KR20200046484A - Method of manufacturing metal mask for vapor-deposition - Google Patents

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method of manufacturing a metal mask for deposition comprises the steps (a) to (d). In the step (a), an adhesion-reinforcing material having a stronger interface adhesion with photoresist than a metal plate is coated on both sides of the metal plate. In the step (b), photoresist is applied to both sides of the metal plate. In the step (c), patterns of photoresist are formed on both sides of the metal plate by exposure and development. In the step (d), a pattern of through holes is formed in the metal plate by etching the metal plate using an etching solution.

Description

Method of manufacturing metal mask for vapor-deposition

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a metal mask for deposition, and more particularly, to a method for manufacturing a metal mask for deposition, in which a pattern of through holes is formed in a metal plate.

The metal mask for deposition is used in various manufacturing processes, for example, a manufacturing process of a display panel.

In a display panel, an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diodes) display panel has been spotlighted because it has the following advantages over a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) panel.

First, the response time is fast.

Second, the viewing angle is wide.

Third, since a backlight is unnecessary, thinning is possible.

Fourth, a flexible display panel can be implemented.

In the manufacturing process of the OLED display panel, an organic light emitting layer pattern is formed by a deposition process after a metal mask for deposition is adhered to a transparent substrate. Therefore, the precision of the organic light emitting layer pattern is proportional to the precision of the metal mask for deposition.

On the other hand, in the through hole formed in the metal mask for deposition, the upper portion facing the deposition source is formed larger than the lower portion facing the deposition target. That is, the upper diameter of the through hole is formed longer than the lower diameter.

In the through holes of conventional metal masks for deposition, the average deviation of the upper diameter is quite large, and the average deviation of the lower diameter is quite large. That is, as the size of the through hole is considerably non-uniform, there is a problem that the precision of the metal mask for deposition is lowered.

The problem of the background art is that the inventor possessed it for the derivation of the present invention, or was learned in the derivation process of the present invention, and is not necessarily the content known to the general public before filing the present invention.

Republic of Korea Registered Patent Publication No. 10-1884160 (applicant: Dopan Insatsu Co., Ltd., name: metal mask for deposition, method for manufacturing metal mask for deposition, and metal mask formation for deposition)

An embodiment of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a metal mask for deposition that can improve deposition accuracy as the size of the through hole becomes more uniform.

The method of the embodiment of the present invention, as a method of manufacturing a metal mask for deposition to form a pattern of through holes in a metal plate, includes steps (a) to (d).

In step (a), an adhesion-reinforcing material having an interface adhesive strength with a photoresist stronger than that of the metal plate is coated on both sides of the metal plate.

In step (b), the photoresist is applied to both surfaces of the metal plate.

In step (c), patterns of the photoresist are formed on both sides of the metal plate by exposure and development.

In step (d), a pattern of the through holes is formed in the metal plate by etching the metal plate using an etching solution.

According to the experiment for the present invention, it has been found in the prior art that the size of the through hole is significantly uneven. The cause is that additional etch occurs due to the etching solution penetrated into the interface between the metal plate and the photoresist in the etching step of the metal plate.

According to the method of manufacturing the metal mask for deposition according to an embodiment of the present invention, an etching solution penetrating into the interface between the metal plate and the photoresist in the etching step of the metal due to the action of the adhesion-reinforcing material The amount of can be reduced. Accordingly, the degree of the non-uniform additional etching may be reduced. That is, as the size of the through hole becomes more uniform, deposition precision may be improved.

1A to 1G are side cross-sectional views for explaining a manufacturing method of an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a view showing a photograph of a side cross-section of the metal mask for deposition of FIG. 1G.
3 is a view for comparing the top and bottom surfaces of the metal mask for deposition, respectively.
4 is a view for comparing the top surface and the side surface of the metal mask for deposition, respectively.
5 is a view for comparing the distribution state of the upper diameter of the through hole.
6 is a view for comparing the distribution state of the lower diameter of the through hole.

The following description and the accompanying drawings are intended to understand the operation according to the present invention, and parts that can be easily implemented by those skilled in the art may be omitted.

In addition, this specification and drawings are not provided for the purpose of limiting the present invention, and the scope of the present invention should be defined by the claims. The terms used in this specification should be interpreted as meanings and concepts consistent with the technical spirit of the present invention in order to best represent the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1A to 1G are side cross-sectional views for explaining a manufacturing method of an embodiment of the present invention. A method of manufacturing a metal mask for evaporation forming a pattern of through holes in the metal plate 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1A to 1G.

First, in order to clean the metal plate 100, degreasing, pickling, washing, and drying processes are sequentially performed. The degreasing process removes greasy and organic substances on the surface of the metal plate 100. The pickling process finely polishes the surface of the metal plate 100. The water washing process washes the metal plate 100. The drying process dries the metal plate 100.

When the drying process is completed, surface treatment is performed on the metal plate 100 by plasma of a linear ion source. In the case of this embodiment, an argon (Ar) source is employed as the linear ion source. Due to the action of the linear ion source, the surface purity of the metal plate 100 may be increased. By adding the process of the linear ion source, the adhesion between the adhesion-reinforcing material and the metal plate 100 may be greater in the next process. 1A shows the metal plate 100 in a state in which the process of the linear ion source is completed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1B, an adhesive-reinforcing material 101 having a greater interface adhesion with the photoresist than the metal plate 100 is coated on both sides of the metal plate 100. Here, the adhesive-reinforcing material 101 is coated on both sides of the metal plate 100 by an electroplating or sputtering process.

According to the experiment, 1 nano-meter (nm) to 1 micro-meter (μm) is suitable as the range of the thickness of the applied adhesive-reinforcing material 101.

The adhesive-reinforcing material 101 is an adhesive-reinforced metal having an interface adhesion with a photoresist stronger than that of the metal plate 100, or a material in which the adhesive-reinforced metal is oxidized.

In the case of this embodiment, the metal plate is an alloy of nickel (Ni) -iron (Fe). In addition, the adhesion-reinforcing material 101 is copper, iron, nickel, palladium, gold, platinum, copper oxide (copper oxide), iron oxide, nickel oxide, and palladium oxide Either one or two or more alloy materials.

Preferably, when the etching solution of the metal plate 100 to be used later is a solution of copper chloride, the adhesion-reinforcing material 101 is copper or copper oxide. In addition, when the etching solution is a solution of iron chloride, the adhesion-reinforcing material is iron, nickel, palladium, gold, platinum, iron oxide, nickel oxide, and It is either palladium oxide or two or more alloy materials.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1C, photoresist 102 is applied to both sides of the metal plate 100 with the adhesive-reinforcing material 101 applied.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1D, patterns of the photoresist 102 are formed on both sides of the metal plate 100 by exposure and development.

Referring to FIG. 1D, the opening of the photoresist 102 formed on the top surface of the metal plate 100 is formed larger than the opening of the photoresist 102 formed on the bottom surface of the metal plate 100. Accordingly, in the through hole to be formed later, the upper portion toward the deposition source is formed larger than the lower portion toward the deposition target. That is, the upper diameter of the through hole is formed longer than the lower diameter.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1E, a pattern of through holes is formed in the metal plate 100 by etching the metal plate 100 by using an etching solution. Here, the upper and lower surfaces of the metal plate 100 are simultaneously or stepwise etched, thereby forming a pattern of through holes in the metal plate 100.

Next, photoresist 102 is removed as shown in FIG. 1F.

Then, as shown in FIG. 1F, the adhesive-enhancing material 101 remaining adjacent to the photoresist 102 is removed.

Figure 2 shows a photograph of the side cross-section of the metal mask for deposition of Figure 1g. In Fig. 2, reference numeral 100 denotes a metal plate in a state in which patterns of through holes are formed. In the case of FIG. 2, a side cross-section of a metal mask for deposition with a pitch between through-holes of 80 micro-meters (μm) was photographed by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) at a magnification of 1,500.

Referring to FIG. 2, the upper diameter Ia of the through hole is longer than the lower diameter Ib. That is, the upper portion facing the deposition source from the through hole is formed larger than the lower portion facing the deposition target.

3 is a view for comparing the top and bottom surfaces of the metal mask for deposition, respectively. Reference numerals 301 to 304 in FIG. 3 indicate through holes. Reference numeral 301 denotes through holes photographed from the top surface of a conventional metal mask for deposition. Reference numeral 302 denotes through holes photographed on the underside of a conventional metal mask for deposition. Reference numeral 303 denotes through-holes photographed on the top surface of the metal mask for vapor deposition of the embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 304 denotes through holes photographed on the underside of the metal mask for vapor deposition of the above embodiment. Here, the conventional method of manufacturing a metal mask for deposition corresponds to a case in which the process of the linear ion source and the process of applying the adhesive-reinforcing material 101 are omitted in the manufacturing method of FIG. 1.

In the case of Fig. 3, a metal mask for deposition with a pitch of 80 micro-meters (μm) between through-holes was photographed by a microscope at a magnification of 200 times.

4 is a view for comparing the top surface and the side surface of the metal mask for deposition, respectively. Here, the conventional method of manufacturing a metal mask for deposition corresponds to a case in which the process of the linear ion source and the process of applying the adhesive-reinforcing material 101 are omitted in the manufacturing method of FIG. 1.

In the case of FIG. 4, the top, bottom, and side cross sections of the metal mask for deposition having a pitch between the through-holes of 80 micrometers (μm) are photographed at a magnification of 1,500 times by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Became.

3 and 4, the through holes according to the prior art are larger than the through holes according to the present embodiment. That is, according to the present embodiment, the degree of uneven additional etching due to interfacial penetration of the etching solution may be reduced.

5 is a view for comparing the distribution state of the upper diameter of the through-hole (Ia in FIG. 2).

6 is a view for comparing the distribution state of the lower diameter of the through-hole (Ib in FIG. 2).

In Figures 5 and 6, reference numerals 501, 502, 601, and 602 denote regions of samples of 50 percent (%) close to the median value, respectively. Here, the interface between the top box and the bottom box is the location of the median. The upper box is an area of 25% (%) of samples that are larger than the median value and close to the median value. The lower box is an area of 25 percent (%) of samples that is less than the median value and approaches the median value.

Therefore, referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, it can be seen that the size of the through hole according to this embodiment is more uniform than that of the prior art.

As described above, according to the experiment for the present invention, it has been found that the cause of the size of the through hole is significantly non-uniform in the prior art. The cause is that additional etching is uneven due to the etching solution penetrated into the interface between the metal plate and the photoresist in the etching step of the metal plate.

Accordingly, according to the method of manufacturing a metal mask for deposition of an embodiment of the present invention, due to the action of the adhesion-reinforcing material, the amount of etching solution penetrating into the interface between the metal plate and the photoresist is reduced in the etching step of the metal You can. Therefore, the degree of non-uniform additional etching may be reduced. That is, as the size of the through hole becomes more uniform, deposition precision may be improved.

So far, the present invention has been focused on preferred embodiments. Those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains will understand that the present invention can be implemented in a modified form without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention.

Therefore, the disclosed embodiments should be considered from an explanatory point of view rather than a restrictive point of view. The scope of the present invention is shown in the claims rather than the foregoing description, and the invention claimed by the claims and the inventions equivalent to the claimed invention should be construed as being included in the present invention.

The present invention can be used in various photo lithography processes.

100: metal plate, 101: adhesion-reinforced material,
102: photoresist, Ia: upper diameter of the through hole,
Ib: the lower diameter of the through hole, 301 to 304: through holes.

Claims (8)

In the manufacturing method of the metal mask for deposition to form a pattern of through holes in the metal plate,
(a) coating an adhesive-reinforcing material having a stronger interfacial adhesion with a photoresist than the metal plate on both sides of the metal plate;
(b) the photoresist is also included on both sides of the metal plate;
(c) forming patterns of the photoresist on both sides of the metal plate by exposure and development; And
(d) by etching the metal plate using an etching solution, forming a pattern of the through holes in the metal plate. According to claim 1, Immediately before performing step (a),
A method of manufacturing a metal mask for deposition, wherein the metal plate is cleaned and surface treatment is performed on the metal plate by plasma of a linear ion source. The method of claim 1, wherein in step (d),
A method of manufacturing a metal mask for deposition, wherein a pattern of the through holes is formed in the metal plate by simultaneously or stepwise etching the top and bottom surfaces of the metal plate. The method of claim 1, wherein in step (a),
A method of manufacturing a metal mask for deposition, wherein the adhesive-reinforcing material is coated on both sides of the metal plate by an electroplating or sputtering process. According to claim 1,
The range of the thickness of the adhesive-reinforcing material applied in step (a) is 1 nano-meter (nm) to 1 micro-meter (μm), a method of manufacturing a metal mask for deposition. According to claim 1, The adhesion-reinforcing material in step (a),
An adhesion-reinforced metal having an interface adhesion with the photoresist stronger than the metal plate, or
A method of manufacturing a metal mask for deposition, wherein the adhesion-reinforced metal is a material in an oxidized state. The method of claim 6,
The metal plate is an alloy of nickel (Ni) -iron (Fe),
The adhesion-reinforcing material is any one of copper, iron, nickel, palladium, gold, platinum, copper oxide, iron oxide, nickel oxide, and palladium oxide , Two or more alloy material, the method of manufacturing a metal mask for deposition. The method of claim 7,
When the etching solution in step (d) is a solution of copper chloride, the adhesion-reinforcing material in step (a) is copper or copper oxide,
When the etching solution in step (d) is a solution of iron chloride, the adhesion-reinforcing material in step (a) is iron, nickel, palladium, gold, platinum, iron oxide ( A method of manufacturing a metal mask for deposition, which is any one or more of iron oxide, nickel oxide, and palladium oxide.

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