Film forming apparatus and vapor deposition material control management method

Abstract

To provide a film deposition device capable of drastically reducing the number of opening / closing a vapor deposition chamber by adjusting an order of processing cases scheduled to be vapor deposited, based on a housing amount of a vapor deposition material housed in a large number of crucibles.SOLUTION: A film deposition device for forming a thin film on a substrate by evaporating a vapor deposition material in a vacuum chamber comprises: a vapor deposition source having plural crucibles for housing the vapor deposition material; and a control part for controlling vapor deposition processing to form the thin film on the substrate by evaporating the vapor deposition material housed in the plural crucibles of the vapor deposition source. The control part is configured to calculate an upper limit number of possible vapor deposition processing by the vapor deposition material housed in the crucible, and stop the vapor deposition processing when the calculated upper limit number is reached.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a film forming apparatus that performs a film forming process using a number of crucibles as evaporation sources, and a method for controlling and managing evaporation materials in the film forming apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART Film formation apparatuses are known that deposit a deposition material on a substrate to form a predetermined film on the substrate, and a film formation apparatus has been proposed that performs film formation processing using a number of crucibles containing deposition materials as deposition sources.

[0003] As such a film formation apparatus, a film formation apparatus using a point source revolver type evaporation source having a large number of crucibles arranged in a circle to accommodate a large amount of evaporation material is known.

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-188812 DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, for example, when multiple types of evaporation materials are stored in a large number of large-capacity circular crucibles of the point source revolver type and the planned evaporation projects are subjected to film formation processing in random order according to the initial evaporation order, there may be a situation where some types of evaporation material are left over and other types of evaporation material are depleted, depending on the planned evaporation project. When such a situation occurs, the depleted deposition material must be replenished, and each time this is required, the deposition chamber must be opened to the atmosphere and the material must be added.

[0006] Such frequent opening of the deposition chamber not only deteriorates the atmosphere inside the chamber, causing problems that hinder the deposition process, but also has the disadvantage of requiring time and effort to restore the atmosphere inside the deposition chamber.

[0007] The present invention has been made in light of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and aims to provide a film forming apparatus and a method for controlling and managing evaporation material that can dramatically reduce the number of times an evaporation chamber is opened and closed by managing the number of evaporation processes based on the amount of evaporation material contained in a number of crucibles. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, the film formation apparatus of the present invention is a film formation apparatus that vaporizes a vapor deposition material in a vacuum chamber to form a predetermined film on a substrate, and is characterized in that it includes a vapor deposition source having a plurality of crucibles for containing the vapor deposition material, and a control unit that controls a vapor deposition process that vaporizes the vapor deposition material contained in the plurality of crucibles of the vapor deposition source to form a thin film on a substrate, and the control unit calculates an upper limit number of vapor deposition processes that can be performed with the vapor deposition material contained in the crucibles, and manages the number of vapor deposition processes based on the calculated upper limit number.

[0009] Another feature of the present invention is a film forming apparatus for performing a vapor deposition process to vaporize a vapor deposition material in a vacuum chamber to form a thin film on a substrate, the film forming apparatus including: a vapor deposition source having a plurality of crucibles for containing the vapor deposition material; and a control unit for controlling the vapor deposition process using the vapor deposition material contained in the crucibles, wherein the control unit assigns a number to each of the plurality of crucibles, calculates the number of times vapor deposition processes can be performed using the vapor deposition material contained in each of the crucibles, calculates an upper limit number of times vapor deposition processes can be performed using the vapor deposition material contained in the crucible, and sets a maximum number of times vapor deposition processes can be performed using the calculated upper limit number of times vapor deposition processes can be performed. Based on this, the processing order of the scheduled vapor deposition processing cases is adjusted, the vapor deposition processing is performed based on the adjusted processing order of the scheduled vapor deposition processing cases, it is determined whether or not the calculated number of vapor deposition processing times possible with the vapor deposition material contained in each crucible has been reached, and when the calculated number of vapor deposition processing times possible with the vapor deposition material contained in each crucible has been reached, the vapor deposition processing is continued by performing a cell change of the crucible, it is determined whether or not the calculated upper limit number of vapor deposition processing times has been reached, and when the upper limit number of vapor deposition processing times has been reached, the vapor deposition processing is stopped.

[0010] Another feature of the present invention is a method for controlling and managing a deposition material contained in a crucible of the deposition source in a film forming apparatus including: a deposition source having a plurality of crucibles for containing a deposition material in a vacuum chamber; and a control unit that controls a deposition process for forming a thin film on a substrate using the deposition material contained in the crucibles, the method comprising: a step of numbering the plurality of crucibles by the control unit; a step of calculating, by the control unit, the number of times deposition processes can be performed using the deposition material contained in each crucible; a step of calculating, by the control unit, the upper limit number of times deposition processes can be performed using the deposition material contained in the crucible; and a step of calculating, by the control unit, the upper limit number of times deposition processes can be performed using the deposition material contained in the crucible. The method includes the steps of: adjusting the processing order of the scheduled vapor deposition processing cases based on the upper limit number of times; executing the vapor deposition processing by the control unit based on the adjusted processing order of the scheduled vapor deposition processing cases; determining by the control unit whether or not the calculated number of vapor deposition processing times possible with the vapor deposition material contained in each crucible has been reached; continuing the vapor deposition processing by the control unit by performing a cell change of the crucible when the calculated number of vapor deposition processing times possible with the vapor deposition material contained in each crucible has been reached; determining by the control unit whether or not the calculated upper limit number of vapor deposition processing times has been reached; and stopping the vapor deposition processing by the control unit when the upper limit number of vapor deposition processing times has been reached. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, the number of times the deposition chamber is opened and closed can be dramatically reduced, thereby solving the problem of the atmosphere in the chamber deteriorating and interfering with the film formation process. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a film forming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the vapor deposition source 7 shown in FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of the vapor deposition source 7 shown in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of the vapor deposition source 7 shown in FIG. 1, and is an explanatory diagram of the numbering of the multiple crucibles 5. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the internal configuration of the control unit 25 shown in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method for controlling and managing a deposition material in the film forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] A film forming apparatus embodying the present invention and a method for controlling and managing a deposition material using the same will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0014] 1 is a schematic diagram showing the construction of a film forming apparatus according to the present invention, which is adapted to carry out a vacuum deposition process. The film forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is merely an example, and any configuration may be used as long as the film forming apparatus executes a film forming control program including a method for controlling and managing a vapor deposition material, which will be described later.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 1, in the film forming apparatus 1 of this embodiment, an exhaust pipe and a vacuum pump (not shown) are connected to a vacuum chamber 3, which is a film forming chamber, so that the inside can be depressurized to a predetermined pressure.

[0016] At the bottom inside the vacuum chamber 3, a point source revolver type evaporation source 7 is provided, which is equipped with a large number of crucibles (20 in this embodiment) 5 arranged in a circular shape. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the vapor deposition source 7 shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of the vapor deposition source 7 shown in FIG.

[0017] As shown in Figure 3, the evaporation source 7 has a drive source 9 such as a motor at the bottom, and the drive source 9 rotates a circular turntable 11 at the top via a support shaft member 12. As shown in Figure 2, a plurality of crucibles 5 (20 in this case) are formed in a circular arrangement on the top surface of the turntable 11. The 20 crucibles 5 arranged in a circle each contain the same amount of deposition material, and each crucible 5 has an open top. The deposition material in a crucible 5 at a predetermined position is heated and vaporized, and the vapor of the deposition material is supplied upward from the opening in the top of the crucible 5. Then, a thin film is formed on the substrate 13 in the vacuum chamber 3 by the vaporized deposition material that has been heated.

[0018] The evaporation source 7 is provided with a heating means such as resistance heating, electron beam heating, laser beam heating, or an electron gun (not shown), and when the evaporation material in the crucible 5 at the predetermined position is heated and vaporized, vapor of the evaporation material is ejected. That is, the deposition source 7 is further provided with a cover (not shown) having an opening formed at a predetermined position so that the evaporated deposition material is released only by the crucible 5 where the deposition process is performed when performing the cell change described below. Furthermore, a shutter may be provided to cover the outlet of the vapor deposition source 7 to stop the vapor deposition process while continuing to release the vapor deposition material from the vapor deposition source 7.

[0019] 4 is a schematic plan view of the deposition source 7 shown in FIG. 1 and is an explanatory diagram of the numbering of the multiple crucibles 5. For the sake of explanation, in FIG. 4, the numbering numerals that are added to each crucible 5 by a numbering process described later are written on each crucible 5. As shown in FIG. 4, in the present invention, 20 crucibles 5 formed in a circular arrangement in the vapor deposition source 7 are numbered consecutively from 1 to 20. That is, in this embodiment, 20 crucibles 5 are numbered 1 to 20, and crucibles 5 numbered 1 to 14 contain Al (aluminum) vapor deposition material, and crucibles 5 numbered 15 to 20 contain Ti (titanium) vapor deposition material. In this manner, in this embodiment, a plurality of crucibles 5 contain a plurality of types of deposition materials.

[0020] Returning to FIG. 1, a substrate holder 15 for holding a substrate 13 on which a film is to be formed is provided in the upper interior of the vacuum chamber 3 in the direction in which the vapor of the evaporation material from the evaporation source 7 is ejected. The substrate holder 15 is supported by a holder support 17 from above the vacuum chamber 3 .

[0021] Furthermore, within the vacuum chamber 3, there are provided a film thickness sensor 21 for detecting the thickness of the film of deposition material formed on the substrate 13 by the deposition process, and a particle sensor 23 for detecting the particle size and number of particles of the scattered deposition material. The film forming apparatus 1 is provided with a control unit 25 that controls the operation of the evaporation source 7 using the detection results of the film thickness sensor 21 and the particle sensor 23. For this purpose, the control unit 25 receives detection information on the film thickness of the vapor deposition material detected by the film thickness sensor 21 and detection information on the particle diameter and number of particles of the scattered vapor deposition material detected by the particle sensor 23 .

[0022] The control unit 25 stores a vapor deposition material control management program for executing a vapor deposition material control management method, as described below, and controls the operation of the evaporation source 7 in accordance with the vapor deposition material control management program.

[0023] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the internal configuration of the control unit 25 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 25 is a personal computer (PC) configured to have a RAM 27, a ROM 29, a display monitor 31, a keyboard 33, and a mouse 35 connected to a CPU 37, and the CPU 37 is configured to perform film formation control, which will be described later, in accordance with a film formation control program stored in the ROM 29, based on instructions input by an operator via the keyboard 33 and the mouse 35. The film formation control program includes a vapor deposition material control management program, which will be described later.

[0024] Next, a method for controlling and managing the deposition material in the film forming apparatus will be described. The method for controlling and managing the vapor deposition material is executed as follows by the CPU 37 in accordance with the vapor deposition material control and management program stored in the ROM 29 in the control unit 25 constituted by the personal computer (PC).

[0025] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a vapor deposition material control management method according to a vapor deposition material control management program in the film forming apparatus shown in FIG. First, in step 101 of FIG. 6, in accordance with instruction information input by the operator to the keyboard 33 of the control unit 25, the CPU 37 assigns a number to each of the 20 crucibles 5 formed in a circular arrangement in the evaporation source 7, as described above (see FIG. 4). In this embodiment, 20 crucibles 5 are numbered 1 to 20, respectively, and crucibles 5 numbered 1 to 14 contain Al (aluminum) evaporation material, and crucibles 5 numbered 15 to 20 contain Ti (titanium) evaporation material.

[0026] Next, in step 103, the CPU 37 groups the plurality of crucibles 5 according to the type of evaporation material according to the instruction information input by the operator to the keyboard 33 of the control unit 25. That is, in this embodiment, the group of crucibles 5 numbered 1 to 14 is the Al group, and the group of crucibles 5 numbered 15 to 20 is the Ti group.

[0027] Next, in step 105, in accordance with the instruction information input by the operator to the keyboard 33 in the control unit 25, the CPU 37 calculates and sets the number of vapor deposition processes possible for each type of vapor deposition material set in one crucible 5 based on the vapor deposition amount determined by the vapor deposition conditions, etc. That is, in this embodiment, in the case of the crucibles 5 of the Al group, for example, the number of times vapor deposition processes can be performed is calculated from the volume of the Al material in the crucible 5 of number 1. In the case of the Al group, all crucibles 5 are calculated and set to be capable of three deposition processes. That is, the CPU 37 stores in the RAM 27 the calculated number of deposition processes possible for each crucible 5 of the Al group, which is three. Similarly, in this embodiment, in the case of the crucibles 5 of the Ti group, for example, the number of times vapor deposition processing can be performed is calculated from the volume of the Ti material in the crucible 5 numbered 15. In the case of the Ti group, all crucibles 5 are calculated and set to be capable of six deposition processes. That is, the CPU 37 stores in the RAM 27 the calculated number of deposition processes possible for the crucibles 5 of the Ti group, which is six. The number of times each deposition process can be performed varies depending on the conditions (for example, parameters such as film thickness) of the planned deposition process.

[0028] Next, in step 107, in accordance with the instruction information input by the operator to the keyboard 33 in the control unit 25, the CPU 37 calculates the upper limit number of times of vapor deposition processing for each type of vapor deposition material from the information on the crucibles 5 grouped in step 103 and the information on the possible number of times of vapor deposition processing calculated in step 105. Here, the maximum number of times that the deposition process can be performed using the deposition materials contained in all of the 20 crucibles 5 is calculated and stored in the RAM 27. That is, in this embodiment, the calculated upper limit number of times is that, since crucibles 5 numbered 1 to 14 out of the 20 crucibles 5 contain Al (aluminum) vapor deposition material, and crucibles 5 numbered 15 to 20 contain Ti (titanium) vapor deposition material, the upper limit number of times that vapor deposition processing can be performed for Al is 14 x 3 = 42 times, and the upper limit number of times that vapor deposition processing can be performed for Ti is 6 x 6 = 36 times.

[0029] Next, in step 109, the CPU 37 manages the number of vapor deposition processes based on the upper limit number calculated in step 107 above, in accordance with instruction information input by the operator to the keyboard 33 of the control unit 25. Here, the processing order of the deposition scheduled cases is adjusted as a management process for the number of deposition processes. That is, the CPU 37 reads out the planned number of vapor deposition processes according to the planned order of vapor deposition processes for the scheduled vapor deposition project, which is stored in advance in the RAM 27 of the control unit 25, based on the operator's instructions, and also reads out the upper limit number of vapor deposition processes possible for each type of vapor deposition material calculated in the above step 107. Then, based on the read-out planned number of vapor deposition processes and the upper limit number of vapor deposition processes, the CPU 37 adjusts the processing order of the scheduled vapor deposition processes so that the number of processes falls as close to the upper limit number as possible.

[0030] For example, in this embodiment, it is assumed that deposition processing projects are scheduled in the following order: The first scheduled deposition treatment is 12 deposition treatments using Al (aluminum) deposition material, the second scheduled deposition treatment is 18 deposition treatments using Al (aluminum) deposition material, the third scheduled deposition treatment is 8 deposition treatments using Al (aluminum) deposition material, the fourth scheduled deposition treatment is 10 deposition treatments using Al (aluminum) deposition material, the fifth scheduled deposition treatment is 14 deposition treatments using Ti (titanium) deposition material, the sixth scheduled deposition treatment is 8 deposition treatments using Ti (titanium) deposition material, the seventh scheduled deposition treatment is 4 deposition treatments using Al (aluminum) deposition material, the eighth scheduled deposition treatment is 12 deposition treatments using Al (aluminum) deposition material, and the ninth scheduled deposition treatment is 14 deposition treatments using Ti (titanium) deposition material. In this case, if the vapor deposition processes are performed in this order, crucibles 5 numbered 1 to 14 containing the vapor deposition material of Al (aluminum) will become empty halfway through the fourth vapor deposition process. That is, as mentioned above, if the maximum number of times that Al can be vapor deposited is 14 × 3 = 42 times, then 38 Al (aluminum) vapor deposition processes will have been performed at the end of the third vapor deposition process, leaving only four Al (aluminum) vapor deposition processes remaining. If an attempt is made to perform the subsequent fourth vapor deposition process (10 Al (aluminum) vapor deposition processes), the Al (aluminum) vapor deposition material will run out midway through the fourth vapor deposition process. Therefore, the deposition process must be stopped once during the fourth deposition process, and the deposition material of Al (aluminum) must be replenished. At the time of this replenishment, no Ti (titanium) deposition material will be used after the fifth scheduled deposition process. In this way, if the deposition processing projects are performed in the original order, a situation may occur in which some types of deposition material are left over and other types of deposition material are depleted. When such a situation occurs, the depleted deposition material must be immediately replenished, and each time this is required, the deposition chamber must be opened to the atmosphere and the material must be added. In this way, performing the deposition process in the original order would result in the deposition chamber being opened frequently, which would deteriorate the atmosphere inside the chamber and cause problems that would hinder the film formation process, and would also have the disadvantage of requiring time and effort to restore the atmosphere inside the deposition chamber.

[0031] Therefore, in step 109, the CPU 37 adjusts the processing order of the deposition scheduled cases based on the scheduled number of deposition processes and the upper limit number of deposition processes so that the number of deposition processes is as close to the upper limit number as possible, as follows: In other words, in this case, the processing order of the scheduled deposition processes is adjusted so that the fifth and sixth scheduled deposition process processes are placed after the first to third scheduled deposition process processes, followed by the seventh and ninth scheduled deposition process processes. As a result, by executing the first to third scheduled deposition processing cases, 12 + 18 + 8 = 38 Al deposition processing operations will be performed, by executing the fifth and sixth scheduled deposition processing cases, 14 + 8 = 22 Ti deposition processing operations will be performed, and by executing the seventh and ninth scheduled deposition processing cases, 4 Al deposition processing operations and 14 Ti deposition processing operations will be performed. As a result, the number of vapor deposition processes is 14×3=42 times, which is the upper limit for Al, and 6×6=36 times, which is the upper limit for Ti.

[0032] As described above, if, at the time when the fifth and sixth scheduled deposition processing cases are completed, there is no scheduled deposition processing case that exactly falls within the upper limit number of times for Ti (titanium), such as the ninth scheduled deposition processing case, a scheduled processing case that comes as close as possible to the upper limit number of times is selected, and the number of deposition processing times of the selected scheduled processing case becomes the new upper limit number of times. That is, in this embodiment, when the fifth and sixth scheduled deposition processing cases are completed, a case matching the remaining number of times, 14, which is exactly the maximum number of times for Ti (titanium), is first searched for, and if no matching case is found, then a case with a number equal to 13, which is 14 times plus -1, is searched for. In this way, -1 is added and the case that comes as close as possible to the upper limit number of times is selected. Although the case of Ti (titanium) vapor deposition material has been described here, in the case of Al (aluminum) vapor deposition material, the same is true for selecting a case that fits as close to the upper limit number of times as possible.

[0033] Next, in step 111, the CPU 37 executes deposition processing based on the processing order of the deposition scheduled cases adjusted in step 109, in accordance with instruction information input by the operator to the keyboard 33 of the control unit 25. That is, in this embodiment, the vapor deposition process is carried out such that the first to third scheduled vapor deposition process cases are followed by the fifth and sixth scheduled vapor deposition process cases, and then the seventh and ninth scheduled vapor deposition process cases are carried out.

[0034] Next, in step 113, the CPU 37 determines whether the number of vapor deposition processes that can be performed on a predetermined type of vapor deposition material set in one crucible 5 for which vapor deposition processing is being performed has reached the number of vapor deposition processes that can be performed, as calculated in step 105 above. That is, in this embodiment, in the case of the Al group, it is determined whether or not the number of times calculated as the possible number of deposition processes for each crucible 5 of the Al group has reached three. Similarly, in the case of the Ti group, it is determined whether or not the number of times calculated as the possible number of deposition processes for the crucible 5 of the Ti group has reached six.

[0035] Next, when it is determined in step 113 that the number of vapor deposition processes has reached the number of times that the vapor deposition material can be vapor deposited, in step 115, the CPU 37 performs a cell change (change of crucible) and the vapor deposition process continues. That is, in this embodiment, for example, three vapor deposition processes are performed using the vapor deposition material in crucible number 5 of the Al group, and when it is determined that the number of vapor deposition processes required for vapor deposition has been reached, a cell change is performed from crucible number 1 5 to crucible number 2 5. Specifically, when the Al vapor deposition process using the vapor deposition material in crucible number 1 5 has been completed three times, a driving source 9 such as a motor provided below the vapor deposition source 7 rotates the upper circular turntable 11 via a support shaft member 12, and the adjacent crucible 5, number 2, is moved to the position of crucible number 1 5 (the position where the vapor deposition material is evaporated by heating), and the vapor deposition process continues.

[0036] Next, in step 117, the CPU 37 determines whether or not the cell change for all crucibles has been completed and the upper limit number of times of vapor deposition processing using the vapor deposition material calculated in step 107 has been reached. That is, in this embodiment, by determining whether all of the vapor deposition processing of the vapor deposition processing scheduled cases, namely the first to third vapor deposition processing scheduled cases, the fifth and sixth vapor deposition processing scheduled cases, the seventh vapor deposition processing scheduled case and the ninth vapor deposition processing scheduled case, whose processing order was adjusted in the above step 109, have been completed, it is determined whether the upper limit number of vapor deposition processing times for the vapor deposition material calculated in the above step 107 has been reached. Here, when all of the scheduled vapor deposition processes with the above-mentioned processing order adjusted are completed, the maximum number of times for Al, 14 x 3 = 42, and the maximum number of times for Ti, 6 x 6 = 36, will have been performed, resulting in the use of all of the vapor deposition materials in the crucible 5. That is, by executing the first to third scheduled deposition processing cases, 12 + 18 + 8 = 38 Al deposition processings will be performed, by executing the fifth and sixth scheduled deposition processing cases, 14 + 8 = 22 Ti deposition processings will be performed, and by executing the seventh and ninth scheduled deposition processing cases, 4 Al deposition processings and 14 Ti deposition processings will be performed. As a result, the number of Al deposition processes is 38+4=42, and the number of Ti deposition processes is 22+14=36. If the upper limit number of vapor deposition processes has not been reached, the process returns to step 113 above.

[0037] Next, if it is determined in step 117 that the upper limit number of times of vapor deposition processing has been reached, the CPU 37 stops the vapor deposition processing in step 119, and then replenishes the vapor deposition material all at once. That is, in this embodiment, when the upper limit of the number of vapor deposition processes is reached, as described above, all of the vapor deposition materials in the crucible 5 will be used up, so the vapor deposition process can be stopped and the vapor deposition materials can be replenished all at once. By controlling and managing the deposition material in this way, it becomes possible to carry out the deposition process up to the maximum limit of the set number of vaporization processes, and it becomes possible to dramatically reduce the number of times the deposition chamber is opened and closed to replenish the deposition material. This makes it possible to avoid the problem of the atmosphere in the deposition chamber deteriorating due to frequent opening of the chamber, which would cause problems in the film formation process, and also eliminates the need to spend time and effort restoring the atmosphere in the deposition chamber.

[0038] Although the present embodiment has been described above, the description and drawings that form part of this disclosure should not be understood as limiting, and various embodiments not described herein are also included. That is, the film forming apparatus of this embodiment is merely an example, and any configuration may be used as long as it is a film forming apparatus that executes a film forming control program including the evaporation material control management program. In this embodiment, the deposition source 7 is composed of a plurality of crucibles 5 of a point source revolver type arranged in a circular shape, but this is not limited to this and any configuration having a plurality of crucibles is acceptable. In this embodiment, the management process for the number of deposition processes based on the calculated upper limit number of times is to adjust the processing order of the scheduled deposition cases, but this is not limited to this and may be done in other ways. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 1 Film forming apparatus, 3 Vacuum chamber, 5 Crucible, 7 Evaporation source 9: Drive source, 11: Rotating table, 12: Support shaft member, 13: Base plate, 25. Control unit, 27. RAM, 29. ROM, 31. Display monitor, 33···Keyboard, 35···Mouse, 37···CPU,

Claims

1. A film forming apparatus that vaporizes a deposition material in a vacuum chamber to form a predetermined film on a substrate, an evaporation source having a plurality of crucibles for containing the evaporation material; a control unit that controls a deposition process in which the deposition material contained in the plurality of crucibles of the deposition source is vaporized to form a thin film on a substrate, the control unit calculates an upper limit number of times that the vapor deposition process can be performed using the vapor deposition material contained in the crucible, and manages the number of times that the vapor deposition process can be performed based on the calculated upper limit number of times; adjusting a processing order of the deposition-scheduled projects so that the number of times falls within the calculated upper limit, and performing the deposition processing based on the adjusted processing order; The film forming apparatus controls the deposition process so as to stop the deposition process when the deposition process reaches the calculated upper limit number of times.

2. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein when the calculated upper limit number of times is reached and the vapor deposition process is stopped, the vapor deposition material is replenished into the plurality of crucibles of the vapor deposition source.

3. 3. The film forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the evaporation materials contained in the plurality of crucibles of the evaporation source are a plurality of types of evaporation materials.

4. A film forming apparatus for performing a deposition process in which a deposition material is vaporized in a vacuum chamber to form a thin film on a substrate, an evaporation source having a plurality of crucibles for containing the evaporation material; a control unit that controls the vapor deposition process using the vapor deposition material contained in the crucible, The control unit numbering each of the plurality of crucibles; Calculating the number of vapor deposition processes possible with the vapor deposition material contained in each crucible; Calculating the upper limit number of times that the vapor deposition process can be performed using the vapor deposition material contained in the crucible; adjusting the processing order of the scheduled deposition processes based on the calculated upper limit number of deposition processes; performing a deposition process based on the adjusted processing order of the scheduled deposition processes; determining whether the calculated number of vapor deposition processes possible with the vapor deposition materials contained in each crucible has been reached; When the number of vapor deposition processes possible with the vapor deposition materials contained in each crucible has been reached, the crucible is changed to another cell to continue the vapor deposition process; determining whether the calculated upper limit number of times of the vapor deposition process has been reached; The film forming apparatus controls the deposition process so as to stop the deposition process when the upper limit number of times of the deposition process is reached.

5. The film forming apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein when the calculated upper limit number of times is reached and the vapor deposition process is stopped, the vapor deposition material is replenished into the plurality of crucibles of the vapor deposition source.

6. 6. The film forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the evaporation materials contained in the plurality of crucibles of the evaporation source are a plurality of types of evaporation materials.

7. A film forming apparatus including: an evaporation source having a plurality of crucibles for accommodating evaporation materials in a vacuum chamber; and a control unit for controlling an evaporation process for forming a thin film on a substrate using the evaporation materials accommodated in the crucibles; and the evaporation process is performed by vaporizing the evaporation materials in the vacuum chamber, A method for controlling and managing a deposition material contained in a crucible of the deposition source, comprising: assigning a number to each of the plurality of crucibles by the control unit; calculating, by the control unit, the number of vapor deposition processes that can be performed using the vapor deposition material contained in each of the crucibles; calculating, by the control unit, an upper limit number of times of vapor deposition processes that can be performed using the vapor deposition material contained in the crucible; adjusting, by the control unit, a processing order of scheduled deposition treatments based on the calculated upper limit number of deposition treatments; performing a deposition process by the control unit based on the adjusted processing order of the scheduled deposition processes; determining, by the control unit, whether or not the calculated number of vapor deposition processes possible with the vapor deposition material contained in each crucible has been reached; When the number of vapor deposition processes that can be performed using the vapor deposition materials contained in each crucible is reached, the control unit performs a cell change of the crucible to continue the vapor deposition process; determining, by the control unit, whether the calculated upper limit number of times of the vapor deposition process has been reached; and stopping the vapor deposition process by the control unit when the upper limit number of times of the vapor deposition process is reached.

8. The method for controlling and managing a vapor deposition material according to claim 7 , wherein when the calculated upper limit number of times is reached and the vapor deposition process is stopped, the vapor deposition material is replenished into the plurality of crucibles of the vapor deposition source.

9. The film forming apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the evaporation materials contained in the plurality of crucibles of the evaporation source are a plurality of types of evaporation materials.

Images