JP5277060B2 - Vacuum deposition equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention is a vacuum deposition apparatus for forming organic EL panels and organic EL lighting, and for vapor deposition having a moving mechanism inside a vacuum chamber, CVD and sputter film formation, particularly for forming a thin film on a large substrate. Related.

  Vacuum deposition used in the thin film formation process for thin substrates is performed by providing a deposition mask in a vacuum chamber, aligning the transported substrate with the deposition mask, and then evaporating the material at a high temperature under high vacuum. This is a process of forming a film by spraying. In this film formation, a method of rotating a substrate and a method of depositing a rod-shaped evaporation source (linear source) by moving the substrate or a linear source in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the substrate have been proposed. . In the method of forming a film while moving and scanning a linear source when handling a large substrate, as shown in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, a method of attaching a driving mechanism of a linear source to a vacuum chamber wall has been proposed. It was.

  In Patent Document 1, as shown in FIG. 11, a ball screw 103 and a linear guide 105 are attached to the bottom surface in the vacuum chamber 1, and the ball screw is rotated by power from a driving source 100 provided outside the vacuum chamber to evaporate the source 2. An example has been shown in which the reciprocating motion of the evaporation source is realized by moving the nut 104 attached to.

  In Patent Document 2, as shown in FIG. 13, a linear guide 105 and a drive source for horizontally moving the push rod 109 are provided on the outer surface of the vacuum chamber 1, and the push rod is taken in and out of the vacuum chamber via the vacuum seal 102. I can do it. A guide roller is attached to the push rod in the vacuum chamber, and the push rod reciprocates along a guide rail 105a provided on the bottom surface of the vacuum chamber. The evaporation source 2 is attached to the tip of this push rod. As a result, the drive source 100 outside the vacuum chamber is scanned to realize the reciprocating motion of the evaporation source inside the vacuum chamber.

JP2004-349101 JP2005-256113

Process equipment that keeps the degree of vacuum on the order of 10 ^-3 to 10 ^-6 Pa, such as vacuum evaporation, needs to consider the influence of the deflection of the vacuum chamber wall when handling a glass substrate with a side exceeding 1 m. Arise.
It has been found that when the vacuum chamber is simply increased in size according to the substrate size, the deformation of the vacuum chamber wall becomes a size that cannot be ignored (several millimeters to 10 mm or more). The method of Patent Document 1 is shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, and the method of Patent Document 2 is shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 show the influence of the drive mechanism of the reciprocating motion of the evaporation source due to the deformation of the vacuum chamber wall when the vacuum chamber is evacuated in the vacuum chamber. is there.

  In both cases, an evaporation source moving mechanism such as a linear guide or a ball screw is provided on the basis of the vacuum chamber wall. If it does in this way, when a vacuum chamber wall will deform | transform at the time of evacuation, the movement of an evaporation source moving mechanism will be restrained, and the state in which what is called movement will become awkward will arise. If this state is left unattended, vibration during driving and wear of the linear guide and ball screw are likely to occur. Furthermore, there is a problem that a driving source such as a motor is also loaded, which is liable to break down, and there is a concern that the operating rate is lowered.

  In general, in order to avoid this state, measures are taken to increase the moment of inertia of the cross section, such as increasing the wall thickness of the vacuum chamber wall or providing ribs on the vacuum chamber wall so as not to bend the vacuum chamber. Has been.

In the case of an apparatus for processing large substrates, it is possible to keep the vacuum chamber deflection within 0.5 mm by increasing the thickness of the vacuum chamber wall, but the weight of the apparatus is several hundred tons even if it can be manufactured. In other words, it is difficult to transport the apparatus to the panel production line in terms of weight. Further, even if the ribs are provided to improve the rigidity of the chamber wall, the rib spacing cannot be reduced and the height of the ribs must be increased.
In FIGS. 15 and 16, the same reference numerals that are not described above are used for the same functions as those described in the embodiment of the present invention.

Therefore, in view of the above, the object of the present invention is to provide a highly reliable or highly efficient vacuum deposition with a drive mechanism that can perform a stable scanning operation of the evaporation source without depending on the pressure state inside the vacuum chamber. Is to provide a device.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum deposition apparatus capable of stable deposition without depending on the pressure state inside the vacuum chamber.

Furthermore, another object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum vapor deposition apparatus that is lighter in weight or less in manufacturing cost or equipment transportation cost than a conventional vacuum chamber.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum evaporation apparatus capable of achieving at least one of the above three, particularly for a large substrate having a side length exceeding 1 m.

  In order to achieve the above object, in a vacuum deposition apparatus having a vacuum chamber for depositing a deposition material in an evaporation source on a substrate, a rigid first reference member provided inside the vacuum chamber and a rigid body provided outside the vacuum chamber A cage structure comprising a plurality of rigid reference posts, one end of which is fixed to the first reference member, and the other end is fixed to the second reference member through a through hole provided in the wall of the vacuum chamber. A first airtight portion that covers a body, a support between the through hole and the fixed portion of the first reference member or the second reference member, and ensures airtightness of the vacuum chamber; and the cage structure. Maintenance means for maintaining the vacuum chamber in a predetermined position, movement means provided in the cage structure for moving the evaporation source inside the vacuum chamber, and a drive source for driving the movement means This is the first feature.

  In order to achieve the above object, in addition to the first feature, the maintaining means is provided between the first or second reference member and a wall of the vacuum chamber, and the first or second reference is provided. A floating mechanism configured by a restraining means for maintaining a relative positional relationship between a member and a wall of the vacuum chamber facing the first or second reference member, or a sliding pair, a rotating pair, or a combination thereof; This is the second feature.

In order to achieve the above object, in addition to the second feature, the restraining means is provided between the first or second reference member and a wall of the vacuum chamber, and the first or second reference member is provided. A third feature is a surface direction restraining means for restraining a displacement in a surface direction between the member and the wall of the vacuum chamber facing the first or second reference member.
In order to achieve the above object, in addition to the third feature, the surface direction constraint is provided with a protrusion on at least one of the first or second reference member and the wall of the vacuum chamber facing the first or second reference member, A fourth feature is that the means fits into the corresponding recess or abuts against the end.

Furthermore, in order to achieve the above object, in addition to the first feature, a fifth feature is that the drive source is fixed to the second reference member.
In order to achieve the above object, in addition to the first feature, the evaporation source has a nozzle, a crucible which is a container for storing the vapor deposition material therein, and a heating means for heating the crucible, A sixth feature is that the vapor deposition material is vaporized by heating the crucible, and the vapor deposition material vaporized is ejected from the nozzle provided in the crucible.

Furthermore, in order to achieve the above object, in addition to the first feature, the driving source is provided outside the vacuum deposition chamber, and the airtightness of the vacuum deposition chamber is ensured between the moving means and the driving source. A seventh feature is that a second airtight portion is provided, and the rotational power or linear motion power of the drive source is transmitted to the moving means via the second airtight portion.
In order to achieve the above object, in addition to the first or seventh features, the moving means includes a moving mechanism for moving the evaporation source in parallel with the first reference member, the moving mechanism, and the evaporation source. An eighth feature is that it has coupling means for coupling the coupling means and coupling driving means for driving the coupling means.

  Furthermore, in order to achieve the above object, in addition to the eighth feature, the moving mechanism includes a guide rail provided on the first reference member and a slider for sliding the guide rail, and the coupling means Is a nut fixed to at least one of the evaporation source and the slider, and the coupling drive means is a screw for moving the nut.

  In order to achieve the above object, in addition to the eighth feature, the moving mechanism has a guide rail provided on the first reference member and a slider for sliding the guide rail, and the coupling means Is a fixing portion for fixing the evaporation source or the slider or the evaporation source and the slider, and the coupling driving means is fixed at one end to the coupling means and fixed at the other end to a movable portion. The second airtight part is provided between at least the moving part and the wall of the vacuum deposition chamber, and has a push rod driving means for driving the push rod provided outside the vacuum chamber. This is the tenth feature.

  In order to achieve the above object, in addition to the eighth feature, the moving mechanism includes a guide rail provided on the first reference member and a slider that slides the guide rail, and the coupling drive The means is provided inside the vacuum partition, which is elongated in the moving direction of the evaporation source and has a cavity having an atmosphere outside the vacuum deposition chamber inside, and is magnetically coupled to the coupling means. An eleventh feature includes magnetic coupling driving means for moving the coupling means along the vacuum partition.

  In order to achieve the above object, in a vacuum deposition apparatus having a vacuum chamber for depositing a deposition material in an evaporation source on a substrate, a moving mechanism for moving the evaporation source along the substrate, the moving mechanism, and the evaporation source A coupling means for coupling the coupling means, a moving means having a coupling driving means for driving the coupling means, a driving source provided outside the vacuum chamber for driving the moving means, the moving means and the driving source And an airtight portion that secures airtightness of the vacuum chamber, the moving mechanism includes a guide rail and a slider that slides on the guide rail, and the coupling driving means is disposed inside A vacuum partition made of a nonmagnetic material having a cavity having an atmosphere outside the vacuum chamber and elongated in the moving direction of the evaporation source; and provided in the vacuum partition and magnetically coupled to the coupling means and A and twelfth features by having a magnetic coupling driving means for moving along said vacuum partition wall.

Furthermore, in order to achieve the above object, in addition to the eleventh or twelfth feature, the magnetic coupling driving means is a magnetic screw elongated in the direction of the vacuum partition wall and magnetized in a spiral shape, and the coupling means is the vacuum. According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a magnetic screw nut disposed outside the partition wall in a non-contact manner with the vacuum partition wall, wherein the drive source drives the magnetic screw.
In order to achieve the above object, in addition to the thirteenth feature, the vacuum partition is fixed directly or indirectly to the first reference member, one end is sealed, and the other end is an atmosphere outside the vacuum chamber. The fourteenth feature is that it is open to the outside.

Furthermore, in order to achieve the above object, in addition to the fourteenth feature, the fifteenth feature is that both ends of the vacuum partition are open.
Finally, in order to achieve the above object, in addition to the eleventh or twelfth features, the magnetic coupling driving means is a piston provided in the vacuum partition, and the coupling means is disposed outside the vacuum partition. A ring arranged in a non-contact manner, wherein one of the piston and the ring has a magnet, and the other is formed of a material that adsorbs to the magnet, and pneumatic piping is connected to both ends of the vacuum partition wall, The sixteenth feature is that the piston is moved by controlling air pressure.

  In the present invention, the rigid body means that the shape does not change more than desired even when an external force is applied, and the rigidity is not necessarily higher than that of the vacuum chamber wall.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a highly reliable or highly efficient vacuum vapor deposition apparatus having a drive mechanism capable of performing a stable scan operation of an evaporation source without depending on the pressure state inside the vacuum chamber. .
In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vacuum deposition apparatus capable of stable deposition without depending on the pressure state inside the vacuum chamber.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vacuum vapor deposition apparatus that is lighter in weight or less in manufacturing cost or apparatus transport cost than a conventional vacuum chamber.
In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vacuum deposition apparatus that can achieve at least one of the above three, particularly for a large substrate having a side length exceeding 1 m.
Further, according to the present invention, since the misalignment of the evaporation source moving mechanism is less likely to occur, vaporization of the evaporation material due to the liquid level of the liquefied evaporation material inside the evaporation source being shaken by vibration during the movement of the evaporation source. It is possible to provide a vacuum vapor deposition apparatus capable of suppressing a fluctuation in speed and realizing a stable vapor deposition process.

It is a figure which shows the 1st Example of 1st Embodiment in the vacuum evaporation system of this invention. It is a figure which shows the state which evacuated the inside of a vacuum chamber in the 1st Example of 1st Embodiment shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the 2nd Example of 1st Embodiment in the vacuum evaporation system of this invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which the inside of the vacuum chamber is evacuated in the second example of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 3. It is a figure which shows one example of the alignment of a vapor deposition mask and a board | substrate in the film-forming using a vapor deposition mask. It is a figure which shows the alignment state of a mask and the pixel on a board | substrate by vapor deposition of the organic film using the vapor deposition mask in organic electroluminescent panel manufacture. It is a figure which shows the Example of 2nd Embodiment in the vacuum evaporation system of this invention. It is a figure which shows the 1st Example of 3rd Embodiment in the vacuum evaporation system of this invention. It is a figure which shows the 2nd Example of 3rd Embodiment in the vacuum evaporation system of this invention. It is a figure which shows the 3rd Example of 3rd Embodiment in the vacuum evaporation system of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the vacuum evaporation system by a conventional method. In the example of the vacuum evaporation system by the conventional method shown in FIG. 11, it is a figure which shows the state which evacuated the inside of a vacuum chamber. It is a figure which shows the example of the other vacuum evaporation system by the conventional method. FIG. 14 is a view showing a state in which the inside of the vacuum chamber is evacuated in an example of another vacuum deposition apparatus according to the conventional method shown in FIG. 13.

Below, the vacuum evaporation process of an organic EL display panel or organic EL illumination will be taken as an example, and an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a vacuum evaporation apparatus for a large substrate will be described with reference to the drawings.
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The first embodiment corresponds to the conventional method shown in FIGS. 11 and 13, and the first embodiment will be described including the difference from the conventional method.
1 and 3 show an example of this embodiment and its basic configuration. FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 show a state in which the inside of the vacuum chamber 1 is evacuated by a vacuum pump (not shown) in the vacuum deposition apparatus shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.

(Example 1 of the first embodiment)
First, the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 11 shows the basic configuration of the conventional system, and FIG. 12 shows a state in which the conventional system shown in FIG. 11 is evacuated.
When the inside of the vacuum chamber 1 is evacuated by a vacuum pump, the vacuum chamber wall 1h receives a negative pressure of 1 kPa. When the size of the vacuum chamber 1 is increased, the problem of the deflection of the vacuum chamber wall becomes significant as shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. In the past, the thickness of the vacuum chamber wall was generally increased, or the rigidity of the chamber wall, such as mounting ribs, was improved to suppress the deflection of the chamber wall and eliminate the adverse effects on the mechanical parts attached to it. Came. However, since all of these countermeasures are countermeasures in the direction in which the weight of the vacuum chamber is increased, when the vacuum deposition apparatus is transported to the user, a case that exceeds the transportable weight has started to occur.

  For example, when forming a film on a large substrate, the film may be formed by moving the rod-shaped evaporation source 2 (linear source) in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. At this time, in the conventional system as shown in FIG. 12, when the vacuum chamber wall 1h is deformed, each linearly moving moving mechanism composed of a linear guide 105, a ball screw 103, and the like that move the evaporation source 2 in the left-right direction on the paper surface. The member also deforms with the vacuum chamber wall. The rotational power of the motor 100, which is a drive source provided outside the vacuum chamber, is transmitted to the ball screw 103 in the vacuum chamber 1 via the magnetic fluid seal 102 to move the evaporation source 2, but when deformed as shown in FIG. The movement of the nut 104 as the coupling means with respect to the ball screw 103 as the coupling driving means and the movement of the guide rail 105a and the slider 105b in the linear guide 105 as the moving mechanism are both restrained, so-called "becomes less moving". The phenomenon will occur.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a “car structure” 20 is provided across the inside and the outside of the vacuum chamber 1. The cage structure includes an internal base plate 8 as a first reference member, which is a rigid plate, and an external base plate 16 which is a second reference member as a second reference member, and a column 23 inside and outside the vacuum chamber. The column 23 passes through a hole provided in the vacuum chamber wall 1h, and rigidly connects the internal base plate 8 and the external base plate 16. In order to keep the inside of the vacuum chamber 1 airtight, a bellows 21 is provided so as to surround the outside of the column 23, and the end surface of the bellows 21 is brought into close contact with the outer wall of the vacuum chamber 1 and the external base plate 16. In order to provide a similar function, the end surface of the bellows 21 may be brought into close contact with the vacuum chamber 1 and the internal base plate 8.

  When the evacuation is performed, force is applied so that the car structure 20 is drawn into the vacuum chamber. This force is applied to the lower wall 1hd of the vacuum chamber wall 1h through the floating mechanisms (maintenance means) 9a and 9b. In FIG. 1, the floating mechanisms 9a and 9b transmit a force in a direction perpendicular to the vacuum chamber wall 1hd to the vacuum chamber wall. It consists of 9ba and a linear guide 9bb that slides in a direction orthogonal to the vacuum chamber wall 1hd. Since the position of the car structure 20 is not fixed if it is simply floated, a structure 9aa is provided, in which only a force in the rotational direction is released without providing a linear guide as shown in the floating mechanism 9a.

In FIG. 1, the positioning floating mechanism 9 a is provided on the left side of the drawing, but it may be provided in the center of the external base plate 16. It is only necessary that the column 23 rubs against the hole in the vacuum chamber 1 and does not hinder the movement.
In FIG. 1, the floating mechanism 9 having a sliding pair and a rotating pair is provided as a maintaining means. However, if there is no problem of dust generation, for example, a relative position between the car structure 20 and the vacuum chamber wall 1hd with a positioning pin or the like. The floating mechanism may be configured by restraining means that maintains the positional relationship, or a floating mechanism may be configured by combining the restraining means and a sliding pair or a rotating pair.

  Examples of other restraining means include a vacuum chamber wall 1 hd provided between the vacuum chamber wall 1 hd and the external base plate 16 or the internal base plate 8, and the vacuum chamber wall 1 hd facing the external base plate 16 or the internal base plate 8 and the external base plate 16 or the internal base plate 8. There is a surface restraining means for restraining the slip in the surface direction. As a specific example, a convex portion may be provided on at least one of the outer base plate 16 or the inner base plate 8 and the wall of the vacuum chamber, and may be fitted into the corresponding concave portion or abutted against the end portion.

If the inner and outer base plates 8 and 16 have sufficient rigidity, there is no particular problem if three or more floating mechanisms 9 are arranged with a gap as wide as possible. If the rigidity of the base plates 8 and 16 is not so large, it is desirable to provide the floating mechanism 9 in the vicinity of the support 23 or on the extension line.
By installing the linear guide 105 and the ball screw 103 for driving the evaporation source 2 on the internal base plate 8, the positional relationship and shape can be maintained regardless of the deformation of the vacuum chamber. Further, in the vacuum apparatus, the drive motor 100 is installed outside the vacuum chamber 1 for the sake of cooling. In this embodiment, by fixing the motor 100 to the external base plate 16, the positional relationship between the driven side and the motor is maintained. The power of the motor 100 is transmitted to the inside of the vacuum chamber 1 through the magnetic fluid seal 102 to transmit the power of the motor 100 into the vacuum chamber 1. When the magnetic fluid seal 102 is tilted by deformation of the vacuum chamber wall 1h as shown in FIG. 2, displacement between the shafts and angular error between the motor 100 and the magnetic fluid seal 102 and between the magnetic fluid seal 102 and the ball screw 103 By providing the coupling 101 that absorbs the power, it is possible to transmit the power smoothly.

  By adopting the structure shown above, in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the evaporation source 2 is swung left and right by the evaporation source 2 moving means, and the vapor is blown to the vapor deposition mask 5 and the substrate 4 at the upper part of the paper surface. A vapor deposition film is formed on a predetermined pixel of the substrate 4.

(Example 2 of the first embodiment)
Next, a second example of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. The second embodiment is basically the same as the first embodiment, but the installation position of the floating mechanism 9 is different. In the first embodiment, an example in which the floating mechanism 9 is located outside the vacuum chamber 1 is shown. However, in this embodiment, the floating mechanism 9 is provided inside the vacuum chamber 1 as shown in FIG. In this case, when the vacuum is exhausted, the state shown in FIG. 4 is obtained, and the wall of the vacuum chamber 1 is deformed as in FIG. 2, but the cage structure and the mechanisms attached to the base plates 8 and 16 are not deformed.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the ball chamber or the linear guide is attached, and when the evaporation source 2 is moved by vapor deposition by rotating the ball screw by the power from the driving source provided outside the vacuum chamber, the vacuum chamber is used. By providing a cage structure composed of a rigid body that straddles the inside and outside of the chamber and does not receive a differential pressure from the atmospheric pressure, and a mechanism that causes the vacuum chamber wall to have a force to be drawn into the vacuum chamber generated in the cage structure during vacuum evacuation. Regardless of the pressure state inside the chamber, it was possible to suppress a significant change in the deflection, position and posture of the components necessary for vapor deposition.

As a result, according to the present embodiment, misalignment between the drive source and the drive mechanism such as the ball screw does not occur, so that the linear motion that is a component of the evaporation source moving means and the linear motion of the ball screw is stabilized. Thus, it is possible to provide a highly reliable vacuum deposition apparatus that can be reliably performed.
Further, according to the present embodiment, since the misalignment between the drive source and the drive mechanism such as the ball screw does not occur, the vacuum evaporation with a long operation frequency and the high operation rate of the linear motion mechanism of the drive source and the moving means is long. An apparatus can be provided.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, since deformation of the mechanism and misalignment do not occur, the generation of vibration due to the movement of the evaporation source is significantly reduced compared to the conventional method, and the liquid level of the liquefied vapor deposition material inside the evaporation source is reduced. Without being shaken, the vaporization rate of the vapor deposition material was stabilized, the film formation rate was kept constant, and stable vapor deposition was possible.

Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, the vacuum chamber has to have a function as a pressure vessel and a rigid body, but the vacuum chamber only needs to have a function as a pressure vessel. Therefore, since it can be assumed that the vacuum chamber wall bends within the elastic deformation during evacuation, the thickness of the vacuum chamber can be reduced and the reinforcing material such as ribs can be made smaller compared to the conventional vacuum chamber. The weight can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost and the equipment transportation cost can be reduced.
In particular, these effects are significant in a vacuum deposition apparatus that deposits on a large substrate having a side length exceeding 1 m.

Next, before describing the second embodiment, mask film formation will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 by taking the vapor deposition of an organic layer in the manufacture of an organic EL panel as an example.
FIG. 5 illustrates an alignment method used in each embodiment of the present invention. The substrate 4 is provided with an alignment mark 25 by etching or pattern. An alignment mark 26 is provided at the position of the vapor deposition mask 5 corresponding to the alignment mark 25 of the substrate 4.
The alignment mark 26 on the vapor deposition mask 5 is a hole pattern formed simultaneously with the formation of the mask opening pattern 31 by electroforming or etching, or a pattern formed by digging with a laser or sandblast. While the substrate 4 and the vapor deposition mask 5 are close to or in close contact with each other, the respective alignment marks 25 and 26 are simultaneously captured by the camera 11, and image processing is performed on the alignment images 27 formed by the obtained images 29 and 28, respectively. Thus, the relative shift amount is determined, and correction is performed by moving either the substrate 4 or the mask 5. Reference numeral 24 denotes an optical axis at the time of imaging.

FIG. 6 shows the relationship between the mask and the substrate during vapor deposition. The alignment of the substrate 4 and the vapor deposition mask 5 is completed, the opening 38 of the vapor deposition mask 5 is aligned with a predetermined pixel 37, and the evaporation source 2 (above the paper surface, not shown) swings to form a film. . In the production of the display, the vapor deposition material vaporized by the evaporation source 2 is deposited on the predetermined pixel 37 through the opening 38 of the vapor deposition mask 5 to form the organic film 42. By using the vapor deposition mask 5 with high pattern accuracy, it is also possible to paint red, green and blue light emitting materials for each pixel.
After the organic films are stacked, an element capable of emitting light is formed on the substrate 4 by providing a pixel electrode 40 of a conductive film 39 such as aluminum, silver, ITO, or IZO. Reference numeral 41 denotes a bank that is isolated from other pixel electrodes around the pixel electrode 40.
In each of the embodiments, there is a possibility that a slight change may occur in the position or posture of the substrate 4 and the cage structure and the evaporation source 2 due to the chamber deformation, but the positional relationship between the substrate and the evaporation source changes by several mm. However, even if the scanning direction of the evaporation source 2 is slightly shifted, these do not affect the film formation itself.

  According to the first embodiment using the alignment method described above, vibrations caused by deformation of members such as the ball screw 103 and the linear guide 105 that constitute the moving mechanism of the evaporation source 2 can be eliminated. It is possible to move smoothly without giving. In particular, in the case of a melt-type vapor deposition material that vaporizes after liquefaction, there is no large fluctuation in the material liquid level in the crucible containing the material, so that it is possible to perform film formation processing with stable vaporization and, consequently, with a stable film formation rate. .

Next, an example of the second embodiment of the present invention corresponding to the prior art shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 will be described with reference to FIG.
In the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a method of moving the evaporation source 2 into the vacuum chamber 1 using the ball screw 103 is shown. When the ball screw 103 is used as a power transmission mechanism, a vacuum-compatible solid lubricant / lubricant or grease having a low volatility and a high viscosity is used as the lubricant. In general, it is difficult to obtain a long ball screw in which a solid lubricant is applied to the rolling surface of the ball. Therefore, the method using a vacuum-compatible lubricating liquid or grease is the mainstream. However, when the scanning speed of the evaporation source 2 is high, the rotation of the ball screw 103 is also high. The centrifugal force acting on the lubricant and grease adhering to the ball screw is proportional to the diameter of the ball screw 103 and proportional to the square of the rotational speed of the ball screw 103. Therefore, when the evaporation source 2 is driven at high speed, a vacuum lubricant It is necessary to take measures to prevent scattering. On the other hand, such a problem can be avoided if the evaporation source is pushed and pulled by the push rod 109 penetrating the vacuum chamber 1 as in the third embodiment shown in FIG.

(Example of the second embodiment)
In this example of the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, an internal base plate (first reference member) 8 and an external base plate (second reference member) 16 which are rigid plates one by one inside and outside the vacuum chamber, and a support column The car structure constituted by 23 and the mechanism such as the floating mechanism 9 receiving the force drawn into the vacuum chamber acting on the car structure 20 are provided as in the first embodiment. Hereinafter, the characteristic part of the second embodiment will be mainly described.

  In this embodiment, the push rod 109 as a coupling driving means is surrounded by a bellows 21, a moving plate 107 is provided between the vacuum chamber 1 and the end of the push rod, and both ends of the bellows 21 are moved to the vacuum chamber wall 1h and moved. Secure to the plate. The push rod 109 has one end fixed to the evaporation source 2 and connected to a fixed portion 106 that serves as a coupling means, and the other end connected to the moving plate 107. In order to reduce the differential pressure applied to the moving plate, a fixed plate 108 is provided to be fixed to the external base plate 16, and the movable plate and the fixed plate are connected with the bellows 21b in an airtight state. At this time, by providing the through hole 115 inside the portion of the moving plate 107 surrounded by the bellows 21 and 21a, the differential pressure received by the moving plate 107 can be reduced. In FIG. 7, the drive mechanism 10 for the push rod 109 is provided on the external base plate 16. In FIG. 7, the push rod 109 is moved by pushing and pulling the moving plate 107 using a ball screw 103 which is a coupling driving means. The drive system of this drive mechanism need not be limited to using a ball screw, a linear motor may be directly attached to the push rod 109, or the push rod 109 may be driven using a rack and pinion. In any case, any method may be adopted as long as the push rod can reciprocate linearly.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, when vapor deposition is performed by pushing and pulling the evaporation source with the push rod 109 penetrating the vacuum chamber 1, it straddles the inside and outside of the vacuum chamber and does not receive a differential pressure from the atmospheric pressure. By providing a rigid cage structure and a mechanism that causes the vacuum chamber wall to have a pulling force in the vacuum chamber generated in the cage structure during evacuation, it does not depend on the pressure state inside the vacuum chamber and is necessary for vapor deposition. It was possible to suppress a significant change in the deflection, position and posture of the constituent members.

  As a result, according to the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, misalignment between the drive source and the drive mechanism such as a push rod does not occur, so that the device reliability is improved. For this reason, since the maintenance frequency of an evaporation source drive mechanism can be reduced, the operation rate of a vapor deposition apparatus can be improved. In addition, since the vibration when operating the evaporation source driving mechanism is reduced, the fluctuation of vaporization of the evaporation material is reduced, so that a vacuum evaporation apparatus capable of a stable evaporation process over a long period of time can be provided.

  Further, in the conventional vacuum chamber, the function as a pressure vessel and a rigid body had to be provided, but according to the second embodiment, the vacuum chamber need only have a function as a pressure vessel. Therefore, since it can be assumed that the vacuum chamber wall bends within the elastic deformation during evacuation, the thickness of the vacuum chamber can be reduced and the reinforcing material such as ribs can be made smaller compared to the conventional vacuum chamber. The weight can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost and the equipment transportation cost can be reduced.

  Further, according to the second embodiment, the evaporation source is driven by pushing and pulling the push rod, and the screw or the ball screw is not used for the vacuum grease or the like necessary for the power transmission mechanism. Therefore, it is possible to provide a highly reliable vacuum deposition apparatus that can avoid contamination on the film formation due to the above.

Finally, the coupling drive means does not use direct drive by the ball screw 103 or the push rod 109 in the vacuum chamber 1 but by magnetic coupling drive means provided in the vacuum partition 110 provided in parallel to the substrate 4 in the vacuum chamber 1. A third embodiment in which the evaporation source 2 is indirectly driven in a non-contact manner by magnetically coupling with the coupling means will be described with reference to FIGS.
Also in the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8 to FIG. 10, a car structure and a car constituted by an internal base plate 8 which is a rigid plate one by one inside and outside the vacuum chamber, and FIG. The mechanism such as the floating mechanism 9 that receives the force drawn into the vacuum chamber acting on the structure 20 has the same mechanism as in the first embodiment. Hereinafter, the characteristic part of the third embodiment will be mainly described.

(Examples 1 and 2 of the third embodiment)
First, in the present embodiment, a magnetic screw 111 as magnetic coupling driving means is inserted into a vacuum partition 110 made of a thin cylindrical nonmagnetic material, and arranged outside the vacuum partition 110 in a non-contact manner. Embodiments 1 and 2 in which a magnetic screw nut 112 as a coupling means is provided and the evaporation source 2 is moved by the magnetic screw nut will be described with reference to FIGS.

  A vacuum partition 110 made of a nonmagnetic material such as stainless steel is drilled into the vacuum chamber 1 and inserted. In FIG. 8, one hole is made, and in FIG. 9, one hole is made in the opposite chamber wall. The vacuum partition 110 is fixed on the internal base plate 8 in parallel with the linear guide 105 as a moving mechanism. Inside the vacuum partition 110, a magnetic screw 111 is provided in parallel with the vacuum partition 110 so as to be rotatable. The atmosphere side of the vacuum partition 110 is opened, and a flange 114 having a hole leading to the inside of the vacuum partition 110 is provided at an end thereof. A bellows 21 is installed between the flange 114 and the vacuum chamber 1 in order to ensure airtightness in the vacuum chamber 1. The motor 100 for rotating the magnetic screw 111 may be installed on the external base plate 16 as shown in FIG. 8, or may be fixed to the flange 114 as shown in FIG.

If the vacuum partition 110 does not penetrate the vacuum chamber 1 as shown in FIG. 8, a differential pressure is applied to the vacuum partition 110 and the cage structure 20 in the left direction of the drawing. However, the vacuum partition 110 passes through the vacuum chamber 1 as shown in FIG. By providing it so as to penetrate, the force in the horizontal direction of the paper that has worked on the vacuum partition 110 can be canceled. When the diameter of the vacuum partition is large, the configuration as shown in FIG. 9 is preferable.
8 and 9, the flange 114 is provided outside the vacuum chamber 1 at the end of the vacuum partition 110. However, the flange 114 may be provided inside the vacuum chamber 1 by shortening the length of the vacuum partition. . In this case as well, the same effect can be obtained if the bellows 21 is provided between the flange 114 and the vacuum chamber 1 so as to enter the inside of the vacuum chamber.

  A magnetic screw nut 112 disposed in a non-contact manner on the vacuum partition 110 is provided outside the vacuum partition 110. By providing a member for connecting the magnetic screw nut 112 and the linear guide slider 105b and the evaporation source 2, the motor 100 provided outside the vacuum chamber 1 is rotated, and the power is transmitted across the vacuum partition, It is possible to move the evaporation source 2 back and forth.

As described above, according to the first or second embodiment, the magnetic screw is covered with the cylindrical vacuum partition, and the nut of the magnetic screw is provided in a non-contact manner outside the vacuum partition, thereby evaporating by rotation of the magnetic screw. It is possible to prevent grease from splashing into the vacuum chamber when the source is moved.
Further, according to the first or second embodiment described above, the moving drive mechanism of the evaporation source 2 disposed outside the vacuum chamber can be reduced in size as compared with the first and second embodiments.

(Example 3 of the third embodiment)
Next, Example 3 of the third embodiment will be described. In the first and second embodiments, the magnetic screw 111 is used as a power transmission mechanism for moving the evaporation source 2, but the evaporation source 2 is reciprocated by a simple mechanism / control system using air pressure without using the magnetic screw 111. An example is shown in FIG.
In the third embodiment, the vacuum partition 110 is a cylinder, and a piston 117 serving as magnetic coupling driving means is charged therein, and the evaporation source 2 is moved in a non-contact manner by the piston 117. A ring 118 which is a coupling means provided to be in a non-contact state with the vacuum partition 110 is provided outside the vacuum partition 110. The ring 118 and the piston 117 have a magnet on one side, and the other member is formed of a material such as iron, nickel, or cobalt that is attracted to the magnet, and both are coupled by a magnetic force with the vacuum partition 110 interposed therebetween. . The ring 117 is fixed to the block 119, and the block 119 is also connected to the linear guide 105 and the evaporation source 2.

  Pneumatic pipes 120 are provided at both ends of the vacuum partition 110. The movement of the piston 117 is performed by controlling the introduction / exhaust of compressed air to the pneumatic piping 120. The compressed air is supplied from an air pressure source 121 including a pump and a tank. The pneumatic pressure of the pneumatic pressure source 121 is controlled by the electromagnetic valve 122 to supply / exhaust the cylinder consisting of the vacuum partition 110. FIG. 14 shows an example in which a double-acting pneumatic circuit is formed. When the compressed air is connected to the pneumatic piping on one side connected to the vacuum partition 110, exhaust is performed on the other side. Each pneumatic pipe 120 connected to a cylinder composed of the electromagnetic valve 122 and the vacuum partition 110 is provided with a speed controller 123 for adjusting the moving speed of the piston. This speed controller 123 is effective only by the flow of air on the exhaust side, and can be moved smoothly by adjusting the moving speed of the piston 117 with a so-called exhaust throttle that restricts the flow of air and provides resistance. . When the piston 117 comes to the stroke end, the block 119 abuts against the stopper 124 having a damper function and stops.

  Although FIG. 10 shows an example in which the stopper 124 is provided outside the vacuum partition 110, the piston 117 may be stopped inside the vacuum partition 110. The sensor 125 detects that the stroke has just come, switches the solenoid valve, and moves the movement direction in the reverse direction. The sensor 125 can be used in a vacuum environment, can be installed outside the vacuum chamber and monitored inside, or can be installed in the vacuum bulkhead 110. Any detection method such as a mold sensor, a magnetic sensor, or a limit switch may be used.

  When changing the speed of the evaporation source 2 frequently, when accelerating / decelerating in detail, or when setting multiple stop points, it is simpler to drive by motor rather than driven by compressed air There are cases where it is possible. In that case, for example, a linear motor may be provided inside the vacuum partition 110 and the piston 117 may be moved by the linear motor.

According to the third embodiment described above, as in the first and second embodiments, the piston is covered with a cylindrical vacuum partition and a ring is provided in a non-contact manner outside the vacuum partition, so that no grease is used. Therefore, stable vapor deposition is possible.
Further, according to the third embodiment described above, it is particularly effective when the speed of the evaporation source is substantially constant, and the mechanism / control system can be simply configured.
Further, according to the third embodiment, the same effects as those of the first and second embodiments can be achieved with respect to the effects other than those caused by the evaporation source moving method.

  In the first and third embodiments of the present invention described above, the orientation of the substrate and the mask, that is, the evaporation source orientation is not limited. There are horizontal and vertical postures of the substrate and the mask. When the evaporation source is moved in the direction of gravity, the evaporation source may be moved in the horizontal direction (perpendicular to the direction of gravity) or in other postures. The present invention can reproduce the evaporation source without affecting the moving direction and the attitude of the car structure.

  According to the first to third embodiments described above, the cage structure is formed as a plane by providing the cage structure that is formed of a rigid body that does not receive a differential pressure from the atmospheric pressure, straddling the inside and outside of the vacuum chamber. It is possible to avoid receiving a differential pressure from the atmospheric pressure, and it is possible to provide a force to pull the cage structure into the vacuum chamber by a floating mechanism or the like. As a result, the cage structure was not affected by the deformation of the vacuum chamber, and it was possible to suppress the deflection of the constituent members and to suppress a significant change in position and posture at the same time. Therefore, the moving drive configuration of the evaporation source can keep a smooth movement before and after evacuation, and a vacuum deposition apparatus with high reliability or high operating rate can be provided.

  Further, according to the first to third embodiments described above, the vacuum chamber has to have a function as a pressure vessel and a rigid body, but if the vacuum chamber has only a function as a pressure vessel. Good. Therefore, it can be assumed that the vacuum chamber wall bends within elastic deformation during evacuation. Therefore, compared with conventional vacuum chambers, the thickness of the vacuum chamber can be reduced, and reinforcing materials such as ribs can be made smaller, lighter and manufactured. It is possible to provide a vacuum deposition apparatus that can reduce costs and apparatus transportation costs.

  Further, according to the first to third embodiments described above, since the mechanism is not deformed or misaligned, the vibration caused by the movement of the evaporation source is greatly reduced compared to the conventional method, and the inside of the evaporation source is reduced. The liquid level of the liquefied vapor deposition material is not shaken. Therefore, the vaporization rate of the vapor deposition material is stabilized and the film formation rate can be kept constant, so that a highly reliable vacuum vapor deposition apparatus capable of a stable vapor deposition process can be provided.

  The present invention can be widely applied not only to vacuum deposition but also to a CVD apparatus or a sputtering apparatus having a moving mechanism inside a vacuum chamber in a thin film forming process for handling a large substrate. The present invention is not limited to the organic EL display and organic EL illumination shown in the embodiments, and can be applied to film formation and coating on semiconductors, solar cells, packaging containers, and the like.

1 ... Vacuum chamber 2 ... Evaporation source 4 ... Substrate
5 ... Mask 8 ... Internal base plate
9 ... Floating mechanism 10 ... Drive mechanism 11 ... Camera
16 ... External base plate 20 ... Cage structure 21 ... Bellows
23 ... post 24 ... optical axis
25… Substrate side alignment mark 26… Mask side alignment mark
27… Alignment image 28… Substrate side alignment mark image
29 ... Mask side alignment mark image 31 ... Mask opening pattern
37 ... Pixel 38 ... Mask opening 40 ... Pixel electrode
41 ... Bank 42 ... Deposited film 100 ... Motor
101 ... Coupling 102 ... Magnetic fluid seal 103 ... Screw
104 ... Nut 105 ... Linear guide 106 ... Fixing part
107 ... moving plate 108 ... fixed plate 109 ... push rod
110 ... Vacuum partition 111 ... Magnetic screw 112 ... Nut
113 ... Bearing 114 ... Flange 115 ... Through hole
117 ... Piston 118 ... Ring 119 ... Block
120 ... Pneumatic piping 121 ... Pneumatic source 122 ... Solenoid valve
123 ... Speed controller 124 ... Stopper 125 ... Sensor.

Claims (13)

In a vacuum deposition apparatus having a vacuum chamber for depositing a deposition material in an evaporation source on a substrate,
A rigid first reference member provided inside the vacuum chamber, a rigid second reference member provided outside the vacuum chamber, and a through hole provided on one end of the vacuum chamber, with one end fixed to the first reference member. A cage structure having a plurality of rigid columns having the other end fixed to the second reference member through a hole, and a column between the through hole and the fixed portion of the first reference member or the second reference member A first hermetic portion for ensuring airtightness of the vacuum chamber, maintenance means for maintaining the cage structure at a predetermined position of the vacuum chamber, and the cage structure for moving the evaporation source inside the vacuum chamber A vacuum vapor deposition apparatus comprising: a moving means provided on a body; and a drive source for driving the moving means. The maintaining means is provided between the first or second reference member and a wall of the vacuum chamber, and is disposed in the vacuum chamber facing the first or second reference member and the first or second reference member. The vacuum deposition apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a restraining means for maintaining a relative positional relationship with the wall, or a floating mechanism configured by any one of a sliding pair, a rotating pair, or a combination thereof. The restraining means is provided between the first or second reference member and a wall of the vacuum chamber;
The surface direction restraining means for restraining a displacement in a surface direction between the first or second reference member and a wall of the vacuum chamber facing the first or second reference member. Vacuum deposition equipment. The surface direction restraining means is means for providing a convex portion on at least one of the first or second reference member and the wall of the vacuum chamber facing the first member, and fitting into the corresponding concave portion or hitting the end portion. The vacuum deposition apparatus according to claim 3. The vacuum evaporation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the driving source is fixed to the second reference member. The evaporation source has a nozzle and has a crucible which is a container for storing the vapor deposition material therein, and a heating means for heating the crucible, and the vapor deposition material is vaporized by heating the crucible and provided in the crucible. The vacuum deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vapor deposition material vaporized from the nozzle is ejected. The drive source is provided outside the vacuum deposition chamber, and has a second hermetic portion for ensuring airtightness of the vacuum deposition chamber between the moving means and the drive source, and the drive source via the second hermetic portion. The vacuum vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotational power or linear motion power is transmitted to the moving means. The moving means includes a moving mechanism for moving the evaporation source in parallel with the first reference member, a connecting means for connecting the moving mechanism and the evaporation source, and a coupling driving means for driving the connecting means. The vacuum evaporation apparatus according to claim 1 or 7, wherein The moving mechanism has a guide rail provided on the first reference member and a slider that slides on the guide rail, and the coupling means is a nut fixed to at least one of the evaporation source and the slider. The vacuum deposition apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the coupling driving means is a screw for moving the nut. The moving mechanism includes a guide rail provided on the first reference member and a slider that slides on the guide rail, and the coupling means is the evaporation source, the slider, or the evaporation source and the slide. A fixing portion for fixing the child, wherein the coupling driving means is fixed at one end to the coupling means,
The push rod is fixed to a movable part whose other end is movable, and the second hermetic part is provided at least between the movable part and the wall of the vacuum deposition chamber, and the push provided outside the vacuum chamber. 9. The vacuum evaporation apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising push rod driving means for driving the rod. The moving mechanism has a guide rail provided on the first reference member and a slider that slides on the guide rail, and the coupling driving means has a cavity having an atmosphere outside the vacuum deposition chamber inside. A non-magnetic vacuum partition that is elongated in the moving direction of the evaporation source, and a magnetic coupling driving unit that is provided in the vacuum partition and is magnetically coupled to the coupling unit and moves the coupling unit along the vacuum partition. The vacuum deposition apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the vacuum deposition apparatus is provided.   The magnetic coupling driving means is a magnetic screw that is elongated in the direction of the vacuum bulkhead and magnetized in a spiral manner, and the coupling means is a nut for a magnetic screw that is disposed outside the vacuum bulkhead in a non-contact manner with the vacuum bulkhead, The vacuum evaporation apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the driving source drives the magnetic screw.   The magnetic coupling driving means is a piston provided in the vacuum partition, and the coupling means is a ring arranged outside the vacuum partition without contacting the vacuum partition, and one of the piston and the ring is a magnet. And the other is formed of a material that is adsorbed to the magnet, and pneumatic piping is connected to both ends of the vacuum partition, and the piston is moved by controlling the pneumatic pressure. The vacuum evaporation apparatus according to claim 11.

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