JP2024037209A - Film-forming equipment, driving method of film-forming equipment, and film-forming method - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a film formation apparatus capable of attracting a substrate to an attraction member in a stable state, a method for driving the film formation apparatus, and a film formation method. [Solution] The apparatus includes an electrostatic chuck 31 for attracting the surface of the substrate S opposite to the surface on which the substrate is to be film-formed, a substrate support member 41 for supporting the periphery of the substrate S at least before the substrate S is attracted to the electrostatic chuck 31, and a mask table 54 for supporting a mask M arranged on the film-formation side of the substrate S, and is characterized in that an attraction force for attracting the substrate S by the electrostatic chuck 31 is generated when the substrate S supported by the substrate support member 41 is in contact with the mask M supported by the mask table 54. [Selected Figure] Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to a film forming apparatus, a method for driving the film forming apparatus, and a film forming method.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a technique is known in which a film forming apparatus is provided with an adsorption member that adsorbs a surface of a substrate opposite to a surface on the film formation side.

JP2019-99910A

In recent years, substrates have become larger in size, and if the substrate is significantly bent before being adsorbed to the adsorption member, it may be difficult to properly adsorb the substrate to the adsorption member.

The film forming apparatus of the present invention includes:
an adsorption member that adsorbs the surface of the substrate opposite to the film formation side;
a substrate support member that supports the peripheral edge of the substrate at least before the substrate is attracted to the attraction member;
a mask support member that supports a mask disposed on the film formation side of the substrate;
Equipped with
The method is characterized in that when the substrate supported by the substrate support member is brought into contact with the mask supported by the mask support member, an adsorption force is generated to adsorb the substrate by the adsorption member.

As described above, according to the present invention, the substrate can be stably attracted to the attraction member.

A schematic configuration diagram of a film forming apparatus. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the main parts of the film forming apparatus. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the main parts of the film forming apparatus. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the main parts of the film forming apparatus. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of main parts of the film forming apparatus. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the main parts of the film forming apparatus. An explanatory diagram of an organic EL display device.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Below, with reference to drawings, the form for implementing this invention is illustratively described in detail based on an Example. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, etc. of the components described in this example are not intended to limit the scope of this invention to only those, unless otherwise specified. .

(Example)
A film forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. In addition, in these figures, in order to make it easier to understand the operation of each member, members that operate integrally are given the same type of hatching. In these figures, each member is shown in cross section, but since each member can be placed at different positions on the front and back sides of the paper, the hatching does not mean that It does not necessarily show a cross section.

<Configuration of film forming apparatus>
In particular, with reference to FIG. 1, the overall configuration of the film forming apparatus 1 will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the entire film forming apparatus. The film forming apparatus 1 includes a chamber 10 and a film forming source 20 provided within the chamber 10. The inside of the chamber 10 is configured to be maintainable in a vacuum atmosphere or an inert gas atmosphere. As the film-forming source 20, in addition to an evaporation source that evaporates or sublimates a film-forming material, a sputtering cathode for forming a film by sputtering, etc. can be used.

In the upper part of the chamber 10, there is a device for aligning the substrate S to be film-formed and a mask M arranged on the film-forming side of the substrate S in order to form a thin film of a desired pattern on the substrate S. It is equipped with various mechanisms. Note that in this embodiment, a configuration is shown in which the chamber 10 in which the film-forming source 20 is arranged is equipped with these various mechanisms, but a chamber and a film-forming source for aligning the substrate S and the mask M are provided. A configuration in which a chamber is provided separately may also be adopted. In this case, after the substrate S and the mask M are aligned in the alignment chamber, the substrate S and the mask M are transported to a chamber equipped with a film formation source, and a film is formed thereon.

Various mechanisms for aligning the substrate S and the mask M will be described below. A base member 11 and a support plate 12 for supporting various mechanisms are fixed to the ceiling of the chamber 10.

A first elevating mechanism (adsorbing member elevating section) 30 that vertically raises and lowers an electrostatic chuck 31 serving as an adsorbing member is attached to the base member 11 . The first elevating mechanism 30 includes a holding member 32 that holds the electrostatic chuck 31, a shaft member 33 for raising and lowering the holding member 32, and a drive source 34 for raising and lowering the shaft member 33. The holding member 32 includes an elevating plate 32a that is perpendicular to the vertical direction. As for the specific structure of the elevating mechanism, various known techniques such as a ball screw mechanism can be employed, so a detailed explanation thereof will be omitted. The electrostatic chuck 31 has an electrode 31a inside, and is configured to generate electrostatic adsorption force (adsorption force due to electrostatic force) by applying a voltage to the electrode 31a. Note that various known methods such as a Coulomb force type, a Johnson-Rahbek force type, and a gradient force type can be employed as a method for generating electrostatic adsorption force. The electrostatic chuck 31 attracts the surface of the substrate S opposite to the surface on the film formation side, and holds the substrate S.

The elevating plate 32a of the holding member 32 in the first elevating mechanism 30 is provided with a second elevating mechanism (substrate elevating section) 40 for elevating the substrate S in the vertical direction. The second elevating mechanism 40 includes a substrate support member 41 that supports the periphery of the film-forming side surface of the substrate S, a shaft member 42 that raises and lowers the substrate support member 41, and a drive source that raises and lowers the shaft member 42. 43. As for the specific structure of the elevating mechanism, various known techniques such as a ball screw mechanism can be employed, so a detailed explanation thereof will be omitted. When the elevating plate 32a is raised and lowered by the first elevating mechanism 30 while the second elevating mechanism 40 is not operated, the electrostatic chuck 31 and the substrate S are moved up and down integrally. On the other hand, by operating the second lifting mechanism 40, the substrate S can be moved up and down relative to the electrostatic chuck 31. As described above, the substrate support member 41 is provided with the second elevating mechanism 40 so as to be movable relative to the elevating plate 32a, whereas the electrostatic chuck 31 is movable relative to the elevating plate 32a. A first elevating mechanism 30 is provided so as to be fixed.

The film forming apparatus 1 also includes a mask adjustment mechanism 50 that adjusts the position of the mask M. This mask adjustment mechanism 50 includes a support 51 fixed to the ceiling of the chamber 10, a mask stand holder 52 provided at the lower end of the support 51, and a magnetism generating coil box 53 fixed to the support 51. It is equipped with A magnet 55 is provided at the periphery of a mask stand 54 serving as a mask support member that supports the mask M. The mask stand 54 is arranged so that the magnet 55 is arranged in the gap between the mask stand receiving part 52 and the magnetism generating coil box 53. Then, by controlling the magnetic field by the magnetism generating coil box 53, the horizontal position of the mask stand 54 is adjusted while it is floating in the air. That is, assuming that the directions perpendicular to the vertical direction and orthogonal to each other are the X and Y directions, and the direction of rotation around the vertical direction is the θ direction, by controlling the magnetic field by the magnetic field generating coil box 53, the mask The position of the stand 54 can be adjusted in the X, Y, and θ directions.

The mask adjustment mechanism 50 also has a third elevating mechanism that raises and lowers the mask M. This third elevating mechanism is attached to the support plate 12 fixed to the ceiling of the chamber 10, and includes a support member 56 for supporting the mask M, a shaft member 57 for elevating the support member 56, and a shaft member 57 for raising and lowering the support member 56. A driving source 58 for raising and lowering the member 57 is provided. As for the specific structure of the elevating mechanism, various known techniques such as a ball screw mechanism can be employed, so a detailed explanation thereof will be omitted. This mask elevating mechanism is used to receive the mask M transported into the chamber 10 and place the mask M on the mask stand 54. In FIG. 1, a state in which a mask M is placed on a mask stand 54 is shown.

Further, after the substrate S and the mask M are aligned, a magnetic attraction member 61 that magnetically attracts the substrate S and the mask M via the electrostatic chuck 31 is mounted on the base member 11 to vertically raise and lower the substrate S and the mask M. 4 lifting and lowering mechanisms 60 are attached. The fourth elevating mechanism 60 includes a holding member 62 that holds the magnetic attraction member 61 and a drive source 63 that moves the holding member 62 up and down. As for the specific structure of the elevating mechanism, various known techniques such as a ball screw mechanism can be employed, so a detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

The film forming apparatus 1 also includes a film forming source 20 and a control device 70 for controlling the operations of the various mechanisms described above. Since the control device for controlling various devices is a well-known technology, a detailed explanation will be omitted, but the control device 70 includes a processor such as a CPU, a storage device such as a semiconductor memory or a hard disk, and an input/output interface. .

<Driving method of film forming apparatus and film forming method>
In particular, with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6, a method for driving the film forming apparatus 1 and a method for forming a film will be described. 2 to 6 show a portion of FIG. 1 near the ceiling of the chamber 10 where various mechanisms are provided.

First, the mask M is transported into the chamber 10 and placed on the mask stand 54 by the third elevating mechanism. Then, the substrate S is transported into the chamber 10 and placed on the substrate support member 41 in the second elevating mechanism 40 . As a result, the periphery of the film-forming side surface of the substrate S is supported by the substrate support member 41 (substrate support step (see FIG. 2)). At this time, the substrate S is bent so that its center is curved vertically downward due to its own weight.

Next, the substrate S supported by the substrate support member 41 is raised by the second elevating mechanism 40, and the peripheral edge of the substrate S is brought into contact with the electrostatic chuck 31 (see FIG. 3). In this way, after the substrate S is supported by the substrate support member 41 located vertically below the electrostatic chuck 31, the electrostatic chuck 31 and the substrate S supported by the substrate support member 41 are configured to approach each other. ing. Thereafter, the electrostatic chuck 31 and the substrate S are lowered together by the first elevating mechanism 30, so that the substrate S approaches the mask M (see FIG. 4). Then, an alignment operation is performed to align the substrate S and the mask M.

Regarding the alignment operation for aligning the substrate S and the mask M, various known methods can be employed, but a typical example will be described here. Generally, in order to perform alignment, alignment marks (not shown) are provided on the substrate S and the mask M, respectively. Then, both marks are photographed by a camera C fixed to the chamber 10, and the amount of positional deviation between the two is determined. Then, the horizontal position of at least one of the substrate S and the mask M is adjusted so that these positional deviations are eliminated (usually, the amount of positional deviation falls within a threshold value). In addition, in order to achieve highly accurate alignment in a short time, it is common to perform rough alignment, which roughly aligns, and fine alignment, which aligns highly accurately. In rough alignment, a camera C with a low resolution but a wide field of view is used, and in fine alignment, a camera C with a narrow field of view but with a high resolution is used. Furthermore, as for the alignment marks mentioned above, separate marks are usually used for rough alignment and fine alignment.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, when the substrate S and the mask M are slightly apart, the control device 70 determines the amount of positional deviation between the substrate S and the mask M based on the photographic information obtained from the camera C. and perform rough alignment. That is, based on the amount of positional deviation, in the case of this embodiment, the mask adjustment mechanism 50 adjusts the mask stand 54 in the horizontal direction (X, Y, θ directions), so that the substrate S and the mask M Rough alignment is performed.

After rough alignment is performed, fine alignment is performed in the same order. Generally, fine alignment is repeated until the amount of positional deviation between the substrate S and the mask M falls within a threshold value.

After the above alignment is completed, the electrostatic chuck 31 and the substrate S are lowered together by the first elevating mechanism 30, so that the surface of the substrate S on the film formation side is in contact with the mask M. This brings the substrate S into a state where it is no longer bent (contact step (see FIG. 5)). In this state, by applying a voltage to the electrode 31a provided on the electrostatic chuck 31, the substrate S is attracted to the electrostatic chuck 31 by electrostatic attraction force. That is, the electrostatic chuck 31 attracts the surface of the substrate S on the opposite side to the surface on the film formation side (adsorption step). As described above, the substrate support member 41 supports the peripheral edge of the substrate at least before the substrate S is attracted to the electrostatic chuck 31. Further, when the substrate S supported by the substrate support member 41 is in contact with the mask M supported by the mask stand 54 serving as a mask support member, the adsorption force of the electrostatic chuck 31 to attract the substrate S is increased. arise.

After the substrate S is attracted to the electrostatic chuck 31, the magnetic attraction member 61 is lowered by the fourth elevating mechanism 60. Thereby, the mask M is attracted to the magnetic attraction member 61 via the substrate S and the electrostatic chuck 31. As a result, the substrate S and the mask M are fixed in contact with each other (see FIG. 6). Thereafter, a thin film having a desired pattern (openings) formed in the mask M is formed on the surface (film forming surface) of the substrate S by the film forming source 20 (film forming process).

In the above driving method, the electrostatic chuck 31 and the substrate S are lowered together by the first elevating mechanism 30, alignment is performed with the substrate S and the mask M approaching each other, and then the substrate S and the mask M are aligned. A case is shown in which the substrate S is attracted to the electrostatic chuck 31 by bringing the substrate S into contact with the electrostatic chuck 31. However, the electrostatic chuck 31 and the substrate S are lowered together by the first elevating mechanism 30, and the substrate S is attracted to the electrostatic chuck 31 while the substrate S is in contact with the mask M. Alignment may be performed after measuring the positional relationship of the mask M. In this case, when changing the relative position between the substrate S and the mask M during alignment, it is desirable to perform the alignment with the substrate S separated from the mask M.

<Method for manufacturing electronic devices>
Next, an example of a method for manufacturing an electronic device using the film forming apparatus of this embodiment will be described. Hereinafter, the configuration of an organic EL display device will be shown as an example of an electronic device, and a method for manufacturing the organic EL display device will be illustrated.

First, the organic EL display device to be manufactured will be explained. FIG. 9(a) shows an overall view of the organic EL display device 150, and FIG. 9(b) shows a cross-sectional structure of one pixel.

As shown in FIG. 9A, in the display area 151 of the organic EL display device 150, a plurality of pixels 152 each including a plurality of light emitting elements are arranged in a matrix. Although details will be explained later, each light emitting element has a structure including an organic layer sandwiched between a pair of electrodes. Note that the pixel herein refers to the smallest unit that can display a desired color in the display area 151. In the case of the organic EL display device according to this embodiment, a pixel 152 is configured by a combination of a first light emitting element 152R, a second light emitting element 152G, and a third light emitting element 152B that emit light different from each other. The pixel 152 is often composed of a combination of a red light emitting element, a green light emitting element, and a blue light emitting element, but it may also be a combination of a yellow light emitting element, a cyan light emitting element, and a white light emitting element. There are no restrictions.

FIG. 9(b) is a schematic partial cross-sectional view taken along line AB in FIG. 9(a). The pixel 152 is composed of a plurality of light emitting elements, and each light emitting element is provided with a first electrode (anode) 154, a hole transport layer 155, one of the light emitting layers 156R, 156G, and 156B, and an electron transport layer on a substrate 153. It has a layer 157 and a second electrode (cathode) 158. Among these, the hole transport layer 155, the light emitting layers 156R, 156G, and 156B, and the electron transport layer 157 correspond to organic layers. Further, in this embodiment, the light-emitting layer 156R is an organic EL layer that emits red, the light-emitting layer 156G is an organic EL layer that emits green, and the light-emitting layer 156B is an organic EL layer that emits blue. The light-emitting layers 156R, 156G, and 156B are formed in patterns corresponding to light-emitting elements (sometimes referred to as organic EL elements) that emit red, green, and blue, respectively. Further, the first electrode 154 is formed separately for each light emitting element. The hole transport layer 155, the electron transport layer 157, and the second electrode 158 may be formed in common for the plurality of light emitting elements 152R, 152G, and 152B, or may be formed for each light emitting element. Note that an insulating layer 159 is provided between the first electrodes 154 in order to prevent the first electrodes 154 and the second electrodes 158 from shorting due to foreign matter. Furthermore, since the organic EL layer is degraded by moisture and oxygen, a protective layer 140 is provided to protect the organic EL element from moisture and oxygen.

In FIG. 9B, the hole transport layer 155 and the electron transport layer 157 are shown as one layer, but depending on the structure of the organic EL display element, they may be formed as multiple layers including a hole blocking layer and an electron blocking layer. may be formed. Further, between the first electrode 154 and the hole transport layer 155, a positive hole having an energy band structure that allows holes to be smoothly injected from the first electrode 154 to the hole transport layer 155 is provided. A hole injection layer can also be formed. Similarly, an electron injection layer may also be formed between the second electrode 158 and the electron transport layer 157.

Next, an example of a method for manufacturing an organic EL display device will be specifically described.

First, a substrate 153 on which a circuit (not shown) for driving an organic EL display device and a first electrode 154 are formed is prepared.

An acrylic resin is formed by spin coating on the substrate 153 on which the first electrode 154 is formed,
An insulating layer 159 is formed by patterning the acrylic resin by lithography so that an opening is formed in the portion where the first electrode 154 is formed. This opening corresponds to the light emitting region where the light emitting element actually emits light.

The substrate 153 on which the insulating layer 159 has been patterned is carried into a first organic material film forming apparatus, the substrate is held by a substrate support stand and an electrostatic chuck, and the hole transport layer 155 is transferred to the first electrode 154 in the display area. Deposit as a common layer on top of. The hole transport layer 155 is formed by vacuum deposition. In reality, the hole transport layer 155 is formed to have a larger size than the display area 151, so a high-definition mask is not required.

Next, the substrate 153 on which up to the hole transport layer 155 has been formed is carried into a second organic material film forming apparatus and held by a substrate support stand and an electrostatic chuck. The substrate and the mask are aligned, the substrate is placed on the mask, and a light-emitting layer 156R that emits red light is formed on a portion of the substrate 153 where an element that emits red light is to be arranged.

Similarly to the formation of the light-emitting layer 156R, a light-emitting layer 156G that emits green light is formed by the third organic material film-forming device, and a light-emitting layer 156B that emits blue light is further formed by the fourth organic material film-forming device. . After the film formation of the light emitting layers 156R, 156G, and 156B is completed, the electron transport layer 157 is formed over the entire display area 151 using a fifth film forming apparatus. The electron transport layer 157 is formed as a layer common to the three color light emitting layers 156R, 156G, and 156B.

A second electrode 158 is formed by moving the substrate formed up to the electron transport layer 157 using a metal vapor deposition material film forming apparatus.

Thereafter, the film is moved to a plasma CVD apparatus and a protective layer 140 is formed, thereby completing the organic EL display device 150.

If the substrate 153 on which the insulating layer 159 has been patterned is exposed to an atmosphere containing moisture or oxygen from the time the substrate 153 on which the insulating layer 159 has been patterned is carried into the film forming apparatus until the film forming of the protective layer 140 is completed, the light emitting layer made of the organic EL material may There is a risk of deterioration due to moisture and oxygen. Therefore, in this embodiment, substrates are carried in and out between film forming apparatuses under a vacuum atmosphere or an inert gas atmosphere.

<Excellent points of the film forming apparatus according to this example>
According to the film forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, by bringing the substrate S into contact with the mask M, it is possible to suppress the deflection of the substrate S before the substrate S is attracted to the electrostatic chuck 31. . Thereby, the substrate S can be stably attracted to the electrostatic chuck 31. That is, it is possible to prevent the substrate S from being attracted to the electrostatic chuck 31 in a wavy or partially deformed state.

1: Film forming apparatus 10: Chamber 11: Base member 12: Support plate 20: Film forming source 30: First elevating mechanism 31: Electrostatic chuck 31a: Electrode 32: Holding member 32a: Elevating plate 33: Shaft member 34: Drive source 40: Second elevating mechanism 41: Substrate support member 42: Shaft member 43: Drive source 50: Mask adjustment mechanism 51: Support section 52: Mask stand receiving section 53: Magnetism generation coil box 54: Mask stand 55: Magnet 56: Support member 57: Shaft member 58: Drive source 60: Fourth lifting mechanism 61: Magnetic attraction member 62: Holding member 63: Drive source 70: Control device C: Camera M: Mask S: Substrate

Claims (11)

an adsorption member that adsorbs the surface of the substrate opposite to the film formation side;
a substrate support member that supports the peripheral edge of the substrate at least before the substrate is attracted to the attraction member;
a mask support member that supports a mask disposed on the film formation side of the substrate;
Equipped with
The structure is characterized in that when the substrate supported by the substrate support member is in contact with the mask supported by the mask support member, an adsorption force for adsorbing the substrate by the adsorption member is generated. Membrane device. The film forming method according to claim 1, wherein the adsorption member has an electrode therein, and is configured to generate an adsorption force due to electrostatic force when a voltage is applied to the electrode. Device. After the substrate is supported by the substrate support member located vertically below the suction member, the suction member and the substrate supported by the substrate support member are configured to approach each other. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1. 4. The film forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein after the suction member and the substrate approach each other, the suction member and the substrate are lowered together so that the substrate and the mask come into contact with each other. an adsorption member elevating section that raises and lowers the adsorption member;
a substrate lifting section that lifts and lowers the substrate support member;
Equipped with
2. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the adsorption member elevating section and the substrate elevating section are provided on a common elevating plate. 6. The film forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the substrate support member is provided with the substrate elevating section so as to be movable up and down with respect to the elevating plate. 6. The film forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the suction member elevating section is provided so that the suction member is fixed to the elevating plate. 2. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate and the mask are aligned before the substrate and the mask come into contact with each other. The film forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising a film forming source that forms a thin film on the substrate adsorbed by the adsorbing member. a substrate supporting step of supporting the periphery of the substrate with a substrate supporting member;
a contacting step of bringing a film-forming side surface of the substrate supported by the substrate support member into contact with a mask;
After the contact step, with the substrate in contact with the mask, an adsorption member generates an adsorption force that adsorbs the substrate, so that the adsorption member is attached to the surface of the substrate opposite to the film-forming side. A method for driving a film forming apparatus, comprising: an adsorption step of adsorbing a surface of the film. A film forming method, comprising a film forming step of forming a film through the mask on the substrate that has been adsorbed by the adsorbing member by the driving method according to claim 10.

Images