KR20220126152A - Thin film deposition apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a thin film deposition apparatus comprising: a vacuum chamber having a space in which a substrate is installed; an evaporation source installed in the vacuum chamber and evaporating a deposition material toward the substrate; an evaporation source driving unit for linearly moving the evaporation source within the vacuum chamber; an arm unit installed between the vacuum chamber and the evaporation source to pivot depending on a linear movement of the evaporation source and accommodating a connection line connected to the evaporation source; and a deflection preventing element installed on the arm unit and moving in contact with a bottom surface of the vacuum chamber when the arm unit pivots to prevent the arm unit from sagging. The thin film deposition apparatus guides smooth linear movement of the evaporation source.

Description

Thin film deposition apparatus

The present invention relates to a thin film deposition apparatus for depositing an organic thin film on a substrate.

Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) are self-luminous devices that emit light by themselves using the electroluminescence phenomenon that emits light when a current flows through a fluorescent organic compound. A light and thin flat panel display device can be manufactured.

In the organic light emitting device, the remaining constituent layers excluding the anode and cathode electrodes, such as a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, a light emitting layer, an electron transport layer, and an electron injection layer, are made of an organic thin film, and the organic thin film is formed on a substrate by vacuum deposition, etc. can be

In the vacuum deposition method, a substrate is placed in a vacuum chamber, a shadow mask having a predetermined pattern is aligned with the substrate, and then heat is applied to an evaporation source containing the deposition material to deposit a deposition material sublimed in the evaporation source on the substrate. done in a way

A deposition apparatus for depositing an organic thin film using a vacuum deposition method has a structure in which a substrate to be processed is mounted on an upper side of a vacuum chamber, and an evaporation source containing a deposition material is installed in the lower portion of the vacuum chamber, and a constant vacuum is applied to the inside of the vacuum chamber. and then evaporate the deposition material from one or more evaporation sources disposed below the vacuum chamber.

Substrates used for manufacturing organic light emitting devices are also becoming larger in size with the recent trend of large-area displays, and in depositing a deposition material on a large-area substrate, a deposition apparatus in which an evaporation source in a vacuum chamber is moved linearly has been proposed. In this type of deposition apparatus, in order to smoothly move the evaporation source linearly, connection lines such as a power line connected to the evaporation source and a cooling medium supply line must be able to move in association with the movement of the evaporation source. In addition, in order to prevent aging and disconnection of these connection lines, it is necessary to be able to move without being affected by vacuum in the vacuum chamber.

Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 10-2006-0018745 (2006.03.02)

The present invention has been devised in view of the above points, and the thin film configured to allow the connection lines connected to the evaporation source to move without being affected by vacuum, and to guide the movement smoothly when the evaporation source moves linearly with respect to a large-area substrate. It is a technical problem to provide a vapor deposition apparatus.

The technical problems to be achieved by the present invention are not limited to the technical problems mentioned above, and other technical problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs from the description below. will be able

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a vacuum chamber having a space in which a substrate is installed; an evaporation source installed in the vacuum chamber for evaporating the deposition material toward the substrate; an evaporation source driving unit for linearly moving the evaporation source in the vacuum chamber; an arm unit installed between the vacuum chamber and the evaporation source to pivot depending on the linear movement of the evaporation source and receiving a connection line connected to the evaporation source; and a sagging preventing means installed in the arm unit and moving while contacting the bottom surface of the vacuum chamber when the arm unit is pivotally moved to prevent sagging of the arm unit.

In addition, the arm unit may include: a first arm rotatably connected to the vacuum chamber; and a second arm having one end rotatably connected to the first arm and the other end rotatably connected to the evaporation source.

In addition, the sagging preventing means, a plurality of ball rollers installed on the bottom surface or the side surface of the first arm and in rolling contact with the bottom surface of the vacuum chamber; may include.

In addition, a plurality of the ball rollers may be installed along the outer portion of the end of the first arm.

In addition, the sagging preventing means may further include a height adjusting means for adjusting the height of the ball roller.

In addition, the height adjusting means may include a coupling rod installed on the ball roller and screwed into the fastening hole provided in the first arm; and a nut screwed to the coupling rod to support the bottom surface of the first arm.

In addition, between the ball roller and the first arm, a telescopic unit that expands and contracts according to the height of the bottom surface of the vacuum chamber supporting the ball roller; may be additionally installed.

In addition, the telescoping unit may include a fixing bracket fixed to the first arm; a moving rod connected to the ball roller and installed on the fixing bracket to be movable in a straight line; and a spring installed between the fixing bracket and the moving rod.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, an arm unit accommodating a connection line is installed between the evaporation source and the vacuum chamber so that the connection line can be moved without being affected by vacuum, and the arm unit is in contact with the bottom surface of the vacuum chamber while Even when the length of the arm unit is increased according to the increase in the area of the substrate by installing the moving sag preventing means, there is an effect of smoothly turning without sagging of the arm unit.

In addition, according to the thin film deposition apparatus of the present invention, by using a plurality of ball rollers as a sag prevention means to enable the arm unit to roll through point contact with respect to the chamber bottom surface, the arm unit can pivot more smoothly. There is an advantage.

In addition, according to the thin film deposition apparatus of the present invention, by applying the height adjustment means or the expansion and contraction unit to the sagging prevention means, there is an advantage that can respond to environmental changes due to wear of the contact surface, adhesion of foreign substances, and the like.

1 is a view schematically showing the configuration of a thin film deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a partial plan view partially showing a planar configuration of the thin film deposition apparatus shown in FIG. 1 ;
Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the anti-sag means according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 4 is a plan view of the first arm showing the arrangement of the anti-sag means shown in Fig. 3;
Fig. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of the anti-sag means shown in Fig. 3;
Figure 6 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the sagging preventing means according to another embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 7 is a front view of the anti-sag means shown in Fig. 6;
Fig. 8 is a side cross-sectional view of the anti-sag means shown in Fig. 7;

Since the present invention can apply various transformations and can have various embodiments, specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the detailed description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, and should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. In describing the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known technology may obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Terms such as first, second, etc. may be used to describe various elements, but the elements should not be limited by the terms. The above terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

The terms used in the present application are only used to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In the present application, terms such as "comprises" or "have" are intended to designate that the features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification exist, but one or more other features It is to be understood that this does not preclude the possibility of the presence or addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a thin film deposition apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and in the description with reference to the accompanying drawings, the same or corresponding components are given the same reference numerals, A description will be omitted.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a thin film deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a partial plan view partially showing the planar configuration of the thin film deposition apparatus shown in FIG. 1 .

1 and 2 , the thin film deposition apparatus of this embodiment includes a vacuum chamber 10 , an evaporation source 20 , an evaporation source driving unit 30 , an arm unit 40 , and a sagging preventing means 50 .

The vacuum chamber 10 has an internal space for performing vacuum deposition on the substrate 1 and is connected to a vacuum generator so that a constant vacuum can be maintained therein. A substrate support 11 for supporting the substrate 1 is installed in the vacuum chamber 10 . The substrate support 11 may be disposed in the upper space of the chamber 10 , and in this case, is configured to support the substrate 1 so that a deposition material can be deposited on the lower surface of the substrate 1 .

The evaporation source 20 is installed in the vacuum chamber 10 and is configured to evaporate the deposition material toward the substrate 1 . The evaporation source 30 may be installed in the lower space within the chamber 10 , and in this case, it is configured to evaporate the deposition material toward the upper direction.

The evaporation source driving unit 30 is for linearly moving the evaporation source 20 in the vacuum chamber 10 , and generates power by applying power to provide it to the evaporation source 20 . As in the present embodiment, a linear guide 12 for guiding the linear movement of the evaporation source 20 may be installed on the side wall of the vacuum chamber 10 , and the evaporation source driving unit 30 is a rack installed on the linear guide 12 . It may have the form of a motor driving the pinion meshed with (13). However, the configuration of the evaporation source driving unit 30 and the linear guide 12 may be modified in various forms as well as the above-described form.

The arm unit 40 is installed between the vacuum chamber 10 and the evaporation source 20 so as to swing depending on the linear movement of the evaporation source 20 . A connection line 60 connected to an evaporation source is accommodated in the arm unit 40 . The connection line 60 may include a cable for applying electricity and a control signal to the evaporation source 20 , a cooling medium line for supplying a cooling medium, and the like.

The arm unit 40 may include first and second arms 41 and 42 having an internal space in which the connection line 60 can be installed. One end of the first arm 41 is rotatably connected to the vacuum chamber 10 . The second arm 41 has one end rotatably connected to the other end of the first arm 41 , and the other end is rotatably connected to the evaporation source 20 . When the evaporation source 20 is moved linearly by the operation of the evaporation source driving unit 30, the first and second arms 41 and 42 are dependent on the linear movement of the evaporation source 20 to expand or fold, and by this operation It is possible to guide the linear movement of the evaporation source (20).

When the inside of the arm unit 40 is set to the same pressure as the pressure outside the vacuum chamber 10 , the connection line 50 is not exposed to the vacuum atmosphere of the vacuum chamber 10 , and the It may be placed in the same atmosphere as the atmosphere, thereby preventing aging, disconnection, etc. of the connection line 60 .

A sealing member 43 for sealing the inner space of the arm unit 40 may be installed at the connection portion between the first arm 41 and the second arm 42 , and a magnetic fluid seal as the sealing member 43 . (Ferro seal) and the like may be used. The sealing members 44 and 45 are respectively installed in the connection portion 46 between the first arm 41 and the vacuum chamber 10 (see FIG. 4 ) and the connection portion between the second arm 42 and the evaporation source 20 , respectively. can be

As the substrate 1 has a larger area, the linear movement distance (stroke) of the evaporation source 20 increases. Accordingly, the lengths of the first and second arms 41 and 42 need to be increased as well. In this case, deflection may occur in the first and second arms 41 and 42 due to the torque generated by the weight of the sealing member 43 or the evaporation source 20, and due to such deflection, the arm unit ( 40) may be damaged or the seal may be broken.

The arm unit 40 is provided with a sag preventing means 50 to prevent the arm unit 40 from sagging. The sagging preventing means 50 prevents the arm unit 40 from sagging by moving while in contact with the bottom surface of the vacuum chamber 10 when the arm unit 40 is pivotally moved.

3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the anti-sag means shown in FIG. 1 , and FIG. 4 is a plan view of the first arm showing the arrangement of the anti-sag means shown in FIG. 3 .

3 and 4 , the anti-sag means 50 may be installed on the bottom of the first arm 41 , specifically, on the bottom of the end of the first arm 41 . The anti-sag means 50 may be installed at a point corresponding to a connection portion between the first arm 41 and the second arm 42 .

As the sagging preventing means 50 , a plurality of ball rollers (or ball transfers) in rolling contact with the bottom surface of the vacuum chamber 10 may be used. A plurality of ball rollers may be installed along the outer portion of the end of the first arm 41 , and FIG. 4 exemplifies that the plurality of ball rollers are arranged along the outer circumference of the end in a semicircular shape.

Each ball roller is brought into point contact with the bottom surface of the chamber 10 , and as the arm unit 40 pivots, each ball roller rolls on the bottom surface of the chamber 10 . By minimizing friction through such a configuration, the arm unit 40 can move more smoothly.

FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of the anti-sag means shown in FIG. 3 .

As shown in FIG. 5 , the sagging preventing means 50 may be provided with a height adjusting means 53 for adjusting its height.

When the anti-sag means 50 has the form of a ball roller as in this embodiment, the anti-sag means 50 is installed on the roller body 52 and the roller body 52 on which the ball 51 is installed. It may include a height adjustment means (53).

The height adjustment means 53 may have a configuration including a coupling rod 54 having a male thread, and a nut 55 screwed to the coupling rod 54 to support the bottom surface of the first arm 41 . have. The coupling rod 54 is screwed into the fastening hole 48 provided in the first arm 41 , and the coupling rod 54 may be fixed to the first arm 41 by tightening the nut 55 . The height of the roller body 52 can be finely adjusted by adjusting the amount of tightening and loosening of the coupling rod 54 and the nut 55, and through this, the bottom surface of the vacuum chamber 10 according to contact surface wear, foreign matter adhesion, etc. can respond to changes in height. Such a height adjustment means 53 is not limited to the configuration exemplified in this embodiment, and it will be said that it can be implemented in various forms.

6 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a sagging preventing means according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a front view of the sagging preventing means shown in FIG. 6 . And, FIG. 8 is a side cross-sectional view of the sagging preventing means shown in FIG. 7 .

Unlike the previous embodiment, the anti-sag means 50 according to the present embodiment is installed on the side surface of the first arm 41 . In addition, the anti-sagging means 50 of the present embodiment may be provided with a telescopic unit 60 that expands and contracts according to the height of the bottom surface of the vacuum chamber 10 supporting it.

According to the present embodiment, the anti-sag means 50 includes a roller body 52 on which the ball 51 is installed, and a telescopic unit 60 installed on the roller body 52 .

The telescoping unit 60 may include a fixing bracket 61 , a moving rod 65 and a spring 66 .

The fixing bracket 61 is fixed to the side of the first arm 41 , and an insertion hole 67 into which a fastening screw for fixing with the first arm 41 is inserted is formed on the side of the fixing bracket 61 . can

The fixing bracket 61 may include first and second support portions 62 and 63 and a connecting rod 64 connecting them. The first support part 62 may have a bent shape, and the second support part 63 may have a flat plate shape. The connecting rod 64 connects the first and second support parts 62 and 63 between the first and second support parts 62 and 63 so as to form a predetermined distance therebetween.

The moving rod 65 is installed to be movable in a straight line on the fixing bracket 61 , and is connected to the roller body 52 . The moving rod 65 is installed on the through-holes provided in the first and second supporting parts 62 and 63 , and at the end of the moving rod 65 , the movement is limited by the second supporting part 53 . The limiting part 68 may be formed to protrude.

The spring 66 is installed between the fixing bracket 61 and the moving rod 65 to elastically support the moving rod 65 . The spring 66 may be supported by the first support part 62 of the fixing bracket 61 and the movement limiting part 68 of the moving rod 65, respectively.

In this embodiment, the structure in which two ball rollers and a moving rod 65 are installed in the fixing bracket 61 is illustrated, but the number of these can be variously modified.

When explaining the operation process of the expansion unit 60 according to this embodiment, the expansion unit 60 is installed when the spring 66 is in a compressed state, and the bottom surface supporting the ball 51 of the ball roller As the height changes, the moving rod 65 rises or descends to expand and contract, and in this process, the spring 66 elastically supports between the moving rod 65 and the fixing bracket 61 to support the floor surface. It allows the height of the arm unit 40 to be kept constant.

Although the above has been described with reference to specific embodiments of the present invention, those of ordinary skill in the art may vary the present invention within the scope without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention described in the claims below. It will be understood that modifications and changes can be made to

1: substrate 10: vacuum chamber
11: substrate support 12: linear guide
20: evaporation source 30: evaporation source drive unit
40: arm unit 41: first arm
42: second arm 43, 44, 45; sealing member
50: anti-sag means 51: ball
52: roller body 53: height adjustment means
54: coupling rod 55: nut
60: telescopic unit 61: fixed bracket
62: first support 63: second support
64: connecting rod 65: moving rod
66: spring

Claims (8)

a vacuum chamber having a space in which the substrate is installed;
an evaporation source installed in the vacuum chamber and configured to evaporate a deposition material toward the substrate;
an evaporation source driving unit for linearly moving the evaporation source in the vacuum chamber;
an arm unit installed between the vacuum chamber and the evaporation source so as to pivot depending on the linear movement of the evaporation source and receiving a connection line connected to the evaporation source; and
and a sag preventing means installed on the arm unit and moving while in contact with the bottom surface of the vacuum chamber when the arm unit is pivotally moved to prevent sagging of the arm unit.
The method of claim 1, wherein the arm unit comprises:
a first arm rotatably connected to the vacuum chamber; and
and a second arm having one end rotatably connected to the first arm and the other end rotatably connected to the evaporation source.
According to claim 1, wherein the sagging preventing means,
and a plurality of ball rollers installed on the bottom or side surfaces of the first arm and in rolling contact with the bottom surface of the vacuum chamber.
4. The method of claim 3,
The thin film deposition apparatus, characterized in that the plurality of ball rollers are installed along the outer portion of the end of the first arm.
4. The method of claim 3,
Height adjusting means for adjusting the height of the ball roller; characterized in that it further comprises, the thin film deposition apparatus.
According to claim 5, The height adjustment means,
a coupling rod installed on the ball roller and screwed into a fastening hole provided in the first arm; and
and a nut screwed to the coupling rod to support the bottom surface of the first arm.
4. The method of claim 3,
and an expansion and contraction unit installed between the ball roller and the first arm and configured to expand and contract according to a height of a bottom surface of the vacuum chamber supporting the ball roller.
The method of claim 7, wherein the expansion unit,
a fixing bracket fixed to the first arm;
a moving rod connected to the ball roller and installed on the fixing bracket to be movable in a straight line; and
and a spring installed between the fixing bracket and the moving rod.

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