TW201732061A - Material supply apparatus and deposition apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

An aspect of a material supply apparatus of the instant invention is provided, wherein the material supply apparatus includes a material supply chamber, a melting furnace, at least one container, a supply unit and a transporting unit. The material supply chamber is disposed outside a vapor deposition chamber and feasible to be maintained in a depressurized atmosphere. The melting furnace is disposed on the material supply chamber and used to melt evaporation material. The container is configured to contain the molten liquid of the evaporation material which has melted in the melting furnace. The supply unit is mounted on the melting furnace for supplying the molten liquid from the melting furnace to the container. The transporting unit is used to transport the ingot of the evaporation material which is supplied by the supply unit and has solidified in the container along with the container to the vapor deposition chamber.

Description

Material supply device and vapor deposition device

The present invention relates to a material supply device for supplying an evaporation material to an evaporation source, and a vapor deposition device including a material supply device.

There is known a vacuum vapor deposition apparatus in which vapor of an evaporation material (also referred to as a vapor deposition material) is deposited on a substrate, and a metal film is formed on the substrate, for example. The evaporation source of the vacuum vapor deposition apparatus is known in various forms such as an impedance heating type, an induction heating type, and an electron beam heating type, and the evaporation material is melted and evaporated by heating or electron beam irradiation of the evaporation material contained in the crucible. A vapor of the evaporation material is generated.

In the vapor deposition device, from the viewpoint of productivity, a vapor deposition device is known which is configured to intermittently or continuously evaporate while maintaining the vapor deposition chamber in a predetermined reduced pressure atmosphere. The material is supplied to the crucible. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique in which an evaporation material formed into a pellet shape is intermittently supplied (at a fixed time) to a crucible; and Patent Document 2 discloses a technique which is formed as Wire-like evaporation The material is continuously supplied to the crucible.

[Previous Technical Literature]

[Patent Literature]

Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. H5-128518.

Patent Document 2: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. Hei 7-286266.

However, in the method of supplying the particulate evaporation material to the crucible, since it is basically intermittently supplied, there is a problem that the evaporation rate is easily changed and it is difficult to form a metal film having a uniform film thickness. Further, in the method of supplying the linear evaporating material to the crucible, since the supply can be continuously supplied, fluctuations in the evaporation rate can be suppressed. However, in the case where it is difficult to process the material into a linear shape, there is a problem that the cost becomes high.

In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a material supply device and a vapor deposition device including the material supply device, which can supply the evaporation material to the vapor deposition chamber without changing the evaporation rate without changing the shape of the evaporation material.

In order to achieve the above object, a material supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a material supply chamber, a melting furnace, at least one container, and a supply sheet. Yuan and handling unit.

The material supply chamber is provided outside the vapor deposition chamber and is configured to be maintained in a reduced pressure atmosphere.

The melting furnace is disposed in the material supply chamber to melt the evaporation material.

The container accommodates a melt of the evaporation material that has been melted in the melting furnace.

The supply unit is attached to the melting furnace for supplying the melt from the melting furnace to the vessel.

The transport unit is configured such that an ingot of the evaporating material that is supplied from the supply unit and solidified in the container is transported to the vapor deposition chamber together with the container.

Since the material supply chamber is configured to be maintained in a reduced pressure atmosphere, the material supply device can transport the evaporation material to the vapor deposition chamber without opening the vapor deposition chamber to the atmosphere.

Further, the evaporation material transferred to the evaporation chamber is an ingot which is supplied from the melting furnace to the container in a molten state and solidified in the container, and is carried together with the container to the evaporation chamber, and is vapor-deposited in this state. The chamber is reheated to evaporate. Therefore, even if the shape of the evaporating material is processed, even a relatively soft metal material can be stably supplied as an evaporating material.

Further, since the evaporation material is transported in units of containers, the evaporation material can be supplied to the vapor deposition chamber without changing the evaporation rate.

Furthermore, the evaporation of the evaporation material is carried out in series under vacuum. Supply in the device and transportation to the vapor deposition chamber. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the evaporation of the evaporation material or the adhesion of the moisture to cause deterioration or the like, and it is possible to stably supply the high-quality evaporation material to the vapor deposition chamber.

The container may also include a plurality of containers that can respectively accommodate the evaporating material. In this case, the material supply device may further include: a support table including an index table, wherein the indexing table may sequentially move the plurality of containers to the supply unit. The supply position of the above evaporation material.

Thereby, since the evaporation material supplied to the vapor deposition chamber can be prepared efficiently, it is possible to shorten the time required to supply the vapor deposition material to the vapor deposition chamber.

The supply unit may be provided with a melt discharge mechanism and a guide member.

The melt discharge mechanism includes a shaft member that penetrates the bottom of the melting furnace in a liquid-tight manner and has a small recess on the outer peripheral surface, and a drive source that causes the shaft member to follow an axial direction of the shaft member Reciprocating. The melt discharge mechanism is configured to discharge a predetermined amount of molten liquid toward the outside of the melting furnace by reciprocating movement in the axial direction of the shaft member.

The guiding member is provided at a bottom portion of the melting furnace for inducing the predetermined amount of molten liquid discharged to the outside of the melting furnace to the container.

Thereby, the deviation of the amount of the evaporation material per container can be suppressed.

The melt discharge mechanism may further include a storage portion provided at a bottom portion of the melting furnace. The storage unit is configured to store the predetermined amount of the molten liquid, and the shaft member penetrates the storage portion in a liquid-tight manner. Further, the driving source is configured to move the shaft member between a first position and a second position, and the first position is to supply the molten liquid from the melting furnace to the storage portion via the recess The second position is a position at which the melt is supplied from the storage portion to the guide member via the recess.

The material supply device may further include a transfer chamber that can accommodate the transfer unit and can be maintained in a reduced pressure atmosphere.

Since the material supply chamber and the transfer chamber can be atmosphere-blocked, it is possible to prevent atmosphere contamination or contamination in the vapor deposition chamber.

A vapor deposition device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a vapor deposition unit, a material supply chamber, a melting furnace, a first support portion, a supply unit, and a transfer unit.

The vapor deposition unit has a vapor deposition chamber.

The material supply chamber is provided outside the vapor deposition chamber and is configured to be maintained in a reduced pressure atmosphere.

The melting furnace is disposed in the material supply chamber to melt the evaporation material.

The first support portion includes at least one container that can accommodate the molten material of the evaporation material that has been melted in the melting furnace.

The supply unit supplies the melt from the melting furnace to the container.

The transport unit is configured such that an ingot of the evaporating material that is supplied from the supply unit and solidified in the container is transported from the first support unit to the vapor deposition chamber together with the container.

The vapor deposition unit may further include: a support base provided in the vapor deposition chamber to support the container; and an electron gun configured to illuminate the ingot of the container accommodated in the support table Electron beam.

The container may also include a plurality of containers that can respectively accommodate the evaporating material. In this case, the support table may further include an indexing table for sequentially moving the plurality of containers to the irradiation position of the electron beam of the electron gun.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to supply the evaporation material to the vapor deposition chamber without changing the evaporation rate without the shape processing of the evaporation material.

10‧‧‧Decanting Department

11‧‧‧vaporation chamber

12‧‧‧Substrate retention department

13‧‧‧Support table

14‧‧‧Electronic gun

20‧‧‧Material supply agency

30‧‧‧Material Supply Department

31‧‧‧Material supply room

32‧‧‧melting furnace

33‧‧‧Support table

34‧‧‧Supply unit

35, 65‧‧‧ melt discharge mechanism

35g, 65g‧‧‧ recess

36, 66‧‧‧ Guide members

37‧‧‧ Sensors

38‧‧‧ Controller

40‧‧‧Transportation Department

41‧‧・Transport room

42‧‧‧Transportation unit

51‧‧‧First vacuum exhaust system

52‧‧‧Second vacuum exhaust system

53‧‧‧ Third vacuum exhaust system

64‧‧‧Supply unit

100‧‧‧Vapor deposition unit

321‧‧‧heater

322‧‧‧ furnace wall

323‧‧‧Refrigerant circulation path

324‧‧‧ sheathing

325‧‧‧ lining members

326‧‧‧ bottom hole

351, 651‧‧‧ shaft

352, 653‧‧‧ drive source

421‧‧‧Hands

422‧‧‧Multi-joint arm

652‧‧‧Reservation Department

652a, 652b‧‧‧through holes

661‧‧‧heat source

662‧‧‧ melt discharge

A1, A2, A3‧‧‧ rotating shaft

E‧‧‧electron beam

Fh‧‧‧Flange

H‧‧‧ Container

M‧‧‧ evaporation material

M1, M2‧‧‧ melt

M3‧‧‧Vapor

P1, P3‧‧‧ standby position

P2‧‧‧Evaporation position

P4‧‧‧ supply location

S‧‧‧Substrate

V1, V2‧‧‧ gate valve

Width of z1‧‧‧

Z2‧‧‧ height dimension

Fig. 1 is a schematic side view showing a configuration of a vapor deposition device including a material supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

A and B in Fig. 2 schematically show the vapor material supply device A side cross-sectional view of a main part of the composition of the melting furnace and the melt discharge mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view schematically showing a configuration of a supply unit of a molten material of an evaporation material in a material supply mechanism according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment>

Fig. 1 is a schematic side view showing a configuration of a vapor deposition device including a material supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Further, in the drawing, the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis are three-axis directions orthogonal to each other, the X-axis and the Y-axis indicate the horizontal direction, and the Z-axis indicates the height direction.

[Overall structure of vapor deposition device]

As shown in FIG. 1 , the vapor deposition device 100 includes a vapor deposition unit 10 and a material supply mechanism 20 (material supply device) for supplying an evaporation material to the vapor deposition unit 10 .

(vapor deposition)

The vapor deposition unit 10 includes a vapor deposition chamber 11 , a substrate holding portion 12 that holds the substrate S, a support table 13 that supports the evaporation material M, and an electron gun 14 that irradiates the evaporation material M with the electron beam E.

The vapor deposition chamber 11 is connected to the first vacuum exhaust system 51 and is constituted by a vacuum chamber which can exhaust or maintain the inside to a predetermined decompression atmosphere.

The substrate holding portion 12 is provided above the inside of the vapor deposition chamber 11, and is configured to support the film formation surface of the substrate S downward. In the present embodiment, the substrate holding portion 12 is configured to be rotatable about the rotation axis A1 in the XY plane while holding the substrate S.

As the substrate S, a rectangular or circular plate-shaped substrate such as a glass substrate or a semiconductor substrate can be used. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and a flexible substrate such as a plastic film may be used.

The support table 13 is provided near the bottom of the vapor deposition chamber 11, and is configured to support the evaporation material M to be vapor-deposited to the film formation surface of the substrate S and the container H accommodating the evaporation material M. In the present embodiment, the support table 13 includes a disk-shaped indexing table that can surround the rotation axis A2 in the XY plane while supporting the plurality of containers H. The support table 13 is internally provided with a cooling mechanism for circulating a cooling medium such as cooling water, and a plurality of containers H are disposed on the same circumference of the support table 13 at predetermined intervals on the same circumference. The number of the containers H that can be disposed on the support table 13 is not particularly limited and may be one, but is typically plural.

The support table 13 sequentially supplies any one of the containers H (evaporation material M) from the standby position P1 to the evaporation position P2. The standby position P1 includes one or two or more positions for temporarily waiting for the container H for storing the used evaporating material before use, and the position is for imparting the evaporation material M to and from the material supply mechanism 20 . With the location of the container H. In the evaporation position P2, the electron beam E of the electron gun 14 is irradiated to the position of the evaporation material M. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the electron beam E is set to face the center of the substrate S on the substrate holding portion 12 in the Z-axis direction. s position.

The electron gun 14 is disposed in the vicinity of the support table 13 and configured to irradiate the electron beam E to the evaporation material M that has been disposed at the evaporation position P2. The electron gun 14 is configured by a magnetic field bias type (tranverse) electron gun. However, the electron gun 14 is not limited thereto. For example, another type of electron gun such as a Pierce type electron gun may be used.

Further, although not shown, the vapor deposition unit 10 includes a magnet such that the electron beam E is deflected toward the evaporation material M at the evaporation position P2, and a substrate transfer chamber for vaporizing the substrate S. The plating chamber 11 is carried out or carried in; and the gas introduction line introduces the process gas into the vapor deposition chamber 11. Further, the support table 13 is not limited to one, and two or more may be provided. In this case, the electron gun 14 can also be provided with a plurality of stages corresponding to the number of the support tables 13.

The material supply mechanism 20 is provided with a material supply unit 30 and is supplied The evaporation material M and the conveyance unit 40 convey the evaporation material M from the material supply unit 30 to the vapor deposition unit 10.

(Material supply department)

The material supply unit 30 includes a material supply chamber 31, a melting furnace 32 that melts the evaporation material, a support table 33 that supports the container M that can store the molten material M1, and a supply unit 34 that melts the liquid M1. It is supplied from the melting furnace 32 to the container H.

The material supply chamber 31 is provided outside the vapor deposition chamber 11, and is constituted by a vacuum chamber independently of the vapor deposition chamber 11. That is, the material supply chamber 31 is connected to the second vacuum exhaust system 52 and is configured to be internally vented or maintained at a predetermined reduced pressure atmosphere.

The melting furnace 32 is disposed inside the material supply chamber 31, and has an internal space for accommodating a bulk-shaped evaporation material and a heater for heating the evaporation material to a predetermined temperature and melting as will be described later. Wait. The inside of the melting furnace 32 can be exhausted together with the material supply chamber 31 to a predetermined reduced pressure atmosphere, whereby the melting furnace 32 functions as a vacuum melting furnace.

Each of the material supply chamber 31 and the melting furnace 32 has an openable and closable top cover (not shown), and is configured to allow the block-shaped evaporating material to be introduced into the internal space of the melting furnace 32 via the top covers.

The container H is a melt M1 capable of accommodating the evaporation material which has been melted in the melting furnace 32, and is the same as the hearth or the hearth liner used in the electron beam evaporation source in the present embodiment. It is made of heat-insulating materials such as carbon and ceramics. A flange portion Fh is integrally formed on the periphery of the upper end opening portion of the container H, and the container H is gripped by the conveyance unit 42 of the conveyance portion 40 via the flange portion Fh. The capacity of the container H is not particularly limited, and may be selected in accordance with the specifications of the evaporation material M or the vapor deposition unit 10. In the present embodiment, for example, a container having a capacity of about 110 cc can be used.

Further, the type of the metal material used as the evaporation material is not particularly limited, and various metal materials capable of performing electron beam evaporation can be used. In the present embodiment, for example, a block-like and relatively soft metal material such as tin (Sn), tantalum (Ta), aluminum (Al), lithium (Li), or indium (In) can be used.

The supply unit 34 is attached to the melting furnace 32 and configured to supply the melt M1 from the melting furnace 32 to the vessel H. The supply unit 34 is provided with a melt discharge mechanism 35 and a guide member 36.

The melt discharge mechanism 35 is configured to discharge a predetermined amount of the melt M2 from the melt M1 of the evaporated material in the melting furnace 32 to the outside of the melting furnace 32. The guiding member 36 is provided at the bottom of the melting furnace 32, and is configured to induce the predetermined amount of the molten liquid M2 discharged to the outside of the melting furnace 32 to the container H.

A and B in Fig. 2 schematically show side cross-sectional views of essential parts of the configuration of the melting furnace 32 and the melt discharge mechanism 35.

As shown by A in Fig. 2, the melting furnace 32 is provided with a furnace wall 322, a built-in heater (heating line) 321, a jacket portion 324, a built-in refrigerant circulation passage 323, and a lining ( Lining) member 325. The jacket portion 324 is for preventing heat energy transfer from the furnace wall 322 to the outside of the melting furnace 32 and to the outer surface of the furnace wall 322. The lining member 325 is for reducing the wettability (or affinity) between the inner surface of the furnace wall 322 and the molten material M1 of the evaporation material, and is provided on the inner surface of the furnace wall 322. The lining 325 is made of, for example, a carbon-based material such as graphite.

The melt discharge mechanism 35 includes a shaft portion 351 and a drive source 352.

The shaft portion 351 is disposed inside the guide member 36 and is formed of a cylindrical high-melting-point metal material that penetrates the bottom of the melting furnace 32 in a liquid-tight manner. The inner peripheral surface of the bottom hole 326 of the melting furnace 32 through which the shaft portion 351 passes is covered with the lining member 325, and the shaft portion 351 is slidably inserted into the lining member 325 in the axial direction (Z-axis direction). surface.

In the present embodiment, an annular recessed portion 35g having the axial center of the shaft portion 351 as a center is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion 351. The recess 35g has a volume capable of accommodating a predetermined amount of the melt M2. Thereby, as shown in Figure 2 As schematically indicated by B, when the shaft portion 351 is lowered, the predetermined amount of the molten metal M2 can be discharged to the outside of the melting furnace 32. The predetermined amount is not particularly limited, and is typically smaller than the capacity of the container H, and is about 10 cc in the present embodiment. When the concave portion 35g is provided in a ring shape, the molten liquid is likely to spread over the entire concave portion 35g when the molten liquid from the melting furnace is accommodated, and the molten liquid is easily removed from the concave portion 35g as the molten liquid is discharged from the concave portion 35g. Since it is discharged, it is possible to reliably store and discharge a predetermined amount of the molten liquid. Further, as shown in the figure, the cross-sectional shape of the concave portion 35g is preferably an arc shape (circular groove), whereby the discharge property of the molten metal M2 from the concave portion 35g can be further improved.

In addition, the recessed portion 35g provided in the outer peripheral portion of the shaft portion 351 does not necessarily have to have the axial center of the shaft portion 351 as a center, and is provided in an annular shape on the outer peripheral surface, so that at least one recessed portion can be formed on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion 351. The shape and shape of the melt can be accommodated in a predetermined amount, and the shape or form thereof is not particularly limited. For example, the concave portion 35g may be composed of a plurality of concave portions intermittently provided along the circumferential direction of the shaft portion 351, or may be constituted by a discontinuous single-part annular groove or the like in the circumferential direction of the shaft portion 351.

The drive source 352 is configured to reciprocate the shaft portion 351 in the axial direction of the shaft portion 351, and can be constituted, for example, by a cylinder mechanism, a ball screw mechanism, or the like. The driving source 352 is configured such that the concave portion 35g of the shaft portion 351 is located inside the melting furnace 32 as shown by A in FIG. 2 and the recess 35g as shown by B in FIG. 2 is lowered outside the melting furnace 32. Between positions Lifting.

Further, it is preferable that the inner wall surface of the guide member 36 is also covered with a lining member made of the same material as the lining member 325. Thereby, since the predetermined amount of the molten metal M2 discharged from the melt discharge mechanism 35 can be stably guided to the container H, variations in the amount of the molten liquid reaching the container H can be suppressed. Further, in order to prevent the evaporation material M from being cooled by contact with the guiding member 36, a heating source capable of maintaining the guiding member 36 to a predetermined temperature or higher may be provided.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the support table 33 is provided in the vicinity of the bottom of the material supply chamber 31, and is configured to support a plurality of containers H. In the present embodiment, the support table 33 includes a disk-shaped indexing table that is rotatable about the rotation axis A3 in the XY plane while supporting the plurality of containers H. The support table 33 is internally provided with a cooling mechanism in which a refrigerant such as cooling water can be circulated, and a plurality of containers H are disposed on the same circumference of the support table 33 at predetermined intervals on the same circumference. The number of the containers H that can be disposed on the support table 33 is not particularly limited, and may be one, but is usually plural.

The support table 33 sequentially supplies an arbitrary one of the containers H from the standby position P3 to the supply position P4. The standby position P3 includes one or two or more positions for temporarily waiting for the container H after the evaporation material M in which the molten material is injected or the evaporation material M injected into the molten material, and the position is The position of the evaporation material M and the container H is transferred between the vapor deposition unit 10. The supply position P4 is supplied to the melt discharge mechanism 35 (injected into the melt) by a predetermined amount of the melt M2. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, it is set in the Z-axis direction with the guide member 36. The position of the exit relative to the direction.

The material supply unit 30 is further provided with a sensor 37 and a controller 38.

The sensor 37 is disposed outside the window formed by the transparent plate provided on the upper portion of the material supply chamber 31, and detects the evaporation material in the used container H that has been transported from the vapor deposition unit 10 to the standby position P3. The remaining amount of M is output to the controller 38. The controller 38 determines the supply amount of the molten metal M1 supplied to the container H to be detected at the supply position P4 in accordance with the output of the sensor 37 (in the present embodiment, the number of movements of the shaft portion 351). The type of the sensor 37 is not particularly limited, and for example, a distance sensor such as an image sensor such as a camera or a laser displacement meter can be used.

Typically, the controller 38 is constituted by a built-in CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a computer such as a memory to control the operations of the material supply unit 30 and the transport unit 40. Further, the controller 38 may be configured as a host controller for controlling the operation of the entire vapor deposition device 100 including the vapor deposition unit 10.

(transport department)

The transport unit 40 includes a transport chamber 41 and a transport unit 42.

The transfer chamber 41 is disposed between the vapor deposition chamber 11 and the material supply chamber 31, and is connected to the vapor deposition chamber 11 and the material supply chamber 31 via gate valves V1 and V2, respectively. The transfer chamber 41 is connected to the third vacuum exhaust system 53 and is configured to be internally vented or maintained at a predetermined reduced pressure atmosphere.

The transport unit 42 is provided at the bottom of the transport chamber 41. The transport unit 42 includes a hand 421 that lifts the flange portion Fh of the container H and a multi-joint arm portion 422 that can move the hand 421 in three directions of the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis. Handling and handling around the Z axis. The transport unit 42 is constituted by, for example, a transport robot such as a SCARA (Selective Compliant Assembly Robot Arm) type or a flog leg type.

[Operation of vapor deposition device]

Next, a typical operation of the vapor deposition device 100 configured as described above will be described.

The vapor deposition chamber 11, the material supply chamber 31, and the transfer chamber 41 are decompressed and maintained at a predetermined pressure via the first vacuum exhaust system 51, the second vacuum exhaust system 52, and the third vacuum exhaust system 53. The gate valves V1, V2 are closed, and each chamber is atmosphere-blocked. In addition, since the gate valves V1 and V2 are used to realize the load lock function of the transfer chamber 41, even if not described in detail in the following description, two gate valves V1 and V2 are known. The system is controlled so that it is not open at the same time.

(material supply step)

In the material supply unit 30, the melting furnace 32 is depressurized together with the material supply chamber 31 in a state in which the block-shaped evaporation material M is accommodated therein, and the evaporation material M is melted in the reduced pressure atmosphere. On the support table 33, a plurality of empty containers H are respectively disposed at the standby position P3 and the supply position P4 on the support table 33. After the evaporation material M is melted, the melt M1 of the evaporation material M is supplied from the melting furnace 32 to the vessel H at the supply position P4 via the supply unit 34.

Specifically, the shaft portion 351 of the melt discharge mechanism 35 is moved from the raised position shown by A in FIG. 2 to the lowered position shown by B in FIG. 2, whereby it is accommodated in the recess via the guide member 36. A predetermined amount (about 10 cc) of the molten metal M2 in 35 g is supplied to the container H. The lifting operation of the shaft portion 351 is repeated until the evaporation material supplied to the container H reaches the maximum filling amount. For example, when the maximum filling amount of the evaporation material supplied to the container H is 100 cc, the lifting operation of the shaft portion 351 is repeated ten times.

After the molten material M1 of the evaporation material is supplied to the container H at the supply position P4, the support table 33 is rotated by a predetermined angle, and the container H at the standby position P3 is sequentially moved to the supply position P4, and the evaporation material M1 is separately performed. The melt discharge action. The container H for receiving the supply of the molten metal M1 at the supply position P4 is moved to the standby position P3, and the inside of the container H The melt M1 is cooled and solidified on the support table 33. Therefore, the ingot (bulk) of the evaporation material M is held in the container H.

The hand 421 of the transport unit 42 enters the material supply chamber 31 from the transport chamber 41, and is transported to the vapor deposition chamber 11 together with the container H that is in standby at the standby position P3 on the support table 33 and in which the evaporation material M is accommodated. . Thereafter, the container H accommodating the evaporation material M is conveyed to the standby position P1 of the support table 13 of the vapor deposition chamber 11.

When the container H is conveyed to the standby position P1 of the support table 13, the container H is moved to the evaporation position P2 by the rotation of the support table 13. On the other hand, the transport unit 42 is returned to the material supply chamber 31, and is held by the standby position P3 on the support table 33, and has accommodated the second container H of the evaporation material M (ingot), and again enters the steaming. In the plating chamber 11, the container H is placed on the standby position P1 on the support table 13. Thereafter, this operation is repeated until the number of the containers H can be supported by the support table 13.

(evaporation step)

In the vapor deposition chamber 11, the film formation surface of the substrate S faces downward and is held by the substrate holding portion 12. After the container H containing the evaporation material M has moved to the evaporation position P2, the electron beam E is irradiated from the electron gun 14 to the evaporation material M in the container H. The evaporation material M irradiated with the electron beam E is melted again, and vapor (evaporation particles) M3 of the evaporation material M is generated. The substrate holding portion 12 rotates around the rotation axis A1 at a predetermined speed, and the vapor M3 is stacked to be bonded to the substrate. The film forming surface of the substrate S that the holding portion 12 rotates together. Thereby, a vapor deposition film of the evaporation material M is formed on the film formation surface of the substrate S.

The evaporation material M in the container H at the evaporation position P2 is consumed because the vapor deposition process is continued. When the remaining amount of the evaporation material M becomes a predetermined value or less, a change in the evaporation rate is caused, and it is difficult to perform a stable film formation process. Therefore, when the remaining amount of the evaporation material M becomes a predetermined value or less, the used evaporation material M on the evaporation position P2 and the unused evaporation material M on the standby position P1 are exchanged by the rotation of the support table 13. Thereafter, the film formation process of the substrate S is started again using the new evaporation material M that has moved to the evaporation material P2. Further, the exchange operation of the evaporation material M is typically performed at the time of replacement of the substrate S.

(material resupply step)

When the evaporation material M on the support table 13 is used up, or when the number of unused evaporation materials M becomes predetermined or less, as will be described later, each container H is carried out from the vapor deposition chamber 11 to the material supply chamber 31, and On the other hand, the container containing the unused new evaporation material M is carried into the vapor deposition chamber 11 from the material supply chamber 31.

The transport unit 42 transports the used evaporating material M in the standby position P1 on the support table 13 to the material supply chamber 31 together with the container H in which the used evaporating material M is stored. The container H conveyed to the standby position of the support table 33 in the material supply chamber 31 by the transport unit 42 After the remaining amount of the evaporation material M is measured by the sensor 37, it is moved to the supply position P4 by the rotation of the support table 33. On the other hand, the container H that has previously supplied the evaporation material M having the maximum filling amount is moved to the standby position P3, and the container H is transported to the vapor deposition chamber 11 via the transport unit 42.

The melt M1 of the evaporation material M is supplied to the container H that has moved to the supply position P4 by the melt discharge mechanism 35 by a predetermined amount until the maximum filling amount of the container H is reached. At this time, the operation of the melt discharge mechanism 35 (the number of lifting operations of the shaft portion 351) is determined based on the remaining amount data of the evaporated material in the container H measured by the sensor 37.

Thereafter, the above operation is repeated, whereby the container E containing the used evaporation material M is again filled with the new evaporation material M. The container H filled with the evaporation material M again is conveyed to the vapor deposition chamber 11 by the conveyance unit 42 at a predetermined timing (when the substrate S in the vapor deposition unit 10 is replaced).

As described above, in the present embodiment, for example, the following effects can be obtained.

Since the material supply chamber 31 can be maintained in a reduced pressure atmosphere, the evaporation material M can be transported to the vapor deposition chamber 11 without opening the vapor deposition chamber 11 to the atmosphere.

Further, the evaporation material M transported to the vapor deposition chamber 11 is supplied from the melting furnace 32 to the container H in the molten state and has been solidified in the container H. The ingot is conveyed to the vapor deposition chamber 11 together with the container H, and in this state, the vapor deposition chamber 11 is heated again to evaporate. Therefore, even if the shape of the evaporation material M is not processed, even a relatively soft metal material can be stably supplied as the evaporation material M.

Further, since the evaporation material M is transported in units of the container H, the evaporation material M can be supplied to the vapor deposition chamber 11 without changing the evaporation rate.

In addition, since the evaporation of the evaporation material M, the supply into the container H, and the transportation to the vapor deposition chamber 11 are successively performed under the vacuum, it is possible to prevent the oxidation of the evaporation material M or the adhesion of moisture, thereby causing deterioration or the like. The high-quality evaporation material M is stably supplied to the vapor deposition chamber 11.

In the above embodiment, the support table 33 in the material supply chamber 31 includes an indexing table that can sequentially move a plurality of containers H to the supply position P4. Thereby, since the evaporation material M supplied to the vapor deposition chamber 11 can be prepared efficiently, it is possible to shorten the time required to supply the evaporation material M to the vapor deposition chamber 11.

Since the support table 13 in the vapor deposition chamber 11 similarly includes an indexing table that can sequentially move the plurality of containers H to the irradiation position of the electron beam E of the electron gun 14, the evaporation required for the vapor deposition process can be ensured. Material M, and can improve productivity.

In the present embodiment, the melt discharge mechanism 35 is configured as a minute. Since the melt of the evaporation material is not supplied to the container H in a predetermined amount, variation in the supply amount of the evaporation material M per container H can be suppressed. Therefore, it is also possible to prevent the deviation of the evaporation rate of each container due to the deviation of the amount of the evaporation material M.

Further, in the above embodiment, the transport unit 42 is provided independently of the vapor deposition chamber 11 and the material supply chamber 31, and is provided inside the transport chamber 41 in which the vacuum atmosphere can be maintained. Therefore, the material supply chamber 31 and the transfer chamber 41 can be atmosphere-blocked, and the atmosphere in the vapor deposition chamber 11 can be prevented from being contaminated or contaminated.

<Second embodiment>

FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view schematically showing a configuration of a supply unit of a molten material of an evaporation material in a material supply mechanism according to another embodiment of the present invention.

The configuration that is different from the first embodiment will be mainly described below, and the same components as those of the above-described embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and their description will be omitted or simplified.

The supply unit 64 of the present embodiment includes a melt discharge mechanism 65 and a guide member 66 having a melt discharge port 662. The melt discharge mechanism 65 includes a shaft portion 651, a storage portion 652, and a drive source 653.

The storage portion 652 is disposed at the bottom of the melting furnace 32 and configured to be The melt M1 of the evaporation material M is retained to a predetermined amount. The storage portion 652 has through holes 652a and 652b through which the shaft portion 651 passes, in the upper end portion and the lower end portion, respectively.

The shaft portion 651 penetrates the bottom portion of the melting furnace 32, the guide member 66, and the storage portion 652 in a liquid-tight manner, and is configured to be slidable in the axial direction with respect to the bottom portion of the melting furnace 32, the guide member 66, and the reservoir portion 652. . Similarly to the first embodiment, the shaft portion 651 has an annular recessed portion 65g having an axial center as a center on the outer peripheral surface thereof. The opening width z1 along the Z-axis direction of the concave portion 65g is set to be smaller than the height dimension z2 along the Z-axis direction of the storage portion 652. Therefore, the through hole 652b is shielded by the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion 651 between the melting furnace 32 and the storage portion 652 via the recess 65g and the through hole 652a. On the other hand, the through hole 652a is shielded by the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion 651 between the storage portion 652 and the guide member 66 via the recess 65g and the through hole 652b.

Similarly to the configuration of the first embodiment, the drive source 653 is configured such that the bottom portion of the melting furnace 32, the guide member 66, and the storage portion 652 can be moved up and down. The driving source 653 is configured to move the shaft portion 651 between the first position and the second position, and the first position supplies the molten metal M1 from the melting furnace 32 to the storage via the recess 65g as indicated by the solid line in the figure. The position of the portion 652 is a position at which the molten metal M1 is supplied from the storage portion 652 to the inside of the guiding member 66 via the recess 65g as shown by the two-point line in the figure.

Further, similarly to the melting furnace 32, the inner wall surfaces of the storage portion 652 and the guide member 66 are covered with a lining member for reducing the affinity with the melt M1. Thereby, since the predetermined amount of the molten metal M2 discharged from the melt discharge mechanism 65 can be stably guided to the container H, variations in the amount of the molten liquid reaching the container H can be suppressed. Further, in order to prevent cooling of the evaporation material M by contact with the guiding member 66, a heating source 661 capable of maintaining the guiding member 66 at a predetermined temperature or higher is provided.

Similarly to the above-described first embodiment, in the supply unit 64 of the present embodiment configured as described above, a predetermined amount of the molten liquid can be accurately and stably removed from the melting furnace 32 by the vertical lifting operation of the shaft portion 651. The inside is supplied to the container H. Since the predetermined amount can be arbitrarily designed in accordance with the internal volume of the storage portion 652, it is possible to sufficiently cope with the requirement that the relatively large-capacity molten liquid is to be supplied to the container H at one time.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be applied.

For example, in the above embodiment, the case where the evaporation source in the vapor deposition unit 10 is constituted by the electron beam evaporation source has been described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and may be an impedance heating type or an induction heating type. The evaporation source is composed of. In this case, the present invention can also be applied as a supply means for the evaporation material supplied to these evaporation sources.

10‧‧‧Decanting Department

11‧‧‧vaporation chamber

12‧‧‧Substrate retention department

13‧‧‧Support table

14‧‧‧Electronic gun

20‧‧‧Material supply agency

30‧‧‧Material Supply Department

31‧‧‧Material supply room

32‧‧‧melting furnace

33‧‧‧Support table

34‧‧‧Supply unit

35‧‧‧ melt discharge mechanism

36‧‧‧Guide members

37‧‧‧ Sensors

38‧‧‧ Controller

40‧‧‧Transportation Department

41‧‧・Transport room

42‧‧‧Transportation unit

51‧‧‧First vacuum exhaust system

52‧‧‧Second vacuum exhaust system

53‧‧‧ Third vacuum exhaust system

100‧‧‧Vapor deposition unit

421‧‧‧Hands

422‧‧‧Multi-joint arm

A1, A2, A3‧‧‧ rotating shaft

E‧‧‧electron beam

Fh‧‧‧Flange

H‧‧‧ Container

M‧‧‧ evaporation material

M1, M2‧‧‧ melt

M3‧‧‧Vapor

P1, P3‧‧‧ standby position

P2‧‧‧Evaporation position

P4‧‧‧ supply location

S‧‧‧Substrate

V1, V2‧‧‧ gate valve

Claims (8)

A material supply device comprising: a material supply chamber disposed outside the vapor deposition chamber and maintained in a reduced pressure atmosphere; and a melting furnace disposed in the material supply chamber for melting the evaporation material; at least one container a supply of the molten material that has been melted in the melting furnace; a supply unit installed in the melting furnace for supplying the molten liquid from the melting furnace to the container; and a transport unit The ingot of the evaporating material supplied from the supply unit and solidified in the container is transported to the vapor deposition chamber together with the container. The material supply device according to claim 1, wherein the container includes a plurality of containers that can respectively accommodate the evaporation materials, and the material supply device further includes a support table, wherein the support table includes an indexing table. The indexing station can sequentially move the plurality of containers to the supply position of the evaporation material provided by the supply unit. The material supply device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the supply unit includes a melt discharge mechanism including a shaft member that penetrates the bottom of the melting furnace in a liquid-tight manner and has an outer peripheral surface at least one a recessed portion; and a drive source for reciprocating the shaft member along an axial direction of the shaft member; and configured to cause the melt discharge mechanism to be a predetermined amount by reciprocating movement along an axial direction of the shaft member The molten metal is discharged to the outside of the melting furnace; and a guiding member is provided at a bottom portion of the melting furnace for inducing the predetermined amount of the molten metal discharged to the outside of the melting furnace to the container. The material supply device according to claim 3, wherein the melt discharge mechanism further includes a storage portion provided at a bottom portion of the melting furnace and capable of storing the predetermined amount of the molten liquid; Liquid-tightly penetrating the storage portion; the driving source is configured to move the shaft member between a first position and a second position, and the first position is to supply the molten liquid from the melting furnace via the recess The second position is a position at which the molten material is supplied from the storage portion to the guiding member via the recessed portion at the position of the storage portion. The material supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: a transfer chamber for accommodating the transport unit and maintained in a reduced pressure atmosphere. A vapor deposition device comprising: a vapor deposition unit having a vapor deposition chamber; and a material supply chamber disposed outside the vapor deposition chamber and maintained in a reduced pressure atmosphere; a melting furnace is disposed in the material supply chamber for melting the evaporation material; the first support portion includes at least one container, and the container is configured to receive the molten material of the evaporation material that has been melted in the melting furnace; And supplying the molten liquid from the melting furnace to the container; and a conveying unit that is an ingot of the evaporating material that is supplied from the supply unit and solidified in the container together with the container from the first support The part is transported to the vapor deposition chamber. The vapor deposition device according to claim 6, wherein the vapor deposition unit further includes: a support base provided in the vapor deposition chamber to support the container; and an electron gun that is accommodated in the support table The aforementioned ingot of the aforementioned container is irradiated with an electron beam. The vapor deposition device according to claim 7, wherein the container comprises a plurality of containers respectively accommodating the evaporation materials; the support table includes an indexing table, and the indexing table can be configured according to the plurality of containers The position of the irradiation of the aforementioned electron beam of the aforementioned electron gun is sequentially moved.