Vacuum deposition method

Abstract

To provide a vapor deposition method capable of providing a long life of a vapor deposition by suppressing a progress of a local deformation caused in a vapor deposition boat as much as possible.SOLUTION: A vapor deposition method includes an evaporation step where vapor deposition boat 3 that has a boat body 31 having an accommodation part 31a of a vapor deposition material Em as a vapor deposition source BS and an electrode attachment part extending to both edges of the boat body is used to supply the vapor deposition material in a wire state to a bottom plate of the boat body from above the boat body defining the accommodation part, and evaporate the vapor deposition material in the accommodation part by heating the boat body by energizing between both of the electrode attachment parts. Further included is a displacement step where an edge part is continuously or intermittently displaced by a relative movement of the edge part Em1 of the vapor deposition material in the wire state abutted to the bottom plate of the boat body to the boat body while the vapor deposition material in the wire state is supplied.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vacuum deposition method for evaporating a deposition material in a vacuum chamber and depositing the material on a deposition target, and more particularly to a method for performing deposition on a deposition target using a deposition boat. [Background technology]

[0002] Among the deposition sources for a vacuum deposition apparatus capable of carrying out this type of vacuum deposition method, one using a deposition boat is known, for example, from Patent Document 1. This includes a boat body having a deposition material storage section, standing plate parts standing upward from both ends of the boat body in one direction, and electrode mounting plate parts projecting outward from the upper ends of both standing plate parts. Usually, each part, such as the boat body, the standing plate parts, and the electrode mounting plate parts, is formed from a single metal plate material in order to reduce costs, etc. Then, the deposition boat is placed in a vacuum chamber with both electrode mounting plate parts held (sandwiched) by a pair of upper and lower electrode plates. When deposition is performed on a deposition target in a vacuum chamber in a vacuum atmosphere, the boat body is heated by Joule heat by passing electricity between both electrode mounting plate parts via the electrode plates from a power source. When wire-shaped deposition material is supplied from above so as to contact the bottom plate of the boat body that defines the storage section, the deposition material melts and spreads in the storage section, evaporates, and the evaporated deposition material scatters and is deposited on the deposition target. At this time, the wet and spread deposition material flows into the storage section, and the rising plate section prevents the flowing material from creeping up to the electrode attachment plate section.

[0003] Here, when a wire-shaped deposition material is supplied to a certain position on the bottom plate of the boat body during deposition, the bottom plate is locally deformed in a region including a contact point of the deposition material with the bottom plate of the boat body depending on the material of the deposition boat, the heating temperature of the boat body according to the deposition rate, the supply speed of the deposition material, and the type of the deposition material. It was found that the amount of deformation at this time increases with the increase in deposition time, and eventually a hole opens in the bottom plate, resulting in an early end of the life of the deposition boat. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2007-46106 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum evaporation method that can minimize the progression of local deformation in an evaporation boat and thereby extend the life of the evaporation boat. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the vacuum deposition method of the present invention for evaporating a deposition material in a vacuum chamber and depositing the deposition material on an object to be deposited includes a deposition step of using a deposition boat having a boat body having a deposition material storage section and electrode mounting plate sections protruding from both ends of the boat body as a deposition source, supplying a wire-shaped deposition material from above so that the wire-shaped deposition material abuts against a bottom plate of the boat body that defines the storage section, and passing an electric current between the two electrode mounting plate sections to heat the boat body and evaporate the deposition material in the storage section, and further includes a displacement step of continuously or intermittently displacing a tip end of the wire-shaped deposition material abutting against the bottom plate of the boat body by moving the tip end relative to the boat body while the wire-shaped deposition material is being supplied.

[0007] Here, as a result of intensive research by the present inventors, for example, when the deposition boat is made of a high melting point metal and the deposition material is made of copper, the local deformation occurring in the bottom plate of the boat body is due to creep (creep deformation) at high temperatures caused by the action of a load brought about by the supply of the deposition material. On the other hand, for example, when the deposition boat is made of sintered powders of BN and TiB2 and the deposition material is made of aluminum, the local deformation occurring in the bottom plate of the boat body is due to the progress of corrosion accompanying the dissolution of aluminum. Therefore, in the present invention, the tip of the wire-shaped deposition material that abuts against the bottom plate of the boat body is continuously or intermittently displaced when the deposition material is supplied, so that the area where the load brought about by the supply of the deposition material acts during deposition is distributed to various places within the bottom plate surface of the boat body. As a result, the progress of the local deformation occurring in the deposition boat is suppressed as much as possible, and as a result, the life of the deposition boat can be extended.

[0008] Incidentally, it is known that when a wire-shaped deposition material is supplied from above the bottom plate of the boat body defining the storage section so as to contact the bottom plate and evaporated (during deposition), by-products (impurities) of the deposition material are precipitated around the wet and spread deposition material. If the precipitates are deposited without re-evaporating, the deposited impurities may be blocked and the area (water surface) of the deposition material wet and spread may be narrowed, resulting in a problem such as a decrease in the deposition rate. In addition, when the bottom plate of the boat body is heated in a state where there is no deposition material in the storage section, the temperature of the bottom plate part of the boat body where the wet and spread deposition material exists decreases and the surrounding temperature becomes relatively high (that is, a temperature gradient occurs within the bottom plate surface of the boat body). In particular, under conditions where the contact between the deposition material and the bottom plate of the boat body is in a solid phase and generates surface pressure, the temperature gradient becomes significant. At that time, depending on the deposition state of the by-products, the spreading vapor deposition material may flow to the bottom plate part of the boat body, which is at a relatively high temperature, causing bumping and hindering good vapor deposition.

[0009] In the present invention, two axial directions perpendicular to each other in the plane of the bottom plate of the boat body defining the storage section are defined as the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, and the position of the bottom plate of the boat body with which the tip of the wire-shaped deposition material initially abuts is defined as the starting position, and in the displacement step, the tip of the deposition material returns to the starting position while sequentially repeating relative movements in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction from the starting position. In this case, for example, the vicinity of the center of the bottom plate of the boat body is defined as the starting position, and one cycle is defined as a period from the starting position to returning to the starting position while sequentially repeating relative movements in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, and this one cycle is repeated multiple times according to the deposition time.

[0010] According to the above, by continuously or intermittently changing the position where the tip of the deposition material melts on the bottom plate surface of the boat body so that the coordinate positions on the XY plane do not overlap each other during one cycle of relative movement, the temperature gradient is suppressed from occurring on the bottom plate surface of the boat body, by which by-products are less likely to accumulate, and by which bumping can be suppressed as much as possible. Even if the precipitated by-products accumulate, when the tip of the deposition material is moved relatively in the next cycle, the by-products are pushed out to the periphery side of the bottom plate of the boat body by the melted and wetted deposition material, and as a result, it is possible to ensure that the area of ​​the molten metal surface is approximately constant during deposition. The relative movement speed of the tip of the deposition material with respect to the boat body can be set in the range of 1 mm / sec to 1000 mm / sec, for example. The displacement amount in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction may be set in the range of 60% to 80% of the total length in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction so that the area where the by-products are accumulated is secured on the periphery of the bottom plate of the boat body. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of an in-line vacuum deposition apparatus including the deposition source of the present embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2A is an enlarged plan view of the deposition source shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2B is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the deposition source. [Diagram 3] 4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating creep deformation occurring in a boat body. [Figure 4] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the displacement of the tip of the deposition material in correspondence with FIG. [Diagram 5] 4A to 4C are diagrams illustrating the displacement of a tip of a deposition material. [Figure 6] 13(a) to 13(c) are diagrams illustrating displacement of the tip of the deposition material in a modified example. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a partially enlarged view illustrating the attachment of a reinforcing plate to the standing plate portion. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, an embodiment of the vacuum deposition method of the present invention will be described taking as an example a case where a deposition target is a rectangular glass substrate (hereinafter referred to as "substrate Sg"), a deposition material Em is made of copper formed into a wire shape, and the deposition material Em is supplied and evaporated to deposit a copper film on the deposition surface of the substrate Sg in a vacuum chamber. In the following, terms indicating directions such as up and down are based on FIG. 1, which shows the installation position of the deposition source BS.

[0013] 1, the in-line vacuum deposition apparatus Es includes a vacuum chamber 1, to which a vacuum pump is connected via an exhaust pipe (not shown), and the inside of the vacuum chamber 1 can be evacuated to a predetermined pressure (vacuum level) to form a vacuum atmosphere. A substrate transport device 2 is provided in the space above the vacuum chamber 1. The substrate transport device 2 has a carrier 21 that holds a substrate Sg with its lower surface (film formation surface) open, and can transport the carrier 21, and thus the substrate Sg, in one direction within the vacuum chamber 1 at a predetermined speed by a driving device (not shown). As the substrate transport device 2 can be a known device, further description will be omitted. An evaporation source BS of this embodiment is provided in the lower space below the vacuum chamber 1, facing the substrate Sg transported in one direction.

[0014] Referring also to FIG. 2, the deposition source BS includes a deposition boat 3. The deposition boat 3 includes a boat body 31 having a recess 31a having a flat bottom as a storage section for the deposition material Em, upright plate parts 32 standing upward at approximately right angles from both ends of the boat body 31 in the longitudinal direction (left-right direction in FIG. 1), and electrode attachment plate parts 33 projecting horizontally outward from the upper ends of both upright plate parts 32. In this embodiment, the deposition boat 3 is formed integrally by pressing a metal plate material having a higher melting point than the deposition material Em, specifically, a high-melting-point metal plate material having a thickness in the range of 0.3 mm to 3 mm. Examples of the "high-melting-point metal" in the present invention include molybdenum, tungsten, and tantalum, and include those containing any one of molybdenum, tungsten, and tantalum as a main component (for example, molybdenum to which yttrium oxide is added at a predetermined weight ratio).

[0015] Two support bases 4, 4 made of an insulating material are installed on the inner surface of the lower wall 1a of the vacuum chamber with a gap therebetween in the longitudinal direction. A pair of upper and lower electrode plates 5a, 5b made of a metal such as copper having good electrical conductivity are detachably attached to the upper surfaces of the support bases 4, 4 by fastening means 41 such as bolts while sandwiching each electrode mounting plate portion 33 of the deposition boat 3 from above and below. In this case, the electrode plates 5a, 5b that sandwich the electrode mounting plate portion 33 have a width wider than that of the electrode plates 5a, 5b so that the electrode plates 5a, 5b can be in close contact over their entire surfaces, and the electrode mounting plate portion 33 can be fastened by the fastening means 41 on both sides of the electrode mounting plate portion 33 while sandwiching it. In the attached state of the electrode plates 5a, 5b that sandwich the electrode mounting plate portion 33, the deposition boat 3 is installed at a predetermined height position from the inner surface of the lower wall 1a of the vacuum chamber with the bottom plate of the boat body 31 that defines the recess 31a horizontal.

[0016] A material supplying means 6 is provided in the vacuum chamber 1 to continuously or intermittently supply the wire-shaped deposition material Em to the recess 31a of the boat body 31. The material supplying means 6 has a housing 61 installed on the side of the deposition prevention plate 11 arranged in the vacuum chamber 1 facing away from the deposition source BS. A feed roller 62, a motor 63 for rotating the feed roller 62, and a pair of upper and lower guide rollers 64, 64 are stored in the housing 61. A protruding pipe portion 61a is formed on the side wall of the housing 61 located on the deposition source BS side, and the housing 61 is installed in the vacuum chamber 1 so that the protruding pipe portion 61a passes through a through hole 11a formed in the deposition prevention plate 11. A guide pipe 65 of a predetermined length curved in a V-shape is attached to the tip of the protruding pipe portion 61a to guide the wire-shaped deposition material Em toward the recess 31a of the boat body 31. The deposition material Em is formed to an outer diameter of Φ1 mm to 5 mm, and is wound in advance around the pay-out roller 62. Then, the tip of the wire-shaped deposition material Em wound around the pay-out roller 62 is pulled out and passed between a pair of upper and lower guide rollers 64, 64, and is inserted into the guide tube 65 from the space inside the protruding tube portion 61a. The wire-shaped deposition material Em is prepared by making the tip portion Em1 of the deposition material Em protruding from the guide tube 65 abut against the inner bottom surface (the bottom plate of the boat body 31) from above in the longitudinal central region of the recess 31a.

[0017] When a copper film is deposited on the lower surface of the substrate Sg in the vacuum chamber 1 in a vacuum atmosphere using the deposition boat 3 (i.e., in the vacuum deposition method of the present embodiment), the boat body 31 is heated by Joule heat by passing electricity between the electrode mounting plate parts 33, 33 via the electrode plates 5a, 5b from a power source not shown in the figure, and after a predetermined time has passed, the motor 63 rotates and drives the feed roller 62 to feed the wire-shaped deposition material Em at a predetermined speed. As a result, the tip part Em1 of the deposition material Em that abuts on the inner bottom surface of the recess 31a melts sequentially and spreads wet, and this wet and spread material evaporates (evaporation process). Then, the evaporated deposition material Em scatters, and a copper film is deposited on the lower surface of the substrate Sg moving in one direction. At this time, the wet and spread deposition material Em flows in the recess 31a, but the rising plate part 32 prevents this flowing material from creeping up to the electrode mounting plate part 33. The deposition rate is set, for example, in the range of 200 mm / min to 2000 mm / min.

[0018] Incidentally, when a wire-shaped deposition material Em is supplied to a certain position on the inner bottom surface of the recess 31a during deposition, depending on the heating temperature of the boat body 31 and the supply speed of the deposition material Em, which correspond to the deposition rate, the bottom plate portion 31b of the boat body 31 that defines the recess 31a is locally deformed to bulge downward as shown in FIG. 3. The deformation of the bottom plate portion 31b is due to creep at high temperatures caused by the load caused by the supply of the deposition material Em (creep deformation). When the amount of deformation increases with the increase in deposition time, a hole is eventually formed in the bottom plate portion 31b of the boat body 31. Furthermore, with the increase in deposition time, the deformation of the entire deposition boat 3 progresses from the electrode attachment plate portion 33 to the boat body 31, and in some cases, the standing plate portion 32 may break, which shortens the life of the deposition boat 3.

[0019] In this embodiment, the housing 61 is placed on an XYθ stage 66. During deposition, as shown in Fig. 4, the XYθ stage 66 reciprocates the housing 61 in any one of the X-axis direction, which is the longitudinal direction of the boat body 31, the Y-axis direction perpendicular thereto, and the θ direction with the center of the housing 61 as the center of rotation, so that the tip Em1 of the wire-shaped deposition material Em abutting the inner bottom surface of the recess 31a is displaced continuously or intermittently by the relative movement of the tip Em1 with respect to the boat body 31 (displacement step). The amount of displacement at this time is not particularly limited as long as the part other than the tip Em1 of the deposition material Em does not interfere with other components such as the pair of upper and lower electrode plates 5a, 5b and the area on which the load acts can be dispersed. However, when the area (area of ​​the molten metal surface) of the vapor deposition material Em melted and spread by displacing the tip Em1 changes, the vapor deposition rate may vary compared to when the wire-shaped vapor deposition material Em is supplied to a fixed position on the inner bottom surface of the recess 31a, so it is preferable to set the displacement direction and displacement amount of the tip Em1 in consideration of this. For example, when the tip Em1 of the vapor deposition material Em is reciprocated in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction of the boat body 31 by the same movement amount (displacement amount) from the position of the central region in the X-axis direction of the recess 31a where the tip Em1 of the vapor deposition material Em initially abuts (i.e., near the center of the bottom plate of the boat body 31 that defines the recess 31a) as the starting position, the movement amount can be set within a range of 80% of the length in the X-axis direction and the width in the Y-axis direction of the boat body 31, preferably 60%. As a result, the area on which the load caused by the supply of the wire-shaped deposition material Em acts is distributed to various parts of the inner bottom surface of the recess 31a, thereby suppressing the progression of local deformation on the bottom surface of the recess 31a as much as possible, and as a result, the life span of the deposition boat 3 can be extended.

[0020] It is known that during deposition, by-products (impurities) of the deposition material Em are precipitated around the surface of the molten metal. If the precipitates are deposited without re-evaporating, the deposited impurities may block the surface of the molten metal, narrowing the area of ​​the surface of the molten metal, resulting in a problem such as a decrease in the deposition rate. In addition, when the deposition boat 3 is heated in a state where there is no deposition material Em in the accommodation section 31a, the bottom plate 31b of the boat body 31 defining the accommodation section 31a is heated almost uniformly over its entire surface. However, in a state where the deposition material Em is being supplied, the temperature of the bottom plate 31b of the boat body 31 where the wetted and spread deposition material Em exists decreases, and the surrounding temperature becomes relatively high (that is, a temperature gradient occurs within the bottom plate surface of the boat body 31). In particular, under conditions where the contact between the deposition material Em and the bottom plate of the boat body 31 is in a solid phase and generates surface pressure, the temperature gradient becomes significant. At that time, depending on the deposition state of the by-products, the wetted deposition material Em may flow to the bottom plate 31b part of the boat body 31, which is at a relatively high temperature, causing bumping and hindering good deposition.

[0021] In the case where there is a possibility that by-products may accumulate during deposition, as shown in FIG. 5, the vicinity of the center of the bottom plate of the boat body 31 where the tip Em1 of the deposition material Em initially abuts is set as the starting position Sp, and the tip Em1 can be displaced so as to return to the starting position Sp while sequentially repeating relative movements in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction from the starting position (i.e., drawing a rectangular trajectory Mp). Then, the return to the starting position Sp is set as one cycle, and this one cycle is repeated multiple times according to the deposition time. The relative movement speed of the tip Em1 of the deposition material Em with respect to the boat body 31 can be set in the range of 1 mm / sec to 1000 mm / sec, for example. The displacement amounts in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction may be set in the range of 60% to 80% of the total length Ld in the X-axis direction and the total width Wd in the Y-axis direction so that an area where the by-products Sl are accumulated is secured on the peripheral portion of the bottom plate of the boat body 31.

[0022] As described above, the position where the tip Em1 of the deposition material Em melts in the bottom plate 31b of the boat body 31 is changed continuously or intermittently so that the coordinate positions in the XY plane do not overlap each other during one cycle of relative movement, thereby suppressing the occurrence of a temperature gradient in the bottom plate 31b of the boat body 31, making it difficult for the by-products Sl to accumulate, and thus suppressing the occurrence of bumping as much as possible. Even if the precipitated by-products Sl accumulate, when the tip Em1 of the deposition material Em is moved relatively in the next cycle, the by-products Sl are pushed out to the periphery of the bottom plate 31b of the boat body 31 by the deposition material Em that melts and spreads, and as a result, it is possible to ensure a substantially constant area of ​​the molten metal surface during deposition. In this embodiment, an example in which the tip Em1 of the deposition material Em is displaced so as to draw a rectangular locus Mp will be described, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the present application, "while sequentially repeating the relative movement in the X-axis direction and the relative movement in the Y-axis direction" includes moving in an arc shape, and for example, as shown in Fig. 6(a), the tip portion Em1 of the deposition material Em may be displaced so as to draw an elliptical (or oval) locus Mp, or as shown in Fig. 6(b), the tip portion Em1 of the deposition material Em may be displaced so as to draw an elliptical locus Mp symmetrical with respect to the starting position. Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 6(c), the tip portion Em1 of the deposition material Em may be displaced so as to draw a comb-tooth locus Mp.

[0023] In this embodiment, in order to further suppress deformation of the deposition boat 3, two reinforcing plates 7a and 7b are prepared by forming a single plate material into an L-shape so that the contours of the standing plate portion 32 and the electrode mounting plate portion 33 match, and when the reinforcing plates 7a and 7b are attached to the electrode plates 5a and 5b, the electrode mounting plate portion 33 and the standing plate portion 32 are sandwiched between the pair of reinforcing plates 7a and 7b from both sides in the plate thickness direction (upward direction). The reinforcing plates 7a and 7b may be made of a high melting point metal. In this case, as shown in FIG. 7, a downwardly bent portion 71 of one of the reinforcing plates 7a, which is attached from above to the standing plate portion 32 and the electrode mounting plate portion 33, is inclined at a predetermined angle (for example, 2 degrees to 10 degrees) toward the standing plate portion 32 with respect to an extension line 32a passing through the standing plate portion 32. Further, the downwardly bent portion 72 of the other reinforcing plate 7b is inclined at a predetermined angle (for example, in the range of 2 degrees to 10 degrees) with respect to the extension line 32a toward the standing plate portion 32. This makes it possible to reliably clamp the standing plate portion 32 between the pair of reinforcing plates 7a, 7b from both sides in the plate thickness direction without using any particular fixing means such as bolts for integrally clamping the reinforcing plates 7a, 7b to the standing plate portion 32 and the electrode attachment plate portion 33.

[0024] According to the above, even if the electric resistance value of the boat body 31 decreases when the wire-shaped deposition material Em is supplied to the recess 31a of the boat body 31 in a heated state and melted, the pair of reinforcing plates 7a, 7b serve as a shunt path for the current flow, and the electric resistance value of the standing plate portion 32 is suppressed from becoming relatively high, so that overheating of the standing plate portion 32 can be prevented as much as possible. Moreover, the pair of reinforcing plates 7a, 7b reinforce the electrode attachment plate portion 33 and the standing plate portion 32, so that deformation of the deposition boat 3 can be further suppressed. As a result, local overheating and deformation of the deposition boat 3 can be suppressed, and the life of the deposition boat 3 can be further extended. In this case, it is preferable to set the cross-sectional area of ​​each of the reinforcing plates 7a, 7b so that the electric resistance value of the standing plate portion 32 is equivalent to the electric resistance value of the boat body 31 during deposition. This allows the boat body 31 and the standing plate portion 32 to be at the same temperature during deposition, so that even if the deposition material Em melted in the recess 31a during deposition creeps up to the standing plate portion 32, the creeping deposition material Em also quickly evaporates, preventing the deposition material Em from accumulating on the standing plate portion 32 and suppressing changes in the deposition rate. If the standing plate portion 32 is overheated, bumping occurs when the melted deposition material Em creeps up to the standing plate portion 32 and comes into contact with it, but since overheating of the standing plate portion 32 is prevented, bumping can also be suppressed.

[0025] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a support means 8 is provided that abuts against the bottom plate portion 31b from below. The support means 8 is provided with a first base plate 82 that is positioned inside both support stands 4, 4 and is horizontally installed on the inner surface of the lower wall 1a of the vacuum chamber via a first insulator 81a. Two supporting pillars 83, 83 extending upward are provided on the first base plate 82. A second base plate 84 is provided at a predetermined height position from the inner surface of the lower wall 1a of the vacuum chamber, supported by each supporting pillar 83. A support plate 85 is provided on the second base plate 84, the upper end of which abuts against the lower surface of the boat body 31 via the second insulator 81b. The support plate 85 is a sheet of high-melting point metal that has a width (in the vertical direction in FIG. 2(a)) greater than the boat body 31 and a thickness in the range of 0.1 mm to 2 mm, and is bent into a U-shape. In this embodiment, the two bent support plates 85 are arranged side by side with both free ends facing the recess 31a, with adjacent free ends 85a, 85b of each support plate 85, 85 abutting against the bottom plate portion 31b, and with the width direction of each support plate 85, 85 coinciding with a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the boat main body 31. In this case, the longitudinal gap between the free ends 85a, 85b is set as appropriate depending on, for example, the deformation range of the bottom plate portion 31b.

[0026] A reflector plate 86 having an area equal to or greater than that of the bottom surface of the deposition boat 3 is provided at a predetermined height from the second base plate 84 and supported by the support columns 83. The reflector plate 86 is made of a high-melting-point metal plate having a thickness in the range of 0.1 mm to 2 mm. In this case, the surface of the reflector plate 86 facing the boat body 31 may be mirror-finished. The reflector plate 86 is provided with an elongated hole 86a through which the support plates 85, 85 can be inserted. In this embodiment, a screw thread 83a is provided on the outer circumferential surface of the support columns 83, 83, and a plurality of nut members 83b are screwed into the screw thread 83a. In this case, the second base plate 84 and the reflector plate 86 have through holes (not shown) that penetrate in the plate thickness direction, and the posts 83, 83 are inserted and held in position by a pair of nut members 83b in the vertical direction, allowing the height positions of the second base plate 84 and the reflector plate 86 relative to the boat body 31 to be adjusted as appropriate.

[0027] According to the above, for example, when the tip portion Em1 of the deposition material Em is moved relative to the boat body 31 in the X-axis direction, the bottom plate portion 31b on which the load caused by the supply of the deposition material Em acts is constantly supported by the free ends 85a, 85b of the support plate 85, so that the progress of creep deformation is further suppressed and the life span of the deposition boat 3 can be further extended. At this time, by configuring the support means 8 as described above, the contact area with the bottom plate portion 31b can be made as small as possible. In addition, since the two bent support plates 85, 85 are arranged side by side, the other free ends of each of the support plates 85, 85 support both longitudinal ends of the boat body 31 (portions other than the bottom plate portion 31b), so that the deformation of the entire boat body 31 can be reduced and the boat body 31 can be constantly held substantially horizontal during deposition. Furthermore, since the reflector plate 86 is further provided, when bumping occurs in the recess 31a of the boat body 31 for some reason during deposition, it is possible to reliably prevent the liquid or solid deposition material Em caused by the bumping from adhering to the insulators 81b and causing dielectric breakdown. Furthermore, by reflecting the radiant heat from the boat body 31, if any parts such as piping or wiring are arranged in the space below the boat body 31, it is possible to advantageously protect the parts from heat.

[0028] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the technical concept of the present invention. In the above embodiment, the components constituting the material supplying means 6, such as the feed roller 62, the motor 63, and the guide rollers 64, 64, are stored in the housing 61, and the housing 61 is placed on the XYθ stage 66 to displace the tip Em1 of the deposition material Em, but the present invention is not limited to this. In accordance with the configuration of the material supplying means 6, for example, the feed roller 62 or the guide roller 64 itself may be provided with a known moving mechanism, or the guide tube 65 may be provided with a known swinging mechanism to displace the tip Em1 of the deposition material Em. On the other hand, a known driving mechanism may be provided on the support bases 4, 4 supporting the deposition boat 3, and the tip Em1 may be displaced continuously or intermittently by the relative movement of the deposition boat 3 with respect to the tip of the wire-shaped deposition material.

[0029] When the swing mechanism is provided to displace the tip portion Em1 of the deposition material Em, it is preferable to configure the feed amount of the deposition material Em to be controllable by the feed roller 62, the motor 63, and the guide roller 64 so that the feed amount of the deposition material Em due to the swing can be corrected (so that the supply amount per unit time is constant). For example, the increase or decrease in the feed amount of the deposition material Em according to the swing angle may be calculated by a higher-level control system, and the motor 63 may be controlled to rotate the feed roller 62 so that the feed amount of the deposition material Em measured by the guide roller 64 coincides with the aforementioned increase or decrease. In addition, it is preferable to configure the driving of each axis of the XYθ stage 66 so that the protruding pipe portion 61a inserted through the through hole 11a formed in the adhesion prevention plate 11 is driven so as not to interfere with the through hole 11a and the through hole 11a is minimized. By controlling in this way, the gap between the through hole 11a and the protruding pipe portion 61a can be minimized, and unnecessary deposition can be reduced. Naturally, even if a swing mechanism is provided on the XYθ stage 66 to form a stage configuration with four or more axes, it is preferable to perform drive control to minimize the gap in the same manner.

[0030] In the above embodiment, the deposition material Em is made of copper, and the deposition boat 3 is made of a high melting point metal, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The vacuum deposition method of the present invention can be widely applied to cases where a wire-shaped deposition material is supplied to a certain position of the bottom plate of the boat body during deposition depending on the material of the deposition material Em and the material of the deposition boat 3, causing local deformation of the deposition boat. For example, if the deposition boat is made of sintered powders of BN and TiB2 and the deposition material is made of aluminum, the thickness of the bottom plate of the boat body decreases as corrosion progresses due to the dissolution of aluminum, causing local deformation. However, the present invention can be applied to extend the life of the deposition boat.

[0031] In the above embodiment, the shunt path is formed by a pair of reinforcing plates 7a, 7b, but the present invention is not limited thereto as long as the shunt path can be formed so as to prevent the electrical resistance value of the standing plate portion 32 from becoming relatively high during deposition, and for example, the boat body 31 and the electrode mounting plate portion 33 may be connected in parallel by a conductive part such as an electric wire or a bus bar to form the shunt path of the standing plate portion. In addition, in the above embodiment, the shunt path of the standing plate portion 32 may be sandwiched between the pair of reinforcing plates 7a, 7b by inclining a part of the reinforcing plates 7a, 7b with respect to the standing plate portion 32, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and for example, the standing plate portion 32 may be sandwiched by installing the pair of reinforcing plates 7a, 7b on both sides of the standing plate portion 32 and the electrode mounting plate portion 33 in the plate thickness direction, and then fastening the reinforcing plates 7a, 7b with bolts made of a high melting point metal or the like, or by spot welding to integrate the standing plate portion 32.

[0032] In the above embodiment, the supporting means 8 includes two support plates 85, 85 bent in a U-shape and arranged side by side. However, the supporting means 8 is not limited to this as long as it can support the bottom plate portion 31b, on which the load caused by the supply of the deposition material Em acts, by contacting the bottom plate portion 31b from below. For example, a beam member having a circular or elliptical cross section may be provided to straddle the bottom plate portion 31b to support the bottom plate portion 31b, or a plurality of pillars may be provided upright on the support plate 85 to support the bottom plate portion 31b. When the supporting means 8 is provided, the present invention can also be applied to a deposition boat 3 having no upright plate portion 32. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the free ends 85a, 85b of the support plate 85 are arranged side by side in a position that matches the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the boat body 31, but this is not limited to this, and depending on the displacement direction of the tip of the wire-shaped deposition material Em when the wire-shaped deposition material Em is supplied, the width direction of each support plate 85, 85 can also be arranged side by side in a position that matches the longitudinal direction of the boat body 31. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] BS... deposition source for vacuum deposition apparatus, Em... wire-shaped deposition material, Em1... tip of deposition material, Es... vacuum deposition apparatus, Sg... substrate (substrate to be deposited), 1... vacuum chamber, 3... deposition boat, 31... boat main body, 31a... recess (container for deposition material), 31b... bottom portion of boat main body (bottom plate of boat main body), 32... standing plate portion, 33... electrode mounting plate portion, 6... material supply means, 61... housing, Sp... starting point position.

Claims

1. A vacuum deposition method for evaporating a deposition material in a vacuum chamber and depositing the material on a deposition target, comprising the steps of: The evaporation method includes an evaporation process in which a deposition boat having a boat body having an accommodation portion for an evaporation material and electrode mounting plate portions projecting from both ends of the boat body is used as an evaporation source, a wire-shaped evaporation material is supplied from above the boat body so as to abut against a bottom plate of the boat body that defines the accommodation portion, and an electric current is applied between the electrode mounting plate portions to heat the boat body and evaporate the evaporation material in the accommodation portion, The vacuum deposition method further comprises a displacement step of continuously or intermittently displacing a tip of the wire-shaped deposition material abutting against a bottom plate of the boat body by moving the tip relative to the boat body while the wire-shaped deposition material is being supplied.

2. 2. The vacuum deposition method according to claim 1, wherein two axial directions perpendicular to each other within a plane of a bottom plate of the boat body defining the accommodation portion are defined as X-axis and Y-axis directions, and a position of the bottom plate of the boat body with which a tip end of the wire-shaped deposition material initially abuts is defined as a starting position, and in the displacement step, the tip end of the deposition material returns to the starting position while sequentially repeating relative movements in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction from the starting position.

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