Vaporizer and deposition device
The vaporization device addresses inefficiencies in existing systems by using a simplified structure with internal vaporization and even carrier gas distribution, ensuring efficient and cost-effective thin film formation in organic EL devices.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- JP2021032399
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2021-03-02
- Publication Date
- 2025-01-29
- Estimated Expiration
- 2041-03-02
AI Technical Summary
Existing vaporization devices for thin film formation in organic EL devices require complex structures, necessitate external thin film forming material supply, and suffer from inefficient vaporization due to carrier gas temperature and flow rate dependencies, leading to material deterioration and increased device size.
A vaporization device with a simplified structure that vaporizes thin film forming materials within the chamber using a carrier gas supplied through an inner pipe, featuring a conical rectifier and material filling unit to ensure even vaporization, reducing material exposure and promoting efficient gas flow.
The device enables efficient vaporization of thin film forming materials at lower costs with a simpler structure, minimizing material deterioration and device size while maintaining vaporization speed.
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Abstract
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 material 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. 10, 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 10, 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 supplies a powdered thin film forming material from a thin film forming material supply unit to a material transport pipe, and a high-temperature carrier gas from a carrier gas supply unit to the material transport pipe, so that the thin film forming material and the carrier gas are supplied from the material transport pipe to the inside of an evaporation chamber, and a vapor-containing gas containing vaporized thin film forming material is generated. The generated vapor-containing gas is then transported by the carrier gas to a film formation chamber, and a mixed gas of the carrier gas and the vapor-containing gas is sprayed onto a substrate in the film formation 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] However, the deposition apparatus of Patent Document 1 requires a predetermined amount of thin film forming material to be supplied from a thin film forming material supply unit outside the evaporation chamber, which makes the structure complex and requires space to install the thin film forming material supply unit, resulting in a problem of the apparatus becoming larger. In addition, since the deposition apparatus of Patent Document 1 mixes the thin film forming material with the carrier gas in the material transport piping upstream of the evaporation chamber, depending on the temperature and flow rate of the carrier gas, the thin film forming material may evaporate in the material transport piping, and the vaporized thin film forming material may flow back toward the thin film forming material supply section.
[0007] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a vaporizer capable of vaporizing a thin film forming material with a structure simpler than conventional devices, and a deposition apparatus capable of forming a thin film on a substrate with a structure simpler than conventional devices. [Means for solving the problem]
[0008] One aspect of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is a vaporization device having a vaporization chamber, a gas supply unit, and a gas supply pipe unit, the gas supply pipe unit having an inner pipe unit extending inside and outside the vaporization chamber, the vaporization chamber having an enclosing wall unit arranged to surround the periphery of the inner pipe unit, an opposing unit facing an end of the inner pipe unit at a distance, and a gas exhaust unit, the opposing unit being capable of disposing a thin film forming material, the gas supply unit being 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 to the vaporization chamber, and by supplying the carrier gas from the gas supply unit to the vaporization chamber, the carrier gas that has passed through the inner pipe unit comes into contact with the thin film forming material disposed in the opposing unit and a portion of the thin film forming material is vaporized to generate a thin film material gas, and the thin film material gas passes through the space between the inner pipe unit and the enclosing wall unit and is exhausted to the outside of the vaporization chamber from the gas exhaust unit.
[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 carrier gas having a temperature equal to or higher than the boiling point or sublimation point that has passed through the inner tube is brought into contact with the thin film forming material arranged in the opposing section, thereby generating a thin film material gas from the thin film forming material. Therefore, unlike the conventional method, it is not necessary to provide a thin film forming material supply section for supplying the thin film forming material outside the vaporization chamber, and the thin film forming material can be vaporized at low cost with a simple structure.
[0011] However, if the carrier gas supplied from the inner tube is unevenly sprayed onto the surface of the thin film material placed in the opposing section, only a portion of the thin film material may be locally vaporized. In such a case, only a portion of the thin film material placed in the opposing section can be used as thin film material gas, resulting in a large amount of thin film material being wasted. Furthermore, if the thin film material evaporates locally, the thin film material decreases around the evaporated area, and the bottom of the opposing portion becomes exposed during use, causing a decrease in the evaporation rate of the thin film material. Furthermore, if the heat exchange efficiency between the carrier gas and the thin-film forming material is poor, it is necessary to increase the temperature inside the vaporization chamber and the temperature of the carrier gas in order to improve the evaporation rate of the thin-film forming material. If the thin-film forming material is an organic material or other material that deteriorates at high temperatures, this may accelerate the deterioration of the thin-film forming material.
[0012] Therefore, a preferred aspect is that the opposing portion has a first flow straightening portion and a material filling portion, the first flow straightening portion is conical with an apex located within the inner tube portion, the material filling portion is capable of being filled with the thin film forming material and is arranged to surround the first flow straightening portion when viewed in a plane, and by supplying the carrier gas from the gas supply portion to the vaporization chamber, the carrier gas that has passed through the inner tube portion is guided by the side of the first flow straightening portion to the thin film forming material in the material filling portion, and the carrier gas vaporizes a portion of the thin film forming material in the material filling portion to generate the thin film material gas, which passes through the space between the inner tube portion and the surrounding wall portion and is discharged to the outside from the gas discharge portion.
[0013] According to this aspect, the carrier gas is guided to the thin film forming material in the material filling section by the side surface of the first flow straightening section, so that the thin film forming material can be efficiently vaporized.
[0014] In a more preferable aspect, the apex of the first flow straightening portion is located on the central axis of the inner pipe portion.
[0015] According to this aspect, the carrier gas can be brought into contact with the thin film forming material in the material filling section more uniformly in the circumferential direction of the first flow straightening section, and the thin film forming material can be efficiently vaporized.
[0016] In a further preferred aspect, the first flow straightening portion has a cone shape or a regular polygonal truncated shape.
[0017] According to this aspect, the side surface of the first flow straightening portion allows the carrier gas to flow evenly in any radial direction of the first flow straightening portion, thereby further reducing bias of the carrier gas in the circumferential direction of the first flow straightening portion.
[0018] In a more preferable aspect, the material filling portion is an annular groove portion that extends continuously or intermittently so as to surround the first flow straightening portion in a plan view.
[0019] According to this aspect, the thin film forming material filled in the material filling section is unlikely to hinder the flow of the thin film material gas.
[0020] In a further preferred aspect, an end of the inner tube portion faces the material filling portion with a space therebetween.
[0021] According to this aspect, the material-filled portion is located in a portion where the carrier gas is turned back by the wall surface of the inner pipe portion, so that the thin film forming material in the material-filled portion is easily exposed to the carrier gas.
[0022] In a more preferred aspect, the opposing portion has a material filling portion and a second straightening portion, the material filling portion is capable of being filled with the thin film forming material, and the second straightening portion is arranged to surround the material filling portion when viewed in a plane, and includes an inclined portion that is inclined toward the inner tube portion in the direction of the central axis of the inner tube portion as it moves from the material filling portion side to the surrounding wall portion side.
[0023] According to this aspect, the thin film material gas can be easily introduced into the space between the inner tube portion and the surrounding wall portion.
[0024] In a preferred aspect, the central axis of the inner tube and the central axis of the vaporization chamber are coaxial.
[0025] According to this aspect, the space between the inner tube portion and the surrounding wall portion can be made uniform.
[0026] In a preferred aspect, the inner pipe portion is a vertical pipe portion extending in a vertical direction, and the opposing portion is located below the inner pipe portion.
[0027] According to this aspect, even if the thin film forming material is a fluid, it is easy to fill the material filling portion.
[0028] A preferred aspect is to satisfy the following conditions (1), (2), and (3). (1) F<2000ν*d1 / 4 (2) F<2000ν*(d3+d2) / 4 (3) L <d1 / 2 かつ L<(d3-d2) / 2 Here, F is the amount of carrier gas supplied from the vaporization-side gas supply unit 52 (m 3 / s), d1 is the inner diameter (m) of the inner pipe portion 80, ν is the dynamic viscosity coefficient, d2 is the outer diameter (m) of the inner pipe portion 80, d3 is the inner diameter (m) of the surrounding wall portion 66 of the outer pipe portion 60, and L is the distance (m) between the inner pipe portion 80 and the lower wall portion 70.
[0029] According to this aspect, a regular laminar flow of the carrier gas can be made to flow in the inner pipe portion.
[0030] In a preferred aspect, the vaporization chamber has a material placement portion including the opposing portion and an outer pipe portion constituting part or all of the surrounding wall portion, and the material placement portion is detachable from the outer pipe portion.
[0031] According to this aspect, the material placement portion can be non-destructively removed and attached to the outer pipe portion, so that by removing the material placement portion from the outer pipe portion, it is easy to place thin film forming material on the opposing portion of the material placement portion, and maintenance is also easy to perform.
[0032] 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.
[0033] According to this aspect, it is not necessary to provide the vaporizer with a thin film material supply section for supplying the thin film material as in the conventional method, and a thin film can be formed on a substrate at low cost with a simple structure. Effect of the Invention
[0034] According to the vaporization device of the present invention, thin film forming materials can be vaporized with a structure simpler than that of the conventional device. According to the deposition apparatus of the present invention, a thin film can be formed on a substrate with a structure simpler than that of the conventional apparatus. [Brief description of the drawings]
[0035] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration diagram that illustrates a vapor deposition device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view that illustrates the vaporizer of FIG. [Diagram 3] 3 is an enlarged view of a main part of the vaporizer of FIG. 2. [Figure 4] 3 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the vaporizer of FIG. 2. [Diagram 5] 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the flow of a carrier gas and a thin film material gas in the vaporizer of FIG. 2. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram that illustrates a vapor deposition device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view that illustrates a schematic view of an evaporation device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the vaporizer of FIG. 7. [Figure 9] 1A and 1B are explanatory diagrams showing the temperature distribution when high-temperature carrier gas is flowed through the inner pipe section in Experimental Examples 1 and 2 of the present invention, where (a) shows a thermograph of Experimental Example 1 and (b) shows a thermograph of Experimental Example 2. [Figure 10] 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
[0036] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.
[0037] 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.
[0038] 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 50 containing an organic material in the vaporizer 40 of the vaporizer section 3 to generate vapor of the thin film forming material 50 (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 containing 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.
[0039] 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 .
[0040] 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.
[0041] 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).
[0042] 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 .
[0043] 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.
[0044] 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.
[0045] 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 is mainly composed of a vaporizer 40 and a gas supply section 41, as shown in FIG. Vaporizer 40 has mainly vaporization chamber 51, vaporization-side gas supply unit 52, and gas supply pipe unit 53, as shown in FIG.
[0046] The vaporization chamber 51 is a portion where the thin film forming material 50 is vaporized or sublimated by a carrier gas supplied from a vaporization side gas supply unit 52 to generate a thin film material gas. As shown in FIG. 2, the vaporization chamber 51 has an outer pipe portion 60, a material placement portion 61, and a gas discharge portion 62.
[0047] The outer pipe portion 60 is a vertical pipe that extends linearly in the vertical direction, and is a cylindrical body that is open at the bottom. The outer pipe portion 60 has an upper wall portion 65 , a surrounding wall portion 66 , and a connecting portion 67 . The upper wall portion 65 has an insertion hole 68 through which the gas supply pipe portion 53 can be inserted. The insertion hole 68 is a through-hole that penetrates the upper wall portion 65 in the thickness direction. The surrounding wall portion 66 is a cylindrical wall portion that hangs down from the upper wall portion 65 and extends in the up-down direction. As shown in FIG. 4, the connection portion 67 is a flange-shaped portion provided at the lower end portion of the surrounding wall portion 66, and protrudes outward from the surrounding wall portion 66. The connection portion 67 is detachable from the connection portion 72 of the material placement portion 61 directly or via a temporary fastening element. The term "temporary fastening element" as used herein refers to a type of fastening element that can be removed in principle without being destroyed, such as a screw or a bolt-nut combination.
[0048] The material disposing section 61 has a lower wall section 70 (opposing section), a surrounding wall section 71, and a connecting section 72, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the lower wall portion 70 is a wall portion that constitutes the bottom surface of the vaporization chamber 51, and includes a first flow straightening portion 75, a material filling portion 76, and a second flow straightening portion 77. The first rectifying section 75 is a section that rectifies the carrier gas that has passed through the gas supply pipe section 53 and causes it to flow toward the material filling section 76 side. The first flow straightening portion 75 is cone-shaped and has an apex 78 and side surfaces 79 . The first flow straightening portion 75 is preferably in a conical or polygonal truncated shape, and more preferably in a conical or regular polygonal truncated shape. The first flow straightening portion 75 of the present embodiment has a cone shape.
[0049] The material filling portion 76 is a groove portion that can be filled with the thin film forming material 50, and is provided so as to surround the periphery of the first flow straightening portion 75 in plan view. In other words, the material filling portion 76 is an annular groove that extends continuously in an annular shape with the apex 78 of the first flow straightening portion 75 as the center. The second rectifying section 77 is a gas direction changing section that rectifies the thin film material gas and changes the moving direction of the thin film material gas. The second flow straightening section 77 is arranged to surround the material filling section 76 when viewed in a plane, and has an inclined section that slopes upward from the material filling section 76 side toward the outside (the surrounding wall section 71 side). In this embodiment, the second flow straightening portion 77 is configured with an inclined portion in the entire radial direction (inward and outward directions with respect to the first flow straightening portion 75), and the inclined portion extends over the entire circumferential direction.
[0050] The surrounding wall portion 71 is an upright wall portion that rises upward from the edge of the lower wall portion 70 . The connection portion 72 is a flange-shaped portion provided at the end of the surrounding wall portion 71 in the rising direction, and protrudes outward from the surrounding wall portion 71.
[0051] Gas exhaust section 62 is provided on the side surface of vaporization chamber 51, and is a section that exhausts thin film material gas from inside vaporization chamber 51 to supply flow path 15. Specifically, gas exhaust section 62 is an exhaust port provided in surrounding wall section 66.
[0052] As shown in FIG. 1, vaporization-side gas supply unit 52 is a portion that supplies a carrier gas to vaporization chamber 51 and adjusts the amount of vaporization of thin film forming material 50. Vaporization-side gas supply unit 52 includes a heat exchanger and a mass flow controller downstream of the carrier gas supply source, and is capable of supplying carrier gas to vaporization chamber 51 at a predetermined temperature and a predetermined flow rate. The vaporization gas supply unit 52 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 50 .
[0053] Gas supply pipe section 53 constitutes a gas supply flow path that allows a carrier gas to pass between vaporization chamber 51 and vaporization side gas supply section 52, and is a connection pipe that connects vaporization chamber 51 and vaporization side gas supply section 52. An on-off valve 81 is provided midway in the gas supply pipe section 53 , and an inner pipe section 80 , a part of which can be inserted into the vaporization chamber 51 , is provided downstream of the on-off valve 81 .
[0054] Inner pipe portion 80 is a pipe portion that extends inside and outside vaporization chamber 51, and is a vertical pipe portion that extends in the vertical direction.
[0055] Here, the positional relationship between the components of vaporizer 40 will be described.
[0056] The inner pipe portion 80 of the gas supply pipe portion 53 passes through the insertion hole 68 of the upper wall portion 65 and is inserted inside the surrounding walls 66 and 71 of the vaporization chamber 51 . The lower end of the inner pipe portion 80 faces the material filling portion 76 of the lower wall portion 70 with a gap therebetween. A portion of the first flow straightening portion 75 is inserted into the inner pipe portion 80, and the apex 78 is located in the inner pipe portion 80. In other words, the apex 78 of the first flow straightening portion 75 is located at a higher position than the lower end portion of the inner pipe portion 80. The insertion length D of the first straightening section 75 into the inner tube section 80 is preferably 0.1 mm or more from the viewpoint of straightening the carrier gas toward the thin film forming material, and more preferably 1 mm or more, and from the viewpoint of maintaining a laminar flow of the carrier gas within the inner tube, it is preferably 100 mm or less, and more preferably 10 mm or less. In this embodiment, the insertion length D is 6 mm.
[0057] The central axis C1 of the surrounding wall portion 66 of the outer pipe portion 60, the central axis C2 of the surrounding wall portion 71 of the material placement portion 61, and the central axis C3 of the inner pipe portion 80 are coaxial as shown in Figure 3, and the vertex 78 of the first straightening portion 75 is located on the extension line of these central axes C1 to C3.
[0058] As shown in FIG. 3, the vaporizer 40 is preferably designed so that the inner pipe portion 80, the outer pipe portion 60, and the lower wall portion 70 satisfy the following conditions (1), (2), and (3). (1) F<2000ν*d1 / 4 (2) F<2000ν*(d3+d2) / 4 (3) L <d1 / 2 かつ L<(d3-d2) / 2 Here, F is the amount of carrier gas supplied from the vaporization-side gas supply unit 52 (m 3 / s), d1 is the inner diameter (m) of the inner pipe portion 80, ν is the dynamic viscosity coefficient, d2 is the outer diameter (m) of the inner pipe portion 80, d3 is the inner diameter (m) of the surrounding wall portion 66 of the outer pipe portion 60, and L is the distance (m) between the inner pipe portion 80 and the lower wall portion 70. It is preferable that L is the shortest distance (m) between the inner pipe portion 80 and the lower wall portion 70.
[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 50 generates a thin film material gas by heating with a carrier gas. The thin film forming material 50 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. The substrate 100 is an in-process organic EL substrate that is a part in the process of making an organic EL device 300 .
[0062] The carrier gas supplied by the gas supply units 41 and 52 is a heated carrier gas that has been heated to a predetermined temperature. The temperature of the carrier gas is appropriately changed depending on the boiling point or sublimation point of the thin film forming material 50, 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 disposing portion 61 is removed from the outer pipe portion 60 as necessary, and the thin film forming material 50 is filled into the material filling portion 76. Then, the connection portion 72 of the material disposing portion 61 is attached to the connection portion 67 of the outer pipe portion 60.
[0066] Next, carrier gas A is supplied from the vaporization side gas supply section 52 to the vaporization chamber 51 via the gas supply pipe section 53, and the thin film forming material 50 is vaporized by the carrier gas A in the vaporization chamber 51 to generate thin film material gas B, which is then discharged from the gas exhaust section 62 to the supply flow path 15.
[0067] 5, the carrier gas A supplied from the vaporization-side gas supply unit 52 to the inner pipe unit 80 passes through the inner space 85 of the inner pipe unit 80 in a laminar flow state. The carrier gas A that has passed through the inner space 85 is guided by the side surface 79 of the first flow straightening unit 75 to the thin film forming material 50 filled in the material filling unit 76, where it comes into contact with the thin film forming material 50 and vaporizes a part of the surface of the thin film forming material 50 to generate thin film material gas B. The thin film material gas B generated from the surface of the thin film forming material 50 is guided by the second flow straightening unit 77 to the outer space 86 between the outer surface of the inner pipe unit 80 and the inner surfaces of the surrounding walls 66, 71, passes through the outer space 86, and is discharged from the gas discharge unit 62 to the supply flow path 15 outside the vaporizer 40. The temperature of the carrier gas A supplied from the vaporization side gas supply unit 52 to the inner tube unit 80 is equal to or higher than the boiling point or sublimation point, and is a temperature at which the thin film forming material 50 does not substantially deteriorate.
[0068] 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.
[0069] 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.
[0070] According to the vaporization device 40 of the first embodiment, a carrier gas having a temperature equal to or higher than the boiling point or sublimation point that has passed through the inner tube section 80 is brought into contact with the thin film forming material 50 filled in the material filling section 76, thereby generating a thin film material gas from the thin film forming material 50, thereby making it possible to vaporize the thin film forming material 50 at low cost and with a simple structure.
[0071] According to the vaporizer 40 of the first embodiment, by supplying carrier gas from the vaporization side gas supply unit 52 to the vaporization chamber 51, the carrier gas that has passed through the inner pipe unit 80 is guided by the side surface 79 of the first rectification unit 75 to the thin film forming material 50 in the material filling unit 76, the carrier gas vaporizes a portion of the thin film forming material 50 in the material filling unit 76 to generate thin film material gas, and the thin film material gas passes through the space between the inner pipe unit 80 and the outer pipe unit 60 and is discharged to the outside from the gas discharge unit 62. Therefore, the thin film forming material 50 can be efficiently vaporized.
[0072] According to the vaporizer 40 of the first embodiment, the first flow straightening section 75 is conical with the apex 78 located on the central axis C3 of the inner pipe section 80, so that the carrier gas can be brought into contact with the thin film forming material 50 in the material filling section 76 evenly in the circumferential direction of the first flow straightening section 75. In other words, since the bias of the carrier gas in the circumferential direction of the first flow straightening section 75 can be reduced, the thin film forming material 50 can be efficiently vaporized.
[0073] According to the vaporizer 40 of the first embodiment, since the material filling section 76 is an annular groove, the thin film forming material 50 can be embedded in the material filling section 76, and the thin film forming material 50 filled in the material filling section 76 is unlikely to impede the flow of the thin film material gas. Furthermore, by making the width of the material filling section 76 constant, the area of the thin film forming material 50 exposed to the carrier gas can be made constant.
[0074] According to the vaporizer 40 of the first embodiment, the second flow straightening section 77 having an inclined section inclined upward from the material filling section 76 side toward the outside is formed on the lower wall section 70 of the material disposing section 61. Therefore, the thin film material gas generated on the surface of the thin film forming material 50 filled in the material filling section 76 can be easily guided into the outer space 86.
[0075] According to the vaporizer 40 of the first embodiment, both the inner pipe portion 80 and the outer pipe portion 60 are cylindrical, and the central axis C3 of the inner pipe portion 80 and the central axis C1 of the outer pipe portion 60 are coaxial. Therefore, the outer space 86 between the inner pipe portion 80 and the outer pipe portion 60 can be made to be a uniform space in the circumferential direction.
[0076] According to the vaporizer 40 of the first embodiment, the lower end of the inner pipe section 80 and the material filling section 76 face each other with a gap therebetween, and a narrowed section that is narrower than the inner space 85 of the inner pipe section 80 is formed between the lower end of the inner pipe section 80 and the upper surface of the material filling section 76. Therefore, the flow rate of the carrier gas increases in the narrowed section, and the time that the thin film forming material 50 is in contact with the carrier gas is shortened, thereby suppressing deterioration of the thin film forming material 50 due to continuous exposure to the carrier gas.
[0077] According to the vaporizer 40 of the first embodiment, the following conditions (1), (2), and (3) are satisfied. (1) F<2000ν*d1 / 4 (2) F<2000ν*(d3+d2) / 4 (3) L <d1 / 2 かつ L<(d3-d2) / 2 Here, F is the amount of carrier gas supplied from the vaporization-side gas supply unit 52 (m 3 / s), d1 is the inner diameter (m) of the inner pipe portion 80, ν is the dynamic viscosity coefficient, d2 is the outer diameter (m) of the inner pipe portion 80, d3 is the inner diameter (m) of the surrounding wall portion 66 of the outer pipe portion 60, and L is the distance (m) between the inner pipe portion 80 and the lower wall portion 70. Therefore, a regular laminar flow of the carrier gas can be made to flow in the inner space 85 of the inner pipe portion 80 .
[0078] According to the vaporization device 40 of the first embodiment, the material disposing section 61 is detachable from the outer pipe section 60. Therefore, by removing the material disposing section 61 from the outer pipe section 60, it is easy to fill the material filling section 76 of the material disposing section 61 with the thin film forming material 50, and maintenance is also easy to perform.
[0079] According to the vaporizer 40 of the first embodiment, the carrier gas flows from inside the inner pipe section 80, turns back near the lower end, and flows to the outside of the inner pipe section 80. Therefore, the flow path of the carrier gas flowing inside the inner pipe section 80 can be lengthened, and the carrier gas flowing inside the inner pipe section 80 can easily be made into a laminar flow.
[0080] According to the deposition apparatus 1 of the first embodiment, the vaporizer 40 brings the carrier gas having a temperature equal to or higher than the boiling point or sublimation point, which has passed through the inner tube section 80, into contact with the thin film forming material 50 filled in the material filling section 76, thereby generating a thin film material gas from the thin film forming material 50. Therefore, a thin film can be formed on the substrate 100 at low cost with a simple structure.
[0081] 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.
[0082] 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."
[0083] 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.
[0084] 6, 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.
[0085] 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.
[0086] 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.
[0087] 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.
[0088] Next, a deposition apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.
[0089] The deposition apparatus of the third embodiment differs from the vaporizer 40 of the first embodiment in the structure of the vaporizer 240. Vaporizer 240 mainly includes vaporization chamber 251, vaporization-side gas supply unit 52, and gas supply pipe unit 53, as shown in FIG. The vaporization chamber 251 has a lid portion 255 , a material placement portion 261 , and a gas exhaust portion 62 . As shown in FIG. 8, the cover portion 255 has an insertion hole 268 through which the gas supply pipe portion 53 can be inserted. The material disposing portion 261 constitutes the outer pipe portion, and has a lower wall portion 270 , a surrounding wall portion 271 , and a connecting portion 72 . The lower wall portion 270 is a wall portion that constitutes the bottom surface of the vaporization chamber 251 , and includes a material filling portion 276 and a second flow straightening portion 77 . The surrounding wall portion 271 is an upright wall portion that rises upward from the edge of the lower wall portion 270 . The material filling section 276 is a groove that can be filled with the thin film forming material 50, and has a circular opening.
[0090] As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, inner pipe portion 80 of gas supply pipe portion 53 is inserted inside surrounding wall portion 271 of vaporization chamber 251. The lower end of the inner pipe portion 80 faces the material filling portion 276 of the lower wall portion 270 with a gap therebetween. The central axis C4 of the lid portion 255, the central axis C5 of the material placement portion 261, and the central axis C6 of the inner tube portion 80 of the gas supply tube portion 53 are coaxial as shown in FIG. 8, and the thin film forming material 50 is arranged on the extension line of these central axes C4 to C6.
[0091] In the first and second embodiments described above, the material filling portion 76 extends continuously in an annular shape centered on the apex 78 of the first flow straightening portion 75, but the present invention is not limited to this. The material filling portion 76 may extend continuously in an annular shape intermittently centered on the apex 78 of the first flow straightening portion 75.
[0092] In the first and second embodiments described above, the inner wall of the vaporization chamber 51 is constituted by the surrounding wall 66 of the outer pipe portion 60 and the surrounding wall 71 of the material disposing portion 61, and only a part of the inner wall of the vaporization chamber 51 is constituted by the surrounding wall 66 of the outer pipe portion 60, but the present invention is not limited to this. The entire inner wall of the vaporization chamber 51 may be constituted by the surrounding wall 66 of the outer pipe portion 60.
[0093] In the above-described embodiment, the thin film forming material 50 is filled in the material filling portion 76, 276, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it is not necessary to provide the material filling portion 76, 276. In this case, it is preferable to place the thin film forming material 50 on the lower wall portion 70, 270.
[0094] In the above embodiment, the inner pipe portion 80 extends in the vertical direction, but the present invention is not limited to this, and there is no limitation on the posture of the inner pipe portion 80. For example, the inner pipe portion 80 may extend in a direction intersecting the vertical direction.
[0095] In the above-described embodiment, vaporization chamber 51, 251 is generally in a position extending in the vertical direction, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and there is no limitation on the position of vaporization chamber 51. For example, vaporization chamber 51, 251 may extend in a direction intersecting the vertical direction.
[0096] In the above-described embodiment, the surrounding wall portion 66, 71, 271 of the vaporization chamber 51, 251 is cylindrical, but the present invention is not limited to this, and there is no particular limitation on the shape of the surrounding wall portion 66, 71, 271. For example, the shape of the surrounding wall portion 66, 71, 271 may be a square tube.
[0097] In the embodiment described above, the second flow straightening portion 77 has an inclined portion formed over the entire radial direction, but the present invention is not limited to this. The inclined portion of the second flow straightening portion 77 may be formed only in a part of the radial direction.
[0098] In the embodiment described above, the second flow straightening portion 77 has an inclined portion formed continuously over the entire circumferential direction, but the present invention is not limited to this. The inclined portion of the second flow straightening portion 77 may be formed intermittently in the circumferential direction, or may be formed only in a part.
[0099] In the embodiment described above, gas exhaust part 62 is provided on the side surface of vaporization chamber 51, but the present invention is not limited to this. Gas exhaust part 62 may be provided on the top surface of vaporization chamber 51, i.e., on upper wall part 65.
[0100] 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.
[0101] 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. EXAMPLES
[0102] The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to various experimental examples as examples, but the present invention is not limited to these experimental examples.
[0103] (Experimental Example 1) In Experimental Example 1, a high-temperature carrier gas was caused to flow from vaporization-side gas supply unit 52 to inner pipe portion 80 in vaporizer 40 of the first embodiment, and the temperature distribution was evaluated.
[0104] (Experimental Example 2) As Experimental Example 2, in the vaporizer 240 of the third embodiment, a high-temperature carrier gas was caused to flow from the vaporization-side gas supply unit 52 to the inner pipe portion 80, and the temperature distribution was evaluated.
[0105] In experimental examples 1 and 2, it was found that by flowing high-temperature carrier gas from the vaporization side gas supply section 52 to the inner tube section 80, the high-temperature carrier gas flows into the material filling sections 76, 276 and is discharged from the gas exhaust sections 62, 62. In experimental example 2, as shown in Figure 9 (b), the carrier gas generally formed a laminar flow inside the inner pipe section 80, but the carrier gas became turbulent near the end of the inner pipe section 80, and the carrier gas also became turbulent in the space between the inner pipe section 80 and the material filling section 276 and in the space between the inner pipe section 80 and the surrounding wall section 271 of the material placement section 261. On the other hand, in experimental example 1, as shown in Figure 9(a), the carrier gas formed a laminar flow in all of the inner space 85 of the inner pipe section 80, the space between the inner pipe section 80 and the material filling section 76, and the outer space 86 between the inner pipe section 80 and the surrounding wall sections 66, 71 of the vaporization chamber 51. From the above, it was found that in both experimental examples 1 and 2, by flowing carrier gas from the inner tube portion 80, the thin film forming material 50 can be vaporized to generate thin film material gas, and the thin film material gas can be discharged to the outside from the gas exhaust portion 62. In particular, in experimental example 1, it was suggested that the carrier gas and / or thin film material gas formed laminar flows in all of the flow spaces constituting the flow path through which the carrier gas flows, namely the inner space 85 of the inner tube section 80, the space between the inner tube section 80 and the material filling section 76, and the outer space 86 between the inner tube section 80 and the surrounding wall sections 66, 71 of the vaporization chamber 51, and that the carrier gas could exchange heat evenly with the thin film forming material 50. [Explanation of symbols]
[0106] 1,200 Vapor deposition equipment 10 Film forming room 15, 15a, 15b Supply channel 40, 40a, 40b, 240 Vaporizer 50: Thin film forming material 51,251 Vaporizer 52 Vaporization side gas supply section 53 Gas supply pipe section 60 Outer pipe section 61,261 Material placement section 62 Gas exhaust section 66 Enclosure wall 70,270 Lower wall section (opposing section) 71,271 Enclosure wall 75 1st rectifier 76,276 Material filling section 77 Second rectifier 78 Vertex 79 Side 80 Inner pipe section 86 Outside space (space) 100 Base material 255 Lid
Claims
1. The vaporizer includes a vaporizer, a gas supply unit, and a gas supply pipe unit. the gas supply pipe portion has an inner pipe portion extending inside and outside the vaporization chamber, The vaporization chamber has a surrounding wall portion provided to surround the periphery of the inner pipe portion, an opposing portion opposing an end portion of the inner pipe portion with a gap therebetween, and a gas exhaust portion, the facing portion has a first flow rectifying portion and a material filling portion, and a thin film forming material can be placed therein; The first flow straightening portion has a cone shape and an apex is disposed within the inner pipe portion, the material filling section is capable of being filled with the thin film forming material and is provided so as to surround the first flow straightening section in a plan view; the gas supply unit 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 to the vaporization chamber; A vaporization device in which, by supplying the carrier gas from the gas supply unit to the vaporization chamber, the carrier gas that has passed through the inner tube unit is guided by the side of the first straightening unit to the thin film forming material in the material filling unit, and upon contacting the thin film forming material arranged in the opposing unit, the carrier gas vaporizes a portion of the thin film forming material in the material filling unit to generate thin film material gas, which passes through the space between the inner tube unit and the surrounding wall unit and is discharged outside the vaporization chamber from the gas discharge unit.
2. The vaporization device according to claim 1 , wherein an apex of the first flow straightening portion is located on a central axis of the inner pipe portion.
3. The vaporizer according to claim 2 , wherein the first flow straightening portion has a conical shape or a regular polygonal cone shape.
4. The vaporization device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the material filling portion is an annular groove portion that extends continuously or intermittently so as to surround the first straightening portion when viewed in a plan view.
5. The vaporizer of claim 4 , wherein an end of the inner tube portion faces the material charge portion with a space therebetween.
6. The facing portion has a material filling portion and a second flow straightening portion, the material filling section is capable of filling with the thin film forming material, The second flow straightening portion is provided so as to surround the material filling portion when viewed in a plan view, and includes an inclined portion, An evaporation device as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the inclined portion is inclined toward the inner pipe portion in the direction of the central axis of the inner pipe portion as it moves from the material filling portion side to the surrounding wall portion side.
7. 7. The vaporizer according to claim 1, wherein a central axis of the inner pipe portion and a central axis of the vaporization chamber are coaxial.
8. The inner pipe portion is a vertical pipe portion extending in a vertical direction, The vaporizer according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the opposing portion is located below the inner pipe portion.
9. The vaporizer according to any one of claims 1 to 8, which satisfies the following conditions (1), (2), and (3): (1) F<2000ν*$ 1 / 4 (2) F<2000ν*(d 3 +d 2 ) / 4 (3) L < d 1 / 2 and L < (d 3 -d 2 ) / 2 In addition, F is the supply amount of the carrier gas from the gas supply unit (m 3 / s), and d 1 is the inner diameter (m) of the inner pipe portion, ν is the dynamic viscosity coefficient, and d 2 is the outer diameter (m) of the inner tube portion, and d 3 is the inner diameter (m) of the surrounding wall portion, and L is the distance (m) between the inner pipe portion and the opposing portion.
10. The vaporization chamber has a material placement section including the facing section and an outer pipe section constituting a part or the whole of the surrounding wall section, The vaporization device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the material placement portion is detachable from the outer tube portion.
11. A vaporizer according to any one of claims 1 to 10, 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.
Citation Information
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