Evaporation source device, vacuum evaporation machine, and vacuum evaporation method

Abstract

The present invention discloses an evaporation source device, a vacuum evaporation coater and a vacuum evaporation method, belonging to the technical field of vacuum coating. Among them, the evaporation source device includes a rotating table and evaporation source units. A plurality of the evaporation source units are circumferentially arranged on the rotating table. The evaporation source unit includes a housing for accommodating a crucible; the evaporation source device further includes a shielding member; the shielding member is detachably connected to the rotating table, and the shielding member is arranged vertically opposite to any one of the evaporation source units; the shielding member is provided with a through hole penetrating up and down, the upper end of the housing protrudes relative to the through hole, and the outer peripheral surface of the housing is connected to the inner peripheral surface of the through hole. The structure of the present invention is novel, the design is unique, and the cost is low. It can solve the problem of material cross-contamination when the same evaporation source unit evaporates and coats materials twice before and after, thereby helping to improve the lifespan and performance of the device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of vacuum coating, and particularly relates to an evaporation source device, a vacuum evaporation coater, and a vacuum evaporation method. Background Art

[0002] Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) have the advantages of being thinner, more flexible, resistant to low temperatures, having a wider viewing range, faster response speed, low power consumption, wide temperature characteristics, low driving voltage, and enabling high-resolution displays. They are the most promising research hotspots in the display field in the past decade.

[0003] During the device manufacturing process, the organic electroluminescent material is heated and evaporated in a vacuum chamber and adheres to the substrate to form a thin film on the surface of the substrate. The performance of the device is greatly affected by the film formation quality of the material. If cross-contamination of the material occurs during the evaporation coating process, the lifespan of the device will drop significantly.

[0004] The structure of the existing vacuum evaporation coater includes a rotating table and multiple evaporation source units. For example, the evaporation coater disclosed in the patent with the application number CN201610251510.5, and the evaporation source and evaporation coater disclosed in the patent with the application number CN201910563988.5. Multiple evaporation source units are circumferentially arranged on the rotating table. The evaporation source unit includes a crucible for accommodating the material to be evaporated, a housing for accommodating the crucible, a heater for heating the crucible, and a cooling component for cooling the crucible. By rotating the rotating table to drive multiple evaporation source units to rotate, the evaporation source unit used for evaporation can be replaced, so that evaporation coating can be continuously carried out for a long time.

[0005] Currently, laboratory staff often use the above-mentioned vacuum evaporation coater with a rotating table. However, it is found during use that: after the electrode is powered on, the material inside the crucible will be heated and evaporated to coat the substrate; when the material cools, the un-deposited material will fall on the edge of the evaporation source unit; when the material in the crucible is replaced with another material, the material inside the crucible will evaporate under heating, and at the same time, the cooled material located at the edge of the evaporation source unit will be heated and evaporated, and will be deposited on the device together with the material in the crucible, which will cause the lifespan of the device to decay. Summary of the Invention

[0006] To solve the above technical problems, one of the objectives of the present invention is to provide an evaporation source device with novel structure, unique design, and low cost, which can solve the problem of material cross-contamination during the evaporation coating of materials in the same evaporation source unit for two consecutive times, thereby helping to improve the lifespan and performance of the device.

[0007] In addition, a second objective of the present invention is to provide a vacuum evaporation coater including the above evaporation source device.

[0008] In addition, a third object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum evaporation method that can avoid the problem of cross-contamination of the two evaporated materials during the two vacuum evaporation processes, which would result in a reduction in the life of the device.

[0009] The technical solutions adopted to solve the above technical problems are:

[0010] In the first aspect, the present invention discloses an evaporation source device, comprising a rotating table and an evaporation source unit, wherein the evaporation source unit is provided in plurality and is arranged circumferentially on the rotating table, and the evaporation source unit includes a shell for accommodating a crucible; the evaporation source device also includes a shielding member; the shielding member is detachably connected to the rotating table, and the shielding member is arranged opposite to any of the evaporation source units in an upper and lower direction; the shielding member is provided with a through hole passing through the upper and lower parts, the upper end of the shell is protruding relative to the through hole, and the outer peripheral surface of the shell is connected to the inner peripheral surface of the through hole.

[0011] The evaporation source device provided by the present invention has at least the following beneficial effects: during the process of heating and evaporating the material in the crucible to coat the device, when the material is in a cooling state, the material that has not yet been deposited on the device surface will partially fall to the outer edge of the shell. When the crucible is replaced with new material, under heating, not only the new material in the crucible is heated and evaporated, but also the old material that has fallen on the outer edge of the shell is heated and evaporated, so that the new and old materials are deposited on the device surface. Due to the difference between the new and old materials, the life of the device is shortened. Therefore, a shielding member is provided on each evaporation source unit. The shielding member can completely shield the area outside the shell. While ensuring that the material in the crucible can be heated and evaporated, the material is prompted to fall onto the shielding member during the cooling stage, making it easy to remove the shielding member from the rotating table after evaporation, thereby avoiding cross-contamination between the new and old materials during the two evaporation processes, which may affect the life and performance of the device. In addition, the opening of the crucible is made to protrude from the through hole, so that the evaporation angle of the material in the crucible is not affected.

[0012] As a further improvement of the above technical solution, the shielding member is a metal member, which makes the shielding member structure stable and reliable, and can be disassembled and cleaned, thereby realizing recycling of the shielding member and saving costs.

[0013] As a further improvement to the above technical solution, multiple shielding members are provided and arranged circumferentially on the rotating stage. The shielding members correspond one-to-one with the evaporation source units, and two adjacent shielding members are connected. This arrangement allows the shielding members to catch material that falls during the cooling phase when the evaporation source units perform evaporation deposition in turn, preventing cross-contamination between new and old materials in each evaporation source unit during the two subsequent depositions.

[0014] As a further improvement of the above technical solution, the evaporation source device further includes a cover plate; an outer peripheral edge of the rotating table protrudes upward to form a surrounding plate, an upper surface of the surrounding plate is higher than an upper surface of the housing and an upper surface of the shielding member, the cover plate is covered on the surrounding plate, an inner peripheral surface of the cover plate is connected to an outer peripheral surface of the surrounding plate, and the rotating table can rotate relative to the cover plate; the cover plate is provided with an evaporation through hole penetrating up and down, and the evaporation through hole can be arranged vertically opposite to any one of the housings.

[0015] With this arrangement, when the cover plate is stationary, the rotating table rotates relative to the cover plate, so that the crucible in any one of the housings can be vertically communicated with the evaporation through hole, enabling the material in the crucible to pass through the evaporation through hole when heated and evaporated, and adhere to the surface of the device located above the cover plate; and the cover plate protects other non-working crucibles.

[0016] As a further improvement of the above technical solution, a partition plate is provided between two adjacent shielding members, the partition plate extends along a radial direction of the rotating table, the partition plate is respectively connected to the surrounding plate and the rotating table, an upper surface of the surrounding plate is flush with an upper surface of the partition plate, and the shielding members are respectively abutted against two adjacent partition plates. With this arrangement, the adjacent evaporation source units are separated by the partition plate and do not affect each other.

[0017] As a further improvement of the above technical solution, the shielding member is snap-connected to the evaporation source unit. With this arrangement, the shielding member can be disassembled and assembled on the evaporation source unit without the aid of auxiliary tools, reducing the operation difficulty and improving the work efficiency.

[0018] As a further improvement of the above technical solution, a handle is provided on an upper surface of the shielding member. The provision of the handle provides a good force application point for the staff, facilitating taking away the shielding member from the rotating table by holding the handle.

[0019] As a further improvement of the above technical solution, the shielding member is a stainless steel baffle. Using a stainless steel baffle as the shielding member has the characteristic of low thermal conductivity. Therefore, when the evaporation source unit is working, the temperature of the shielding member is relatively low, and the material remaining on the shielding member is not easily heated and evaporated, thus avoiding cross-contamination of the new and old materials in the previous and subsequent evaporation coatings.

[0020] In a second aspect, the present invention discloses a vacuum evaporation coating machine, which includes the evaporation source device of any one of the above technical solutions.

[0021] The vacuum evaporation coater provided by the present invention has at least the following beneficial effects: Due to the evaporation source device with the above structure, the vacuum evaporation coater can not only prompt multiple crucibles to work in turn, enabling long-term continuous evaporation coating, but also use the shielding member to shield the peripheral area of the housing to receive the materials falling during the cooling stage, avoiding the problem of cross-contamination of new and old materials when the evaporation source unit is evaporated again, thus strongly guaranteeing the high life and high performance of the device.

[0022] In the third aspect, the present invention discloses a vacuum evaporation coating method, including the following steps:

[0023] Before evaporation coating: Add the material to be evaporated to the crucible and place the crucible in the housing of the evaporation source unit. Among them, there are multiple evaporation source units arranged circumferentially on the rotating table of the evaporation source device; Set a shielding member for each evaporation source unit, cover the shielding member above the evaporation source unit, drive the housing to pass through the through hole of the shielding member, and make the outer peripheral surface of the housing contact the inner peripheral surface of the through hole; Cover and set the cover plate on the rotating table, and make one of the crucibles on the rotating table communicate with the evaporation coating through hole on the cover plate up and down. Among them, the crucible communicating with the evaporation coating through hole up and down is set as the working crucible;

[0024] During evaporation coating: Evacuate; Heat the working crucible to make the material evaporate by heating; After the material in the working crucible is completely evaporated, drive the rotating table to rotate to switch the working crucible;

[0025] After evaporation coating: Take out the crucible; Disassemble the shielding member.

[0026] The vacuum evaporation coating method provided by the present invention has at least the following beneficial effects: After multiple crucibles are placed in multiple evaporation source units of the evaporation source device, for each evaporation source unit, a shielding member is used, the shielding member is covered above the evaporation source unit, and the housing of the evaporation source unit is made to pass through the through hole of the shielding member, avoiding the shielding member from hindering the evaporation coating of the crucible in the housing; Moreover, the outer peripheral surface of the housing contacts the inner peripheral surface of the through hole, prompting the materials falling during the cooling stage to directly fall on the upper surface of the shielding member rather than the outer peripheral surface of the housing. Therefore, before the next evaporation coating of the evaporation source unit, disassemble and reinstall the shielding member to solve the problem of cross-contamination of new and old materials when the evaporation source unit is evaporated again. Description of the Drawings

[0027] The following further describes the present invention with reference to the drawings and embodiments;

[0028] Figure 1 It is a three-dimensional structure diagram of the evaporation source device provided by the embodiment of the present invention after omitting the cover plate;

[0029] Figure 2 is a three-dimensional structure diagram of the evaporation source device provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 3 is a flowchart of the vacuum evaporation method provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 4 is a flowchart of Step 1 provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 5 is a flowchart of Step 2 provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 6 is a flowchart of Step 3 provided by an embodiment of the present invention.

[0034] The reference signs in the drawings are as follows: 100, rotating table; 110, housing; 111, receiving groove; 200, shielding member; 210, stepped portion; 300, partition plate; 400, enclosing plate; 500, L-shaped plate; 600, enclosed area; 700, cover plate; 710, evaporation through hole; 720, handle. Detailed Embodiment

[0035] This part will describe the specific embodiments of the present invention in detail. The preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown in the drawings. The role of the drawings is to supplement the description of the text part of the specification, enabling people to intuitively and vividly understand each technical feature and the overall technical solution of the present invention, but it cannot be understood as a limitation on the protection scope of the present invention.

[0036] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that for the orientation description, such as the orientation or positional relationship indicated by up, down, front, back, left, right, etc., is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings. It is only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0037] In the description of the present invention, if there are descriptions with words such as "several", its meaning is one or more, and the meaning of multiple is two or more. Understanding greater than, less than, exceeding, etc. does not include the present number, and understanding above, below, within, etc. includes the present number. If there are descriptions of first, second, third, etc., it is only for the purpose of distinguishing technical features and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the quantity of the indicated technical features or implicitly indicating the sequence relationship of the indicated technical features.

[0038] In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise clearly defined, terms such as "setting", "installation", "connection", etc. should be understood in a broad sense, and those skilled in the art can reasonably determine the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention in combination with the specific content of the technical solution.

[0039] Referring to Figures 1 to 6 , several embodiments of the evaporation source device, vacuum evaporation machine and vacuum evaporation method of the present invention are given below.

[0040] As Figures 1 to 2 shown, Embodiment 1 of the present invention provides an evaporation source device, which is one of the components of a vacuum evaporation machine and can cause the organic electroluminescent material in the crucible to be heated and evaporated and deposited on the surface of the device.

[0041] The structure of the evaporation source device includes an evaporation source unit and a rotating table 100.

[0042] Among them, the number of evaporation source units is multiple, and the multiple evaporation source units are arranged in a circumferential arrangement on the upper surface of the rotating table 100. In this embodiment, eight evaporation source units are provided on the rotating table 100.

[0043] It can be understood that a driving mechanism such as a motor is provided at the bottom of the rotating table 100, which can realize the rotation of the rotating table 100 around the central axis extending in the up and down direction. The structure of the evaporation source unit includes a housing 110 for accommodating the crucible, a heater and a cooling component. Among them, the inside of the housing 110 is hollow to form a receiving groove 111, and the upper end of the receiving groove 111 is an open structure so that the staff can place the crucible in the receiving groove 111 of the housing 110. The heater mainly heats the crucible to cause the material in the crucible to be heated and evaporated, so that the material can be deposited on the surface of the device. The cooling component is used to cool the crucible. Since the evaporation source unit belongs to the prior art, those skilled in the art should understand its specific structure and working principle, and will not be elaborated here.

[0044] In the laboratory, the staff usually uses a vacuum evaporation machine with a rotating table 100. However, it was accidentally found during use that after the electrode is powered on, the material inside the crucible will be heated and evaporated and move towards the device to deposit a thin film on the surface of the device. When the material is in the cooling stage, the material that has not been deposited (that is, the material in the air) will directly fall on the edge of the evaporation source unit due to gravity.

[0045] After the evaporation coating operation is completed, the staff will replace the material in the crucible with another material to carry out the next round of evaporation coating operation. After the evaporation coating operation starts, the material inside the crucible will evaporate under heating. At the same time, the cooling material located at the edge of the evaporation source unit will also be heated and evaporated. Therefore, it will be deposited on the device together with the material in the crucible, resulting in the thin film on the device surface being made of two different materials, thus causing problems such as lifespan attenuation and performance degradation of the device.

[0046] Since the amount of cooling material remaining at the edge of the evaporation source unit is small, it is easy for people to ignore the impact it causes. If the cumulative amount of cooling material is large, it will have a huge impact on the thin film on the device. In the past, the staff in the laboratory would use a cleaning agent to spray and clean the evaporation source unit. However, the evaporation source unit is usually not detachable, resulting in poor cleaning effect, cumbersome operation. Moreover, the electrodes of the evaporation source unit are located on the upper surface of the rotating table 100. If the cleaning agent cleaning method is used, there will be a hidden danger of electric shock.

[0047] It should be noted that the evaporation source device provided in this embodiment further includes a shielding member 200.

[0048] The shielding member 200 and the rotating table 100 are detachably connected. Specifically, the shielding member 200 can be installed on the rotating table 100 by means of screw connection or snap connection, etc.

[0049] In some embodiments, the number of the shielding members 200 is one. The shielding member 200 is disposed vertically opposite to any one evaporation source unit on the rotating table 100. Moreover, the shielding member 200 is provided with a through hole that penetrates the upper surface and the lower surface of the shielding member 200. The shielding member 200 covers the area of the evaporation source unit except the housing 110. The upper end of the housing 110 protrudes relative to the through hole, that is, the upper end of the housing 110 passes through the through hole of the shielding member 200 and protrudes upward. Such a setting makes the opening of the crucible protrude from the through hole, so that the evaporation angle of the material in the crucible is not affected. And, the outer peripheral surface of the housing 110 is connected to the inner peripheral surface of the through hole.

[0050] It can be understood that the size of the through hole matches the size of the housing 110. After the crucible is placed in the receiving groove 111 of the housing 110, the crucible is located above the shielding member 200.

[0051] In other embodiments, the number of the shielding members 200 is multiple. The multiple shielding members 200 are arranged in a circular arrangement on the rotating table 100, and, the multiple shielding members 200 correspond to the multiple evaporation source units one by one. Two adjacent shielding members 200 are in contact with each other.

[0052] In this embodiment, the number of the shielding members 200 is the same as that of the evaporation source units, both being eight. The eight shielding members 200 are joined together to shield the upper area of the rotating table 100, without shielding the housing 110. Therefore, the crucible placed in the housing 110 is in an exposed state. Then, when the crucible is heated, the material in the crucible will be heated and evaporated, and thus deposited on the surface of the device located above the evaporation source unit, and the shielding members 200 will not hinder the evaporation of the material.

[0053] In some embodiments, the shielding member 200 can be a thin film, especially an insulating film with a low thermal conductivity.

[0054] In some other embodiments, the shielding member 200 can be a plastic baffle. Specifically, the baffle can be made of plastic with a low thermal conductivity.

[0055] In this embodiment, the shielding member 200 is a metal member. Specifically, the shielding member 200 is a baffle made of stainless steel. It can be understood that using a stainless steel baffle as the shielding member 200 makes the shielding member 200 have the characteristic of low thermal conductivity. Therefore, when the evaporation source unit is working, the temperature of the shielding member 200 remains at a relatively low level. Even if the shielding member 200 is not cleaned thoroughly, the material remaining on the shielding member 200 is not easily heated and evaporated, thus avoiding cross - contamination of the new and old materials in two successive evaporation processes. Moreover, compared with the thin film, the stainless steel baffle can be disassembled and cleaned, for example, through ultrasonic cleaning with acetone to complete the cleaning, realizing the recycling of the shielding member 200 and saving costs.

[0056] It can be understood that in the case of not setting the shielding member 200, during the process of heating and evaporating the material in the crucible to coat the device, when the material is in a cooled state, the material that has not been deposited on the device surface will partially fall to the outer edge of the housing 110. When new material is replaced in the crucible and heated, not only the new material in the crucible is heated and evaporated, but also the old material falling on the outer edge of the housing 110 is heated and evaporated, causing the new and old materials to be deposited on the device surface. Due to the difference between the new and old materials, the device life will be attenuated. Therefore, a shielding member 200 is provided on each evaporation source unit. The shielding member 200 can completely shield the area outside the housing 110. While ensuring that the material in the crucible can be heated and evaporated, it can make the material fall onto the shielding member 200 during the cooling stage, facilitating the disassembly of the shielding member 200 from the rotating table 100 after evaporation, and avoiding cross - contamination of the new and old materials in two successive evaporation processes, which may affect the life and performance of the device.

[0057] Moreover, the structural design of the shielding member 200 does not affect the original structural design of the evaporation source unit. This makes the evaporation source device have the advantages of simple structure, novel design, low manufacturing cost, and easy assembly of the shielding member 200 to the evaporation source unit, etc.

[0058] The structure of the evaporation source device further includes a cover plate 700.

[0059] The rotating table 100 is provided with a surrounding plate 400. Specifically, the outer peripheral edge of the rotating table 100 protrudes upward to form a surrounding plate 400 with a certain height. Since the rotating table 100 is frustum-shaped, the surrounding plate 400 is cylindrical. The surrounding plate 400 and the rotating table 100 are integrally formed. The upper surface of the surrounding plate 400 is higher than the upper surface of the housing 110. Moreover, after the shielding member 200 is installed on the rotating table 100, the upper surface of the surrounding plate 400 is also higher than the upper surface of the shielding member 200.

[0060] The cover plate 700 is located above the rotating table 100 and can cover the surrounding plate 400, such that the inner peripheral surface of the cover plate 700 contacts the outer peripheral surface of the surrounding plate 400. When the rotating table 100 rotates under the action of an external force, the rotating table 100 can rotate relative to the cover plate 700. Moreover, the cover plate 700 can be disassembled from the rotating table 100 so as to disassemble and remove the crucible and the shielding member 200 on the rotating table 100. After the cover plate 700 is connected to the surrounding plate 400, the inner wall surface of the cover plate 700, the inner peripheral surface of the surrounding plate 400 and the upper surface of the rotating table 100 jointly define a sealed space.

[0061] Moreover, the cover plate 700 is provided with an evaporation plating through hole 710. The number of the evaporation plating through holes 710 is one, and the evaporation plating through hole 710 penetrates through the upper surface and the lower surface of the cover plate 700. In this embodiment, the evaporation plating through hole 710 is a round hole. Since the housing 110 can rotate with the rotation of the rotating table 100, the evaporation plating through hole 710 can be vertically opposite to any one of the housings 110.

[0062] It can be understood that when the cover plate 700 is stationary, the rotating table 100 will rotate relative to the cover plate 700, enabling any crucible on the rotating table 100 to communicate vertically with the evaporation plating through hole 710, so that the material in the crucible can pass through the evaporation plating through hole 710 when heated and evaporated, and adhere to the surface of the device located above the cover plate 700. The setting of the cover plate 700 can protect other non-working crucibles.

[0063] The cover plate 700 is provided with a handle 720 so that the staff can lift the cover plate 700 and disassemble it from the rotating table 100.

[0064] In some embodiments, a partition plate 300 is provided between two adjacent shielding members 200. In this embodiment, the number of the partition plates 300 is eight.

[0065] The length direction of the partition plate 300 extends along the radial direction of the rotary table 100. The partition plate 300 can be connected and fixed to the surrounding plate 400 and the rotary table 100 by means of welding or screw connection. The upper surface of the surrounding plate 400 is flush with the upper surface of the partition plate 300, that is, the height of the surrounding plate 400 is the same as that of the partition plate 300. Each shielding member 200 is arranged between two adjacent partition plates 300. Moreover, one side surface of the shielding member 200 abuts against one of the partition plates 300, and the other side of the shielding member 200 abuts against the other partition plate 300.

[0066] It can be understood that two adjacent partition plates 300 and the surrounding plate 400 jointly form an enclosed area 600. After the cover plate 700 is covered on the surrounding plate 400, the upper surface of the surrounding plate 400 and the upper surface of the partition plate 300 both contact the inner top surface of the cover plate 700, thereby forming a closed space. Therefore, by arranging the partition plate 300, two adjacent evaporation source units are separated from each other without mutual influence.

[0067] In this embodiment, the shielding member 200 is installed in the evaporation source unit by means of snap connection. The shielding member 200 can be directly placed into the enclosed area 600 from top to bottom. Since the electrodes of the evaporation source unit are located on the upper surface of the rotary table 100, and the electrodes near the center of the rotary table 100 are higher than the electrodes far from the center of the rotary table 100, the shielding member 200 will exert a shielding effect on the two electrodes of the rotary table 100. Therefore, the shielding member 200 is provided with a stepped portion 210.

[0068] Since the shielding member 200 is a metal part, the lower surface of the shielding member 200 will contact the electrode. To prevent the shielding member 200 from conducting electricity with the electrode, a ceramic gasket is provided on the upper surface of the electrode. The ceramic gasket is located between the shielding member 200 and the electrode, playing a role of electrical insulation. The shielding member 200 can be snapped onto the two electrodes. It can be understood that the shape of the shielding member 200 is not limited and can be designed according to the structure on the rotary table 100.

[0069] A handle is provided on the upper surface of the shielding member 200. In this embodiment, the handle is an L-shaped plate 500, which is fixed to the shielding member 200 by means of welding. The staff can apply force to the handle to remove the shielding member 200 from the rotary table 100.

[0070] In addition, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a vacuum evaporation machine, which includes the evaporation source device of the above embodiment.

[0071] Since the present invention does not make improvements to other components of the vacuum evaporation machine, those skilled in the art should understand the structures and working principles of the remaining components of the vacuum evaporation machine, which will not be specifically described here.

[0072] In this embodiment, the above structural improvement is mainly made to the evaporation source device of the vacuum evaporation coater. Not only can multiple crucibles on the rotating table 100 work in turn to achieve continuous evaporation coating for a long time, but also the peripheral area of the housing 110 can be protected by the shielding effect of the shielding member 200, avoiding the direct dropping of materials to the peripheral area of the housing 110 during the cooling stage. Then, when the evaporation coating is completed and the next evaporation coating is carried out, by disassembling and replacing the shielding member 200, the problem of cross-contamination of new and old materials during two consecutive evaporation coatings can be solved, ensuring that the two consecutive evaporation coatings do not interfere with each other, thereby ensuring the high lifespan and good performance of the device.

[0073] In addition, as Figures 1 to 6 shown, the embodiment of the present invention also provides a vacuum evaporation coating method, which can be applied to the above vacuum evaporation coater. The vacuum evaporation coating method includes the following steps:

[0074] Step S1: Work before evaporation coating. Specifically, step S1 includes three steps: step S11, step S12, and step S13.

[0075] Step S11: Before the evaporation coating work starts, add the material to be evaporated coated into the crucible and place the crucible in the housing 110 of the evaporation source unit. Among them, there are multiple evaporation source units, which are arranged circumferentially on the rotating table 100 of the evaporation source device.

[0076] Since the rotating table 100 is provided with multiple evaporation source units, correspondingly, the same number of crucibles are set and placed in the housing 110 of the evaporation source unit. After one crucible finishes the evaporation coating, by controlling the rotation of the rotating table 100 by a certain angle, another crucible on the rotating table 100 is rotated to the working position, that is, the crucible is arranged vertically opposite to the evaporation coating through hole 710 of the cover plate 700. The crucible contains organic electroluminescent materials.

[0077] Step S12: Set a shielding member 200 for each evaporation source unit, cover and set the shielding member 200 above the evaporation source unit, and drive the housing 110 to pass through the through hole of the shielding member 200 so that the outer peripheral surface of the housing 110 is in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the through hole.

[0078] After the crucible is placed in the housing 110, each shielding member 200 can be correspondingly set on each evaporation source unit on the rotating table 100 to expose the opening of the crucible.

[0079] Step S13: Cover and set the cover plate 700 on the rotating table 100, and make one of the crucibles on the rotating table 100 communicate vertically with the evaporation coating through hole 710 on the cover plate 700. Among them, the crucible that communicates vertically with the evaporation coating through hole 710 is set as the working crucible.

[0080] Step S2: Operations during evaporation coating. Specifically, Step S2 includes three steps: Step S21, Step S22, and Step S23.

[0081] Step S21: During evaporation coating, vacuum pumping can be performed by a vacuum pumping device.

[0082] Step S22: Heat the working crucible to cause the material to evaporate by heating. After the vacuum degree reaches the set value, heat the crucible to heat the material inside the crucible until the rate is stable for evaporation coating. After the material inside the crucible evaporates and turns into a gas state, it moves through the evaporation through-hole 710 of the cover plate 700 and is deposited on the surface of the device located above the cover plate 700.

[0083] Step S23: After the material in the working crucible is completely evaporated, drive the rotating table 100 to rotate to switch the working crucible. When the material in the working crucible is completely evaporated, the rotating table 100 can be driven by a motor to rotate around the central axis extending vertically, so that the next crucible rotates to the working position, and the opening of the crucible is vertically communicated with the evaporation through-hole 710 until the materials in all crucibles are completely evaporated.

[0084] Step S3: Operations after evaporation coating. Specifically, Step S3 includes two steps: Step S31 and Step S32.

[0085] Step S31: After evaporation coating, remove the crucible. The staff removes the cover plate 700 from the rotating table 100 to take away the crucible for cleaning and replenishing other materials to be evaporated.

[0086] Step S32: Remove the shielding member 200. Since some materials fall onto the shielding member 200 during the cooling stage, to prevent the materials on the shielding member 200 from evaporating by heating, the staff cleans the shielding member 200 so as to reinstall the shielding member 200 on the rotating table 100.

[0087] It can be understood that after multiple crucibles are placed in multiple evaporation source units of the evaporation source device, for each evaporation source unit, a shielding member 200 is used, the shielding member 200 is covered above the evaporation source unit, and the housing 110 of the evaporation source unit passes through the through-hole of the shielding member 200 to prevent the shielding member 200 from hindering the evaporation coating of the crucible in the housing 110; moreover, the outer peripheral surface of the housing 110 contacts the inner peripheral surface of the through-hole, so that the materials falling during the cooling stage directly fall on the upper surface of the shielding member 200 instead of the outer peripheral surface of the housing 110. Therefore, before the next evaporation coating of this evaporation source unit, disassembling and reinstalling the shielding member 200 can solve the problem of cross-contamination of new and old materials during the next evaporation coating of this evaporation source unit.

[0088] The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been specifically described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the described embodiments. Those skilled in the art can make various equivalent modifications or substitutions without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and these equivalent modifications or substitutions are all included within the scope defined by the claims of this application.

Claims

1. An evaporation source device, comprising a rotating table and an evaporation source unit, wherein the evaporation source unit is provided with a plurality of evaporation source units and is circumferentially arranged on the rotating table, and the evaporation source unit includes a shell for accommodating a crucible; characterized in that: The evaporation source device further includes a shielding member; the shielding member is detachably connected to the rotating table, and the shielding member is arranged opposite to any of the evaporation source units in an upper and lower direction; the shielding member is provided with a through hole extending through the upper and lower parts, and a receiving groove is formed in the hollow portion of the shell, and the upper end of the receiving groove is an open structure for placing the crucible in the receiving groove, the upper end of the shell is protruding relative to the through hole, so that the opening of the crucible can protrude from the through hole, and the outer peripheral surface of the shell is connected to the inner peripheral surface of the through hole; the shielding member covers the area of the evaporation source unit except the shell; There are multiple shielding members and the circumference is arranged on the rotating platform. The multiple shielding members correspond to the multiple evaporation source units one by one, and two adjacent shielding members are connected.

2. The evaporation source device according to claim 1, characterized in that The shielding member is a metal member.

3. The evaporation source device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The evaporation source device also includes a cover plate; the outer peripheral edge of the rotating table protrudes upward to form a surrounding plate, the upper surface of the surrounding plate is higher than the upper surface of the shell and the upper surface of the shielding member, the cover plate is covered on the surrounding plate, the inner peripheral surface of the cover plate is connected to the outer peripheral surface of the surrounding plate, and the rotating table can rotate relative to the cover plate; the cover plate is provided with an evaporation through hole running through the upper and lower parts, and the evaporation through hole can be arranged relative to any of the shells in the upper and lower directions.

4. The evaporation source device according to claim 3, characterized in that: A partition plate is provided between two adjacent shielding members, and the partition plate is extended radially along the turntable. The partition plate is respectively connected to the enclosure and the turntable. The upper surface of the enclosure is flush with the upper surface of the partition plate, and the shielding members are respectively in contact with two adjacent partition plates.

5. The evaporation source device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The shielding member is clamped on the evaporation source unit.

6. The evaporation source device according to claim 5, characterized in that: A handle is provided on the upper surface of the shielding member.

7. The evaporation source device according to any one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that: The shielding member is a stainless steel baffle.

8. A vacuum evaporation machine, characterized in that: The device comprises the evaporation source device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. A vacuum evaporation method, applied to the vacuum evaporation machine according to claim 8, characterized in that: The steps include: Before evaporation: adding the material to be evaporated into the crucible, and placing the crucible in the shell of the evaporation source unit, wherein the evaporation source units are provided in plurality and are arranged circumferentially on the rotating table of the evaporation source device; providing a shielding member for each of the evaporation source units, and covering the evaporation source unit with the shielding member, driving the shell through the through hole provided in the shielding member so that the opening of the crucible can protrude from the through hole, so that the outer peripheral surface of the shell is in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the through hole; covering the rotating table with a cover plate, and making one of the crucibles on the rotating table communicate with the evaporation through hole on the cover plate in vertical communication, wherein the crucible in vertical communication with the evaporation through hole is set as a working crucible; During evaporation: evacuating the work crucible; heating the work crucible to evaporate the material; after the evaporation of the material in the work crucible is completed, driving the rotary table to rotate to switch the work crucible; After evaporation: remove the crucible; dismantle the shielding parts.

Images