This application makes reference to, incorporates the same herein, and claims all benefits accruing under 35 U.S.C. §119 from three applications, entitled ALIGNMENT SYSTEM, VERTICAL TRAY TRANSPORTING ASSEMBLY, AND DEPOSITION APPARATUS WITH THE SAME, one of which was earlier filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on the 16th of Dec. 2004 and there duly assigned Serial No. 10-2004-0107131, and two of which were concurrently filed on the 5th of Jan. 2005 and there respectively assigned Serial Nos. 10-2005-00945 and 10-2005-00955.
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an alignment system, a vertical tray transporting assembly, and a deposition apparatus with the same. The present invention more particularly relates to an alignment system, a vertical tray transporting assembly, and a deposition apparatus with the same, in which a substrate is fixed and supported to embody a vertical deposition in an in-line thin film deposition system, the effect of fine particles during transportation is minimized, and sufficient flatness of a mask is secured.
2. Related Art
Generally, a deposition process of a thin film is divided into a method of depositing a thin film under a vacuum and under atmospheric pressure. Since the method of depositing a thin film under vacuum may form a high purity of a thin film without contamination by impurities, and deposit more dense thin film, it has widely been used for semiconductor and display devices.
Due to a limit of volume of a process chamber and an area of a substrate able to be inserted in the process chamber, a thin film deposition process under a vacuum has been performed in a batch type manner.
There are serious problems in a vertical deposition method, which is one of the methods used for vacuum deposition of a substrate having a large area. In particular, upon vertically disposing the substrate, the problems are worse due to the effect of gravity acting downward. Furthermore, in an in-line deposition system, problems such as deterioration of the yield of the product due to the delay in processing occur.
In addition, there is an EL device which is an example in representative application fields of a deposition apparatus. The EL device is an emissive display having a wide angle of visibility, excellent contrast, and a high-speed response, and has been proposed as the next-generation planar type display device. The EL device is divided into an organic EL device and an inorganic EL device according to the kind of emission layer formation materials. The organic EL device has more excellent luminance, drive voltage, and response speed characteristics in comparison with the inorganic EL device, and has a polychromatic characteristic.
The organic EL device includes an anode electrode and a cathode electrode arranged to face each other, and an organic layer sandwiched between the anode and cathode electrodes. The organic layer includes a hole transfer layer (HIL), an electron transfer layer (ETL), and an electron transfer layer (ETL). In the organic EL device, when a predetermined voltage is applied to the anode and cathode electrodes, holes from the hole transfer layer (HIL) and electrons from the electron transfer layer (ETL) and are transported to an emission layer (EML), and the holes and electrons are recombined with each other in the emission layer (EML), whereby predetermined light is emitted.
A thin film, such as an organic film of an organic EL device, is deposited using a general deposition method. In the general deposition method, after a substrate is disposed in a deposition chamber, organic materials are discharged from a deposition source to deposit a thin film on the substrate. Methods such as the bottom-up rotation deposition type, bottom-up deposition type, top-down deposition type, and vertical deposition type have been variously attempted for depositing organic thin film of the organic EL device. The bottom-up rotation deposition type is a method which deposits a thin film by rotating a substrate against a deposition source. However, it is difficult to apply the bottom-up rotation deposition type method to a substrate having a large area. The bottom-up deposition type is a method which deposits a thin film by horizontal movement of a substrate or a deposition source after the deposition source is disposed at a lower portion of the substrate. In the bottom-up deposition type, a deflection of the substrate or the mask occurs. Accordingly, it is difficult to deposit a precise pattern. Furthermore, uniform thickness of a formation film can be obtained. Moreover, a top-down deposition type injects organic materials downward by horizontally moving a substrate to deposit a thin film. Although deposition materials have high deposition efficiency, it is possible to directly expose a surface of the thin film to be deposited to fine particles.
The vertical deposition type is a method which deposits a thin film by moving a substrate or by moving a deposition source up and down after vertically making the substrate stand. When the vertical deposition type is used, it has been required that a substrate having a large area be easily transported, precision alignment for a precision patterning be easily adjusted, and bending due to enlargement of the substrate be minimized.
Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present invention to provide an alignment system, a vertical tray transporting assembly, and a deposition apparatus with the same which allow an alignment of high precision, and perform a stable deposition process in a short period of time, which minimize the effect of fine particles during transportation, and which secure a sufficient uniformity of a mask by fixing and supporting a vertically disposed substrate using a fixing holder member and an auxiliary attaching member in a tray of a vertical in-line deposition alignment system.
The foregoing and/or other aspects of the present invention are achieved by providing an alignment system comprising: a substrate vertically installed and to which a substrate is stuck; a mask tray vertically aligned in correspondence to the substrate tray and to which a mask is stuck; and a tray holder. The substrate tray and the mast tray being locked to the tray holder by means of a locking portion.
The locking portion includes locking holes respectively formed at the substrate tray and the mask tray, and a locking arm formed at the tray holder, and inserted and locked in the locking holes. The locking arm includes a locking groove, and a part of an edge of the locking hole of the mask tray is inserted in the locking groove. Preferably, the locking hole of the mask tray is formed by two holes having different diameters overlapping each other, and the locking hole of the mask tray has holes of smaller and larger diameters overlapping each other to prevent interference due to movement of the locking arm in such a manner that the hole of smaller diameter is positioned at an upper portion of the hole of larger diameter. Most preferably, the mast tray further includes a support member formed so as to protrude from an opposite side of an insertion direction of the locking arm, a part of the support member contacting a head end of the locking arm.
Also, the tray holder includes a holder plate driven by a driver and arranged in the vicinity of the substrate tray. The alignment system further comprises an auxiliary locking portion for maintaining locking positions of the mask tray and the substrate tray locked to the tray holder. In the embodiment, the auxiliary locking portion includes a magnetic substance for sequentially providing a mutual attractive force to the substrate tray the mask tray, and the tray holder. In addition, a magnetic substance of the tray holder is installed at a holder plate.
Furthermore, the substrate tray includes at least one fixing holder member. Preferably, the tray holder includes: a flat plate chuck for pressurizing the substrate; a driver connected to the flat plate chuck for moving the flat plate chuck; and a fixing insertion member engaged with a fixing holder member. The fixing holder member includes a through hole having circular shapes of two different diameters overlapping each other, and the through hole includes a through hole of smaller diameter and a through hole of larger diameter, the through hole of smaller being positioned at an upper portion of the through hole of larger diameter. The fixing insertion member is inserted in the fixing holder member, and locks and fixes the tray, and a groove is formed at the fixing insertion member. The groove of the fixing insertion member is inserted and mounted in the fixing holder member. Also, at least one auxiliary attaching member is formed at the tray and an auxiliary support member is formed at the alignment plate so as to be engaged with the auxiliary attaching member.
The auxiliary attaching member(s) is(are) conductive, the conductive auxiliary attaching member(s) being made of magnetic material, and the conductive auxiliary attaching member(s) made of magnetic material include at least one groove or protrusion portion. Also, the auxiliary support member is formed by magnetic material, and is supported and fixed in correspondence to the auxiliary attaching member of the tray. A substrate frame is formed at the tray, receives the substrate, and is received in the tray, and a substrate fixing member is formed at the substrate frame and receives the substrate.
In addition, a frame fixing member is formed at the substrate frame so as to be received in the tray. A lower support portion for transportation is further formed at the tray. In the embodiment, an upper support portion is formed at the tray and supplements transportation by the lower support portion.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, an alignment system comprises: a substrate on which deposition materials are deposited; a tray for receiving the substrate, and including at least one fixing holder member; and an alignment plate including a flat plate chuck for pressurizing the substrate, a driver connected to the flat plate chuck for moving the flat plate chuck, and a fixing insertion member engaged with a fixing holder member and the alignment plate for aligning the tray by supporting fixing of the tray.
The fixing holder member includes a through hole having circular shapes of two different diameters overlapping each other. The through hole includes a through hole of smaller diameter and a through hole of larger diameter, the through hole of smaller being positioned at an upper portion of the through hole of larger diameter. The fixing insertion member is inserted in the fixing holder member, and locks and fixes the tray, and a groove is formed at the fixing insertion member, the groove of the fixing insertion member being inserted and mounted in the fixing holder member. Also, at least one auxiliary attaching member is formed at the tray, and an auxiliary support member is formed at the alignment plate so as to be engaged with the auxiliary attaching member. The auxiliary attaching member(s) is(are) conductive. The conductive auxiliary attaching member(s) is(are) made of magnetic material.
The conductive auxiliary attaching member made of magnetic material includes at least one groove or protrusion portion. Also, the auxiliary support member is formed of magnetic material, and is supported and fixed in correspondence to the auxiliary attaching member of the tray. Furthermore, a substrate frame is formed at the tray, receives the substrate, and is received in the tray. A substrate fixing member is formed at the substrate frame and receives the substrate. Furthermore, a frame fixing member is formed at the substrate frame so as to be received in the tray. Also, a lower support portion for transportation is formed at the tray, and an upper support portion is formed at the tray and supplements transportation by the lower support portion.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, a vertical tray transporting assembly comprises: a plate tray for supporting a mask; an upper support portion engaged with an upper side portion of the tray for supporting the tray; a lower support portion engaged with a lower side portion of the tray for supporting the tray; and a plate mask frame arranged between the plate tray and the mask for supporting the mask.
Preferably, the mask frame is made of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP), and the plate tray is made of Al. Furthermore, the upper support portion includes a guide groove, and the lower support portion has a bar shape. The tray includes a through hole, and the tray is engaged with a mask tray holder through the through hole. An upper portion of the through hole is narrower than a lower portion of the through hole so that the tray is inserted in the through hole. The tray further includes an attaching member arranged at a peripheral portion of the mask so as to improve adhesion force with the substrate.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a deposition apparatus comprises: a process chamber; a mask tray and a substrate tray vertically mounted in the process chamber and parallel to each other, a mask and a substrate being mounted on the mask tray and the substrate tray, respectively; a mask tray conveyer and a substrate tray conveyer for horizontally conveying the mask tray and the substrate tray in parallel with each other; a mask/substrate alignment plate for aligning and adhering the mask and the substrate conveyed by the mask tray conveyer and the substrate tray conveyer, respectively; mask and substrate tray holders for supporting the mask tray and the substrate tray, respectively; and a deposition source for injecting deposition materials into the substrate aligned and adhered to the mask. The mask tray includes a plate tray for supporting the mask, and a plate mask frame arranged between the flat plate tray and the mask for supporting the mask.
Preferably, the mask frame is made of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP), and the plate tray is made of Al. Furthermore, the substrate tray includes: a plate tray for supporting the substrate; and a plate substrate support member arranged between the plate tray and the substrate for supporting the substrate. The substrate support member is made of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP), and the plate tray is made of Al.
A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the attendant advantages thereof, will be readily apparent as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference symbols indicate the same or similar components.
The above and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Hereinafter, preferable embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. When one element is connected to another element, one element may not only be directly connected to another element, but may also be indirectly connected to another element via another element. Furthermore, irrelative elements are omitted for clarity. Also, like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.
Means and a method for fixing and supporting a substrate in the thin film deposition process under vacuum state will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
The fixing portion 50 is disposed on the substrate 10 by a robot conveyance so as to fix the substrate 10, and mask 30 is aligned with the substrate 10. Next, as shown in
However, when the interval between the mask 30 and the fixing portion 50 becomes narrow, a center part of the mask 30 firstly ascends, thereby causing a mismatch in alignment. Accordingly, the center part of the mask 30 is suitably adhered to the substrate 10, whereas an edge part thereof is wrongly adhered to the substrate 10. As a result, a pattern is formed so as to be deviated from a desired position. This causes the product to be deteriorated. Furthermore, if the center part of the mask 30 ascends ahead of other parts, when the mask 30 is adhered to the substrate 10, sliding occurs. This occurrence of sliding causes the substrate 10 to be damaged. In order to solve the mismatch in alignment, after the mask 30 and the substrate 10 are separated from each other, an alignment is performed again, and then an adhesion is performed. The aforementioned is repeatedly performed. Consequently, the process time is long, and it is difficult to solve the mismatch in alignment.
As shown in
Furthermore, referring to
The locking arm 560 protrudes from the holder plate 590 (see
The reason why the smaller diameter r and the larger diameter R of the locking holes 362 and 162 are formed overlapping each other is as follows. The locking arm 560 is easily inserted into the large diameter R of the locking holes 362 and 162, and is then moved to the smaller diameter r so as to be fixed in order to reduce the fluctuation thereof. An upper edge of the locking hole 362 of the mask tray 300 is inserted and locked into the locking groove 562 formed at the locking arm 560.
Furthermore, a support member 364 is formed so as to protrude from an opposite side of an insertion direction of the locking arm 560, and thus the locking hole 362 of the mask tray 300 is included in the formation range of the mask tray 300. In a state wherein the locking hole 362 is locked at the locking groove 562, the support member 364 firmly contacts a part of a head portion of the locking arm 560. This contact causes the locking hole 362 to be tightly locked at the locking groove 562. Furthermore, the support member 364 can be formed at the same substrate tray 100 as the mask tray 300. The difference is that the support member 364 is disposed in an insertion direction of the locking arm 560. The mask tray 300 and the substrate tray 100 are locked into the locking arm 560, so that the interval L between the substrate 100 and the holder plate 590 is reduced to the maximum extent, as seen in
On the other hand, with reference to
The magnetic substances 370, 170 and 570 are preferably fixed to two trays 300 and 100, and the holder plate 590 in the same line. The magnetic substances 370, 170 and 570 are attached to the mask tray 300 and the substrate tray 100 so as to define the same outer surface. The magnetic material 570 is fixed to the holder plate 590 and is formed so as to protrude in the vicinity of the magnetic substance 170 of the substrate tray 100 so that the interval L between the holder plate 590 and the substrate tray 100 is shortened. The locking arm 560 and the magnetic substance 570 fixed to the holder plate 590 of the tray holder 500, the locking holes 362 and 162, and the magnetic materials 370 and 170 are preferably formed at four corners.
Referring to
The flat type tray 100 is designed so as to be suitable to receive the substrate frame 150, and includes a frame fixing member 153 to be fixed to the tray 100. The substrate frame 150 received in the tray 100 is designed so as to be suitable to receive the substrate 10, and includes a substrate fixing member 151 for fixing the substrate 10. A lower support portion 130 is formed at a lower portion of the tray 100 which allows the substrate 10 to transfer in a vacuum chamber. An upper support portion 120 is formed at an upper portion of the tray 100, and guides the transfer of the lower support portion 130. A plurality of fixing holder members 160 and attaching members 170 are formed around a peripheral region of the substrate frame 150 on a flat plate of the tray 100. A through hole 162 is formed at each of the fixing holder members 162.
The operation of the alignment system according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
With reference to
Referring to
With reference to
With reference to
When the tray 100 is attached to the alignment plate 500 (
The auxiliary support member 570 of the alignment plate 500 has an area of sufficient size to contact the auxiliary attaching member 170 of the tray 100. The auxiliary support member 570 includes a magnetic force generation source (not shown) which attracts the auxiliary attaching member 170 made of conductive and magnetic materials. Preferably, in order to easily separate the auxiliary attaching member 170 from the auxiliary support member 570 after termination of process, the magnetic force generation source is an electromagnet.
Upon attaching the tray 100 to the alignment plate 500, the auxiliary attaching member 170 is attached to a corresponding auxiliary support member 570, so that the tray 100 is stably fixed and supported which allows alignment of high precision. Moreover, concave and convex portions are formed in the auxiliary support member 570 and the auxiliary attaching member 170 in correspondence to each other. The concave and convex portions function to guide the auxiliary support member 570 and the auxiliary attaching member 170 during the attachment operation. Moreover, the concave and convex portions increase the contact area so as to more tightly and exactly attach the auxiliary support member 570 to the auxiliary attaching member 170.
A description of the operation of the alignment system according to the present invention will now be provided. When tray holder 500 operates by means of a driver, a locking arm 560 of holder plate 590 (
An embodiment of a vertical tray transporting assembly and a deposition apparatus according to the present invention will now be explained by reference to accompanying drawings.
With reference to
As shown in
The upper support portion 320 includes a guide groove 324. As shown in
The mask frame 350 is formed as a plate type of high precision, and is adhered to the tray 310. The mask frame 350 is made of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (referred to as ‘CFRP’ hereafter). The mask frame 350 is arranged in the tray 310, and the mask 30 is arranged in the mask frame 350. In the embodiment of the present invention, the mask frame 350 for supporting the mask 30 may include CFRP, and the tray 310 may be made of aluminum or CFRP. In this case, the mask tray 300 may be lightweight. In addition, the mask tray 300 includes a plate tray 310 in which a through hole 365 is formed. An insertion protrusion 280 (see
In the same manner, the substrate tray 100 includes a plate tray 110 (
When the substrate tray 100 is loaded onto the substrate tray holder 510, the mask tray holder 200 supports the mask tray 300, and moves the mask tray 300 to the substrate tray holder 510 on which the substrate tray 100 is mounted, thereby joining a substrate 10 mounted on the substrate tray 110 and a mask. At this point, as shown in
The mask tray conveyer 730 includes a driver 732 and an upper guide 720. The driver 732 includes a roller 330 installed at a bottom portion of the mask tray 300. The upper guide 720 is formed to have a bearing shape and horizontally moves the mask tray 300. In the same manner, the substrate tray conveyer 630 (
Although it is not shown in drawings, the mask tray conveyer 730 further includes an elevator. The elevator is installed at a lower side of the mask tray 300. The elevator is supported by the upper guide 720 through expansion or elevation operation, and elevates the mask tray 300 that has been stopped at a predetermined position in the process chamber 1000. Accordingly, the mask tray holder 200 moves the mask tray 300, elevated by the elevator, in a direction of the substrate tray 100 without interference with the driver 732, so that the mask 30 is adhered to the substrate 10.
In the same manner, the substrate tray conveyer 630 further includes an elevator (not shown). The elevator is provided at a lower side of the substrate tray 100. The elevator is supported by the upper guide 620 through expansion or elevation operation, and elevates the substrate tray 100 which has been stopped at a predetermined position in the process chamber 1000. Accordingly, the substrate tray 100, elevated by the elevator, is attached to the substrate tray holder 510 and a mask/substrate alignment plate 580. During the elevating operation of the elevator, because the upper guide 620 is integrally elevated with the elevator, it is preferred that the substrate tray holder 510 be designed so as not to interfere with the substrate tray 100.
The deposition apparatus of the present invention further includes a deposition source 800. The deposition source 800 radiates deposition materials injected from a nozzle (not shown) to the substrate 10 uniformly. The deposition source further includes a buffer chamber 840 as a deposition source. While a film formation process is not being performed, the buffer chamber 840 receives a deposition material so as to maintain a desired film formation rate.
A method for vertically depositing a thin film, for example, an organic thin film, using the deposition apparatus described above will now be explained.
First, the mask 30 is mounted on the mask tray 300, and the mask tray 300 with the mask 30 mounted thereon is transported into the process chamber 1000. At this point, the mask tray 300 with the mask 30 mounted thereon is preferably loaded into the process chamber 1000 in a vertical pattern. The mask tray 300, transported into the process chamber 1000, is vertically conveyed by the mask tray conveyer 730, and is supported by the mask tray holder 300. A bearing of the upper guide 732 of the mask tray conveyer 730 is inserted in the guide groove of the lower support portion 330 of the mask tray 300, and the lower support portion 330 is engaged with the driver 720 so as to be moved horizontally.
After the mask loading process, the substrate 10 is transported into the process chamber 1000. At this time, the substrate tray 100 with the substrate mounted thereon is preferably loaded in the process chamber 1000 in a vertical pattern. The substrate tray 100, transported into the process chamber 1000, is vertically conveyed by the substrate tray conveyer 630, and is supported by the substrate tray holder 510 and a mask substrate/alignment plate 580. A bearing of the upper guide 620 of the substrate tray conveyer 730 is inserted into the guide groove 124 of the upper support portion 120 of the substrate tray 300, and the lower support portion 130 is engaged with the driver 632 so as to be horizontally moved. At this point, the loaded mask 30 and substrate 10 maintain a vertical state and are parallel to each other. Since the mask 30 is supported by a support member 350 of high precision in the mask tray 300, and the substrate 10 is supported by a support member of high precision in the substrate tray 100, bending occurs due to the self weight of a mask and a substrate.
When a loading process of the mask 30 and the substrate 10 is terminated, a process of aligning and adhering the mask 30 and the substrate 10 starts. In a state in which the loaded mask 30 and substrate 10, maintained in the vertical state and parallel to each other, are respectively mounted at the mask tray 300 and the substrate tray 100, the alignment/adhesion process is performed.
After the alignment/adhesion process, a film formation process begins. In a state in which the mask 30 and the substrate 10 are vertically aligned/adhered, while a linear deposition source is moved up and down, namely, in the vertical direction, deposition materials are injected so as to form a film on the substrate 10.
Next, a process for separating the mask 30 and the substrate 10 is carried out. The mask 30 and the substrate 10 are preferably separated in a state in which they are mounted in the mask tray 300 and the substrate tray 100, respectively.
Then, after the substrate 10 with the deposition materials formed thereon is transported into a next process chamber for a next process, a new substrate to be formed by deposition materials is transported into the process chamber 1000, and the aforementioned operation is repeated.
Embodiments of the present invention have been described with respect to a vertically linear deposition source as the deposition source 800, but the deposition source 800 is not limited to the above. For example, various spot deposition sources or other various deposition sources, arranged to obtain deposition effects using a linear deposition source, may be employed for the purpose.
As mentioned above, in the alignment system, the vertical tray transporting assembly and the deposition apparatus with the same, according to the present invention, a mask tray and a substrate tray are stably locked to each other in a tray holder through a locking arm of the mask tray and locking holes of the substrate tray, thereby securing a stable alignment position. The stable alignment position of the tray holder, the mask tray and the substrate tray is firmly maintained by magnetic materials so as to prevent the trays from being shaken. A holder plate of the tray holder reduces a temperature of the substrate tray so as to stabilize a magnetic force formed between the magnetic substances, whereby a precise and exact alignment of the trays is achieved.
Furthermore, a contact plate of high precision, including CFRP, supports the mask and the substrate so as to prevent the mask and the substrate from being bent, and cause the mask and the substrate to be lightweight. Moreover, a mask and a bearing of a substrate conveyer are inserted into guide grooves formed at a mask and an upper support portion of a substrate tray, respectively, and a mask and a lower support portion of a mask tray having a bar shape are engaged with a driver so as to be horizontally moved, thus minimizing the effect of fine particles due to a movement of the tray. In addition, because the mask and the substrate are moved by a mask tray and a substrate tray, respectively, the substrate and the mask can be protected.
Although several embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in this embodiment without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
10-2004-107131 | Dec 2004 | KR | national |
10-2005-00945 | Jan 2005 | KR | national |
10-2005-00955 | Jan 2005 | KR | national |