Vacuum evaporation device

Abstract

A vacuum deposition apparatus (DM) is provided with: a plurality of deposition boats (1) arranged at intervals in the Y-axis direction within a vacuum chamber (Vc1); and a material supply unit (MF) that supplies a linear deposition material (Em) to cavities (11) of the deposition boats from above; a large amount of deposition material can be wound on cores (3) of the material supply unit in advance, and the deposition materials simultaneously fed from the cores do not interfere with each other when the deposition materials are supplied to the deposition boats. A row of the cores arranged at intervals in the Y-axis direction is referred to as a core row, and there is a first core row (31) and a second core row (32) that is longer than the first core row in terms of distance from an end of the X-axis direction of the deposition boats, the cores of the first core row and the cores of the second core row are alternately arranged in the Y-axis direction, and the cores of the second core row are positioned higher than the cores of the first core row.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a vacuum vapor deposition apparatus for vapor deposition of a material in a vacuum chamber. Background Technology

[0002] Such a vacuum evaporation apparatus is used, for example, to form thin films such as aluminum or copper films on the surface of a substrate or sheet-like material to be evaporated. As the evaporation source for the vacuum evaporation apparatus, a evaporation source using an evaporation boat is generally known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Taking two horizontally orthogonal directions as the X-axis and Y-axis directions, the evaporation boat has a boat body with its long side in the X-axis direction, and a cavity is recessed on the upper surface of the boat body. Furthermore, an electrode unit provided in the vacuum chamber holds the evaporation boat via electrode mounting portions extending forward and backward in the X-axis direction of the cavity. A material supply unit is also provided in the vacuum chamber for supplying linear evaporation material to the cavity of the evaporation boat from above. As the evaporation material, a metal such as aluminum or copper with a purity corresponding to the quality of the film to be formed, shaped into an outer diameter of Φ1mm to Φ5mm, is used.

[0003] A typical material supply unit includes a core (winding tube) pre-wound with a linear vapor deposition material and a delivery mechanism for feeding the vapor deposition material wound on the core. When vapor deposition is performed on an object in a vacuum chamber under a vacuum atmosphere, a vapor deposition vessel is heated by Joule heating by energizing the two electrode mounting sections. In this state, the linear vapor deposition material is fed from the core by the delivery mechanism, supplying the delivered vapor deposition material to the cavity from above. Thus, the vapor deposition material melts and wets within the cavity, and the wetted and expanded material evaporates and is deposited onto the object being vapor-deposited.

[0004] Here, when the substrate to be vapor-deposited is a relatively wide sheet, multiple vapor deposition boats are arranged side-by-side along the Y-axis in a vacuum chamber to form a film on one surface of the sheet substrate. The number of vapor deposition boats is determined by taking into account the film formation rate on the substrate surface or the film thickness distribution along the width of the substrate. To improve both the film formation rate and the uniformity of the film thickness distribution, it is advantageous to minimize the gap between adjacent vapor deposition boats along the Y-axis. The material supply unit also only has the number of each vapor deposition boat, but in order to form a film on the sheet substrate for a long time, it is required that a large amount of vapor deposition material (e.g., 10 kg) be pre-wound on each core of each material supply unit. Furthermore, when supplying vapor deposition material to each vapor deposition boat separately, it is required that the vapor deposition material fed simultaneously from each core does not interfere with each other.

[0005] Existing technical documents Patent documents [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent No. 7404582 Summary of the Invention The technical problem that the invention aims to solve In view of the above, the technical problem of the present invention is to provide a vacuum evaporation apparatus that can pre-wind a large amount of linear evaporation material on each core, and when supplying evaporation material to each evaporation vessel, the evaporation materials delivered simultaneously from each core do not interfere with each other, and can smoothly supply evaporation material to the cavities of each evaporation vessel arranged in parallel with small gaps.

[0006] Problem-solving methods The vacuum vapor deposition apparatus of the present invention, used for vapor deposition of a material in a vacuum chamber, comprises: a plurality of vapor deposition boats spaced apart along the Y-axis in a vacuum chamber, with two horizontally orthogonal directions designated as the X-axis and Y-axis; a material supply unit disposed on one side of each vapor deposition boat along the X-axis and supplying linear vapor deposition material to the cavity of each vapor deposition boat from above; each material supply unit having a core pre-wound with vapor deposition material; and a delivery mechanism for discharging the vapor deposition material wound on the core; characterized in that a column of cores spaced apart along the Y-axis is designated as a core column, having a first core column and a second core column longer than the first core column at a distance from one end of the vapor deposition boat along the X-axis, the cores of the first core column and the cores of the second core column being alternately arranged along the Y-axis, and the cores of the second core column being positioned higher than the first core column.

[0007] According to the present invention, by employing a so-called staggered arrangement of the cores of the first core column and the cores of the second core column alternately arranged in the Y-axis direction, compared with the case where multiple cores are arranged side by side in a single column, the portion on each core of the first and second core columns that can be pre-wound with vapor deposition material can be lengthened, thereby increasing the amount of vapor deposition material that can be pre-wound. Furthermore, since the cores of the second core column, which are farther from the vapor deposition vessel, are located higher, the undesirable situation of vapor deposition material extracted from each core of the second core column interfering with the cores of the first core column (cores wound with linear vapor deposition material) located in front of them is avoided. Additionally, it is preferable to pre-position each core of the second core column further away from the cores of the first core column in the X-axis direction, but this is not a limitation if the weight of vapor deposition material wound on the cores is small. Thus, it is possible to smoothly supply material to the cavities of the vapor deposition vessels arranged side by side with small gaps.

[0008] However, since the linear vapor-deposited material is a consumable, it needs to be replenished periodically. In this case, after the vapor-deposited material pre-wound onto each core is used up, the empty core is removed, and a new core pre-wound with vapor-deposited material is installed (hereinafter referred to as a "multi-wound body"), resulting in good productivity. On the other hand, since the multi-wound body sometimes weighs around 10 kg, good workability for replacement is required. In this invention, a structure can be adopted as follows: multiple supports are vertically arranged along the Y-axis in a vacuum chamber, and a receiving recess is formed on each support, recessed downwards from its upper end to receive a portion of the core. A portion of the core is inserted into the receiving recess from above, thereby rotatably supporting the core. Thus, the installation of the multi-wound body and the removal of empty cores from the supports can be easily performed simply by inserting and removing them from the supports in the vertical direction, which is particularly advantageous when multiple cores need to be replaced simultaneously due to a large number of vapor-deposited vessels arranged in a row. Moreover, when the vapor-deposited material wound on the core is delivered through the delivery mechanism, no adverse conditions will occur that hinder its operation.

[0009] In this invention, if one of the support arms formed on both sides of the receiving recess in the X-axis direction extends higher than the other, when the empty winding core is removed, lifting the winding core along one support arm past the upper end of the other support arm, and simply moving the winding core forward, the winding core can be detached from the support body. On the other hand, when the multi-wound body is mounted on the support body, the winding core is brought into contact with one support arm at a position higher than the upper end of the other support arm. When it slides downward in this state, the winding core is inserted into the receiving recess from above and is cantilevered and freely rotated in its proper position. This makes the installation of the multi-wound body, especially as a heavy object, easier, thereby improving its changeover efficiency. To further improve changeover efficiency, a support platform with each support body can be configured to move freely forward and backward relative to the vacuum chamber.

[0010] Furthermore, in this invention, the following structure can also be adopted: the position within the cavity where the front end of the vapor deposition material abuts during supply is used as the landing position; a guide tube, through which a portion of the linear vapor deposition material passes, is located above the vapor deposition vessel and between the landing position and the core, and is arranged in a curved, upward-convex arc shape. According to this invention, if the vapor deposition material is pre-wound onto the core, depending on the type of vapor deposition material, so-called winding creases (bending creases) will be generated. However, without correcting the winding creases remaining in the vapor deposition material, the guide tube, which is curved into an arc shape, is used to supply the front end of the inserted vapor deposition material to the cavity. Thus, before the vapor deposition material pre-wound onto the core is used up, the vapor deposition material is stably supplied to the landing position, thereby enabling film formation on the object to be vapor-deposited at a stable vapor deposition rate. Attached Figure Description

[0011] Figure 1 This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a vacuum evaporation apparatus equipped with a material supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] Figure 2 It is along Figure 1 A sectional view along line II-II.

[0013] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 A partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the material supply device shown.

[0014] Figure 4 It is along Figure 2 A cross-sectional view along line IV-IV. Detailed Implementation

[0015] Hereinafter, referring to the accompanying drawings, an example will be given of a sheet-like substrate Sw being used as the object to be vaporized. A linear vapor deposition material Em is continuously supplied and evaporated within a vacuum chamber under a vacuum atmosphere, and a predetermined thin film is continuously vapor-deposited (film formed) on one side of the substrate Sw. Embodiments of the material supply device MF and the vacuum vapor deposition apparatus DM, which includes the material supply device MF within the vacuum chamber, will be described. Hereinafter, the X-axis and Y-axis are defined as two horizontally orthogonal directions. Furthermore, the roller mentioned later is housed within the vacuum chamber with its axial direction aligned with the Y-axis direction. The upper and lower directions are shown in the arrangement of the vacuum vapor deposition apparatus DM. Figure 1 Based on.

[0016] Reference Figure 1 The vacuum evaporation apparatus DM of this embodiment includes: a film-forming chamber Vc1 serving as the center of a vacuum chamber; and first and second receiving chambers Vc2 and Vc3 respectively connected front and rear along the X-axis direction of the film-forming chamber Vc1. Although not specifically illustrated, exhaust pipes from a vacuum pump unit consisting of a cryogenic pump, rotary pump, etc., are connected to the film-forming chamber Vc1 and each receiving chamber Vc2 and Vc3, respectively, enabling the creation of a vacuum atmosphere (when forming a film using the vacuum evaporation method, the atmosphere inside the film-forming chamber Vc1 can be maintained at 1×10⁻⁶). -2 Pa ~ 5 × 10 -4(Within the pressure range of Pa). Through-holes h1 to h4, allowing sheet-like substrate Sw to pass through, are respectively provided on the side walls of the film-forming chamber Vc1 and each of the receiving chambers Vc2 and Vc3, which are opposite each other in the X-axis direction. A load-locking valve Lv is provided in the gap between the side walls of the film-forming chamber Vc1 and each of the receiving chambers Vc2 and Vc3, in a manner that covers the portion of the sheet-like substrate Sw passing through the gap. Thus, the sheet-like substrate Sw can be continuously transported in a vacuum atmosphere, while simultaneously isolating the film-forming chamber Vc1 from each of the receiving chambers Vc2 and Vc3. A known product can be used as the load-locking valve Lv for use in this vacuum evaporation apparatus DM, therefore, detailed description is omitted here.

[0017] Located on the front side in the X-axis direction ( Figure 1 In the first receiving chamber Vc2 (left side in the middle), a feed roller Wr is installed, on which a sheet-like substrate Sw, unwound for film formation, is wound. This roller is driven to rotate by a motor M1 located outside the first receiving chamber Vc2. Located on the rear side in the X-axis direction (… Figure 1 In the second receiving chamber Vc3 (right side in the middle), a roll-out roller Ur is provided for winding out the sheet-like substrate Sw that has been film-formed, and is driven to rotate by a motor M2 located outside the second receiving chamber Vc3. In the first and second receiving chambers Vc2 and Vc3, guide rollers Gr are appropriately provided to guide the substrate Sw fed from the feed roller Wr into the film-forming chamber Vc1, and to guide the film-formed substrate Sw from the film-forming chamber Vc1 to the roll-out roller Ur. A roller Cr is provided in the film-forming chamber Vc1, and is driven to rotate by a motor M3 located outside the film-forming chamber Vc1. The roller Cr is a known product in which the sheet-like substrate Sw is cooled during its winding and rotation. A guide roller Gr for guiding the sheet-like substrate Sw is also appropriately provided in the film-forming chamber Vc1. Furthermore, in order to form a film on the portion of the substrate Sw that is wound on the roller Cr, a vapor deposition source Ds is placed directly below the roller Cr in the film formation chamber Vc1.

[0018] Reference Figure 2 and Figure 3The vapor deposition source Ds has a ceramic vapor deposition vessel 1 with its long side along the X-axis. Multiple vapor deposition vessels 1 are arranged side-by-side at equal intervals along the Y-axis. Each vapor deposition vessel 1 has a vessel body, which is a plate-shaped component of a specified thickness. A cavity 11 with a flat inner bottom surface is recessed in the center of the upper surface of the vessel body. The portions of the vessel body extending to both sides of the cavity 11 along the X-axis constitute electrode mounting plates 12, 12. Each vapor deposition vessel 1 is made from a raw material containing boron nitride (BN) and titanium boride (TiB2) with added conductivity as the main components, sintered in a specified weight ratio. A tray 13 is arranged in the space below each vapor deposition vessel 1 arranged along the Y-axis to receive the vapor deposition material Em overflowing from the vapor deposition vessel 1. Each vapor deposition vessel 1 is held by an electrode unit 2 via two electrode mounting plates 12, 12.

[0019] Electrode unit 2 has a first electrode and a second electrode spaced apart in the X-axis direction, and is mounted on a support platform 21 disposed on the inner bottom surface of the film-forming chamber Vc1. In this embodiment, a movable electrode 22 that can move freely back and forth in the X-axis direction serves as the first electrode holding the electrode mounting portion 12 on the rear side of the vapor deposition boat 1 in the X-axis direction, and a fixed electrode 23 fixed to the film-forming chamber Vc1 serves as the second electrode holding the other electrode mounting portion 12. Furthermore, each vapor deposition boat 1 is held between the fixed electrode 23 and the movable electrode 22 by applying a pressing force towards the fixed electrode 23 in the X-axis direction. The fixed electrode 23 is integrally formed and is composed of a prism-shaped member with its long side in the Y-axis direction made of a conductive material such as copper. The grounded fixed electrode 23 is supported at a predetermined height above the inner bottom surface of the film-forming chamber Vc1 by a support column 21a erected on the support platform 21. A boat support portion 23a protruding rearward in the X-axis direction is formed on the inner side of the fixed electrode 23. When the vapor deposition boat 1 is placed from above, it is supported on the lower surface of the electrode mounting portion 12, thereby supporting the vapor deposition boat 1.

[0020] Multiple movable electrodes 22 are arranged side-by-side in the Y-axis direction, each independently holding one side of the electrode mounting portion 12 of each vapor deposition boat 1. Each movable electrode 22, like the fixed electrode 23, is made of a conductive material such as copper, and has a boat support portion 22a protruding forward in the X-axis direction formed on its inner surface. Each movable electrode 22 is provided with a retraction mechanism (not shown) for moving it forward and backward in the X-axis direction. A known mechanism can be used as such a retraction mechanism, so further explanation is omitted. Each movable electrode 22 also has a terminal portion 22b extending in the vertical direction, to which an electrode cable Pk from a known DC power supply (not shown) is connected. The movable electrodes 22 serve as the input side for energizing current, and by energizing the vapor deposition boat 1 with the grounded fixed electrode 23, each vapor deposition boat 1 can be heated separately using Joule heating. Furthermore, in order to continuously supply linear vapor deposition material Em to the cavities 11 of these heated vapor deposition boats 1, multiple material supply mechanisms MF are provided in the film formation chamber Vc1 corresponding to the number of vapor deposition boats 1.

[0021] Each material supply mechanism MF has the same form, including a core 3 pre-wound with a linear vapor deposition material Em, a delivery mechanism 4 for discharging the vapor deposition material Em wound on the core 3, and guide tubes 5 for guiding the vapor deposition material Em into the cavities 11 of each vapor deposition vessel 1. Hereinafter, the position within the cavity 11 where the front end Em1 of the vapor deposition material Em abuts when it is supplied to the cavity 11 will be referred to as the landing position Lp. The vapor deposition material Em is a material with an outer diameter of Φ1mm to Φ5mm, such as aluminum, which is formed from a metal with a purity corresponding to the quality of the thin film to be formed on one surface of the substrate Sw. The core 3 pre-wound with this linear vapor deposition material Em consists of a shaft 31 and flanges 32, 32 spaced apart in the Y-axis direction and respectively fitted onto the shaft 31. The linear vapor deposition material Em is wound on the portion of the shaft 31 located between the two flanges 32, 32. At this point, the amount of vapor deposition material Em is preferably sufficient to form a film across the entire length of the sheet-like substrate Sw pre-wound on the feed roller Wr, and a large amount (e.g., 10 kg) of vapor deposition material Em is pre-wound multiple times on the shaft 31. Hereinafter, the object in which vapor deposition material is pre-wound multiple times on the core 3 is referred to as "multi-wound body Ew".

[0022] Here, if a film is to be formed on the sheet-like substrate Sw with a high film formation rate and good film thickness uniformity, it is advantageous to minimize the gap between adjacent vapor deposition vessels 1 in the Y-axis direction. In this case, the material supply unit MF is also set to only the number of each vapor deposition vessel 1. On the other hand, in order to form a film on the sheet-like substrate Sw for a long time, it is required that a large amount of vapor deposition material Em (e.g., 10 kg) be pre-wound on each core 3, and when supplying vapor deposition material Em to each vapor deposition vessel 1, it is required that the vapor deposition material Em fed simultaneously from each core 3 does not interfere with each other. In this embodiment, the columns of cores 3 arranged at intervals in the Y-axis direction (i.e., when the rotation axes 3a and 3b of the shaft 31 are arranged on the same straight line in the Y-axis direction) are designated as core columns, and the cores 3 are arranged side by side as a first core column 31 and a second core column 32, which is longer than the first core column 31 in the X-axis direction from the rear end of the vapor deposition vessel 1. The cores 3 of the first core column 31 and the cores 3 of the second core column 32 are alternately arranged in the Y-axis direction. Furthermore, the cores 3 of the second core column 32 are positioned higher than those of the first core column 31 (i.e., the rotation axis 3b is positioned higher than the rotation axis 3a of the shaft body 31). It is preferable to pre-position the cores 3 (outer ends of the flanges 32) of the second core column 32 further away from the cores 3 (outer ends of the flanges 32) of the first core column 31 in the X-axis direction, but this is not a limitation if the weight of the vapor-deposited material Em that can be pre-wound onto the shaft body 31 is small. Moreover, another support platform 33 is disposed on the inner bottom surface of the film-forming chamber Vc1, thereby enabling the detachable support of the cores 3 of the first core column 31 and the second core column 32. Multiple supports 34 for each core 3 are erected on the upper surface of the support platform 33.

[0023] The support 34 is a tongue-shaped piece with its long side facing upwards, and a receiving recess 34a is formed on its upper end surface that is recessed downwards to receive a portion of the shaft 31. On the other hand, a pair of supporting flanges 31a, 31a are fitted over the portion of the shaft 31 that protrudes outwards in the Y-axis direction from the flange 32 at one end of the shaft 31, with a gap in the Y-axis direction. Moreover, by inserting a portion of the shaft 31 into the receiving recess 34a from above, the support 34 is held between the two supporting flanges 31a, 31a, and the core 3 is cantilevered and can be rotated freely around the axis of the shaft 31. At this time, considering the workability of loading and unloading (inserting and removing) the core 3 onto the support 34 from the vertical direction, such as Figure 4 As shown, one of the support arm portions 34c on each side of the support arm portion formed on both sides of the recess 34a in the X-axis direction extends upward more than the other support arm portion 34b.

[0024] The feeding mechanism 4 has a pair of feeding rollers 41 and 42, which are arranged between the vapor deposition boat 1 and each row of coils 3 and are located above the vapor deposition boat 1 and each row of coils 3, on the side opposite to the vapor deposition source Ds of the anti-adhesion plate Sp arranged in the film formation chamber Vc1. By using a motor M3 to rotate and drive one feeding roller 41, the vapor deposition material Em held between the feeding rollers 41 and 42 can be fed out from each coil 3 at a specified speed and simultaneously delivered to the guide tube 5 (at this time, in Figure 1 In the shown state, the core 3 rotates counterclockwise, and the vapor deposition material Em is unwound from each core 3 and directly pulled to the feed rollers 41 and 42. The guide tube 5 is positioned higher than each vapor deposition vessel 1 and located between the landing position Lp and the feed mechanism 4. In this embodiment, the rear end of the guide tube 5 is installed on the inner surface of the anti-adhesion plate Sp located on the vapor deposition source Ds side, and the vapor deposition material Em fed from the feed rollers 41 and 42 is supplied through the through hole (not shown) of the anti-adhesion plate Sp. The guide tube 5 is, for example, made of stainless steel and is arranged in a curved shape that bulges upwards.

[0025] During the operation of feeding out the vapor-deposited material Em, the position where the vapor-deposited material Em is unwound from the shaft 31 of the core 3 is designated as the unwinding position Up. The guide tube 5 is bent with the same radius of curvature as the arc Ac passing through the landing position Lp and the winding position Up. In this embodiment, the unwinding position Up is set at the midpoint between the rotation center of the shaft 31 and the outer surface of the flange 32 (see reference). Figure 3 However, this is not a limitation; the setting can be appropriately adjusted based on the type of vapor deposition material Em or the amount of vapor deposition material Em that can be pre-wound onto the shaft 31. Furthermore, the front end of the guide tube 5 is positioned further rearward than the rearward side of the vapor deposition vessel 1 in the X-axis direction (away from the landing position Lp). Moreover, as... Figure 3 As shown in the enlarged view, with the angle αb of the outlet 51 of the guide tube 5 located on the landing position Lp side when the guide tube 5 is bent with the above curvature as the reference angle, the front end (one end) of the guide tube 5 is cut off, so that the outlet 51 is tilted at an angle α1 smaller than the reference angle αb.

[0026] In the vacuum atmosphere of the film-forming chamber Vc1, when a predetermined thin film is deposited on one side of a sheet substrate Sw, a DC power supply (not shown) located outside the film-forming chamber Vc1 is used to energize the movable electrode 22 and the fixed electrode 23 via the two electrode mounting parts 12, 12. This heats each of the vapor deposition vessels 1 arranged in the Y-axis direction with Joule heating. The applied power is set according to the film-forming rate. When the vapor deposition vessels 1 reach the predetermined temperature, linear vapor deposition material Em is fed out by each delivery mechanism 4. Simultaneously, the sheet substrate Sw before film formation is fed out from the delivery roller Wr, and the sheet substrate Sw is wound around the take-up roller Ur. This melts the vapor deposition material Em within the cavity 11 of each vapor deposition vessel 1, and by simultaneously evaporating the melted vapor deposition material Em, a predetermined thin film is formed (deposited) on a portion of the sheet substrate Sw wound on the roller Cr. The supply speed of the linear vapor deposition material Em is set according to the film-forming rate.

[0027] When the vapor-deposited material Em pre-wound onto each core 3 is used up, the atmosphere in the film-forming chamber Vc1 is released, and each core 3 is replaced. First, the empty core 3 is removed from each support 34. At this time, the shaft 31 of the core 3 is lifted along one support arm 34c, and when the shaft 31 passes the upper end of another support arm 34b, the core 3 is moved forward. Thus, the core 3 is detached from the support 34. Next, when the multi-wound body Ew is installed on each support 34, a portion of the shaft 31 is held between two support flanges 31a, 31a by one support arm 34b, so that it abuts at a position higher than the upper end of the other support arm 34b, and then slides downward in this state. Thus, by inserting a portion of the shaft 31 into the receiving recess 34a from above, the core 3 is in a normal position, and the core 3 can be rotatably supported while the support 34 is clamped between the two support flanges 31a, 31a.

[0028] As described above, by employing a so-called staggered arrangement of the cores 3 of the first core column 31 and the cores 3 of the second core column 32 alternating in the Y-axis direction, compared to the case where multiple cores 3 are arranged side by side in a single column, the portion of the shaft 31 on each core 3 of the first core column 31 and the second core column 32 that can be pre-wound with the vapor deposition material Sw can be lengthened, thereby increasing the amount of vapor deposition material Sw that can be pre-wound. Furthermore, since the cores 3 of the second core column 32, which are farther from the vapor deposition vessel 1, are located higher, undesirable situations such as the vapor deposition material Sw extending from each core 3 of the second core column 32 interfering with the multiple wound bodies Ew of the first core column 31 located in front of it will not occur. Furthermore, it is preferable to pre-position each core 3 of the second core column 32 further away from each core 3 of the first core column 31 in the X-axis direction, but this is not a limitation if the weight of the vapor deposition material Sw wound on the core 3 is small. As a result, the material can be smoothly supplied to the cavities 11 of each vapor deposition vessel 1 arranged side by side with small gaps through the material supply unit MF.

[0029] Furthermore, according to the above embodiment, the multiple winding bodies Ew can be easily installed and the empty winding cores 3 removed from the support body 34 simply by inserting and removing them from the vertical direction. This is particularly advantageous when multiple winding cores need to be replaced simultaneously due to the large number of vapor deposition vessels 1 arranged in the arrangement. Moreover, when the vapor deposition material Em wound on each winding core 3 is fed out by the delivery mechanism 4, no adverse conditions are caused that hinder its operation. Furthermore, by adopting a structure that changes the length of the support arms 34b and 34c, the installation and removal of the multiple winding bodies Ew, which serve as weights, becomes easier, and its replacement workability is improved. In addition, although not specifically illustrated, the support platform 33 on which each support body 34 is provided can be configured to move freely in and out of the vacuum chamber, allowing the winding cores 3 to be replaced in a state where they can be taken out from the relatively narrow film deposition chamber Vc1.

[0030] As described above, if the residual winding creases in the vapor deposition material Em fed out from each core 3 are not forcibly corrected, but instead the vapor deposition material Em with winding creases bent into an arc shape in one direction is passed through the guide tube 5 and the front end of the guide tube 5 is directly supplied to the cavity 11 from the outlet 51 (that is, the front end Em1 of the vapor deposition material Em is directly dropped to the landing point Lp of the cavity 11 in a bent state), then even if the vapor deposition material Em is wound multiple times and in large quantities on the core 3, from the time the vapor deposition material Em is fed out until the vapor deposition material wound on the core 3 is used up, the vapor deposition material Em is stably supplied to the landing position Lp, thereby enabling film formation at a stable vapor deposition rate. Furthermore, by cutting off one end of the guide tube 5 at an angle α1 smaller than the reference angle αb, the blockage of the vapor deposition material Em within the guide tube 5 during the vacuum deposition process on the sheet-like substrate Sw can be suppressed as much as possible. To reliably suppress the blockage of the vapor deposition material Em, the angle α1 is preferably as small as possible, below 45°.

[0031] The embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but various modifications can be made as long as they do not depart from the technical concept of the present invention. In the above embodiments, aluminum with a low elastic modulus was used as an example as the vapor deposition material Em, but it is not limited to this, and the present invention can also be widely applied to vapor deposition materials Em such as copper. In addition, in the above embodiments, a mechanism having a pair of upper and lower delivery rollers 41, 42 was used as an example as the delivery mechanism 4, but its form is not limited as long as it can deliver the vapor deposition material Em at a certain speed. Furthermore, the case where the guide tube 5 is bent with the same radius of curvature as the arc Ac was described as an example, but it is not limited to this as long as the front end of the vapor deposition material Em can be stably supplied to the landing position Lp. Furthermore, in the above embodiments, a sheet-like substrate Sw was used as the vapor deposition object, but the present invention can also be applied to the vapor deposition of glass substrates or silicon wafers of a specified area. Furthermore, in the above embodiments, a method of setting two rows of winding cores 3 was described as an example, but it is not limited to this, and three or more rows can be set.

[0032] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures MF. Material supply device; DM. Vacuum evaporation device; Vc1~Vc3. Vacuum chamber; Sw. Sheet-shaped substrate (substrate to be evaporated); Em. Wire-shaped evaporation material; Em1. Front end of evaporation material; 1. Evaporation boat; 11. Cavity; 3. Core; 31. First core row; 32. Second core row; 34. Core support; 34a. Receiving recess; 34b, 34c. Support arm; 4. Delivery mechanism; 5. Guide tube; 51. Outlet; Lp. Landing position.

Claims

1. A vacuum vapor deposition apparatus for vapor deposition of a material in a vacuum chamber, thereby vapor deposition on a workpiece. It includes: multiple vapor deposition boats spaced apart along the Y-axis in a vacuum chamber with two horizontally orthogonal directions as the X-axis and Y-axis; and a material supply unit disposed on one side of each vapor deposition boat along the X-axis, which supplies linear vapor deposition material to the cavity of each vapor deposition boat from above. Each material supply unit has: a roll core pre-wound with vapor deposition material; and a delivery mechanism for discharging the vapor deposition material wound on the roll core; Its features are: A core column is defined as a column of cores arranged at intervals in the Y-axis direction. The column has a first core column and a second core column that is longer than the first core column in the X-axis direction from one end of the vapor deposition vessel. The cores of the first core column and the cores of the second core column are alternately arranged in the Y-axis direction, and the cores of the second core column are positioned higher than the first core column.

2. The vacuum evaporation apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that: Multiple supports are erected vertically along the Y-axis in the vacuum chamber. Each support has a receiving recess that is recessed downward from its upper end to receive a portion of the winding core. The winding core can be rotatably supported by inserting a portion of the winding core into the receiving recess from above.

3. The vacuum evaporation apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that: One of the support arms formed on both sides of the receiving recess in the X-axis direction extends upward in a direction higher than the other.

4. The vacuum evaporation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The position where the front end of the vapor deposition material abuts against the cavity is taken as the landing position. A guide tube with a portion of the vapor deposition material penetrating through it is set above the vapor deposition boat and between the landing position and the core, and is bent into an upward convex arc shape.

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