KR100603408B1 - Vertical Mask Transfer Device and Deposition Device Equipped with the Same - Google Patents

Abstract

 The present invention is to provide a vertical mask transfer apparatus and a deposition apparatus having the same that can minimize the generation of particles during the transfer and ensure sufficient flatness of the mask. To this end, the present invention provides a device for transferring a mask for forming a thin film on a substrate, comprising: a plate-shaped tray for supporting a mask; An upper support part coupled to an upper part of the tray to support the tray; A lower support part coupled to a lower part of the tray to support the tray; And a vertical mask conveying apparatus arranged between the plate-shaped tray and the mask and including a plate-shaped mask support member for supporting the mask.

Description

Vertical mask tray and deposit apparatus with same {Vertical mask tray and deposit apparatus with the same}

1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a vertical deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention,

2 is a perspective view of a vertical mask tray used in a vertical deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a cross-sectional view of a vertical mask tray used in a vertical deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a side view of a vertical mast tray and a mask tray holder in a vertical deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

* Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings *

100: process chamber 110: vertical mask tray

120: vertical substrate tray 130: mask tray holder

140: substrate tray holder 113, 115, 123, 125: upper, lower support

111: tray on the plate 116: electromagnet

114: guide groove 112: insertion hole

10 mask 15 mask support member

The present invention relates to a thin film deposition apparatus, and more particularly, to a vertical mask transfer apparatus and a deposition apparatus having the same, which minimizes generation of particles during transfer and sufficiently secures flatness of a mask.

EL devices are attracting attention as next-generation display panels because of their advantages such as wide viewing angles, excellent contrast, and fast response speeds as self-luminous display panels.

EL devices are classified into inorganic EL devices and organic EL devices according to materials for forming an emitter layer. Herein, the organic EL device has an advantage of excellent luminance, driving voltage, and response speed, and multicoloring, compared to the inorganic EL device.

A general organic EL device includes an anode electrode and a cathode electrode facing each other on a substrate and an organic film layer interposed therebetween. The organic layer includes a hole transport layer (HTL), an emission layer (EML), and an electron transport layer (ETL). In the organic EL device, when a predetermined voltage is applied to the anode electrode and the cathode electrode, electrons are transferred from the hole transport layer HTL to the holes and the electron transport layer ETL to the emission layer EML, and electrons and holes are transferred to the emission layer EML. By recombination, predetermined light is emitted.

A thin film, such as an organic film of an organic EL element, is generally deposited by using a deposition method. This deposition method is a method in which a substrate is placed in a deposition chamber and organic material is released from the deposition source to deposit a thin film on the substrate.

As a deposition method for depositing an organic thin film of an organic EL device, various attempts have been made, such as a bottom-up rotary deposition method, an upward deposition method, a downward deposition method, and a vertical deposition method.

The bottom-up rotary film deposition method is a method of depositing a thin film while rotating a substrate with respect to a deposition source, and is difficult to apply to a large area substrate. The upward deposition method is a method of depositing a thin film while arranging a deposition source under the substrate to move the substrate or the deposition source horizontally, causing deflection of the substrate or mask, which makes it difficult to deposit precise patterns and uniform film thickness. Can't get it.

The downward deposition method is a method of depositing a thin film by spraying the organic material downward while transporting the substrate horizontally, despite the high deposition efficiency of the deposition material, there is a possibility that the surface of the deposited thin film is directly exposed to the fine particles.

The vertical deposition method is a method in which a thin film is deposited while vertically transporting a substrate, or a thin film is mounted while vertically moving the substrate and moving the deposition source up and down. In the case of using the vertical deposition method, it is required to facilitate the precise alignment for the transfer and precise patterning of the large-area substrate, and to minimize the warpage phenomenon due to the enlargement of the substrate.

The present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, and relates to a vertical mask transfer apparatus and a deposition apparatus having the same to minimize the generation of particles during the transfer and ensure sufficient flatness of the mask.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an apparatus for transferring a mask for forming a thin film on a substrate, comprising: a plate-shaped tray for supporting a mask; An upper support part coupled to an upper part of the tray to support the tray; A lower support part coupled to a lower part of the tray to support the tray; And a vertical mask conveying apparatus arranged between the plate-shaped tray and the mask and including a plate-shaped mask supporting member for supporting the mask.

The mask support member includes CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced plastics), and the plate-shaped tray is made of Al. The upper support part has a guide groove, and the lower support part has a rod shape.

The tray further includes an insertion hole as a coupling means for coupling with the mask tray holder, and the insertion hole has a hole shape in which an upper portion thereof is narrower than a lower portion so that the tray is fixed. The tray further includes an electromagnet arranged at an outer portion of the mask member to improve adhesion to the substrate.

In addition, the present invention comprises a process chamber; A mask tray and a substrate tray which are embedded in the process chamber in a vertical state parallel to each other and on which a mask and a substrate are mounted; Mask tray conveying means and substrate tray conveying means for horizontally moving the mask tray and the substrate tray in parallel with each other; Mask / substrate alignment bonding means for aligning and bonding the mask and the substrate conveyed by the mask tray conveying means and the substrate tray conveying means, respectively; A mask tray holder and a substrate tray holder for supporting the mask tray and the substrate tray, respectively; A deposition source for injecting a deposition material onto a substrate aligned and bonded to the mask, wherein the mask tray comprises: a plate-shaped tray for supporting the mask; It is characterized by providing a vertical deposition apparatus including a plate-shaped mask support member arranged between the plate-shaped tray and the mask for supporting the mask.

The substrate tray comprises: a plate-shaped tray for supporting a substrate; And a plate-shaped substrate support member arranged between the plate-shaped tray and the substrate to support the substrate.

The mask support member and the substrate support member include CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced plastics), and the plate-shaped tray is made of Al.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a heating vessel according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a cross-sectional view of a vertical deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the vertical deposition apparatus of the present invention includes a process chamber 100, a mask tray 110 and a substrate tray 120 mounted in the vacuum chamber, a mask tray holder 130, and a substrate tray holder. 140. The vertical deposition apparatus further includes a mask tray conveying means 150 and a substrate tray conveying means 160, a mask / substrate alignment and bonding means 170, and a deposition source 180.

The mask tray 110 is to transfer the thin film deposition mask in a vertical state to the chamber 100, the substrate tray 120 is to mount the substrate to be deposited, that is, the substrate to be deposited in a vertical state It is for transferring into the chamber 100.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the mask tray 110 is plate-shaped tray 111 for supporting the mask 10, and is coupled to an upper side of the tray 111 to form the tray 111. It is provided with an upper support portion 113 for supporting the lower support portion 115 for supporting the tray 111 is coupled to the lower portion of the tray 111.

At this time, the upper support portion 113 is provided with a guide groove 114 so that the upper guide 152 of the mask tray conveying means 150 is inserted as shown in FIGS. The lower support portion 115 is in the form of a rod to be coupled to the driving portion 152 of the mask tray conveying means 150 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4.

At this time, the upper guide 151 of the mask tray conveying means 150 is in the form of a bearing is inserted into the guide groove 114 of the upper support portion 113 of the mask tray 110, the drive unit 152 is a roller It is configured to be coupled to the lower support portion 115 of the mask tray 110.

In addition, the mask tray 110 further includes a mask support member 15 for supporting the mask 10. The mask support member 15 is formed in a highly accurate plate shape and adhered to the tray 111, and is made of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP). The mask support member 15 is arranged on the tray 111, and the mask 10 is arranged on the mask support member 15.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the mask support member 20 for supporting the mask 10 may include CFRP, and the tray 111 may be made of aluminum or CFRP. Can be.

In addition, the mask tray 110 includes an insertion hole 112 in the plate-shaped tray 111. The insertion hole 112 allows the insertion tray (131 of FIG. 4) of the mask tray holder 130 to be inserted so that the mask tray 110 is supported by the mask tray holder 130.

In this case, the insertion hole 112 facilitates the insertion of the insertion protrusion 131 of the mask tray holder 130 and after the insertion protrusion 131 is inserted, the mask tray 110 is fixed without moving, It is preferable that the upper portion is formed narrower than the lower portion.

In addition, an electromagnet 116 is attached to the mask tray 110. The electromagnet 116 serves to strengthen the adhesion between the substrate tray 120 and the mask tray 110 in the alignment and bonding process of the substrate tray 120 and the mask tray 110.

Although only the mask tray 110 is illustrated in the drawing, like the mask tray 110, the substrate tray 120 has a high-precision substrate supporting member for supporting the substrate, and the substrate supporting member is provided on the substrate tray 120. It may be configured to be supported.

In addition, like the mask tray 110, the substrate tray 120 may be coupled to the plate-shaped tray 121, and may be coupled to an upper portion of the tray 121 to support the tray 121. The lower support part 125 is coupled to the lower part of the tray 121 to support the tray 121.

At this time, the upper support 123 is provided with a guide groove so that the upper guide 162 of the substrate tray transport means 160 is inserted. The lower support part 125 has a rod shape to be coupled to the driving part 162 of the substrate tray transportation means 160.

The mask tray holder 130 is for supporting the mask tray 110 transferred by the mask tray conveying means 150, and the substrate tray holder 140 is provided by the substrate tray conveying means 160. This is for supporting the transferred substrate tray 120.

The mask tray holder 130 supports the mask tray 110 while the substrate tray 120 is being loaded onto the substrate tray holder 140, and the mask tray holder is a substrate tray holder 140 on which the substrate tray 120 is mounted. The substrate 110 is moved to bond the substrate and the mask mounted on the substrate tray.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 4, the mask tray holder 130 is provided with an insertion protrusion 131 to be inserted into the insertion hole 112 of the mask tray 110 to fix the mask tray 110.

The mask tray conveying means 150 includes a driving unit 151 and an upper guide 152. The driving unit 151 has a roller under the mask tray 110 and the upper guide 152 is provided in a bearing shape to horizontally move the mask tray 110.

Likewise, the substrate tray conveying means 160 includes a driving unit 161 and an upper guide 162. The driving unit 161 includes a roller at a lower portion of the substrate tray 120, and the upper guide 162 is provided in a bearing shape to horizontally move the substrate tray 120.

Although not shown in the drawing, the mask tray conveying means 150 further includes a lifting part. The lifting unit is provided below the mask tray 110 to lift and lower the mask tray 110 which is supported by the upper guide 151 and is stopped at a predetermined position in the process chamber 100 by the stretching or lifting operation.

Accordingly, the mask tray holder 130 moves the mask tray 110 lifted and lowered by the lifting unit toward the substrate tray without interfering with the driving unit 151 to allow the mask 10 to adhere to the substrate 20.

Similarly, the substrate tray conveying means 160 further includes a lifting part. The lifting unit is provided below the substrate tray 120 to lift and lower the substrate tray 120 which is supported by the upper guide 162 and is stopped at a predetermined position in the process chamber 100 by stretching or lifting operation.

Thus, the substrate tray 120 lifted by the elevator unit is attached to the substrate tray holder 140 and the mask / substrate alignment and bonding means 170. At this time, the substrate tray holder 140 is configured so as not to interfere with the substrate tray 120 because the upper guide 162 is raised and lowered integrally during the lifting operation of the lifting unit.

The vertical deposition apparatus of the present invention further includes a deposition source 180. The deposition source 180 is configured such that the organic material sprayed from the nozzle can uniformly radiate the substrate 20 through the mask 10. The deposition source 180 further includes a deposition source buffer chamber 181. The buffer chamber 181 allows the deposition source to remain while the deposition process is not in progress, thereby maintaining a predetermined deposition rate.

A method of vertically depositing a thin film, for example, an organic thin film using the deposition apparatus as described above will be described as follows.

First, the mask 10 is mounted on the mask tray 110 and transferred to the process chamber 100. In this case, the mask tray 110 on which the mask 10 is mounted is preferably loaded in the chamber 100 in a vertical state. The mask tray 110 transferred into the chamber 100 is horizontally moved by the mask tray transportation means 150 and supported by the mask tray holder 110. The guide groove of the upper support part 113 of the mask tray 110 is moved. The bearing of the upper guide 151 of the mask tray transporter 150 is inserted into the 114, and the lower support 115 is coupled to the driving unit 152 to move horizontally.

Subsequent to the mask loading process, the substrate 20 is transferred to the process chamber 100. In this case, the substrate tray 120 on which the substrate 20 is mounted is preferably loaded into the chamber in a vertical state. The substrate tray 120 transferred to the chamber 100 is horizontally moved by the substrate tray transportation means 160 and supported by the substrate tray holder 140 and the mask substrate / alignment means 170. The bearing of the upper guide 162 of the substrate tray transport means 150 is inserted into the guide groove 124 of the upper support 123 of the lower support portion 125 is coupled to the drive unit 161 to move horizontally.

At this time, the loaded mask 10 and the substrate 20 are maintained in a vertical state parallel to each other, the mask 10 is supported by the high-precision support member 15 of the mask tray 110 and the substrate 20 ) Is supported by the highly accurate support member of the substrate tray 120, thereby preventing warpage due to the weight of the mask and the substrate.

When the loading process of the mask 10 and the substrate 20 is completed, a process for aligning and bonding the mask 10 and the substrate 20 is performed. In the alignment / bonding process, the mask 10 and the substrate 20, which face each other and maintain a vertical state parallel to each other, are aligned and bonded to the mask tray 110 and the substrate tray 120, respectively.

The film forming process is followed by the alignment / bonding process. In the deposition process, the organic material is sprayed and deposited on the substrate 20 while the linear deposition source is moved up and down, i.e., in the vertical direction while the mask 10 and the substrate 20 are vertically aligned / bonded. .

A desorption process for detaching the mask 10 and the substrate 20 is performed by the film forming process. The mask 10 and the substrate 20 may be detachably attached to the mask tray 110 and the substrate tray 120, respectively.

After the desorption process, the substrate having the organic thin film formed thereon is transferred to the next process chamber for the next process, and then the substrate for newly forming the organic thin film is transferred into the chamber 100 to repeat the operation as described above.

In the embodiment of the present invention, a vertical linear deposition source is illustrated as the deposition source 180, but is not necessarily limited thereto, and may be replaced with a plurality of point deposition sources arranged to obtain a deposition effect using a linear deposition source. have.

 As described above, according to the vertical mask tray and the vertical deposition apparatus of the present invention, by using the high-precision contact plate including CFRP, the mask and the substrate are supported to prevent warpage of the substrate and the mask. The mask and the substrate tray can be reduced in weight.

In addition, a guide groove is formed in the upper support portion of the mask and the substrate tray to insert the bearings of the mask and the substrate transport means, and the lower support portion of the mask and the mask tray is in the form of a rod, which is coupled to the driving unit to move the particles horizontally. The occurrence of can be minimized.

In addition, by moving the mask and the substrate using the mask tray and the substrate tray, there is an advantage to protect the substrate and the mask.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to one embodiment shown in the drawings, this is merely exemplary, and those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible therefrom. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention will be defined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.

Claims (12)

An apparatus for transferring a mask for forming a thin film on a substrate, A plate-shaped tray for supporting the mask; An upper support part coupled to an upper part of the tray to support the tray; A lower support part coupled to a lower part of the tray to support the tray; And a plate-shaped mask support member arranged between the plate-shaped tray and the mask to support the mask. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the mask support member comprises carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP). The vertical mask transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plate-shaped tray is made of Al. The vertical mask transfer apparatus of claim 1, wherein the upper support part comprises a guide groove, and the lower support part has a rod shape. The method of claim 1, wherein the tray further comprises an insertion hole as a coupling means for coupling with the mask tray holder, the insertion hole is characterized in that the upper hole is formed narrower than the lower portion so that the tray is fixed. Vertical mask feeder. The vertical mask transfer apparatus of claim 1, wherein the tray further comprises an electromagnet arranged at an outer portion of the mask member to improve adhesion to the substrate. A process chamber; A mask tray and a substrate tray which are embedded in the process chamber in a vertical state parallel to each other and on which a mask and a substrate are mounted; Mask tray conveying means and substrate tray conveying means for horizontally moving the mask tray and the substrate tray in parallel with each other; Mask / substrate alignment bonding means for aligning and bonding the mask and the substrate conveyed by the mask tray conveying means and the substrate tray conveying means, respectively; A mask tray holder and a substrate tray holder for supporting the mask tray and the substrate tray, respectively; And a deposition source for injecting a deposition material onto the substrate aligned and bonded to the mask, The mask tray includes a plate-shaped tray for supporting a mask; And a plate-shaped mask support member arranged between the plate-shaped tray and the mask to support the mask. 8. The vertical deposition apparatus of claim 7, wherein the mask support member comprises carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP). 8. The vertical vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the plate-shaped tray is made of Al. 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the substrate tray comprises: a plate-shaped tray for supporting a substrate; And a plate-shaped substrate support member arranged between the plate-shaped tray and the substrate to support the substrate. The vertical deposition apparatus of claim 10, wherein the substrate support member comprises carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP). The vertical vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the plate-shaped tray is made of Al.

Images