JP6578367B2 - Material supply device and vapor deposition device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a material supply device for supplying an evaporation material to an evaporation source and a vapor deposition device including the material supply device.

  2. Description of the Related Art There is known a vacuum vapor deposition apparatus that deposits vapor of an evaporation material (also referred to as a vapor deposition material) on a substrate to form, for example, a metal film on the substrate. Various methods such as resistance heating type, induction heating type, and electron beam heating type are known as the evaporation source of the vacuum evaporation system, and the evaporation material contained in the crucible is melted by heating or electron beam irradiation. By evaporating, vapor of the evaporation material is generated.

  In the vapor deposition apparatus, from the viewpoint of productivity, there is known a vapor deposition apparatus configured to be able to intermittently or continuously supply the evaporation material to the crucible in a state where the vapor deposition chamber is maintained in a predetermined reduced pressure atmosphere. ing. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for intermittently (every fixed time) supplying an evaporation material formed in a pellet shape to a crucible, and Patent Document 2 discloses an evaporation material formed in a wire shape. A technique for continuously supplying the water to the crucible is disclosed.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-128518 JP-A-7-286266

  However, in the method of supplying the pelletized evaporation material to the crucible, since the supply is basically intermittent, the evaporation rate is likely to fluctuate, thus making it difficult to form a metal film with a uniform film thickness. is there. In addition, the method of supplying the wire-like evaporation material to the crucible can suppress the fluctuation of the evaporation rate because continuous supply is possible, but it is expensive in the case of a material that is difficult to process into a wire shape. There is a problem of becoming.

  In view of the circumstances as described above, an object of the present invention is to provide a material supply device that does not require shape processing of the evaporation material and can supply the evaporation material to the vapor deposition chamber without changing the evaporation rate, and the same. Another object of the present invention is to provide an evaporation apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, a material supply apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a material supply chamber, a melting furnace, at least one container, a supply unit, and a transfer unit.
The material supply chamber is installed outside the vapor deposition chamber and can be maintained in a reduced pressure atmosphere.
The melting furnace is installed in the material supply chamber and melts the evaporation material.
The said container accommodates the molten metal of the said evaporation material melt | dissolved in the said melting furnace.
The supply unit is attached to the melting furnace and supplies the molten metal from the melting furnace to the container.
The conveyance unit is configured to be able to convey the ingot of the evaporation material supplied from the supply unit and solidified in the container to the vapor deposition chamber together with the container.

Since the material supply chamber is configured such that the material supply chamber can be maintained in a reduced-pressure atmosphere, the material supply apparatus can transport the evaporation material to the vapor deposition chamber without opening the vapor deposition chamber to the atmosphere.
The evaporation material transferred to the deposition chamber is an ingot that is supplied from the melting furnace to the container in a molten state and solidified in the container, and is transported to the deposition chamber together with the container, and is reheated in the deposition chamber in that state. Evaporated. Therefore, the shape processing of the evaporation material is not required, and even a relatively soft metal material can be stably supplied as the evaporation material.
Furthermore, since the evaporation material is transported in units of containers, the evaporation material can be supplied to the vapor deposition chamber without changing the evaporation rate.
Then, from the dissolution of the evaporation material, the supply into the container and the conveyance to the vapor deposition chamber are performed in a consistent vacuum. For this reason, it is possible to prevent deterioration of the evaporation material due to oxidation or adhesion of moisture, and to stably supply a high quality evaporation material to the vapor deposition chamber.

The container may include a plurality of containers each capable of accommodating the evaporating material. In this case, the material supply apparatus further includes a support base including an index table capable of sequentially moving the plurality of containers to a supply position of the evaporation material by the supply unit.
Thereby, since the evaporation material provided to the vapor deposition chamber can be efficiently prepared, the time required for replenishing the vapor deposition material to the vapor deposition chamber can be shortened.

The supply unit may include a hot water discharge mechanism and a guide member.
The tapping mechanism has a shaft member that penetrates the bottom of the melting furnace in a liquid-tight manner and has at least one recess on the outer peripheral surface, and a drive source that reciprocates the shaft member along the axial direction thereof. The hot water discharge mechanism is configured to be capable of discharging a predetermined amount of molten metal to the outside of the melting furnace by reciprocating along the axial direction of the shaft member.
The guide member is provided at the bottom of the melting furnace and guides the predetermined amount of molten metal discharged to the outside of the melting furnace to the container.
Thereby, the dispersion | variation in the quantity of the evaporation material for every container can be suppressed.

  The tapping mechanism may further include a storage part provided at the bottom of the melting furnace. The storage portion is configured to be able to store the predetermined amount of molten metal, and the shaft member penetrates the storage portion in a liquid-tight manner. The drive source includes a first position for supplying the molten metal from the melting furnace to the storage part via the concave part, and a first position for supplying the molten metal from the storage part to the guide member via the concave part. The shaft member is configured to be movable between two positions.

The material supply apparatus may further include a transfer chamber that accommodates the transfer unit and can be maintained in a reduced pressure atmosphere.
By allowing the material supply chamber and the transfer chamber to be shut off from the atmosphere, atmospheric contamination or contamination in the vapor deposition chamber can be prevented.

The vapor deposition apparatus which concerns on one form of this invention comprises a vapor deposition part, a material supply chamber, a melting furnace, a 1st support part, a supply unit, and a conveyance unit.
The said vapor deposition part has a vapor deposition chamber.
The material supply chamber is installed outside the vapor deposition chamber and can be maintained in a reduced pressure atmosphere.
The melting furnace is installed in the material supply chamber and melts the evaporation material.
The first support part includes at least one container capable of accommodating a molten metal of the evaporating material melted in the melting furnace.
The supply unit supplies the molten metal from the melting furnace to the container.
The said conveyance unit is comprised so that the ingot of the said evaporation material supplied from the said supply unit and solidified within the said container can be conveyed with the said container from the said 1st support part to the said vapor deposition chamber.

  The vapor deposition section includes a support base that is installed in the vapor deposition chamber and supports the container, and an electron gun configured to irradiate the ingot accommodated in the container on the support base with an electron beam. Furthermore, you may have.

  The container may include a plurality of containers each capable of accommodating the evaporating material. In this case, the support table further includes an index table capable of sequentially moving the plurality of containers to the irradiation position of the electron beam from the electron gun.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the shape processing of the evaporation material is unnecessary, and the evaporation material can be supplied to the vapor deposition chamber without changing the evaporation rate.

It is a schematic sectional side view which shows the structure of the vapor deposition apparatus provided with the material supply apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. FIGS. 4A and 4B are side cross-sectional views of main parts schematically showing the configurations of a melting furnace and a hot water mechanism in a steam material supply apparatus. It is a sectional side view which shows roughly the structure of the supply unit of the molten material of the evaporation material in the material supply mechanism which concerns on other embodiment of this invention.

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

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional side view showing a configuration of a vapor deposition apparatus provided with a material supply apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, an X axis, a Y axis, and a Z axis are triaxial directions orthogonal to each other, the X axis and the Y axis indicate a horizontal direction, and the Z axis indicates a height direction.

[Overall configuration of vapor deposition equipment]
As shown in FIG. 1, the vapor deposition device 100 includes a vapor deposition unit 10 and a material supply mechanism 20 (material supply device) that supplies an evaporation material to the vapor deposition unit 10.

(Vapor deposition part)
The vapor deposition unit 10 includes a vapor deposition chamber 11, a substrate holding unit 12 that holds the substrate S, a support base 13 that supports the evaporation material M, and an electron gun 14 that irradiates the evaporation material M with an electron beam E.

  The vapor deposition chamber 11 is connected to the first vacuum exhaust system 51, and is configured by a vacuum chamber that can be exhausted or maintained in a predetermined reduced pressure atmosphere.

  The substrate holding part 12 is installed above the inside of the vapor deposition chamber 11, and is configured to be supported with the film-forming surface of the substrate S facing downward. In the present embodiment, the substrate holding unit 12 is configured to be rotatable around the rotation axis A1 in the XY plane while holding the substrate S.

  The substrate S is typically a rectangular or circular plate substrate such as a glass substrate or a semiconductor substrate, but is not limited thereto, and a flexible substrate such as a plastic film may be used.

  The support table 13 is installed in the vicinity of the bottom of the vapor deposition chamber 11 and is configured to support the evaporation material M to be vapor deposited on the film formation surface of the substrate S together with the container H that accommodates the vaporized material M. . In the present embodiment, the support base 13 includes a disk-shaped index table that can rotate around the rotation axis A2 in the XY plane while supporting a plurality of containers H. The support base 13 has a built-in cooling mechanism through which a coolant such as cooling water can circulate, and the plurality of containers H are arranged on the same circumference on the same circumference on the upper surface of the support base 13. The number of containers H that can be arranged on the support base 13 is not particularly limited, and may be one, but typically is a plurality.

  The support base 13 sequentially supplies any one container H (evaporation material M) from the standby position P1 to the evaporation position P2. The standby position P <b> 1 is one or more positions for temporarily waiting the container H that stores the used or unused evaporation material, and the evaporation material M is placed in the container H with the material supply mechanism 20. The position to be handed over is included. The evaporation position P2 is a position where the electron beam E from the electron gun 14 is applied to the evaporation material M. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the center of the substrate S on the substrate holding portion 12 and the Z-axis direction Is set to a position opposite to.

  The electron gun 14 is installed in the vicinity of the support base 13 and is configured to be able to irradiate the evaporation material M set at the evaporation position P2 with the electron beam E. The electron gun 14 is configured by a magnetic field deflection type (transverse) electron gun, but is not limited thereto, and other types of electron guns such as a piercing electron gun may be employed.

  Although not shown, the vapor deposition unit 10 includes a magnet that deflects the electron beam E toward the evaporation material M on the evaporation position P <b> 2, a substrate transfer chamber for putting the substrate S in and out of the vapor deposition chamber 11, and the vapor deposition chamber 11. It has a gas introduction line that introduces process gas into Moreover, the support stand 13 is not restricted to one, and two or more support stands 13 may be installed. In this case, a plurality of electron guns 14 may be installed corresponding to the number of support bases 13.

  The material supply mechanism 20 includes a material supply unit 30 that supplies the evaporation material M, and a conveyance unit 40 that conveys the evaporation material M from the material supply unit 30 to the vapor deposition unit 10.

(Material supply department)
The material supply unit 30 includes a material supply chamber 31, a melting furnace 32 that melts the evaporation material, a support base 33 that supports the container H that can store the molten metal M <b> 1 of the evaporation material, and the container H from the melting furnace 32. And a supply unit 34 for supplying the molten metal M1.

  The material supply chamber 31 is installed outside the vapor deposition chamber 11 and is composed of a vacuum chamber independent of the vapor deposition chamber 11. That is, the material supply chamber 31 is connected to the second evacuation system 52, and is configured to be evacuated or maintained in a predetermined reduced pressure atmosphere.

  The melting furnace 32 is installed inside the material supply chamber 31, and has an internal space for storing a bulk-like evaporation material and a heater for heating and melting the evaporation material to a predetermined temperature, as will be described later. The inside of the melting furnace 32 can be evacuated to a predetermined reduced pressure atmosphere together with the material supply chamber 31, whereby the melting furnace 32 functions as a vacuum melting furnace.

  Each of the material supply chamber 31 and the melting furnace 32 has an openable / closable canopy (not shown), and a bulk evaporation material can be introduced into the internal space of the melting furnace 32 through these canopies. Configured.

  The container H can accommodate the molten metal M1 of the evaporating material melted in the melting furnace 32. In this embodiment, the heat insulating material such as carbon or ceramics similar to the hearth or hearth liner used for the electron beam evaporation source is used. Consists of. A flange portion Fh is integrally formed on the periphery of the upper end opening of the container H, and the container H is gripped by the transport unit 42 of the transport section 40 via the flange portion Fh. The capacity | capacitance of the container H is not specifically limited, It selects according to the specification of the evaporation material M and the vapor deposition part 10, and the container which has a capacity | capacitance of about 110 cc is used in this embodiment, for example.

  Also, the type of metal material used as the evaporation material is not particularly limited, and various metal materials that can be subjected to electron beam evaporation are used. In the present embodiment, for example, a bulk and relatively soft metal material such as tin (Sn), tantalum (Ta), aluminum (Al), lithium (Li), and indium (In) is used.

  The supply unit 34 is attached to the melting furnace 32 and configured to supply the molten metal M1 from the melting furnace 32 to the container H. The supply unit 34 includes a hot water discharge mechanism 35 and a guide member 36.

  The hot water discharge mechanism 35 is configured to be able to discharge a predetermined amount of the molten metal M2 from the molten material M1 of the evaporation material in the melting furnace 32 to the outside of the melting furnace 32. The guide member 36 is provided at the bottom of the melting furnace 32 and is configured to be able to guide the predetermined amount of the molten metal M2 discharged to the outside of the melting furnace 32 to the container H.

  2A and 2B are side cross-sectional views of main parts schematically showing the configurations of the melting furnace 32 and the hot water discharge mechanism 35.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the melting furnace 32 includes a furnace wall 322 containing a heater (heating wire) 321, a jacket part 324 containing a refrigerant circulation passage 323, and a lining material 325. The jacket portion 324 is provided to prevent the heat of the furnace wall 322 from being transmitted to the outside of the melting furnace 321, and is provided on the outer surface of the furnace wall 322. The lining material 325 is for reducing wettability (or affinity) between the inner surface of the furnace wall 322 and the molten metal M <b> 1 of the evaporation material, and is provided on the inner surface of the furnace wall 322. The lining material 325 is made of a carbon-based material such as graphite, for example.

  The hot water supply mechanism 35 includes a shaft portion 351 and a drive source 352.

  The shaft portion 351 is disposed inside the guide member 36 and is made of a cylindrical refractory metal material that penetrates the bottom of the melting furnace 32 in a liquid-tight manner. The inner peripheral surface of the bottom hole 326 of the melting furnace 32 through which the shaft portion 351 passes is covered with a lining material 325, and the shaft portion 351 slides in the axial direction (Z-axis direction) with respect to the surface of the lining material 325. It is inserted in a movable manner.

  In the present embodiment, the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion 351 is provided with an annular recess 35g centered on the axis. Recess 35g has a volume that can accommodate a predetermined amount of molten metal M2. Accordingly, when the shaft portion 351 is lowered, the predetermined amount of the molten metal M2 can be discharged to the outside of the melting furnace 32 as schematically shown in FIG. 2B. The predetermined amount is not particularly limited, and is typically an amount smaller than the capacity of the container H, and is about 10 cc in the present embodiment. When the recess 35g is provided in an annular shape as in the present embodiment, the melt easily reaches the entire recess 35g when the molten metal is accommodated from the melting furnace, and also when the melt is discharged from the recess 35g. Since it becomes easy to discharge the molten metal from the entire recess 35g, it becomes possible to reliably store and discharge a predetermined amount of the molten metal. Moreover, it is preferable that the cross-sectional shape of the recessed part 35g is a circular arc shape (round groove) so that the discharge property of the molten metal M2 from the recessed part 35g can be further improved.

  The concave portion 35g provided on the outer peripheral portion of the shaft portion 351 is not necessarily provided in an annular shape on the outer peripheral surface with the shaft center as a center, and at least one concave portion is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion 351. If the volume which can accommodate a predetermined amount of molten metal can be defined, the shape or form is not particularly limited. For example, the concave portion 35g may be constituted by a plurality of concave portions provided intermittently along the circumferential direction of the shaft portion 351, or may be constituted by a single partial annular groove that is discontinuous in the circumferential direction. Also good.

  The drive source 352 is for reciprocating the shaft portion 351 along the axial direction, and is configured by, for example, a cylinder mechanism, a ball screw mechanism, or the like. As shown in FIG. 2A, the drive source 352 is between a rising position where the concave portion 35g is located inside the melting furnace 32 and a lowering position where the concave portion 35g is located outside the melting furnace 32 as shown in FIG. The shaft portion 351 can be moved up and down.

  The inner wall surface of the guide member 36 is preferably covered with a lining material made of the same material as the lining material 325. Thereby, since the predetermined amount of molten metal M2 discharged from the hot water discharge mechanism 35 can be stably guided to the container H, variations in the amount of the molten metal reaching the container H can be suppressed. Further, in order to prevent the evaporation material M from being cooled due to contact with the guide member 36, a heating source capable of maintaining the guide member 36 at a predetermined temperature or higher may be provided.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the support base 33 is installed near the bottom of the material supply chamber 31 and is configured to be able to support a plurality of containers H. In the present embodiment, the support base 33 includes a disk-shaped index table that can rotate around the rotation axis A3 in the XY plane while supporting a plurality of containers H. The support base 33 incorporates a cooling mechanism capable of circulating a coolant such as cooling water, and the plurality of containers H are arranged on the same circumference on the same circumference on the upper surface of the support base 33. The number of containers H that can be arranged on the support base 33 is not particularly limited, and may be one, but is typically a plurality.

  The support base 33 sequentially supplies an arbitrary one container H from the standby position P3 to the supply position P4. The standby position P3 is one or two or more positions for temporarily waiting for the container H before or after pouring the evaporation material M, and the evaporation material M together with the container H together with the vapor deposition unit 10. Including the delivery position. The supply position P4 is a position where a predetermined amount of molten metal M2 is supplied (poured) from the hot-water supply mechanism 35. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the position facing the outlet of the guide member 36 in the Z-axis direction. Set to

  The material supply unit 30 further includes a sensor 37 and a controller 38.

  The sensor 37 is disposed outside a window made of a transparent plate provided in the upper part of the material supply chamber 31, and the remaining evaporation material M in the used container H transferred from the vapor deposition section 10 to the standby position P3. The amount is detected, and the detection signal is output to the controller 38. Based on the output of the sensor 37, the controller 38 determines the supply amount of the molten metal M <b> 1 supplied to the detection target container H at the supply position P <b> 4 (in this embodiment, the number of times the shaft portion 351 is moved up and down). The type of the sensor 37 is not particularly limited, and for example, an image sensor such as a camera or a distance measuring sensor such as a laser displacement meter is used.

  The controller 38 is typically composed of a computer incorporating a CPU, memory, and the like, and controls the operations of the material supply unit 30 and the conveyance unit 40. The controller 38 may be configured as a host controller that controls the operation of the entire vapor deposition apparatus 100 including the vapor deposition unit 10.

(Transport section)
The transport unit 40 includes a transport chamber 41 and a transport unit 42.

  The transfer chamber 41 is disposed between the vapor deposition chamber 11 and the material supply chamber 31, and is connected to the vapor deposition chamber 11 and the material supply chamber 31 via gate valves V1 and V2, respectively. The transfer chamber 41 is connected to a third evacuation system 53 and is configured so that the inside can be evacuated or maintained in a predetermined reduced pressure atmosphere.

  The transfer unit 42 is installed at the bottom of the transfer chamber 41. The transport unit 42 includes a hand part 421 capable of scooping up the flange part Fh of the container H, and a multi-joint capable of transporting the hand part 421 in the X axis, Y axis and Z axis directions, and around the Z axis. Arm portion 422. The transport unit 42 is configured by, for example, a SCARA type or frog leg type transport robot.

[Operation of evaporation system]
Next, a typical operation of the vapor deposition apparatus 100 configured as described above will be described.

  The vapor deposition chamber 11, the material supply chamber 31, and the transfer chamber 41 are reduced and maintained at a predetermined pressure via the first to third vacuum exhaust systems 51 to 53. The gate valves V1 and V2 are closed, and each chamber is shut off atmospherically. Since the gate valves V1 and V2 are for realizing the load lock function of the transfer chamber 41, the gate valves V1 and V2 are controlled not to be opened at the same time without being described in detail in the following description. .

(Material supply process)
In the material supply unit 30, the melting furnace 32 is decompressed together with the material supply chamber 31 in a state in which the bulk evaporation material M is accommodated therein, and the evaporation material M is dissolved in the decompressed atmosphere. A plurality of empty containers H are set on the support table 33 at the standby position P3 and the supply position P4 on the support table 33, respectively. After the evaporation material M is melted, the molten metal M1 of the evaporation material M is supplied from the melting furnace 32 to the container H on the supply position P4 via the supply unit 34.

  Specifically, a predetermined amount (about 10 cc) of molten metal M2 accommodated in the recess 35g is guided by the shaft portion 351 of the hot water discharge mechanism 35 moving from the raised position shown in FIG. 2A to the lowered position shown in FIG. 2B. It is supplied to the container H via the member 36. The raising / lowering operation of the shaft portion 351 is repeated until the evaporation material supplied to the container H reaches the maximum filling amount. For example, if the maximum filling amount of the evaporation material supplied to the container H is 100 cc, the lifting / lowering operation of the shaft portion 351 is repeated 10 times.

  After the evaporation material melt M1 is supplied to the container H on the supply position P4, the support base 33 rotates by a predetermined angle, and the container H on the standby position P3 sequentially moves to the supply position P4, and the evaporation material M1 described above. Each of the hot water operations is performed. The container H that has been supplied with the molten metal M1 at the supply position P4 moves to the standby position P3, and the molten metal M1 in the container H is cooled on the support 33 and solidifies. Therefore, the container H holds the ingot (lumps) of the evaporation material M.

  The hand portion 421 of the transfer unit 42 enters the material supply chamber 31 from the transfer chamber 41, and the evaporated material M waiting at the standby position P <b> 3 on the support base 33 is transferred to the vapor deposition chamber 11 together with the container H that accommodates it. Thereafter, the container H that stores the evaporating material M is transported to the standby position P <b> 1 of the support 13 in the vapor deposition chamber 11.

  When the container H is transported to the standby position P <b> 1 of the support base 13, the container H <b> 1 moves to the evaporation position P <b> 2 by the rotation of the support base 13. On the other hand, the transport unit 42 returns to the material supply chamber 31, holds the second container H containing the evaporation material M (ingot) waiting at the standby position P <b> 3 on the support base 33, and again returns to the inside of the vapor deposition chamber 11. The container H is placed at the standby position P1 on the support base 13. Thereafter, this operation is repeated until the number of containers H that can be supported by the support base 13 is reached.

(Deposition process)
In the vapor deposition chamber 11, the substrate S is held by the substrate holding unit 12 with the film formation surface facing downward. After the container H containing the evaporation material M moves to the evaporation position P2, the electron gun 14 irradiates the electron beam E from the electron gun 14 toward the evaporation material M in the container H. The evaporation material M irradiated with the electron beam E is remelted, and vapor (evaporation particles) M3 of the evaporation material M is generated. The substrate holder 12 rotates around the rotation axis A1 at a predetermined speed, and the vapor M3 is deposited on the film forming surface of the substrate S that rotates together with the substrate holder 12. Thereby, a vapor deposition film of the evaporation material M is formed on the film formation surface of the substrate S.

  By continuing the vapor deposition process, the evaporation material M in the container H on the evaporation position P2 is consumed. If the remaining amount of the evaporation material M is less than or equal to a predetermined value, it is difficult to perform a stable film formation process due to fluctuations in evaporation rate. Therefore, when the remaining amount of the evaporation material M becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value, the used evaporation material M on the evaporation position P2 and the unused evaporation material M on the standby position P1 are exchanged by the rotation of the support base 13. . Thereafter, the deposition process of the substrate S is resumed using the evaporation material M newly moved to the evaporation position P2. Note that the replacement work of the evaporation material M is typically performed when the substrate S is replaced.

(Material resupply process)
When all of the evaporation material M on the support base 13 is used up, or when the number of unused evaporation materials M becomes less than a predetermined value, each container H is carried out from the vapor deposition chamber 11 to the material supply chamber 31 as described later. Instead, a container containing new unused evaporation material M is carried into the vapor deposition chamber 11 from the material supply chamber 31.

  The transport unit 42 transports the used evaporative material M waiting at the standby position P1 on the support base 13 to the material supply chamber 31 together with the container H that accommodates it. The container H transported to the standby position of the support base 33 in the material supply chamber 31 by the transport unit 42 is moved to the supply position P4 by the rotation of the support base 33 after the remaining amount of the evaporation material M is measured by the sensor 37. Is done. Instead, the container H in which the evaporation material M has been supplied up to the maximum filling amount moves to the standby position P3, and the container H is transported to the vapor deposition chamber 11 via the transport unit 42.

  The molten metal M1 of the evaporation material M is supplied to the container H moved to the supply position P4 by a predetermined amount by the hot water discharge mechanism 35 until the maximum filling amount of the container H is reached. At this time, based on the remaining amount data of the evaporating material in the container H measured by the sensor 37, the operation of the hot water discharge mechanism 35 (the number of times the shaft portion 351 is moved up and down) is determined.

  Thereafter, by repeating the above-described operation, the container H that contains the used evaporation material M is newly filled with the evaporation material M anew. The container H filled with the evaporation material M is transported to the vapor deposition chamber 11 by the transport unit 42 at a predetermined timing (when the substrate S is replaced in the vapor deposition section 10).

  As described above, in the present embodiment, for example, the following operational effects can be obtained.

Since the material supply chamber 31 is configured to be maintained in a reduced pressure atmosphere, the evaporation material M can be transferred to the evaporation chamber 11 without opening the evaporation chamber 11 to the atmosphere.
The evaporation material M conveyed to the vapor deposition chamber 11 is an ingot that is supplied from the melting furnace 32 to the container H in a molten state and solidified in the container H, and is conveyed to the vapor deposition chamber 11 together with the container H. In the state, it is reheated in the vapor deposition chamber 11 and evaporated. Therefore, the shape processing of the evaporation material M is not necessary, and even a relatively soft metal material can be stably supplied as the evaporation material M.
Furthermore, since the evaporation material M is transported in units of containers H, the evaporation material M can be supplied to the vapor deposition chamber 11 without changing the evaporation rate.
Then, since the evaporation material M is melted, supplied into the container H, and transported to the vapor deposition chamber 11 in a consistent vacuum, deterioration of the evaporation material M due to oxidation and adhesion of moisture is prevented, and high quality. It becomes possible to supply the evaporation material M to the vapor deposition chamber 11 stably.

  In the present embodiment, the support base 33 in the material supply chamber 31 includes an index table capable of sequentially moving the plurality of containers H to the supply position P4. Thereby, since the evaporation material M provided to the vapor deposition chamber 11 can be efficiently prepared, the time required for replenishment of the evaporation material M to the vapor deposition chamber 11 can be shortened.

  Similarly, the support table 13 in the vapor deposition chamber 11 includes an index table that can sequentially move the plurality of containers H to the irradiation position of the electron beam E from the electron gun 14, so that evaporation necessary for the vapor deposition process is performed. The material M can be secured and the productivity can be improved.

  In the present embodiment, the hot water discharge mechanism 35 is configured to supply the molten metal of the evaporation material to the container H by a predetermined amount, and therefore, variation in the supply amount of the evaporation material M for each container H can be suppressed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent variations in the evaporation rate for each container due to variations in the amount of the evaporation material M.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the transfer unit 42 is installed inside the transfer chamber 41 that can maintain a vacuum atmosphere separately from the vapor deposition chamber 11 and the material supply chamber 31. For this reason, the material supply chamber 31 and the transfer chamber 41 can be shut off atmospherically, and atmospheric contamination or contamination in the vapor deposition chamber 11 can be prevented.

<Second Embodiment>
FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view schematically showing a configuration of a molten metal supply unit in a material supply mechanism according to another embodiment of the present invention.
Hereinafter, configurations different from those of the first embodiment will be mainly described, and configurations similar to those of the above-described embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted or simplified.

  The supply unit 64 of the present embodiment includes a hot water mechanism 65 and a guide member 66 having a hot water outlet 662. The hot water mechanism 65 includes a shaft portion 651, a storage portion 652, and a drive source 653.

  The storage unit 652 is provided at the bottom of the melting furnace 32 and configured to store a predetermined amount of the molten metal M1 of the evaporation material M. The storage portion 652 has through holes 652a and 652b through which the shaft portion 651 passes at the upper end portion and the lower end portion, respectively.

  The shaft portion 651 penetrates the bottom of the melting furnace 32, the guide member 66, and the storage portion 652 in a liquid-tight manner, and is configured to be slidable in the axial direction with respect to these. As in the first embodiment, the shaft portion 651 has an annular recess 65g centered on the shaft center on the outer peripheral surface thereof. The opening width z1 along the Z-axis direction of the recess 65g is set to be smaller than the height dimension z2 along the Z-axis direction of the reservoir 652. For this reason, the through-hole 652b is shielded by the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion 651 while the melting furnace 32 and the storage portion 652 communicate with each other via the recess 65g and the through-hole 652a. On the other hand, while the reservoir 652 and the guide member 66 are in communication with each other via the recess 65g and the through hole 652b, the through hole 652a is shielded by the outer peripheral surface of the shaft 651.

  The drive source 653 is configured in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and is configured to be movable up and down with respect to the bottom of the melting furnace 32, the guide member 66, and the storage unit 652. The drive source 653 has a first position for supplying the molten metal M1 from the melting furnace 32 to the reservoir 652 via the recess 65g as shown by a solid line in the drawing, and a recess 65g as shown by a two-dot chain line in the drawing. The shaft portion 651 is configured to be movable between the storage portion 652 and the second position where the molten metal M1 is supplied to the inside of the guide member 66.

  In addition, the inner wall surfaces of the storage portion 652 and the guide member 66 are covered with a lining material for reducing the affinity with the molten metal M <b> 1, similarly to the melting furnace 32. Thereby, since the predetermined amount of molten metal M2 discharged from the hot water mechanism 65 can be stably guided to the container H, variation in the amount of the molten metal reaching the container H can be suppressed. In order to prevent the evaporation material M from being cooled by contact with the guide member 66, a heating source 661 capable of maintaining the guide member 66 at a predetermined temperature or higher is provided.

  Also in the supply unit 64 of the present embodiment configured as described above, a predetermined amount is transferred from the inside of the melting furnace 32 to the container H by one raising / lowering operation of the shaft portion 651 as in the first embodiment. It becomes possible to supply the molten metal with high accuracy and stability. Since the predetermined amount can be arbitrarily designed according to the internal volume of the storage unit 652, it is possible to sufficiently meet the demand for supplying a relatively large volume of molten metal to the container H at a time. .

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited only to the above-mentioned embodiment, Of course, a various change can be added.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the evaporation source in the vapor deposition unit 10 is configured by an electron beam evaporation source has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and is configured by a resistance heating type or induction heating type evaporation source. Also good. In this case, the present invention can be applied as a supply device for the evaporation material supplied to these evaporation sources.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Deposition part 11 ... Deposition chamber 13 ... Support stand 20 ... Material supply mechanism 30 ... Material supply part 31 ... Material supply chamber 32 ... Melting furnace 33 ... Support stand 34 ... Supply unit 35, 65 ... Hot-water supply mechanism 36, 66 ... Guide Member 40 ... Conveying section 41 ... Conveying chamber 42 ... Conveying unit 100 ... Deposition apparatus H ... Container M ... Evaporating material M1, M2 ... Molten metal M3 ... Steam

Claims (8)

A material supply chamber installed outside the vapor deposition chamber and maintained in a reduced pressure atmosphere;
A melting furnace installed in the material supply chamber for melting the evaporation material;
At least one container capable of containing a molten metal of the evaporating material melted in the melting furnace;
A supply unit attached to the melting furnace and supplying the molten metal from the melting furnace to the container;
A transport unit capable of transporting the ingot of the evaporation material supplied from the supply unit and solidified in the container to the vapor deposition chamber together with the container ;
The supply unit is
A shaft member liquid-tightly penetrating the bottom of the melting furnace and having at least one concave portion on the outer peripheral surface; and a drive source for reciprocating the shaft member along the axial direction thereof, the axial direction of the shaft member A hot water discharge mechanism configured to be able to discharge a predetermined amount of molten metal to the outside of the melting furnace by reciprocating along
A guide member that is provided at the bottom of the melting furnace and guides the predetermined amount of molten metal discharged to the outside of the melting furnace to the container;
A material supply device. The material supply device according to claim 1,
The container includes a plurality of containers each capable of containing the evaporating material,
The material supply device further includes a support base including an index table capable of sequentially moving the plurality of containers to a supply position of the evaporation material by the supply unit. The material supply device according to claim 1 ,
The hot spring mechanism is
Provided at the bottom of the melting furnace, further having a reservoir capable of storing the predetermined amount of molten metal;
The shaft member penetrates the storage part in a liquid-tight manner,
The drive source has a first position for supplying the molten metal from the melting furnace to the storage part via the concave part, and a second position for supplying the molten metal from the storage part to the guide member via the concave part. A material supply device configured to be able to move the shaft member between positions. It is a material supply apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-3 ,
A material supply apparatus further comprising a transfer chamber that accommodates the transfer unit and can be maintained in a reduced-pressure atmosphere. A vapor deposition section having a vapor deposition chamber;
A material supply chamber that is installed outside the vapor deposition chamber and can be maintained in a reduced pressure atmosphere, a melting furnace that is installed in the material supply chamber and dissolves the evaporation material, and the evaporation material dissolved in the melting furnace A material supply unit having at least one container capable of containing a molten metal, and a supply unit that supplies the molten metal from the melting furnace to the container ;
A transfer chamber disposed between the vapor deposition chamber and the material supply chamber, and an ingot of the evaporation material supplied from the supply unit and solidified in the container, together with the container, from the material supply chamber to the vapor deposition chamber. A transport unit having a transport unit installed in the transport chamber capable of transporting and transporting a used container from the vapor deposition chamber to the material supply chamber ;
The material supply unit includes a sensor that detects a remaining amount of the evaporated material in the used container transferred from the vapor deposition chamber to the material supply chamber, and the used unit by the supply unit based on an output of the sensor. And a controller for determining a supply amount of the molten metal to the container . The vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 5,
The transfer unit is disposed between the transfer chamber and the vapor deposition chamber and is not opened simultaneously with the first gate valve disposed between the transfer chamber and the material supply chamber. A second gate valve; and a vacuum exhaust system for exhausting or maintaining the transfer chamber in a predetermined reduced-pressure atmosphere.
Vapor deposition equipment. The vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 5 or 6,
The vapor deposition part
A support base installed in the vapor deposition chamber and supporting the container;
The vapor deposition apparatus further comprising: an electron gun capable of irradiating the ingot accommodated in the container on the support base with an electron beam. The vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 7,
The container includes a plurality of containers each capable of containing the evaporating material,
The support table includes an index table capable of sequentially moving the plurality of containers to an irradiation position of the electron beam from the electron gun.

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