Film deposition apparatus, film deposition method, and method for manufacturing electronic devices

Abstract

To provide a technology that can miniaturize a shutter for regulating scattering of a film deposition material to a substrate.SOLUTION: A film deposition apparatus includes: a film deposition unit including a film deposition source for discharging a film deposition material and depositing a film to a substrate while moving in a movement direction when being positioned within a film deposition region including a lower side of the substrate; and a shutter for regulating entrance of the film deposition material to the substrate from the film deposition source relative to the film deposition unit that is positioned in a standby position of not overlapping on the film deposition region in the movement direction. The shutter is configured to be capable of moving up and down between a first height of suppressing the entrance and a second height that is higher than the first height and permits the entrance.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a film forming apparatus, a film forming method, and a method for manufacturing an electronic device.

Background Art

[0002] In the manufacture of an organic EL display or the like, a thin film is formed on a substrate by adhesion of a film forming material such as a deposited substance released from an evaporation source to the substrate. Patent Document 1 describes a vapor deposition apparatus having a vapor deposition source that performs vapor deposition on a substrate while moving, a mask stage that supports a mask and a substrate during vapor deposition, and a shutter that controls the incidence of a vapor deposition material from the vapor deposition source to the substrate disposed on the mask stage by opening and closing. In this vapor deposition apparatus, vapor deposition on the substrate is performed by passing an evaporation source below the substrate with the shutter covering the substrate to be vapor-deposited being open.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Here, when the shutter covers the substrate to be film-formed to limit the adhesion of the film-forming material to the substrate, the shutter becomes large in size to cover the entire substrate. In such a case, there is a problem that the film forming apparatus becomes large in size because a retreat space when the shutter does not cover the substrate is required.

[0005] The present invention provides a technique that enables miniaturization of a shutter that restricts scattering of a film forming material onto a substrate.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention, A film deposition unit includes a film deposition source that releases a film deposition material, and when located within a film deposition region including below the substrate, moves in the direction of movement while depositing a film on the substrate; A shutter is provided for the film deposition unit located in a standby position that does not overlap with the film deposition region in the direction of movement, which restricts the incidence of the film deposition material from the film deposition source to the substrate. A film deposition apparatus comprising, The provided film deposition apparatus is characterized in that the shutter is configured to be able to move up and down between a first height that suppresses the incidence and a second height that is higher than the first height and allows the incidence. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a technology that enables miniaturization of the shutter to limit the scattering of film-forming material onto the substrate. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] A schematic plan view showing the configuration of a film deposition system equipped with a film deposition apparatus according to one embodiment. [Figure 2] A schematic front view showing the configuration of the film deposition apparatus. [Figure 3] A diagram illustrating the positional relationship between the film deposition unit and the substrate shutter. [Figure 4] An explanatory diagram of the operation of a film deposition apparatus during the film deposition process. [Figure 5] An explanatory diagram of the operation of a film deposition apparatus during the film deposition process. [Figure 6] An explanatory diagram of the operation of a film deposition apparatus during the film deposition process. [Figure 7] (A) is an overall diagram of an organic EL display device, and (B) is a diagram showing the cross-sectional structure of a single pixel. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] The embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention as defined in the claims. While the embodiments describe multiple features, not all of these features are essential to the invention, and the features may be combined in any way. Furthermore, in the attached drawings, identical or similar configurations are given the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted.

[0010] <Overview of the film deposition system> Figure 1 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of a film deposition system SY in which a film deposition apparatus 1 according to one embodiment is installed. The film deposition system SY is a system that performs film deposition on substrates that are brought in and discharges the processed substrates. For example, a manufacturing line for electronic devices is formed by installing multiple film deposition systems SY in a row. Examples of electronic devices include display panels for organic EL display devices for smartphones. In addition to the film deposition apparatus 1, the film deposition system SY includes a receiving chamber 30, a substrate transport chamber 32, an discharge chamber 34, and a mask stock chamber 36. The configuration of the film deposition apparatus 1 will be described later.

[0011] Substrates 6 to be deposited by the deposition apparatus 1 are brought into the loading room 30. A transport robot 320 for transporting the substrates 6 is provided in the substrate transport room 32. The transport robot 320 transports the substrates 6 brought into the loading room 30 to the deposition apparatus 1. The transport robot 320 also transports the substrates 6 after the deposition process is completed in the deposition apparatus 1 to the unloading room 34. The substrates 6 transported to the unloading room 34 by the transport robot 320 are then unloaded from the unloading room 34 to the outside of the deposition system SY. If multiple deposition systems SY are installed side by side, the unloading room 34 of the upstream deposition system SY may also serve as the substrate transport room 32 of the downstream deposition system SY. In addition, masks 7 used for deposition in the deposition apparatus 1 are stocked in the mask stock room 36. The masks 7 stocked in the mask stock room 36 are transported to the deposition apparatus 1 by the transport robot 320.

[0012] The film deposition apparatus 1 and the interiors of each chamber that constitute the film deposition system SY are maintained in a vacuum state by an exhaust mechanism such as a vacuum pump. In this embodiment, "vacuum" refers to a state in which the interior is filled with gas at a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure, in other words, a reduced pressure state.

[0013] <Film forming equipment> Figure 2 is a schematic front view showing the configuration of the film deposition apparatus 1. The film deposition apparatus 1 is a film deposition apparatus that performs film deposition while moving a film deposition source 140 over a substrate 6. In this embodiment, film deposition is performed on the substrate 6 by vapor deposition. The material of the substrate on which vapor deposition is performed in the film deposition apparatus 1 can be appropriately selected from glass, resin, metal, etc., and a resin layer such as polyimide formed on glass is preferably used. Organic materials and inorganic materials (metals, metal oxides, etc.) can be used as film deposition materials. The film deposition apparatus 1 can be applied to manufacturing equipment for electronic devices such as display devices (flat panel displays, etc.), thin-film solar cells, organic photoelectric conversion elements (organic thin-film image sensors), and optical components, and is particularly applicable to manufacturing equipment for organic EL panels. Furthermore, while the size of the substrate on which the film deposition apparatus 1 performs film deposition can be, for example, a G8H size substrate (1100 mm × 2500 mm, 1250 mm × 2200 mm), the size of the substrate on which the film deposition apparatus 1 performs film deposition can be appropriately set.

[0014] The film deposition apparatus 1 includes a chamber 10, film deposition stages 12A and 12B, a film deposition unit 14, substrate shutters 18A and 18B, and a control unit 20.

[0015] Chamber 10 houses a film deposition unit 14, substrate shutters 18A and 18B, and film deposition stages 12A and 12B in its internal space 101. The internal space 101 of Chamber 10 can be maintained under vacuum by an exhaust mechanism such as a vacuum pump (not shown). For example, Chamber 10 is provided with an opening (not shown) for loading and unloading substrates 6, and the substrates 6 are moved between Chamber 10 and the substrate transport chamber 32 through this opening.

[0016] The film-forming stages 12A and 12B are stages where film formation is performed on the substrate 6. In the present embodiment, the film-forming stage 12A and the film-forming stage 12B are provided adjacent to each other with the substrate shutters 18A and 18B interposed therebetween. In the following description, it is assumed that film formation is performed on the substrate 6A at the film-forming stage 12A and film formation is performed on the substrate 6B at the film-forming stage 12B.

[0017] The film-forming stage 12A includes a substrate support portion 120A, a mask stage 122A, a support column 124A, and an alignment mechanism 126A.

[0018] The substrate support portion 120A supports the substrate 6A. In the present embodiment, the substrate support portion 120A supports the substrate 6A such that the short side of the substrate 6A extends in the X direction and the long side of the substrate 6A extends in the Y direction. Further, the substrate support portion 120A supports the edge of the substrate 6A from below the substrate 6A. However, the substrate support portion 120A may support the substrate by sandwiching the edge of the substrate 6A, or may support the substrate 6A by adsorbing the substrate 6A by an electrostatic chuck or an adhesive chuck or the like. For example, the substrate support portion 120A can receive the substrate 6A from the transfer robot 320 in the substrate transfer chamber 32. Further, the substrate support portion 120A can be moved up and down by a lifting mechanism (not shown), and the substrate 6A received from the transfer robot 320 can be superimposed on the mask 7A supported by the mask stage 122A. A known technique such as a ball screw mechanism can be used for the lifting mechanism.

[0019] The mask stage 122A supports the mask 7A. An opening (not shown) is provided in the mask stage 122A, and the film-forming material scatters onto the film-forming surface of the substrate 6A superimposed on the mask 7A through this opening. Further, the mask stage 122A is supported by the chamber 10 by the support column 124A.

[0020] The alignment mechanism 126A aligns the substrate 6A and the mask 7A. The alignment mechanism 126A aligns the substrate 6A supported by the substrate support 120A and the mask 7A supported by the mask stand 122A by adjusting the horizontal relative positions of the substrate support 120A and the mask stand 122A. Since known techniques can be used for the alignment of the substrate 6A and the mask 7A, a detailed explanation is omitted. As an example, the alignment mechanism 126A detects alignment marks formed on the substrate 6A and the mask 7A using a camera (not shown). The alignment mechanism 126A then adjusts the positional relationship between the substrate 6A and the mask 7A so that the relationship between the position of the substrate 6A calculated from the marks formed on the substrate 6A and the position of the mask 7A calculated from the marks formed on the mask 7A satisfies predetermined conditions.

[0021] Once the alignment by the alignment mechanism 126A is complete, the substrate support section 120A places the supported substrate 6A on top of the mask 7A. With the substrate 6A and mask 7A placed on top of each other, the film deposition unit 14 deposits a film onto the substrate 6A.

[0022] The film deposition stage 12B may have the same configuration as the film deposition stage 12A. That is, the film deposition stage 12B has a substrate support section 120B, a mask stand 122B, a support column 124B, and an alignment mechanism 126B, which correspond to the substrate support section 120A, the mask stand 122A, the support column 124A, and the alignment mechanism 126A, respectively.

[0023] The film deposition unit 14 discharges the film deposition material while moving to deposit a film on the substrate 6. In this embodiment, the film deposition unit 14 includes a film deposition source 140 and a moving part 142.

[0024] The film deposition source 140 releases the film deposition material. As shown in Figure 3, the film deposition source 140 has a plurality of containment sections 1401a to 1401r for containing the film deposition material, and each of the containment sections 1401a to 1401r is provided with a containment section 1401a to 1401r. The film deposition source 140 includes a plurality of discharge sections 1402a to 1402r for releasing the evaporated film deposition material, and a delimiting section 1403 for defining the discharge range of the film deposition material.

[0025] The film-forming material contained in the containment sections 1401a to 1401r is heated by a heater (not shown) and evaporated, then released from the discharge sections 1402a to 1402r into the internal space 101 of the chamber 10. In this embodiment, the multiple containment sections 1401a, 1401g, and 1401m are arranged in the direction of movement (X direction) of the film-forming unit 14. In this embodiment, the multiple containment sections 1401a to 1401f, 1401g to 1401l, and 1401m to 1401r are arranged in a direction (Y direction) intersecting the direction of movement of the film-forming unit 14. For example, the multiple containment sections 1401a to 1401f, 1401g to 1401l, and 1401m to 1401r may contain different film-forming materials in each row in the Y direction. This makes it possible to perform co-deposition, in which multiple film-forming materials are deposited onto the substrate 6. Furthermore, a sheathed heater using an electric heating wire can be used as a heater to heat the film-forming material contained in the containment sections 1401a to 1401c. In this embodiment, three rows of containment sections are arranged in the X direction, but the number of rows can be changed as appropriate. For example, the number of rows may be one or two, or four or more. Similarly, although the number of containment sections 1401a to 1401f arranged in the Y direction is shown as six, it may be five or fewer, or seven or more.

[0026] The discharge sections 1402a to 1402r are cylindrical members through which the film-forming material evaporated in the containment sections 1401a to 1401r can pass. The discharge sections 1402a to 1402r may also be openings formed on the upper surface of the containment sections 1401a to 1401r.

[0027] The defining section 1403 defines the emission range of the film-forming material emitted from the emission sections 1402a to 1402r. The defining section 1403 includes a plurality of plate-like members 1403a to 1403d arranged from the positive side to the negative side in the X direction. Plate-like member 1403a is provided on the positive side in the X direction of emission section 1402a. Plate-like member 1403b is provided between emission sections 1402a and 1402g in the X direction. Plate-like member 1403c is provided between emission sections 1402g and 1402m in the X direction. Plate-like member 1403d is provided on the negative side in the X direction of emission section 1402m.

[0028] The moving unit 142 moves the film deposition source 140. In this embodiment, the moving unit 142 reciprocates the film deposition source 140 in the direction (X direction) where the multiple film deposition stages 12A and 12B are aligned. Known technology can be used for the moving unit 142. In this embodiment, the moving unit 142 is a linear guide including a moving body 1421 on which the film deposition source 140 is placed, rolling elements 1422 rotatably supported on the moving body 1421, and a drive unit (not shown). That is, when the moving body 1421 is driven by a drive unit (not shown), such as a ball screw mechanism, it moves along a rail 102 provided on the floor of the chamber 10 via the rolling elements 1422. With this configuration, the movement mechanism of the film deposition source 140 consists of one axis, so the mechanism inside the chamber 10 can be simplified.

[0029] The film deposition source shutters 16A to 16C (hereinafter sometimes referred to simply as film deposition source shutters 16) are provided on the film deposition source 140 to suppress the scattering of the film deposition material onto the substrate 6. The film deposition source shutters 16 also include a rotating part 1602 that rotates the shielding member 1601 with the intersecting direction (Y direction) which intersects the direction of movement as the axial direction. In detail, each film deposition source shutter 16 is provided so as to be displaceable between a suppression position (see ST1 in Figure 4) that suppresses the scattering of the film deposition material discharged from the discharge parts 1402a to 1402r onto the substrate 6, and an allowable position (see ST2 in Figure 4) that allows the scattering of the film deposition material onto the substrate 6. For example, the film deposition source shutter 16A is provided so that the shielding member 1601a is displaceable by a rotating part 1602a between a suppression position that suppresses the scattering of film deposition material released from discharge sections 1402a to 1402f onto the substrate and an allowable position that permits the scattering of film deposition material released from discharge sections 1402a to 1402f onto the substrate. Similarly, the shielding members 1601b and 1601c are provided so that they are displaceable by rotating parts 1602b and 1602c between a suppression position that suppresses the scattering of film deposition material released from discharge sections 1402g to 1402l and 1402m to 1402r onto the substrate and an allowable position that permits the scattering of film deposition material released from discharge sections 1402g to 1402l and 1402m to 1402r onto the substrate.

[0030] The substrate shutters 18A and 18B (hereinafter sometimes referred to simply as substrate shutter 18) suppress the scattering of film deposition material from the film deposition unit 14 to the substrate 6 when the film deposition unit 14 is in standby position POS1 (see ST1 in Figure 4). Specifically, the substrate shutter 18A comprises a shielding member 1801a, a support member 1802a, and a lifting / lowering section 1803a, while the substrate shutter 18B comprises a shielding member 1801b, a support member 1802b, and a lifting / lowering section 1803b. The substrate shutter 18A is an example of a shutter that controls the incidence of film deposition material onto the substrate 6A, and the substrate shutter 18B is an example of a shutter that controls the incidence of film deposition material onto the substrate 6B.

[0031] Support members 1802a and 1802b are each equipped with a support column that supports shielding members 1801a and 1801b from above in the Z direction, and are configured to move up and down in the Z direction by the lifting parts 1803a and 1803b. By configuring the substrate shutters 18A and 18B to move up and down in the vertical direction in this way, and by configuring the film deposition source 140 to be covered by the substrate shutters 18A and 18B, it is no longer necessary to cover the entire substrate, and the shutter can be made smaller.

[0032] The shielding members 1801a and 1801b are movable between the suppression position POS10 (see ST1 in Figure 4) and the allowable position POS20 (see ST3 in Figure 4). The suppression position POS10 is an example of a position (first height) for the shielding members 1801a and 1801b that suppresses the scattering of film deposition material from the film deposition unit 14 to the substrates 6A and 6B when the shielding members 1801a and 1801b are in position. The allowable position POS20 is an example of a position (second height) that allows the scattering of film deposition material from the film deposition unit 14 to the substrates 6A and 6B when the shielding members 1801a and 1801b are in position, and is higher than the suppression position. Furthermore, when the shielding member 1801a is located at the suppression position POS10, it has a portion that extends vertically in the Z direction to suppress the scattering of film-forming material onto the substrate 6A, regardless of whether the shielding member 1801b is located at the suppression position POS10 or at the allowable position POS20.

[0033] Furthermore, the shielding members 1801a and 1801b are positioned so as not to overlap with the substrates 6A and 6B in the direction of movement (X direction) of the film deposition unit 14. This prevents the film deposition material emitted from the film deposition source 140 from being shielded by the shielding members 1801a and 1801b when the substrate shutters 18A and 18B are in an acceptable position.

[0034] The control unit 20 controls the operation of each component of the film deposition apparatus 1. For example, the control unit 20 may be composed of a processor such as a CPU, memory such as RAM and ROM, and various interfaces. For example, the control unit 20 realizes various processes by the film deposition apparatus 1 by reading a program stored in ROM into RAM and executing it. For example, the control unit 20 executes various processes such as film deposition based on instructions received from a host computer that comprehensively controls the film deposition system SY. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which, for example, a host computer that comprehensively controls the film deposition system SY directly controls the operation of each component of the film deposition apparatus 1. Furthermore, the control unit 20 controls the raising and lowering operation of the substrate shutters 18A and 18B, which will be explained with reference to Figures 4 to 6.

[0035] <Example of operation> Figures 4 to 6 are explanatory diagrams of the operation of the film deposition apparatus 1 during the film deposition process. In this embodiment, the film deposition unit 14 deposits films on the substrates while reciprocating in the X direction below the film deposition stages 12A and 12B. The film deposition unit 14 also deposits films on each substrate by making one reciprocating motion in the X direction below each substrate. In other words, the film deposition unit 14 deposits films on each substrate twice while moving: once while moving in the positive X direction and once while moving in the negative X direction. Hereafter, the first film deposition on each substrate may be referred to as the forward film deposition, and the second film deposition as the reverse film deposition. In this embodiment, as will be described later, the direction of movement of the film deposition unit 14 is reversed for the forward film deposition on substrate 6A and the forward film deposition on substrate 6B. The same applies to the reverse direction.

[0036] In Figures 4 to 6, the film deposition unit 14 moves from position POS1 at the negative end in the X direction to position POS2 at the positive end, then turns around and moves back to position POS2. During this time, the film deposition unit 14 sequentially performs film deposition in the reverse direction on the first substrate 6B, film deposition in the forward direction on substrate 6A, film deposition in the reverse direction on substrate 6A, and film deposition in the forward direction on the second substrate 6B.

[0037] State ST1 is the state in which the film deposition unit 14 starts heating in the standby position POS1 and prepares for film deposition. At this time, the film deposition source shutters 16A~16C and substrate shutters 18A, 18B are placed in suppression positions until the amount of film deposition material released from the film deposition source 140 stabilizes. This prevents the film deposition material released from the film deposition unit 14 from adhering to the substrate 6. Also in state ST1, the substrate or mask loading operation and the substrate and mask alignment operation are performed. Note that among the positions to which the film deposition unit 14 can move, the area to which it moves in order to deposit film on substrate 6A is sometimes called the film deposition area AR1, and the area to which it moves in order to deposit film on substrate 6B is sometimes called the film deposition area AR2. In addition, the area in which the film deposition unit 14 is located when film deposition is not performed, including the standby position POS1, is sometimes called the non-film deposition area AR3.

[0038] State ST2 is the state in which the film deposition unit 14 begins film deposition. When the film deposition source is heated and the film deposition material can be released, the control unit 20 rotates the rotating part 1602 to move the shielding members 1601a to 1601c from the suppression position to the allowable position. In state ST2, the film deposition material released from the film deposition unit 14 is suppressed by the substrate shutters 18A and 18B located at the suppression position POS10, so no film deposition occurs on the substrates 6A and 6B.

[0039] State ST3 is the state in which film deposition on substrate 6A begins. As the substrate shutter 18A moves from the suppression position POS10 to the allowable position POS20, the scattering of the deposition material towards substrate 6A is permitted. Subsequently, as shown in state ST4, the deposition unit 14 moves in the positive X direction and releases the deposition material, enabling the deposition material to adhere to substrate 6A. At this point, since the substrate shutter 18B remains in the suppression position POS10, no film deposition is performed on substrate 6B.

[0040] When the film deposition unit 14 reaches the turning position POS2, it switches its direction of movement to the negative X direction and performs a turning operation, as shown in state ST5. Then, it moves from the turning position POS2 to the standby position POS1 in the negative X direction while releasing the film deposition material.

[0041] State ST6 indicates that the film deposition unit 14 has completed moving from the return position POS2 to the standby position POS1. In other words, state ST6 indicates that the film deposition process on the substrate 6A by the film deposition unit 14 has been completed. In state ST6, the substrate shutter 18A moves from the allowable position POS20 to the suppression position POS10.

[0042] State ST7 is the state after State ST6, where the substrate shutter 18A has finished moving from the allowable position POS20 to the suppression position POS10. Next, in order to deposit a film on the substrate 6B, the control unit 20 moves the substrate shutter 18B from the suppression position POS10 to the allowable position POS20, thereby allowing the deposition material to be scattered towards the substrate 6B. Subsequently, as shown in State ST8, the deposition unit 14 releases the deposition material while moving to the negative side in the X direction, enabling the deposition material to adhere to the substrate 6B. At this point, since the substrate shutter 18A remains in the suppression position POS10, no film is deposited on the substrate 6A.

[0043] State ST9 is the state in which the film deposition unit 14, after state ST7, folds back at the folding position POS3 and moves to the positive side in the X direction. When the film deposition unit 14 reaches the standby position POS1, the substrate shutter 18B moves from the allowable position POS20 to the suppression position POS10. This returns the state to the state shown in state ST2.

[0044] During states ST7 to ST9, the substrate 6A that has completed the film deposition process may be removed, a new substrate 6A may be brought in, and alignment with the mask 7A may be performed. After returning to state ST2 after state ST9, states ST3 to ST6 can be repeated to continuously perform the film deposition process. Similarly, during states ST3 to ST6, the already deposited substrate 6B can be replaced and aligned with the mask 7B, thereby reducing the time required for substrate removal and alignment and enabling efficient film deposition of the substrates.

[0045] In this embodiment, the film deposition unit 14 performs film deposition on each substrate by making one back-and-forth motion under each substrate. However, it is also possible to perform film deposition only in the forward direction, or to perform film deposition one and a half back-and-forth motions or more.

[0046] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the film deposition unit 14 has been described as moving after the substrate shutters 18A and 18B have completed moving from the suppression position POS10 to the allowable position POS20. However, the film deposition unit 14 may start moving while the substrate shutters 18A and 18B are moving. For example, in state ST3 of Figure 4, the control unit 20 may start moving the film deposition unit 14 when the substrate shutter 18A reaches a predetermined position between the suppression position POS10 and the allowable position POS20. The predetermined position may be, for example, a position where the height of the lower end of the shielding member 1801a in the vertical direction (Z direction) is higher than the height of the upper end of the film deposition unit 14 in the vertical direction. Similarly, the movement of the substrate shutter 18 from the allowable position POS20 to the suppression position POS10 may also occur while the film deposition unit 14 is moving.

[0047] <Methods for manufacturing electronic devices> Next, an example of a manufacturing method for electronic devices will be described. Below, the configuration and manufacturing method of an organic EL display device will be illustrated as an example of an electronic device. In this example, multiple SY film deposition systems, as illustrated in Figure 1, are installed on the manufacturing line.

[0048] First, let me explain the organic EL display device that we manufacture. Figure 7(A) is an overall view of the organic EL display device 700, and Figure 7(B) is a diagram showing the cross-sectional structure of one pixel.

[0049] As shown in Figure 7(A), the display area 701 of the organic EL display device 700 has multiple pixels 702, each having multiple light-emitting elements, arranged in a matrix. As will be explained in detail later, each light-emitting element has a structure comprising an organic layer sandwiched between a pair of electrodes.

[0050] In this context, a pixel refers to the smallest unit that enables the display of a desired color in the display area 701. In the case of a color organic EL display device, a pixel 702 is composed of a combination of multiple subpixels of a first light-emitting element 702R, a second light-emitting element 702G, and a third light-emitting element 702B, which emit different amounts of light from each other. A pixel 702 is often composed of a combination of three types of subpixels: a red (R) light-emitting element, a green (G) light-emitting element, and a blue (B) light-emitting element, but is not limited to this. A pixel 702 may include at least one type of subpixel, preferably two or more types, and more preferably three or more types. For example, the subpixels constituting a pixel 702 may be a combination of four types of subpixels: a red (R) light-emitting element, a green (G) light-emitting element, a blue (B) light-emitting element, and a yellow (Y) light-emitting element.

[0051] Figure 7(B) is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of the line A and B in Figure 7(A). Pixel 702 has multiple subpixels on a substrate 703, each composed of an organic EL element comprising a first electrode (anode) 704, a hole transport layer 705, one of a red layer 706R, a green layer 706G, or a blue layer 706B, an electron transport layer 707, and a second electrode (cathode) 708. Of these, the hole transport layer 705, red layer 706R, green layer 706G, blue layer 706B, and electron transport layer 707 are organic layers. The red layer 706R, green layer 706G, and blue layer 706B are formed in patterns corresponding to light-emitting elements (sometimes described as organic EL elements) that emit red, green, and blue light, respectively.

[0052] Furthermore, the first electrode 704 is formed separately for each light-emitting element. The hole transport layer 705, the electron transport layer 707, and the second electrode 708 may be formed in common across multiple light-emitting elements 702R, 702G, and 702B, or they may be formed for each light-emitting element. That is, as shown in Figure 7(B), the hole transport layer 705 may be formed as a common layer across multiple sub-pixel regions, on which the red layer 706R, green layer 706G, and blue layer 706B may be formed separately for each sub-pixel region, and on top of that, the electron transport layer 707 and the second electrode 708 may be formed as a common layer across multiple sub-pixel regions.

[0053] Furthermore, an insulating layer 709 is provided between the first electrodes 704 to prevent short circuits between the adjacent first electrodes 704. In addition, since the organic EL layer deteriorates due to moisture and oxygen, a protective layer 710 is provided to protect the organic EL element from moisture and oxygen.

[0054] In Figure 7(B), the hole transport layer 705 and the electron transport layer 707 are shown as a single layer, but depending on the structure of the organic EL display element, they may be formed as multiple layers having hole blocking layers and electron blocking layers. Furthermore, a hole injection layer having an energy band structure that allows for smooth injection of holes from the first electrode 704 to the hole transport layer 705 may be formed between the first electrode 704 and the hole transport layer 705. Similarly, an electron injection layer may be formed between the second electrode 708 and the electron transport layer 707.

[0055] Each of the red layer 706R, green layer 706G, and blue layer 706B may be formed as a single light-emitting layer or by stacking multiple layers. For example, the red layer 706R may consist of two layers, with the upper layer being a red light-emitting layer and the lower layer being a hole transport layer or an electron blocking layer. Alternatively, the lower layer may be a red light-emitting layer and the upper layer being an electron transport layer or a hole blocking layer. By providing layers below or above the light-emitting layer in this way, the light-emitting position in the light-emitting layer can be adjusted, and the optical path length can be adjusted, thereby improving the color purity of the light-emitting element.

[0056] Although an example of the red layer 706R is shown here, a similar structure may be used for the green layer 706G or the blue layer 706B. Furthermore, the number of layers may be two or more. Additionally, layers of different materials, such as an emissive layer and an electronic block layer, may be stacked, or layers of the same material may be stacked, for example, by stacking two or more emissive layers.

[0057] Next, we will specifically describe an example of a method for manufacturing an organic EL display device. Here, we assume that the red layer 706R consists of two layers, a lower layer 706R1 and an upper layer 706R2, and that the green layer 706G and the blue layer 706B consist of a single light-emitting layer.

[0058] First, a circuit (not shown) for driving the organic EL display device and a substrate 703 on which the first electrode 704 is formed are prepared. The material of the substrate 703 is not particularly limited and can be made of glass, plastic, metal, etc. In this embodiment, a substrate in which a polyimide film is laminated on a glass substrate is used as the substrate 703.

[0059] A resin layer such as acrylic or polyimide is coated onto the substrate 703 on which the first electrode 704 is formed by bar coating or spin coating. The resin layer is then patterned by lithography so that an opening is formed in the area where the first electrode 704 is formed, thereby forming an insulating layer 709. This opening corresponds to the light-emitting region where the light-emitting element actually emits light. In this embodiment, the processing is performed on a large substrate until the insulating layer 709 is formed, and after the insulating layer 709 is formed, a division process is performed to divide the substrate 703.

[0060] A substrate 703 patterned with an insulating layer 709 is brought into the first film deposition apparatus 1, and a hole transport layer 705 is deposited as a common layer on the first electrode 704 of the display area. The hole transport layer 705 is deposited using a mask in which an opening is formed for each display area 701 that will ultimately become the panel portion of each organic EL display device.

[0061] Next, the substrate 703, on which the hole transport layer 705 has been formed, is brought into the second deposition apparatus 1. The substrate 703 and the mask are aligned, the substrate is placed on the mask, and the red layer 706R is deposited on the portion of the substrate 703 where the red-emitting elements are placed (the region forming the red subpixels) above the hole transport layer 705. Here, the mask used in the second deposition chamber is a high-resolution mask in which openings are formed only in the multiple regions that will become red subpixels among the multiple regions on the substrate 703 that will become subpixels of the organic EL display device. As a result, the red layer 706R, which includes the red light-emitting layer, is deposited only in the regions that will become red subpixels among the multiple regions that will become subpixels on the substrate 703. In other words, the red layer 706R is not deposited in the regions that will become blue subpixels or green subpixels among the multiple regions that will become subpixels on the substrate 703, but is selectively deposited in the regions that will become red subpixels.

[0062] Similar to the deposition of the red layer 706R, the green layer 706G is deposited in the third deposition apparatus 1, and then the blue layer 706B is deposited in the fourth deposition apparatus 1. After the deposition of the red layer 706R, the green layer 706G, and the blue layer 706B is completed, the electron transport layer 707 is deposited over the entire display area 701 in the fifth deposition apparatus 1. The electron transport layer 707 is formed as a common layer for the three color layers 706R, 706G, and 706B.

[0063] The substrate with the electron transport layer 707 formed on it is moved to the sixth deposition apparatus 1, where the second electrode 708 is deposited. In this embodiment, each layer is deposited by vacuum deposition in the first to sixth deposition apparatuses 1. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and for example, the second electrode 708 in the sixth deposition apparatus 1 may be deposited by sputtering. After that, the substrate with the second electrode 708 formed on it is moved to a sealing apparatus, where a protective layer 710 is deposited by plasma CVD (sealing step), and the organic EL display device 700 is completed. Here, the protective layer 710 is formed by the CVD method, but it is not limited thereto, and may be formed by the ALD method or the inkjet method.

[0064] <Other Embodiments> In this embodiment, the film deposition process is described as being performed on two substrates 6A and 6B, with the film deposition unit 14 moving through two deposition regions and one non-deposition region. However, the number of substrates that can be placed in the film deposition apparatus 1 may be one or three or more. In this case, one deposition region and one non-deposition region may be placed in each.

[0065] The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program that implements one or more of the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or storage medium, and by having one or more processors in the computer of that system or device read and execute the program. It can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., an ASIC) that implements one or more functions.

[0066] The invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, claims are attached to disclose the scope of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0067] 1: Film deposition apparatus, 6: Substrate, 7: Mask, 14: Film deposition unit, 16: Film deposition source shutter, 18: Substrate shutter

Claims

1. A film deposition unit includes a film deposition source that releases a film deposition material, and when located in a film deposition region including below the substrate, moves in the direction of movement while depositing a film on the substrate; A shutter is provided to control the injection of the film-forming material from the film-forming source to the substrate for the film-forming unit located in a standby position that does not overlap with the film-forming region in the direction of movement. A film deposition apparatus comprising, The film deposition apparatus is characterized in that the shutter is configured to be able to move up and down between a first height that suppresses the incidence and a second height that is higher than the first height and allows the incidence.

2. The system further includes control means for controlling the raising and lowering movement of the shutter, The film deposition apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the control means moves the shutter from a first height to a second height in response to the film deposition source moving from the standby position to the film deposition area.

3. The film deposition source moves between a first deposition region on a first substrate where the film deposition source deposits a film, and a second deposition region on a second substrate where the film deposition source deposits a film. The film deposition apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the standby position is located between the first film deposition region and the second film deposition region.

4. The film deposition apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the shutter includes a first shutter and a second shutter, the first shutter is positioned closer to the first film deposition region than the second shutter in the standby position, and the second shutter is positioned closer to the second film deposition region than the first shutter in the standby position.

5. The film deposition apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that the control means moves the first shutter from a first height to a second height in response to the film deposition source moving from the standby position to the first film deposition area.

6. The film deposition apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that the control means moves the first shutter from the second height to the first height in response to the film deposition source moving from the first film deposition area to the standby position.

7. A film deposition unit includes a film deposition source that releases a film deposition material, and when located in a film deposition region including below the substrate, moves in the direction of movement while depositing a film on the substrate; A shutter is provided to control the injection of the film-forming material from the film-forming source to the substrate for the film-forming unit located in a standby position that does not overlap with the film-forming region in the direction of movement. A film deposition method performed by a film deposition apparatus comprising: When the film deposition source is located in the standby position, the shutter is moved to a first height that suppresses the incidence, In response to the movement of the film deposition source from the standby position to the film deposition region, the shutter is moved to a second height higher than the first height, which allows the incident light. A film formation method characterized by including the following.

8. A method for manufacturing an electronic device, characterized by including a film formation step of forming a film on a substrate by the film formation method described in claim 7.

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