Alignment device, film formation device, alignment method, and film deposition method

Abstract

To provide an alignment device for improving alignment accuracy, a film formation device, an alignment method, and a film deposition method.SOLUTION: An alignment device includes: a substrate Z actuator 250 for bringing a substrate 10 and a mask 220 close or apart; an XYθ actuator 290 for adjusting relative position between the substrate 10 and the mask 220; a control part 270 for controlling them; and information acquisition means for acquiring information on a thickness of the mask 220 and information on a type of the substrate 10. The control part 270 controls the substrate Z actuator 250 and XYθ actuator 290 according to the information on the thickness of the mask 220 and the type of the substrate 10 acquired by the information acquisition means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an alignment apparatus, a film forming apparatus, an alignment method, and a film forming method. [Background technology]

[0002] In a film forming apparatus for manufacturing an organic EL display or the like, an alignment device is provided in the film forming apparatus to align a substrate and a mask as a pre-treatment for film formation. In order to improve the film formation accuracy, it is important to improve the alignment accuracy, and the applicant of the present application has proposed various techniques (see Patent Documents 1 and 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-105629 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2020-141121 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] It has become known that misalignment occurs due to differences in the type of substrate and individual masks, and there is a demand for even higher alignment accuracy.

[0005] The present invention provides an alignment apparatus, a film forming apparatus, an alignment method, and a film forming method that can improve alignment accuracy. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention employs the following means to solve the above problems.

[0007] That is, the alignment device of the present invention has An alignment apparatus for aligning a substrate and a mask, comprising: a moving mechanism that moves at least one of the substrate and the mask in a first direction to bring the substrate and the mask closer to each other or separate them from each other; a position adjustment mechanism that adjusts a relative position between the substrate and the mask by moving at least one of the substrate and the mask in at least one of a second direction intersecting the first direction and a third direction intersecting the first direction and the second direction; and A control unit that controls the moving mechanism and the position adjustment mechanism; an information acquiring means for acquiring information regarding the thickness of the mask and information regarding the type of the substrate; Equipped with The control unit controls the moving mechanism and the position adjustment mechanism based on information regarding the thickness of the mask and information regarding the type of the substrate acquired by the information acquisition means.

[0008] In addition, other alignment devices include An alignment apparatus for aligning a substrate and a mask, comprising: a moving mechanism that moves at least one of the substrate and the mask in a first direction to bring the substrate and the mask closer to each other or separate them from each other; At least one of the substrate and the mask is irradiated with a second light beam in a direction intersecting the first direction. a position adjustment mechanism that adjusts a relative position between the substrate and the mask by moving the substrate in at least one of a first direction, a second direction intersecting the first direction and the second direction, and a third direction intersecting the first direction and the second direction; A control unit that controls the moving mechanism and the position adjustment mechanism; An information acquisition means for acquiring information regarding the type of the substrate; Equipped with The control unit is characterized in that it controls the position adjustment mechanism based on a first offset for offsetting a misalignment between the alignment mark of the mask and the alignment mark of the substrate that may be caused by the moving mechanism, which is related to information regarding the type of the substrate acquired by the information acquisition means, and a second offset different from the first offset. Effect of the Invention

[0009] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to improve alignment accuracy. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a part of a manufacturing line for an organic EL display device. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a film forming apparatus. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the substrate supporting unit. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the first alignment step. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a method of moving and clamping the substrate after the first alignment step is completed. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a view for explaining the second alignment step. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a method of moving and clamping the substrate after the second alignment step. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a case where a large substrate (mother glass) is cut into two divided substrates. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration in which offset values ​​for each type of board are recorded as a table in a storage unit. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is an overall view of an organic EL display device and a cross-sectional view of an element of the organic EL display device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] The following describes in detail the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings. However, the following embodiments merely show preferred configurations of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to these configurations. Furthermore, the hardware and software configurations, process flow, manufacturing conditions, dimensions, materials, shapes, etc. of the device in the following description are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention unless otherwise specified.

[0012] The present invention relates to a film forming apparatus for forming a thin film on a substrate, and in particular to an alignment technique for performing highly accurate position adjustment with respect to the substrate. The present invention can be preferably applied to an apparatus for forming a thin film of a desired pattern on the surface of a substrate by vacuum deposition. Any material such as glass, resin, or metal can be selected as the substrate material, and any material such as organic materials or inorganic materials (metals, metal oxides, etc.) can be selected as the deposition material. The technology of the present invention can be specifically applied to manufacturing apparatuses for organic electronic devices (e.g., organic EL display devices, thin-film solar cells), optical components, etc. Among them, a manufacturing apparatus for organic EL display devices is one of the preferred application examples of the present invention, since further improvement in the alignment accuracy and speed between the substrate and the mask is required due to the increase in size of the substrate or the increase in the resolution of the display panel. The technology of the present invention can also be regarded as an alignment apparatus for aligning the substrate and the mask. In that case, the alignment apparatus is used in the film forming chamber in the film forming cluster. The present invention The present invention can also be applied to a film formation apparatus and a film formation method in which a film is formed by a method other than vapor deposition, for example, sputtering.

[0013] Hereinafter, an alignment apparatus according to the present embodiment, a film deposition apparatus including the alignment apparatus, an alignment method using the alignment apparatus, and a film deposition method using the film deposition apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0014] <Electronic device manufacturing line> Fig. 1 is a top view showing a schematic diagram of a part of the configuration of a manufacturing line for electronic devices. The manufacturing line in Fig. 1 is used, for example, for manufacturing display panels for organic electroluminescence (EL) display devices for smartphones, and a substrate 10 obtained by cutting a mother glass as a large substrate of the sixth generation full size (approximately 1500 mm x approximately 1850 mm) to a half-cut size (approximately 1500 mm x approximately 925 mm) is transported into a film-forming cluster 1, where an organic EL film is formed.

[0015] A film formation cluster 1 in a manufacturing line for organic EL display devices generally includes, as shown in FIG. 1, a number of film formation chambers 110 in which processing (e.g., film formation) is performed on a substrate 10, a mask stock chamber 120 in which masks before and after use are stored, and a transport chamber 130 located in the center.

[0016] A transfer robot 140 is installed in the transfer chamber 130 to transfer the substrate 10 between the multiple film formation chambers 110 and to transfer the mask between the film formation chambers 110 and the mask stock chamber 120. The transfer robot 140 is, for example, a robot having a structure in which a robot hand for holding the substrate 10 or the mask is attached to an articulated arm.

[0017] The film forming cluster 1 is connected to a pass chamber 150 for transporting the substrate 10 sent from the upstream side to the film forming cluster 1 in the flow direction of the substrate 10, and a buffer chamber 160 for transporting the substrate 10, which has been subjected to the film forming process in the film forming cluster 1, to another film forming cluster on the downstream side. The transport robot 140 receives the substrate 10 from the upstream pass chamber 150 and transports it to one of the film forming chambers 110 in the film forming cluster 1. The transport robot 140 also receives the substrate 10, which has been subjected to the film forming process in the film forming cluster 1, from one of the film forming chambers 110 and transports it to the buffer chamber 160 connected to the downstream side. Between the buffer chamber 160 and the pass chamber 150 on the further downstream side, a turning chamber 170 for changing the direction of the substrate 10 is provided. This allows the substrate direction to be the same in the upstream film forming cluster and the downstream film forming cluster, making substrate processing easier.

[0018] In the mask stock chamber 120, a mask to be used in the film formation process in the film formation chamber 110 and a used mask are stored in two separate cassettes. A transfer robot 140 transfers a used mask from the film formation chamber 110 to a cassette in the mask stock chamber 120, and transfers a new mask stored in another cassette in the mask stock chamber 120 to the film formation chamber 110.

[0019] Each chamber, such as the film formation chamber 110, mask stock chamber 120, transfer chamber 130, buffer chamber 160, and rotation chamber 170, is maintained in a high vacuum state during the manufacturing process of an organic EL display panel. Each film formation chamber 110 is provided with a film formation device. A series of film formation processes, such as the transfer of the substrate 10 to the transfer robot 140, adjustment of the relative positions of the substrate 10 and the mask (alignment), fixing the substrate 10 on the mask, and film formation (evaporation), are automatically performed by the film formation device. Although the film formation devices in each film formation chamber differ in minor points such as differences in evaporation sources and masks, they are almost the same in basic configuration (especially configuration related to substrate transportation and alignment). Below, the common configuration of the film formation devices in each film formation chamber will be described. In the following description, it is assumed that the film formation surface of the substrate faces downward in the direction of gravity during film formation. The deposition-up configuration will be described. However, in the present invention, the present invention is not limited to this, and a deposition-down configuration in which a film is deposited with the deposition surface of the substrate facing upward in the direction of gravity during deposition can be adopted, or a configuration (side deposition) in which a film is deposited with the substrate standing vertically, i.e., with the deposition surface of the substrate approximately parallel to the direction of gravity can be adopted.

[0020] <Film forming equipment> FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a film forming apparatus. In the following explanation, an XYZ Cartesian coordinate system is used, with the vertical direction being the Z direction. When the substrate is fixed so as to be parallel to the horizontal plane (XY plane) during film formation, the short side direction (direction parallel to the short side) of the substrate is the X direction, and the long side direction (direction parallel to the long side) is the Y direction. The rotation angle around the Z axis is represented by θ. The Z direction corresponds to the "first direction", the X direction corresponds to the "second direction intersecting with the first direction", and the Y direction corresponds to the "third direction intersecting with the first direction and the second direction".

[0021] The film forming apparatus includes a vacuum chamber 200. The inside of the vacuum chamber 200 is maintained in a vacuum atmosphere or an inert gas atmosphere such as nitrogen gas. Inside the vacuum chamber 200, a substrate support unit 210, a mask 220, a mask table 221, a cooling plate 230, and an evaporation source 240 are provided.

[0022] The substrate supporting unit 210 is a means for supporting and transporting the substrate 10 received from the transport robot 140, and is also called a substrate holder. The mask 220 is a metal mask having an opening pattern corresponding to the thin film pattern to be formed on the substrate 10, and is fixed on a mask table 221 that supports the mask 220.

[0023] During film formation, the substrate 10 is placed on the mask 220. The cooling plate 230 is a plate-like member that adheres to the substrate 10 during film formation and suppresses the temperature rise of the substrate 10 during film formation, thereby suppressing the alteration and deterioration of the organic material. The cooling plate 230 may also serve as a magnetic plate. The magnetic plate is a member that increases the adhesion between the substrate 10 and the mask 220 during film formation by attracting the mask 220 with a magnetic force. In this way, the adhesion means (magnetic plate) that adheres the substrate 10 and the mask 220 to each other can also serve as a temperature adjustment means that adjusts (typically cools) the temperature of at least one of the substrate 10 and the mask 220.

[0024] The evaporation source 240 is composed of a container (crucible) for storing the evaporation material, a heater for heating the container, a shutter for stopping the release of the evaporation material, a driving mechanism for driving various members such as the shutter, an evaporation rate monitor for recognizing the thickness of the film to be formed, etc. In this embodiment, an evaporation device using the evaporation source 240 as a film formation source will be described, but the present invention is not limited to this and can also be applied to a sputtering device using a sputtering target as a film formation source.

[0025] A movement adjustment mechanism 205 for adjusting the relative positional relationship between the substrate 10 and the mask 220 is provided on the upper part (outside) of the vacuum chamber 200. The movement adjustment mechanism 205 includes a substrate Z actuator 250 as a movement mechanism for moving the substrate 10 in the Z direction and moving the substrate 10 and the mask 220 closer to or farther from each other. In this manner, in this embodiment, a configuration is adopted in which the substrate 10 is moved in the Z direction (first direction) to move the substrate 10 closer to or farther from the mask 220. However, in the present invention, the substrate and the mask may be moved closer to or farther from each other by adopting a configuration for moving the mask in the first direction or a configuration for moving the substrate and the mask in the first direction. Note that, as the substrate Z actuator 250, various known technologies such as a motor and a ball screw, a motor and a linear guide, etc., can be adopted. The substrate Z actuator 250 has a function of raising and lowering (moving in the Z direction) the entire substrate support unit 210.

[0026] The movement adjustment mechanism 205 further includes a clamp Z actuator 251, a cooling plate Z actuator 252, an X actuator, a Y actuator, and a θ actuator. These actuators can also employ various known technologies such as a motor and a ball screw, or a motor and a linear guide.

[0027] The clamp Z actuator 251 serves to open and close the clamping mechanism of the substrate supporting unit 210. The cooling plate Z actuator 252 serves to raise and lower the cooling plate 230.

[0028] The X actuator, the Y actuator, and the θ actuator (hereinafter collectively referred to as the "XYθ actuator 290") play a role in aligning the substrate 10. The XYθ actuator has a function of moving the entire substrate support unit 210 and the cooling plate 230 in the X direction, the Y direction, and rotating them by θ. Therefore, the XYθ actuator has a mechanism for moving the members supporting the substrate support unit 210 and the cooling plate 230 in the X direction, the Y direction, and rotating them by θ. Although the XYθ actuator 290 is shown in FIG. 2, it generally has a mechanism for moving the members supporting the substrate support unit 210 and the cooling plate 230 in the X direction, a mechanism for moving them in the Y direction, and a mechanism for rotating them by θ. Note that a θ actuator for rotating by θ may be separately installed, or θ rotation may be performed by a combination of an X actuator and a Y actuator. The XYθ actuator 290 serves as a position adjustment mechanism that adjusts the relative position between the substrate 10 and the mask 220 by moving the substrate 10 in at least one of the X direction (second direction) intersecting with the Z direction (first direction) and the Y direction (third direction) intersecting with the Z direction and the X direction. In this embodiment, a case has been shown in which a configuration is adopted in which the relative position between the substrate 10 and the mask 220 is adjusted by moving the substrate 10. However, in the present invention, a configuration in which the relative position between the substrate and the mask is adjusted by moving the mask or by moving both the substrate and the mask can also be adopted.

[0029] Cameras 260, 261 are provided on the upper part (outside) of the vacuum chamber 200 to measure the positions of the substrate 10 and the mask 220, respectively, for alignment of the substrate 10 and the mask 220. The cameras 260, 261 photograph the substrate 10 and the mask 220 through windows provided in the vacuum chamber 200. By recognizing the alignment marks on the substrate 10 and the mask 220 from the images, it is possible to measure the XY positions of each and the relative positional deviation amount within the XY plane.

[0030] In order to achieve high-precision alignment in a short time, it is preferable to perform two-stage alignment: a first alignment (also called "rough alignment") for roughly aligning, and a second alignment (also called "fine alignment") for highly accurate alignment. In this case, it is preferable to use two types of cameras: a low-resolution but wide-field-of-view camera 260 for the first alignment, and a narrow-field-of-view but high-resolution camera 261 for the second alignment. In this embodiment, the alignment marks attached to two locations on a pair of opposing sides of each of the substrate 10 and the mask 220 are measured by two cameras 260 for the first alignment, and the alignment marks attached to the four corners (or two diagonal locations) of the substrate 10 and the mask 220 are measured by four cameras 261 for the second alignment. The number of alignment marks and cameras for measuring them is not particularly limited. For example, in the case of fine alignment, marks on two corners of the substrate 10 and mask 220 may be measured by two cameras 261.

[0031] The film forming apparatus includes a control unit 270. The control unit 270 has functions of controlling the substrate Z actuator 250, the clamp Z actuator 251, the cooling plate Z actuator 252, the XYθ actuator 290, and the cameras 260 and 261, as well as transport and alignment of the substrate 10, control of the evaporation source, and control of film formation. The control unit 270 includes, for example, a processor, memory, and the like. The control unit 270 may be configured by a computer having a memory, storage, I / O, etc. In this case, the functions of the control unit 270 are realized by a processor executing a program stored in the memory or storage. As the computer, a general-purpose personal computer, an embedded computer, or a PLC (programmable logic controller) may be used. Alternatively, some or all of the functions of the control unit 270 may be configured by a circuit such as an ASIC or FPGA. Note that a control unit 270 may be provided for each film forming apparatus, or one control unit 270 may control multiple film forming apparatuses.

[0032] The film forming apparatus according to this embodiment includes an offset information storage unit 280 as a storage unit. The offset information storage unit 280 stores information for adjusting a position adjustment parameter value (offset value) when performing the above alignment, depending on which part of a large substrate (mother glass) the substrate 10 is cut out from. The offset information storage unit 280 may be provided for each film forming apparatus, or may be connected to a plurality of film forming apparatuses via a network. The offset information storage unit 280 will be described in detail later.

[0033] The film forming apparatus according to this embodiment also includes a mask thickness information acquiring means 285 for acquiring thickness information for the mask 220 carried into the film forming apparatus. The control unit 270 variably controls the amount of movement (movement position) when the substrate 10 aligned for placement on the mask 220 is moved closer to the mask 220 (or the mask 220 is moved closer to the substrate 10) based on the mask thickness information acquired by the mask thickness information acquiring means 285. Details regarding the mask thickness information acquiring means 285 will be described later.

[0034] <Substrate support unit> The configuration of the substrate supporting unit 210 will be described with reference to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the substrate supporting unit 210. The substrate supporting unit 210 is a means for holding and transporting the substrate 10 by clamping the periphery of the substrate 10 with a clamping mechanism. Specifically, the substrate supporting unit 210 has a support frame 301 provided with a plurality of supports 300 that support each of the four sides of the substrate 10 from below, and a clamp member 303 provided with a plurality of pressing tools 302 that clamp the substrate 10 between the supports 300. A pair of the supports 300 and the pressing tools 302 constitutes one clamping mechanism. In the example of FIG. 3, three supports 300 are arranged along the short sides of the substrate 10, and six clamping mechanisms (pairs of the supports 300 and the pressing tools 302) are arranged along the long sides, and the two long sides are clamped. However, the configuration of the clamping mechanism is not limited to the example in Fig. 3, and the number and arrangement of the clamping mechanisms are appropriately changed according to the size and shape of the substrate to be processed, the film formation conditions, etc. The support tool 300 is also called a "finger plate", and the pressing tool 302 is also called a "clamp".

[0035] The transfer of the substrate 10 from the transport robot 140 to the substrate support unit 210 is performed, for example, as follows. First, the clamp member 303 is raised by the clamp Z actuator 251, and the pressing tool 302 is separated from the support 300, thereby releasing the clamping mechanism. After the substrate 10 is introduced between the support 300 and the pressing tool 302 by the transport robot 140, the clamp member 303 is lowered by the clamp Z actuator 251, and the pressing tool 302 is pressed against the support 300 with a predetermined pressing force. As a result, the substrate 10 is sandwiched between the pressing tool 302 and the support 300. In this state, the substrate support unit 210 is driven by the substrate Z actuator 250, whereby the substrate 10 can be raised and lowered (moved in the Z direction). That is, the substrate 10 can be moved in a first direction (Z direction) perpendicular to the surface of the mask 220 or the film formation surface of the substrate 10 by the substrate Z actuator 250, which is a movement mechanism, to move the substrate 10 closer to or farther from the mask 220. Note that the clamp Z actuator 251 rises or falls together with the substrate support unit 210, so that the substrate support unit Even if the mat 210 moves up and down, the state of the clamping mechanism does not change.

[0036] Reference numeral 101 in FIG. 3 denotes alignment marks for the second alignment provided at the four corners of the substrate 10, and reference numeral 102 denotes an alignment mark for the first alignment provided at the center of the short side of the substrate 10.

[0037] <Alignment (position adjustment process)> 4A and 4B are diagrams showing the first alignment step. Fig. 4A shows the state immediately after the substrate 10 is transferred from the transfer robot 140 to the substrate support unit 210. The center of the substrate 10 is bent downward due to its own weight. Next, as shown in Fig. 4B, the clamp member 303 is lowered, and each side of the substrate 10 is clamped by a clamping mechanism consisting of a pressing tool 302 and a support tool 300.

[0038] Next, as shown in FIG. 4(c), a first alignment is performed in a state where the substrate 10 is separated from the mask 220 by a predetermined height (a state where the substrate 10 and the mask 220 are separated by a predetermined distance). The first alignment is a first position adjustment process that roughly adjusts the relative positions of the substrate 10 and the mask 220 in the XY plane (a direction parallel to the film formation surface of the substrate 10), and is also called "rough alignment". In the first alignment, the camera 260 recognizes the substrate alignment mark 102 provided on the substrate 10 and the mask alignment mark 220X provided on the mask 220, measures their respective XY positions and positional deviation d1 in the XY plane, and performs alignment. FIG. 4(c1) shows an example of the positional relationship between the substrate alignment mark 102 and the mask alignment mark 220X photographed by the camera 260.

[0039] In this way, the first alignment is performed by adjusting the misalignment between the substrate 10 and the mask 220 at the first position, where the substrate 10 is a first distance away from the mounting surface on the mask 220, based on images of the first alignment marks formed on the substrate 10 and the mask 220, respectively. The camera 260 used for the first alignment is a low-resolution but wide-field camera so that rough alignment can be performed. During alignment, the position of the substrate 10 (substrate support unit 210) may be adjusted as in this embodiment, but in the present invention, the position of the mask may be adjusted, or the positions of both the substrate and the mask may be adjusted.

[0040] When the first alignment process is completed, the substrate 10 is lowered as shown in FIG. 5(a). Then, as shown in FIG. 5(b), before the substrate 10 comes into contact with the mask 220, the pressing tool 302 is raised to release the clamping mechanism. Next, as shown in FIG. 5(c), the substrate support unit 210 is lowered to a position where the second alignment is performed while remaining in the released state (non-clamped state), and then the peripheral portion of the substrate 10 is clamped again by the clamping mechanism as shown in FIG. 5(d). The position where the second alignment is performed is a position where the substrate 10 is temporarily placed on the mask 220 to measure the positional deviation between the substrate 10 and the mask 220, and is, for example, a position where the support surface (upper surface) of the support tool 300 is slightly higher than the placement surface of the mask 220. At this time, at least the center of substrate 10 contacts mask 220, and the left and right sides of the peripheral portion of substrate 10 that are supported by the clamping mechanism are slightly separated (floating) from the placement surface of mask 220. Note that, in this embodiment, it has been described that after the first alignment is completed, substrate 10 is lowered in a released state to the measurement position for the second alignment, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the substrate may be lowered in a state of being clamped by the substrate clamping mechanism.

[0041] 6(a) to 6(d) are diagrams for explaining the second alignment. The second alignment is an alignment process for performing highly accurate positioning, and is also called "fine alignment." First, as shown in FIG. 6(a), a camera 261 detects a substrate alignment mark 101 provided on a substrate 10 and a mask alignment mark 220 provided on a mask 220. 20Y and measures their respective XY positions and the positional deviation d2 in the XY plane. FIG. 6(a1) shows an example of the positional relationship between the substrate alignment mark 101 and the mask alignment mark 220Y photographed by the camera 261. The camera 261 is a high-resolution camera with a narrow field of view so as to enable highly accurate alignment. If the measured positional deviation d2 exceeds a threshold value, an alignment process is performed. The case where the measured positional deviation d2 exceeds the threshold value will be described below.

[0042] If the measured positional deviation exceeds a threshold, as shown in Fig. 6(b), the substrate Z actuator 250 is driven to raise the substrate 10 away from the mask 220. In Fig. 6(c), the XYθ actuator 290 is driven based on the positional deviation measured by the camera 261 to perform alignment. During alignment, the position of the substrate 10 (substrate support unit 210) may be adjusted as in this embodiment, but in the present invention, the position of the mask may be adjusted, or the positions of both the substrate and the mask may be adjusted.

[0043] Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 6(d), the substrate 10 is lowered again to a position for performing the second alignment, and the substrate 10 is placed on the mask 220. Then, the alignment marks of the substrate 10 and the mask 220 are photographed by the camera 261, and the positional deviation is measured. If the measured positional deviation exceeds a threshold, the above-mentioned alignment process is repeated. If the positional deviation falls within the threshold, as shown in FIG. 7(a) to FIG. 7(b), the substrate supporting unit 210 is lowered while still holding the substrate 10, and the height of the supporting surface of the substrate supporting unit 210 and the height of the mask 220 are made to coincide. As a result, the entire substrate 10 is placed on the mask 220. In this manner, the second alignment is performed by photographing the second alignment marks formed on the substrate 10 and the mask 220 at a second position where the substrate 10 and the mask 220 are closer than the first distance, adjusting the misalignment between the substrate 10 and the mask 220 based on the photographed image of the second alignment mark at a position where the substrate 10 and the mask 220 are again separated, and then bringing the substrate 10 and the mask 220 closer to the second position again.

[0044] When the process of placing the substrate 10 on the mask 220 is completed by the above steps, as shown in Fig. 7(c), the cooling plate Z actuator 252 is driven to lower the cooling plate 230 to make it adhere closely to the substrate 10. This completes preparations for the film formation process (evaporation process) to be performed by the film formation device.

[0045] In this embodiment, as shown in Figures 6(a) to 6(d), an example has been described in which the second alignment is repeated while the substrate 10 is clamped by the clamping mechanism, but the clamping mechanism may be released or the clamping force of the clamping mechanism may be weakened (loosened) when the substrate 10 is placed on the mask 220.

[0046] 7(c), that is, in the state where the cooling plate 230 is lowered (or, in the case where a magnet plate is provided separately from the cooling plate 230, the magnet is lowered together with the cooling plate 230) and the substrate 10 placed on the mask 220 is brought into close contact with the mask 220, the film formation process (evaporation process) is performed. However, this is not limited to this, and when the substrate 10 and the mask 220 are in close contact with each other, the pressing tool 302 may be raised to release the clamping mechanism, and the substrate Z actuator 250 may be driven to further lower the support tool 300, and then the film formation process (evaporation process) may be performed.

[0047] <Offset correction and position adjustment based on mask thickness> As described above, after the substrate 10 and the mask 220 are aligned, the substrate 10 and the mask 220 are brought into close contact with each other, and then a film is formed. However, it has been found that when the substrate 10 is placed on the mask 220, the positions of the substrate 10 and the mask 220 are misaligned. Therefore, in this embodiment, a technique for further improving the alignment accuracy is adopted. .

[0048] It has been found that the above-mentioned positional deviation is caused by the type of substrate 10, the individual difference of the mask 220 used, and the thickness of the mask 220 used. In this embodiment, the following operation is performed to suppress the positional deviation between the substrate 10 and the mask 220 caused by these factors. That is, in this embodiment, a configuration is adopted in which the positional deviation occurring during the operation of bringing the substrate 10 and the mask 220 into close contact with each other is offset in advance during alignment according to the type of substrate 10. In addition, in this embodiment, a configuration is adopted in which the positional deviation occurring due to the individual difference of the mask 220 used is associated with the type of substrate 10, so that the positional deviation is offset in advance during alignment. Furthermore, a target movement position to which the substrate 10 is moved toward the mask 220 in order to bring the substrate 10 into contact with the mask 220 after alignment is determined based on the thickness of the mask 220. These will be described in more detail below.

[0049] <<Type of circuit board>> In the case of cutting a large substrate (mother glass) into multiple substrates and performing film formation on these divided substrates as in this embodiment, the behavior of the substrate during alignment with the mask may differ depending on which part of the mother glass the substrate was cut from.

[0050] The main causes of such differences in behavior are thought to be as follows. For example, as shown in Fig. 8, when cutting a mother glass to divide it into two pieces, one side of the mother glass substrate is usually set as the reference side, and the cut is made at a position a specified length from this reference side. For convenience, the half-cut size substrate on the left side of the cutting position will be referred to as "divided substrate 1," and the substrate on the right side will be referred to as "divided substrate 2." There may be a difference in size (the length of the short side after division) between divided substrate 1 and divided substrate 2.

[0051] Furthermore, the magnitude of the residual stress at the cut surface may differ between divided substrate 1 and divided substrate 2. If the magnitude of the residual stress differs, the undulation mode of the substrate may differ. If the position (direction) of the cut surface is made different between divided substrate 1 and divided substrate 2 when the substrates are carried into the film forming apparatus, the effect of the difference in the magnitude of the residual stress at the cut site may become more significant (see FIG. 8(b)).

[0052] In addition, a cutout such as an orientation flat (hereinafter referred to as "orientation flat") may be formed in the mother glass substrate during the pre-treatment process. This orientation flat may be formed only on one side of the mother glass (see FIG. 8(a)), which may cause differences in physical properties such as shape and size between divided substrate 1 and divided substrate 2 after cutting.

[0053] The difference in characteristics between divided substrates 1 and 2 due to such various causes brings about a difference to the extent that it causes a misalignment such as slipping on the substrate support unit when aligning the substrate and the mask. Therefore, it is desirable to make the position adjustment parameter value (offset value) set to correct the misalignment during alignment different between divided substrates 1 and 2.

[0054] In order to prevent a decrease in alignment accuracy due to differences in behavior between the divided substrates, this embodiment is provided with an offset information memory unit 280 that records information for adjusting the position adjustment parameter value (offset value) during alignment depending on which part of the mother glass the substrate 10 was cut out from.

[0055] The difference in behavior based on the type of the substrate 10 may occur not only due to the type of substrate cut out from which part of the mother glass, but also due to other types. " is not limited to the type based on which part of the mother glass (large substrate) it was cut from, but also includes various types in which differences in behavior may occur.

[0056] 9 shows a configuration in which offset value information specific to each substrate type is stored as a table in the offset information storage unit 280. As shown in the figure, information (cut-out information) indicating which part of the mother glass the substrate 10 was cut out from is assigned as an identifier (number or symbol). In this embodiment, for convenience, the two types of substrates 10 are referred to as substrate A and substrate B, respectively. A correction value for offset correcting the positional deviation during alignment is calculated for each type of substrate 10, and stored in the offset information storage unit 280 as corresponding information associated with the cut-out information assigned as an identifier for each substrate 10.

[0057] The offset values ​​as position adjustment parameter values ​​for offset correction for each type of substrate 10 can be calculated for each divided substrate based on the above-mentioned cut-out information by preliminarily loading a non-production substrate for process control management before loading a production substrate into the film forming apparatus, and stored in the offset information storage unit 280. Also, the amount of deviation may be measured during the film forming process using the production substrate, and a value sufficient to offset the amount of deviation may be added to the offset value stored in the offset information storage unit 280, and the offset value may be re-stored in the offset information storage unit 280. That is, the control unit 270 may update the offset value stored in the offset information storage unit 280 based on the control result of the position adjustment mechanism. In this way, the offset value stored in the offset information storage unit 280 can be learned and updated to further suppress the deterioration of alignment accuracy.

[0058] In this embodiment, the position adjustment parameter values ​​(offset values) for offset correction for each type of substrate 10 are associated with cut-out information as an identifier for each substrate, and are organized in the form of a table. However, in the present invention, such association is not limited to this configuration, and the position adjustment parameter values ​​and the cut-out information may be associated with each other in other ways.

[0059] The information on the type of the substrate 10 is acquired by an information acquiring means provided in the control unit 270 (information acquiring step). This information acquiring means can acquire information by various methods described below.

[0060] As a first method, there is a method of acquiring the type (cutting information) of the substrate 10 from an upstream device by communication during the transport process of the substrate 10. In this case, the information acquiring means acquires the cutting information by communication from an upstream device such as a substrate cutting device which performs a process of cutting the substrate 10 from a large substrate before being transported to the film formation cluster 1, a pre-processing device which performs pre-processing on the cut substrate 10, and a transport device. The upstream device such as the substrate cutting device assigns substrate identification information (ID information) to each of the substrates 10 after division (cutting), and associates the ID information with the cutting information, stores it in a memory, or transmits it to a subsequent device. The substrate identification information is information for identifying each divided substrate 10, and is, for example, a number or symbol unique to each substrate 10 which is assigned in the order of being transported from the substrate cutting device.

[0061] A second method includes detecting marks, orientation flats, and the like formed on each substrate 10, and acquiring cut-out information based on the detection results. In this case, the information acquiring means receives the image recognition results by image recognition means including image acquiring means such as a camera as the detection results, and acquires the cut-out information based on the detection results.

[0062] As a third method, there is a method of receiving an input from a user of the apparatus including the deposition cluster 1 and acquiring the cut-out information based on the input result. In this case, the information acquiring means includes an input means such as a touch panel, a keyboard, a mouse, etc., and acquires the cut-out information based on the user's input result. to obtain the cutout information.

[0063] The offset information storage unit 280 may be installed in each film forming apparatus, or may be installed in a server connected to each film forming apparatus via a network so that the offset information storage unit 280 can be shared by a plurality of film forming apparatuses. The table stored in the offset information storage unit 280 is read by the control unit 270 of the film forming apparatus, and the control unit 270 controls the driving of the XYθ actuator that adjusts the relative position of the substrate support unit 210 so that an offset value specific to each substrate 10 based on the cut-out information is utilized for each correction during alignment.

[0064] Thus, according to this embodiment, the position adjustment parameter values ​​(offset values) for correcting positional deviations during alignment are set to be different based on information (cut-out information) assigned as an identifier to each substrate 10, indicating which part of the mother glass it was cut out from. By utilizing this during offset correction, it is possible to prevent a decrease in alignment accuracy due to differences in behavior caused by the type of substrate 10.

[0065] A specific example of the position adjustment parameter value (offset value) employed in this embodiment will be described below.

[0066] <<Offset correction for misalignment during adhesion process (1st offset · 1st correction value)>> After the fine alignment as the second alignment is completed, the entire surface of the substrate 10 is placed on the mask 220. Then, the cooling plate 230, which also serves as a magnet plate, is lowered (if a magnet plate is installed separately, the magnet plate is also lowered following the cooling plate 230), and the substrate 10 and the mask 220 are brought into close contact with each other, after which deposition is performed (see FIG. 7(c)).

[0067] After the fine alignment is completed, the relative position between the substrate 10 and the mask 220 may be shifted again due to mechanical or physical operations such as lowering the cooling plate 230 or the magnet plate.

[0068] In order to correct such misalignment after the completion of fine alignment, after the contact operation between the substrate 10 and the mask 220 is performed, the alignment marks of the substrate 10 and the mask 220 are photographed again by the fine alignment camera 161, and whether the misalignment has converged within the threshold is finally measured and verified. The misalignment amount confirmed in this verification is reflected as an offset amount in the target position at the time of fine alignment, so that the misalignment due to the mechanical and physical operations after the completion of the alignment described above can be corrected in advance. The amount of such misalignment differs depending on the type of substrate 10. Therefore, in this embodiment, the offset value is changed depending on the type of substrate 10. As shown in FIG. 9, the offset correction value is OS-A for the substrate A, and the offset correction value is OS-B for the substrate B.

[0069] As described above, this offset value can be measured by preliminarily inserting a non-production substrate for process control management into the film formation apparatus, and then stored in the offset information storage unit 280. Alternatively, the amount of deviation can be measured during the film formation process using a production substrate, and a value sufficient to offset the amount of deviation can be added to the offset value stored in the offset information storage unit 280, and the offset value can be re-stored in the offset information storage unit 280. In this way, by learning and updating the offset value stored in the offset information storage unit 280, it is possible to further suppress deterioration in alignment accuracy.

[0070] <<Offset correction based on individual mask differences (second offset, second correction value)>> The mask 220 may vary in size due to dimensional tolerances during manufacturing and differences in the amount of deformation after manufacturing. There are individual differences in the dimensions and shapes. Therefore, when the substrate 10 is placed on the mask 220, a positional deviation occurs according to the individual difference of the mask 220. In this embodiment, in order to correct such a positional deviation, similarly to the first offset, for each mask 220, after the contact operation between the substrate 10 and the mask 220 is performed, the alignment marks of the substrate 10 and the mask 220 are photographed again by the fine alignment camera 161, and whether the positional deviation has converged within a threshold value is finally measured and verified. Then, the positional deviation amount confirmed in this verification is reflected as an offset amount in the target position during fine alignment, so that the positional deviation based on the individual difference of the mask 220 can be corrected in advance. The amount of such a positional deviation also differs depending on the type of the substrate 10. Therefore, in this embodiment, the offset value is changed according to the type of the substrate 10 and the individual difference of the mask.

[0071] That is, as shown in Fig. 9, mask identification information (id1, id2,...) is assigned to each mask 220. Then, offset correction values ​​based on mask individual differences are set separately for the case where substrate A is used and the case where substrate B is used. For example, when substrate A is used and mask 220 with identifier id1 is used, offset value based on mask individual differences is OS-A1, and when substrate B is used and mask 220 with identifier id1 is used, offset value based on mask individual differences is OS-B1. When substrate A is used and mask 220 with identifier id2 is used, offset value based on mask individual differences is OS-A2, and when substrate B is used and mask 220 with identifier id2 is used, offset value based on mask individual differences is OS-B2.

[0072] This offset value can also be measured by preliminarily inserting a non-production substrate for process control management into the film formation apparatus, and then stored in the offset information storage unit 280. Alternatively, the amount of deviation may be measured during the film formation process using a production substrate, and a value sufficient to offset the amount of deviation may be added to the offset value stored in the offset information storage unit 280, and the offset value may be re-stored in the offset information storage unit 280. In this way, by learning and updating the offset value stored in the offset information storage unit 280, it is possible to further suppress deterioration in alignment accuracy.

[0073] As described above, in this embodiment, when fine alignment is performed by the XYθ actuator 290 as a position adjustment mechanism, the position between the substrate 10 and the mask 220 is aligned so that the position where the substrate alignment mark 101 and the mask alignment mark 220Y overlap is not the target, but a position shifted in advance from the overlapping position by an amount taking into account the first correction value and the second correction value is the target. For example, when the substrate A is used and the mask 220 with the identifier id1 is used, the fine alignment is performed so that the position shifted by OS-A and OS-A1 from the overlapping position between the substrate alignment mark 101 and the mask alignment mark 220Y falls within the threshold.

[0074] In this embodiment, not only is offset correction performed when fine alignment is performed in a direction parallel to the film formation surface of the substrate 10 (corresponding to a direction parallel to the second and third directions), but movement adjustment is also performed according to the mask thickness. This point will be described below.

[0075] <Position control according to the thickness of the mask used (position control during the movement process)> In this embodiment, first, with the substrate 10 and the mask 220 spaced apart from each other, rough alignment (first alignment) is performed to roughly adjust the relative positions of the substrate 10 and the mask 220 in the XY plane according to the image captured by the camera 260 (see FIG. 4(c)). Then, when the position adjustment by rough alignment is completed, the substrate 10 is lowered to a position close to the mask 220 while maintaining the aligned state. Specifically, as described above, The substrate 10 is lowered so that its center portion comes into contact with the mask 220, and its left and right sides are positioned slightly away from the mounting surface of the mask 220 (see FIG. 5(d)). However, the present invention is not limited to such control. In other words, when the aligned substrate and mask are moved closer to each other after alignment is complete, "closeness" refers not only to moving the substrate to a position where a part of the substrate comes into contact with the mask, but also to moving the substrate and mask as close as possible just before they come into physical contact.

[0076] In this embodiment, the target movement position (movement amount) when the substrate 10, whose positional deviation has been adjusted by the above-mentioned alignment process, is moved close to the mask 220 is controlled based on the thickness information of the mask to be used. That is, when the substrate 10 and the mask 220, whose positional deviation has been adjusted by the first alignment, are moved close to each other from the first position to the second position, the control unit 270 controls the movement mechanism based on the thickness information of the mask 220 acquired by the mask thickness information acquisition means 285. More specifically, the thickness information is acquired for the mask 220 carried into the film forming apparatus, and the movement amount of the substrate 10 moving close to the mask 220 by driving the substrate Z actuator 250 is controlled based on the acquired thickness information. In other words, the movement amount when the aligned substrate 10 is moved close to the mask 220 is corrected according to the difference in thickness for each mask. This makes it possible to suppress the adjusted positional relationship between the substrate 10 and the mask 220 from being shifted again due to the difference in thickness of the mask during the process of placing the substrate 10 on the mask after the alignment is completed.

[0077] In order to perform the above-mentioned control, the film forming apparatus according to this embodiment includes a mask thickness information acquiring means 285 for acquiring thickness information of the mask 220 carried into the film forming apparatus. As specific examples of the mask thickness information acquiring means 285, that is, detailed methods for acquiring thickness information of the mask 220 (information acquiring step), several methods (modes) are possible as follows.

[0078] In the first mode, the thickness information of the mask 220 to be carried into the film forming apparatus can be directly input by the user using the film forming apparatus via an operation terminal. That is, the thickness information is accepted from the user for each mask 220 to be carried into the film forming apparatus, and the user manually inputs the mask thickness information directly through an input means such as a keyboard, mouse, or touch panel, thereby making it possible to cause the film forming apparatus to acquire the mask thickness information. The control unit 270 of the film forming apparatus controls the driving of the substrate Z actuator 250 so that the target movement position (movement amount) when the above-mentioned aligned substrate 10 is moved close to the mask 220 is adjusted based on the thickness information of each mask 220 acquired by the input from the user.

[0079] In a second embodiment, the thickness information of the mask 220 can be stored in advance in a storage unit as a table together with an identifier that can identify each mask 220, and the thickness information can be acquired by reading the identifier and referring to the table. FIG. 9 shows a table in the case where such a method is adopted. That is, the thickness of each mask 220 can be stored in advance in a storage unit, such as the thickness D1 of the mask 220 with the identifier id1, the thickness D2 of the mask 220 with the identifier id2, and so on. The mask thickness information acquisition means 285 in this embodiment adopts a configuration including a reading unit that can read the identifiers assigned to each mask in this way, and a storage unit that stores the mask identifiers and the thickness information of the masks as a table in which they are associated with each other. In the case where this configuration is adopted, the mask thickness information acquisition means 285 can acquire the thickness information corresponding to the identifier by reading the mask identifier assigned to the mask 220 in the form of a barcode or the like with the reading unit when the mask 220 is carried into the film forming apparatus, and referring to the table stored in the storage unit based on the read identifier.

[0080] As a third aspect, the mask 220 is transferred to the film forming apparatus via a mask transfer system. The mask thickness information may be acquired by communication from the upstream conveying device or the control device that controls the upstream conveying device. The film formation cluster 1 of the manufacturing line of the organic EL display device is provided with a mask stock chamber 120 that temporarily stores the masks conveyed from the upstream conveying device of the mask conveying system before being conveyed into the film formation chamber 110. The mask stock chamber 120 stores a plurality of masks 220 in a cassette composed of a plurality of stages, and as necessary, the masks to be used in the film formation process are sequentially drawn out from the cassette and conveyed into the film formation device that constitutes the film formation chamber 110. In this embodiment, the mask thickness information is acquired by receiving, by communication, the thickness information for each mask being conveyed by the film formation device from the upstream conveying device or the control device that controls the upstream conveying device when the mask 220 is conveyed from the upstream conveying device of the mask conveying system and stored in the mask stock chamber 120.

[0081] In the second embodiment, the deposition apparatus identifies each mask by reading the identifier, and obtains the corresponding mask thickness information from the identification result by referring to a table, whereas in the third embodiment, a separate mask identification operation is not performed in the deposition apparatus, and the thickness information of the mask itself is directly received from the upstream apparatus that transports the mask. In other words, when the mask is transported from the upstream apparatus of the mask transport system to the mask stock chamber 120 side, the deposition apparatus also receives the thickness information of each mask being transported, for example, for each stage of the cassette, the mask stored in the first stage has a first thickness, the mask stored in the second stage has a second thickness, and so on. In this way, the deposition apparatus can check the thickness information of each mask when sequentially transporting each mask out of the cassette in the mask stock chamber 120.

[0082] As a fourth aspect for acquiring mask thickness information, a measuring means for measuring the thickness of the mask can be installed in the film formation cluster. That is, the thickness information of the mask carried into the film formation apparatus can be acquired by actual measurement using the thickness measuring means. The thickness measuring means can be installed at any position where the mask 220 is located in the film formation cluster 1. As described above, the mask 220 carried from the upstream device of the mask transport system is temporarily stored in the mask stock chamber 120, and then carried into the film formation apparatus constituting the film formation chamber 110 via the transport chamber 130 by the transport robot. The measuring means for measuring the thickness of the mask 220 can be installed at any position on this mask transport path, that is, in the mask stock chamber 120, the transport chamber 130, or the film formation chamber 110 constituting the film formation apparatus. As a specific configuration of the means for measuring the thickness by actual measurement, the configuration of any known thickness measuring means can be adopted, and is not limited to the configuration of a specific thickness actual measurement means.

[0083] The control unit 270 of the film forming apparatus according to this embodiment controls the driving of the substrate Z actuator 250 so that the target movement position (movement amount) when the aligned substrate 10 is moved closer to the mask 220 is adjusted according to the thickness information of each mask thus acquired, as described above. This makes it possible to prevent the adjusted positional relationship between the substrate 10 and the mask 220 from being shifted again due to the difference in thickness of the mask 220 during the process of placing the substrate 10 on the mask 220 after the alignment is completed. In particular, according to the configurations of the second to fourth modes among the configurations described above as the mode for acquiring the thickness information of the mask 220, it is possible to avoid the possibility of input errors when the user directly and manually inputs the mask thickness information, and it is possible to more reliably suppress the deterioration of the alignment accuracy due to the difference in thickness of the mask 220.

[0084] In the above description, the first alignment, that is, the rough alignment for roughly adjusting the relative positions of the substrate 10 and the mask 220, was mainly described, and the operation of relatively moving the substrate 10 and the mask 220 closer to each other after the alignment process was described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the fine alignment (second alignment) performed after the first alignment may be performed. The present invention can also be applied to the fine alignment. As described above, in the fine alignment, after the alignment operation by the rough alignment (first alignment), the substrate 10 is brought close to the mask 220 (see FIG. 5(d) and FIG. 6(a)), and the alignment marks on the substrate 10 and the mask 220 are photographed by the high-resolution camera 261 installed at the corner portion. If the measured misalignment exceeds a threshold value, the substrate 10 is again raised and separated from the mask 220 (FIG. 6(b)). In this separated state, the XYθ actuator is driven to perform alignment (FIG. 6(c)), and the substrate 10 is again lowered to a measurement position where a central part of the substrate is placed on the mask 220, and the substrate 10 is brought close to the mask 220 (FIG. 6(d)). The separation and approach operations between the substrate 10 and the mask 220 are repeated until the misalignment between the substrate 10 and the mask 220 is within a predetermined threshold value in the above alignment operation.

[0085] The present invention is also applicable to the case where the substrate 10 and the mask 220 are moved relatively closer to each other (FIG. 6(d)) after the alignment process (FIG. 6(c)) by the second alignment (fine alignment). That is, by using the thickness information of each mask described above during the relative movement between the substrate 10 and the mask 220, it is possible to suppress the decrease in alignment accuracy due to the difference in thickness of the mask 220. In this way, the control unit 270 can also control the movement mechanism based on the thickness information of the mask 220 acquired by the thickness information acquisition means 285 when moving the substrate 10 and the mask 220 closer to each other again to the second position (a position where the center of the substrate 10 contacts the mounting surface of the mask 220 and the side of the substrate 10 is separated from the mounting surface of the mask 220) after the positional deviation adjustment by the second alignment between the substrate 10 and the mask 220 at the separated position based on the captured image of the second alignment mark.

[0086] The present invention can also be applied to the case where the substrate 10 is completely placed on the mask 220 after the second alignment. That is, as described above with reference to FIG. 7, when the positional deviation is within the threshold value by the second alignment (fine alignment), the substrate support unit 210 is further lowered so that the entire substrate 10 is finally completely placed on the mask 220. At this time, the driving of the substrate Z actuator 250 can be controlled so that the amount of downward movement of the substrate support unit 210 is adjusted based on the thickness information of the mask according to the present invention. In this way, the control unit 270 can also control the movement mechanism based on the thickness information of the mask 220 acquired by the thickness information acquisition means 285 when the substrate 10 and the mask 220, the positional deviation of which has been adjusted by the second alignment, are further moved closer to each other from the second position until the substrate 10 is completely placed on the mask 220.

[0087] <Electronic device manufacturing method> Next, an example of a method for manufacturing an electronic device using the film forming apparatus according to this embodiment will be described. Below, as an example of an electronic device, the configuration and manufacturing method of an organic EL display device will be illustrated. First, the organic EL display device to be manufactured will be described. Fig. 10(a) shows an overall view of an organic EL display device 60, and Fig. 10(b) shows the cross-sectional structure of one pixel.

[0088] As shown in FIG. 10(a), a plurality of pixels 62 each including a plurality of light-emitting elements are arranged in a matrix in a display area 61 of an organic EL display device 60. Although details will be described later, each light-emitting element has a structure including an organic layer sandwiched between a pair of electrodes. Note that the pixel here refers to the smallest unit that allows a desired color to be displayed in the display area 61. In the case of the organic EL display device according to this embodiment, the pixel 62 is configured by a combination of a first light-emitting element 62R, a second light-emitting element 62G, and a third light-emitting element 62B that emit light different from each other. The pixel 62 is often configured by a combination of a red light-emitting element, a green light-emitting element, and a blue light-emitting element, but may also be a combination of a yellow light-emitting element, a cyan light-emitting element, and a white light-emitting element, and is not particularly limited as long as it is at least one color.

[0089] 10(b) is a schematic partial cross-sectional view taken along line AB in FIG. The organic EL element includes a first electrode (anode) 64, a hole transport layer 65, any one of the light emitting layers 66R, 66G, and 66B, an electron transport layer 67, and a second electrode (cathode) 68 on a substrate 63. Among these, the hole transport layer 65, the light emitting layers 66R, 66G, and 66B, and the electron transport layer 67 correspond to organic layers. In this embodiment, the light emitting layer 66R is an organic EL layer that emits red light, the light emitting layer 66G is an organic EL layer that emits green light, and the light emitting layer 66B is an organic EL layer that emits blue light. The light emitting layers 66R, 66G, and 66B are formed in patterns corresponding to the light emitting elements (sometimes referred to as organic EL elements) that emit red, green, and blue lights, respectively. The first electrode 64 is formed separately for each light emitting element. The hole transport layer 65, the electron transport layer 67, and the second electrode 68 may be formed in common with the plurality of light emitting elements 62R, 62G, and 62B, or may be formed for each light emitting element. In order to prevent the first electrode 64 and the second electrode 68 from being shorted by foreign matter, an insulating layer 69 is provided between the first electrodes 64. Furthermore, since the organic EL layer deteriorates due to moisture and oxygen, a protective layer 70 is provided to protect the organic EL element from moisture and oxygen.

[0090] 10(b), the hole transport layer 65 and the electron transport layer 67 are shown as a single layer, but may be formed of multiple layers including a hole blocking layer and an electron blocking layer depending on the structure of the organic EL display element. In addition, a hole injection layer having an energy band structure that can smoothly inject holes from the first electrode 64 to the hole transport layer 65 can be formed between the first electrode 64 and the hole transport layer 65. Similarly, an electron injection layer can be formed between the second electrode 68 and the electron transport layer 67.

[0091] Next, an example of a method for manufacturing an organic EL display device will be specifically described. First, a substrate 63 on which a circuit (not shown) for driving the organic EL display device and a first electrode 64 are formed is prepared.

[0092] An acrylic resin is formed by spin coating on the substrate 63 on which the first electrode 64 is formed, and the acrylic resin is patterned by lithography so as to form an opening in the portion where the first electrode 64 is formed, thereby forming an insulating layer 69. This opening corresponds to the light-emitting region where the light-emitting element actually emits light.

[0093] The substrate 63 on which the insulating layer 69 has been patterned is carried into a first film forming apparatus, and the substrate is held by a substrate supporting unit, and a hole transport layer 65 is formed as a common layer on the first electrodes 64 in the display area. The hole transport layer 65 is formed by vacuum deposition. In practice, the hole transport layer 65 is formed to be larger than the display area 61, so that a high-definition mask is not required.

[0094] Next, the substrate 63 on which the hole transport layer 65 has been formed is carried into a second film forming apparatus and held by a substrate supporting unit. The substrate and mask are aligned (first alignment and second alignment), the substrate is placed on the mask, and a red light emitting layer 66R is formed on the portion of the substrate 63 where the red light emitting element is to be disposed.

[0095] Similar to the deposition of the light-emitting layer 66R, a third deposition apparatus deposits a green-emitting light-emitting layer 66G, and a fourth deposition apparatus deposits a blue-emitting light-emitting layer 66B. After the deposition of the light-emitting layers 66R, 66G, and 66B is completed, a fifth deposition apparatus deposits an electron transport layer 67 over the entire display area 61. The electron transport layer 67 is formed as a layer common to the three light-emitting layers 66R, 66G, and 66B.

[0096] The substrate on which the electron transport layer 67 has been formed is transferred to a sputtering device, where the second electrode 68 is formed, and then transferred to a plasma CVD device where the protective layer 70 is formed, thereby completing the organic EL display device 60.

[0097] If the substrate 63 on which the insulating layer 69 is patterned is exposed to an atmosphere containing moisture or oxygen from the time when it is carried into the film forming apparatus until the film formation of the protective layer 70 is completed, the light emitting layer made of an organic EL material may be deteriorated by moisture or oxygen. Therefore, in this example, the substrate is carried in and out of the film forming apparatus in a vacuum atmosphere or an inert gas atmosphere.

[0098] The above embodiment is merely an example of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, but may be modified as appropriate within the scope of the technical concept thereof. [Explanation of symbols]

[0099] 1: Film formation cluster 10: Substrate 101, 102: Substrate alignment mark 110: Film formation chamber 120: Mask stock chamber 130: Transfer chamber 140: Transfer robot 150: Pass chamber 160: Buffer chamber 161: Fine alignment camera 170: Rotation chamber 200: Vacuum chamber 205: Movement adjustment mechanism 210: Substrate support unit 220: Mask 220X, 220Y: Mask alignment mark 221: Mask table 230: Cooling plate 240: Evaporation source 250: Substrate Z actuator 251: Clamp Z actuator 252: Cooling plate Z actuator 260, 261: Camera 270: Control unit 280: Offset information storage unit 285: Mask thickness information acquisition means 290: XYθ actuator 300: Support 301: Support frame 302: Pressing tool 303: Clamping member

Claims

1. An alignment apparatus for aligning a substrate and a mask, comprising: a moving mechanism that moves at least one of the substrate and the mask in a first direction to bring the substrate and the mask closer to each other or separate them from each other; a position adjustment mechanism that adjusts a relative position between the substrate and the mask by moving at least one of the substrate and the mask in at least one of a second direction intersecting the first direction and a third direction intersecting the first direction and the second direction; A control unit that controls the moving mechanism and the position adjustment mechanism; an information acquiring means for acquiring information regarding the thickness of the mask and information regarding the type of the substrate; Equipped with An alignment apparatus characterized in that the control unit controls the moving mechanism and the position adjustment mechanism based on information regarding the thickness of the mask and information regarding the type of the substrate acquired by the information acquisition means.

2. The alignment apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the control unit controls the moving mechanism so that, when moving the aligned substrate and the mask so as to bring them closer together, a target moving position is adjusted based on thickness information of the mask acquired by the information acquisition means.

3. 3. The alignment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the position adjustment mechanism based on information regarding the type of the substrate so that alignment between the substrate and the mask is performed at a position where the substrate and the mask are spaced apart.

4. 4. The alignment apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the substrate is obtained by cutting out the substrate from a larger substrate, and the information regarding the type of the substrate includes cutting information indicating from which position on the large substrate the substrate was cut out.

5. A storage unit stores correspondence information in which the cut-out information is associated with a parameter value used to control the position adjustment mechanism, 5. The alignment apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the control unit uses the correspondence information to control the position adjustment mechanism based on information relating to the type of the substrate.

6. 6. The alignment apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the parameter values ​​include a first correction value for offset correcting a misalignment occurring during a contact operation between the substrate and the mask.

7. 7. An alignment apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said parameter values ​​include a second correction value for offset correcting a deviation caused by an individual difference of said mask used.

8. 3. The alignment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information acquiring means acquires information about the thickness of the mask from an input means that accepts an input of thickness information about the mask from a user.

9. The masks are provided with identifiers for identifying each mask, 3. The alignment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information acquiring means acquires thickness information of the mask corresponding to the identifier by reading the identifier.

10. 10. The alignment apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the information acquisition means includes a reading unit that reads the identifier, and a storage unit that stores the identifier and the thickness information of the mask in association with each other.

11. 3. The alignment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information acquisition means receives the thickness information of the mask from an upstream transport device that transports the mask relative to the alignment apparatus or a control device that controls the upstream transport device.

12. 3. The alignment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information acquiring means acquires the thickness information of the mask from a measuring means for measuring the thickness information of the mask.

13. 13. The alignment apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the measuring device is installed at an arbitrary position on a transport path along which the mask is transported to the alignment apparatus.

14. the alignment device is provided in a film formation apparatus including a film formation chamber in which a film is formed on the substrate, the deposition apparatus includes a mask stock chamber for temporarily storing the mask to be transferred to the deposition chamber, and a transfer chamber which is a transfer path for the mask from the mask stock chamber to the deposition chamber; 13. The alignment apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the measurement means is installed in any one of the film formation chamber, the transfer chamber, and the mask stock chamber.

15. An alignment apparatus for aligning a substrate and a mask, comprising: a moving mechanism that moves at least one of the substrate and the mask in a first direction to bring the substrate and the mask closer to each other or separate them from each other; a position adjustment mechanism that adjusts a relative position between the substrate and the mask by moving at least one of the substrate and the mask in at least one of a second direction intersecting the first direction and a third direction intersecting the first direction and the second direction; A control unit that controls the moving mechanism and the position adjustment mechanism; An information acquisition means for acquiring information regarding the type of the substrate; Equipped with An alignment apparatus characterized in that the control unit controls the position adjustment mechanism based on a first offset for offsetting the misalignment between the alignment mark of the mask and the alignment mark of the substrate that may be caused by the moving mechanism, and a second offset different from the first offset, which is related to information regarding the type of the substrate acquired by the information acquisition means.

16. 16. The alignment apparatus of claim 15, wherein the control unit controls the position adjustment mechanism based on information regarding the type of the substrate so that alignment between the substrate and the mask is performed at a position where the substrate and the mask are spaced apart.

17. 17. The alignment apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the substrate is obtained by being cut out from a larger substrate, and the information regarding the type of the substrate includes cut-out information indicating from which position on the large substrate the substrate was cut out.

18. a storage unit that stores correspondence information in which the cut-out information is associated with the first offset and the second offset used to control the position adjustment mechanism; The control unit uses the correspondence information to perform the 18. The alignment apparatus according to claim 17, further comprising a position adjustment mechanism.

19. 16. The alignment apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the first offset is an offset for correcting a misalignment that occurs when the substrate and the mask are brought into close contact with each other.

20. 16. An alignment apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the second offset is an offset for correcting a deviation caused by an individual difference of the mask used.

21. An alignment device according to claim 1, 2, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 or 20, a film formation source for forming a thin film on the substrate whose position has been adjusted by the alignment device; A film forming apparatus comprising:

22. An alignment method for aligning a substrate and a mask, comprising: a moving step of moving at least one of the substrate and the mask in a first direction by a moving mechanism to bring the substrate and the mask closer to each other or separate them from each other; a position adjusting step of adjusting a relative position between the substrate and the mask by moving at least one of the substrate and the mask by a position adjusting mechanism in at least one of a second direction intersecting the first direction and a third direction intersecting the first direction and the second direction; an information acquiring step of acquiring information regarding the thickness of the mask and information regarding the type of the substrate by an information acquiring means; Including, An alignment method characterized in that, in the moving process and the position adjustment process, the moving mechanism and the position adjustment mechanism are controlled based on information regarding the thickness of the mask and information regarding the type of the substrate acquired in the information acquisition process.

23. An alignment method for aligning a substrate and a mask, comprising: a moving step of moving at least one of the substrate and the mask in a first direction by a moving mechanism to bring the substrate and the mask closer to each other or separate them from each other; a position adjusting step of adjusting a relative position between the substrate and the mask by moving at least one of the substrate and the mask by a position adjusting mechanism in at least one of a second direction intersecting the first direction and a third direction intersecting the first direction and the second direction; an information acquiring step of acquiring information regarding the type of the substrate by an information acquiring means; Including, The alignment method is characterized in that, in the position adjustment process, the position adjustment mechanism is controlled based on a first offset for offsetting the misalignment between the alignment mark of the mask and the alignment mark of the substrate that may be caused by the moving mechanism, which is linked to information regarding the type of the substrate acquired by the information acquisition means, and a second offset different from the first offset.

24. performing position adjustment between the substrate and the mask by the alignment method according to claim 22 or 23; forming a thin film on the substrate through the mask by a film forming source after the position adjustment is performed; A film forming method comprising the steps of:

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