JP2024054768A - Film deposition apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To suppress a deformation of a vacuum chamber in a long term in a film deposition apparatus including a vacuum chamber with an internal evacuation ability.SOLUTION: A film deposition apparatus has a vacuum chamber inside of which can be evacuated and deposits a film on a substrate arranged in the vacuum chamber in a state of an evacuated vacuum chamber. The vacuum chamber has a reinforcement rib detachably attached on an internal wall surface.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a film forming apparatus equipped with a vacuum chamber capable of reducing the pressure inside.

Organic EL elements are manufactured by a method in which a substrate is carried into a vacuum chamber and an organic film of a predetermined pattern is formed on the substrate. The film-forming device that forms a film on the substrate is equipped with a vacuum chamber capable of reducing the pressure inside, and an alignment mechanism, a deposition device, and the like that are provided with the vacuum chamber. As the size of the substrate handled by the film-forming device increases, the vacuum chamber of the film-forming device is also increased in size, and the area of the bottom plate, top plate, and side plate of the vacuum chamber increases, so that these plate materials are easily deformed by atmospheric pressure when the vacuum chamber is depressurized. In response to this, ribs, which are structural reinforcement materials, are provided on the outer wall surface of the vacuum chamber to suppress deformation of the vacuum chamber body when the vacuum chamber is depressurized. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a film-forming device in which reinforcing ribs are provided on the outer wall surface of the bottom of the vacuum chamber. Patent Document 2 also describes a configuration in which reinforcing ribs are fixed to the outer wall surface of the side of the vacuum chamber by bolting.

JP 2020-147830 A JP 2004-089872 A

In the above prior art, reinforcing ribs are provided on the outer wall surface of the vacuum chamber, but since an alignment mechanism and a deposition device are installed inside the vacuum chamber, it is desirable to provide reinforcing ribs on the inner wall surface of the vacuum chamber in order to reduce the impact of deformation of the vacuum chamber on the film formation accuracy. When providing reinforcing ribs on the inner wall surface of the vacuum chamber, it is considered that the size of the reinforcing ribs that can be installed will be limited due to the need to avoid various devices installed inside the vacuum chamber. In this case, it is necessary to configure the reinforcing ribs using parts that are smaller in size than the reinforcing ribs installed on the outer wall surface of the vacuum chamber. Even if reinforcing ribs are provided, the vacuum chamber undergoes some deformation during the process of reducing the pressure inside the vacuum chamber and returning from a reduced pressure state to atmospheric pressure, so in the case of reinforcing ribs made of small parts, the reinforcing ribs themselves may be damaged due to insufficient strength. In that case, the configuration in which the reinforcing ribs suppress the deformation of the vacuum chamber cannot be maintained for a long period of time.

The present invention was made in consideration of these problems, and aims to suppress deformation of a vacuum chamber over a long period of time in a film forming apparatus equipped with a vacuum chamber capable of reducing the pressure inside.

The present invention provides a film formation apparatus having a vacuum chamber capable of reducing the pressure inside the vacuum chamber, and forming a film on a substrate accommodated in the vacuum chamber while the vacuum chamber is in a reduced pressure state,
The vacuum chamber is characterized in that a reinforcing rib is detachably attached to an inner wall surface thereof.

According to the present invention, in a film forming apparatus having a vacuum chamber capable of reducing the pressure inside, it is possible to suppress deformation of the vacuum chamber for a long period of time.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an overall configuration of a film forming apparatus; A diagram showing reinforcing ribs attached to the inner wall surface of a vacuum chamber. A diagram showing reinforcing ribs attached to the inner wall surface of a vacuum chamber. Diagram showing the installation position of the reinforcing ribs inside the vacuum chamber FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an organic EL display device.

The following describes in detail the embodiments of the present invention. However, the following embodiments merely exemplify preferred configurations of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to these configurations. Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, the hardware and software configurations, processing flow, manufacturing conditions, dimensions, materials, shapes, etc. of the device in the following description are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention to only those.

A film forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. The film forming apparatus of this embodiment is an apparatus that deposits a film forming material on the surface of a substrate through a mask to form a thin film. Examples of film forming methods include vacuum deposition and sputtering. By aligning the substrate and the mask and performing film formation, a thin film is formed on the substrate in a pattern that corresponds to the opening pattern of the mask. When multiple layers are formed on a substrate, the "substrate" may also include layers that have already been formed in the previous process. The film forming apparatus according to this embodiment performs alignment to adjust the relative positions of the substrate and the mask in order to perform thin film formation through the mask with high precision.

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

In the following, the direction along the film-forming surface of the substrate that is parallel to the transport direction is referred to as the X direction, the Y direction perpendicular to the X direction, the direction that intersects with the film-forming surface of the substrate is referred to as the Z direction, and the rotation around the Z axis is referred to as the θ direction. In this embodiment, the XY plane is parallel to the horizontal plane, and the Z direction is parallel to the vertical direction. Note that 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.

<Film forming equipment>
1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a film forming apparatus 1. The film forming apparatus 1 forms a film on a film forming surface of a substrate 102 through a mask 103. In the film forming apparatus 1, a series of film forming processes are performed, such as transferring the substrate 102 and the mask 103 to a transport device that transports the substrate 102 and the mask 103 from the outside to the film forming apparatus 1, adjusting (aligning) the relative positions of the substrate 102 and the mask 103, fixing the mask 103 and the substrate 102, and forming a film. The present invention is also applicable to an in-line type film forming apparatus having a film forming chamber having a similar configuration to the film forming apparatus 1 of Example 1 as part of its configuration.

The film forming apparatus 1 has a vacuum chamber 200. The inside of the vacuum chamber 200 is maintained in a vacuum atmosphere or an inert gas atmosphere such as nitrogen gas. Inside the vacuum chamber 200, a substrate support unit 210, a mask 103, a mask table 215, a cooling plate 230, and an evaporation source 240 are provided.

The substrate support unit 210 is a substrate support means for supporting the substrate 102 received from a transport device, which will be described later. The mask 103 has an aperture pattern corresponding to the thin film to be formed on the deposition surface of the substrate 102. For example, a metal mask having a highly rigid frame and a metal foil with an aperture pattern stretched over it is used as the mask 103. The mask stage 215, which has a frame-like structure, is a mask support means on which the mask 103 is placed. In this embodiment, after the substrate 102 and the mask 103 are aligned, the substrate 102 is placed on the mask 103 and deposition is performed.

The cooling plate 230 is a plate-like member that contacts the surface of the substrate 102 opposite to the surface that contacts the mask 103 during film formation, and suppresses the temperature rise of the substrate 102 during film formation. The cooling plate 230 cools the substrate 102, thereby suppressing the alteration and deterioration of the organic material. The cooling plate 230 can also cool the mask 103 that contacts the substrate 102 via the substrate 102. The cooling plate 230 may also serve as a magnet plate to increase the adhesion between the substrate 102 and the mask 103 during film formation by attracting the mask 103 with a magnetic force. Note that the substrate support unit 210 may hold both the substrate 102 and the mask 103 to increase the adhesion between the substrate 102 and the mask 103.

The evaporation source 240 is composed of a crucible, which is a container for accommodating the evaporation material, a heater for heating the crucible, an openable/closable shutter for controlling the scattering of the evaporation material, an evaporation rate monitor, and the like. The film forming apparatus 1 may be equipped with a driving mechanism for moving the evaporation source 240. The film thickness on the substrate 102 can be made uniform by performing film formation while moving the evaporation source 240 by the operation of the driving mechanism. The driving mechanism may be configured to retract the evaporation source 240 to a predetermined position (home position) except during film formation, and to move the evaporation source 240 when film formation is started. Since the film forming apparatus 1 of this embodiment is an evaporation apparatus, an evaporation source 240 that heats and evaporates the film formation material (evaporation material) is used as the evaporation source. However, the evaporation source is not limited to the evaporation source 240, and may be, for example, a sputtering apparatus using a sputtering target. The evaporation source 240 is a film forming means that forms a film on the substrate 102 through the mask 103 after the substrate 102 and the mask 103 are in close contact with each other.

A substrate Z actuator 250, a clamp Z actuator 251, and a cooling plate Z actuator 252 are provided on the upper outside of the vacuum chamber 200. Each actuator is composed of, for example, a motor and a ball screw, or a motor and a linear guide. An alignment stage 280 is also provided on the upper outside of the vacuum chamber 200.

The substrate Z actuator 250 is a driving means for raising and lowering the entire substrate support unit 210 in the Z direction. The clamp Z actuator 251 is a driving means for opening and closing the clamping mechanism of the substrate support unit 210. The cooling plate Z actuator 252 is a driving means for raising and lowering the cooling plate 230.

The alignment stage 280 moves the substrate 102 in the XY directions and rotates it in the θ direction to change the position relative to the mask 103. The alignment stage 280 is an alignment means that performs an alignment process, which is to align the substrate 102 and the mask 103. The alignment stage 280 includes a chamber fixing part 281 that is connected and fixed to the vacuum chamber 200, an actuator part 282 for performing XYθ movement, and a connection part 283 that is connected to the substrate support unit 210. The alignment stage 280 and the substrate support unit 210 may be considered as a combination of the alignment means.

The actuator section 282 may be an actuator in which an X actuator, a Y actuator, and a θ actuator are stacked. Alternatively, a UVW type actuator in which multiple actuators work together may be used. Regardless of the type of actuator section 282, it is driven according to a control signal transmitted from the control device 3 described below, and moves the substrate 102 in the X and Y directions and rotates it in the θ direction. The control signal indicates the amount of operation of each XYθ actuator in the case of a stacked type actuator, and indicates the amount of operation of each UVW actuator in the case of a UVW type actuator.

The alignment stage 280 moves the substrate support unit 210 in the XYθ directions. Note that, although this embodiment is configured to adjust the position of the substrate 102, it is sufficient if the relative positional relationship between the substrate 102 and the mask 103 in the XY plane can be adjusted. Therefore, it may be configured to adjust the position of the mask 103, or to adjust the positions of both the substrate 102 and the mask 103.

The alignment stage 280 transmits a driving force to the substrate support unit 210 holding the substrate 102, thereby finely adjusting the relative position of the substrate 102 with respect to the mask 103. In the Z-direction movement of the substrate 102, the substrate Z actuator 250 is driven to move the substrate support unit 210 and raise and lower the substrate 102. This brings the substrate 102 and the mask 103 closer to or farther apart. Since the substrate 102 can be further lowered to bring the substrate 102 and the mask 103 into close contact with each other, the substrate Z actuator 250 is a contact means for performing the contact process between the substrate 102 and the mask 103. In the XYθ movement of the substrate 102, the alignment stage 280 translates the substrate 102 in the XY direction or rotates the substrate 102 in the θ direction. During alignment, the substrate 102 moves within the XY plane in which the substrate 102 is arranged, and the XY plane is approximately parallel to the plane in which the mask 103 is arranged. In other words, when the substrate 102 moves in the XYθ direction, the distance between the substrate 102 and the mask 103 in the Z direction does not change, but the position of the substrate 102 changes in the XY plane. This causes the substrate 102 and the mask 103 to be aligned in the XY plane.

<Reinforcing rib>
The vacuum chamber 200 of the film forming apparatus 1 can be depressurized, and a film is formed on the substrate 102 accommodated in the vacuum chamber 200 with the vacuum chamber 200 depressurized. A vacuum pump such as a cryopump or turbomolecular pump is connected to the vacuum chamber 200, and the pressure can be reduced to, for example, a pressure range of 10 ⁻³ Pa or less. In addition, the vacuum chamber 200 can be opened to the atmosphere for adjustment or replacement of the device accommodated inside the vacuum chamber 200, and in that case, the internal pressure of the vacuum chamber 200 becomes equal to atmospheric pressure. In a state where the vacuum chamber 200 is depressurized, the walls constituting the ceiling surface, bottom surface, and side surface of the vacuum chamber 200 are pressed by the atmospheric pressure and deformed. If the walls of the vacuum chamber 200 are significantly deformed, the walls may be damaged, or the alignment accuracy of the alignment mechanism installed in the internal space of the vacuum chamber 200 may be reduced. Therefore, in the film forming apparatus 1 of Example 1, reinforcing ribs are removably attached to the inner wall surface of the vacuum chamber 200 to increase the rigidity of the wall of the vacuum chamber 200 and suppress deformation of the wall under reduced pressure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a state where a reinforcing rib 40 is attached to the inner wall surface of the vacuum chamber 200 of the first embodiment. FIG. 2 shows the internal space of the vacuum chamber 200. The vacuum chamber 200 has a first chamber wall 10 and a second chamber wall 20. A corner 30 of the internal space of the vacuum chamber 200 is formed along an intersection line 31 between the inner wall surface 11 of the first chamber wall 10 and the inner wall surface 21 of the second chamber wall 20. The reinforcing rib 40 is provided at the corner 30. In the first embodiment, the reinforcing rib 40 has a length along the intersection line 31 that is shorter than the length of the intersection line 31 between the inner wall surface 11 of the first chamber wall 10 and the inner wall surface 21 of the second chamber wall 20, and a plurality of reinforcing ribs 40 are provided along the intersection line 31.

Each reinforcing rib 40 has a first portion 51 attached to the first chamber wall 10 and a second portion 52 attached to the second chamber wall 20, separated by an intersection line 31, and further has a third portion 53 connecting the first portion 51 and the second portion 52.

The first portion 51 and the second portion 52 of the reinforcing rib 40 are attached to the first chamber wall 10 and the second chamber wall 20 by the bolts 60, respectively. Since the reinforcing rib 40 is attached to the first chamber wall 10 and the second chamber wall 20 by the bolts 60, the reinforcing rib 40 can be removed from the first chamber wall 10 and the second chamber wall 20 by removing the bolts 60. In other words, the reinforcing rib 40 is detachably attached to the first chamber wall 10 and the second chamber wall 20. Note that the method of attaching the reinforcing rib 40 is not limited to the method using the bolts 60, as long as it can be detachably attached to the inner wall surfaces 11 and 21 of the first chamber wall 10 and the second chamber wall 20.

The third portion 53 of the reinforcing rib 40 extends along the intersection line 31 and is spaced apart from the intersection line 31. In the first embodiment, the third portion 53 has a rectangular shape with the corners cut off at an angle in a cross section perpendicular to the intersection line 31.

The first chamber wall 10 and the second chamber wall 20 are joined by welding along the intersection line 31. Therefore, the weld between the first chamber wall 10 and the second chamber wall 20 has an irregular raised shape along the intersection line 31. The third portion 53 of the reinforcing rib 40 has a shape in which corners that may interfere with the weld are removed, so that the third portion 53 of the reinforcing rib 40 is separated from the intersection line 31. This allows the reinforcing rib 40 to be attached to the corner portion 30 without interfering with the weld.

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing the reinforcing rib 40 when viewed through the second chamber wall 20 from below the second chamber wall 20 in Figure 2. For simplicity, only one reinforcing rib 40 is shown in Figure 3.

The surface 511 of the first portion 51 of the reinforcing rib 40 that contacts the inner wall surface 11 of the first chamber wall 10 rises from the inner wall surface 11 of the first chamber wall 10 by a curved surface 513 at the end of the first portion 51 and connects to a surface 512 perpendicular to the inner wall surface 11. The surface 521 of the second portion 52 of the reinforcing rib 40 that contacts the inner wall surface 21 of the second chamber wall 20 rises from the inner wall surface 21 of the second chamber wall 20 by a curved surface 523 at the end of the second portion 52 and connects to a surface 522 perpendicular to the inner wall surface 21. That is, the tips of the first portion 51 and the second portion 52 of the reinforcing rib 40 are rounded and rounded. This prevents the tip ends of the first portion 51 and the second portion 52 from rubbing against the inner wall surface 11 of the first chamber wall 10 and the inner wall surface 21 of the second chamber wall 20, respectively, when the first chamber wall 10 and the second chamber wall 20 are deformed due to a change in the internal pressure of the vacuum chamber 200, thereby preventing the generation of fine particle-like foreign matter (particles).

In the first embodiment, the first chamber wall 10 and the second chamber wall 20 described in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 may constitute any wall portion of the vacuum chamber 200. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, when the internal space of the vacuum chamber 200 has a first chamber 71 and a second chamber 72 located adjacent to the first chamber 71, the first chamber wall 10 may constitute a partition wall 84 between the first chamber 71 and the second chamber 72, and the second chamber wall 20 may constitute a side surface 80 of the vacuum chamber 200. Also, the first chamber wall 10 may constitute a ceiling surface 81 of the vacuum chamber 200, and the second chamber wall 20 may constitute a side surface 80 of the vacuum chamber 200. In this case, the reinforcing rib 40 is provided at a corner portion 30 formed by an intersection line 31 between the ceiling surface 81 and the side surface 80. Also, the first chamber wall 10 may constitute a bottom surface 82 of the vacuum chamber 200, and the second chamber wall 20 may constitute a side surface 80 of the vacuum chamber 200.
In this case, the reinforcing rib 40 is provided at the corner 30 formed by the intersection line 31 between the bottom surface 82 and the side surface 80. Also, the first chamber wall 10 may form a side surface 80 of the vacuum chamber 200, and the second chamber wall 20 may form another side surface 80 of the vacuum chamber 200. In this case, the reinforcing rib 40 is provided at the corner 30 formed by the intersection line 31 of the two side surfaces 80 connected to each other.

The reinforcing ribs 40 provided at the corners between the side surface 80 and the ceiling surface 81, the reinforcing ribs 40 provided at the corners between the side surface 80 and the bottom surface 82, the reinforcing ribs 40 provided at the corners between the side surface 80 and the partition wall 84, and the reinforcing ribs 40 provided at the corners between the side surfaces 80 and 80 may be arbitrarily combined and provided in the vacuum chamber 200. FIG. 4 shows an example in which the first chamber 71 and the second chamber 72 are adjacent in the vertical direction, but the first chamber wall 10 may form a partition between the first chamber and the second chamber adjacent in the left-right direction (horizontal direction). The vacuum chamber 200 having the first chamber 71 and the second chamber 72 adjacent in the vertical direction can also be implemented as a load lock chamber.

According to the film forming apparatus 1 of the first embodiment, since the reinforcing rib 40 is provided on the inner wall surface of the vacuum chamber 200, deformation of the wall of the vacuum chamber 200 due to pressure changes can be suppressed. In particular, various devices such as an alignment mechanism and a deposition device installed in the internal space of the vacuum chamber 200 can operate with high precision by suppressing deformation of the internal space of the vacuum chamber 200. Since the reinforcing rib 40 is composed of small-sized parts as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, even if the reinforcing rib 40 is provided on the inner wall surface of the vacuum chamber 200, it can be installed without interfering with various devices in the vacuum chamber 200. Even if the reinforcing rib 40 is provided, the vacuum chamber 200 undergoes some deformation during the process of depressurizing the inside of the vacuum chamber 200 or returning from the depressurized state to the atmospheric pressure state. Therefore, when the reinforcing rib 40 is composed of small-sized parts like the reinforcing rib 40 of the first embodiment, the reinforcing rib 40 itself attached to the deformed inner wall may be damaged due to insufficient strength. Even in such a case, since the reinforcing rib 40 of the first embodiment is detachably attached to the inner wall surface of the vacuum chamber 200 by the bolt 60, it can be easily replaced even if it is damaged. Therefore, the reinforcing rib 40 can maintain the configuration that suppresses deformation of the vacuum chamber 200 for a long period of time.

<Method of Manufacturing Electronic Device>
A method for manufacturing an electronic device by forming an organic film on a substrate using the film forming apparatus of this embodiment will be described. Here, a method for manufacturing an organic EL element used in 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 also be applied to the manufacture of a thin-film solar cell or an organic CMOS image sensor. The method for manufacturing an electronic device of this embodiment includes a process for forming an organic film on a substrate using the film forming apparatus of the above embodiment. Also, after forming the organic film on the substrate, a process for forming a metal film or a metal oxide film is included. The structure of an organic EL display device 600 using an organic EL element manufactured by such a process will be described below.

FIG. 5A is a general view of an organic EL display device 600, and FIG. 5B shows a cross-sectional structure of one pixel of the organic EL display device 600. As shown in FIG. 5A, a plurality of pixels 62 each including a plurality of light-emitting elements are arranged in a matrix in a display area 61 of the organic EL display device 600. 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 the smallest unit capable of displaying a desired color in the display area 61. In the organic EL display device 600, the pixel 62 is configured by a combination of a first light-emitting element 62R, a second light-emitting element 62G, and a third light-emitting element 62B that emit light of different colors. The first light-emitting element 62R, the second light-emitting element 62G, and the third light-emitting element 62B are a red light-emitting element, a green light-emitting element, and a blue light-emitting element, respectively. Note that the number of light-emitting elements per pixel and the combination of light-emitting 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 color may be used. Also, each light-emitting element may be configured by stacking a plurality of light-emitting layers.

The pixel 62 may be configured with a plurality of light-emitting elements that emit light of the same color, and a color filter in which different color conversion elements are arranged to correspond to each light-emitting element may be used to enable one pixel 62 to display a desired color. For example, the pixel 62 may be configured with three white light-emitting elements, and a color filter in which red, green, and blue color conversion elements are arranged to correspond to each light-emitting element may be used. The pixel 62 may also be configured with three blue light-emitting elements, and a color filter in which red, green, and colorless color conversion elements are arranged to correspond to each light-emitting element may be used. Note that the number of light-emitting elements per pixel and the combination of light-emitting 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 the material constituting the color filter, the display color gamut can be made wider than that of an organic EL display device that does not use a quantum dot color filter.

Figure 5 (B) is a partial cross-sectional schematic diagram taken along line A-B in Figure 5 (A). The pixel 62 has an organic EL element 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 a substrate 102. The hole transport layer 65, the light-emitting layers 66R, 66G, 66B, and the electron transport layer 67 are organic layers. The light-emitting layer 66R is an organic EL layer that emits red light, the light-emitting layer 66G is an organic EL layer that emits green light, and the light-emitting layer 66B is an organic EL layer that emits blue light. When a color filter or a quantum dot color filter is used, the color filter or quantum dot color filter is disposed on the light-emitting side of each light-emitting layer, that is, on the upper or lower part of Figure 5 (B).

The light-emitting layers 66R, 66G, and 66B are organic EL elements that emit red, green, and blue light, respectively. The light-emitting layers 66R, 66G, and 66B are formed according to the arrangement pattern of the light-emitting elements 62R, 62G, and 62B. The first electrodes 64 are formed for each light-emitting element and are separated from each other. The hole transport layer 65, the electron transport layer 67, and the second electrode 68 may be formed so as to be shared by the multiple light-emitting elements 62R, 62G, and 62B, or may be formed separately for each light-emitting element. In order to prevent the first electrode 64 and the second electrode 68 from being shorted by foreign matter, an insulating layer 69 is provided between the first electrodes 64. 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.

This article explains the manufacturing method for an organic EL display device as an electronic device.

First, a circuit (not shown) for driving the organic EL display device and a substrate 102 on which a first electrode 64 is formed are prepared.

Next, a resin layer such as an acrylic resin or polyimide is formed by spin coating on the substrate 102 on which the first electrode 64 is formed, and the resin layer is patterned by lithography so that an opening is formed in the area where the first electrode 64 is formed, forming an insulating layer 69. This opening corresponds to the light-emitting area where the light-emitting element actually emits light.

Next, the substrate 102 on which the insulating layer 69 has been patterned is carried into a first film forming apparatus, the substrate is held by a substrate holding unit, and a hole transport layer 65 is formed as a common layer on the first electrode 64 in the display area. The hole transport layer 65 is formed by vacuum deposition. In reality, the hole transport layer 65 is formed to a size larger than the display area 61, so a high-definition mask is not required. Here, the film forming apparatus used in the film formation in this step and in the film formation of each of the following layers is a film forming apparatus using a deposition apparatus described in any of the above embodiments.

Next, the substrate 102 on which the hole transport layer 65 has been formed is carried into a second film forming apparatus and held by a substrate holding unit. The substrate 102 and the mask 103 are aligned, the substrate 102 is placed on the mask 103, and a red light emitting layer 66R is formed on the portion of the substrate 102 where the red light emitting element is to be disposed. By using the film forming apparatus of this embodiment, the mask 103 and the substrate 102 can be aligned with high precision, and the mask 103 and the substrate 102 can be brought into good contact with each other, so that highly accurate film formation can be performed.

Similar to the formation of the light-emitting layer 66R, the third film-forming device forms the light-emitting layer 66G that emits green light, and the fourth film-forming device forms the light-emitting layer 66B that emits blue light. After the formation of the light-emitting layers 66R, 66G, and 66B is completed, the fifth film-forming device forms the electron transport layer 67 over the entire display area 61. Each of the light-emitting layers 66R, 66G, and 66B may be a single layer, or may be a layer in which multiple 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 this embodiment, the electron transport layer 67 and the light-emitting layers 66R, 66G, and 66B are formed by vacuum deposition.

Then, the second electrode 68 is formed on the electron transport layer 67. The second electrode may be formed by vacuum deposition or sputtering. The substrate 102 on which the second electrode 68 is formed is then moved to a sealing device, where a sealing process is performed in which a protective layer P is formed by plasma CVD, completing the organic EL display device 600. Note that, although the protective layer P is formed by the CVD method here, this is not limiting, and it may also be formed by the ALD method or the inkjet method.

After the substrate 102 with the patterned insulating layer 69 is transported into the film-forming apparatus until the formation of the protective layer P is completed, the substrate 102 is exposed to an atmosphere containing moisture and oxygen, and the light-emitting layer may be deteriorated by moisture and oxygen. In this embodiment, the substrate 102 is transported between the film-forming apparatuses in a vacuum atmosphere or an inert gas atmosphere.

1: film forming apparatus, 200: vacuum chamber, 11: inner wall surface, 21: inner wall surface, 40: reinforcing rib

Claims (9)

A film forming apparatus having a vacuum chamber capable of reducing the pressure inside, and forming a film on a substrate accommodated in the vacuum chamber while the vacuum chamber is in a reduced pressure state,
A film forming apparatus, characterized in that a reinforcing rib is detachably attached to an inner wall surface of the vacuum chamber. the vacuum chamber having a first chamber wall and a second chamber wall;
2. The film forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein the reinforcing rib is provided at a corner of the internal space of the vacuum chamber formed along an intersection line between an inner wall surface of the first chamber wall and an inner wall surface of the second chamber wall, and has a first portion attached to the first chamber wall and a second portion attached to the second chamber wall, on either side of the intersection line. the first chamber wall and the second chamber wall are joined by welding;
The film deposition apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the reinforcing rib has a third portion that extends along the intersection line and is spaced apart from the intersection line, and that connects the first portion and the second portion. a surface of the first portion that contacts the inner wall surface of the first chamber wall has a shape that rises from the inner wall surface of the first chamber wall by a curved surface at an end portion of the first portion,
3. The film forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a surface of the second portion that contacts the inner wall surface of the second chamber wall has a shape that rises from the inner wall surface of the second chamber wall by a curved surface at an end of the second portion. The film forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the reinforcing ribs are attached to the inner wall surface of the vacuum chamber by bolts. The vacuum chamber has a first chamber and a second chamber located adjacent to the first chamber,
the first chamber wall constitutes a partition between the first chamber and the second chamber,
5. The film forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second chamber wall constitutes a side surface of the vacuum chamber. the first chamber wall constitutes a ceiling surface of the vacuum chamber;
5. The film forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second chamber wall constitutes a side surface of the vacuum chamber. the first chamber wall constitutes a bottom surface of the vacuum chamber;
5. The film forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second chamber wall constitutes a side surface of the vacuum chamber. the first chamber wall defines a side of the vacuum chamber;
5. The film forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second chamber wall constitutes a side surface of the vacuum chamber.

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