JP4418262B2 - Substrate / mask fixing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate / mask fixing device used for performing mask processing by bringing a substrate such as a semiconductor substrate or a glass substrate into close contact with a mask that has been punched into a predetermined pattern.

  In order to form a thin film of an organic material, a metal or the like on a glass substrate used for a semiconductor substrate or an organic EL panel, a processing method such as vacuum vapor deposition, PVD such as sputtering, or CVD (chemical vapor deposition) is used. . These processes are mask processes using a mask that has been punched into a predetermined pattern in order to form a thin film with a predetermined pattern on the substrate.

By the way, when this mask process is used for vapor deposition, if there is a gap between the mask for vapor deposition and the substrate, a shadow is formed on the surface of the substrate, and bleeding and blurring of the vapor deposition material occur. In order to prevent this problem, the mask and the substrate are brought into contact with each other without gaps, that is, in close contact with each other.
On the other hand, in the following Patent Document 1, a substrate holder portion that holds a substrate to be masked has an electromagnet, and the electromagnet adsorbs a mask made of a ferromagnetic material through the substrate, whereby the mask is attached to the substrate. A vacuum film forming apparatus having a close structure is disclosed.

  5A and 5B are cross-sectional views showing an embodiment of the substrate / mask fixing device described in Patent Document 1. FIG. Here, FIG. 5A shows a state where the substrate and the mask are separated. FIG. 5B shows a state where the substrate and the mask are in close contact.

Here, in the substrate / mask fixing device 50 described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to eliminate the bending of the central portion of the substrate, that is, the gap between the mask and the substrate in the following order.
First, the mask 62 and the substrate 52 are in a separated positional relationship as shown in FIG. At this time, the substrate holder portion 58 holds and fixes the substrate 52, and the substrate 52 is bent downward in a convex shape. From this state, the mask holder part 60 is raised, and the gap between the mask 62 and the substrate 52 is reduced while pushing the substrate 52 upward with the mask 62. In this state, since the mask 62 is held by the mask holder 60 only at the peripheral portion, the mask itself is also bent downward so that the gap between the mask 62 and the substrate 52 does not disappear. Therefore, the electromagnet 64 is driven to forcibly attract the mask 62 made of a ferromagnetic material, the substrate is bent as shown in FIG. 5B, and the substrate 52 and the mask 62 are in close contact with each other. Make.
Japanese Patent No. 2832836

However, in the substrate / mask fixing device 50 disclosed in Patent Document 1, when a plurality of thin film layers are sequentially deposited and stacked, when the substrate 52 and the mask 62 are brought into close contact with each other, Then, the mask 62 may slide, and the thin film layer may be damaged by the edge of the pattern of the mask 62. Further, since the central portion of the substrate 52 is pushed up and the substrate 52 is aligned with the substrate holder portion 58, the substrate 52 and the mask 62 are often misaligned. For this reason, the thin film to be formed is partially damaged or the position of the pattern of the thin film to be formed is shifted, and a highly accurate thin film pattern is not formed.
Further, since the electromagnet 64 is used as the mask attracting means, the material of the mask 62 is limited to a ferromagnetic material.

  Therefore, the present invention eliminates the problems based on the conventional technology, and when performing a mask process for forming a thin film of a predetermined pattern on a semiconductor substrate or a glass substrate, the formed thin film is not damaged and has a high accuracy pattern. An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate / mask fixing device capable of forming a thin film.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a substrate / mask that holds and holds the substrate and the mask when mask processing is performed on one surface of the substrate using a mask that is perforated in a predetermined pattern. A fixing device, which is a surface that holds a substrate in contact with a non-masked surface that is not subjected to mask processing of the substrate, and has a curved surface that is convexly curved toward the mask processing surface. A substrate holder portion that has a holding surface and holds the substrate curvedly from the substrate holding surface toward the mask processing surface side, and a mask for performing mask processing are in close contact with the mask processing surface of the curved substrate. And a mask holder portion that holds the mask in a curved manner so as to correspond to the curvature of the substrate.

  Furthermore, it is preferable to have a substrate fixing member that fixes the substrate to the substrate holder portion by pressing the peripheral portion of the substrate toward the substrate holder portion from the mask processing surface side of the substrate.

  Furthermore, it is preferable to have a mask fixing member for fixing the mask to the substrate so that the mask is fixed in close contact with the mask processing surface of the substrate.

  The substrate / mask fixing device is used together with a vapor deposition device having a vapor deposition source, and the substrate holder unit is provided above the vapor deposition source so that vapor deposition material generated by the vapor deposition source is vapor deposited on the substrate. It is preferable that

  The vapor deposition apparatus is preferably a processing apparatus that forms a thin film on a substrate. Further, the substrate may be a substrate having transparency, and the processing apparatus may be a processing apparatus that stacks another thin film on the formed thin film by vapor deposition. An example of such a substrate is a glass substrate of an organic EL panel.

According to the substrate / mask fixing device of the present invention, the substrate holding surface is curved toward the mask processing surface of the substrate, and the mask holder portion also holds the mask curved, so that when the mask is brought into contact with the substrate, Since the mask and the substrate can be brought into close contact with each other without pushing up the substrate with the mask, that is, without sliding the mask with respect to the substrate, damage due to sliding of the mask does not occur in the substrate surface layer. Further, the substrate and the mask are not displaced.
Furthermore, when the mask is brought into close contact with the substrate, an electromagnet is not used as in the prior art, so the mask used is not limited to a mask made of a ferromagnetic material.

  Hereinafter, a substrate / mask fixing device of the present invention will be described in detail based on preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of components of a substrate / mask fixing device 10 which is an embodiment of the substrate / mask fixing device of the present invention. FIG. 2 (a) is a perspective view of the substrate / mask fixing device 10. FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of FIG.

  A substrate / mask fixing device 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a substrate holder portion 12, a substrate fixing member 14, a mask holder portion 16, and a mask fixing member 18. Further, the substrate fixing member 14 is provided with a slip stopper 22, and the mask fixing member 18 is provided with a slip stopper 24.

The substrate holder portion 12 is a portion that comes into contact with the non-mask-treated surface 28 of the rectangular glass substrate 26 (for example, a glass substrate of 470 mm × 370 mm × 0.7 mm) that is not subjected to mask processing. The mask 20 fixed to the mask holder 16 abuts on the mask processing surface 30 on which the mask processing of the glass substrate 26 is performed.
The substrate fixing member 14 is a member that presses the glass substrate 26 toward the substrate holder portion 12 from the mask processing surface 30 side. The mask holder portion 16 is placed on a non-slip 24 provided on the upper surface of the mask fixing member 18 with the surface to which the mask 20 is attached facing upward.

The substrate holder 12 is made of, for example, aluminum or an aluminum alloy. The substrate holder portion 12 has a surface that holds the glass substrate 26 in contact with the non-mask processing surface 28 of the glass substrate 26, and this surface has a curved shape that is convexly curved toward the mask processing surface. The substrate holding surface. The substrate holding surface has a convex cylindrical surface shape, contacts the non-mask processing surface 28 side of the glass substrate 26, and holds the glass substrate 26. At this time, the substrate holding surface curves the glass substrate 26 toward the mask processing surface 30.
Here, the cylindrical surface shape refers to a three-dimensional curved surface shape curved with a certain curvature in a predetermined direction.

The substrate fixing member 14 is made of, for example, aluminum or an aluminum alloy. In the present embodiment, the bottom surface has a substantially rectangular shape as shown in FIG. The long side of the bottom surface is arranged in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 2B on the bottom surface, and is longer than the long side of the glass substrate 26. Further, the bottom surface has an opening, and a rectangular edge portion extending in a direction perpendicular to the bottom surface is provided along the long side of the bottom surface. A rubber non-slip 22 protrudes upward from the bottom surface of the substrate fixing member 14.
In addition, the board | substrate fixing member 14 is not specifically limited to the integral structure shown in FIG. For example, a plurality of L-shaped claw-shaped metal fittings provided with a non-slip 22 may be arranged along the edge of the substrate so as to rise integrally.

  Here, the glass substrate 26 is placed on the anti-slip 22 provided on the substrate fixing member 14. The mask processing surface 30 of the glass substrate 26 is a lower portion of the glass substrate 26 shown in FIG. The substrate fixing member 14 is configured to hold and fix the substrate by pressing the peripheral portion of the substrate toward the substrate holder portion 12 from the mask processing surface 30 side.

The mask holder portion 16 is made of, for example, an Fe—Ni alloy, and a part of the rectangular plate protrudes upward in FIG. 1 along the two long sides of the rectangular plate. The upper surface of the projecting portion has a concave cylindrical inner surface shape having a certain curvature in the short side direction of the rectangular shape. The mask holder portion 16 has an opening that penetrates the mask holder portion 16 on the upper surface. When the substrate fixing member 14 is a plurality of L-shaped claws such that the substrate fixing member 14 is integrally raised, the mask holder portion 16 is provided with counterbore or through holes so as not to interfere with the L-shaped claws.
The concave cylindrical inner surface shape is a curved surface shape corresponding to the glass substrate 26 curved and held by the substrate holder portion 12. The mask 20 is affixed around the opening and held in the shape of a concave cylindrical surface so as to be in close contact with the mask processing surface 30 of the glass substrate 26 pressed by the substrate holder 12.
Here, the concave cylindrical surface refers to the inner surface of the cylinder.

Here, when the thin film is formed on the glass substrate 26, the mask attached to the mask holder portion 16 is used to selectively shield the substrate. Although not shown, the mask is perforated into a predetermined pattern. For example, this pattern is processed in a form in which rectangular patterns each having a side length of several tens to several hundreds of μm are arranged.
The mask material is preferably a ferromagnetic alloy such as Fe-Ni alloy or Fe-Co alloy, a non-ferromagnetic alloy such as SUS403, or steel, depending on the deposition material and other conditions. The mask is made of a material having a small thermal expansion during the vapor deposition process.

The mask fixing member 18 is made of, for example, aluminum or an aluminum alloy, and has a substantially rectangular bottom as shown in FIG. The long side of the bottom surface is arranged in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 2B on the bottom surface, and is longer than the long side of the glass substrate 26. Further, the bottom surface has an opening, and a rectangular edge portion extending in a direction perpendicular to the bottom surface is provided along the long side of the bottom surface. A rubber non-slip 24 protrudes from the bottom surface of the mask fixing member 18.
The mask fixing member 18 is not particularly limited to the integral structure shown in FIG. For example, a plurality of L-shaped claw-shaped fittings provided with the anti-slip 24 may be arranged along the end of the mask holder portion 16 so as to rise integrally.

  Here, in a state where the mask holder portion 16 holding the mask 20 is placed on the mask fixing member 18, the mask 20 and the mask processing surface 30 of the glass substrate 26 are brought into contact with each other and held, whereby FIG. The substrate / mask fixing device 10 shown in FIG.

  Here, in the substrate / mask fixing device 10 of this embodiment, the substrate holding surface of the substrate holder portion 12 and the surface to which the mask 20 of the mask holder portion 16 is attached are the mask processing surface 30 of the glass substrate 26 and the mask holder. Each has a curved surface that is in close contact with the mask 20 attached to the portion 16. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the mask 20 attached to the mask holder unit 16 and held by the substrate holder unit 12 and the mask holder unit 16, and the mask processing surface 30 of the glass substrate 26. Are kept in close contact.

  Further, the anti-slip 22 provided on the substrate fixing member 14 functions to prevent the glass substrate 26 from sliding in the left-right direction in FIG. 2B or in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in the process of vapor deposition, processing, or transfer. . Further, the anti-slip 24 provided on the mask fixing member 18 prevents the mask holder portion 16 from sliding in the left-right direction in FIG. 2B or in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in the process of vapor deposition, processing or transfer. Function.

  In the present invention, unlike the conventional method, the glass substrate 26 and the mask 20 are both curved downward, so that the mask 20 is in contact with the mask processing surface 30 of the glass substrate 26 in order to bring the mask 20 into close contact with the glass substrate 26. A part of 26 is not pushed up. Therefore, the glass substrate 26 and the mask 20 do not slide in the tangential direction. Furthermore, the mask 20 is less likely to damage the thin film layer formed on the mask processing surface 30 of the glass substrate 26. Further, the positional deviation between the glass substrate 26 and the mask 20 does not occur.

  Further, in the substrate / mask fixing apparatus 10 of the present invention, in order to bring the mask 20 and the substrate 26 into intimate contact with each other, it is not necessary to use an electromagnet. Therefore, a non-ferromagnetic material such as SUS430 can be used as the mask material. Of course, a ferromagnetic material such as a Ni—Co alloy or a Ni—Fe alloy may be used as the mask material.

  Here, when the glass substrate 26 is pressed against the substrate holding surface of the substrate holder portion 12 shown in FIG. 1, the substrate holding surface of the substrate holder portion 12 is used in order to bring the mask processing surface 30 of the glass substrate 26 into close contact with the mask 20. The cylindrical surface shape and the inner cylindrical surface shape of the mask holder portion 16 are slightly larger in curvature than the curved shape caused by the bending of the glass substrate 26 placed on the anti-slip 22 provided on the substrate fixing member 14. Preferably there is.

  For example, when a substrate having a size of 470 mm in length, 370 mm in width, and 0.7 mm in thickness is used as the glass substrate 26, the glass substrate 26 bends downward by about 2.5 to 3.5 mm. For this reason, it is preferable that the height difference between the curved surfaces of the substrate holding surface of the substrate holder 12 and the inner surface of the mask holder 16 is approximately 4.5 mm.

  Next, a process of bringing the mask 20 into close contact with the glass substrate 26 using the substrate / mask fixing device 10 will be described.

  First, the end of the glass substrate 26 is held by the robot arm 32, and the rectangular glass substrate 26 is inserted between the substrate holder portion 12 and the substrate fixing member 14. At this time, the non-mask processing surface 28 of the glass substrate 26 is directed to the substrate holder portion 12 side, and the mask processing surface 30 is directed to the substrate fixing member 14 side.

Next, the glass substrate 26 held by the robot arm 32 is transferred to the anti-slip 22 protruding from the substrate fixing member 14.
Thereafter, the substrate fixing member 14 to which the glass substrate 26 is transferred rises toward the substrate holder portion 12, and the glass substrate 26 abuts on the substrate holding surface of the substrate holder portion 12 and follows the cylindrical surface shape of the substrate holding surface. Is held curved.
Thereafter, the mask holder portion 16 on which the mask 20 is placed rises toward the glass substrate 26. When the mask holder unit 16 is raised, position correction is performed while capturing the glass substrate 26 and the substrate holder unit 12 as a photographed image so that the positional relationship between the glass substrate 26 and the substrate holder unit 12 becomes a predetermined positional relationship. This position correction is also performed when the glass substrate 26 is held in contact with the substrate holding surface.

The captured image is captured using, for example, an image capturing system shown in FIG. An image input device 44 captures an image of the glass substrate 26 in which alignment marks (hereinafter referred to as marks) 40a and 42a are previously applied to the mask processing surface 30 of the glass substrate 26 and the mask 20 in which the marks 40b and 42b are previously applied. The image processing device 46 specifies the positions of the marks 40a and 42a and the marks 40b and 42b by image processing using this image. Based on the positional relationship between the marks 40a and 42a and the marks 40b and 42b, the positional error amount of the glass substrate 26 and the mask 20 and the positional correction amount of the substrate holder portion 12 or the mask holder portion 16 to be corrected are the image processing device 46. Calculated with Using this position correction amount, the position of the substrate holder 12 is corrected by the substrate holder moving mechanism 68 or the position of the mask holder 16 is corrected by the mask holder moving mechanism 48. Here, the number of marks is not particularly limited to two in the present embodiment, and two or more marks corresponding to the glass substrate 26 and the mask 20 may be provided.

The position of the substrate holder 12 is corrected by the substrate holder moving mechanism 68, and the position of the substrate holder 12 is corrected on the horizontal plane (XY plane) in response to the input of the obtained position correction amount control signal. In this case, a position error on a plane with respect to a predetermined position and an angle error with respect to a predetermined direction are obtained by the mark 40a and the mark 42a, and based on this, the position of the substrate holder part 12 is corrected by the substrate holder moving mechanism 68. The contents of the position correction are parallel movement with respect to the X axis and the Y axis on the XY plane and rotation around the Z axis direction (vertical direction). Position correction by the mask holder moving mechanism 48 of the mask holder 16 is performed in the same manner.
By this position correction, the positions of the marks 40a and 40b and the positions of the marks 42a and 42b coincide between the glass substrate 26 and the mask 20. Therefore, the position error between the mask 20 and the glass substrate 26 is corrected. The accuracy error of position correction is, for example, 5 μm or less.

Here, the image input device 44, the image processing device 46, the position correction amount calculation method, the position correction method, the substrate holder moving mechanism 68, and the mask holder portion moving mechanism 48 are not particularly limited, and are known techniques or a combination of known techniques. Can be used. For example, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) can be used for the image processing device 46.
Finally, by raising the substrate fixing member 14, the glass substrate 26 comes into contact with the curved substrate holding surface of the cylindrical surface shape of the substrate holder portion 12, and the mask 20 is fixed to the curved glass substrate 26.
Thus, the substrate / mask fixing device 10 shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B is obtained.

The glass substrate 26 shown in FIG. 2A and the mask 20 in close contact with the glass substrate 26 are subjected to a thin film formation process by vacuum vapor deposition, for example, as described below.
Hereinafter, a glass substrate of an organic EL panel is taken as an example of the glass substrate 26, and an example of manufacturing an organic EL panel in which a plurality of thin films are stacked on a glass substrate by vacuum deposition will be described.

The organic EL element is formed of, for example, an organic light emitting material that emits red, green, and blue light (low molecular weight type), and is used for a color display that displays light by emitting light with three primary colors. On a glass substrate using this organic EL element, for example, each layer including a light emitting layer and an electrode layer for light emission by each primary color is formed by a fine thin film pattern.

  4A and 4B are schematic structural views of an organic EL panel manufacturing apparatus provided with the above-described substrate / mask fixing device. FIG. 4A is a schematic plan view of the organic EL panel manufacturing apparatus, and FIG. 4B is a side view. FIG. 4C is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating one of the plurality of chambers 34a to 34h in the organic EL panel manufacturing apparatus.

  As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the organic EL panel manufacturing apparatus 70 supplies a plurality of chambers 34a to 34h, transfer chambers 72a and 72b for inserting the glass substrate into the chambers 34a to 34h, and the glass substrate. A load lock chamber 74, an unload chamber 76 for taking out a completed glass substrate, and mask stockers 78a and 78b for storing a mask are provided. Further, a threshold valve (not shown) is provided between the load lock chamber 74, the unload chamber 76, the mask stockers 78a and 78b, and the transfer chamber 72a or 72b.

  Here, the organic EL panel manufacturing apparatus 70 has the transfer chamber 72a as the center, the chambers 34a to 34d, the load lock chamber 74, the mask stocker 78a and the like arranged concentrically (cluster type), and the transfer chamber 72b as the center. As shown, the chambers 34e to 34h, the unload chamber 76, the mask stocker 78b, and the like are concentrically arranged (cluster type). These parts are connected through a buffer 80 that connects the transfer chambers 72a and 72b.

In the chambers 34a to 34h, one kind of vapor deposition material ((low molecular weight) organic light emitting material, metal material, etc.) determined for each chamber is vapor deposited on a glass substrate. At this time, mask processing is performed using a mask corresponding to the vapor deposition material. Each process is continuously performed in a predetermined order. In the vapor deposition process, only the glass substrate masked by the robot arms (not shown) of the transfer chambers 72a and 72b is moved between the chambers. ing.
Further, the transfer and transfer of the substrate to / from the buffer 80 between the transfer chamber 72a and the transfer chamber 72b described above is also performed by the robot arm.
The load lock chamber 74 supplies a glass substrate supplied from the outside to the robot arm of the transfer chamber 72a, and the unload chamber 76 collectively sends out the completed glass substrate to the outside.

  In the process of laminating a thin film on a glass substrate in such an organic EL panel manufacturing apparatus 70, first, the glass substrate is supplied to the load lock chamber 74 of FIG. Next, the robot arm of the transfer chamber 72a holds the edge of the glass substrate, and the glass substrate is inserted into the first chamber 34a. At this time, the glass substrate and the mask are held in the substrate / mask fixing device after the position control by the image processing described above in the chamber.

  In order to deposit a thin film to be a light emitting layer or an electrode layer at an accurate position in the organic EL panel manufacturing process, high accuracy is required for mask alignment, particularly when depositing a (low molecular weight) organic light emitting material. Position control by image processing is performed. By this image processing, position control can be performed at high speed.

  As shown in FIG. 4C, the above-described substrate / mask fixing device 10 is installed in the upper part of the chamber for vapor deposition. Further, a vapor deposition material 38a, which is a thin film material, and a vapor deposition source 36 are installed in the lower portions of the chambers 34a to 34h. In the substrate / mask fixing device 10, the glass substrate 26 is located above the chambers 34a to 34h, and the mask is located below. It is installed in the direction.

The vapor deposition material 38 a is a thin film material deposited on the glass substrate 26. In the organic EL panel manufacturing apparatus, for example, (low molecular weight) organic light emitting material, metal, and the like are used. In addition, various materials such as an organic material or a metal can be used for the vapor deposition material 38a depending on the application.
The vapor deposition source 36 heats and vaporizes the vapor deposition material 38a by resistance heating. In accordance with various conditions such as the vapor deposition material, the vapor deposition source 36 can use a known technique other than resistance heating, such as electron beam heating, high frequency induction heating, or laser beam heating.

First, the chambers 34a to 34h are decompressed to a predetermined degree of vacuum by a vacuum pump (not shown), and a substantially vacuum state is set. In this state, as described above, the glass substrate is incorporated into the substrate / mask fixing device 10 in the chambers 34a to 34h from the transfer chamber 72a or 72b by the robot arm.
Next, as shown in FIG.4 (c), the vapor deposition material 38a by which the vapor deposition source 36 was installed in the chamber 34a-34h lower part is performed. Further, the vapor deposition material 38 b evaporated by heating is deposited on the mask processing surface of the glass substrate 26 held by the substrate / mask fixing device 10. The vapor deposition pattern on the mask-treated surface of the glass substrate is determined for each vapor deposition material by a pattern drawn on the mask 20 that has been subjected to drilling.

  After the first deposition is completed, the holding of the glass substrate and the mask by the substrate / mask fixing device is released. Thereafter, the glass substrate is taken out from the chamber 34a by the robot arm of the transfer chamber 72a, and the glass substrate is inserted into the next chamber 34b through the transfer chamber 72a. In this chamber 34b, vapor deposition is performed as described above. At this time, a glass substrate that has not been subjected to vapor deposition is inserted into the first chamber 34a, and vapor deposition is performed in the aforementioned process. Thus, each vapor deposition process is continuously performed in a predetermined order.

  In this organic EL panel manufacturing apparatus 70, the thin films forming the hole injection layer, the hole transport layer, the light emitting layer R, and the light emitting layer G are vapor-deposited in the order of description in the chambers 34a to 34d around the transfer chamber 72a. Accordingly, each process such as hole injection is performed. Next, the light emitting layer B, the electron transport layer, the electron injection layer, and the thin film forming the electrode are subjected to vapor deposition and each treatment in the chambers 34e to 34h around the transfer chamber 72b in the order described.

  Such a process is repeated, and the glass substrate on which all the deposition materials are deposited is transferred to the unload chamber 76 and taken out of the apparatus as an organic EL panel.

The vapor deposition is performed in a substantially vacuum atmosphere reduced to a predetermined pressure, and all the chambers in the organic EL panel manufacturing apparatus, for example, the chambers 34a to 34h, the transfer chambers 72a and 72b, and the like are maintained in a substantially vacuum state. . In the load lock chamber 74, the unload chamber 76, and the mask stockers 78a and 78b, the glass substrate or the mask is inserted into or removed from the apparatus at atmospheric pressure. At that time, by closing the threshold valve between the transfer chamber 72a and 72b, the substantially vacuum state of the other chamber is not broken.
The position correction of the mask holder part and the mask holding part described above is performed in a state where the vacuum of each chamber is held.

Thus, since the vapor deposition surface of the substrate is disposed downward in the chamber in which the thin film is formed on the substrate by vapor deposition, the substrate is bent downward by gravity as described above. A glass substrate is more easily bent than a substrate made of another material, such as a silicon substrate. Moreover, if it becomes a large glass substrate, such as length 470mm, width 370mm, and thickness 0.7mm, the bending will become larger. The substrate / mask fixing device of the present invention effectively utilizes the bending of the substrate at this time to cause displacement of the mask, sliding of the substrate surface by the mask, and damage of the substrate surface by sliding of the mask. The substrate holding surface of the substrate holder portion is curved so as not to be present. In particular, in order to fabricate a large amount of an organic EL panel using a glass substrate, it is desirable to perform mask processing on a large area glass substrate with a large area at a time with a large area. In the present invention, highly accurate mask processing can be performed by effectively utilizing the non-negligible bending of the glass substrate when such a large glass substrate is used.

  In the present invention, the vacuum vapor deposition tank, related equipment, members and the like are not particularly limited. For example, a vacuum vapor deposition tank, a vapor deposition source, a vapor deposition material, and a vapor deposition method can be selected and used according to the purpose. Further, a device attached to the vacuum deposition apparatus, for example, a film thickness meter, a gas introduction unit, a substrate heating unit, a device control system, etc. can be selected and used.

  Further, although the present embodiment has been described by limiting to an organic EL panel manufacturing apparatus, the present invention is not particularly limited to the above example. For example, if it is a normal vacuum vapor deposition apparatus and a vacuum film-forming apparatus, it can apply also to PVD, CVD, etc., such as the above-mentioned vacuum vapor deposition method and sputtering. Also, in the organic EL panel manufacturing apparatus, as described above, the format is not limited to the cluster type having two clusters, but can be changed to a line type depending on conditions such as the substrate size, or the number of clusters can be set to 3 for example. Can be changed.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the glass substrate has a rectangular shape. Moreover, the shape of the surface (substrate holding surface) that contacts the non-mask processing surface of the substrate of the substrate holder portion and the surface of the mask holder portion to which the mask is attached are a convex cylindrical surface shape and a concave cylindrical surface shape, respectively. . However, the present invention is not particularly limited to these shapes. The shapes of the substrate holder part, the substrate fixing member, the mask holder part and the mask fixing member can be changed according to the shapes of the substrate and the mask. Further, the type of the substrate is not limited to the glass substrate, and various substrates such as a silicon substrate can be used. In accordance with this, the curvature of the substrate holder part and the mask holder part may be freely changed.
Furthermore, the material of each part of the substrate / mask fixing device is also a lightweight material that can be used in environmental conditions such as temperature and pressure in a vacuum vapor deposition tank of the vacuum vapor deposition apparatus, etc. Ceramics or the like may be used.

  Although the substrate / mask fixing device according to the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Of course it is good.

1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of a substrate / mask fixing device according to the present invention. (A) is a perspective view of the appearance of the substrate / mask fixing device shown in FIG. 1, and (b) is a sectional view. It is explanatory drawing of the image taking-in system used in order to perform position control of a substrate holder and a mask holder in the board | substrate and mask fixing device of this invention. (A) is a bird's-eye view of the organic EL panel manufacturing apparatus using the substrate / mask fixing apparatus according to the present invention, and (b) is a side view of the organic EL panel manufacturing apparatus. (C) is explanatory drawing which illustrates typically an example of a chamber among organic electroluminescent panel manufacturing apparatuses. It is sectional drawing which shows the Example of the conventional board | substrate and mask fixing apparatus, (a) is sectional drawing in the state in which the board | substrate and the mask are separated, (b) is sectional drawing in the state in which the board | substrate and the mask were closely_contact | adhered. is there.

Explanation of symbols

10, 50 Substrate / mask fixing device 12, 58 Substrate holder part 14, 54 Substrate fixing member 16, 60 Mask holder part 18 Mask fixing member 20, 62 Mask 22, 24, 56 Non-slip 26 Glass substrate 28 Non-mask processing surface 30 Mask processing surface 32 Robot arm 34a to 34h Chamber 36 Deposition source 38a, 38b Deposition material 40a, 40b, 42a, 42b (Alignment) mark 44 Image input device 46 Image processing device 48 Mask holder moving mechanism 52 Substrate 64 Electromagnet 68 Substrate holder Moving mechanism 70 Organic EL panel manufacturing apparatus 72a, 72b Transfer chamber 74 Load lock chamber 76 Unload chamber 78a, 78b Mask stocker 80 Buffer

Claims (6)

A substrate / mask fixing device for fixing and holding a substrate and a mask when performing mask processing on one surface of the substrate using a mask that has been punched into a predetermined pattern,
A substrate fixing member provided with a non-slip for mounting both ends of the substrate and holding the substrate in a curved state by gravity;
A substrate holder having a substrate holding surface for holding the substrate by the non-masking processing surface not subjected to mask processing curved substrate abuts,
A mask for performing the mask processing, the in masking surfaces of the curved substrate to form a curved surface that abuts a mask holder for holding the mask,
A substrate / mask fixing device characterized by comprising:   The substrate according to claim 1, further comprising a substrate fixing member that fixes the substrate to the substrate holder portion by pressing a peripheral portion of the substrate toward the substrate holder portion from the mask processing surface side of the substrate. -Mask fixing device.   The substrate / mask fixing device according to claim 1, further comprising a mask fixing member configured to fix the mask to the substrate so that the mask is fixed in close contact with the mask processing surface of the substrate. The substrate / mask fixing device is used together with a vapor deposition device having a vapor deposition source,
4. The substrate according to claim 1, wherein the substrate holder portion is provided above the vapor deposition source so that vapor deposition material generated by the vapor deposition source is vapor deposited on the substrate. Mask fixing device.   5. The substrate / mask fixing device according to claim 4, wherein the vapor deposition device is a processing device for forming a thin film on a substrate.   5. The substrate / mask fixing device according to claim 4, wherein the substrate is a substrate having transparency, and the processing apparatus is a processing apparatus for stacking another thin film on the formed thin film by vapor deposition.

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