KR101749570B1 - Inductive Heating Linear Evaporation Deposition Apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an induction heating linear evaporation apparatus. The apparatus comprises a vacuum container; A conductive crucible in the form of a rectangular parallelepiped having an open top surface and extending in a first direction and disposed inside the vacuum container and containing the deposition material; A nozzle block which is aligned with the conductive crucible and inserted into the upper surface of the conductive crucible and is formed of a conductor having a rectangular parallelepiped shape including a plurality of through nozzles; A conductive diffusion plate disposed between the nozzle block and the deposition material and diffusing the vapor of the deposition material through the opening; And an induction heating coil extending and extending in the first direction so as to surround the conductive crucible and the nozzle block to induction-heat the conductive crucible, the conductive diffusion plate, and the nozzle block. A depression is formed on a lower surface of the nozzle block, and the conductive diffusion plate is mounted on a lower surface of the depression to provide a buffer space. The nozzle block and the conductive crucible are aligned with each other and coupled to each other so as to be disassembled and coupled with each other. Wherein the through-hole nozzle is spaced apart in the first direction; And a second heat-penetrating nozzle spaced apart in a direction perpendicular to the first direction and disposed in parallel with the first heat-penetrating nozzle.

Description

Technical Field [0001] The present invention relates to an induction heating linear evaporation deposition apparatus,

The present invention relates to a linear evaporation deposition apparatus, and more particularly to an induction heating linear evaporation deposition apparatus for a high deposition rate.

In fabricating an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a process for forming an organic thin film and a process for forming a conductive thin film are required, and evaporation deposition is mainly used for such a thin film forming process.

The organic thin film is heated by flowing electric current to the hot wire wrapping the crucible containing the organic material, and the heat transferred to the crucible raises the temperature of the organic material in the crucible. As the temperature of the organic material rises, the organic material passes through the crucible in the form of gas It is mainly made in such a way that it is deposited on a substrate. Most of the evaporation sources have been used for the production of organic thin films by such thermal evaporation method.

The point evaporation source is an organic material deposited on the substrate. The point near the evaporation source is thick, and the farther substrate is thin, so that the thin film can not be uniformly formed. Therefore, a point evaporation source is provided at a position far from the center of the substrate and a method of rotating the substrate is used. In this case, however, the size of the deposition chamber is increased, the substrate must be held and rotated, and the uniformity of the thin film is not obtained as desired. Since the point evaporation source is installed at a small distance from the center of the substrate, most of the organic material gas ejected from the point evaporation source is deposited in the deposition chamber rather than on the substrate, and the efficiency of using the organic material is remarkably decreased. There is a problem that a plurality of point evaporation sources are placed in the deposition chamber and are used by being rotated by complicated control. In addition, in the case of a large-area substrate, these problems become more serious.

The evaporation source may be classified into a point source, a linear source, and an area source depending on the number and / or arrangement of the injection holes. In recent years, linear evaporation sources have attracted more attention than point sources due to the large-sized substrates, and the length of linear evaporation sources is gradually increasing. The linear evaporation source not only has higher deposition efficiency but also higher deposition rate than the point source. However, a linear evaporation source usually needs a scanning means for scanning the evaporation source left or right or up and down. In the linear evaporation source, it is difficult to control the deposition temperature and the deposition rate, and it is difficult to obtain the uniformity of the deposition. In particular, as the length of the linear evaporation source becomes longer so as to be able to cope with a large-sized substrate, it becomes more difficult to attain uniform deposition uniformity as a whole.

In addition, when the incremental source or the linear evaporation source is replaced, it takes a considerable time until the vacuum is exhausted to the high vacuum after the replacement because the vacuum chamber must be made in a high vacuum. Further, when a spot evaporation source or a linear evaporation source evaporation material is contained in a large amount, the evaporation material can be denatured by heat. Frequent replacement of the deposited material is economically ineffective. Therefore, there is a demand for a linear evaporation apparatus of a new structure for storing a large amount of organic substances and for depositing organic substances.

In order to realize a high deposition rate, a large area induction heating linear evaporation apparatus requires a new crucible structure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a linear evaporation deposition apparatus for improving the spatial uniformity of a deposited thin film and improving the deposition rate of organic materials.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a linear evaporation deposition apparatus capable of uniformly depositing a large area substrate with high straightness and capable of accommodating a large amount of evaporation material without heat denaturation .

It is an object of the present invention to provide a linear evaporation apparatus for fabricating an organic light emitting device thin film for improving the spatial uniformity of a deposited thin film and improving the efficiency of use of organic materials.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a linear evaporation apparatus for manufacturing a thin film of an organic light emitting device which employs an induction heating structure and a block type nozzle structure to facilitate induction heating and temperature control.

An induction heating linear evaporation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a vacuum container; A conductive crucible in the form of a rectangular parallelepiped having an open top surface and extending in a first direction and disposed inside the vacuum container and containing the deposition material; A nozzle block which is aligned with the conductive crucible and inserted into the upper surface of the conductive crucible and is formed of a conductor having a rectangular parallelepiped shape including a plurality of through nozzles; A conductive diffusion plate disposed between the nozzle block and the deposition material and diffusing the vapor of the deposition material through the opening; And an induction heating coil extending and extending in the first direction so as to surround the conductive crucible and the nozzle block to induction-heat the conductive crucible, the conductive diffusion plate, and the nozzle block. A depression is formed on a lower surface of the nozzle block, and the conductive diffusion plate is mounted on a lower surface of the depression to provide a buffer space. The nozzle block and the conductive crucible are aligned with each other and coupled to each other so as to be disassembled and coupled with each other. Wherein the through-hole nozzle is spaced apart in the first direction; And a second heat-penetrating nozzle spaced apart in a direction perpendicular to the first direction and disposed in parallel with the first heat-penetrating nozzle.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the opening of the conductive diffusion plate may be offset and disposed so as not to be disposed in a straight line with the through-hole nozzle.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the through nozzles are arranged symmetrically with respect to the center of the nozzle block, the intervals between the through nozzles are non-uniformly arranged in the first direction, May be offset and arranged so as not to be disposed in a straight line with the through-hole nozzle.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the opening may be disposed at the center of the arrangement plane of the diffusion plate.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the opening may be symmetrically disposed at a portion in contact with the inner side surface of the conductive crucible.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a deposition material covering part disposed inside the conductive crucible and disposed to surround an upper surface of the deposition material may be further included.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the evaporation material cover may move along the inner surface of the conductive crucible as the evaporation material evaporates.

By implementing the high deposition rate, the process time of the deposition process can be reduced and the manufacturing cost of the OLED can be reduced.

1A is a perspective view illustrating an induction heating linear evaporation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
1B is a longitudinal sectional view of the linear evaporation deposition apparatus of FIG. 1A.
1C is a cross-sectional view of the linear evaporation deposition apparatus of FIG. 1A cut in the width direction.
1D is an exploded perspective view showing the conductive crucible and the nozzle block of FIG. 1A.
FIGS. 2 to 5 are views for explaining the arrangement of the through-nozzles and the arrangement of the openings of the conductive diffusion plate according to other embodiments of the present invention.

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are used as display devices such as large-area TVs. The size of such large-area display element substrate is about several meters. In order to deposit an organic thin film or a conductive thin film on such a large area display element substrate, a linear evaporation deposition apparatus is required.

When the linear evaporation apparatus uses an induction heating coil, the induction electric field can penetrate into the conductive crucible and heat the conductor inside. On the other hand, the evaporation material is converted into steam by receiving heat from the heated conductor.

When the conductive crucible is in the form of a box and the deposition material is stored inside the conductive crucible, the deposition material is vaporized by receiving heat from the inner wall of the box-shaped conductive crucible. In the induction heating system, in order to achieve a high deposition rate and a large-area uniform deposition, the induction heating coil is difficult to achieve a complete closed loop and may cause spatially non-uniform heating characteristics. Therefore, a change in the internal structure of the crucible is required to achieve a spatially uniform deposition.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the nozzle block includes a plurality of through nozzles arranged in a matrix form, and the through nozzles are formed to penetrate through the nozzle block in the form of a hemispherical plate. Accordingly, an increase in the number of the through nozzles can increase the thin film deposition rate.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a conductive diffusion plate is disposed inside the conductive crucible. The conductive diffusion plate may be directly heated simultaneously with the conductive crucible by the induction heating coil. Accordingly, when the evaporation rate of the evaporation material differs according to the position, the diffusion plate provides vapor to the buffer space through the opening, and the buffer space can provide a more uniform density distribution than the space in which the evaporation material is accommodated have. Therefore, the buffer space can uniformly supply the amount of steam discharged for each through nozzle.

On the other hand, the deposition material may be evaporated in the conductive crucible and then deposited again on the upper surface of the deposition material. Accordingly, the re-deposited evaporation material can be denatured by heat. Therefore, a method for suppressing the re-deposition of the vapor is required. A linear evaporation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a deposition material covering part covering the deposition material. The deposition material cover may be formed of a conductive material and may be induction-heated. Vapor moves through the side space between the deposition material lid and the conductive crucible, and the heated deposition material lid can suppress deposition of the vapor. The deposition material lid portion may be configured to be lowered in accordance with evaporation of the deposition material to be in constant contact with the deposition material. In the absence of the evaporation material lid, the evaporation rate depending on the position may depend on the structure and position of the induction heating coil, the amount of the evaporation material depending on the position, and the like. However, the deposition material lid can only allow vapor to escape through a particular location or region and provide the same vapor diffusion path. As a result, stable operation and process reproducibility are improved. Further, the vapor deposition material cover prevents the vapor from being re-deposited on the vapor deposition material again. Therefore, the performance of the deposited thin film can be improved and kept constant.

Further, the nozzle block may have a plate structure having a sufficient thickness such that the aspect ratio of the through nozzles is 5: 1 or more. On the other hand, the nozzle block can be designed to be disassembled / coupled with the conductive crucible. This makes it easy to maintain and repair the conductive crucible.

Further, in order to increase the deposition rate, when the temperature of the conductive crucible is increased, the deposition material providing the organic thin film may be denatured. Therefore, there is a limit to increasing the deposition rate. According to an embodiment of the present invention, a temperature gradient may be provided between the nozzle block and the conductive crucible, and the conductive crucible and the nozzle block may be coupled to each other by a heat insulating member so as to be thermally insulated from each other. Accordingly, the temperature of the conductive crucible can be kept relatively low as compared with the nozzle block, and the vapor entering the buffer space can be prevented from being re-deposited on the evaporation material again while providing a sufficient evaporation rate. The deposition material may decrease with time, and the preliminary space between the bottom of the conductive diffusion plate and the top surface of the deposition material may increase. Accordingly, as the preliminary space increases, the thermodynamic characteristic may be changed, and the deposition rate may decrease. In order to compensate for this, the temperature of the nozzle block is kept constant according to the consumption of the evaporation material, and the temperature of the conductivity value may be set to rise according to consumption of the evaporation material.

According to a modified embodiment of the present invention, the preliminary space can be kept constant in order to keep the deposition rate constant as the deposition material is consumed. Specifically, when the deposition material lid and the diffusion plate are connected to each other by a conductive rod so that the deposition material is consumed with time, the preliminary space is constant, and the buffer space is increased with consumption of the deposition material . Accordingly, the density of the buffer space increases due to thermodynamic characteristics, and a constant deposition rate can be provided.

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. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout the specification.

1A is a perspective view illustrating an induction heating linear evaporation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1B is a longitudinal sectional view of the linear evaporation deposition apparatus of FIG. 1A.

1C is a cross-sectional view of the linear evaporation deposition apparatus of FIG. 1A cut in the width direction.

1D is an exploded perspective view showing the conductive crucible and the nozzle block of FIG. 1A.

Referring to FIGS. 1A to 1D, the induction heating linear evaporation apparatus 100 includes a vacuum container 144; A conductive crucible 160 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape in which an upper surface is opened and which extends in a first direction and is disposed inside the vacuum container and accommodates a deposition material; A nozzle block 120 formed of a conductor having a rectangular parallelepiped shape aligned with the conductive crucible and inserted in an upper surface of the conductive crucible and having a plurality of through nozzles; A conductive diffusion plate (161) disposed between the nozzle block and the deposition material and diffusing the vapor of the deposition material through the opening; And induction heating coils (132, 134) extending in the first direction to surround the conductive crucible and the nozzle block and induction heating the conductive crucible, the conductive diffusion plate, and the nozzle block.

A depression 123 is formed on the lower surface of the nozzle block and the conductive diffusion plate 161 is mounted on the lower surface of the depression to provide a buffer space 160c. The nozzle block and the conductive crucible are aligned with each other and coupled to each other so as to be disassembled and coupled with each other. The through-hole nozzle 122 is spaced apart from the first through-hole nozzle in the first direction. And a second row-through nozzle spaced in a direction perpendicular to the first direction and arranged side by side with the first row-through nozzle.

The deposition material 10 may be an organic material used in an organic light emitting diode. Specifically, the organic material may include Tris (8-hydroxyquinolinato) aluminum (Al (C9H6NO) 3). The organic material 10 is a solid in the form of a powder at room temperature, and the organic material can be sublimed or evaporated near 300 degrees centigrade. The conductive crucible 160 may be used to store a large amount of evaporation material.

In a conventional linear evaporation deposition apparatus, the crucible stores and heats the evaporation material. The linear nozzles are in direct communication with the crucible. In this case, when the crucible has a temperature distribution according to the position, the deposition material at a specific location with a locally high temperature is consumed quickly and the pressure is reduced in the consumed area. Uneven temperature distribution or pressure distribution hinders uniform deposition. In particular, the heating means of the conventional crucible uses a resistive heating wire, and the resistive heating wire can provide a spatial temperature difference depending on the state of contact with the crucible. The resistive heating wire is difficult to decompose and bond to the crucible for recharging.

The spatial uniformity of the deposition rate largely depends on the structure of the induction heating coils 132, 134. The induction heating coils 132 and 134 have the advantage of performing non-contact heating and induction heating of the conductors disposed inside the conductive crucible. It is important that the induction heating coils 132,134 form a complete closed loop for spatially uniform heating. However, it is difficult to form a complete closed loop in terms of the structure of the induction heating coils 132 and 134.

The present invention is characterized in that induction heating is performed using induction heating coils 132 and 134 and a conductive diffusion plate 161 is employed in the conductive crucible 160 or the nozzle block 120 to improve the spatial uniformity of the deposition rate, So as to improve the deposition rate. In the induction heating, the nozzle block formed by the conductor by the non-contact heating is heated as a whole to uniformly heat the nozzle block arranged in a matrix form.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the nozzle block induction heating coil 132 is arranged to surround the nozzle block 120 while being extended along the extension direction (x-axis direction) of the nozzle block 120, . Accordingly, the nozzle block induction heating coil 132 may be disposed adjacent to the nozzle block 120 to perform efficient induction heating.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the conductive crucible induction heating coil 134 is disposed to surround the conductive crucible 160 while extending along the extending direction (x-axis direction) of the nozzle block 120, do. Accordingly, the conductive crucible induction heating coil can be disposed adjacent to the conductive crucible 160 to perform efficient induction heating. Further, the spatial uniformity of the deposition rate can be ensured by the conductive diffusion plate in the conductive crucible.

The nozzle block induction heating coil 132 may have a pipe shape or a band shape, and the coolant may flow into the nozzle block induction heating coil. The induction electric field generated by the nozzle block induction heating coil 132 is directly and spatially uniformly heated directly on the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle block 120 in a non-contact manner. Therefore, temperature non-uniformity due to contact is eliminated, heating stability is improved, and mechanical construction is simple. The nozzle block induction heating coil 132 is spaced apart from the nozzle block 120. The support portion 133 fixes the induction heating coils 132 and 134. The support portion 133 may be formed of an insulator, and the support portion 133 may be formed of ceramic or alumina. In addition, the nozzle block 120 is disposed in a non-contact manner with the nozzle block induction heating coil 132 to facilitate disassembly and coupling. The nozzle block induction heating coil 132 may be electrically connected to the conductive crucible induction heating coil 134 in series.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the nozzle block 120 may include a plurality of through nozzles 122 arranged in a matrix form. Conventional linear nozzles include a pipe per nozzle. The pipe-shaped nozzles are difficult to independently heat by resistance heating. Since the resistive heating is performed by thermal conduction by contact, the conventional pipe-shaped nozzle is indirectly heated through heat conduction by heating the crucible. Therefore, it is difficult to independently control the temperature of the pipe-shaped nozzle, and it is difficult to arrange the two-dimensional shape of the matrix shape. Accordingly, the pipe-shaped nozzle may be clogged by deposition if it has a locally low temperature. However, according to the present invention, the nozzle block 120 is heated directly and uniformly through an induction field. In addition, the temperature of the nozzle block may be independently set higher than the temperature of the conductive crucible.

The width and width of the nozzle block may be the same as the width and width of the conductive crucible. Accordingly, the nozzle block 120 can be disassembled / coupled with the conductive crucible. In addition, the gap between the nozzle block induction heating coil and the nozzle block can be matched with the interval between the crucible induction heating coil and the conductive crucible.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the nozzle block 120 is in the form of a rectangular parallelepiped of a conductive material extending in a first direction, and a plurality of through nozzles 122 are arranged in a matrix form in the nozzle block 120 . The through nozzles may include a second heat through nozzle disposed adjacent to the first heat through nozzle extending in the first direction.

The nozzle block induction heating coil 132 is arranged to surround the nozzle block while extending in the first direction, and can independently heat the entire nozzle block 120 directly. The nozzle block induction heating coil 132 and the conductive crucible induction heating coil 134 may provide a temperature gradient between the nozzle block 120 and the conductive crucible 160. In order to provide the temperature gradient, the number of turns or turns per unit length of the nozzle block induction heating coil may be greater than the number of turns or turns per unit length of the induction heating coil. Alternatively, the nozzle block induction heating coil 132 and the conductive crucible induction heating coil 134 may be connected to separate AC power sources, respectively. Accordingly, the nozzle block 120 can solve clogging due to vapor deposition. The temperature distribution in the longitudinal direction of the nozzle block 120 may be performed by adjusting the interval between the nozzle block induction heating coil 132 and the nozzle block 120. For example, the gap between the nozzle block induction heating coil 132 and the nozzle block 120 at the central portion of the nozzle block may be designed to be larger than the gap at the edge of the nozzle block 120 have.

The space temperature regulator 140 may be a yoke made of a magnetic material. The magnetic body restricts the magnetic flux and controls the gap between the space temperature regulator 140 and the induction heating coils 132 and 134 so that the space temperature regulator 140 can control the spatial distribution of the induced electric field or the spatial temperature distribution Can be controlled. The space temperature regulator 140 may include a moving means for adjusting the gap. The space temperature regulator 140 may be disposed to restrict the magnetic flux in the second direction relative to the induction heating coil.

The vacuum container 144 may be formed of a conductive material. The vacuum chamber 144 may be a chamber having a rectangular parallelepiped structure. The vacuum container 144 may be evacuated to a vacuum state by a vacuum pump. The vacuum container 144 may include a substrate holder (not shown) and a substrate 146 mounted on the substrate holder. The vacuum container 144 may include a shadow mask disposed on the front surface of the substrate to perform patterning.

The substrate 146 may be a glass substrate or a plastic substrate including an organic light emitting diode. The substrate 146 may be a rectangular substrate. For scanning, the substrate holder may linearly move, or the linear motion portion 170 may provide linear movement to the conductive crucible 160.

The nozzle block 120 of the linear evaporative deposition apparatus 100 can discharge the steam in a bottom-up manner against gravity. Specifically, the gravitational direction g may be a negative second direction (negative y-axis direction). The penetrating nozzle 122 can discharge the vapor to the substrate 146 disposed on the inner upper side of the vacuum container 144 against gravity.

In the case of the bottom-up evaporative deposition apparatus, the through-hole nozzle 122 discharges the vapor toward the upper surface of the vacuum container. In the case of the top-down evaporative deposition apparatus, the through-hole nozzle 122 discharges the vapor toward the lower surface of the vacuum container, In the case of the lateral evaporation deposition apparatus, the through-hole nozzle 122 can discharge the vapor toward the side surface of the vacuum container.

The conductive crucible 160 may be formed of a metal having a high electrical conductivity. For example, the conductive crucible 160 may be stainless steel, copper, tantalum, titanium, tungsten, graphite, or nickel. The conductive crucible 160 may extend in the first direction (x-axis direction). And the second direction (y-axis direction) may be opposite to the gravity direction (g-direction). The conductive crucible 160 may have a rectangular parallelepiped shape extending in the first direction.

The conductive crucible 160 may be in the form of a box having an opened upper surface. The nozzle block 120 may be inserted and fixed on the open upper surface of the conductive crucible. For sealing the conductive crucible and the nozzle block, a high-temperature o-ring or a copper gasket may be used. The vapor in the deposition material storage space 160a of the conductive crucible 160 can be discharged in the second direction (y-axis direction) through the through-hole slits 166 and the through-holes 122 . The nozzle block may be disassembled with the conductive crucible for recharging the deposition material. Or a deposit for recharging the deposition material and a plug may be mounted on the side of the conductive crucible for recharging the deposition material.

The conductive diffusion plate 161 may be disposed on the upper surface of the conductive crucible 160 or the lower surface of the nozzle block. The conductive diffusion plate 161 may be formed of the same material as the conductive crucible 160. Specifically, a depressed portion 123 may be formed on the lower surface of the nozzle block 120. The conductive diffusion plate 161 may be disposed on the lower surface of the depression 123. The depression 123 and the conductive diffusion plate 161 may provide a buffer space 160c. The lower surface edge of the nozzle block protrudes and the protruding portion can be inserted into the open upper surface of the conductive crucible 160.

The conductive diffusion plate 161 is disposed in contact with the lower side surface of the nozzle block to spatially separate the preliminary space 160b and the buffer space 160c. The vapor of the deposition material 10 is transferred to the buffer space 160c through the opening 161a of the conductive diffusion plate 161 and the vapor of the buffer space 160c is uniformly distributed can do. The opening 161a of the conductive diffusion plate 161 may be offset from the through-hole 122 of the nozzle block 120 so as not to be aligned in the y-axis direction. Accordingly, the vapor passing through the opening portion 161a can be suppressed from being injected through the aligned through-hole nozzle 122.

The material of the conductive diffusion plate 161 may be the same as the material of the nozzle block. The size of the opening 161a of the conductive diffusion plate 161 may be sufficiently larger than the diameter of the through-hole nozzle 122. [ The conductive diffusion plate may be integrally formed on the lower surface of the nozzle block by means of welding or the like. In addition, the shape of the opening 161a may be variously changed into a circle, an ellipse, a polygon, or the like. The aperture ratio of the nozzle block may be larger than the aperture ratio of the conductive diffusion plate. The conductive diffusion plate 161 may be fixed to the lower surface of the nozzle block by means such as welding.

The position of the opening 161a may be variously modified as long as it is not aligned with the through-hole nozzle 122. The conductive diffusion plate 161 may be heated by an induction electric field or directly from the body of the conductive crucible 160 through heat transfer or radiant heat. Each of the openings 161a may be offset from the through-hole nozzle 122, respectively. According to a modified embodiment of the present invention, the opening may be disposed for each group including a plurality of through nozzles.

The deposition material lid 163 may move along a linear motion guide 164 installed in the conductive crucible. The evaporation material lid 163 may extend along the first direction (x-axis direction) and may have a gap between the conductive crucible and the evaporation material lid 163 to allow vapor to escape. After the deposition material 10 is filled in the conductive crucible 160, the deposition material covering part 161 may be disposed to cover the deposition material. As the evaporation material evaporates, the evaporation material lid 163 may move in a second direction (y-axis direction) due to gravity. Thus, evaporated vapor can be suppressed from being re-deposited on the evaporated material. The redeposited evaporated material may be denatured by heat to lower the quality of the deposited film.

The outlet of the through-nozzles 122 of the nozzle block may be disposed toward the second direction (y-axis direction). The nozzle block 120 may be supplied with the steam through the buffer space 160c. The nozzle block 120 may have a rectangular parallelepiped shape extending in the first direction. The length of the nozzle block 120 may be several tens of centimeters and several meters. The width of the nozzle block 120 may be several millimeters to several centimeters. The height of the nozzle block 120 may be several millimeters to several tens of millimeters. The width of the nozzle block 120 may be equal to the width of the conductive crucible. The length of the nozzle block may be the same as the length of the conductive block, and the nozzle block may be aligned with the conductive crucible.

The nozzle block 120 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape and is disposed on the upper surface of the conductive crucible 160. The conductive crucible 160 and the nozzle block 120 can be disassembled and coupled with each other. The material of the nozzle block may be the same material as the conductive crucible. The nozzle block 120 may have a rectangular parallelepiped shape extending in the first direction.

The plurality of through nozzles 122 may discharge the vapor upwards in a direction opposite to the direction of gravity to deposit organic material on the substrate 146 disposed in the upper part of the vacuum container.

Preferably, the through-hole nozzle 122 may have a cylindrical shape passing through the nozzle block 120. The aspect ratio of the through-hole nozzle may be 5 to 100. The diameter of the penetrating nozzle 122 may be several hundred micrometers to several millimeters. The distance between the neighboring through nozzles 122 may be 1.2 times to 5 times the diameter of the through nozzles. The diameter of the through-nozzle 122 may be less than the average free path of the vapor. When the nozzle block 120 is in the form of a rectangular parallelepiped extending in the first direction, the nozzle block 120 is heated as a whole, and the through nozzles can maintain a uniform temperature as a whole.

The sum of the cross-sectional areas of the through-nozzles 122 may be smaller than the cross-sectional area (yz plane) cut in the width direction of the conductive crucible 160. Accordingly, the steam can maintain a spatially constant pressure inside the conductive crucible. The total area of the through-holes may be greater than the total area of the openings of the diffusion plate 161.

The plurality of through nozzles 122 communicate with the buffer space 160c and are formed along the second direction (y-axis direction), and are spaced apart in the first direction (x-axis direction) And is arranged in a matrix form to discharge the steam.

The through nozzles 122 may be arranged in a matrix form in a plane defined by the first direction and the third direction. The through nozzles may be arranged in one line, two lines, or three lines.

The diameter of the through-holes 122 may be greater than the center of the nozzle block 120 at both ends of the nozzle block 120 in the first direction. Accordingly, a uniform thin film can be deposited depending on the position.

According to a modified embodiment of the present invention, the density of the penetration nozzles 122 may be higher than the center portion of the nozzle block at both ends of the nozzle block in the first direction.

According to a modified embodiment of the present invention, the gap between the neighboring through nozzles may be narrow at both sides in the first direction, and may be large at the center of the through-hole nozzle.

The nozzle block 120 may be formed of the same material as the conductive crucible 160. The nozzle block 120 may be integrally or detachably attached to the conductive crucible 160 by welding techniques. The nozzle block and the conductive crucible may be provided with temperature measuring means for measuring the temperature, respectively. The temperature measuring means may be a thermocouple. The nozzle block 120 and the conductive crucible 160 may be controlled to maintain a predetermined temperature.

The induction heating coils 132 and 134 may induction-heat the conductive crucible 160 and the nozzle block 120. For induction heating, induction heating coils 132 and 134 and ac power supply 136 may be used. The frequency of the AC power source 136 may be several tens of kHz to several MHz. The induction heating coils 132 and 134 can receive the electric power from the AC power source 136 to induction-heat the conductive crucible 160 and the nozzle block 120.

The induction heating coils 132 and 134 may be insulated from the conductive crucible 160 and the nozzle block 120. For insulation, the induction heating coils 132 and 134 may be spaced from the conductive crucible and the nozzle block. The support portion 133 can support and fix the induction heating coils 132 and 134. The support portion 133 may be formed of an insulator such as ceramic or alumina. The induction heating coil may be in the form of a pipe having a rectangular cross section, a pipe having a circular cross section, or a strip. The interval between the induction heating coil, the conductive crucible, and the nozzle block may be designed differently depending on the position for temperature control. The induction heating coils 132 and 134 may include a crucible induction heating coil 134 disposed to surround the conductive crucible 160 and a nozzle block induction heating coil 132 disposed to surround the nozzle block 120 have. The crucible induction heating coil 134 and the nozzle block induction heating coil 132 may be connected in series.

The vertical distance between the induction heating coils 132 and 134 and the conductive crucible or the vertical distance between the induction heating coils 132 and 134 and the nozzle block 120 may be changed as they proceed along the first direction.

The heat reflecting portion 150 may be disposed to surround the nozzle block 120 and the conductive crucible. The heat reflecting portion 150 may reflect the radiant energy of the heated nozzle block so as not to be emitted to the outside. The heat reflecting portion 150 can be manufactured by bending a metal plate having high reflection efficiency. A cooling pipe 152 through which refrigerant flows may be installed outside the heat-reflecting portion 150.

The linear evaporation apparatus 100 may include the nozzle block 120 and the linear motion part 170 that provides linear motion to the nozzle block. The linear motion unit 170 may provide linear motion (linear motion in the z-axis direction) to the nozzle block and the conductive crucible 160. Accordingly, the nozzle block 120, which linearly moves, can deposit a uniform thin film on all surfaces of the substrate in a state where the substrate 146 is fixed.

FIGS. 2 to 5 are views for explaining the arrangement of the through-nozzles and the arrangement of the openings of the conductive diffusion plate according to other embodiments of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the through-hole nozzle 122 may include a first through-hole nozzle and a second through-hole nozzle arranged in a first direction. The opening 161a of the conductive diffusion plate 161 may be disposed at a central portion of the conductive diffusion plate so as not to be aligned with the through-hole in the y-axis direction. The distance w1 between the through nozzles at both ends of the nozzle block in the first direction may be smaller than the interval w2 in the center area of the nozzle block.

Referring to FIG. 3, the through-hole nozzle 122 may include a first through-hole nozzle and a second through-hole nozzle arranged in a first direction. The opening 161a of the conductive diffusion plate 161 may be symmetrically formed along the sides of the conductive diffusion plate and may not be aligned in the y-axis direction with respect to the through-hole nozzle.

Referring to FIG. 4, the through-hole nozzles 122 may include first through-hole nozzles, second through-hole nozzles, and third through-hole nozzles arranged in a first direction. The opening 161a of the conductive diffusion plate 161 may be formed at the center of the conductive diffusion plate and may not be aligned with the through-hole in the y-axis direction.

Referring to FIG. 5, the through-hole nozzle 122 may include a first heat-penetrating nozzle and a second heat-penetrating nozzle arranged in a first direction. The openings 161a of the conductive diffusion plate 161 may be spaced apart from each other along the first direction on the conductive diffusion plate and may be arranged so as not to be aligned with the through-holes in the y-axis direction.

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.

120: nozzle block
122: Through nozzle
132: nozzle block induction heating coil
134: conductive crucible induction heating coil
144: Vacuum container
160: conductive crucible
161: conductive diffusion plate
163: Deposition material cover

Claims (7)

A vacuum container;
A conductive crucible in the form of a rectangular parallelepiped having an open top surface and extending in a first direction and disposed inside the vacuum container and containing the deposition material;
A nozzle block which is aligned with the conductive crucible and inserted into the upper surface of the conductive crucible and is formed of a conductor having a rectangular parallelepiped shape including a plurality of through nozzles;
A conductive diffusion plate disposed between the nozzle block and the deposition material and diffusing the vapor of the deposition material through the opening;
An induction heating coil extending in the first direction so as to surround the conductive crucible and the nozzle block and induction-heating the conductive crucible, the conductive diffusion plate, and the nozzle block in a non-contact manner; And
And a support for supporting the induction heating coil,
A depression is formed in a lower surface of the nozzle block,
Wherein the conductive diffusion plate is mounted on a lower surface of the depression to provide a buffer space,
Wherein the nozzle block and the conductive crucible are aligned with each other and coupled to each other so as to be disassembled,
The through-hole nozzle comprises:
A first heat-penetrating nozzle arranged to be spaced apart in the first direction; And
And a second column-through nozzle spaced apart in a direction perpendicular to the first direction and disposed in parallel with the first column-through nozzle,
Wherein the temperature of the nozzle block is independently set higher than the temperature of the conductive crucible. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a space temperature regulating unit disposed below the conductive crucible with respect to the induction heating coil and arranged to restrain magnetic flux in a second direction,
Wherein the opening of the conductive diffusion plate is offset so as not to be arranged in a straight line with the through-hole nozzle. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the through-hole nozzle is symmetrically disposed with respect to the center of the nozzle block,
Wherein a distance between the through nozzles is non-uniformly arranged in the first direction,
And the opening of the conductive diffusion plate is offset so as not to be disposed in a straight line with the through-hole nozzle. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the opening is disposed at the center of the plane of arrangement of the conductive diffusion plate. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the opening is symmetrically disposed at a portion in contact with an inner side surface of the conductive crucible. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a deposition material cover disposed inside the conductive crucible and disposed to surround an upper surface of the deposition material. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the evaporation material lid part moves along the inner surface of the conductive crucible as the evaporation material evaporates.

Images