JPH0215628B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an evaporation source storage device for a batch type vacuum evaporation apparatus.

[Prior Art] Various types of batch-type vacuum evaporation equipment have been proposed in the past, such as the
18121 Publication, Special Publication No. 11370, Special Publication No. 11370, Special Publication No. 11370, Special Publication No. 11370-
Known examples include those described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 3032 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 17829/1983. In all of these known apparatuses, the object to be processed and the evaporation source are placed facing each other in a vapor deposition chamber consisting of a vacuum container, the substance is heated and evaporated in vacuum, and the vapor is condensed on the object to be processed. The structure is configured to form a thin film using the same method.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Incidentally, in such a batch type vacuum evaporation apparatus, when the evaporation operation is completed, it is necessary to open the evaporation chamber to the atmosphere and replace the objects to be processed. In this case, if the atmosphere is introduced immediately after the completion of the evaporation process, the evaporation source will be rapidly cooled and may be damaged. Therefore, after the vapor deposition process is completed, it is necessary to wait until the evaporation source has cooled down to some extent before opening the vapor deposition chamber to the atmosphere. As a result, the time required per batch increases, resulting in poor productivity.

Furthermore, since the evaporation source is exposed to the atmosphere after each evaporation operation, oxidation and the like occur, leading to rapid wear and tear, which tends to increase maintenance costs.

On the other hand, a vapor deposition chamber and an evaporation source chamber are provided separately, and these two chambers are separated by a large-diameter valve so that the evaporation source chamber is always kept in a vacuum state and only the vaporization chamber is brought to atmospheric pressure. Type vacuum evaporation equipment has also been proposed, but since the object to be processed in the evaporation chamber and the evaporation source in the evaporation source chamber must be positioned opposite each other, the configuration of the equipment is naturally limited. Since it is necessary to provide a large-diameter valve between the evaporation source chamber and the evaporation source chamber, there are also restrictions on the distance between the object to be processed in the evaporation chamber and the evaporation source in the evaporation source chamber.

Therefore, the present invention solves the above-mentioned problems of the conventional technology, significantly shortens the working time per batch, and prevents unnecessary evaporation and contamination without exposing the evaporation source to the atmosphere each time. It is an object of the present invention to provide an evaporation source storage device for a batch type vacuum evaporation apparatus.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the evaporation source storage device for a batch type vacuum evaporation apparatus according to the present invention has a substrate and an evaporation source inserted therein, and evaporation from the evaporation source is provided. an evaporation source storage chamber connected to the vacuum evaporation chamber via a gate valve to maintain a vacuum; a carrier gas introduction device that introduces a carrier gas into the evaporation source storage chamber to prevent evaporation and contamination of the evaporation source in the evaporation source storage chamber; It is characterized by being able to move the source.

[Function] In the evaporation source storage device for a batch type vacuum evaporation apparatus according to the present invention, a separate evaporation source storage chamber is provided which is connected to the vacuum evaporation chamber via a gate valve, and the evaporation source is kept in a carrier gas atmosphere during the evaporation process. The evaporation source is transported from the evaporation source storage chamber to a position facing the object to be processed in the vacuum evaporation chamber, and when the object to be processed is taken out after the completion of the evaporation process, it is stored again in the evaporation source storage chamber and introduced by the carrier gas introduction device. maintained within an inert gas atmosphere.

[Embodiments] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 schematically shows the main parts of an evaporation source storage device for a batch type vacuum evaporation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
is provided, and thus constitutes an insulating room.
This evaporation source storage chamber 1 is connected to a vacuum deposition chamber 3 via a partition valve 2. Conveyance rollers 5 for conveying the evaporation sources 4 are arranged on one plane in the evaporation source storage chamber 1, and each conveyance roller 5 has a second
As shown, the drive can be controlled via external drive systems 6 (only one of which is shown in the figure). Although not shown in the drawings, conveyance rollers similar to the conveyance roller 5 are also arranged in the vacuum deposition chamber 3 on substantially the same plane as the plane of the conveyance roller 5 and in the same direction. Two heaters 7 are provided in the upper part of the evaporation source storage chamber 1 along the longitudinal direction, and are connected to an external power source (not shown) via an electrode terminal 8. A thermocouple 9 (only one of which is shown in FIG. 1) for temperature control is provided on the upper wall of the storage chamber 1. By the action of these heaters 7 and thermocouples 9, the temperature of the evaporation source 4 can be maintained at a constant temperature. On the other hand, a carrier gas introduction device 10 is disposed in the lower part of the evaporation source storage chamber 1, and this carrier gas introduction device 10 is connected to a suitable external carrier gas supply source (not shown) to supply an inert gas to the evaporation source. It is supplied into the storage chamber 1 to suppress the evaporation of evaporative substances in the evaporation source 4 and to protect the evaporation source 4 from contamination from the surroundings. Further, the evaporation source storage chamber 1 is connected to an exhaust system through an exhaust port 11 provided at its upper portion, and can be maintained at a predetermined vacuum level at all times.

In the operation of the illustrated apparatus configured in this way, when the required vapor deposition work on the object to be processed (not shown) is completed in the vacuum vapor deposition chamber 3,
First, the partition valve 2 between the vacuum evaporation chamber 3 and the evaporation source storage chamber 1 is opened, and the conveyor rollers 5 in the evaporation source storage chamber 1 and the vacuum evaporation chamber 3 are driven by an external drive system 6 to create a vacuum evaporation chamber. Evaporation source 4 located within 3
is carried out to the evaporation source storage chamber 1, which is maintained in a high-temperature vacuum state. Thereafter, the partition valve 2 is closed, the vacuum evaporation chamber 3 is opened to the atmosphere, and the processed object from the vacuum evaporation chamber 3 is taken out. Thereafter, another object to be processed is placed in the vacuum deposition chamber 3, and the vacuum deposition chamber 3 is evacuated again. After the exhaust is finished, the partition valve 2 is opened and the transport roller 5 is driven in the opposite direction to move the evaporation source 4 maintained at a high temperature to the vacuum deposition chamber 3.
Then, the partition valve 2 is closed and the vapor deposition operation is restarted. By repeating such operations, a series of vapor deposition operations can be performed.

In addition, in the illustrated embodiment, the carrier gas introduction pipe 1
0 is located at the bottom of the evaporation source storage chamber 1,
Alternatively, the heaters 7 may be provided in the upper part or on both left and right sides of the evaporation source storage chamber 1, and the number and position of the heaters 7 can be changed as appropriate. Further, instead of the conveyance rollers, other suitable conveyance mechanisms, such as belt-type or chain-type conveyance means, may be used.
In addition, although one evaporation source is used in the illustrated embodiment, it is of course possible to use a plurality of evaporation sources depending on the processing purpose, and the types of evaporation sources are the same for various types. Applicable to Furthermore, the operation of each part may be controlled automatically or manually.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention,
A vacuum evaporation chamber in which a substrate and an evaporation source are inserted, and a vapor deposition material vapor evaporated from the evaporation source is condensed onto the substrate to perform evaporation, and a gate valve is connected to the vacuum evaporation chamber. and a carrier gas introduction device that introduces a carrier gas into the evaporation source storage chamber to prevent evaporation and contamination of the evaporation source in the evaporation source storage chamber. Since the evaporation source is configured to be movable between the vacuum evaporation chamber and the evaporation source storage chamber, cooling of the evaporation source, which is conventionally performed after the completion of evaporation, can be omitted, and The working time is shortened, and productivity can be improved accordingly. In addition, since the evaporation source is not exposed to the atmosphere after each evaporation and is kept in a carrier gas atmosphere, evaporation can always be performed with stable quality, and consumption of the evaporation source can be reduced to about 1/10 of conventional methods. This not only reduces running costs but also significantly reduces maintenance time.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 1; FIG. In the figure, 1: Evaporation source storage chamber, 1a: Heat insulating material, 2:
Partition valve, 3: Vacuum deposition chamber, 4: Evaporation source, 5:
Conveyance roller, 10: carrier gas introduction device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A vacuum evaporation chamber in which a substrate and an evaporation source are inserted, and vapor deposition material vapor evaporated from the evaporation source is condensed onto the substrate to perform evaporation, and a gate valve is provided in the vacuum evaporation chamber. an evaporation source storage chamber that is connected to the evaporation source storage chamber through the evaporation source storage chamber to maintain a vacuum, and a carrier gas introduction device that introduces a carrier gas into the evaporation source storage chamber to prevent evaporation and contamination of the evaporation source in the evaporation source storage chamber. An evaporation source storage device for a batch type vacuum evaporation apparatus, characterized in that the evaporation source can be moved between the vacuum evaporation chamber and the evaporation source storage chamber.