Alignment device, film forming apparatus and alignment method

Abstract

Provided are an alignment device, a film forming apparatus, and an alignment method that can reduce the number of times of contact and separation between a substrate and a mask during alignment. The control unit (600) performs a first position adjustment by means of the position adjustment mechanism (300) in a state in which the substrate (S) is separated from the mask (M), performs a second position adjustment with higher precision than the first position adjustment by means of the position adjustment mechanism (300) in a state in which the substrate (S) is separated from the mask (M) after the first position adjustment, and performs a second position adjustment with higher precision than the second position adjustment by means of the position adjustment mechanism (300) in a state in which the substrate (S) is separated from the mask (M) after the second position adjustment. In a state in which the substrate (S) is separated from the mask (M), a position adjustment mechanism (300) performs a third position adjustment for offsetting an amount corresponding to an estimated value of a position shift amount that may occur from the start to the completion of a contact operation between the substrate (S) and the mask (M) by the movement mechanism (200). After the third position is adjusted, the substrate (S) is brought into contact with the mask (M) by the moving mechanism (200).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to an alignment device, a film forming device and an alignment method. Background Art

[0002] In a film forming device, in order to improve the film forming accuracy on the substrate, the positioning accuracy of the substrate and the mask during film forming is important. As an alignment method for adjusting the relative position of the substrate and the mask, the following method is generally used: alignment marks are set on the substrate and the mask respectively, the alignment marks are photographed with a camera, and the relative position of the substrate and the mask is adjusted based on the photographed image. In addition, the following technology is known: after roughly adjusting the relative position in a state where the substrate and the mask are separated, the position shift amount is measured in a state where the substrate and the mask are in contact, and the relative position is adjusted with higher accuracy. In this technology, when the position adjustment is performed with high accuracy, if the position shift amount does not enter the desired range in a state where the substrate and the mask are in contact, the substrate and the mask are separated and the position adjustment is performed, and the substrate and the mask are contacted again, and the same action is repeated until the position shift amount converges to the desired range. When the contact and separation of the substrate and the mask are repeated many times, not only will the time required for alignment be longer, but also the amount of dust that may be generated when the substrate and the mask are in contact will increase, which may have an adverse effect on the quality of the film formation.

[0003] Prior art literature

[0004] Patent Literature

[0005] Patent Document 1: International Publication No. 2017 / 222009 Summary of the invention

[0006] Problems to be solved by the invention

[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide an alignment device, a film forming device and an alignment method which can reduce the number of times a substrate and a mask come into contact and separate during alignment.

[0008] Means for solving problems

[0009] An alignment device according to one aspect of the present invention is an alignment device for aligning a substrate and a mask, and is characterized by comprising:

[0010] a moving mechanism, the moving mechanism moving at least one of the substrate and the mask in a first direction so as to bring the substrate and the mask closer to or away from each other;

[0011] a position adjustment mechanism that moves at least one of the substrate and the mask in at least one of a second direction intersecting the first direction and a third direction intersecting the first direction and the second direction to adjust a relative position between the substrate and the mask; and

[0012] a control unit that controls the moving mechanism and the position adjustment mechanism,

[0013] The control unit performs a first position adjustment using the position adjustment mechanism in a state where the substrate and the mask are separated.

[0014] After the first position adjustment, the position adjustment mechanism is used to perform a second position adjustment with higher accuracy than the first position adjustment in a state where the substrate and the mask are separated.

[0015] After the second position adjustment, a third position adjustment is performed by the position adjustment mechanism in a state where the substrate and the mask are separated, the third position adjustment being a position adjustment for offsetting an estimated value of a positional deviation amount that may occur from the start to the completion of the contact operation between the substrate and the mask performed by the moving mechanism,

[0016] After the third position adjustment, the substrate is brought into contact with the mask using the moving mechanism.

[0017] Effects of the Invention

[0018] As described above, according to the present invention, the number of times the substrate and the mask come into contact and separate during alignment can be reduced. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a film forming apparatus according to an embodiment.

[0020] Figure 2 This is an explanatory diagram when aligning a substrate and a mask.

[0021] Figure 3 It is an alignment process diagram of the embodiment.

[0022] Figure 4 is a flow chart of an alignment process of an embodiment.

[0023] Figure 5 This is a flowchart when updating the estimated value according to the embodiment.

[0024] Figure 6 It is an overall view of an organic EL display device and a cross-sectional view of components of the organic EL display device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the following embodiments are merely illustrative of preferred structures of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to these structures. In addition, in the following description, the hardware structure and software structure of the device, the processing flow, the manufacturing conditions, the size, the material, the shape, etc., unless otherwise specified, are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention to these.

[0026] The present invention relates to a technology for high-precision position adjustment of a substrate. The present invention can be preferably applied to a device for forming a thin film (material layer) of a desired pattern on the surface of a substrate by vacuum evaporation or sputtering. As the material of the substrate, any material such as glass, resin, metal, etc. can be selected. In addition, as the film-forming material, any material such as organic material, inorganic material (metal, metal oxide, etc.) can also be selected. Specifically, the technology of the present invention can be applied to manufacturing devices for organic electronic devices (such as organic EL display devices, thin-film solar cells), optical components, etc. Among them, the manufacturing device of the organic EL display device requires further improvement of the alignment accuracy between the substrate and the mask, and further shortening of the time required for the alignment process between the substrate and the mask due to the large-scale substrate or the high-precision display panel, and is therefore one of the preferred application examples of the present invention.

[0027] (Example)

[0028] Reference Figure 1~Figure 5 An alignment device, a film forming device, and an alignment method according to an embodiment of the present invention are described.

[0029] <Film forming device>

[0030] Figure 1 It is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the structure of the film forming device of this embodiment. In the following description, an XYZ orthogonal coordinate system is used in which the vertical direction is set to the Z direction. When the substrate is fixed to be parallel to the horizontal plane (XY plane) during film formation, the width direction of the substrate (the direction parallel to the short side) is set to the X direction, and the length direction (the direction parallel to the long side) is set to the Y direction. In addition, θ represents the rotation angle around the Z axis. In addition, the Z direction is equivalent to the "first direction", the X direction is equivalent to the "second direction intersecting the first direction", and the Y direction is equivalent to the "third direction intersecting the first direction and the second direction".

[0031] The film forming apparatus 10 of the present embodiment has a function as an alignment device for aligning the substrate S and the mask M. The film forming apparatus 10 has a vacuum chamber 100. The interior of the vacuum chamber 100 is maintained as a vacuum environment or an inert gas environment such as nitrogen. In addition, the film forming apparatus 10 has a moving mechanism 200 that moves the substrate S in a first direction (Z direction) to bring the substrate S and the mask M closer or farther away. Moreover, the film forming apparatus 10 has a position adjustment mechanism 300 that adjusts the relative position between the substrate S and the mask M by moving the substrate S in at least one of the second direction (X direction) and the third direction (Y direction). In addition, the position adjustment mechanism 300 of the present embodiment has a function of rotating the substrate S in the θ direction in addition to the function of linearly moving the substrate S in the second direction and the function of linearly moving the substrate S in the third direction.

[0032] A support member 110 for supporting a mask M is provided in the vacuum chamber 100. The mask M is a metal mask having an opening pattern corresponding to a thin film pattern formed on the substrate S, and is supported by the support member 110. In addition, an evaporation source 400 is arranged inside the vacuum chamber 100. The evaporation source 400 is composed of a container (crucible) for accommodating an evaporation material, a heater for heating the container, a gate for stopping the discharge of the evaporation material, a driving mechanism for driving various components such as the gate, an evaporation rate monitor for identifying the thickness of the formed film, etc. (none of which are shown in the figure). In addition, in the present embodiment, a evaporation device as a film forming unit using the evaporation source 400 as a film forming source is described, but in the present invention, it is not limited to this, and it can also be applied to a sputtering device using a sputtering target as a film forming source.

[0033] The moving mechanism 200 is an actuator that reciprocates the substrate S in the first moving direction. In the present embodiment, the substrate S is held by a substrate carrier C. As the substrate carrier C, for example, a structure having a plurality of adsorption members and holding the substrate S by adsorbing the substrate S using these adsorption members can be used. In addition, in the present embodiment, a structure is shown in which the substrate S is aligned with the mask M in a state where the substrate carrier C holds the substrate S. However, in the present invention, it can also be applied to a device that aligns the substrate with the mask in a state where the substrate carrier is supported alone and a structure is used without using a substrate carrier.

[0034] The moving mechanism 200 includes a driving source 210 such as a motor, a screw shaft 220 configured to be capable of forward and reverse rotation by the driving source 210, and a support plate 230 that reciprocates in a first moving direction with the forward and reverse rotation of the screw shaft 220. In the support plate 230, a nut and a plurality of balls (both not shown) are provided in the portion of the insertion hole through which the screw shaft 220 is inserted. In addition, a plurality of support shafts 240 are fixed to the support plate 230. Moreover, a holding member 250 that holds a substrate carrier C holding a substrate S is fixed to the support shaft 240.

[0035] According to the moving mechanism 200 constructed as described above, when the screw shaft 220 is rotated forward and backward by the driving source 210, the holding member 250 reciprocates in the first moving direction together with the support plate 230, so the substrate S also reciprocates in the first moving direction. In this way, in the moving mechanism 200 of this embodiment, a case where a ball screw mechanism is used as an actuator for reciprocating the substrate S in the first moving direction is shown. However, as an actuator for reciprocating the substrate S in the first moving direction, it is not limited to the ball screw mechanism, and various known technologies such as a mechanism using a motor and a linear guide, a gear rack mechanism, etc. can be used.

[0036] The position adjustment mechanism 300 includes a support structure 310 that supports the moving mechanism 200, and an actuator 320 that moves the support structure 310 in at least one of the second direction (X direction) and the third direction (Y direction). In addition, the support plate 230 in the moving mechanism 200 is provided with a plurality of through holes 231 so as not to hinder the movement of the support structure 310.

[0037] The actuator 320 is a structure having an actuator function for moving the support structure 310 in the second direction, an actuator function for moving the support structure 310 in the third direction, and an actuator function for rotating the support structure 310 in the θ direction. For these actuators, various known technologies such as a ball screw mechanism, a mechanism using a motor and a linear guide, and a rack and pinion mechanism can be adopted. In addition, the actuator for rotating the support structure 310 in the θ direction can be provided separately from the actuator for moving the support structure 310 in the second direction and the actuator for moving the support structure 310 in the third direction. However, the support structure 310 can also be rotated in the θ direction by controlling the actuator for moving the support structure 310 in the second direction and the actuator for moving the support structure 310 in the third direction.

[0038] According to the position adjustment mechanism 300 configured as described above, the supporting structure 310 can be moved in at least one of the second direction and the third direction by the actuator 320. Accordingly, the substrate S also moves in at least one of the second direction and the third direction together with the moving mechanism 200 supported by the supporting structure 310.

[0039] In order to align the substrate S and the mask M, a plurality of cameras 500 for measuring the positions of the substrate S and the mask M are provided on the upper portion (outer side) of the vacuum chamber 100 . The cameras 500 are configured to capture images of the substrate S and the mask M through a window provided in the vacuum chamber 100 .

[0040] In addition, the film forming device 10 has a control unit 600. The control unit 600 performs various controls such as controlling the position movement of the substrate S using the moving mechanism 200 and the position adjustment mechanism 300, controlling the film forming using the evaporation source 400, and controlling the shooting of the camera 500. The control unit 600 can be composed of a computer having a processor, a memory, a storage device, an I / O, etc. In this case, the function of the control unit 600 is realized by the processor executing a program (computer program) stored in the memory or the storage device. In addition, the memory and the storage device are equivalent to a storage unit for storing various data. As a computer, a general-purpose personal computer can be used, or an embedded computer or a PLC (programmable logic controller) can be used. Alternatively, part or all of the functions of the control unit 600 can be constituted by a circuit such as an ASIC or an FPGA.

[0041] <Alignment>

[0042] Reference Figure 2~Figure 5 , the alignment of the substrate S and the mask M of this embodiment is described. Figure 2 This is an explanatory diagram for aligning the substrate S and the mask M, which is equivalent to aligning from Figure 1 The positional relationship between the substrate S and the mask M is observed from above, and the structures other than the substrate S and the mask M are omitted. A plurality of alignment marks S1 and M1 are respectively provided on the substrate S and the mask M. When the raw material of the substrate S is composed of a transparent member such as glass, the alignment mark S1 can be drawn on the substrate S, but when it is not a transparent member, the alignment mark S1 is provided by a cutout or the like. Figure 2In the example shown, the alignment mark S1 is circular and the alignment mark M1 is cross-shaped. When the center of the alignment mark S1 provided at each location coincides with the center of the alignment mark M1, the substrate S and the mask M are positioned in a desired configuration relationship. Alignment is performed in such a way that the positional offset d between the center of the alignment mark S1 and the center of the alignment mark M1 approaches zero.

[0043] In this embodiment, in order to achieve high-precision alignment in a short time, a rough alignment for roughly aligning and a fine alignment for highly accurate alignment are performed. In this embodiment, in the roughly rectangular substrate S and mask M, the alignment marks S1 and M1 at the center of each side are used for rough alignment, and the alignment marks S1 and M1 near the four corners are used for fine alignment.

[0044] In coarse alignment, a camera 500 with a low resolution but a wide field of view is used, and in fine alignment, a camera 500 with a narrow field of view but a high resolution is used. Figure 2 In FIG. 5 , dotted line 510 represents the field of view of camera 500 used in coarse alignment, and dotted line 520 represents the field of view of camera 500 used in fine alignment.

[0045] <<Alignment Process>>

[0046] Reference Figure 3 and Figure 4 , the alignment process of this embodiment is explained. Figure 3 It is an alignment process diagram of the present embodiment, and shows the positional relationship between the substrate S held on the substrate carrier C and the mask M when viewed in the Y direction in the process order of the alignment process. Figure 4 It is a flow chart of the alignment process of this embodiment.

[0047] When the alignment process starts (step SS), the control unit 600 controls to perform the first position adjustment (step S11) by the position adjustment mechanism 300 in a state where the substrate S is separated from the mask M. At this time, the first position adjustment is performed by moving the substrate S by the position adjustment mechanism 300 while the interval between the substrate S and the mask M in the first direction is maintained at a predetermined interval by the moving mechanism 200 (first process).

[0048] This first position adjustment is equivalent to the above-mentioned rough alignment. For example, the control of moving the substrate S is performed so that the position offset d of the center of the alignment mark S1 and the center of the alignment mark M1 are both within 50μm. In addition, the control unit 600 first uses the moving mechanism 200 to move the substrate S and the mask M so that the interval between the substrate S and the mask M in the first direction becomes a predetermined interval. Then, based on the image captured by the camera 500 at this time, the control unit 600 calculates the amount to move the substrate S and moves the substrate S using the position adjustment mechanism 300. After that, the camera 500 can be used to shoot again, and the same steps can be repeated until the above-mentioned position offset d is within 50μm, or the judgment of whether the above-mentioned position offset d is within 50μm may not be performed after moving once. Figure 3 (a) represents the state after the first position is adjusted.

[0049] After the first position adjustment, the control unit 600 controls so that the second position adjustment with higher accuracy than the first position adjustment is performed by the position adjustment mechanism 300 while the substrate S is separated from the mask M (step S12). At this time, the second position adjustment (second process) is performed by moving the substrate S by the position adjustment mechanism 300 while the interval between the substrate S and the mask M in the first direction is maintained at a predetermined interval by the moving mechanism 200. In addition, after the first position adjustment, the interval between the substrate S and the mask M in the first direction may be the same as that in the first position adjustment without moving the substrate S by the moving mechanism 200. However, in the second position adjustment, it is more preferable if the interval between the substrate S and the mask M in the first direction is narrower than that in the first position adjustment. In addition, the substrate S is not brought into contact with the mask M between the first position adjustment and the second position adjustment.

[0050] This second position adjustment is equivalent to the above-mentioned fine alignment. For example, the control of moving the substrate S is performed so that the position offset d between the center of the alignment mark S1 and the center of the alignment mark M1 are both within 15 μm. In addition, the control unit 600 calculates the amount of movement of the substrate S based on the image captured by the camera 500 after the first position adjustment, and moves the substrate S using the position adjustment mechanism 300. Afterwards, it is preferred to use the camera 500 to take pictures again, and repeat the same steps until the above-mentioned position offset d is within 15 μm. However, it is also possible not to determine whether the above-mentioned position offset d is within 15 μm after moving once. Figure 3 (b) shows the state after the second position is adjusted.

[0051] After the second position adjustment, the control unit 600 controls the third position adjustment to be performed by the position adjustment mechanism 300 in a state where the substrate S is separated from the mask M. The third position adjustment is a position adjustment for offsetting an estimated value of the positional deviation that may occur from the start to the completion of the contact operation between the substrate S and the mask M by the moving mechanism 200 (step S13). In this case, after the second position adjustment, the substrate S is not moved by the moving mechanism 200, but Figure 3 As shown by arrow O in (c), the substrate S may be moved by an amount that cancels the estimated value of the positional deviation described above (third step). The estimated value of the positional deviation will be described in detail later.

[0052] After the third position adjustment, the control unit 600 controls the moving mechanism 200 to perform a contact operation to bring the substrate S into contact with the mask M (step S14). Figure 3 The substrate S and the mask M are moved downward to a state where the substrate S and the mask M are in contact (the fourth step). That is, the contact action refers to the action from the start of the relative movement of the substrate S and the mask M by the moving mechanism 200 after the third position adjustment to the state where the substrate S and the mask M are in contact as photographed by the camera 500, that is, until the relative movement is completed. Figure 3 (d) shows a state where the substrate S and the mask M are in contact with each other.

[0053] After the contact operation between the substrate S and the mask M is completed, the camera 500 takes an image, and the control unit 600 determines whether the positional deviation amount d between the substrate S and the mask M is within a predetermined amount (eg, 25 μm) (step S15 ).

[0054] When the positional deviation d exceeds the prescribed amount, the control unit 600 controls so that the fourth positional adjustment with higher accuracy than the first positional adjustment is performed by the positional adjustment mechanism 300 (step S16). In addition, when performing the fourth positional adjustment, it is preferably performed in a state where the substrate S and the mask M are slightly separated by the moving mechanism 200. The fourth positional adjustment is equivalent to the above-mentioned fine alignment. Thus, the substrate S is controlled to move so that the positional deviation d of the center of the alignment mark S1 and the center of the alignment mark M1 are both within the above-mentioned prescribed amount (25 μm) (fifth step).

[0055] In addition, the control unit 600 calculates the amount of movement of the substrate S based on the positional deviation d, and moves the substrate S using the position adjustment mechanism 300. After that, the substrate S is brought into contact with the mask M using the moving mechanism 200 again, and the camera 500 is used to take an image, and the same steps are repeated until the positional deviation d becomes within the predetermined amount (25 μm). After the positional deviation d becomes within the predetermined amount, the alignment process ends (SE). Figure 3 (e) indicates the state where alignment is completed.

[0056] Regarding the alignment mark and the camera 500 used in the fine alignment during the second position adjustment and the fine alignment during the fourth position adjustment, in this embodiment, common alignment marks and cameras are used, but different alignment marks and cameras may be used respectively.

[0057] <<Estimated value>>

[0058] The amount (estimated value) by which the substrate S is moved before bringing the substrate S into contact with the mask M in order to estimate the positional deviation that may occur from the start to the completion of the contact operation between the substrate S and the mask M by the moving mechanism 200 and to offset the positional deviation in the third position adjustment will be described.

[0059] The estimated value is relative to the time of the second position adjustment ( Figure 3 (b) state) and the moment when the substrate S contacts the mask M after the third position adjustment ( Figure 3 (d) state) in a direction parallel to a plane perpendicular to the first direction (for example, Figure 3 The amount obtained by adding the positional offset amount between the substrate S and the mask M in the left-right direction (in the right and left direction) to the predicted amount of positional offset generated when the substrate S and the mask M contact each other.

[0060] That is, in this embodiment, the estimated value is determined by taking into account the positional deviation that may occur when the substrate S is moved by the moving mechanism 200 and the positional deviation that may occur when the substrate S is brought into contact with the mask M from the time of the second position adjustment to the time when the substrate S contacts the mask M after the third position adjustment. The former is the positional deviation caused by a mechanical error in the moving mechanism 200, and the latter is the positional deviation caused by the sliding of the substrate S relative to the mask M, etc.

[0061] The above-mentioned estimated values ​​are stored in the storage unit of the control unit 600 for each mask M used. In the third position adjustment, the control unit 600 uses the estimated values ​​corresponding to each mask M stored in the storage unit.

[0062] The control unit 600 performs control so that each time the substrate S and the mask M are aligned, an estimated value is calculated, and when the result obtained is below the threshold, the estimated value is updated and stored in the storage unit, and when the result obtained exceeds the threshold, the estimated value is not updated. Figure 5 The flowchart shown is used for explanation.

[0063] By starting the second position adjustment process (the above-mentioned step S12), the process of updating the estimated value also starts (step SS). When this process starts, the control unit 600 reads the mask ID assigned to the used mask M. Thus, it is determined whether the used mask M is a new mask (step S21). Specifically, if the mask ID is not stored in the storage unit, it is determined that it is a new mask M.

[0064] When the mask M used is not a new mask, as described above, the estimated value corresponding to the mask M is stored in the storage unit, so the control unit 600 reads the estimated value corresponding to the mask M used from the storage unit (step S22). When the mask M used is a new mask, the setting data pre-stored in the storage unit is read (step S23). The setting method of the setting data will be described later.

[0065] After step S22 or step S23, the control unit 600 sends a second position adjustment command (step S24) to perform the above-mentioned second position adjustment (refer to Figure 3 (b)). After that, the control unit 600 uses the estimated value read in step S22 or the setting data read in step S23 as the estimated value and sends a third position adjustment command (step S25). As a result, the substrate S moves in a manner that cancels the estimated value read in step S22 or the setting data (estimated value) read in step S23 (refer to Figure 3 (c)).

[0066] After that, the control unit 600 sends a contact operation command between the substrate S and the mask M (step S26), and the substrate S and the mask M are in contact (refer to Figure 3 (d)). Then, the control unit 600 measures the positional deviation amount (step S27) and calculates the estimated value (step S28) in a state where the substrate S and the mask S are in contact with each other.

[0067] As described above, the estimated value is the amount obtained by adding the predicted amount of positional displacement generated when the substrate S and the mask M contact each other to the amount of positional displacement between the substrate S and the mask M in the direction parallel to the plane perpendicular to the first direction at the time of the second position adjustment and the time when the substrate S and the mask M contact each other after the third position adjustment. Figure 3 The state shown in (b) is Figure 3Compared with the state shown in (d) of FIG. 1 , the “positional offset amount between the substrate S and the mask M in the direction parallel to the plane perpendicular to the first direction at the moment of the second position adjustment and the moment when the substrate S contacts the mask M after the third position adjustment” is equivalent to the positional offset amount of the substrate S in the left-right direction in the figure, for example. In addition, the “predicted amount of positional offset generated when the substrate S contacts the mask M” is a value obtained based on experimental measurements and empirical rules, and can be set according to the type of mask M, etc.

[0068] After calculating the estimated value, the control unit 600 determines whether the value of the calculation result is less than a predetermined threshold value (for example, 300 μm) (step S29). If the value of the calculation result is not less than the threshold value, the control unit 600 does not update the estimated value and ends the process (step SE). On the other hand, if the value of the calculation result is less than the threshold value, the control unit 600 updates the estimated value data and stores the updated value as a new estimated value in the storage unit (step S30).

[0069] Here, regarding the updated value, when the calculated result is below the threshold, the value of the calculated result can be stored in the storage unit as a new estimated value. In addition, when the calculated result is below the threshold, the calculated result and the average value of the previous multiple calculation results can also be stored in the storage unit as a new estimated value. For example, the average value of the calculation results of this time and the calculation results of the previous three times, a total of four times, can be stored in the storage unit as a new estimated value.

[0070] As described above, the estimated value is appropriately updated each time the substrate S and the mask M are aligned, so that the accuracy of the estimated value is gradually improved.

[0071] Next, the setting data used as the estimated value when a new mask M is used will be described. Regarding the setting data, when the type of the mask M used is new, initial values ​​obtained by experimental measurement or the like can be stored in the storage unit as setting data. Thus, in the third position adjustment, when the mask M is a new mask, the control unit 600 can use the initial values ​​stored in the storage unit as estimated values.

[0072] On the other hand, even if the mask M used is a new mask, if there is a record of use of the same type of mask M, it is preferable to use the average value of the estimated values ​​in the same type of mask M as the setting data. In this case, the average value of the estimated values ​​in the plurality of masks M of the same type is stored in the storage unit. And, in the third position adjustment, if the mask M is a new mask, the control unit 600 can use the average value as the estimated value. Therefore, after the above-mentioned step S30 is completed, the average value of the estimated values ​​in the mask M of the same type as the used mask M is recalculated by adding the calculation result of this time, and the setting data (the average value of the estimated values ​​of the same type of mask) is updated and stored in the storage unit (step S31), and the update process of the estimated value is completed (step SE).

[0073] <Method for manufacturing electronic device>

[0074] Next, an example of a method for manufacturing an electronic device using the film-forming apparatus of this embodiment will be described. Hereinafter, as an example of an electronic device, the structure of an organic EL display device is shown, and an example of a method for manufacturing the organic EL display device is described.

[0075] First, the manufactured organic EL display device will be described. Figure 6 (a) shows an overall view of the organic EL display device 800. Figure 6 (b) shows the cross-sectional structure of one pixel.

[0076] like Figure 6 As shown in (a), in the display area 801 of the organic EL display device 800, a plurality of pixels 802 having a plurality of light-emitting elements are arranged in a matrix. The light-emitting elements each have a structure having an organic layer sandwiched by a pair of electrodes, and the details will be described later. In addition, the pixel mentioned here refers to the smallest unit that can display the desired color in the display area 801. In the case of the organic EL display device of this embodiment, the pixel 802 is composed of a combination of a first light-emitting element 802R, a second light-emitting element 802G, and a third light-emitting element 802B that display different light emissions from each other. The pixel 802 is mostly composed of a combination of a red light-emitting element, a green light-emitting element, and a blue light-emitting element, but it can also be a combination of a yellow light-emitting element, a cyan light-emitting element, and a white light-emitting element, and there is no particular limitation as long as it is at least one color.

[0077] Figure 6 (b) is Figure 6Schematic diagram of a partial cross-section at line BB of (a). The pixel 802 is composed of a plurality of light-emitting elements, each of which has a first electrode (anode) 804, a hole transport layer 805, any one of the light-emitting layers 806R, 806G, and 806B, an electron transport layer 807, and a second electrode (cathode) 808 on a substrate 803. Among them, the hole transport layer 805, the light-emitting layers 806R, 806G, 806B, and the electron transport layer 807 are equivalent to organic layers. In addition, in the present embodiment, the light-emitting layer 806R is an organic EL layer that emits red, the light-emitting layer 806G is an organic EL layer that emits green, and the light-emitting layer 806B is an organic EL layer that emits blue. The light-emitting layers 806R, 806G, and 806B are formed into patterns corresponding to the light-emitting elements (sometimes also referred to as organic EL elements) that emit red, green, and blue, respectively.

[0078] In addition, the first electrode 804 is formed separately for each light-emitting element. The hole transport layer 805, the electron transport layer 807, and the second electrode 808 can be formed in common in a plurality of light-emitting elements 802R, 802G, and 802B, or can be formed for each light-emitting element. In addition, in order to prevent the first electrode 804 and the second electrode 808 from short-circuiting due to foreign matter, an insulating layer 809 is provided between the first electrode 804. In addition, the organic EL layer will deteriorate due to moisture and oxygen, so a protective layer 810 is provided to protect the organic EL element from the influence of moisture and oxygen.

[0079] exist Figure 6 In (b), the hole transport layer 805 and the electron transport layer 807 are represented by one layer, but depending on the structure of the organic EL display element, they can also be formed by multiple layers including a hole blocking layer and an electron blocking layer. In addition, a hole injection layer having an energy band structure that enables smooth hole injection from the first electrode 804 to the hole transport layer 805 can also be formed between the first electrode 804 and the hole transport layer 805. Similarly, an electron injection layer can also be formed between the second electrode 808 and the electron transport layer 807.

[0080] Next, an example of a method for manufacturing an organic EL display device will be described in detail.

[0081] First, a substrate (mother glass) 803 on which a circuit (not shown) for driving the organic EL display device and a first electrode 804 are formed is prepared.

[0082] An acrylic resin is formed by spin coating on the substrate 803 having the first electrode 804 formed thereon, and the acrylic resin is patterned by photolithography to form an opening in the portion having the first electrode 804 formed thereon, thereby forming an insulating layer 809. The opening corresponds to a light emitting region where the light emitting element actually emits light.

[0083] The substrate 803 with the insulating layer 809 patterned thereon is placed on a substrate carrier equipped with an adsorption member. The substrate 803 is held by the adsorption member. The substrate 803 is moved into the first organic material film forming device, turned over, and the hole transport layer 805 is formed as a common layer on the first electrode 804 in the display area. The hole transport layer 805 is formed by vacuum evaporation. In fact, the hole transport layer 805 is formed to a size larger than the display area 801, so a high-precision mask is not required.

[0084] Next, the substrate 803 formed with the hole transport layer 805 is carried into the second organic material film forming apparatus. Thereafter, as described in the above embodiment, the substrate and the mask are aligned, the substrate is placed on the mask, and a red light-emitting layer 806R is formed on the portion of the substrate 803 where the red light-emitting element is arranged.

[0085] Similar to the film formation of the light-emitting layer 806R, the green light-emitting layer 806G is formed by the third organic material film-forming device, and the blue light-emitting layer 806B is formed by the fourth organic material film-forming device. After the film formation of the light-emitting layers 806R, 806G, and 806B is completed, the electron transport layer 807 is formed by the fifth film-forming device in the entire display area 801. The electron transport layer 807 is formed as a common layer in the three-color light-emitting layers 806R, 806G, and 806B.

[0086] The second electrode 808 is formed by moving the substrate on which the electron transport layer 807 has been formed using a metallic vapor deposition material film forming apparatus.

[0087] After that, the substrate 803 is moved to a plasma CVD device to form a protective layer 810, thereby completing the film forming process on the substrate 803. After flipping, the adsorption member is peeled off from the substrate 803, thereby separating the substrate 803 from the substrate carrier. After that, the organic EL display device 800 is completed by cutting.

[0088] From the time when the substrate 803 with the patterned insulating layer 809 is carried into the film forming device until the film forming of the protective layer 810 is completed, if it is exposed to an environment containing moisture and oxygen, the light-emitting layer composed of the organic EL material may be degraded by moisture and oxygen. Therefore, in this embodiment, the substrate is carried in and out of the film forming device in a vacuum environment or an inert gas environment.

[0089] <Advantages of the Alignment Device, Film Forming Device, and Alignment Method of the Present Embodiment>

[0090] In this embodiment, by adopting a structure in which the substrate S and the mask M are brought into contact after the second position adjustment and the third position adjustment, the positional deviation amount immediately after the substrate S and the mask M are brought into contact can be shortened. In addition, in the case where the fine alignment is repeatedly performed after the substrate and the mask are brought into contact after the rough alignment is performed as in the past, it is necessary to repeat the fine alignment operation approximately three times after the substrate and the mask are initially brought into contact. In contrast, in this embodiment, the probability that the positional deviation amount between the substrate and the mask can be brought into the desired range when the substrate and the mask are initially brought into contact is approximately 90%. Therefore, in the alignment process, the fourth position adjustment described above does not need to be performed once approximately 90%, and the contact operation between the substrate and the mask only needs to be performed once. In addition, it is needless to say that even in the case where the positional deviation amount between the substrate and the mask does not fall within the desired range when the substrate and the mask are initially brought into contact, the number of fourth position adjustments is small.

[0091] As described above, according to this embodiment, the number of times the substrate and the mask come into contact and separate during alignment can be reduced, thereby shortening the time required for alignment and reducing the amount of dust that may be generated when the substrate and the mask come into contact.

[0092] (other)

[0093] In the above-described embodiment, a case is shown in which a structure is adopted in which the substrate S is moved in the first moving direction by the moving mechanism 200 to bring the substrate S and the mask M closer or farther away. However, a moving mechanism can be adopted in which the substrate S is fixed and the mask M is moved in the first moving direction to bring the substrate S and the mask M closer or farther away. In addition, a moving mechanism can be adopted in which the substrate S and the mask M are moved in the first moving direction to bring the substrate S and the mask M closer or farther away.

[0094] In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, a case is shown in which a structure is adopted in which the relative position between the substrate S and the mask M is adjusted by moving the substrate S in at least one of the second direction and the third direction using the position adjustment mechanism 300. However, a position adjustment mechanism can be adopted in which the substrate S is fixed and the mask M is moved in at least one of the second direction and the third direction to adjust the relative position between the substrate S and the mask M. In addition, a position adjustment mechanism can be adopted in which the relative position between the substrate S and the mask M is adjusted by moving both the substrate S and the mask M in at least one of the second direction and the third direction.

[0095] In the above-described embodiment, a configuration is shown in which various structures (the moving mechanism 200 and the position adjusting mechanism 300 ) for alignment are provided in the vacuum chamber 100 in which the film forming source (the evaporation source 400 ) is disposed.

[0096] However, the present invention can also be applied to a film forming apparatus that has a chamber for alignment with a moving mechanism 200 and a position adjustment mechanism 300 and a chamber for film forming source for film forming treatment. In the case of such a structure, after alignment is performed by the moving mechanism 200 and the position adjustment mechanism 300 in the chamber for alignment, the substrate and the mask are transported as a whole to the chamber with the film forming source, and the film forming treatment is performed on the substrate.

[0097] Description of Reference Numerals

[0098] 10 ... film forming apparatus 100 ... vacuum chamber 110 ... supporting member 200 ... moving mechanism 300 ... position adjustment mechanism 400 ... evaporation source 500 ... camera 600 ... control unit C ... substrate carrier M ... mask S ... substrate

Claims

1. An alignment device for aligning a substrate and a mask, characterized in that: have: a moving mechanism, the moving mechanism moving at least one of the substrate and the mask in a first direction so as to bring the substrate and the mask closer to or away from each other; a position adjustment mechanism that moves at least one of the substrate and the mask in at least one of a second direction intersecting the first direction and a third direction intersecting the first direction and the second direction to adjust a relative position between the substrate and the mask; and a control unit that controls the moving mechanism and the position adjustment mechanism, The control unit performs a first position adjustment using the position adjustment mechanism in a state where the substrate and the mask are separated. After the first position adjustment, the position adjustment mechanism is used to perform a second position adjustment with higher accuracy than the first position adjustment in a state where the substrate and the mask are separated. After the second position adjustment, a third position adjustment is performed by the position adjustment mechanism in a state where the substrate and the mask are separated, the third position adjustment being a position adjustment for offsetting an estimated value of a positional deviation amount that may occur from the start to the completion of the contact operation between the substrate and the mask performed by the moving mechanism, After the third position adjustment, the substrate is brought into contact with the mask using the moving mechanism.

2. The alignment device according to claim 1, characterized in that When the positional deviation amount between the substrate and the mask exceeds a predetermined amount when the contact operation between the substrate and the mask is completed after the third position adjustment, the control unit uses the position adjustment mechanism to perform a fourth position adjustment with higher accuracy than the first position adjustment.

3. The alignment device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The estimated value is the amount obtained by adding the position offset between the substrate and the mask in a direction parallel to the surface perpendicular to the first direction relative to the moment of the second position adjustment and the moment when the substrate contacts the mask after the third position adjustment, to the predicted amount of position offset generated when the substrate contacts the mask.

4. The alignment device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The estimated value is stored in a storage unit for each of the masks used, and in the third position adjustment, the control unit uses the estimated value corresponding to each mask stored in the storage unit.

5. The alignment device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The control unit calculates the estimated value each time the substrate and the mask are aligned, updates the estimated value and stores it in the storage unit when the obtained result is less than a threshold value, and does not update the estimated value when the obtained result exceeds the threshold value.

6. The alignment device according to claim 5, characterized in that The control unit calculates the estimated value each time the substrate and the mask are aligned, and when a calculated result is equal to or less than a threshold value, stores the calculated result in the storage unit as a new estimated value.

7. The alignment device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The control unit calculates the estimated value each time the substrate and the mask are aligned, and when the calculated result is less than a threshold value, stores the calculated result and an average value of a plurality of past calculation results as a new estimated value in the storage unit.

8. The alignment device according to claim 4, characterized in that An initial value of the estimated value is stored in the storage unit, and in the third position adjustment, when the mask is a new mask, the control unit uses the initial value stored in the storage unit as the estimated value.

9. The alignment device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The storage unit stores an average value of the estimated values ​​in the plurality of masks of the same type, and in the third position adjustment, when the mask is a new mask, the control unit uses the average value as the estimated value.

10. A film forming device, characterized in that: have: The alignment device according to claim 1 or 2; and A film forming unit forms a thin film on a surface of the substrate via the mask in a state where the substrate and the mask are positioned by the alignment device.

11. An alignment method for aligning a substrate and a mask, characterized in that: have: A first step, in which a first position adjustment is performed using a position adjustment mechanism in a state where the substrate and the mask are separated by using a moving mechanism, the moving mechanism moves at least one of the substrate and the mask in a first direction to bring the substrate and the mask closer to or away from each other, and the position adjustment mechanism moves at least one of the substrate and the mask in at least one of a second direction intersecting the first direction and a third direction intersecting the first direction and the second direction to adjust a relative position between the substrate and the mask; a second step, in which, in a state where the substrate and the mask are separated, the position adjustment mechanism is used to perform a second position adjustment with a higher accuracy than the first position adjustment; a third step of performing a third position adjustment using the position adjustment mechanism in a state where the substrate and the mask are separated, the third position adjustment being a position adjustment for offsetting an amount corresponding to an estimated value of a positional deviation that may occur from the start to the completion of a contact operation between the substrate and the mask performed by the moving mechanism; as well as A fourth step, in which the substrate and the mask are brought into contact with each other using the moving mechanism.

12. The alignment method according to claim 11, characterized in that: The alignment method has a fifth step. In the fifth step, when the positional offset between the substrate and the mask exceeds a specified amount when the contact action between the substrate and the mask is completed after the third step, the position adjustment mechanism is used to perform a fourth position adjustment with higher accuracy than the first position adjustment.

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