Material supply device

Abstract

To provide a material supplying device capable of stably discharging a substantially fixed amount of vapor deposition material to a bowl feeder. [Solution] The material supply device 1 according to the present invention includes a tank 10 having a container 11 capable of containing a vapor deposition material M and a nozzle 12 that discharges the vapor deposition material M in the container 11 to the outside, a bowl feeder 20 to which the vapor deposition material M discharged from the nozzle 12 is supplied, a vibrator 40 that vibrates the bowl feeder 20 to discharge the vapor deposition material M on the bowl feeder 20 to the outside, and an inner cup 30. The inner cup 30 is disposed on the bowl feeder 20 with the nozzle 12 inserted therein, and is capable of storing the vapor deposition material M discharged from the nozzle 12 inside. The side wall 311 of the inner cup 30 discharges the vapor deposition material M inside into the bowl feeder 20.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a material supplying device, and more particularly to a material supplying device capable of supplying a vapor deposition material. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, a material supply device capable of supplying a vapor deposition material is known, for example, as described in Patent Document 1.

[0003] The material supply device described in Patent Document 1 includes a tank consisting of a container section capable of storing vapor deposition material inside and a nozzle section provided at one end of the container section for discharging the vapor deposition material (powder raw material) to the outside, a bowl feeder body having an opening at the top into which the nozzle section can be inserted and into which the vapor deposition material discharged from the tank is supplied, a bowl feeder consisting of a supply path extending from the bottom surface of the bowl feeder body outward, and a vibrator provided on the top surface of the bowl feeder body that vibrates as needed.

[0004] In such a material supply device (hereinafter referred to as a "conventional material supply device"), (1) supplying the evaporation material contained in the container portion to the bowl feeder through the nozzle portion; (2) Vibrating the bowl feeder using a vibrator; By following this procedure, the evaporation material can be supplied to the hearth cup (evaporation dish). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-097298 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In conventional material supply devices, when adjusting the discharge amount of deposition material discharged from a tank to a bowl feeder, it is common to change the distance between the nozzle portion of the tank and the bowl feeder (hereinafter referred to as the "separation distance") or to vary the vibration frequency and amplitude of the vibrator.

[0007] However, with the former adjustment method, if the separation distance is set relatively short, the vapor deposition material is likely to get stuck between the nozzle portion of the tank and the inner bottom surface of the bowl feeder, causing clogging.In such cases, it becomes difficult for the vapor deposition material to be discharged into the bowl feeder, and problems also arise such as the vibration of the bowl feeder by the vibrator being hindered.

[0008] On the other hand, if the separation distance is set relatively long, Large amounts of evaporation material are discharged directly into the bowl feeder. If evaporation material gets stuck between the opening end of the nozzle and the inner bottom surface of the bowl feeder, when the blockage is cleared, a large amount of subsequent evaporation material is discharged into the bowl feeder. Such occurrences may occur at irregular intervals, and in such cases, problems such as unstable discharge of the vapor deposition material discharged into the bowl feeder may occur.

[0009] As described above, conventional material supply devices have difficulty in stably discharging a substantially constant amount of vapor deposition material into the bowl feeder, resulting in the problem that the amount of vapor deposition material supplied to the hearth cup becomes unstable.

[0010] The present invention provides a material supplying device that can stably discharge a substantially constant amount of vapor deposition material to a bowl feeder. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] The above problem is solved by the material supply device of the present invention, which is a material supply device comprising: a tank having a container portion capable of storing vapor deposition material and a nozzle portion that discharges the vapor deposition material in the container portion to the outside; a bowl feeder to which the vapor deposition material discharged from the nozzle portion is supplied; and a vibrator that can vibrate the bowl feeder to discharge the vapor deposition material on the bowl feeder to the outside, wherein the material supply device comprises an inner cup that is placed on the bowl feeder with the nozzle portion inserted and is capable of storing the vapor deposition material discharged from the nozzle portion inside, and a discharge portion is provided on the side wall of the inner cup that can discharge the vapor deposition material inside to the bowl feeder.

[0012] In the invention relating to the material supply device, it is preferable that the inner bottom surface of the inner cup has an inclined portion that slopes downward toward the discharge portion. In this case, a plurality of the discharge portions may be provided on the side wall.

[0013] Furthermore, in the invention relating to the material supplying device, it is preferable that the cup member is connected to an upper surface of the bowl feeder. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] As described above, the material supply device according to the present invention has a relatively simple configuration, yet can stably discharge a substantially constant amount of vapor deposition material into the bowl feeder. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a material supplying device according to the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of a bowl feeder constituting the material supplying device of FIG. [Figure 3] 3A and 3B are diagrams for explaining the state of the vapor deposition material discharged into the bowl feeder, in which (a) is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of FIG. 1, and (b) is an explanatory cross-sectional view for explaining the movement of the vapor deposition material. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a comparative example of the inner cup constituting the material supplying device of FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] A material supplying device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing one embodiment of the material supplying device according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a schematic plan view of a bowl feeder constituting the material supplying device of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a diagram for explaining the state of vapor deposition material discharged into the bowl feeder, and Fig. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a comparative example of an inner cup constituting the material supplying device of Fig. 1.

[0017] <Overall configuration of material supply device 1> As shown in FIG. 1, the material supply device 1 according to this embodiment, like conventional material supply devices, is installed in a vapor deposition device (vacuum vessel) that performs a film formation process on the surface of a substrate, etc., and includes a tank 10, a bowl feeder 20, an inner cup 30, a vibrator 40, and a linear feeder 50. The material supply device 1, tank 10, bowl feeder 20, inner cup 30, and vibrator 40 correspond to the "material supply device," "tank," "bowl feeder," "inner cup," and "vibrator" in the claims, respectively. For ease of explanation, the following description will be given taking as an example a case in which a vapor deposition material M is supplied to a hearth cup 60 (evaporation dish) installed inside the vapor deposition device (vacuum vessel), but the present invention is not limited to this, and the vapor deposition material can also be supplied to other components, etc.

[0018] (Tank 10) The tank 10 is made of a metal member (for example, stainless steel) formed into a funnel shape, and has a container portion 11 and a nozzle portion 12.

[0019] The container part 11 is a part capable of containing the deposition material M, and is formed in a hollow truncated cone shape in cross section. The nozzle part 12 is a part that discharges the deposition material M contained in the container part 11 to the outside, and is connected to the lower end (lower open end) of the container part 11. Note that, in this embodiment, the nozzle part 12 is described taking as an example a nozzle part having a circular cross section, but it is also possible to use a nozzle part having another shape, for example, a hollow polygonal shape.

[0020] The deposition material M contained in the tank 10 is composed of a plurality of granular materials having different sizes and shapes (see FIG. 3), and various materials (for example, aluminum or copper) can be used depending on the intended use, etc. The shape of the deposition material M is not limited to granular, and may be other shapes (for example, powder) as long as it is tangible.

[0021] (Bowl Feeder 20) As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the bowl feeder 20 is a device for supplying the evaporation material M discharged from the nozzle portion 12 of the tank 10 to the linear feeder 50.

[0022] Bowl feeder 20 according to this embodiment has a mortar shape (bowl shape) and is provided on its inner surface with inner bottom surface 20A, discharge path 20B, and discharge groove 20C. Such bowl feeder 20 can be formed using various metal members such as aluminum and stainless steel. Note that inner bottom surface 20A corresponds to the "upper surface of the bowl feeder" described in the claims.

[0023] The inner bottom surface 20A has a generally circular central flat portion 20A1, a generally annular inclined portion 20A2 extending downwardly from the outer peripheral edge of the central flat portion 20A1, and a generally annular outer flat portion 20A3 extending generally horizontally from the outer peripheral edge of the inclined portion 20A2.

[0024] The bowl feeder 20 according to this embodiment is arranged so that the central flat portion 20A1 is positioned below the nozzle portion 12 of the tank 10 with a predetermined distance between it and the open end of the nozzle portion 12.

[0025] As will be described in detail later, in this embodiment, the inner cup 30 is arranged in the central flat portion 20A1. The evaporation material M supplied from the tank 10 (nozzle portion 12) passes through the inside of the inner cup 30 and is then discharged to the inner bottom surface 20A of the bowl feeder 20.

[0026] In this embodiment, as described above, the inclined portion 20A2 is provided on the inner bottom surface 20A, so that the deposition material M discharged from the inner cup 30 slides down on the inclined portion 20A2 and then reaches the outer flat portion 20A3. Note that, in this embodiment, the inner bottom surface 20A of the bowl feeder 20 is formed into a substantially convex shape by providing the inclined portion 20A2, but it is also possible to omit this and form it into a flat shape.

[0027] The discharge path 20B is a part that forms the inner wall of the bowl feeder 20 (a part that is connected to the outer periphery of the outer flat portion 20A3) and is formed in a spiral shape with an upward slope toward the radially outer side of the bowl feeder 20.

[0028] The bowl feeder 20 of this embodiment is configured to vibrate by driving the vibrator 40, similar to conventional material supply devices, and this vibration causes the evaporation material M on the inner bottom surface 20A to move spirally upward on the conveying path 20B (see arrow in Figure 2).

[0029] The discharge groove 20C is formed in the upper part of the side wall of the bowl feeder 20, and is a portion for discharging to the outside the vapor deposition material M that has moved upward along the conveying path 20B (see FIGS. 1 and 2). As will be described later, the vapor deposition material M discharged to the outside of the bowl feeder 20 is sent (supplied) to the upstream side of the linear feeder 50 via the discharge groove 20C.

[0030] (Inner cup 30) 1 and 3, the inner cup 30 has a generally circular bowl shape and includes a main body 31 and an opening 32 formed in the main body 31. Such an inner cup 30 can be formed using various metal members such as aluminum and stainless steel. The opening 32 corresponds to the "discharge portion" described in the claims.

[0031] The main body 31 has a circular bottom wall 312 and a cylindrical side wall 311 standing upright from the outer periphery of the bottom wall 312. The inner diameter of the main body 31 is formed to be larger than the outer diameter of the nozzle portion 12 of the tank 10. Note that, although the present embodiment will be described taking as an example a case where an inner cup 30 formed in a substantially circular bowl shape is used, it is also possible to use an inner cup of another shape, for example, an inner cup formed in a polygonal bowl shape.

[0032] The bottom wall 312 according to this embodiment has a central flat portion 312A1 and an inclined portion 312A2 on the inner bottom surface 312A side. The central flat portion 312A1 is formed in a substantially circular (or polygonal) shape, and the inclined portion 312A2 is an inclined surface that slopes downward toward the radially outer side. The inner bottom surface 312A and the inclined portion 312A2 correspond to the "inner bottom surface of the main body" and the "inclined portion," respectively, as defined in the claims.

[0033] The opening 32 according to this embodiment is formed at one location on the lower end of the side wall 311 of the main body 31. The opening 32 can be formed in a desired shape (for example, polygonal, circular, or elliptical) and size, provided that the vapor deposition material M can pass through it.

[0034] The tank 10, the bowl feeder 20, and the inner cup 30 are assembled, for example, as follows: (1) The bottom wall 312 of the inner cup 30 is butted against the central flat portion 20A1 of the bowl feeder 20, and these are fixed by welding, bolting, etc. (2) After inserting the nozzle portion 12 (tank 10) into the main body portion 31 (inner cup 30), a predetermined gap is left between the tip of the nozzle portion 12 and the bottom wall 312 of the main body portion 31 (inner cup 30), and the tank 10 is fixed so that it cannot move relative to the bowl feeder 20. It is carried out in the following steps.

[0035] It is preferable that a gap of a substantially uniform width be formed between the outer periphery of the nozzle portion 12 and the inner periphery of the main body portion 31 so that the evaporation material M can be stored at a substantially uniform height. The storing of the evaporation material M in the inner cup 30 will be described later.

[0036] In this embodiment, the inner cup 30 is fixed directly to the bowl feeder 20 in order to efficiently transmit vibrations from the bowl feeder 20, but if the transmission of such vibrations can be ensured, it is also possible to connect them, for example, via a specified member.

[0037] (Vibrator 40) As shown in Fig. 1, vibrator 40 is a device that oscillates at a predetermined vibration frequency and amplitude under the control of control means (not shown), and is configured to transmit such vibration to bowl feeder 20, similar to conventional material supply devices. Note that vibrator 40 may be configured as a separate unit from bowl feeder 20, as shown in Fig. 1, or it may be configured as an integral unit with bowl feeder 20 (a type built into bowl feeder).

[0038] (Linear Feeder 50) The linear feeder 50 has a generally trough shape and is a member for supplying the deposition material M discharged from the upper portion (discharge groove 20C) of the bowl feeder 20 to the hearth cup 60. Such a linear feeder 50 can be formed using various metal members such as aluminum and stainless steel.

[0039] <Operation of material supply device 1> Next, the operation of the material supplying device 1 configured as above will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0040] 1, in the material supply device 1 according to this embodiment, similarly to the conventional material supply device, the vapor deposition material M is first supplied from above the tank 10. As a result, the vapor deposition material M is discharged into the inner cup 30 from the open end of the nozzle portion 12 of the container portion 11.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 3, when the vapor deposition material M is supplied from the nozzle portion 12 (tank 10) into the inner cup 30, the vapor deposition material M The food moves (slides) on the inclined portion 312A2 of the inner cup 30 and is discharged from the opening 32 into the bowl feeder 20. A portion of the liquid is not discharged from the opening 32 but is instead accumulated in the area between the nozzle portion 12 and the inner cup 30 (main body portion 31) (hereinafter referred to as the "retention area") (see Figure 3(a)).

[0042] When the vapor deposition material M is accumulated between the nozzle portion 12 and the inner cup 30 (main body portion 31) and the subsequent vapor deposition material M is supplied from the tank 10 (nozzle portion 12) into the inner cup 30, the vapor deposition material M behaves as shown in Figure 3(b).

[0043] Here, the behavior of the vapor deposition material M will be specifically described with reference to FIG. 3(b).

[0044] A part of the deposition material M supplied from the nozzle part 12 moves toward the retention region, but most of it is guided by the downwardly inclined inclined part 312A2 and discharged from the opening 32 (see the arrow pointing toward the opening 32 in FIG. 3(b)). Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the deposition material M moving toward the opening 32 will also be referred to as "moving deposition material," and the deposition material M accumulated in the retention region will also be referred to as "retained deposition material."

[0045] In this embodiment, when the "staying vapor deposition material" accumulates in the staying region, the weight of the "staying vapor deposition material" always acts on the "moving vapor deposition material."

[0046] In addition, when the “moving vapor deposition material” moves toward the opening 32, the “staying vapor deposition material” may, for example, Moving upwards, - Moves as if drawn into the "moving deposition material" (moves as if merging with the material) They are now moving irregularly in multiple directions, such as:

[0047] That is, in this embodiment, while the “moving deposition material” is moving toward the opening 32, The weight of the deposition material M accumulated in the retention area, frictional forces occurring between the deposition material M accumulated in the retention region, and frictional forces occurring between the deposition material M accumulated in the retention region and the nozzle portion 12 or the side wall 311 of the inner cup 30; (hereinafter referred to as "external force such as own weight") acts on the moving vapor deposition material 30. As a result, the speed of the moving vapor deposition material 30 discharged from the opening 32 (the speed at which the moving vapor deposition material 30 is discharged into the bowl feeder 30) is inevitably reduced.

[0048] Here, the behavior of the vapor deposition material M when the inner cup 30' is used as a comparative example will be described with reference to FIG.

[0049] As shown in Figure 4, the inner cup 30' of the comparative example is different from the inner cup 30 of the above embodiment (see Figure 3, etc.) in that when assembled to the nozzle portion 12 of the tank 10, a stagnation area like that of the present embodiment is not formed.

[0050] Specifically, the inner cup 30' according to the comparative example is similar to the inner cup 30 according to the above embodiment in that it has basic components such as a main body 31' fixed to the central flat portion 20A1 of the bowl feeder 20 and an opening 32' (in this modified example, one opening) formed in the main body 31'. The side wall 311′ constituting the main body 31′ is formed thick, and the length (depth) of the opening 32′ in the radial direction of the inner cup 30′ is long; When the tank 10 and the inner cup 30′ are assembled, only a small gap is formed between the outer periphery of the nozzle portion 12 and the inner periphery of the main body portion 31′ (a retention area is not formed as in the above embodiment), The inner bottom surface of the bottom wall 312' that constitutes the main body 31' is formed flat, The opening size S (opening area) of the opening 32' is formed to a desired size that allows the vapor deposition material M to pass through, similar to the inner cup 30 according to the above embodiment.

[0051] In the inner cup 30' configured in this manner, the opening 32' is formed in a tunnel-like shape, so if the opening size S is set to a small size, the evaporation material M supplied from the tank 10 may quickly clog the opening 32'.

[0052] On the other hand, if the opening size S of the opening 32' is set relatively large, as in this embodiment, the discharge speed is not reduced and a large amount of vapor deposition material M of various sizes is discharged into the bowl feeder 20 all at once, which can easily cause problems such as unstable discharge amount of vapor deposition material M discharged into the bowl feeder 20.

[0053] In light of these, it can be said that with the inner cup 30′ according to the comparative example, even if the opening shape and opening size S of the opening 32′ are adjusted, it is extremely difficult to stably discharge a substantially constant amount of vapor deposition material M into the bowl feeder 20. Note that even if the inner bottom surface of the bottom wall 312′ is changed to the inner bottom surface 312 having the inclined portion 312A2 as in this embodiment (see FIG. 3, etc.), it is considered that the amount of vapor deposition material M discharged into the bowl feeder 20 will not change significantly.

[0054] In contrast, the inner cup 30 of this embodiment is configured so that the vapor deposition material M is discharged into the bowl feeder 20 at a reduced discharge rate. Therefore, by simply changing the opening shape and size of the opening 32, the volume of the retention area, etc., it is possible to set the discharge amount of the vapor deposition material M discharged into the bowl feeder 20 to a desired value.

[0055] As such, according to the material supply device 1 of this embodiment, it is possible to easily adjust the discharge amount of the vapor deposition material M discharged from the inner cup 30, and therefore, it is possible to stably discharge an approximately fixed amount of the vapor deposition material M into the bowl feeder 20.

[0056] In addition, in the material supplying device 1 according to this embodiment, the inner bottom surface 312A of the inner cup 30 is provided with an inclined portion 312A that faces the opening 32. That is, with this configuration, the vapor deposition material M discharged from the nozzle portion 12 is subjected to a force that causes it to slide down the inclined portion 312A due to its own weight, and also to the above-described external force such as its own weight, so that the movement can be made smoother. As a result, in this embodiment, a substantially constant amount of vapor deposition material M can be more stably discharged to the bowl feeder 20.

[0057] Furthermore, in the material supplying device 1 according to this embodiment, the inner cup 30 is fixed to the bowl feeder 20. That is, with this configuration, it is possible to efficiently transmit the vibrations of the vibrator 40 to the vapor deposition material M in the inner cup 30. As a result, in this embodiment, it is possible to promote the movement of the vapor deposition material M toward the opening 32, and therefore it is possible to more stably discharge a substantially constant amount of the vapor deposition material M into the bowl feeder 20.

[0058] <Configuration and Effects of the Embodiment> As described above, the material supply device 1 of this embodiment is a material supply device 1 equipped with a tank 10 having a container portion 11 capable of containing vapor deposition material M and a nozzle portion 12 that discharges the vapor deposition material M in the container portion 11 to the outside, a bowl feeder 20 to which the vapor deposition material M discharged from the nozzle portion 12 is supplied, and a vibrator 40 that can vibrate the bowl feeder 20 to discharge the vapor deposition material M on the bowl feeder 20 to the outside, and is equipped with a cup-shaped main body portion 31 that is placed on the bowl feeder 20 with the nozzle portion 12 inserted and is capable of storing the vapor deposition material M discharged from the nozzle portion 12 inside, and an inner cup 30 that is provided on the side wall 311 of the main body portion 31 and has an opening 32 that discharges the vapor deposition material M in the main body portion 31 to the bowl feeder 20. Therefore, according to the material supply device 1 according to this embodiment, a substantially constant amount of the vapor deposition material M can be stably discharged to the bowl feeder 20.

[0059] In addition, in the material supply device 1 according to this embodiment, the inner bottom surface 312A of the main body 31 has an inclined portion 312A2 that slopes downward toward the opening 32. Therefore, according to the material supply device 1 of this embodiment, it is possible to smoothly move the vapor deposition material M toward the opening 32, so that an approximately constant amount of vapor deposition material M can be stably discharged by the bowl feeder 20.

[0060] Furthermore, in the material supplying device 1 according to this embodiment, the inner cup 30 is connected to the inner bottom surface 20A of the bowl feeder 20. Therefore, according to the material supply device 1 of this embodiment, it is possible to promote the movement of the vapor deposition material M toward the opening 32, thereby more stably discharging a substantially constant amount of vapor deposition material M into the bowl feeder 20.

[0061] <Other variations> In the above embodiment, one opening 32 is formed in the inner cup 30, but two or more openings may be formed. This configuration can easily increase the discharge amount of the vapor deposition material M discharged into the bowl feeder 20. In this case, from the viewpoint of distributing the vapor deposition material M as uniformly as possible on the inner bottom surface 20A of the bowl feeder 20, the openings 32 can also be formed at approximately equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the side wall 311.

[0062] In the above embodiment, the opening 32 is formed as a discharge portion for discharging the vapor deposition material M from the inner cup 30, but a pipe-shaped member can also be connected to this portion.

[0063] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the inner bottom surface 312A of the inner cup 30 is formed in a convex shape by providing the inclined portion 312A2, but it is also possible to omit this and form it in a flat shape.

[0064] In addition, in the above embodiment, a bowl feeder of the type having a spiral conveying path 20B was used, but other types may also be used, such as a type in which a linear feeder is connected to the inner bottom surface of the bowl feeder, such as a conventional material supply device (Patent Publication No. 2012-097298).

[0065] Although the present invention has been described above as an embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the descriptions and drawings that form part of the disclosure of the present invention according to the embodiment. In other words, it should be added that all other embodiments, examples, and operational techniques that are made by those skilled in the art based on the embodiment are naturally included in the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0066] 1 Material supply device 10 Tank 11 Container section 12 Nozzle section 20 Bowl Feeder 20A Inner bottom surface (top surface) 20A1 Central flat part 20A2 Inclined section 20A3 Outer flat part 20B Conveyor path 20C drain groove 30,30´ Inner Cup 31,31´ Main body 311,311´ side wall 312,312´ bottom wall 312A Inner bottom surface 312A1 Central flat part 312A2 Inclined section 32,132 Opening (discharge part) 40 Vibrator 50 Linear Feeder 60 Hearth Cup M Vapor deposition material S opening size

Claims

1. a tank having a container portion capable of containing a vapor deposition material and a nozzle portion for discharging the vapor deposition material in the container portion to the outside; a bowl feeder to which the vapor deposition material discharged from the nozzle portion is supplied; a vibrator capable of vibrating the bowl feeder to discharge the vapor deposition material on the bowl feeder to the outside; A material supply device comprising: an inner cup that is provided on the bowl feeder with the nozzle portion inserted therein and that is capable of storing the vapor deposition material discharged from the nozzle portion; The material supply device has a discharge portion on a side wall of the inner cup that can discharge the vapor deposition material inside to the bowl feeder.

2. The material supply device according to claim 1 , wherein the inner bottom surface of the inner cup has an inclined portion that slopes downward toward the discharge portion.

3. The material supplying device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the discharge portion is provided in a plurality on the side wall.

4. The material supplying device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the inner cup is fixed to an upper surface of the bowl feeder.

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