CN115287604A

CN115287604A - Continuous evaporation system and use method

Info

Publication number: CN115287604A
Application number: CN202211034070.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李再兴; 李浩毅; 张奇; 李端科
Original assignee: Zhongneng Xingsheng Xianghe Electromechanical Equipment Co ltd
Current assignee: Zhongneng Xingsheng Xianghe Electromechanical Equipment Co ltd
Priority date: 2022-08-26
Filing date: 2022-08-26
Publication date: 2022-11-04

Abstract

The application provides a continuous evaporation system and a using method, wherein a main crucible, a secondary crucible and a material chamber are designed, evaporation sources are continuously supplemented to an evaporation chamber by monitoring the weight change of the evaporation sources, a large number of evaporation sources do not need to be added at one time, and the continuous evaporation operation for a long time is realized; the first concentration detector and the second concentration detector are arranged in the evaporation chamber, and the continuity of conveying the substrate to the evaporation chamber is controlled by using the concentration of the evaporation source gas, so that the substrate forms an evaporation layer in an environment with high concentration uniformity of the evaporation source gas, and the quality consistency of the evaporation layer is improved; by designing the evaporation cover in the evaporation chamber, the diffusion direction of the evaporation source gas is effectively controlled, so that the evaporation source gas is uniformly deposited on the substrate along the evaporation source gas channel, and the uniformity and consistency of the evaporation quality are further improved; through the design baffle for the homogenization speed of the concentration of the evaporation source gas in the evaporation cover, the evaporation operation efficiency is improved, the evaporation source can be saved, and the utilization rate of the evaporation source is improved.

Description

Continuous evaporation system and using method

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of OLED component manufacturing, in particular to a continuous evaporation system and a using method thereof.

Background

The organic electroluminescent device is formed by compounding multiple layers of materials by adopting an evaporation technology, each material is generally evaporated in a single evaporation chamber, then the next layer of material is transferred to the next evaporation chamber for evaporation until evaporation of all layer materials is completed, and in order to ensure the evaporation quality, the whole operation needs to be completed in a vacuum environment.

In order to ensure continuous vapor deposition operation within a certain period of time, a sufficient amount of vapor deposition sources are generally placed in a vapor deposition chamber as needed, but continuous vapor deposition operation for a long period of time cannot be achieved. Moreover, the addition of a large amount of evaporation sources at a time requires a long heating time or a high heating speed, and the long-time high-temperature heating or the high heating speed easily causes the evaporation sources to decompose and deteriorate to lose effectiveness, thereby causing the waste of evaporation source materials.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above problems, the present application aims to provide a continuous vapor deposition system and a method of using the same, which control continuous vapor deposition work according to the concentration of vapor deposition source gas and the weight of vapor deposition source, and solve the problems that vapor deposition source decomposition and deterioration are easily caused by adding a large amount of vapor deposition source at one time and the continuous vapor deposition work cannot be performed for a long time.

In a first aspect, the application provides a continuous coating by vaporization system, continuous coating by vaporization system includes the coating by vaporization unit, the coating by vaporization unit is including the feed chamber, the coating by vaporization chamber, the discharge chamber and the intercommunication that distribute gradually the feed chamber with the first passageway of discharge chamber, and run through in proper order the first track of feed chamber, coating by vaporization chamber, discharge chamber, be provided with counterpoint conveyor on the first track, wherein:

the feeding chamber comprises a first mask plate supporting table arranged in the feeding chamber; the first mask plate support table is arranged at the bottom of the feeding chamber and used for receiving the mask plate input by the first channel;

the evaporation chamber comprises a main crucible supporting table for placing a main crucible, a secondary crucible supporting table for placing a secondary crucible, a film thickness monitoring device for monitoring the thickness of the evaporated layer on the substrate, and a first concentration detector and a second concentration detector which are arranged in the evaporation chamber; the first concentration detector and the second concentration detector are arranged oppositely and have the same height; the position of the film thickness monitoring device is higher than that of the first concentration detector; the main crucible supporting table and the secondary crucible supporting table are respectively provided with a first weighing system for measuring the weight of the evaporation source and a first heating system for heating the main crucible or the secondary crucible;

the discharge chamber comprises a second mask plate support table arranged in the discharge chamber; the second mask plate support table is arranged at the bottom of the discharge chamber and used for receiving the mask plate separated from the alignment conveying device and conveying the mask plate to the first channel;

the alignment conveying device is detachably provided with the substrate and is used for performing alignment connection or separation on the substrate and the mask plate;

a conveying roller for conveying the mask plate is arranged in the first channel;

the material chamber is communicated with the evaporation chamber and comprises a hopper and a crucible preheating support platform; the hopper is used for containing an evaporation source and adding the evaporation source to the main crucible or the secondary crucible; the crucible preheating support table is provided with a second weighing system for detecting the weight of the evaporation source and a second heating system for heating the main crucible or the secondary crucible, and the material chamber is used for conveying the preheated evaporation source to the evaporation chamber;

the feeding chamber is provided with a feeding chamber inlet for inputting the substrate; the feeding chamber is communicated with the evaporation chamber through a first inlet and a first outlet; the evaporation chamber is communicated with the discharge chamber through a second inlet and a second outlet; the evaporation chamber is communicated with the material chamber through a third inlet and a third outlet; the first access and the second access are used for the access of the substrate; and the third inlet and outlet is used for the inlet and outlet of the main crucible or the secondary crucible.

Specifically, after the mask plate is separated from the substrate, the mask plate enters the first channel from the first channel inlet, can slide into the feeding chamber along the conveying roller positioned in the first channel under the action of self gravity, and is ready to be aligned with the next substrate.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the application, the alignment conveying device comprises a lifting rod capable of moving along the first track, and a first positioning rod and a second positioning rod which are respectively connected with the lifting rod are arranged at one end, far away from the first track, of the lifting rod; one ends of the first positioning rod and the second positioning rod, which are relatively far away from the lifting rod, are respectively provided with a positioning part for bearing the substrate; the base plate is provided with a first alignment hole for the positioning part to pass through; the mask plate is provided with a second alignment hole matched with the positioning part; and a magnetic suction device for attaching and connecting the substrate and the mask plate is arranged above the substrate.

Specifically, the second alignment hole is provided with a chamfer so as to be conveniently inserted into the second alignment hole together with the positioning parts of the first positioning rod and the second positioning rod; through the trompil position of earlier stage design second counterpoint hole, then can accomplish the accurate counterpoint of base plate and mask plate through the cooperation in mask plate and second counterpoint hole, simplified the step that base plate and mask plate counterpoint greatly.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the application, an evaporation plating cover for controlling the diffusion of an evaporation plating source gas to the mask plate is further arranged in the evaporation plating chamber; the first concentration detector, the second concentration detector and the film thickness monitoring device are all located on the inner wall of the evaporation cover.

Specifically, the coating by vaporization cover can restrain the coating by vaporization source gas of diffusion everywhere to the diffusion of mask plate pattern region direction, when improving the coating by vaporization source utilization ratio, can also play certain thermal-insulated effect, reduces because the high temperature environment that the heating evaporation coating by vaporization source produced makes the deformation that the mask plate is heated and arouses to further improve coating by vaporization layer quality.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the application, the evaporation cover is provided with a channel section for guiding evaporation source gas to deposit on the substrate area to be evaporated; the channel section comprises an evaporation source gas channel corresponding to the mask plate pattern area.

According to the technical scheme that this application embodiment provided, still be equipped with in the coating by vaporization room and pass in and out the baffle of coating by vaporization cover, the baffle gets into be located behind the coating by vaporization cover first concentration detection appearance with second concentration detection appearance top.

Specifically, the evaporation cover is also provided with a homogenizing section for homogenizing the evaporation source gas; the first concentration detector and the second concentration detector are distributed on the inner wall of the homogenizing section relatively and have the same height. When the concentration of the evaporation source gas cannot reach the required uniformity quickly, the baffle is driven to enter the homogenizing section to plug the homogenizing section, so that the concentration of the evaporation source gas in the evaporation cover is homogenized quickly, the consistency of the concentration of the evaporation source gas entering each gas channel at the later stage is ensured, and the consistency of the quality of an evaporation layer is improved.

According to the technical scheme that this application embodiment provided, evaporation plating chamber bottom still is equipped with the second track, main crucible brace table with inferior crucible brace table can be followed the second track removes.

Specifically, the main crucible support table and the secondary crucible support table can move towards the center of the evaporation coating chamber or the evaporation coating chamber along the second track so as to improve the uniformity of the diffusion of the evaporation coating source gas towards the periphery, thereby improving the uniformity of the concentration of the evaporation coating source gas in each area of the evaporation coating chamber or the evaporation coating chamber and further ensuring the consistency of the quality of the evaporation coating; the main crucible supporting table and the secondary crucible supporting table can also move close to the material chamber along the second track, so that a mechanical arm in the material chamber can conveniently take and place the main crucible or the secondary crucible between the material chamber and the evaporation chamber.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the application, the feeding chamber and the discharging chamber are both communicated with a cleaning device for cleaning the mask plate.

Specifically, the evaporation unit further comprises a cleaning device, and the cleaning device is used for cleaning the mask plate and providing a standby mask plate for the feeding chamber; the discharge chamber is also provided with a mask plate cleaning inlet; the feeding chamber is also provided with a mask plate cleaning outlet. The mask plate cleaning inlet and the mask plate cleaning outlet are respectively communicated with the cleaning device; when the mask plate reaches the specified service time or times and needs to be cleaned, the mask plate cleaning inlet sends the mask plate to be cleaned into the mask plate cleaning device, then the prepared spare mask plate is sent into the feeding chamber through the mask plate cleaning outlet by the mask plate cleaning device, the spare mask plate is aligned with the substrate, and the production continuity is guaranteed.

The continuous evaporation system also comprises a transition chamber communicated with the discharge chamber; a substrate storage rack for storing the substrate is arranged in the transition chamber; the first rail extends through the transition chamber.

Specifically, during the operation of continuous evaporation, the base plate that the coating by vaporization was accomplished can carry through the transition chamber and get into next process, nevertheless when the back end process breaks down and needs short duration to repair or the production line efficiency mismatch between the process and when short duration blockked up, can place the base plate that the coating by vaporization ended temporarily at the base plate storage rack this moment to the realization can not stop the coating by vaporization operation in troubleshooting and adjustment process efficiency period, further ensured the continuity of coating by vaporization operation.

In a second aspect, the present application provides a method for using a continuous evaporation system, comprising the steps of:

heating the evaporation source in the main crucible of the evaporation chamber to the evaporation temperature, so that the evaporation source is evaporated to form an evaporation source gas;

respectively detecting the concentration of the evaporation source gas by using the first concentration detector and the second concentration detector to obtain a first concentration and a second concentration;

when the concentration lower limit value is less than or equal to the first concentration upper limit value and the concentration lower limit value is less than or equal to the second concentration upper limit value, calculating the difference value between the first concentration and the second concentration to obtain a first error; the lower concentration limit value and the upper concentration limit value are respectively the upper concentration limit value and the lower concentration limit value of the source gas for evaporation in the evaporation chamber;

when the first error is smaller than or equal to the first threshold value, the substrate and the mask plate which are connected in the feeding chamber in an alignment mode are conveyed into the evaporation chamber for evaporation, and an evaporation layer is formed;

when the evaporation coating reaches a preset thickness, the substrate and the mask plate are conveyed into the discharge chamber;

separating the mask plate and the substrate, wherein the mask plate is conveyed out of the discharging chamber by the second mask plate supporting table, and the substrate is conveyed out of the discharging chamber by the first rail;

when the weight of the evaporation source left in the main crucible of the evaporation chamber is less than or equal to the second weight value, starting to heat the secondary crucible in the material chamber to a preset preheating temperature; the second weight value is the weight of the residual evaporation source in the main crucible of the evaporation chamber when the preset secondary crucible in the material chamber starts to be heated;

when the weight of the evaporation source left in the main crucible of the evaporation chamber is less than a third weight value, feeding the secondary crucible containing the evaporation source in the material chamber into a secondary crucible supporting table of the evaporation chamber, and heating the evaporation source in the secondary crucible to the evaporation temperature to evaporate the evaporation source in the secondary crucible; the third weight value is the lower limit value of the weight of the residual evaporation source in the main crucible or the secondary crucible;

when the weight of the evaporation source remained in the main crucible of the evaporation chamber is zero, stopping heating the main crucible, moving the main crucible into the crucible preheating support table of the material chamber, opening a hopper, adding the evaporation source into the main crucible, and when the weight of the evaporation source added into the main crucible reaches the first weight value, closing the hopper, so that the evaporation source is continuously provided for the evaporation chamber in a circulating manner, thereby ensuring the long-time continuity of the evaporation operation; the first weight value is the weight of the initial evaporation source in the main crucible or the secondary crucible;

when the weight of the evaporation source in the hopper reaches a preset hopper weight lower limit value, the material chamber feed inlet is opened to supplement the evaporation source in the hopper, and after the supplement is finished, the material chamber feed inlet is closed and vacuumized to keep the balance with the vacuum degree in the evaporation chamber, so that the long-time continuity of the evaporation operation is further ensured.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the application, the using method of the continuous evaporation system further comprises the following steps:

when the first error is larger than the first threshold value, driving the baffle plate to enter the evaporation cover;

respectively detecting the concentration of the evaporation source gas by using the first concentration detector and the second concentration detector to obtain a third concentration and a fourth concentration;

when the concentration lower limit value is smaller than or equal to the third concentration upper limit value and the concentration lower limit value is smaller than or equal to the fourth concentration upper limit value, calculating a difference value between the third concentration and the fourth concentration to obtain a second error;

and when the second error is smaller than or equal to the first threshold value, driving the baffle to leave the evaporation cover, and then sending the substrate and the mask plate which are connected in the feeding chamber in an alignment manner into the evaporation chamber for evaporation to form an evaporation layer.

transferring the substrate to a transition chamber and placing the substrate on a substrate storage rack;

the substrate is taken down from the substrate storage rack and sent out of the transition chamber to enter the next process.

In summary, the application discloses a continuous evaporation system and a using method, and the beneficial effects based on the scheme are that the alignment conveying mechanism completes alignment connection of the substrate and the mask plate in the feeding chamber and then waits for being fed into the evaporation chamber; heating an evaporation source in a main crucible of the evaporation chamber to reach a preset evaporation temperature, evaporating the evaporation source to form an evaporation source gas, respectively detecting the concentration of the evaporation source gas by a first concentration detector and a second concentration detector which are positioned in the evaporation chamber to obtain a first concentration and a second concentration, and then respectively comparing the first concentration and the second concentration with a preset upper limit value and a preset lower limit value of the concentration of the evaporation source gas;

when the concentration lower limit value is less than or equal to the first concentration upper limit value and the concentration lower limit value is less than or equal to the second concentration upper limit value, calculating the difference value between the first concentration and the second concentration to obtain a first error; then comparing a first error with a preset first threshold, and when the first error is smaller than or equal to the first threshold, sending the substrate and the mask plate which are subjected to para-position connection in the feeding chamber into the evaporation chamber for evaporation by a first rail;

when the evaporation layer reaches a preset thickness, the substrate and the mask plate are conveyed into a discharge chamber by a first rail, then the mask plate and the substrate are separated in the discharge chamber by a contraposition conveying mechanism, and the mask plate returns to the feed chamber through a first channel for recycling;

when the weight of the evaporation source in the main crucible is less than or equal to a second weight value, the secondary crucible in the material chamber is heated until the preset preheating temperature; when the weight of the evaporation source remaining in the main crucible is less than a third weight value, feeding the secondary crucible containing the evaporation source in the material chamber into a secondary crucible supporting table of the evaporation chamber, heating to evaporate the evaporation source in the secondary crucible, and keeping the concentration of the evaporation source gas in the evaporation chamber stable;

when the weight of the evaporation source left in the main crucible is zero, the main crucible is stopped being heated, the main crucible is moved into the crucible of the material chamber to preheat the support table, then the hopper is opened, the evaporation source is added into the main crucible, when the weight of the evaporation source reaches the first weight value, the hopper is closed, the evaporation source is continuously provided for the evaporation chamber in a circulating mode, therefore, the continuity of evaporation operation is ensured, and the problems that the evaporation source is easy to decompose and deteriorate and the evaporation operation cannot be continuously performed due to the fact that a large amount of evaporation sources are added at one time are solved.

In addition, from the perspective of controlling the uniformity degree of the concentration of the evaporation source gas, the first concentration detector and the second concentration detector are arranged in the evaporation chamber, and the first heating system is matched to control the conveying of the substrate to the evaporation chamber, so that the substrate forms an evaporation layer in an environment with high uniformity of the concentration of the evaporation source gas, the quality consistency of the evaporation layer is improved, and the temperature control requirement is reduced; by designing the main crucible, the secondary crucible and the material chamber, and then monitoring the weight change of the evaporation source, the evaporation source is continuously supplemented to the evaporation chamber, and a large amount of evaporation source does not need to be added at one time, thereby realizing continuous evaporation operation for a long time.

In another scheme of the application, the evaporation cover is designed in the evaporation chamber, so that the diffusion direction of the evaporation source gas is effectively controlled, the evaporation source gas is uniformly deposited on the substrate along the evaporation source gas channel, and the uniformity and consistency of the evaporation quality are improved; through the second track at indoor design baffle of coating by vaporization and portable main crucible brace table and inferior crucible brace table for the homogenization speed of coating by vaporization source gas concentration in the coating by vaporization cover both can improve the coating by vaporization operating efficiency, also can practice thrift the coating by vaporization source, improve the coating by vaporization source utilization ratio, can also reduce because the high temperature environment that the heating evaporation coating by vaporization source produced makes the deformation that the mask plate is heated and arouses, further improve coating by vaporization layer quality.

Drawings

Other features, objects and advantages of the present application will become more apparent upon reading of the following detailed description of non-limiting embodiments thereof, made with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a continuous evaporation system in embodiment 1 of the present application.

Fig. 2 is a first schematic structural view of an evaporation chamber and a material chamber in embodiment 1 of the present application.

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a feeding chamber, an evaporation chamber, a discharging chamber and a transition chamber in example 1 of the present application.

Fig. 4 is a schematic structural view of a second evaporation chamber and a material chamber in embodiment 1 of the present application.

Fig. 5 is a schematic structural view of a first rail and an alignment conveying device in embodiment 1 of the present application.

Fig. 6 is a right side view of the aligning and conveying apparatus of fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a schematic structural view of an evaporation chamber in embodiment 2 of the present application.

Fig. 8 is a schematic view of an evaporation chamber and a material chamber in example 2 of the present application.

Fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a substrate and a mask according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 10 is a schematic view illustrating an alignment state of a substrate and a mask according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 11 is a schematic view of a second alignment state of the substrate and the mask according to the embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 12 is a schematic structural view of a continuous evaporation system in embodiment 5 of the present application.

In the figure, 1, a transition chamber; 2. a feed chamber; 3. an evaporation chamber; 4. a material chamber; 5. a discharge chamber; 6. a first channel; 7. a substrate; 8. a mask plate; 9. a main crucible support table; 10. a secondary crucible support table; 11. a first positioning rod; 12. a second positioning rod; 13. a first evaporation unit; 14. a second evaporation unit; 15. a third evaporation unit; 16. a lifting rod; 17. a first track; 18. a magnetic attraction device; 19. a cleaning device;

101. a substrate conveying table; 102. a fifth outlet; 103. a substrate storage rack; 104. a fourth entrance; 105. a sixth outlet;

201. a first mask supporting table; 202. a first channel outlet; 203. an inlet of the feed chamber;

301. a first inlet and outlet; 302. a first concentration detector; 303. a second concentration detector; 304. a vapor plating cover; 305. a baffle plate; 306. a second track;

401. a hopper; 402. preheating a crucible supporting table; 403. a material chamber feed opening; 404. a third entrance;

501. a second mask supporting table; 502. a first channel inlet; 503. a second inlet and outlet;

701. a first alignment hole; 801. a second alignment hole.

Detailed Description

The present application will be described in further detail with reference to the following drawings and examples. It is to be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the relevant invention and not restrictive of the invention. It should be noted that, for convenience of description, only the portions related to the present invention are shown in the drawings. The present application will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings, in conjunction with the following examples.

Example 1

As shown in fig. 1 to 6, the continuous evaporation system includes an evaporation unit, the evaporation unit includes a feeding chamber 2, an evaporation chamber 3, a discharging chamber 5, a first channel 6 communicating the feeding chamber 2 and the discharging chamber 5, and a first rail 17 sequentially penetrating the feeding chamber 2, the evaporation chamber 3, and the discharging chamber 5, the first rail 17 is provided with an alignment conveying device, and the alignment conveying device includes:

the feeding chamber 2 comprises a first mask support table 201 arranged inside; the first mask supporting platform 201 is arranged at the bottom of the feeding chamber 2 and is used for receiving the mask 8 input by the first channel 6;

wherein, the feeding chamber 2 is also provided with a vision system and a feeding chamber inlet 203; the inlet 203 is used for feeding the substrate 7 into the inlet 2 in the previous process; the first mask supporting table 201 comprises a rotating mechanism, a rotating function can be achieved, and particularly, the mask 8 is of a symmetrical structure, so that after the mask 8 circularly enters the first mask supporting table 201 of the feeding chamber 2 from the first channel 6, the mask can be aligned with the next substrate 7 without rotating and positioning, but when the mask 8 or evaporation patterns of the mask are of an asymmetrical structure, after the mask 8 circularly enters the first mask supporting table 201 of the feeding chamber 2 from the first channel 6, the mask can be aligned with the next substrate 7 by rotating the rotating mechanism for 180 degrees, so that the subsequent process sequence is not influenced;

the vision system is used for assisting and checking the alignment of the substrate 7 and the mask plate 8, and particularly comprises a first camera arranged at the top of the feeding chamber 2 and a second camera arranged at the bottom of the feeding chamber 2. Before the substrate 7 is aligned with the mask plate 8, the first camera shoots the mask plate 8 from top to bottom, positions of two second alignment holes 801 on the mask plate 8 are determined after the shot images are analyzed, then the substrate 7 is conveyed into the feeding chamber 2 by the conveying mechanism to be aligned with the mask plate 8, and specifically, positioning parts of a first positioning rod 11 and a second positioning rod 12 are respectively inserted into the two second alignment holes 801 on the mask plate 8; after the alignment, the second camera photographs the mask 8 from bottom to top, and determines whether the first positioning rod 11 and the second positioning rod 12 are correctly aligned with the two second alignment holes 801, respectively.

The evaporation chamber 3 comprises a main crucible supporting table 9 for placing a main crucible and a secondary crucible supporting table 10 for placing a secondary crucible, a film thickness monitoring device for monitoring the thickness of the evaporated layer on the substrate 7, and a first concentration detector 302 and a second concentration detector 303 which are arranged in the evaporation chamber 3; the first concentration detector 302 and the second concentration detector 303 are oppositely arranged on the inner wall of the evaporation chamber 3 and have the same height; the position of the film thickness monitoring device is higher than that of the first concentration detector 302; the main crucible supporting table 9 and the secondary crucible supporting table 10 are respectively provided with a first weighing system for measuring the weight of the evaporation source and a first heating system for heating the main crucible or the secondary crucible;

the bottom in the evaporation chamber 3 is further provided with a second track 306, the main crucible support table 9 and the secondary crucible support table 10 can move along the second track 306, as shown in fig. 4, the main crucible support table 9 and the secondary crucible support table 10 can move towards the center of the evaporation chamber 3 or the evaporation cover 304 along the second track 306 so as to improve the uniformity of the diffusion of the evaporation source gas towards the periphery, thereby improving the uniformity of the concentration of the evaporation source gas in each area in the evaporation chamber 3 or the evaporation cover 304, further ensuring the quality consistency of the evaporation layer, and also moving towards the material chamber 4 along the second track 306 so as to facilitate the manipulator in the material chamber 4 to take and place the main crucible or the secondary crucible between the material chamber 4 and the evaporation chamber 3, thereby realizing the continuous supplement of the evaporation source from the material chamber 4 to the evaporation chamber 3.

The film thickness monitoring device adopts the quartz crystal oscillator, the oscillation frequency of the quartz crystal oscillator has a specific relation with the thickness of a film formed on the surface of the quartz crystal, the current evaporation rate can be calculated based on the variation of the oscillation frequency by utilizing the relation, and then the evaporation time is controlled by the film thickness controller to obtain an evaporation layer with a certain thickness. That is, at a certain evaporation rate, an evaporation layer with a predetermined thickness can be obtained when the substrate 7 stays in the evaporation chamber 3 for a predetermined time, and when the predetermined time is reached, the substrate 7 and the mask plate 8 are conveyed to the discharge chamber 5 by the first rail 17.

The first heating system comprises a first heating device, a first temperature detection device and a first automatic control module. In order to accurately control the evaporation rate or the evaporation capacity of an evaporation source, the temperature detection device mostly directly detects the temperature of the evaporation source, but the method is complex, the design of continuously adding the evaporation source is inconvenient, in order to simplify the temperature detection device, the first temperature detection device is used for detecting the temperature of a crucible, more specifically, the temperature of the outer wall of the crucible is detected, for crucibles with different materials and shapes, the position with the minimum temperature difference value between the crucible and the evaporation source can be determined through multiple tests, the first temperature detection device can be arranged at the position, and the main crucible and the secondary crucible can be collectively called as the crucible. The temperature relation between the crucible and the evaporation source is set as follows,

t=T+m

in the formula, T is the temperature of the outer wall of the crucible; t is the temperature of the evaporation source; m is a correction value;

and m is the difference between the temperature of the evaporation source and the temperature of the outer wall of the crucible, which is determined by multiple tests in different temperature intervals. In order to improve the precision, a rule between T and T can be determined according to a difference value between the temperature of the evaporation source and the temperature of the outer wall of the crucible, and a functional relation between T and T is established in a fitting mode. The preheating temperature of the evaporation source is less than the evaporation temperature, the evaporation temperature is related to the evaporation source material, and the evaporation temperature is determined after the evaporation source material is determined, so that at least the preheating temperature of the evaporation source and the upper and lower certain ranges of the evaporation temperature are required to be determined, the relation between the temperature of the outer wall of the crucible and the temperature of the evaporation source is required to be determined, for example, the evaporation temperature of a certain evaporation source is 330 ℃, the preheating temperature is 300 ℃, and when the evaporation source is heated by using the crucible, the value of m is determined as follows through experiments,

m=a，t∈[280,290]；

m=b，t∈[291,300]；

m=c，t∈[301,320]；

m=d，t∈[321,340]；

m=e，t∈[341,360]；

m=f，t∈[361,380]；

in the formula, a, b, c, d, e and f are the difference between the temperature of the evaporation source and the temperature of the outer wall of the crucible in the corresponding temperature interval.

Of course, the m value of all temperature intervals from 0 ℃ to a certain range above the evaporation temperature can be determined as required, and the temperature control precision can be improved and the temperature division interval can be reduced.

First automatic control module can be according to the heating power of the first heating device of the automatic adjustment control of result automatic adjustment of first temperature-detecting device feedback, with coating by vaporization source temperature control at suitable temperature, also can be according to the heating power of the first heating device of coating by vaporization source gas concentration automatic adjustment of feedback, for example when coating by vaporization source gas concentration is less than the default, then adjust heating power and rise crucible temperature, make the coating by vaporization source accelerate the evaporation, when coating by vaporization source gas concentration is higher than the default, then adjust heating power and reduce crucible temperature, slow down the evaporation of coating by vaporization source.

The first weighing system can detect and feed back the weight of the evaporation source remaining in the crucible in real time, and when the evaporation source in the crucible is consumed to different preset values, different actions are performed, for example, when the evaporation source in the crucible in the evaporation chamber 3 is consumed to a preset second weight value, the second heating system in the material chamber 4 starts preheating the standby evaporation source; when the evaporation source in the crucible of the evaporation chamber 3 is consumed to a preset third weight value, the preheated standby evaporation source in the material chamber 4 is sent to the evaporation chamber 3; when the evaporation source in the crucible of the evaporation chamber 3 is consumed to zero, the crucible of the evaporation chamber 3 is conveyed into the material chamber 4 to prepare for adding the next standby evaporation source, and the continuous supply of the evaporation source is kept, so that the evaporation efficiency is improved.

The discharging chamber 5 comprises a second mask supporting platform 501 arranged in the discharging chamber; the second mask supporting platform 501 is arranged at the bottom of the discharging chamber 5, and is used for receiving the mask 8 separated from the alignment conveying device and conveying the mask 8 to the first channel 6 or the cleaning device 19;

as shown in fig. 3 and 5, after the substrate 7 and the mask 8 are sent into the discharge chamber 5, the mask 8 is lowered to the second mask supporting platform 501 by the lifting rod 16 of the alignment conveying device, then the magnetic attraction device 18 is closed, and the lifting rod 16 rises to drive the substrate 7 to move upwards, so that the substrate 7 and the mask 8 are separated. After the substrate 7 is separated from the mask plate 8, the mask plate 8 is located on the second mask plate support platform 501, and the substrate 7 is sent to the next process from the first track 17; according to the use condition of the mask plate 8, the mask plate enters the first channel 6 to be recycled, or enters a cleaning device 19 communicated with the discharging chamber 5 to be cleaned and then is recycled.

A conveying roller for conveying the mask plate 8 is arranged in the first channel 6;

wherein the first channel 6 is provided with a first channel inlet 502 communicated with the discharging chamber 5 and a first channel outlet 202 communicated with the feeding chamber 2; the first channel inlet 502 is positioned higher than the first channel outlet 202;

a mask plate conveying roller and an infrared control system are further arranged in the first channel 6, the conveying roller is made of nonmetal materials such as rubber or resin, or made of a conveying roller made of a metal material wrapped by wear-resistant and corrosion-resistant soft materials such as rubber, so that the abrasion to the mask plate 8 is reduced; when the infrared control system detects that the mask 8 passes through the delivery roller, the first channel outlet 202 is opened and the mask 8 enters the feeding chamber 2.

After the mask plate 8 is separated from the substrate 7, the first channel inlet 502 is opened, the second mask plate supporting table 501 sends the mask plate 8 into the first channel 6 from the first channel inlet 502, and as the position of the first channel inlet 502 is higher than the position of the first channel outlet 202, the mask plate conveying roller connecting the first channel inlet 502 and the first channel outlet 202 has a certain inclination angle, the mask plate 8 can slide to the first mask plate supporting table 201 of the feeding chamber 2 along the conveying roller in the first channel 6 under the action of self gravity, and the turning of the mask plate 8 in the feeding chamber 2 is completed as required, so that the next alignment with the next substrate 7 is facilitated. It can be understood that, in order to ensure that the mask plate 8 can be smoothly conveyed, a plurality of rollers provided with a first driving mechanism can be arranged in the mask plate conveying roller, and the rollers can actively and rotationally drive the mask plate 8 to convey forwards under the action of the first driving mechanism.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, a material chamber 4 is communicated with the evaporation chamber 3, and the material chamber 4 includes a hopper 401 and a crucible preheating support table 402; the hopper 401 is used for containing an evaporation source and adding the evaporation source to the main crucible or the secondary crucible; the crucible preheating support 402 is provided with a second weighing system for detecting the weight of the evaporation source and a second heating system for heating the main crucible or the secondary crucible, and the material chamber 4 is used for conveying the preheated evaporation source to the evaporation chamber 3;

as shown in fig. 2, the material chamber 4 is further provided with a material chamber feed opening 403, a third inlet and outlet 404, and a manipulator; the third inlet/outlet 404 is used for conveying the main crucible or the sub-crucible between the material chamber 4 and the evaporation chamber 3 by a manipulator; the second weighing system can detect and feed back the addition amount of the standby evaporation source material in real time; the second heating system comprises a second heating device, a second temperature detection device and a second automatic control module, wherein the second automatic control module can adjust the heating power of the second heating device according to the detection results of the first weighing system and the second temperature detection device, and heat the crucible to a preset temperature; in addition, the second heating system also comprises a temperature alarm system, when the temperature of the evaporation source exceeds the preset alarm temperature due to failure, the second heating system gives an alarm and stops heating of the second heating device, wherein the alarm temperature is lower than the evaporation temperature of the evaporation source but higher than the preheating temperature of the evaporation source.

The material chamber 4 is also connected with a vacuum system; the hopper 401 is used for containing an evaporation source and adding the evaporation source to the crucible; after the evaporation source in the hopper 401 is consumed to a certain amount, in order to ensure that the evaporation source can be continuously added into the crucible, the evaporation source can be supplemented into the hopper 401, specifically, the third inlet and outlet 404 is closed, the vacuum degree in the material chamber 4 is reduced to a specified value by a vacuum system, then the material chamber feed opening 403 is opened, the evaporation source is supplemented into the hopper 401, after the supplementation is finished, the material chamber feed opening 403 is closed, then the material chamber 4 is vacuumized, the vacuum degree balance with the evaporation chamber 3 is achieved, therefore, the continuous supply of the evaporation source to the evaporation chamber 3 can be realized, the vacuum environment of the evaporation chamber 3 is not damaged, the continuous evaporation operation can be ensured, and the efficiency is improved.

Because can provide the coating by vaporization source in succession, so this application can needn't once only add the continuity of a large amount of coating by vaporization sources assurance coating by vaporization operation, but through the size of design crucible and confirm coating by vaporization source single addition, make it be unlikely to produce rotten decomposition in preheating and heating evaporation stage to reach better coating by vaporization effect and reduce the coating by vaporization source extravagant.

As shown in fig. 10 and 11, a substrate 7 is detachably mounted on an alignment conveying device, and the alignment conveying device is used for performing alignment connection or separation between the substrate 7 and the mask plate 8;

as shown in fig. 5, the first rail 17 is connected to the top of each chamber, and can move the substrate 7 among the inlet chamber 2, the evaporation chamber 3, the outlet chamber 5, and the transition chamber 1; the alignment conveying device comprises a lifting rod 16 capable of moving along the first track 17, and one end, relatively far away from the first track 17, of the lifting rod 16 is provided with a first positioning rod 11 and a second positioning rod 12 which are respectively connected with the lifting rod 16; positioning parts for bearing the substrate 7 are respectively arranged at one ends, relatively far away from the lifting rod 16, of the first positioning rod 11 and the second positioning rod 12, as shown in fig. 5 and 6, so that the up-and-down lifting synchronism and accuracy of the first positioning rod 11 and the second positioning rod 12 can be ensured, and the alignment accuracy of the substrate 7 and the mask plate 8 is ensured; a first aligning hole 701 through which the positioning part passes is formed in the substrate 7; be equipped with on the mask plate 8 with location portion complex second counterpoint hole 801, as shown in fig. 9, this application base plate 7 and mask plate 8 are regular shape, are equipped with 2 first counterpoint holes 701 along the vertical direction in base plate 7 both sides, and mask plate 8 is equipped with 2 second counterpoint holes 801 that correspond with first counterpoint hole 701, and second counterpoint hole 801 processing has the chamfer, and the first locating lever 11 of being convenient for and second locating lever 12 insert second counterpoint hole 801. The first positioning rod 11 and the second positioning rod 12 are cylindrical, and as shown in fig. 6 and 10, the outside dimensions of the positioning portions at the bottom of the first positioning rod 11 and the second positioning rod 12 are smaller than or equal to the dimension of the second alignment hole 801 of the mask plate 8, so as to meet the requirement of alignment precision between the substrate 7 and the mask plate 8.

A magnetic attraction device 18 is arranged above the substrate 7, and after the positioning portion is matched with the second alignment hole 801, the magnetic attraction device 18 is started to enable the substrate 7 and the mask plate 8 to be tightly attached and connected, as shown in fig. 10 and 11; magnetism inhales and can produce magnetic force after device 18 circular telegram because the mask plate 8 is the metal material, accomplishes the back of counterpointing when base plate 7 and mask plate 8, starts magnetism and inhales device 18 and can tightly adsorb the laminating to base plate 7 with mask plate 8 and treat the coating by vaporization face, ensures not take place the displacement or drop at transportation process and coating by vaporization process, guarantees coating by vaporization layer quality.

As shown in fig. 3, the feeding chamber 2 and the evaporation chamber 3 are communicated by a first inlet 301; the evaporation chamber 3 and the discharge chamber 5 are communicated through a second inlet 503; as shown in fig. 2, the evaporation chamber 3 and the material chamber 4 are communicated by a third inlet 404; the first inlet/outlet 301 and the second inlet/outlet 503 are used for the inlet/outlet of the substrate 7; the third inlet 404 is used for the inlet and outlet of the main crucible or the secondary crucible.

It will be appreciated that each chamber is connected to a vacuum system and can be individually evacuated to create a desired vacuum environment.

Further, as shown in fig. 1 and 3, the continuous evaporation system further includes a transition chamber 1 communicated with the discharge chamber 5; a substrate storage rack 103 for storing the substrate 7 is arranged in the transition chamber 1; the first rail 17 extends through the transition chamber 1.

Wherein, a substrate storage rack 103 and a substrate conveying platform 101 are arranged in the transition chamber 1; the discharging chamber 5 is provided with a fourth inlet and outlet 104 communicated with the transition chamber 1; during normal continuous evaporation operation, the base plate 7 that the coating by vaporization was accomplished can get into next process through sixth export 105 by first track 17, but when the later process breaks down and needs short duration restoration or the production line efficiency mismatch between the process appears, for avoiding reforming stable coating by vaporization environment influence coating by vaporization operating efficiency after shutting down, can place the base plate 7 that the coating by vaporization was accomplished on base plate storage rack 103 temporarily this moment, thereby can not stop the coating by vaporization operation or reduce the coating by vaporization operating efficiency in the short time, play the effect of production organization buffering, further ensure the continuity and the high efficiency of coating by vaporization operation. It is understood that, as shown in fig. 3, a substrate transfer platform 101 and a substrate pick-and-place mechanism are further disposed in the transition chamber 1, and the substrate 7 is taken off from the substrate storage rack 103 and placed on the substrate transfer platform 101 by the substrate pick-and-place mechanism, and then is transferred to the next process through the fifth outlet 102, where the substrate pick-and-place mechanism may be a robot or other mechanical mechanism capable of picking and placing the substrate 7, and will not be described again.

Further, as shown in fig. 1, the feeding chamber 2 and the discharging chamber 5 are both communicated with a cleaning device 19 for cleaning the mask 8. Wherein, the cleaning device 19 is used for cleaning the mask plate 8 and can provide the mask plate 8 for standby to the feeding chamber 2; the discharging chamber 5 is provided with a mask plate cleaning inlet; the feeding chamber 2 is provided with a mask plate cleaning outlet, and the mask plate cleaning inlet and the mask plate cleaning outlet are respectively communicated with the cleaning device 19; when the mask 8 reaches the specified service time or times, when needing to be cleaned, then the second mask supporting platform 501 sends the mask 8 to be cleaned into the cleaning device 19 through the mask cleaning inlet, and the cleaning device 19 sends the prepared spare mask 8 into the first mask supporting platform 201 of the feeding chamber 2 through the mask cleaning outlet, prepares to align with the next substrate 7, and ensures the continuity of the evaporation operation.

Example 2

The same points as those in embodiment 1 will not be described in detail, except that,

as shown in fig. 7 and 8, an evaporation cover 304 for controlling the diffusion of an evaporation source gas to the mask 8 is further provided in the evaporation chamber 3; the first concentration detector 302, the second concentration detector 303 and the film thickness monitoring device are all located on the inner wall of the evaporation mask 304.

The evaporation cover 304 is provided with a conical section for concentrating the evaporation source gas, a homogenizing section for homogenizing the evaporation source gas and a channel section for guiding the evaporation source gas to deposit in the evaporation area of the substrate 7; the channel section comprises a plurality of evaporation source gas channels corresponding to the pattern areas of the mask plate 8, and according to the layout of the patterns of the mask plate 8 in the area to be evaporated and the specific use conditions such as the processing difficulty of the evaporation cover 304, the coverage range of a single gas channel can be designed, for example, the single gas channel can correspond to the patterns of the mask plate 8 one by one, and the evaporation range of the single gas channel can be designed to cover a plurality of patterns on the mask plate 8; the first concentration detector 302 and the second concentration detector 303 are positioned in the homogenization section of the evaporation cover 304, the homogenization section of the evaporation cover 304 is regular round or rectangular, and the first concentration detector 302 and the second concentration detector 303 are oppositely arranged on the inner wall of the homogenization section of the evaporation cover 304 along the circumferential direction and have the same height.

The evaporation cover 304 can restrict the evaporation source gas diffusing around to diffuse towards the mask plate 8, so that the utilization rate of the evaporation source is improved, a certain heat insulation effect can be achieved, the deformation caused by heating the mask plate 8 due to the high-temperature environment generated by heating the evaporation source is reduced, and the quality of an evaporation layer is further improved.

A baffle plate 305 which can enter and exit the evaporation chamber 304 is further arranged in the evaporation chamber 3, the baffle plate 305 is connected with a second driving mechanism, the second driving mechanism can drive and control the baffle plate 305 to enter or move out of a homogenizing section of the evaporation chamber 304, and the second driving mechanism is connected with the inner wall of the evaporation chamber 3; the evaporation cover 304 is provided with an opening for the inlet and outlet of the baffle 305, and the outer wall of the evaporation cover 304 is provided with a flexible sealing strip for sealing the opening, so as to prevent the evaporation source gas from overflowing, and the baffle 305 can pass through the sealing strip and enter the evaporation cover 304; the baffle 305 is located above the first concentration detector 302 and the second concentration detector 303 after entering the evaporation cover 304, as shown in fig. 7, when the concentration of the evaporation source gas cannot reach the required uniformity quickly, the second driving mechanism drives the baffle 305 to enter the evaporation cover 304 to block the homogenization section, so that the concentration inside the evaporation cover 304 is homogenized quickly, after the homogenization requirement is met, the second driving mechanism retracts the baffle 305, the highly uniform evaporation source gas enters each gas channel, the concentration consistency of the evaporation source gas entering each gas channel is ensured, and the quality consistency of the evaporation layer is improved.

The film thickness monitoring device is positioned on the inner wall of the homogenization section of the evaporation shield 304.

Example 3

The continuous evaporation system of embodiment 1 is used for continuous evaporation operation, and the using method comprises the following steps:

presetting a concentration upper limit value and a concentration lower limit value, wherein the concentration lower limit value and the concentration upper limit value are respectively the concentration upper limit value and the concentration lower limit value of the evaporation source gas in the evaporation chamber (3);

presetting a first threshold value, wherein the first threshold value is used for judging whether the concentration of the evaporation source gas reaches the expected homogenization degree;

presetting an evaporation temperature, wherein the evaporation temperature is the temperature for evaporating an evaporation source to form an evaporation source gas, and the evaporation is faster as the evaporation temperature is higher, so that the specific evaporation temperature can be comprehensively determined according to experiments or long-term experience and expected evaporation operation efficiency, and particularly, the stability of evaporation quality is better;

presetting a first weight value, wherein the first weight value is the weight of an initial evaporation source in the main crucible or the secondary crucible;

presetting a second weight value, wherein the second weight value is the weight of the evaporation source remained in the main crucible in the evaporation chamber 3 when the secondary crucible in the material chamber 4 starts to be heated;

the time consumed by evaporation of the residual evaporation source in the main crucible of the evaporation chamber 3 at least can meet the time required by heating the secondary crucible in the material chamber 4 to the preheating temperature and transferring the evaporation source to the secondary crucible supporting table 10 of the evaporation chamber 3, firstly, the evaporation source can be continuously provided for the evaporation chamber 3, secondly, the heating time of the evaporation source in the secondary crucible of the material chamber 4 is shortened as much as possible, and the hidden danger of decomposition and deterioration caused by long-time heating of the evaporation source is avoided to the greatest extent;

presetting a third weight value, wherein the third weight value is a lower limit value of the weight of the residual evaporation source in the main crucible or the secondary crucible;

shooting the mask plate 8 by using a first camera, and determining the positions of two second alignment holes 801;

the positioning parts of the first positioning rod 11 and the second positioning rod 12 are respectively inserted into the two second alignment holes 801;

starting the magnetic suction device 18 to complete the attaching connection of the substrate 7 and the mask plate 8, and then waiting for being sent into the evaporation chamber 3;

heating the evaporation source in the main crucible of the evaporation chamber 3 to an evaporation temperature to evaporate the evaporation source to form an evaporation source gas;

respectively detecting the concentration of the evaporation source gas by using a first concentration detector 302 and a second concentration detector 303 to obtain a first concentration and a second concentration;

when the concentration lower limit value is less than or equal to the first concentration upper limit value and the concentration lower limit value is less than or equal to the second concentration upper limit value, calculating the difference value between the first concentration and the second concentration to obtain a first error; otherwise, continuing to detect the concentration of the evaporation source gas by using the first concentration detector 302 and the second concentration detector 303 respectively, and comparing the concentration with the upper limit value and the lower limit value of the concentration of the evaporation source gas respectively until the detection result is between the upper limit value and the lower limit value of the concentration of the evaporation source gas;

when the first error is smaller than or equal to the first threshold value, opening the first inlet and outlet 301, feeding the substrate 7 and the mask plate 8, which are aligned in the feed chamber 2, into the evaporation chamber 3 for evaporation, then quickly closing the first inlet and outlet 301, and gradually forming an evaporation layer on the substrate 7 along with the evaporation;

when the thickness of the deposition layer reaches a preset thickness, opening a second access 503, feeding the substrate 7 and the mask plate 8 into the discharge chamber 5, and then quickly closing the second access 503;

lowering the mask plate 8 to the second mask plate support platform 501, closing the magnetic attraction device 18, raising the substrate 7 to separate the positioning portions of the first positioning rod 11 and the second positioning rod 12 from the second alignment hole 801 of the mask plate 8, and completing the separation of the mask plate 8 from the substrate 7, wherein the substrate 7 enters the next process through the transition chamber 1, and the mask plate 8 returns to the feed chamber 2 through the first channel 6 to align with the next substrate 7 to be evaporated for recycling.

Further, the evaporation operation further comprises the following steps:

in the evaporation process of the evaporation chamber 3, the standby mask plate 8 in the cleaning device 19 is conveyed into the feeding chamber 2 to be aligned with the next substrate 7 to be evaporated;

after the substrate 7 in the deposition chamber 3 is transferred into the material chamber 4, the next substrate 7 and the mask plate 8, which have been aligned in the feed chamber 2, are transferred into the deposition chamber 3.

Two mask plate 8 of like this circulation use, keep continuous coating by vaporization operation, and need not wait for the preceding mask plate 8 that is using, show to improve the coating by vaporization operating efficiency.

Further, the evaporation operation further comprises the following steps:

when the weight of the evaporation source left in the main crucible of the evaporation chamber 3 is less than or equal to a second weight value, starting to heat the secondary crucible in the material chamber 4 to a preset preheating temperature;

when the weight of the evaporation source remaining in the main crucible of the evaporation chamber 3 is less than a third weight value, feeding the secondary crucible containing the evaporation source in the material chamber 4 onto the secondary crucible support table 10 of the evaporation chamber 3, heating the evaporation source in the secondary crucible to the evaporation temperature, and evaporating the evaporation source in the secondary crucible, so that the concentration of the evaporation source gas in the evaporation chamber 3 is kept stable within a certain range; in this process, the secondary crucible can be moved toward the center of the evaporation chamber 3 along the second rail 306, so that the evaporation source can be uniformly diffused all around, thereby increasing the homogenization rate of the evaporation source gas in the evaporation chamber 3. During this period, if the concentration fluctuation of the evaporation source gas is large and the difference between the detection results of the first concentration detector 302 and the second concentration detector 303 cannot satisfy the condition of being smaller than the first threshold, the conveyance of the substrate 7 to be evaporated to the evaporation chamber 3 is stopped until the difference between the detection results of the first concentration detector 302 and the second concentration detector 303 is smaller than the first threshold;

when the weight of the residual evaporation source in the main crucible of the evaporation chamber 3 is zero, stopping heating the main crucible, opening the third inlet and outlet 404, moving the main crucible to the crucible preheating support platform 402 of the material chamber 4, and then quickly closing the third inlet and outlet 404;

opening the hopper 401, adding an evaporation source to the main crucible, and closing the hopper 401 when the weight of the evaporation source added into the main crucible reaches a first weight value; thus, the circulation of the main crucible and the secondary crucible can be utilized to continuously provide the evaporation source for the evaporation chamber 3, thereby ensuring the continuity of the evaporation operation; it can be understood that after the main crucible is moved into the material chamber 4, the temperature of the main crucible is still higher, and at this time, the hopper 401 is opened to add the evaporation source into the main crucible after the temperature of the main crucible is reduced to a certain temperature or below, so as to avoid the hidden trouble that the evaporation source is added at a high temperature of the main crucible, so that the evaporation source is heated for a long time and the decomposition failure of the evaporation source is increased.

Further, when the weight of the vapor deposition source in the hopper 401 decreases to the lower limit value of the weight of the hopper 401 as the vapor deposition source in the hopper 401 is consumed, the vacuum degree of the material chamber 4 is decreased and the material chamber feed opening 403 is opened to replenish the vapor deposition source into the hopper 401, and after the replenishment is completed, the material chamber feed opening 403 is closed and vacuumized to maintain a balance with the vacuum degree in the vapor deposition chamber 3, thereby further ensuring the long-term continuity of the vapor deposition operation.

Example 4

The continuous evaporation system as described in embodiment 2 is used for continuous evaporation operation, and the using method is the same as that in embodiment 3 and is not repeated, but the difference is that the method further includes the following steps:

when the first error is larger than the first threshold, driving the baffle 305 to enter the evaporation cover 304;

respectively detecting the concentration of the evaporation source gas by using a first concentration detector 302 and a second concentration detector 303 to obtain a third concentration and a fourth concentration;

when the second error is less than or equal to the first threshold, the baffle 305 is driven to leave the evaporation cover 304, and then the substrate 7 and the mask plate 8 which are connected in alignment in the feeding chamber 2 are fed into the evaporation chamber 3 for evaporation to form an evaporation layer.

Example 5

The continuous vapor deposition system formed by three vapor deposition units according to embodiment 2 can sequentially vapor-deposit a plurality of different materials including organic materials and metal materials onto the substrate 7, and as shown in fig. 12, the continuous vapor deposition system includes a first vapor deposition unit 13, a second vapor deposition unit 14, a third vapor deposition unit 15, and a transition chamber 1, wherein a discharge chamber 5 of the first vapor deposition unit 13 is communicated with a feed chamber 2 of the second unit, a discharge chamber 5 of the second vapor deposition unit 14 is communicated with the feed chamber 2 of the third unit, and a discharge chamber 5 of the third vapor deposition unit 15 is communicated with the transition chamber 1.

The method of using the first vapor deposition unit 13, the second vapor deposition unit 14, the third vapor deposition unit 15, and the transition chamber 1 is as described in embodiment 4, and the conveyance of the substrate 7 between the respective vapor deposition units is based on the fact that the substrate 7 of the next vapor deposition unit can receive the substrate of the previous vapor deposition unit, for example, after the substrate 7 of the feed chamber 2 of the second vapor deposition unit 14 enters the vapor deposition chamber 3 of the second vapor deposition unit 14, the substrate 7 of the discharge chamber 5 of the first vapor deposition unit 13 can enter the feed chamber 2 of the second vapor deposition unit 14.

It can be seen that according to the continuous evaporation system and the using method provided by the application, the evaporation unit can be used independently, a plurality of evaporation units can be used in combination, and the continuity of evaporation operation is further ensured to a certain extent by designing the transition chamber 1. Simultaneously, through design feed chamber and ejection of compact room, realize the counterpoint of base plate 7 and mask plate 8 respectively and be connected and separate, avoided the coating by vaporization source gas to adjacent 3 diffusion of other coating by vaporization rooms of other causes different coating by vaporization sources cross contamination, influence other coating by vaporization layer qualities.

The above-mentioned embodiments of the present invention are only examples for clearly illustrating the present invention, and are not intended to limit the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art to make other variations or modifications on the basis of the above description, and not to exhaust all embodiments, and it is intended to cover all obvious variations or modifications of the present invention which are included in the technical scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. The continuous evaporation system is characterized by comprising an evaporation unit, wherein the evaporation unit comprises a feeding chamber (2), an evaporation chamber (3), a discharging chamber (5) which are sequentially distributed, a first channel (6) for communicating the feeding chamber (2) with the discharging chamber (5), and a first track (17) which sequentially penetrates through the feeding chamber (2), the evaporation chamber (3) and the discharging chamber (5), and an alignment conveying device is arranged on the first track (17),

wherein:

the feeding chamber (2) comprises a first mask supporting table (201) arranged in the feeding chamber; the first mask plate support table (201) is arranged at the bottom of the feeding chamber (2) and is used for bearing a mask plate (8) input from the first channel (6);

the evaporation chamber (3) comprises a main crucible supporting table (9) which is arranged in the evaporation chamber and used for placing a main crucible, a secondary crucible supporting table (10) which is used for placing a secondary crucible, a film thickness monitoring device which is used for monitoring the thickness of an evaporation layer on the substrate (7), and a first concentration detector (302) and a second concentration detector (303) which are arranged in the evaporation chamber (3); wherein the first concentration detector (302) and the second concentration detector (303) are arranged oppositely and have the same height; the position of the film thickness monitoring device is higher than that of the first concentration detector (302); the main crucible supporting table (9) and the secondary crucible supporting table (10) are respectively provided with a first weighing system for measuring the weight of the evaporation source and a first heating system for heating the main crucible or the secondary crucible;

the discharging chamber (5) comprises a second mask supporting table (501) arranged in the discharging chamber; the second mask plate supporting platform (501) is arranged at the bottom of the discharging chamber (5) and used for receiving the mask plate (8) separated from the alignment conveying device and conveying the mask plate (8) to the first channel (6);

the substrate (7) is detachably mounted on the alignment conveying device, and the alignment conveying device is used for performing alignment connection or separation on the substrate (7) and the mask plate (8);

a conveying roller for conveying the mask plate (8) is arranged in the first channel (6);

the material chamber (4) is communicated with the evaporation chamber (3), and the material chamber (4) comprises a hopper (401) and a crucible preheating support table (402); the hopper (401) is used for containing an evaporation source and adding the evaporation source to the main crucible or the secondary crucible; the crucible preheating support table (402) is provided with a second weighing system for detecting the weight of the evaporation source and a second heating system for heating the main crucible or the secondary crucible, and the material chamber (4) is used for conveying the preheated evaporation source to the evaporation chamber (3);

the feed chamber (2) is provided with a feed chamber inlet (203) for inputting the substrate (7); the feeding chamber (2) is communicated with the evaporation chamber (3) through a first inlet and outlet (301); the evaporation chamber (3) is communicated with the discharge chamber (5) through a second inlet and outlet (503); the evaporation chamber (3) is communicated with the material chamber (4) through a third inlet and outlet (404); the first access opening (301) and the second access opening (503) are used for the access of a substrate (7); the third inlet (404) is used for the inlet and the outlet of the main crucible or the secondary crucible.

2. The continuous evaporation system according to claim 1, wherein the alignment conveying device comprises a lifting rod (16) movable along the first rail (17), and a first positioning rod (11) and a second positioning rod (12) connected to the lifting rod (16) are disposed at one end of the lifting rod (16) relatively far away from the first rail (17); one ends, relatively far away from the lifting rod (16), of the first positioning rod (11) and the second positioning rod (12) are respectively provided with a positioning part for bearing the substrate (7); the base plate (7) is provided with a first alignment hole (701) for the positioning part to pass through; the mask plate (8) is provided with a second aligning hole (801) matched with the positioning part; and a magnetic suction device (18) for jointing and connecting the substrate (7) and the mask plate (8) is arranged above the substrate (7).

3. The continuous evaporation system according to claim 1, wherein an evaporation mask (304) for controlling the diffusion of an evaporation source gas to the mask (8) is further disposed in the evaporation chamber (3); the first concentration detector (302), the second concentration detector (303) and the film thickness monitoring device are all positioned on the inner wall of the evaporation cover (304).

4. A continuous evaporation system according to claim 3, wherein the evaporation shield (304) is provided with a channel section for guiding evaporation source gas to be deposited on the substrate (7) in the area to be evaporated; the channel section comprises an evaporation source gas channel corresponding to the pattern area of the mask plate (8).

5. A continuous evaporation system according to claim 4, wherein a baffle (305) capable of entering and exiting the evaporation shield (304) is further disposed in the evaporation chamber (3), and the baffle (305) enters the evaporation shield (304) and then is located above the first concentration detector (302) and the second concentration detector (303).

6. A continuous evaporation system according to claim 5, wherein a second rail (306) is further provided at the bottom of the evaporation chamber (3), and the main crucible support table (9) and the sub-crucible support table (10) are movable along the second rail (306).

7. A continuous evaporation system according to claim 1, wherein the inlet chamber (2) and the outlet chamber (5) are both in communication with a cleaning device (19) for cleaning the mask (8).

8. A continuous evaporation system according to claim 1, further comprising a transition chamber (1) in communication with the outfeed chamber (5); a substrate storage rack (103) for storing the substrate (7) is arranged in the transition chamber (1); the first track (17) runs through the transition chamber (1).

9. A method for using a continuous evaporation system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, comprising the steps of:

heating the evaporation source in the main crucible of the evaporation chamber (3) to an evaporation temperature to evaporate the evaporation source to form an evaporation source gas;

respectively detecting the concentration of the evaporation source gas by using the first concentration detector (302) and the second concentration detector (303) to obtain a first concentration and a second concentration;

when the concentration lower limit value is less than or equal to the first concentration upper limit value and the concentration lower limit value is less than or equal to the second concentration upper limit value, calculating the difference between the first concentration and the second concentration to obtain a first error; the lower concentration limit value and the upper concentration limit value are respectively the upper concentration limit value and the lower concentration limit value of the evaporation source gas in the evaporation chamber (3);

when the first error is smaller than or equal to a first threshold value, the substrate (7) and the mask plate (8) which are connected in an aligned mode in the feeding chamber (2) are conveyed into the evaporation chamber (3) for evaporation to form an evaporation layer;

when the evaporation coating reaches a preset thickness, the substrate (7) and the mask plate (8) are conveyed into the discharging chamber (5);

separating the mask plate (8) from the substrate (7), wherein the mask plate (8) is delivered out of the discharge chamber (5) by the second mask plate support platform (501), and the substrate (7) is delivered out of the discharge chamber (5) by the first rail (17);

when the weight of the evaporation source left in the main crucible of the evaporation chamber (3) is less than or equal to a second weight value, starting to heat the secondary crucible in the material chamber (4) to a preset preheating temperature; the second weight value is the weight of the residual evaporation source in the main crucible of the evaporation chamber (3) when the preset secondary crucible in the material chamber (4) starts to be heated;

when the weight of the evaporation source remaining in the main crucible of the evaporation chamber (3) is less than a third weight value, feeding the secondary crucible containing the evaporation source in the material chamber (4) into a secondary crucible supporting table (10) of the evaporation chamber (3), and heating the evaporation source in the secondary crucible to the evaporation temperature to evaporate the evaporation source in the secondary crucible; the third weight value is the lower limit value of the weight of the residual evaporation source in the main crucible or the secondary crucible;

when the weight of the evaporation source remaining in the main crucible of the evaporation chamber (3) is zero, stopping heating the main crucible, moving the main crucible into a crucible preheating support table (402) of the material chamber (4), opening a hopper (401), adding the evaporation source into the main crucible, and closing the hopper (401) when the weight of the evaporation source added into the main crucible reaches a first weight value; the first weight value is the weight of the initial evaporation source in the main crucible or the secondary crucible.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising the steps of:

when the first error is larger than the first threshold value, driving the baffle (305) to enter the evaporation cover (304);

detecting the concentration of the evaporation source gas by using the first concentration detector (302) and the second concentration detector (303) respectively to obtain a third concentration and a fourth concentration;

and when the second error is smaller than or equal to the first threshold value, driving the baffle (305) to leave the evaporation cover (304), and then conveying the substrate (7) and the mask plate (8) which are connected in the feeding chamber (2) in an alignment manner into the evaporation chamber (3) for evaporation to form an evaporation layer.