JP6106433B2 - Evaporation source device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an evaporation source device.

  As an evaporation apparatus used for manufacturing an organic EL element, there is an apparatus using a linear evaporation source. This line-shaped evaporation source has a plurality of openings arranged in parallel in the longitudinal direction, and vapor of the vapor deposition material is ejected from these openings.

  In such a vapor deposition apparatus, a thin film is formed on a substrate by transporting the substrate in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the evaporation source.

  By the way, when using the said linear evaporation source, it is known that the film thickness on a board | substrate tends to become thin toward the longitudinal direction both ends side of an evaporation source.

  Therefore, as a technique for eliminating the variation in the film thickness distribution, for example, techniques disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 have been proposed.

  Specifically, in Patent Document 1, the pitch of the openings is narrowed toward both ends in the longitudinal direction of the evaporation source, and in Patent Document 2, the both ends in the longitudinal direction of the evaporation source are inclined toward the center of the substrate. By trying to do so, it is trying to make the film thickness distribution uniform.

  However, in Patent Documents 1 and 2, since it is difficult to change the pitch of the opening of the evaporation source and the inclination of both ends later, a slight opening is necessary to finely adjust the film thickness distribution once set. It is necessary to remanufacture the evaporation source in which the pitch of the part and the inclination degree of both ends are changed. Therefore, Patent Documents 1 and 2 are expensive and time-consuming when adjusting the film thickness distribution once set, and of course, the film thickness distribution cannot be adjusted unless the vacuum chamber is opened to the atmosphere. Poor sex.

Japanese Patent No. 4026449 JP 2004-269948 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and can easily adjust the positional relationship between each ejection port and the substrate in a line-shaped evaporation source, and adjust the film thickness distribution without opening the vacuum chamber to the atmosphere. An object of the present invention is to provide an evaporating source device having excellent practicality.

  The gist of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  A material container 1 for accommodating a vapor deposition material, a material reservoir 2 for temporarily storing the vapor deposition material heated and evaporated in the material container 1, and a substrate 6 facing the vapor deposition material of the material reservoir 2 An evaporation source device having a plurality of jet ports 4 having jet ports 3 to be ejected toward the nozzle, wherein the material reservoir 2 is shared by the plurality of jet ports 4, and the plurality of jets An ejection port moving mechanism that moves the outlet 3 relative to the substrate 6 and a movement control that measures the film thickness distribution of the thin film formed on the substrate 6 and controls the ejection port moving mechanism according to the film thickness distribution. And a mechanism for adjusting the film thickness distribution of the thin film formed on the substrate 6 during vapor deposition.

  Moreover, the material storage part 1 in which the vapor deposition material is stored, the material storage part 2 for temporarily storing the vapor deposition material heated and evaporated in the material storage part 1, and the vapor deposition material in the material storage part 2 are opposed to each other. It is an evaporation source device provided with a plurality of jet ports 4 having jet ports 3 to be jetted toward the substrate 6, and the adjacent material storage units 2 are communicated with each other for each of the plurality of jet ports 4. An ejection port moving mechanism that is connected so as to be relatively movable, and adjusts the distance between the ejection port 3 and the substrate 6 by moving the ejection port 3 toward and away from the substrate 6 for each of the plurality of ejection port portions 4. And a movement control mechanism for measuring the film thickness distribution of the thin film formed on the substrate 6 and controlling the jet port moving mechanism in accordance with the film thickness distribution, and depositing the film on the substrate 6 during vapor deposition. A structure capable of adjusting the film thickness distribution of the thin film formed. Those of the source device.

Moreover, it is set as the structure which controls the said ejection-port movement mechanism so that it may mutually contact / separate for every several said ejection-portion parts 4, and the space | interval for each said several ejection-portion portions 4 is adjusted. This relates to the evaporation source device according to Item 2 .

4. The structure according to claim 2 , wherein the ejection port moving mechanism is controlled such that the ejection port 3 farther from the material container 1 is closer to the substrate 6. 5. This relates to the evaporation source device.

Further, the ejection port moving mechanism is provided for each of the plurality of ejection port portions 4, and the movement of the ejection port 3 is individually controlled for each of the plurality of ejection port portions 4. ~ those of the evaporation source apparatus according to any one of 4.

Further, the material reservoir 2 is continuously provided in one container 5, a plurality of the jet nozzles 3 are arranged in parallel on the surface of the container 5 facing the substrate 6, and the entire container 5 is mounted on the substrate 6. The jet port moving mechanism is controlled so as to adjust the film thickness distribution by moving the jet port 3 with respect to the substrate 6 by inclining or deforming a part of the container 5. those of the evaporation source apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the configuration and the.

In addition, the container 5 is inclined or one of the containers 5 so that the end side far from the material container 1 is close to the substrate 6 or the end side near the material container 1 is separated from the substrate 6. The evaporation source apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the ejection port moving mechanism is configured to bend and deform the portion.

Further, a plurality of the ejection port moving mechanisms are provided along the longitudinal direction of the container 5, or the ejection port moving mechanisms are respectively provided on the opposite surface side and the opposite surface side of the container 5 with respect to the substrate 6. 8. The evaporation source device according to claim 6 , wherein the movement of the outlet 3 is controlled. 9.

Further, according to claim 1-8, characterized in that with a jet direction adjusting mechanism distal end surface of the spout 3 to adjust the orientation of the spout 3 so as to be parallel to the deposition surface of the substrate 6 The evaporation source device according to any one of the above.

  Since the present invention is configured as described above, the positional relationship between each ejection port and the substrate can be easily adjusted in a line-shaped evaporation source, and the film thickness distribution can be adjusted without opening the vacuum chamber to the atmosphere. It becomes an excellent evaporation source device.

It is a schematic explanatory side view of the vapor deposition apparatus which concerns on a present Example. It is a schematic explanatory side view of a present Example. It is an example of 1 composition of an evaporation source device. It is an example of 1 composition of an evaporation source device. It is an example of 1 composition of an evaporation source device. It is an example of 1 composition of an evaporation source device. It is an example of 1 composition of an evaporation source device. It is an example of 1 composition of an evaporation source device. It is an example of 1 composition of an evaporation source device. It is an example of 1 composition of an evaporation source device. It is an example of 1 composition of an evaporation source device. It is an example of 1 composition of an evaporation source device.

  An embodiment of the present invention which is considered to be suitable will be briefly described with reference to the drawings showing the operation of the present invention.

  In the vacuum chamber, the vapor deposition material accommodated in the material accommodating portion 1 is heated and evaporated to be ejected from the ejection port 3, and the substrate 6 is conveyed in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the evaporation source. A thin film is formed on top.

  At this time, the positional relationship between the ejection port 3 and the substrate 6 is adjusted by moving the ejection port 3 with respect to the substrate 6 for each of the plurality of ejection port portions 4 by the ejection port moving mechanism. The deposition amount of the vapor deposition material on the substrate 6 can be corrected, and the film thickness distribution on the substrate 6 can be made uniform.

  Specifically, for example, the adjacent material reservoirs 2 are connected to each other in a communication state so as to be relatively movable for each of the plurality of nozzles 4, and each nozzle is moved by moving to each of the unitized nozzles 4. 3 is moved with respect to the substrate 6 or the material reservoir 2 is continuously provided in one container 5, and a plurality of jet nozzles 3 are arranged in parallel on the surface of the container 5 facing the substrate 6. 5 is inclined with respect to the substrate 6 or a part of the container 5 is bent and deformed to move each of the ejection ports 3 with respect to the substrate 6, for example, the ejection ports 3 farther from the material container 1. The film thickness distribution can be adjusted by adjusting the distance between each ejection port 3 and the substrate 6 so as to be close to the substrate 6.

  Further, the film thickness distribution of the thin film formed on the substrate 6 after deposition in the vacuum chamber is measured by the movement control mechanism, and the predetermined jet nozzle 3 is moved with respect to the substrate 6 according to the measured film thickness distribution. It is also possible to automatically adjust the film thickness distribution during continuous vapor deposition.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily adjust the position of the predetermined jet outlet 3 without need to remanufacture the evaporation source, and without having to open the vacuum chamber to the atmosphere. It becomes possible to automatically adjust the thickness distribution.

  Further, as the ejection movement mechanism, for example, a ball screw mechanism or a thermal actuator mechanism using thermal expansion can be employed, and for example, the adjacent material storage portions 2 are relatively moved in communication with each other for each of the plurality of ejection port portions 4. When it is configured to be freely connected and individually controllable for each of the plurality of jet outlet portions 4 that are unitized, more precise deposition distribution adjustment is possible.

  Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  In the present embodiment, a material container 1 (crucible) in which a vapor deposition material is stored, a material storage unit 2 for temporarily storing the vapor deposition material stored in the material storage unit 1 and heated and evaporated, and the material storage The evaporation source device includes a plurality of jet ports 4 having jet ports 3 for jetting the vapor deposition material of the unit 2 toward the opposing substrate 6, and the jet ports 3 are arranged for each of the plurality of jet ports 4. An ejection port moving mechanism that moves relative to the substrate 6; and a movement control mechanism that measures the film thickness distribution of the thin film formed on the substrate 6 and controls the ejection port moving mechanism according to the film thickness distribution. It is comprised so that the film thickness distribution of the thin film formed on the said board | substrate 6 can be adjusted during vapor deposition.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, for example, it is provided in a vacuum chamber of a vapor deposition apparatus that vacuum deposits an organic material. In FIG. 1, a plurality of evaporation source devices are arranged side by side, and a film is sequentially formed on the substrate 6. Further, the ejection ports 3 of the respective evaporation source devices are arranged side by side so as to be orthogonal to the substrate transport direction. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 24 denotes a partition plate.

  In this embodiment, the heating temperature of the vapor deposition material (the temperature of the material container 1) is controlled by the vaporization rate control device according to the vapor deposition rate measured by the vapor deposition rate monitor 8, and the film thickness sensor The ejection port movement mechanism is controlled by the ejection port movement control device according to the film thickness distribution of the thin film formed on the substrate 6 measured by 9 (for example, optical type). The vapor deposition rate monitor 8 is configured to move to an appropriate position along with the movement of each ejection port 3.

  Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the adjacent material reservoirs 2 are connected to each other in a communication state so as to be relatively movable for each of the plurality of nozzles 4, and the nozzles are sprayed for each of the nozzles 4. The outlet 3 is moved toward and away from the substrate 6, and is moved toward and away from each other for each of the plurality of jet ports 4, thereby adjusting the distance between the substrate 6 and the jet ports 3 and the intervals of the plurality of jet ports 4. Thus, the ejection port moving mechanism is configured. In addition, the material storage part 2 of the jet nozzle part 4 of a lower end position is directly connected so that it may connect with the material accommodating part 1. FIG.

  Specifically, the material storage parts 2 of the adjacent one outlet part 4 are connected in an airtight state by elastic members 7 (bellows) communicating with each other so that the outlets 3 are arranged in a line in a line, Each jet port 4 is configured to be individually controllable by a ball screw mechanism. In this embodiment, the spout 4 is formed by providing a cylindrical nozzle-shaped spout 3 on the surface of the metal frame-shaped container 28 and the bottomed frame-shaped container 29 facing the substrate 6.

  The ball screw mechanism includes a ball screw 10, motors 11 and 12 that drive the ball screw 10, and a block 13 that is screwed to the ball screw 10 and moves according to the rotation of the ball screw 10. In addition, illustration of the block by the side of the jet nozzle part 4 is abbreviate | omitted. In this embodiment, a motor 11 for moving the ejection port portion 4 toward and away from the substrate 6 is fixed in the vacuum chamber so as to be a predetermined distance from the substrate 6, and the ejection port portions 4 are brought into contact with each other. The motor 12 and the block 13 for separating are configured to be guided in a direction parallel to the film formation surface of the substrate 6. The motor 12 at the lower end position is fixed in the vacuum chamber.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to freely move the position of each jet port 4, that is, the jet port 3 by the ball screw mechanism, and adjust the film thickness distribution of the thin film formed on the substrate 6 closely. It becomes possible.

  Since the vapor deposition material heated and evaporated in the material container 1 provided at the lower end position is sequentially filled in the vapor deposition material storage unit 2 of each jet port 4 and is ejected from each jet port 3. Although the amount of ejection from the lower end side of the ejection port 3 is large and the amount of ejection from the upper end side of the ejection port 3 tends to decrease, for example, the ejection is performed toward the upper end side of the ejection port 3 farther from the material container 1. It is possible to make the film thickness distribution uniform by controlling the movement of each jet port 4 so that the distance between the outlet 3 and the substrate 6 is small. Further, the fine adjustment of the position of each jet outlet 3 once set can be easily performed.

  Further, in this embodiment, the film thickness distribution of the thin film formed on the substrate 6 is measured, and the jet port moving mechanism is controlled in accordance with the film thickness distribution to move the predetermined jet port portion 4 to the predetermined thickness. A jet nozzle position control device as a movement control mechanism for adjusting the position of the jet nozzle 3 is provided.

  Therefore, the film thickness distribution of the thin film formed on the substrate 6 is measured immediately after the film formation (for example, before the start of vapor deposition on the next substrate 6), and the measured film thickness is fed back to provide accuracy in real time. It is also possible to adjust the film thickness distribution well.

  In addition, it is good not only as said structure but as a structure as shown in FIGS. 3-11 demonstrated below. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 7, the motor 11 can be disposed outside the vacuum chamber via an elastic member such as a bellows 27 provided on the wall surface 26 of the vacuum chamber.

  FIG. 3 shows the material storage part 2 continuously provided in one metal box-like container 5 to which the material storage part 1 is connected at one end side, that is, a plurality of jet outlet parts 4 arranged in parallel. The material storage unit 2 is shared, and a plurality of cylindrical nozzle-like jet nozzles 3 are arranged in parallel on the surface of the container 5 facing the substrate 6, and the entire container 5 is parallel to the film formation surface of the substrate 6. This is an example in which the ejection port moving mechanism is configured to adjust the film thickness distribution by inclining so as to intersect.

  Specifically, a block (not shown) of the ball screw mechanism is provided on the bottom surface or side surface of both ends of the container 5 in the longitudinal direction, the motor 11 side is fixed, and the container 5 side moves as the block moves. ing.

  Accordingly, by appropriately setting the degree of separation of the block at both ends of the container 5 from the motor 11, the block 5 is inclined at an appropriate angle θ, so that one end side of the container 5 (the material container 1 It is possible to bring the other end side (side closer to the material accommodating portion 1) away from each other.

  In addition, the substrate 6 may be transported so that the film formation surface faces sideways as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 during vapor deposition, or the film formation surface faces downward as illustrated in FIG. You may convey as follows. In FIG. 4, the code | symbol 14 is a connection body which connects the opening part of the material accommodating part 1 and the container 5 in a communication state.

  The rest is the same as the example of FIG.

  5 and 6, the adjacent material reservoirs 2 are connected in a communication state so as to be relatively movable for each of the plurality of jet outlets 4, and the jet outlet 3 is in contact with the substrate 6 for each of the plurality of jet outlets 4. This is an example in which the ejection port moving mechanism is configured to move away and adjust the distance between the substrate 6 and the ejection port 3.

  Specifically, FIGS. 5 and 6 are obtained by unitizing the upper, lower, and central ejection port portions 4, respectively, and an upper unit configured by integrating the three ejection port portions 4 into the container 5. The lower unit is connected to the central unit by an elastic member 7 in an inclined state so that the jet port 3 on the upper and lower end side is closer to the substrate 6, and vaporized by connecting the material containing unit 1 to the central unit and evaporating. The material is configured to diffuse up and down.

  The central unit is supported by a support 17 standing on the wall 26 of the vacuum chamber, and the upper unit and the lower unit are moved toward and away from the substrate 6 via a bellows 27 by a ball screw mechanism provided outside the vacuum chamber ( (Or inclined). Therefore, the upper unit and the lower unit can be individually brought close to the film formation surface of the substrate 6 by each ball screw mechanism.

  FIG. 5 shows an example in which one material accommodating portion 1 is provided, and FIG. 6 is an example in which two material accommodating portions 1 are provided, and the central unit is constituted by one ejection port portion 4 or three ejection port portions. It is the same except for the difference of whether it is comprised by 4. 5 and 6, reference numeral 16 denotes a connecting body that connects the containers 5 constituting the central unit and the openings of the material accommodating portion 1 in a communicating state.

  The rest is the same as the example of FIG.

  FIG. 7 shows an example in which the inclination angle of the cylindrical nozzle-like jet nozzle 3 in the example of FIG. 3 can be freely set. Even when the container 5 is inclined at a predetermined inclination angle θ, the cylindrical nozzle shape The tip surface of the nozzle 3 can be made parallel to the film formation surface of the substrate 6, and the film thickness distribution can be easily adjusted accordingly.

  The rest is the same as the example of FIG.

  8 and 9, the material storage part 2 is continuously provided in one metal box-like container 5 to which the material accommodating part 1 is connected on one end side, and the surface of the container 5 facing the substrate 6 is shown. A plurality of cylindrical nozzle-shaped jet nozzles 3 are arranged in parallel, and the jet nozzle moving mechanism is configured to adjust the film thickness distribution by curving and deforming a part of the container 5 by a thermal actuator mechanism using thermal expansion. It is an example.

  Specifically, an electric heater 20 composed of a heating wire 18 and a power source 19 as a jet port moving mechanism is provided on the opposite surface side and the opposite surface side of the container 5 with respect to the substrate 6, respectively. Is heated and expanded from the opposite surface side to bend, and the predetermined end portion side is separated from the film formation surface of the substrate 6 (see FIG. 8), or the opposite surface side of the container 5 is heated from the opposite surface side. Then, the film is curved by being expanded, and a predetermined end portion side is brought close to the film formation surface of the substrate 6 (see FIG. 9) to adjust the film thickness distribution.

  The rest is the same as the example of FIG.

  FIG. 10 shows an example in which an electric heater 20 is provided for each of the spout ports 4 in FIGS. 8 and 9 and each electric heater 20 is individually controlled so that the curvature of the container 5 can be adjusted more finely. is there.

  The rest is the same as the example of FIG.

  11 is obtained by replacing the ball screw mechanism in FIG. 3 with a metal column 21 and an electric heater 20, and adjusting the thermal expansion of the metal column 21 with the electric heater 20, respectively, It is the example comprised so that inclination-angle (theta) of the container 5 may be adjusted with the difference in the expansion | extension degree by thermal expansion. In FIG. 11, reference numeral 25 denotes a fixed body on which the column 21 is erected.

  The rest is the same as the example of FIG.

  12, the material storage portions 2 of the adjacent one outlet 4 as shown in FIG. 1 are connected in an airtight state by elastic members 7 (bellows) communicating with each other, and each outlet 4 is supported by a metal. It is configured to support each of the pillars 23 erected on the member 22, and the support member 22 is provided with an electric heater 20 for heating the part between the pillars 23, and the part between the pillars 23 is individually heated using the support member 22. In this example, the ejection port moving mechanism is configured such that the ejection port portions 4 are moved toward and away from each other to adjust the interval between the ejection port portions 4.

  The rest is the same as the example of FIG.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and the specific configuration of each component can be designed as appropriate.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Material accommodating part 2 Material storage part 3 Outlet 4 Outlet part 5 Container 6 Board | substrate

Claims (9)

  A material storage unit that stores a vapor deposition material, a material storage unit that temporarily stores the vapor deposition material heated and evaporated in the material storage unit, and a vapor deposition material in the material storage unit are ejected toward an opposing substrate. An evaporation source device comprising a plurality of jet outlets having jet nozzles, wherein the material reservoir is shared by the jet nozzles, and the jet nozzles are moved relative to the substrate. An ejection port moving mechanism, and a movement control mechanism for measuring the film thickness distribution of the thin film formed on the substrate and controlling the ejection port moving mechanism according to the film thickness distribution, on the substrate during vapor deposition An evaporation source apparatus configured to be capable of adjusting a film thickness distribution of a thin film to be formed.   A material storage unit that stores a vapor deposition material, a material storage unit that temporarily stores the vapor deposition material heated and evaporated in the material storage unit, and a vapor deposition material in the material storage unit are ejected toward an opposing substrate. An evaporation source device comprising a plurality of jet outlet portions having jet nozzles, wherein the material storage portions adjacent to each other for each of the plurality of jet nozzle portions are connected to each other so as to be relatively movable, and the plurality of jet nozzles are connected. Measuring the film thickness distribution of the thin film formed on the substrate, and the nozzle moving mechanism for adjusting the distance between the nozzle and the substrate by moving the nozzle toward and away from the substrate for each outlet portion And a movement control mechanism for controlling the ejection port moving mechanism in accordance with the film thickness distribution, wherein the film thickness distribution of the thin film formed on the substrate during vapor deposition can be adjusted. Evaporation source device. 3. The structure according to claim 2 , wherein the plurality of ejection port portions are moved toward and away from each other to control the ejection port moving mechanism so as to adjust the interval between the plurality of ejection port portions. Evaporation source device. 4. The evaporation source device according to claim 2 , wherein the ejection port moving mechanism is controlled so that the ejection port farther from the material container is closer to the substrate. Provided each of the plurality of the husband said spout moving mechanism for each ejection opening, claim 1-4, characterized in that it has a configuration that moves individually controlling the ejection port into a plurality of the ejection opening per 2. The evaporation source apparatus according to item 1. The material storage part is continuously provided in one container, and a plurality of the jet outlets are arranged in parallel on the surface of the container facing the substrate, and the entire container is inclined with respect to the substrate or one of the containers. 2. The structure according to claim 1 , wherein the jetting port moving mechanism is controlled so as to adjust the film thickness distribution by moving the jetting port with respect to the substrate by curving and deforming a portion. The evaporation source apparatus as described. The container is inclined or a part of the container is curved and deformed so that the end side far from the material container is close to the substrate or the end side near the material container is separated from the substrate. The evaporation source apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein a jet port moving mechanism is configured. A plurality of the ejection port moving mechanisms are provided along the longitudinal direction of the container, or the ejection port moving mechanisms are respectively provided on the opposite surface side and the opposite surface side of the container to control the movement of the predetermined ejection port. The evaporation source device according to claim 6 , wherein the evaporation source device is configured. Any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that with a jet direction adjusting mechanism distal end surface of the spout to adjust the orientation of the spout so as to be parallel to the deposition surface of the substrate The evaporation source apparatus according to 1.

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