KR20230102919A - Deposition system and method for controlling deposition rate thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A deposition system is disclosed. A deposition system according to an aspect of the present invention includes a linear deposition unit including a receiving unit accommodating a deposition material and a plurality of nozzles; a first heater for heating the plurality of nozzles; a second heater for heating the receiving part; and controlling the deposition material to be deposited on the substrate at a first target rate by heating the first heater, and depositing the deposition material on the substrate at a second target rate greater than the first target rate by heating the second heater. a controller for controlling deposition; can include

Description

Deposition system and method for controlling deposition rate thereof

The present invention relates to a deposition technology, and more particularly, to a deposition system for improving the quality of an OLED and a method for controlling the deposition rate thereof.

A deposition process in which a thin film is deposited on a semiconductor or organic light emitting device (OLED) substrate in a vacuum state to have electrical properties plays an important role in determining the quality of a semiconductor or OLED depending on how thin and uniform the thin film is applied.

This vacuum deposition process is a method of forming a thin film on one surface of a substrate by arranging an evaporation source, such as a deposition source containing a substrate as a deposition target and a source material, in a vacuum chamber, and heating and vaporizing the evaporation source to evaporate and spray the source material.

An evaporation source such as a conventional deposition source is provided with a nozzle through which a deposition material is sprayed, and a nozzle having an appropriate size is used according to the amount or type of the source material and the deposition speed.

However, when the deposition rate is non-uniform in the process of heating the nozzle and the source material, there is a problem in that the quality of a substrate such as an OLED is degraded.

Therefore, there is a need to improve this.

The present invention is to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a deposition system and a deposition rate control method for stably securing the quality of a deposition substrate by maintaining a uniform deposition rate of a deposition material.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a deposition system that shortens the deposition process time and a method for controlling the deposition rate thereof.

The tasks of the present invention are not limited to the tasks mentioned above, and other tasks not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the linear deposition unit including a receiving portion and a plurality of nozzles for accommodating the deposition material; a first heater for heating the plurality of nozzles; a second heater for heating the receiving part; and controlling the deposition material to be deposited on the substrate at a first target rate by heating the first heater, and depositing the deposition material on the substrate at a second target rate greater than the first target rate by heating the second heater. a controller for controlling deposition; Including, a deposition system is provided.

In this case, the deposition system may further include a sensor for measuring the thickness of the deposition material deposited on the substrate.

In this case, the control unit may increase or decrease the power of the first heater when the deposition rate by heating of the first heater is different from the first target rate.

At this time, the range of the first target speed is larger or smaller than the first target speed by a first error, and the control unit stops the heating of the second heater until it is maintained in the range of the first target speed for a predetermined time. can make it

According to another aspect of the present invention, in the method for controlling the deposition rate of a deposition system for controlling the rate at which a deposition material accommodated in a linear deposition unit is deposited on a substrate, a plurality of nozzles mounted in the linear deposition unit are heated by a first heater. a first heating step; a first maintenance step of maintaining heating by the first heater for a first time; a first determination step of determining whether the deposition material reaches a first target velocity by heating the first heater; a first increase/decrease step of increasing or decreasing the power of the first heater and then performing the first decision step again when the first target speed is not reached in the first decision step; a second maintenance step of maintaining power of the first heater for a second time when the first target speed is reached in the first determination step; a second determination step of determining whether or not the first target speed is within a first error range in the second maintenance step; a second increase/decrease step of increasing or decreasing the power of the first heater and then performing the second decision step again when the first target speed is out of the first error range in the second decision step; and a storage step of storing a power value of the first heater when the first target speed is within the first error range in the second determination step. Including, there is provided a method for controlling the deposition rate of the deposition system.

In this case, the method of controlling the deposition rate of the deposition system may further include a second heating step of heating the deposition material accommodated in the linear deposition unit by a second heater.

According to the configuration described above, the deposition system according to an embodiment of the present invention controls a first heater for heating a plurality of nozzles and a second heater for heating a receiving portion accommodating the deposition material, so that the deposition material is deposited on the substrate. By keeping the deposition rate stable, the quality of OLED is improved.

In addition, by controlling the deposition rate to reach a desired deposition rate according to various types of deposition materials, there is an advantage in that the deposition process time is shortened and the manufacturing cost is reduced.

1 is a perspective view showing a linear deposition unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a side view schematically illustrating a first heater and a second heater of a linear deposition unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a configuration diagram showing a deposition system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a deposition rate of a deposition system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5(a) is a graph showing the time required to reach the first target speed and the second target speed when the power of the first heater is gradually increased, and FIG. 5(b) is a graph illustrating deposition according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a graph showing the time to reach the first target rate and the second target rate by the deposition rate control method of the system.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail so that those skilled in the art can easily carry out the present invention. This invention may be embodied in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments set forth herein. In order to clearly describe the present invention, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted in the drawings, and the same reference numerals are assigned to the same or similar components throughout the specification.

Words and terms used in this specification and claims are not construed as limited in their ordinary or dictionary meanings, but in accordance with the principle that the inventors can define terms and concepts in order to best describe their inventions. It should be interpreted as a meaning and concept that corresponds to the technical idea.

Therefore, the embodiments described in this specification and the configurations shown in the drawings correspond to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and do not represent all the technical ideas of the present invention, so that the corresponding configurations are various to replace them at the time of filing of the present invention. There may be equivalents and variations.

In this specification, terms such as "include" or "have" are intended to describe the presence of features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification, but one or more other features It should be understood that the presence or addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof is not precluded.

The fact that a component is “connected” to another component includes cases where it is not only directly connected to each other but also indirectly connected to each other unless there are special circumstances.

Hereinafter, a deposition system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1 is a perspective view showing a linear deposition unit according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a side view schematically showing a first heater and a second heater of the linear deposition unit according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 3 is a side view of the present invention It is a configuration diagram showing a deposition system according to an embodiment.

1 to 3 , a deposition system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a linear deposition unit 100, a first heater 140, a second heater 150, and a control unit 200. .

The linear deposition unit 100 is disposed along the width direction of a substrate (not shown) on which a deposition material is deposited, and injects a deposition material onto the substrate while moving relative to the substrate. The linear deposition unit 100 includes a nozzle unit 110 provided with a plurality of nozzles 130 and an accommodation unit 120 accommodating deposition materials.

The nozzle unit 110 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. The nozzle part 110 is provided with the plurality of nozzles 130 spaced apart from each other. The plurality of nozzles 130 are formed in a direction perpendicular to the upper surface of the nozzle unit 110 so as to face the substrate. However, the plurality of nozzles 130 are not limited to being formed only in a direction perpendicular to the substrate and may be formed in an inclined direction.

The accommodating part 120 is disposed below the nozzle part 110 . A deposition material is accommodated in the accommodating part 120 . Here, the deposition material may be an organic material or a metal, and other materials may be vaporized or sublimed to form a thin film on the substrate.

The first heater 140 is provided inside the nozzle unit 110 . The first heater 140 is formed to surround the plurality of nozzles 130 . The first heater 140 receives power and heats the plurality of nozzles 130 . And, the first heater 140 is composed of a coil that receives power and generates heat. However, the first heater 140 is not limited to a coil, and may be formed of various heating elements such as a heating sheet that generates heat by receiving power.

The second heater 150 is provided inside the accommodating part 120 . The second heater 150 receives power and heats the accommodation part 120 . And, the second heater 150 is composed of a coil that receives power and dissipates heat. However, the second heater 150 is not limited to a coil, and may be formed of various heating elements such as a heating sheet that generates heat by receiving power.

The controller 200 is electrically connected to each of the first heater 140 and the second heater 150 . The controller 200 may increase or decrease the power of the first heater 140 . When the control unit 200 increases the power of the first heater 140, the deposition rate of the deposition material sprayed from the plurality of nozzles 130 increases. And, when the control unit 200 reduces the power of the first heater 140, the deposition rate of the deposition material sprayed from the plurality of nozzles 130 is reduced.

Also, the controller 200 may increase or decrease the power of the second heater 150 . When the control unit 200 increases the power of the second heater 150, the deposition rate of the deposition material sprayed from the plurality of nozzles 130 increases. Also, when the control unit 200 reduces the power of the second heater 140, the deposition rate of the deposition material sprayed from the plurality of nozzles 130 is reduced.

At this time, the controller 200 controls the deposition material to be deposited on the substrate at a first target rate by heating the first heater 140, and controls the deposition material to be deposited by heating the second heater 150. The substrate is controlled to be deposited at a second target rate higher than the first target rate. Here, the first target speed may correspond to 10% of the second target speed. For example, the first target rate may be deposited on the substrate at approximately 0.01 Å/s. However, the first target speed is not limited to 10% of the second target speed, and may be 1% or more and less than 10% or more than 10% and 50% or less depending on the deposition material and the size of the substrate. .

And, the range of the first target speed means a range of values larger or smaller than the first target speed by a first error. Here, the first error may be approximately 10%. Accordingly, the range of the first target velocity may be greater than or equal to 10% less than the first target velocity.

At this time, the control unit 200 stops the heating of the second heater 150 until it is maintained for a predetermined time in the range of the first target speed. In the deposition system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, prior to a deposition process of depositing a deposition material on the substrate to form a thin film, a process of checking the range of the first target speed in the first heater 140 is performed. need. That is, after the heating state of the plurality of nozzles 130 by the heating of the first heater 140 is stably secured, the heating of the second heater 150 must proceed to prevent the first heater 140 and the Thermal interference between the second heaters 150 is prevented to prevent deterioration of OLED quality.

That is, in the deposition system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, in a state where the second heater 150 is stopped, the deposition rate of the deposition material by heating the first heater 140 is equal to the first target rate. The deposition rate may be precisely controlled so that the deposition rate of the deposition material by heating the second heater 150 stably reaches the second target rate.

In addition, the deposition system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention further includes a sensor 210 and a storage unit 220 .

The sensor 210 measures the thickness of the deposition material deposited on the substrate. And, the sensor 210 is electrically connected to the controller 200 . And, the sensor 210 transmits an electrical signal about the thickness of the deposition material measured by the sensor 210 to the control unit 200 . Also, the control unit 200 determines whether the deposition rate of the deposition material reaches the first target rate and the second target rate based on the electrical signal for the thickness of the deposition material.

The storage unit 220 is electrically connected to the control unit 200 . The storage unit 220 stores the power value of the first heater 140 when the deposition rate of the deposition material reaches the first target rate. At this time, the storage unit 220 stores the power value of the first heater 140 together with the information corresponding to the deposition material. Accordingly, the deposition system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention stores the power value of the first heater 140 corresponding to the first target speed, thereby depositing information corresponding to stored information after another deposition process. During the material deposition process, power for heating the first heater 140 may be appropriately supplied based on the power value of the first heater 140 .

A method for controlling a deposition rate of a deposition system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described later with reference to drawings.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a deposition rate of a deposition system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 , a method for controlling a deposition rate of a deposition system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a first heating step ( S110 ), a first maintaining step ( S120 ), a first determination step ( S130 ), a first It includes an increase/decrease step (S140), a second maintenance step (S150), a second determination step (S160), a second increase/decrease step (S170), and a storage step (S180).

The first heating step ( S110 ) is a step of operating the first heater 140 (see FIG. 3 ) by the controller 200 (see FIG. 3 ). At this time, in the first heating step ( S110 ), the plurality of nozzles 130 (see FIG. 1 ) are heated by the first heater 140 .

In the first maintenance step ( S120 ), power supplied to the first heater 140 is maintained for a first time. Here, the first time period may be approximately 12 hours. Accordingly, the first heater 140 heats the plurality of nozzles 130 . Then, the deposition material is sprayed toward the substrate through the plurality of nozzles 130 .

In the first determination step ( S130 ), the controller 200 determines whether the deposition material reaches the first target speed by heating the first heater 140 .

In the first increase or decrease step (S140), when the deposition material does not reach the first target speed in the first determination step (S130), the controller 200 increases or decreases the power of the first heater 140. do. For example, when the deposition rate of the deposition material is greater than the first target rate, the controller 200 reduces power of the first heater 140 . Conversely, when the deposition rate of the deposition material is smaller than the first target rate, the controller 200 increases the power of the first heater 140 . In the first increase/decrease step (S140), the first determination step (S130) is again performed to determine whether the deposition rate of the deposition material reaches the first target rate.

In the second maintenance step (S150), when the first target speed is reached in the first determination step (S130), the power of the first heater 140 is maintained for a second time. Here, the second time period is shorter than the first time period. For example, the second time period may be approximately 1 hour to 2 hours.

In the second determination step (S160), it is determined whether the first target speed is within a first error range in the second maintenance step (S150). Here, the error may be approximately 10%. And, the error range of the first target speed means a range of values larger or smaller than the first target speed by a first error. Accordingly, the first error range of the first target speed may be greater than or equal to 10% less than the first target speed. Through this, in the second determination step (S160), the deposition material by the power of the first heater 140 in the second maintenance step (S150) stably maintains the first target speed within a first error range. The quality of OLED is prevented from deteriorating by checking whether the

In the second increase or decrease step (S170), when the first target speed is out of the first error range in the second determination step (S160), the control unit 200 increases or decreases the power of the first heater 140. . Accordingly, in the second increasing/decreasing step (S170), the control unit 200 precisely controls the power of the first heater 140 so that the deposition rate of the deposition material is controlled to maintain the first target rate.

In the storage step (S180), when the first target speed is within the first error range in the second determination step (S170), the power value of the first heater 140 is stored. The power value of the first heater 140 may be used as an initial power value of the first heater 140 when a deposition process is performed using the same deposition material thereafter.

In addition, the method for controlling the deposition rate of the deposition system according to the embodiment of the present invention further includes a second heating step of operating the second heater 150 (FIG. 2) after the storage step (S180).

In the second heating step, as the control unit 200 controls the power of the second heater 150, that is, the power supplied to the second heater 150, the deposition material is deposited at the second target speed. deposited on the substrate.

At this time, when the second target speed is out of the second error range, the controller 200 controls the power of the second heater 150 to increase or decrease. Here, the second error range may be 10% to 15%.

5(a) is a graph showing the time required to reach the first target speed and the second target speed when the power of the first heater is gradually increased, and FIG. 5(b) is a graph illustrating deposition according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a graph showing the time to reach the first target rate and the second target rate by the deposition rate control method of the system.

First, as shown in FIG. 5(a), when the controller 200 gradually increases the power of the first heater 140, the deposition rate of the deposition material increases. Here, the power of the first heater 140 may mean an area for a deposition rate per time. And, the time for reaching and maintaining the first target speed b1 is a1 time. Next, the control unit 200 controls the deposition rate to reach the second target rate b2 by increasing the power of the second heater 150 . And, the time to reach the second target speed b2 is approximately 6 hours.

And, as shown in (b), after controlling the control unit 200 of the deposition system according to an embodiment of the present invention to increase the power value corresponding to the second target speed b2, the first speed It is reduced to the power value corresponding to the target speed (b1). And, the control unit 200 checks whether the deposition rate of the first heater 140 is maintained for a predetermined time. And, the time for reaching and maintaining the first target speed b1 is a2 time. At this time, the time a2 is shorter than the time a1. Next, the control unit 200 controls the deposition rate to reach the second target rate b2 by increasing the power of the second heater 150 . And, the time to reach the second target speed b2 is approximately 3 hours.

As such, the control unit 200 shortens the time required to reach and maintain the first target speed b1 through the increase or decrease of the power of the first heater 140, thereby reducing the manufacturing time of the deposition system. There is an advantage.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described, the spirit of the present invention is not limited by the embodiments presented herein, and those skilled in the art who understand the spirit of the present invention may add or change components within the scope of the same spirit. Other embodiments can be easily proposed by adding, deleting, adding, etc., but this will also be said to be within the scope of the present invention.

10: deposition system 100: linear deposition unit
140: first heater 150: second heater
200: control unit

Claims (6)

a linear deposition unit including a receiving unit accommodating deposition materials and a plurality of nozzles;
a first heater for heating the plurality of nozzles;
a second heater for heating the receiving part; and
The deposition material is controlled to be deposited on the substrate at a first target rate by heating of the first heater, and the deposition material is deposited on the substrate at a second target rate greater than the first target rate by heating of the second heater. a control unit for controlling;
A deposition system comprising a.
According to claim 1,
The deposition system further comprising a sensor for measuring the thickness of the deposition material deposited on the substrate.
According to claim 1,
Wherein the control unit increases or decreases power of the first heater when a deposition rate by heating of the first heater is different from the first target rate.
According to claim 1,
The range of the first target speed is larger or smaller than the first target speed by a first error,
Wherein the control unit stops the heating of the second heater until maintained for a predetermined time in the range of the first target speed, the deposition system.
In the deposition rate control method of a deposition system for controlling the rate at which the deposition material accommodated in the linear deposition unit is deposited on a substrate,
a first heating step of heating the plurality of nozzles mounted in the linear deposition unit by a first heater;
a first maintenance step of maintaining heating by the first heater for a first time;
a first determination step of determining whether the deposition material reaches a first target velocity by heating the first heater;
a first increase/decrease step of increasing or decreasing the power of the first heater and then performing the first decision step again when the first target speed is not reached in the first decision step;
a second maintenance step of maintaining power of the first heater for a second time when the first target speed is reached in the first determination step;
a second determination step of determining whether or not the first target speed is within a first error range in the second maintenance step;
a second increase/decrease step of increasing or decreasing the power of the first heater and then performing the second decision step again when the first target speed is out of the first error range in the second decision step; and
a storage step of storing a power value of the first heater when the first target speed is within the first error range in the second determination step;
A method for controlling the deposition rate of a deposition system comprising a.
According to claim 1,
The method of controlling the deposition rate of the deposition system further comprising a second heating step of heating the deposition material accommodated in the linear deposition unit by a second heater.

Images