CN110846622B

CN110846622B - Vapor deposition apparatus and control method thereof

Info

Publication number: CN110846622B
Application number: CN201911095150.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 谭伟
Original assignee: Shenzhen China Star Optoelectronics Semiconductor Display Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Shenzhen China Star Optoelectronics Semiconductor Display Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-11-11
Filing date: 2019-11-11
Publication date: 2022-03-29
Anticipated expiration: 2039-11-11
Also published as: CN110846622A

Abstract

The application discloses coating by vaporization device and control method thereof, this coating by vaporization device includes: the device comprises an evaporation box body, a feed supplement box body, a switch, a crucible and a feeding mechanism, wherein the evaporation box body is provided with an evaporation cavity; the feed supplement box body is provided with a transition cavity and a through hole for communicating the evaporation cavity with the transition cavity; the switch is connected with the feed supplement box body and used for controlling the through hole to be closed and opened; the crucible is assembled in the evaporation chamber and used for containing and heating the raw materials; the feeding mechanism is assembled in the material supplementing box body and is used for adding raw materials into the crucible; when the evaporation device carries out evaporation, the evaporation cavity and the transition cavity are communicated with each other and are in a vacuum state; when the feeding mechanism feeds materials, the evaporation cavity and the transition cavity are mutually isolated. The application provides an evaporation device can realize going on continuously of coating film process.

Description

Vapor deposition apparatus and control method thereof

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of vapor deposition technology, and in particular, to a vapor deposition apparatus and a control method thereof.

Background

The manufacturing methods of the display screen in the current market are very many, wherein an Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) will be the mainstream technology in the future, and the manufacturing methods of the OLED device in the current market are mainly three: evaporation, Ink Jet Printing (IJP), and thermal transfer printing (LITI), among which the most mature and widely used is the evaporation method, and the evaporation of metal cathode is the necessary equipment for fabricating OLEDs in different ways.

The evaporation equipment at present mainly adopts a point source evaporation mode for evaporating metal materials, wherein a plurality of point source crucibles form a line source; the line source, whether a single point source or a plurality of crucibles, needs to be replenished with metal material periodically when used continuously for a long time, so as to avoid the problem of insufficient metal material continuously.

Thus, at least two technical defects exist, 1, a point source evaporation crucible cannot be subjected to evaporation during feeding, and needs to wait; 2. after the metal material to be fed is put into the evaporation cavity, the cavity needs to be opened for feeding, and the service life of the crucible is influenced by frequently changing the pressure of the environment where the crucible is located.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a vapor deposition device and a control method thereof, which aim to solve the technical problems that the vapor deposition device cannot continuously perform vapor deposition and has short service life.

In order to solve the technical problems, the invention adopts a technical scheme that: provided is a vapor deposition device including: the device comprises an evaporation box body, a feed supplement box body, a switch, a crucible and a feeding mechanism, wherein the evaporation box body is provided with an evaporation cavity; the feed supplement box body is provided with a transition cavity and a through hole for communicating the evaporation cavity with the transition cavity; the switch is connected with the feed supplement box body and used for controlling the through hole to be closed and opened; the crucible is assembled in the evaporation chamber and used for containing and heating the raw materials; the feeding mechanism is assembled in the material supplementing box body and is used for adding raw materials into the crucible; when the evaporation device carries out evaporation, the evaporation cavity and the transition cavity are communicated with each other and are in a vacuum state; when the feeding mechanism feeds materials, the evaporation cavity and the transition cavity are mutually isolated.

In order to solve the technical problem, the invention adopts another technical scheme that: there is provided a control method for the vapor deposition apparatus, the control method including: the evaporation cavity and the transition cavity are both in a vacuum state, and the switch controls the through hole to be opened; the feeding mechanism adds raw materials to the crucible, and the crucible heats the raw materials to evaporate the raw materials; the switch controls the through hole to be closed; the transition cavity is communicated with the outside atmosphere, and the evaporation cavity is in a vacuum state; and (5) supplementing materials to the feeding mechanism.

The beneficial effect of this application, coating by vaporization device includes coating by vaporization box, feed supplement box, switch, crucible and feed mechanism. The evaporation plating box body is provided with an evaporation plating cavity, the feed supplement box body is provided with a transition cavity, the whole process of coating the surface of the substrate is concentrated in the evaporation plating cavity, the transition cavity is used for supplementing raw materials midway, and the evaporation plating cavity and the transition cavity are independent from each other. When the evaporation device carries out evaporation, the transition cavity and the evaporation cavity are communicated with each other, the feeding mechanism is assembled in the material supplementing box body, and the feeding mechanism is used for adding raw materials to a crucible in the evaporation cavity; when feed mechanism carries out the feed supplement, evaporate the chamber and separate each other with the transition chamber, evaporate the crucible in the chamber and continue to carry out the coating by vaporization, refill the raw materials on the feed mechanism in the transition chamber to guarantee going on of coating by vaporization process, in addition, the coating by vaporization chamber lasts and maintains vacuum state, avoids frequently changing the atmospheric pressure in the chamber of evaporating and causes the damage to the crucible.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of an evaporation apparatus provided in the present application during evaporation;

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of an evaporation apparatus provided in the present application during material replenishment;

fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling an evaporation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely below, and it should be understood that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, and not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

Reference herein to "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of the application. The appearances of the phrase in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. It is explicitly and implicitly understood by one skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments.

Referring to fig. 1 and fig. 2, fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of an evaporation apparatus 100 provided in the present application during evaporation, and fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of the evaporation apparatus 100 provided in the present application during material replenishment.

The application provides an evaporation device 100, the evaporation device 100 can be used for evaporation in the manufacturing process of an organic light-emitting device, and the coating material can be silver (Ag), aluminum (Al) and other materials.

Vacuum evaporation, which is simply referred to as evaporation, refers to a process method in which a coating material (or called a coating material) is evaporated and gasified in a certain heating and evaporation manner under a vacuum condition, and particles fly to the surface of a substrate to condense and form a film. The vapor deposition is a vapor deposition technology which is used earlier and has wider application, and has the advantages of simple film forming method, high film purity and compactness, unique film structure and performance and the like.

The evaporation device 100 of the present application may include an evaporation tank 10, a feed tank 20, a switch 30, a crucible 40, and a feeding mechanism 50.

The evaporation box body 10 is provided with an evaporation chamber 12, the evaporation chamber 12 is a core cavity of the evaporation device 100, the whole process of coating the substrate surface is concentrated in the evaporation chamber 12, and the evaporation chamber 12 is in a vacuum state. The feed supplement box body 20 is provided with a transition cavity 22, the feed supplement box body 20 is further provided with a through hole for communicating the evaporation cavity 12 with the transition cavity 22, and the evaporation cavity 12 and the transition cavity 22 are independent from each other. The switch 30 is connected with the feed box body 20, and the switch 30 is used for controlling the through hole to be closed and opened so as to determine whether the evaporation cavity 12 is communicated with the transition cavity 22. A crucible 40 is installed in the evaporation chamber 12, and the crucible 40 is used for holding and heating the raw material to liquefy and further evaporate the raw material. A feed mechanism 50 is mounted in the feed box 20, the feed mechanism 50 being used to add raw material to the crucible 40. When the evaporation device 100 performs evaporation, the evaporation chamber 12 and the transition chamber 22 are communicated with each other and in a vacuum state; when the feeding mechanism 50 feeds materials, the evaporation cavity 12 and the transition cavity 22 are isolated from each other.

In order to make the person skilled in the art further understand the deposition apparatus 100 of the present application, the present application will be explained in terms of specific implementation procedures, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited in any way:

1: when the evaporation device 100 carries out evaporation, the evaporation cavity 12 and the transition cavity 22 are both in a vacuum state, and the switch 30 controls the through hole to be opened; 2: the feeding mechanism 50 adds the raw material to the crucible 40 through the through hole, and the crucible 40 heats the raw material to evaporate the raw material, thereby coating the film on the substrate; 3: when the raw materials in the feeding mechanism 50 are used up, the switch 30 controls the through hole to be closed; 4: the transition cavity 22 is communicated with the outside atmosphere, and the evaporation cavity 12 is in a vacuum state; 5: the feeding mechanism 50 is fed and then the transition chamber 22 is brought to a vacuum state. Repeating the steps 1 to 5 to continuously coat the substrate with the film.

In the present embodiment, the evaporation apparatus 100 includes an evaporation tank 10, a replenishment feed tank 20, a switch 30, a crucible 40, and a feed mechanism 50. The evaporation box body 10 is provided with an evaporation cavity 12, the feed supplement box body 20 is provided with a transition cavity 22, the whole process of coating the surface of the substrate is concentrated in the evaporation cavity 12, the transition cavity 22 is used for supplementing raw materials midway, and the evaporation cavity 12 and the transition cavity 22 are independent. When the evaporation device 100 carries out evaporation, the transition chamber 22 and the evaporation chamber 12 are communicated with each other, the feeding mechanism 50 is assembled in the material supplementing box body 20, and the feeding mechanism 50 is used for adding raw materials to the crucible 40 in the evaporation chamber 12; when feed mechanism 50 carried out the feed supplement, evaporation coating chamber 12 and transitional chamber 22 isolated each other, and the crucible 40 in the evaporation coating chamber 12 continues to carry out the evaporation coating, loads the raw materials again on the feed mechanism 50 in the transitional chamber 22 to guarantee going on of evaporation coating process, in addition, evaporation coating chamber 12 continuously maintains vacuum state, avoids frequently changing the atmospheric pressure in the evaporation coating chamber 12 and causes the damage to crucible 40.

The evaporation device 100 further comprises a ventilation mechanism 60, wherein the ventilation mechanism 60 is connected with the feed supplement box body 20, when the evaporation device 100 carries out evaporation, the ventilation mechanism 60 pumps out gas in the feed supplement box body 20, so that the transition chamber 22 is in a vacuum state, and the evaporation chamber 12 is continuously maintained in the vacuum state when the evaporation chamber 12 is communicated with the transition chamber 22. Of course, when the evaporation apparatus 100 is first used, the switch 30 controls the through hole to be opened, and the ventilation mechanism 60 can simultaneously draw out the gas in the evaporation chamber 12 and the transition chamber 22, so that the evaporation chamber 12 and the transition chamber 22 are in a vacuum state. When the feeding mechanism 50 feeds materials, the air exchanging mechanism 60 inflates the feeding box 20 to make the atmospheric pressure in the transition cavity 22 the same as the external atmospheric pressure, so as to conveniently open the feeding box 20.

The ventilation mechanism 60 comprises a pipeline 62, an exhaust fan 64 and a closed valve 66, wherein the pipeline 62 is communicated with the feed box body 20, the exhaust fan 64 is arranged in the pipeline 62, the exhaust fan 64 is used for controlling the flow direction of air in the pipeline 62, and the closed valve 66 is connected with the pipeline 62 and used for plugging the pipeline 62.

The feeding mechanism 50 comprises a motor 52 and a roller 54, wherein the roller 54 is connected with the output end of the motor 52, the roller 54 is used for fixing the wound raw material, and the motor 52 is used for conveying the raw material into the evaporation chamber 12. The raw material is in a winding state, the raw material is sleeved on the roller 54, and when the motor 52 moves, the roller 54 rotates, so that the wound raw material is driven to move into the evaporation chamber 12.

The evaporation device 100 further comprises a shearing device 70, the shearing device 70 is assembled in the evaporation cavity 12, and the shearing device 70 is used for cutting the raw material conveyed into the evaporation cavity 12 into a plurality of sections. The raw material cut into segments is introduced into the crucible 40 to be melted and evaporated, thereby preventing the wound raw material from coming into direct contact with the crucible 40. Of course, when the evaporation apparatus 100 does not include the shearing device 70, the raw material may be directly introduced into the crucible 40.

The evaporation device 100 further comprises a conveying device 80, the conveying device 80 is assembled in the evaporation cavity 12, and the conveying device 80 is used for conveying the raw materials cut into multiple sections into the crucible 40.

The evaporation device 100 further comprises a funnel 90, wherein the funnel 90 is assembled in the evaporation cavity 12, and the funnel 90 is used for guiding the raw materials cut into multiple sections. The cut material into a plurality of pieces is introduced into the hopper 90 and then moved to a specific position under the direction of the hopper 90.

The crucible 40 comprises a first side wall 41, a second side wall 42, a third side wall 43, a fourth side wall 44 and a fifth side wall 45 which are connected in sequence, the first side wall 41, the second side wall 42 and the third side wall 43 jointly enclose to form a first heating cavity, the third side wall 43, the fourth side wall 44 and the fifth side wall 45 jointly enclose to form a second heating cavity, the first heating cavity and the second heating cavity are isolated from each other, raw materials in the first heating cavity and the second heating cavity are not affected with each other, the first heating cavity is used for receiving the raw materials added by the feeding mechanism 50 and liquefying the raw materials, the third side wall 43 is lower than the first side wall 41 and the fifth side wall 45 respectively, the second heating cavity is used for receiving the liquid raw materials flowing out from the first heating cavity and evaporating the liquid raw materials, and therefore the raw materials in the second heating cavity are always guaranteed to be in a liquid state, and continuous evaporation and coating of the heating cavity is guaranteed.

The evaporation device 100 further comprises a liquid level monitor 110 and a reflector 120 which are assembled in the evaporation chamber 12, wherein the liquid level monitor 110 emits test light to the reflector 120, the reflector 120 reflects the test light to the crucible 40, and the test light is reflected to the liquid level monitor 110, so that the storage amount and the use condition of raw materials in the crucible 40 can be accurately known, the frequency and the weight of feeding to the crucible 40 can be accurately judged, and the continuous coating process of the evaporation device 100 can be ensured.

Referring to fig. 1 to 3, fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of an evaporation apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The control method of the present application can be performed in the vapor deposition device 100 according to any of the embodiments described above. The control method of the present embodiment will be explained with the vapor deposition device 100 of one embodiment.

The evaporation device 100 can comprise an evaporation box body 10, a feed supplement box body 20, a switch 30, a crucible 40 and a feeding mechanism 50.

S101: the evaporation chamber 12 and the transition chamber 22 are both in a vacuum state, and the switch 30 controls the through hole to be opened.

Since the evaporation needs to be performed in a vacuum environment, the evaporation chamber 12 and the transition chamber 22 are first ensured to be in a vacuum state, and then the through hole is opened by the switch 30. The evaporation chamber 12 and the transition chamber 22 can be brought to a vacuum state by the ventilation mechanism 60.

S102: the feed mechanism 50 adds the raw material to the crucible 40, and the crucible 40 heats the raw material to evaporate the raw material.

The feeding mechanism 50 adds raw materials to the crucible 40, the coating material may be silver (Ag), aluminum (Al), etc., the crucible 40 heats the raw materials to evaporate the raw materials, and the material of the crucible 40 may include silicon carbide, aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, ferrosilicon, etc. Specifically, the heating device continuously heats the crucible 40, and the crucible 40 conducts heat to the raw material in the crucible 40 to liquefy the raw material and further evaporate it.

S103: switch 30 controls the via to close.

After the raw materials on the feeding mechanism 50 are used, the feeding mechanism 50 needs to be supplemented with materials. At this time, the switch 30 closes the through hole, so that the evaporation chamber 12 and the transition chamber 22 are isolated from each other, the film coating process in the evaporation chamber 12 is continuously performed, and only the feeding mechanism 50 in the transition chamber 22 needs to be supplemented.

S104: the transition chamber 22 is communicated with the outside atmosphere, and the evaporation chamber 12 is in a vacuum state.

The transition chamber 22 is communicated with the outside atmosphere, so that the air pressure in the transition chamber 22 is balanced, the feeding box body 20 is conveniently opened, the evaporation chamber 12 is in a vacuum state, and the film coating process in the evaporation chamber 12 is continuously carried out.

S105: the feeding mechanism 50 is replenished.

The feeding mechanism 50 is fed and the steps S101 and S104 are repeated to ensure the evaporation process continues.

The above description is only an embodiment of the present invention, and not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, and all modifications of equivalent structures and equivalent processes performed by the present specification and drawings, or directly or indirectly applied to other related technical fields, are included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An evaporation apparatus, comprising:

the evaporation box body is provided with an evaporation cavity;

the feed supplement box body is provided with a transition cavity and a through hole for communicating the evaporation cavity with the transition cavity;

the switch is connected with the feed supplement box body and is used for controlling the through hole to be closed and opened;

the crucible is assembled in the evaporation cavity and used for containing raw materials and heating the raw materials, wherein the crucible comprises a first side wall, a second side wall, a third side wall, a fourth side wall and a fifth side wall which are sequentially connected, the first side wall, the second side wall and the third side wall are jointly surrounded to form a first heating cavity, and the third side wall, the fourth side wall and the fifth side wall are jointly surrounded to form a second heating cavity;

the feeding mechanism is assembled in the material supplementing box body and is used for adding raw materials to the crucible; and

the air exchange mechanism is connected with the material supplementing box body;

when the evaporation device carries out evaporation, the evaporation cavity and the transition cavity are communicated with each other and are in a vacuum state, and the gas exchange mechanism extracts gas in the feed supplement box body, so that the transition cavity is in the vacuum state; when the feeding mechanism feeds materials, the evaporation cavity and the transition cavity are mutually isolated, the ventilation mechanism inflates the material feeding box body, and a crucible in the evaporation cavity is continuously evaporated;

the first heating cavity is used for receiving raw materials added by the feeding mechanism and liquefying the raw materials, and the second heating cavity is used for receiving liquid raw materials flowing out of the first heating cavity, so that the raw materials in the second heating cavity are always ensured to be in a liquid state, and continuous evaporation coating is ensured.

2. The evaporation device according to claim 1, wherein the feeding mechanism comprises a motor and a roller, the roller is connected with the output end of the motor, the roller is used for fixing the wound raw material, and the motor is used for conveying the raw material into the evaporation chamber.

3. The vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a shearing device fitted in the vapor deposition chamber, the shearing device being configured to cut the raw material transported into the vapor deposition chamber into a plurality of pieces.

4. An evaporation device according to claim 3, further comprising a conveyor device, the conveyor device being fitted in the evaporation chamber, the conveyor device being used for transporting the raw material cut into segments into the crucible.

5. The evaporation device according to claim 3, further comprising a funnel, wherein the funnel is assembled in the evaporation chamber, and the funnel is used for guiding the raw material cut into multiple sections.

6. An evaporation device according to claim 1, further comprising a liquid level monitor and a mirror mounted in the evaporation chamber, wherein the liquid level monitor emits test light to the mirror, and the mirror reflects the test light to the crucible.

7. The evaporation apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a surface of the reflector is plated with aluminum or silver.

8. A control method of the vapor deposition apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, the control method comprising:

the evaporation cavity and the transition cavity are both in a vacuum state, and the switch controls the through hole to be opened;

the feeding mechanism adds raw materials to a crucible, and the crucible heats the raw materials to evaporate the raw materials;

the switch controls the through hole to be closed;

the transition cavity is communicated with the outside atmosphere, and the evaporation cavity is in a vacuum state;

and supplementing materials to the feeding mechanism.