JP4596794B2 - Alignment equipment for vacuum deposition - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an alignment apparatus for vacuum deposition.

Conventionally, when a semiconductor substrate or the like is manufactured, a semiconductor material is evaporated in a vacuum vessel and is deposited on the surface of the substrate to form a predetermined conductor pattern.
When forming this conductor pattern, usually, a mask having a conductor pattern formed thereon is placed on the surface of the substrate, and a photoresist applied on the surface is exposed (for example, see Patent Document 1). ).
JP2003-157773

By the way, in the vacuum container, it is necessary to arrange the substrate at a predetermined position with respect to the mask, and an alignment device for this alignment is provided.
This alignment device will be placed in the vacuum vessel. However, when an alignment device with high positioning accuracy is placed in the vacuum vessel, it requires special material parts, lubricants, heat dissipation measures, etc. that emit less gas. Therefore, the device itself becomes very expensive.

On the other hand, in order to avoid such a situation, it is conceivable to arrange the alignment device outside the vacuum vessel.
As described above, when the alignment device is arranged outside the vacuum vessel, a vacuum maintaining mechanism is required at the portion where the mask holding member of the alignment device is inserted into the vacuum vessel, and therefore a special sealing mechanism or processing is required. After all, the device becomes expensive.

Furthermore, the portion where the mask holding member is inserted into the vacuum container is subjected to a large external force due to the vacuum force, in other words, atmospheric pressure, which may cause distortion and lower the alignment accuracy.
Therefore, in order to solve the above-described problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an alignment apparatus for vacuum vapor deposition that can maintain positioning with high accuracy at a low manufacturing cost of the apparatus itself.

To solve the above problems, a vacuum deposition alignment apparatus according to the present onset Ming, of the substrate relative to the mask used when depositing with a vapor deposition material on the surface of the substrate held in the vacuum chamber in a predetermined pattern An alignment device that performs positioning,
Above the mask held in the vacuum vessel, a substrate holding body held via a suspension member inserted through a through hole formed in the wall of the vacuum vessel,
A connecting plate provided outside the vacuum vessel and connected to the suspension member;
Position adjusting means capable of adjusting the position of the substrate in the vapor deposition chamber held by the holding body relative to the mask by moving the connecting plate;
A first telescopic cylindrical blocking member that is externally fitted to the suspension member and is provided between the outer periphery of the through hole of the wall portion and the connecting plate, and blocks the vacuum side and the atmosphere side;
A biasing means for generating a biasing force in a direction opposite to the pressing force to the connecting plate generated when the inside of the first telescopic cylindrical blocking member is in a vacuum state;
The biasing means is connected across the gate-shaped mounting frame, which is erected on the wall body so as to straddle the connecting plate, and the mounting frame and the connecting plate. The second telescopic cylindrical blocking member and the second telescopic cylindrical blocking member communicated with the inside of the vacuum container through the communication hole formed in the mounting frame.
The position adjusting means can move the connecting plate in a plane parallel to the surface of the mask and can move and move the connecting plate in an axial direction perpendicular to the mask. Consisting of a vertical movement device,
Further, the in-plane moving device includes a driving support mechanism and a guide support mechanism provided on the wall body side of the vacuum vessel, and a moving plate supported by these support mechanisms and capable of moving in parallel with the mask surface. In addition, the moving plate and the connecting plate body can be allowed to move in the vertical direction via the elevating guide mechanism, and the elevating guide mechanism is erected on the moving plate. A shaft and a guide cylinder provided on the connecting plate body side and movably guiding the guide shaft in an axial direction perpendicular to the mask .

According to the above configuration vacuum deposition alignment apparatus, when performing the alignment of the substrate relative to the mask under a predetermined vacuum, since the substrate is placed in the alignment apparatus to the outside of the vacuum vessel, a material or the like in consideration of the under vacuum It is not necessary to use a special seal mechanism or the like, so that the manufacturing cost of the device itself can be reduced.

  In addition, since an urging means that can apply an urging force that can be opposed to the pressing force due to the atmospheric pressure under vacuum is provided, it is possible to prevent an extra external force from acting on the alignment apparatus, and accordingly, the substrate is not moved against the mask. The alignment can be maintained with high accuracy.

An alignment apparatus for vacuum vapor deposition according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
This vacuum deposition alignment apparatus is provided in a vacuum deposition apparatus. For example, when a display unit of an organic EL display is manufactured, an organic material is deposited on the surface of a glass substrate with a predetermined pattern using a mask to form a conductor pattern. In obtaining, the glass substrate is held and the position of the glass substrate relative to the mask is adjusted (alignment).

  As shown in FIG. 1, this alignment apparatus 1 includes a mounting flange (a wall portion of a wall portion) on an upper wall portion 3a of a vacuum vessel 3 having a vapor deposition chamber 2 for depositing an organic material on the surface of a glass substrate under vacuum. 1a), which is an example. In addition, you may make it attach directly to the upper wall part provided over the whole upper surface of a vacuum vessel, without passing through a flange for attachment.

  An evaporation source 4 is disposed below the vapor deposition chamber 2 of the vacuum vessel 3, and a glass substrate (hereinafter referred to as a substrate) 5 is disposed above the vapor deposition chamber 2 of the vacuum vessel 3 through the alignment device 1. A mask 6 for forming a predetermined conductor pattern is held by a mask holder 8 via an attachment frame 7 below the substrate 5. The side wall 3b of the vacuum vessel 3 is provided with a loading / unloading opening 9 for the substrate 5 and the mask 6. A robot hand (not shown) is used for loading and unloading the substrate 5 and the mask 6. Used.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the alignment apparatus 1 is provided with a sheet-like electrostatic chuck portion 11 b capable of attracting the substrate 5 to a plate-like holder main body portion 11 a. The substrate holder (substrate holding body) 11 and the left and right portions of the substrate holder 11 are connected to the lower end portion and the upper end portion is inserted through a through hole 1b formed in the mounting flange 1a. Two cylindrical suspension members 12 projecting to the outside, and provided on the outside of the vacuum vessel 3 so that the upper end portions of the two suspension members 12 and the upper end opening thereof open to the upper surface. For example, a connecting plate body 13 having a rectangular shape in plan view, which is connected through, and an inside of the vapor deposition chamber 2 which is arranged on the upper surface of the mounting flange 1 a and is moved by the connecting plate body 13 and held by the substrate holder 11. Of the substrate 5 with respect to the mask 6 Position adjusting means 14 that can be adjusted, and is provided between the outer periphery of the through-hole 1b of the mounting flange 1a and the connecting plate 13 by being externally fitted to each of the suspension members 12, and the vacuum side and the atmosphere. telescopic tubular blocking member for blocking the side (the first telescopic tubular shielding member, for example vacuum bellows is used) 15, generated by the inner side of the tubular shut-off member 15 is in a vacuum state There is provided urging means 16 that generates (applies) an urging force in a direction opposite to the pressing force (pressing force) to the connecting plate 13. The cylindrical blocking member 15 is connected to the mounting flange 1a side and the connecting plate body 13 side via a lower annular mounting seat 17 and an upper annular mounting seat 18 each having a predetermined inner diameter. A force (pressing force due to atmospheric pressure) due to vacuum acts on an opening area (contact area) of the attachment portion of the cylindrical blocking member 15 to the upper annular attachment seat 18 provided on the 1a side.

  The position adjusting means 14 translates, rotates (rotates about the center of the plate body) and turns (rotates about the center of the plate body) in a plane parallel to the surface of the mask 6. The in-plane moving device 21 that can be rotated around the position) and the vertical moving device 22 that can be moved in the vertical direction (axial direction) perpendicular to the mask 6 (also the surface of the connecting plate). ing.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the in-plane moving device 21 includes a support plate 31 having a rectangular shape in plan view, and driving support mechanisms arranged at three positions among four corners on the support plate 31. 32 and a guide support mechanism 33 arranged at the remaining one place, and a moving plate 35 supported via a connecting tool 34 provided in each of the support mechanisms 32 and 33. The plate 35 and the connecting plate 13 are configured to allow movement in the vertical direction via the lifting guide mechanism 36 and to move (follow) movement in the horizontal plane.

  The drive support mechanism 32 is a well-known technique, and as shown in FIG. 5, the drive support mechanism 32 can move through a linear guide mechanism 37 in a horizontal plane, that is, in the XY axis direction. It can be forcibly moved along the axial direction (X-axis or Y-axis direction), and the guide support mechanism 33 can freely move in the XY-axis direction via a linear guide mechanism 39 similar to the above. It has been made to get.

  Of the three drive support mechanisms 32, two are arranged so that they can be forcibly moved in the same direction, and the remaining one is in a direction perpendicular to the two forcible movement directions. By moving the servo motor 38 in a predetermined (one, two, or three) driving support mechanisms 32 among these three, the moving plate 35 is moved to the X position. Axial direction (see FIG. 5B), Y-axis direction (see FIG. 5C), diagonal direction with respect to the X-axis and Y-axis (see FIG. 5D), and the center of the moving plate 35 are rotated. With the rotation direction as an axis (see FIG. 5 (e)) and with the turning direction for turning around the arbitrary support mechanism 32 side (see FIG. 5 (f)), the movable plate 35 can be moved freely in the horizontal plane. Can be moved in any direction and with any rotation or turning angle A.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the elevating guide mechanism 36 includes a mounting plate 41 that is integrally formed on the upper surface of the moving plate 35 and has a rectangular shape in plan view, and the front and rear of the mounting plate 41 and at the left and right positions. It is composed of four guide shafts 42 that are erected and four guide cylinders 43 that are provided on the connecting plate 13 side and are externally fitted to the guide shafts 42 and are guided to be movable in the vertical direction. Has been. In the drawing, only the left and right guide shafts 42 and the guide cylinder 43 relating to the front part or the rear part are shown.

  An electric cylinder (driven by a servo motor) is used as the vertical moving device 22, and a rod part 22 a for exiting and retracting the electric cylinder is connected to the mounting plate 41. The substrate holder 11 is moved up and down through the connection plate 13 by moving the substrate 22 a back and forth, and the distance between the substrate 5 and the mask 6 is adjusted.

  The urging means 16 communicates with the vapor deposition chamber 2 through the through-hole 1b to cancel (or reduce) the pressing force due to the atmospheric pressure acting on the end face side in the cylindrical blocking member 15 that is in a vacuum state. belongs to.

That is, the urging means 16 is provided at the left and right positions of the gate-shaped mounting frame 51 and the connecting plate body 13 in a side view standing on the mounting flange 1 a so as to straddle the connecting plate body 13. A lower annular mounting seat 53 having a predetermined inner diameter provided on the upper surface of the provided pedestal portion 52; an upper annular mounting seat 54 having a predetermined inner diameter provided on the lower surface of the horizontal portion 51a of the mounting frame 51; annular mounting seat 53 attached telescoping tubular blocking member over each other while being composed of (second telescopic tubular shielding member, for example vacuum bellows is used) 55., in right and left Each cylindrical blocking member 55 communicates with the inside of the vacuum vessel 3 through a communication hole 56 formed in the mounting frame 51. Therefore, the base end side of the communication hole 56 is a mounting flange. Formed in 1a With communicates with the vacuum chamber 3 through the communication hole 1c, the other end is opened at a position corresponding to the upper annular attachment seat 54 provided on the horizontal portion 51a of the mounting frame 51.

  The opening areas of at least the lower annular mounting seat 53 provided on the upper surface of the connecting plate 13 (actually, the upper surface of the pedestal portion 52) and the upper annular mounting seat 18 provided on the lower surface thereof are equal. It is supposed to be. That is, the upper and lower surfaces of the connecting plate 13 are provided with vacuum contact portions having the same area, and the pressing force generated due to the vacuum acts evenly from the upper and lower surfaces of the connecting plate 13. Further, it is possible to prevent excessive external force from acting on the connecting plate 13.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a cylindrical member is used as the suspension member 12, and a passage (hole portion) connected to the communication hole 12 a in the suspension members 12 is provided in the substrate holder 11. 11c) is provided so that the substrate 5 can be cooled by supplying a cooling fluid such as water from the upper end opening of the suspension member 12, and from the upper end of these communication holes 12a. Electrical wiring to the electric chuck portion 11b is performed.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, in order to align the substrate 5 with respect to the mask 6 held by the mask holder 8, that is, as shown in FIG. The CCD camera device 57 for positioning so that the dot-like substrate side mark M2 provided on the substrate 5 side enters the circular mask side mark M1 provided on the substrate is provided on the connecting plate 13 side. Of course, a viewing window 58 is provided on the mounting flange 1a side.

An operation of aligning the substrate 5 with respect to the mask 6 in the vacuum container 3 in the above configuration will be described.
First, as shown in FIG. 1, the substrate 5 is placed above the mask 6 held by the mask holder 8 from the loading / unloading opening 9 formed in the side wall 3 b of the vacuum vessel 3 using a robot hand. While inserting and holding the board | substrate 5 in the electrostatic chuck | zipper part 11b, a robot hand is taken out from the vacuum vessel 3, and the opening part 9 for carrying in / out is closed. When a mask or the like is carried into or out of the vacuum vessel 3, at least the carry-in / out opening (to be precise, the space connected to the carry-in / out opening 9) 9 is used. It is kept in the same vacuum level as the inside.

  Under this vacuum, as described above, the upper and lower surfaces of the connecting plate 13 are provided with vacuum contact portions of the same area by the cylindrical blocking members 15 and 55 (more precisely, the annular mounting seats 18 and 53). Therefore, no extra external force due to vacuum is applied to the connecting plate 13.

Next, the substrate 5 held by the substrate holder 11 is aligned with the mask 6 held in the vapor deposition chamber 2 by the mask holder 8.
For alignment of the substrate 5 with respect to the mask 6, two CCD camera devices 57 arranged on a diagonal line are used.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the plane of the position adjusting means 14 is arranged so that the dot-like substrate side mark M2 provided on the substrate 5 side enters the circular mask side mark M1 provided on the mask 6 side. After the inner moving device 21 is driven, the substrate 5 is moved by the vertical moving device 22 so as to be almost in contact with the surface of the mask 6.

  When the alignment of the substrate 5 with respect to the mask 6 is completed, the evaporation source 4 is heated to adhere the vapor deposition material to the surface of the substrate 5 according to the pattern of the mask 6 to form a predetermined conductor pattern.

  When the predetermined conductor pattern is formed, after the substrate 5 is taken out from the loading / unloading opening 9 by the robot arm, the new substrate 5 is inserted into the vacuum vessel 3 and held on the substrate holder 11 and as described above. In addition, alignment may be performed to form a conductor pattern.

  As described above, when aligning the substrate 5 with respect to the mask 6 under a predetermined vacuum, the alignment device 1 for the substrate 5 is disposed outside the vacuum vessel 3, so that the configuration of the device itself is made inexpensive. be able to.

  Further, when the through hole 1b for guiding the suspension member 12 of the substrate 5 in the alignment apparatus 1 to the outside of the vacuum vessel 3 is formed, the cylindrical blocking member 15 for blocking the through hole 1b from the atmosphere side. On the opposite side of the mounting portion to the connecting plate 13, the cylindrical blocking member 55 (the annular mounting seat 18 of the annular mounting seat 18) has the same cross-sectional area as the cylindrical blocking member 15 and communicated with the vacuum vessel 3 under vacuum. (Opening area) is connected, that is, the biasing means 16 that can be opposed to the pressing force due to the atmospheric pressure under vacuum is provided, so that it is possible to prevent an extra external force from acting on the alignment apparatus 1. Therefore, since no distortion occurs in the apparatus, the alignment of the substrate with respect to the mask can be performed with high accuracy.

More specifically, the following effects can be obtained.
1. Since the in-plane moving device 21 for moving the substrate 5 in the horizontal plane and the vertical moving device 22 for moving in the vertical direction are arranged outside the vacuum vessel 3 (under atmospheric pressure), special vacuum mechanical elements and motor cooling are provided. Since no apparatus is required, an inexpensive and highly accurate alignment apparatus can be provided.
2. Since each of the moving devices 21 and 22 is disposed outside the vacuum vessel 3 (under atmospheric pressure) and includes a biasing means 16 that can apply a biasing force that can be opposed to the pressing force acting under vacuum, Since the force which acts on each moving apparatus 21 and 22 which arises can be reduced, and what has a small capacity | capacitance can be used as drive devices, such as a motor in a moving apparatus, it can be set as a cheaper structure.
3. In addition, since each moving device 21, 22 is arranged outside the vacuum vessel 3 (under atmospheric pressure), and provided with a biasing means 16 that can apply a biasing force that can be opposed to the pressing force acting under vacuum, The distortion of the apparatus itself can be suppressed, and the visual field shift in the camera apparatus 57 for alignment of the substrate 5 can be prevented, so that highly accurate alignment can be performed.
4). Since the substrate 5 is held by the electrostatic chuck portion 11b, the flatness of the substrate 5 can be maintained, and therefore the distance from the mask 6 can be made very small. Alignment can be performed.
5. Further, since the substrate 5 is held by the electrostatic chuck portion 11b, the flatness of the substrate 5 can be maintained and the substrate 5 can be brought into contact with the mask 6 with a uniform surface pressure, and therefore, higher accuracy can be achieved. Alignment can be performed.
6). The communication holes 12a and the passages 11c are formed in the suspension member 12 and the holder main body 11a for supporting the substrate holder 11, and the communication holes 12a and the passages 11c are under atmospheric pressure. Cooling can be easily performed, and electrical wiring to the electrostatic chuck portion 11b can be easily performed.

However, those in the form of implementation described above has been described an organic EL material as an alignment device in a vacuum deposition apparatus for depositing the glass substrate, of course, as the target of the vacuum deposition, to be limited to the organic EL material In addition, for example, when a semiconductor device is manufactured, the present invention can be applied to any vacuum evaporation apparatus as long as it is an apparatus for forming a conductor pattern on a substrate using a mask in a vacuum vessel.

Alignment device according to the shape condition of the present invention is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a vacuum vapor deposition apparatus provided. It is a schematic perspective view of the substrate holder and mask in the alignment apparatus. It is a schematic perspective view of the alignment apparatus. It is sectional drawing of the alignment apparatus. It is a top view of the in-plane movement apparatus in the alignment apparatus, (a) shows the structure of an in-plane movement apparatus, (b)-(f) demonstrates the operation | movement. It is a top view explaining the alignment operation | movement of the board | substrate and mask in the alignment apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Alignment apparatus 1a Mounting flange 1b Through-hole 2 Deposition chamber 3 Vacuum container 5 Glass substrate 6 Mask 11 Substrate holder 12 Suspension member 12a Communication hole 13 Connecting plate 14 Position adjustment means 15 Cylindrical blocking member 16 Energizing means 18 Upper annular mounting seat 21 In-plane moving device 22 Vertical moving device 51 Mounting frame 52 Base portion 53 Lower annular mounting seat 55 Cylindrical blocking member 56 Communication hole

Claims (1)

An alignment apparatus for positioning the substrate with respect to a mask used when vapor deposition material is deposited in a predetermined pattern on the surface of the substrate held in a vacuum vessel,
Above the mask held in the vacuum vessel, a substrate holding body held via a suspension member inserted through a through hole formed in the wall of the vacuum vessel,
A connecting plate provided outside the vacuum vessel and connected to the suspension member;
Position adjusting means capable of adjusting the position of the substrate in the vapor deposition chamber held by the holding body relative to the mask by moving the connecting plate;
A first telescopic cylindrical blocking member that is externally fitted to the suspension member and is provided between the outer periphery of the through hole of the wall portion and the connecting plate, and blocks the vacuum side and the atmosphere side;
A biasing means for generating a biasing force in a direction opposite to the pressing force to the connecting plate generated when the inside of the first telescopic cylindrical blocking member is in a vacuum state;
The biasing means is connected across the gate-shaped mounting frame, which is erected on the wall body so as to straddle the connecting plate, and the mounting frame and the connecting plate. The second telescopic cylindrical blocking member and the second telescopic cylindrical blocking member communicated with the inside of the vacuum container through the communication hole formed in the mounting frame.
The position adjusting means can move the connecting plate in a plane parallel to the surface of the mask and can move and move the connecting plate in an axial direction perpendicular to the mask. Consisting of a vertical movement device,
Further, the in-plane moving device includes a driving support mechanism and a guide support mechanism provided on the wall body side of the vacuum vessel, and a moving plate supported by these support mechanisms and capable of moving in parallel with the mask surface. In addition, the moving plate and the connecting plate body can be allowed to move in the vertical direction via the elevating guide mechanism, and the elevating guide mechanism is erected on the moving plate. An alignment apparatus for vacuum vapor deposition comprising a shaft and a guide tube provided on the connecting plate body side and movably guiding the guide shaft in an axial direction perpendicular to the mask .

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