KR20210116252A - Substrate carrier, film forming apparatus, conveying method of substrate carrier, and film forming method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is to provide a technique capable of improving the efficiency when circulating a substrate carrier in a film forming apparatus that forms a film while holding, supporting, and conveying a substrate by the substrate carrier. To this end, the substrate carrier comprises: a plate-shaped member for holding and supporting a substrate; a pair of first members that are respectively fixed to a first side and a second side along a first direction of the plate-shaped member and each extended and installed in the first direction; and a pair of second members that are respectively fixed to a third side and a fourth side along a second direction intersecting the first direction of the plate-shaped member and each extended and installed in the second direction.

Description

A substrate carrier, a film forming apparatus, a transfer method of a substrate carrier, and a film forming method TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a substrate carrier, a film forming apparatus, a method of transporting a substrate carrier, and a film forming method.

As a method of manufacturing an organic EL display, a mask film forming method is known in which a film of a predetermined pattern is formed by forming a film on a substrate through a mask having openings formed therein in a predetermined pattern. In the mask film forming method, after aligning the mask and the substrate, the mask and the substrate are brought into close contact to form a film.

Patent Document 1 describes that a substrate is held by a chuck plate (also referred to as a "substrate carrier"), and the substrate is conveyed with the chuck plate. Thereby, it becomes possible to convey even a large area board|substrate with large sag. And, in patent document 1, it is described that the board|substrate and the mask are adhere|attached and film-forming in the state hold|maintained by the board|substrate carrier. In Patent Document 1, when a series of film formation on the substrate is completed, the substrate and the substrate carrier are separated, the separated substrate carrier is returned to the chucking chamber through a return line, and another substrate is held by the returned substrate carrier in the chucking chamber to form a film. do

Patent Document 1: Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2018-0067031

Although it is described in patent document 1 that the board|substrate carrier after isolation|separation of a board|substrate is circulated through a return line, how to circulate concretely is not examined. Further, the specific configuration of the substrate carrier has not been studied either.

Accordingly, in the present invention, an object of the present invention is to improve the efficiency at the time of circulating the substrate carrier in a film forming apparatus that forms a film while holding and conveying the substrate by the substrate carrier.

In order to solve the above problems, the substrate carrier of the present invention,

a plate-shaped member for holding the substrate;

a pair of first members respectively fixed to first and second sides along the first direction of the plate-shaped member and extending in the first direction;

and a pair of second members respectively fixed to third and fourth sides of the plate-shaped member along a second direction intersecting the first direction, each extending in the second direction. do.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, in the film-forming apparatus which forms into a film while holding and conveying a board|substrate by a board|substrate carrier, the efficiency at the time of circulating a board|substrate carrier can be improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the board|substrate carrier of embodiment.
It is a schematic diagram which shows the lower surface of the board|substrate carrier of embodiment.
It is a schematic block diagram of the in-line manufacturing system of the organic electroluminescent panel of embodiment.
It is a figure which shows the conveyance state of the board|substrate carrier and mask of embodiment.
It is a figure which shows the conveyance state of the carrier of embodiment.
It is a schematic diagram of the alignment mechanism of embodiment.
It is an enlarged view of the carrier holding part and the mask holding part of embodiment.
It is a perspective view of the alignment mechanism of embodiment.
It is a schematic diagram in the case where the amount of sag of a carrier is small and there exists a clearance gap with a mask.
It is a schematic diagram of the alignment state of the carrier of embodiment.
It is a perspective view which shows an example of a rotation translation mechanism.
12 is a plan view showing a holding state of the substrate and the mask, and an enlarged view of the mark.
13 is a flowchart showing each step of the processing in the embodiment.
14 is an explanatory diagram of an organic EL display device.

[Embodiment 1]

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, with reference to drawings, the form for implementing this invention is demonstrated in detail by illustration based on an Example. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of components described in this embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention to only these, unless otherwise specifically stated.

A substrate carrier, a film forming apparatus, a film forming method, and a manufacturing method of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 13 . In the following description, the mask mounting apparatus etc. which are provided in the apparatus for manufacturing an electronic device are taken as an example and demonstrated. In addition, the case where the vacuum vapor deposition method is employ|adopted as an example as a film-forming method for manufacturing an electronic device is demonstrated. However, this invention is applicable also when employ|adopting a sputtering method as a film-forming method. In addition, the mask mounting apparatus and the like of the present invention can be applied not only to the apparatus used in the film forming process, but also to various apparatuses requiring a mask to be mounted on the substrate, and in particular, can be preferably applied to an apparatus in which a large substrate is to be processed. have. In addition, as a material of the board|substrate applied to this invention, other than glass, arbitrary materials, such as a semiconductor (for example, silicon|silicone), a polymeric film, a metal, can be selected. Moreover, as a board|substrate, the board|substrate in which films, such as polyimide, were laminated|stacked on a silicon wafer or a glass substrate, for example can also be employ|adopted. On the other hand, in the case of forming a plurality of layers on a substrate, it is also referred to as a "substrate" including the layers already formed up to the previous step. In addition, in the case of having a plurality of the same or corresponding members in the same drawing, such as various devices described below, subscripts such as a and b are sometimes indicated in the drawing, but when there is no need to distinguish them in the description, In some cases, subscripts such as A, B, a, and b are omitted.

(Carrier configuration)

1 and 2 are perspective views showing the configuration of a substrate carrier 9 to which a rail as a guided member of the present invention is applied. The substrate carrier 9 is a plate-shaped structure having a rectangular shape in plan view, and rail pairs 51a and 51b are provided on both sides of the substrate carrier 9 in the vicinity of two opposing sides among the four sides constituting the rectangular outer periphery. has been The substrate carrier 9 is supported by the rail pair 51a, 51b being supported by the conveyance roller 15 as a conveyance rotating body arrange|positioned along the conveyance direction in multiple numbers on both sides of the conveyance path|route of the board|substrate carrier 9. As shown in FIG. With this support structure, the movement of the substrate carrier 9 in the conveying direction is guided by the rotation of the conveying roller 15 . 1 and 2 show a state in which the vicinity of two opposing sides among the four sides constituting the rectangular outer periphery of the substrate carrier 9 is supported by the conveying roller 15, and both sides are supported by deformation due to their own weight. The figure shows the deformed state so that the central part away from the side (the central part in the direction along the two opposing sides, not the supporting side among the four sides) sinks downward in the direction of gravity. Fig. 1 shows the state of the substrate carrier 9 when the substrate carrier 9 is viewed obliquely from above, and Fig. 2 shows the state of the substrate carrier 9 when the substrate carrier 9 is viewed from below obliquely. and illustration of the conveyance roller 15 is abbreviate|omitted. The configuration of the substrate carrier 9 will be described using these drawings.

The substrate carrier 9 includes a carrier face plate 30 which is a rectangular plate-shaped member, four rails 50a, 50b, 51a, 51b fixed to the side surfaces of the carrier faceplate 30 , and a chuck member 32 . be prepared On the other hand, in this embodiment, although the case where the carrier face plate 30 with which the board|substrate carrier 9 is equipped is a rectangular member is demonstrated, this invention is not limited to this, It is provided with two pairs of opposing sides, and , a pair of rails may be provided corresponding to each of the two opposing sides.

One rail 50a, 50b, 51a, 51b is provided for each side of the quadrangular outer periphery of the carrier face plate 30, and the rails provided on the two opposite sides (rail 50a, rail 50b, and rail) 51a and rail 51b) are paired, and function as a to-be-guided part at the time of conveyance of the board|substrate carrier 9. As shown in FIG.

The pair of rails 51a and 51b among the two pairs of rails is used for conveying the substrate carrier 9 at the time of film formation of the substrate 5, and the pair of rails 50a and 50b that is a pair orthogonal to this is the substrate It is used in the conveyance path for changing the conveyance direction in the circulation conveyance path of the carrier 9. That is, the pair of rails 51a and 51b serving as the first guided member is supported and conveyed by a first conveying rotating body (to be described later) when conveyed in the first direction, and the rails 50a and 51b serving as the second guided member are conveyed. When the pair of 50b) is conveyed in the second direction, it is supported and conveyed by a second conveying rotary body (to be described later). In addition, although this embodiment demonstrates the case where a 1st direction and a 2nd direction orthogonally cross, this invention is not limited to this, What is necessary is just a direction in which a 1st direction and a 2nd direction intersect.

The material of the carrier face plate 30 is preferably aluminum or an aluminum alloy as a main material in order to reduce the weight of the entire substrate carrier 9 . On the other hand, for the rails 50 and 51 of the substrate carrier 9 according to the present embodiment, a material having a higher Young's modulus than the carrier face plate 30 such as stainless steel or rust-preventive plated high rigidity steel is used as a main material. desirable. Thereby, while reducing the vibration of the whole board|substrate carrier 9 which generate|occur|produces at the time of conveyance, generation|occurrence|production of the particle and waste which generate|occur|produces at the time of contact with the conveyance roller 15 is reduced.

In addition, the surface of the rails 50 and 51 of the substrate carrier 9 which concerns on this embodiment is surface-treated for raising the hardness, such as DLC coating, for example, By this, the contact surface with the conveyance roller 15 is given. The effect of suppressing abrasion and chipping-out at the time of conveyance in this, and reducing the generation|occurrence|production of a particle is acquired. In addition, as the surface treatment of the rails 50 and 51, you may use other methods, such as hardening.

The chuck member 32 is a member for holding the substrate 5 along the holding surface constituted by the carrier face plate 30 . In the present embodiment, a plurality of chuck members 32 are arranged inside a plurality of holes provided in the carrier face plate 30 as shown in FIG. 3 . An adhesive member is disposed on a portion of the chuck member 32 facing the substrate 5 , and the substrate 5 can be held by the adhesive force. The chuck member 32 may be referred to as an adhesive pad. On the other hand, it is preferable that the chuck member 32 is arrange|positioned according to the shape of the mask 6, and it is more preferable that it is arrange|positioned corresponding to the grate part of the mask 6. Thereby, the influence on the temperature distribution of the film-forming area of the board|substrate 5 by the chuck member 32 contacting the board|substrate 5 can be suppressed. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, a member for holding the substrate 5 by adhesive force is used as the chuck member 32 . However, the present invention is not limited to this, and as the chuck member 32 , the substrate 5 by electrostatic force ) holding the member (electrostatic chuck) may be used.

With reference to FIG. 3, the manufacturing system (film-forming apparatus) which concerns on embodiment of this invention is demonstrated. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a manufacturing system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and illustrates a manufacturing system 300 for manufacturing an organic EL panel (organic EL display device) in-line. The organic EL panel is generally manufactured through an organic light emitting element forming process of forming an organic light emitting element on a substrate and a sealing process of forming a protective layer on the formed organic light emitting layer, but the manufacturing system 300 according to the present embodiment ) mainly performs the organic light emitting device forming process.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the manufacturing system 300 includes an alignment chamber 100 (mask attaching chamber), a plurality of film formation chambers 110 , a rotation chamber 111 , a transfer chamber 112 , and a mask. It has a separation chamber 113 , a substrate separation chamber 114 , a substrate input chamber 117 (a substrate attaching chamber), a transfer chamber 118 , and a transfer chamber 115 . The manufacturing system 300 also has conveyance means which will be described later, and the substrate carrier 9 is conveyed along a predetermined conveyance path through the inside of each chamber which the manufacturing system 300 has by the conveyance means. Specifically, in the configuration of FIG. 3 , the substrate carrier 9 includes an alignment chamber 100 (mask attaching chamber), a plurality of film formation chambers 110a , a rotation chamber 111a , a transfer chamber 112 , and a rotation chamber. (111b), a plurality of film formation chambers 110b, a mask separation chamber 113, a substrate separation chamber 114, a substrate input chamber 117, and the transfer chamber 115 are transferred through each chamber in this order, Again, it returns to the alignment chamber 100 . In this way, the substrate carrier 9 is circulated and conveyed along a predetermined conveyance path (circulation conveyance path). On the other hand, the manufacturing system 300 in this embodiment has the mask input chamber 90 and the mask conveyance chamber 116 further. Hereinafter, the function of each chamber will be described.

In contrast to the substrate carrier 9 being circulated through the circulating transport path, the mask 6 is put on the circulating transport path from the mask input chamber 90 and taken out from the mask transport chamber 116 . In addition, after the unformed substrate 5 is put on the circulation conveyance path from the substrate input chamber 117 and is held in the substrate carrier 9, the film is formed, and then the film-formed substrate 5 is transferred to the substrate separation chamber. It is taken out from (114). The unfilmed substrate 5 carried into the substrate loading chamber 117 is held by the substrate carrier 9 in the substrate loading chamber 117 , and is passed through the transfer chamber 118 and the transfer chamber 115 to the alignment chamber. It is brought into (100).

In addition, in the substrate input chamber 117 and the substrate separation chamber 114 , a reversing mechanism for reversing the orientation of the holding surface of the substrate carrier 9 from a vertical direction upward to a vertical direction downward, or from a vertical direction downward to a vertical direction upward direction (not shown) is provided. The substrate 5 is loaded into the substrate input chamber 117 in which the substrate carrier 9 is arranged with the holding surface facing up in the vertical direction, with the surface to be film formed facing up in the vertical direction, the substrate carrier It is placed on the holding surface of (9) and held by the substrate carrier (9). Thereafter, the substrate carrier 9 holding the substrate 5 is inverted by an inversion mechanism (not shown) so that the film-forming surface of the substrate 5 faces downward in the vertical direction. On the other hand, when the substrate carrier 9 is loaded into the substrate separation chamber 114 from the mask separation chamber 113 , the substrate 5 is loaded in a state in which the film-forming surface of the substrate 5 faces downward in the vertical direction. After carrying in, the substrate carrier 9 holding the substrate 5 is inverted by an inversion mechanism (not shown), so that the film-forming surface of the substrate 5 faces upward in the vertical direction. Thereafter, the substrate 5 is unloaded from the substrate separation chamber 114 with the film-forming surface facing upward in the vertical direction.

When the substrate carrier 9 inverted by holding the substrate 5 loaded in the substrate input chamber 117 is loaded into the alignment chamber 100 , the mask 6 is moved from the mask input chamber 90 to the alignment chamber accordingly. (100) is brought in. The alignment apparatus 1 is mounted in the alignment chamber 100 (mask attaching chamber), and the board|substrate 5 and the mask 6 hold|maintained by the board|substrate carrier 9 which concern on this embodiment are aligned with high precision. It is set as the state which mounted the board|substrate carrier 9 (board|substrate 5) on the mask 6, and it transmits to the conveyance roller 15 (conveyance means) after that, and starts conveyance toward the next process. The substrate 5 , the mask 6 , and the substrate carrier 9 are transported along the transport path without changing their orientation, respectively. That is, even if the direction in which the conveyance path extends is changed, the respective orientation is not changed and only the traveling direction is changed. A plurality of conveying rollers 15 as conveying means are arranged along the conveying direction on both sides of the conveying path, and respectively rotate by the driving force of an AC servo motor (not shown) to convey the substrate carrier 9 and the mask 6 . is composed of In a conveyance path, along the conveyance direction, pair 15Aa, 15Ab of conveyance roller 15A as a 1st conveyance rotating body for conveying in a 1st direction, and a 2nd conveying rotating body for conveying in a 2nd direction Either or both of the pairs 15Ba and 15Bb of the conveying rollers 15B are provided.

4 shows a state in which both ends of the mask 6 in the width direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the lower surface of the mask 6 on which the alignment is completed and the substrate carrier 9 are mounted are supported by the conveying rollers 15, viewed in the conveying direction It is a schematic diagram of when As for the mask 6 on which the substrate carrier 9 was mounted, since only the both ends of the width direction will be in the state supported by the conveyance roller 15, the center part of the width direction is downward by its own weight together with the substrate carrier 9. It is in a state of deflection and deformation of a downward convex shape so that it sinks down. In this state, the movement in the conveying direction is guided by the conveying roller 15 , and the substrate 5 is formed into a film by passing over the deposition source 7 in the film forming chamber 110 . Since the rail 51 in the conveyance direction of the present invention passes on the plurality of conveyance rollers 15 at the time of film formation, the substrate carrier 9 itself is excited by the influence of vibration at that time, and the substrate carrier ( 9) and the mask 6 may be out of position. Therefore, it is preferable that the rail 51 in the film-forming direction has as high a rigidity as possible. On the other hand, the rail 50 of the present invention in a direction orthogonal to the film formation direction has low rigidity from the viewpoint of ensuring adhesion between the substrate carrier 9 and the mask 6 and alignment precision, as will be described later. That is, it is preferable that the rigidity is relatively lower than that of the rail 51 .

In FIG. 3 , in the film formation chamber 110a at the front stage of the conveyance path, the substrate 5 adsorbed on the loaded substrate carrier 9 passes over the evaporation source 7 , so that the On the film-forming surface, the surface other than the position covered by the mask 6 is formed into a film. The substrate carrier 9 and the mask 6 rotate 90° in the advancing direction in the rotation chamber 111a, pass the transfer chamber 112, and further pass the rotation chamber 111b (and rotate the advancing direction 90° in the rotation chamber 111b). rotate), and it is thrown into the film-forming chamber 110b of the rear stage of a conveyance path. In each rotation chamber 111, pair 15Aa, 15Ab of conveyance roller 15A as a 1st conveyance rotation body for conveying the substrate carrier 9 and the mask 6 in a 1st direction, and a 2nd direction A pair 15Ba, 15Bb of a conveying roller 15B as a second conveying rotary body for conveying to the By varying the heights of the first and second conveying rotors, the substrate carrier 9 and the mask 6 are transferred and mounted, and the orientation of the substrate carrier 9 and the mask 6 is not changed, and the advancing direction It is configured to change only. Specifically, in a state in which the substrate carrier 9 and the mask 6 are supported by the first conveying rotation body, the second conveying rotation body rises from the bottom up and moves to a position higher than the first conveying rotation body, whereby the substrate By setting the carrier 9 and the mask 6 as a state supported by the second conveyance rotating body, the transfer and actual machine can be realized.

After the film formation is completed, the substrate carrier 9 and the mask 6 are transferred to the mask separation chamber 113 , where the substrate carrier 9 holding the substrate 5 is transferred to the mask ( 6) is separated from The substrate carrier 9 separated from the mask 6 is transferred to the substrate separation chamber 114 , in which the substrate 5 on which the film formation has been completed is separated from the substrate carrier 9 and circulated. recovered from the route. Further, in the substrate separation chamber 114, inversion of the substrate carrier 9 is performed as described above. On the other hand, the mask 6 isolate|separated from the board|substrate carrier 9 goes straight as it is, and is conveyed to the mask carrying-out chamber 116 via the transfer chamber 118. As shown in FIG. A new substrate 5 is put into the carrier 9 in the substrate input chamber 117 and is adsorbed. Also in the substrate input chamber 117, inversion of the substrate carrier 9 is performed as described above. The substrate carrier 9 is transferred to the alignment chamber 100 again through the transfer chamber 118 and the transfer chamber 115 . And in the alignment chamber 100, it is aligned and mounted on the mask 6 conveyed from the injection|throwing-in chamber 90. On the other hand, in the transfer chamber 118 , a pair of transfer rollers having different (orthogonal) transfer directions are provided in two upper and lower stages. A plurality of pairs of lower conveying rollers arranged in a row in the first direction are used when the mask 6 separated in the mask separation chamber 113 is conveyed from the mask separation chamber 113 to the mask conveyance chamber 116 . A plurality of pairs of upper conveying rollers arranged in a line in the second direction are used when conveying the substrate carrier 9 carried in from the substrate input chamber 117 to the conveyance chamber 115 .

5 : has shown the state mounted on the conveyance roller 15 alone of the board|substrate carrier 9. As shown in FIG. The substrate carrier 9 is mounted on the conveyance roller 15 via the rail 51 and the rail 50 . The rail 51 is mounted on the conveyance roller 15A as a 1st conveyance rotation body for conveying in the 1st direction mentioned above, and the rail 50 is a 2nd conveyance time for conveying in the 2nd direction mentioned above. It is mounted on the conveyance roller 15B as a whole. As described above, the process of separating the substrate 5 from the substrate carrier 9, the process of holding the substrate carrier 9, and conveying the substrate carrier 9 holding the substrate 5 to the alignment chamber ( 100), it is necessary to enable transport of the substrate carrier 9 alone in both the film-forming direction and the direction orthogonal to the film-forming direction. Therefore, like this embodiment, the rail 50 which is a 2nd conveyed member for conveying to the board|substrate carrier 9 in a 2nd direction, and the rail 51 which is a 1st conveyed member for conveying in a 1st direction. By disposing, it becomes possible to convey the substrate carrier 9 in the first direction and the second direction, and efficient conveyance becomes possible. Furthermore, by using a member with high abrasion resistance as the first conveyed member and the second conveyed member, abrasion resistance at the contact portion with the conveying roller 15 is secured, and from the contact portion between the conveying roller 15 and the substrate carrier 9 . Dust generation can be reduced. Thereby, scattering of a particle and a waste in a line can be prevented, and adhesion to the board|substrate 5 or the board|substrate carrier 9 in the film-forming apparatus can be prevented. As a result, the substrate carrier 9 can be conveyed in the first direction and the second direction while suppressing a decrease in the yield at the time of film formation.

Fig. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the entire configuration in the alignment mechanism portion of the inline vapor deposition apparatus of the present embodiment.

The vapor deposition apparatus schematically includes a chamber 4 and an alignment apparatus 1 that holds a substrate 5 and a mask 6 held by a substrate carrier portion 9 and performs relative alignment. The chamber 4 can adjust a real pressure by the real pressure control part (not shown) provided with a vacuum pump or a real pressure gauge, and the vapor deposition material 71 (film-forming material) inside the chamber 4 ) in which the evaporation source 7 (film-forming source) accommodated can be arrange|positioned, whereby the pressure-reduced film-forming space 2 is formed in the chamber interior. In the film-forming space 2, the vapor deposition material flies from the evaporation source 7 toward the board|substrate 5, and a film|membrane is formed on the board|substrate. On the other hand, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, the mask 6 has the structure in which the mask foil 6b with a thickness of about several micrometers - several tens of micrometers was welded and fixed to the mask frame 6a of a frame shape. The mask frame 6a supports the mask foil 6b in the pulled state in the surface direction (X direction and Y direction mentioned later) so that the mask foil 6b may not sag. In the mask foil 6b, an opening according to a desired film formation pattern is formed. When using a glass substrate or a substrate in which a resin film such as polyimide is formed on the glass substrate as the substrate 5, an iron alloy can be used as the main material for the mask frame 6a and the mask foil 6b, , it is preferable to use an iron alloy containing nickel. Specific examples of the iron alloy containing nickel include an invar material containing 34 mass % or more and 38 mass % or less of nickel, and a super invar material containing 30 mass % or more and 34 mass % or less of nickel and further containing cobalt. invar) material, and a low thermal expansion Fe-Ni-based plating alloy containing nickel in an amount of 38 mass% or more and 54 mass% or less.

In the illustrated example, the configuration of deposition up in which a film is formed in a state in which the film formation surface of the substrate faces downward in the direction of gravity during film formation will be described. However, it may be a configuration of deposition down in which the film is formed in a state in which the film formation surface of the substrate faces upward in the gravitational direction during film formation. Further, a configuration of side deposition may be employed in which the substrate is erected vertically and the film formation is performed in a state in which the film formation surface is substantially parallel to the direction of gravity. That is, in the present invention, when the substrate and the mask held by the carrier are relatively brought close to each other, positioning with high precision in a state in which drooping or sagging occurring in at least one member of the substrate carrier and the mask occurs. When required, it can be preferably used.

The chamber 4 has an upper partition 4a (top plate), a side wall 4b, and a bottom wall 4c. The inside of the chamber may be maintained in a vacuum atmosphere or an inert gas atmosphere such as nitrogen gas in addition to the above-described reduced pressure atmosphere. On the other hand, "vacuum" in the present specification refers to a state in a space filled with a gas having a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure, and typically refers to a state in a space filled with a gas having a pressure lower than 1 atm (1013 hPa).

The evaporation source 7 may be provided with heating means, such as a material accommodating part, such as a crucible which accommodates a vapor deposition material, and a sheath heater, which heats a vapor deposition material, for example. Furthermore, by providing a mechanism for moving the material accommodating portion or the entire evaporation source 7 in a plane substantially parallel to the substrate carrier 9 and the mask 6, the position of the ejection orifice for injecting the vapor deposition material into the chamber (4) You may make it displace relatively with respect to the board|substrate 5 in the inside, and the film-forming on the board|substrate 5 may be uniform.

The alignment apparatus 1 is schematically mounted on the upper partition 3a of the chamber 4 to drive the substrate carrier 9, and the substrate 5 and the mask 6 held by the substrate carrier 9 are A positioning mechanism 60 (positioning means) for relatively positioning the position is included. The alignment apparatus 1 includes a carrier support part 8 (substrate carrier support part) that holds a substrate carrier 9, a mask stand 16 (mask support part) that holds the mask 6, and a conveying roller ( 15) (transport means).

The alignment mechanism 60 is provided outside the chamber 4 , and moves at least one of the substrate carrier support portion and the mask support portion to change the relative positional relationship between the substrate carrier 9 and the mask 6 . In this embodiment, the positioning mechanism 60 moves the carrier support 8 which is a substrate carrier support. The positioning mechanism 60 schematically includes a rotational translation mechanism 11 (in-plane moving means), a Z elevation base 13 , and a Z elevation slider 10 .

The rotational translation mechanism 11 is connected to the upper partition 4a of the chamber 4, and drives the Z-elevating base 13 in the X direction, the Y direction, and the θ direction (these are also referred to as the XYθ direction together). The Z lifting base 13 is connected to the rotational translation mechanism 11 and serves as a base when the substrate carrier 9 moves in the Z direction. The Z raising/lowering slider 10 is a member movable in the Z direction along the Z guide 18 . The Z raising/lowering slider is connected to the substrate carrier support 8 via the substrate holding shaft 12 .

In this configuration, at the time of XYθ driving (driving in the XYθ direction) in a plane substantially parallel to the substrate carrier 9 and the mask 6 by the rotational translation mechanism 11, the Z elevation base 13; The Z-elevating slider 10 and the substrate holding shaft 12 move integrally, and transmit a driving force to the carrier support 8 . Then, the substrate 5 held by the substrate carrier 9 is moved within a plane substantially parallel to the substrate 5 and the mask 6 . On the other hand, although the mask 6 and the board|substrate 5 are sagged by gravity as mentioned later, the board|substrate in an ideal state which does not sag with the plane substantially parallel to the board|substrate 5 and the mask 6 here. (5) and a plane approximately parallel to the mask 6 are indicated. For example, in a configuration in which the substrate 5 and the mask 6 are horizontally arranged, such as upward vapor deposition or downward vapor deposition, the rotational translation mechanism 11 moves the substrate 5 in a horizontal plane. Further, when the Z-elevating slider 10 is driven in the Z-direction with respect to the Z-elevating base 13 by the Z guide 18, the driving force is applied to the substrate holding shaft 12 (in this embodiment, four substrates are held). Support shafts 12a, 12b, 12c, and 12d are provided, on the other hand, in Fig. 8, the shaft 12d is hidden by the substrate 5 and the mask 6 and is not shown through the carrier support 8. is transmitted Then, the distance of the substrate 5 with respect to the mask 6 is changed (separated or approached). That is, the Z elevation base 13, the Z elevation base 13 and the Z guide 18 function as distance changing means of the positioning means.

As in the illustrated example, by arranging the alignment mechanism 60 including a large number of movable parts outside the film forming space, it is possible to suppress the generation of dust in the film forming space or in the space where alignment is performed. Thereby, it can suppress that a mask or a board|substrate is contaminated by dust generation|occurrence|production and the film-forming precision falls. In addition, in this embodiment, although the structure in which the alignment mechanism 60 moves the board|substrate 5 in the XYθ direction and the Z direction has been described, it is not limited to this, and the alignment mechanism 60 moves the mask 6 It may be moved, and both the board|substrate 5 and the mask 6 may be moved. That is, the alignment mechanism 60 is a mechanism for moving at least one of the substrate 5 and the mask 6 , and thereby the relative positions of the substrate 5 and the mask 6 can be aligned.

The substrate carrier 9 includes a carrier face plate 30 (a face plate member), a seating block 31 (a seating member), and a chuck member 32 .

The carrier face plate 30 is a plate-like member made of metal or the like, and is a member constituting a holding surface for holding the substrate 5 . The carrier face plate 30 has a certain degree of rigidity (at least higher than that of the substrate 5 ), and by holding the substrate 5 along the holding surface, sagging of the substrate 5 can be suppressed.

A plurality of seating blocks 31 are disposed outside the substrate holding area of the holding surface of the carrier face plate 30 so as to protrude from the holding surface. The seating block 31 is provided so that the board|substrate 5 may protrude toward the mask 6 side rather than the board|substrate 5 in the state hold|maintained by the board|substrate carrier 9. As shown in FIG. The substrate carrier 9 is seated on the outer peripheral frame of the mask frame 6a through the seating block 31 through an alignment operation.

The chuck member 32 has a chuck surface for chucking the substrate 5 in contact with the substrate 5 . The chuck surface of the chuck member 32 of the present embodiment is an adhesive surface constituted by an adhesive member, and holds the substrate 5 by adhesive force. Therefore, the chuck member 32 of this embodiment can also be called an adhesive pad. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2 , each of the plurality of chuck members 32 has a chuck surface (adhesive surface) of the carrier face plate 30 inside a plurality of holes provided in the carrier face plate 30 . It is arranged so that there is no step difference with the holding surface (to be located on the same plane). Thereby, by chucking the substrate 5 by each of the plurality of chuck members 32 , the substrate 5 can be held along the holding surface of the carrier face plate 30 . On the other hand, the plurality of chuck members 32 may be arranged such that the chuck surfaces each have protrude from the holding surface of the carrier face plate 30 by a predetermined distance. The chuck member 32 is preferably arranged according to the shape of the mask 6 , and is arranged corresponding to the grate portion of the mask 6 (a boundary portion for dividing the film formation region of the substrate 5 ). more preferably. Thereby, the influence on the temperature distribution of the film-forming area of the board|substrate 5 by the chuck member 32 contacting the board|substrate 5 can be suppressed. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, a member for holding the substrate 5 by adhesive force is used as the chuck member 32 . However, the present invention is not limited to this, and as the chuck member 32 , the substrate 5 by electrostatic force ) holding the member (electrostatic chuck) may be used.

The substrate carrier 9 further has a magnetic attraction means (not shown) for magnetically attracting the mask 6 through the held substrate 5 . As the magnetic attraction means, a permanent magnet, an electromagnet, or a magnet plate provided with an electromagnet can be used. In addition, the magnetic adsorption means may be provided so as to be movable relative to the carrier face plate 30 . More specifically, the magnetic adsorption means may be provided so that the distance between it and the carrier face plate 30 can be changed.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of the mask and carrier holding portion, which is used to explain the details. The substrate carrier part 9 is positionable with respect to the mask 6 via the carrier support 8 . The carrier support 8 is composed of a carrier receiving finger 42 and a carrier receiving surface 41, and by placing the rail 51 on the side of the substrate carrier 9 on the carrier receiving surface 41, the substrate carrier ( 9) An alignment operation is performed with respect to the mask 6 by supporting the whole.

The mask frame 6a is supported by the mask pedestal 16 through the mask pads 33 constituting the mask receiving surface. On the other hand, it is preferable that this mask pad 33 has a high friction coefficient so that a mask position may not shift|deviate by the vibration which generate|occur|produces during alignment. For example, it is conceivable to make the surface into an emboss shape by contacting metals.

Thus, in this embodiment, the rectangular-shaped board|substrate carrier 9 and the rectangular-shaped mask 6 convey the conveyance roller 15A by the carrier support part 8 and the mask support part (mask stand 16). They are respectively supported along the direction (first direction). That is, as for the substrate carrier 9, one set side of the two sets of sides which opposes is arrange|positioned substantially parallel to the conveyance direction (1st direction) of the conveyance roller 15A, The board|substrate carrier corresponding to the one set of sides. The rail 51 which is a 1st to-be-conveyed member arrange|positioned at the periphery of (9) is supported by the carrier support part 8 arrange|positioned opposite this. In addition, the mask 6 is arrange|positioned substantially parallel to the conveyance direction (1st direction) of 15 A of conveyance rollers 15A of the side of one set among the opposing two sets of sides, and the mask 6 corresponding to the one set of sides. The periphery of ) is supported by the mask support part arrange|positioned opposing this. In addition, each long side may be sufficient as the opposing side supported in the board|substrate carrier 9 and the mask 6, and the short side may be sufficient as it. Moreover, even when the substrate carrier 9 and the mask 6 are square, it is good if it is a structure which supports the periphery of the edge of one set of two sets of sides.

It is a perspective view which shows one form of an alignment mechanism. The mask pedestal 16 is guided (elevated) up and down along the elevator guide 34 mounted on the mask stand base 19 . Moreover, 15 A of conveyance rollers are arrange|positioned at the side lower part of the conveyance direction of the mask 6, and the mask 6 is transmitted to 15 A of conveyance rollers when the mask base 16 descend|falls.

The substrate holding shaft 12 is provided over the outside and the inside of the chamber 4 through a through hole provided in the upper partition 4a of the chamber 4 . In the film-forming space, the carrier support part 8 is provided in the lower part of the board|substrate holding shaft 12, and the board|substrate 5 which is a film-forming object can be hold|maintained via the board|substrate carrier 9. As shown in FIG.

The through hole is designed to be large enough for the outer diameter of the substrate holding shaft 12 so that the substrate holding shaft 12 and the upper partition wall 4a do not interfere. In addition, the section from the through hole to the fixed portion of the substrate holding shaft 12 to the Z lifting slider 10 (the portion above the through hole) is fixed to the Z lifting slider 10 and the upper partition 4a. covered by a bellows (40). Thereby, since the substrate holding shaft 12 is covered by the closed space communicating with the chamber 4 , the entire substrate holding shaft 12 is placed in the same state as the film forming space 2 (eg, in a vacuum state). ) can be maintained. As the bellows 40, one having flexibility also in the Z direction and the XY direction may be used. Thereby, the resistance force generated when the bellows 40 is displaced by the operation of the alignment device 1 can be sufficiently reduced, and the load at the time of position adjustment can be reduced.

The mask support part is provided in the surface of the film-forming space 2 side of the upper partition 4a inside the chamber 4, and the support of the mask 6 is enabled. For example, in the mask used for manufacturing an organic EL panel, a mask foil 6b having an opening according to a film formation pattern is attached to a mask frame 6a of high rigidity. It has a fixed configuration. By this structure, the mask receiving part can be hold|maintained in the state which reduced the sag of the mask foil 6b.

Various operations by the alignment device 1 (alignment by a rotary translation mechanism, lifting and lowering of the Z-elevating slider 10 by a distance changing means, holding the substrate by the carrier support 8, vapor deposition by the evaporation source 7 etc.) is controlled by the control unit 70 . The control unit 70 can 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 70 is realized when the processor executes the program stored in the memory or storage. As the computer, a general-purpose personal computer may be used, an embedded computer or a programmable logic controller (PLC) may be used. Alternatively, some or all of the functions of the control unit 70 may be configured by circuits such as ASICs or FPGAs. In addition, the control part 70 may be provided for every vapor deposition apparatus, and one control part 70 may control a some vapor deposition apparatus.

Next, the detailed content of the alignment mechanism 60 of the alignment apparatus 1 is demonstrated with reference to FIG. 8 : is a perspective view which shows one form of an alignment mechanism. The guide for guiding the Z-elevating slider 10 in the vertical Z direction includes a plurality of (four in this case) Z-guides 18a to 18d, and is fixed to the side surface of the Z-elevating base 13 . A ball screw 27 for transmitting driving force is disposed in the center of the Z lifting slider, and the power transmitted from the motor 26 fixed to the Z lifting base 13 is transmitted through the ball screw 27 to the Z lifting slider 10 ) is transmitted to

The motor 26 has a built-in rotary encoder (not shown), and the Z-direction position of the Z raising/lowering slider 10 can be measured indirectly according to the rotation speed of the encoder. By controlling the drive of the motor 26 by an external controller, precise positioning of the Z raising/lowering slider 10 in the Z direction is possible. In addition, the raising/lowering mechanism of the Z raising/lowering slider 10 is not limited to the ball screw 27 and a rotary encoder, Arbitrary mechanisms, such as a combination of a linear motor and a linear encoder, are employable.

In the structure of FIG. 11, the rotational translation mechanism 11 has several drive unit 21a, 21b, 21c, 21d at four corners of a base. Each of the drive units 21a to 21d is disposed by rotating the drive units disposed at adjacent corners by 90 degrees around the Z-axis so that the direction of generating the driving force is different by 90 degrees for each of the four corners.

Each drive unit 21 is provided with a drive unit motor 25 which generates a drive force. Each drive unit 21 also has a first guide 22 that slides in a first direction when the force of the drive unit motor 25 is transmitted through the drive unit ball screw 46, and a first direction in the XY plane. and a second guide 23 sliding in a second direction orthogonal to . Furthermore, a rotary bearing 24 rotatable about the Z-axis is provided. For example, in the case of the drive unit 21d, it has a first guide 22 sliding in the X direction, a second guide 23 sliding in the Y direction orthogonal to the X direction, and a rotary bearing 24, , the force of the drive unit motor 25 is transmitted to the first guide 22 through the drive unit ball screw 46 . The other drive units 21a, 21b, and 21c also have a configuration similar to that of the drive unit 21d, except that their arrangement orientations differ from each other by 90 degrees.

The drive unit motor 25 incorporates a rotary encoder (not shown), so that the displacement amount of the first guide 22 can be measured. In each drive unit 21 , by controlling the drive of the drive unit motor 25 by the control unit 70 , it is possible to precisely control the position of the Z lifting base 13 in the XYθz direction.

For example, when the Z lifting base 13 is moved in the +X direction, the driving unit motor 25 applies a sliding force in the +X direction in each of the drive unit 21a and the drive unit 21d to the drive unit motor 25 . It can be generated by this, and what is necessary is just to transmit the force to the Z-elevating base 13 . In addition, when moving in the +Y direction, the drive unit motor 25 generates a sliding force in the +Y direction in each of the drive unit 21b and the drive unit 21c, and the Z lifting base 13 ) to transmit that power.

When the Z lifting base 13 is rotated +θ (clockwise rotation θz in the clockwise direction) around the rotation axis parallel to the Z axis, the drive units 21a and 21d arranged diagonally are used to rotate +θz around the Z axis. What is necessary is to generate a force necessary for rotation and transmit the force to the Z-elevating base 13 . Alternatively, a force required for rotation may be transmitted to the Z-elevating base 13 using the drive unit 21b and the drive unit 21c.

Next, in order to detect the position of the board|substrate 5 and the mask 6, the imaging apparatus for measuring the position of each alignment mark simultaneously is demonstrated. 6 and 8, on the surface of the outer side of the upper partition wall 4a, the alignment mark (mask mark) on the mask 6 and the alignment mark (substrate mark) on the substrate 5 are obtained. An imaging device 14 (14a, 14b, 14c, 14d) serving as a position acquisition means is disposed. A through hole for imaging is provided in the upper partition 4a on the camera optical axis so that the position of the alignment mark arrange|positioned inside the chamber 4 can be measured with the imaging device 14. Window glass 17 (17a, 17b, 17c, 17d) etc. are provided in the through-hole for imaging in order to maintain the atmospheric pressure inside a chamber. Furthermore, by providing an illumination (not shown) inside or in the vicinity of the imaging device 14 and irradiating light to the vicinity of the alignment mark of the substrate and the mask, accurate measurement of the mark image is possible. In addition, in FIG. 6, the imaging device 14d and the window glass 17c, 17d are covered by another member, and are not shown in figure.

With reference to FIG.12(a) - FIG.12(c), the method of measuring the position of the board|substrate mark 37 and the mask mark 38 using the imaging device 14 is demonstrated.

12A is a view from above of the substrate 5 on the carrier face plate 30 in a state held by the carrier support 8 . For purposes of illustration, the carrier faceplate 30 is shown as transmissive, with dashed lines. On the board|substrate 5, the board|substrate marks 37a, 37b, 37c, 37d which can be measured by the imaging device 14 are formed in the four corners of the board|substrate 5. As shown in FIG. The substrate marks 37a to 37d are simultaneously measured by the four imaging devices 14a to 14d, and the translation amount and rotation of the substrate 5 from the positional relationship of the four center positions of the respective substrate marks 37a to 37d. By calculating the total quantity, the positional information of the board|substrate 5 can be acquired. On the other hand, a through hole is opened in the carrier face plate 30, and it is possible to measure the position of the substrate mark 37 by the imaging device 14 from the upper part.

Fig. 12(b) is a view of the mask frame 6a viewed from the top. Mask marks 38a, 38b, 38c, and 38d that can be measured by an imaging device are formed in the four corners. This mask mark 38a-38d is simultaneously measured by the four imaging devices 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d, and the mask 6 from the positional relationship of each center position of 4 points of each mask mark 38a-38d. ), a translation amount, a rotation amount, etc. can be calculated, and the positional information of the mask 6 can be acquired.

Fig. 12(c) schematically shows a field of view 44 of a captured image when one set out of four sets of the mask mark 38 and the substrate mark 37 is measured by the imaging device 14 . the drawing shown. In this example, within the visual field 44 of the imaging device 14, since the board|substrate mark 37 and the mask mark 38 are measured simultaneously, it is possible to measure the relative position of mark centers. Mark center coordinates can be calculated|required using the image processing apparatus (not shown) based on the image obtained by the measurement of the imaging device 14. As shown in FIG. In addition, although the thing of a square or circular shape was shown as the mask mark 38 and the board|substrate mark 37, the shape of a mark is not limited to this. For example, it is preferable to use a shape having symmetry, such as an X mark or a cross, so that the center position can be easily calculated.

When high-precision alignment is required, a high magnification CCD camera having a high resolution of about several micrometers is used as the imaging device 14 . In such a high magnification CCD camera, since the diameter of the field of view is as narrow as several mm, if the position shift when the substrate carrier 9 is placed on the carrier receiving finger 41 is large, the substrate mark 37 will deviate from the field of view, and measurement it becomes impossible Accordingly, as the imaging device 14, it is preferable to provide a high magnification CCD camera and a low magnification CCD camera having a wide field of view in parallel. In that case, coarse alignment (rough alignment) is performed using a low magnification CCD camera so that the mask mark 38 and the substrate mark 37 enter the field of view of the high magnification CCD camera at the same time, and then the mask mark is performed using a high magnification CCD camera. Position measurement of (38) and the board|substrate mark 37 is performed, and high-precision alignment (fine alignment) is performed.

By using a high magnification CCD camera as the imaging device 14, the relative position of the mask frame 6a and the substrate 5 can be adjusted with precision within a few micrometers of error. However, the imaging device 14 is not limited to a CCD camera, For example, a digital camera provided with a CMOS sensor as an imaging element may be sufficient. In addition, even if the high magnification camera and the low magnification camera are not separately installed, high magnification and low magnification measurement may be possible with a single camera by using a camera or a zoom lens in which a high magnification lens and a low magnification lens can be exchanged.

From the positional information of the mask frame 6a and the positional information of the board|substrate 5 acquired by the imaging device 14, the relative positional information of the mask frame 6a and the board|substrate 5 can be acquired. This relative position information is fed back to the control part 70 of an alignment apparatus, and the drive amount of each drive part, such as the raising/lowering slider 10, the rotation translation mechanism 11, and the carrier support part 8, is controlled.

(Composition of substrate carrier and rail)

The board carrier 9 of this embodiment and the rail shape and structure preferable in applying this invention are demonstrated using FIG.9, FIG.10. 9 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the substrate carrier 9a according to Example 1 of the present embodiment, and FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the substrate carrier 9b according to Example 2 of the present embodiment.

The substrate carrier 9a of Example 1 shown in FIG. 9 is a rail 52 as a 1st to-be-guided member supported when conveyed by the conveyance roller 15A for conveying in a 1st direction, and a 2nd direction. It has the rail 53 as a 2nd to-be-guided member supported when it is conveyed by the conveyance roller 15B for conveying. Thereby, the substrate carrier 9a of Example 1 can be conveyed in both a 1st direction and a 2nd direction, suppressing the generation|occurrence|production of dust at the time of conveyance and suppressing the fall of the yield at the time of film-forming. In the first embodiment, both the rail 52 as the first guided member and the rail 53 as the second guided member have a shape in consideration of rigidity so as to reduce vibration during transport, and have the same cross-sectional shape of the rail. is using Specifically, as shown in FIG.9(b), all are made into the thick rail shape of a cross section "C" shape. On the other hand, the reason why the cross-section is "C"-shaped is that a groove is dug to prevent the head of the bolt 54 from protruding when it is fastened to the side of the carrier face plate 30 with a bolt.

The substrate carrier 9b of Example 2 shown in FIG. 10 is also similarly to Example 1, the rail 51 as a 1st to-be-guided member supported when conveyed by the conveyance roller 15A for conveying in a 1st direction. and the rail 50 as a 2nd to-be-guided member supported when conveying by the conveyance roller 15B for conveying in a 2nd direction. Thereby, the substrate carrier 9b of Example 2 can also be conveyed in both a 1st direction and a 2nd direction, suppressing the generation|occurrence|production of dust at the time of conveyance and suppressing the fall of the yield at the time of film-forming. On the other hand, the substrate carrier 9b of Example 2 differs from Example 1 in that the rail 51 as the first member to be guided and the rail 50 as the member to be guided are different rails in cross-sectional shape. That is, the rail 51 as the first guided member has the same configuration as the rail 52 of the first embodiment shown in Fig. 9, with a cross section of a "U" The rail 50 as a furnace has an "L" shape in cross section, as shown in FIG.10(b). Accordingly, the cross-sectional area of the rail 50 as the second to-be-guided member is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the rail 51 as the first to-be-guided member. is made small. On the other hand, in Example 2, both the rail 51 and the rail 50 are stainless steel rails.

Fig.9 (a) has shown the state (separation state) which hold|maintained the board|substrate carrier 9a and the mask 6 separately respectively by the alignment mechanism at the time of alignment. The substrate carrier 9a is aligned with respect to the mask 6 in a state supported by the rail 52 as the first guided member on the carrier receiving surface 41 . In the substrate carrier 9a of the first embodiment, since both of the first guided member and the second to be guided member have high rigidity, as shown in Fig. 9A, the rigidity of the rail 52 is reduced. Thus, the amount of sagging of the substrate carrier 9a is suppressed. As a result, even after placing the substrate carrier 9a on the mask 6 , it is in a state in which the space ds is generated with respect to the mask frame 6a.

When the substrate carrier 9a of Example 1 is placed on the mask 6 after alignment with respect to the mask 6, when the substrate carrier 9a is seated on the mask frame 6a, first, the substrate carrier 9a ), the area extending along the portion (rail 52) supported by the carrier receiving finger 42 and the area extending along the portion supported by the mask support portion of the mask 6 are in contact with each other. will do When the sides are in contact with each other, if the two sides in contact are of the same shape, and in an ideal state in which the two sides approach and contact while maintaining parallel, the entire sides will come into contact at once, but in reality, the Contact starts with some. And in this case, the contact start position is affected by various disturbances and changes every time, it is not determined at one place, but the contact start position is randomly determined. In addition, not only the contact start position in one side is determined randomly, but which of the two opposing sides starts the contact first is not constant due to the influence of various disturbances. As a result, the reproducibility at the time of seating of the substrate carrier 9 and the mask 6 falls. In addition, when either one of the two opposing sides starts contacting first, since an unbalanced load is applied to the side that started contacting first, a reaction force at the time of seating of the substrate carrier 9a is applied through the carrier receiving surface 41 . It is transmitted to the positioning mechanism 60 side, and disturbances such as posture fluctuations or positional deviations of the mechanism may be further generated.

On the other hand, in the second embodiment, since the rigidity of the rail 50 as the second member to be guided is low as described above, when only the rail 51 as the member to be guided is held, the carrier is in a supported state. The amount of deflection in this case becomes larger than the state of the amount of deflection of Example 1 shown in FIG. 9 . Therefore, if the deflection amount of the rail 50a at this time is larger than the deflection amount of the mask frame 6a, the position where the substrate carrier 9b sits with respect to the mask 6 (mask frame 6a) at the time of alignment is a central part becomes, and the contact start position becomes the same position every time, and it becomes possible to perform stable seating. Moreover, since the amount of lateral shift of the substrate carrier 9b with respect to the mask 6 at the time of seating is also reduced, alignment precision improves. Furthermore, since the contact advances symmetrically outward from the center of the substrate carrier 9b, and the load is equally applied to the left and right sides of the carrier receiving surface 41, a change in the posture of the alignment mechanism 60 due to an unbalanced load Position shift is reduced.

Also, the gap ds between the substrate carrier 9b and the mask 6 is hardly generated because the carrier 9b and the mask 6 are in good contact with each other at the time of seating, and finally, as shown in FIG. 4 . It is conveyed and formed into a film in a state without a gap|interval. Thereby, since entrainment of the organic material at the time of film-forming can be prevented, there exists an effect that the yield of organic electroluminescent panel production improves.

Here, in more detail, the deflection of the substrate carrier 9 supported by the carrier support 8 and the mask 6 supported by the mask support part is examined. As described above, the substrate carrier 9 (holding the substrate 5) supported by the carrier support 8 is a parabola convex in the direction of gravity downward in a cross section perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveying roller 15. The shape becomes a sagging shape. Moreover, in the cross section perpendicular|vertical to the conveyance direction of the conveyance roller 15, the mask 6 supported by the mask support part also becomes the shape which drooped in the convex parabolic shape downward in the gravity direction. In this specification, as the amounts for quantitatively handling the degree of deflection of the substrate carrier 9 and the degree of deflection of the mask 6, the carrier self-weight deflection amount dc and the mask self-weight deflection amount dm are defined as follows. .

In this specification, the carrier weight deflection amount dc is the height along the plane (the height of the virtual plane) when the substrate carrier 9 is supported along a certain plane (virtual plane) by the carrier support part 8 . ), indicates the difference (absolute value) between the reference height and the height of the part drooping by its own weight. For example, when the substrate carrier 9 is horizontally supported by the carrier support 8 , the height of the carrier receiving surface 41 is taken as a reference, and the largest of the reference height and the substrate carrier 9 is drooping. The substrate carrier 9 corresponding to the height of the lower surface of the substrate carrier 9 of the portion (the portion where the change in height from the height of the virtual plane is greatest) (typically the middle portion between the oppositely arranged carrier supports 8 ). ) and the difference (absolute value) with the height of the lower surface) becomes the carrier self-weight deflection amount (dc). That is, as shown in Fig. 10 (a), in the lower surface of the substrate carrier 9 supported by the carrier support 8, the height of the end portion with the smallest change in height is the height of the imaginary plane, The difference (absolute value) from the height of this virtual plane to the height of the central part with the largest change in height is made into carrier self-weight deflection amount dc. On the other hand, not the lower surface of the substrate carrier 9, but the upper surface, you may prescribe|regulate the carrier self-weight deflection amount dc on the basis of the upper surface. In this case, you may make it acquire the height of the said virtual plane based on the height of the carrier receiving surface 41, and the thickness (height) of the board|substrate carrier 9. As shown in FIG. That is, paying attention to the portion in contact with the carrier receiving surface 41 of the substrate carrier 9, even if the value obtained by adding the thickness of the substrate carrier 9 to the height of the carrier receiving surface 41 is the height of the imaginary plane do.

In addition, in this specification, the mask self weight deflection amount (dm) is the height along the plane (the height of this virtual plane) when it is going to support the mask 6 along a certain plane (virtual plane) by the mask support part. As a reference, it indicates the difference (absolute value) between the reference height and the height of the part drooping by its own weight. For example, when it is going to support the mask 6 horizontally by the mask support part, on the basis of the height of the upper surface of the part which is in contact with the mask receiving surface 33 of the mask 6, a reference height and a mask The mask corresponding to the height of the upper surface of the mask 6 (typically, the middle part between the mask support parts disposed oppositely) of the largest drooping part (the part where the change in height from the height of the virtual plane is greatest) among (6) The difference (absolute value) with the height of the upper surface of (6) becomes the mask self-weight deflection amount (dm). That is, as shown in Fig. 10A, on the upper surface of the mask 6 supported by the mask support, the height of the end portion with the smallest change in height is the height of the imaginary plane, and the height of the imaginary plane is The difference (absolute value) from the height to the height of the central portion having the largest change in height is defined as the mask self-weight deflection amount (dm). In addition, you may make it acquire the height of the said virtual plane based on the height of the mask receiving surface 33, and the thickness (height) of the mask 6 . That is, the inclination at the end of the mask 6 at the time of sagging is made negligibly small, and it may be assumed that the height at the end of the mask 6 is approximately equal to the thickness of the mask 6 . In addition, it is not the upper surface of the mask 6, but on the basis of the lower surface, the mask self-weight deflection amount dm may be prescribed|regulated, and in this case, it is good also considering the height of the mask receiving surface 33 as reference height.

Here, since the substrate carrier 9 is for suppressing the sag of the substrate 5 and facilitating the transport, from that purpose, the rigidity of the substrate carrier 9 is made as high as possible so that it does not sag as much as possible. desirable. On the other hand, since the mask 6 uses the mask frame 6b with high rigidity so that the mask foil 6a does not sag as mentioned above, compared with the board|substrate 5, it is hard to sag. Conventionally, since the length of one side of the substrate 5 and the mask 6 was about 1.5 m at most, the sagging of the mask 6 was negligible. In the case of using the substrate 5 and the mask 6 that greatly exceed Further, as in the present embodiment, when the rectangular mask 6 and the substrate carrier 9 are supported not on all four sides but only on a pair of opposing sides, the sagging of the mask 6 gradually increases. get bigger That is, when the substrate carrier 9 is designed as in the conventional idea, the mask 6 is more likely to sag than the substrate carrier 9 .

As a result of earnest examination by the present inventors, it was found that, in such a case, when the rigidity of the substrate carrier 9 is made as high as possible so as not to sag as in the conventional idea, several problems arise. Hereinafter, by making the rigidity of the substrate carrier 9 as high as possible, the problem occurring when the carrier self-weight sag dc becomes smaller than the mask self-weight sag dm (that is, when dc < dm) will be described.

In the case of dc < dm, first, the substrate carrier 9 and the mask 6 are brought into contact, and the substrate carrier 9 is placed on the mask 6 to mount the mask 6 on the substrate 5 . At this time, when the sag of the mask 6 is too large than the sag of the substrate carrier 9 , a large gap will arise between the mask foil 6a and the substrate 5 . A state in which a large gap is formed between the mask 6 and the substrate 5 is shown in FIG. 9A . When a large gap is formed between the mask foil 6a and the substrate 5, the mask 6 is adsorbed from the back side with the substrate 5 and the substrate carrier 9 interposed therebetween by a magnetic attraction means such as a magnet. Even if it is going to make the mask foil 6a closely_contact|adherent to the board|substrate 5, a clearance gap may remain. In this way, a gap ds is created between the substrate 5 held by the substrate carrier 9 and the mask 6, and when transported and formed into a film in this state, the film formation material is used as a mask during film formation. It returns through the gap between the foil 6a and the substrate 5, and is in a state in which film blurring occurs. As a result, film-forming nonuniformity arises, and there exists a possibility of causing the quality fall by the brightness|luminance nonuniformity of a display.

In the case of dc < dm, secondly, when the substrate carrier 9 and the mask 6 are brought into contact, the contact occurs from a region extending along the long side which is a portion supported by the respective supports (carrier support, mask support). It begins. Since the long sides of the substrate carrier 9 are supported by the carrier receiving fingers 42 so that they are all at the same height, and the long sides of the mask 6 are all supported by the mask support so that they are all at the same height, the contact starts is generated between sides (long sides or regions extending along the long sides). When the sides come into contact with each other, if the two sides are in the same shape and the two sides approach and contact each other while maintaining parallel, then the entire sides will come into contact at once. Some of them start contact. And in this case, the contact start position is affected by various disturbances and changes every time, it is not determined at one place, but the contact start position is randomly determined. As a result, the reproducibility at the time of seating of the substrate carrier 9 and the mask 6 falls. For example, during alignment, the Z-elevating slider 10 is guided by the Z-guide 18 and descends, and the process in which the substrate carrier 9 descends according to the straightness of the Z-guide or the reproducibility of the posture. Since the paths and postures are different, it is difficult to make the contact start position constant. For this reason, since the reaction force that the substrate carrier 9 receives from the mask frame 6a changes when the contact start position is changed, the substrate carrier 9 (or the substrate 5 held by the substrate carrier 9) and the mask 6 ) after the alignment is completed, there is a fear that the shifting method at the time of seating the substrate carrier 9 on the mask 6 varies greatly each time. On the other hand, even in the case of dc = dm, as in the case of dc < dm, the behavior at the time of seating is not stable, so it is not very preferable from the viewpoint of realizing a stable seating.

Therefore, the present inventors solved the above-mentioned subject by adjusting the sag of the substrate carrier 9 and the sag of the mask 6 without daringly making the rigidity of the substrate carrier 9 too high. In the present embodiment, the rigidity of the rails 50 and 51 of the substrate carrier 9 is adjusted so that the relationship between the carrier self-weight sag dc and the mask self-weight sag dm becomes dc > dm. When dc>dm is set, as shown in FIG. 10A , the substrate carrier 9 sags larger than the mask 6 . On the other hand, since the substrate 5 is held by the substrate carrier along the holding surface of the substrate carrier 9, the amount of deflection of the substrate 5 can also be regarded as equal to the amount of deflection dc in its own weight.

If the substrate carrier 9 is placed on the mask 6 in this state, the substrate carrier 9 will be placed along the mask 6, so after placement, the substrate carrier 9 and the mask 6 are placed as shown in Fig. 4 . ) can be matched. Therefore, the clearance gap between the mask foil 6a and the board|substrate 5 can be made small enough, and it becomes possible to suppress the film|membrane blurring at the time of film-forming.

In addition, when the substrate 5 held by the substrate carrier 9 is brought into contact with the mask 6 by setting dc>dm, the contact starts from the most drooping portion on the short side of the substrate 5 . In this embodiment, a plurality of seating blocks 31 are arranged outside the area holding the substrate 5 of the substrate carrier 9, and the seating blocks 31 are provided so as to protrude from the substrate 5, have. In addition, some of the some seating blocks 31 are arrange|positioned in the center of the short side side of the board|substrate carrier 9, ie, the part which hangs the most. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the substrate carrier 9 is brought into contact with the mask 6, the contact can be started from the seating block 31 arranged in the center of the short side side of the substrate carrier 9, It is possible to increase the reproducibility of seating. Moreover, the seating block 31 which comes into contact first can be used as a reference|standard of positioning, and it becomes also possible to improve the reproducibility of the position by seating.

(How to place the board)

Hereinafter, the substrate 5 is set on the substrate carrier 9, the substrate 5 and the mask 6 on the substrate carrier 9 are aligned, and the substrate carrier 9 (substrate 5) is applied to the mask ( A series of operation|movement of a vapor deposition apparatus until it mounts on 6) is demonstrated.

It is a flowchart which shows the operation sequence of the vapor deposition apparatus of embodiment.

First, in step S101, a substrate carrier 9 mounted on a roller conveying mechanism (not shown) is loaded into the chamber 4 through a gate valve, and is placed on the carrier receiving fingers 42 on both sides of the carrier support 8 . is witty on A plurality of carrier receiving fingers 42a are arranged at predetermined intervals along one side of the substrate 5 (substrate carrier 9), and in the vicinity of one side of the substrate 5, the substrate carrier 9 The rail 51a, which is the periphery of the , is supported. A plurality of other carrier receiving fingers 42b are arranged at predetermined intervals along a second side opposite to the first side of the substrate 5, and the substrate carrier 9 is disposed in the vicinity of the second side of the substrate 5. ) to support the rail 51b as the periphery.

Next, in step S103, the board|substrate carrier 9 is lowered and set to the height imaged with the low magnification CCD camera. Next, in step S104, the substrate mark 37 provided on the substrate 5 is imaged with a low magnification CCD camera. The control part 70 acquires the positional information of the board|substrate 5 based on the captured image, and stores it in memory.

Step S105 is executed following step S104, or when the determination in step S109 or S113 is &quot;NO&quot;

In step S105 performed subsequent to step S104, the substrate carrier 9 is lowered and set at the alignment operation height, and the position of the substrate 5 is adjusted based on the positional information obtained in step S104. .

First, speaking of the height of the substrate carrier 9, the distance between the carrier receiving surface 41 (the upper surface of the carrier receiving finger 42) and the mask 6 is changed to a lower height than in step S104 . However, at this time, the position of the carrier receiving surface 41 is set to a height at which the substrate 5 on the substrate carrier 9 drooping by its own weight does not contact the mask 6 . On the other hand, depending on the case, step S105 and step S104 may be performed at the same height.

In the alignment operation in step S105 performed subsequent to step S104, the control unit 70, based on the positional information of the substrate 5 acquired in step S104, the alignment apparatus 1 has The positioning mechanism 60 is driven. That is, the control part 70 adjusts the position of the board|substrate 5 so that the board|substrate mark 37 of the board|substrate 5 may fall within the visual field of a high magnification CCD camera. On the other hand, with respect to the mask 6, the relative position of the mask 6 and the high magnification CCD camera is adjusted in advance so that the mask mark 38 falls within the field of view (preferably the center of the field of view) of the high magnification CCD camera. have. For this reason, by the alignment operation|movement in step S105 performed following step S104, it adjusts so that both the board|substrate mark 37 and the mask mark 38 may come in the field of a high magnification CCD camera. However, at this point in time, from the relationship of the depth of field, there is a possibility that the substrate mark 37 cannot be imaged with a high magnification CCD camera. On the other hand, in the alignment operation, although the substrate 5 is moved in the XYθz direction, the substrate 5 drooping by its own weight as described above moves to a height at which it does not contact the mask 6, so the surface of the substrate 5 , or the film pattern already formed on the surface of the substrate 5 slides with the mask 6 and is not damaged.

Next, in step S106, the substrate carrier 9 is lowered, and the substrate 5 is set at a height imaged with a high magnification CCD camera.

Here, since a high magnification CCD camera with a shallow depth of field is focused on both the substrate mark 37 and the mask mark 36 to take pictures, at least a part of the substrate 5 (sagging part) comes into contact with the mask 6 . The substrate 5 is brought close to the mask 6 until a substrate mask contact is made.

Next, in step S108, the substrate mark 37 of the substrate 5 and the mask mark 38 of the mask 6 are simultaneously imaged by the high magnification CCD camera. The control part 70 acquires relative positional information of the board|substrate 5 and the mask 6 based on the captured image. The relative position information here is specifically, information regarding the distance between the center positions of the substrate mark 37 and the mask mark 38, and the direction of a position shift. Step S108 is a measurement process (measurement process) of acquiring relative position information (relative position shift amount) between the substrate 5 and the mask 6 and measuring the position shift amount between the substrate 5 and the mask 6 . )am.

Next, in step S109 , the control unit 70 determines whether the amount of positional shift between the substrate 5 and the mask 6 measured in step S108 is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value. The predetermined threshold value is a value set in advance so that the amount of position shift between the substrate 5 and the mask 6 falls within a range in which there is no problem even when film formation is performed. The threshold value is set so as to achieve the required alignment accuracy of the substrate 5 and the mask 6 . The threshold value is, for example, such that the error is within several micrometers.

If it is determined in step S109 that the amount of position shift between the substrate 5 and the mask 6 exceeds a predetermined threshold (step S109: NO), the flow returns to step S105 and the alignment operation is executed. and the processing after step S106 is continued.

In step S105, which is executed when the determination in step S109 is NO, the substrate carrier 9 is raised and set to the alignment operation height, and the substrate 5 is based on the relative position information obtained in step S108. ) to adjust the position.

In the alignment operation performed when the determination in step S109 is NO, the control unit 70 controls the alignment apparatus 1 based on the relative position information between the substrate 5 and the mask 6 acquired in step S108. ) drives the positioning mechanism provided. That is, the control unit 70 moves the substrate 5 in the XYθz direction so that the substrate mark 37 of the substrate 5 and the mask mark 38 of the mask 6 are closer to each other to position the position. Adjust.

In the alignment operation, the substrate 5 is moved in the XYθz direction, but as described above, since the substrate 5 drooping by its own weight is moved at a height not in contact with the mask 6, the surface of the substrate 5, Alternatively, the film pattern already formed on the surface of the substrate 5 slides with the mask 6 and is not damaged.

Step S105 is an alignment process (alignment process) in which the substrate 5 is moved so that the amount of misalignment between the substrate 5 and the mask 6 is reduced, and fine alignment is performed when the determination in step S109 is NO. is done

When the determination in step S109 is YES, in step S110, the substrate carrier 9 is further lowered so that the entire substrate carrier 9 is placed on the mask frame 6a. That is, the support of the substrate carrier 9 by the carrier support 8 is released, and the substrate carrier 9 (substrate 5) and the mask frame 6a (mask 6) on which it is mounted are together, the mask It will be in the state supported by the pedestal 16 (mask support part). And in step S112, the board|substrate mark 37 and the mask mark 36 are imaged with a high magnification CCD camera, and the relative positional information of the board|substrate 5 and the mask 6 is acquired.

Next, in step S113 , the control unit 70 controls the amount of position shift between the substrate 5 and the mask 6 based on the relative position information between the substrate 5 and the mask 6 obtained in the step S112 . It is determined whether or not it is below a predetermined threshold. The predetermined threshold value is set in advance under the condition that it is within a range in which there is no problem even if film formation is performed as long as it is within the threshold value.

When it is determined in step S113 that the displacement amount between the substrate 5 and the mask 6 exceeds a predetermined threshold (step S113: NO), the carrier receiving finger 42 is moved to the substrate 5 The substrate carrier 9 is supported by raising it to a height of . On the other hand, such NO determination may occur, for example, when a position shift occurs due to external vibration between steps S109 to S114.

Then, the flow returns to step S105 to execute the alignment operation. After that, the processing after step S106 is continued.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S113 that the displacement amount between the substrate 5 and the mask 6a is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value (step S113: YES), the flow advances to step S114, and the mask lifting platform (16) is lowered and transferred to the conveying roller (15). Thereby, the alignment sequence is completed (END).

In the present embodiment, when the substrate carrier is conveyed in the first direction in the conveyance path, the first guided member supported by the conveying roller 15 as a conveying rotating body arranged in plurality along the first direction in the conveying path. a first rail as a rail and a second as a second to-be-guided member supported by the conveying roller 15 as a conveying rotating body arranged in plurality along the second direction on the conveying path when conveyed in the second direction in the conveying path provide rails. When the substrate after film formation is recovered, the substrate carrier is circulated and transported upstream of the transport path for film formation, and is again used for holding the substrate during film formation. In such a circulation conveyance path (independent conveyance path), by providing the above-mentioned 1st rail and 2nd rail, it becomes possible to convey in the 1st direction and 2nd direction orthogonal to each other without changing the orientation (direction) of a substrate carrier, , it becomes possible to efficiently carry out circulation conveyance up to the desired path upstream.

The 1st rail is a pair along the 1st direction in a pair on the side surface of both sides in the 2nd direction orthogonal to a 1st direction among the side surfaces of the plate-shaped member for holding a board|substrate in a board|substrate carrier. so as to be parallel to the first direction). On the other hand, the 2nd rail is a pair on the side surface of both sides in the 1st direction orthogonal to the 2nd direction among the side surfaces of the plate-shaped member for holding a board|substrate in a board|substrate carrier along a 2nd direction (length). so that the direction is parallel to the second direction). A 1st rail becomes a part supported by the carrier support part at the time of alignment, and a 2nd rail becomes a part in which sagging deformation arises by the weight (self weight) of a board|substrate carrier and a board|substrate at the time of alignment. The first rail and the second rail are long rail-shaped members made of the same material, respectively, and the shape of the cross-section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction is studied, or the size of the planarity of the cross-section is configured so that the second rail becomes smaller. This makes the cross-sectional secondary moment in the section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the second rail smaller than that of the first rail, that is, the second rail is more likely to sag than the first rail. By doing in this way, it becomes possible to aim at the improvement of the alignment precision with respect to the mask of a board|substrate carrier.

That is, in the present embodiment, as a supporting step, as a pair of peripheral regions in the periphery of the substrate carrier 9 , the substrate carrier ( The rails 51a and 51b which are opposite periphery of 9) are supported by the substrate carrier support part 8 so that the rails 51a and 51b follow a predetermined direction. Moreover, as a pair of periphery regions in the periphery of the mask 6, opposing of the mask 6 (mask frame 6a) corresponding to a pair of opposing sides among the four sides which make up the periphery of the mask 6 . The periphery is supported by the mask support part (mask pedestal 16) so that the said opposing periphery may follow a predetermined direction. In addition, in this embodiment, although the predetermined direction (1st direction) is made into the Y-axis direction, the 2nd direction is made into the X-axis direction, and the 3rd direction is made into the Z-axis direction, it is not limited to this. In addition, although the rectangular substrate 5 and the rectangular mask 6 were respectively illustrated in this embodiment, the shape of the substrate and mask is not limited to a rectangular shape, and a predetermined direction among a plurality of sides forming the periphery of the substrate or mask. It can be set as the structure which supports a pair of peripheral regions corresponding to a pair of opposing sides arrange|positioned along the. Therefore, depending on the shape of the substrate or the mask, the intersection between the first direction and the second direction is not limited to orthogonal.

And, as an attaching process, the substrate carrier 9 and the mask 6 are attached from a position where the substrate carrier 9 is separated upwardly from the mask 6 , the substrate carrier 9 is placed on the mask 6 . The substrate carrier support 8 is lowered to move it into position (transition from the disengaged state to the attached state). In this embodiment, it is descended along the Z-axis direction as the third direction, but it may be a direction with some angle with respect to the Z-axis direction within a range that can realize the desired placement operation of the present invention. In addition, the mask support part may be moved without moving the substrate carrier support part 8, and both may be moved.

At this time, the substrate carrier 9 supported only by the substrate carrier support 8 and the mask 6 supported only by the mask support part satisfy the relationship of dc > dm (... Equation (1)) as described above. They are each supported so as to do so. Accordingly, the substrate carrier 9 and the mask 6 have the largest sag in the third direction in the substrate carrier 9 when moving from the separation position to the attachment position, and in the mask 6 , Contact is started from the portion where the deflection is greatest in the third direction.

On the other hand, when the substrate carrier 9 comes into contact with the mask 6 in the movement from the separation position to the attachment position, in a direction orthogonal to the third direction, the degree of sliding with respect to the mask 6 is higher than that of the substrate carrier 9 . It is preferable if it is supported by the board|substrate carrier support part 8 so that the degree of slidability with respect to the board|substrate carrier support part 8 (carrier receiving surface 41) may become large. That is, the substrate carrier 9 undergoes deformation such that the positions of both ends in the second direction are displaced in the second direction along with the resolution of the sagging state. . Thereby, the position shift of the plane direction when the board|substrate carrier 9 is mounted on the mask 6 is suppressed effectively.

Various methods may be used for the control of the magnitude of the slippery degree described above. For example, while the seating member 31 of the substrate carrier 9 is made of a metal member such as iron similar to the mask 6 (mask frame 6a), at least the contact portion of the two is a polished surface. or a grinding surface, and the contact area in the contact portion is appropriately set. On the other hand, on the carrier receiving surface 41, the frictional force to the extent that the substrate carrier 9 does not slip off when supported alone is ensured, and the substrate carrier 9 rather than between the seating member 31 and the mask 6 is provided. You may apply various coating films so that it may become easy to slide with respect to it. The portion in contact with the substrate carrier 9 on the carrier receiving surface 41 is, for example, an inorganic material, fluorine, DLC, or an inorganic ceramic coating as a base material (inorganic material, fluorine-based coat, ceramic-based coat, DLC coat) may be carried out. In addition, you may use methods other than the method demonstrated in this embodiment suitably.

According to this embodiment, when aligning the substrate carrier and the mask in the vapor deposition apparatus, it is possible to accurately position the substrate to the mask, and it is possible to mount the mask on the substrate by making the gap between the substrate and the mask sufficiently small. will do Therefore, it becomes possible to reduce film-forming nonuniformity, and it becomes possible to aim at the improvement of film-forming precision.

[Embodiment 2]

<Method for manufacturing electronic device>

A method for manufacturing an electronic device using the substrate processing apparatus will be described. Here, as an example of an electronic device, the case of organic electroluminescent element used for display apparatuses, such as an organic electroluminescent display apparatus, etc. is demonstrated as an example. In addition, the electronic device which concerns on this invention is not limited to this, A thin film solar cell and organic CMOS image sensor may be sufficient. In this embodiment, there is a step of forming an organic film on the substrate 5 using the above film forming method. Moreover, after forming an organic film on the board|substrate 5, it has the process of forming a metal film or a metal oxide film. The structure of the organic electroluminescence display 600 obtained by such a process is demonstrated below.

Fig. 14(a) is an overall view of the organic EL display device 600, and Fig. 14(b) shows a cross-sectional structure of one pixel. As shown in Fig. 14A, in the display area 61 of the organic EL display device 600, a plurality of pixels 62 including a plurality of light emitting elements are arranged in a matrix shape. Each of the light emitting elements has a structure including an organic layer sandwiched between a pair of electrodes. In addition, the pixel here refers to the minimum unit which enables display of a desired color in the display area 61 . In the case of the organic EL display device of this figure, the pixel 62 is constituted by a combination of a first light emitting element 62R, a second light emitting element 62G, and a third light emitting element 62B that emit light different from each other. . The pixel 62 is often composed of a combination of a red light-emitting element, a green light-emitting element, and a blue light-emitting element, but may be a combination of a yellow light-emitting element, a cyan light-emitting element, and a white light-emitting element. does not Moreover, each light emitting element may be comprised by laminating|stacking a some light emitting layer.

In addition, the pixel 62 is constituted by a plurality of light emitting elements that emit the same light emission, and a color filter in which a plurality of different color conversion elements are arranged in a pattern to correspond to each light emitting element is used, so that one pixel is a display area In (61), display of a desired color may be enabled. For example, the pixel 62 may be constituted by at least three white light emitting elements, and a color filter in which each of red, green, and blue color conversion elements is arranged to correspond to each light emitting element may be used. Alternatively, a color filter may be used in which the pixel 62 is composed of at least three blue light emitting elements, and each color conversion element of red, green, and colorless is arranged so as to correspond to each light emitting element. In the latter case, by using a quantum dot color filter (QD-CF) using a quantum dot (QD) material as a material constituting the color filter, the display color is higher than that of a normal organic EL display device that does not use a quantum dot color filter. area can be widened.

Fig. 14(b) is a partial cross-sectional schematic view taken along line A-B of Fig. 14(a). The pixel 62 includes, on a substrate 5 , a first electrode (anode) 64 , a hole transport layer 65 , any of the light emitting layers 66R, 66G, and 66B, an electron transport layer 67 , It has an organic electroluminescent element provided with the 2nd electrode (cathode) 68. Among these, the hole transport layer 65, the light emitting layers 66R, 66G, and 66B, and the electron transport layer 67 correspond to the organic layer. In this embodiment, the light emitting layer 66R is an organic EL layer emitting red light, the light emitting layer 66G is an organic EL layer emitting green color, and the light emitting layer 66B is an organic EL layer emitting blue color. On the other hand, when a color filter or a quantum dot color filter is used as described above, a color filter or a quantum dot color filter is disposed on the light emitting side of each light emitting layer, that is, on the upper or lower part of FIG. omit

The light-emitting layers 66R, 66G, and 66B are formed in patterns corresponding to light-emitting elements (which may be described as organic EL elements) emitting red, green, and blue, respectively. In addition, the first electrode 64 is formed separately for each light emitting element. The hole transport layer 65 , the electron transport layer 67 , and the second electrode 68 may be formed in common with the plurality of light emitting elements 62R, 62G, and 62B, or may be formed for each light emitting element. On the other hand, in order to prevent the first electrode 64 and the second electrode 68 from being short-circuited by foreign substances, an insulating layer 69 is provided between the first electrodes 64 . Furthermore, since the organic EL layer is deteriorated by moisture or oxygen, a protective layer P for protecting the organic EL element from moisture or oxygen is provided.

Next, the example of the manufacturing method of the organic electroluminescent display as an electronic device is demonstrated concretely. First, a substrate 5 on which a circuit (not shown) for driving an organic EL display device and a first electrode 64 are formed is prepared.

Next, on the substrate 5 on which the first electrode 64 is formed, a resin layer such as an acrylic resin or polyimide is formed by spin coating, and the resin layer is formed by a lithography method on the portion where the first electrode 64 is formed. The insulating layer 69 is formed by patterning so as to form an opening therein. This opening corresponds to the light emitting region in which the light emitting element actually emits light.

Next, the substrate 5 on which the insulating layer 69 is patterned is loaded into the first film forming apparatus, the substrate is held in the substrate holding unit, and the hole transport layer 65 is applied to the first electrode 64 of the display area. ) as a common layer on top. The hole transport layer 65 is formed by vacuum deposition. In reality, since the hole transport layer 65 is formed in a size larger than that of the display area 61, a very fine (high-definition) mask is unnecessary. Here, the film-forming apparatus used in the film-forming in this step and the film-forming of each following layer is the film-forming apparatus in any one of said each embodiment.

Next, the substrate 5 formed up to the hole transport layer 65 is loaded into the second film forming apparatus, and is held by the substrate holding unit. The substrate and the mask are aligned, the substrate is placed on the mask, and the red light emitting layer 66R is formed on the portion of the substrate 5 where the red light emitting element is disposed. According to this example, a mask and a board|substrate can be laminated|stacked favorably, and high-precision film formation can be performed.

Similar to the film formation of the light emitting layer 66R, the light emitting layer 66G emitting green light is formed by the third film forming apparatus, and further, the light emitting layer 66B which emits blue light is formed by the fourth film forming apparatus. After the formation of the light emitting layers 66R, 66G, and 66B is completed, the electron transporting layer 67 is formed over the entire display area 61 by the fifth film forming apparatus. Each of the light-emitting layers 66R, 66G, and 66B may be a single layer or a layer in which a plurality of different layers are laminated. The electron transport layer 65 is formed as a layer common to the light emitting layers 66R, 66G, and 66B of the three colors. In this embodiment, the electron transport layer 67 and the light emitting layers 66R, 66G, and 66B are formed by vacuum deposition.

Next, the second electrode 68 is formed on the electron transport layer 67 . The second electrode may be formed by vacuum vapor deposition or may be formed by sputtering. Thereafter, the substrate on which the second electrode 68 is formed is moved to an encapsulation device to form a protective layer P by plasma CVD (sealing step), and the organic EL display device 600 is completed. In addition, although it was assumed here that the protective layer P was formed by the CVD method, it is not limited to this, You may form by the ALD method or the inkjet method.

When the substrate 5 on which the insulating layer 69 is patterned is brought into the film forming apparatus and then exposed to an atmosphere containing moisture or oxygen until the film formation of the protective layer P is completed, the light emitting layer made of the organic EL material is It may be deteriorated by moisture or oxygen. Therefore, in this example, carrying in and carrying out of the board|substrate between film-forming apparatuses is performed in a vacuum atmosphere or inert gas atmosphere.

100: alignment room
1: alignment device
8: substrate carrier support
9: Substrate carrier
60: positioning mechanism
11: Rotational translation mechanism
10: Z lift slider
13: Z lift base
18: Z guide
70: control unit
5: Substrate
6: Mask
6a: mask frame
31: seating block

Claims (30)

a plate-shaped member for holding the substrate;
a pair of first members respectively fixed to first and second sides along the first direction of the plate-shaped member and extending in the first direction;
and a pair of second members respectively fixed to third and fourth sides of the plate-shaped member along a second direction intersecting the first direction, each extending in the second direction. substrate carrier. According to claim 1,
A Young's modulus of the first member and a Young's modulus of the second member are higher than a Young's modulus of the plate-shaped member. According to claim 1,
The plate-shaped member is composed of aluminum or an aluminum alloy,
and the first member and the second member are made of stainless steel. According to claim 1,
A cross-sectional secondary moment in a cross section orthogonal to the second direction of the second member is smaller than a cross-sectional secondary moment in a cross-section orthogonal to the first direction of the first member. According to claim 1,
The first member and the second member are each made of the same material,
An area of a cross section of the second member orthogonal to the second direction is smaller than an area of a cross section orthogonal to the first direction of the first member. According to claim 1,
The first member and the second member have a surface coated with a DLC coat or a surface treated with a quenching treatment. According to claim 1,
In a film forming apparatus for forming a film on the substrate, a substrate carrier conveyed in the first direction and the second direction while holding the substrate,
The film-forming device,
a plurality of first conveying rotating bodies arranged in the first direction;
A plurality of second conveying rotating bodies arranged along the second direction are provided;
The pair of first members is supported by the first conveying rotating body,
and the pair of second members is supported by the second conveying rotation body. 8. The method of claim 7,
wherein the pair of first members are supported and the pair of second members are placed on the mask from an unsupported state;
A substrate carrier, characterized in that film formation is performed in a state in which the film formation surface of the substrate is placed on a mask with the film formation surface facing downward. 9. The method of claim 8,
A cross-sectional secondary moment in a cross section orthogonal to the second direction of the second member is smaller than a cross-sectional secondary moment in a cross-section orthogonal to the first direction of the first member. 9. The method of claim 8,
An area of a cross section of the second member orthogonal to the second direction is smaller than an area of a cross section orthogonal to the first direction of the first member. 9. The method of claim 8,
When mounted on the mask, the cross section in the cross section orthogonal to the second direction of the second member so that the mask starts to contact from the portion with the largest downward drooping sag in the substrate carrier. A substrate carrier, characterized in that the magnitude of the secondary moment is set. 9. The method of claim 8,
The amount of deflection dc of the substrate carrier in a state in which the pair of first members are supported and the pair of second members are not supported when viewed in a cross section perpendicular to the first direction is A substrate carrier, characterized in that it is larger than the amount of deflection (dm) of the mask when viewed in a cross section perpendicular to the first direction. 8. The method of claim 7,
A substrate carrier, characterized in that film formation is performed in a state where the film formation surface of the substrate faces upward and a mask is placed thereon. a substrate carrier for holding a substrate;
film forming means for forming a film through a mask on the film forming surface of the substrate held by the substrate carrier;
A plurality of first conveying rotating bodies arranged in a first direction;
A film forming apparatus including a plurality of second conveying rotating bodies arranged in a second direction intersecting the first direction,
The substrate carrier,
a plate-shaped member for holding the substrate;
A pair of first members respectively fixed to the first side and the second side along the first direction of the plate-shaped member, each extending in the first direction;
and a pair of second members respectively fixed to third and fourth sides along the second direction of the plate-shaped member and extending in the second direction, respectively;
The plurality of first conveying rotors support the pair of first members to convey the substrate carrier in the first direction,
The plurality of second conveying rotors support the pair of second members to convey the substrate carrier in the second direction. 15. The method of claim 14,
The plurality of first conveying rotary bodies and the plurality of second conveying rotary bodies respectively convey the substrate carrier in a state in which the substrate is not held. 15. The method of claim 14,
A Young's modulus of the first member and a Young's modulus of the second member are higher than a Young's modulus of the plate-like member. 15. The method of claim 14,
The plate-shaped member is composed of aluminum or an aluminum alloy,
The first member and the second member are made of stainless steel. 15. The method of claim 14,
and supporting means for supporting the substrate carrier in a state in which the pair of first members are supported and the pair of second members are not supported;
The support means moves the substrate carrier relative to the mask so as to be placed on the mask with the film-forming surface of the substrate facing downward from the state,
The film-forming apparatus characterized by the said film-forming means performing film-forming with respect to the said film-forming surface when the said board|substrate carrier is in the said mounting state. 19. The method of claim 18,
A film forming apparatus, characterized in that a cross-sectional secondary moment of the second member in a cross section orthogonal to the second direction is smaller than a cross-sectional secondary moment in a cross section orthogonal to the first direction of the first member. 19. The method of claim 18,
The first member and the second member are each made of the same material,
An area of a cross section of the second member orthogonal to the second direction is smaller than an area of a cross section of the first member orthogonal to the first direction. 19. The method of claim 18,
When mounted on the mask, the cross section in the cross section orthogonal to the second direction of the second member so that the mask starts to contact from the portion with the largest downward drooping sag in the substrate carrier. A film forming apparatus characterized in that the magnitude of the secondary moment is set. 19. The method of claim 18,
The amount of deflection dc of the substrate carrier in a state in which the pair of first members are supported and the pair of second members are not supported when viewed in a cross section perpendicular to the first direction is A film forming apparatus characterized in that it is larger than a deflection (dm) of the mask when viewed in a cross section perpendicular to the first direction. 15. The method of claim 14,
The first member and the second member have a surface coated with a DLC coat or a surface subjected to a quenching treatment. 15. The method of claim 14,
A film forming apparatus characterized in that the film forming is performed in a state where the film forming surface of the substrate faces upward and a mask is placed thereon. a plate-shaped member for holding the substrate;
a pair of first members respectively fixed to first and second sides along the first direction of the plate-shaped member and extending in the first direction;
A substrate carrier comprising a pair of second members respectively fixed to third and fourth sides of the plate-shaped member along a second direction intersecting the first direction and extending in the second direction, respectively. As a conveying method for conveying in a film forming apparatus,
a step of supporting the pair of first members by a plurality of first conveying rotation bodies arranged in a line along the first direction and conveying the substrate carrier in the first direction;
and a step of supporting the pair of second members by a plurality of second conveying rotating bodies arranged in a line along the second direction and conveying the substrate carrier in the second direction. return method. 26. The method of claim 25,
having a mounting step of placing the substrate carrier in a state in which the pair of first members are supported and the pair of second members are not supported on a mask so that the film-forming surface of the substrate faces downward A method of transporting a substrate carrier, characterized in that it. 27. The method of claim 26,
A cross-sectional secondary moment in a cross section orthogonal to the second direction of the second member is smaller than a cross-sectional secondary moment in a cross-section orthogonal to the first direction of the first member. Way. 27. The method of claim 26,
An area of a cross section of the second member orthogonal to the second direction is smaller than an area of a cross section orthogonal to the first direction of the first member. 27. The method of claim 26,
In the placing step, the substrate carrier is placed on the mask so as to start to come into contact with the portion with the largest downward sag in the substrate carrier with respect to the mask. A step of placing the substrate carrier holding the substrate on the mask using the substrate carrier transport method according to claim 26;
and a film forming step of forming a film on the film forming surface of the substrate through the mask while conveying the substrate carrier and the mask in the first direction.

Images