the sliding direction. As described above, by adopting the slide structure as the detachable structure, the efficiency of the work when attaching and detaching the top surface protective plate is improved.

Further, as shown in circles 607 to 610, the protective plates adjacent to each other in the slide direction also form a labyrinth structure. This prevents the vapor-filmed material from adhering to the guide roller 27, the top cover 26, and the housing 25 even if the positions of the front and rear adjacent top protection plates 601 to 605 are slightly changed in the slide direction. Can be done.

Further, the top surface protective plates 601 to 605 in the same row in the slide direction have the same shape. As a result, it is not necessary to consider the order in which the protective plates are installed, and the work of attaching and detaching the top protective plates becomes easy.

Further, as shown in circles 611 to 612, the side wall protective portions 24 which are attached to the side surfaces of the housing 25 and cover the side surfaces of the transport space are the top surface protective plates 601 and 605 adjacent to the side wall protective portions 24. Form a labyrinth structure. As a result, even if the positions of the top surface protective plates 601 and 605 are slightly changed, it is possible to prevent the vapor deposition material from adhering to the guide roller 27, the top surface lid 26, and the housing 25.

Further, the transfer roller 22 is driven by the transfer roller drive unit 622 via the shaft 621.

Subsequently, with reference to FIGS. 7 (A) to 7 (B), a process of removing the top surface protection portion 23 from the top surface side will be described.

In FIG. 7A, the top cover 26 is lifted vertically upward by a crane (not shown). In one example, as shown in FIG. 7B, the top cover 26 is once moved together with the top cover 26 while being supported by the guide roller 27 provided on the top cover 26. The top surface protective portion 23 can be removed from the housing 25. In the present embodiment, maintenance is performed by replacing the top surface protective plate attached to the top cover 26, but the top surface defense is performed with the top surface protective plate attached to the top cover 26. Maintenance may be performed by cleaning the vapor-filmed material adhering to the landing plate. Since the top cover 26 can be replaced or cleaned with the top cover removed from the housing 25, the work can be performed more easily than when working inside the housing 25. , The convenience of maintenance work of the protective plate is improved.

Subsequently, a process of removing the top surface protective plate from the side wall will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 (A) to 8 (C).

In FIG. 8A, the cover 28 is switched to the open state, and the side wall protective portion 24 facing the cover 28 is removed, so that the top surface protective plates 601 to 605 are housed 25 along the guide roller 27. It becomes possible to slide and move with respect to. As shown in FIG. 8B, the operator can slide the top surface protective plate 605 from the opening on the cover 28 side and remove it from the housing 25. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 8C, the top surface protective plate 604 is removed from the opening on the cover 28 side. In this way, since the top surface protective plate can be removed from the top surface lid 26 simply by sliding the top surface protective plate, complicated work inside the housing 25 is not required, and the protective plate can be removed. The convenience of maintenance work is improved.

<Other embodiments>
The invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, a claim is attached to publicize the scope of the invention.

1 film forming equipment, 2 transfer unit, 3 thin film deposition unit, 23 top surface protective plate, 26 top surface lid

Claims (10)

It is a transport device of an in-line type film forming device that forms a film while transporting a substrate.
A ceiling portion that forms the ceiling of the transport space of the transport device, and
A plurality of protective plates covering the inner surface of the ceiling portion,
A detachable structure that allows the protective plate to be attached and detached from the ceiling,
A transport device characterized by being provided with. The transport device according to claim 1, wherein the detachable structure is a slide structure for moving the protective plate along the ceiling portion. The slide structure is
A guide roller provided on one of the ceiling portion and the protective plate,
A rolling surface provided on the other side of the ceiling portion and the protective plate and on which the guide roller rolls.
2. The transport device according to claim 2. The transport device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the slide structure moves the adhesive plate in a direction intersecting the transport direction of the substrate. A side wall portion surrounding the transport space is provided.
The transport device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the ceiling portion is removable from the side wall portion. The transport device according to claim 5, wherein the ceiling portion is removable from the side wall portion in a state where a plurality of the protective plates are attached to the ceiling portion. A side wall protective plate is provided inside the side wall portion.
The side wall protective plate is characterized in that, of the plurality of protective plates covering the inner surface of the ceiling portion, the side wall protective plate has a portion that overlaps with the protective plate adjacent to the side wall protective plate in the vertical direction. 5. The transport device according to 5. The transport device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the protective plate has a portion that overlaps with another adjacent protective plate in the vertical direction.
On-board transport device. It is an in-line type film forming device that forms a film while transporting a substrate.
A transport unit that transports the board and
A thin-film deposition unit that is placed below the transport unit and discharges the vapor-deposited material onto the substrate transported by the transport unit.
Equipped with
The transport unit is
The ceiling portion forming the ceiling of the transport space of the transport unit and
A plurality of protective plates covering the inner surface of the ceiling portion,
A detachable structure that allows the protective plate to be attached and detached from the ceiling,
A film forming apparatus characterized by being provided with. The film forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the vapor deposition unit is relatively movable with respect to the transport unit.

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