Deposition apparatus, deposition method and display panel

Abstract

This application discloses a deposition apparatus, a deposition method, and a display panel. The deposition apparatus includes: a machine base, comprising a machine base body and a protrusion extending from the machine base body; and a frame disposed on the machine base and disposed opposite to the machine base. The frame includes a frame body with a through hole, and the protrusion of the machine base is disposed within and protrudes from the through hole. The technical advantage of this application is that the entire surface of the glass substrate can be covered with a thin film layer, improving the substrate utilization rate, enhancing the uniformity of film formation, and increasing the market competitiveness of the product.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of display, specifically to a deposition apparatus, a deposition method, and a display panel. Background Technology

[0002] Traditional display panel manufacturing processes employ plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). This process uses special gases to generate plasma deposition gases under radio frequency (RF) power and high-temperature, low-pressure environments, depositing the desired semiconductor thin film on the glass substrate surface. However, the use of a traditional frame structure in the reaction chamber results in a non-film-forming area of ​​approximately 15 millimeters at the edge of the glass substrate. This area is covered by the frame and therefore no film is deposited, making it an ineffective region. The underlying glass substrate is not utilized, affecting the edge design of the product and, due to the increased number of components, generating more dust, further impacting product yield. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of this application is to provide a deposition apparatus, deposition method, and display panel that can solve the technical problem in the prior art that the upper surface of the glass substrate cannot be completely deposited with a film layer, resulting in low utilization.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, this application provides a deposition apparatus, comprising: a platform, including a platform body and a protrusion protruding from the platform body; and a frame disposed on the platform and disposed opposite to the platform; wherein the frame includes a frame body, the frame body having a through hole, and the protrusion of the platform being disposed within the through hole and protruding from the through hole.

[0005] Furthermore, the frame body includes an integrally formed first body part and a second body part; the first body part overlaps the machine body of the machine tool; the second body part is located on the side of the machine body away from the protrusion, and there is a gap between the second body part and the machine body.

[0006] Furthermore, in the direction perpendicular to the machine body, the height of the first body portion is less than the height of the protrusion of the machine body.

[0007] Furthermore, in the direction perpendicular to the machine body, the height of the first body portion is 94% to 96% of the height of the protrusion of the machine body.

[0008] Furthermore, the frame body has an inner sidewall and an outer sidewall; the inner sidewall is the side of the frame body closest to the through hole, and the outer sidewall is the side of the frame body furthest from the through hole; the frame body is provided with a chamfer, which is recessed into the inner sidewall of the frame body.

[0009] Furthermore, there is a gap between the inner wall of the frame body and the protrusion of the machine base.

[0010] Furthermore, the chamfer includes two first arc segments and a second arc segment located between the two first arc segments; the radius of the first arc segment is greater than the radius of the second arc segment; one end of the first arc segment is connected to the edge of the frame body, and the other end is connected to the second arc segment.

[0011] Furthermore, the frame body is also provided with a corner, which is located on the outer side wall of the frame body and is opposite to the chamfer.

[0012] To achieve the above objectives, this application also provides a deposition method comprising the following steps: providing a deposition apparatus as described above; placing a substrate to be deposited on a protrusion of a machine tool within the deposition apparatus, wherein the area of ​​the orthographic projection of the substrate on the protrusion is smaller than the area of ​​the protrusion; and performing a deposition operation on the substrate using a deposition head on the deposition apparatus.

[0013] To achieve the above objectives, this application also provides a display panel, comprising: a substrate; and a thin film layer covering the entire surface of the substrate, wherein the orthographic projection of the thin film layer on the substrate coincides with the substrate; the thin film layer is deposited by the deposition method described above.

[0014] The technical advantage of this application is that by placing the frame on the machine in a removable manner, the height of the frame is lower than the height of the protrusion of the machine, ensuring that the frame will not cover the protrusion during the deposition process, thereby not affecting the deposition film formation process of the substrate on the protrusion, ensuring that the entire substrate can be film-formed, improving the utilization rate of the substrate area, greatly improving the film uniformity at the edge of the substrate, expanding the product size, and enhancing market competitiveness. Attached Figure Description

[0015] 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.

[0016] Figure 1 This is a top view of the deposition apparatus provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0017] Figure 2 This is a side view of the deposition apparatus provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0018] Figure 3This is a schematic diagram of a corner provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0019] Figure 4 This is a top view of the deposition process provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0020] Figure 5 This is a side view of the deposition process provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0021] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the display panel after deposition provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0022] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram comparing the film uniformity provided in the embodiments of this application with that of the prior art.

[0023] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:

[0024] 1. Frame; 2. Machine base; 3. Gap; 4. Substrate; 5. Thin film layer;

[0025] 101. Frame body; 102. Through hole;

[0026] 111. The first body part; 121. The second body part;

[0027] 11. Chamfer; 12. Corner;

[0028] 110. First arc; 120. Second arc;

[0029] 201. Machine body; 202. Protrusion. Detailed Implementation

[0030] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this application, and not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application. In addition, it should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only for illustration and explanation of this application and are not intended to limit this application. In this application, unless otherwise stated, directional terms such as "upper" and "lower" generally refer to the upper and lower positions of the device in actual use or operation, specifically the drawing directions in the accompanying drawings; while "inner" and "outer" refer to the outline of the device.

[0031] This application provides a deposition apparatus, a deposition method, and a display panel. These will be described in detail below. It should be noted that the order of description of the following embodiments is not intended to limit the preferred order of the embodiments.

[0032] like Figures 1 to 7As shown, this embodiment provides a deposition apparatus, which includes a frame 1 and a stage 2. The frame includes a frame body 101 with a through hole 102. The stage 2 includes a stage body 201 and a protrusion 202 protruding from the stage body 201. The protrusion 202 of the stage 2 is disposed within and protrudes from the through hole 102. The height of the frame 1 in the longitudinal direction is lower than the height of the protrusion 202 of the stage 2, and there is no overlapping area between the frame body 101 and the protrusion 202. This ensures that when a substrate to be deposited is placed on the protrusion 202, the substrate is not covered by the frame 1, thus ensuring uniform film deposition on the substrate. The deposition apparatus will be described in detail below.

[0033] Taking the dimensions of the frame body 101 as an example, which are 2635.50 mm * 2348.59 mm, that is... Figure 1 The transverse length is 2635.50 mm, and the longitudinal length is 2348.59 mm. (Attached) Figure 2 For the appendix Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the cross-section along the AA direction is shown below, which will be further elaborated upon in the following text.

[0034] like Figure 2 As shown, the frame body 101 includes an integrally formed first body portion 111 and a second body portion 121. The first body portion 111 overlaps the machine body 201 of the machine platform 2. The second body portion 121 is disposed on the side of the machine body 201 away from the protrusion 202, and a gap 30 exists between the second body portion 121 and the machine body 201.

[0035] In this embodiment, the second body portion 121 is located at the edge of the frame body 101, with its upper surface flush with the upper surface of the first body portion 111, but its lower surface protruding beyond the first body portion 111. The second body portion 121 has a vertical height of 16 mm, and the first body portion 111 has a vertical height of 12.3 mm, corresponding to a protruding portion height of 3.7 mm for the second body portion 121. Figure 2 The horizontal length of the middle frame body 101 is 66.79 mm, which is... Figure 1 The width of the frame body 101 at point AA.

[0036] When the deposition apparatus is working, the ambient temperature will reach 340℃~360℃. The machine platform 2 will expand due to heat. The gap 30 between the protruding part of the second body part 121 and the machine platform 2 provides expansion space for thermal expansion. At the same time, the presence of the protruding part will lock the machine platform 2 to prevent it from shifting after excessive expansion, thus ensuring the fit and fixation between the machine platform 2 and the frame 1.

[0037] In the direction perpendicular to the machine body 201, i.e., in the vertical direction, the height of the first body portion 111 is less than the height of the protrusion 202 of the machine 2. In this embodiment, the height of the first body portion 111 is 94% to 96% of the height of the protrusion 202 of the machine 2, and the height of the protrusion 202 is 12.83 mm. Because the height of the first body portion 111 is less than the height of the protrusion 202, the first body portion 111 will not block the protrusion 202. When the substrate to be deposited is placed on the protrusion 202, the first body portion 111 will not affect the preparation of the film layer on the substrate. This allows the film layer on the substrate to cover the entire substrate as much as possible, so that the film layer can uniformly cover the substrate and improve the uniformity of the film layer. Furthermore, the film layer is generally a conductive film layer or a semiconductor film layer. After the entire layer is covered, conductive components and other parts can be fabricated on top of it, which can expand the actual usable area of ​​the display panel, expand the product size, and further improve the competitiveness of the product.

[0038] The frame body 101 has an inner sidewall and an outer sidewall. The inner sidewall is the side of the frame body 101 that is close to the through hole 102, and the outer sidewall is the side of the frame body 101 that is away from the through hole 102.

[0039] In this embodiment, because the frame 1 and the machine platform 2 are directly connected in a grounding manner, that is, the frame body 101 of the frame 1 is directly connected to the machine platform body 201 of the machine platform 2, the gap between the frame 1 and the machine platform 2 is small. When the ambient temperature rises, the machine platform 2 will interfere with the corner of the frame 1 after thermal expansion. Since the corner of the machine platform 2 is a right angle, it is easy to puncture the frame 1 or crack the frame 1. Therefore, chamfers 11 are provided on the four corners of the frame body 101 to prevent the machine platform 2 from damaging the frame 1 after expansion.

[0040] The chamfer 11 is recessed into the inner sidewall of the frame body 101. The chamfer 11 includes two first arcs 110 and a second arc 120 located between the two first arcs 110. The radius of the first arc 110 is larger than the radius of the second arc 120. One end of the first arc 110 is connected to the edge of the frame body 101, and the other end is connected to the second arc 120.

[0041] like Figure 3 As shown, in this embodiment, the radius of the first arc 110 is 5 mm and the radius of the second arc 120 is 2 mm. This segmented corner can reduce the curvature of the corner and minimize the damage to the frame 1 caused by the thermal expansion of the machine platform 2.

[0042] There is also a gap between the inner sidewall of the frame body 101 and the protrusion 202 of the machine platform 2. The gap is the part of the through hole 102 that is not passed through by the protrusion 202, which is also to provide expansion space for the thermal expansion of the machine platform 2.

[0043] The frame body 101 is also provided with a corner 12, which is located on the outer side wall of the frame body 101. The corner 12 is opposite to the chamfer 11 and is located outside the chamfer 11. The corner 12 is arc-shaped. During the operation of the deposition device, the airflow will flow at the corner 12, which can ensure the stability of the airflow around the machine platform 2.

[0044] The deposition apparatus also includes structures such as a deposition head (not shown in the figure). Since the substrate to be deposited is located on the protrusion 202, the deposition head is generally located above the protrusion 202 of the machine platform 2 to facilitate the deposition operation.

[0045] This embodiment also provides a deposition method, which includes the following steps: providing the deposition apparatus described above; placing the substrate to be deposited on the protrusion 202 of the stage 2 of the deposition apparatus; and placing a substrate 4 to be deposited on the protrusion 202 of the stage within the deposition apparatus (see...). Figure 4 , Figure 5 The area of ​​the orthographic projection of the substrate 4 onto the protrusion 202 is smaller than the area of ​​the protrusion 202. Then, a deposition operation is performed on the substrate 4 using a deposition head (not shown) on the deposition apparatus. The deposition head is located above the protrusion 202 to facilitate the deposition operation.

[0046] like Figure 6As shown, this embodiment also provides a display panel, including: a substrate 4 and a thin film layer 5. The thin film layer 5 covers the entire surface of the substrate 4. The orthographic projection of the thin film layer 5 on the substrate 4 coincides with the substrate 4, that is, the thin film layer 5 utilizes the entire area of ​​the upper surface of the substrate 4. The thin film layer 5 is deposited by the deposition method described above.

[0047] The substrate 4 is a glass substrate, and the thin film layer 5 can be a film layer with semiconductor properties or a conductive film layer. The thin film layer 5 fully covers the glass substrate, which can improve the area utilization rate of the glass substrate to 100%. Array film layers, light-emitting devices and other structures can be further set on the thin film layer 5. Because the film formation uniformity of the thin film layer 5 is good, the fully covered thin film layer 5 can expand the size of the product and further improve the market competitiveness of the product.

[0048] like Figure 7 As shown, attached Figure 7 This is a comparison chart of the film uniformity of this embodiment and the prior art during actual operation. In the figure, curve 100 is the uniformity change curve of the thin film layer at the edge of the substrate in the prior art, and curve 200 is the uniformity change curve of the thin film layer 5 at the upper edge of the substrate 4 in this embodiment. The horizontal axis is the distance of the test point from the outermost part of the substrate, and the vertical axis is uniformity.

[0049] As can be clearly seen from the figure, the film uniformity value is relatively high at the edge of the substrate in the prior art. At 20 mm from the outermost edge of the substrate, the film uniformity is 8.6%, indicating that most of the thin film layer still exists on the substrate surface at this point. However, the further outward (i.e., the closer to the outermost edge of the substrate), the less film layer is covered, and the higher the film uniformity becomes. In particular, from 10 mm from the outermost edge of the substrate, it reaches as high as 95%, indicating that the thin film layer is basically gone from 10 mm outward. This means that the substrate below is basically unused, and this part is the part covered by the framework in the existing deposition process, which cannot form a film.

[0050] In this embodiment, the uniformity variation on the curve is not significant, remaining around 10%. This is because, in this embodiment, the glass substrate is not covered during deposition; the entire glass substrate is exposed to the deposition nozzle. Therefore, every part of the glass substrate surface can form a uniform film during deposition, resulting in good overall film uniformity. At a distance of 20 mm from the outermost edge of the glass substrate, the uniformity of the thin film layer in this embodiment is 8.6%, which is greater than the 6.2% of the prior art. This is because 20 mm is not considered the edge of the thin film layer in this application, while it is the edge in the prior art, hence the difference. At a distance of 10 mm from the outermost edge of the glass substrate, the uniformity of the thin film layer in this embodiment is 13.6%, which is significantly better than the 95% in the prior art, indicating a substantial improvement in film uniformity.

[0051] The technical advantage of this embodiment is that by placing the frame on the machine in a removable manner, the height of the frame is lower than the height of the protrusion on the machine, ensuring that the frame will not cover the protrusion during the deposition process, thereby not affecting the deposition film formation process of the substrate on the protrusion, ensuring that the entire substrate can be film-formed, improving the utilization rate of the substrate area, greatly improving the film uniformity at the edge of the substrate, expanding the product size, and enhancing market competitiveness.

[0052] The above provides a detailed description of a deposition apparatus, deposition method, and display panel provided in the embodiments of this application. 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. A deposition apparatus, characterized in that, include: The machine tool includes a machine tool body and a protrusion protruding from the machine tool body; as well as A frame is mounted on the machine platform and positioned opposite to the machine platform; The frame includes a frame body, which has a through hole, and the protrusion of the machine tool is located in the through hole and protrudes out of the through hole. The frame body includes an integrally formed first body part and a second body part; The first body part is attached to the machine body of the machine tool; The second body portion is located on the side of the machine body away from the protrusion, and there is a gap between the second body portion and the machine body.

2. The deposition apparatus as described in claim 1, characterized in that, In a direction perpendicular to the machine body, the height of the first body portion is less than the height of the protrusion of the machine body.

3. The deposition apparatus as described in claim 1, characterized in that, In the direction perpendicular to the machine body, the height of the first body portion is 94% to 96% of the height of the protrusion of the machine body.

4. The deposition apparatus as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, The frame body has an inner sidewall and an outer sidewall; the inner sidewall is the side of the frame body closest to the through hole, and the outer sidewall is the side of the frame body furthest from the through hole. The frame body is provided with a chamfer, which is recessed into the inner sidewall of the frame body.

5. The deposition apparatus as described in claim 4, characterized in that, There is a gap between the inner wall of the frame body and the protrusion of the machine tool.

6. The deposition apparatus as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that, The chamfer includes two first arc segments and a second arc segment located between the two first arc segments; The radius of the first arc is greater than the radius of the second arc; One end of the first arc is connected to the edge of the frame body, and the other end is connected to the second arc.

7. The deposition apparatus as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that, The frame body is also provided with a corner, which is located on the outer side wall of the frame body and is opposite to the chamfer.

8. A deposition method, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Provide a deposition apparatus as described in any one of claims 1 to 7; A substrate to be deposited is placed on a protrusion of the machine platform inside the deposition apparatus, wherein the area of ​​the orthographic projection of the substrate on the protrusion is smaller than the area of ​​the protrusion. as well as The substrate is deposited using the deposition head on the deposition apparatus.

9. A display panel, characterized in that, include: substrate; as well as A thin film layer covers the entire surface of the substrate, and the orthographic projection of the thin film layer on the substrate coincides with the substrate. The thin film layer is deposited by the deposition method as described in claim 8.

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