JP2006260939A - Manufacturing method and manufacturing device of organic el element - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manufacturing technique of an organic EL element free from contamination of a substrate at pretreatment process, and for forming a precise organic light emitting layer by precisely positioning a mask on the substrate. <P>SOLUTION: The manufacturing method of organic EL element comprises the pretreatment process for the substrate 10, and the pretreatment process comprises a process of heating and cooling the substrate 10 in vacuum. A film formation mask 11 is positioned on the substrate 10 after the cooling process, and a hole transport layer is formed on the substrate 10 through the film forming mask 11, afterwards, at least an organic light emitting layer for one color is formed. The cooling at pretreatment process is carried out in a cooling chamber 24 after heating treatment in a baking chamber 23, and after vacuum plasma treatment in a pretreatment chamber 25. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for manufacturing an organic EL element in a vacuum, and more particularly to a technique for aligning a substrate that is a film formation target and a film formation mask.

  Generally, when manufacturing an organic EL element, in order to prevent a decrease in light emission luminance of the organic EL element, pretreatment by heating and cooling treatment and plasma treatment is performed on the substrate with a transparent electrode.

  However, in the prior art, since the substrate is heated and cooled at atmospheric pressure, there is a problem that the substrate is contaminated when the substrate is placed in a vacuum.

Further, in the prior art, since the substrate is thermally expanded during the heat treatment and the plasma treatment, it is difficult to accurately align the substrate and the mask, and there has been a problem in forming a fine organic light emitting layer.
JP 2003-142261 A

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and the object of the present invention is to prevent the problem of contamination of the substrate in the pretreatment process and to accurately position the substrate and the mask. An object of the present invention is to provide an organic EL element manufacturing technique capable of forming a fine organic light emitting layer by combining them.

The invention according to claim 1, which has been made to achieve the above object, is a method of manufacturing an organic EL element having a pretreatment step for a substrate, wherein the pretreatment step is a step of heating and cooling the substrate in a vacuum. And after completion of the cooling step, the step of aligning the film formation mask with respect to the substrate and further forming the organic layer through the film formation mask is provided.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the step of forming the organic layer includes forming a hole transport layer on the substrate and forming an organic light emitting layer of at least one color. It has a process.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the cooling step is performed a plurality of times.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate heating chamber in which the substrate is heated during processing of the substrate, a cooling chamber for cooling the substrate, and alignment for aligning a film formation mask with respect to the substrate. And an organic EL device comprising an organic layer forming portion that is provided in a subsequent stage of the alignment chamber and that forms an organic layer on the substrate. It is a manufacturing device.
The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to claim 4, wherein the substrate heating chamber is a heat treatment chamber for performing heat treatment on the substrate, and pretreatment for performing pretreatment on the substrate using a radical source. And a chamber.

  In the present invention, since the substrate is cooled in a vacuum during the pretreatment process, the problem of contamination of the substrate does not occur, and the cooling process can be performed in a short time.

  In addition, according to the present invention, after the cooling step is completed, the film formation mask is aligned with respect to the substrate, and the organic layer (for example, the hole transport layer and at least one color is interposed through the film formation mask). The organic light-emitting layer) can prevent thermal expansion of the substrate after the pretreatment step, thereby accurately aligning the substrate and the film-forming mask, thereby providing a fine organic light-emitting layer. Can be formed.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, if the cooling process is performed a plurality of times during the pretreatment process, the temperature of the substrate can be kept constant at all times, so that the alignment between the substrate and the film-formation mask can be made more accurate. Can be done.

  According to the organic EL element manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the organic EL element manufacturing capable of efficiently forming a fine organic light emitting layer by accurately aligning the substrate and the film formation mask before forming the organic layer. An apparatus can be provided.

  According to the present invention, a precise organic light-emitting layer can be formed by accurately aligning the substrate and the deposition mask before forming the organic layer.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a main part showing a first embodiment of an organic EL element manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2A and 2B show a processing procedure of a preprocessing unit in the same embodiment. It is a schematic block diagram shown.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the organic EL element manufacturing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment includes a pretreatment unit 2 that performs pretreatment on a substrate 10, and an organic light emitting layer formation that deposits an organic light emitting layer on the substrate 10. Part (organic layer forming part) 3.

  The chambers to be described later of the pretreatment unit 2 and the organic light emitting layer forming unit 3 are connected to a vacuum exhaust system (not shown) and configured to deliver the substrate 10 using a transfer robot (not shown) in a vacuum atmosphere. Yes.

  The pretreatment unit 2 of the present embodiment includes a substrate preparation chamber 21, a bake chamber (substrate heating chamber, heat treatment chamber) 22, a cooling chamber 23, and a pretreatment chamber (substrate heating chamber) 24 around the substrate transfer chamber 20. Is arranged.

  Here, a multi-hot plate (not shown) is provided in the bake chamber 22, and the multi-hot plate heats the substrate 10 stably in a short time.

  On the other hand, a multi-cooling plate (not shown) is provided in the cooling chamber 23, and the multi-cooling plate cools the substrate 10 stably in a short time.

The pretreatment chamber 24 is configured to condition the surface of the substrate 10 using, for example, oxygen (O ₂ ) plasma generated by a radical source.
A first fine adjustment chamber (positioning chamber) 26 is provided at the rear stage of the substrate transfer chamber 20 via a substrate transfer chamber 25.

  The first fine-tuning chamber 26 uses the alignment mechanism (not shown) to deposit the substrate 10 on the film-forming mask (hereinafter referred to as “mask”) 11 supplied from the mask supply chamber 27 via the substrate delivery chamber 25. It is configured to be aligned and assembled.

  The organic light emitting layer forming unit 3 of the present embodiment has a first organic vapor deposition chamber 30 </ b> R provided at the subsequent stage of the first fine tuning chamber 26.

  The first organic vapor deposition chamber 30 </ b> R transports the masked substrate 12 delivered from the first transport chamber 31, and emits red light among the organic materials for the hole transport layer and, for example, the three primary colors of light. The first organic material is continuously deposited on the substrate 10.

A second transfer chamber 32 and a second fine adjustment chamber 32a are provided adjacent to each other at the subsequent stage of the first organic vapor deposition chamber 30R.
The second fine adjustment chamber 32a has a function of shifting the position of the mask 11 with respect to the substrate 12 with the mask delivered from the second second transfer chamber 32 in accordance with the next deposition position of the organic material. have.

  A second organic vapor deposition chamber 30 </ b> G is provided downstream of the second transfer chamber 32.

  The second organic deposition chamber 30G continuously deposits, for example, a second organic material for green light emission on the substrate 10 while transporting the masked substrate 12 delivered from the second transport chamber 32. It is configured as follows.

A third transfer chamber 33 and a third fine tuning chamber 33a are provided adjacent to each other at the subsequent stage of the second organic vapor deposition chamber 30G.
The third fine-tuning chamber 33a has a function of shifting the position of the mask 11 with respect to the substrate 10 with the mask delivered from the third third transfer chamber 32 in accordance with the next deposition position of the organic material. have.

A third organic vapor deposition chamber 30 </ b> B is provided at the subsequent stage of the third transfer chamber 33.
The third organic deposition chamber 30B continuously deposits, for example, a third organic material for blue light emission on the substrate 10 while transporting the masked substrate 12 delivered from the third transport chamber 33. It is configured as follows.

A fourth transfer chamber 34 is provided downstream of the third organic vapor deposition chamber 30 </ b> B, and a mask removal chamber 35 and a mask carry-out chamber 36 are adjacent to the subsequent stage of the fourth transfer chamber 34. Is provided.
Further, a substrate transfer chamber 37 for transferring the substrate 10 to a post-processing step section (not shown) is provided at the subsequent stage of the mask removal chamber 35.

  When the organic layer is formed on the substrate 10 in the present embodiment having such a configuration, first, as shown in FIG. 2A, the organic layer is carried into the substrate transfer chamber 20 via the substrate preparation chamber 21. The carried substrate 10 is carried into the baking chamber 22 and heated in a vacuum, and then the substrate 10 is cooled in the cooling chamber 23 in a vacuum.

Then, a vacuum plasma treatment is performed on the substrate 10 in the pretreatment chamber 24. Further, as shown in FIG. 2B, the substrate 10 heated by this plasma treatment is again carried into the cooling chamber 23 and is in a vacuum. Cool with.
Further, the substrate 10 and the mask 11 are transferred to the first fine adjustment chamber 26, and the substrate 10 and the mask 11 are aligned and assembled.

  Then, after forming the hole transport layer and the first organic material layer on the substrate 10 in the first organic layer deposition chamber 30R, as shown in FIG. The organic layer deposition chambers 30 </ b> G and 30 </ b> B are transported to deposit the organic material of each color while shifting the position of the mask 11.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, since the substrate 10 is cooled in a vacuum during the pretreatment process, the problem of contamination of the substrate 10 does not occur and the cooling process is performed in a short time. be able to.

  In addition, after the cooling process is completed, the mask 11 is aligned with the substrate 10, and further, the hole transport layer and the organic light emitting layer are formed through the mask 11. Thus, it is possible to form a fine organic light emitting layer by accurately aligning the substrate 10 and the mask 11.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the substrate 10 is cooled after the heating step and the vacuum plasma processing step, respectively, the temperature of the substrate 10 can be kept constant, whereby the position of the substrate 10 and the mask 11 can be maintained. Matching can be performed more accurately.

  And according to the organic EL element manufacturing apparatus 1 of this Embodiment, the organic EL which can form a fine organic light emitting layer efficiently by performing exact alignment with the board | substrate 10 and the mask 11 before organic layer formation. An element manufacturing apparatus can be provided.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a second embodiment of the organic EL element manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the organic EL element manufacturing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, the first to fourth substrate transfer chambers 100, 110, 120, and 130 are connected via transfer chambers 140, 150, and 160, respectively. Then, the substrate 200 is sequentially subjected to a predetermined process and conveyed.

  Here, each chamber, which will be described later, provided around the first to third substrate transfer chambers 100, 110, 120 is connected to a vacuum exhaust system (not shown), and a substrate is used in a vacuum atmosphere using a transfer robot (not shown). It is configured to perform 200 delivery.

  Around the first substrate transfer chamber 100, a substrate preparation chamber 102 for performing the same processing as in the above embodiment, first and second baking chambers 103 and 104, a cooling chamber 105, and a cleaning process by ultraviolet irradiation. A UV cleaning chamber 106 is provided.

  Around the second substrate transfer chamber 110, a cooling chamber 111, a pretreatment chamber 112, a hole layer deposition chamber 113, and first and second organic layer deposition chambers 114 and 115 that perform the same processing as in the above embodiment. A mask stock chamber 116 for stocking the mask 201 is provided.

  Around the third substrate transfer chamber 120, a third organic layer deposition chamber 121, electrode formation chambers 122 to 124 that perform the same processing as in the above embodiment, and a mask stock chamber 125 in which the mask 201 is stocked. Is arranged.

  In the case of the present embodiment, an alignment mechanism (not shown) for aligning the substrate 200 and the mask 201 is provided in the hole layer deposition chamber 113 and the first to third organic layer deposition chambers 114 to 116. It is designed to be used as an alignment chamber.

  Around the fourth substrate transfer chamber 130, there are processing chambers for performing a sealing process, that is, a resin coating chamber 131, a desiccant pasting chamber 132, a sealing glass UV cleaning chamber 133, and a bonding chamber 134. A device take-out chamber 135 for taking out the device is provided.

  When the organic layer is formed on the substrate 200 in the present embodiment having such a configuration, the substrate first loaded into the substrate transfer chamber 100 via the substrate preparation chamber 102 as in the above embodiment. 200 is carried into the first and second baking chambers 103 and 104 and heated in vacuum, and then the substrate 200 is cooled in vacuum in the cooling chamber 105.

  Next, the substrate 200 is transported to the UV cleaning chamber 106 to perform UV cleaning, and the substrate 200 heated by this UV cleaning is carried into the cooling chamber 105 to be cooled.

  Then, the substrate 200 is transported to the pretreatment chamber 111 and vacuum plasma treatment is performed on the substrate 200. Further, the substrate 200 heated by the plasma treatment is carried into the cooling chamber 112 and cooled in vacuum.

  Further, the substrate 200 and the mask 201 are aligned in the hole layer deposition chamber 113, and a hole transport layer is formed on the substrate 200.

  After that, the materials are sequentially transferred to the first to third organic layer deposition chambers 114, 115, and 121, and the organic material of each color is deposited while shifting the position of the mask 201.

  As described above, also in this embodiment, since the substrate 200 is cooled in a vacuum during the pretreatment process, the problem of contamination of the substrate 200 does not occur, and the cooling process can be performed in a short time. it can.

  In addition, after the cooling process is completed, the mask 201 is aligned with the substrate 200, and further, the hole transport layer and the organic light emitting layer are formed through the mask 201. Therefore, the substrate 200 after the pretreatment process is formed. Thus, it is possible to form a fine organic light emitting layer by accurately aligning the substrate 200 and the mask 201.

  Furthermore, also in this embodiment, since the substrate 200 is cooled after the heating step and the vacuum plasma processing step, the temperature of the substrate 200 can be kept constant, whereby the substrate 200 and the mask 201 can be kept constant. The alignment can be performed more accurately.

  And according to the organic EL element manufacturing apparatus 100 of this Embodiment, the organic EL which can form a precise | minute organic light emitting layer efficiently by performing exact alignment with the board | substrate 200 and the mask 201 before organic layer formation. An element manufacturing apparatus can be provided.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various changes can be made.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the organic layers of the three primary colors of light are formed on the substrate has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and is applied to the case where, for example, a monochromatic organic layer is formed. It is also possible to do.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of an organic EL element manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention. (A): Schematic configuration diagram showing the processing procedure of the preprocessing unit in the embodiment (part 1) (b): Schematic configuration diagram showing the processing procedure of the preprocessing unit in the embodiment (part 2) The schematic block diagram which shows 2nd Embodiment of the organic EL element manufacturing apparatus which concerns on this invention

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Organic EL element manufacturing apparatus 2 ... Pre-processing part 3 ... Organic light emitting layer formation part (organic layer formation part) 10 ... Substrate 11 ... Mask for film formation 12 ... Substrate with a mask 22 ... Bake chamber (substrate heating chamber, heat treatment) 23) Cooling chamber 24 ... Pretreatment chamber (substrate heating chamber) 26 ... First fine tuning chamber (alignment chamber)

Claims (5)

An organic EL element manufacturing method having a pretreatment process for a substrate,
The pretreatment step includes a step of heating and cooling the substrate in a vacuum,
An organic EL element manufacturing method including a step of aligning a film formation mask with respect to the substrate after the cooling step and further forming an organic layer through the film formation mask.   The organic EL device manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the step of forming the organic layer includes a step of forming a hole transport layer on the substrate and a step of forming an organic light emitting layer of at least one color.   The organic EL element manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the cooling step is performed a plurality of times. A substrate heating chamber in which the substrate is heated during processing on the substrate, a cooling chamber for cooling the substrate, and an alignment chamber for aligning the deposition mask with respect to the substrate are in a vacuum atmosphere. It is configured to transfer substrates to each other,
An organic EL element manufacturing apparatus provided with an organic layer forming unit that is provided in a subsequent stage of the alignment chamber and forms an organic layer on the substrate.   The organic EL element manufacturing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the substrate heating chamber includes a heat treatment chamber for performing heat treatment on the substrate, and a pretreatment chamber for performing pretreatment on the substrate using a radical source.

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