A vapor deposition system

Abstract

This invention relates to a vapor deposition system. The vapor deposition system of this invention has a first support member disposed on the side of the photomask away from the vapor deposition source, and a second support member disposed on the side of the substrate close to the photomask and corresponding to the position of the first support member. The surface of the first support member away from the photomask abuts against the surface of the second support member away from the substrate. By using the first and second support members to jointly prop open the photomask and the substrate, the distance between the photomask and the substrate is increased, thereby preventing the substrate from being scratched by the photomask. This also increases the adjustment range of the shadow effect during vapor deposition, meeting the needs of applications with large shadows.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of display technology, and more specifically to a vapor deposition system. Background Technology

[0002] As one of the pillar industries of the electronics and information industry, the flat panel display industry is crucial to the technological and economic development of a country or region due to its enormous economic and industrial agglomeration effects. Although Thin-film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) technology dominates the current display market, active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) technology is currently the most likely to replace TFT-LCD technology as the next-generation display technology.

[0003] In the manufacturing of large-size OLED display panels, linear evaporation is mostly used. Organic sources are line sources; high-temperature sources are point sources arranged in a line source configuration. Currently, in the large-size evaporation film deposition process, embossing or half-etching processes are generally used to prevent the substrate edges from being scratched by the mask and to reasonably control the edge shadow effect.

[0004] The stamping process primarily involves machining a small package onto a mask sheet. However, current machining precision is limited, resulting in poor consistency and difficulty controlling the package height. An excessively tall package can cause excessive mask deformation, leading to mask damage; conversely, an insufficiently tall package fails to prevent scratching the substrate. In the semi-etching process, the mask is very close to the substrate. During large-scale vapor deposition, mask deformation increases, and the mask edges easily scratch the substrate. Furthermore, the semi-etching process requires dedicated exposure and etching equipment, resulting in high costs. Both the stamping and semi-etching processes suffer from thinner masks, leading to a smaller distance between the substrate and the mask. This results in a limited range of shading adjustment during vapor deposition, failing to meet the requirements for large-shading scenarios. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a vapor deposition system that can solve the problems of low machining accuracy and poor consistency in stamping processes, difficulty in controlling the height consistency of small packages; high cost due to the need for matching exposure and etching equipment in semi-etching processes; and the small adjustment range of shadow effects in both stamping and semi-etching processes, which cannot meet the needs of large shadow scenes.

[0006] To address the aforementioned problems, the present invention provides a vapor deposition system comprising: a vapor deposition source having an opening; a mask disposed on the side of the vapor deposition source having the opening; a first support member disposed on the side of the mask away from the vapor deposition source; and a substrate disposed on the side of the mask away from the vapor deposition source; the substrate having a second support member disposed on the side of the mask close to the mask and corresponding to the position of the first support member.

[0007] Furthermore, the surface of the first support member away from the mask template abuts against the surface of the second support member away from the substrate.

[0008] Furthermore, the height of the first support member ranges from 0 to 1 mm.

[0009] Furthermore, the height of the second support member ranges from 0 to 10 μm.

[0010] Furthermore, the material of the first support member is the same as the material of the mask template.

[0011] Furthermore, the substrate includes a display area and a non-display area surrounding the display area; the substrate includes: a substrate layer; a thin-film transistor layer disposed on the side of the substrate layer near the photomask and located in the display area; a planarization layer disposed on the side of the thin-film transistor layer away from the substrate layer and located in both the display area and the non-display area; a pixel electrode layer disposed on the side of the planarization layer away from the substrate layer and located in the display area; and a pixel definition layer partially covering the side of the pixel electrode layer away from the substrate layer, extending over the planarization layer, and located in the display area.

[0012] Furthermore, when the projection of the second support member onto the substrate is located in the display area, the second support member is disposed on the side of the pixel definition layer away from the substrate.

[0013] Furthermore, the material of the second support member is the same as the material of the pixel definition layer.

[0014] Furthermore, when the projection of the second support member onto the substrate is located in the non-display area, the second support member is disposed on the side of the planar layer away from the substrate.

[0015] Furthermore, the material of the second support member is the same as that of the planarization layer.

[0016] The advantages of this invention are: a first support member is provided on the side of the photomask away from the evaporation source, and a second support member is provided on the side of the substrate close to the photomask and corresponding to the position of the first support member. The surface of the first support member away from the photomask abuts against the surface of the second support member away from the substrate. By using the first and second support members to jointly support the photomask and the substrate, the distance between the photomask and the substrate is increased, thereby preventing the substrate from being scratched by the photomask. The adjustment range of the shadow effect during evaporation is increased, meeting the usage requirements of large shadow scenes. Attached Figure Description

[0017] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the vapor deposition system of Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the substrate structure of Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the substrate structure of Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

[0021] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:

[0022] 100. Evaporation system;

[0023] 1. Evaporation source; 2. Photomask;

[0024] 3. Substrate;

[0025] 11. Opening; 21. First support member;

[0026] 31. Second support component; 32. Substrate layer;

[0027] 33. Thin-film transistor layer; 34. Planarization layer;

[0028] 35. Pixel electrode layer; 36. Pixel definition layer. Detailed Implementation

[0029] The preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings to fully introduce the technical content of the present invention to those skilled in the art, and to demonstrate that the present invention can be implemented, making the disclosed technical content of the present invention clearer and enabling those skilled in the art to more easily understand how to implement the present invention. However, the present invention can be embodied in many different forms of embodiments, and the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments mentioned herein. The following description of the embodiments is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0030] The directional terms used in this invention, such as "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "inner", "outer", and "side", are only for the directions shown in the accompanying drawings. The directional terms used herein are for the purpose of explaining and illustrating this invention, and not for limiting the scope of protection of this invention.

[0031] In the accompanying drawings, components with the same structure are indicated by the same numerical designation, and components with similar structures or functions are indicated by similar numerical designations. Furthermore, for ease of understanding and description, the dimensions and thicknesses of each component shown in the drawings are arbitrary, and the present invention does not limit the dimensions and thicknesses of each component.

[0032] Example 1

[0033] like Figure 1 As shown, this embodiment provides a vapor deposition system 100. The vapor deposition system 100 includes: a vapor deposition source 1, a mask 2, and a substrate 3.

[0034] like Figure 1 As shown, the vapor deposition source 1 has an opening 11. The vapor deposition material is emitted from the opening 11.

[0035] like Figure 1 As shown, the mask 2 is disposed on the side of the evaporation source 1 where the opening 11 is located. A first support member 21 is provided on the side of the mask 2 away from the evaporation source 1. In a cross-section perpendicular to the substrate 3, the shape of the first support member 21 includes one or more of the following: semi-circular, semi-elliptical, rectangular, and trapezoidal. In this embodiment, the shape of the first support member is semi-circular.

[0036] The height of the first support member 21 ranges from 0 to 1 mm. If the first support member 21 is too high, the photomask 2 will deform excessively, leading to damage; if the first support member 21 is too low, it will fail to meet the requirement of preventing the substrate 3 from being scratched. In this embodiment, the height of the first support member 21 is 0.5 mm. In other embodiments, the height of the first support member 21 can also be 0.6 mm, 0.8 mm, or 0.9 mm.

[0037] In this embodiment, the material of the first support member 21 is the same as that of the mask template 2. Therefore, the first support member 21 can be formed on the mask template 2 using machining processes such as stamping. This reduces the processing difficulty of the first support member 21.

[0038] like Figure 1 As shown, substrate 3 is disposed on the side of mask 2 away from the vapor deposition source 1. A second support member 31 is provided on the side of substrate 3 near the mask 2, corresponding to the position of the first support member 21. In a cross-section perpendicular to substrate 3, the shape of the second support member 31 includes one or more of the following: semi-circular, semi-elliptical, rectangular, and trapezoidal. In this embodiment, the shape of the second support member 31 is rectangular.

[0039] In this embodiment, the surface of the first support member 21 away from the mask template 2 abuts against the surface of the second support member 31 away from the substrate 3. In this embodiment, the surface of the first support member 21 away from the mask template 2 is tangent to the surface of the second support member 31 away from the substrate 3.

[0040] By using the first support member 21 and the second support member 31 to jointly expand the mask 2 and the substrate 3, the distance between the mask 2 and the substrate 3 is increased, thereby preventing the substrate 3 from being scratched by the mask 2. This also increases the adjustment range of the shadow effect during evaporation by the evaporation system 100, meeting the needs of large shadow scenes. Specifically, the distance between the mask 2 and the substrate 3 can be reduced by decreasing the thickness of the first support member 21, decreasing the thickness of the second support member 31, or simultaneously decreasing the thickness of both support members 21 and 31, thus achieving the technical effect of reducing the shadow effect. Conversely, the distance between the mask 2 and the substrate 3 can be increased by increasing the thickness of the first support member 21, increasing the thickness of the second support member 31, or simultaneously increasing the thickness of both support members 21 and 31, thus achieving the technical effect of increasing the shadow effect. At the same time, it can avoid the problem that the height of the first support member 21 is difficult to control, which would result in an excessively large distance between the mask 2 and the substrate 3, causing excessive deformation of the mask 2 and damage to the mask 2; and it can also avoid the problem that the height of the first support member 21 is difficult to control, which would result in an excessively small distance between the mask 2 and the substrate 3, which would fail to meet the requirement of preventing the substrate 3 from being scratched.

[0041] The height of the second support member 31 ranges from 0 to 10 μm. If the second support member 31 is too tall, it will cause excessive deformation of the substrate 3, leading to damage; if the second support member 31 is too short, it will fail to meet the requirement of preventing scratches on the substrate 3. In this embodiment, the height of the second support member 31 is 5 μm. In other embodiments, the height of the second support member 31 can also be 6 μm, 8 μm, or 9 μm.

[0042] like Figure 2 As shown, the substrate 3 includes a display area 301 and a non-display area 302 surrounding the display area 301. The substrate 3 includes a substrate layer 32, a thin film transistor layer 33, a planarization layer 34, a pixel electrode layer 35, and a pixel definition layer 36.

[0043] The substrate layer 32 is located in the display area 301 and the non-display area 302. The substrate layer 32 is made of one or more of glass, polyimide, polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate, and polyethylene naphthalate, which gives the substrate layer 32 good impact resistance and can effectively protect the substrate 3.

[0044] The thin-film transistor layer 33 is disposed on the side of the substrate layer 32 near the photomask 2 and is located in the display area 301. The thin-film transistor layer 33 includes film layer structures such as an active layer, a gate insulating layer, a gate layer, an interlayer insulating layer, and source / drain layers.

[0045] The planarization layer 34 is disposed on the side of the thin-film transistor layer 33 away from the substrate layer 32, and is located between the display area 301 and the non-display area 302. The planarization layer 34 mainly provides a flat surface for the fabrication of the film layer on top of it.

[0046] The pixel electrode layer 35 is disposed on the side of the planarization layer 34 away from the substrate layer 32 and is located in the display area 301. Specifically, the pixel electrode layer 35 is also electrically connected to the source and drain layers of the thin-film transistor layer 33 through the planarization layer.

[0047] The pixel definition layer 36 partially covers the side of the pixel electrode layer 35 away from the substrate layer 32, extends over the planarization layer 34, and is located in the display area 301.

[0048] In this embodiment, the projection of the second support member 31 on the substrate layer 32 is located in the display area 301, and the second support member 31 is disposed on the side of the pixel definition layer 36 away from the substrate layer 32.

[0049] In this embodiment, the material of the second support member 31 is the same as the material of the pixel definition layer 36. Therefore, the pixel definition layer 36 and the second support member 31 can be formed simultaneously using a single photomask. This saves on photomasks and reduces production costs. For example, halftone masking.

[0050] Example 2

[0051] like Figure 3As shown, this embodiment includes most of the technical features of embodiment 1. The difference between this embodiment and embodiment 1 is that in this embodiment, when the projection of the second support member 31 on the substrate layer 32 is located in the non-display area 302, the second support member 31 is disposed on the side of the flat layer 34 away from the substrate layer 32.

[0052] In this embodiment, the material of the second support member 31 is the same as that of the planarization layer 34. Therefore, the planarization layer 34 and the second support member 31 can be formed simultaneously using a single photomask. This saves on photomasks and reduces production costs. For example, halftone masking.

[0053] By using the first support member 21 and the second support member 31 to jointly expand the mask 2 and the substrate 3, the distance between the mask 2 and the substrate 3 is increased, thereby preventing the substrate 3 from being scratched by the mask 2. This also increases the adjustment range of the shadow effect during evaporation by the evaporation system 100, meeting the needs of large shadow scenes. Specifically, the distance between the mask 2 and the substrate 3 can be reduced by decreasing the thickness of the first support member 21, decreasing the thickness of the second support member 31, or simultaneously decreasing the thickness of both support members 21 and 31, thus achieving the technical effect of reducing the shadow effect. Conversely, the distance between the mask 2 and the substrate 3 can be increased by increasing the thickness of the first support member 21, increasing the thickness of the second support member 31, or simultaneously increasing the thickness of both support members 21 and 31, thus achieving the technical effect of increasing the shadow effect. At the same time, it can avoid the problem that the height of the first support member 21 is difficult to control, which would result in an excessively large distance between the mask 2 and the substrate 3, causing excessive deformation of the mask 2 and damage to the mask 2; and it can also avoid the problem that the height of the first support member 21 is difficult to control, which would result in an excessively small distance between the mask 2 and the substrate 3, which would fail to meet the requirement of preventing the substrate 3 from being scratched.

[0054] Furthermore, the vapor deposition system provided in this application has been described in detail above. Specific examples have been used to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of this application. The description of the above embodiments is only for the purpose of helping to understand the method and core ideas of this application. At the same time, for those skilled in the art, there will be changes in the specific implementation methods and application scope based on the ideas of this application. Therefore, the content of this specification should not be construed as a limitation of this application.

Claims

1. An evaporation system, characterized by, The application relates to a deposition source, a mask plate and a substrate. The deposition source has an opening. The mask plate is arranged on the side of the deposition source with the opening. The substrate is arranged on the side of the mask plate away from the deposition source. The first support has a height ranging from 0.5 to 1 mm. The second support has a height ranging from 5 to 10 microns. The first support and the second support jointly support the mask plate and the substrate. The first support has the same material as the mask plate. The surface of the side of the first support away from the mask plate abuts against the surface of the side of the second support away from the substrate. The substrate includes a display area and a non-display area surrounding the display area.

2. The evaporation system according to claim 1, characterized in that The substrate includes a substrate layer, a thin film transistor layer arranged on the side of the substrate layer close to the mask plate and located in the display area, a planar layer arranged on the side of the thin film transistor layer away from the substrate layer and located in the display area and the non-display area, a pixel electrode layer arranged on the side of the planar layer away from the substrate layer and located in the display area, and a pixel definition layer partially covering the side of the pixel electrode layer away from the substrate layer and extending to cover the planar layer and located in the display area. When the projection of the second support on the substrate layer is located in the display area, the second support is arranged on the side of the pixel definition layer away from the substrate layer. The second support has the same material as the pixel definition layer. When the projection of the second support on the substrate layer is located in the non-display area, the second support is arranged on the side of the planar layer away from the substrate layer. The second support has the same material as the planar layer. ​ 3. The evaporation system according to claim 2, characterized in that ​ 4. The evaporation system according to claim 3, characterized in that ​ 5. The evaporation system of claim 2, wherein ​ 6. The evaporation system according to claim 5, characterized in that ​

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