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

Abstract

To provide an alignment device, film deposition apparatus, alignment method and film deposition method, capable of reducing a distance between a substrate and a mask during alignment operation.SOLUTION: An alignment device includes: a control mechanism for controlling a relative position between a wafer 21 and a mask 12 in a first direction parallel to the film deposition surface of the wafer 21; and a movement mechanism for relatively moving the wafer 21 and the mask 12 in a second direction intersecting the film formation surface. A distance between the wafer 21 and the mask 12 in the second direction is controlled by the control mechanism in a state arranged at a prescribed distance on the basis of information on a position when peeled from the state of contacting the wafer 21 to the mask 12 by the movement mechanism.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

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 the manufacture of organic electroluminescence displays and the like, a mask is used to deposit a film of a deposition material on a substrate. As a pre-treatment for the deposition, the mask and the substrate are aligned and then superimposed. If the distance between the mask and the substrate is large during the alignment operation, the alignment accuracy may decrease when the mask and the substrate are superimposed. Therefore, a technique is known in which the relative distance between the mask and the substrate is detected prior to the alignment operation, and the distance between the mask and the substrate during the alignment operation is shortened (see Patent Documents 1 and 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 06814879 [Patent Document 2] Patent Publication No. 2022-57675 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, since the mask and the substrate are bent, it is difficult to shorten the relative distance between the mask and the substrate in consideration of the amount of bending. Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for separating the substrate and the mask based on position information when the substrate and the mask are in contact with each other, and performing alignment in a state in which the distance between the substrate and the mask is shortened. When such a technique is adopted, the distance between the substrate and the mask can be shortened during alignment operation, but in a state in which the substrate and the mask are in contact with each other, the portion of the mask that contacts the substrate is pushed by the substrate and bent. Since the amount of bending of the mask at this time cannot be detected, in order to reliably separate the substrate and the mask from this state, if the substrate and the mask are separated by a predetermined distance, the distance between the substrate and the mask may not be sufficiently shortened. Therefore, there is still room for improvement.

[0005] The present invention provides an alignment apparatus, a film formation apparatus, an alignment method, and a film formation method that can shorten the distance between a substrate and a mask during an alignment operation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The alignment device of the present invention comprises: an adjustment mechanism that adjusts a relative position between the substrate and the mask in a first direction parallel to a deposition surface of the substrate; a moving mechanism that relatively moves the substrate and the mask in a second direction intersecting the deposition surface; An alignment apparatus comprising: The adjustment is performed by the adjustment mechanism while the distance in the second direction between the substrate and the mask is set to a specified distance that is determined based on position information when the substrate and the mask are separated from each other by the moving mechanism.

[0007] In addition, the film forming apparatus of the present invention includes The above alignment device; a film formation source for forming a thin film on a film formation surface of the substrate; The present invention is characterized by comprising:

[0008] Further, the alignment method of the present invention includes the steps of: 1. An alignment method for adjusting a relative position between a substrate and a mask in a first direction parallel to a deposition surface of the substrate using an adjustment mechanism, comprising: a first step of relatively moving the substrate and the mask in a second direction intersecting the deposition surface, using a moving mechanism that relatively moves the substrate and the mask, such that a distance between the substrate and the mask in the second direction becomes a specified distance that is specified based on position information when the substrate and the mask are separated from each other by the moving mechanism; a second step of adjusting a relative position between the substrate and the mask by the adjustment mechanism while the distance between the substrate and the mask in the second direction is the specified distance; The present invention is characterized by having the following.

[0009] Furthermore, the film forming method of the present invention includes the steps of: The method is characterized in that after the relative positions of the substrate and the mask are adjusted by the above alignment method, a thin film is formed on the deposition surface of the substrate using a deposition source. Effect of the Invention

[0010] As described above, according to the present invention, the distance between the substrate and the mask during the alignment operation can be shortened. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of a film forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 3A to 3C are diagrams illustrating the operation of the film forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 3A to 3C are diagrams illustrating the operation of the film forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 3A to 3C are diagrams illustrating the operation of the film forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] 3A to 3C are diagrams illustrating the operation of the film forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 3A to 3C are diagrams illustrating the operation of the film forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of an operation before an alignment operation according to a comparative example. [Figure 8] 5A to 5C are explanatory diagrams of an operation before an alignment operation according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] An enlarged view of the stage and its surroundings in Figure 1. [Figure 10] Top view of the stage. [Figure 11] Layout of wafer marks and mask marks. [Figure 12] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the overall operation of the film forming apparatus. [Figure 13] 11 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation of mask rough alignment. [Figure 14] 11 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation of wafer rough alignment. [Figure 15] 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a fine alignment operation. [Figure 16] 11 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation for bringing a mask into proximity with a wafer. [Figure 17] FIG. 1 is an enlarged view of the magnetic levitation stage and its surroundings as the mask begins to approach the wafer. [Figure 18] FIG. 1 is an enlarged view of the magnetic levitation stage and its surroundings when the mask and wafer are in contact with each other. [Figure 19] 5 is a diagram showing an example of the time response of the current value flowing through a voice coil built into the stator of the linear motor of the stage. [Figure 20] 5 is a diagram showing an example of the time response of the current value flowing through a voice coil built into the stator of the linear motor of the stage. [Figure 21] 5 is a diagram showing an example of the time response of the current value flowing through a voice coil built into the stator of the linear motor of the stage. [Figure 22] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an organic EL display device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Hereinafter, the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative positions, and the like of the components described in the embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention unless otherwise specified.

[0013] (Example) An alignment apparatus, a film forming apparatus, an alignment method, and a film forming method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 22. For convenience, XYZ axes are shown in Figs. 1, 9, 10, 17, and 18. The XY plane is a plane parallel to the film forming surface of the substrate, and a direction parallel to this plane corresponds to a first direction. A direction parallel to the Z axis intersects with (here, perpendicular to) the film forming surface of the substrate. This direction parallel to the Z axis corresponds to a second direction.

[0014] <Overview of the deposition equipment> In particular, referring to FIG. 1, an outline of a film forming apparatus including an alignment device according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a film forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, and shows the structure of the film forming apparatus 1 viewed from the front. The film forming apparatus 1 is provided with a magnetic levitation stage 2. The magnetic levitation stage 2 is fixed to the inside of a vacuum chamber 4 via a stage support 3. In the film forming apparatus 1, a vibration isolation table 5 is disposed on the top plate of the vacuum chamber 4 via a vibration isolation table base 6. A support frame 7 is supported on the vibration isolation table 5, and vibrations transmitted from the vacuum chamber 4 are suppressed. A mask support column 9 is configured to be driven up and down by a mask driving mechanism 8 placed on the support frame 7. When the mask support column 9 is driven, a bellows 10 expands and contracts. The bellows 10 maintains the vacuum level inside the chamber. The lower end side of the mask support column 9 is disposed in the vacuum chamber 4 to support a mask table 11. A mask frame 13 with a mask 12 fixed thereto is carried in and placed on the mask table 11 by a robot hand (not shown) and a coarse movement stage (not shown). When the robot hand (not shown) and the coarse movement stage (not shown) move in and out to place the mask frame 13, the mask table 11 is lowered and retreated by the mask drive mechanism 8. An evaporation source 14 is installed below the mask 12 as a film formation source. In this embodiment, a vacuum deposition apparatus will be described as an example of a film formation apparatus. In this case, the film formation source is an evaporation source. However, the film formation apparatus of the present invention can also be applied to, for example, a sputtering apparatus. In this case, the film formation source is a sputtering cathode.

[0015] The alignment camera 15 used for alignment is supported by the support frame 7. The alignment camera 15 is also supported by the support frame 7, so that vibrations from the vacuum chamber 4 are suppressed, and high-precision measurement is possible. A viewport 16 for alignment measurement is installed on the top plate of the vacuum chamber 4, and the inside of the vacuum chamber 4 can be measured from the atmosphere side. At least two alignment cameras 15 are installed to measure three axes around the X, Y, and Z directions. Here, an example in which two alignment cameras are installed will be described. In addition, the alignment camera 15 is configured so that a fine camera with a narrow field of view but high accuracy and a rough camera with a wide field of view but low accuracy are installed close to each other, and the camera to be measured can be switched. Here, the position in the field of view of the rough camera that becomes the field of view of the fine camera is known in advance by measuring a common measurement target. Furthermore, a configuration having a drive shaft that moves up and down to adjust the focal length of the alignment camera 15 can be adopted.

[0016] The film forming apparatus 1 also has a control unit (not shown). The control unit has a function of controlling various mechanisms and the evaporation source 14, and controlling film formation. The control unit can be configured, for example, by a computer having a processor, memory, storage, I / O, etc. In this case, the functions of the control unit are realized by the processor executing a program stored in the memory or storage. A general-purpose personal computer can be used as the computer. Alternatively, an embedded computer or a PLC (programmable logic controller) may be used. Alternatively, a part or all of the functions of the control unit may be configured with a circuit such as an ASIC or an FPGA. A control unit may be provided for each film forming apparatus 1, or one control unit may control multiple film forming apparatuses 1.

[0017] <Overview of film formation equipment operation> In particular, an overview of the operation of the film forming apparatus 1 according to this embodiment (an overview of the operation from carrying in the mask to film formation) will be described with reference to Figs. 2 to 6. Only the configuration necessary for the overview of the operation is shown in Figs. 2 to 6. Also, Figs. 2 to 6 show a coarse movement stage 30 for moving the mask 12 and the wafer 21 as a substrate. The coarse movement stage 30 is omitted in Fig. 1. The coarse movement stage 30 includes a coarse movement stage support 31, a coarse movement stage support part 32, and a moving mechanism 33 for moving these in the X direction, the Y direction, the Z direction, and a direction rotating about an axis parallel to the Z direction (θ direction). It is a known technique that the moving mechanism 33 is configured by a combination of a mechanism for reciprocating various members such as a ball screw mechanism or a rack and pinion mechanism, and a mechanism for rotating various members such as a motor, and a specific description thereof will be omitted.

[0018] First, the mask 12 is carried into the vacuum chamber by the robot hand 40 (see FIG. 2(a)) and placed on the coarse movement stage support part 32 (see FIG. 2(b)). After that, the robot hand 40 retreats from the vacuum chamber, and the mask rough alignment of the mask 12 is performed. The mask rough alignment is performed by moving and adjusting the coarse movement stage support part 31 and the coarse movement stage support part 32 in the X direction, the Y direction, and the θ direction. At this time, the alignment camera 15 uses a rough camera. FIG. 3(a) shows the positional relationship of each part when the mask rough alignment is performed. After the mask rough alignment is performed, the coarse movement stage support part 31 and the coarse movement stage support part 32 are lowered, and the mask 12 is placed on the mask table 11 (see FIG. 3(b)). Note that the mask 12 is photographed by the alignment camera 15 while it is placed on the mask table 11, and it is confirmed that the mask 12 is placed within a desired range. If the mask 12 is not placed within the desired range, mask rough alignment is performed again, and the same operation is repeated until the mask 12 is placed within the desired range. After the mask 12 is placed on the mask table 11, the coarse movement stage columns 31 rotate, and the coarse movement stage support parts 32 move away from the position below the mask frame 13 (FIG. 3(c)). Then, the coarse movement stage columns 31 and the coarse movement stage support parts 32 rise, and the operation proceeds to preparation for loading the wafer 21.

[0019] Next, the wafer 21 is carried into the vacuum chamber by the robot hand 40 (see FIG. 4(a)) and placed on the coarse movement stage support part 32 (see FIG. 4(b)). Thereafter, the robot hand 40 retreats from the vacuum chamber, and wafer rough alignment of the wafer 21 is performed (see FIG. 4(c)). The wafer rough alignment is performed by adjusting the movement of the coarse movement stage support part 31 and the coarse movement stage support part 32 in the X direction, Y direction, and θ direction. At this time, a rough camera is used as the alignment camera 15.

[0020] When the wafer rough alignment is completed, the alignment camera 15 is switched to a fine camera, and the wafer 21 is attracted to and held by the electrostatic chuck 20 serving as an attraction member (see FIG. 5(a)). After that, the coarse movement stage support part 32 is retracted (see FIG. 5(b)), and the mask stage 11 is raised by the mask driving mechanism 8, and the mask 12 moves to a position close to the wafer 21 (see FIG. 5(c)). This step is the first step.

[0021] Then, in a state where the distance between the mask 12 and the wafer 21 is short (see FIG. 6(a)), fine alignment is performed. This step is the second step. The fine alignment is performed by adjusting the movement of the electrostatic chuck 20 by the magnetic levitation stage 2. When the fine alignment is completed, the attraction magnet 24 is lowered by a mechanism (not shown), and the mask 12 is magnetically attracted and comes into close contact with the wafer 21 (see FIG. 1(b)). In this state, a thin film is formed on the wafer 21 through the mask 12 by the evaporation source 14.

[0022] <Preparation for fine alignment> The preparatory operation for performing fine alignment will be described in more detail. As described with reference to Fig. 5(b) and Fig. 6(a), the mask stage 11 is raised by the mask driving mechanism 8, and fine alignment is performed in a state where the mask 12 has moved to a position close to the wafer 21. The shorter the distance between the mask 12 and the wafer 21, the higher the alignment accuracy can be.

[0023] Therefore, by measuring in advance to what position the mask table 11 should be raised to in order to shorten the distance between the mask 12 and the wafer 21, it is possible to set the position to which the mask table 11 should be raised depending on the mask 12 to be used. The method for this setting will be described below.

[0024] FIG. 7 shows a comparative example. In this comparative example, the mask 12 is raised (see arrow S1 in FIG. 7(a)), and when the mask 12 comes into contact with the wafer 21, the raising operation is stopped (see FIG. 7(b)). FIG. 7(b) also shows an enlarged view of the vicinity of the contact portion between the mask 12 and the wafer 21. When the mask 12 comes into contact with the wafer 21, the mask 12 is pressed against the wafer 21, so the contact portion is in a deflected state. The dotted line in FIG. 7(b) shows the shape of the mask 12 when it is not pressed against the wafer 21, and in the figure, X corresponds to the amount of deflection caused by being pressed against the wafer 21. The mask 12 has individual differences, such as the amount of deformation when fixed to the mask frame 13, and the amount of deflection X varies. In addition, this amount of deflection X cannot be measured. Therefore, when moving the mask 12 away from the wafer 21 (see arrow S2 in FIG. 7(c)) for fine alignment, it is necessary to lower the mask 12 while taking into consideration the variation (error) in the amount of flexure X.

[0025] Thus, in the case of this comparative example, it is necessary to lower the mask 12 while taking into consideration the variation (error) in the amount of flexure X, and therefore the mask 12 must be lowered with a certain amount of leeway in order to reliably separate the mask 12 from the wafer 21. Therefore, depending on the mask 12 used, the distance between the mask 12 and the wafer 21 may not be sufficiently short. Therefore, in this embodiment, a configuration is adopted in which the distance between the mask 12 and the wafer 21 can be further shortened by separating the mask 12 from the wafer 21 without the need to consider the variation (error) in the amount of flexure X.

[0026] A setting method in this embodiment is shown in Fig. 8. In this embodiment as well, first, the mask 12 is raised (see arrow T1 in Fig. 8(a)), and the raising operation is stopped when the mask 12 comes into contact with the wafer 21 (see Fig. 8(b)). Then, in this embodiment, the mask 12 is lowered thereafter (see arrow T2 in Fig. 8(c)), and the lowering operation is stopped when the mask 12 separates from the wafer 21 (see Fig. 8(d)).

[0027] In this embodiment, the position of the mask 12 in the state shown in FIG. 8(d) is set as the reference position, and the amount of movement for moving the mask 12 to a position close to the wafer 21 in order to perform fine alignment is determined. The above setting is performed for each mask 12 to be used. When the mask 12 is placed at the reference position, the distance between the mask 12 and the wafer 21 is too short, and there is a risk that the mask 12 and the wafer 21 may slide against each other due to various errors, especially when the same mask 12 is used for the second or subsequent time. For this reason, fine alignment is performed with the mask 12 and the wafer 21 placed so that the distance between the mask 12 and the wafer 21 is longer by a predetermined clearance than when the mask 12 is placed at the reference position. The above clearance is set based on the dimensional tolerance of the wafer 21, the error of the deflection amount of the mask 12 and the wafer 21, and the like. In this embodiment, since there is no need to consider the variation (error) of the deflection amount X in the above comparative example, the clearance can be set to a minimum. Thus, in this embodiment, the distance (prescribed distance) between the mask 12 and the wafer 21 when performing fine alignment is set in advance for each mask based on the above reference position information (position information). Then, fine alignment is performed with the mask 12 and the wafer 21 arranged so that the distance between them is the prescribed distance depending on the mask to be used.

[0028] As described above, according to this embodiment, since there is no need to consider the variation (error) in the amount of flexure X, fine alignment can be performed more reliably with the distance between the mask 12 and the wafer 21 being short, as compared to the comparative example.

[0029] The detailed configuration of the magnetic levitation stage 2 for performing fine alignment and a more specific example of the above setting method will be described below.

[0030] <Magnetic levitation stage> As shown in Fig. 9, the magnetic levitation stage 2 has a movable part and a fixed part. The movable part is composed of a stage frame 17, a plurality of gravity compensation magnet movers 18 installed on the stage frame 17, and a plurality of linear motor movers 19. An electrostatic chuck 20 is fixed to the stage frame 17, and a wafer 21, which is a film formation target, can be held by adsorbing it in a face-down state. The wafer 21 is also carried in by a robot hand (not shown) and a coarse movement stage (not shown), and is transferred to the electrostatic chuck 20. Also, when the robot hand and the coarse movement stage move in and out to transfer the wafer 21, the mask stage 11 is lowered and retracted by the mask driving mechanism 8.

[0031] The fixed portion of the magnetic levitation stage 2 is made up of a weight compensation magnet stator 22 and a linear motor stator 23 which are fixed to the lower surface of the stage support 3 .

[0032] Here, the moving part of the magnetic levitation stage 2 is supported by the stage support 3 by the thrust generated between the weight compensation magnet mover 18 and the weight compensation magnet stator 22. The thrust is set to be equivalent to the weight of the moving part in the magnetic levitation stage 2. By changing the current value flowing through the voice coil built in the linear motor stator 23, the Lorentz force generated on the magnet built in the linear motor mover 19 can generate the required thrust. In the vertical direction, the weight of the moving part of the magnetic levitation stage 2 is canceled by the weight compensation magnet mover 18 and the weight compensation magnet stator 22 as described above. Therefore, the current supplied to the voice coil built in the linear motor stator 23 is very small, and there is no need to worry about deformation or damage due to heat generation. In addition, if necessary, the voice coil built in the linear motor stator 23 can be covered with a water-cooled jacket and actively cooled by flowing a refrigerant.

[0033] FIG. 10 is a top view of the magnetic levitation stage 2. The positional relationship between the linear motor mover 19 and the linear motor stator 23, and between the weight compensation magnet mover 18 and the weight compensation magnet stator 22 will be described with reference to FIG. 10. The linear motor mover 19 is disposed at four corners of the upper surface of the stage frame 17. For convenience, the linear motor movers are indicated by reference numerals 19a, 19b, 19c, and 19d in FIG. 10. The linear motor stator 23 is disposed on the lower surface of the opposing stage support 3 (not shown in FIG. 10). For convenience, the linear motor stators are indicated by reference numerals 23a, 23b, 23c, and 23d in FIG. 10. Although simplified in the figure, the linear motor movers 19a, 19b, 19c, and 19d and the linear motor stators 23a, 23b, 23c, and 23d are arranged in XYZ for each combination. The linear motor stators 23a, 23b, 23c, and 23d are also provided with three voice coils each in order to generate thrust in the three directions of X, Y, and Z. This makes it possible to drive the movable part of the magnetic levitation stage 2 with six degrees of freedom. For the sake of simplicity of explanation, the voice coils built into the linear motor stators 23a, 23b, 23c, and 23d hereinafter refer to voice coils that generate thrust in the Z direction unless otherwise specified.

[0034] Moreover, the weight compensation magnet movers 18 are arranged symmetrically at four positions around the center of gravity. For convenience, the weight compensation magnet movers are indicated with the reference numerals 18a, 18b, 18c, and 18d in FIG. 10. The weight compensation magnet stator 22 is arranged on the lower surface of the opposing stage support 3. For convenience, the weight compensation magnet stator 22 is indicated with the reference numerals 22a, 22b, 22c, and 22d in FIG. 10. This allows the weight compensation magnet stator 22 to receive force even against moment forces, enabling stable levitation.

[0035] In this embodiment, four pairs of linear motor mover 19 and linear motor stator 23, and four pairs of weight compensation magnet mover 18 and weight compensation magnet stator 22 are provided, but at least three pairs may be provided.

[0036] Here, the configuration around the magnetic levitation stage 2 will be described with reference to FIG. 9 again. The material of the mask 12 is, for example, a metal foil such as Invar that is resistant to thermal expansion, or a thin film material such as a membrane film made by thinning a Si wafer. As described above, the mask 12 is fixed to the mask frame 13, and is transported by the robot hand 40 and placed on the mask table 11 via a coarse movement stage (not shown). The mask 12 and the mask frame 13 can be fixed, for example, by spot welding in a stretched state. Other methods such as mechanical clamping or adhesive fixing are also possible, and a method that does not distort the mask 12 as much as possible when fixed can be cited as an option.

[0037] The mask 12 includes a magnetic material in its surface, and can be sucked up by an attraction magnet 24 that can move up and down relatively to the magnetic levitation stage 2. The wafer 21 is held by the electrostatic chuck 20, and the attraction magnet 24 can approach the surface facing the attraction surface of the electrostatic chuck 20 in a non-contact range, and is configured to be able to generate a magnetic flux required to attract the mask 12. Since the electrostatic chuck 20 and the wafer 21 are made of a non-magnetic material, the magnetic flux of the attraction magnet 24 is formed up to the position of the mask 12, and an attraction force for moving the mask 12 upward can be generated. As a result, the mask 12 can come into contact with the wafer 21 by the attraction force, and can be brought into close contact with the wafer 21. By ensuring the close contact here, it is possible to prevent the film-forming material from getting around during film formation.

[0038] Furthermore, a plurality of through holes corresponding to a pixel pattern are provided at equal intervals in the mask 12. In a vacuum environment, a film forming material evaporated from a high-temperature evaporation source 14 passes through the through holes in the mask 12 and is deposited on the surface of a wafer 21.

[0039] 11(a) is a diagram of the wafer mark arrangement, and FIG. 11(b) is a diagram of the mask mark arrangement. The wafer marks 25 and mask marks 26 will be described using these diagrams. Wafer marks 25 for measuring the position by alignment camera 15 are drawn on wafer 21, and mask marks 26 are drawn on mask 12. The number of wafer marks 25 and mask marks 26 drawn is equal to or greater than the number of alignment cameras 15. There are two alignment cameras 15 in this embodiment, and wafer marks 25 and mask marks 26 are provided in two locations each.

[0040] Here, the peripheral configuration of the magnetic levitation stage 2 will be described again with reference to FIG. The pad 24 and the electrostatic chuck 20 are provided with through holes in the areas that fall within the field of view of the alignment camera 15. This allows the alignment camera 15 to measure the wafer mark 25.

[0041] The sensor of the alignment camera 15 is preferably sensitive to infrared wavelengths, in which case the mask marks 26 can be measured through the wafer 21. In order to ensure the mark contrast within the field of view and increase the mark recognition rate, it is preferable to adopt a configuration in which the light source 27 is installed on the mask table 11, light is irradiated from below the mask 12, and the light is received by the sensor of the alignment camera 15. In this case, the mask table 11 and the mask frame 13 in the optical path of the light source 27 are provided with through holes. The through holes of the attraction magnet 24, the electrostatic chuck 20, the mask table 11, and the mask frame 13 may be provided with a material that transmits light.

[0042] <Alignment details> The relative positioning (alignment) of the wafer 21 and mask 12 will now be described in detail. As described above, the thin film formed on the surface of the wafer 21 is determined by the positions of the through holes in the mask 12, so highly accurate alignment of the wafer 21 and mask 12 is important. The relative positional relationship between the wafer 21 and mask 12 is measured by the fine camera of the alignment camera 15 based on the amount of positional deviation between the wafer mark 25 and the mask mark 26. However, since it is difficult to increase the sampling frequency of the fine camera of the alignment camera 15, a laser displacement meter 28 that can increase the sampling frequency is used to position the magnetic levitation stage 2.

[0043] The laser displacement meter 28 is installed on the mask table 11 and measures the movable part of the magnetic levitation stage 2. The laser displacement meter 28 is arranged at a total of six locations, at least two in the X direction, one in the Y direction, and three in the Z direction, and can simultaneously measure the position of six degrees of freedom. Then, a geometric coordinate conversion is performed based on the six degrees of freedom information of the laser displacement meter 28, and it is converted into the displacement and angle change around the center of gravity of the magnetic levitation stage 2. A thrust force is distributed based on the result, and each linear motor shown in FIG. 10 is driven, making it possible to perform high-precision positioning. The position information obtained from the laser displacement meter 28 is subjected to coordinate conversion, and calculations for calculating the thrust force are performed by an apparatus control unit (not shown).

[0044] The laser displacement meter 28 is fixed near the mask 12 on the mask table 11, and is configured to be able to directly position the mask 12 and the magnetic levitation stage 2 in a vacuum environment without being affected by Abbe error or the like. Furthermore, the laser displacement meter 28 is able to perform stable measurements because vibrations from the chamber are suppressed by the vibration isolation table 5 on which the support frame 7 is placed via the mask table 11. On the other hand, the magnetic levitation stage 2 is supported by a weight compensation magnet with low springiness, and vibrations from the chamber are similarly suppressed.

[0045] Furthermore, by using a highly rigid ceramic material for the material of the stage frame 17, for example, a high natural frequency can be obtained, and the mechanical self-excited vibration generated when controlling the magnetic levitation stage 2 can be set to the high frequency side. This makes it possible to set the feedback control loop using the laser displacement gauge 28 and each linear motor to a high frequency band, and to significantly suppress disturbance vibration.

[0046] As a result, highly accurate relative positioning of the wafer 21 on the magnetic levitation stage 2 and the mask 12 placed on the mask table 11 is achieved.

[0047] Next, an overview of an example of the overall operation regarding the alignment of the film forming apparatus 1 will be described. Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the overall operation regarding the alignment of the film forming apparatus 1. Here, this flowchart is performed with the inside of the vacuum chamber 4 being in a vacuum environment.

[0048] In the following description, the word "step" will be omitted for each step, i.e. step S1 will simply be called S1, step S2 will simply be called S2, etc. First, the mask 12 fixed to the mask frame 13 is carried in by the robot hand. Then, the mask 12 is positioned by a rough camera in the alignment camera 15, and then placed on the mask stage 11. This S1 will be referred to as mask rough alignment. Details of S1 will be described later.

[0049] In S2, the wafer 21 is carried in by the robot hand 40. Then, the wafer 21 is positioned by the rough camera of the alignment camera 15, and then the wafer 21 is attracted to the electrostatic chuck 20. This S2 is referred to as wafer rough alignment. Details of S2 will also be described later.

[0050] In S3, the mask 12 is brought close to the wafer 21. The details of S3 will also be described later.

[0051] In S4, the relative positional deviation between the mask 12 and the wafer 21 is measured by the fine camera of the alignment camera 15, and after adjustment within the standard, the suction magnet 24 is activated to attract the mask 12, and the mask 12 and the wafer 21 are superimposed. This S4 is referred to as fine alignment. Details of S4 will be described later.

[0052] In S5, the film forming material evaporated from the heated evaporation source 14 passes through the through holes of the mask 12 and is deposited on the surface of the wafer 21. Note that even during deposition, a configuration is adopted in which the relative positional deviation between the mask 12 and the wafer 21 is measured by the fine camera of the alignment camera 15 to confirm the amount of positional deviation, thereby ensuring the quality of the deposition.

[0053] Below, we will explain S1, S2, and S4 in detail. After that, we will explain S3 in detail.

[0054] First, the details of S1 will be described below. Fig. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of mask rough alignment, which is S1.

[0055] In S1-1, the mask stage 11 is lowered and removed by the mask driving mechanism 8 to ensure a driving space between the robot hand and the coarse movement stage. In S1-2, the mask frame 13 to which the mask 12 is fixed is carried in by the robot hand. Then, in S1-3, the mask 12 is transferred from the robot hand to the coarse movement stage. At this time, the coarse movement stage positions the mask 11 so that two mask marks 26 each lie within the field of view of the two rough cameras in the alignment camera 15, within the field of view of the fine camera.

[0056] In S1-4, it is determined whether two mask marks 26 are within the field of view of the fine camera in each of the fields of view of the two rough cameras in the alignment camera 15. If they are not within the field of view, the process proceeds to S1-5, and if they are within the field of view, the process proceeds to S1-6.

[0057] In S1-5, the positioning operation by the coarse movement stage is performed again. The positioning by the coarse movement stage is repeated until the two mask marks 26 are positioned within the fields of view of the two rough cameras in the alignment camera 15, respectively, so that they are within the fields of view of the fine camera.

[0058] In S1-6, the mask 12 fixed to the mask frame 13 is placed on the mask table 11 by driving the coarse movement stage only in the Z-axis direction.

[0059] In S1-7, when the mask 12 is placed on the mask stage 11 in S1-6, in order to check whether or not there is any misalignment, the alignment camera 15 is aligned within the field of view of the two rough cameras. It is then determined whether the two mask marks 26 for each are within the field of view of the fine camera. If they are not within the field of view, there was a misalignment when the substrate was placed, and the process proceeds to S1-8. If they are within the field of view, the process proceeds to S1-9.

[0060] In S1-8, the coarse movement stage holds the mask 12 fixed to the mask frame 13 in order to position it again. Then, the process proceeds to S1-5 described above.

[0061] In S1-9, since the mask rough alignment is completed, the coarse adjustment stage is retracted.

[0062] Next, the details of S2 will be described below. Fig. 14 is a flow chart showing an example of the operation of wafer rough alignment in S2.

[0063] In S2-1, the wafer 21 is carried in by the robot hand 40. Then, in S2-2, the wafer 21 is transferred from the robot hand to the coarse movement stage. At this time, the wafer 21 is positioned by the coarse movement stage until two wafer marks 25 are within the fields of view of two rough cameras in the alignment camera 15.

[0064] In S2-3, it is determined whether two wafer marks 25 each fall within the field of view of the two rough cameras in alignment camera 15. If they do not fall within the field of view of the fine camera, the process proceeds to S2-4, and if they do fall within the field of view, the process proceeds to S2-5.

[0065] In S2-4, the positioning operation by the coarse movement stage is performed again. The positioning by the coarse movement stage is repeated until two wafer marks 25 each within the field of view of the two rough cameras in alignment camera 15 are positioned within the field of view of the fine camera.

[0066] In S2-5, the wafer 21 is brought into contact with the electrostatic chuck 20 by being driven only in the Z-axis direction by the coarse movement stage. In S2-6, the electrostatic chuck 20 is activated, and the wafer 21 is attracted to the electrostatic chuck 20.

[0067] In S2-7, in order to check for any misalignment when the wafer 21 was attracted to the electrostatic chuck 20 in S2-6, it is determined whether the two wafer marks 25 are within the field of view of each of the two fine cameras in the alignment camera 15. If they are not within the field of view, there has been a misalignment during attraction, and the process proceeds to S2-8, and if they are within the field of view, the process proceeds to S2-9.

[0068] In S2-8, the coarse movement stage holds the wafer 21 so that the wafer 21 can be repositioned by the coarse movement stage, and then the process proceeds to S2-4 described above.

[0069] In S2-9, since the wafer rough alignment is completed, the coarse adjustment stage is retracted.

[0070] Next, the details of S4 will be described with reference to Fig. 15, which is a flow chart showing an example of the fine alignment operation in S4.

[0071] In S4-1, it is determined whether the relative positional deviation between the two wafer marks 25 and the mask mark 26 is within the standard using each of the two fine cameras in the alignment camera 15. If it is not within the standard, the process proceeds to S4-2, and if it is within the standard, the process proceeds to S4-3.

[0072] In S4-2, the magnetic levitation stage 2 is driven to perform a positioning operation again, and the same operation is repeated until the amount of relative positional deviation between the two wafer marks 25 and the mask mark 26 falls within the standard.

[0073] In S4-3, the attraction magnet 24 is activated to attract the mask 12 upward, bringing it into contact with and tightly fitting to the wafer 21. In S4-4, to check for any misalignment during the contacting in S4-3, each of the two fine cameras in the alignment camera 15 determines whether the relative misalignment amount between the two wafer marks 25 and mask marks 26 is within the standard. If it is not within the standard, the process proceeds to S4-5; if it is within the standard, the fine alignment is completed.

[0074] In S4-5, in order to reposition the magnetic levitation stage 2, the attraction operation by the attraction magnet 24 is stopped and the mask 12 is peeled off from the wafer 21. Thereafter, the process proceeds to the above-mentioned S4-2, and the same operations are repeated.

[0075] Here, when the mask 12 is brought into close contact with the wafer 21 and superimposed in S4-3, misalignment may occur if the mask 12 and the wafer 21 are separated. If there is an error in the parallelism between the mask 12 and the wafer 21, the alignment accuracy may decrease when they are superimposed.

[0076] Furthermore, if the mask 12 and the wafer 21 are in contact when the magnetic levitation stage 2 is driven in S4-2, frictional force may cause the magnetic levitation stage 2 to oscillate, or the mask 12 and the wafer 21 may be damaged by the frictional force.

[0077] Therefore, it is important to position the mask 12 and the wafer 21 as close as possible without contacting each other at S3.

[0078] However, the mask 12 has a thin structure so as not to hinder the deposition of the deposition material on the wafer 21, and the mask 12 may bend convexly toward the wafer 21 due to residual stress during the manufacture of the mask 12 or the magnetic force of the attraction magnet 24. This bending of the mask 12 is a component that occurs when the mask 12 fixed to the mask frame 13 is placed on the mask table 11, and it is difficult to grasp the position and distance of the mask 12 and the wafer 21 close to each other. Therefore, as explained in the above comparative example, in the past, the mask 12 and the wafer 21 had to be separated from each other by a large distance to a position where they would not contact each other. In contrast, in this embodiment, as described above, it is possible to shorten the distance between the mask 12 and the wafer 21 during the alignment operation.

[0079] The following describes in detail the step S3 of bringing the mask 12 close to the wafer 21. Fig. 16 is a flow chart showing an example of the operation of bringing the mask 12 close to the wafer 21 in the step S3.

[0080] In S3-1, the mask driving mechanism 8 is raised to bring the mask 12 close to the wafer 21. Fig. 17 is an enlarged view of the magnetic levitation stage 2 and its surroundings when the mask 12 begins to approach the wafer 21. As shown in this figure, the mask table 11 is lowered and retracted by the mask driving mechanism 8 in order to secure a driving space for the robot hand that carries in the mask 12 and the wafer 21 and the coarse movement stage. For ease of explanation, this figure shows the mask 12 being bent to a greater extent than it should be, but shows a state in which the mask 12 is bent convexly toward the wafer 21.

[0081] When it is detected in S3-2 that the mask 12 has come into contact with the wafer 21, the upward movement of the mask drive mechanism 8 ends. Figure 18 is an enlarged view of the periphery of the magnetic levitation stage 2 when the mask 12 and the wafer 21 are in contact. As shown in this figure, the mask 12 comes into contact with the wafer 21 at a location where there is bending.

[0082] A method for detecting contact between the mask 12 and the wafer 21 will be described. FIG. 19 shows the state where the linear motor of the magnetic levitation stage 2 is fixed when contact between the mask 12 and the wafer 21 is detected. 19A shows an example of the time response of the current flowing through the voice coil built in the linear motor stator 23. FIG. 19A shows the time response of the current flowing through the voice coil built in the linear motor stator 23a. Similarly, FIG. 19B shows the current value of the voice coil built in the linear motor stator 23b, FIG. 19C shows the current value of the voice coil built in the linear motor stator 23c, and FIG. 19D shows the current value of the voice coil built in the linear motor stator 23d. In FIG. 19, the current value is the current value when the mask 12 and the wafer 21 are not in contact with each other, and the current value does not change. When the mask 12 and the wafer 21 start to contact each other, a force due to the contact is applied to the magnetic levitation stage 2, but the magnetic levitation stage 2 is controlled to increase the current value to the linear motor stator 23 to maintain the command position. Therefore, the current value of the voice coil built in each linear motor stator 23a, 23b, 23c, and 23d increases as shown in the figure.

[0083] Here, due to an error in the parallelism between the mask 12 and the wafer 21, a difference occurs in the amount of increase in the current value of the voice coils built into the linear motor stators 23a, 23b, 23c, and 23d. Fig. 19 shows a case where the distance between the mask 12 and the wafer 21 is closer on the side where the linear motor stator 23a is installed, so the current value of the voice coil built into the linear motor stator 23a is larger than the current values ​​of the voice coils built into the other linear motor stators 23. From this increase in the current value of the voice coil built into the linear motor stator 23, contact between the mask 12 and the wafer 21 can be detected, and the parallelism between the mask 12 and the wafer 21 can also be detected.

[0084] In this embodiment, a configuration is adopted in which it is determined that the mask 12 and the wafer 21 have come into contact when it is detected that the current value of the voice coil built into the linear motor stator 23a, which has the largest increase, has increased to the upper limit of a predetermined standard range (S3-2).

[0085] In S3-3, only the combination of the linear motor mover 19 and the linear motor stator 23, which has reached the upper limit of the standard range of the current value, is driven in the direction in which the mask 12 and the wafer 21 move apart. Driving is performed until the current value of the linear motor stator 23 reaches the lower limit of the predetermined standard range. In this embodiment, only the combination of the linear motor mover 19a and the linear motor stator 23a is driven. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of the time response of the current value flowing through the voice coil built in the linear motor stator 23 of the magnetic levitation stage 2 until the current value of the linear motor stator 23 reaches the lower limit of the predetermined standard range. This diagram shows that the current value of the voice coil built in the linear motor stator 23a driven in the direction in which the mask 12 and the wafer 21 move apart has decreased to the lower limit of the predetermined standard range. At that time, the decrease in the current value of the voice coils built into the linear motor stators 23 other than the linear motor stator 23a is smaller than the decrease in the current value of the voice coil built into the linear motor stator 23a, and the difference in the amount of change in current value from when there is no contact for each linear motor stator 23 becomes smaller.

[0086] In S3-4, it is determined whether the amount of change in the current value flowing through the voice coils built into all linear motor stators 23 from when they are not in contact is between the lower limit and the upper limit of the standard range. If it is not within the range, the process proceeds to S3-5, and if it is within the range, the process proceeds to S3-6. In the example shown in Figure 20, the current values ​​of the voice coils built into all linear motor stators 23 are not within the standard range, so the process proceeds to S3-5.

[0087] In S3-5, the magnetic levitation stage 2 is lowered to press the wafer 21 against the mask 12. Here, as in S3-1, the mask 12 may be pressed against the wafer 21 by raising the mask drive mechanism 8, but since the mask 12 and the wafer 21 are already in contact with each other, it is preferable to perform this by using the magnetic levitation stage 2, which can be driven with higher precision.

[0088] Then, at the point in time when it is detected in S3-2 that the current value of the voice coil built in the linear motor stator 23a has increased to the upper limit of a predetermined standard range, The descent ends. FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of the time response of the current flowing through the voice coil until the current value of the linear motor stator 23 again reaches the upper limit of the predetermined standard range. Compared with FIG. 19 which shows an example of the time response of the first S3-2, the difference in the current value of the voice coil built in each linear motor stator 23 becomes smaller. The above operation is repeated in S3-4 until the amount of change in the current value flowing through the voice coil built in all linear motor stators 23 from the time of non-contact falls between the lower limit and the upper limit of the standard range. As a result, the mask 12 and the wafer 21 satisfy the predetermined parallelism.

[0089] In S3-6, the mask driving mechanism 8 is lowered to separate the mask 12 from the wafer 21. The completion of separation is determined when the current values ​​flowing through the voice coils built into all of the linear motor stators 23 drop to the non-contact value. At this point, the parallelism between the mask 12 and the wafer 21 is satisfied, and the part of the mask 12 closest to the wafer 21 and the wafer 21 are at the same position in the Z direction.

[0090] In S3-7, the mask drive mechanism 8 descends by the gap amount (clearance) between the mask 12 and the wafer 21 when performing the fine alignment in S4.

[0091] According to the above flowchart, the mask 12, which is warped and has insufficient flatness, can be adjusted to be parallel at a position of an arbitrary gap amount with respect to the wafer 21, and highly accurate alignment can be achieved between the mask 12 and the wafer 21. As a result, it is possible to suppress misalignment between the mask 12 and the wafer 21 when they are closely attached and superimposed, thereby achieving highly accurate deposition.

[0092] Note that, if the above operation of S3 is performed for the mask 12 that is being used for the first time, it is possible to store position information for the mask 12 when the mask 12 is peeled off from the contact state between the wafer 21 and the mask 12. Therefore, when using the mask for the second time or later, fine alignment can be performed by moving the mask to the position where fine alignment was performed the first time.

[0093] <Electronic device manufacturing method> Next, a description will be given of an example of a method for manufacturing an electronic device using the film forming apparatus 1 of this embodiment. Below, the configuration of an organic EL display device will be shown as an example of an electronic device, and a method for manufacturing the organic EL display device will be illustrated.

[0094] First, the organic EL display device to be manufactured will be described. Fig. 22(a) is an overall view of an organic EL display device 150, and Fig. 22(b) shows the cross-sectional structure of one pixel.

[0095] As shown in FIG. 22(a), a plurality of pixels 152 each including a plurality of light-emitting elements are arranged in a matrix in a display region 151 of an organic EL display device 150. 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 region 151. In the case of the organic EL display device according to this embodiment, the pixel 152 is configured by a combination of a first light-emitting element 152R, a second light-emitting element 152G, and a third light-emitting element 152B that emit light different from each other. The pixel 152 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.

[0096] Fig. 22(b) is a schematic partial cross-sectional view taken along line AB in Fig. 22(a). A pixel 152 is made up of a plurality of light-emitting elements, and each light-emitting element has a first electrode (anode) 154, a hole transport layer 155, one of light-emitting layers 156R, 156G, and 156B, an electron transport layer 157, and a second electrode (cathode) 158 on a substrate 153. Of these, the hole transport layer 15 5, the light-emitting layers 156R, 156G, 156B, and the electron transport layer 157 correspond to the organic layers. In this embodiment, the light-emitting layer 156R is an organic EL layer that emits red light, the light-emitting layer 156G is an organic EL layer that emits green light, and the light-emitting layer 156B is an organic EL layer that emits blue light. The light-emitting layers 156R, 156G, and 156B are formed in patterns corresponding to light-emitting elements (sometimes referred to as organic EL elements) that emit red, green, and blue light, respectively. The first electrode 154 is formed separately for each light-emitting element. The hole transport layer 155, the electron transport layer 157, and the second electrode 158 may be formed in common for the multiple light-emitting elements 152R, 152G, and 152B, or may be formed for each light-emitting element. In addition, an insulating layer 159 is provided between the first electrodes 154 to prevent the first electrode 154 and the second electrode 158 from being short-circuited by foreign matter. Furthermore, since the organic EL layer deteriorates due to moisture and oxygen, a protective layer 140 is provided to protect the organic EL element from moisture and oxygen.

[0097] 22(b), hole transport layer 155 and electron transport layer 157 are shown as single layers, but depending on the structure of the organic EL display element, they may be formed of multiple layers including a hole blocking layer and an electron blocking layer. In addition, a hole injection layer having an energy band structure that can smoothly inject holes from first electrode 154 to hole transport layer 155 can be formed between first electrode 154 and hole transport layer 155. Similarly, an electron injection layer can be formed between second electrode 158 and electron transport layer 157.

[0098] Next, an example of a method for manufacturing an organic EL display device will be specifically described.

[0099] First, a substrate 153 on which a circuit (not shown) for driving the organic EL display device and a first electrode 154 are formed is prepared.

[0100] An acrylic resin is formed by spin coating on the substrate 153 on which the first electrode 154 is formed, and the acrylic resin is patterned by lithography so as to form an opening in the portion where the first electrode 154 is formed, thereby forming an insulating layer 159. This opening corresponds to the light-emitting region where the light-emitting element actually emits light.

[0101] The substrate 153 with the patterned insulating layer 159 is carried into a first organic material film forming apparatus, and the substrate is held by a substrate support table and an electrostatic chuck, and a hole transport layer 155 is formed as a common layer on the first electrode 154 in the display region. The hole transport layer 155 is formed by vacuum deposition. In practice, the hole transport layer 155 is formed to be larger than the display region 151, so no high-resolution mask is required.

[0102] Next, the substrate 153 on which the hole transport layer 155 has been formed is carried into a second organic material deposition apparatus and held by a substrate support table and an electrostatic chuck. The substrate and a mask are aligned, and the substrate is placed on the mask. A red light emitting layer 156R is deposited on the portion of the substrate 153 where a red light emitting element is to be disposed.

[0103] Similar to the formation of the light-emitting layer 156R, a third organic material film formation apparatus is used to form a green light-emitting layer 156G, and a fourth organic material film formation apparatus is used to form a blue light-emitting layer 156B. After the formation of the light-emitting layers 156R, 156G, and 156B is completed, a fifth film formation apparatus is used to form an electron transport layer 157 over the entire display area 151. The electron transport layer 157 is formed as a layer common to the three light-emitting layers 156R, 156G, and 156B.

[0104] The substrate on which the electron transport layer 157 has been formed is moved in a metallic evaporation material deposition apparatus, and a second electrode 158 is deposited.

[0105] Thereafter, the substrate is transferred to a plasma CVD apparatus, where a protective layer 140 is formed, and the organic EL display device 15 is formed. 0 is completed.

[0106] If the substrate 153 on which the insulating layer 159 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 140 is completed, the light emitting layer made of an organic EL material may be deteriorated by moisture or oxygen. Therefore, in this embodiment, the substrate is carried in and out of the film forming apparatus in a vacuum atmosphere or an inert gas atmosphere.

[0107] (summary) The film forming apparatus 1 according to this embodiment includes an adjustment mechanism for adjusting the relative position between the wafer 21 and the mask 12 in a first direction (direction parallel to the XY plane) parallel to the film forming surface of the wafer 21 as a substrate. In this embodiment, the coarse movement stage 30 corresponds to the adjustment mechanism in rough alignment. Also, the magnetic levitation stage 2 corresponds to the adjustment mechanism in fine alignment. Thus, in this embodiment, a configuration is adopted in which the wafer 21 as a substrate is moved in order to adjust the relative position between the wafer 21 and the mask 12. However, in the present invention, the adjustment mechanism for adjusting the relative position between the substrate and the mask in the first direction may move the mask while keeping the substrate stationary, or may move both of them.

[0108] The film forming apparatus 1 also includes a movement mechanism that relatively moves the wafer 21 and the mask 12 in the second direction. The mask drive mechanism 8 that moves the mask 12 in the Z direction and the magnetic levitation stage 2 both correspond to the movement mechanism.

[0109] In this embodiment, adjustment (fine alignment) is performed by the adjustment mechanism in a state where the distance in the second direction between the wafer 21 and the mask 12 is set to a specified distance determined based on the positional information when the wafer 21 and the mask 12 are separated from each other by the moving mechanism from a contact state.

[0110] In addition, in this embodiment, a control unit is provided as a control means for controlling the movement mechanism so that the distance in the second direction between the wafer 21 and the mask 12 becomes the above-mentioned specified distance based on the position information stored according to the mask 12 being used.

[0111] The above-mentioned specified distance is specified based on the above-mentioned position information and the clearance (the deformation amount in the second direction of the mask 12 to be used and the deformation amount in the second direction of the wafer 21). That is, in the above-mentioned S3-7, in order to perform fine alignment after the mask 12 and the wafer 21 are peeled off, a configuration is adopted in which the mask driving mechanism 8 is lowered by a predetermined amount (gap amount (clearance amount)) to further separate the mask 12 from the wafer 21. As described above, if fine alignment is performed in a state in which it is detected that the mask 12 and the wafer 21 are peeled off, the gap between them may be too narrow, causing the mask 12 and the wafer 21 to slide against each other. In addition, when the same mask 12 is used twice or more, the operation of bringing the wafer 21 and the mask 12 into contact with each other and then separating them is not performed, so that the wafer 21 and the mask 12 may slide against each other depending on the dimensional tolerance of the wafer 21 and the state of the mask 12, etc. Therefore, a configuration is adopted in which the above-mentioned specified distance is determined taking into account a predetermined amount (gap amount) based on the deformation amount in the second direction of the mask 12 being used and the deformation amount in the second direction of the wafer 21.

[0112] In this embodiment, the moving mechanism has three or more drive mechanisms for moving either the wafer 21 or the mask 12, and is configured to be able to move either the wafer 21 or the mask 12 in the second direction and in a rotational direction around an arbitrary axis perpendicular to the second direction by the plurality of drive mechanisms. The magnetic levitation stage 2 as a structure has linear motor movers 19 and linear motor stators 23 at four locations as a drive mechanism for moving the wafer 21 by the electrostatic chuck 20. The drive mechanism consisting of the linear motor movers 19 and the linear motor stators 23 at four locations is configured to move the wafer 21 in the second direction (Z-axis direction) and in a rotation direction rotating around an arbitrary axis perpendicular to the second direction. In other words, the wafer 21 can be controlled by a plurality of drive mechanisms so as to be tilted in an arbitrary direction with respect to the XY plane (a plane parallel to the horizontal plane in this embodiment). This makes it possible to adjust the parallelism of the wafer 21 and the mask 12. Note that in this embodiment, a configuration for adjusting the tilt of the wafer 21, etc. has been shown, but a configuration for adjusting the tilt of the mask 12 or a configuration for adjusting the tilts of both can also be adopted.

[0113] Furthermore, as explained in S3 above, it is preferable that the position information is information obtained when the parallelism between the wafer 21 and the mask 12 is within a predetermined range and the wafer 21 and the mask 12 are peeled off from a contact state.

[0114] This embodiment also includes the mask table 11 that holds the mask 12, and the electrostatic chuck 20 as an attraction member that holds the wafer 21. As described above, the adjustment mechanism and the movement mechanism are mechanisms that move at least one of the mask table 11 and the electrostatic chuck 20.

[0115] In this embodiment, a detection means is provided for detecting a state in which the wafer 21 and the mask 12 have come into contact with each other from a separated state, and a state in which the wafer 21 and the mask 12 have come into contact with each other from a contact state, and a state in which the wafer 21 and the mask 12 have come into contact with each other from a separated state, as described in S3. This detection means detects contact and separation between the wafer 21 and the mask 12 based on a change in the current value of a voice coil built in the linear motor stator 23. That is, the detection means detects a state in which the wafer 21 and the mask 12 have come into contact with each other from a separated state, and a state in which the wafer 21 and the mask 12 have come into contact with each other from a contact state, based on the measured values ​​of the control currents that control the multiple driving mechanisms. More specifically, the detection means detects a transition between the wafer 21 and the mask 12 from a separated state to a contact state by the control current starting to rise in the process in which the wafer 21 and the mask 12 are moved in a direction toward each other by the multiple driving mechanisms. In addition, the detection means detects the state in which the wafer 21 and the mask 12 have separated from each other from each other when the above-mentioned control current decreasing state ends during the process in which the wafer 21 and the mask 12 are moved in the direction separating them by the multiple driving mechanisms.

[0116] The above position information is preferably information obtained when the multiple driving mechanisms are controlled so that the wafer 21 and the mask 12 separate after the values ​​of the control currents for all the driving mechanisms fall within a predetermined range (the range from the lower limit to the upper limit of the standard range shown in Figures 19 to 21), and the detection means detects that the wafer 21 and the mask 12 have transitioned from a contact state to a separated state. [Explanation of symbols]

[0117] 1: Film formation device 2: Magnetic levitation stage 3: Stage support 4: Vacuum chamber 5: Anti-vibration table 6: Anti-vibration table base 7: Support frame 8: Mask drive mechanism 9: Mask support column 10: Bellows 11: Mask table 12: Mask 13: Mask frame 14: Evaporation source 15: Alignment camera 16: Viewport 17: Stage frame 18: Weight compensation magnet mover 19: Linear motor mover 20: Electrostatic chuck 21: Wafer 22: Gravity compensation magnet stator 23: Linear motor stator 24: Attraction magnet 25: Wafer mark 26: Mask mark 27: Light source 28: Laser displacement meter 30: Coarse movement stage 31: Coarse movement stage support 32: Coarse movement stage support 33: Movement mechanism 40: Robot hand

Claims

1. an adjustment mechanism that adjusts a relative position between the substrate and the mask in a first direction parallel to a deposition surface of the substrate; a moving mechanism that relatively moves the substrate and the mask in a second direction intersecting the deposition surface; An alignment apparatus comprising: An alignment apparatus characterized in that adjustment is performed by the adjustment mechanism while the distance in the second direction between the substrate and the mask is set to a specified distance that is determined based on position information when the substrate and the mask are separated from each other by the moving mechanism.

2. 2. An alignment apparatus as described in claim 1, further comprising a control means for controlling the moving mechanism so that the distance in the second direction between the substrate and the mask becomes the specified distance based on the position information stored according to the mask being used.

3. 3. The alignment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the specified distance is specified based on the position information, a deformation amount of the mask used in the second direction, and a deformation amount of the substrate in the second direction.

4. The alignment device described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the moving mechanism has three or more driving mechanisms for moving either the substrate or the mask, and these multiple driving mechanisms are configured to move either the substrate or the mask in the second direction and in a rotational direction rotating around any axis perpendicular to the second direction.

5. 3. The alignment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position information is information obtained when the parallelism between the substrate and the mask is within a predetermined range and the substrate and the mask are peeled off from a contact state.

6. a mask table for holding the mask; A suction member for holding the substrate; Equipped with 3. An alignment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment mechanism and the movement mechanism are mechanisms for moving at least one of the mask table and the attraction member.

7. 3. The alignment apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a detection unit that detects a transition from a separated state of the substrate and the mask to a contact state, and a transition from a contact state of the substrate and the mask to a peeled state.

8. the moving mechanism includes three or more drive mechanisms for moving either the substrate or the mask, 8. The alignment apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the detection means detects a state in which the substrate and the mask have moved from a separated state to a contact state, and a state in which the substrate and the mask have moved from a contact state to a peeled state, based on measured values ​​of control currents that control each of the multiple driving mechanisms.

9. The detection means detects a state in which the substrate and the mask are separated from each other by the control current starting to increase during the process in which the substrate and the mask are moved in a direction toward each other by the plurality of driving mechanisms.

9. The alignment apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising: a detecting means for detecting a transition from a contact state to a contact state; and detecting a state in which the substrate and the mask have separated from each other when the falling state of the control current ends in the process of the substrate and the mask being moved in a direction separating them by the plurality of driving mechanisms.

10. The location information is 10. The alignment apparatus of claim 9, wherein the plurality of driving mechanisms are controlled so that the substrate and the mask are separated after the values ​​of the control currents for all of the driving mechanisms fall within a predetermined range, and the information is obtained when the detection means detects that the substrate and the mask have transitioned from a contact state to a separated state.

11. An alignment device according to claim 1 or 2; a film formation source for forming a thin film on a film formation surface of the substrate; A film forming apparatus comprising:

12. 1. An alignment method for adjusting a relative position between a substrate and a mask in a first direction parallel to a deposition surface of the substrate, using an adjustment mechanism, the method comprising: a first step of relatively moving the substrate and the mask in a second direction intersecting the film formation surface, using a moving mechanism that relatively moves the substrate and the mask, such that a distance between the substrate and the mask in the second direction becomes a specified distance that is specified based on position information when the substrate and the mask are separated from each other by the moving mechanism; a second step of adjusting a relative position between the substrate and the mask by the adjustment mechanism while a distance between the substrate and the mask in the second direction is the specified distance; An alignment method comprising the steps of:

13. 13. A film formation method, comprising the steps of: adjusting the relative positions of said substrate and said mask by the alignment method according to claim 12; and then forming a thin film on a film formation surface of said substrate using a film formation source.

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