KR101076437B1 - Align Device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an alignment apparatus using a light emitting element.

An alignment apparatus according to the present invention is an alignment apparatus for aligning a mask to a mother substrate having an alignment mark, wherein a pattern corresponding to a pixel array to be formed on the mother substrate is formed and aligned with the alignment mark. A mask in which an alignment hole is formed; A mask frame for supporting the mask; And an alignment marker mounted on the mask frame and having an alignment light coinciding with the alignment hole.

Description

Align Device             

1 is a diagram showing an EL array of a conventional EL display element.

2 is a diagram for explaining the principle of light emission of an EL display element.

3 is a plan view showing an organic EL element.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an organic EL display element cut along the line “II-II ′” of FIG. 3.

5 is a simplified illustration of a mask frame and substrate for a mask process.

6 shows an alignment marker of the present invention.

7 is a view showing the alignment marker is fastened to the mask frame.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

2: substrate 3: EL array

4: first electrode (anode electrode) 12: second electrode (cathode electrode)

6: insulating film 8: partition wall

14: packaging plate 16: mask

17: mask frame 19: alignment hole

20: alignment mark 31: body                 

32: fastening hole 33: alignment light

34: power connection line 35: power supply

The present invention relates to a mask device, and more particularly to an alignment device using a light emitting element.

Recently, various flat panel displays have been developed to reduce weight and volume, which are disadvantages of cathode ray tubes. Such flat panel displays include liquid crystal displays (hereinafter referred to as "LCDs"), field emission displays (FEDs), plasma display panels (hereinafter referred to as "PDPs") and electrophoresis. And a luminescence (Electro-Luminescence) display device. In order to improve the display quality of such a flat panel display device and to attempt to make a large screen, there are active researches.

Among them, PDP is attracting attention as a display device which is light and small and is most advantageous for large screen because of its simple structure and manufacturing process. However, PDP has low luminous efficiency, low luminance and high power consumption. In contrast, an active matrix LCD having a thin film transistor (“TFT”) applied as a switch element has a disadvantage in that large screens are difficult to use due to the semiconductor process and power consumption is large due to the backlight unit. In addition, optical elements such as a polarizing filter, a prism sheet, and a diffusion plate have a large light loss and a narrow viewing angle.

On the other hand, EL devices are classified into inorganic electroluminescent devices and organic electroluminescent devices according to the material of the light emitting layer. The EL devices are self-luminous devices that emit light by themselves, and have a high response speed and high luminous efficiency, luminance, and viewing angle. In comparison with the organic light emitting device, the inorganic light emitting device has a higher power consumption and cannot obtain high brightness, and cannot emit various colors of red (R), green (G), and blue (B). On the other hand, the organic light emitting display device is driven at a low DC voltage of several tens of volts and has high response speed and high brightness. In addition, it is possible to emit a variety of colors of R, G, B is suitable for the next-generation flat panel display device.

1 is a diagram showing an EL array of a conventional EL display element, and FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the light emission principle of the EL display element.

The EL array 3 shown in FIG. 1 includes an organic light emitting layer 10 formed between the first electrode (or anode electrode) 4 and the second electrode (or cathode electrode) 12. The organic light emitting layer 10 includes an electron injection layer 10a, an electron transport layer 10b, a light emitting layer 10c, a hole transport layer 10d, and a hole injection layer 10e.

When a voltage is applied between the first electrode 4 and the second electrode 12 of the EL array 3, electrons generated from the second electrode 12 are transferred to the electron injection layer 10a as shown in FIG. And the light emitting layer 10c toward the light emitting layer 10c through the electron transporting layer 10b. In addition, holes generated from the first electrode 4 move toward the light emitting layer 10c through the hole injection layer 10e and the hole transport layer 10d. Accordingly, in the light emitting layer 10c, light is generated by collision and recombination of electrons and holes supplied from the electron transporting layer 10b and the hole transporting layer 10d, and the light is emitted to the outside through the first electrode 4. The image is displayed.

The first electrode 4 is formed of a transparent conductive material such as indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), or indium tin zinc oxide (ITZO) on a substrate, and includes gold (Au), platinum (Pt), and copper. (Cu) may be included.

The hole injection layer 10e controls the concentration of holes, and the hole transport layer 10d controls the movement speed of the holes so that holes generated in the first electrode 4 can be easily injected into the light emitting layer 10c. .

The electron injection layer 10a and the electron transport layer 10b serve to easily inject electrons generated from the second electrode 12 into the light emitting layer 10c by adjusting the concentration and speed of the electrons.

The EL display element having such a structure is formed by forming a plurality of EL arrays on a large area mother substrate including an array region and a vialay region, followed by an encapsulation process and a scribing process.

In order to form the EL array on the mother substrate, a mask process is required. In this mask process, the mask is fixed to a mask frame for supporting the mask, and the process is performed by aligning the mask with a mother substrate positioned below the mask.

Alignment holes are formed in the mask and alignment marks are formed in the parent substrate to align the mask and the parent substrate. When the alignment is aligned, the alignment hole is aligned with the alignment mark, and a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) camera is positioned on the alignment hole with the alignment mark. The CCD camera checks the alignment holes and alignment marks to determine whether the alignment is aligned.

However, the CCD camera for checking the alignment of the mask and the substrate checks the light reflected from the alignment mark or the alignment hole, so that the transparent alignment mark is not confirmed.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an alignment device using a light emitting element.

In order to achieve the above object, an alignment apparatus according to the present invention is an alignment apparatus for aligning a mask to a mother substrate having an alignment mark, wherein a pattern corresponding to a pixel array to be formed on the mother substrate is formed and the A mask having an alignment hole aligned with the alignment mark; A mask frame for supporting the mask; And an alignment marker mounted on the mask frame and having an alignment light coinciding with the alignment hole.

The alignment marker may include a fixing portion having a first hole for fastening with the mask frame, an extending portion extending from the fixing portion to be in close contact with the mask frame, and having an alignment light corresponding to the alignment hole; Is fastened to the fixed portion, and provided with a power supply for supplying power to the alignment light.

The alignment light is a light emitting diode is used.

Other objects and features of the present invention in addition to the above object will become apparent from the description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 7.

3 is a plan view illustrating an organic EL element, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an organic EL display element cut along the line “II-II ′” in FIG. 3.

3 and 4, a conventional organic EL display device includes an insulating film 6, a partition 8, and an organic light emitting layer formed between a first electrode 4 and a second electrode 12 that cross each other insulated from each other. 10).

A plurality of anode electrodes 4 which are first electrodes are spaced apart at predetermined intervals on the substrate 2. The anode electrode 4 is supplied with a first drive signal for emitting electrons.

The insulating film 6 is formed in a lattice form on the substrate 2 on which the anode electrode 4 is formed so that an opening is exposed for each EL cell region.

The partition wall 8 is formed to intersect the anode electrode 4 and is formed in parallel with the cathode electrode 12, which is the second electrode, with a predetermined distance therebetween to distinguish adjacent EL cells. That is, the partition 8 separates the organic light emitting layer 10 and the cathode electrode 12 of the adjacent EL cell. In addition, the partition wall 8 is formed in an overhang structure having an upper end wider than the lower end.

The organic light emitting layer (or organic layer) 10 is composed of an organic compound on the insulating film 6. That is, the organic layer 10 is formed by laminating a hole injection layer 10e, a hole transport layer 10d, a light emitting layer 10c, an electron transport layer 10b, and an electron injection layer 10a on the insulating film 6.

A plurality of cathode electrodes 12 are formed on the organic layer 10 to be spaced apart at predetermined intervals so as to intersect the anode electrode 4. The cathode electrode 12 is also supplied with a second driving signal for releasing holes.

The substrate 2 on which the cathode electrode 12 is formed is protected by the packaging plate 14. That is, the packaging plate 14 includes an anode electrode 4 and a cathode electrode formed on the substrate 2 using an adhesive (not shown) to prevent the organic layer 10 from being easily degraded to moisture and oxygen in the air. 12) and the organic layer 10. Subsequently, the substrate 2 and the packaging plate 14 are pressurized and then encapsulated, and then cured by irradiation with ultraviolet rays. After sealing, an inert gas is injected into the space formed by the bonding of the substrate 2 and the packaging plate 14. At this time, the enclosed environment is composed of a glove box or a vacuum chamber. In the organic EL device, holes are emitted when the first and second driving signals are applied to the anode electrode 4 and the cathode electrode 12, respectively, and electrons and holes emitted from the anode electrode 4 and the cathode electrode 12 are discharged. Silver generates visible light while recombining in the organic layer 10. At this time, the generated visible light comes out through the anode electrode 4 to display a predetermined image or image.

5 is a view briefly illustrating a mask frame and a substrate for a mask process.

Referring to FIG. 5, a mask device includes a mask 16, a mask frame 19, and a substrate 2 for forming electrodes 4 and 12, an organic layer 10, and the like.

The mask 16 is used to form the electrodes 4, 12, the organic layer 10, and the like on a substrate as a common mask or shadow mask. This mask 16 is fixed to the mask frame 17 by welding or the like. In addition, at least one alignment hole 19 is formed in the mask 16 to confirm that the positions of the substrate 2 and the mask 16 coincide with each other during the mask process.

The substrate 2 is mounted on the substrate support 15 or the like, and is positioned between the mask 16 and the substrate 2 during the mask process.

On the edge of the substrate 2 or on the substrate support 15, an alignment mark for confirming that the position of the substrate 2 and the mask 16 coincides with the alignment hole 19 of the mask 16. 20) is formed.

When the mask process is performed, the mask 16 and the substrate 2 are aligned. In this alignment, the alignment holes 19 and the alignment marks 20 are aligned. The alignment state of the alignment hole 19 and the alignment mark 20 confirms the alignment coincidence state by the CCD camera positioned perpendicular thereto.

However, the alignment holes 19 formed in the mask 16 have a problem in that the alignment holes 19 are formed transparently so that the alignment holes 19 are hardly confirmed by the CCD camera. In order to solve this problem, an alignment marker having a hole for identifying the alignment hole 19 is used in the present invention.

6 is a view showing an alignment marker of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, the alignment marker of the present invention includes a body 31, a fastening hole 32, an alignment light 33, and a power supply unit 35.

The body 31 includes a fastening hole 32 and an alignment light 33, and is formed in a “V” shape to be in close contact with the mask frame 17 when assembled to the mask frame 17. The body 31 is divided into a fixing portion 31b having a fastening hole 32 and an extending portion 31a having an aligning groove 33. In addition, a power supply unit for supplying power to the alignment light 33 is fastened to the end of the fixing portion 31b. In addition, a power connection line 34 for connecting the alignment light 33 and the power supply unit 35 is formed inside the body 31.

The fastening hole 32 is formed in the fixing part 31b of the body 31 and is formed to penetrate the body 31 so that an assembly part such as a bolt can be assembled when assembled to the mask frame 17.

The alignment light 33 is used as a reference for the CCD camera to check the alignment state of the alignment hole 19. For this purpose, it is preferable that the alignment light 33 use a light emitting diode (LED). The alignment light 33 is installed on the upper end surface of the extension part 31a, and may be formed in a protruding shape formed without a groove on the upper end surface or a recessed type installed in a groove formed at a predetermined depth. In addition, the alignment light 33 is connected to the power supply unit 35 by the power connection line 34.

The power connection line 34 connects the alignment light 33 and the power supply unit 35. To this end, it is formed in the body 31 of the alignment marker 33. The position at which the power connection line 34 is formed may be formed inside the body 31 of the alignment marker 33, or may be formed in a groove outside the body 31 and inserted into the groove.

The power supply unit 35 supplies power to the alignment light 33. To this end, the power supply unit is connected to the alignment light 33 and the power connection line 34 and is fastened to the end of the fixing unit 31b.

7 is a view illustrating a state in which an alignment marker is fastened to a mask frame.

Referring to FIG. 7, the alignment marker is fastened to the lower end of the mask frame 17. At this time, it is fixed to the mask frame 17 by a bolt or the like penetrating the fastening hole 32 of the fixing portion 31b. The alignment light 33 is positioned directly under the alignment hole 19. The alignment light 33 positioned directly below the alignment hole 19 is turned on when the alignment coincidence is confirmed, so that the CCD camera can confirm the alignment hole 19.

In the conventional alignment marker, an alignment groove is formed on the top surface of the extension part 31a in a black body. The groove reflects external light, and the reflected light is incident on the lens of the CCD camera so that the CCD camera can check the alignment hole 19. However, when the bottom surface of the groove is rugged or the external light is scattered, it is difficult to identify the alignment hole 19.

On the other hand, the alignment marker of the present invention enables the CCD camera to accurately and easily identify the alignment hole 19 by emitting light for identifying the alignment hole using the alignment light 33. .

As described above, the present invention provides an alignment marker in which alignment lights are formed. This makes it easier to recognize the alignment holes of the mask during alignment.

In addition, it is possible to reduce the time and cost of the masking process by reducing the frequency of re-inspection and rearrangement due to misalignment of alignment holes.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention should not be limited to the contents described in the detailed description of the specification but should be defined by the claims.

Claims (3)

An alignment apparatus for aligning a mask to a mother substrate having an alignment mark, A mask in which a pattern corresponding to the pixel array to be formed on the mother substrate is formed, and an alignment hole in alignment with the alignment mark is formed; A mask frame for supporting the mask; And an alignment marker attached to the mask frame and having an alignment light aligned with the alignment hole. The method of claim 1, The alignment marker is A fixing part having a first hole for fastening with the mask frame; An extension part extended from the fixing part to be in close contact with the mask frame and having an align light corresponding to the alignment hole; And a power supply unit coupled to the fixing unit and configured to supply power to the alignment light. The method of claim 2, The alignment light An alignment device, characterized in that the light emitting diode.

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