WO2007099929A1

WO2007099929A1 - Organic thin film depositing method and organic thin film depositing apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2007099929A1
Application number: PCT/JP2007/053579
Authority: WO
Inventors: Toshio Negishi; Koji Hane
Original assignee: Ulvac, Inc.
Priority date: 2006-02-28
Filing date: 2007-02-27
Publication date: 2007-09-07
Also published as: TW200806805A

Abstract

Provided is an organic thin film depositing method by which accuracy of aligning a carrier with a substrate can be improved. An organic thin film depositing apparatus is also provided. In the organic thin film forming apparatus, substrates (4) carried into a vacuum chamber (2) are held by removable pallets (9), and while successively transferring the substrates (4), organic thin films are formed by deposition on the substrates. A transferring return section (15) is provided between a substrate taking out position (2b) and a deposition start position (2c) in the vacuum chamber (2), for transferring the pallet (9) separated from the substrate (4) after deposition, to the deposition start position (2c) through an upper section of a deposition area (11). The substrate carry-in position (2a) in the vacuum chamber (2) is provided with the substrate (4), a mask (6) for forming a deposition pattern, and an aligning mechanism (8) for aligning the pallet (9) from the vertical direction.

Description

Specification

Organic thin film deposition method and organic thin film deposition apparatus

Technical field

The present invention relates to an organic thin film deposition method and an organic thin film deposition apparatus for forming, for example, a light emitting layer of an organic EL element.

Background art

Conventionally, a vacuum deposition apparatus has been used to form a light emitting layer of an organic EL element. In such a vacuum deposition apparatus, in order to efficiently deposit on many substrates, a pallet is used. The substrate and the mask are held on a simple carrier, and the vapor deposition is performed while moving as an integrated assembly.

[0003] Then, when vapor deposition is completed, the substrate is detached from the carrier, and the carrier and the mask are returned to the substrate carry-in position and used again (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2). ).

[0004] However, such a conventional technique has a problem that the mechanism for returning the transport body becomes a large scale, and as a result, the installation area of the apparatus increases.

In addition, in the prior art, it is necessary to perform alignment when mounting the substrate on the carrier. It is difficult to perform alignment with high accuracy.

Patent Document 1: JP-A-2005-85605

Patent Document 2: JP-A-2005-97655

Disclosure of the invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the conventional technology, and an object of the present invention is to provide an organic thin film vapor deposition method and an organic thin film vapor deposition apparatus that can reduce the installation area.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an organic thin film vapor deposition method and an organic thin film vapor deposition apparatus that can improve the alignment accuracy between the carrier and the substrate. Means for solving the problem

[0006] The present invention, which has been made to achieve the above object, deposits an organic thin film on a substrate while the substrate carried in the vacuum chamber is held by a detachable carrier and sequentially conveyed. In the organic thin film deposition method, in the vacuum chamber, the transport body is detached from the substrate after the deposition, and the transport body is returned to the deposition start position via the upper part of the deposition region, and the vacuum chamber A process of mounting a new substrate carried into the carrier on the carrier.

In the present invention, in the above invention, a light emitting layer for an organic EL element is formed on the substrate.

The present invention is an organic thin film vapor deposition apparatus that deposits an organic thin film on a substrate while holding the substrate carried in a vacuum chamber by a removable carrier and sequentially carrying the substrate. In the tank, there is a transport return unit that transports the transport body detached from the substrate after the completion of the deposition to the deposition start position via the upper part of the deposition region and the vicinity of the substrate carry-in port.

According to the present invention, in the above invention, an alignment mechanism that aligns the substrate, a mask for forming a vapor deposition pattern, and the carrier from above and below can be provided.

In this invention, in the said invention, a partition part can also be provided between the said vapor deposition area | region and the said conveyance return part.

In the present invention, in the above invention, in order to carry out a mask replacement carry-in port for carrying an unused replacement mask into the vacuum chamber and a deposited replacement mask from the vacuum chamber in the vacuum chamber. It is also possible to provide a mask exchange carry-out port.

In this case, in the present invention, the mask exchange carry-in port can be arranged in a region where the carrier is raised after the vapor deposition.

[0007] In the present invention, in the vacuum chamber, the carrier separated from the substrate after completion of the vapor deposition is returned to the vapor deposition start position via the upper part of the vapor deposition region. As a result, it is not necessary to provide a region for returning the carrier adjacent to the vapor deposition region, thereby making it possible to reduce the installation area of the vacuum chamber. [0008] Further, according to the present invention, since the substrate and the carrier can be aligned from above and below, the alignment accuracy between the substrate and the carrier can be improved.

[0009] In the present invention, in the case where an alignment mechanism for aligning the substrate, the carrier, and the mask for forming the vapor deposition pattern from the vertical direction is provided, the position of the substrate and the mask It is possible to improve the alignment accuracy and form a high-definition pattern.

[0010] Further, in the present invention, if a partition is provided between the vapor deposition region and the transport return portion, it is possible to prevent vapor contamination of the vaporized material.

Furthermore, in the present invention, if a mask exchange carry-in port for carrying in an unused replacement mask and a mask exchange carry-out port for carrying out a vapor-deposited replacement mask are provided in the vacuum chamber, the vapor-deposited product can be obtained. Various deposition patterns can be continuously formed while replacing a mask with a new mask.

Furthermore, in the present invention, when the mask exchange carry-in port is disposed in a region where the carrier after the deposition is lifted, the substrate and the replacement mask are moved as the carrier is raised. You can put them together and put them together. As a result, the structure of the mechanism part including the alignment mechanism can be simplified, and the alignment operation can be performed quickly and the tact time can be reduced.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vapor deposition apparatus for an organic EL element capable of continuously and rapidly forming a high-definition pattern having a small installation area of a vacuum chamber. The invention's effect

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an organic thin film deposition apparatus that has a small installation area and that can improve the alignment accuracy of the carrier and the substrate.

Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an embodiment of an organic thin film forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall operation explanatory diagram showing a method for forming an organic thin film using the same embodiment.

[Fig. 3] (a) (b): An explanatory view showing the alignment operation of the substrate and the mask in the embodiment. [FIG. 4] (a) (b): The alignment operation of the substrate and the mask in the embodiment. FIG. 5 is an overall operation explanatory diagram showing the procedures for mask replacement and alignment in the same embodiment. [FIG. 6] (a) (b): Operation illustrating mask exchange and alignment procedures in the same embodiment.

[FIG. 7] (a) (b): Operation illustrating mask replacement and alignment procedures in the same embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram of another embodiment of the organic thin film forming apparatus of the present invention.

[FIG. 9] (a) (b): Explanatory drawing showing the alignment operation of the substrate and the mask in the same embodiment.

[0013] 1 …… Organic thin film forming equipment 2 …… Vacuum chamber 2a …… Substrate carry-in position 2b …… Substrate take-out position 2c …… Deposition start position 4 …… Substrate 5 …… Substrate carry-in port 6 …… Mask 8 …… Alignment mechanism 9 …… Pallet (conveyance body) 10a ～ 10e …… Deposition source 11 …… Deposition region 15 …… Conveying return part 16 …… Partition part 20 …… Substrate assembly Best mode for carrying out the invention

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

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an organic thin film forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is an overall operation explanatory view showing an organic thin film forming method using the same embodiment, and FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b) are explanatory views showing the alignment operation of the substrate and the mask in the same embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, an organic thin film forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is an inline-type long vacuum vapor deposition apparatus, and has a vacuum chamber 2 connected to a vacuum exhaust system (not shown). And speak.

The vacuum chamber 2 is connected to the pretreatment chamber 3 at one end of the vacuum chamber 2. Then, the pretreated substrate 4 is loaded into the vacuum chamber 2 from the pretreatment chamber 3 through the substrate carry-in port 5! RU

The vacuum chamber 2 is connected to, for example, a sputtering chamber 13 at the other end of the vacuum chamber 2. Then, the vapor-deposited substrate 4 is carried into the processing chamber such as the sputtering chamber 13 from the vacuum chamber 2 through the substrate carry-out port 12.

Note that the substrate 4 used in the present embodiment also has a transparent glass substrate force, for example, and a filter and a transparent electrode film (not shown) are laminated on the upper surface thereof.

An alignment mechanism 8 is provided at the substrate loading position 2 a in the vicinity of the substrate loading port 5 of the vacuum chamber 2. This alignment mechanism 8 filters the substrate 4 loaded from the substrate loading port 5. The ret (conveyance body) 9 is configured to be mounted and held together with the mask 6 in the vertical (vertical) direction.

In the case of the present embodiment, a mask carry-in port 7 for carrying in an unused replacement mask 6a is provided below the alignment mechanism 8 in the vacuum chamber 2.

Here, the replacement mask 6a is carried into the external force vacuum chamber 2 in the horizontal direction (in the direction orthogonal to the paper surface in the figure) from the mask carry-in port 7, and is lifted by the carrying mechanism (not shown) to the alignment mechanism 8. I am starting to hand it over.

In the present embodiment, the pallet 9 is also a frame-shaped member that is larger than the substrate 4, and is provided with an opening (not shown) that is slightly smaller than the substrate 4. The mask 6 has substantially the same size as the substrate 4 and is provided with openings (not shown) corresponding to the vapor deposition pattern. Then, the substrate 4 is mounted and held on the pallet 9 via the mask 6 and is transported as a substrate assembly 20 in one piece! / Speak.

A plurality of vapor deposition sources 10a to 10e are disposed in the lower part of the vacuum chamber 2. A predetermined organic material (not shown) for forming the light emitting layer of the organic EL element is accommodated in each of the vapor deposition sources 10 a to 1 Oe.

[0020] Then, the substrate 4 held on the pallet 9 together with the mask 6, that is, the substrate assembly 20 is provided.

From the position of the alignment mechanism 8, the substrate is transported in the horizontal direction toward the substrate unloading port 12 via the deposition start position 2 c by a transport mechanism (not shown), and sequentially deposits the deposition region 11 on the deposition sources 10 a to 10 e. It is configured to pass.

A separation mechanism (not shown) for separating the substrate 4 and the vaporized replacement mask 6b from the pallet 9 is provided at the substrate removal position 2b in the vicinity of the substrate carry-out port 12 of the vacuum chamber 2.

Here, the substrate 4 detached from the pallet 9 is transferred from the substrate carry-out port 12 to, for example, the sputtering chamber 13! /.

Further, a mask carry-out port 14 for carrying out the deposited replacement mask 6b is provided below the substrate take-out position 2b.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, a transport return unit 15 is provided in the upper part of the vacuum chamber 2.

The transport return unit 15 includes a transport mechanism 15a that also has, for example, roller force. And The pallet 9 and the mask 6 from which the substrate 4 has been detached and the mask 6 (only the pallet 9 when replacing the mask 6) are placed above the deposition region 11 (for example, the position immediately above) in the direction opposite to the deposition direction, that is, to the substrate carry-in entrance 5 It is comprised so that it may convey toward.

In addition, a partition 16 for preventing contamination is provided between the vapor deposition region 11 and the transport return unit 15.

In order to perform vapor deposition on the substrate 4 in the present embodiment having such a configuration, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of pallets 9 with masks 6 are arranged in advance on the above-described transport return unit 15. Oh

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Then, as shown in FIG. 3 (a), the pallet 9 with the mask 6 located at the upper part of the substrate loading position 2a is lowered, and the pallet 9 with the mask 6 is arranged at the lower part of the alignment mechanism 8.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), the substrate 4 is carried into the vacuum chamber 2 from the substrate carry-in entrance 5 and placed at a position above the pallet 9 with the mask 6 of the alignment mechanism 8. The substrate 4 and the mask 6 are made to face each other.

[0026] Then, the substrate 4 and the mask 6 are aligned by the alignment mechanism 8, and the pallet 9 is moved upward to attach the substrate 4 and the mask 6 together as shown in FIG. 4 (a). The board assembly 20 is assumed.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 4B, the substrate assembly 20 is moved to the deposition start position 2c, and a predetermined organic material is deposited on the surface of the substrate 4 through the mask 6.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the substrate 4 is detached from the pallet 9 with respect to the substrate assembly 20 that has reached the substrate extraction position 2b after vapor deposition, and this substrate 4 is removed from the substrate carry-out port 12 to the sputtering chamber 13. Transport to.

On the other hand, the pallet 9 with the mask 6 is moved above the substrate take-out position 2b, transferred to the carry-back unit 15, and conveyed toward the substrate carry-in position 2a.

[0029] Thereafter, a new substrate 4 is sequentially carried into the vacuum chamber 2, and the substrate 4 is mounted on the mask 6 on the pallet 9 in the above-described procedure, and the organic material is deposited via the deposition start position 2c. In addition, the pallet 9 is transported to the board loading position 2a.

By the way, in the present embodiment, the above-described procedure is performed and the mask 6 is used a plurality of times. After that, replace it.

FIG. 5, FIG. 6 (a) (b) and FIG. 7 (a) (b) are operation explanatory views showing the procedures of mask replacement and alignment in the present embodiment.

In the case of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, after deposition is completed, the substrate 4 is detached from the pallet 9 and transferred to the sputtering chamber 13 at the substrate extraction position 2b. On the other hand, the deposited replacement mask 6b is detached from the pallet 9 and carried out from the mask carry-out port 14 to the outside of the vacuum chamber 2.

[0032] Then, the pallet 9 is moved above the substrate take-out position 2b, transferred to the transfer return unit 15, and transferred toward the substrate carry-in position 2a.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 6 (a), the pallet 9 positioned above the substrate loading position 2a is lowered and placed at the position below the alignment mechanism 8.

Next, in the next step, the replacement mask 6a is carried in from the mask carry-in port 7 in the horizontal direction, and as shown in FIG. 6 (b), the replacement mask 6a is raised in the vertical direction and then carried in the horizontal direction. Then, place it at a position above the pallet 9 of the alignment mechanism 8.

Then, as shown in FIG. 7 (a), the substrate 4 is carried into the vacuum chamber 2 from the substrate carry-in entrance 5, and is disposed at a position above the mask 6 of the alignment mechanism 8, so that the substrate 4 Make mask 6 face each other.

[0035] Further, the alignment mechanism 8 aligns the substrate 4 and the mask 6, and

7 As shown in (b), the pallet 9 is raised and the substrate 4 and the mask 6 are mounted together.

Thereafter, the substrate assembly 20 is moved to the deposition start position 2c, and a predetermined organic material is deposited on the surface of the substrate 4 through the mask 6 as described above.

As described above, in the present embodiment, in the vacuum chamber 2, the pallet 9 (and the mask 6) from which the force of the substrate 4 after the vapor deposition is also released is transferred to the transport return unit above the vapor deposition region 11. Since the substrate 15 is returned to the substrate loading position 2a via 15, the area for returning the pallet 9 does not need to be provided adjacent to the vapor deposition area 11, thereby reducing the installation area of the vacuum chamber 2.

In the present embodiment, since the alignment mechanism 8 that aligns the vertical force of the substrate 4, the mask 6, and the pallet 9 is provided, the alignment accuracy of the substrate 4 and the mask 6 is provided. Thus, a high-definition pattern can be formed on the substrate 4. [0038] Further, in the present embodiment, since the partitioning portion 16 is provided between the vapor deposition region 11 and the transport return portion 15, the vaporization is performed without causing vapor contamination of the evaporation material. be able to.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the mask carry-in port 7 for carrying in the unused replacement mask 6a and the mask carry-out port 14 for carrying out the deposited exchange mask 6b are provided. Various deposition patterns can be continuously formed while carrying in and replacing a new replacement mask 6a in place of the deposited replacement mask 6b.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the organic thin film deposition apparatus 1 for an organic EL element capable of continuously and rapidly forming a high-definition pattern with a small installation area of the vacuum chamber 2 is provided. Can be provided.

FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 (a) and (b) show other embodiments of the present invention. In the following, parts corresponding to those of the above-described embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals. Detailed description is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 8, the organic thin film deposition apparatus 1 A of the present embodiment is configured by providing an alignment mechanism 8 above the substrate extraction position 2 b in the vacuum chamber 2.

Then, in the vicinity of the alignment mechanism 8 (for example, as shown in FIG. 8, a height position on the upper side from the middle of the alignment mechanism 8), a substrate carry-in port 17 for carrying the substrate 4 and a replacement mask 6a A mask inlet 7 is provided for carrying in.

In the case of the present embodiment, the substrate carry-in port 17 is disposed above the mask carry-in port 7 and is configured to carry in the base 4 or the mask 6 in the horizontal direction, respectively.

[0043] In the case of the present embodiment, a folded region 2d for lowering the substrate assembly 20 and transporting it to the deposition start position 2c is provided at a portion corresponding to the substrate carry-in position 2a of the above embodiment. ing.

In the present embodiment having such a configuration, as shown in FIG. 9 (a), after the deposition is completed, the substrate 4 is detached from the pallet 9 and transferred to the sputtering chamber 13 at the substrate extraction position 2b. At the same time, the pallet 9 with the mask 6 is moved above the substrate take-out position 2b and placed below the alignment mechanism 8.

[0045] Then, the substrate 4 is horizontally loaded into the vacuum chamber 2 from the upper substrate loading port 17, and Arrange the positioning mechanism 8 above the pallet 9 and make the substrate 4 and the mask 6 face each other. After that, the alignment mechanism 8 aligns the substrate 4 and the mask 6, as shown in Fig. 9 (b). In this way, the pallet 9 with the mask 6 is raised and the substrate 4 and the mask 6 are mounted together.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 8, the substrate assembly 20 is moved to the deposition start position 2c via the folded region 18, and as described above, a predetermined organic material is deposited on the surface of the substrate 4 via the mask 6. I do.

When exchanging the mask 6, after completion of the vapor deposition, the substrate 4 is detached from the pallet 9 and transferred to the sputtering chamber 13 at the substrate extraction position 2 b. On the other hand, the deposited replacement mask 6b is detached from the pallet 9 and carried out from the mask outlet 14. Further, the pallet 9 is moved above the substrate take-out position 2b and disposed below the alignment mechanism 8.

Then, the substrate 4 is carried into the vacuum chamber 2 from the substrate carry-in port 17, and the replacement mask 6 a including the mask carry-in port 7 is carried into the vacuum vessel 2. Then, the substrate 4 and the replacement mask 6a are arranged at a position above the pallet 9 of the alignment mechanism 8 so that the substrate 4 and the replacement mask 6a face each other.

[0048] After that, the alignment mechanism 8 aligns the substrate 4 and the replacement mask 6a, and raises the pallet 9 to attach the substrate 4 and the replacement mask 6a together. Thereafter, the above-described substrate transfer and mask vapor deposition operations are performed.

[0049] According to the present embodiment having such a configuration, in addition to the same effects as those of the above-described embodiment, it is possible to align the substrate 4 and the mask 6 as the pallet 9 is raised. Thus, the configuration of the mechanism portion including the alignment mechanism 8 can be simplified. In addition, the alignment operation can be performed quickly to shorten the tact time.

Since other configurations and operational effects are the same as those of the above-described embodiment, detailed description thereof is omitted.

[0050] Note that the present invention can be applied not only to a vacuum vapor deposition apparatus for forming a light emitting layer of an organic EL element but also to various organic thin film forming apparatuses.

However, the present invention is applied to an apparatus for forming a light emitting layer of an organic EL element. Is the most effective.

Claims

The scope of the claims

[1] An organic thin film vapor deposition method for depositing an organic thin film on a substrate while holding the substrate carried in a vacuum chamber by a removable carrier and sequentially transporting the substrate. In the vacuum chamber, the transport body is detached from the substrate after the completion of vapor deposition, and the transport body is returned to the vapor deposition start position via the upper part of the vapor deposition region, and a new substrate carried into the vacuum chamber. An organic thin film vapor deposition method comprising a step of attaching the substrate to the carrier.

2. The organic thin film deposition method according to claim 1, wherein a light emitting layer for an organic EL element is formed on the substrate.

[3] Inside the vacuum chamber! An organic thin film vapor deposition apparatus for performing vapor deposition of an organic thin film on the substrate while sequentially transporting the substrate carried in by being held by a detachable carrier, and in the vacuum chamber, An organic thin film deposition apparatus, comprising: a transport return unit that transports the transport body separated from the substrate to the deposition start position via the upper part of the deposition region and the vicinity of the substrate carry-in entrance.

4. The organic thin film deposition apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising an alignment mechanism that aligns the substrate, a mask for forming a deposition pattern, and the carrier from above and below.

5. The organic thin film vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a partition portion is provided between the vapor deposition region and the transport return portion.

[6] The vacuum chamber is provided with a mask exchange carry-in port for carrying an unused exchange mask into the vacuum vessel, and a mask exchange carry-out port for carrying out the vapor-deposited exchange mask into the vacuum vessel. 4. The organic thin film deposition apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the organic thin film deposition apparatus is obtained.

7. The organic thin film vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the mask exchange carry-in port is disposed in a region where the carrier after the vapor deposition is lifted.