JP7188973B2 - Film forming apparatus, manufacturing system, organic EL panel manufacturing system, film forming method, and organic EL element manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a film forming apparatus and a film forming method. More particularly, the present invention relates to a film forming apparatus and a film forming method capable of exchanging substrates in another stage while performing vapor deposition on a substrate in one vapor deposition stage in the same chamber.

In recent years, self-luminous organic EL elements, which are excellent in viewing angle, contrast, and response speed, have been actively applied to various display devices including wall-mounted televisions.
Generally, an organic EL element is manufactured by a method of carrying a substrate into a vacuum chamber and forming an organic film having a predetermined pattern on the substrate. More specifically, a process of loading the substrate into a deposition chamber in which vacuum is maintained, a process of aligning the substrate and the mask with high precision, a process of depositing an organic material, and a process of removing the deposited substrate. It is manufactured through a step of unloading from the film forming chamber, and the like.

In the process of forming an organic material, the organic material is vaporized or sublimated to form a film. In the case of a method in which the organic material is heated each time the substrate is set, the process waits until the film formation rate stabilizes after each heating. , which limits the throughput of manufacturing.
Therefore, it is conceivable to maintain the evaporation source at a high temperature to keep the deposition rate of the organic material constant. wasteful loss of For this reason, attempts have been made to find a method that achieves both an improvement in production throughput and a reduction in the amount of organic material loss.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an apparatus that includes a vacuum chamber that can accommodate a first substrate and a second substrate, and that has a vapor deposition source that can be moved between the vapor deposition region of the first substrate and the vapor deposition region of the second substrate. disclosed. The deposition source of the apparatus is movable along an arcuate trajectory between the deposition regions of the first substrate and the deposition regions of the second substrate. The transfer and alignment of one substrate and the vapor deposition of the other substrate can be performed at the same time, thereby shortening the process time and improving the utilization efficiency of materials.

Further, Patent Document 2 discloses an apparatus in which a first vapor deposition stage and a second vapor deposition stage are arranged adjacent to each other in a vacuum chamber, and a vapor deposition source reciprocates between the two stages to alternately form films. ing. In this apparatus, each vapor deposition stage is provided with a shutter in order to prevent an organic material from entering the other adjacent vapor deposition stage, for example, while a substrate is being deposited on one vapor deposition stage. At the same time as carrying out the substrate transport and alignment processes in one vapor deposition stage, the substrate vapor deposition process can be performed in the other vapor deposition stage, thereby shortening the process time and improving the utilization efficiency of materials.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-68980 JP 2016-196684 A

In the apparatuses described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, a vapor deposition source is horizontally movably arranged at the bottom of a vacuum chamber, and an organic material is vaporized vertically upward. Each vapor deposition stage is provided with a mask holding mechanism and a substrate holding mechanism arranged in this order from the bottom, as well as a substrate transport mechanism and an alignment adjustment mechanism for adjusting the alignment of both.

For example, when carrying out the substrate after film formation from the film formation chamber, the substrate holding mechanism is lifted to separate the substrate from the mask, and then the substrate is carried out of the film formation chamber. Further, when the substrate before film formation is set on the vapor deposition stage, the substrate carried into the film formation chamber is moved above the vapor deposition stage to be held by the substrate holding mechanism, and the substrate holding mechanism is moved downward to separate the substrate and the mask from each other. are brought close to each other, and the alignment is adjusted and set.

In the film forming apparatuses disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, the process time is shortened and the utilization efficiency of materials is improved, but the film forming apparatuses tend to be large.
A deposition source, a mask, and a substrate are arranged in this order from the bottom in the deposition chamber. When replacing the substrate, the substrate transport mechanism operates above the mask fixed at a predetermined height to carry in and out the substrate. At this time, in order to prevent the substrate transport mechanism from interfering with the mask and the mask holding mechanism, it is necessary to secure a large working space above the mask in which the substrate transport mechanism can operate. As a result, the height and volume of the film deposition chamber (vacuum chamber) become large, which increases the manufacturing and transportation costs of the film deposition system, and the height and floor load of the building where the film deposition system is installed is also large. had become As a result, the total cost of manufacturing facilities for organic EL elements has increased.

The present invention provides a deposition apparatus including a deposition source movable to a first deposition stage or a second deposition stage inside a deposition chamber capable of being depressurized, and a control unit, wherein the first deposition stage comprises: A first mask supporting part capable of supporting a first mask and capable of moving up and down, and a first substrate supporting part capable of supporting a substrate are provided. The second vapor deposition stage supports the second mask and can move up and down. and a second substrate support capable of supporting a substrate. The second mask supporting part is lowered to a height lower than the height of the highest part of the deposition source and supported by the second substrate supporting part until the deposition performed on the substrate is completed. a first substrate exchange in which the vapor-deposited substrate is exchanged with an undeposited substrate; and after the first substrate exchange, the second mask supporting portion is raised to align the first mask with the second mask. a first set of setting an undeposited substrate that has been subjected to substrate exchange to a film formation position of the second deposition stage; and after the first processing, moving the deposition source to the first deposition a second process of moving from the stage to the second vapor deposition stage; and vapor deposition performed after the second process on the undeposited substrate with the vapor deposition source set to the film formation position of the second vapor deposition stage. is completed, the vapor-deposited substrate supported by the first substrate support by lowering the first mask support to a height lower than the height of the highest part of the vapor deposition source, which is lower than that at the time of vapor deposition. is replaced with a non-evaporated substrate, and after the second substrate replacement, the first mask supporting portion is raised to align with the first mask, and the second substrate replacement is performed. a second set of setting the undeposited substrate to a film formation position of the first deposition stage; and after the third processing, moving the deposition source from the second deposition stage to the first deposition stage. and a fourth process of moving to a vapor deposition stage.

Further, the present invention includes a vapor deposition source that can move to a first vapor deposition stage or a second vapor deposition stage inside a film formation chamber that can be decompressed, and the first vapor deposition stage supports a first mask and can move up and down. and a first substrate support capable of supporting a substrate, wherein the second deposition stage supports a second mask and is capable of moving up and down; A film forming method using a film forming apparatus having a second substrate supporting portion capable of supporting a substrate, wherein the vapor deposition source is applied to an undeposited substrate set at a film forming position of the first vapor deposition stage. Until the vapor deposition is completed, the second mask supporting part is lowered to a height lower than the height of the highest part of the deposition source and supported by the second substrate supporting part. a first substrate exchange in which the already-deposited substrate is exchanged with an undeposited substrate; and the first substrate exchange in which the second mask supporting portion is lifted after the first substrate exchange and alignment with the second mask is performed. a first set of setting the undeposited substrate on which is performed to a film formation position of the second deposition stage; and moving the deposition source from the first deposition stage to the second deposition stage. and the vapor deposition source until the vapor deposition performed on the undeposited substrate set at the film forming position of the second vapor deposition stage is completed, the first mask supporting portion is vapor deposited. a second substrate exchange of lowering the vapor deposition source to a height lower than the height of the highest portion of the vapor deposition source and exchanging the vapor-deposited substrate supported by the first substrate support portion with an undeposited substrate; 2. a second set for setting the undeposited substrate aligned with the first mask by raising the first mask support after exchanging the substrate to a film formation position of the first deposition stage; and a fourth step of moving the deposition source from the second deposition stage to the first deposition stage.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a film forming apparatus and a film forming method that have high utilization efficiency of vapor deposition materials and high film formation throughput, and that are inexpensive because the volume of the vacuum chamber is compact.

1 is a schematic plan view of a film forming system according to an embodiment; FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the overall configuration of a film forming apparatus according to an embodiment; FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the overall configuration of a film forming apparatus according to an embodiment; FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view enlarging a part of the mask supporting portion and the mask driving means; 4 is a time chart showing the operation of each part of the film forming apparatus of the embodiment; FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a vapor deposition stage when carrying out or carrying in a substrate; FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the vapor deposition stage when the substrate is carried in and fixed to the substrate support. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a vapor deposition stage when a substrate is set at a film formation position; FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the film forming apparatus according to the embodiment; 1 is an explanatory diagram of an organic EL panel manufacturing system according to an embodiment; FIG.

A film forming apparatus and a film forming method according to embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings referred to in the following description, the same constituent elements are indicated by the same numbers unless otherwise specified.

(Deposition system)
FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a film forming system including a film forming apparatus according to an embodiment. In the film forming system of FIG. 1, the film forming apparatus 100, the film forming apparatus 101, the film forming apparatus 102, the transfer chamber 35, and the transfer path 103 are connected to each other through the gate valve 34, and the inside of the film forming system is predetermined. kept in a vacuum. A film forming apparatus 100, a film forming apparatus 101, and a film forming apparatus 102 are film forming apparatuses for vapor-depositing an organic material on a substrate, and the basic configuration of each apparatus is the same. The film forming system may be configured such that each film forming apparatus forms a film of the same type of organic material, or may be configured such that each film forming apparatus forms a film of a different type of organic material. Each film forming apparatus has two vapor deposition stages, and the configuration and operation of the film forming apparatus will be described later in detail, taking the film forming apparatus 100 as an example.

The transfer chamber 35 is provided with a transfer robot, and can carry substrates into each film forming apparatus and the transfer path 103 and carry out substrates from each film forming apparatus and the transfer path 103 . The transfer robot has a movable arm 104 and a substrate holding hand 33, and can carry a substrate in and out of each vapor deposition stage of each film forming apparatus. The movable arm 104 and the substrate holding hand 33 may be of any type as long as they can stably handle the substrate within the vacuum apparatus. 1 schematically illustrates a state in which the gate valve 34 connecting the second vapor deposition stage 32 of the film forming apparatus 100 and the transfer chamber 35 is opened, and the transfer robot is handling the substrate 8. .

The transport path 103 is a transport path for transporting the substrate to a load lock chamber that allows the substrate to be taken in and out of the atmosphere, or to another film forming system. In FIG. 1, the film forming apparatuses and the transfer paths are arranged in the four directions of the transfer chamber 35; Film formation chambers and transport paths may be arranged in six or eight directions around the center. Further, the transfer robot, which is a substrate transfer mechanism, is not limited to a single-arm robot, and may be a multi-arm robot.

(Configuration of film forming apparatus)
Next, the configuration of the film forming apparatus according to the embodiment will be described by taking the film forming apparatus 100 as an example. 2 and 3 are schematic cross-sectional views showing the overall configuration of the film forming apparatus 100, and each drawing shows a different operating state of the film forming apparatus 100. FIG.
The film forming apparatus 100 includes a vacuum chamber 1 as an envelope of a film forming chamber, and the inside of the vacuum chamber 1 can be evacuated to a pressure range of 10 ⁻³ Pa or less, for example, by a vacuum pump (not shown).

An evaporation source device 2 is arranged in the vacuum chamber 1. An organic material, which is a film-forming material, is stored inside the evaporation source device 2, and the organic material is heated by a controlled heater at a predetermined rate. Evaporate or sublime. An upper surface of the vapor deposition source device 2 is provided with an opening for discharging the vaporized organic material toward the substrate and, if necessary, a shutter for shielding the opening.

The deposition source device 2 is movable in the X and Y directions by an X-axis slide mechanism 3 and a Y-axis slide mechanism 4 . In FIGS. 2 and 3, the first vapor deposition stage 28 is installed on the left side and the second vapor deposition stage 32 is installed on the right side. can move. 2 shows the state where the vapor deposition source device 2 is positioned on the first vapor deposition stage 28 side, and FIG. 3 shows the state where the vapor deposition source device 2 is positioned on the second vapor deposition stage 32 side.
In addition, the deposition source device 2 can be linearly reciprocated along the direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing by means of the Y-axis slide mechanism 4, and uniformity can be obtained on the substrate along the Y direction at each deposition stage. It is possible to deposit a film having a high

A first mask 7 , a first substrate 6 , and a first holding plate 5 also serving as a magnet plate are arranged in order from the bottom on the side of the first vapor deposition stage 28 in the vacuum chamber 1 . The first mask 7 is supported from both sides by a pair of first mask support portions 20 . The first substrate 6 is supported from both sides by the pair of first substrate supports 26 when aligned with the first mask 7 , and the substrate clamps 21 can fix the first substrate 6 to the first substrate supports 26 . is.

A first mask driving means 11 , a first substrate driving means 12 , a first alignment mechanism 22 , and a first alignment camera 23 are provided on the first vapor deposition stage 28 side above the vacuum chamber 1 . The first mask driving means 11 can adjust the vertical position of the first mask supporter 20 inside the vacuum chamber 1 . The first substrate driving means 12 can adjust the vertical position of the first substrate supporting portion 26 inside the vacuum chamber 1 . The first alignment camera 23 can image the alignment marks of the first substrate 6 and the first mask 7 . The first alignment mechanism 22 can move the first substrate supporting part 26 in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and rotate θ.

A configuration similar to that on the side of the first vapor deposition stage 28 described above is also provided on the side of the second vapor deposition stage 32 . That is, on the side of the second vapor deposition stage 32 in the vacuum chamber 1, the second mask 9, the second substrate 8, and the second presser plate 27 also serving as a magnet plate are arranged in this order from the bottom. The second mask 9 is supported from both sides by a pair of second mask support portions 25 . The second substrate 8 is supported from both sides by the pair of second substrate supports 24 when aligned with the second mask 9 , and the substrate clamps 29 can fix the second substrate 8 to the second substrate supports 24 . is.

A second mask driving means 13 , a second substrate driving means 14 , a second alignment mechanism 31 , and a second alignment camera 30 are provided on the vacuum chamber 1 on the side of the second vapor deposition stage 32 . The second mask driving means 13 can adjust the vertical position of the second mask supporting portion 25 inside the vacuum chamber 1 . The second substrate driving means 14 can adjust the vertical position of the second substrate supporting portion 24 inside the vacuum chamber 1 . The second alignment camera 30 can image the alignment marks of the second substrate 8 and the second mask 9 . The second alignment mechanism 31 can move the second substrate supporting part 24 in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and rotate it by θ.

Next, the specific configurations of the mask driving means and the substrate driving means provided in each vapor deposition stage will be described in more detail. The mask driving means and the substrate driving means are mechanisms capable of vertically moving the mask supporting portion and the substrate supporting portion in the vacuum chamber 1, respectively, and have the same basic principle of operation. Therefore, the first mask driving means 11 will be described as an example.

FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view enlarging a part of the first mask supporter 20 and the first mask driving means 11. As shown in the figure, the axis of the first mask supporter 20 extends through the metal bellows 19. It communicates with the atmosphere side so that it can move up and down while airtightness is ensured. The first mask supporter 20 can move up and down by converting the rotation of the drive motor 17 transmitted through the pulley 16 and the timing belt 15 into linear motion using the ball screw 18. . In the first vapor deposition stage 28, it is possible to move up and down while maintaining the attitude of the first mask 7 by performing biaxial synchronous control of the pair of first mask support parts 20 capable of supporting the mask.

Similarly, the shaft of the first substrate support portion 26 is also communicated with the air side in an airtight state through a metal bellows, and the rotation of the drive motor transmitted through a pulley and a timing belt is transmitted to the ball screw. Up-and-down motion is possible by converting to linear motion with . In the first vapor deposition stage 28, a pair of first substrate support parts 26 capable of supporting a substrate are controlled biaxially synchronously, whereby the first substrate 6 can be moved up and down while maintaining its posture.
The second mask drive means 13 and the second substrate drive means 14 on the second vapor deposition stage 32 side also have the same mechanism.

(Operation of film forming apparatus)
Next, the operation of the film forming apparatus of the embodiment will be described by taking the film forming apparatus 100 as an example. In the film forming apparatus of the embodiment, while vapor deposition is performed in one vapor deposition stage, the mask is moved downward in the other vapor deposition stage to create a space for handling the substrate, and then the substrate is exchanged.
FIG. 5 is a time chart showing the transition of each operating state of the first vapor deposition stage, the second vapor deposition stage, and the vapor deposition source apparatus for one cycle of the operation of the film forming apparatus 100. As shown in FIG.

First, in period T1, the control unit controls each unit to perform the first process, and the following first step is performed. That is, vapor deposition is performed on the first substrate 6 on the first vapor deposition stage 28 side of the film forming apparatus 100 . The vapor deposition source device 2 is moved to the first vapor deposition stage 28 side in advance before the period T1, and when the shutter is opened and vapor deposition is started, the vapor deposition region of the substrate 6 is scanned back and forth in the Y direction by the Y-axis slide mechanism 4. Perform vapor deposition with high uniformity over the entire surface. When vapor deposition is completed by a predetermined film thickness, the shutter is closed to terminate vapor deposition.

On the other hand, in the period T1, in the second deposition stage 32, the already deposited substrate is unloaded, the next substrate to be deposited is loaded, the relative position of the second mask 9 is aligned, and the aligned substrate and the mask are aligned. Set to the deposition position. Note that FIG. 2 shows the arrangement of each part of the film forming apparatus 100 during the period T1.

Next, in period T2, the control section controls each section to execute the second process, and the following second step is executed. That is, the deposition source device 2 with the shutter closed is moved from the first deposition stage 28 side to the second deposition stage 32 side by the X-axis slide mechanism 3 .

Next, in period T3, the control section controls each section to execute the third process, and the following third step is executed. That is, vapor deposition is performed on the second substrate 8 which has been carried into the second vapor deposition stage 32 and set at the film formation position during the period T1. When the shutter of the deposition source device 2 is opened to start deposition, the Y-axis slide mechanism 4 performs reciprocating scanning in the Y direction to perform highly uniform deposition over the entire deposition area of the second substrate 8 . When vapor deposition is completed by a predetermined film thickness, the shutter is closed to terminate vapor deposition.

On the other hand, in the period T3, the first deposition stage 28 unloads the substrate on which the deposition has already been completed in the period T1, loads the next substrate to be deposited, aligns the relative position with the first mask 7, and aligns the aligned substrate. The substrate and mask are set at the deposition position. Note that FIG. 3 shows the arrangement of each part of the film forming apparatus 100 during the period T3.

Next, in period T4, the control unit controls each unit to execute the fourth process, and the following fourth step is executed. That is, the deposition source device 2 with the shutter closed is moved from the second deposition stage 32 side to the first deposition stage 28 side by the X-axis slide mechanism 3 .

The film forming apparatus 100 can improve the utilization efficiency of vapor deposition materials and perform vapor deposition on a large number of substrates with high throughput by continuously repeating the operations from period T1 to period T4 described above.

Next, in each vapor deposition stage, a detailed description will be given of a procedure from unloading a vapor-deposited substrate from the vapor deposition stage to loading a non-vapor-deposited substrate to be next vapor-deposited and setting it at a film formation position.
Here, the operation of the first vapor deposition stage 28 during the period T3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 6 to 8. The procedure of the operation of the second vapor deposition stage 32 during the period T1 is the same. . In each figure, the dashed line 10 indicates the height of the mask supporting portion during film formation, and the dashed line 36 indicates the height of the highest portion of the vapor deposition source device 2 .

At the start of the period T3, the substrate on which the vapor deposition was completed in the period T1 is still set at the film formation position on the first vapor deposition stage . That is, as shown in FIG. 8, the first mask supporting portion 20 is at the level of the dashed line 10, which is the height at the time of film formation, and supports the deposited substrate and the first mask 7. As shown in FIG. A first pressing plate 5 also serving as a magnet plate is in close contact with the upper surface of the substrate on which vapor deposition has been completed, and the first mask 7 is attracted to the lower surface of the substrate. At this stage, the vapor-deposited substrate is supported by the first mask supporter 20, is separated from the first substrate supporter 26, and the substrate clamp 21 is in an open state.
In order to unload the deposited substrate from the first deposition stage 28 using the substrate holding hand 33 of the transfer robot, the following operations are performed.

First, the first holding plate 5 is raised to separate from the upper surface of the substrate on which vapor deposition has been completed, and the first mask 7 is released from attraction by the magnet. Next, the first substrate driving means 12 is driven to raise the first substrate supporting portion 26 and move it to a position slightly higher than the dashed line 10 (for example, 10 mm) while supporting the deposited substrate. Further, the first mask driving means 11 is driven to lower the first mask supporting portion 20 and move it to a position lower than the chain line 36 while supporting the first mask 7 . Since the vapor deposition source device 2 moves toward the second vapor deposition stage 32 during the period T2, even if the first mask supporter 20 is lowered to a position lower than the dashed-dotted line 36, it does not interfere with the vapor deposition source device 2. do not have. In some cases, the deposition source device 2 may be provided with a position sensor to confirm that the deposition source device 2 is moving toward the second deposition stage 32 before the first mask supporter 20 is lowered. good.

In this embodiment, by lowering the mask supporter to a height lower than the height of the highest part of the deposition source apparatus, an operation space for the transfer robot can be created between the substrate supporter and the mask. In order to transfer the substrate between the substrate supporter and the transport robot, a large work space for operating the transport robot is required between the substrate supporter and the mask. In the conventional film forming apparatus, when the substrate is transported, the mask is fixed at the same height as during deposition. I had to secure a large space. In addition, the substrate support part was moved greatly (for example, 150 mm) toward the ceiling of the vacuum chamber to secure the operation space of the transfer robot. Costs were increasing.

In this embodiment, when the substrate is unloaded, the mask support is lowered to move the substrate support to a position slightly higher than the dashed-dotted line 10, so that the operating space of the transfer robot is formed between the substrate support and the mask. can be created. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is not necessary to secure a wide space between the dashed line 10 and the ceiling of the vacuum chamber. The size and weight of the device can be reduced. That is, the total cost of manufacturing equipment can be suppressed.

When carrying out the deposited substrate 6, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, the substrate holding hand 33 of the transfer robot is used to scoop up and hold the deposited substrate 6 and pass it through the gate valve 34. to the transfer chamber 35.

When the carrying-out of the vapor-deposited substrate is completed, the non-vapor-deposited substrate to be next vapor-deposited is carried into the first vapor deposition stage 28 using the transfer robot. The height of each part is the same as when carrying out the vapor-deposited substrate. Therefore, it can be said that the substrate 6 illustrated in FIG. 6 is a substrate on which vapor deposition has been completed at the time of unloading, and a substrate on which vapor deposition has not yet been performed at the time of loading. When the non-evaporated substrate is placed on the first substrate supporting portion 26, the substrate holding hand 33 of the transfer robot retreats to the transfer chamber 35, and the gate valve 34 is closed.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7 , the undeposited first substrate 6 placed on the first substrate supporting portion 26 is fixed by the substrate clamps 21 .
Next, the first mask driving means 11 is driven to raise the first mask supporting portion 20 and stop it at the position indicated by the one-dot chain line 10, which is the height at the time of vapor deposition. The first substrate supporting portion 26 is positioned higher than the dashed line 10, but the first substrate is moved to the position where the alignment marks of the first substrate 6 and the first mask 7 can be simultaneously captured by the first alignment camera 23. 7, the first substrate supporting portion 26 is lowered. In order to align the first substrate 6 and the first mask 7, the alignment marks of the first substrate 6 and the first mask 7 are imaged by the first alignment camera 23, and the controller corrects the alignment based on the imaging data. Calculate quantity.
Next, the first substrate temporarily drives the first substrate driving means 12 to raise the first substrate supporting portion 26 . Based on the calculation result, the control unit drives the first alignment mechanism 22 capable of moving in the X-axis direction, Y-axis direction, and rotating θ to move the first substrate 6 to the alignment target position.

After moving the first substrate 6 to the alignment target position, the first substrate driving means 12 is driven again to lower the first substrate supporting portion 26, and the height of the first substrate 6 at the time of vapor deposition is indicated by the one-dot chain line. Stop at position 10. When the upper pressing plate 5, which also serves as a magnet plate, is lowered, the magnetic force of the magnet attracts the first mask 7, which is a magnetic material, and brings it into close contact with the lower surface of the first substrate 6. FIG. After the first substrate 6 and the first mask 7 are brought into close contact with each other, the substrate clamp 21 is brought into an unclamped state.

Next, by lowering the first substrate supporting portion 26 slightly, the first substrate 6 is placed on the first mask supporting portion 20 while being in close contact with the first mask 7 . That is, it is set to the film forming position shown in FIG.
The operation up to this point is completed during the period T3 shown in FIG. 5, that is, until the film formation on the substrate is completed on the second vapor deposition stage 32 side.

(control system)
Next, the configuration of the control system of the film forming apparatus 100 of the embodiment will be described with reference to the control block diagram of FIG. The control system of the film forming apparatus 100 may constitute a part of the control system that controls the entire film forming system shown in FIG. For convenience of illustration, FIG. 9 shows only some of the elements connected to the control unit.

The control unit 50 is a computer for controlling the operation of the film forming apparatus 100, and includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an I/O port, and the like. The ROM stores an operation program related to basic operations of the film forming apparatus 100 .
A program for executing various processes related to the film forming method of the present embodiment may be stored in the ROM similarly to the basic operation program, or may be loaded from the outside to the RAM via the network. Alternatively, it may be loaded into the RAM via a computer-readable recording medium recording the program.

The I/O port is connected to an external device or network, and can input/output data required for vapor deposition to/from an external computer 51, for example. Also, the I/O port is connected to a monitor and an input device (not shown), and can display operating state information of the film forming apparatus to the operator and accept command inputs from the operator.

The control section 50 is connected to the first mask drive means 11 , the first substrate drive means 12 , the first alignment mechanism 22 and the substrate clamp 21 and controls the operation of each part of the first vapor deposition stage 28 . Also, the control unit 50 is connected to the second mask driving means 13 , the second substrate driving means 14 , the second alignment mechanism 31 and the substrate clamp 29 and controls the operation of each part of the second vapor deposition stage 32 .
Also, the control unit 50 is connected to the X-axis slide mechanism 3 and the Y-axis slide mechanism 4 to control the position of the deposition source device 2 . Also, the control unit 50 is connected to the deposition source device 2 and controls the operation of the heater and shutter of the deposition source device 2 .

Furthermore, the control unit 50 is connected to sensors such as the first alignment camera 23, the second alignment camera 30, the position sensor of the evaporation source device, the position sensor of the mask support unit, etc., and obtains information necessary for controlling each unit. .
The control unit 50 is also connected to the control unit of the transfer robot and the control unit of the gate valve 34, and cooperates with these to perform synchronous adjustment of operation timing when the substrate is carried in or out. In some cases, the controller 50 may directly control the operation of the transport robot and the gate valve 34 .
The control unit 50 controls the operation of each of these units, and executes processing related to the entire film formation process, including substrate loading, deposition, and substrate unloading, in each deposition stage.

As described above, in the film forming apparatus and film forming method of this embodiment, when vapor deposition is completed in one vapor deposition stage, the vapor deposition source device is moved to the other vapor deposition stage to start vapor deposition. Then, until the vapor deposition in the other vapor deposition stage is completed, in the one vapor deposition stage, the mask supporting portion is moved downward, the vapor-deposited substrate is unloaded and the non-deposited substrate is loaded, and alignment with the mask is performed. is completed and set to the film forming position. Then, when vapor deposition is completed in the other vapor deposition stage, the vapor deposition source device is moved to the one vapor deposition stage, and vapor deposition is started. Until the vapor deposition in one vapor deposition stage is completed, in the other vapor deposition stage, the mask supporting portion is moved downward to unload the vapor-deposited substrate and load the non-deposited substrate, and then the mask is aligned. Then, the alignment of the mask and the substrate is completed, and the film formation position is set. By repeating the above steps, successive depositions can be performed on new substrates that are alternately carried into two deposition stages in the same vacuum chamber. In other words, by performing film formation and substrate exchange simultaneously in the same vacuum chamber, it is possible to increase the efficiency of the use of vapor deposition materials and speed up the film formation throughput when manufacturing organic EL devices. becomes.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the substrate is carried in or out, the mask support is lowered below the vapor deposition position or the alignment position. An operation space for the transfer robot can be created between the part and the mask. In this embodiment, since it is not necessary to secure a wide space between the film forming position and the ceiling of the vacuum chamber, the height of the vacuum chamber can be reduced, and the size and weight of the film forming apparatus can be reduced. Therefore, the total cost of manufacturing facilities for organic EL elements can be suppressed.

[Other embodiments]
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and many modifications are possible within the technical concept of the present invention.
For example, when replacing the substrate, it is preferable to lower the mask supporting section to a height lower than the height of the highest portion of the deposition source device, but it is possible to lower the mask support portion to a position higher than the highest portion of the deposition source device. If an operation space for the transfer robot can be secured, it may be up to that position. The point is that by lowering the mask support when exchanging the substrate, an operation space for the transport robot is created between the substrate support and the mask, and the height of the vacuum chamber can be suppressed.
Further, the present invention can be implemented as long as one film forming apparatus has a plurality of vapor deposition stages. For example, one film forming apparatus may have three or more vapor deposition stages.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a manufacturing system 300 for manufacturing an organic EL panel, embodying the present invention. The manufacturing system 300 includes a plurality of film forming apparatuses 100, a transfer chamber 1101, a transfer chamber 1102, a transfer chamber 1103, a substrate supply chamber 1105, a mask stock chamber 1106, a delivery chamber 1107, a glass supply chamber 1108, a bonding chamber 1109, and an unloading chamber. 1110 and the like. Although each film formation apparatus 100 differs in details such as a difference in film formation material and a difference in mask, the basic configuration (especially the configuration related to substrate transport and alignment) is almost the same. As described above, each film forming apparatus 100 moves the mask supporting portion downward from the vapor deposition position or the alignment position in the other vapor deposition stage until the vapor deposition in one vapor deposition stage is completed. After carrying out the completed substrate and carrying in the non-deposited substrate, the mask is raised, the alignment between the substrate and the mask is completed, and the film formation position is set.

A robot 1120 as a transport mechanism is arranged in the transport chamber 1101 , the transport chamber 1102 , and the transport chamber 1103 . A robot 1120 transfers substrates between chambers. A plurality of film forming apparatuses 100 included in the manufacturing system 300 may be apparatuses for forming films of the same material, or may be apparatuses for forming films of different materials. For example, it may be a manufacturing system in which each film forming apparatus vapor-deposits organic materials with different emission colors. In the manufacturing system 300, an organic material is vapor-deposited on the substrate conveyed by the robot 1120, or a thin film of an inorganic material such as a metal material is formed by vapor deposition, for example.

A substrate is supplied to the substrate supply chamber 1105 from the outside. A robot 1120 transports a mask, which is used in each film forming apparatus 100 and on which a film is deposited, to the mask stock chamber 1106 . By recovering the mask transported to the mask stock chamber 1106, the mask can be cleaned. Alternatively, a cleaned mask can be stored in the mask stock chamber 1106 and set in the film forming apparatus 100 by the robot 1120 .

A sealing glass material is supplied to the glass supply chamber 1108 from the outside. In the bonding chamber 1109, the organic EL panel is manufactured by bonding a sealing glass material to the film-formed substrate. The manufactured organic EL panel is taken out from the take-out chamber 1110 .
As described above, the present invention can be suitably practiced when forming an organic film that constitutes an organic EL element, but it may also be used for forming other films.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Vacuum chamber/2...Vapor deposition source apparatus/3...X-axis slide mechanism/4...Y-axis slide mechanism/5...First holding plate/6...First substrate/ 7... First mask/8... Second substrate/9... Second mask/10... One-dot chain line indicating height of mask supporting portion during film formation/11... First mask Driving means/12 First substrate driving means/13 Second mask driving means/14 Second substrate driving means/15 Timing belt/16 Pulley/17 Drive motor/18 Ball screw/19 Metal bellows/20 First mask support part/21 Substrate clamp/22 First alignment mechanism/23 First alignment Camera/24...Second substrate support part/25...Second mask support part/26...First substrate support part/27...Second holding plate/28...First vapor deposition stage/ 29... Substrate clamp/30... Second alignment camera/31... Second alignment mechanism/32... Second deposition stage/33... Substrate holding hand/34... Gate valve/35 . . Transfer chamber/36 . Membrane device/103 Transfer path/104 Movable arm/300 Manufacturing system for manufacturing organic EL panel/1101, 1102, 1103 Transfer chamber/1105 Substrate supply chamber/1106 ...mask stock room/1107...delivery room/1108...glass supply room/1109...bonding room/1110...take-out room/1120...robot

Claims (9)

A deposition apparatus comprising a deposition source movable to a first deposition stage or a second deposition stage inside a decompressible deposition chamber, and a controller,
The first vapor deposition stage includes a first mask support that supports the first mask and can move up and down, and a first substrate support that can support the substrate,
The second vapor deposition stage includes a second mask support that supports the second mask and can move up and down, and a second substrate support that can support the substrate,
The control unit
until the vapor deposition source completes the vapor deposition performed on the undeposited substrate set at the film forming position of the first vapor deposition stage, the vapor deposition source lowering the second mask supporting portion than during the vapor deposition . a first substrate exchange in which the vapor-deposited substrate supported by the second substrate supporting portion is lowered to a height lower than the height of the highest portion of the second substrate support portion and replaced with an undeposited substrate; and after the first substrate exchange, the first substrate a first set for setting the undeposited substrate, which has been aligned with the second mask and has undergone the exchange of the first substrate, to a film formation position of the second deposition stage; a first process for performing
a second process of moving the deposition source from the first deposition stage to the second deposition stage after the first process;
After the second process, until the vapor deposition source completes the vapor deposition performed on the undeposited substrate set at the film forming position of the second vapor deposition stage, the first mask supporting portion is moved. a second substrate replacement of lowering the deposition source to a height lower than the height of the highest portion of the deposition source and replacing the deposited substrate supported by the first substrate support with an undeposited substrate; After exchanging the second substrate, the first mask supporting portion is raised to align the undeposited substrate with the first mask, and the undeposited substrate on which the second substrate exchanging is performed is moved to the film forming position of the first vapor deposition stage. a second set to set to, a third process to perform
a fourth process of moving the deposition source from the second deposition stage to the first deposition stage after the third process;
A film forming apparatus characterized by performing The control unit
In the first process, after the substrate carrying mechanism carries out the deposited substrate supported by the second substrate support part from the film forming chamber, the substrate carrying mechanism transports the undeposited substrate to the film forming chamber. transported and supported by the second substrate supporting portion;
In the third process, after the substrate conveying mechanism carries out the vapor-deposited substrate supported by the first substrate support part from the film forming chamber, the substrate conveying mechanism carries the undeposited substrate to the film forming chamber. to be carried in and supported by the first substrate support,
The film forming apparatus according to claim 1 , characterized in that: The control unit
repeatedly executing the first to fourth processes;
3. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: Equipped with a plurality of film forming apparatuses according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
A manufacturing system characterized by: A plurality of film forming apparatuses according to any one of claims 1 to 3 are provided, and the vapor deposition source of at least one of the film forming apparatuses is an organic material vapor deposition source.
An organic EL panel manufacturing system characterized by: Equipped with a deposition source movable to a first deposition stage or a second deposition stage inside a decompressible film formation chamber,
The first vapor deposition stage has a first mask support that supports a first mask and can move up and down, and a first substrate support that supports a substrate, and the second vapor deposition stage has a second A film forming method using a film forming apparatus having a second mask supporting portion capable of supporting a mask and capable of moving up and down, and a second substrate supporting portion capable of supporting a substrate,
until the vapor deposition source completes the vapor deposition performed on the undeposited substrate set at the film forming position of the first vapor deposition stage, the vapor deposition source lowering the second mask supporting portion than during the vapor deposition . a first substrate exchange in which the vapor-deposited substrate supported by the second substrate supporting portion is lowered to a height lower than the height of the highest portion of the second substrate support portion and replaced with an undeposited substrate; and after the first substrate exchange, the first substrate a first set for setting the undeposited substrate, which has been aligned with the second mask and has undergone the exchange of the first substrate, to a film formation position of the second deposition stage; a first step of performing
a second step of moving the deposition source from the first deposition stage to the second deposition stage;
until the vapor deposition source is set at the film forming position of the second vapor deposition stage and the vapor deposition performed on the undeposited substrate is completed, the first mask supporting portion is set lower than during the vapor deposition . a second substrate exchange in which the vapor-deposited substrate supported by the first substrate supporting portion is lowered to a height lower than the height of the highest portion of the source and replaced with an undeposited substrate; and after the second substrate exchange, the a third step of setting the undeposited substrate, which has been aligned with the first mask by raising the first mask supporting portion, to the film formation position of the first deposition stage;
a fourth step of moving the deposition source from the second deposition stage to the first deposition stage;
A film forming method characterized by: In the first step, after the substrate conveying mechanism carries out the vapor-deposited substrate supported by the second substrate support portion from the film forming chamber, the substrate conveying mechanism conveys the undeposited substrate to the film forming chamber. carried in and supported by the second substrate supporting portion;
In the third step, after the substrate transfer mechanism carries out the vapor-deposited substrate supported by the first substrate support portion from the film formation chamber, the substrate transfer mechanism transfers the non-deposited substrate to the film formation chamber. and supported by the first substrate support,
7. The film forming method according to claim 6 , characterized in that: Repeating the first step to the fourth step,
8. The film forming method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that: By the film forming method according to any one of claims 6 to 8 ,
forming an organic film of an organic EL element,
A method for manufacturing an organic EL device, characterized by:

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