KR20210090129A - Film forming apparatus and manufacturing apparatus of electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

According to the present invention, a film forming device comprises a vacuum container of which an inner space is maintained in a vacuum state, and the vacuum container comprises a plurality of vacuum container units and an expandable member installed between the plurality of vacuum container units. The film forming device improves film forming precision by reducing an effect from disturbance such as vibration from a vacuum pump or a floor even though a distance between an evaporation source and a substrate is increased.

Description

A film forming apparatus and an electronic device manufacturing apparatus TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a film forming apparatus for depositing a predetermined film forming material on a substrate through a mask, and an electronic device manufacturing apparatus including the same.

The organic EL display device (organic EL display) is expanding its field of application not only to displays for smartphones, TVs, and automobiles, but also to VR HMD (Virtual Reality Head Mount Display), etc. In particular, the display used in VR HMD is In order to prevent dizziness of the user, it is required to form the pixel pattern with high precision.

In the manufacture of an organic EL display device (organic EL display), when forming an organic light emitting element (organic EL element; OLED) constituting an organic EL display device, a pixel pattern is formed of a film forming material emitted from a film forming source of the film forming apparatus. By forming a film on the substrate through the formed mask, an organic material layer or a metal layer is formed.

In such a film forming apparatus, the film forming process is performed in a vacuum vessel maintained in a vacuum atmosphere or an inert gas atmosphere such as nitrogen gas. For example, in the deposition apparatus of the depo-up method, the deposition source is installed in the lower part of the vacuum container, and the substrate and the mask aligned therewith are disposed in the upper part of the vacuum container. Then, the film-forming material discharged from the film-forming source passes through the opening formed in the mask and is deposited on the lower surface of the substrate to form a film.

In the film forming apparatus having such a scattering path, one of the factors affecting the film forming precision is the angle at which the scattering film forming material passes through the opening of the mask and is incident on the substrate. For example, if the angle at which the film-forming material is incident on the substrate from the film-forming source through the mask is large, that is, when the film-forming material is incident almost perpendicularly to the film-forming surface of the substrate, the film-forming precision can be increased. On the other hand, if the angle of incidence of the film-forming material on the substrate becomes small, the film-forming precision may be lowered by that much.

As one method of increasing the angle at which the film-forming material is incident on the film-forming surface of the substrate, it can be considered to increase the distance between the film-forming source and the substrate.

However, in order to increase the distance between the film forming source and the substrate, in the case of the bottom-up film forming apparatus, the height of the vacuum vessel of the film forming apparatus must be increased by that much. In this configuration, the substrate provided on the upper side of the vacuum container, the mask, and each of these holding means are greatly affected by disturbances such as a vacuum pump or vibration from a floor. This may be a factor that lowers the alignment accuracy of the substrate with respect to the mask, and may cause misalignment between the substrate and the mask during the film forming process, which may result in lowering the film forming precision.

The present invention is to provide a film forming apparatus capable of improving film forming precision by reducing the influence from disturbances such as a vacuum pump or vibration from a floor even when the distance between an evaporation source and a substrate increases, and an electronic device manufacturing apparatus including the same The purpose.

A film forming apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention is a film forming apparatus including a vacuum container in which an internal space can be maintained in a vacuum state, wherein the vacuum container includes a plurality of vacuum container parts and a plurality of vacuum container parts between the plurality of vacuum container parts. It is characterized in that it includes a stretchable member installed on the.

A film forming apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention includes a vacuum container, a substrate holding means installed in the vacuum container, for holding a substrate, and a position of the substrate holding means installed in the vacuum container. It is characterized by including an alignment stage mechanism for adjusting, and a vibration damping unit for reducing transmission of vibration to the alignment stage mechanism.

An electronic device manufacturing apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention includes a film forming apparatus according to the first or second aspect of the present invention, a mask stock apparatus for accommodating a mask, and a conveying apparatus for conveying a substrate or mask characterized in that

According to the present invention, the substrate and the film forming source are formed by reducing the transmission of vibrations due to disturbance to the alignment stage mechanism by using a vibration damping unit and/or by configuring the vacuum container of the film forming apparatus with a plurality of vacuum chamber portions connected by a stretchable member and/or using a vibration damping unit. Even when the distance between them is increased, it is possible to improve the accuracy of positioning between the substrate and the mask and to reduce the misalignment between the substrate and the mask during the progress of the film forming process.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a schematic diagram of a part of the manufacturing apparatus of an electronic device.
2 is a schematic diagram of a film forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3A to 3C are schematic cross-sectional views of a vacuum container of a film forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments and examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the following embodiments and examples are merely illustrative of preferred configurations of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to these configurations. In addition, in the following description, the hardware configuration and software configuration of the device, processing flow, manufacturing conditions, size, material, shape, etc. are intended to limit the scope of the present invention to these unless there is a particularly limiting description. no.

The present invention can be applied to an apparatus for forming a film by depositing various materials on the surface of a substrate, and can be preferably applied to an apparatus for forming a thin film (material layer) of a desired pattern by vacuum deposition.

Any material such as semiconductor (eg, silicon), glass, polymer film, or metal can be selected as the material for the substrate. For example, the substrate is a silicon wafer or a substrate in which a film such as polyimide is laminated on a glass substrate. may be Moreover, arbitrary materials, such as an organic material and a metallic material (metal, a metal oxide, etc.) can be selected also as a film-forming material.

The present invention can be applied to a film forming apparatus including a sputtering apparatus or a CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) apparatus in addition to a vacuum deposition apparatus by thermal evaporation. Specifically, the technique of the present invention is applicable to various electronic devices such as semiconductor devices, magnetic devices, and electronic components, and manufacturing apparatuses for optical components. As a specific example of an electronic device, a light emitting element, a photoelectric conversion element, a touch panel, etc. are mentioned.

Especially, this invention is preferably applicable to the manufacturing apparatus of organic light emitting elements, such as OLED, and organic photoelectric conversion elements, such as an organic thin film solar cell. In addition, the electronic device in the present invention includes a display device (eg, organic EL display) or lighting device (eg, organic EL illuminator) including a light emitting element, and a sensor (eg, organic CMOS) including a photoelectric conversion element. image sensor).

<Electronic device manufacturing apparatus>

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a top view which shows typically the structure of a part of the manufacturing apparatus of an electronic device.

The manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1 is used for manufacture of the display panel of the organic electroluminescent display for VR HMD, for example. In the case of a display panel for VR HMD, for example, after forming a film for forming an organic EL element on a silicon wafer of a predetermined size, the silicon wafer is cut out along the region (scribe region) between the element formation regions. It is manufactured from a plurality of small-sized panels.

The electronic device manufacturing apparatus according to the present embodiment generally includes a plurality of cluster apparatuses 1 and a relay device connecting between the cluster apparatuses 1 .

The cluster apparatus 1 includes a film forming apparatus 11 for performing a process (eg, film formation) on a substrate W, a mask stock apparatus 12 for accommodating a mask M before and after use, and disposed at the center thereof and a transfer chamber 13 (a transfer device) used as the The transfer chamber 13 is connected to each of the film forming apparatus 11 and the mask stock apparatus 12 as shown in FIG. 1 .

In the transfer chamber 13 , a transfer robot 14 that transfers the substrate W and the mask M is disposed. The transfer robot 14 may be, for example, a robot having a structure in which a robot hand holding the substrate W or the mask M is mounted on an articulated arm.

In the film-forming apparatus 11, the film-forming material discharged|emitted from the film-forming source is formed into a film on the board|substrate W through the mask M. exchange of the substrate W/mask M with the transfer robot 14, adjustment (alignment) of the relative position of the substrate W and the mask M, fixing the mask M and the substrate W; A series of film forming processes such as film forming is performed by the film forming apparatus 11 .

In a manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing an organic EL display device, the film forming apparatus 11 can be divided into an organic film forming apparatus and a metal film forming apparatus according to the type of material to be formed. The organic film forming apparatus deposits or sputters an organic film forming material. A film is formed on the substrate W by means of a metal film forming apparatus, and a metallic film forming material is deposited on the substrate W by vapor deposition or sputtering.

In a manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing an organic EL display device, which film forming apparatus is disposed at which position may vary depending on the stacked structure of the organic EL device to be manufactured, and a plurality of the film forming devices for forming the same may vary depending on the stacked structure of the organic EL device. A film forming apparatus is arranged.

In the case of an organic EL device, typically, a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, a light emitting layer, an electron transport layer, an electron injection layer, and a cathode are stacked in this order on a substrate W on which an anode is formed. Appropriate film forming apparatuses are arranged along the flow direction of the substrate so that films can be sequentially formed.

For example, in FIG. 1 , the film forming apparatus 11a forms a hole injection layer (HIL) and/or a hole transport layer (HTL) into a film, the film forming apparatuses 11b and 11f form a blue light emitting layer, and the film forming apparatus 11c form a red light emitting layer. The film forming apparatuses 11d and 11e are arranged to form a green light emitting layer, the film forming apparatus 11g to form an electron transporting layer and/or an electron injecting layer, and the film forming apparatus 11h to form a cathode metal film. In Fig. 1, since the film formation rate of the blue light emitting layer and the green light emitting layer is slower than that of the red light emitting layer due to the characteristics of the material, each of the blue light emitting layer and the green light emitting layer was formed in two film forming apparatuses to balance the processing speed. The invention is not limited thereto, and other arrangement structures may be employed.

In the mask stock apparatus 12 , a new mask and a used mask to be used in the film forming process in the film forming apparatus 11 are divided and stored in two cassettes. The transfer robot 14 transfers the used mask from the film forming apparatus 11 to the cassette of the mask stock apparatus 12 , and transfers a new mask stored in another cassette of the mask stock apparatus 12 to the film forming apparatus 11 . return to

The relay device connected between the plurality of cluster devices 1 includes a pass chamber 15 for transferring the substrate W between the cluster devices 1 .

The transfer robot 14 of the transfer chamber 13 receives the substrate S from the pass chamber 15 on the upstream side, and receives one of the film forming apparatuses 11 in the cluster apparatus 1 (eg, the film forming apparatus 11a). ) is returned to In addition, the transfer robot 14 receives the substrate S on which the film forming process in the cluster apparatus 1 has been completed, from one of the plurality of film forming apparatuses 11 (eg, the film forming apparatus 11e), and is connected to the downstream side. It is conveyed to the pass chamber 15.

In addition to the pass chamber 15, the relay device includes a buffer chamber (not shown) for absorbing the difference in processing speed of the substrate W in the upstream and downstream cluster apparatus 1, and a buffer chamber (not shown) for changing the direction of the substrate W. It may further include a turning room (not shown). For example, the buffer chamber includes a substrate loading unit for temporarily accommodating the plurality of substrates W, and the revolving chamber includes a substrate rotation mechanism (eg, a rotation stage or a transfer robot) for rotating the substrates W by 180 degrees. Through this, the orientation of the substrate W is the same in the upstream cluster device and the downstream cluster device, thereby facilitating substrate processing.

The pass chamber 15 according to the embodiment of the present invention may include a substrate mounting unit (not shown) for temporarily accommodating the plurality of substrates W and a substrate rotation mechanism. That is, the pass chamber 15 may also function as a buffer chamber or a vortex chamber.

The film forming apparatus 11, the mask stock apparatus 12, the transfer chamber 13 and the like constituting the cluster apparatus 1 are maintained in a high vacuum state during the manufacturing process of the organic light emitting element. The pass chamber 15 of the relay device is normally maintained in a low vacuum state, but may be maintained in a high vacuum state if necessary.

The substrate W on which the film formation of a plurality of layers constituting the organic EL element has been completed is transferred to a sealing device (not shown) for sealing the organic EL device or a cutting device (not shown) for cutting the substrate into a predetermined panel size. do.

In the present embodiment, the configuration of the electronic device manufacturing apparatus has been described with reference to FIG. 1 , but the present invention is not limited thereto, and other types of apparatuses or chambers may be provided, and arrangements between these apparatuses or chambers may vary. have.

For example, the electronic device manufacturing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention may be of an in-line type other than the cluster type illustrated in FIG. 1 . That is, it is also possible to have a structure in which the substrate W and the mask M are mounted on a carrier, and the film is formed while passing through a plurality of film forming apparatuses arranged in a line. Also, it may have a structure of a type in which a cluster type and an inline type are combined. For example, up to the formation of the organic layer may be performed in a cluster-type manufacturing apparatus, and the film-forming process of the electrode layer (cathode layer), the encapsulation process, the cutting process, and the like may be performed in an in-line type manufacturing apparatus.

Hereinafter, the specific structure of the film-forming apparatus 11 is demonstrated.

<Film forming device>

2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a film forming apparatus 11 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, an XYZ rectangular coordinate system is used in which the vertical direction is the Z direction and the horizontal plane (the substrate surface at the time of film formation) is the XY plane. In addition, the rotation angle around the X axis is _{denoted by θ X} , the rotation angle around the Y axis is _denoted by θ Y , and the rotation angle around the Z axis is denoted _{by θ Z .}

FIG. 2 shows an example of a film forming apparatus 11 in which a film forming material is evaporated or sublimed by heating to form a film on the substrate W through the mask M. As shown in FIG.

The film forming apparatus 11 includes a vacuum container 21 that can be maintained in a vacuum atmosphere or an inert gas atmosphere such as nitrogen gas, and is installed in the vacuum container 21 to position the substrate W at least in the X and Y directions. and _{a magnetic levitation stage mechanism 22 for adjusting in the θ Z} direction, a mask support unit 23 installed in the vacuum container 21 to support the mask M, and a substrate ( It includes a substrate adsorption means 24 for adsorbing and holding W), and a film forming source 25 for accommodating a film-forming material and discharging it into particles at the time of film-forming. The film forming apparatus 11 according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a magnetic force applying means 26 for adhering the mask M to the substrate W side by magnetic force.

The vacuum container 21 of the film forming apparatus 11 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of vacuum container parts 211 and 212 and a stretchable member installed between the plurality of vacuum container parts 211 and 212 ( 213). 2, the vacuum container 21 is illustrated as having a structure including two vacuum container parts 211 and 212, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the vacuum container 21 includes three or more vacuum container parts. You can do it. Various modifications of the vacuum container 21 including a plurality of vacuum container parts will be described in detail later with reference to FIGS. 3A to 3C .

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 , the vacuum vessel 21 includes a first vacuum vessel portion 211 having a first internal space in which the magnetic levitation stage mechanism 22 is disposed, and a film formation source 25 , in which the film forming source 25 is disposed. and a second vacuum container part 212 having a second inner space. In the first vacuum chamber unit 211 , in addition to the magnetic levitation stage mechanism 22 , a mask support unit 23 and a substrate adsorption means 24 may also be disposed. The first inner space defined by the first vacuum container 211 and the second inner space defined by the second vacuum container 212 are in communication with each other, and the entire inner space of the vacuum container 21 is, for example, , may be maintained in a high vacuum state by a vacuum pump (not shown) connected to the second vacuum container unit 212 .

In addition, a stretchable member 213 is provided between at least the first vacuum container part 211 and the second vacuum container part 212 . The telescoping member 213 receives vibration from a vacuum pump connected to the second vacuum container unit 212 or vibration from the floor or floor on which the film forming device 11 is installed through the second vacuum container unit 212 . 1 to reduce the transfer to the vacuum container unit (211). The stretchable member 213 may be, for example, a bellows, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and it is possible to reduce the transmission of vibration between the first vacuum container part 211 and the second vacuum container part 212 . One other member may be used.

The vacuum vessel 21 further includes a reference plate portion to which the magnetic levitation stage mechanism 22 is connected. As shown in FIG. 2 , the reference plate part includes, for example, a reference plate 214 to which the magnetic levitation stage mechanism 22 is fixedly connected, and a reference plate support part 215 for supporting the reference plate 214 at a predetermined height. ) is included.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2 , a stretchable member 213 may be further installed between the reference plate 214 and the first vacuum container 211 . Through this, it is possible to further reduce the transmission of external vibration to the magnetic levitation stage mechanism 22 through the reference plate 214 .

In addition, the vibration damping unit 216 may be provided between the reference plate support part 215 of the reference plate part and the mounting mount 217 of the film forming apparatus 11 . The vibration damping unit 216 is configured to block or reduce the transmission of vibration from the floor or floor on which the film forming apparatus 11 is installed to the reference plate support 215 through the mounting mount 217 of the film forming apparatus 11 . is a means for

There is no particular limitation on the configuration of the vibration damping unit 216 according to the present embodiment. For example, the vibration damping unit 216 may be a device that absorbs vibrations from the outside using pneumatic or hydraulic pressure or absorbs vibrations using elastic means such as springs.

The magnetic levitation stage mechanism 22 is an example of an alignment stage mechanism for adjusting the position of the substrate W or the substrate suction means 24 . That is, the magnetic levitation stage mechanism 22 is a stage mechanism for adjusting the position of the substrate W or the substrate suction means 24 by the magnetic levitation linear motor, preferably in _{at least the X direction, the Y direction, and the θ Z direction.} Specifically, the position of the substrate W or the substrate adsorption means 24 is adjusted in six directions: the X direction, the Y direction, the Z direction, the θ _X direction, the θ _Y direction, and the θ _{Z direction.}

The magnetic levitation stage mechanism 22 includes a stage reference plate portion 221 functioning as a fixed table, a fine-moving stage plate portion 222 functioning as a movable table, and a fine-moving stage plate portion 222 as a stage reference plate portion 221 . and a magnetic levitation unit 223 for magnetically levitating and moving with respect to the .

More specifically, the magnetic levitation stage mechanism 22 uses a self-weight compensating magnet to provide a levitation force of a magnitude corresponding to gravity acting on the fine stage plate unit 222 to levitate the fine stage plate unit 222 . In the state, the fine-moving stage plate part 222 is moved in a predetermined direction, for example, in six degrees of freedom (X direction, Y direction, Z direction, θ _X direction, θ _Y direction, θ _Z direction) using a magnetic levitation linear motor. move it In this case, the position of the micro-moving stage plate part 222 may be measured using a laser interferometer (not shown), and the measured position information is used to control the driving of the maglev linear motor.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 , the magnetic levitation stage mechanism 22 is fixedly connected to the reference plate 214 as a part of the vacuum vessel 21 , but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the magnetic levitation stage mechanism 22 is not limited thereto. may be installed to be fixed to a structure separate from the vacuum vessel 21 . For example, the reference plate part to which the magnetic levitation stage mechanism 22 is fixedly connected is a structure separate from the ceiling of the vacuum container 21 , and may be additionally installed inside or outside the vacuum container 21 .

The mask holding unit 23 is a means for receiving and holding the mask M transported by the transport robot 14 installed in the transport chamber 13 , and is also called a mask holder.

The mask support unit 23 is installed so as to be able to move up and down at least in the vertical direction. Through this, the distance in the vertical direction between the substrate W and the mask M can be easily adjusted. As in one embodiment of the present invention, when the position of the substrate W is adjusted by the magnetic levitation stage mechanism 22, the mask support unit 23 supporting the mask M is operated by a motor (not shown) and It is preferable to mechanically lift and lower the ball screw/guide (not shown).

Further, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the mask support unit 23 may be installed to be movable _{in the horizontal direction (ie, XYθ Z direction).} Through this, even when the mask M is out of the field of view of the alignment camera, it can be quickly moved into the field of view.

The mask support unit 23 further includes a mask pickup 231 for temporarily receiving the mask M carried into the vacuum container 21 by the transport robot 14 .

The mask pickup 231 is configured to be able to move up and down relative to the mask support surface of the mask support unit 23 . For example, as shown in FIG. 2 , the mask pickup 231 may be configured to be relatively lifted with respect to the mask support surface of the mask support unit 23 by the mask pickup and lift mechanism 232 , but the present invention is not limited thereto, and may have a different configuration as long as the mask support surface of the mask pickup 231 and the mask support unit 23 can be moved up and down relatively. For example, the mask pickup 231 may be fixed to the reference plate 214 or the stage reference plate portion 221 of the magnetic levitation stage mechanism 22, and the mask support unit 23 may be configured to be able to move up and down instead. Alternatively, both the mask pickup 231 and the mask support unit 23 may be configured to be liftable.

The mask pickup 231 that has received the mask M from the hand of the transport robot 14 descends relative to the mask support surface of the mask support unit 23 to lower the mask M to the mask support unit 23 . put Conversely, when carrying out the used mask M, lift the mask M from the mask support surface of the mask support unit 23 so that the hand of the transport robot 14 can receive the mask M. do.

The mask M has an opening pattern corresponding to the thin film pattern to be formed on the substrate W, and is supported by the mask support unit 23 . For example, the mask M used for manufacturing the organic EL display panel for VR HMD includes a fine metal mask, which is a metal mask in which a fine opening pattern corresponding to the RGB pixel pattern of the light emitting layer of the organic EL element is formed; and an open mask used to form a common layer (a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, an electron transport layer, an electron injection layer, etc.) of an organic EL device.

The opening pattern of the mask M is defined by a blocking pattern that does not allow particles of the film forming material to pass therethrough.

The substrate adsorption means 24 is an example of a substrate holding means for holding and supporting the substrate W, and is a means for adsorbing and holding the substrate W as a film-forming object. Such a substrate adsorption means 24 is provided on the micro-moving stage plate part 222 which is a movable table of the magnetic levitation stage mechanism 22 .

The substrate adsorption means 24 may be, for example, an electrostatic chuck having a structure in which an electric circuit such as a metal electrode is embedded in a dielectric/insulator (eg, ceramic material) matrix.

The electrostatic chuck as the substrate adsorption means 24 may be an electrostatic chuck of a Coulomb force type in which a relatively high resistance dielectric is interposed between the electrode and the adsorption surface and adsorption is achieved by the Coulomb force between the electrode and the adsorbed body, and the electrode and An electrostatic chuck of a Johnson-Rahbek force type in which a dielectric with relatively low resistance is interposed between the adsorption surfaces and adsorption is achieved by the Johnson-Rabeck force generated between the adsorption surface of the dielectric and the adsorbed body. An electrostatic chuck of a gradient force type for adsorption may be used.

When the adsorbed body is a conductor or a semiconductor (silicon wafer), it is preferable to use a Coulomb force type electrostatic chuck or a Johnson-Rabeck force type electrostatic chuck, and when the adsorbent is an insulator such as glass, a gradient force type electrostatic chuck It is preferable to use a chuck.

The electrostatic chuck may be formed of a single plate or may be formed to have a plurality of sub-plates. In addition, even when it is formed of one plate, it is possible to control the electrostatic force to be different depending on the position in one plate by including a plurality of electric circuits therein.

Although not shown in FIG. 2 , the film forming apparatus 11 temporarily adsorbs and holds the substrate W carried into the vacuum container 21 by the transfer robot 14 before the substrate suction means 24 adsorbs and holds it. A substrate support unit for holding the substrate W may be further included. For example, the substrate support unit may be installed so as to have a separate substrate support surface on the mask support unit 23 , and may be installed so as to move up and down according to the elevation of the mask support unit 23 .

In addition, although not shown in FIG. 2 , by providing a cooling means (eg, a cooling plate) for suppressing the temperature rise of the substrate W on the opposite side to the suction surface of the substrate suction means 24, on the substrate W It may be configured to suppress alteration or deterioration of the deposited organic material.

The film forming source 25 is a crucible (not shown) in which a film forming material to be formed on the substrate W is accommodated, a heater (not shown) for heating the crucible, and a film forming rate from the film forming source 25 until the evaporation rate becomes constant. and a shutter (not shown) that prevents the material from scattering to the substrate W. The film-forming source 25 may have various configurations depending on the purpose, such as a point-type film-forming source or a linear film-forming source.

The film forming source 25 may include a plurality of crucibles containing different film forming materials. In this configuration, a plurality of crucibles containing different film-forming materials may be movably provided to the film-forming position so that the film-forming material can be changed without opening the vacuum container 21 to the atmosphere.

The magnetic force applying means 26 is a means for pulling the mask M to the substrate W side by magnetic force during the film forming process to adhere to the substrate W side, and is installed so as to be able to move up and down in the vertical direction. For example, the magnetic force applying means 26 may be composed of an electromagnet and/or a permanent magnet.

Although not shown in Fig. 2, the film forming apparatus 11 may include a film thickness monitor (not shown) and a film thickness calculation unit (not shown) for measuring the film thickness deposited on the substrate.

On the upper outer side (atmospheric side) of the vacuum container 21 , that is, on the reference plate 214 , a mask pickup lifting mechanism 232 for raising and lowering the mask pickup 231 , and a magnetic force applying means 26 for lifting and lowering A magnetic force applying means elevating mechanism 261 and the like may be installed. A mask support unit lifting mechanism (not shown) for raising and lowering the mask support unit 23 may be installed on the reference plate 214 , but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, a mask support unit lifting mechanism (not shown) may be provided on the atmospheric side of the lower portion of the first vacuum container 211 .

The film forming apparatus 11 according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed on the upper outer side (atmospheric side) of the vacuum vessel 21, for alignment for photographing the alignment marks formed on the substrate W and the mask M It further includes a camera unit 27 .

In the present embodiment, the alignment camera unit 27 includes a rough alignment camera used to approximately adjust the relative positions of the substrate W and the mask M, and the substrate W and the mask M. It may include a camera for fine alignment used to adjust the relative position with high precision. The rough alignment camera has a relatively wide viewing angle and low resolution, and the fine alignment camera has a relatively narrow viewing angle but high resolution.

The camera for rough alignment and the camera for fine alignment are installed in the position corresponding to the alignment mark formed in the board|substrate W and the mask M. For example, four cameras for fine alignment may be installed to form four corners of a rectangle, and two cameras for rough alignment may be installed at the center of two opposing sides of a corresponding rectangle. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and may have a different number or arrangement according to the positions of the alignment marks of the substrate W and the mask M.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the camera unit 27 for alignment of the film forming apparatus 11 according to an embodiment of the present invention is a vacuum container through the reference plate 214 from the upper atmospheric side of the vacuum container 21 . (21) It is installed so that it enters inside. To this end, the alignment camera unit 27 includes a vacuum container (not shown) for enclosing and sealing the alignment camera disposed on the atmospheric side.

By installing the alignment camera so that it enters the vacuum container 21 through the vacuum container, the substrate W and the mask M are separated from the reference plate 214 due to the interposition of the magnetic levitation stage mechanism 22 . Even if supported relatively far apart, it is possible to focus on the alignment marks formed on the substrate W and the mask M. The position of the lower end of the vacuum chamber can be appropriately determined based on the depth of focus of the alignment camera and the distance between the substrate W/mask M and the reference plate 214 .

Although not shown in FIG. 2, since the inside of the vacuum container 21 that is sealed during the film forming process is dark, in order to photograph the alignment mark by the alignment camera that has entered the inside of the vacuum container 21, the alignment mark is illuminated from below. An illumination light source may be provided.

The film forming apparatus 11 includes a control unit (not shown). The control unit has functions, such as conveyance and alignment of the board|substrate W/mask M, control of the film-forming source 25, and control of film-forming. The control unit may also have a functional function of controlling the application of voltage to the electrostatic chuck.

The control unit may be configured by, for example, a computer having a processor, memory, storage, I/O, and the like. In this case, the function of the control unit is realized by the processor executing the program stored in the memory or storage. As the computer, a general-purpose personal computer may be used, and an embedded computer or a programmable logic controller (PLC) may be used. Alternatively, some or all of the functions of the control unit may be configured by circuits such as ASICs or FPGAs. In addition, a control part may be provided for each film-forming apparatus, and you may comprise that one control part controls a some film-forming apparatus.

<Structure of vacuum vessel>

Hereinafter, the structure of the vacuum container of the film forming apparatus 11 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3A to 3C .

In order to form a fine pattern into a film with high precision on a substrate W such as a silicon wafer, the angle at which the film forming material is incident on the substrate W from the film formation source 25 through the mask M is increased (that is, the substrate W W) is preferably incident almost perpendicularly to the film-forming surface), but for this purpose, it is common to increase the distance from the film-forming source 25 to the substrate W. In this configuration, since the alignment stage mechanism for adjusting the position of the substrate W is installed at a relatively high place, it is greatly influenced by disturbances such as a vacuum pump or vibration from a floor. This lowers the precision of position adjustment of the substrate W by the alignment stage mechanism, lowers the alignment accuracy of the substrate W with respect to the mask M, and as a result becomes a major factor for lowering the film forming precision.

In order to solve this problem, in the film forming apparatus 11 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the vacuum container 21 is formed in a plurality of container parts (eg, the first vacuum container part 211 and the second vacuum container part ( 212)), and by providing the telescoping member 213 therebetween, the transmission of external vibration to the first vacuum container unit 211 in which the magnetic levitation stage mechanism 22 is installed is reduced. 3a to 3c show an embodiment in which the vacuum container 21 is composed of two vacuum container parts 211 and 212, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the vacuum container 21 includes three or more vacuum container parts. can do.

And in the film forming apparatus 11 according to another embodiment of the present invention, in order to block or reduce the transmission of vibrations from the outside to the reference plate portion, the reference plate portion and the mounting mount 217 of the film forming apparatus 11 . A vibration damping unit 216 is installed between them. The reference plate part may constitute a part of the chamber wall defining the vacuum vessel 21 and/or may be a structure added separately from the chamber wall of the vacuum vessel 21 .

3A to 3C are schematic cross-sectional views of the vacuum vessel 21 of the film forming apparatus 11 according to the embodiment of the present invention, respectively. 3A to 3C, components installed in the vacuum container 21, for example, the magnetic levitation stage mechanism 22, the mask support unit 23, the substrate adsorption means 24, and the film formation source 25. And, the illustration of the magnetic force applying means 26, etc. are omitted, this is only to show the structure of the vacuum container 21 according to an embodiment of the present invention more clearly. Therefore, for matters not described here in relation to the components installed inside the vacuum container 21, the contents described above with reference to FIG. 2 may be equally applied.

First, referring to FIG. 3A , in the vacuum vessel 21a , the reference plate 214 is directly connected to the first vacuum vessel unit 211 , and as a result, the reference plate 214 and the first vacuum vessel unit 211 . ) is different from the vacuum container 21 shown in FIG. 2 in that the stretchable member 213 (refer to FIG. 2) is not provided between them.

According to the configuration of the vacuum container 21a, the vibration transmitted through the mounting mount 217 of the film forming apparatus 11 can be reduced by the vibration suppression unit 216, and the second vacuum container part 212 is Vibration transmitted to the first vacuum container part 211 through the can be reduced by the stretchable member 213, and the configuration of the vacuum container 21a can be simplified.

Referring to FIG. 3B , a separate reference plate part distinct from the chamber wall is not installed in the vacuum container 21b, and the vibration damping unit 216 includes the lower chamber wall of the first vacuum container part 212 and the installation of the film forming apparatus. It is installed between the mounts 217 .

According to this, the vibration transmitted from the outside of the film forming apparatus 11 to the chamber wall of the first vacuum container 211 through the mounting mount 217 can be suppressed by the vibration suppression unit 216 and the second vacuum Vibration transmitted to the first vacuum container part 211 through the container part 212 may be reduced by the stretchable member 213 . As a result, the upper chamber wall of the first vacuum vessel unit 211 can function as a reference plate 214 to which the magnetic levitation stage mechanism 22 is fixedly connected. In addition, since there is no separate reference plate portion, the configuration of the vacuum vessel 21b can be further simplified.

Referring to FIG. 3C , the vacuum vessel 21c is similar to the vacuum vessel 21b of FIG. 3B in that the upper chamber wall of the first vacuum vessel unit 211 functions as a reference plate 214 , but in FIG. In the vacuum container 21c shown in 3c, the vibration suppression unit 216 is not provided between the lower chamber wall of the first vacuum container part 211 and the mounting mount 217, but the first vacuum container part The structure is different from that of the vacuum vessel 21b of FIG. 3B in that it is installed between a separate structure (for example, the reference plate support 215) and the mounting stand 217 protruding from the side chamber wall of 211. different

As such, in the vacuum container 21c shown in FIG. 3C , the vibration damping unit 216 is installed such that the support point of the vibration damping unit 216 is at least higher than the bottom surface of the chamber wall of the first vacuum container part 211 . do.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the vibration damping unit 216 is preferably installed at the same height as or adjacent to the center of gravity of the portion of the film forming apparatus 11 supported by the vibration damping unit 216 . For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3C , the vibration suppression unit 216 is the weight of the first vacuum chamber portion 211 in which the magnetic levitation stage mechanism 22 is disposed among the plurality of vacuum chamber portions 211 and 212 . It is preferable to be installed at the same height as the center or adjacent thereto.

According to this configuration, the portion of the film forming apparatus 11 supported by the vibration damping unit 216 , that is, the first vacuum chamber portion 211 in which the magnetic levitation stage 22 is installed is relatively large due to external vibration or the like. When a moment force is generated, the acceleration level of the upper chamber wall of the first vacuum chamber part 212 and the magnetic levitation stage mechanism 22 fixed thereto is deteriorated (that is, the influence by disturbance is relatively large) ) can be reduced.

The above embodiment shows an example of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and may be appropriately modified within the scope of the technical idea.

11: film forming device
21: vacuum vessel
22: magnetic levitation stage apparatus
23: mask support unit
211: first vacuum container unit
212: second vacuum container unit
213: stretchable member

Claims (8)

vacuum vessel,
a substrate holding means installed in the vacuum container and for holding the substrate using an electrostatic chuck that sucks the substrate by electrostatic force;
a mask holding means installed in the vacuum container and for holding the mask;
alignment means for adjusting the position of at least one of the substrate holding means and the mask holding means to adjust the relative positions of the substrate and the mask;
a support plate part disposed separately from at least a part of the vacuum container to support the mask holding means;
and a vibration damping unit for reducing transmission of vibration to the support plate part;
the alignment means has a magnetic levitation stage for levitating the substrate holding means;
The alignment means performs alignment by changing the position of the magnetic levitation stage. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a telescoping connection member for connecting the support plate portion and the at least a portion of the vacuum vessel. The film forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the support plate portion defines, as a part of the vacuum container, a vacuum space in which the substrate holding means and the mask holding means are disposed. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the support plate part is a structure separate from the vacuum container and is disposed outside the vacuum container. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vibration damping unit is provided between the support plate part and a mounting mount of the film forming apparatus. The film forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the vibration damping unit is installed to support the support plate at a position higher than a bottom surface of the vacuum container. The film forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the vibration damping unit is installed to support the support plate part at a height of the center of gravity of the vacuum container. According to claim 1,
The magnetic levitation stage comprises a self-weight compensating means.

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