JPH11229123A - Vapor deposition equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To improve the use efficiency of expensive organic EL materials,
Provided is a vapor deposition apparatus that can significantly reduce the cost of an organic EL element. SOLUTION: An evaporation source shutter 19 for opening and closing an opening 16A of a crucible 16 is rotatably provided in a film forming chamber 12, and a vaporized evaporation material to be attached to a lower surface of the evaporation source shutter 19 is sucked by a suction pipe 26. To allow the vapor deposition material 15 to be recovered in the vapor deposition material recovery tank 27. For this reason, it is possible to effectively collect a deposition material that is wasted at the time of non-film formation, so that the use efficiency of an expensive organic EL material is improved and the cost of the organic EL element can be greatly reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vapor deposition apparatus,
More specifically, the present invention relates to a vacuum deposition apparatus for depositing an organic material.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a vapor deposition apparatus that evaporates an organic material in a film forming chamber to form an organic film on a substrate on which the film is to be formed. This vapor deposition apparatus is used, for example, when forming an organic EL layer 4 in an organic electroluminescence element (hereinafter, referred to as an organic EL element) 1 as shown in FIG. Here, a method for manufacturing the organic EL element 1 will be briefly described. As shown in FIG. 6, a transparent conductive film is formed on a glass substrate 2 by, for example, a plasma CVD apparatus, and the transparent conductive film is patterned into a striped anode electrode 3 by using a photolithography technique.
Next, using a metal hard mask,
Each organic film having a function as a hole transport layer, a light emitting layer, and an electron transport layer is sequentially formed to form an organic EL layer 4. Thereafter, a conductive film having a low work function is formed using a metal hard mask by a vapor deposition apparatus to form a striped cathode electrode 5 intersecting with the anode electrode 4 via the organic EL layer 4. As described above, the deposition apparatus is used for forming the organic EL layer 4 and the cathode electrode 5.

As shown in FIG. 7, a vapor deposition apparatus 31 is configured such that a susceptor 34 for holding a glass substrate 33 as a substrate on which a film is to be formed is provided in a film formation chamber 32, and a deposition material 36 is provided in the film formation chamber 32. A crucible 35 serving as a vapor deposition source is disposed so that is evaporated. The crucible 35 is usually made of molybdenum (Mo), tantalum (Ta), or the like. As a heating method, resistance heating is performed as shown in FIG. The glass substrate 3 is provided above the opening 35A of the crucible 35.
3 is held by the susceptor 34 with the surface to be deposited facing downward. Further, a vapor deposition source shutter 37 that opens and closes the opening 34A of the crucible 35 is provided integrally with the drive shaft 38, and by controlling the rotation of the drive shaft 38, the vapor deposition material above the opening 35A of the crucible 35 The evaporative flow is blocked or opened. By such an evaporation source shutter 37, the evaporation material 36 on the glass substrate 33 is formed.
The start and end of the film formation are controlled.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Such a vapor deposition apparatus 3
When the organic EL layer is formed in step 1, the evaporation rate of the organic EL material depends on the temperature of the evaporation source. Therefore, organic E
In order to ensure the uniformity of the thickness of the L layer, it is very important to control the temperature of the evaporation source. Further, the thickness and uniformity of the organic EL layer are important conditions relating to the element performance of the organic EL element. Therefore, it is necessary to stop the film formation when the film thickness reaches a predetermined value. As a method thereof, the film formation is stopped by lowering the temperature of the evaporation source 36 below the evaporation temperature or by forcibly closing the evaporation source shutter 37 while the organic EL material is evaporated. . Normally, in a mass production process of continuous production, the latter method is inevitable in consideration of productivity. because,
This is because the time required to evaporate the organic EL material from the evaporation source and the time required to evaporate the organic EL material are required to be about 30 to 60 minutes, so that the time loss is large.

However, during the production tact (the cycle time from when the glass substrate is carried into the film formation chamber and the film is formed and then the glass substrate is carried out and the next glass substrate to be formed next comes), Is 50% or less. In other words, 50% or more of the production tact has the organic EL material deposited on the lower surface of the evaporation source shutter.
More than half of the material is wasted. Also,
When the organic film attached to the evaporation source shutter 37 becomes thicker, organic film scum falls into the evaporation source and is mixed therein.
There is a problem that the stability of film formation performed on a glass substrate is impaired. Particularly, since the organic EL material is very expensive, the loss of the material is one of the major causes of the high cost of the product.

[0006] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to improve the efficiency of using expensive organic materials and to obtain a vapor deposition apparatus capable of greatly reducing the cost of an organic EL element. Is it good?

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A deposition source to be heated and a substrate to be deposited are disposed in a deposition chamber, and a deposition source that performs an opening / closing operation to block outflow of a deposition material evaporated from the deposition source when the deposition is not performed. A vapor deposition apparatus provided with a shutter, characterized by comprising means for collecting vapor deposition material evaporated toward the vapor deposition source shutter.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the vapor deposition material evaporated toward the vapor deposition source shutter and the vapor deposition material adhered to the vapor deposition source shutter can be effectively recovered by the recovery means. By collecting the evaporation material evaporated at the time other than the time of film formation, the cost for film formation can be significantly reduced.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the vapor deposition apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the recovery means sucks the vapor deposition material to be vapor deposited on the vapor source shutter and transports the vapor to a recovery tank. .

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the amount of the vapor deposition material adhering to the vapor deposition source shutter can be reduced by sucking the vapor deposition material evaporated into the recovery tank, and the recovered vapor deposition material can be reused. Can be.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the vapor deposition apparatus according to the first aspect, the recovery means comes into contact with the vapor deposition source shutter and peels off the vapor deposition material adhered to the vapor deposition source shutter. And

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the vapor deposition apparatus according to the third aspect, the collecting means peels off the vapor deposition material adhered to a surface of the vapor deposition source shutter in accordance with an opening and closing operation of the vapor deposition source shutter. -It is a collection container for collecting.

According to the third and fourth aspects of the present invention,
By removing the deposition material attached to the deposition source shutter, the deposition material can be reused.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the vapor deposition apparatus according to the present invention will be described below based on embodiments. (Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a sectional explanatory view showing Embodiment 1 of a vapor deposition apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of a main part of the vapor deposition apparatus of this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, a susceptor 14 for holding a glass substrate 13 as a substrate on which a film is to be formed is provided in an upper part of a film forming chamber 12 of the vapor deposition apparatus 11 of the present embodiment. Further, a crucible 16 as a vapor deposition source for accommodating a vapor deposition material 15 such as an organic EL material is disposed at a lower portion in the film forming chamber 12 with the opening 16A facing upward. As shown in the figure, the crucible 16 is provided with a heating coil 17, and the temperature of the heating coil 17 is controlled according to the evaporation temperature of the deposition material. In the present embodiment, a pair of crucibles 16 and 16 are arranged below the film forming chamber 12. And
A rotary drive shaft 18 is provided below the film forming chamber 12, and the rotary drive shaft 18 has a disk-shaped evaporation source shutter 1.
9 is integrally mounted via a mounting rod 20. The evaporation source shutter 19 is provided at the opening 16 of the crucible 16.
A several centimeters apart from above A
It has a function of blocking the flow of the vapor deposition material evaporating from the opening, and does not hinder the flow of the vaporization of the vapor deposition material in a state where it is away from the opening 16A. As described above, the position of the evaporation source shutter 19 can be controlled by rotating the rotation drive shaft 18 to allow or block the evaporation material from evaporating from the crucible 16 toward the glass substrate 13. Or to be able to. Below the glass substrate 13 attached to the susceptor 14, a main shutter that rotates so as to open the surface of the glass substrate 13 during film formation and block the surface of the glass substrate 13 from deposition material during non-film formation. 21 are provided. The main shutter 21 is fixed to a rotary drive shaft 22 provided through the upper wall of the film forming chamber 12,
By controlling the rotation of 2, the surface of the glass substrate 13 can be covered or exposed. FIG.
In the figure, reference numeral 23 denotes an opening / closing door which enables loading / unloading of the glass substrate 13, and reference numeral 24 denotes an exhaust port communicating with a vacuum pump for adjusting the pressure in the film forming chamber 12.

In particular, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG.
A cylindrical hood portion 25 having substantially the same diameter as 6A is provided,
A flexible suction pipe 26 whose one end 26A communicates with the inside of the hood 25 is connected to the lowermost portion of the side wall of the hood 25 caused by the inclination. The hood portion 25 is configured such that when the vapor deposition material is collected from one end 26A of the suction pipe 26, the vapor deposition material is efficiently removed from the one end 26A.
It is structured to be integrated in This suction pipe 2
6, the other end 26B is connected so as to communicate with the inside of the evaporation material recovery tank 27 as shown in FIG. The other end 26B of the suction pipe 26 is set so as to enter a predetermined length from the upper wall of the vapor deposition substance recovery tank 27 into the internal space. In addition, an opening 27A connected to a decompression pipe 43 communicating with a suction pump 41 for depressurizing the inside of the evaporation material collecting tank 27 is provided on an upper wall of the evaporation material collecting tank 27. The state shown in FIG. 2 is a state in which the evaporation source shutter 19 is positioned so as to block above the opening 16A of the crucible 16, and in this state, the suction pipe 41 is driven to form a film in the evaporation material recovery tank 27. By reducing the pressure to a pressure lower than the pressure in the chamber 12, the gas is collected by the generated airflow.
That is, the vapor deposition material adhered to the lower surface of the vapor deposition source shutter 19 is collected in the vapor deposition material recovery tank 27 through the suction pipe 26 by the suction of the suction pump 41, so that the glass substrate 13
The film formation on the surface is stopped. In this state, the main shutter 21 is also controlled so as to be positioned so as to cover the glass substrate 13. Also, the glass substrate 1
When the deposition on the substrate 3 is started, the rotation of the rotary drive shaft 18 is controlled so that the evaporation source shutter 19 is moved to a position where the opening 16A of the crucible 16 is not covered. It is possible to start flowing toward. At this time, it is necessary to control the rotation of the rotation drive shaft 22 in advance to move the main shutter 21 to a position where the glass shutter 13 is not covered. The vapor deposition material collected in the vapor deposition material recovery tank 27 can be collected from the outside by the vapor deposition substance collection tank 42 via the collection pipe 44, and can be reused as a vapor deposition source.

In the first embodiment, since the suction pipe 26 has flexibility, the evaporation source shutter 19 is freely rotated about the rotary drive shaft 18 during film formation and during non-film formation. be able to. Further, since the other end 26B of the suction pipe 26 protrudes downward by a predetermined length into the evaporation material recovery tank 27, the evaporation material discharged from the other end 26B accumulates at the bottom of the recovery tank 27. It can be easier.

In the first embodiment, the film formation can be started immediately after the glass substrate 13 is replaced with the glass substrate 13 for performing the next film formation without lowering the temperature of the crucible 16 during non-film formation. Production tact can be shortened. Also,
At the time of non-film formation, the evaporation material to be evaporated is transferred to the evaporation material recovery tank 27.
Thus, the collected deposition material can be reused for a deposition source, and efficient mass production becomes possible. In the first embodiment, the vapor deposition material is collected by suction of the suction pump 41. However, a blowing pump is provided instead of the vapor deposition material collecting tank 27, and the pressure in the vapor deposition material collecting tank 27 is increased by the blowing pump from the pressure in the film forming chamber 12. The vapor pressure may be increased and the vapor deposited on the vapor deposition source shutter 19 may be dropped into the crucible 16 by an air current blown out from one end 26A of the suction pipe 26.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 4 is an explanatory sectional view showing an embodiment 2 of a vapor deposition apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of a main part of the vapor deposition apparatus of Embodiment 2. Note that, in the present embodiment, the same portions as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

As in the first embodiment, the vapor deposition device 11 of this embodiment moves between the position where the flow of the vapor deposition portion evaporating above the opening 16A of the crucible 16 is interrupted and the position where the flow is released. An evaporation source shutter 19 that rotates is provided. The shape of the evaporation source shutter 19 is disk-shaped and the lower surface is flat. The rotation of the evaporation source shutter 19 of the present embodiment is also controlled by the rotation drive shaft 18 as in the first embodiment. Then, the evaporation source shutter 19 is connected to the opening 16 A of the crucible 16.
A vapor deposition material recovery container 28 having a shape as shown in FIGS. The vapor deposition material recovery container 28 has a container shape obtained by cutting a cylinder obliquely along the rotation direction of the vapor deposition source shutter 19. For this reason, the opening edge of the high portion forming the opening 28 </ b> A of the container 28 is a contact edge 28 </ b> B that contacts the lower surface of the evaporation source shutter 19. In addition, the evaporation material recovery container 28
Is formed of, for example, a fluororesin or a rubber material so as not to damage the shutter 19 side when the opening edge contacts the lower surface of the evaporation source shutter 19.

When the evaporation source shutter 19 is located at the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 4, the film is not formed, and the flow of the evaporation material evaporated from the opening 16A of the crucible 16 is blocked by the evaporation source shutter 19. It is in the state that it is. At this time,
Next, the glass substrate 13 on which the film is to be formed is set, and in order to restart the film formation, the main shutter 21 is opened and the evaporation source shutter 19 is rotated and moved onto the evaporation material collecting container 28. . Film formation can be resumed in this state. Next, in order to stop the film formation, the evaporation source shutter 19 is rotated in the same rotation direction as the above-described rotational movement so as to cover the upper portion of the opening 16A of the crucible 16 with the evaporation source shutter 19. Along with this rotation, the vapor deposition material adhering to the lower surface of the vapor deposition source shutter 19 is peeled off by the contact pressure with the contact edge 28B of the vapor deposition material recovery container 28, and falls into the vapor deposition material recovery container 28. As described above, the deposition material adhered to the lower surface of the deposition source shutter 19 during non-film formation can be collected. The collected deposition material can be reused as a deposition source again.

Although the first and second embodiments have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these, and various changes accompanying the gist of the configuration are possible. For example, in each of the above embodiments, a configuration is provided in which a pair of crucibles 16 are provided, but the number of crucibles 16 can be appropriately set. Further, the shape and the opening / closing mechanism of the evaporation source shutter 19 may be various types equivalent to the above embodiments. Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, a glass substrate is used as a substrate on which a film is to be formed, but the present invention is not limited to this. Further, in each of the embodiments described above, the organic EL material is used as the vapor deposition material. However, an expensive organic EL material has a particularly large effect associated with the recovery, but is not limited to this. Can be used. Further, the temperature of the evaporation source shutter 19 may be lower than the temperature in the film forming chamber 12 so that the evaporation material is efficiently attached.

[0023]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the use efficiency of expensive organic materials can be improved by recovering the vapor deposition material adhered to the vapor deposition shutter.
This has the effect of enabling significant cost reduction of the organic EL element.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory sectional view showing Embodiment 1 of a vapor deposition apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of a main part of the vapor deposition apparatus of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a vapor deposition shutter according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory sectional view showing Embodiment 2 of the vapor deposition apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of a main part of a vapor deposition apparatus according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of an organic EL element.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory sectional view showing a conventional vapor deposition apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Evaporation apparatus 12 Film-forming chamber 13 Glass substrate 15 Evaporation substance 16 Crucible 19 Evaporation source shutter 26 Suction pipe 27 Evaporation substance collection tank 28 Evaporation substance collection container

Claims (4)

[Claims] A deposition source to be heated and a substrate to be deposited are arranged in a deposition chamber, and a flow-out of a deposition material evaporated from the deposition source when the deposition is not performed is blocked.
An evaporation apparatus provided with an evaporation source shutter for performing an opening / closing operation, comprising: means for collecting evaporation material evaporated toward the evaporation source shutter. 2. The vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the collection unit sucks the vapor deposition material vapor deposited on the vapor source shutter and transports the vapor to a recovery tank. 3. The vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the collecting unit comes into contact with the vapor deposition source shutter and peels off the vapor deposition material attached to the vapor deposition source shutter. 4. The collection container according to claim 3, wherein the collection unit is a collection container that separates and collects the deposition material adhered to a surface of the deposition source shutter in accordance with an opening / closing operation of the deposition source shutter. Evaporation equipment.