CN211227301U - Evaporation devices, evaporation sources and deposition systems for evaporation source materials - Google Patents

Abstract

Embodiments described herein relate to an evaporation apparatus (100) for evaporating a source material (150), the evaporation apparatus comprising an evaporation crucible (110) and a support arrangement (120) having a plurality of A material tray (125) on which source material is arranged. The support arrangement (120) is removably placed in the interior volume (115) of the evaporation crucible (110). Embodiments described herein also relate to an evaporation source (200) and a deposition system (300) having an evaporation device (100).

Description

Evaporation devices, evaporation sources and deposition systems for evaporation source materials

technical field

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to an evaporation apparatus for evaporating a source material, an evaporation source having an evaporation apparatus, and a deposition system for depositing evaporated source material on a substrate. Embodiments described herein also relate to a method for evaporating a source material to be deposited on a substrate. In particular, embodiments described herein relate to an evaporation apparatus for evaporating source material (eg, organic source material) to be deposited on a substrate in a deposition system.

Background technique

Techniques for depositing layers of materials on substrates include, for example, thermal evaporation, physical vapor deposition (PVD), and chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Coated substrates can be used in a variety of applications and in different technical fields. For example, coated substrates can be used in the field of organic light emitting diode (OLED) devices. OLEDs can be used to make television screens, computer monitors, mobile phones, other handheld devices and the like to display information. An OLED is a special type of light-emitting diode in which the light-emitting layer includes thin films of certain organic compounds. OLED displays have a wider range of possible colors, brightness and viewing angles than conventional LCD displays because OLED pixels emit light directly and do not require a backlight. Therefore, the energy consumption of OLED displays is much lower than that of conventional LCD displays. Furthermore, the fact that OLEDs can be fabricated onto flexible substrates leads to further applications.

OLED devices, such as OLED displays, can include one or more layers of organic material between two electrodes deposited on a substrate. For example, an OLED display may include layers deposited on a substrate in a manner to form a matrix display panel with individually actuable pixels. The OLED is usually placed between two glass panels, and the edges of the glass panels are sealed to encapsulate the OLED within.

Many challenges are encountered in the fabrication of OLED devices. OLED displays include stacks of several materials that are typically evaporated in a vacuum system. The organic material is typically deposited in a predetermined pattern defined by a mask. For OLED fabrication, it is beneficial to co-deposit or co-evaporate two or more materials (eg, host material and dopant) to result in a mixed/doped layer. Several process conditions must be considered for evaporating very sensitive organic materials.

During processing, the substrate may be supported on a carrier configured to keep the substrate aligned with the mask. The vapor from the evaporation source is directed towards the substrate through a mask to produce a patterned film on the substrate. One or more materials may be deposited on the substrate via one or more masks to create small pixels on the substrate, eg, for providing full color display.

The source material can be evaporated in an evaporation apparatus including an evaporation crucible. The interior volume of the evaporation crucible can be heated to evaporate the source material. The source material can be arranged in the evaporation crucible in solid or liquid form, eg as powder or as granules. It is difficult to ensure a predetermined evaporation rate of the source material for a long time. Furthermore, typical source materials are very temperature sensitive, so that if the source material is exposed to high temperatures for a prolonged period of time, there is a risk of decomposition of the material in the evaporation crucible.

In view of the above, it would be advantageous to provide an improved evaporation apparatus that ensures high quality deposition of evaporation material, especially for the manufacture of OLED devices. In particular, the risk of material decomposition should be reduced while ensuring a predetermined evaporation rate for a long time.

Utility model content

In view of the above, there are provided an evaporation apparatus for evaporating source material, an evaporation source, a deposition system for depositing evaporated source material on a substrate, and a method for evaporating source material.

According to one aspect, an evaporation device for evaporating source material is provided. The evaporation apparatus includes an evaporation crucible and a support arrangement having a plurality of material trays for arranging source material on the plurality of material trays. The support arrangement is removably placed in the interior volume of the evaporation crucible.

In another embodiment, the plurality of material trays may be arranged one above the other in the support arrangement.

In yet another embodiment, the support arrangement is removable from the interior volume of the evaporation crucible for refilling the plurality of material trays with source material.

In yet another embodiment, the plurality of material trays may include four or more material trays.

In yet another embodiment, the plurality of material trays may include eight, ten or more material trays.

In yet another embodiment, one or more of the plurality of material trays may have at least one of a plate shape and one or more grooves.

In yet another embodiment, the support arrangement may include a frame structure supporting the plurality of material trays, and the evaporation crucible may include guides along which the frame structure may be inserted into the interior volume of the evaporation crucible.

In yet another embodiment, the evaporation crucible may be substantially bottle-shaped and have a vapor opening for the evaporated source material.

In yet another embodiment, the evaporation device may further comprise a heating unit for heating the inner volume of the evaporation crucible.

In yet another embodiment, the evaporation device may further include the source material on the plurality of material trays.

In yet another embodiment, the source material may include at least one of an organic material and a dopant.

In yet another embodiment, the evaporation crucible may include a vapor opening for the evaporated source material, and a shielding unit may be arranged between the vapor opening and the plurality of material trays.

In yet another embodiment, the shielding unit may be configured to reduce thermal radiation from entering the interior volume of the evaporation crucible through the vapor opening.

In yet another embodiment, the plurality of material trays may be arranged one above the other in the support arrangement, and the shielding unit may be arranged above the uppermost material tray in the support arrangement.

In yet another embodiment, two adjacent material trays of the plurality of material trays may be arranged at a distance (D1) of 2 cm or more and 30 cm or less from each other, respectively.

According to one aspect, an evaporation source is provided. The evaporation source includes an evaporation device according to any embodiment described herein. The evaporation source also includes a vapor distribution arrangement in fluid communication with the evaporation device, the vapor distribution arrangement including a plurality of vapor outlets for directing the evaporated source material toward the substrate.

In another embodiment, the steam distribution arrangement may include a linear distribution tube, which may include a plurality of steam outlets (212) and extend in a substantially vertical direction.

In yet another embodiment, the evaporation source may comprise two or more evaporation devices on a common support for evaporating different source materials.

According to one aspect, a deposition system for depositing evaporated source material on a substrate is provided. The deposition system includes a vacuum chamber; an evaporation source according to any of the embodiments described herein, the evaporation source in the vacuum chamber; and a first drive for moving the evaporation source along a source track and for At least one of the second drives for changing the evaporation direction of the plurality of steam outlets of the evaporation source.

According to one aspect, a method for evaporating a source material is provided. The method includes arranging source material on a plurality of material trays in a support arrangement, then placing the support arrangement in an interior volume of an evaporation crucible, and heating the interior volume of the evaporation crucible to evaporate the source material.

Specifically, the source material is arranged on a plurality of material trays, while a support arrangement with the plurality of material trays is arranged outside the evaporation crucible, and the support arrangement is subsequently arranged with the source material placed on the support arrangement Inserted together into the inner volume of the evaporation crucible.

Embodiments also relate to apparatus for performing the disclosed methods, and include portions of apparatus for performing each of the described method aspects. These method aspects may be performed by hardware components, a computer programmed with appropriate software, any combination of the two, or in any other manner. Furthermore, embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure also relate to methods for operating the described apparatus. The method includes method aspects for performing various functions of the apparatus.

Description of drawings

Therefore, in order to enable a detailed understanding of the above-described features of the present disclosure, the present disclosure, briefly summarized above, may be described in more detail with reference to the embodiments. The accompanying drawings relate to embodiments of the present disclosure and are described below:

Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of an evaporation device according to embodiments described herein;

Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of the evaporation device of Figure 1 during refill;

3 shows a schematic diagram of an evaporation source according to embodiments described herein;

4A-4C illustrate three subsequent deposition stages of a deposition system according to embodiments described herein;

5 shows a flowchart of a method for evaporating source material according to embodiments described herein.

Detailed ways

Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the present disclosure, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following description of the drawings, the same reference numerals refer to the same components. Only the differences with respect to the various embodiments are described. The various examples are provided by way of explanation of the present disclosure and are not meant to limit the present disclosure. Furthermore, features shown or described as part of one embodiment can be used on or in combination with other embodiments to yield another embodiment. This specification is intended to cover such modifications and variations.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an evaporation apparatus 100 for evaporating source material 150 according to embodiments described herein. The evaporation apparatus 100 includes an evaporation crucible 110 having an inner volume 115 which can be heated via one or more heating units 130. The evaporation crucible 110 may be used in a thermal evaporation process, particularly for heating and evaporating at least one of organic materials, inorganic materials, organic dopants, and inorganic dopants. The evaporation apparatus 100 also includes a plurality of material trays 125 for arranging the source material 150 on the plurality of material trays 125 in the interior volume 115 of the evaporation crucible.

By arranging the source material 150 on multiple material trays 125, the surface of the source material 150 that is directly exposed to heat within the evaporation crucible is increased so that the evaporation rate is comparable to an evaporation crucible where the source material is placed in a single compartment improve.

Many source materials, especially organic source materials and other material compositions to be evaporated, are very temperature sensitive, so that when the source material is exposed to high temperatures for extended periods of time, material decomposition may occur. Especially for organic materials, the decomposition temperature may be close to the evaporation temperature of the material, so that there is a considerable risk of material decomposition for the organic material in the evaporation crucible. For example, when the temperature is raised several degrees above the evaporation temperature of the source material, the risk of material decomposition may have increased significantly.

According to embodiments described herein, the source material is placed on the plurality of material trays 125 in the interior volume of the evaporation crucible such that the surface of the source material 150 that is directly exposed to the heat within the evaporation crucible is larger. In other words, the material-vacuum interface within the evaporation crucible that affects the evaporation rate increases. Rather than placing the source material in its entirety on the bottom of the evaporation crucible, the source material is placed on a number of trays within the evaporation crucible, which can be arranged at different heights. Thus, the temperature in the inner volume of the evaporation crucible can be maintained at just or slightly above the evaporation temperature of the source material, while still providing a sufficiently high evaporation rate. The risk of material decomposition can be reduced compared to crucibles where the source material is contained in a single compartment, thereby providing a reduced interface between the material and the vacuum. Specifically, according to embodiments described herein, the evaporation rate is increased by increasing the material-vacuum interface within the evaporation crucible, rather than by further increasing the temperature within the evaporation crucible.

According to embodiments described herein, a support arrangement 120 having a plurality of material trays 125 is removably placed in the interior volume 115 of the evaporation crucible. The support arrangement 120 may include a support structure on which a plurality of material trays 125 are supported, eg, one on top of the other. The support arrangement 120 is an arrangement for supporting source material on a plurality of material trays, and may be configured as a baffle arrangement in which the plurality of material trays are arranged one above the other.

Said support arrangement 120 is removable from the inner volume 115 of the evaporation crucible, eg through the crucible opening. After the support arrangement 120 is removed from the interior volume, the plurality of material trays 125 may be refilled with source material to be evaporated. Thus, by removing the support arrangement 120 as a whole from the interior volume of the evaporation crucible and by placing the source material on multiple material trays outside the evaporation crucible, the material tray 125 can be quickly and easily refilled with source material.

According to some embodiments, which may be combined with other embodiments described herein, the plurality of material trays 125 are arranged one above the other in the support arrangement 120, eg, in a stacked arrangement. The support arrangement 120 may include a support structure or frame structure that carries a plurality of material trays 125 arranged in a stack. Placing the material trays 125 one above the other in the support arrangement 120 simplifies removal of the support arrangement 120 by the evaporation crucible and facilitates refilling the material tray 125 with source material at predetermined time intervals.

In some embodiments, which may be combined with other embodiments described herein, the support arrangement 120 may be removed from the interior volume 115 of the evaporation crucible in order to refill source material on multiple material trays. Specifically, the evaporation crucible may be opened, eg, by removing a lid or closure, and thereafter the support arrangement 120 comprising a plurality of material trays 125 supported on the support arrangement 120 may be removed from the interior volume of the evaporation crucible for refilling. Material exchange can be simplified and accelerated.

The interface between the source material and the vacuum within the evaporation crucible can be increased to provide a large number of material trays in the support arrangement. For example, in some embodiments, the plurality of material trays 125 may include four or more material trays, specifically six or more material trays, more specifically eight or more material trays, or even ten one or more material trays. Therefore, by providing a large tray surface on which the source material can be placed, the evaporation rate can be increased without increasing the temperature.

In some embodiments, two adjacent material trays of the plurality of material trays 125 may each be arranged at a distance of 2 cm or more from each other. A distance of 2 cm or more between adjacent material trays ensures that sufficient space is provided for evaporative material to propagate from the material trays towards the steam opening 111 and that the material trays can be easily refilled. Additionally or alternatively, two adjacent material trays of the plurality of material trays 125 may be arranged at a distance of 30 cm or less from each other. Providing a distance of 30cm or less between adjacent material trays allows a large number of material trays to be placed in a compact support arrangement.

In some embodiments, which may be combined with other embodiments described herein, one or more of the plurality of material trays 125 has a plate shape, which may be in a central region relative to an edge region Concave or indented. Thus, the amount of source material that can be placed on the one or more material trays can be increased because the source material can be accommodated within the recessed or indented central region of the material tray. The time interval at which the support arrangement 120 is refilled can be extended, thereby extending the up-time of the evaporation device. In some embodiments, one or more of the plurality of material trays have one or more grooves that can be filled with source material.

In some embodiments, which may be combined with other embodiments described herein, the evaporation crucible 110 may be substantially bottle-shaped and may have vapor openings 111 for the evaporated source material 151 . A vapor distribution assembly may be connected to and in fluid communication with the evaporation crucible. The evaporated source material 151 may be directed from the evaporation crucible 110 into the steam distribution assembly through the steam opening 111 . The bottle-shaped crucible may facilitate obtaining a uniform temperature distribution in the interior volume of the evaporation crucible and directing the evaporated source material uniformly in the direction towards the steam opening 111 .

The evaporation crucible 110 may include a lid or wall portion that can be opened or removed, such that the support arrangement 120 may be removed from the interior volume of the evaporation crucible 110 after the lid or wall portion is opened.

The source material 150 to be evaporated may be placed on multiple material trays 125, in particular on two or more material trays, or even on eight or more material trays. The source material 150 may be the material that is evaporated in the evaporation assembly and will be deposited on the substrate. For example, the source material 150 may be at least one of organic materials and dopants used to fabricate OLED devices. In some embodiments, a second evaporation device can be placed near the evaporation device 100 so that the organic material and the dopant can be co-evaporated.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the evaporation apparatus 100 of FIG. 1 during refilling of the plurality of material trays 125 . The support arrangement 120 of the evaporation device 100 has been removed from the inner volume 115 of the evaporation crucible 110 . New source material is then placed on the plurality of material trays 125 of the support arrangement 120 as schematically depicted in FIG. 2 .

In some embodiments, which may be combined with other embodiments described herein, the support arrangement 120 includes a frame structure 121 that supports a plurality of material trays 125 . The frame structure 121 may comprise two or more supports, eg metal rods, on which a plurality of material trays are supported, eg one on top of the other. The evaporation crucible 110 may include guides 122 along which the frame structure 121 may be inserted into and/or removed from the inner volume 115 of the evaporation crucible. The guides 122 may be configured as guide grooves or rails configured to allow guided insertion of the frame structure 121 into the evaporation crucible. The guides 122 can ensure the correct positioning of the support arrangement 120 in the inner volume of the evaporation crucible. For example, the guide 122 guides the support arrangement 120 to a position in the inner volume of the evaporation crucible centered between the two or more heating units 130, so that uniform heating of the source material 150 contained on the plurality of material trays can be ensured .

As schematically depicted in Figure 2, a support arrangement 120 supporting a plurality of material trays 125 may be removed from the interior volume of the evaporation crucible in order to refill the plurality of material trays with source material. For example, the support arrangement 120 may be removed from the evaporation crucible through a top opening or a bottom opening of the evaporation crucible. After refilling, the support arrangement 120 may be inserted into the interior volume of the evaporation crucible, eg through a top opening or a bottom opening, and the evaporation process may continue.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an evaporation source 200 according to embodiments described herein. The evaporation source 200 includes an evaporation device according to any embodiment described herein. For example, the evaporation device may include some or all of the features of the evaporation device 100 of FIG. 1 , so that reference may be made to the above description, which will not be repeated here.

The evaporation device 100 of the evaporation source 200 includes an evaporation crucible 110 and a support arrangement 120 having a plurality of material trays 125 for arranging source material on the plurality of material trays 125 . The support arrangement 120 is placed in the interior volume of the evaporation crucible 110 .

The evaporation source 200 also includes a vapor distribution arrangement 210 , such as a distribution pipe, in fluid communication with the evaporation device 100 . The vapor distribution arrangement includes a plurality of vapor outlets 212 for directing the source material evaporated in the evaporation crucible towards the substrate 10 .

For example, evaporated source material 151 may exit evaporation crucible 110 through steam opening 111 and may enter steam distribution arrangement 210 . Thereafter, the evaporated source material 151 may be directed from the vapor distribution arrangement 210 through the plurality of vapor outlets 212 towards the substrate 10, thereby causing the substrate to be coated.

In some embodiments, which may be combined with other embodiments described herein, the steam distribution arrangement 210 includes a linear distribution tube including a plurality of steam outlets 212 in a wall of the linear distribution tube, wherein the The linear distribution pipe may extend in a substantially vertical direction. Vertically extending line sources are available. A substantially vertically oriented substrate may be arranged on the front side of the steam distribution arrangement 210 such that the plurality of steam outlets 212 are directed towards the substrate.

In some embodiments, the evaporation source 200 can include two or more evaporation devices, wherein at least one of the two or more evaporation devices can be configured according to some of the embodiments described herein . Two or more evaporation devices can be supported on a common support of the evaporation sources, and can be configured to evaporate different source materials, such as organic materials and dopants. In some embodiments, an evaporation source may include two or more evaporation devices according to embodiments described herein on a common support. In other words, a support arrangement with a corresponding plurality of material trays may be arranged in two or more evaporation crucibles of the evaporation source. This allows co-evaporation of organic material and at least one dopant or two or more dopants, with one evaporation source having several evaporation devices supported on a common support.

As schematically depicted in FIG. 3 , a heating unit 130 may be provided for heating the interior volume 115 of the evaporation crucible 110 . The heating unit 130 may be arranged outside the evaporation crucible 110 . For example, the heating unit 130 may include one or more resistive heaters, such as a plurality of current conductors, which may be arranged in thermal contact with the outer walls of the evaporation crucible.

The inner volume 115 of the evaporation crucible may be heated to a temperature equal to or higher than the evaporation temperature of the source material, eg, 200°C or higher, 250°C or higher, or 300°C or higher. A temperature control unit may be provided that is configured to maintain a predetermined temperature in the inner volume 115 of the evaporation crucible, wherein the predetermined temperature may correspond to or be slightly higher than the evaporation temperature of the source material.

The support arrangement 120 may be removably placed in the interior volume of the evaporation crucible 110 and may be removed from the interior volume for refilling the plurality of material trays 125 with source material.

In some embodiments, eight or more material trays may be provided in the interior volume of the evaporation crucible. Thus, the interface between the source material and the vacuum within the evaporation crucible can be increased, and the evaporation rate can thereby be increased.

As schematically depicted in FIG. 3 , the plurality of material trays 125 may have one or more grooves 126 for receiving source material thereon. Specifically, the plurality of material trays 125 may have a plate shape.

In some embodiments, which may be combined with other embodiments described herein, the evaporation crucible 110 includes a vapor opening 111 for the evaporated source material 151 , and the shielding unit 140 may be disposed between the vapor opening 111 and the plurality of material trays 125 between. The shielding unit 140 may act as a thermal barrier between the inner volume 115 of the evaporation crucible and the inner volume of the vapor distribution arrangement 210 which may be connected to the evaporation crucible 110.

A gap may be provided for the evaporated source material to propagate past the shielding unit 140 to exit the evaporation crucible through the vapour opening 111. For example, an annular gap for source material for evaporation to propagate past shielding unit 140 may surround the shielding unit.

The shielding unit 140 may be a sheet, grid or plate that at least partially blocks the direct thermal radiation path between the inner volume of the evaporation crucible and the inner volume of the vapor distribution arrangement. For example, the shielding unit 140 may be a board similar in shape and size to one of the material trays. However, the shielding unit 140 is not suitable for receiving the source material on the shielding unit 140 .

In particular, the shielding unit 140 may be configured to shield and reduce thermal radiation from the steam distribution arrangement 210 through the steam openings 111 into the interior volume 115 of the evaporation crucible. Specifically, the interior of the vapor distribution arrangement 210 is generally maintained at a temperature higher than the interior volume of the evaporation crucible to reduce or avoid condensation of evaporated source material 151 on the interior walls of the vapor distribution arrangement. The heat radiated from the vapor distribution arrangement 210 into the evaporation crucible and heats the source material arranged on the material tray may adversely affect the source material on the material tray and increase the risk of material degradation. In order to reduce or avoid the direct effect of thermal radiation from the steam distribution assembly on the source material arranged on one or more material trays, the shielding unit 140 may be arranged in the evaporation crucible, especially the uppermost among the steam openings and the plurality of material trays between the material trays. Thus, the source material is not exposed to direct heat from the vapor distribution arrangement.

In some embodiments, a plurality of material trays 125 are arranged one above the other in the support arrangement 120 , and the shielding unit 140 may be arranged above the uppermost material tray in the support arrangement 120 . In other words, the shielding unit 140 can be supported on the frame structure of the support arrangement 120 so that the shielding unit 140 can be removed from the interior volume of the evaporation crucible together with the plurality of material trays 125 . Therefore, removal of the plurality of material trays from the evaporation crucible can be simplified because by removing the frame structure 121 from the evaporation crucible, both the shielding unit 140 and the plurality of material trays 125 can be taken out of the evaporation crucible. The refill of the source material can be accelerated and the uptime of the evaporation source can be extended.

As schematically shown in FIG. 3 , two adjacent material trays of the plurality of material trays 125 may be arranged in the support arrangement 120 at a distance D1 of 5 cm or more and 20 cm or less from each other. A compact support arrangement with multiple easily and quickly refillable material trays is provided, especially when the distance between two adjacent material trays is the same for each pair of adjacent material trays.

4A-4C illustrate three subsequent deposition stages of deposition system 300 according to embodiments described herein. Deposition system 300 is configured to deposit evaporated source material 151 on substrate 10 and includes vacuum chamber 301 . In the vacuum chamber 301, an evaporation source 200 having an evaporation device 100 according to any embodiment described herein is arranged.

The evaporation source 200 includes an evaporation device 100 for evaporating the source material and a vapor distribution arrangement 210 for directing the evaporated source material 151 towards the substrate 10 through a plurality of vapor outlets. The mask 11 may be disposed between the evaporation source 200 and the substrate 10 such that the evaporated source material 151 may be deposited on the substrate 10 in a predetermined material pattern defined by the opening pattern of the mask 11 . An alignment assembly for aligning the substrate 10 with respect to the mask 11 may be provided.

In some embodiments, which may be combined with other embodiments described herein, a first drive 302 for moving the evaporation source 200 along the source track and a drive for changing the evaporation direction of the plurality of steam outlets of the evaporation source 200 may be provided At least one of the second drivers 303 .

In FIG. 4A , the source material is evaporated in the evaporation device 100 of the evaporation source 200 , and the evaporated source material 151 is directed toward the substrate 10 through a plurality of vapor openings of the evaporation source 200 . The evaporation source is moved through the substrate 10 along the source track by the first driver 302 . A pattern of material, in particular a pattern of OLED pixels, is deposited on the substrate 10 .

In FIG. 4B, the evaporation direction of the plurality of steam outlets of the evaporation source is changed, particularly by rotating the evaporation source by 90° or more, particularly by rotating the evaporation source by about 180°.

In FIG. 4C , the evaporation source 200 is moved by the first driver 302 along the source track past the second substrate, which may be arranged on the opposite side of the evaporation source 200 relative to the substrate 10 . A pattern of material, in particular a pattern of OLED pixels, is deposited on the second substrate.

After depositing the material on the second substrate, the evaporation direction of the plurality of vapor outlets can be changed again, eg by 180°, and the material can be deposited on another substrate that has been placed at the previous position of the substrate 10 in the meantime .

Specifically, the deposition system may include a first deposition zone for a first substrate to be coated and a second deposition zone for a second substrate to be coated, the first deposition zone and the second deposition zone On the opposite side of the evaporation source 200 in the vacuum chamber 301 . Therefore, during evaporation on the second substrate arranged in the second deposition area, the coated first substrate arranged in the first deposition area can be exchanged with a new substrate to be coated, so that it is possible to reduce the cost of the deposition system The tact rate is produced and the number of substrates coated in a given time period can be increased.

In accordance with embodiments described herein, the source material is contained on a plurality of material trays supported on a support arrangement in the interior volume of the evaporation crucible. Due to the larger material-vacuum interface inside the evaporation crucible, the evaporation rate can be increased without raising the temperature inside the evaporation crucible. In addition, material refilling can be performed quickly and easily because the support arrangement 120 can be removed from the evaporation crucible as a whole (ie, comprising a plurality of material trays) for refilling.

According to another aspect described herein, a method for evaporating a source material is provided. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method according to embodiments described herein.

In block 510, the source material to be evaporated is arranged on the plurality of material trays 125 of the support arrangement 120, particularly when the support arrangement 120 is disposed on the outside of the evaporation crucible.

In block 520, the support arrangement 120 is placed in the inner volume 115 of the evaporation crucible 110, in particular by inserting the support arrangement 120 into the inner volume of the evaporation crucible through the opening. For example, a frame structure of a support arrangement supporting a plurality of material trays may be inserted into the evaporation crucible along guides provided in the interior volume of the evaporation crucible for guiding the support arrangement to a predetermined position within the evaporation crucible .

In block 530, the interior volume of the evaporation crucible is heated to evaporate the source material placed on the plurality of material trays. The inner volume may be heated by one or more heating units, which may be placed outside the inner volume of the evaporation crucible. The one or more heating units may be in thermal contact with the walls of the evaporation crucible. In some embodiments, the interior volume of the evaporation crucible is heated to a temperature that may substantially correspond to the evaporation temperature of the source material. In particular, the temperature in the inner volume of the evaporation crucible may be no higher than 10°C above the evaporation temperature of the source material, in particular no higher than 5°C above the evaporation temperature of the source material, more particularly no higher than the evaporation temperature of the source material 2°C. Degradation of the source material can be reduced or prevented, and high evaporation rates can be achieved according to the embodiments described herein.

As used herein, the term "source material" or "material to be evaporated" may be understood as a material suitable for deposition on a substrate during deposition. Materials can be provided as solid materials and/or liquid materials. For example, the material may be provided in powder form or granular form. According to some embodiments, the source material can be directly transformed from the solid phase to the gas phase, eg, the material can sublime at a certain temperature depending on the material used. Additionally or alternatively, the source material may be a material that transitions from a solid phase to a liquid phase and then to a gas phase, eg, the material may liquefy at a certain temperature and then evaporate at a higher temperature. It may be beneficial to provide a plurality of plate-shaped material trays with one or more grooves, as the liquid phase of the material may be collected in the one or more grooves of the material tray prior to sublimation. The term "evaporated source material" as used herein may be understood as a source material provided in gaseous form after being evaporated in an evaporation crucible.

According to some embodiments, the steam distribution arrangement 210 may be a linear distribution spray head, eg, having a plurality of steam outlets disposed therein at uniform intervals. The length of the vapor distribution assembly may correspond at least to the height of the base plate. In particular, the length of the vapor distribution arrangement may be longer than the height of the substrate. For example, the length of the steam distribution arrangement may be 1.3m or more, such as 2.5m or more. Thus, uniform deposition on the substrate can be provided.

Embodiments described herein relate particularly to the deposition of organic materials, such as for OLED display fabrication on large area substrates. According to some embodiments, the large area substrate or the carrier supporting one or more substrates may have a size of 0.5 m ² or more, in particular 1 m ² or more. For example, the deposition apparatus may be adapted to process large area substrates, such as GEN5 substrates corresponding to approximately ^1.4m2 substrates (1.1m x 1.3m), GEN7.5 corresponding to approximately ^4.29m2 substrates (1.95m x 2.2m) , GEN 8.5 corresponding to about ^5.7m2 substrate (2.2m x 2.5m), or even GEN 10 corresponding to about ^8.7m2 substrate (2.85m x 3.05m). Even larger generations (such as GEN 11 and GEN 12) and corresponding substrate areas can be implemented similarly.

According to embodiments herein, which may be combined with other embodiments described herein, the thickness of the substrate may be from 0.1 mm to 1.8 mm, and the holding arrangement for the substrate may be suitable for such substrate thickness. The substrate thickness may be about 0.9 mm or less, such as 0.5 mm or 0.3 mm. Typically, the substrate can be made of materials suitable for material deposition. For example, the substrate can be made of a material selected from the group consisting of glass, metal, polymer, ceramic, composite, carbon fiber material, or any other material or combination of materials that can be coated by a deposition process.

In accordance with embodiments described herein, the material may be deposited on the substrate in a predetermined pattern, eg by using a mask, such as a fine metal mask (FMM) having a plurality of openings. Multiple pixels can be deposited on the substrate. Other examples of evaporation materials include ITO and one or more of metals, such as silver, magnesium, or aluminum.

According to some embodiments, which may be combined with any of the other embodiments described herein, the evaporation device may be arranged in a vacuum chamber. In the present disclosure, a "vacuum chamber" may be understood as a chamber configured for vacuum deposition. The term "vacuum" as used herein may be understood to mean a technical vacuum with a vacuum pressure of less than eg 10 mbar. Typically, the pressure in a vacuum chamber as described herein may be between 10" ⁵ mbar and about 10" ⁸ mbar.

While the foregoing has been directed to embodiments, other and further embodiments can be devised without departing from the essential scope, as determined by the appended claims. Specifically, this written description uses examples to describe the disclosure, including the best mode, and to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the described subject matter, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. While various specific embodiments have been disclosed in the foregoing, the mutually non-exclusive features of the above-described embodiments may be combined with each other. The patentable scope is defined by the claims, and other examples are provided if the claims have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if the claims include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal language of the claims It is intended to fall within the scope of the claims.

Claims (19)

1. An evaporation apparatus (100) for evaporating a source material (150), comprising:

an evaporation crucible (110); and

a support arrangement (120), the support arrangement (120) having a plurality of material trays (125), the plurality of material trays (125) for arranging the source material on the plurality of material trays (125), the support arrangement being removably placed in the inner volume (115) of the evaporation crucible.

2. Evaporation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of material trays (125) are arranged one above the other in the support arrangement (120).

3. An evaporation apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the support arrangement (120) is removable from the interior volume of the evaporation crucible for refilling source material on the plurality of material trays (125).

4. The evaporation apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of material trays (125) comprises four or more material trays.

5. The evaporation apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of material trays (125) comprises eight, ten, or more material trays.

6. The evaporation apparatus of claim 1, wherein one or more of the plurality of material trays (125) have at least one of a plate shape and one or more grooves (126).

7. An evaporation apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the support arrangement (120) comprises a frame structure (121), the frame structure (121) supporting the plurality of material trays (125), and the evaporation crucible comprises a guide (122), along which the frame structure can be inserted into the inner volume of the evaporation crucible.

8. An evaporation apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the evaporation crucible (110) is bottle-shaped and has a vapor opening (111) for the evaporated source material.

9. An evaporation apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a heating unit (130) for heating the inner volume (115) of the evaporation crucible.

10. The evaporation apparatus of any of claims 1 to 6, further comprising the source material (150) on the plurality of material trays (125).

11. The evaporation apparatus of claim 10, wherein the source material (150) comprises at least one of an organic material and a dopant.

12. An evaporation apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the evaporation crucible comprises a vapor opening (111) for evaporated source material, and a shielding unit (140) is arranged between the vapor opening (111) and the plurality of material trays (125).

13. Evaporation apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the shielding unit (140) is configured to reduce thermal radiation from entering the inner volume (115) of the evaporation crucible through the vapor opening (111).

14. Evaporation apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the shielding unit (140) is arranged above the uppermost material tray in the support arrangement.

15. The evaporation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein two adjacent material trays of the plurality of material trays (125) are arranged at a distance (D1) of 2cm or more and 30cm or less, respectively, from each other.

16. An evaporation source (200), comprising:

-an evaporation device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 15; and

a vapor distribution arrangement (210), the vapor distribution arrangement (210) being in fluid communication with the evaporation device, the vapor distribution arrangement comprising a plurality of vapor outlets (212) for directing evaporated source material towards the substrate (10).

17. The evaporation source according to claim 16, wherein the vapor distribution arrangement (210) comprises a linear distribution pipe comprising a plurality of vapor outlets (212) and extending in a vertical direction.

18. The evaporation source according to claim 16, comprising: two or more evaporation devices according to any one of claims 1 to 15, on a common support, for evaporating different source materials.

19. A deposition system (300), comprising:

a vacuum chamber (301);

the evaporation source (200) according to any of claims 16 to 18, the evaporation source (200) being in the vacuum chamber; and

at least one of a first drive (302) for moving the evaporation source along a source trajectory and a second drive (303) for changing an evaporation direction of the plurality of vapor outlets of the evaporation source.

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