KR101322865B1 - Evaporation type deposition apparatus and deposition method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An evaporation type deposition apparatus and a deposition method are provided to easily deposit a conductive layer on a substrate by using a substrate holder and a transport device. CONSTITUTION: A substrate holder (112) is arranged in a vacuum chamber. The substrate holder mounts a substrate including an organic martial layer. At least one tungsten wire (122) is extended to the plane of the substrate holder. A power source (129) is connected to both ends of the tungsten wire. A transport device (140) attaches/detaches a metal bar to/from the tungsten wire. [Reference numerals] (AA) Direction of gravity

Description

Evaporation Type Deposition Apparatus and Deposition Method

The present invention relates to a method of depositing a conductive layer on a substrate on which an organic material layer is deposited on a surface.

In many applications, an organic electronic device or organic light emitting diode (OLED) includes a layer of organic material. The metal layer or protective layer is deposited directly or indirectly on the organic material layer.

However, deposition using conventional sputtering equipment damages the organic material layer. In particular, the sputtering apparatus uses a plasma, which generates ions, oxygen radicals, and ultraviolet rays. Ions, oxygen radicals, and ultraviolet rays generated by the plasma damage the organic material layer.

Meanwhile, thermal evaporation deposition may be used to form a coating layer on the organic material layer. However, the thermal evaporation deposition method deposits on a substrate by heating and evaporating the material to be deposited in the crucible. However, the outlet of the crucible is arranged to face with respect to the direction of gravity. Therefore, in the case of using the thermal evaporation deposition method, the substrate is disposed at the upper side with respect to gravity, and the crucible is disposed at the lower side facing the direction of gravity. Therefore, the vapor deposition apparatus using the thermal evaporation deposition method has a mechanical difficulty in order to arrange | position a board | substrate on top. In particular, when the size of the substrate is tens of centimeters or more, the substrate is difficult to support on the upper surface of the container.

One technical problem to be solved of the present invention relates to an apparatus for forming a conductive layer on a substrate regardless of the direction of gravity without damaging the organic material layer.

Evaporation deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises a vacuum container; A substrate holder disposed in the vacuum vessel and mounting a substrate including an organic material layer; At least one tungsten wire spaced perpendicular to the substrate holder and extending in a plane of the substrate holder on the substrate holder; A power supply connected to both ends of the tungsten wire to supply power; A metal rod inserted to contact and evaporate the tungsten wire; And moving means for moving the metal rod to contact or detach the tungsten wire.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the blocking plate including a through hole through which the metal bar passes; And it may further include at least one of the insulating support for fixing the tungsten wire.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the metal rod may be aluminum.

The deposition method according to the embodiment of the present invention contacts one end of the metal rod to a hot tungsten wire extending in a plane vertically spaced apart from the organic material layer, thereby heating and evaporating one end of the metal rod to preliminary on the organic material layer. Forming a conductive film; And forming a conductive film of the same material as the preliminary conductive film by a sputtering method on the preliminary conductive film.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the preliminary conductive layer and the conductive layer may be aluminum.

Deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is relatively easy and simple to form a conductive layer on the organic material layer. In addition, the deposition apparatus may deposit the conductive film in the direction of gravity or in the direction opposite to gravity.

1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an evaporation deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the vapor deposition apparatus of FIG. 1.
3 is a view for explaining a moving part of the evaporation deposition apparatus of FIG. 1.
4 is a view for explaining an evaporation deposition apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a view for explaining a deposition method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The deposition method may include a sputtering method and a thermal deposition method. Thermal deposition methods should always be deposited in the opposite direction of gravity. Therefore, when the deposition direction of the sputtering method is designed to be opposite to the deposition direction of the thermal evaporation method, there is a trouble of inverting the substrate.

Although the deposition of the metal coating layer deposited on the organic material layer is excellent in the sputtering method in terms of speed, ions, oxygen radicals in the plasma may damage the organic material layer. Therefore, due to the damage of the organic material layer, the metal coating layer on the organic material layer cannot be performed by the sputtering method.

Therefore, the evaporation deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention heats the metal rod using tungsten filament or tungsten wire. Accordingly, the metal rod may evaporate to form a preliminary conductive layer on the organic material layer of the substrate facing the direction of gravity. The vapor deposition apparatus may be designed to deposit a conductive layer in the direction of gravity or in the direction opposite to gravity.

The evaporation deposition apparatus may form a preliminary conductive layer without generating plasma or ultraviolet rays, which may damage the organic material layer. The preliminary conductive film may include at least one of an Al layer and a transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layer such as indium tin oxide (ITO). The organic material layer may include at least one of an electron injection layer, an electron transport layer, a hole blocking layer, a light emitting layer, a hole transport layer, and a hole injection layer.

On the other hand, the evaporation deposition apparatus has a disadvantage in that the process speed is low, the evaporation deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention deposits a preliminary conductive layer of a predetermined thickness on the organic material layer. Subsequently, the deposition of the additional conductive layer may be performed through a conventional sputtering apparatus. In this case, in the process of depositing an additional conductive layer using a sputtering apparatus, the surface of the substrate is exposed to plasma and ultraviolet rays, but the preliminary conductive layer already below prevents ultraviolet rays from reaching the organic material layer, It is possible to prevent reaching the organic material layer directly. Accordingly, as compared with forming the conductive layer using only the conventional sputtering apparatus, damage to the organic material layer is reduced, and a high speed deposition process can be performed.

The deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is capable of depositing in the direction of gravity unlike the conventional thermal deposition apparatus, and its structure is simple. The deposition apparatus may be installed in the existing equipment without major modifications, and may be designed to perform deposition in the direction of gravity or in the direction opposite to gravity, depending on the process. When the vapor deposition apparatus of the present invention and the conventional sputtering apparatus are used continuously, it is possible to improve the process speed and suppress the damage of the organic material layer.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein but may be embodied in other forms. Rather, the embodiments disclosed herein are being provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, the components have been exaggerated for clarity. Portions denoted by like reference numerals denote like elements throughout the specification.

      1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an evaporation deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the vapor deposition apparatus of FIG. 1. 3 is a view for explaining a moving part of the evaporation deposition apparatus of FIG. 1.

1 to 3, an evaporation deposition apparatus includes a vacuum container 102, a substrate holder 112 for mounting a substrate 114 disposed inside the vacuum container 102 and including an organic material layer. At least one tungsten wire 122, which is vertically spaced apart from the substrate holder 112 and extends in a plane of the substrate holder 112, connected to both ends of the tungsten wire 122 to be electrically connected to the substrate holder 112. A power supply 129 for supplying the metal, a metal rod 132 inserted into the tungsten wire 122 to evaporate, and a movement to move the metal rod 132 to contact or detach the tungsten wire 122. The means 140 is included.

The vacuum vessel 102 may be formed of a metal vessel or a dielectric. The vacuum container 102 may include an exhaust part (not shown) and a gas supply part (not shown) for supplying an inert gas to the vacuum container 102. The interior of the vacuum vessel 102 may be exhausted to less than 0.01 milliTorr (mTorr), the deposition process may proceed. In addition, the interior of the vacuum vessel 102 may be filled with an inert gas, such as trace amounts of argon.

The substrate holder 112 may mount the substrate 114. The substrate 114 may be a flexible substrate or a glass substrate. The substrate 114 may be a transparent glass substrate. A flat panel display device may be formed on the substrate 114. The display device may be an OLED device. The display device may include a transparent electrode for an anode, a light emitting organic material layer, and a metal layer for a cathode that are sequentially stacked on the substrate 114. The deposition apparatus may form a metal layer for the cathode on the substrate on which the light emitting organic material layer is deposited.

Tungsten wire 122 may be at least 1500 degrees Celsius. Accordingly, the metal rod 132 may be heated to evaporate in a low pressure vacuum state. Since the tungsten wire 122 may be oxidized by oxygen, it may be heated at a high vacuum (0.01 mTorr or less). The tungsten wire 122 may have 2 to 5 strands separated from each other. The tungsten wire 122 may be supplied with power through a DC power source. The tungsten wire's diameter 122 may range from 0.1 millimeters to 1 millimeter. The length of the tungsten wire 122 may be changed according to the size of the substrate 114. The tungsten wire 122 may be heated to 1500 degrees Celsius or more by a DC power source. The metal rod made of aluminum in contact with the tungsten wire 122 may be instantaneously vaporized and spread in all directions, and vaporized aluminum that is spread in all directions may be deposited on the substrate 112 to form a preliminary conductive layer.

When the plurality of tungsten wires 122 is heated, the tungsten wires 122 may thermally expand and stretch. Accordingly, the insulating support 126 may fix the tungsten wires to fix the tungsten wires 122 to each other. Both ends of the tungsten wire 122 may be fixed by the fixing means 124. The fixing means 124 may firmly fix the tungsten wire 122. The fixing means 124 may electrically connect the tungsten wire 122 and the power source 129 disposed outside the vacuum vessel 102. In addition, the fixing means 124 may perform a vacuum sealing. In addition, the fixing means 124 may include a power distribution circuit (not shown) for distributing power to the plurality of tungsten wires 122.

 The fixing means 124 may be connected to each other by the support rod (128). The insulating support 126 may be fixedly coupled to the support rod 128. The insulating support may include a through hole formed in an extension direction of the tungsten wire 122. The tungsten wire 122 may be inserted into and fixed to the through hole. The insulating support 126 may be a heat transfer material and a material having low thermal conductivity. For example, the insulating support may be formed of ceramic or alumina. Accordingly, the spacing between the tungsten wires 122 extending in parallel with each other may be kept constant.

 The metal rod 132 is attached to and detached from the tungsten wire 122 by the moving means 140. Accordingly, the contact point of the metal rod 132 is heated by the tungsten wire 122 to evaporate. The evaporated metal may fly toward the substrate and be deposited on the substrate 114. Since the evaporated metal may not have a directionality, a blocking plate 150 may be disposed to prevent contamination. The blocking plate 150 may include a plurality of through holes 152, and the metal bars 132 may be disposed through the through holes 152. The through holes 152 may be aligned with the metal rod 132. The through holes 152 may be provided in plural in the direction in which the tungsten wire extends. Therefore, the plurality of metal bars 132 may be deposited in a large area.

In addition, for large area deposition, the tungsten wires 122 may be spaced apart at regular intervals in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the tungsten wires 122 extend and may be disposed in parallel with the placement plane of the substrate 114.

The moving means 140 may be a means for moving the metal rod 132 in a direction of gravity or in a direction opposite to gravity. During the deposition process, the moving unit 140 may contact the metal rod 132 with the tungsten wire 122 at a constant speed. The moving speed of the metal rod 132 may be changed depending on the temperature and diameter of the tungsten wire 122. In addition, when the deposition process is completed, the moving means 140 may separate the metal rod 132 and the tungsten wire 122 from each other.

The moving means 140 may include a first flange 142 mounted around the through hole 103 formed in the vacuum container 102, an elastic corrugated pipe 143 connected to the first flange 142, and the corrugated pipe ( The second flange 144 connected to the 143, the moving plate 145 on which the second flange 144 is mounted, and supports the metal rod 132 disposed through the through hole formed in the moving plate 145 The vacuum sealing part 146 may be included. The vacuum sealing part 146 may fix the metal bar 132 while performing the vacuum sealing of the metal bar 132.

The first flange 142 and the second flange 144 may be connected to both ends of the corrugated pipe 143. A moving rod 148 in the form of a scoop that connects the vacuum container 102 and the moving plate 145 to each other may be disposed. One end of the moving rod may be fixed to the surface of the vacuum vessel. The moving bar 148 may be disposed through the moving plate 145. As the movable bar 148 rotates, the placement plane of the movable plate 145 may move. Accordingly, the corrugated pipe 143 may have elasticity and adjust a distance between the movable plate 145 and the vacuum container 102. The movement means 140 may be variously modified.

4 is a view for explaining an evaporation deposition apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

4 is the same as FIG. 1, but the deposition apparatus of FIG. 1 is inverted. Accordingly, the conductive metal evaporated from the metal rod 132 may be deposited on the substrate 112 mounted on the upper surface of the vacuum vessel 102.

5 is a view for explaining a deposition method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the deposition method contacts one end of a metal rod to a hot tungsten wire extending in a plane vertically spaced apart from the organic material layer, thereby heating and evaporating one end of the metal rod to form a preliminary conductive film on the organic material layer. And forming a conductive film of the same material as the preliminary conductive film by a sputtering method on the preliminary conductive film. The preliminary conductive layer and the conductive layer may be aluminum.

The transparent electrode 213 for the anode, the light emitting organic material layer 214, the preliminary conductive film 215, and the conductive film 216 may be sequentially stacked on the substrate 114. The preliminary conductive layer 215 may be formed by a deposition apparatus using tungsten wires as shown in FIG. 1. The preliminary conductive layer 215 may be aluminum. Subsequently, the substrate on which the preliminary conductive layer is deposited may be moved to a sputtering apparatus. Subsequently, the sputtering apparatus may form a conductive layer to a predetermined thickness. The thickness of the preliminary conductive layer is smaller than the thickness of the conductive layer.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, And all of the various forms of embodiments that can be practiced without departing from the technical spirit.

102: vacuum container
114: substrate
122: tungsten wire
132: metal rod
140:

Claims (5)

A vacuum container;
A substrate holder disposed in the vacuum vessel and mounting a substrate including an organic material layer;
At least one tungsten wire spaced perpendicular to the substrate holder and extending in a plane of the substrate holder on the substrate holder;
A power supply connected to both ends of the tungsten wire to supply power;
A metal rod inserted to contact and evaporate the tungsten wire; And
And moving means for moving said metal rod to contact or desorb said tungsten wire. The method according to claim 1,
A blocking plate including a through hole through which the metal bar passes; And
Evaporation deposition apparatus further comprises at least one of the insulating support for fixing the tungsten wire. The method according to claim 1,
Evaporation deposition apparatus, characterized in that the metal bar is aluminum. Contacting one end of the metal rod with a hot tungsten wire extending in a plane vertically spaced apart from the organic material layer to heat and evaporate one end of the metal rod to form a preliminary conductive film on the organic material layer; And
Forming a conductive film of the same material as the preliminary conductive film by a sputtering method on the preliminary conductive film. 5. The method of claim 4,
And the preliminary conductive film and the conductive film are aluminum.

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