Mask and preparation method thereof, mask assembly and evaporation equipment

Abstract

The invention provides a mask, a preparation method of the mask, a mask assembly and evaporation equipment. The mask comprises a plurality of first openings arranged in an array and a supporting part defining the first openings, at least one supporting structure is arranged on the supporting face of the supporting part, and one end of the supporting structure is located on one side of the first openings; the other end of the supporting structure is inclined towards the direction far away from the center of the first opening and the direction far away from the supporting surface, so that inclined supporting force can be provided for the supported object by utilizing the inclined supporting structure, and the bad problems of color mixing and the like caused by sagging of the supported object are solved; the inclined supporting force can play a role in stretching the supported object, and the problem of wrinkles on the supported object is solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of display technology, and in particular to a mask plate and a preparation method thereof, a mask plate assembly, and an evaporation device. Background Art

[0002] OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) is gradually replacing liquid crystal display (LCD) due to its advantages such as lightness, self-luminescence, wide viewing angle, fast response speed, low brightness and low power consumption.

[0003] In OLED manufacturing technology, the mask used for vacuum evaporation is a crucial component. In order to reduce the color mixing and other undesirable problems caused by evaporation, the evaporation equipment uses a magnetic field to improve the close bonding between the mask and the substrate to be evaporated, but it still cannot avoid the color mixing and other undesirable problems caused by the sagging of the mask. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of this, the purpose of the present application is to propose a mask and a preparation method thereof, a mask assembly, and an evaporation device to solve or partially solve the above-mentioned problems.

[0005] Based on the above-mentioned purpose, in the first aspect of the present application, a mask plate is provided, comprising a plurality of first openings arranged in an array and a supporting portion defining the plurality of first openings, at least one supporting structure is arranged on a supporting surface of the supporting portion, one end of the supporting structure is located on one side of the first opening, and the other end of the supporting structure extends obliquely in a direction away from the center of the first opening and away from the supporting surface.

[0006] In a second aspect of the present application, a mask assembly is provided, comprising:

[0007] A first mask, wherein the first mask comprises the mask as described in the first aspect;

[0008] A frame, the first mask is fixed on the frame, and the frame includes a first frame and a second frame opposite to each other;

[0009] A plurality of second masks are stacked on the first mask, the plurality of second masks are arranged in sequence along the extending direction of the first frame and the second frame, and two ends of each second mask are respectively fixed on the first frame and the second frame.

[0010] In a third aspect of the present application, a method for preparing a mask is provided, wherein the mask comprises a plurality of first openings arranged in an array and a support portion defining the plurality of first openings, the method comprising:

[0011] At least one supporting structure is formed on the supporting surface of the supporting portion, one end of the supporting structure is located at one side of the first opening, and the other end of the supporting structure extends obliquely away from the center of the first opening and away from the supporting surface.

[0012] From the above description, it can be seen that the present application provides a mask plate and a preparation method thereof, a mask plate assembly, and an evaporation device. The mask plate includes a plurality of first openings arranged in an array and a support portion defining the plurality of first openings, and at least one support structure is provided on the support surface of the support portion, one end of the support structure is located on one side of the first opening, and the other end of the support structure is inclined in a direction away from the center of the first opening and away from the support surface, so that the inclined support structure can be used to provide an inclined support force for the supported object, so that while improving the undesirable problems such as color mixing caused by the drooping of the supported object, the inclined support force can have a stretching effect on the supported object, thereby improving the wrinkle problem on the supported object. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the present application or related technologies, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or related technical descriptions are briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0014] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of an exemplary evaporation device according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0015] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of an exemplary magnetic plate according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0016] Figure 3A A schematic top view of the structure of an exemplary mask assembly according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0017] Figure 3B A schematic diagram of an exemplary second mask according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0018] Figure 4A A schematic structural diagram of an exemplary mask assembly according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0019] Figure 4B A schematic diagram of an exemplary support structure according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0020] Figure 4C A partially enlarged schematic diagram of an exemplary support structure according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0021] Figure 5A A structural schematic diagram of another exemplary support structure according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0022] Figure 5B A schematic structural diagram of another exemplary mask assembly according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0023] Figure 5C A partially enlarged schematic diagram of an exemplary support structure according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0024] Figure 6 A schematic flow chart of an exemplary method for preparing a mask according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present application more clearly understood, the present application is further described in detail below in combination with specific embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0026] It should be noted that, unless otherwise defined, the technical terms or scientific terms used in the embodiments of the present application should be the usual meanings understood by people with ordinary skills in the field to which the present application belongs. The "first", "second" and similar words used in the embodiments of the present application do not represent any order, quantity or importance, but are only used to distinguish different components. "Including" or "comprising" and similar words mean that the elements or objects appearing in front of the word cover the elements or objects listed after the word and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or objects. "Connect" or "connected" and similar words are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, but can include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect. "Up", "down", "left", "right" and the like are only used to indicate relative positional relationships. When the absolute position of the described object changes, the relative positional relationship may also change accordingly.

[0027] In the preparation process of OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) display panels, the organic layer of the display panel is usually made by vacuum evaporation. Vacuum evaporation coating refers to a process in which the film-forming material is heated to evaporate or sublimate under a vacuum environment, and then condensed or deposited on the surface of the substrate to be evaporated at a low temperature through the opening of the evaporation mask (Fine Metal Mask (FMM)) to form a film layer.

[0028] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of an exemplary evaporation device 100 according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0029] like Figure 1As shown, the evaporation device 100 may include a mask assembly 102 and a magnetic plate 104, and the magnetic plate 104 may be composed of one or more magnetic blocks. The substrate 106 to be evaporated is placed between the mask assembly 102 and the magnetic plate 104. The evaporation device 100 may also include a substrate rack 114 for placing the mask assembly 102, the magnetic plate 104 and the substrate 106 to be evaporated.

[0030] The mask assembly 102 may include a supporting mask plate 1022 and an evaporation mask plate 1024 stacked on the supporting mask plate 1022. The evaporation device 100 may also include a pressing plate 110 (Touch Plate). Figure 1 As shown, before evaporation, the evaporation mask plate 1024 needs to be welded on the supporting mask plate 1022 and moved into the evaporation chamber 112, and then the substrate 106 to be evaporated is transported to the evaporation chamber 112 by a robotic arm, and the substrate 106 to be evaporated is pressed down to the mask assembly 102 by pressing the pressing plate 110 from above.

[0031] During evaporation, the magnetic plate 104 can generate a magnetic field, so that the evaporation mask in the mask assembly 102 is adsorbed along the direction A onto the substrate 106 to be evaporated.

[0032] The magnetic plate 104 is usually a permanent magnet in the shape of a strip or a block. Under the action of the magnetic force of the magnetic plate 104, the evaporation mask 1024 is adsorbed and moved upward (along direction A), so that the evaporation mask 1024 and the substrate to be evaporated 106 fit tightly, avoiding the formation of gaps or spaces between the evaporation mask 1024 and the substrate to be evaporated 106, so as to avoid the formation of shadows at the locations where gaps or spaces exist during evaporation.

[0033] The evaporation device 100 may further include an evaporation source 108, on which the evaporation material is disposed, and the evaporation material is heated by the evaporation source 108, so that the atoms or molecules of the evaporation material are vaporized from the surface to form a vapor flow, which is incident on the surface of the substrate 106 to be evaporated, and condensed to form a solid film. It can be understood that Figure 1 It only exemplarily shows several important mechanisms in the evaporation equipment and does not constitute a limitation of the embodiments of the present application.

[0034] By adjusting the distance between the magnetic plate 104 and the vapor deposition mask 1024 , the magnetic force of the magnetic plate 104 on the vapor deposition mask 1024 can be controlled.

[0035] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of an exemplary magnetic plate 104 according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0036] like Figure 2As shown, the magnetic plate 104 can be composed of a plurality of strip-shaped magnetic blocks 1042. The magnetic force of each strip-shaped magnetic block 1042 is different and the intervals 1044 between adjacent strip-shaped magnetic blocks 1042 are different, which results in uneven distribution of magnetic force at various locations on the magnetic plate 104. Even if the magnetic plate 104 is made of a whole piece of magnetic block, the magnetic force on the magnetic plate 104 is still unevenly distributed.

[0037] Since the magnetic force on the magnetic plate 104 is unevenly distributed, the center of the vapor deposition mask 1024 adsorbed on the magnetic plate 104 will sag to a certain extent under the action of gravity.

[0038] The magnetic plate 104 may correspond to a plurality of substrates 106 to be evaporated of different sizes. As described above, the magnetic force on the magnetic plate 104 is unevenly distributed. For a substrate to be evaporated with a smaller size, it may correspond to an area of ​​the magnetic plate 104 where the magnetic force is weaker. In this case, due to the weak magnetic force in this area and insufficient adsorption force, a gap will be generated between the second mask corresponding to the substrate to be evaporated with a smaller size and the substrate to be evaporated, and a shadow will be generated at the position where the gap is generated after evaporation.

[0039] In order to at least solve the above problems, the present application provides a mask plate and a preparation method thereof, a mask plate assembly, and an evaporation device. The mask plate includes a plurality of first openings arranged in an array and a support portion defining the plurality of first openings, and at least one support structure is provided on the support surface of the support portion, one end of the support structure is located on one side of the first opening, and the other end of the support structure is inclined in a direction away from the center of the first opening and away from the support surface, so that the inclined support structure can be used to provide an inclined support force for the supported object, so that while improving the undesirable problems such as color mixing caused by the drooping of the supported object, the inclined support force can have a stretching effect on the supported object, thereby improving the wrinkle problem on the supported object.

[0040] Figure 3A A schematic top view of an exemplary mask assembly 102 according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. Figure 3B FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary second mask 1024 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0041] like Figure 3AAs shown, the mask assembly 102 may include a frame 202, a first mask 1022 (e.g., a supporting mask), and a second mask 1024 (e.g., a vapor deposition mask) stacked on the first mask 1022. The first mask 1022 is fixed to the frame 202, and the frame 202 may include a first frame 2022 and a second frame 2024 relative to each other, and a third frame 2026 and a fourth frame 2028 relative to each other, wherein the grippers 204 (gripper) at the edges of the first mask 1022 may be welded to the frame of the frame 202 to fix the first mask 1022 to the frame 202. The first mask 1022 may be used to support the second mask 1024 and define a plurality of vapor deposition areas (display areas) of the substrate 106 to be vapor deposited through a plurality of first openings.

[0042] The second mask 1024 may be in the shape of a long strip, including two opposite long sides 206 extending along the first direction X and two opposite short sides 208 extending along the second direction Y. A plurality of second masks 1024 are arranged in sequence along the direction in which the first frame 2022 and the second frame 2024 extend, and both ends (i.e., two opposite short sides 208) of each second mask 1024 may be fixed to the first frame 2022 and the second frame 2024, respectively. In some embodiments, the support structure 302 of the first mask 1022 may provide the second mask 1024 with a support force away from the first mask 1022 along the inclined direction of the support structure 302, so as to avoid the second mask 1024 from sagging, thereby avoiding the undesirable problems such as color mixing caused by sagging. At the same time, the inclined support force provided along the inclined direction may also stretch the second mask 1024, so as to prevent the second mask 1024 from wrinkling.

[0043] The first mask 1022 may include a plurality of first openings arranged in an array, and the second mask 1024 may include a plurality of second openings 210, and the plurality of second openings 210 correspond one to one to the plurality of first openings of the first mask 1022. The second mask 1024 may include a first edge 2062 and a second edge 2064 opposite to each other. In some embodiments, the third side 3022 and the fourth side 3024 of the support structure 302 of the first mask 1022 may contact the first edge 2062 and the second edge 2064. The support structure 302 contacts the edge of the second mask 1024, so that the two long sides 206 of the second mask 1024 can be stretched along the direction Y and the direction Y', respectively, as shown in FIG. Figure 3B shown.

[0044] like Figure 3A As shown, in some embodiments, the first mask 1022 may further include a support portion 402 defining a plurality of first openings, and at least one support structure 302 may be disposed on a support surface of the support portion 402 .

[0045] Figure 4A FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an exemplary mask assembly 102 according to an embodiment of the present application. The mask plate 400 in the mask assembly 102 may be a first mask plate 1022 .

[0046] like Figure 4A As shown, in some embodiments, at least one support structure 302 may be disposed on the support surface 4022 of the support portion 402, one end of the support structure 302 is located at one side of the first opening 404, and the other end of the support structure 302 extends obliquely in a direction away from the center 4042 of the first opening 404 and away from the support surface 4022. In this way, the support structure 302 may provide an oblique support force for the second mask 1024, and the oblique support force may stretch the second mask 1024 to prevent wrinkles on the second mask 1024 while avoiding color mixing and other undesirable problems caused by the drooping of the supported object (e.g., the second mask 1024).

[0047] Figure 4B FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary support structure 302 according to an embodiment of the present application. Figure 4A The cross-sectional view of the support structure 302 shown may be along Figure 4B Schematic diagram of the cross section obtained by cutting along the AA' direction.

[0048] like Figure 4B As shown, in some embodiments, the shape of the support structure 302 can match the shape of the first opening 404, and the support structure 302 can include a first side 3022 and a second side 3024 opposite to each other and a third side 3026 and a fourth side 3028 opposite to each other, and the first side 3022, the third side 3026, the second side 3024 and the fourth side 3028 are sequentially connected and the connection has a chamfer 406. The support structure 302 that matches the shape of the first opening 404 can make the force around the first opening 404 uniform.

[0049] Back to Figure 4A In some embodiments, a thickness a of the support portion 402 along a direction perpendicular to the mask plate 400 (for example, along direction B) may be greater than or equal to a thickness b of at least one support structure 302 along a direction perpendicular to the mask plate 400 , so that the support portion 402 provides a stable base for the support structure 302 .

[0050] As described above, the other end of the support structure 302 extends obliquely in a direction away from the center 4042 of the first opening 404 and away from the support surface 4022, and a too small inclination angle of the support structure 302 is too small to provide an effective oblique support force, and a too large inclination angle makes the support structure 302 easy to break under the adsorption force of the magnetic plate 104 or the gravity of the substrate to be evaporated 106. In view of this, in some embodiments, the inclination angle of the support structure 302 can be 50 degrees to 70 degrees to ensure that the support structure 302 provides an effective, oblique support force on the basis of being not easy to break and being stable.

[0051] like Figure 4A As shown, the number of support structures 302 can be adjusted according to the size of the display panel and the spacing between the plurality of first openings 404. In some embodiments, at least one support structure 302 may include two or more support structures 302, and the two or more support structures 302 may be arranged sequentially with the center 4042 of the first opening 404 as the center and concentrically away from the center 4042 of the first opening 404. In this way, the two or more support structures 302 can provide more support force around the first opening 404, which is more conducive to the stretching of the second mask 1024.

[0052] Figure 4C A partially enlarged schematic diagram of an exemplary support structure 302 according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0053] Combination Figure 4A and Figure 4C In some embodiments, the cross-section of the two or more support structures 302 along the direction perpendicular to the mask (eg Figure 4A The support structure 302 can be formed by processing the mask 400 through an etching process or a laser process, wherein the etching process may include steps such as pre-treatment, lamination, exposure, development, etching and film stripping. Since multiple support structures 302 with equal width H1 do not need to adjust the width multiple times, the formation process is more convenient.

[0054] Combination Figure 4A and Figure 4C In some embodiments, there is a gap 408 between adjacent support structures 302, and the gap 408 is perpendicular to the cross section of the mask 400 (eg Figure 4A The width H2 of the support structure 302 on both sides thereof is smaller than the cross-section (as shown in FIG. Figure 4AIn this way, the width H1 of the support structure 302 is greater than or equal to the width H2 of the gap 408 to ensure that the support structure 302 has a high stability. At the same time, the wider support structure 302 can have a larger contact area with the second mask 1024, and the larger contact area is more conducive to the stretching of the second mask 1024.

[0055] Combination Figure 4A and Figure 4C In some embodiments, the two or more support structures 302 may include a first support structure 3022, a second support structure 3024, and a third support structure 3026. The first support structure 3022, the second support structure 3024, and the third support structure 3026 are concentrically arranged in sequence in a direction away from the center 4042 of the first opening 404. A first gap 4082 is formed between the first support structure 3022 and the second support structure 3024. A second gap 4084 may be formed between the second support structure 3024 and the third support structure 3026. The first gap 4082 and the second gap 4084 are perpendicular to the cross section of the mask 400 (e.g., Figure 4A The plurality of gaps 408 with the same width H2 do not need to be adjusted multiple times, which is more convenient in the formation process.

[0056] like Figure 4A As shown, in some embodiments, the depth H3 of the first gap 4082 or the second gap 4084 along the inclined direction of the support structure 302 can be 50 microns to 60 microns to ensure that the support portion 402 has sufficient thickness to provide a stable base for the support structure 302.

[0057] like Figure 4A As shown, in some embodiments, the sum of the thicknesses of the support portion 402 and the support structure 302 along the direction perpendicular to the mask 400 (for example, the sum of the thickness a and the thickness b) is 100 microns to 200 microns, and the height H4 of the support structure 302 along its inclined direction is 50 microns to 60 microns, so as to ensure that the support portion 402 has sufficient thickness and provide a stable base for the support structure 302. At the same time, the height H4 of the support structure 302 is prevented from being too large and being easily broken under the adsorption force of the magnetic plate 104 and the gravity of the substrate 106 to be evaporated.

[0058] In some embodiments, the support portion 402 and at least one support structure 302 are made of Invar alloy. The support structure 302 made of Invar alloy can have good mechanical properties and a low thermal expansion coefficient.

[0059] Figure 5A A schematic structural diagram of another exemplary support structure 302 according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0060] During the evaporation, evaporation can be performed on a plurality of substrates 106 to be evaporated with different sizes. Figure 5A As shown, in some embodiments, the widths of the two or more support structures 302 may also be increased in a direction away from the center of the first opening 404. The widths of the two or more support structures 302 are increased, and the oblique support force on the support structures 302 may also be increased in a direction away from the center of the first opening 404, so that during the adsorption process of the second mask 1024, the second mask 1024 may be gradually unfolded in a direction away from the center of the first opening 404, thereby avoiding the problem of sagging of the second mask 1024 and solving the problem of color mixing at the edge of the display panel caused by sagging.

[0061] Figure 5B FIG. 1 shows a schematic structural diagram of another exemplary mask assembly 102 according to an embodiment of the present application. For example, Figure 5B The cross-sectional view of the support structure 302 shown may be along Figure 5A Schematic diagram of the cross section obtained by cutting along the CC' direction.

[0062] Figure 5C A partially enlarged schematic diagram of an exemplary support structure 302 according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0063] Combination Figure 5B and Figure 5C In some embodiments, the cross-section of the two or more support structures 302 along the direction perpendicular to the mask (eg Figure 5B The width of the support structure 302 increases in a direction away from the center of the first opening, for example, width H5<width H6<width H7. The support structure 302 with increasing width can make the second mask 1024 gradually expand in a direction away from the center of the first opening 404, thereby avoiding the problem of sagging of the second mask 1024 and solving the problem of color mixing at the edge of the display panel caused by sagging.

[0064] Figure 6 FIG. 6 is a flow chart of a method 600 for preparing an exemplary mask according to an embodiment of the present application. The mask may include a plurality of first openings arranged in an array and a support portion (eg, Figure 3A The preparation method 600 may include the following steps.

[0065] In step 602, on the support surface (e.g., Figure 4A At least one support structure (e.g., Figure 4A The support structure 302 in the embodiment of the present invention has one end located at the first opening (for example, Figure 4AThe other end of the support structure is away from the center of the first opening (eg, Figure 4A The support structure extends obliquely in the direction of the center 4042 of the first opening 404 in the center and away from the support surface. In this way, the support structure can provide an oblique support force for the second mask. The oblique support force can stretch the second mask to prevent wrinkles on the second mask while avoiding color mixing and other undesirable problems caused by the drooping of the supported object (for example, the second mask).

[0066] In some embodiments, the shape of the support structure matches the shape of the first opening, and the support structure includes opposite first sides (eg, Figure 4B The first side 3022 and the second side (eg, Figure 4B 3024) and an opposite third side (e.g., Figure 4B 3026) and the fourth side (eg, Figure 4B The preparation method 600 may further include: sequentially connecting the first side, the third side, the second side, and the fourth side and forming a chamfer at the connection (for example, Figure 4B The support structure that matches the shape of the first opening can make the force around the first opening uniform.

[0067] In some embodiments, the thickness of the support portion along a direction perpendicular to the mask (eg, Figure 4A The thickness a) is greater than or equal to the thickness of the at least one support structure along a direction perpendicular to the mask (for example, Figure 4A The thickness b) in the support portion is such that the support portion provides a stable base for the support structure.

[0068] In some embodiments, the inclination angle of the support structure is 50 degrees to 70 degrees to ensure that the support structure provides effective, inclined supporting force on a stable and non-breakable basis.

[0069] In some embodiments, the at least one supporting structure includes two or more supporting structures; the two or more supporting structures are all centered on the center of the first opening and are arranged concentrically in a direction away from the center of the first opening. In this way, the two or more supporting structures can provide more supporting force around the first opening, which is more conducive to the stretching of the second mask.

[0070] In some embodiments, the cross-section of the two or more support structures along a direction perpendicular to the mask (e.g., Figure 4A The width of the cross section shown (e.g. Figure 4A and Figure 4Cor, the cross-sectional widths of the two or more support structures along a direction perpendicular to the mask (eg, Figure 5B and Figure 5C The widths H5, H6, and H7 in the first opening are increased in a direction away from the center of the first opening. Since multiple support structures with equal widths do not need to be adjusted multiple times, the formation process is more convenient. The support structures with increasing widths can make the second mask gradually expand in a direction away from the center of the first opening, avoiding the problem of the second mask sagging and solving the problem of color mixing at the edge of the display panel caused by sagging.

[0071] In some embodiments, there are gaps between adjacent support structures (e.g., Figure 4A and Figure 4C The gap 408 in the middle), the cross-sectional width of the gap along the direction perpendicular to the mask (eg, Figure 4A and Figure 4C The width H1 in the middle is smaller than the cross-sectional width of the support structures on both sides thereof along the direction perpendicular to the mask (for example, Figure 4A and Figure 4C In this way, the width of the support structure is greater than or equal to the width of the gap to ensure that the support structure has high stability. At the same time, the wider support structure can have a larger contact area with the second mask, and the larger contact area is more conducive to the stretching of the second mask.

[0072] In some embodiments, the two or more support structures include a first support structure (e.g., Figure 4A and Figure 4C The first support structure 3022 in the embodiment of the present invention), the second support structure (for example, Figure 4A and Figure 4C The second support structure 3024) and the third support structure (e.g., Figure 4A and Figure 4C The first support structure, the second support structure and the third support structure are arranged concentrically in sequence in a direction away from the center of the first opening, and a first gap (for example, Figure 4A and Figure 4C A first gap 4082 is formed between the second support structure and the third support structure, and a second gap (for example, Figure 4A and Figure 4C The first gap and the second gap have a cross-sectional width (eg, Figure 4A and Figure 4C and / or the depth of the first gap or the second gap along the inclined direction of the support structure (eg, Figure 4A The depth H3 in the middle is 50 microns to 60 microns to ensure that the support portion has sufficient thickness to provide a stable base for the support structure. Multiple gaps with equal widths do not need to be adjusted multiple times, which is more convenient in the formation process.

[0073] In some embodiments, the sum of the thicknesses of the support portion and the support structure along a direction perpendicular to the mask (eg, the sum of thickness a and thickness b) is 100 μm to 200 μm, and the height of the support structure along its inclined direction (eg, Figure 4A The height H4) in the support is 50 microns to 60 microns to ensure that the support portion has sufficient thickness and provides a stable base for the support structure. At the same time, it is prevented that the support structure is too high and is easy to break under the adsorption force of the magnetic plate and the gravity of the substrate to be evaporated. And / or, the support portion and the at least one support structure are made of Invar alloy. The support structure made of Invar alloy can have good mechanical properties and a low thermal expansion coefficient.

[0074] The present application provides a mask plate and a preparation method thereof, a mask plate assembly, and an evaporation device. The mask plate includes a plurality of first openings arranged in an array and a support portion defining the plurality of first openings, and at least one support structure is provided on the support surface of the support portion, one end of the support structure is located on one side of the first opening, and the other end of the support structure is inclined in a direction away from the center of the first opening and away from the support surface, so that the inclined support structure can be used to provide an inclined support force for a supported object, so that while improving the undesirable problems such as color mixing caused by the drooping of the supported object, the inclined support force can have a stretching effect on the supported object, thereby improving the wrinkle problem on the supported object.

[0075] Those skilled in the art should understand that the discussion of any of the above embodiments is merely illustrative and is not intended to imply that the scope of the present application (including the claims) is limited to these examples. In line with the concept of the present application, the technical features in the above embodiments or different embodiments may be combined, the steps may be implemented in any order, and there are many other variations of the different aspects of the embodiments of the present application as described above, which are not provided in detail for the sake of simplicity.

[0076] In addition, to simplify the description and discussion, and in order not to make the embodiments of the present application difficult to understand, the known power supply / ground connection with the integrated circuit (IC) chip and other components may or may not be shown in the provided drawings. In addition, the device can be shown in the form of a block diagram to avoid making the embodiments of the present application difficult to understand, and this also takes into account the fact that the details of the implementation of these block diagram devices are highly dependent on the platform to be implemented in the embodiments of the present application (that is, these details should be fully within the scope of understanding of those skilled in the art). In the case of elaborating specific details (e.g., circuits) to describe exemplary embodiments of the present application, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that the embodiments of the present application can be implemented without these specific details or when these specific details are changed. Therefore, these descriptions should be considered to be illustrative rather than restrictive.

[0077] Although the present application has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments of the present application, many replacements, modifications and variations of these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description. For example, other memory architectures (e.g., dynamic RAM (DRAM)) may use the embodiments discussed.

[0078] The embodiments of the present application are intended to cover all such substitutions, modifications and variations that fall within the broad scope of the appended claims. Therefore, any omissions, modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the embodiments of the present application should be included in the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A mask plate, comprising a plurality of first openings arranged in an array and a support portion defining the plurality of first openings, wherein at least one support structure is arranged on a support surface of the support portion, one end of the support structure is located on one side of the first opening, and the other end of the support structure extends obliquely in a direction away from the center of the first opening and away from the support surface.

2. The mask according to claim 1, wherein: The shape of the support structure matches the shape of the first opening, and the support structure includes a first side and a second side opposite to each other and a third side and a fourth side opposite to each other, wherein the first side, the third side, the second side and the fourth side are sequentially connected and the connection portions have chamfers.

3. The mask according to claim 1, wherein: A thickness of the support portion along a direction perpendicular to the mask is greater than or equal to a thickness of the at least one support structure along a direction perpendicular to the mask.

4. The mask according to claim 1, wherein: The inclination angle of the support structure is 50 degrees to 70 degrees.

5. The mask according to claim 1, wherein: The at least one supporting structure includes two or more supporting structures; the two or more supporting structures are all centered on the center of the first opening and are concentrically arranged in sequence along a direction away from the center of the first opening.

6. The mask according to claim 5, wherein: The cross-sectional widths of the two or more support structures along the direction perpendicular to the mask are equal; or, the cross-sectional widths of the two or more support structures along the direction perpendicular to the mask increase gradually in a direction away from the center of the first opening.

7. The mask according to claim 5, wherein: There is a gap between adjacent support structures, and the cross-sectional width of the gap along the direction perpendicular to the mask is smaller than the cross-sectional width of the support structures located on both sides of the gap along the direction perpendicular to the mask.

8. The mask according to claim 5, wherein: The two or more support structures include a first support structure, a second support structure and a third support structure, wherein the first support structure, the second support structure and the third support structure are concentrically arranged in sequence in a direction away from the center of the first opening, a first gap is formed between the first support structure and the second support structure, a second gap is formed between the second support structure and the third support structure, and the first gap and the second gap have equal cross-sectional widths in a direction perpendicular to the mask; And / or, a depth of the first gap or the second gap along the inclined direction of the support structure is 50 micrometers to 60 micrometers.

9. The mask according to claim 2, wherein: The sum of the thicknesses of the support portion and the support structure along a direction perpendicular to the mask is 100 to 200 microns, and the height of the support structure along its inclined direction is 50 to 60 microns; and / or, the support portion and at least one of the support structures are made of Invar alloy.

10. A mask assembly, comprising: A first mask, wherein the first mask comprises the mask according to any one of claims 1 to 9; A frame, the first mask is fixed on the frame, and the frame includes a first frame and a second frame opposite to each other; A plurality of second masks stacked on the first mask, the plurality of second masks are arranged in sequence along the direction in which the first frame and the second frame extend, and two ends of each of the second masks are fixed on the first frame and the second frame respectively; The support structure of the first mask provides a support force for the second mask along an inclined direction of the support structure away from the first mask.

11. The mask assembly according to claim 10, wherein: The second mask includes a plurality of second openings, and the plurality of second openings correspond one-to-one to the plurality of first openings of the first mask; The second mask includes a first edge and a second edge opposite to each other, and a third side and a fourth side of the support structure of the first mask are in contact with the first edge and the second edge.

12. An evaporation device, comprising the mask assembly according to claim 10 or 11.

13. A method for preparing a mask, the mask comprising a plurality of first openings arranged in an array and a support portion defining the plurality of first openings, the method comprising: At least one supporting structure is formed on the supporting surface of the supporting portion, one end of the supporting structure is located at one side of the first opening, and the other end of the supporting structure extends obliquely away from the center of the first opening and away from the supporting surface.

14. The preparation method according to claim 13, wherein: The shape of the support structure matches the shape of the first opening, the support structure comprises a first side and a second side opposite to each other and a third side and a fourth side opposite to each other, and the preparation method further comprises: The first side, the third side, the second side and the fourth side are sequentially connected and chamfers are formed at the connection points.

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