JP2013020768A - Laser transfer device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a laser transfer device capable of manufacturing a high definition light emitting layer pattern at high productivity.SOLUTION: A laser transfer device 110 according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises a vacuum chamber 31 capable of maintaining a vacuum atmosphere, a stage 32, a moving mechanism 113, and a laser optical system 33. The stage 32 is provided in the vacuum chamber 31, and supports a substrate 2 carried in the vacuum chamber 31. The moving mechanism 113 is constituted so that a heat transfer body 50R supporting an organic light emitting material is arranged on the substrate 2 supported by the stage 32. The laser optical system 33 is opposed to the stage 32, and transfers the organic light emitting material on the substrate 2 by radiating laser to the heat transfer body 50R.

Description

  The present invention relates to a laser transfer apparatus used for manufacturing an organic light emitting device represented by an organic EL display, for example.

  In recent years, organic EL displays using organic EL (Electro Luminescence) elements have been developed, and have already been put into practical use in some fields. The organic EL element mainly has a laminated structure of a lower electrode, an organic light emitting layer, and an upper electrode layer. Various materials having emission colors such as R (red), G (green), B (blue), and W (white) are known as organic light-emitting materials, and an R layer, a G layer, and a B layer are formed on a substrate. A full color organic EL display is constructed by regularly arranging the light emitting materials of the layers. In addition, there is also known that a B layer is formed in a solid shape from above an R layer and a G layer regularly arranged on a substrate.

  As a method for forming the arrangement pattern of the light emitting layers of the respective colors on the substrate, for example, a vapor deposition method and a transfer method are known. The vapor deposition method is a method of vapor-depositing each light emitting material on a substrate using a film formation mask prepared for each color light emitting layer (see, for example, Patent Document 1 below). On the other hand, the transfer method is a method of transferring a light emitting material onto a substrate by irradiating a light emitting body bonded to the substrate with a laser (see, for example, Patent Document 2 below).

JP 2006-260939 A Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-235741

  However, in the vapor deposition method, it is difficult to increase the pattern accuracy of the light emitting layer because the pattern accuracy of the light emitting layer greatly depends on the shape accuracy of the deposition mask. On the other hand, in the transfer method, although high pattern accuracy of the light emitting layer can be obtained, it is difficult to improve the productivity by improving the processing efficiency.

  In view of the circumstances as described above, an object of the present invention is to provide a laser transfer apparatus capable of manufacturing a high-definition light emitting layer pattern with high productivity.

  In order to achieve the above object, a laser transfer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a vacuum chamber capable of maintaining a vacuum atmosphere, a stage, a transfer mechanism, and a laser optical system. The stage is installed in the vacuum chamber and supports a substrate carried into the vacuum chamber. The transfer mechanism is configured to dispose a thermal transfer member that supports the organic light emitting material on the substrate supported by the stage. The laser optical system is disposed to face the stage, and irradiates the thermal transfer body with a laser to transfer the organic light emitting material onto the substrate.

It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows an example of a structure of an organic light emitting device. It is a schematic plan view which shows the manufacturing system of the organic light-emitting device which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows roughly the 1st laser transfer apparatus in the said manufacturing system. 2 is a side sectional view schematically showing the first laser transfer apparatus. FIG. It is a schematic sectional side view of the principal part of the said manufacturing system. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the laser transfer process of the organic luminescent material on the board | substrate in the said manufacturing system. It is a schematic plan view which shows the laser transfer process of the organic luminescent material on the board | substrate in the said manufacturing system. It is a top view of the principal part of the organic light emitting device manufactured in the said manufacturing system. It is a sectional side view which shows roughly the modification of the structure of the laser optical system in the said 1st laser transfer apparatus. It is a top view explaining the scan irradiation example of the laser beam with respect to the thermal transfer body used in the said 1st, 2nd laser transfer apparatus.

  A laser transfer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a vacuum chamber capable of maintaining a vacuum atmosphere, a stage, a transfer mechanism, and a laser optical system. The stage is installed in the vacuum chamber and supports a substrate carried into the vacuum chamber. The transfer mechanism is configured to dispose a thermal transfer member that supports the organic light emitting material on the substrate supported by the stage. The laser optical system is disposed to face the stage, and irradiates the thermal transfer body with a laser to transfer the organic light emitting material onto the substrate.

  The laser transfer device performs laser transfer of an organic light emitting material on a substrate. In the laser transfer process, a thermal transfer body that supports an organic light emitting material is placed on a substrate supported on a stage by a transfer mechanism in a vacuum chamber maintained in a vacuum atmosphere, and laser light is applied to the thermal transfer body. Irradiation and laser-irradiated organic light emitting material is transferred onto the substrate. A desired light emitting layer pattern can be formed with high accuracy by arbitrarily adjusting the pattern shape of the light emitting layer formed on the substrate in accordance with the spot diameter of the laser light and the irradiation region.

  As described above, the laser transfer apparatus includes a transfer mechanism that places a thermal transfer body on a substrate in a vacuum atmosphere, and a laser optical system that laser-transfers an organic light-emitting material on the thermal transfer body onto the substrate, The arrangement is such that the arrangement process of the thermal transfer body on the substrate and the laser transfer process are performed in a common vacuum chamber. As a result, a light-emitting layer having a fine pattern shape can be formed with high accuracy, and an organic light-emitting material can be laser-transferred without taking the substrate into the atmosphere, thereby improving the productivity of the organic light-emitting device. It becomes possible to plan.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the vacuum chamber has a first side surface and a second side surface. The laser transfer device includes a first storage chamber that stores a substrate that is disposed on the first side surface and is transported to the vacuum chamber, and a second chamber that is disposed on the second side surface and stores the thermal transfer body. And a storage chamber.
With this configuration, the layout of each chamber can be made more efficient, and the conveyance of the substrate and the alignment of the thermal transfer body can be performed with high accuracy. The first storage chamber may be a preparation chamber (load chamber) or a film formation chamber for forming a base film (for example, an electrode film) of a light emitting layer on a substrate.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the transfer mechanism has a first operation of superimposing the thermal transfer member on the substrate on the stage, and a second operation of removing the thermal transfer member from the substrate.
Since the thermal transfer body is superposed on the substrate and the thermal transfer body is peeled off from the substrate in a vacuum, the thermal transfer body can be easily peeled from the substrate without damaging the substrate. That is, when the thermal transfer member is peeled from the substrate in the atmosphere, it becomes difficult to peel the thermal transfer member from the substrate due to a pressure difference between the inner surface and the outer surface of the thermal transfer member. May be damaged by excessive stress. According to the above configuration, such a problem can be avoided.

The vacuum chamber may further include a top surface on which a light transmitting portion that transmits the laser is opposed to the stage. In this case, the laser optical system is installed outside the top surface.
Thereby, the laser optical system can be installed outside (atmosphere) of the vacuum chamber, and maintainability can be ensured.

The stage may include a moving mechanism that moves the substrate in a first direction. In this case, the laser optical system includes a light source that emits a laser and a scanning mechanism that scans the laser in a second direction that intersects the first direction on the surface of the substrate supported by the stage.
Thereby, a light emitting layer having a desired pattern shape can be formed at an arbitrary position in the substrate surface.

The laser optical system may further include a laser divider that is disposed between the light source and the scanning mechanism and divides the laser into a plurality of parallel lights.
Thereby, since the light emitting layer can be formed at a plurality of locations on the substrate by a single scan, the processing capability can be increased and the productivity can be improved.

The scanning mechanism may include a plurality of scanning units divided along the second direction.
As a result, it is possible to double the processing capacity and sufficiently cope with a large substrate.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[Configuration of organic light-emitting device]
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an example of the configuration of an organic light emitting device. The illustrated organic light emitting device 1 has a laminated structure of a substrate 2, a lower electrode layer 3, a hole injection layer 4, light emitting layers 5R, 5G, and 5B, an electron injection layer 6, and an upper electrode layer 7. .

  The substrate 2 is made of, for example, a glass substrate or a plastic substrate. The lower electrode layer 3 is individually formed as an anode so as to correspond to the light emitting layers 5R, 5G, and 5B of each color, and the upper electrode layer 7 is formed as a cathode in common to the light emitting layers 5R, 5G, and 5B. . The hole injection layer 4 includes a hole transport layer, and injects holes from the lower electrode layer 3 to the light emitting layers 5R, 5G, and 5B. The electron injection layer 6 includes an electron transport layer, and injects electrons from the upper electrode layer 7 to the light emitting layers 5R, 5G, and 5B. The light emitting layers 5R, 5G, and 5B constitute R (red), G (green), and B (blue) pixels, respectively. The light emitting layers 5R, 5G, and 5B are formed of an organic light emitting material that emits light of each color, and emit light by recombination of injected holes and electrons. The light emitting layers 5R and 5G are formed in a predetermined pattern shape by a laser thermal transfer method, and the light emitting layer 5B is formed on almost the entire surface of the substrate 2 by an evaporation method so as to cover the light emitting layers 5R and 5G.

  Next, the manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing method of the organic light emitting device 1 configured as described above will be described. In the present embodiment, an application example of the light emitting layers 5R and 5G on the substrate 2 in the thermal transfer process will be described.

[Organic light-emitting device manufacturing equipment]
FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing an organic light emitting device manufacturing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The manufacturing system 10 according to this embodiment includes a first processing unit 11, a second processing unit 12, and a transport unit 13.

  The first processing unit 11 includes a first laser transfer device 110 that forms a light emitting layer 5 </ b> R as a first organic light emitting layer on the substrate 2. The second processing unit 20 includes a second laser transfer device 120 that forms a light emitting layer 5G as a second organic light emitting layer on the substrate 2. The transfer unit 13 includes a transfer chamber 130 installed between the first laser transfer device 110 and the second laser transfer device 120, and the substrate 2 from the first laser transfer device 110 to the second laser transfer device 120. And a transport mechanism 131 for transporting

  The first processing unit 11, the transport unit 13, and the second processing unit 12 are arranged in a uniaxial direction (X-axis direction) on a horizontal plane, and the light emitting layer 5R is transported while transporting the substrate 2 in the X-axis direction in a vacuum. , 5G are sequentially formed.

[First processing unit]
The first processing unit 11 is transported to the first laser transfer device 110, the first substrate storage chamber 111 for storing the substrate transported to the first laser transfer device 110, and the first laser transfer device 110. And a first thermal transfer body accommodating chamber 112 for accommodating a thermal transfer body of the red organic light emitting material. The first substrate storage chamber 111 stores the substrate 2 on which the hole injection layer 4 is formed. The first substrate housing chamber 111 may be connected to the film forming chamber 21 or the like for forming the hole injection layer 4 or the like.

  FIG. 3 is a plan view schematically showing the first laser transfer apparatus 110, and FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional side view thereof. The first laser transfer apparatus 110 includes a vacuum chamber 31, a stage 32, a laser optical system 33, and a control unit 45.

  The vacuum chamber 31 is connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) and is configured to be able to maintain the inside in a reduced pressure atmosphere with a predetermined pressure. The vacuum chamber 31 has a rectangular parallelepiped (hexahedron) chamber structure, for example, and is connected to the first side surface 311 connected to the first substrate storage chamber 111 and the first thermal transfer body storage chamber 112. It has a second side surface 312 and a third side surface 313 connected to the transfer chamber 130. The second side surface 312 is adjacent to the first side surface 311, and the third side surface 313 is opposed to the first side surface 311 in the X-axis direction. The first side surface 311, the second side surface 312, and the third side surface 313 are respectively connected to the first substrate storage chamber 111, the first thermal transfer member storage chamber 112, and the transfer chamber 130 through a partition valve such as a gate valve. It is connected.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the vacuum chamber 31 further has a top surface 314. The top surface 314 is provided with light transmitting portions 315a and 315b made of quartz or the like that transmit the laser light emitted from the laser optical system 33. The light transmitting portions 315a and 315b are provided so as to face the support surface 32a of the stage 32 and to be adjacent in the Y-axis direction. The translucent portions 315a and 315b are not limited to the example configured separately from each other, and may be configured integrally.

  The stage 32 is installed inside the vacuum chamber 31, and a support surface 32 a for supporting the substrate 2 and the thermal transfer member transported from the first substrate storage chamber 111 is formed on the upper surface thereof. The stage 32 further includes a mechanism portion 32b, and is configured to be movable in a horizontal plane in the vacuum chamber 31 via the mechanism portion 32b. In the present embodiment, the stage 32 is configured to be movable in the X-axis direction from the first substrate storage chamber 111 to the transfer chamber 130, but is also configured to be movable in the Y-axis direction and the rotation direction around the Z-axis. May be. Thereby, a light emitting layer having a desired pattern shape can be formed at an arbitrary position in the substrate surface.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic side view showing the relationship between the vacuum chamber 31 and the first thermal transfer body accommodation chamber 112. In the first thermal transfer body accommodating chamber 112, a transfer mechanism 113 for conveying the thermal transfer body 50R between the first thermal transfer body accommodating chamber 112 and the vacuum chamber 31 is installed. The transfer mechanism 113 is composed of, for example, an articulated transfer robot. The thermal transfer body 50R has a laminated structure of a red organic light emitting material layer and a base material made of, for example, glass that supports the red organic light emitting material layer, and the red organic light emitting material layer faces the substrate 2 side on the stage 32 and Placed in. The thermal transfer body 50R is formed in a rectangular shape with a size that covers the light emitting layer forming region of the substrate 2.

  The laser optical system 33 is installed above the vacuum chamber 31 as shown in FIG. Thereby, the laser optical system 33 can be installed outside (atmosphere) of the vacuum chamber 31, and the maintainability of the laser optical system 33 can be ensured. The laser optical system 33 is not limited to the above-described example, and the laser optical system 33 may be installed inside the vacuum chamber 31 or a chamber adjusted to an atmosphere different from the atmosphere other than the vacuum chamber 31 (for example, a nitrogen atmosphere under reduced pressure). It may be installed inside.

  The laser optical system 33 includes a light source 34, a scanning mechanism 35, and an optical lens unit 36. The laser optical system 33 irradiates the thermal transfer body 50R on the stage 32 with laser light via the light transmitting units 315a and 315b, thereby forming a substrate. The light emitting layer is laser-transferred onto 2.

  The light source 34 emits laser light L in the Y-axis direction. The oscillation wavelength of the laser light L is not particularly limited, and is appropriately set according to the type of the organic light emitting material supported by the thermal transfer body 50R. In the present embodiment, an infrared laser having an infrared wavelength region (for example, about 1.1 μm) is used as the laser light L.

  The scanning mechanism 35 is installed facing the stage 32. The scanning mechanism 35 is a scanner that scans the laser light L emitted from the light source 34 toward the vacuum chamber 31 while scanning the laser light L in the Y-axis direction that is the width direction of the thermal transfer body 50R (substrate 2) at a predetermined cycle. (Scanning section).

  In the present embodiment, the scanning mechanism 35 includes a half mirror 351, mirrors 352, 353, and 354, and scanning units 35a and 35b. The half mirror 351 divides the laser beam L emitted from the light source 34 into two laser beams L 1 and L 2, folds one of the laser beams L 1 toward the mirror 353, and emits the other laser beam L 2 to the mirror 352. . The mirror 353 reflects the laser beam L1 toward the scanning unit 35a, and the mirror 352 reflects the laser beam L2 toward the scanning unit 35b via the mirror 354.

  The scanning units 35a and 35b are divided along the Y-axis direction, and scan the laser beams L1 and L2 at a predetermined cycle in the Y-axis direction that is the width direction of the thermal transfer body 50R (substrate 2). For example, a galvanometer mirror is used for the scanning unit, but it is not limited to this. The scanning mechanism 35 may further include a mechanism that scans the laser beams L1 and L2 in a minute amount in the X-axis direction as a scanning unit, thereby moving the substrate 2 in the X-axis direction while moving the laser beams L1 and L2, It becomes possible to scan L2 in the Y-axis direction.

  The optical lens unit 36 includes lenses 36a and 36b and light transmitting units 315a and 315b. The lenses 36a and 36b are made of plano-convex lenses having convex aspheric surfaces, and face the light transmitting portions 315a and 315b in the X-axis direction, respectively. The translucent portions 315a and 315b are also constituted by plano-convex lenses, and the aspherical convex portions are opposed to the convex portions of the lenses 36a and 36b with the optical axis aligned. The optical lens unit 36 converts the laser beams L1 and L2 scanned by the scanning units 35a and 35b into light parallel to the Z-axis direction and irradiates the thermal transfer body 50R in the vacuum chamber 31.

  The light source 34 and the scanning mechanism 35 are supported by a gantry 40 installed immediately above the vacuum chamber 31. The scanning units 35 a and 35 b of the scanning mechanism 35 are arranged at positions directly above the light transmitting units 315 a and 315 b on the top surface of the vacuum chamber 31. The optical lens unit 36 converts the optical axes of the laser beams L1 and L2 scanned by the scanning units 35a and 35b into a direction parallel to the Z axis. The optical lens unit 36 can be composed of one or a plurality of spherical or aspherical lenses, or a combination of spherical and aspherical lenses.

  The optical lens unit 36 in the present embodiment includes lenses 36a and 36b and light transmitting units 315a and 315b. The lenses 36a and 36b are made of plano-convex lenses having convex aspheric surfaces, and face the light transmitting portions 315a and 315b in the X-axis direction, respectively. The translucent portions 315a and 315b are also constituted by plano-convex lenses, and the aspherical convex portions are opposed to the convex portions of the lenses 36a and 36b with the optical axis aligned.

  The light transmitting portions 315a and 315b only need to have a size sufficient to form the optical paths of the laser beams L1 and L2 scanned in the Y-axis direction. For example, the light incident surface extends from the center to the end. The light emitting surface on the back side may be formed in the shape of a so-called cylindrical lens, which is thinner. On the other hand, since the translucent portions 315a and 315b constitute a part of the top surface of the vacuum chamber 31, from the viewpoint of securing the strength of the vacuum chamber 31, the translucent portions 315a and 315b are disc-shaped when viewed in plan. It may be.

  Next, the control unit 45 controls the entire operation of the manufacturing system 10. The control unit 45 is typically configured by a computer, and controls various processes for the substrate 2 in each unit of the manufacturing system 10. As will be described later, the controller 45 transports the substrate from the first substrate storage chamber 111 to the laser transfer device 110 and the first laser from the first thermal transfer member storage chamber 112 with respect to the first processing unit 11. Various operations of the thermal transfer body 50R to the transfer device 110, the stage 32, the laser optical system 33, etc. in the first laser transfer device 110 are controlled.

[Second processing unit]
As shown in FIG. 2, the second processing unit 12 includes a second laser transfer device 120, a second substrate storage chamber 121 that stores a substrate transported from the second laser transfer device 120, and a second And a second thermal transfer body accommodating chamber 122 for accommodating the thermal transfer body of the green organic light emitting material conveyed to the laser transfer device 120. The second substrate housing chamber 121 houses the substrate 2 on which the light emitting layers 5R and 5G are formed. The second substrate housing chamber 121 may be connected to the film forming chamber 22 for forming the light emitting layer 5B.

  The second laser transfer device 120 is configured similarly to the first laser transfer device 110, and includes a vacuum chamber, a stage, a laser optical system, and the like. The second thermal transfer body accommodation chamber 122 includes a transfer mechanism 123 that transports the thermal transfer body 50G between the second thermal transfer body accommodation chamber 122 and the vacuum chamber. The transfer mechanism 123 is composed of, for example, an articulated transfer robot. The thermal transfer member 50G has a laminated structure of a green organic light emitting material layer and a base material made of, for example, glass that supports the green organic light emitting material layer, and the green organic light emitting material layer faces the substrate 2 on the stage and is placed on the substrate 2. Placed in. The thermal transfer body 50G is formed in a rectangular shape with a size that covers the light emitting layer forming region of the substrate 2.

[Transport unit]
The transfer unit 13 includes a transfer chamber 130 and a transfer mechanism 131. The transfer chamber 130 is connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) and is configured to be able to maintain the inside in a reduced pressure atmosphere at a predetermined pressure. The transfer chamber 130 has a rectangular parallelepiped (hexahedron) chamber structure, for example, and is installed between the first laser transfer device 110 and the second laser transfer device 120. The transport mechanism 131 is configured by, for example, an articulated robot, and transports the substrate 2 from the first laser transfer device 110 to the second laser transfer device 120 via the transport chamber 130.

  The transfer mechanism 131 may be installed not only in the transfer chamber 130 but also in the first substrate storage chamber 111 and the second substrate storage chamber 121. The control unit 45 controls the operation of the transport mechanism 131. For the second processing unit 12, the control unit 45 transports the substrate 2 to the second laser transfer apparatus 120 and transports the thermal transfer body 50 </ b> G from the second thermal transfer body accommodation chamber 122 to the second laser transfer apparatus 120. The various operations of the stage, laser optical system, etc. in the second laser transfer device 120 are controlled.

[Example of operation of manufacturing system]
Next, an operation example of the manufacturing system 10 configured as described above will be described.

  The respective chambers of the first processing unit 11, the transport unit 13, and the second processing unit 12 are maintained at a predetermined degree of vacuum. The substrate 2 is transferred from the first substrate storage chamber 111 to the first laser transfer device 110. On the substrate 2, for example, a lower electrode layer 3 and a hole injection layer 4 are formed in advance in a film formation chamber 21.

  The substrate 2 transported to the first laser transfer device 110 is positioned on the support surface 32 a of the stage 32. Next, the transfer mechanism 113 transports the thermal transfer body 50 </ b> R from the first thermal transfer body accommodation chamber 112 to the first laser transfer apparatus 110. As shown in FIG. 5, the transfer mechanism 113 positions and arranges the thermal transfer body 50R on the substrate 2 supported by the support surface 32a.

  Thereafter, the controller 45 drives the laser optical system 33 to irradiate the thermal transfer body 50R with the laser beams L1 and L2 via the light transmitting portions 315a and 315b. As shown in FIG. 4, the laser beams L1 and L2 are scanned on the thermal transfer body 50R along the Y-axis direction by the scanning units 35a and 35b. On the other hand, the control unit 45 drives the mechanism unit 32b of the stage 32 to move the substrate 2 together with the thermal transfer body 50R at a predetermined speed in the X-axis direction.

  6 and 7 are schematic views showing a laser transfer process of the organic light emitting material onto the substrate 2. As described above, the thermal transfer body 50R has a laminated structure of a base material and an organic light emitting material layer, and is superimposed on the substrate 2 so that the organic light emitting material layer is located on the substrate 2 side. The organic light emitting material layer may be in contact with the surface of the substrate 2 or may be disposed on the surface of the substrate 2 at a predetermined interval. When the laser beams L1 and L2 are irradiated on the base material of the thermal transfer body 50R, the organic light emitting material is transferred onto the substrate 2 in a pattern shape corresponding to the laser irradiation region.

  In the present embodiment, the laser beams L1 and L2 are scanned in the Y-axis direction by the scanning units 35a and 35b. Further, since the substrate 2 and the thermal transfer body 50R are conveyed in the X-axis direction by the stage 32, the stripe-like light emitting layer 5R parallel to the Y-axis direction is thereby formed on the surface of the substrate 2 as shown in FIG. It is formed sequentially along the transport direction of the substrate 2. The interval (pitch) between each of the light emitting layers 5R is not particularly limited, and is set to such a size that the light emitting layer 5G and the light emitting layer 5B can be disposed between each of them.

  In this embodiment, since the scanning portions 35a and 35b are divided into two in the Y-axis direction, the surface of the substrate 2 is set to 2 in the traveling direction (X-axis direction) of the substrate 2 as shown in FIG. Laser transfer of the organic light emitting material by the laser beams L1 and L2 is simultaneously performed on each of the divided areas. As a result, the processing capacity is doubled, and it is possible to sufficiently cope with a large substrate.

  The scanning of the laser beams L1 and L2 in the Y-axis direction may be performed while the stage 32 is moved intermittently in the X-axis direction. In this embodiment, the stage 32 is continuously moved in the X-axis direction. However, the laser beams L1 and L2 are scanned in the Y-axis direction. This improves the processing capacity and increases productivity. When scanning the laser beams L1 and L2 while moving the stage 32, the laser beams L1 and L2 are scanned with a combined vector of the scan speed vector and the stage moving speed vector. Thereby, the light emitting layer 5R can be formed in parallel to the Y-axis direction.

  In the present embodiment, the emission of the laser beam L to the light source 34 is controlled so that the light emitting layer 5R is formed on the substrate 2 in the forward or backward path of the laser beams L1 and L2. Instead, the light emitting layer 5R may be formed in each of the forward path and the return path.

  After the formation of the light emitting layer 5R, the thermal transfer body 50R is removed from the substrate 2 by the transfer mechanism 113. Since there is no change in the internal pressure of the vacuum chamber 31 before and after the thermal transfer body 50R is superimposed on the substrate 2, the thermal transfer body 50R can be easily detached from the substrate 2. Thereafter, the substrate 2 is transferred from the first laser transfer device 110 to the second laser transfer device 120 via the transfer chamber 130.

  The substrate 2 transported to the second laser transfer device 120 is subjected to the same processing as that in the first laser transfer device 110. That is, the transfer mechanism 123 transports the thermal transfer body 50G that supports the green organic light emitting material from the second thermal transfer body accommodation chamber 122 to the second laser transfer apparatus, and positions and arranges it on the surface of the substrate 2 on the stage. . Thereafter, the thermal transfer body 50G is irradiated with laser through a laser optical system, and a plurality of stripe-like light emitting layers 5G adjacent to the individual light emitting layers 5R are formed on the surface of the substrate 2.

  After the formation of the light emitting layer 5G, the thermal transfer body 50G is removed from the substrate 2. Then, the substrate 2 is transported from the second laser transfer device 120 to the second substrate housing chamber 121. FIG. 8 is a plan view of the substrate 2 including the light emitting layer 5R and the light emitting layer 5G. In the post-process, the light emitting layer 5B is formed between the light emitting layer 5G and the light emitting layer 5R. The light emitting layer 5B is formed in the film formation chamber 22, for example. The light emitting layer 5B is formed by, for example, a vacuum vapor deposition method, but may be formed by a laser transfer method as described above. Further, a process of processing each light emitting layer 5R, 5G, 5B to a predetermined pixel size may be added.

  As described above, according to the manufacturing system 10 of the present embodiment, since the first and second processing units 11 and 12 for laser-transferring the organic light emitting material on the substrate 2 in a vacuum atmosphere are provided, a fine pattern is provided. The light emitting layers 5R and 5G having a shape can be formed with high accuracy. Further, since the transport unit 13 for transporting the substrate 2 in a vacuum atmosphere is provided between the plurality of processing units 11 and 12, the light emitting layers 5R and 5G of the respective colors are formed on the substrate 2 without taking the substrate 2 into the atmosphere. can do. Thereby, the productivity of the organic light emitting device can be improved.

  Further, not only the light emitting layer but also the deposition chambers for depositing the lower electrode layer, the hole injection layer, the electron injection layer, and the upper electrode layer are appropriately installed on the upstream side and the downstream side of the manufacturing system 10, so that a vacuum is formed. It becomes possible to continuously manufacture the organic light emitting device 1 consistently.

  In the manufacturing system 10 of the present embodiment, the light emitting layers 5R and 5G are sequentially formed while transporting the substrate 2 from the first substrate housing chamber 111 to the second substrate housing chamber 121 in the uniaxial direction (X-axis direction). It is configured. Thereby, the layout efficiency of each processing chamber can be improved.

  On the other hand, the laser transfer apparatuses 110 and 120 according to the present embodiment have a transfer mechanism 113 and 123 for disposing a thermal transfer body on the substrate 2 in a vacuum atmosphere, and an organic light emitting material on the thermal transfer bodies 50R and 50G on the substrate 2. A laser optical system 33 for laser transfer is provided, and the arrangement process of the thermal transfer bodies 50R and 50G on the substrate 2 and the laser transfer process are performed in a common vacuum chamber 31. Thereby, the light emitting layer which has a fine pattern shape can be formed with high precision. Further, since the organic light emitting material can be laser-transferred without taking the substrate 2 out to the atmosphere, the productivity of the organic light emitting device can be improved.

  In addition, since the bonding process between the substrate 2 and the thermal transfer bodies 50R and 50G and the laser irradiation process on the thermal transfer bodies 50R and 50G are both performed on the stage 32, the thermal transfer bodies 50R and 50G onto the substrate 2 are applied. After the bonding, the laser transfer process can be promptly performed. Thereby, processing efficiency can be increased and productivity can be improved.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made based on the technical idea of the present invention.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the inline type manufacturing system has been described as an example. However, instead of this, a cluster type manufacturing system may be constructed. In this case, a laser transfer chamber for each light emitting layer can be provided around the transfer chamber with the substrate transfer chamber as the center.

  In the above embodiment, an articulated robot is adopted as the transport mechanism for the substrate 2 and the transfer mechanism for the thermal transfer members 50R and 50G. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a conveyor-type or suspension-type transport mechanism is used. Also good.

  Furthermore, although the configuration as shown in FIG. 4 has been described as the laser optical system, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, a laser optical system 330 having two light sources 34a and 34b that independently emit laser beams L1 and L2, respectively. May be adopted. Thereby, the structure of the scanning part 35 can be simplified.

  On the other hand, the laser beams L1 and L2 may be divided into a plurality of parallel beams on the way, and the plurality of parallel beams may be simultaneously scanned to simultaneously irradiate each laser beam on a plurality of locations on the thermal transfer body. Thereby, the formation efficiency of the light emitting layer can be dramatically increased, and the productivity can be further improved.

  Further, in the first and second laser transfer apparatuses 110 and 120, the laser transfer processing of the organic light emitting material may be performed on the plurality of substrates 2 by using one thermal transfer body 50R or 50G. For example, as schematically shown in FIG. 10, one thermal transfer body 50 is divided into a first region 51, a second region 52, and a third region. Then, the first region 51 is irradiated with a laser to transfer the organic light emitting material onto the substrate. For the second substrate, the bonding position of the thermal transfer body 50 to the substrate is shifted by a predetermined pitch in the X-axis direction, and the second region 52 is irradiated with a laser to transfer the organic light emitting material onto each substrate. . Then, the third region 53 is irradiated with laser by shifting the bonding position of the thermal transfer body 50 to the third substrate by a predetermined pitch in the X-axis direction as described above. Thereby, the organic light emitting material on the thermal transfer body 50 can be used efficiently.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Organic light-emitting device 2 ... Board | substrate 5R, 5G ... Light emitting layer 10 ... Manufacturing system 11 ... 1st processing unit 12 ... 2nd processing unit 13 ... Conveyance unit 31 ... Vacuum chamber 32 ... Stage 33 ... Laser optical system 34 ... Light source 35 ... Scanning mechanism 45 ... Control unit 50R, 50G ... Thermal transfer member 110 ... First laser transfer device 120 ... Second laser transfer device 113, 123 ... Transfer mechanism 130 ... Transfer chamber 131 ... Transfer mechanism L, L1, L2 ... Laser light

Claims (6)

A vacuum chamber capable of maintaining a vacuum atmosphere;
A stage installed in the vacuum chamber and supporting a substrate carried into the vacuum chamber;
A transfer mechanism configured to dispose a thermal transfer member supporting an organic light emitting material on the substrate supported by the stage;
A laser transfer apparatus, comprising: a laser optical system that is installed facing the stage and transfers the organic light emitting material onto the substrate by irradiating the thermal transfer body with a laser. The laser transfer apparatus according to claim 1,
The vacuum chamber has a first side surface and a second side surface,
The laser transfer device
A first storage chamber for storing a substrate disposed on the first side surface and transported to the vacuum chamber;
A laser transfer apparatus, further comprising: a second storage chamber disposed on the second side surface side for storing the thermal transfer body. The laser transfer apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The transfer mechanism includes a first operation of superimposing the thermal transfer member on the substrate on the stage, and a second operation of removing the thermal transfer member from the substrate. The laser transfer apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The vacuum chamber further includes a top surface formed with a light transmitting portion that is opposed to the stage and transmits the laser.
The laser optical system is a laser transfer device installed outside the top surface. The laser transfer apparatus according to claim 4,
The stage has a moving mechanism for moving the substrate in a first direction,
The laser optical system includes a light source that emits a laser and a scanning mechanism that scans the laser in a second direction intersecting the first direction on the surface of the substrate supported by the stage. The laser transfer device according to claim 5,
The scanning mechanism includes a plurality of scanning units divided along the second direction.

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