JP2004043853A - Thin-film forming apparatus and thin-film forming method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a thin-film forming apparatus for forming an organic thin film with a uniform thickness on the surface of a substrate, and to provide a thin-film forming method. <P>SOLUTION: The thin-film forming apparatus has a treatment chamber 11, a substrate holder 13 installed in the treatment chamber 11, a gas supply means 15 for supplying a gas G to a substrate-mounting surface 13a of the substrate holder 13, and an outlet 31 for exhausting a redundant gas G in the treatment chamber 11, wherein the outlet 31 is installed into plurality, and each outlet 31 is arranged so that the gas G supplied from the gas supply means 15 is introduced to each part of the substrate-mounting surface 13a. The thin-film forming method is characterized by using the apparatus. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a thin film forming apparatus and a thin film forming method, and more particularly to an organic vapor deposition method for forming an organic thin film by supplying a source gas together with a carrier gas to a substrate surface in a processing chamber. And a thin film forming method.
[0002]
[Prior art]
An organic thin film for a low-molecular organic EL light emitting element such as an organic EL display element is generally formed by a vacuum evaporation method.
A vacuum deposition apparatus used for the vacuum deposition method includes a processing chamber, a deposition source provided at a bottom portion in the processing chamber, and a substrate holder disposed above the deposition source and opposed to the deposition source.
[0003]
In a vacuum evaporation apparatus, an organic thin film is formed by evaporating an organic raw material from an evaporation source to supply and deposit a raw material gas on a surface of a substrate mounted on a substrate holder. In order to control the film formation rate in the film formation using such a vacuum evaporation apparatus, it is necessary to change the evaporation rate of the organic raw material by changing the temperature of the evaporation source.
However, accurate control is difficult because the temperature and the evaporation rate do not correspond linearly, and the evaporation rate shows an unstable behavior by changing the temperature. Further, there is also a problem that the response of the evaporation rate to the temperature change is poor, so that a long process time is required and the productivity is poor.
[0004]
Therefore, in recent years, as a device for forming an organic thin film, an organic vapor deposition device by an organic vapor deposition method (Organic Vapor Phase Deposition (OVPD)) has been proposed (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-523768).
The organic vapor deposition apparatus includes a processing chamber, a substrate holder provided in the processing chamber, and gas supply means opposed to each other so as to supply a gas toward the substrate holder. The raw material gas is supplied to the surface of the substrate mounted on the substrate holder together with the carrier gas in the processing chamber described above to form an organic thin film.
In such an organic vapor deposition apparatus, the film formation rate is adjusted not only by controlling the source temperature but also by the supply rate of the source gas into the processing chamber. It has the advantages of good properties and a high deposition rate.
[0005]
When an organic thin film is formed using an organic vapor deposition apparatus as described above, a temperature control mechanism is provided on the substrate holder to cool the substrate because the organic thin film is unstable to heat. I have.
Furthermore, if an organic thin film is formed while the substrate is fixed, the raw material gas cannot be uniformly deposited on the substrate surface, and the thickness of the formed organic thin film becomes uneven. Alternatively, by providing a driving mechanism for sliding, the thickness distribution of the organic thin film formed on the substrate is adjusted.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the organic vapor deposition apparatus as described above, since the source gas is supplied in a gaseous state into the processing chamber, the source gas supplied from the gas supply port easily flows through the shortest path toward the exhaust port. . For this reason, it is necessary to move the substrate mounting surface in a complicated manner with respect to the gas supply port in consideration of the flow direction of the source gas, and it has been difficult to uniformly supply the source gas to the substrate surface.
[0007]
When manufacturing an organic EL display, if the film thickness distribution of the organic thin film is non-uniform, a current flows preferentially in a thin portion because the resistance is small, leading to the occurrence of uneven brightness.
In addition, the organic vapor deposition apparatus having the above-described configuration has a plurality of mechanisms, such as a temperature control mechanism and a drive mechanism, provided on the substrate holder. There was also the problem that it became high.
[0008]
Therefore, there has been a demand for a thin film forming apparatus capable of forming an organic thin film having a uniform thickness on the surface of a substrate mounted on a substrate holder even when the substrate holder is fixed.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, a thin film forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a processing chamber, a substrate holder provided in the processing chamber, and gas supply means for supplying gas toward a substrate mounting surface of the substrate holder. And an exhaust port for exhausting excess gas in the processing chamber, wherein a plurality of exhaust ports are provided, and each of these exhaust ports is supplied from gas supply means. The gas is arranged to be guided to each part of the substrate mounting surface.
[0010]
According to such a thin film forming apparatus, a plurality of exhaust ports are provided, and each exhaust port is arranged so that the gas supplied from the gas supply means is guided to each part of the substrate mounting surface. In general, gas supplied in a gaseous state into a processing chamber tends to flow in the shortest path toward an exhaust port. Therefore, even in a thin film forming apparatus of the present invention, a gas supplied from a gas supply unit toward a substrate mounting surface is used. The supplied gas is guided to each of the opened exhaust ports. For this reason, the bias of the gas with respect to the surface of the substrate mounted on the substrate mounting surface is suppressed, and the gas is uniformly supplied to each part. Therefore, it is possible to form a thin film having a more uniform thickness.
[0011]
In particular, when each exhaust port is connected to a control means capable of adjusting the amount of exhaust from the exhaust port, the amount of exhaust from each exhaust port is adjusted by this control means, so that each portion of the substrate surface can be adjusted. Since the amount of supplied gas can be adjusted, the distribution of gas supplied to the substrate surface can be made more uniform, and a thin film having a uniform film thickness can be formed more reliably.
In addition, since the direction of gas supply to each part of the substrate surface can be changed by adjusting the amount of exhaust from each exhaust port, even when the film is formed using a mask, even at the edge of the mask where gas is difficult to be supplied. Gas is supplied, and the shadow effect can be suppressed.
[0012]
Further, in the thin film forming method of the present invention, the substrate is housed in a processing chamber provided with a plurality of exhaust ports, and a gas composed of a film forming component is supplied toward the surface of the substrate in the processing chamber. It is characterized in that the amount of gas supplied to each part of the surface of the substrate is adjusted by adjusting the amount of exhaust from the substrate to form a thin film.
[0013]
According to such a thin film forming method, the amount of gas supplied to each part of the surface of the substrate is adjusted by adjusting the amount of exhaust from each exhaust port. Can be suppressed and gas can be more uniformly supplied to each part, so that a thin film having a more uniform film thickness can be formed regardless of the film forming pressure.
[0014]
In particular, when the gas supply direction is changed by switching the exhaust from each exhaust port, the same effect as when the substrate mounting surface is driven can be obtained, and by changing the gas supply direction, the substrate supply direction can be changed. Since gas is supplied to each part of the surface from various directions, a shadow effect when a film is formed using a mask can be suppressed.
[0015]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
(1st Embodiment)
Hereinafter, embodiments of the thin film forming apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0016]
<Thin film forming equipment>
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining an embodiment of an organic vapor deposition apparatus which is a thin film forming apparatus of the present invention. In the thin film forming apparatus shown in this figure, an evaporation mask (not shown) is arranged so as to cover a substrate W in a processing chamber 11 maintained under a reduced pressure atmosphere, and a predetermined pattern is formed on the substrate W via the evaporation mask. This is for forming an organic thin film.
[0017]
The thin film forming apparatus includes a processing chamber 11 for housing a substrate W on which an organic thin film forming process is performed.
A substrate holder 13 for supporting the substrate W is housed in the processing chamber 11, and the substrate holder 13 has a temperature control mechanism (a temperature control mechanism capable of freely controlling the temperature of the substrate W mounted on the substrate mounting surface 13a). (Not shown).
[0018]
The processing chamber 11 is provided with an exhaust system 12, and the inside of the processing chamber 11 is controlled to a predetermined pressure. Although illustration is omitted here, the gas exhausted by the exhaust system 12 passes through a trap to capture excess material, and is used as a carrier gas (for example, N 2) described later. ₂ ) Is discharged to the outside of the apparatus, and this exhaust is released to the atmosphere after passing through the scrubber.
[0019]
The exhaust system 12 communicates with the inside of the processing chamber 11 through a plurality of exhaust ports (not shown) provided on a side wall 11a of the processing chamber 11 located on the back side of the substrate mounting surface 13a, for example. Here, the plurality of exhaust ports are arranged so that the gas G is uniformly supplied to each part of the substrate mounting surface 13a.
[0020]
FIG. 2 shows an arrangement pattern of the plurality of exhaust ports 31 arranged on the side wall 11a when viewed from inside the processing chamber 11. As shown in FIG. 2, here, for example, the center O of the substrate mounting surface 13 a is defined as a point O ′ (hereinafter, referred to as a projection point O ′) projected on the side wall 11 a on the back surface side of the substrate mounting surface 13 a. It is assumed that six exhaust ports 31a to 31f are evenly arranged on the circumference of the circle to be formed so as to surround the substrate mounting surface 13a.
[0021]
Each of the exhaust ports 31a to 31f is connected to, for example, an air drive valve (not shown), and the degree of opening of the exhaust ports 31a to 31f can be freely adjusted manually or automatically. By setting the opening to 100% or 0%, the respective exhaust ports 31a to 31f can be opened and closed.
Thus, by adjusting the opening degree of each of the exhaust ports 31a to 31f, the amount of exhaust from each of the exhaust ports 31a to 31f is adjusted, and the supply direction of the gas G introduced into the processing chamber 11 is freely adjusted. can do.
Here, the amount of exhaust from each exhaust port 31 is adjusted by adjusting the opening degree of the exhaust port 31. However, the present invention is not limited to this. May be adjusted.
[0022]
Here, as shown in FIG. 1 again, even if the substrate holder 13 is arranged so as to obstruct the supply direction of the gas G from the gas supply port 21a to the exhaust port 31 (see FIG. 2), the gas G is There is no problem because the air flows around the back surface of the substrate mounting surface 13a and is guided to each exhaust port 31.
[0023]
The processing chamber 11 is provided with a load lock chamber 14 for performing an operation of fixing the substrate W to the substrate holder 13. The inside of the load lock chamber 14 can be evacuated by a pump and can be freely replaced by an inert gas or the like. The substrate W is fixed to the substrate holder 13 in an inert gas atmosphere, and the load is evacuated by the pump. By opening a gate valve (not shown) between the load lock chamber 14 and the processing chamber 11 under reduced pressure, the substrate holder 13 to which the substrate W is fixed can be arranged and stored in the processing chamber 11 in a predetermined state. It is possible.
[0024]
Next, the gas supply means 15 for supplying the gas G into the processing chamber 11 will be described.
The gas supply means 15 includes a supply pipe line 21 for supplying the gas G into the processing chamber 11, a gas purification device 22 to which the supply pipe line 21 is connected, and a supply pipe between the processing chamber 11 and the gas purification device 22. And a raw material supply mechanism 25 provided in the line 21.
One end of the supply pipe line 21 is inserted into the processing chamber 11, and the gas supply port 21 a, which is the tip of the supply pipe line 21, is connected to the substrate holder 13 disposed in the processing chamber 11 in a predetermined state. It is arranged to supply gas G toward the mounting surface 13a.
[0025]
On the other hand, the other end of the supply pipe line 21 is connected to a high-purity carrier gas g (for example, N ₂ , He, and Ar) are connected to a gas purification device 22 (or a cylinder) storing the gas. A pressure regulator 23, a mass flow controller (MFC) 24, and a raw material supply mechanism 25 are provided in the supply pipe line 21 between the gas purification device 22 and the processing chamber 11 in this order from the gas purification device 22 side. Further, a vent line 26 is connected, and a valve V1 is provided between the vent line 26 and the processing chamber 11. It is also assumed that the vent line 26 is provided with a valve V2.
[0026]
The raw material supply mechanism 25 includes a raw material container 25a storing an organic material serving as a raw material of the organic thin film, an introduction pipe 25b branched from the supply pipe line 21 and inserted into the raw material container 25a, A discharge pipe 25c is provided which branches off from the downstream supply line 21 and is inserted into the raw material container 25a. Between the branch between the introduction pipe 25b and the discharge pipe 25c in the supply pipe line 21, the introduction pipe 25b and the discharge pipe 25c are provided with valves V3, V4 and V5, respectively.
[0027]
In the present embodiment, an example of the thin film forming apparatus provided with one supply pipe line 21 has been described. However, the MFC 24 and the valve are disposed between the processing chamber 11 and the gas purification device 22 (or the pressure regulator 23). It may be a thin film forming apparatus provided with a plurality of supply pipe lines 21 provided with portions up to V1.
[0028]
In the organic vapor deposition apparatus configured as described above, the pipes, containers, and the like from the MFC 24 to the processing chamber 11 are all controlled to a predetermined high temperature. The heating system for controlling the temperature may be an air oven system installed in an oven, a system for circulating high-temperature oil, an RF (Radio Frequency) heating system (high-frequency induction heating system), or a lamp heating system. There is no particular limitation.
[0029]
<Thin film formation method>
Next, a method of forming an organic thin film using the organic vapor deposition apparatus configured as described above will be described. Here, as an example, a case in which an electron transporting light emitting layer made of Alq3 [tris (8-quinolinolato) aluminu (III)] generally used for an organic EL element is formed will be described.
[0030]
First, the substrate W is held and fixed to the substrate holder 13 in the load lock chamber 14, and the load lock chamber 14 is evacuated to a reduced pressure. The gate is opened, and the substrate holder 13 is set at a predetermined position in the processing chamber 11.
Then, the inside of the processing chamber 11 is kept at, for example, 133 Pa by the exhaust system 12, and the substrate W is kept at about 20 ° C. by the temperature control mechanism of the substrate holder 13.
[0031]
Here, a mask (not shown) is disposed so as to cover the surface of the substrate W and the film is formed. However, the present invention is also applicable to a case where a film is formed over the entire surface of the substrate W without using a mask. It is.
Further, here, the inside of the processing chamber 11 is kept under a reduced pressure atmosphere, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied at any deposition pressure from a reduced pressure to a pressurized pressure.
[0032]
The raw material container 25a of the raw material supply mechanism 25 stores an organic raw material (here, Alq3) serving as a raw material of the organic thin film, and the organic raw material in the raw material container 25a is kept at a predetermined temperature (280 ° C. in the case of Alq3). Heat to As a result, the vapor pressure of the organic raw material (Alq3) with respect to the heating temperature is allowed to exist as a gas in the raw material container 25a. Further, the pipes, containers, and the like from the MFC 24 to the processing chamber 11 are all heated to a predetermined high temperature (for example, about 280 ° C.).
[0033]
In the above state, the valves V2 and V3 are closed, and the valves V1, V4 and V5 are opened. Then, the carrier gas (for example, N 2) whose pressure is controlled by the pressure regulator 23 to, for example, 0.2 MPa from the gas purification device 22 and whose flow rate is controlled by the MFC 24 with high precision. ₂ ) G to the supply pipe line 21. An example of the flow rate is 1000 sccm (standard cc / min: flow rate per minute in a standard state).
In the present embodiment, the carrier gas is, for example, N gas which is an inert gas. ₂ However, the present invention is not limited to this. Any gas may be used as long as it does not react with the organic material as a film forming component. ₂ , He, or Ar.
[0034]
Then, the carrier gas g is supplied to the raw material container 25a, and the gas of the organic raw material (Alq3) vaporized in the raw material container 25a is transported and supplied together with the carrier gas g from the discharge pipe 25c and the supply pipe line 21 into the processing chamber 11. I do.
Thereby, the gas G containing the organic raw material (Alq3) gas is supplied from the gas supply port 21a toward the substrate W mounted on the substrate mounting surface 13a in the processing chamber 11.
[0035]
On the other hand, the supply direction of the gas G is controlled by adjusting the opening degree of each exhaust port 31 and adjusting the amount of exhaust by an air drive valve connected to each exhaust port 31 (see FIG. 2).
Here, FIG. 3 is a graph in which the vertical axis represents the opening degree of each exhaust port 31 (here, either 0% or 100%), and the horizontal axis represents the opening time. Hereinafter, the graphs shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 are similar graphs.
[0036]
Here, as shown in FIG. 3, it is assumed that the exhaust ports 31a to 31f are opened in order from, for example, 31a at an opening of 100% for a certain period of time to adjust the exhaust amount. Thus, the supplied gas G is sequentially guided to each of the opened exhaust ports 31 and supplied to each part on the surface of the substrate W.
[0037]
Further, since the respective exhaust ports 31 are equally arranged on the circumference of the circle centered on the projection point O ′ as described above, the gas G is supplied to the surface of the substrate W along the circumference. It is supplied to the surface area of the substrate W while changing the direction. Thereby, particularly when the substrate W has a circular shape, the gas G can be efficiently and uniformly supplied to the entire surface of the substrate W. In this case, the arrangement pattern of the exhaust ports 31 is preferably the above-described pattern. .
[0038]
Here, an example in which the exhaust ports 31a to 31f are sequentially opened one by one has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and as shown in the graph of FIG. The switching may be performed, or the switching may be performed simultaneously three by three as shown in the graph of FIG.
Although illustration is omitted here, the exhaust ports 31a to 31f may be simultaneously opened.
[0039]
Here, it is preferable that the combination and number of the exhaust ports 31 when adjusting the opening degree, and the respective opening times are appropriately set in advance in advance according to the film thickness distribution when the organic thin film is formed on the substrate W.
Based on the result, by adjusting the opening time to be longer in the portion where the film thickness is formed thinner and to shorten the opening time in the thicker portion, for example, as shown in the graph of FIG. The openings may be sequentially opened by changing the opening time.
Further, although the opening degree of each exhaust port 31 is adjusted only by opening or closing at 0 or 100% here, the present invention is not limited to this, and the opening degree is adjusted to any opening degree of 0 to 100%. can do.
[0040]
Thus, an organic thin film made of Alq3 is formed on the surface of the substrate W maintained at a temperature of 20 ° C. When the organic thin film having the predetermined thickness is formed, the valves V1, V4, and V5 are closed, the valves V2 and V3 are opened, and the supply of the gas G into the processing chamber 11 is stopped. Replace with inert gas g.
[0041]
After the above, the substrate W and the substrate holder 13 are returned to the load lock chamber 14, and the pressure in the load lock chamber 14 is returned to normal pressure, and the substrate W is taken out. At this time, in order to prevent the substrate W on which the organic thin film is formed from coming into contact with the atmosphere, the substrate W is ₂ Transfer to gas sealed box, N ₂ The gas sealing box may be taken out of the thin film forming apparatus.
[0042]
According to the thin film forming apparatus described above, each exhaust port 31 is arranged so that the gas G supplied from the gas supply port 21 is guided to each part of the substrate mounting surface 13a. By being guided to each of the exhaust ports 31, the gas G is evenly supplied to each part without being biased with respect to the surface of the substrate W mounted on the substrate mounting surface 13 a. Thereby, a thin film having a uniform thickness can be formed.
Further, since each exhaust port 31 is connected to an air drive valve whose exhaust amount can be adjusted by adjusting the opening thereof, the amount of gas supplied to each part on the surface of the substrate W can be adjusted. In addition, the distribution of the gas G supplied to the substrate surface can be more reliably made uniform.
[0043]
From the above, since a thin film having a uniform thickness can be formed even when the substrate W is fixed, an organic thin film composed of an organic EL light emitting element such as Alq3 is formed using this thin film forming apparatus. Is formed, it is possible to form an organic thin film having a uniform thickness without luminance unevenness even on a large screen even if a driving mechanism for rotating or sliding the substrate holder 13 is not provided.
Therefore, the device configuration of the substrate holder is simplified, and the device can be downsized. Further, it is possible to introduce another system such as a real-time film thickness monitoring system using light or the like in the apparatus.
[0044]
Further, according to the thin film forming apparatus having the plurality of supply pipe lines 21, the raw material gas composed of different organic raw materials is sequentially introduced from the plurality of supply lines 21 into the processing chamber 11, and the different organic thin films are continuously supplied. Stacking can be performed, and a thin film having a uniform thickness can be stacked.
[0045]
Further, in this embodiment, since each exhaust port 31 is connected to an air drive valve capable of adjusting the amount of exhaust, the gas supply direction can be switched by controlling the amount of exhaust.
Furthermore, since each exhaust port 31 is evenly arranged on the circumference of a circle centered on the projection point O ′, the gas G is changed on the surface of the substrate W by changing the gas supply direction along the circumference. Since the wafer W is supplied to the surface region of the substrate W, the same effect as in the case where the substrate W is rotated by the driving mechanism can be obtained, and the shadow effect when a film is formed using a mask can be suppressed.
[0046]
Further, according to the above-described thin film forming method, the distribution of the gas G supplied to each part of the surface of the substrate W is adjusted by adjusting the opening degree and the opening time of each exhaust port 31 and adjusting the exhaust amount. Since the adjustment is performed, the gas G can be uniformly supplied to each part on the surface of the substrate W, and an organic thin film (here, an organic EL light emitting element layer) having a uniform film thickness can be formed regardless of the film forming pressure. Can be.
Therefore, it is possible to form an organic EL light emitting element layer without luminance unevenness even on a large screen.
[0047]
Further, the air drive valves connected to the respective exhaust ports 31 switch the exhaust from the plurality of exhaust ports 31a to 31f and sequentially open the exhaust ports, thereby changing the supply direction of the gas G. Since the gas G is supplied from various directions to each part, the shadow effect when a film is formed using a mask can also be suppressed.
[0048]
Further, in the present embodiment, an example has been described in which the exhaust ports 31a to 31f are sequentially opened from the exhaust port 31a, but the exhaust ports 31a to 31f may be simultaneously opened. Also in this case, since the gas G is supplied to the substrate W mounted on the substrate mounting surface 13a so as to spread to the peripheral edge side of the substrate W, the bias of the gas G supplied to the surface of the substrate W is suppressed. The gas can be evenly supplied to each part of the substrate W.
[0049]
Further, in the present embodiment, an example of the thin film forming apparatus in which the exhaust ports 31a to 31f are uniformly arranged on the circumference of a circle centered on the projection point O 'of the center O of the substrate mounting surface 13a has been described. The present invention is not limited to this. As shown in FIG. 7, for example, five exhaust ports 31g to 31p are vertically arranged on the side wall 11a when viewed from the inside of the processing chamber 11 so as to surround the substrate mounting surface 13a. The arrangement patterns may be arranged in parallel.
[0050]
A method for forming an organic thin film using such a thin film forming apparatus is as follows.
Here, FIG. 8 shows a graph in which the vertical axis indicates the degree of opening of each exhaust port 31 (here, either 0% or 100%), and the horizontal axis indicates the opening time. Hereinafter, the graphs shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 are similar graphs.
[0051]
Here, as shown in the graph of FIG. 8, for example, a combination of two upper and lower (for example, 31g and 31l) exhaust ports 31 is set as one set, and each exhaust port is moved from the depth direction in FIG. The mouth 31 may be opened for a fixed time, or may be reciprocated in the depth direction and the front direction in FIG. 1 as shown in the graph of FIG.
Further, as shown in the graph of FIG. 10, based on the film thickness distribution when the organic thin film is deposited on the substrate W in advance, the opening time for the thin film portion is long and the opening time for the thick film portion is short. Thus, the opening time of each exhaust port 31 may be adjusted.
[0052]
According to such a thin film forming apparatus and a thin film forming method, the gas G is supplied with a combination of the upper and lower two exhaust ports 31 as one set, so that the strip W extends in the vertical direction in FIG. The gas G can be supplied over the width of the substrate W by opening the gas G from the depth direction toward the near side in the drawing for a predetermined time. This produces the same effect as when the substrate W is slid in the depth direction in the drawing, and the gas G is supplied from various directions to various parts of the surface of the substrate W. The effect can be suppressed.
In particular, when the substrate W has a rectangular shape, the gas G can be efficiently and uniformly supplied to the entire surface of the substrate W, so that the arrangement pattern of the exhaust ports 31 is preferably this pattern.
[0053]
In the thin film forming apparatus of the embodiment as described above, an example in which the substrate holder 13 is used in a fixed state is described. However, if the substrate holder 13 is provided with a drive mechanism for rotating or sliding, the uniformity can be improved. It is possible to form a thin film having a large thickness, and to achieve a higher shadow prevention effect.
[0054]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the thin film forming apparatus of the present invention, the gas supplied from the gas supply means toward the substrate mounting surface is guided to the plurality of exhaust ports, so that the substrate mounted on the substrate mounting surface The bias of the gas with respect to the surface is suppressed, and the gas is uniformly supplied to each part. Therefore, it is possible to form a thin film having a more uniform thickness.
[0055]
Thereby, even when the substrate is fixed, a thin film having a uniform thickness can be formed. Therefore, when an organic thin film such as an organic EL element is formed using this thin film forming apparatus, Even if the substrate holder is not provided with a drive mechanism for rotating or sliding, it is possible to form an organic EL element layer having a uniform thickness without luminance unevenness even on a large screen.
This simplifies the device configuration of the substrate holder, and allows for downsizing of the device. Further, it is possible to introduce another system such as a real-time film thickness monitoring system using light or the like in the apparatus.
[0056]
In such a thin film forming apparatus, in particular, when each exhaust port is connected to control means capable of adjusting the exhaust amount from this exhaust port, the exhaust amount from each exhaust port is adjusted by this control means. This allows the amount of gas supplied to each part of the substrate surface to be adjusted, so that the distribution of gas supplied to the substrate surface can be made more uniform, and a thin film having a uniform film thickness can be formed more reliably. It is possible to do.
In addition, by adjusting the amount of exhaust from each exhaust port, the direction of gas supply to each part of the substrate surface can be changed, so that a shadow effect when a film is formed using an evaporation mask can be suppressed.
[0057]
According to the thin film forming method of the present invention, the amount of gas supplied to each part of the surface of the substrate is adjusted by adjusting the amount of exhaust from the plurality of exhaust ports. Can be suppressed and gas can be more uniformly supplied to each part of the substrate surface, so that a thin film having a more uniform film thickness can be formed regardless of the film forming pressure.
Therefore, when an organic thin film such as an organic EL element is formed by applying such a thin film forming method, it is possible to form an organic EL element layer without luminance unevenness even on a large screen.
[0058]
In particular, when changing the gas supply direction by switching the exhaust from each exhaust port, the same effect as when the substrate mounting surface is driven is exerted, and the gas is supplied from various directions in each part of the substrate surface. Therefore, the shadow effect when a film is formed using a mask can be suppressed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a thin film forming apparatus according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part showing an arrangement pattern of exhaust ports of the thin film forming apparatus in the embodiment (part 1).
FIG. 3 is a graph showing the opening degree and opening time of each exhaust port of the thin film forming apparatus according to the embodiment (part 1).
FIG. 4 is a graph showing the opening degree and opening time of each exhaust port of the thin film forming apparatus according to the embodiment (part 2).
FIG. 5 is a graph showing the opening degree and opening time of each exhaust port of the thin film forming apparatus according to the embodiment (part 3).
FIG. 6 is a graph showing the opening degree and opening time of each exhaust port of the thin film forming apparatus according to the embodiment (part 4).
FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a main part showing an arrangement pattern of exhaust ports of the thin film forming apparatus according to the embodiment (part 2).
FIG. 8 is a graph showing the opening degree and opening time of each exhaust port of the thin film forming apparatus according to the embodiment (part 5).
FIG. 9 is a graph showing the opening degree and opening time of each exhaust port of the thin film forming apparatus according to the embodiment (part 6).
FIG. 10 is a graph showing the opening degree and opening time of each exhaust port of the thin film forming apparatus according to the embodiment (part 7).
[Explanation of symbols]
11: processing chamber, 11a: side wall, 13: substrate holder, 13a: substrate mounting surface, 15: gas supply means, 31: exhaust port, W: substrate, G: gas

Claims (5)

A processing chamber, a substrate holder provided in the processing chamber, gas supply means for supplying gas toward a substrate mounting surface of the substrate holder, and an exhaust port for exhausting excess gas in the processing chamber A thin film forming apparatus comprising:
A plurality of the exhaust ports are provided, and each of the exhaust ports is arranged so that a gas supplied from the gas supply unit is guided to each part of the substrate mounting surface. apparatus. 2. The thin film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of said exhaust ports is connected to a control means capable of adjusting an amount of exhaust from said exhaust port. 2. The thin film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the exhaust ports is provided on a side wall of the processing chamber on a back surface side of the substrate mounting surface. A substrate is stored in a processing chamber provided with a plurality of exhaust ports,
A gas composed of a film forming component is supplied toward the surface of the substrate in the processing chamber, and the amount of gas supplied to each part of the surface of the substrate is adjusted by adjusting the amount of exhaust from each of the exhaust ports. Forming a thin film by forming a thin film. 5. The thin film forming method according to claim 4, wherein the gas supply direction is changed by switching the exhaust from each of the exhaust ports.

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