JP2002305080A - Integrated mask, and manufacturing method of organic el element using integrated mask, and its manufacturing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a concrete composition of a mask for vacuum evaporation, in which a large number of small vacuum evaporation masks are arranged so that a large number of organic EL elements may be formed in one substrate with sufficient accuracy by vacuum evaporation, and a manufacturing method of the organic EL element and manufacturing equipment using it. SOLUTION: Two or more vacuum evaporation masks having an opening arrangement group for vacuum evaporation corresponding to a vacuum evaporation pattern are arranged in a base board, which has two or more openings, so that the above opening arrangement group for vacuum evaporation of each the vacuum evaporation masks may be located at an upper side of the above opening parts. Moreover, the above vacuum evaporation mask is fixed to the above base board by arbitrarily and freely fixing/separating stopping means, and the above base board has a standard alignment mark, which is used for positioning the above vacuum evaporation mask to the above base board, on the above base board.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an organic EL capable of converting electric energy into light, which can be used in fields such as display elements, flat panel displays, backlights, lighting, interiors, signs, signboards, and electrophotographic machines.
The present invention relates to an evaporation mask for manufacturing an element, and a method and an apparatus for manufacturing an organic EL element using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An organic EL device is based on the principle that electrons injected from a cathode and holes injected from an anode are recombined in an organic phosphor sandwiched between both electrodes to emit light.
Since it has a simple structure and can emit high-brightness multicolor light at a low voltage, it has begun to be widely used for thin and small displays.

In order to produce a full-color display panel using this organic EL element, first, red (R), green (G), and blue (B) light-emitting layers serving as constituent elements are formed on a substrate. Second
It is necessary to arrange thin film layers such as electrode layers regularly with a predetermined pattern and pitch.

[0004] Of the above thin film layers, in order to form an organic thin film layer serving as a light emitting layer into a fine pattern with high precision, a mask having an opening arrangement corresponding to a predetermined pattern of the light emitting layer is required from the characteristics of the organic thin film. In this case, a mask vapor deposition method of vapor deposition under vacuum is usually used.

[0005]

In order to improve the productivity of the above-mentioned organic EL device production, it is necessary that the mask deposition used for forming the light emitting layer is a batch process for each substrate.
Since many current organic EL elements are used for small applications, so-called multi-paneling, in which a large number of organic EL elements are formed on one large substrate, is effective. In order to form a plurality of substrates, it is necessary to prepare a deposition mask having a large number of aperture arrangement portions corresponding to the size of one organic EL element. However, since such a deposition mask becomes large and is greatly deformed at the time of manufacture and use, it is not possible to maintain the dimensional accuracy of the opening arrangement with high accuracy. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-113978 discloses an opening mask corresponding to one organic EL element. Means for maintaining the dimensional accuracy with high accuracy by introducing a combined evaporation mask in which a large number of one evaporation masks having an array are arranged is shown. However, the specific configuration of the evaporation mask is not shown. It has not been.

Further, since the light emitting layer has three colors of RGB, it is important to position the light emitting layers. The positioning of one evaporation mask and the substrate is described in JP-A-11-158605. Although disclosed in a gazette or the like, there is no disclosure of a means for positioning the mask for vapor deposition and the substrate when using a combined vapor deposition mask capable of performing the above-described multi-face trimming with high accuracy.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a combined vapor deposition mask in which a plurality of vapor deposition masks each having an aperture arrangement corresponding to one organic EL element are arranged. A specific configuration for putting the mask for practical use into practical use, positioning the assembling type deposition mask and the substrate, depositing the mask, and forming a large number of organic EL elements on one substrate for production An object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for manufacturing an organic EL element, which can dramatically improve the performance.

[0008]

The above objects are achieved by the present invention. That is, the present invention provides a plurality of vapor deposition masks having a vapor deposition opening array group corresponding to the vapor deposition pattern,
On a base plate having a plurality of openings, the vapor deposition opening array group of each vapor deposition mask is arranged so as to be located above the openings, and the vapor deposition mask is arbitrarily fixed / opened to the base plate. An integrated mask fixed by free engagement means and having a reference alignment mark on the base plate for positioning the vapor deposition mask on the base plate. An organic EL element manufacturing method and an apparatus for manufacturing the same.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The integrated mask of the present invention comprises a plurality of vapor deposition masks each having a group of vapor deposition openings corresponding to a vapor deposition pattern, and a base plate having a plurality of apertures provided on the base plate. The array group is arranged so as to be located above the opening, and the vapor deposition mask is fixed to the base plate by an engaging means freely and freely openable and the vapor deposition mask A reference alignment mark for positioning the mark on the base plate.
Here, that the vapor deposition opening array group is arranged above the opening means that the aperture is formed in a wider range than the vapor deposition opening array group to be formed, that is, the vapor deposition pattern. are doing. In addition, the optional fixation
The freely openable engagement means is not particularly limited, but is preferably openable when an external force is applied. The components of the integrated mask have a thermal expansion coefficient of 1 × 10
Preferably includes those ^-5, further wherein the plurality of deposition masks, preferably includes a portion where the maximum gap between adjacent throat press are arranged in a 10mm or less.

The method for manufacturing an organic EL device according to the present invention is characterized in that the integrated mask of the present invention and a substrate on which vapor deposition is performed are positioned in a vapor deposition chamber with reference to a reference alignment mark of the integrated mask. This is a method for manufacturing an organic EL device including a step of patterning a thin film layer by vapor deposition. Further, after the positioning is completed, the integrated mask and the substrate that have been positioned may be placed in an evaporation chamber, and the thin film layer may be patterned by mask evaporation. In which part of the process the positioning is performed may be properly used depending on the arrangement and configuration of the apparatus and the like. In the present invention, it is important to provide a positioning process. Further, the thin film layer deposited by the integrated mask of the present invention is preferably an R, G, B light emitting layer.

According to the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for manufacturing an organic EL device, comprising: an integrated mask of the present invention; a positioning apparatus for positioning a substrate on which vapor deposition is performed with reference to a reference alignment mark of the integrated mask; The organic EL device is manufactured by providing a vapor deposition device for patterning a layer. Here, the evaporation apparatus has an evaporation source in the evaporation chamber, and can perform patterned evaporation on a substrate according to a mask pattern. Further, the positioning device for aligning the position of the integrated mask with the position of the substrate may be located at any position outside the deposition chamber or outside the deposition chamber. If the positioning device exists outside the deposition chamber,
An apparatus for introducing the positioned integrated mask and substrate into the evaporation chamber may be provided.

According to the integrated mask of the present invention, a large number of vapor deposition masks having a predetermined vapor deposition opening arrangement are arranged on a base plate based on both reference marks, and held by means that can be freely fixed and opened. With such a configuration, it is possible to arrange a large number of deposition masks at predetermined positions with high accuracy. Further, since the constituent members include those having a thermal expansion coefficient of 1 × 10 ⁻⁵ or less, a change in pattern accuracy due to radiant heat from the evaporation source can be minimized. In addition, the maximum gap between adjacent deposition masks is 10 mm.
From the following, the ineffective space of vapor deposition is small, the size of the glass substrate for obtaining the same number of organic EL elements can be minimized,
Cost reduction is achieved.

According to the method and the apparatus for manufacturing an organic EL device of the present invention, since the positioning with respect to the substrate and the deposition of the thin film layer such as the light emitting layer are performed using the integrated mask, the thin film layer is deposited. Regardless of the size of the substrate, it becomes possible to deposit a thin film layer in a predetermined pattern with high dimensional accuracy, and to form a large number of organic EL elements on one substrate.
The so-called multiple patterning can be performed with high pattern accuracy, and a high quality organic EL element can be obtained with high productivity.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall schematic perspective view of an integrated mask 1 according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the integrated mask of FIG. 1 for each element, and FIG. 3 is an example of a vapor deposition apparatus using the integrated mask. FIG. 4 is a front sectional view showing another embodiment of the vapor deposition apparatus using the integrated mask.

Referring to FIG. 1, the integrated mask 1 is configured by fixing four vapor deposition masks 20 to the base plate 2 with the engagement units 40.

The vapor deposition mask 20 is constructed by fixing a mask plate 22 having an opening 30 in which vapor deposition openings 32 are arranged in accordance with a vapor deposition pattern to a frame 24. The inside of the broken line of the frame 24 is an opening, and there is no shield immediately below the opening 30 of the evaporation mask 20. The base plate 2 on which the deposition mask 20 is disposed
The opening 10 is larger than the area occupied by the opening 30 as shown in FIG.
Is always provided. In addition, the shape of the vapor deposition opening 32 is formed in accordance with a vapor deposition pattern, such as arranging a large number of rectangular or circular holes. Here, the opening 10 is preferably 5 to 500% in area, more preferably 2%, in area than the opening 30.
Increase by 0 to 100%.

The positions of the vapor deposition masks 20 are defined by predetermined vapor deposition openings 32 of the vapor deposition mask 20 with reference to the alignment marks 6 provided on the upper surface 8 of the projection 4 of the base plate 2. Like that. Here, the position of the vapor deposition opening 32 may be directly detected and the relative position with the alignment mark 6 on the base plate 2 may be adjusted. However, the alignment mark 26 is provided on the mask plate 22 of each vapor deposition mask 20. It is preferable that the alignment be performed with reference to the alignment mark 6 of the base plate 2. The upper surface 8 of the projection 4 on which the alignment mark 6 is provided and the mask plate 2 of the evaporation mask 20
It is preferable that the heights of the bases 2 from the base 2 be equal to each other so as to have the same focal length so that position detection by the camera can be easily performed.

The engagement unit 40 is, as shown in FIG.
It is composed of a holding rod 42, a compression spring 44, and a clasp 46. The holding rod 42 is passed through the hole 28 of the evaporation mask 20 and the mounting hole 18 of the base plate 2, and the compression spring 44 is mounted on the back surface of the base plate 2. Then, attach the clasp 46,
Hold down the holding rod 42. Thus, the vapor deposition mask 20 is pressed against the base plate 2 with a constant force by the force of the compression spring 44, and is held so as not to move by the frictional force. When the clasp 46 is pressed from below, the compression spring 4 is pressed.
4 is shrunk, and a clearance is generated between the head above the pressing rod 42 and the mask 20 for vapor deposition, so that the pressing of the mask 20 for vapor deposition on the base plate 2 is released, and the mask 2 for vapor deposition is removed.
A value of 0 allows free movement on the base plate 2. While the holding force is released in this manner, the deposition mask 2
0 is moved to perform positioning on the base plate 2. When this is completed, the pressing against the clasp 46 is released, and the vapor deposition mask 20 is pressed against the base plate 2 by the spring force of the engagement unit 40 and held.

Next, a deposition system 100 for actually depositing a light emitting layer and the like using the integrated mask 1 will be described. Referring to FIG. 3, there is a vapor deposition apparatus 102 using an integrated mask 1. The integrated mask 1 is a vacuum chamber 13 covered with an outer wall 108.
2 is supported by the mask holder 112 in the
The base plate 2 of the integrated mask 1 is held by the fixture 118 so as not to be moved by the mask holder 112. The vacuum chamber 132 is connected to a vacuum suction device (not shown),
The degree of vacuum required for vapor deposition is adjusted. The lower surface of the substrate A, which is a glass plate, is held by a substrate holder 122 in a vacuum chamber 132. Further, the substrate holder 122 is connected to a motor 128 outside the vacuum chamber via a bracket 120 and an elevating shaft 126. The elevating shaft 126 has a guide and a drive unit that can move vertically in the inside, and can move the substrate holder 122 up and down freely. Further, by driving the motor 128, the components after the elevating shaft 126 become rotatable. Therefore, the substrate A can be freely moved up and down in the vacuum chamber 132 or rotated in a horizontal plane by the operation of the elevating shaft 126 and the motor 128.

The mask holder 112 is connected to an XY guide 116. The XY guide 116 is fixed on the upper part of the outer wall 108. The XY guide 116 can be freely moved in the X and Y directions in a horizontal plane by a driving source (not shown). As a result, the integrated mask 1 on the mask holder 112 can be freely moved in the horizontal plane. Can be. The alignment mark between the integrated mask 1 and the substrate A, or the opening of the evaporation mask is passed through the looking glass 104 on the outer wall, and the camera 1
The position of the integrated mask 1 and the substrate A is determined by horizontal movement by the XY guide 116 and rotation by the motor 128 according to the detection position. When detecting the position of the alignment mark on the substrate A, the lifting shaft 126 is lowered and the substrate A is placed on the integrated mask 1. When the positioning of the substrate A on the integrated mask 1 is completed, the pressing member 124 that can be moved up and down with respect to the bracket 120 by a driving source (not shown) is brought into contact with the substrate A, and the substrate A and the integrated mask 1 are contacted. Increase the degree of adhesion. It is also possible to increase the degree of adhesion between the substrate A and the integrated mask 1 by using at least a part of the holding member 124 as a magnet to attract the deposition mask 20 made of a metal or a magnetic material by magnetic force.

In the vacuum chamber 132, an evaporation source 134 is provided directly below the integrated mask 1. When the material to be deposited is put into the substrate, the temperature is adjusted to an appropriate temperature, and the material is evaporated, only the material that passes through the opening 30 of each deposition mask 20 of the integrated mask 1 is deposited on the substrate A. Thus, a vapor deposition film layer having a predetermined pattern can be formed on the substrate A. further,
In order to arbitrarily carry out / stop the vapor deposition on the substrate, an openable / closable vapor deposition shutter 114 is provided above the vapor source 134. The transfer of the substrate A into and out of the vacuum chamber 132 is performed by opening and closing the shutter 136 and using the transfer device 200 through a transfer opening 138 provided on the outer wall 108.

The transfer device 200 includes a base plate 204 that can freely move up and down with respect to the base 202 and a slide plate 21 that can freely reciprocate on the base plate 204 by a guide 206.
The substrate A is placed on the pad 208 on the slide plate 210 and can be transported to any position within the movable range.

Next, a vapor deposition method using the vapor deposition system 100 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the integrated mask 1 is set on the mask holder 112 of the vacuum chamber 132 and fixed. Subsequently, the position of the alignment mark 6 of the integrated mask 1 is detected by the camera 130, and the position is recognized and stored by an image processing device (not shown).

Next, the shutter 136 is opened and the transfer device 2 is opened.
00, the substrate A is placed on the substrate holder 122, and when the slide plate 210 of the transfer device 200 comes out of the vacuum chamber 132, the shutter 136 is closed and a vacuum pump (not shown) is driven to keep the inside of the vacuum chamber 132 constant. Vacuum. Then, the substrate A is placed on the integrated mask 1 by lowering the elevating shaft 126 and the camera 130 is passed through the looking glass 104.
Detects the alignment mark position of the substrate A. Next, after raising and lowering the shaft 126 to separate the substrate A and the integrated mask 1 from each other, the X-Y is adjusted so that the alignment mark position of the integrated mask 1 already detected matches the alignment mark position of the substrate A. The guide 116 and the motor 128 are moved and rotated by a predetermined amount.

When the alignment operation is completed, the position of the alignment mark on the integrated mask 1 is detected by the camera 130, and the elevating shaft 126 is lowered again to place the substrate A on the integrated mask 1, and the camera 130 The position of the alignment mark on the substrate A is detected. In this case, the positions of the alignment mark 6 of the integrated mask 1 and the alignment mark of the substrate A can be corrected by calculation, so that it is not necessary to make them the same position. Can be simplified
preferable. If the alignment marks of the integrated mask 1 and the substrate A detected at this time do not match, the elevating shaft 126 is raised to move the substrate A away from the integrated mask 1,
Similarly, the work of aligning the alignment marks is performed. The operation of detecting and aligning the alignment marks 6 on the substrate A and the integrated mask 1 is repeated, and if the alignment marks match, the holding member 124 is lowered to press the substrate A against the integrated mask 1. This pressing force is preferably 1
0 to 100N.

Next, after the evaporation source 134 is heated to evaporate the organic matter, the evaporation shutter 114 is opened to perform evaporation according to the mask pattern on the substrate A. When an organic film having a predetermined thickness is formed, the vapor deposition shutter 114 is closed to complete vapor deposition, and the inside of the vacuum chamber 132 is returned to the atmospheric pressure. After raising the pressing member 124 in parallel with this, the shutter 13
6 is opened, the substrate A on which the mask pattern has been deposited is taken out by the transfer device 200, and sent to the next step.

It should be noted that since it takes time to make the inside of the vacuum chamber 132 a constant degree of vacuum, in order to improve efficiency by eliminating wasteful repetition of air → vacuum → atmosphere → vacuum, the transfer device 200 is also evacuated. All operations may be performed in a vacuum apparatus under vacuum.

Next, another embodiment of a vapor deposition system using the integrated mask 1 will be described with reference to FIG. Looking at FIG.
There is a deposition system 400. The vapor deposition system 400 transfers the positioning device 300 for positioning and mounting the substrate A on the integrated mask 1 and the positioned substrate-mask 420 on which the substrate A is mounted with each alignment mark matching the integrated mask. The apparatus comprises a transfer apparatus 200 to be mounted on, a mounted substrate-mask 420, and a vapor deposition apparatus 402 for vapor deposition of an organic substance.

First, the positioning device 300 uses the integrated mask 1
Holder 302 for holding a mask, and mask holder 302
XY table 304 for freely moving the substrate A in a plane (XY directions), a substrate holder 306 for holding the substrate A, and a rotary motor in which the substrate holder 306 is connected via a bracket 318 and an elevating shaft 312. 314, rotation motor 314
316 which supports the frame 316 and the XY table 304, the integrated mask 1, and the camera 310 which detects the alignment mark of the substrate A
Consisting of In the above description, the elevating shaft 312 has a guide and a drive unit which can move vertically in the inside, and can vertically move the substrate holder 306 freely. Further, the rotation motor 314 enables the substrate holder 306 to freely rotate.

Next, the transfer device 200 is used for the vapor deposition system 10.
0 is exactly the same as that described in FIG. Then, the vapor deposition apparatus 402 includes a mounting table 404 on which the positioned substrate-mask 420 is mounted in the vacuum chamber 416, and a vertically movable holding plate 41 for pressing the substrate A against the integrated mask 1.
2. An organic material evaporation source 406, and a shutter 4 that can be opened and closed to prevent the evaporation material from the evaporation source 406 from reaching the substrate A.
08. Here, the holding plate 412 is connected to the vacuum chamber 41.
6 and connected to an elevating cylinder 414 fixed to an outer wall 418, and the elevating operation of the elevating cylinder 414 imparts a free elevating operation. In addition, vacuum chamber 4
Reference numeral 16 is connected to a vacuum pump (not shown), and the inside of the tank can be set to an arbitrary degree of vacuum. The positioned substrate-mask 420 is introduced into the vacuum chamber 416 through a door 410 that can be opened and closed.

The substrate A using the above evaporation system 400
Is performed as follows. First, the integrated mask 1 is mounted on the mask holder 302 of the positioning device 300, and the position of the alignment mark of the integrated mask 1 is detected by the camera 310. Subsequently, the substrate A is mounted on the substrate holder 306,
The substrate A is placed on the integrated mask 1 by lowering the substrate holder 306. After the position of the alignment mark on the substrate A is detected by the camera 310, the substrate A is temporarily moved to the substrate holder 3.
The X-Y table 304 and the rotation motor 314 are controlled so that the alignment mark of the substrate A and the alignment mark of the integrated mask 1 coincide with each other at 06. Then, both alignment mark positions are confirmed again, and positioning and alignment mark position confirmation are repeated until they match. When it is finally confirmed that the alignment mark positions match, the positioned substrate-mask 420 having the substrate A mounted on the integrated mask 1 is replaced from the substrate holder 306 onto the pad 208 of the transfer device 200. The door 410 of the vapor deposition device 402 is opened, and the mounting table 40 is opened.
Put on 4. Then, the holding plate 412 is lowered, and the substrate A
Is pressed against the integrated mask 1 with a predetermined force. The pressing force is preferably from 10 to 300 N. During this time, if the slide plate 210 of the transfer device 200 comes out of the vacuum chamber 416, the door 410 is closed, and a vacuum pump (not shown) is driven to set the inside of the vacuum chamber 416 to a predetermined degree of vacuum. Subsequently, the evaporation source 406 is heated to evaporate the organic substance, and the shutter 408 is opened to deposit the organic substance on the substrate A on the integrated mask 1 according to the mask pattern.

When the vapor deposition is completed, the shutter 408 is closed, the inside of the vacuum chamber 416 is returned to the atmospheric pressure, the door 410 is opened, and the deposited substrate-mask 420 on which the vapor deposition has been performed is taken out by the transfer device 200, and the next process is performed. Convey to the process.

In the above, the positioning device 300 and the transfer device 200 may be placed in a vacuum chamber. As a result, the substrate A and the integrated mask 1 are always positioned and transported under vacuum, so that the time required to change from atmospheric pressure to vacuum and from vacuum to atmospheric pressure can be omitted, and productivity can be greatly improved.

Another preferred embodiment of the integrated mask will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is an overall schematic perspective view of an integrated mask 500 as another embodiment of the integrated mask, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the integrated mask 500 of FIG.

Referring to FIG. 5, the integrated mask 500 includes four deposition masks 520 on the base plate 502 and the engaging means 54.
It is configured to be fixed at 0.

Here, the deposition mask 520 is the integrated mask 1
Similarly to the vapor deposition mask 20, a mask plate 522 having an opening 530 in which a vapor deposition opening 532 is arranged in accordance with a vapor deposition pattern and a cross-shaped alignment mark 526 serving as a reference for alignment is fixed to a frame 524. ing. In addition, the vapor deposition mask 520 has an engaging means 540.
An ear 528 to be held down by the step is additionally provided at the end of the vapor deposition mask 20. Further, the deposition mask 520 is provided on the upper surface 508 of the projection 504 provided at the center of the base plate 502.
Are arranged on the left and right of the protrusion 504 with reference to the alignment mark 506 located at the bottom. Alignment mark 5
The reference numeral 06 is a cross shape in FIG. 5, but may be any shape other than a round shape as long as it can be a reference.

The engaging means 540 includes an L-shaped holding plate 542, a holding table 546 for holding the holding plate 542 so as to be rotatable around an axis 548, and one end B55 of the holding plate 542.
It is composed of a compression spring 544 that pushes up 0. By fixing the holding table 546 to the base plate 502, the engaging means 540 is connected to the opening 510 of the base plate 502.
It can be arranged at any position in the periphery. Further, a guide shaft 554 is provided inside the compression spring 544. The guide shaft 554 has an outer diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the compression spring 544 and a shaft length shorter than the free length of the compression spring 544 so that the position of the compression spring 544 does not shift. The base plate 502 is brought into contact so that a spring force is applied to the holding plate 542. The guide shaft 554 may be fixed to the holding plate 542 or may be fixed to the base plate 502.

Now, the engagement means 540 pushes up one end B550 of the holding plate 542 rotatably operating around the axis 548 of the holding table 546 by the compression spring 544. At one end A552, a downward pressing force acts.
Therefore, by disposing the ears 528 of the vapor deposition mask 520 under one end A552 of the pressing plate 542, the pressing plate 542 presses the ears 528 against the base plate 502 with a constant force, and the vapor deposition mask 520 is generated by a frictional force. On the base plate 502 so as not to move. Also,
When an external force is applied by pressing the side with one end B550 against the shaft 548 of the holding plate 542 from above or pulling up the side with one end A552 on the shaft 548 upward, the compression spring 544 contracts and the holding plate Since a gap is generated between one end A552 of 542 and the ear 528 of the vapor deposition mask 520, the pressing of the vapor deposition mask 520 against the base plate 502 is released, and the vapor deposition mask 520 can freely move on the base plate 502. Become like While the holding force is released in this way, the vapor deposition mask 520 is moved to perform positioning on the base plate 502. When this is completed, the application of the external force to the holding plate 542 is released, and the pressing force generated by the compression spring 544 again causes the vapor deposition mask 5 to reappear.
20 is pressed against the base plate 502 to be held and fixed.
As described above, if the engaging means 540 is used, the deposition mask 5
20 can be freely fixed and released. Further, a pressing plate 5 for pressing the ear 528 of the vapor deposition mask 520.
One end A552 of the pressing plate 42 is an L-shaped pressing plate 54.
2 is provided on the short side. Here, the length of the ear 528 in the direction perpendicular to the side surface of the frame 524 is the pressing plate 5.
Since the length of the short side is shorter than the short side length of the L-shaped
When the position 8 is shifted to a position other than just below one end A (the portion covered by the L-shaped short side of the pressing plate 542), there is no interference above, so that the vapor deposition mask 520 can be lifted upward, and the vapor deposition mask 520 can be lifted. To the base plate 502
Can be easily removed.

In the integrated mask, the main direction of the force acting when the engaging means fixes the vapor deposition mask to the base plate is ± 30 °, more preferably ± 5 ° from a vertical line to the base plate.
° The structure of each means to be configured is determined so as to be within the range described below. To this end, in particular, the holding plate 542 of the engagement means 540
The portion of one end A552 that contacts the ear 528 with the deposition mask 520 preferably has an R-shaped surface, and more preferably, R = 10 to 100 mm. If the main direction of the above-mentioned force is out of the above-mentioned range, the deposition mask may be shifted from the position positioned on the base plate.

As the material of the integrated mask, any material may be used. However, the temperature around the mask rises due to the radiant heat from the evaporation source at the time of manufacturing the organic EL device, and the dimensions of the integrated mask change. In consideration of the change in the pattern accuracy of the thin film layer to be patterned, the base plate, the evaporation mask, that is, the mask plate and the frame, which are members constituting the integrated mask, preferably have a thermal expansion coefficient of 1 ×.
It is preferable to use a material of 10 ^-5 or less, more preferably 0.7 × 10 ^-5 or less, and even more preferably 0.4 × 10 ^-5 or less. Materials satisfying this condition include invar alloy, molybdenum, titanium, kovar alloy, glass, ceramic, and the like, and in terms of availability and strength, invar alloy and kovar alloy are more preferable. The above-mentioned effect by using the low thermal expansion coefficient material is particularly manifested when the temperature of the component increases after a long time from the start of production.

Although the projections of the base plate are usually formed integrally with the base plate from the same material, especially when the base plate and the projections are independently manufactured and combined, the above-mentioned range of the thermal expansion coefficient is required. It is preferable to use a certain material for the base plate and the projection.

The coefficient of thermal expansion is calculated by measuring the length L0 of the member having the length L0 in the longitudinal direction when the temperature is increased by T ° C.
Is measured and calculated by (L-L0) / L0 / T. The unit is 1
/ ° C., multiplying the coefficient of thermal expansion by the change temperature and the length of the member gives the amount of expansion and contraction of the member when the temperature change occurs.

Next, the thickness of the mask plate of each vapor deposition mask constituting the integrated mask is set to three times or less, more preferably twice or less, the width of the mask portion between the openings extending in a stripe shape. The thickness is 500 μm or less, more preferably 100 μm or less, and even more preferably 5 μm or less.
0 μm or less. Also, it is preferable to use a mask plate provided with a reinforcing line in a direction crossing the opening.
Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the opening pitch of the mask plate from being small and the rigidity of the mask plate alone from being insufficient, thereby preventing the opening from being deformed due to bending.

The opening of the mask plate may be manufactured by any method such as an electroforming method, an etching method, a mechanical polishing method, a sand blast method, a sintering method, and a laser processing method, but a fine opening can be easily manufactured. Therefore, it is preferable to use the electroforming method. When tension is applied to the mask plate manufactured by these methods, a vapor deposition mask fixed to the frame while maintaining high flatness can be obtained. The fixing means is not particularly limited, but it is convenient and preferable to use an adhesive. Only when the mask plate is fixed to the frame with an appropriate tension, expansion and contraction due to a temperature change of the mask plate itself can be absorbed.
It is allowed to exceed ^-5 . However, since the frame and the base plate do not have such a mechanism for absorbing thermal contraction in any case, the thermal expansion coefficient is 1 × 10 as described above.
It is preferably at most ^-5 .

As the material of the mask plate, metal materials such as stainless steel, copper alloy, iron nickel alloy and aluminum alloy, and various resin materials are usually used, and magnetic materials such as Ni alloy are preferably used. . This is because the adhesion between the mask plate and the substrate can be improved by magnetic force, and a more accurate pattern can be formed by vapor deposition. Further, as described above, the coefficient of thermal expansion is 1
It is more preferable to use a material that also satisfies the condition of × 10 ⁻⁵ or less.

Next, the arrangement of the vapor deposition masks in the integrated mask is such that the maximum gap between adjacent vapor deposition masks is 10 mm.
mm or less, more preferably 5 mm or less. Here, the maximum gap is defined as follows. First, the target gap is a gap created between two adjacent vapor deposition masks on the base plate surface. Then, two parallel lines are arranged so as to include all the gaps. The interval between the two parallel lines is the smallest that can include all the gaps between two adjacent deposition masks, and the interval between the two parallel lines at that time is the maximum gap. The smaller the maximum gap between the evaporation masks, the smaller the ineffective space for evaporation, and the smaller the size of one substrate required to obtain the same number of organic EL elements. As a result, not only the cost of the substrate, but also the equipment cost due to the reduction in the size of the vapor deposition apparatus,
It becomes possible to reduce. In terms of quality, unevenness in the thickness of the thin film layer can be reduced. Note that it is preferable that the value of the maximum gap be 10 mm lower in all places where a gap is formed between the adjacent deposition masks. However, in the integrated mask 500 shown in FIG. 504
Therefore, it is difficult to make the maximum gap 10 mm or less. In such a case, only the maximum gap between the vertically adjacent deposition masks may be 10 mm or less.

Further, in order to reduce the ineffective evaporation space due to the evaporation shadow generated when the evaporation material has a certain incident angle, it is preferable that the cross section of the opening of the frame of the evaporation mask or the mask plate is tapered. .

[0049]

EXAMPLE 1 A plate for a vapor deposition mask for a light emitting layer having an outer shape of 84 was used.
mm width x 105 mm length, thickness 25 m, coefficient of thermal expansion 1 x
A 10 ^-5 Ni alloy was prepared. 100 μm wide and 6 long
272 rectangular openings of 4 mm were provided in the longitudinal direction of the plate at a pitch of 300 μm such that the longitudinal direction of the openings (64 mm direction) coincided with the width direction of the plate (84 mm direction). The rectangular opening should be centered on the plate in both the longitudinal and width directions of the plate, and a cross-shaped alignment mark with a pitch of 30 mm symmetrical in the width direction on a straight line 5 mm from the upper end in the longitudinal direction. By providing two, a deposition mask plate was prepared. Similarly, 16 same evaporation mask plates were prepared.

This vapor deposition mask plate was used for its entire size of 104 mm width × 105 mm length and thermal expansion coefficient of 1.3 × 10
^-5 stainless steel frame 24 (see FIG. 1) at the center in the longitudinal direction (outer diameter 84 mm width × 105 mm length)
Then, a deposition mask was prepared. Similarly, 16 identical vapor deposition masks were prepared. The mask plate mounting portion of the evaporation mask frame 24 has a thickness of 10 m.
m, an opening having a width of 76 mm x a length of 97 mm was formed on the inside, leaving 4 mm from the outer shape as a bonding margin. In addition, 10 mm at both ends in the width direction of the frame 24 was 5 mm thick, and holes of 5 mm in diameter for fixing were provided at two places on each side, that is, four places in total.

Next, 441 mm width × 455 mm length, thickness 5
mm, an aluminum plate with a thermal expansion coefficient of 2 × 10 ^-5
An opening of width x 95 mm length is 19 mm from the left end in the width direction.
4 rows at a pitch of 109 mm from the position, and 4 rows at a pitch of 110 mm from a position 20 mm from the upper end in the longitudinal direction.
The base plate 2 of FIG. 1 was provided with a total of 16 rows. Then, 16 of the above-described vapor deposition masks were arranged such that the opening of each vapor deposition mask was located at the center of the opening of the base plate 2. At this time, the maximum gap between the adjacent deposition masks is 5 mm in the width direction and 9 mm in the longitudinal direction on the base plate 2.
Met. Further, each deposition mask was fixed on the base plate with four engagement units for one deposition mask, and an integrated mask 1 was produced. The upper end 10 mm in the longitudinal direction of the base plate has a thickness of 15 mm, and holes having a diameter of 1 mm and a depth of 5 mm are formed as alignment marks on the upper surface at a pitch of 30 mm at the center in the width direction and 5 m from the upper end.
Two were provided so that the center would come to the position of m. The surface with the alignment mark is the evaporation mask 1 attached to the base plate.
It became the same height as the upper surface of. The engaging unit is made of stainless steel, the head of the holding rod 42 has a diameter of 8 mm, and the portion penetrating the hole of the base plate has a diameter of 4 mm.
For No. 4, one having a spring constant of 10 N / mm was used, and one evaporation mask was pressed against the base plate with a force of 100 N. At this time, the position of the vapor deposition mask was also adjusted so that the alignment mark of each vapor deposition mask was at a predetermined position with reference to the alignment mark of the base plate.

Next, using the integrated mask 1 for the green light emitting layer, the mask holder 1 of the green light emitting layer vapor deposition apparatus 102 is used.
12 was attached. Next, all the positions of the openings of 100 μm width × 64 mm length on the evaporation mask plate of the green light emitting layer integrated mask are shifted by 100 μm (one pitch) in the plate longitudinal direction, and the green light emitting layer integrated mask is used. The integrated mask for the red light emitting layer is prepared in exactly the same manner, and all the positions of the 100 μm wide × 64 mm long openings on the evaporation mask plate of the green light emitting layer integrated mask are set to 200 μm (for two pitches) in the plate longitudinal direction. A blue light emitting layer integrated mask was prepared in exactly the same manner as the green light emitting layer integrated mask except that only the green light emitting layer integrated mask was shifted. As a result, preparation for vapor deposition of all the light emitting layers was completed.

Next, the outer diameter is 457 mm with a thickness of 1.1 mm.
A 130 nm wide ITO transparent electrode film was entirely formed on the surface of the alkali-free glass having a width of 455 mm by sputtering. Here, a stripe shape having a length of 90 mm and a width of 80 μm is formed in parallel with the substrate width direction by 100 μm in the substrate longitudinal direction.
One unit of a stripe row in which 816 lines are arranged at m pitch,
109 mm pitch in the board width direction, 110 in the board length direction
A first electrode was formed by a photolithography method using a shadow mask patterned in this shape so as to leave a total of 16 units arranged at a pitch of mm. The distance from the edge of the glass to the nearest stripe row was 20 mm in the substrate width direction and 22 mm in the longitudinal direction.

Subsequently, a positive photoresist (OFPR-800, manufactured by Tokyo Ohka Co., Ltd.) was applied to the entire surface of the substrate by a spinner so as to have a thickness of 3 μm. After drying, this coating film is exposed and developed through a photomask, developed and patterned, and then cured at 180 ° C. to obtain an effective light emitting area of the 16 organic EL elements (the first electrode and the subsequent one). Sixteen units of spacers were formed correspondingly to cover the entire surface (regions occupied by the R, G, and B light emitting layers). In the case of one unit of spacer, the lengthwise direction of the substrate (first
An opening (a portion where no spacer is present) having a length of 65 μm in the direction perpendicular to the electrodes and a length of 235 μm in the width direction of the substrate, and a pitch of 100 μm in the longitudinal direction of the substrate such that the center of the first electrode is exposed. 816, the first in the board width direction
200 grids were arranged at 300 μm pitch along the electrodes. The leftmost end of the opening was located at a position 15 mm from the left end of the first electrode along the substrate width direction.

Next, a copper phthalocyanine of 15 nm and bis (N-
Ethyl carbazole) was deposited to a thickness of 60 nm to form a hole transport layer. The degree of vacuum at the time of vapor deposition was 2 × 10 ⁻⁴ Pa or less, and the substrate was rotated with respect to the vapor deposition source during vapor deposition.

Next, in order to deposit the light emitting layer, the position of the alignment mark of the integrated mask 1 mounted on the deposition apparatus was first detected by a camera. Subsequently, the substrate holder 122
After the glass substrate deposited from the transfer device 200 to the hole transport layer was placed thereon, the vacuum pump was driven to set the degree of vacuum in the deposition tank to 1 × 10 ⁻⁴ Pa. After a predetermined degree of vacuum was obtained, the substrate holder 122 was lowered, and the glass substrate on the substrate holder 122 was placed on the integrated mask 1. At the upper end in the longitudinal direction of the glass substrate, two through-holes having a diameter of 1 mm are provided as alignment marks at a center in the substrate width direction at a pitch of 30 mm in the width direction and at a position 5 mm from the upper end in the longitudinal direction of the substrate. Since it is provided,
The position of the alignment mark is detected, and the integrated mask 1 is detected.
The glass substrate and the integrated mask 1 were aligned so as to coincide with the alignment marks provided on the base plate. After the alignment is completed, the glass substrate is pressed against the integrated mask 1 with a force of 20 N using a pressing member, and then the evaporation source is heated, and 0.3 wt% of 1,3,3 is obtained as a green light emitting layer.
5,7,8, -pentamethyl-4,4-difluoro-4-
Bora-3a, 4a-diaza-s-indacene (PM54
An 8-hydroxyquinoline-aluminum complex (Alq3) doped with 6) was deposited to a thickness of 20 nm according to the pattern of the integrated mask.

Next, the vapor-deposited substrate is taken out, transferred to another vapor deposition apparatus equipped with a red light-emitting layer integrated mask, and the substrate and the integrated mask are aligned in the same manner as in the case of the green light-emitting layer. 1% by weight of 4- (dicyanomethylene) -2-methyl-6 (julolidylstyryl) pyran (DCJT) as a red light-emitting layer under a vacuum of 1 × 10 ⁻⁴ Pa
Alq3 doped with is deposited to a thickness of 15 nm. Subsequently, the substrate was transferred to yet another vapor deposition apparatus equipped with an integrated mask for a blue light-emitting layer, and the substrate and the integrated mask were similarly positioned, and then under a vacuum of 1 × 10 ⁻⁴ Pa. Then, 4,4′-bis (2,2′-diphenylvinyl) diphenyl (DPVBi) was deposited to a thickness of 20 nm as a blue light emitting layer.

The light emitting layers corresponded to the stripe-shaped first electrodes, and completely covered the exposed portions of the first electrodes.

Next, DPVBi was set to 45 nm and Alq3 was set to 1
Vapor deposition was performed on the entire effective light emitting area of the 16 organic EL elements of 0 nm. Subsequently, the length is 100 mm in the longitudinal direction of the substrate (the direction orthogonal to the first electrode) and 2 mm in the width direction of the substrate.
An aluminum stripe having a thickness of 50 μm and a thickness of 240 nm is arranged in a row of 200 stripes in a width direction of the substrate at a pitch of 300 μm as one unit. 10
Aluminum was vapor-deposited at a pitch of 9 mm and a pitch of 110 mm in the longitudinal direction of the substrate so that 16 units could be arranged to form a second electrode. The degree of vacuum at the time of vapor deposition was set to 3 × 10 ⁻⁴ Pa or less. Finally, silicon monoxide was evaporated to a thickness of 200 nm over the entire surface by an electron beam evaporation method to form a protective layer.

The substrate on which the sixteen light emitting elements were formed as described above was cut and divided into sixteen light emitting elements.
Each light emitting element has a thin film layer including a light emitting layer of each of RGB patterned on 816 ITO striped first electrodes, and 200 striped second electrodes orthogonal to the first electrodes. Was formed. First,
Of the intersections of the second electrodes, only the opening of the spacer emits light, and one light emitting unit of each of RGB forms one pixel. Therefore, a simple matrix type color organic EL element having 272 × 200 pixels at a pitch of 300 μm Was made. The light-emitting performance of the manufactured organic EL devices was such that all 16 devices could be used as a display. Further, since the light emitting layer was deposited by dividing the deposition mask, all 16 light emitting elements having the same dimensional accuracy and performance could be manufactured. The displacement of each of the R, G, and B light emitting layers was 5 μm.
The following was true for all of the 16 organic EL elements. For comparison, organic EL elements were manufactured using a vapor deposition mask in which a vapor deposition pattern corresponding to 16 organic EL elements was formed on one plate, but R, G, B
The displacement of each light emitting layer was different for each of the 16 organic EL elements, and was 5 to 200 μm. Therefore, only two devices could be actually used as displays.

Embodiment 2 In Embodiment 1, the frame 24 has a thermal expansion coefficient of 0.5 × 10 ^−5.
The Kovar alloy and the base plate 2 also have a thermal expansion coefficient of 0.
An organic EL device was manufactured in exactly the same manner as in Example 1, except that a 5 × 10 ⁻⁵ Kovar alloy was used. At this time, the displacement of the R, G, and B light emitting layers is 3 μm or less, and
All of the six organic EL elements were so. This accuracy does not change even after 24 hours of production,
High accuracy could be maintained for a long time.

In this embodiment, three different integrated masks are used for patterning the RGB light emitting layers. However, the positional relationship between one integrated mask and the substrate is shifted by the pitch of the first electrode. It is also possible to perform patterning by depositing the respective light emitting layers of RGB.

Although the mask deposition method using an integrated mask is applied to the patterning of the second electrode, the partition walls are formed in advance on the substrate and the shadow of the partition walls is used to eliminate the use of the deposition mask. Alternatively, a partition method for patterning the second electrode can be applied. Furthermore, after vapor deposition, sealing can be performed using a known technique.

Although a simple matrix type color organic EL device is manufactured in this embodiment, a monochrome organic EL device can be manufactured by omitting fine patterning of a light emitting layer. Further, an active matrix type color organic EL element can be manufactured by patterning a light emitting layer using an integrated mask using a substrate provided with a switching element including a thin film transistor (TFT) in advance.

[0065]

According to the integrated mask of the present invention, a large number of vapor deposition masks having a predetermined vapor deposition opening arrangement are arranged on a base plate based on both reference marks, and can be freely fixed and opened. Since it has a configuration of holding by a means, it becomes possible to arrange a large number of deposition masks at predetermined positions with high accuracy.

Further, the constituent members have a thermal expansion coefficient of 1 × 10 ^-5.
Since the following is included, a change in pattern accuracy due to radiant heat from the evaporation source can be minimized. Further, since the maximum gap between the adjacent vapor deposition masks is set to 10 mm or less, a space where vapor deposition is ineffective is small, the size of a glass substrate for obtaining the same number of organic EL elements can be minimized, and material cost can be reduced.

Further, according to the method and apparatus for manufacturing an organic EL device according to the present invention, positioning with respect to a substrate and vapor deposition of a light emitting layer and a thin film layer of a second electrode are performed using the integrated mask. Irrespective of the size of the substrate on which the thin film layer is deposited, it is possible to deposit the thin film layer in a predetermined pattern with high dimensional accuracy.
The so-called multiple patterning for forming the L element can be performed with high pattern accuracy, and a high quality organic EL element can be obtained with high productivity.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall schematic perspective view of an integrated mask 1 according to the present invention.

2 is an exploded perspective view of the integrated mask of FIG. 1 for each element.

FIG. 3 is a front sectional view showing one embodiment of a vapor deposition apparatus using an integrated mask.

FIG. 4 is a front sectional view showing another embodiment of the vapor deposition apparatus using the integrated mask.

FIG. 5 is an overall schematic perspective view of an integrated mask 500 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

6 is an exploded perspective view of the integrated mask of FIG. 5 for each element.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Integrated mask 2 Base plate 6 Alignment mark 10 Opening 20 Deposition mask 22 Mask plate 30 Opening 32 Deposition opening 40 Engagement unit 42 Pressing bar 44 Compression spring 46 Clasp 100 Deposition system 102 Deposition device 104 Looking glass 106 Deposition shutter 108 Outer wall 110 Bracket 112 Mask holder 116 XY guide 120 Bracket 122 Substrate holder 124 Holding member 126 Elevating shaft 128 Motor 130 Camera 132 Vacuum tank 134 Evaporation source 136 Shutter 200 Transfer device 210 Slide plate 208 Pad 400 Evaporation system 402 Evaporation device 300 Positioning device 302 Mask holder 306 Substrate holder 314 Rotary motor 416 Vacuum tank 404 Mounting table 406 Evaporation source 408 Shutー 412 Pressing plate 420 Positioned substrate-mask 500 Integrated mask 502 Base plate 506 Alignment mark 510 Opening 520 Deposition mask 522 Mask plate 528 Ear 530 Opening 532 Deposition opening 540 Engagement unit 542 Pressing plate 544 Compression spring 546 Holding plate 548 Shaft 550 One end B 552 One end A

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 3K007 AB18 DB03 FA01 4K029 AA09 BA62 BD01 CA01 HA03 HA04

Claims (8)

[Claims] A plurality of vapor deposition masks having a group of vapor deposition openings corresponding to a vapor deposition pattern are provided on a base plate having a plurality of apertures, and the vapor deposition openings of each vapor deposition mask are arranged above the apertures. And a reference alignment mark for positioning the vapor deposition mask on the base plate, the vapor deposition mask being arbitrarily fixed to the base plate by an engaging means that can be freely fixed and opened. A mask on the base plate. 2. The integrated mask according to claim 1, wherein said engaging means is an engaging means which is free to open when an external force is applied. 3. The integrated mask according to claim 1, wherein the constituent members include those having a coefficient of thermal expansion of 1 × 10 ⁻⁵ or less. 4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of vapor deposition masks include a portion where the maximum gap between adjacent dowels is less than 10 mm. The integrated mask according to claim 1. 5. The thin film layer is patterned by mask vapor deposition after positioning the integrated mask according to claim 1 and a substrate on which vapor deposition is performed in a vapor deposition chamber with reference to a reference alignment mark of the integrated mask. A method for producing an organic EL device, comprising the steps of: 6. The integrated mask according to claim 1, and a substrate on which vapor deposition is to be performed are positioned with reference to a reference alignment mark of the integrated mask, and then the integrated mask and the substrate whose positioning is completed are vapor-deposited. A method for manufacturing an organic EL device, comprising: placing the device in a chamber and patterning a thin film layer by mask evaporation to manufacture the organic EL device. 7. The method for manufacturing an organic EL device according to claim 5, wherein said thin film layer is an R, G, B light emitting layer. 8. An integrated mask according to claim 1, a positioning device for positioning a substrate on which vapor deposition is performed with reference to a reference alignment mark of said integrated mask, and vapor deposition for patterning a thin film layer by mask vapor deposition. An apparatus for manufacturing an organic EL device, comprising: a device.