WO2007083393A1

WO2007083393A1 - Film forming apparatus and deposition apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2007083393A1
Application number: PCT/JP2006/300946
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mitsuhiro Suzuki; Yuuji Honda
Original assignee: Youtec Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2006-01-23
Filing date: 2006-01-23
Publication date: 2007-07-26

Abstract

Provided are a film forming apparatus and a deposition apparatus to which maintenance operation can be easily performed in a short time. The film forming apparatus is provided with an external chamber (1) having a chamber upper section (1a) and a chamber lower section (1b); an internal chamber (6) which is arranged inside the external chamber (1) and attached to the chamber lower section (1b); and a substrate holding section (4a) which is arranged inside the internal chamber (6) for holding a substrate (16) whereupon a film is to be formed. The chamber upper section (1a) and the chamber lower section (1b) are formed to be freely separated.

Description

Film forming apparatus and vapor deposition apparatus

Technical field

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a film forming apparatus and a vapor deposition apparatus, and more particularly to a film forming apparatus and a vapor deposition apparatus that can easily perform maintenance work in a short time.

Background art

An organic EL display in which an organic EL thin film is formed on a transparent substrate such as a glass substrate is one of the promising candidates for the next generation flat panel display. One technique for forming an organic EL thin film on a transparent substrate is to deposit the organic EL thin film on the transparent substrate using a vapor deposition device.

[0003] A vapor deposition apparatus forms a vapor deposition film on a substrate by evaporating or sublimating an evaporation material or a sublimation material and depositing the evaporated or sublimated vapor deposition material on the substrate. During this vapor deposition process, the vapor deposition film also adheres to an internal force bar (protection plate) provided inside the chamber. When the deposited film becomes thicker, the deposited film peels off, and the separated deposited material may adhere to the deposited film formed on the substrate and become a contamination (foreign matter). For this reason, it is necessary to perform maintenance work for periodically replacing or cleaning the adhesion-preventing plate (see Patent Document 1).

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9104971 (pages 2 to 4, FIG. 1)

Disclosure of the invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

[0005] In the maintenance work described above, an operator opens the top cover of the chamber of the vapor deposition apparatus, puts his head in the chamber, removes the screws of the deposition plates, removes all the deposition plates, and replaces or cleans them. After that, the deposition plate is attached to the chamber with screws, the vapor deposition apparatus is assembled, and the apparatus is adjusted. This maintenance work took a long time

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a film forming apparatus and a vapor deposition apparatus that can easily perform a maintenance operation in a short time. is there.

Means for solving the problem

In order to solve the above-described problem, a film forming apparatus according to the present invention includes an external chamber having an upper chamber portion and a lower chamber portion,

An internal channel disposed in the outer chamber and attached to the lower portion of the chamber;

A substrate holder that is disposed in the internal chamber and holds a deposition target substrate; and

The upper part of the chamber and the lower part of the chamber are formed to be separable.

[0008] According to the film forming apparatus of the present invention, the upper part of the chamber and the lower part of the chamber can be separated so that the internal chamber attached to the lower part of the chamber can be easily removed in a short time. In addition, the internal chamber 1 can be easily attached to the lower part of the chamber in a short time. As a result, the maintenance work can be easily performed in a short time.

[0009] Further, in the film forming apparatus according to the present invention, the internal chamber 1 is mounted or fitted in or attached to the lower part of the chamber so that it can be removed from the lower part of the chamber with one touch. Preferably it is. Thereby, the internal chamber 1 attached to the lower part of the chamber can be easily removed in a short time, and the internal chamber 1 can be easily attached to the lower part of the chamber in a short time.

In addition, the film forming apparatus according to the present invention may further include a vertical movement mechanism that moves the lower part of the chamber in the vertical direction.

The film forming apparatus according to the present invention may further include a moving mechanism for moving the lower part of the chamber in a direction substantially perpendicular to the vertical direction.

[0011] A vapor deposition apparatus according to the present invention includes an outer chamber having an upper part of a chamber, a lower part of the chamber, and a bottom part of the chamber,

An internal channel disposed in the outer chamber and attached to the lower portion of the chamber; An evaporation source disposed in the inner chamber and attached to the bottom of the chamber;

A substrate holder that is disposed in the internal chamber and holds a deposition target substrate at a position facing the evaporation source;

Comprising

The upper part of the chamber and the lower part of the chamber are formed to be separable, and the lower part of the chamber and the bottom of the chamber are formed to be separable.

[0012] According to the vapor deposition apparatus according to the present invention, the internal chamber 1 attached to the lower part of the chamber can be easily removed in a short time by adopting a configuration in which the upper part of the chamber and the lower part of the chamber can be separated. In addition, the internal chamber 1 can be easily attached to the lower part of the chamber in a short time. As a result, the maintenance work can be easily performed in a short time. In addition, since the lower part of the chamber and the bottom part of the chamber can be separated, the maintenance work of the evaporation source can be easily performed in a short time.

[0013] In addition, in the vapor deposition apparatus according to the present invention, the internal chamber 1 is placed or fitted in and attached to the lower part of the chamber so that it can be removed from the lower part of the chamber with one touch. I like it.

[0014] The vapor deposition apparatus according to the present invention may further include a vertical movement mechanism for moving the lower part of the chamber and the bottom part of the chamber in the vertical direction. The vapor deposition apparatus according to the present invention may further include a vertical movement mechanism that moves the bottom of the chamber in the vertical direction.

[0015] The vapor deposition apparatus according to the present invention may further include a moving mechanism that moves the lower part of the chamber and the bottom part of the chamber in a direction substantially perpendicular to the vertical direction.

The vapor deposition apparatus according to the present invention may further include a moving mechanism that moves the bottom of the chamber in a direction substantially perpendicular to the vertical direction.

The invention's effect

As described above, according to the present invention, maintenance work can be easily performed in a short time. A film forming apparatus and a vapor deposition apparatus that can be provided can be provided.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0018] (Embodiment 1)

FIG. 1 (A) is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of an organic EL vapor deposition apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. This organic EL vapor deposition apparatus is for vapor-depositing an organic EL film on a glass substrate to be a flat display panel.

[0019] The organic EL vapor deposition apparatus includes an external chamber 11, and the external chamber 1 has a chamber upper portion la and a chamber lower portion lb. The upper part la and the lower part lb of the chamber constitute the side part of the outer chamber 1, and the upper part la of the chamber and the lower part lb of the chamber can be separated from each other. A lid 2 is arranged above the upper part la of the chamber, and a base flange (bottom part of the chamber) 3 is arranged under the lower part lb of the chamber. The outer chamber 1, the lid 2 and the base flange 3 form a chamber that can maintain airtightness.

[0020] An internal chamber 6 is disposed in the external chamber 11, and this internal chamber 6 is attached to the lower part lb of the chamber. An evaporation source 7 is disposed below the internal chamber 6, and the evaporation source 7 is held by a holding member 8. The holding member 8 is attached to the base flange 3. Further, the evaporation source 7 may be provided with a heating mechanism (not shown) for heating the evaporation material or the sublimation material.

[0021] The organic EL vapor deposition apparatus includes a substrate holding mechanism 4, and the substrate holding mechanism 4 includes a substrate holding portion 4a and a rotating shaft 4b. The substrate holding unit 4a holds a film formation substrate 16 such as a glass substrate, and is disposed above the evaporation source 7 and above the internal chamber 6 so as to face the film formation substrate 16. ing. The rotating shaft 4b supports the substrate holding part 4a and applies a rotational force. The rotating shaft 4b is connected to the motor 5 via the lid portion 2, and the motor 5 rotates the substrate holding portion 4 with rotational force applied to the rotating shaft 4b.

[0022] In the organic EL vapor deposition apparatus, the inside of the internal chamber 6 is brought into a predetermined vacuum state, and the evaporation source 7 is heated by rotating the substrate holding portion 4a by the motor 5 to heat the evaporation source 7 or sublimate By releasing the material upward, a vapor deposition film is formed on the entire surface of the substrate 16. The reason why the substrate holding portion 4a is rotated in this manner is that a deposited film is formed on the substrate 16 with good in-plane uniformity as the substrate 16 rotates.

[0023] As described above, the evaporation material or the sublimation material is evaporated or sublimated in the organic EL vapor deposition apparatus, and the evaporated or sublimated vapor deposition material is deposited on the substrate 16 to form a film on the substrate 16. In the process of forming the deposited film, the deposited film also adheres to the internal chamber 16. When the thickness of the deposited vapor deposition film increases, the vapor deposition film peels off, and the peeled vapor deposition may adhere to the vapor deposition film formed on the substrate 16 and become contamination (foreign matter). For this reason, the work of replacing the internal chamber 16 is performed before the thickness of the deposited film attached to the internal chamber 16 increases.

[0024] In this replacement operation, the internal chamber 16 to which the deposited film is attached is also removed from the organic EL deposition apparatus, and the new internal chamber or the cleaned internal chamber to remove the deposited film is removed from the organic EL deposition apparatus. It is to be attached to. The removed internal chamber 6 is cleaned to remove the deposited film while the organic EL vapor deposition device is moving, and when the internal chamber is replaced next time, the cleaned internal chamber 1 is replaced with the organic EL vapor deposition device. It is preferable to be attached to.

Next, the replacement work will be described with reference to FIG. 1 (B).

FIG. 1 (B) is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the upper part of the chamber and the lower part of the chamber are separated in the organic EL vapor deposition apparatus shown in FIG. 1 (A).

As shown in FIG. 1 (B), the organic EL vapor deposition apparatus can separate the upper chamber portion la and the lower chamber portion lb, and the lower chamber portion 1 and the base flange 3 have a moving mechanism (not shown). )) Is movable up and down. When the lower chamber lb and the base flange 3 are moved downward, the inner chamber 6 attached to the lower chamber lb and the holding member 8 attached to the base flange 3 are also moved downward. In this state, the inner chamber 6 can be easily or easily removed from the lower lb of the chamber.

[0027] That is, in a state where the upper chamber portion la and the lower chamber portion lb are separated, the internal chamber 6 is placed or fitted on the upper portion of the lower chamber portion lb, and the upper chamber portion 1 is placed. In the state shown in FIG. 1A in which the lower part lb of the chamber is attached to the part la, the inner chamber 6 is sandwiched between the upper part la of the chamber and the lower part lb of the chamber. Therefore, in a state where the upper part la and the lower part lb of the chamber are separated from each other, the inner chamber 16 can be easily removed from the lower part lb of the chamber with one touch.

[0028] According to the first embodiment, by adopting a configuration in which the upper chamber la and the lower chamber lb can be separated, the internal chamber 6 can be easily removed in a short time, and the internal chamber Can be easily installed in a short time. As a result, maintenance work for replacing the internal chamber can be easily performed in a short time. Therefore, the operating rate of the organic EL vapor deposition equipment can be improved.

[0029] In addition, by replacing the internal chamber 1 in a short time, the time required to open the external chamber 11 to the atmosphere can be shortened.

In the state where the internal chamber 6 is removed, the holding member 8 is attached to the base flange 3, and the evaporation source 7 is attached to the holding member 8. In this state, it is easy to clean the evaporation source 7 and replenish the evaporation source 7 with an evaporation material or a sublimation material.

[0031] In the present embodiment, the internal chamber 16 is mounted on the upper part of the lower part lb of the chamber, but the internal chamber 1 is fixed to the lower part of the chamber with a fixing means (for example, a screw). It is also possible.

[Embodiment 2]

FIG. 2 (A) is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of the organic EL vapor deposition apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 (B) is a lower part of the chamber of the organic EL vapor deposition apparatus shown in FIG. 2 (A). FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the base flange and the base flange are separated. In FIG. 2, the same parts as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description of the same parts is omitted.

[0033] The organic EL vapor deposition apparatus shown in Fig. 2 (A) is configured such that the chamber upper part la and the chamber lower part lb are separable as in the organic EL vapor deposition apparatus according to the first embodiment. As shown in (B), the lower part of the chamber and the base flange are also separable. The base flange 3 is configured to be movable up and down by a moving mechanism (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 2 (B), by moving the base flange 3 downward, the holding member 8 attached to the base flange 3 and the evaporation source 7 held by the holding member 8 are also lowered. Moving. In this state, the evaporation source 7 can be easily detached from the holding member 8.

[0035] In the second embodiment, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

[0036] Further, in the present embodiment, a configuration in which the lower part lb of the chamber and the base flange 3 can be separated to perform maintenance work of the evaporation source 7 (replenishment of evaporation material or sublimation material, cleaning of the evaporation source, evaporation source) Can be easily performed in a short time. Therefore

The operating rate of the organic EL vapor deposition equipment can be improved.

[0037] (Embodiment 3)

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing an organic EL vapor deposition apparatus according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a state where the upper part of the chamber and the lower part of the chamber are separated in the organic EL vapor deposition apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing a state where the lower part of the chamber is laterally moved (slid) in the organic EL vapor deposition apparatus shown in FIG. 3, parts that are the same as those in FIG. 1 are given the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof are omitted.

[0038] The configuration of the external chamber 1, the lid 2, the base flange 3, the substrate holding mechanism 4, the internal chamber 6, the evaporation source 7, and the holding member 8 in the organic EL vapor deposition apparatus shown in FIG.

, 2 is the same.

[0039] The base flange 3 is attached to a sliding guide member 9, and can be slid in the lateral direction (substantially perpendicular to the vertical direction) on the sliding guide member 9. The slide guide member 9 is held by the first mount plate 10. A slide motor 11 is attached to the first mount plate 10, and the base flange 3 and the lower one lb of the chamber are moved laterally on the slide guide member 9 by the rotational driving force of the slide motor 11. (Slide) can be made to speak.

[0040] The second mount plate 13 is connected to the first mount plate 10 via elevating ball screws 12a and 12b which are elevating guide members. Ascending / descending driving force transmitting joints 14a, 14b, 14c are attached to the second mount plate 13. The base end of the lifting ball screw 12a is connected to the lifting drive force transmission joint 14a, and the base end of the lifting ball screw 12b is connected to the lifting drive force transmission joint 14b. The lifting drive force transmission joints 14a to 14c are connected to each other by ball screws. The lifting drive force transmission joint 14 c is connected to the lifting motor 15. Rotation of this lifting motor 15 The driving force is transmitted to the lifting ball screws 12a and 12b via the lifting driving force transmission joints 14a to 14c. The first mount plate 10 can be moved up and down by rotating the elevating ball screws 12a and 12b.

[0041] After the vapor deposition film is formed on the substrate 16 with the organic EL vapor deposition apparatus in the state shown in FIG. 3, the internal chamber 6 is replaced. This replacement work will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, as shown in FIG. 4, the elevating ball screw is rotated by transmitting the rotational driving force of the elevating motor 15 to the elevating ball screws 12a and 12b via the elevating driving force transmitting joints 14a to 14c. As a result, the lower part lb of the chamber, the base flange 3, the internal chamber 6, the evaporation source 7 and the holding mechanism 8 are lowered together with the first mount plate 10 to separate the upper chamber part la and the lower chamber part lb.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the base flange 3 and the lower one lb of the chamber are moved laterally (slid) on the sliding guide member 9 by the rotational driving force of the sliding motor 11. As a result, the internal chamber 6 and the evaporation source 7 are moved from below the upper portion la of the chamber. That is, a space is provided above the internal chamber 6 and the evaporation source 7.

[0044] Next, the internal chamber 16 is removed from the lower chamber lb with a single touch, and a new internal chamber or a cleaned internal chamber 1 that removes the deposited film is attached to the lower chamber lb. It is preferable to clean the removed internal chamber 6 to remove the deposited film while the OLED evaporation system is moving.

Next, the base flange 3 and the lower chamber lb are slid on the sliding guide member 9 by the rotational driving force of the sliding motor 11 and moved below the upper one la of the chamber. Next, the lift ball screw is rotated by transmitting the rotational drive force of the lift motor 15 to the lift ball screws 12a and 12b via the lift drive force transmitting joints 14a to 14c. As a result, the lower chamber lb, the base flange 3, the inner chamber 6, the evaporation source 7 and the holding mechanism 8 are raised together with the first mount plate 10, and the upper chamber la and the lower chamber lb are connected together. Turn into.

[0046] Maintenance work can be easily performed in a short time by exchanging the internal chamber by the method described above. Therefore, the operating rate of OLED vapor deposition equipment is improved. Can be made. Further, the time for opening the external chamber 1 to the atmosphere can be shortened by replacing the internal chamber 1 in a short time. When the internal chamber 6 is removed, the holding member 8 is attached to the base flange 3 and the evaporation source 7 is attached to the holding member 8. In this state, it is easy to clean the evaporation source 7 and replenish the evaporation source 7 with the evaporation material or the sublimation material.

In addition, the organic EL vapor deposition apparatus shown in FIG. 3 is configured so that the lower lb of the chamber and the base flange 3 can also be separated. Therefore, the lower chamber lb and the base flange 3 can be separated in the same manner as when the upper chamber la and the lower chamber lb are separated. This will be described below.

[0048] First, the elevating ball screws 12a and 12b are rotated by the elevating motor 15, and the base flange 3, the evaporation source 7 and the holding mechanism 8 are lowered together with the first mount plate 10, and the base flange 3 and the lower part of the chamber are lowered. Separate lb. Next, the base flange 3 is laterally moved (slid) on the slide guide member 9 by the slide motor 11, and the evaporation source 7 is moved from below the upper portion la of the chamber. That is, a space (space) is provided above the evaporation source 7. Next, remove the evaporation source 7 from the holding member 8 and perform maintenance work of the evaporation source 7 (replenishment of evaporation material or sublimation material, cleaning of the evaporation source, elimination of defects in the evaporation source, etc.)

[0049] Next, the base flange 3 is slid on the slide guide member 9 by the slide motor 11 and moved below the lower part lb of the chamber. Next, the lifting ball screws 12a and 12b are rotated by the lifting motor 15 to raise the base flange 3, the evaporation source 7 and the holding mechanism 8 together with the first mount plate 10, and the lower one lb of the chamber and the base flange 3 are connected. Connect them together.

[0050] By performing the maintenance work by the method as described above, the work can be easily performed in a short time. Therefore, the operating rate of the organic EL vapor deposition apparatus can be improved. Also, by performing the maintenance work in a short time, the time for opening the external chamber 11 to the atmosphere can be shortened.

[0051] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the above embodiment In modes 1 to 3, the present invention is applied to an organic EL vapor deposition apparatus, but the present invention can also be applied to other film forming apparatuses such as a sputtering apparatus and a CVD (chemical vapor deposition) apparatus.

Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 (A) is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of an organic EL vapor deposition apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and (B) is a schematic diagram of a chamber in the organic EL vapor deposition apparatus shown in (A). FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where an upper part and a lower part of a chamber are separated.

[FIG. 2] (A) is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of an organic EL vapor deposition apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, and (B) is a lower part of a chamber and a base of the organic EL vapor deposition apparatus shown in (A). It is sectional drawing which shows the state which isolate | separated the flange.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing an organic EL vapor deposition apparatus according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

4 is a configuration diagram showing a state where the upper part of the chamber and the lower part of the chamber are separated in the organic EL vapor deposition apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing a state where the lower part of the chamber is laterally moved (slid) in the organic EL vapor deposition apparatus shown in FIG. 3.

Explanation of symbols

[0053] 1 ... External chamber

la… Upper chamber

lb ... Lower chamber

2 ... Lid

3… Base flange (bottom of the chamber)

4 ... Board holding mechanism

4a… Substrate holder

4b ... Rotation axis

5 ··· Motor

6 ... Internal chamber

7 ... Evaporation source

8 ... Holding member .... Guide material for slide

... first mount plate

.... Slide motor

a, 12b ... Elevating ball screw

... Second mounting plate

a, 14b, 14c… Joint for lifting drive force transmission… Lifting motor

.... Deposition substrate

Claims

The scope of the claims

[1] an outer chamber having an upper chamber portion and a lower chamber portion;

The film forming apparatus characterized in that the upper part of the chamber and the lower part of the chamber are separably formed.

[2] The component according to claim 1, wherein the inner chamber is mounted by being placed or fitted in the lower part of the chamber so that the force of the lower part of the chamber can be removed with one touch. Membrane device.

3. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a vertical movement mechanism that moves the lower part of the chamber in the vertical direction.

4. The film forming apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a moving mechanism that moves the lower part of the chamber in a direction substantially perpendicular to the vertical direction.

[5] an outer chamber having an upper chamber portion, a lower chamber portion and a lower chamber portion; an internal chamber disposed in the outer chamber portion and attached to the lower portion of the chamber;

An evaporation source disposed in the inner chamber and attached to the bottom of the chamber;

Comprising

[6] In Claim 5, the inner chamber is mounted by being mounted or fitted on the lower part of the chamber so that the lower force of the lower part of the chamber can be removed with one touch. A vapor deposition apparatus characterized by being struck.

7. The vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a vertical movement mechanism that moves the lower part of the chamber and the bottom part of the chamber upward and downward.

[8]

The deposition apparatus further comprises a vertical movement mechanism for moving the bottom of the chamber in the vertical direction.

9. The vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a moving mechanism that moves the lower part of the chamber and the bottom part of the chamber in a direction substantially perpendicular to the vertical direction.

10. The vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a moving mechanism that moves the bottom of the chamber in a direction substantially perpendicular to the vertical direction.