Evaporation device and coating equipment applying same

Abstract

The utility model provides an evaporation device and coating equipment applying the same. The evaporation device comprises a device shell, the evaporation crucible is arranged in the inner cavity of the device shell and is used for accommodating an evaporation material; the heat conduction nozzle plate is arranged on the upper portion of the inner cavity, a plurality of steam nozzles are formed in the heat conduction nozzle plate at intervals, and the steam nozzles directly face an opening in the top of the evaporation crucible; the upper heater is arranged in the inner cavity and is attached to the heat conduction nozzle plate; the lower heater is arranged at the bottom of the inner cavity and attached to the bottom of the evaporation crucible. The evaporation device provided by the utility model can ensure that evaporation materials at the top and the bottom of the evaporation crucible are uniformly heated, and the evaporation rates of all parts in the evaporation crucible tend to be consistent; the temperature of a steam nozzle at the top of the evaporation crucible can be increased by the layout of the heater, and meanwhile, the steam nozzle adopts a venturi tube-shaped opening, so that the speed of spraying material steam molecules out of the steam nozzle is increased; in conclusion, the flowing uniformity of the material steam ejected from each steam nozzle on the surface of the substrate can be improved, and the deposition thickness and uniformity of a film layer formed by the evaporation material on the substrate are ensured.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of physical vapor deposition, in particular to an evaporation device and film coating equipment using the same. Background Art

[0002] Physical vapor deposition technology is widely used in various industries. In the photovoltaic field, this technology is often used to evaporate and prepare the functional layers of photovoltaic cells. It has the advantages of high uniformity, strong adhesion, good density and high evaporation production efficiency of the film formed by evaporation.

[0003] The evaporation devices currently used in physical vapor deposition (PVD) equipment typically employ a structural layout with a heater at the bottom of the crucible and a nozzle at the top. This type of evaporation device is susceptible to significant variations in evaporation rates across the crucible due to uneven heating at the bottom and top of the crucible. Furthermore, kinetic energy loss due to steam obstruction as it passes through the nozzles can easily cause uneven flow of steam from each nozzle across the substrate surface, impacting the deposition thickness and uniformity of the substrate. Furthermore, the nozzles of these evaporation devices are susceptible to insufficient temperature, causing condensation and clogging of the evaporation material at the nozzles, which can also affect the deposition thickness and uniformity of the substrate and may even render the evaporation ineffective. Utility Model Content

[0004] The utility model provides an evaporation device to solve the technical problem in the prior art that the heating layout of the evaporation device causes uneven heating of the bottom and top of the crucible, resulting in large variations in evaporation rates at various locations inside the crucible.

[0005] In order to solve the above problems, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is:

[0006] The utility model provides a vapor deposition device, comprising:

[0007] device housing;

[0008] An evaporation crucible is installed in the middle of the inner cavity of the device shell and is used to contain the evaporated material;

[0009] A heat conduction nozzle plate is installed on the upper part of the inner cavity, and a plurality of steam nozzles are arranged at intervals on the heat conduction nozzle plate, and the steam nozzles are directly facing the top opening of the evaporation crucible;

[0010] The upper heater is installed in the inner cavity and attached to the heat conduction nozzle plate;

[0011] The lower heater is installed at the bottom of the inner cavity and fits the bottom of the evaporating crucible.

[0012] Preferably, the steam nozzle adopts a Venturi tubular orifice with an inner diameter that expands and widens at both ends and contracts and narrows in the middle.

[0013] Preferably, the upper heater is a plate-shaped heater whose shape matches the heat-conducting nozzle plate. The upper heater is provided with a plurality of clearance holes that match the steam nozzles. The upper heater abuts between the bottom surface of the heat-conducting nozzle plate and the edge of the top opening, and allows the steam nozzle to pass downward through the corresponding clearance holes.

[0014] Preferably, the upper heater is provided with at least one adjustment groove.

[0015] Preferably, the device housing comprises:

[0016] device housing;

[0017] The heat-conducting inner shell is connected between the outer surface of the evaporation crucible and the inner surface of the device shell.

[0018] Preferably, the heat-conducting inner shell is formed by stacking multiple layers of heat-conducting plates.

[0019] Preferably, the device housing comprises:

[0020] The top baffle is provided with an air vent that matches the steam nozzle.

[0021] Furthermore, the device housing further comprises:

[0022] A pair of device side plates are connected to both sides of the bottom end of the top baffle at intervals;

[0023] a device bottom plate connected between the bottom ends of a pair of device side plates;

[0024] and an apparatus end plate connected between the same ends of the pair of apparatus side plates;

[0025] The other end of the device shell relative to the device end plate is surrounded by an opening between a pair of device side plates, a top baffle and a device bottom plate, and the connection terminals of the upper heater and the lower heater extend out of the device shell from the opening.

[0026] Furthermore, the evaporation device further includes:

[0027] The temperature sensor is arranged inside the evaporation crucible and is used to detect the internal temperature of the evaporation crucible.

[0028] The utility model also provides a coating device, including the above-mentioned evaporation device and a target substrate arranged above the evaporation device. The material vapor formed by evaporation of the evaporation material is ejected from the evaporation crucible from the steam nozzle and contacts the target substrate to be deposited on the surface of the target substrate to form a film layer.

[0029] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0030] The evaporation device provided by the utility model can ensure that the evaporation material contained in the top and bottom of the evaporation crucible is evenly heated, and promotes the evaporation rate at various locations inside the evaporation crucible to be uniform; the heater layout can increase the temperature at the steam nozzle at the top of the evaporation crucible, and at the same time, the steam nozzle adopts a Venturi tube mouth, which increases the movement speed of the material vapor molecules ejected from the steam nozzle; in summary, the uniformity of the flow of the material vapor ejected from each steam nozzle on the surface of the upper substrate can be improved, thereby ensuring the deposition thickness and uniformity of the film layer formed by the evaporation material on the substrate. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solution proposed by the present invention, the present invention is described in detail below with reference to the embodiments and drawings. It should be understood that the embodiments and drawings described in the following specific embodiments and the drawings in the specification are merely some embodiments of the present invention, and those skilled in the art can modify these drawings under the concept of the present invention.

[0032] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the assembled three-dimensional structure of an embodiment of the evaporation device provided by the present utility model;

[0033] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A schematic cross-sectional structural diagram of the evaporation device along the AA direction;

[0034] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the assembly front structure of an embodiment of the evaporation device provided by the utility model;

[0035] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the assembly side structure of an embodiment of the evaporation device provided by the utility model.

[0036] Among them, the main marks of the drawings are as follows:

[0037] 1. Device shell; 11. Inner cavity; 12. Device outer shell; 121. Top baffle; 1211. Vent; 122. Device side panel; 123. Device bottom plate; 124. Opening; 13. Heat-conducting inner shell; 131. Heat-conducting plate; 132. Base plate; 133. Side frame; 2. Evaporating crucible; 21. Top opening; 3. Heat-conducting nozzle plate; 4. Steam nozzle; 5. Upper heater; 51. Upper bracket; 52. Upper electric heating plate; 521. Clearance hole; 6. Lower heater; 61. Lower bracket; 62. Lower electric heating plate; 7. Mounting slot; 8. Wiring terminal; 81. Lead wire; 9. Handle DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] In order to make the technical problems, technical solutions and beneficial effects to be solved by the present invention more clear, the following is a summary of the technical problems, technical solutions and beneficial effects to be solved by the present invention. Figure 1-4And embodiments, the utility model is further described in detail.

[0039] Please also refer to Figure 1-4 The evaporation device provided by the present invention includes:

[0040] Device shell 1; evaporation crucible 2, installed in the middle of the inner cavity 11 of the device shell 1, used to accommodate the evaporated material (not shown in the figure); heat conduction nozzle plate 3, installed in the upper part of the inner cavity 11, the heat conduction nozzle plate 3 is linearly spaced along its length direction. A plurality of steam nozzles 4 are arranged, and the steam nozzles 4 are directly opposite to the top opening 21 of the evaporation crucible 2 below; an upper heater 5, installed in the inner cavity 11 of the shell and attached to the heat conduction nozzle plate 3; a lower heater 6, installed at the bottom of the inner cavity 11 and attached to the bottom of the evaporation crucible 2, and heats the evaporation crucible 2 with the upper heater 5 corresponding to the upper (top) and lower (bottom) parts of the evaporation crucible 2 respectively.

[0041] See also Figure 1 、 2 In this embodiment, the upper heater 5 is a plate-shaped heater whose shape matches that of the heat-conducting nozzle plate 3. The upper heater 5 (plate-shaped heater) is provided with a plurality of clearance holes 521 that match the steam nozzles 4 and are linearly spaced. The upper heater 5 (plate-shaped heater) is located between the bottom surface of the heat-conducting nozzle plate 3 and above the edge of the top opening 21 of the evaporation crucible 2, and the steam nozzles 4 extend downward from the top opening 21 of the evaporation crucible 2 through the corresponding clearance holes 521 and then extend to the top opening 21 of the evaporation crucible 2.

[0042] As a preferred implementation of this embodiment, the upper heater 5 and the lower heater 6 are graphite electric heating plates.

[0043] As a preferred implementation of this embodiment, the heat-conducting nozzle plate 3 is made of a heat-conducting graphite plate.

[0044] As a preferred implementation of this embodiment, the evaporation crucible 2 is a boron nitride crucible.

[0045] The upper surface (top surface) of the upper heater 5 (plate-shaped heater) and the lower surface (bottom surface) of the heat-conducting nozzle plate 3 are used to fully heat the heat-conducting nozzle plate 3 by the upper heater 5 (plate-shaped heater), and the heat obtained at the upper heater 5 (plate-shaped heater) is radiated to the evaporated material contained in the evaporation crucible 2, so that the upper heater 5 (plate-shaped heater) and the lower heater 6 (plate-shaped heater) respectively correspond to the upper (top) and lower (bottom) parts of the evaporation crucible 2 and heat the evaporation crucible 2 at the same time. At the same time, due to the high thermal conductivity of the materials used for the upper heater 5 (plate-shaped heater), the heat-conducting nozzle plate 3 and the lower heater 6 (plate-shaped heater), the local temperature difference between the upper heater 5 (plate-shaped heater) and the heat-conducting nozzle plate 3 can be avoided to be too large, thereby ensuring uniform heat transfer, so that the evaporated material contained in the top and bottom parts of the evaporation crucible 2 is evenly heated, and the evaporation rate at each part inside the evaporation crucible 2 is promoted to be consistent.

[0046] At the same time, the inner wall of the positioning hole of the upper heater 5 (plate-shaped heater) is in full contact with the outer wall of the steam nozzle 4, thereby increasing the temperature at the steam nozzle 4, avoiding uneven heat transfer from the upper heater 5 to the heat-conducting nozzle plate 3 and the steam nozzle 4, and increasing the movement speed of the material vapor molecules ejected from the steam nozzle 4, thereby improving the uniformity of the flow of the material vapor ejected from each steam nozzle 4 on the surface of the substrate, thereby ensuring the deposition thickness and uniformity of the film layer formed by the evaporated material on the substrate.

[0047] See also Figure 1 、 2 In this embodiment, the lower heater 6 is a plate-shaped heater that completely covers the evaporation crucible 2 , and the lower heater 6 (plate-shaped heater) abuts against the bottom surface of the evaporation crucible 2 .

[0048] See also Figure 1 、 2 In this embodiment, the steam nozzle 4 utilizes a Venturi-shaped orifice with an inner diameter that widens at both ends and narrows in the middle. Specifically, the inner diameter gradually narrows from the top to the middle (center) of the steam nozzle 4 and then gradually expands from the middle (center) to the bottom, resulting in an hourglass-shaped orifice with inner diameters that follow a "wide-narrow-wide" pattern from the top, middle, and bottom sections, respectively. Because the steam nozzle 4 of the heat-conducting nozzle plate 3 utilizes a Venturi-shaped orifice, the Venturi effect allows the material vapor entering the steam nozzle 4 from the evaporation crucible 2 to gain greater kinetic energy after sequentially undergoing the "wide-narrow-wide" inner diameter change of the steam nozzle 4. This improves the uniformity of the flow of the material vapor ejected from the steam nozzle 4 on the surface of the substrate above, further enhancing the thickness and uniformity of the film layer formed by the evaporated material on the substrate.

[0049] As a preferred implementation mode of this embodiment, the upper heater 5 (plate-shaped heater) is provided with at least one adjustment groove (not shown in the figure), which can adjust the groove depth and groove length of the upper heater 5 (plate-shaped heater) during processing and manufacturing to adjust the resistance value of the upper heater 5 (plate-shaped heater) so that the heating effect of the upper heater 5 (plate-shaped heater) can adapt to the actual use requirements of the evaporation device.

[0050] Please also refer to Figure 1-4 In this embodiment, the device housing 1 includes:

[0051] The device shell 12 and the heat-conducting inner shell 13 are connected between the outer surface (outer wall) of the evaporation crucible 2 and the inner surface (inner wall) of the device shell 12.

[0052] See also Figure 1 、 2 As a preferred implementation mode of this embodiment, the heat-conducting inner shell 13 is formed by stacking multiple layers of graphite heat-conducting plates 131 cut according to the outer contour of the evaporating crucible 2, and distributed and connected between the bottom surface (outer bottom surface) of the evaporating crucible 2 and the inner bottom surface (inner bottom wall) of the device shell 12, and between the outer peripheral side (outer side wall) of the evaporating crucible 2 and the inner peripheral side (inner side wall) of the device shell 12, so that the inner surface (inner wall) of the graphite heat-conducting inner shell 13 is fitly connected to the outer surface (outer wall) of the evaporating crucible 2, ensuring that the heat of the lower heater 6 (plate-shaped heater) is evenly transferred to the entire evaporating crucible 2, making the heat distribution of the entire evaporating crucible 2 more reasonable, and improving the uniformity of the evaporation rate at various locations inside the evaporating crucible 2.

[0053] See also Figure 1 、 2 As a more preferred implementation of this embodiment, the heat-conducting inner shell 13 further includes:

[0054] The housing base comprises a base plate 132 and a side frame 133 connected to the top perimeter of the base plate 132. The housing base is mounted to the inner bottom surface of the device housing 1 via the base plate 132 and spaced apart from (the outer bottom surface of) the evaporator crucible 2. The side frame 133 surrounds the evaporator crucible 2, completely enveloping the housing base around the sides and bottom perimeter of the evaporator crucible 2. The graphite heat-conducting plates 131 of the heat-conducting inner housing 13 are stacked layer by layer and fill the gap between the housing base and the evaporator crucible 2, thereby securing and supporting the evaporator crucible 2. The heat-conducting nozzle plate 3 is fastened to the top of the side frame 133 with screws or bolts.

[0055] Please also refer to Figure 1-4 In this embodiment, the device housing 12 includes:

[0056] The top baffle 121 is provided with a vent 1211 matching the steam nozzle 4 .

[0057] As a preferred implementation of this embodiment, the heat conduction nozzle plate 3 is linearly spaced along its length direction with eight steam nozzles 4, and the vent 1211 provided on the top baffle 121 is a strip hole whose length and width (i.e., the area of the vent 1211) completely cover the eight steam nozzles 4 below.

[0058] The top baffle 121 is provided with a vent 1211 to allow the material vapor ejected from the steam nozzle 4 to pass smoothly, and to reduce the influence of the upper heater 5 on the target substrate and the film material deposited on the surface thereof during evaporation.

[0059] Please also refer to Figure 1-4 As a more preferred implementation of this embodiment, the top surface of the top baffle 121 is connected to multiple handles 9 by screws or bolts at intervals, which are used for operators to carry and move the evaporation device, or to connect a driving device to move the evaporation device under the target substrate to achieve evaporation operations on longer target substrates.

[0060] Please also refer to Figure 1-4 In this embodiment, the device housing 12 further includes:

[0061] A pair of device side plates 122 are connected to both sides of the bottom end of the top baffle 121 at intervals by screws or bolts; the device bottom plate 123 is connected between the bottom ends of the pair of device side plates 122 by screws or bolts; the device end plate (not shown in the figure) is connected between the same ends of the pair of device side plates 122 by screws or bolts; the other end of the device housing 12 relative to the device end plate is surrounded by an opening 124 between the pair of device side plates 122 and the top baffle 121 and the device bottom plate 123, and the connection terminals 8 of the upper heater 5 and the lower heater 6 extend out of the device housing 12 from the opening 124.

[0062] Please also refer to Figure 1-4 As a more preferred implementation of this embodiment, the upper heater 5 includes an upper bracket 51 and an upper electric heating plate 52. The upper bracket 51 includes a pair of mounting grooves 7. The terminal 8 of the upper heater 5 is fastened and installed in one of the mounting grooves 7 by screws or bolts, and the lead wire 81 of the terminal 8 extends to the outside of the device housing 12; one end of the upper electric heating plate 52 is fastened and installed in the other mounting groove 7 by screws or bolts, and the other end of the upper electric heating plate 52 extends between the bottom of the heat-conducting nozzle plate 3 and the top of the top opening 21 of the evaporation crucible 2, and is fastened to the heat-conducting nozzle plate 3 by screws, bolts, clips or other fasteners.

[0063] The lower heater 6 includes a lower bracket 61 and a lower electric heating plate 62. The upper bracket 51 and the lower bracket 61 are fixed at the opening 124 of the device housing 12 with an upper and lower interval. The lower bracket 61 also includes a pair of mounting grooves 7. The terminal 8 of the lower heater 6 is fastened and installed in one of the mounting grooves 7 of the lower bracket 61 by screws or bolts, and the lead wire 81 of the terminal 8 extends to the outside of the device housing 12; one end of the lower electric heating plate 62 is fastened and installed in another mounting groove 7 of the lower bracket 61 by screws or bolts, and the other end of the lower electric heating plate 62 extends between the bottom of the evaporation crucible 2 and the top of the inner bottom surface of the heat-conducting inner shell 13, and is fastened to the evaporation crucible 2 by screws, bolts, clips or other fasteners.

[0064] In this embodiment, the evaporation device further includes:

[0065] A temperature sensor (not shown in the figure) is provided inside the evaporation crucible 2 and is used to detect the internal temperature of the evaporation crucible 2 .

[0066] As a preferred implementation of this embodiment, the temperature sensor is a thermocouple sensor.

[0067] The internal temperature of the evaporation crucible 2 is monitored in real time by a temperature sensor, and the real-time temperature data of the internal temperature of the evaporation crucible 2 is promptly transmitted to the central control device of the coating equipment, thereby achieving real-time monitoring of the internal temperature of the evaporation crucible 2.

[0068] The present invention also provides a coating device (not shown in the figure), including the above-mentioned evaporation device and a target substrate (not shown in the figure) arranged above the evaporation device. The material vapor formed by evaporation of the evaporation material is ejected from the evaporation crucible 2 from the steam nozzle 4 and contacts the target substrate to be deposited on the surface of the target substrate to form a film layer.

[0069] In this embodiment, the coating equipment further includes a substrate conveying device for realizing loading and unloading of the target substrate, a substrate positioning device for positioning the target substrate above the evaporation device, and the above-mentioned central control device.

[0070] The above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Those skilled in the art should understand that any modifications, equivalent substitutions and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A vapor deposition device, characterized in that include: Device housing (1); An evaporation crucible (2) is installed in the middle of the inner cavity (11) of the device housing (1) and is used to accommodate the evaporated material; A heat conduction nozzle plate (3) is installed on the upper part of the inner cavity (11), and a plurality of steam nozzles (4) are arranged at intervals on the heat conduction nozzle plate (3), and the steam nozzles (4) are directly facing the top opening (21) of the evaporation crucible (2); An upper heater (5) is installed in the inner cavity (11) and attached to the heat conduction nozzle plate (3); The lower heater (6) is installed at the bottom of the inner cavity (11) and is attached to the bottom of the evaporation crucible (2).

2. The vapor deposition device according to claim 1, wherein The steam nozzle (4) adopts a Venturi tube-shaped nozzle with an inner diameter that expands and widens at both ends and contracts and narrows at the middle.

3. The vapor deposition device according to claim 2, wherein The upper heater (5) is a plate-shaped heater whose shape matches the heat-conducting nozzle plate (3). The upper heater (5) is provided with a plurality of clearance holes (521) that match the steam nozzles (4). The upper heater (5) abuts against the bottom surface of the heat-conducting nozzle plate (3) and allows the steam nozzles (4) to pass downward through the corresponding clearance holes (521).

4. The vapor deposition device according to claim 3, wherein The upper heater (5) is provided with at least one adjustment groove.

5. The evaporation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The device housing (1) comprises: Device housing (12); A heat-conducting inner shell (13) is connected between the outer surface of the evaporation crucible (2) and the inner surface of the device outer shell (12).

6. The vapor deposition device according to claim 5, wherein The heat-conducting inner shell (13) is formed by stacking multiple layers of heat-conducting plates (131).

7. The vapor deposition device according to claim 5, wherein The device housing (12) comprises: A top baffle (121) is provided with a vent (1211) matching the steam nozzle (4).

8. The vapor deposition device according to claim 7, wherein The device housing (12) further comprises: A pair of device side plates (122) are spaced apart and connected to both sides of the bottom end of the top baffle (121); A device bottom plate (123) connected between the bottom ends of a pair of device side plates (122); and an apparatus end plate connected between the same ends of a pair of apparatus side plates (122); An opening (124) is formed at the other end of the device housing (12) relative to the device end plate between a pair of device side plates (122), a top baffle (121), and the device bottom plate (123), and the connection terminals (8) of the upper heater (5) and the lower heater (6) extend out of the device housing (12) through the opening (124).

9. The evaporation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: Also includes: A temperature sensor is provided inside the evaporation crucible (2) and is used to detect the internal temperature of the evaporation crucible (2).

10. A coating device, characterized in that: The method comprises an evaporation device according to any one of claims 1 to 9 and a target substrate arranged above the evaporation device, wherein the material vapor formed by evaporation of the evaporation material is ejected from the evaporation crucible (2) through the steam nozzle (4) and contacts the target substrate to form a film layer by being deposited on the surface of the target substrate.

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