Continuous vertical transfer evaporation apparatus

Abstract

This utility model relates to a continuous vertical transfer deposition equipment, including a vertical conveying mechanism, a metal foil strip, several guide rollers, a deposition section, and a transfer deposition section. The vertical conveying mechanism is used to transport an upright substrate. In the deposition section, the metal foil strip has a horizontal coating surface facing downwards, while in the transfer deposition section, the coating surface is vertical and faces the substrate. The deposition section has a deposition source, and the transfer deposition section includes a vertical heating source. A gap is formed between the vertical heating source and the substrate for the metal foil strip to pass through. The guide rollers are used to taut the metal foil strip and switch its direction between vertical and horizontal. The movement direction of the metal foil strip near the vertical heating source is the same as the movement direction of the substrate. This utility model uses a metal foil strip as a carrier, first depositing the coating material from bottom to top onto its coating surface, and then twisting the metal foil strip to a vertical direction to vertically deposit the coating material onto the upright substrate. This provides good process continuity, avoids substrate deformation, and ensures uniform deposition thickness.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of vapor deposition technology, and in particular to a continuous vertical transfer vapor deposition device. Background Technology

[0002] Vacuum deposition refers to the process of depositing gaseous particles from traditional deposition materials under vacuum conditions using methods such as electric current heating and electron beam bombardment. These gaseous particles are deposited onto a substrate through near-collision-free linear motion under high vacuum. When the number of aggregated particles exceeds a certain critical value, they become stable nuclei, which continue to adsorb and diffuse particles, gradually growing larger. Finally, through the contact and merging of adjacent stable nuclei, a continuous thin film is formed. Existing linear evaporation equipment typically has a horizontal structure, with the substrate mounted on top of the deposition area. In this structure, the material is deposited from bottom to top, and the deposition surface is often not aligned with other film layers. In the perovskite field, the front end of the evaporation equipment is an annealing device, and the back end is an ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition) or RPD (Reactive Plasma Deposition) device. Since the deposition surface of both ends is usually facing upwards, a deposition surface flipping process is required, affecting production cycle time. Furthermore, horizontal evaporation typically requires a larger distance between the substrate and the evaporation source to achieve better film thickness uniformity, resulting in lower material utilization and poor economic efficiency.

[0003] The biggest challenges in OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) and perovskite deposition processes are thickness uniformity, positional accuracy, and pixel integrity. For large-size substrates and metal masks, warping caused by their own weight or uneven local heating can severely affect the deposition thickness and properties of the vapor-deposited material, thus significantly impacting device yield. Vertical deposition, with its vertically placed substrate, offers a more uniform gravity distribution and a significant advantage in reducing substrate deformation compared to horizontal deposition. However, existing vertical deposition patents often involve standing the line source upright and dividing it into multiple sub-sections for segmented heating. This is difficult to operate and control, and its stability is poor; if any sub-section malfunctions, production cannot continue.

[0004] Chinese patent CN109457218A discloses a surface evaporation source vapor deposition apparatus, which uses a rollable flexible metal foil strip as a carrier. A thin film of evaporating material is deposited on the outer side of the flexible metal foil strip using methods such as wave coating. Then, the evaporating material film layer on the surface evaporation source is evaporated entirely onto a semi-finished substrate above it through instantaneous heating. Since the deposition process is from bottom to top, and the heating and vapor deposition are also from bottom to top, the horizontal conveying direction cannot be changed, and the problem of substrate deformation cannot be alleviated.

[0005] Therefore, it is necessary to improve the structure of vapor deposition equipment to solve the above problems. Utility Model Content

[0006] The main objective of this invention is to provide a continuous vertical transfer vapor deposition equipment that allows the coating material to be deposited from bottom to top onto the coating material carrier surface via a metal foil strip, and then the metal foil strip is twisted to a vertical direction to vertically vapor deposit the coating material onto a vertical substrate. This method provides good process continuity, avoids substrate deformation, and ensures uniform deposition thickness.

[0007] This utility model achieves the above-mentioned objective through the following technical solution: a continuous vertical transfer evaporation equipment, comprising a vertical conveying mechanism, a metal foil belt, several guide rollers, an evaporation section, and a transfer plating section. The vertical conveying mechanism is used to convey a substrate in an upright state. The metal foil belt is a loop-shaped belt with its ends connected and its outward surface is a coating material bearing surface. In the evaporation section, the coating material bearing surface of the metal foil belt is horizontal and faces downward. In the transfer plating section, the coating material bearing surface is vertical and faces the substrate. The evaporation section has an evaporation source for depositing a film upward onto the coating material bearing surface. The transfer plating section includes a vertical heating source. A gap is formed between the vertical heating source and the substrate for the metal foil belt to pass through. The guide rollers are used to taut the metal foil belt and switch its direction between vertical and horizontal. The moving direction of the metal foil belt near the vertical heating source is the same as the moving direction of the substrate.

[0008] Specifically, the guide rollers include a pair of vertical guide rollers axially vertically arranged on one side of the vertical conveying mechanism and a pair of inclined guide rollers axially inclined on both sides of the vapor deposition section, one of which is connected to the rotating mechanism.

[0009] Specifically, the vapor deposition source is a plurality of linear deposition sources arranged side by side along the passing direction of the metal foil strip.

[0010] Specifically, the metal foil strip is made of one of stainless steel, molybdenum, aluminum alloy, or nickel-chromium alloy, and the thickness of the metal foil strip is 0.01-0.1 mm.

[0011] Specifically, the vertical heating source is a heating wire or a heated roller.

[0012] The beneficial effects of this utility model's technical solution are:

[0013] This invention uses a rollable metal foil strip as a carrier for the plating material. First, the plating material is deposited on the substrate from bottom to top. Then, the metal foil strip is twisted to a vertical direction, and the plating material is vertically vapor-deposited onto the vertical substrate. This process has good continuity and can avoid substrate deformation, ensuring the uniformity of the deposition thickness. Attached Figure Description

[0014] Figure 1 This is a top view of the core vapor deposition component in the continuous vertical transfer vapor deposition equipment during operation, as shown in the example.

[0015] Figure 2This is a front view of the core vapor deposition component in the continuous vertical transfer vapor deposition equipment during operation, as shown in the example.

[0016] The numbers in the diagram represent:

[0017] 100-Continuous vertical transfer evaporation equipment,

[0018] 1-Vertical conveyor mechanism;

[0019] 2-Metal foil strip;

[0020] 3a-Vertical guide roller, 3b-Inclined guide roller, 31-Rotating mechanism;

[0021] 4-Evaporation section, 41-Evaporation source;

[0022] 5- Plating transfer section, 51- Vertical heating source;

[0023] 200-Substrate. Detailed Implementation

[0024] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments.

[0025] Example:

[0026] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, a continuous vertical transfer vapor deposition apparatus 100 of this utility model includes a vertical conveying mechanism 1, a metal foil strip 2, several guide rollers, a vapor deposition section 4, and a transfer deposition section 5. The vertical conveying mechanism 1 is used to convey a substrate 200 in an upright state. The metal foil strip 2 is a loop-shaped strip with its ends connected and its outward surface is the coating material bearing surface. In the vapor deposition section 4, the coating material bearing surface of the metal foil strip 2 is horizontal and faces downward. In the transfer deposition section 5, the coating material bearing surface is vertical and faces the substrate 200. The vapor deposition section 4 has a vapor deposition source 41 that deposits a film upward onto the coating material bearing surface. The transfer deposition section 5 includes a vertical heating source 51. A gap is formed between the vertical heating source 51 and the substrate 200 for the metal foil strip 2 to pass through. The guide rollers are used to tighten the metal foil strip 2 and switch its direction between vertical and horizontal. The moving direction of the metal foil strip 2 near the vertical heating source 51 is the same as the moving direction of the substrate 200.

[0027] The continuous vertical transfer vapor deposition equipment 100 needs to be connected to the annealing equipment and the deposition equipment respectively. During the transport process of the vertical conveyor mechanism 1, the substrate 200 remains vertical and does not need to be flipped, so one side of the substrate 200 always faces to the side. Therefore, the coating of the substrate 200 by the transfer deposition unit 5 is vertical coating. However, in order to facilitate the setting of the vapor deposition source 41, the vapor deposition unit 4 also needs to adopt a horizontal upward coating method. Considering the above two requirements, this equipment uses metal foil strip 2 as the coating medium. The metal foil strip 2 has a certain strength, which allows it to be circulated between the vapor deposition unit 4 and the transfer deposition unit 5. At the same time, it can change the orientation of the coating material bearing surface under the action of the guide rollers to adapt to the directional requirements of the two vapor deposition processes. This invention uses a rollable metal foil strip 2 as a carrier for the plating material. First, the plating material is deposited on the substrate surface from bottom to top. Then, the metal foil strip 2 is twisted to a vertical direction to vertically vapor-deposit the plating material onto the vertical substrate 200. This process has good continuity and can avoid deformation of the substrate 200, ensuring the uniformity of the deposition thickness.

[0028] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the guide rollers include a pair of vertical guide rollers 3a vertically arranged on one side of the vertical conveying mechanism 1 and a pair of inclined guide rollers 3b obliquely arranged on both sides of the vapor deposition section 4, one of which is connected to the rotating mechanism 31.

[0029] The guide roller is designed to change the substrate bearing surface of the metal foil strip 2. Although the metal foil strip 2 is a flexible strip, it must remain flat when passing through the vapor deposition section 4 and the transfer deposition section 5 to better control the thickness of the two depositions. The rotation mechanism 31 can directly transmit rotational power to one of the guide rollers, thereby enabling the metal foil strip 2 to rotate.

[0030] The metal foil strip 2 is made of one of stainless steel, molybdenum, aluminum alloy, or nickel-chromium alloy, and its thickness is 0.01-0.1 mm.

[0031] The metal foil strip 2 needs to have good torsional deformation ability while also facilitating heat transmission, so the above materials and thickness ranges should be used.

[0032] like Figure 1 As shown, the vapor deposition source 41 consists of multiple linear deposition sources arranged side by side along the passing direction of the metal foil strip 2.

[0033] Each linear deposition source can thicken the coating material once, and multiple linear deposition sources can be used selectively to control the total thickness of the first deposition.

[0034] The vertical heating source 51 is a heating wire or a heated roller.

[0035] When the vertical heating source 51 is a heating wire, multiple heating wires can be arranged side by side on one side of the vertical conveying mechanism 1 to provide heating of a surface area. When the vertical heating source 51 is a hot roller, heat can be quickly transferred to the metal foil strip 2 by directly contacting the inner side of the metal foil strip 2, and then the coating material can be evaporated through a very thin thickness, thereby achieving the purpose of vertical vapor deposition.

[0036] The working principle of the continuous vertical transfer evaporation equipment 100 is as follows:

[0037] During operation, the metal foil strip 2 is deposited upwards by the vapor deposition source 41 onto the flat, downward-facing portion of the metal foil strip 2's substrate surface. The portion of the metal foil strip 2 with the deposited material continuously passes through an inclined guide roller 3b and a vertical guide roller 3a to reach the transfer plating section 5. At this time, the substrate surface is in a flat, upright state. The front of the substrate surface faces the coating surface of the substrate 200, and the substrate surface and the substrate 200 move in the same horizontal direction. The back of the substrate surface is a vertical heating source 51, which transfers heat to the metal foil strip 2. The deposited material evaporates again after being heated and then deposits onto the coating surface of the substrate 200, thus completing the coating process. The portion of the metal foil strip 2 that has lost the deposited material then returns to the vapor deposition section 4 via a vertical guide roller 3a and an inclined guide roller 3b.

[0038] The above descriptions are merely some embodiments of this utility model. For those skilled in the art, various modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the inventive concept of this utility model, and all such modifications and improvements fall within the protection scope of this utility model.

Claims

1. A continuous vertical transfer evaporation equipment, characterized in that: The system includes a vertical conveyor mechanism, a metal foil strip, several guide rollers, a vapor deposition section, and a transfer plating section. The vertical conveyor mechanism is used to convey a substrate in an upright position. The metal foil strip is a loop-shaped strip with its ends connected, and its outward surface is the coating material bearing surface. In the vapor deposition section, the coating material bearing surface of the metal foil strip is horizontal and faces downward. In the transfer plating section, the coating material bearing surface is vertical and faces the substrate. The vapor deposition section has a vapor deposition source that deposits a film upward onto the coating material bearing surface. The transfer plating section includes a vertical heating source. A gap is formed between the vertical heating source and the substrate for the metal foil strip to pass through. The guide rollers are used to taut the metal foil strip and switch its direction between vertical and horizontal. The direction of movement of the metal foil strip near the vertical heating source is the same as the direction of movement of the substrate.

2. The continuous vertical transfer evaporation equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The guide rollers include a pair of vertical guide rollers axially vertically arranged on one side of the vertical conveying mechanism and a pair of inclined guide rollers axially inclined on both sides of the vapor deposition section, one of which is connected to the rotating mechanism.

3. The continuous vertical transfer evaporation equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The vapor deposition source consists of multiple linear deposition sources arranged side by side along the direction of the metal foil strip.

4. The continuous vertical transfer evaporation equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The metal foil strip is made of one of stainless steel, molybdenum, aluminum alloy, or nickel-chromium alloy, and the thickness of the metal foil strip is 0.01-0.1 mm.

5. The continuous vertical transfer evaporation equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The vertical heating source is a heating wire or a heated roller.

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