KR20080114295A - Mask exchange apparatus for deposition chamber - Google Patents

Abstract

A mask exchange apparatus for deposition chamber is provided to facilitate replacement of a large size shadow mask for depositing an organic layer on a substrate and reduce the installation space of deposition line. A mask exchange apparatus for deposition chamber comprises a frame(1) which is opened on one side and includes an opening(2) for mask on another side opposite to the open side, two or more support columns(3) on the bottom, and a supporting plate(4) under the support columns; a driving cabinet(10) which is arranged inside the frame through a cabinet elevating unit(20), and includes two or more mask settling units(11) having different heights on the rest two sides; a mask transfer unit(50) which successively transfers the mask laid in the mask settling unit into the deposition chamber through the opening of the frame or returns to the original location; and a controller(60) which is connected to the cabinet elevating unit and the mask transfer unit to control the operation.

Description

Mask exchanger for deposition chambers {MASK EXCHANGE APPARATUS FOR DEPOSITION CHAMBER}

1 is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of a mask exchange apparatus for a deposition chamber according to the present invention;

2 is a front perspective view of a mask exchange apparatus for a deposition chamber according to the present invention;

Figure 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which a mask is placed in each of the mask settled portion and the other mask settled portion of the mask exchange apparatus according to the present invention.

Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view showing a state of transferring the mask of one side of the mask settle portion through the mask opening of the frame into the deposition chamber by using the mask transfer means of the mask exchange apparatus according to the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing the movable portion of the mask conveying means moved from the movable position to the avoided position after recovering the used mask from the deposition chamber to one side of the mask settling device of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which the movable cabinet is raised so that the other mask settle portion is aligned with the mask opening of the frame by using the cabinet lifting means of the mask exchange apparatus according to the present invention.

Figure 7 is a schematic perspective view showing a state of transferring the mask of the other mask settle portion through the mask opening of the frame into the deposition chamber by using the mask transfer means of the mask exchange apparatus according to the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a schematic perspective view showing the movable portion of the mask transfer means moved from the movable position to the avoiding position after recovering the used mask from the deposition chamber to the other mask settle portion of the mask changing apparatus according to the present invention.

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

1: frame 10: movable cabinet

11: mask mounting part 20: cabinet lifting means

21, 21a: drive motor 30: moving part

40: guide portion 50: mask transfer means

51: roller 60: air cylinder

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mask exchange apparatus for a deposition chamber, and in particular, facilitates replacement of a large shadow mask for an organic thin film deposition process, facilitates logistics flow, and reduces installation space of a deposition line. A mask exchange apparatus for a deposition chamber is provided.

Recently, with the rapid development of information and communication technology and the expansion of the market, flat panel displays have been in the spotlight as display devices. Such flat panel display devices include liquid crystal displays, plasma display panels, and organic light emitting diodes.

Among them, organic light emitting diodes have very good advantages such as fast response speed, lower power consumption and lighter weight than conventional liquid crystal display devices, and can be made ultra-thin because there is no need for a separate back light device, and high brightness. As a next generation display device, it is in the spotlight.

Vacuum deposition of the organic light emitting device is performed by placing a shadow mask (or mask) between the substrate and the evaporation source, and then bonding the mask to the substrate. If the materials to be deposited on specific areas of the substrate are different during this operation, the masks are replaced and aligned. In particular, in the case of natural organic light emitting devices, at least three masks must be used because three colors of red, green, and blue must be deposited at different positions.

As a method of realizing such a deposition process, an evaporation source and a mask are fixed in a deposition chamber, a method of depositing a specific material while the substrate moves through each chamber, and a method of depositing a specific material by transferring the substrate and the mask together. This is used.

The method using a robot arm is commonly referred to as a cluster system, where the mask is placed in each process chamber, the substrate is transferred to a specific chamber where the mask is located, the substrate and mask are aligned and attached, and then the deposition is performed. do.

However, in the case of the cluster system, it was very difficult to smoothly transfer the mask to the process chamber using the robot arm due to its own weight because of the structure of placing the mask in each process chamber using the robot arm. .

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the problems described above, the object of which is a mask for a deposition chamber to facilitate the replacement of a large mask for depositing an organic thin film on a substrate (or glass panel) It is to provide an exchange device.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a mask exchange apparatus for a deposition chamber that facilitates the logistics flow in the deposition process and reduces the installation space of the deposition line.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is detachably installed on one side of the deposition chamber, the upper surface of one side is open and provided with a mask opening on a portion of the other surface facing the one side, at least two A frame having a support column and having a support plate at the bottom of the support column; At least two masks disposed inside the frame by means of cabinet lifting and lowering means to be movable in and out of the frame, and having opposite sides facing the opening for the mask and having different heights on the inner walls of the remaining sides; A movable cabinet having a settling portion; Mask conveying means which are respectively provided at both sides of the frame and which allow the mask placed in the mask settle portion to be sequentially transferred into or from the deposition chamber through the mask opening of the frame to its original position; And a control unit connected to the cabinet elevating means and the mask conveying means, respectively, to control the corresponding operation.

In addition, the present invention further provides the following specific embodiments of the above-described embodiment of the present invention.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the cabinet lifting means has a drive motor, the body portion is fixed to the support plate and controlled by the control unit, and the movable cabinet can be raised and lowered relative to the frame through the drive motor. And a guide portion for guiding a lifting portion of the movable portion.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the movable part includes a screw bar connected to the output end of the driving motor, a sleeve member slidably surrounding the screw bar and slidably penetrating the frame, and fixed to a lower portion of the movable cabinet, and the sleeve It is characterized in that the tip is fixed to the member consisting of a driven pin movable along the screw bone of the screw bar.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the guide portion is a guide bar, the lower end is fixed to the corresponding corner portion of the support plate, respectively, the upper end is fixed to the corresponding corner portion of the frame, respectively, slidably fitted to each guide bar and the central portion The lower end of the sleeve member and characterized in that consisting of a guide plate fixed.

According to one embodiment of the invention, each of the guide bar is characterized in that it further comprises a bellows that can be stretched up and down.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, each of the mask moving means comprises a movable cabinet having guide slots formed on one side of the corresponding mask settle, and one drive roller fitted with a roller shaft through the corresponding guide slot of the movable cabinet. The roller shaft is fitted through the guide slot and is connected to the drive roller via a movable belt. The roller unit comprises at least two idler rollers, and the guide unit is movable with respect to the frame to move back and forth with the roller unit. The drive motor is provided on one side of the outer wall of the frame to enable the drive roller to be rotated through the control of the control unit, and a body part is fixed to the corresponding outer wall of the frame via a bracket, and the movable rod is the drive motor. The air cylinder is fixed to the body portion of the.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, each of the mask settled portion consists of a support piece provided on each side with a predetermined interval on both sides, and a restricting protrusion formed on the upper portion of each support piece, the outer surface of each of the limiting projection The distance between the inner walls of the cabinet is characterized in that it is larger than the width of each roller.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the control unit is connected to the microcomputer and the microcomputer that stores the operating program for transporting the mask along a predetermined movement path through the cabinet lifting means and the mask transfer means; And a key input unit electrically connected to the microcomputer and capable of connecting or blocking an external power source and re-adjusting the movement path of the mask. .

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the mask exchange apparatus further includes a transmitter and a receiver to precisely control the movement of the mask, wherein each transmitter and receiver is electrically connected to a microcomputer of the controller. It is done.

Hereinafter, each embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8.

1 is a schematic perspective view showing a configuration of a mask exchange apparatus for a deposition chamber according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of a mask exchange apparatus for a deposition chamber according to the present invention.

Mask exchange apparatus for a deposition chamber according to the present invention, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, largely comprises a frame 1, a movable cabinet 10, a mask transfer means 50 and the control unit 50.

Here, the frame 1 is detachably installed at one side of at least a portion of the deposition chamber (not shown). The frame 1 is provided with a mask opening 2 at a part of the other surface facing the one surface part of the upper part of the upper part, and having at least two support columns 3 at the lower part and at the bottom of the support column. The support plate 4 is provided.

The movable cabinet 10 is disposed inside the frame 1 via the cabinet lifting means 20 so as to be movable relative to the frame 1. The movable cabinet 10 includes at least two mask setters 11 having opposite sides facing the opening 2 for the mask and having different heights on inner walls of the remaining both sides.

The mask conveying means 50 is provided on both sides of the frame 1 and the mask openings (not shown) placed in the mask mounting portion 11, respectively, in order for the mask openings 2 of the frame 1 Through) into or out of the deposition chamber (not shown) to its original position.

The control unit (not shown) is connected to the cabinet elevating means 20 and the mask transfer means 50, respectively, to control the operation.

Meanwhile, the cabinet elevating means 20, the mask conveying means 50, the mask setter 11 and the controller (not shown) may be further embodied as follows (see FIGS. 1 and 2).

Here, the cabinet lifting means 20 is a drive motor 21, the body portion is fixed to the support plate 4 and controlled by the controller, and the movable cabinet 10 through the drive motor to the frame It comprises a movable part 30 which can raise / lower with respect to (1), and the guide part 40 which guides the raising / lowering part of this movable part. On the other hand, the drive motor-moving part structure of the cabinet lifting means 20 can be replaced by an air cylinder.

The movable part 30 includes a screw bar (not shown) connected to an output end of the driving motor 21, and slidably surrounds the screw bar and slidably penetrates the frame 1 so as to lower the lower part of the movable cabinet 10. It comprises a sleeve member 31 fixed to the driven member (not shown) and a rear end fixed to the lower portion of the sleeve member and the leading end is movable along the screw bone of the screw bar.

The guide portion 40 has a guide bar 41 having a lower end fixed to a corresponding corner portion of the support plate 4 and an upper end fixed to a corresponding corner portion of the frame 1, respectively, and sliding to each guide bar. The guide plate 42 may be fitted and fixed to the lower end of the sleeve member 31. Each of the guide bars 41 may further include a bellows 41a that can be stretched vertically.

On the other hand, the mask transfer means 50 is a movable cabinet 10, a roller 51, a drive motor 21a and an air cylinder (10) having guide slots 10a formed on one side of the mask set-up portion 11, respectively. 60).

Here, the roller unit 51 is one drive roller 52, the roller shaft 52a is fitted through the corresponding guide slot (10a) of the movable cabinet 10, and the roller shaft through the guide slot (10a) 53a is fitted and consists of at least two idler rollers 53 connected to the drive roller 52 via a movable belt 54. Preferably, the movable belt 54 and the driving roller 52 have a toothed structure in which the mutual contact portions thereof are toothed, and the movable belt 54 may be formed of a belt made of stainless metal or resin. On the other hand, the roller portion 51 is set not only in the avoidance position of the roller portion is located inside the movable cabinet 10, but also set in the space between the inner wall of the frame 1 and the outer wall of the movable cabinet 10. It is also possible to arrange.

The drive motor 21a is provided on one side of the corresponding outer wall of the frame 1 via the guide means 65 so as to be movable back and forth with the roller part 51 with respect to the frame 1. Through the control of the drive roller 52 is made rotatable. The guide means 65 has a fixing piece 66 fixed to the body portion of the drive motor 21a, one end is fixed to the corresponding side wall of the frame 1, the other end is sliding the fixing piece 66 It consists of a guide bar 67 that penetrates as effectively.

The air cylinder 60 is a body portion is fixed to the corresponding outer wall of the frame 1 via the bracket 61 and the movable rod is fixed to the body portion of the drive motor 21a. The air cylinder 60 and the control unit are electrically connected through a switching valve block (not shown) of known technology. In addition, the switching valve block is connected to a working fluid supply source (eg, an air compressor) through a corresponding supply hose (not shown) to supply air of a predetermined pressure to the air cylinder 60.

The mask mounting portion 11 is composed of a support piece 12 provided on each side with a predetermined interval on both sides, and a limiting projection 12a formed on the upper portion of each support piece, and movable with the outer surface of each limiting projection. The distance between the inner walls of the cabinet 10 is preferably formed larger than the width of each roller 52,53. Accordingly, the roller portion 51 of the mask transfer means 50 can be freely moved from the bottom of one mask settle 11 to the bottom of the other mask settle 11 without colliding with the mask.

The control unit may include a microcomputer (not shown) in which an operation program for transporting a mask (not shown) along a predetermined movement path is stored through the cabinet elevating means 20 and the mask conveying means 50; A liquid crystal display (not shown) that is electrically connected to the micom to inform the movement of the mask, and is electrically connected to the micom to enable connection or disconnection with an external power source, and the movement path of the mask. And a key input unit (not shown) to enable readjustment.

On the other hand, the mask changing apparatus according to the present invention may be configured to further include a transmitter (not shown) and a receiver (not shown) to precisely control the movement of the mask. In this case, each of the transmitter and the receiver is electrically connected to the microcomputer of the controller. In addition, the transmitting unit and the receiving unit may be configured to correspond to the movable portion (moving cabinet and roller) and the fixed portion (frame).

In addition, when three or more deposition layers are to be formed in one deposition chamber (not shown), the mask exchange device according to the present invention may further add the number of mask mounting portions 11 to appropriately correspond to the deposition process. Can be.

Referring to Figures 3 to 8 a preferred operation of the mask exchange apparatus for the deposition chamber according to the present invention configured as described above is as follows.

First, a mask loading and unloading unit (not shown) including a roller unit of known technology and a corresponding motor unit connected to the roller unit is provided inside the corresponding deposition chamber (not shown) of the inline deposition system or cluster deposition system. After that, the mask loading and unloading unit is electrically connected to the control unit of the mask changing apparatus according to the present invention.

Then, as shown in Fig. 3, after placing the mask 13 in each of the mask mounting portion 11 of the movable cabinet 10 of the mask changing apparatus according to the present invention, the mask loading and unloading program is stored in advance. When a mask loading and unloading operation command for a corresponding deposition process is input to a control unit (not shown) having a microcom, the microcomputer of the control unit corresponds to one mask, another mask, and another mask, respectively. Mask loading and unloading operations for the deposition process can be performed in sequence.

Then, the driving motors 21a of the mask transfer means 50 provided on both sides of the frame 1 move the rollers 51 to move the masks 13 on the mask settles 11 in the deposition chamber. Transfer completed to the loading and unloading unit (see Fig. 4). At this time, the crucible of the crucible cell in the deposition chamber is filled with the corresponding organic solution, and the substrate provided through the substrate supply line, for example, the glass panel, is aligned with the substrate aligning device in the upper portion of the vacuum chamber.

Then, after the inside of the deposition chamber is evacuated through a vacuum generator (not shown), the glass panel and the mask are bonded together through a known substrate mask attaching device (not shown) (or the vacuuming process and After the bonding process is performed in reverse order, a current is applied to the heater of the crucible. Subsequently, an organic substance is evaporated or sublimed from the crucible heated by the crucible to form a predetermined organic thin film on the corresponding surface of the glass panel in a form corresponding to the pattern of the mask.

Then, after the mask is released from the glass panel through the substrate mask attaching device, through the mask opening and unloading portion in the deposition chamber, through the mask opening 2 of the frame 1 of the mask changing device. The mask 13 used as the said mask mounting part 11 of the movable cabinet 10 is collect | recovered (refer FIG. 5).

Then, the rollers 51 are retracted to the inner wall side of the movable cabinet 10 through the drive motor 21a of the mask transfer means 50 of the frame 1, and then the other of the movable cabinet 10 The movable cabinet 10 is raised by using the cabinet lifting means 20 so that the mask 13 of the mask settling portion 11 is aligned with the mask opening 2 of the frame 1 (see FIG. 6). .

Then, the air cylinder 60 of each mask transfer means 50 advances the driving motor 21a to advance each roller part 51 to the lower edge of the mask 13. Subsequently, the roller 51 is driven through the driving motor 21a to transfer the mask 13 on the mask set 11 to the mask loading and unloading portion of the deposition chamber (see FIG. 7). At this time, the crucible of the crucible in the deposition chamber is filled with the corresponding organic solution of the deposition process.

Then, after the inside of the vacuum chamber is evacuated through a vacuum generator (not shown), the glass panel and the mask are bonded through a known substrate mask attaching device (not shown) (or the vacuuming process and After the bonding process is performed in reverse order, a current is applied to the heater of the crucible. Subsequently, an organic substance is evaporated or sublimed from the crucible heated by the crucible to form a predetermined organic thin film on the corresponding surface of the glass panel in a form corresponding to the pattern of the mask.

Then, after the mask is released from the glass panel through the substrate mask attaching device, through the mask opening and unloading portion in the deposition chamber, through the mask opening 2 of the frame 1 of the mask changing device. The mask 13 used as the said mask mounting part 11 of the movable cabinet 10 is collect | recovered (refer FIG. 8).

The present invention described above is not limited to the above-described embodiments and the accompanying drawings, and simple substitutions, modifications, and changes within the technical idea of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

As mentioned above, the present invention makes it easy to replace large shadow masks for depositing organic thin films on substrates.

In addition, the present invention can facilitate the logistics flow in the deposition process, and also to reduce the installation space of the deposition line.

Furthermore, the present invention can be applied to cluster deposition systems as well as inline deposition systems.

Claims (9)

Removably installed on one side of the deposition chamber, the upper surface of one side is open and has a mask opening on a portion of the other surface facing the one side, having at least two support columns at the bottom and a support plate at the bottom of the support column. A frame provided; At least two masks disposed inside the frame by means of cabinet lifting and lowering means to be movable in and out of the frame, and having opposite sides facing the opening for the mask and having different heights on the inner walls of the remaining sides; A movable cabinet having a settling portion; Mask conveying means which are respectively provided at both sides of the frame and which allow the mask placed in the mask settle portion to be sequentially transferred into or from the deposition chamber through the mask opening of the frame to its original position; A control unit connected to the cabinet elevating means and the mask conveying means to control the operation Mask exchange apparatus for a deposition chamber comprising a. According to claim 1, The elevating means of the cabinet is a drive motor, the body portion is fixed to the support plate and controlled by the control unit, and the movable part for enabling the movable cabinet to move up and down relative to the frame through the drive motor; And a guide part for guiding a lifting part of the movable part. According to claim 2, wherein the movable part is a screw bar connected to the output end of the drive motor, the sleeve member is slidably wrapped around the screw bar and slidably penetrates the frame fixed to the lower portion of the movable cabinet, and fixed to the sleeve member And a tip end portion consisting of a driven pin movable along the screw bone of the screw bar. 3. The guide part of claim 2, wherein a guide bar has a lower end fixed to a corresponding corner portion of the support plate and an upper end fixed to a corresponding corner portion of the frame, respectively, and is slidably fitted to each of the guide bars, and a central portion of the guide portion Mask exchange apparatus for a deposition chamber comprising a guide plate fixed to the bottom of the member. 5. The mask exchange apparatus of claim 4, wherein each of the guide bars further includes bellows which can be stretched up and down. The method of claim 1, wherein each mask moving means comprises a movable cabinet having guide slots respectively formed on one side of the mask mounting portion, a drive roller and a corresponding guide slot fitted with a roller shaft through the guide slots of the movable cabinet. The roller shaft is fitted with a roller unit comprising at least two idler rollers connected to the driving roller via a movable belt, and guide means for moving back and forth with the roller unit with respect to the frame. The drive motor is provided on one side of the outer wall to enable the drive roller to be rotated through the control of the control unit, and the body part is fixed to the corresponding outer wall of the frame via a bracket, and the movable rod is the body part of the drive motor. Mask exchange apparatus for a deposition chamber that is made of an air cylinder fixed to. According to claim 1, wherein each of the mask set-up portion is provided with a support piece provided on each side with a predetermined interval on both sides, and a restriction projection formed on the upper portion of each support piece, the outer surface of each of the restriction projections and the inner wall of the movable cabinet And the distance between them is greater than the width of each roller. The microcomputer of claim 1, wherein the control unit comprises: a microcomputer storing an operating program for transferring the mask along a predetermined movement path through the cabinet raising and lowering means and the mask transporting means; Mask for the deposition chamber comprising a liquid crystal display for informing information about the movement, and a key input electrically connected to the micom, enabling the connection or blocking of an external power source, and re-adjust the movement path of the mask. Exchange device. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a transmitter and a receiver to precisely control the movement of the mask, wherein each transmitter and the receiver are electrically connected to a microcomputer of the controller.

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