Vaporizer and deposition device

Abstract

To provide a vaporizer capable of supplying thin film material gas obtained by removing a solid thin film deposition material, and a vapor deposition apparatus capable of preventing the solid thin film deposition material from adhering to a base material.SOLUTION: A vaporizer includes: a material supply part connected to the upper part of a material vaporizing part through a material supply piping part; a carrier gas supply part connected to the lower part of the material vaporizing part through the carrier gas supply piping part; a material vaporizing part for vaporizing a thin film deposition material supplied from the material supply part by carrier gas supplied from the carrier gas supply part to form thin film material gas and supply the thin film material gas on the side of a gas discharge part; and a first filter member provided between the material vaporizing part and the gas discharge part and for allowing the movement of the thin film material gas in the material vaporizing part on the side of the gas discharge part and controlling the movement of thin film deposition material on the side of the gas discharge part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vaporizer that vaporizes a thin film forming material using a carrier gas, and a deposition apparatus that deposits a thin film using a film forming gas containing a thin film forming gas obtained by vaporizing a thin film forming material using a carrier gas. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art A bottom-emission type organic EL device has been known in the past, in which an organic EL element is laminated on a substrate and light generated by the organic EL element is extracted from the substrate side. A typical layer structure of a bottom-emission type organic EL device 300 is as shown in FIG. 6, in which an organic EL element composed of a transparent electrode layer 302, a light-emitting functional layer 303, and a back electrode layer 304 is laminated on a transparent substrate 301. This light-emitting functional layer 303 is configured by laminating multiple organic compound layers, and for example, as shown in Figure 6, there is one in which a hole injection layer 310, a hole transport layer 311, an organic light-emitting layer 312, an electron transport layer 313, and an electron injection layer 314 are laminated in this order from the transparent electrode layer 302 side to the back electrode layer 304 side.

[0003] In the organic EL device 300, the transparent electrode layer 302 is formed by a sputtering method or a CVD method, and the remaining layers 310 to 314 of the light-emitting functional layer 303 and the back electrode layer 304 are often formed by a vacuum deposition method. That is, in order to improve the performance of the organic EL device 300, it is important to improve the functionality of the vacuum deposition apparatus that performs the vacuum deposition method.

[0004] An example of a vacuum deposition apparatus used in the manufacture of the organic EL device 300 is the deposition apparatus described in Patent Document 1. The deposition apparatus of Patent Document 1 is configured to heat and vaporize powdered thin-film forming material in an evaporation chamber, transport the vapor to a deposition chamber using a carrier gas, and spray a mixture of the carrier gas and the vapor onto a substrate in the deposition chamber. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-98417 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Incidentally, the deposition apparatus of Patent Document 1 uses a carrier gas to evaporate or sublimate the powdered thin film forming material into vapor. If the heat capacity of the carrier gas is insufficient, the thin film forming material will not vaporize completely and will reach the substrate in powder form, causing the powdered thin film forming material to adhere to the substrate and potentially causing abnormalities.

[0007] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENTS The present invention aims to provide a vaporizer capable of supplying a thin film material gas from which solid thin film material has been removed, and a deposition apparatus capable of preventing the solid thin film material from adhering to a substrate. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] One aspect of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems includes a material vaporizing section, a material supply section, a material supply piping section, a carrier gas supply section, a carrier gas supply piping section, a gas exhaust section, and a first filter member, the material supply section being connected to an upper section of the material vaporizing section via the material supply piping section and capable of supplying a solid thin film forming material to the material vaporizing section, the carrier gas supply section being connected to a lower section of the material vaporizing section via the carrier gas supply piping section and capable of supplying a carrier gas having a temperature equal to or higher than the boiling point or sublimation point of the thin film forming material. the material vaporization section is capable of supplying a carrier gas supplied from the material supply section to the material vaporization section, the material vaporization section vaporizes the thin film forming material supplied from the material supply section with the carrier gas supplied from the carrier gas supply section to form a thin film material gas, and is capable of supplying the thin film material gas to the gas exhaust section side, and the first filter member is provided between the material vaporization section and the gas exhaust section, and allows the thin film material gas in the material vaporization section to move toward the gas exhaust section side, while restricting the movement of the thin film forming material toward the gas exhaust section side.

[0009] Here, "vaporization" includes not only the phenomenon in which a liquid changes into a gas (evaporation, boiling), but also the phenomenon in which a solid changes directly into a gas without first going through a liquid state (sublimation). The same applies below.

[0010] According to this aspect, a first filter member is provided between the material vaporization section and the gas exhaust section, which allows the movement of thin film material gas and restricts the movement of thin film forming material, thereby preventing the thin film forming material from mixing with the thin film material gas exhausted from the gas exhaust section.

[0011] A preferred aspect is to have a second filter member provided within the material vaporization section or between the material vaporization section and the carrier gas supply section, which restricts the movement of the thin film forming material within the material vaporization section toward the carrier gas supply section.

[0012] According to this aspect, since the second filter member that restricts the movement of the thin film forming material is provided, the thin film forming material can be prevented from moving toward the carrier gas supply part.

[0013] In a more preferred aspect, the second filter member is arranged to divide the material vaporization section into upper and lower sections, and the material vaporization section is capable of vaporizing the thin film forming material on the second filter member to form the thin film material gas.

[0014] According to this aspect, the thin film forming material trapped by the second filter member can be vaporized into thin film material gas, making it possible to further reduce residue of the thin film forming material.

[0015] In a more preferred aspect, the second filter member is provided so as to divide the interior of the material vaporizing section into upper and lower sections, and the material vaporizing section has a space between the second filter member and the carrier gas supply piping section.

[0016] According to this aspect, a space is provided between the second filter member and the carrier gas supply pipe section, so that the carrier gas can pass through the second filter member while being diffused within the space, and the thin film forming material can be vaporized more efficiently.

[0017] In a preferred aspect, the gas exhaust section is provided so as to surround the periphery of the material supply pipe section.

[0018] According to this aspect, a more compact design is possible.

[0019] In a preferred aspect, the material vaporizing section is cylindrical and has an opening area in a cross section perpendicular to the central axis larger than an opening area in a cross section perpendicular to the central axis of the material supply piping section.

[0020] According to this aspect, the carrier gas can be exposed to the thin film forming material more efficiently, and the thin film material gas can be formed efficiently.

[0021] In a preferred aspect, the material vaporizing portion is cylindrical, the thin film forming material is in powder form, and satisfies the following formula (1).

number

[0022] According to this aspect, the thin film forming material can be exposed to the carrier gas more efficiently.

[0023] In a preferred aspect, the material supply piping section has a first piping section and a second piping section from the material supply section side toward the material vaporization section side, and the inner diameter of the second piping section is larger than the inner diameter of the first piping section.

[0024] According to this aspect, since the inner diameter of the second piping section is larger than the inner diameter of the first piping section, the thin film forming material is less likely to flow back from the material vaporizing section to the material supplying section.

[0025] In a preferred aspect, the material supply section has a material supply device within a vacuum chamber for temporarily storing the thin film forming material, and a material introduction section for introducing the thin film forming material toward the material supply piping section, the material supply device has a material discharge section above the material introduction section, and is capable of discharging a predetermined amount of the thin film forming material from the material discharge section, the thin film forming material falls from the material discharge section toward the material introduction section, and the thin film forming material is introduced from the material introduction section to the material supply piping section.

[0026] According to this aspect, the thin film forming material stored in the material supply device and the thin film forming material introduced from the material introduction section to the material supply piping section are separated within the vacuum chamber, so that no pressure difference occurs between the material supply device and the material discharge section, and it is possible to transport the thin film forming material in a stable atmosphere.

[0027] One aspect of the present invention is a deposition apparatus having the above-mentioned vaporization device, a film formation chamber, and a supply flow path connecting the vaporization device and the film formation chamber, and forming a film by spraying a film formation gas containing the thin film material gas onto a substrate in the film formation chamber.

[0028] According to this aspect, it is possible to prevent the solid thin film forming material from adhering to the substrate. Effect of the Invention

[0029] According to the vaporizer of the present invention, it is possible to supply a thin film material gas from which the solid thin film forming material has been removed. According to the deposition apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the solid thin film forming material from adhering to the substrate. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0030] [Figure 1]1 is a configuration diagram that illustrates a vapor deposition device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic view of a main part of the vaporizer shown in FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a front view showing a schematic view of a main part of the material supply unit in FIG. [Figure 4] 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the flows of a thin film forming material, a carrier gas, and a thin film material gas in the vaporization apparatus of FIG. 2. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram that illustrates a vapor deposition device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a typical layer structure of an organic EL device, and hatching has been omitted for ease of understanding. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0031] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

[0032] The deposition apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is a vacuum deposition apparatus that is suitably used for forming the layers 310 to 314 of the light-emitting functional layer 303 and the back electrode layer 304 of the organic EL device 300 shown in FIG.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 1, the deposition apparatus 1 mainly includes a film forming section 2 and a vaporizing section 3. The deposition apparatus 1 is a vacuum deposition apparatus that vaporizes or sublimes a thin film forming material including an organic material in the vaporizer 40 of the vaporizer section 3 to generate vapor of the thin film forming material (hereinafter also referred to as thin film material gas), and in the film forming section 2, forms a thin film on the substrate 100 by spraying the film forming gas including the thin film material gas onto the substrate 100. The film forming gas is a vapor-containing gas that contains at least a thin film material gas, and specifically, is a mixed gas in which a carrier gas is mixed with a thin film material gas.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 1, the film forming unit 2 has a substrate holding unit 11 and a deposition head 12 arranged in a film forming chamber 10. The film forming unit 2 is capable of forming a desired thin film on the substrate 100 by spraying a film forming gas via the deposition head 12 toward the substrate 100 held by the substrate holding unit 11 .

[0035] The film forming unit 2 is connected to an exhaust system (not shown), and the inside of the film forming chamber 10 can be evacuated by the exhaust system, thereby making the inside of the film forming chamber 10 substantially a vacuum state.

[0036] The substrate holding section 11 is a section capable of holding the substrate 100, and the substrate 100 can be carried in and out of the film deposition chamber 10 via a gate (not shown).

[0037] The deposition head 12 has a gas outlet that faces the substrate 100 held by the substrate holding part 11, and is a part that blows a film forming gas onto the substrate 100 from the gas outlet. The deposition head 12 is connected to the vaporizer 40 of the vaporizer 3 via a supply passage 15 .

[0038] As shown in FIG. 1, the supply flow path 15 is a flow path that connects the deposition head 12 and the vaporization chamber 51, and is composed of a first supply path 20, a second supply path 21, and a third supply path 22, in that order from the deposition head 12 side. An on-off valve 25 is provided midway along the first supply path 20, and an on-off valve 26 is provided in the third supply path 22.

[0039] An exhaust system 31 is connected between the on-off valves 25 and 26 of the supply flow path 15 via an exhaust flow path 30, and an exhaust valve 32 is connected to the middle of the exhaust flow path 30. That is, the exhaust flow path 30 is connected to the first supply path 20, and it is possible to exhaust the gas in the deposition head 12 via the first supply path 20.

[0040] The vaporizing section 3 generates a vapor-containing gas containing a thin film material gas, and supplies the generated vapor-containing gas to the deposition head 12 of the film forming section 2 as a film forming gas. The vaporization section 3 includes a vaporizer 40 and a gas supply section 41, as shown in FIG. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, vaporization device 40 mainly includes a vaporization chamber 51, a material supply section 52, gas supply sections 53 and 54, a material supply piping section 55, a gas supply piping section 56, a first filter member 58, and a second filter member 59.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 2, vaporization chamber 51 is a cylindrical vertical tube extending in the up-down direction, and is a portion where thin film forming material is vaporized or sublimated to generate thin film material gas.

[0042] The vaporization chamber 51 is cylindrical and is divided into upper and lower sections by a first filter member 58 , and includes a material vaporization section 60 and a gas exhaust section 61 . The material vaporizing section 60 is a section capable of performing flash evaporation, which instantaneously vaporizes or sublimates a thin film forming material. The material vaporizing section 60 has an internal space 65 therein, and the internal space 65 is vertically divided into an upper space 66 and a lower space 67 by the second filter member 59 .

[0043] The upper space 66 is located above the second filter member 59 and is a vaporization space in which the thin film forming material is vaporized to generate a thin film material gas. The upper space 66 communicates with the material supply pipe section 55 , and communicates with the gas exhaust section 61 via the first filter member 58 . The lower space 67 is a space located below the second filter member 59 and communicates with the gas supply pipe portion 56 .

[0044] The inner diameter d of the material vaporizing portion 60 is set so as to satisfy the following formula (1).

[0045]

number

[0046] F is the flow rate of the carrier gas [m 3 / s], d represents the inner diameter [m] of the material vaporizing section 60, Dp represents the maximum particle diameter [m] of the thin film forming material, m represents the weight [kg] of the thin film forming material, and g represents the gravitational acceleration [m / s2 ] and μ represents the viscosity coefficient of the carrier gas [Pa s]. The maximum particle size of the thin film-forming material can be determined by sieving the material through a sieve having a known opening size and excluding particles having a size larger than the opening size.

[0047] The gas exhaust section 61 is provided on the upper part of the material vaporizing section 60 and is a section for exhausting the thin film material gas toward the on-off valve 26 side of the supply flow path 15 . The gas exhaust section 61 extends in the vertical direction and is cylindrical with a closed upper side. The third supply path 22 is connected to the side, and an insertion hole 95 through which the second piping section 91 can be inserted is formed on the upper surface.

[0048] The material supply section 52 is a material supply mechanism that quantitatively supplies solid thin film forming material and carrier gas to the material vaporization section 60 of the vaporization chamber 51 via the material supply piping section 55, and also serves as a storage container for temporarily storing the thin film forming material. The material supply unit 52 is capable of sending out the thin film forming material to the material vaporization unit 60 side via the material supply piping unit 55 by means of a carrier gas supplied from the gas supply unit 53 .

[0049] As shown in FIG. 3, the material supply section 52 includes a vacuum chamber 70, a material storage section 71, a material supply device 72, a material introduction section 73, a material transfer piping section 74, and a gas transfer piping section 75. The vacuum chamber 70 is connected to an exhaust system (not shown), and the inside of the vacuum chamber 70 can be evacuated by the exhaust system, making it possible to make the inside of the vacuum chamber 70 substantially a vacuum state. The material storage section 71 is provided outside the vacuum chamber 70 and is a section for storing thin film forming materials. The material supply device 72 is a device that supplies a predetermined amount of thin film forming material to the material introduction section 73, and includes a main body section 80, a material receiving section 81, and a material discharging section . The main body 80 is a portion for temporarily storing thin film forming materials. The material receiving section 81 is a section that receives the thin film forming material from the material storage section 71 via the atmosphere in the vacuum chamber 70 and introduces the received thin film forming material into the main body section 80 . The material discharge section 82 is a section that quantitatively discharges the thin film forming material within the main body section 80 to the material introduction section 73 via the atmosphere within the vacuum chamber 70 .

[0050] The material introduction section 73 is a section that receives the thin film forming material from the material discharge section 82 via the atmosphere in the vacuum chamber 70 and introduces the received thin film forming material into the material supply piping section 55 . The material transfer piping section 74 is a pipe that extends inside and outside the vacuum chamber 70 and transfers the thin film forming material in the material storage section 71 outside the vacuum chamber 70 toward the material receiving section 81 inside the vacuum chamber 70. An opening / closing valve 85 is provided midway through the material transfer piping section 74. The gas transfer piping section 75 is a pipe that introduces the carrier gas supplied from the gas supply section 53 into the vacuum chamber 70, and an opening / closing valve 86 is provided midway through the gas transfer piping section 75.

[0051] The material-side gas supply unit 53 is a portion that supplies a carrier gas to the material supply unit 52 and adjusts the amount of thin film forming material supplied to the vaporization chamber 51 . The material-side gas supply unit 53 includes a heat exchanger and a mass flow controller downstream of the carrier gas supply source, and is capable of supplying carrier gas to the material supply unit 52 at a predetermined temperature and a predetermined flow rate. As shown in FIG. 2, vaporization-side gas supply section 54 (carrier gas supply section) is a section that supplies carrier gas to material vaporization section 60 of vaporization chamber 51 and adjusts the amount of vaporization of the thin film forming material. The vaporization-side gas supply unit 54 includes a heat exchanger and a mass flow controller downstream of the carrier gas supply source, and is capable of supplying carrier gas to the material vaporization unit 60 at a predetermined temperature and a predetermined flow rate. In other words, the vaporization side gas supply unit 54 is capable of supplying a carrier gas at a higher temperature than the carrier gas supplied by the material side gas supply unit 53, and is capable of supplying a carrier gas at a temperature higher than the boiling point or sublimation point of the thin film forming material.

[0052] The material supply piping section 55 is a connecting pipe that connects the material supply section 52 and the evaporation chamber 51, and has a first piping section 90 and a second piping section 91 from the material supply section 52 side to the evaporation chamber 51 side, as shown in Figure 2. In the material supply piping section 55, a first piping section 90 and a second piping section 91 are connected via an on-off valve 92, and a flow rate adjustment valve 93 is provided midway in the second piping section 91. The inner diameter of the second piping section 91 is larger than the inner diameter of the first piping section 90 located upstream in the flow direction of the thin film forming material, and is preferably 1.5 to 3 times the inner diameter of the first piping section 90. The inner diameter of the second piping section 91 is smaller than the inner diameter d of the vaporization chamber 51 located downstream in the flow direction of the thin film forming material, and it is preferable that the inner diameter of the vaporization chamber 51 is 1.5 to 3 times the inner diameter of the second piping section 91.

[0053] The on-off valve 92 is a gate valve that separates the internal space of the first piping section 90 from the internal space of the second piping section 91, and for example, a ball valve can be used. The flow rate adjustment valve 93 is a valve that divides the internal space of the second piping section 91 and adjusts the flow rate of the thin film forming material passing through, and for example, a globe valve can be used.

[0054] Gas supply pipe section 56 (carrier gas supply pipe section) is a connection pipe that connects material vaporizing section 60 of vaporizing chamber 51 and vaporization-side gas supply section 54, and has an opening / closing valve 97 midway.

[0055] The first filter member 58 is a filter that is provided at the boundary between the material vaporizing section 60 and the gas exhaust section 61 as shown in FIG. 2, and separates the material vaporizing section 60 from the gas exhaust section 61. The first filter member 58 is a member that allows the movement of thin film material gas in the material vaporizing portion 60 toward the gas exhaust portion 61 side, and restricts the movement of solid thin film forming material toward the gas exhaust portion 61 side. The first filter member 58 is an annular sheet having an opening 96 in the center. The first filter member 58 is provided with a plurality of gas passage holes through which the thin film forming material is substantially unable to pass. Here, "substantially impermeable" refers to a state in which 99.9% or more of the thin film-forming material cannot pass through. In other words, "substantially impermeable to the thin film-forming material" refers to a state in which 99.9% or more of the thin film-forming material cannot pass through. The same applies below.

[0056] The second filter member 59 is provided in the material vaporizing section 60, and is a member that restricts the movement of the thin film forming material in the material vaporizing section 60 toward the vaporizing side gas supply section . The second filter member 59 is a circular sheet having a plurality of gas passage holes through which the thin film forming material is substantially unable to pass.

[0057] Here, the positional relationship between the components of vaporizer 40 will be described.

[0058] As shown in FIG. 2, in the vaporizer 40, a portion of the second piping section 91 of the material supply piping section 55 is inserted into the vaporization chamber 51 and passes through an insertion hole 95 of the gas exhaust section 61 to be positioned within the material vaporization section 60. The gas exhaust section 61 is connected to the upper part of the material vaporizing section 60 and is provided so as to surround the second piping section 91 . The vaporization chamber 51, the first piping section 90, and the second piping section 91 all have the same central axis. The vaporization chamber 51 and the second piping section 91 are double-cylindrical, and a gap is formed between the inner wall of the material vaporization section 60 and the outer wall of the second piping section 91, and a first filter member 58 is formed to block the gap. The second piping portion 91 is inserted into an opening 96 of the first filter member 58 , and the edge portion of the first filter member 58 is held by the inner wall of the vaporization chamber 51 .

[0059] As shown in FIG. 1, the gas supply unit 41 is connected between the on-off valves 25, 26 of the supply flow path 15 via a connection path 98, and is a part that adjusts the total flow rate of the film formation gas released from the deposition head 12 and adjusts the film formation speed. The gas supply unit 41 includes a heat exchanger and a mass flow controller downstream of the carrier gas supply source, and is capable of supplying carrier gas at a predetermined temperature and a predetermined flow rate to the supply flow path 15 via a connection path 98.

[0060] The connection path 98 is a connection pipe that connects the gas supply unit 41 and the supply flow path 15, and is provided with an on-off valve 99 midway.

[0061] The thin film forming material generates a thin film material gas by heating with a carrier gas. The thin film forming material used in this embodiment is mainly an organic EL material such as an organic material constituting each layer 310-314 of the light emitting functional layer 303 of the organic EL device 300 and a metal material constituting the back electrode layer 304, and is a powder-like solid material at room temperature.

[0062] The carrier gas supplied by the gas supply units 41, 53, and 54 is a heated carrier gas that has been heated to a predetermined temperature. The temperature of the carrier gas may be appropriately changed depending on the boiling point or sublimation point of the thin film forming material, the supply location, etc., and is preferably, for example, 100 degrees Celsius or higher and 700 degrees Celsius or lower. The carrier gas is preferably an inert gas such as nitrogen gas or argon gas, and more preferably nitrogen gas.

[0063] The exhaust system 31 exhausts gas from the internal space of the exhaust flow path 30, and may be, for example, a vacuum exhaust pump such as a dry pump, a turbo molecular pump (TMP), or a cryopump (CP).

[0064] Next, an example of a method for producing a thin film using the deposition apparatus 1 will be described.

[0065] First, the material storage section 71 is filled with the thin film forming material as required and sealed, the thin film forming material is degassed, and the inside of the vacuum chamber 70 is evacuated to create a vacuum state. Next, in the vacuum chamber 70, the thin film forming material is dropped from the material transfer piping 74 connected to the material storage section 71 into the material receiving section 81, and the thin film forming material is introduced from the material receiving section 81 into the main body section 80. Then, a predetermined amount of the thin film forming material is dropped from the material discharge section 82 provided at the bottom of the main body section 80 toward the material introduction section 73, and the thin film forming material is introduced from the material introduction section 73 into the material supply piping section 55.

[0066] When the thin film forming material is introduced into the material supply piping section 55, a carrier gas is supplied from the material side gas supply section 53 to push the thin film forming material downstream, and as shown in Figure 4, the thin film forming material A is transported toward the material vaporization section 60 of the vaporization chamber 51 through the first piping section 90 and the second piping section 91, and is supplied into the interior of the material vaporization section 60 from the top of the material vaporization section 60. Here, in the lower part of the material vaporizing section 60 , a carrier gas B having a temperature equal to or higher than the boiling point or sublimation point of the thin film forming material is supplied from the vaporizing gas supply section 54 via the gas supply piping section 56 . Thin film forming material A, which is sent out from the top of material vaporization section 60 and falls, is exposed to high-temperature carrier gas B, which is supplied upward from the bottom of material vaporization section 60, and is heated within material vaporization section 60. The material A instantly vaporizes or sublimes, changing its properties, and turns into thin film material gas C, which rises toward the top of material vaporization section 60. The thin film material gas C generated as described above passes from the material vaporizing section 60 through the first filter member 58 to the gas exhaust section 61 , and is sent from the gas exhaust section 61 to the supply flow path 15 .

[0067] When the thin film material gas is thus generated in the vaporization chamber 51, the thin film material gas is passed through the supply flow path 15 and is discharged as a film formation gas from the deposition head 12 onto the substrate 100 in the film formation chamber 10. The film formation gas discharged onto the substrate 100 is cooled on the substrate 100 and precipitates to form a thin film.

[0068] At this time, if necessary, the on-off valve 99 of the connection path 98 can be opened to supply a carrier gas at a predetermined temperature at a predetermined flow rate from the gas supply unit 41 to the supply flow path 15. In this way, the flow rate and temperature of the carrier gas discharged from the deposition head 12 can be made constant regardless of the process conditions of the vaporization device 40. In this case, the film forming gas is a mixed gas of the thin film material gas generated in the vaporization chamber 51 and the carrier gas supplied from the gas supply unit 41.

[0069] According to the vaporization device 40 of the first embodiment, in the material vaporization section 60, the thin film forming material supplied from the material supply section 52 is vaporized by the high-temperature carrier gas supplied from the vaporization-side gas supply section 54 to form a thin film material gas, which is passed through the first filter member 58 and supplied from the gas exhaust section 61 to the supply flow path 15 side. Therefore, when the thin film material gas is caused to flow from the material vaporization section 60 to the gas exhaust section 61, the powdered thin film forming material contained in the thin film material gas is captured by the first filter member 58, and substantially only the thin film material gas reaches the gas exhaust section 61. As a result, it is possible to prevent the thin film forming material from being mixed with the thin film material gas discharged from the gas exhaust section 61 to the supply flow path 15.

[0070] According to the vaporizer 40 of the first embodiment, the material vaporizing section 60 is divided into upper and lower sections by the second filter member 59, and the movement of the thin film forming material from the upper space 66 side to the lower space 67 side is restricted. Therefore, the thin film forming material can be prevented from moving toward the vaporizing side gas supply section 54 side.

[0071] According to the vaporization device 40 of the first embodiment, the material vaporization section 60 can vaporize the thin film forming material captured on the second filter member 59 to form a thin film material gas, thereby making it possible to reduce the amount of residue of the thin film forming material.

[0072] According to the vaporization device 40 of the first embodiment, since there is a lower space 67 between the second filter member 59 and the gas supply piping section 56, the carrier gas can be passed through the second filter member 59 while being diffused within the lower space 67, and the thin film forming material can be vaporized more efficiently.

[0073] According to the vaporizer 40 of the first embodiment, the gas exhaust section 61 is provided so as to surround the periphery of the material supply pipe section 55, so that the vertical height can be reduced, enabling a more compact design.

[0074] According to the vaporizer 40 of the first embodiment, the first filter member 58 closes the gap between the vaporization chamber 51 and the second piping section 91 of the material supply piping section 55. Therefore, no matter from which part of the gas exhaust section 61 the thin film material gas enters, it passes through the first filter member 58, and the thin film material can be more reliably collected.

[0075] According to the vaporizer 40 of the first embodiment, the opening area of ​​the cross section perpendicular to the central axis of the material vaporizer 60 is larger than the opening area of ​​the cross section perpendicular to the central axis of the material supply pipe 55. Therefore, the thin film forming material dropped from the material supply pipe 55 can be exposed to the carrier gas in a diffused state within the material vaporizer 60, and the thin film material gas can be efficiently formed.

[0076] According to the vaporization device 40 of the first embodiment, the relationship between the carrier gas, the material vaporization section 60, and the thin film forming material satisfies the following formula (1), so that the thin film forming material is less likely to flow back from the material supply piping section 55, and the thin film forming material can flow toward the second filter member 59.

[0077]

number

[0078] F is the flow rate of the carrier gas [m 3 / s], d represents the inner diameter [m] of the material vaporizing section 60, Dp represents the maximum particle diameter [m] of the thin film forming material, m represents the weight [kg] of the thin film forming material, and g represents the gravitational acceleration [m / s 2 ] and μ represents the viscosity coefficient of the carrier gas [Pa s].

[0079] According to the vaporization apparatus 40 of the first embodiment, the material supply piping section 55 has a first piping section 90 and a second piping section 91 from the material supply section 52 side toward the material vaporization section 60 side, and the inner diameter of the second piping section 91 is larger than the inner diameter of the first piping section 90. Therefore, a flow rate difference occurs between the first piping section 90 and the second piping section 91, and the thin film forming material is unlikely to flow back from the material vaporization section 60 side to the material supply section 52 side.

[0080] According to the vaporization apparatus 40 of the first embodiment, in the material supply unit 52, the thin film forming material falls from the material discharge unit 82 of the material supply device 72 to the material introduction unit 73 within the vacuum chamber 70, and is introduced from the material introduction unit 73 to the material supply piping unit 55. That is, the thin film forming material stored in the material supply device 72 and the thin film forming material introduced from the material introduction unit 73 to the material supply piping unit 55 are separated within the vacuum chamber 70. Therefore, no pressure difference occurs between the inside of the material supply device 72 and the material discharge unit 82, and the thin film forming material can be transferred in a stable atmosphere.

[0081] According to the deposition apparatus 1 of the first embodiment, the vaporizer 40 supplies a thin film material gas that does not substantially contain a solid thin film material, so that the solid thin film material can be prevented from adhering to the substrate 100.

[0082] According to the deposition apparatus 1 of the first embodiment, the material supply section 52 can quantitatively supply the thin film forming material to the material vaporization section 60, so that only the necessary amount of material is continuously supplied and the entire amount is vaporized, thereby stabilizing the vaporization rate.

[0083] According to the deposition apparatus 1 of the first embodiment, the thin film forming material falls onto the second filter member 59 from the material supply pipe section 55 provided at the top of the material vaporizing section 60, and the carrier gas supplied from the gas supply pipe section 56 provided at the bottom of the material vaporizing section 60 flows uniformly through the second filter member 59. Therefore, the thin film forming material and the carrier gas come into contact with each other efficiently on the second filter member 59, enabling vaporization at a low temperature, and deterioration of the thin film forming material can be suppressed. In addition, thin film forming material with a large particle size that takes time to vaporize falls under its own weight, and vaporization proceeds on the second filter member 59, so that the generation of unvaporized thin film forming material can be suppressed.

[0084] Next, a vapor deposition apparatus 200 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Note that the same components as those in the vapor deposition apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0085] The deposition apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment of the present invention is composed of a film forming section 2, a plurality of vaporizing sections 3 (3a, 3b), and a mixer 201, as shown in FIG. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, in order to distinguish between vaporizers 3a and 3b, components belonging to vaporizer 3a are marked with "a" and components belonging to vaporizer 3b are marked with "b."

[0086] Mixing device 201 is a device that mixes thin film material gases generated from different types of thin film forming materials in each vaporization section 3a, 3b. That is, mixing device 201 is a device that mixes thin film material gases generated by vaporizing a first thin film forming material in vaporization device 40a of first vaporization section 3a and thin film material gases generated by vaporizing a second thin film forming material in vaporization device 40b of second vaporization section 3b.

[0087] 5, the mixing device 201 is provided in the middle of the supply flow paths 15a and 15b connecting the film forming unit 2 and the vaporizing units 3a and 3b. Specifically, the mixing device 201 is located upstream of the on-off valve 25 and downstream of the on-off valves 26a, 99a, 26b, and 99b. The supply flow passage 15a is composed of the supply paths 20, 202, 203a, and 22a, and the supply flow passage 15b is composed of the supply paths 20, 202, 203b, and 22b. That is, the supply paths 20 and 202 are a common path shared by the supply flow passages 15a and 15b.

[0088] Next, the flow of the thin film material gas generated in each of the vaporizing parts 3a and 3b in the deposition device 200 will be described.

[0089] The first thin film material gas generated in vaporizer 40a of vaporizer 3a passes through supply path 22a, and is merged with the carrier gas supplied from gas supply unit 41a in supply path 203a, and reaches mixer 201. Similarly, the second thin film material gas generated in vaporizer 40b of vaporizer 3b passes through supply path 22b, merges with the carrier gas supplied from gas supply unit 41b in supply path 203b, and reaches mixer 201. The first thin film material gas and the second thin film material gas are mixed in a mixing device 201, and pass through supply paths 202, 20 as a film formation gas to reach a deposition head 12, where they are sprayed onto a substrate 100 held by a substrate holder 11 in a film formation chamber 10.

[0090] According to the deposition apparatus 200 of the second embodiment, the deposition apparatus 200 has a plurality of vaporizers 3a, 3b, and the thin film material gases generated in the respective vaporizers 3a, 3b are mixed in a mixer 201 and sprayed as a film forming gas onto the substrate 100. Therefore, even when a plurality of thin film forming materials (e.g., an organic material and a metal material) having different boiling points or sublimation points are co-deposited, the thin film forming materials are less likely to deteriorate by preparing the thin film material gases in the different vaporizers 3a, 3b.

[0091] In the above embodiment, the film formation section 2 is composed of one film formation chamber 10, but the present invention is not limited to this. The film formation section 2 may be composed of multiple film formation chambers 10. By providing multiple film formation chambers 10 and supplying film formation gas to each film formation chamber 10 from one vaporization section 3, film formation on the substrate 100 can be carried out simultaneously in each film formation chamber 10, thereby improving productivity.

[0092] In the above embodiment, the material supply unit 52 supplies the carrier gas together with the thin film forming material to the material supply pipe unit 55, but the present invention is not limited to this. Only the thin film forming material may be supplied from the material supply unit 52 to the material supply pipe unit 55.

[0093] In the above embodiment, the second filter member 59 is provided inside the material vaporizing unit 60, but the present invention is not limited to this. The second filter member 59 may be provided in a portion between the material vaporizing unit 60 and the vaporization-side gas supply unit 54. For example, the second filter member 59 may be provided in the gas supply piping unit 56.

[0094] In the above embodiment, the vaporization chamber 51, the first piping section 90, and the second piping section 91 are all cylindrical, but the present invention is not limited to this. As long as the thin film forming material, the thin film material gas, and the carrier gas flow through them, they may have other shapes. For example, they may be polygonal tubular.

[0095] In the above embodiment, the inner diameter of the first piping section 90 and the inner diameter of the second piping section 91 are different, but the present invention is not limited to this. The inner diameter of the first piping section 90 and the inner diameter of the second piping section 91 may be the same size.

[0096] In the above embodiment, the thin film forming material is mainly vaporized on the second filter member 59, but the present invention is not limited to this. The thin film forming material may be vaporized in a state in which the thin film forming material is suspended in the material vaporizing section 60. In this case, the second filter member 59 does not need to be provided.

[0097] In the above-described embodiments, each component may be freely substituted or added between the respective embodiments as long as it falls within the technical scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0098] 1,200 Vapor deposition equipment 10 Film forming room 15, 15a, 15b Supply channel 40, 40a, 40b Vaporizer 52 Material supply section 54 Vaporization side gas supply unit (carrier gas supply unit) 55 Material supply piping section 56 Gas supply piping section (carrier gas supply piping section) 58 First filter member 59 Second filter member 60 Material Evaporation Section 61 Gas exhaust section 67 Lower space (space) 70 Vacuum chamber 72 Material supply device 73 Material introduction section 82 Material discharge section 100 Base material

Claims

1. The gas supply system includes a material vaporizer, a material supply unit, a material supply pipe, a carrier gas supply unit, a carrier gas supply pipe, a gas exhaust unit, and a first filter member; the material supply unit is connected to an upper portion of the material vaporization unit via the material supply piping unit and is capable of supplying a solid thin film forming material to the material vaporization unit; the carrier gas supply unit is connected to a lower portion of the material vaporization unit via the carrier gas supply piping unit, and is capable of supplying a carrier gas having a temperature equal to or higher than the boiling point or sublimation point of the thin film forming material from the lower portion of the material vaporization unit upward; the material vaporization unit vaporizes the thin film forming material supplied from the material supply unit and dropping therefrom by the carrier gas supplied upward from the carrier gas supply unit to form a thin film material gas, and is capable of supplying the thin film material gas to the gas exhaust unit side; The first filter member is provided between the material vaporization section and the gas exhaust section, and allows the thin film material gas in the material vaporization section to move toward the gas exhaust section, while restricting the movement of the thin film forming material toward the gas exhaust section.

2. 2. The vaporization apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the material vaporizing section is cylindrical and has an opening area in a cross section perpendicular to a central axis thereof larger than an opening area in a cross section perpendicular to a central axis of the material supply pipe section.

3. A gas supply system comprising: a material vaporization section; a material supply section; a material supply piping section; a carrier gas supply section; a carrier gas supply piping section; a gas exhaust section; and a first filter member; the material supply unit is connected to an upper portion of the material vaporization unit via the material supply piping unit and is capable of supplying a solid thin film forming material to the material vaporization unit; the carrier gas supply unit is connected to a lower portion of the material vaporization unit via the carrier gas supply piping unit and is capable of supplying a carrier gas having a temperature equal to or higher than a boiling point or a sublimation point of the thin film forming material to the material vaporization unit; the material vaporization unit vaporizes the thin film forming material supplied from the material supply unit by the carrier gas supplied from the carrier gas supply unit to form a thin film material gas, and is capable of supplying the thin film material gas to the gas exhaust unit side; the first filter member is provided between the material vaporizing section and the gas exhaust section, and allows the thin film material gas in the material vaporizing section to move toward the gas exhaust section, and restricts the thin film material from moving toward the gas exhaust section; a second filter member provided within the material vaporization section or between the material vaporization section and the carrier gas supply section, for restricting the movement of the thin film forming material within the material vaporization section toward the carrier gas supply section;

4. the second filter member is provided so as to divide the interior of the material vaporizing portion into upper and lower portions, The vaporization device according to claim 3 , wherein the material vaporization section is capable of vaporizing the thin film forming material on the second filter member to form the thin film material gas.

5. the second filter member is provided so as to divide the interior of the material vaporizing portion into upper and lower portions, The vaporization apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the material vaporization section has a space between the second filter member and the carrier gas supply pipe section.

6. A gas supplying apparatus comprising: a material vaporizing section; a material supplying section; a material supply piping section; a carrier gas supplying section; a carrier gas supply piping section; a gas exhaust section; and a first filter member; the material supply unit is connected to an upper portion of the material vaporization unit via the material supply piping unit and is capable of supplying a solid thin film forming material to the material vaporization unit; the carrier gas supply unit is connected to a lower portion of the material vaporization unit via the carrier gas supply piping unit and is capable of supplying a carrier gas having a temperature equal to or higher than a boiling point or a sublimation point of the thin film forming material to the material vaporization unit; the material vaporization unit vaporizes the thin film forming material supplied from the material supply unit by the carrier gas supplied from the carrier gas supply unit to form a thin film material gas, and is capable of supplying the thin film material gas to the gas exhaust unit side; the first filter member is provided between the material vaporizing section and the gas exhaust section, and allows the thin film material gas in the material vaporizing section to move toward the gas exhaust section, and restricts the thin film material from moving toward the gas exhaust section; The gas exhaust section is provided so as to surround the periphery of the material supply pipe section.

7. A gas supply system comprising: a material vaporization section; a material supply section; a material supply piping section; a carrier gas supply section; a carrier gas supply piping section; a gas exhaust section; and a first filter member; the material supply unit is connected to an upper portion of the material vaporization unit via the material supply piping unit and is capable of supplying a solid thin film forming material to the material vaporization unit; the carrier gas supply unit is connected to a lower portion of the material vaporization unit via the carrier gas supply piping unit and is capable of supplying a carrier gas having a temperature equal to or higher than a boiling point or a sublimation point of the thin film forming material to the material vaporization unit; the material vaporization unit vaporizes the thin film forming material supplied from the material supply unit by the carrier gas supplied from the carrier gas supply unit to form a thin film material gas, and is capable of supplying the thin film material gas to the gas exhaust unit side; the first filter member is provided between the material vaporizing section and the gas exhaust section, and allows the thin film material gas in the material vaporizing section to move toward the gas exhaust section, and restricts the thin film material from moving toward the gas exhaust section; the material vaporizing portion is cylindrical; The thin film forming material is in a powder form, An evaporation device that satisfies the following formula (1). [0010] Here, F is the flow rate of the carrier gas [m ３ / s], d represents the inner diameter [m] of the material vaporizing portion, Dp represents the maximum particle diameter [m] of the thin film forming material, m represents the weight [kg] of the thin film forming material, and g represents the gravitational acceleration [m / s ２ ], and μ represents the viscosity coefficient of the carrier gas [Pa·s].

8. A gas supply system comprising: a material vaporization section; a material supply section; a material supply piping section; a carrier gas supply section; a carrier gas supply piping section; a gas exhaust section; and a first filter member; the material supply unit is connected to an upper portion of the material vaporization unit via the material supply piping unit and is capable of supplying a solid thin film forming material to the material vaporization unit; the carrier gas supply unit is connected to a lower portion of the material vaporization unit via the carrier gas supply piping unit and is capable of supplying a carrier gas having a temperature equal to or higher than a boiling point or a sublimation point of the thin film forming material to the material vaporization unit; the material vaporization unit vaporizes the thin film forming material supplied from the material supply unit by the carrier gas supplied from the carrier gas supply unit to form a thin film material gas, and is capable of supplying the thin film material gas to the gas exhaust unit side; the first filter member is provided between the material vaporizing section and the gas exhaust section, and allows the thin film material gas in the material vaporizing section to move toward the gas exhaust section, and restricts the thin film material from moving toward the gas exhaust section; the material supply piping section includes a first piping section and a second piping section arranged from the material supply section side toward the material vaporizing section side, An evaporation apparatus, wherein an inner diameter of the second piping section is larger than an inner diameter of the first piping section.

9. A gas supply system comprising: a material vaporization section; a material supply section; a material supply piping section; a carrier gas supply section; a carrier gas supply piping section; a gas exhaust section; and a first filter member; the material supply unit is connected to an upper portion of the material vaporization unit via the material supply piping unit and is capable of supplying a solid thin film forming material to the material vaporization unit; the carrier gas supply unit is connected to a lower portion of the material vaporization unit via the carrier gas supply piping unit and is capable of supplying a carrier gas having a temperature equal to or higher than a boiling point or a sublimation point of the thin film forming material to the material vaporization unit; the material vaporization unit vaporizes the thin film forming material supplied from the material supply unit by the carrier gas supplied from the carrier gas supply unit to form a thin film material gas, and is capable of supplying the thin film material gas to the gas exhaust unit side; the first filter member is provided between the material vaporizing section and the gas exhaust section, and allows the thin film material gas in the material vaporizing section to move toward the gas exhaust section, and restricts the thin film material from moving toward the gas exhaust section; the material supply unit has a material supply device that temporarily stores the thin film forming material in a vacuum chamber, and a material introduction unit that introduces the thin film forming material toward the material supply piping unit, the material supply device has a material discharge section above the material introduction section, and is capable of discharging a predetermined amount of the thin film forming material from the material discharge section; The thin film forming material falls from the material discharge portion toward the material introduction portion, and the thin film forming material is introduced from the material introduction portion into the material supply pipe portion.

10. A vaporizer according to any one of claims 1 to 9, a film deposition chamber, and a supply flow path connecting the vaporizer and the film deposition chamber, A deposition apparatus in which a deposition gas containing the thin film material gas is sprayed onto a substrate in the deposition chamber to form a film.

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