JP2023121377A - Film deposition apparatus, method for depositing film and method for manufacturing electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

To suppress variation in transportation height of a substrate carrier due to variation in weight on a film deposition apparatus that transports a substrate carrier while floating the substrate carrier with magnetic force and deposits a film.SOLUTION: An in-line type film deposition apparatus that deposits a film while transporting a substrate includes: a substrate carrier for holding the substrate; magnetic force generation means for generating magnetic force to magnetically float the substrate carrier; and position change means for changing a vertical position of the magnetic force generation means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a film forming apparatus, a film forming method, and an electronic device manufacturing method.

2. Description of the Related Art In the manufacture of organic EL display devices (organic EL displays) and the like, an in-line film forming apparatus that forms an organic film or a metal film while transporting a substrate has been put to practical use. 2. Description of the Related Art An in-line film forming apparatus uses a transfer device for transferring substrates and masks between a plurality of processing chambers such as an alignment chamber and a film forming chamber. In the conventional transport device, substances generated from the contact portion between the substrate, the mask, and the like and the transport device may adhere to the substrate and degrade the film formation accuracy. Therefore, a magnetic levitation conveying apparatus has been developed in which a substrate carrier holding a substrate is levitated using a magnet and conveyed in a non-contact manner. For example, in Patent Document 1, an electromagnet for levitation is arranged on the upper part of the chamber along the conveying direction of the conveying tray, and a stator coil for generating a horizontal driving force is arranged on the side surface of the chamber, so that the conveying tray can be moved without contact. A magnetic levitation transport apparatus for transporting a

Japanese translation of PCT publication No. 2016-532308 JP-A-5-4717

In an in-line type deposition apparatus, after mask alignment is performed with a substrate carrier holding the substrate, the substrate carrier holds the mask, and the substrate carrier holds the substrate and the mask and conveys them to a film formation chamber. do. Since the mask is heavy, the weight of the object to be transferred by the substrate carrier changes greatly before and after holding the mask on the substrate carrier. Therefore, when a magnetic levitation transport device is used for transporting a substrate carrier in an in-line film forming apparatus, the transport height of the substrate carrier changes greatly before and after holding the mask.

Patent Document 2 describes a magnetic levitation transport apparatus provided with a magnetic force generating means for applying an upward attractive force and a magnetic force generating means for applying a downward attractive force to a mover, and in particular, applying a downward attractive force. A technique for controlling the floating direction, the pitching direction, and the rolling direction of the mover is described by using a floating control electromagnet arranged on the stator as a magnetic force generating means for controlling the magnetic force.

Therefore, in a film forming apparatus that uses a magnetic levitation transport device for transporting a substrate carrier, it is conceivable to suppress a change in transport height of the substrate carrier due to a change in the weight of the object to be transported by performing levitation control using an electromagnet. However, when the change in weight is large, it is necessary to change the output of the electromagnet to a large extent, which poses the problem of increased heat generation and power consumption.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such problems. The purpose is to suppress

The present invention is an in-line film forming apparatus that forms a film while transporting a substrate,
a substrate carrier that holds the substrate;
a magnetic force generating means for generating a magnetic force for magnetically levitating the substrate carrier;
position changing means for changing the vertical position of the magnetic force generating means;
characterized by comprising

The present invention relates to a film forming method for forming a film on a substrate through a mask while transporting a substrate carrier capable of holding a substrate and a mask while floating by a magnetic force generated by a magnetic force generating means, comprising:
a mask holding step of holding a mask on the substrate carrier;
After the mask holding step, a position changing step of changing the vertical position of the magnetic force generating means;
characterized by having

According to the present invention, in a film forming apparatus that forms a film while transporting a substrate carrier levitated by magnetic force, it is possible to suppress a change in transport height of the substrate carrier due to a change in weight.

A diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of a film forming apparatus. A diagram schematically showing a substrate carrier and a magnetic levitation transport system. FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing a cross section of a substrate carrier and a transfer device; A diagram schematically showing the control device of the transport system FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing the operation of the position moving means in the alignment process of the film forming apparatus; Diagram showing configuration of organic EL display device

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. However, the following embodiments exemplify preferred configurations of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to these configurations.

A film forming apparatus, a film forming method, and an electronic device manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. The film forming apparatus of this embodiment is an apparatus for forming a thin film by depositing a film forming material on the surface of a substrate through a mask. Examples of film forming methods include vacuum deposition and sputtering. By aligning the substrate and the mask and forming the film, a thin film having a pattern corresponding to the opening pattern of the mask is formed on the substrate. When a plurality of layers are formed on a substrate, the term "substrate" may be used to include the layers already formed by the previous step. The film forming apparatus according to this embodiment performs alignment for adjusting the relative positions of the substrate and the mask in order to form a thin film through the mask with high accuracy.

Examples of substrate materials include glass, semiconductors such as silicon, polymeric films, and metals. Examples of the substrate include a silicon wafer and a substrate in which a film such as polyimide is laminated on the substrate. Examples of film-forming materials include organic materials and inorganic materials (metals and metal oxides). As the mask, a metal mask having an opening pattern corresponding to the thin film pattern to be formed on the substrate can be exemplified. Electronic devices manufactured by the manufacturing method of the present embodiment include semiconductor devices, magnetic devices, various electronic devices such as electronic components, optical components, light emitting elements, photoelectric conversion elements, touch panels, display devices equipped with light emitting elements (e.g. organic EL display device), a lighting device (for example, an organic EL lighting device), a sensor provided with a photoelectric conversion element (for example, an organic CMOS image sensor), and the like. In particular, it is suitable for manufacturing organic light-emitting devices such as OLEDs and organic photoelectric conversion devices such as organic thin-film solar cells.

FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing the configuration of an electronic device manufacturing apparatus according to this embodiment. Here, an in-line type organic EL display manufacturing apparatus including a film forming apparatus will be described as an example. A film forming apparatus is a vacuum vapor deposition apparatus that vapor-deposits a film forming material onto a substrate using an evaporation source. Organic E
The manufacturing of L displays is carried out by loading a substrate of a predetermined size into a manufacturing apparatus, depositing an organic EL layer and a metal layer in a film forming apparatus, and then performing post-processing such as cutting the substrate. will be FIG. 1 does not show the configuration of the post-treatment process. Hereinafter, among the directions along the film formation surface of the substrate, the direction parallel to the transport direction is defined as the X direction, the Y direction perpendicular to the X direction, and the direction intersecting the film formation surface of the substrate is defined as the Z direction. In this embodiment, the XY plane is parallel to the horizontal plane, and the Z direction is parallel to the vertical direction. If the transport direction is not parallel to the horizontal direction, the X direction is not parallel to the horizontal direction and the Z direction is not parallel to the vertical direction.

The film forming apparatus 1 has a substrate loading chamber 401 , a carrier merging chamber 402 , a mask merging chamber 403 , an alignment chamber 404 and a film forming chamber 405 . A substrate 102 to be film-formed in the film forming apparatus 1 is loaded from the substrate loading chamber 401 , and the substrate carrier 101 holds the substrate 102 in the carrier merging chamber 402 . The substrate carrier 101 holds the substrate 102 using a clamping mechanism or suction rubber. The method for holding the substrate 102 is not limited to this example. Next, the substrate carrier 101 holding the substrate 102 merges with the mask 103 in the mask merging chamber 403 and is transported to the downstream alignment chamber 404 . Alignment of the substrate 102 and the mask 103 is performed in the alignment chamber 404 , and after the alignment is completed, the substrate 102 and the mask 103 are brought into close contact with each other and transported to the downstream film forming chamber 405 . In the film formation chamber 405 , a film formation process is performed on the film formation surface of the substrate 102 through the mask 103 using an evaporation source that heats and evaporates the film formation material. In the film forming chamber 405 , a thin film having a predetermined thickness is formed on the substrate 102 by passing the substrate carrier 101 over the evaporation source at a predetermined speed. After the film formation is completed, the substrate carrier 101 carried out from the film formation chamber 405 is separated from the mask 103 and the substrate 102 in the mask separation chamber and the substrate separation chamber, and the substrate 102 is transferred to the next film formation process. and the mask 103 are returned to the carrier merging chamber 402 and the mask merging chamber 403, respectively, and reused.

The in-line film forming apparatus 1 configured as described above is a magnetic levitation transport system that transports the substrate carrier 101 capable of holding the substrate 102 and the mask 103 in a non-contact manner by floating the substrate carrier 101 by means of magnetic force generated by the magnetic force generating means. have. A film is formed on the substrate 102 through the mask 103 in the film forming chamber 405 while the substrate 102 and the mask 103 are being transported by this transport system. The transport system of the film forming apparatus 1 of this embodiment will be described below.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the transport system 2. As shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram of the transport system 2 viewed in the Y direction. The transport system 2 is a magnetic levitation transport system using a moving magnet linear motor, a moving permanent magnet linear motor, or a moving magnetic field linear motor. The transport system 2 is composed of a plurality of transport devices 201 that function as stators for the substrate carrier 101 that is a mover. do. FIG. 2 shows, as an example, a transport system 2 comprising three transport devices 201c, 201a, and 201b in order from the upstream side of the transport route. 2(A) shows the transport device 201c, and FIGS. 2(B), 2(C), and 2(D) show different states of the substrate 01 in the transport device 201a and position changing means 208, which will be described later. 2(E) indicates the transport device 201b. The number of transport devices 201 constituting the transport system 2 is not limited to this example. Further, although FIG. 2 shows an example in which one substrate carrier 101 is transported by one transport device 201, it is also possible for one transport device 201 to transport a plurality of substrate carriers 101.

The transport system 2 transports the substrate 102 held by the substrate carrier 101 to the processing chamber where the substrate 102 is processed by transporting the substrate carrier 101 by the transport device 201 . The substrate carrier 101 has mask holding means for holding the mask 103 and can hold and transport the mask 103 .

The transport devices 201 a , 201 b , and 201 c are arranged side by side in the X direction, which is the transport direction of the substrate carrier 101 , and constitute a transport path for the substrate carrier 101 . In FIG. 2, the transfer device 201c corresponds to the mask merging chamber 403, the transfer device 201a corresponds to the alignment chamber 404, and the transfer device 201b corresponds to the film forming chamber 405. FIG. 2A, the substrate carrier 101 holds only the substrate 102 in the mask merging chamber 403, and the mask 103 is conveyed toward the downstream alignment chamber 404 through a separate conveying path. be. 2B, the substrate carrier 101 holds only the substrate 102 in the alignment chamber 404, and the substrate 102 and the mask 103 placed on a mask stand or the like are aligned. 2C and 2D, the substrate carrier 101 holds the substrate 102 and the mask 103 after alignment is completed, and the substrate 102 and the mask 103 are in close contact with each other. Since the substrate carrier 101 holds the mask 103, the weight of the transfer object held by the substrate carrier 101 increases, and the transfer height of the substrate carrier 101 is lower in FIG. 2(C) than in FIG. 2(B). there is In FIG. 2D, by changing the position in the Z direction of the permanent magnet 211 of the transfer device 201a by the position changing means 208, which will be described later, the transfer height of the substrate carrier 101 can be maintained even if the weight of the object to be transferred increases. It is designed to be the same as in FIG. 2(B). The transfer apparatus 201b in FIG. 2E holds the substrate 102 and the mask 103 that are in close contact with the substrate carrier 101 in the film formation chamber 405, and performs film formation on the substrate 102 through the mask 103. FIG.

FIG. 3A is a diagram showing the main parts of the substrate carrier 101 and the transfer device 201a. FIG. 3A is a diagram schematically showing a cross section of the substrate carrier 101 and the transport device 201a taken along a plane perpendicular to the transport direction. The +Y side (the left side in FIG. 3A) with respect to the center of the substrate carrier 101 in the Y direction is called the L side, and the -Y side (the right side in FIG. 3A) is called the R side.

The substrate carrier 101 has substrate holding means for holding the substrate 102 on the substrate carrier 101, and transports the substrate 102 with the substrate 102, which is an object to be transported, placed or mounted on the upper surface or the lower surface.

A plurality of permanent magnets 104 a and 104 b are attached to the L-side and R-side ends of the upper surface of the substrate carrier 101 at symmetrical positions with respect to the center of the substrate carrier 101 in the Y direction. In the following description, the permanent magnets 104a and 104b are simply referred to as the permanent magnet 104 when there is no need to distinguish between them. The permanent magnet 104 is configured by arranging a plurality of permanent magnets along the Y direction so that the polarities of the magnetic poles on the side facing the upper portion of the conveying device 201 are alternately different. Although the permanent magnet 104 is composed of two permanent magnets in FIG. 3A, the number is not limited as long as it is plural. Also, the direction in which the plurality of permanent magnets forming the permanent magnet 104 are arranged is not limited to the Y direction shown in FIG. In other words, the permanent magnet 104 is a magnet group composed of a plurality of permanent magnets arranged along a direction crossing the X direction (conveying direction) so that the polarities of the magnetic poles alternate. In FIG. 3A, the magnet groups are arranged in two rows along the X direction on each of the L side and the R side on the upper surface of the substrate carrier 101 .

Yokes 108 are provided on the L side and R side of the upper surface of the substrate carrier 101 , and the permanent magnets 104 are attached to the yokes 108 . The yoke 108 is made of a material with high magnetic permeability, such as iron.

At the R side and the L side of the upper part 2011a of the transfer device 201a, the magnets 104 are arranged at predetermined intervals along the X direction, which is the transfer direction of the substrate carrier 101, so as to face the permanent magnet 104 provided on the upper surface of the substrate carrier 101. A plurality of aligned coils 202 are attached. Each coil 202 is attached so that its central axis faces the Y direction. The coil 202 has a structure in which a wire is wound around a core, and the position of the coil 202 in this embodiment indicates the position of the core.

The current of the plurality of coils 202 is controlled in units of a set of a predetermined number of coils 202 . A set of a predetermined number of coils 202 that is a unit of current control is called a coil unit 203 . One or a plurality of coil units 203 may be housed in a coil box, and the coil box may be arranged on the upper portion 2011a of the carrier device 201 along the X direction.

When the coil 202 is energized, a magnetic force is generated between the coil 202 arranged on the transfer device 201a and the permanent magnet 104 arranged on the substrate carrier 101. This magnetic force controls the attitude of the substrate carrier 101 in the X direction. Propulsion is provided.

A linear scale 105, a Y target 106 and a Z target 107 are provided on the bottom surface of the substrate carrier 101 along the X direction. The Z targets 107 are attached to both sides (L side and R side) in the Y direction with the linear scale 105 and the Y target 106 interposed therebetween.

A plurality of linear encoders 204, a plurality of Y sensors 205, and a plurality of Z sensors 206 are provided in a lower portion 2012a of the conveying device 201a.

A plurality of linear encoders 204 are attached to the transport device 201a along the X direction so as to be able to face the linear scale 105 of the substrate carrier 101, respectively. Each linear encoder 204 can detect and output the position of the substrate carrier 101 relative to the linear encoder 204 by reading the linear scale 105 attached to the substrate carrier 101 .

A plurality of Y sensors 205 are attached to the transport device 201a along the X direction so as to be able to face the Y targets 106 of the substrate carrier 101, respectively. Each Y sensor 205 can detect and output the relative distance in the Y direction from the Y target 106 attached to the substrate carrier 101 .

A plurality of Z sensors 206 are attached to the transport device 201a in two rows along the X direction so as to be able to face the Z targets 107 of the substrate carrier 101, respectively. Each Z sensor 206 can detect and output the relative distance in the Z direction to the Z target 107 attached to the substrate carrier 101 .

A plurality of linear encoders 204 are attached to the conveying device 201a at such intervals that one of them can always measure the position of one substrate carrier 101 while the substrate carrier 101 is being conveyed. Also, the plurality of Y sensors 205 are attached to the transfer device 201a at such intervals that two of them can always measure the Y target 106 of one substrate carrier 101. FIG. In addition, the plurality of Z sensors 206 are attached to the transfer device 201a at such intervals that three of the two rows can always measure the Z target 107 of one substrate carrier 101 .

A plurality of permanent magnets 207, which are first magnets, are provided on the lower surface of the substrate carrier 101, and a plurality of permanent magnets 211, which are second magnets positioned below the first magnets, are provided on a lower portion 2012a of the transfer device 201a. ing. The arrangement direction of the plurality of permanent magnets 207 and the arrangement direction of the plurality of permanent magnets 211 are the same, and the permanent magnets 207 and 211 face each other in the Z direction. The substrate carrier 101 floats and is vertically supported by the repulsive force caused by the magnetic force generated between the permanent magnets 207 and 211 . A permanent magnet 211 provided in the conveying device 201a constitutes a magnetic force generating means. Note that the magnetic force generating means for generating the magnetic force for magnetically levitating the substrate carrier 101 may be an electromagnet instead of a permanent magnet.

As described above, in the portion (alignment chamber 404) provided with the transfer device 201a in the transfer path of the substrate carrier 101, the position (mask merging chamber 403) upstream of the transfer device 201a is provided with the transfer device 201c. , the case where the weight of the transfer object held by the substrate carrier 101 increases will be described as an example. For example, when the substrate carrier 101 changes from holding only the substrate 102 to holding the substrate 102 and the mask 103, the weight of the object to be transferred increases.

Since the magnetic force of the permanent magnets 207 and 211 that generate the repulsive force for floating the substrate carrier 101 is constant, the transport height of the substrate carrier 101 changes when the weight of the object to be transported held by the substrate carrier 101 changes. As a result, the distance between the coil unit 203 of the transfer device 201 and the permanent magnet 104 of the substrate carrier 101 changes, the attitude control of the substrate carrier 101 becomes unstable, and the position of the substrate carrier 101 may deviate from the target position. . A possible countermeasure for stabilizing the attitude control of the substrate carrier 101 is to increase the current applied to the coil 202 to increase the magnetic force generated between the coil 202 and the permanent magnet 104 . However, this method increases the amount of heat generated by the coil 202, causing temperature fluctuations in the vacuum vessel. Moreover, there is a problem that power consumption increases.

Therefore, in the film forming apparatus 1 of this embodiment, the position changing means 208 for changing the position in the vertical direction (Z direction) of the permanent magnet 211, which is a magnetic force generating means for generating a magnetic force for magnetically levitating the substrate carrier 101, is provided. , the position of the permanent magnet 211 in the vertical direction (Z direction) can be changed so that the permanent magnet 211, which is the second magnet, approaches the substrate carrier 101 when the weight of the object to be conveyed held by the substrate carrier 101 increases. It was configured. As a result, the distance in the Z direction between the permanent magnets 207 of the substrate carrier 101 and the permanent magnets 211 of the transfer device 201a is shortened. It is possible to support the substrate carrier 101 at the same transport height as before the weight of the object was increased. Therefore, without increasing the current applied to the coil 202, it is possible to suppress the change in the transport height of the substrate carrier 101 due to the change in the weight of the object to be transported held by the substrate carrier 101. FIG. Moreover, compared with the case where the control of the transfer height of the substrate carrier 101 is controlled by the current applied to the coil 202, there is also the advantage that the settling time until the transfer height matches the target value is short. Even when an electromagnet is used instead of a permanent magnet as the magnetic force generating means for generating the magnetic force for magnetically levitating the substrate carrier 101, by changing the position of the electromagnet in the Z direction by the position changing means 208, the current applied to the electromagnet can be changed. It is possible to suppress the change in the conveying height of the substrate carrier 101 without changing the .

In addition, the position changing means 208 of this embodiment suppresses changes in the transport height of the substrate carrier 101 not only when the weight of the object to be transported held by the substrate carrier 101 increases, but also when the weight decreases. can be done. Specifically, when the weight of the object to be transferred held by the substrate carrier 101 is reduced, the position of the permanent magnet 211 in the vertical direction (Z direction) can be changed so that the permanent magnet 211 moves away from the substrate carrier 101 . . As a result, the distance between the permanent magnets 207 of the substrate carrier 101 and the permanent magnets 211 of the conveying device 201a is increased, so that the repulsive force due to the magnetic force generated between the permanent magnets 207 and 211 is reduced. It is possible to support the substrate carrier 101 at the same transport height as it was before the weight was reduced.

The position changing means 208 is configured, for example, as follows. That is, a through-hole 213 penetrating through the lower part 2012a in the Z direction is provided in the area where the permanent magnet 211 is arranged in the lower part 2012a of the conveying device 201a, and the rod 212 is inserted through the through-hole 213 . A lower end of the rod 212 is connected to a drive source 214 such as a motor, and the rod 212 is driven forward and backward in the Z direction. As for the configuration in which the drive source 214 drives the rod 212 forward and backward, a known configuration such as one using gears or hydraulic pressure can be used. When the conveying device 201a is installed in a vacuum container, a bellows 210 covers the rod 212 to keep it airtight.

The upper end of rod 212 is connected to bracket 209 . The bracket 209 extends in the X direction so as to cover the area where the permanent magnets 211 are arranged in the lower part 2012a of the carrier 201a. The bracket 209 is configured to be able to contact and separate from the lower portion 2012a of the conveying device 201a. When the upper end of the rod 212 is at its lowest position in the Z direction, the bracket 209 is in contact with the lower portion 2012a of the conveying device 201a. . When the rod 212 is driven upward in the Z direction by the driving source 214 from this state, the bracket 209 connected to the rod 212 is separated from the lower portion 2012a of the conveying device 201a. Note that the relationship between the bracket 209 and the lower portion 2012a of the conveying device 201a is not limited to this example. It is sufficient that the position of the bracket 209 in the Z direction is variable with respect to the lower part 2012a of the conveying device 201a whose position in the Z direction is fixed.

A permanent magnet 211 located below the permanent magnet 207 of the substrate carrier 101 is attached to the upper surface of the bracket 209 . Therefore, when the position of the bracket 209 in the Z direction changes, the position of the permanent magnet 211, which is the second magnet, changes in the Z direction. The transfer device 201a is a stator for the substrate carrier 101, which is a mover, and the permanent magnet 211, which is a component of this stator, is movable in the Z direction by the position changing means 208 configured as described above. .

The variable range of the position of the bracket 209 in the Z direction, and therefore the movable range of the permanent magnet 211 in the Z direction, holds at least the lightest transfer object that the substrate carrier 101 can hold in the deposition apparatus 1. It can be determined based on the magnetic force of the permanent magnets 211 and 207, the weight of the object to be conveyed, and the like so that the substrate carrier 101 can be conveyed at a constant height between the state in which it is held and the state in which the heaviest object is held. can.

Note that FIG. 2 illustrates a configuration in which all of the plurality of permanent magnets 211 of the conveying device 201a are attached to one bracket 209, and one position changing means 208 changes the position of the bracket 209 in the Z direction. brackets and a plurality of position changing means are provided, the position of each bracket in the Z direction is changed by each position changing means, and a part of the plurality of permanent magnets 211 of the conveying device 201a is attached to each bracket. can be

In FIG. 3A, as a magnetic force generating means for generating a magnetic force to magnetically levitate the substrate carrier 101, the transfer device 201a is positioned below the permanent magnet 207 (first magnet) provided on the substrate carrier 101. Although the configuration having the permanent magnet 211 (second magnet) provided in the lower portion 2012a has been exemplified, the configuration of the magnetic force generating means is not limited to this example.

FIG. 3B shows an upper portion of the transfer device 201X positioned above a permanent magnet 207X (first magnet) provided on the substrate carrier 101X as a magnetic force generating means for generating a magnetic force for magnetically levitating the substrate carrier 101X. 2011X has a permanent magnet 211X (third magnet), and the substrate carrier 101X is vertically supported by the attractive force generated between the permanent magnet 207X and the permanent magnet 211X.

In this transfer device 201X, a coil 202X and a coil unit 203X are arranged in a lower portion 2012X, and a yoke 108X and permanent magnets 104Xa and 104Xb are provided on the lower surface of the substrate carrier 101X so as to face them. Magnetic force generated between the coil 202X and the permanent magnets 104Xa and 104Xb when a current is applied to the coil 202X controls the posture of the substrate carrier 101X and imparts a driving force in the horizontal direction (conveyance direction). Note that the configuration of the sensors described with reference to FIG. 3A is the same as that of the configuration of FIG. 3B, so description thereof will be omitted.

In the configuration of FIG. 3B, a position changing means 208X for changing the position in the Z direction of the permanent magnet 211X, which is the magnetic force generating means, is provided. The position changing means 208X has a bracket 209X to which a permanent magnet 211X is attached, a rod 212X whose lower end in the Z direction is connected to the bracket 209X, and a drive source 214X that drives the rod 212X forward and backward in the Z direction. The rod 212X is inserted through a Z-direction through-hole 213X provided in an upper portion 2011X of the transfer device 201X, and the circumference of the rod 212X is covered with a bellows 210X.

The position changing means 208X changes the position of the permanent magnet 211X in the Z direction so that the permanent magnet 211X, which is the magnetic force generating means, approaches the substrate carrier 101X when the weight of the transfer object held by the substrate carrier 101X increases. . As a result, the attractive force generated between the permanent magnet 211X and the permanent magnet 207X increases, and the substrate carrier 101X is lifted vertically upward, so that the transport height of the substrate carrier 101X is lowered due to the weight increase of the object to be transported. can be suppressed.

Further, when the weight of the object to be transferred held by the substrate carrier 101X is reduced, the position changing means 208X changes the position of the permanent magnet 211X in the Z direction so that the permanent magnet 211X, which is the magnetic force generating means, moves away from the substrate carrier 101X. change. As a result, the attractive force generated between the permanent magnet 211X and the permanent magnet 207X is reduced, and the force for pulling up the substrate carrier 101X vertically is weakened. You can prevent it from rising.

As a case where the weight of the transfer object held by the substrate carrier 101 increases, there is a case where the substrate 102 held by the substrate carrier 101 and the mask 103 are aligned and then the mask 103 is held by the substrate carrier 101. . Since the mask 103 is heavy, the weight of the substrate carrier 101 with and without the mask 103 is significantly different. In the film forming apparatus 1 of this embodiment, when the substrate carrier 101 holds the mask 103 and when the substrate carrier 101 does not hold the mask 103, the permanent magnet 211 of the transfer device 201a moves in the Z direction. Position changing means 208 operates to vary the position.

For example, the permanent magnet 211 of the transfer device 201a is distorted when alignment is performed while the substrate carrier 101 does not hold the mask 103 and when the substrate carrier 101 holds the mask 103 after alignment. The position changing means 208 operates to change the position in the Z direction. Specifically, when the substrate carrier 101 is holding the mask 103 after alignment is performed, the permanent magnet of the transfer device 201a is more likely than when alignment is performed (when the substrate carrier 101 does not hold the mask 103). Position changer 208 operates to move 211 closer to substrate carrier 101 . As a result, the transport height of the substrate carrier 101 can be kept constant between when the alignment is performed and when the substrate carrier 101 holds the mask 103 after the alignment is performed.

In the transport system 2 of the film forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the Z-direction position of the permanent magnet 211 of the transport device 201c in FIG. may be the same as the position in the Z direction of the permanent magnet 211 before changing . In addition, the position of the permanent magnet 211 in the Z direction after the position changer 208 changes the position in the conveying device 201a of FIG. You may make it the same as a position. By doing so, the transport height of the substrate carrier 101 can be made constant in all of the transport devices 201a, 201b, and 201c. As a result, the distance in the Z direction between the coils 202 provided on the upper portions 2011a, 2011b, and 2011c of each transfer device 201 and the permanent magnets 104 provided on the upper surface of the substrate carrier 101 can be kept constant. and the permanent magnet 104 can stabilize the attitude control and propulsion control of the substrate carrier 101 .

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing the control device of the transport system 2 of this embodiment. The control device 3 has an integrated controller 301 , a coil controller 302 , a sensor controller 304 and an elevation controller 305 and controls the transport system 2 including the substrate carrier 101 and the transport device 201 . Although FIG. 4 shows the control block of the transport device 201a, the control blocks of the other transport devices 201b and 201c are the same as the transport device 201a except that they do not have the position changing means 208. FIG. A coil controller 302 , a sensor controller 304 , and an elevation controller 305 are communicably connected to the integrated controller 301 . The elevation controller 305 controls the operation of the position changing means 208 of the transport device 201a.

A plurality of current controllers 303 are communicably connected to the coil controller 302 . A coil controller 302 and a plurality of current controllers 303 connected thereto are provided corresponding to each column of the coils 202 . A coil unit 203 is connected to each current controller 303 . The current controller 303 controls the current applied to each coil 202 of the connected coil units 203 .

The coil controller 302 commands a target current value to each connected current controller 303 . The current controller 303 controls the current applied to the connected coil 202 based on the target current value. The coil 202 and the current controller 303 are attached to both sides (L side and R side) in the Y direction of the upper portion 2011a of the transfer device 201a along the X direction along which the substrate carrier 101 is transferred.

A plurality of linear encoders 204 , a plurality of Y sensors 205 and a plurality of Z sensors 206 are communicably connected to the sensor controller 304 . The integrated controller 301 determines current values to be applied to the multiple coils 202 based on outputs from the linear encoder 204 , the Y sensor 205 and the Z sensor 206 and transmits them to the coil controller 302 . The coil controller 302 commands the current value to the current controller 303 based on the target current value acquired from the integrated controller 301 .

The integrated controller 301 determines a command value for the amount of movement of the rod 212 of the position changing means 208 in the Z direction and transmits it to the elevation controller 305 when the weight of the object to be transferred held by the substrate carrier 101 changes. The elevation controller 305 drives the rod 212 back and forth in the Z direction by controlling the operation of the driving source 214 of the position changing means 208 based on the command value of the movement amount. Thereby, the bracket 209 moves in the Z direction, and the position of the permanent magnet 211 in the Z direction is changed.

The integrated controller 301 controls the transfer height of the substrate carrier 101 before and after holding the mask 103 based on the weights of the mask 103, substrate 102 and substrate carrier 101, the magnetic flux densities of the permanent magnets 211 and 207, etc. The value calculated in advance can be used to determine the command value for the amount of movement to be sent to the elevation controller 305 . Pre-calculated values are stored in the nonvolatile memory 306 , and the integrated controller 301 can acquire the values from the memory 306 .

Further, the integrated controller 301 may determine the command value of the movement amount to be transmitted to the elevation controller 305 based on the value from the Z sensor 206 which is a detection means for detecting the vertical position of the substrate carrier 101 . For example, the amount of movement of the permanent magnet 211 by the position changing means 208 can be feedback-controlled so that the position of the substrate carrier 101 in the vertical direction becomes the target position.

In addition, the integrated controller 301 performs control for suppressing changes in the transport height of the substrate carrier 101 due to changes in the weight of the transport object held by the substrate carrier 101 together with the control of the position changing means 208 by the elevation controller 305 . Both the current control of the coil 202 by the coil controller 302 and the current control of the coil 202 may be performed together. Even in this case, the change in the conveying height of the substrate carrier 101 is partially compensated by the change in the magnetic force generated between the permanent magnets 211 and 207 due to the position control of the permanent magnets 211 by the position changing means 208. , the amount of change in the current applied to the coil 202 can be reduced, and an increase in heat generation and power consumption can be suppressed.

In addition, in the case where the film deposition apparatus 1 is configured to perform film deposition by switching between different types of masks 103, the change in the type of the mask 103 causes a change in the weight of the transport object held by the substrate carrier 101. do. In this case, the amount by which the substrate carrier 101 sinks from the state shown in FIG. 2B differs depending on the type of mask 103 in FIG. Therefore, in such a film forming apparatus 1, the integrated controller 301 may perform position control of the permanent magnet 211 by the position changing means 208 according to the type of the mask 103 used for film forming. For example, at the timing when a new mask 103 to be introduced into the mask path is taken out from the mask stocker (not shown) of the film forming apparatus 1, information on the type of the mask 103 is written in the memory 306, and the integrated controller 301 Information on the type of mask 103 currently in use may be obtained from the memory 306 . The method by which the integrated controller 301 acquires information about the mask 103 is not limited to this example. For example, an identification symbol may be provided on the mask 103, and the type of the mask 103 may be obtained by reading the identification symbol with a sensor, camera, or the like. can.

As described above, the integrated controller 301 performs transport control and attitude control of the substrate carrier 101 by the transport device 201a.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the alignment of the substrate 102 and the mask 103 performed in the alignment chamber 404 of the film forming apparatus 1 of this embodiment.

FIG. 5A is a diagram schematically showing alignment performed with the mask 103 placed on the mask table 215 provided in the lower part 2012a of the transport device 201a. In the alignment of FIG. 5A, the substrate 102 is held by the substrate carrier 101, and alignment is performed with the substrate 102 and the mask 103 separated in the Z direction. First, substrate marks 505, which are alignment marks provided on the substrate 102, and mask marks 506, which are alignment marks provided on the mask 103, are imaged by an alignment camera 501, which is imaging means. A relative positional relationship between the substrate 102 and the mask 103 is measured based on images of the substrate mark 505 and the mask mark 506 captured by the alignment camera 501 . Based on the measured relative positional relationship, at least one of the substrate 102 and the mask 103 is moved in the horizontal plane in the X direction, the Y direction, and the rotation direction around the Z axis by a horizontal movement mechanism (not shown). The substrate 102 and the mask 103 are aligned with high precision.

Note that the alignment method is not limited to this example. High-precision alignment can also be performed by performing rough alignment using a low-resolution alignment camera and fine alignment using a high-resolution alignment camera. When the depth of field of the rough alignment camera and the fine alignment camera are different, an elevating mechanism is provided to move the mask table 215 up and down in the Z direction so that the mask table 215 holds the mask 103 during rough alignment and fine alignment. The positions in the Z direction may be changed.

After the alignment is completed, the mask 103 is lifted toward the substrate carrier 101 by an elevating mechanism (not shown), and the mask 103 is held by the substrate carrier 101 using the clamp 109 which is the mask holding means of the substrate carrier 101 . In this state, the substrate mark 505 and the mask mark 506 are imaged again using the alignment camera 501, and it is confirmed whether there is any misalignment due to manipulation of the mask 103 after alignment. If misalignment occurs, alignment is performed again with the mask 103 placed on the mask table 215 . If there is no positional deviation, the substrate carrier 101 holding the mask 103 and the substrate 102 is transported to the downstream film formation chamber 405 by the transport device 201a.

FIG. 5B shows a state in which the substrate carrier 101 holds the mask 103 and the substrate 102 and the mask 103 are in close contact with each other. When the substrate carrier 101 holds the mask 103 , the weight of the transfer object held by the substrate carrier 101 increases by the amount of the mask 103 , so the transfer height of the substrate carrier 101 changes. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5B, substrate marks 505 and mask marks 506 may deviate from the imageable range determined by the upper limit of depth of field 502 and the lower limit of depth of field 503 of alignment camera 501. . Therefore, the substrate mark 505 and the mask mark 506 cannot be imaged for checking whether or not there is a positional deviation between the substrate 102 and the mask 103 after alignment, and as a result, the alignment accuracy is lowered. .

Therefore, in the transfer device 201a of the present embodiment, the position changing means 208 changes the position of the permanent magnet 211 in the Z direction so as to approach the substrate carrier 101, as shown in FIG. 5(C). As a result, the transport height of the substrate carrier 101 becomes the same as the transport height when the mask 103 is not held as shown in FIG. The substrate mark 505 and the mask mark 506 are included in the imageable range determined by and. Therefore, it is possible to properly image the substrate marks 505 and the mask marks 506 for checking whether or not there is any positional deviation between the substrate 102 and the mask 103 after alignment.

A method of forming an organic film on a substrate and manufacturing an electronic device using the film forming apparatus of the present embodiment will be described. Here, a method for manufacturing an organic EL element used for an organic EL display as an electronic device will be described as an example. Note that the electronic device is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be applied to the manufacture of thin film solar cells and organic CMOS image sensors. The method for manufacturing an electronic device according to the present embodiment has a step of forming an organic film on a substrate using the film forming apparatus according to the above embodiments. The method also includes a step of forming a metal film or a metal oxide film after forming an organic film on the substrate. The structure of the organic EL display device 600 using the organic EL elements manufactured by such steps will be described below.

FIG. 6A shows an overall view of the organic EL display device 600, and FIG. 6B shows a cross-sectional structure of one pixel of the organic EL display device 600. FIG. As shown in FIG. 6A, in a display region 61 of an organic EL display device 600, a plurality of pixels 62 each having a plurality of light emitting elements are arranged in a matrix. Each of the light emitting elements has a structure including an organic layer sandwiched between a pair of electrodes. Note that the pixel here refers to a minimum unit capable of displaying a desired color in the display area 61 . In the organic EL display device 600, pixels 62 are configured by combinations of first light emitting elements 62R, second light emitting elements 62G, and third light emitting elements 62B that emit light in different colors. The first light emitting element 62R, the second light emitting element 62G, and the third light emitting element 62B are respectively a red light emitting element, a green light emitting element, and a blue light emitting element. Note that the number of light emitting elements per pixel and the combination of emission colors are not limited to this example. For example, a combination of a yellow light emitting element, a cyan light emitting element, and a white light emitting element, or at least one or more colors may be used. Further, each light-emitting element may be configured by laminating a plurality of light-emitting layers.

A single pixel 62 can display a desired color by using a color filter in which the pixels 62 are composed of a plurality of light emitting elements that emit light of the same color and different color conversion elements are arranged so as to correspond to the respective light emitting elements. may be For example, a color filter may be used in which the pixel 62 is composed of three white light emitting elements and color conversion elements of red, green, and blue are arranged so as to correspond to the respective light emitting elements. Alternatively, the pixel 62 may be composed of three blue light-emitting elements, and a color filter may be used in which red, green, and colorless color conversion elements are arranged so as to correspond to the respective light-emitting elements. Note that the number of light emitting elements per pixel and the combination of emission colors are not limited to these examples. In the latter case, by using a quantum dot color filter (QD-CF) using a quantum dot (QD) material as a material constituting the color filter, an organic EL display device that does not use a quantum dot color filter. The display color gamut can be widened.

FIG. 6B is a schematic partial cross-sectional view taken along the line AB of FIG. 6A. The pixel 62 is an organic EL device in which a first electrode (anode) 64, a hole transport layer 65, a light emitting layer 66R, 66G, or 66B, an electron transport layer 67, and a second electrode (cathode) 68 are formed on the substrate 5. have elements. The hole-transporting layer 65, the light-emitting layers 66R, 66G, 66B, and the electron-transporting layer 67 are organic layers. The light-emitting layer 66R is an organic EL layer that emits red, the light-emitting layer 66G is an organic EL layer that emits green, and the light-emitting layer 66B is an organic EL layer that emits blue. When color filters or quantum dot color filters are used, the color filters or quantum dot color filters are arranged on the light emitting side of each light emitting layer, that is, on the upper or lower portion of FIG. 6B.

The light-emitting layers 66R, 66G, and 66B are organic EL elements that are light-emitting elements that emit red, green, and blue, respectively. The light emitting layers 66R, 66G, 66B are formed according to the pattern of the arrangement of the light emitting elements 62R, 62G, 62B. The first electrode 64 is formed for each light emitting element and separated from each other. The hole-transporting layer 65, the electron-transporting layer 67, and the second electrode 68 may be formed so as to be shared by the plurality of light-emitting elements 62R, 62G, and 62B, or may be formed separately for each light-emitting element. may An insulating layer 69 is provided between the first electrodes 64 to prevent short-circuiting between the first electrode 64 and the second electrode 68 due to foreign matter. Since the organic EL layer deteriorates due to moisture and oxygen, a protective layer P is provided to protect the organic EL element from moisture and oxygen.

A method for manufacturing an organic EL display device as an electronic device will be described.

First, a substrate 5 having a circuit (not shown) for driving the organic EL display device and a first electrode 64 formed thereon is prepared.

Next, a resin layer such as acrylic resin or polyimide is formed by spin coating on the substrate 5 on which the first electrode 64 is formed, and the resin layer is subjected to lithography to form an opening at the portion where the first electrode 64 is formed. An insulating layer 69 is formed by patterning as formed. This opening corresponds to a light emitting region where the light emitting element actually emits light.

Next, the substrate 5 on which the insulating layer 69 is patterned is carried into the first film forming apparatus, the substrate is held by the substrate holding unit, and the hole transport layer 65 is placed on the first electrode 64 in the display area. It is deposited as a common layer. The hole transport layer 65 is deposited by vacuum deposition. Since the hole transport layer 65 is actually formed to have a size larger than that of the display area 61, a high-definition mask is not required. Here, the film forming apparatus used in the film forming in this step and the film forming of each layer below is a film forming apparatus using the vapor deposition apparatus described in any of the above embodiments.

Next, the substrate 5 with the hole transport layer 65 formed thereon is carried into the second film forming apparatus and held by the substrate holding unit. The substrate 5 and the mask 6 are aligned, the substrate 5 is placed on the mask 6, and the red-emitting light-emitting layer 66R is formed on the portion of the substrate 5 where the red-emitting element is to be arranged. By using the film forming apparatus of Embodiment 2, the alignment of the mask 6 and the substrate 5 can be performed with high precision, and the mask 6 and the substrate 5 can be brought into close contact with each other. It can be carried out.

Similarly to the deposition of the light emitting layer 66R, a green light emitting layer 66G is deposited by the third deposition apparatus, and a blue light emitting layer 66B is deposited by the fourth deposition apparatus. After the formation of the light-emitting layers 66R, 66G, and 66B is completed, the electron transport layer 67 is formed over the entire display area 61 by the fifth film forming apparatus. Each of the light emitting layers 66R, 66G, and 66B may be a single layer, or may be a layer in which a plurality of different layers are laminated. The electron transport layer 67 is formed as a layer common to the three color light-emitting layers 66R, 66G, and 66B. In Embodiment 2, the electron transport layer 67 and the light emitting layers 66R, 66G and 66B are formed by vacuum deposition.

Subsequently, a second electrode 68 is deposited on the electron transport layer 67 . The second electrode may be formed by vacuum deposition or may be formed by sputtering. After that, the substrate 5 with the second electrode 68 formed thereon is moved to a sealing device, and a sealing step is performed to form a protective layer P by plasma CVD, whereby the organic EL display device 600 is completed. Although the protective layer P is formed by the CVD method here, it is not limited to this, and may be formed by the ALD method or the inkjet method.

After the substrate 5 on which the insulating layer 69 is patterned is carried into the film forming apparatus until the film formation of the protective layer P is completed, the substrate 5 is exposed to an atmosphere containing moisture and oxygen. and can be degraded by oxygen. In Embodiment 2, the loading and unloading of the substrate 5 between the film forming apparatuses is performed under a vacuum atmosphere or an inert gas atmosphere.

1: film forming apparatus, 101: substrate carrier, 102: substrate, 211: permanent magnet, 208: position changing means

Claims (18)

An in-line film forming apparatus that forms a film while transporting a substrate,
a substrate carrier that holds the substrate;
a magnetic force generating means for generating a magnetic force for magnetically levitating the substrate carrier;
position changing means for changing the vertical position of the magnetic force generating means;
A film forming apparatus comprising: the substrate carrier having mask holding means for holding a mask;
2. The film formation according to claim 1, wherein the position changing means changes the position of the magnetic force generating means when the substrate carrier holds the mask and when the substrate carrier does not hold the mask. Device. Alignment means for aligning the substrate held by the substrate carrier and the mask,
The position changing means changes the position of the magnetic force generating means when the alignment is performed while the substrate carrier does not hold the mask and when the substrate carrier holds the mask after the alignment. 3. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the positions are different. The alignment means has imaging means for imaging alignment marks provided on the substrate and the mask,
4. The film forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said position changing means changes the position of said magnetic force generating means so that the transport height of said substrate carrier falls within the depth of field of said imaging means. The position changing means moves the magnetic force generating means such that when the substrate carrier holds the mask, the magnetic force generating means approaches the substrate carrier more than when the substrate carrier does not hold the mask. 5. The film forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the position is changed. The position changing means is
changing the position of the magnetic force generating means so that the magnetic force generating means approaches the substrate carrier when the weight of the object to be conveyed held by the substrate carrier increases;
6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein when the weight of the object to be transferred held by the substrate carrier is reduced, the position of the magnetic force generating means is changed so that the magnetic force generating means moves away from the substrate carrier. deposition equipment. the substrate carrier is provided with a first magnet,
The magnetic force generating means has a second magnet positioned below the first magnet,
the substrate carrier is vertically supported by a repulsive force generated between the first magnet and the second magnet;
The film forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the position changing means changes the vertical position of the second magnet. the substrate carrier is provided with a first magnet,
The magnetic force generating means has a third magnet positioned above the first magnet,
the substrate carrier is vertically supported by an attractive force generated between the first magnet and the third magnet;
The film forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the position changing means changes the vertical position of the third magnet. a detection means for detecting the vertical position of the substrate carrier;
The film forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the position changing means changes the position of the magnetic force generating means based on the vertical position of the substrate carrier. The film deposition apparatus is capable of performing film deposition using different types of masks,
10. The film forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein said position changing means changes the position of said magnetic force generating means according to the type of mask used for film formation.
A film formation method in which a substrate carrier capable of holding a substrate and a mask is levitated by a magnetic force generated by a magnetic force generating means and transported while forming a film on the substrate through the mask, comprising:
a mask holding step of holding a mask on the substrate carrier;
After the mask holding step, a position changing step of changing the vertical position of the magnetic force generating means;
A film forming method, comprising: 12. The film forming method according to claim 11, further comprising an alignment step of aligning the substrate held by the substrate carrier and the mask before the mask holding step. A step of changing the position of the magnetic force generating means so that the transport height of the substrate carrier falls within the depth of field of imaging means for imaging alignment marks provided on the substrate and the mask. Item 13. The film forming method according to Item 12. changing the position of the magnetic force generating means so that, when the substrate carrier holds the mask, the magnetic force generating means is closer to the substrate carrier than when the substrate carrier does not hold the mask; The film forming method according to any one of claims 11 to 13. changing the position of the magnetic force generating means so that the magnetic force generating means approaches the substrate carrier when the weight of the object to be conveyed held by the substrate carrier increases;
changing the position of the magnetic force generating means so that the magnetic force generating means moves away from the substrate carrier when the weight of the object to be conveyed held by the substrate carrier is reduced;
The film forming method according to any one of claims 11 to 14. a detecting step of detecting a vertical position of the substrate carrier;
changing the position of the magnetic force generating means based on the vertical position of the substrate carrier;
The film forming method according to any one of claims 11 to 15. 17. The film forming method according to any one of claims 11 to 16, further comprising the step of changing the position of said magnetic force generating means according to the type of mask used for film forming. A method of manufacturing an electronic device, comprising the step of forming an organic film on a substrate by using the film forming method according to any one of claims 11 to 17.

Images