JP2019192899A - Vacuum system, substrate transfer system, manufacturing apparatus for electronic device, and manufacturing method for electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

To improve accuracy of alignment of a substrate in a vacuum vessel.SOLUTION: A vacuum system of the present invention is a vacuum system for evacuating a space in which alignment is to be performed. The vacuum system includes: a cryopump for discharging air from the space; connection opening/closing means disposed between the space and the cryopump; and control means for controlling opening/closing operation of the connection opening/closing means. The control means performs control for closing the connection opening/closing means at least for a partial period of a period in which the alignment is performed in the space.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to opening / closing control of a vacuum valve in an apparatus.

  Recently, organic EL display devices have attracted attention as flat panel display devices. The organic EL display device is a self-luminous display and has characteristics such as response speed, viewing angle, and thinning that are superior to those of liquid crystal panel displays. Existing liquid crystal panel displays are used in various portable terminals such as monitors, televisions, and smartphones. Is replaced at high speed. In addition, the field of application has been expanded to automobile displays.

  The element of the organic EL display device has a basic structure in which an organic material layer that emits light is formed between two opposing electrodes (a cathode electrode and an anode electrode). The organic material layer and the electrode metal layer of the organic EL display element are manufactured by depositing a deposition material on the substrate through a mask in which a pixel pattern is formed in a vacuum chamber (vacuum container). In order to deposit the deposition material in a desired pattern at the position, the relative position between the mask and the substrate must be adjusted with high accuracy before the deposition on the substrate.

  For this reason, marks (referred to as alignment marks) are formed on the mask and the substrate, and these alignment marks are photographed with a camera installed in the film forming chamber to measure the relative displacement between the mask and the substrate. To do. When the positions of the mask and the substrate are relatively displaced, one of these is relatively moved to adjust the relative position.

  On the other hand, in the production line of the organic EL display device, the inside of chambers such as a film forming chamber, a buffer chamber, a swirl chamber, an alignment chamber (pass chamber), a transfer chamber, and a mask loading chamber where the organic material layer and the electrode metal layer are deposited. A cryopump is used to maintain the space in a high vacuum state.

  Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-9036) discloses a technique for evacuating a vacuum chamber using a cryopump.

  The cryopump is a pump that exhausts gas molecules in the chamber by condensing or adsorbing the gas molecules on a cryogenic plate, and exhausting the cryopump is accompanied by cooling.

  Accordingly, the temperature of the substrate disposed in the vacuum chamber may be lowered by the cool air from the cryopump, and the expansion and contraction of the substrate due to this may affect the alignment performed in units of μm.

JP 2000-9036 A

  An object of this invention is to improve the precision of the alignment of the board | substrate within a vacuum vessel.

A vacuum system according to a first aspect of the present invention is a vacuum system for evacuating a space in which alignment is performed, and includes a cryopump for evacuating the space, and the space and the cryopump. Connection opening and closing means disposed between, and control means for controlling the opening and closing operation of the connection opening and closing means, the control means in at least a part of the period in which the alignment is performed in the space, The connection opening / closing means is controlled to be closed.

  A substrate transfer system according to a second aspect of the present invention is a substrate transfer system for transferring a substrate, the vacuum vessel, a cryopump connected to the vacuum vessel, and between the vacuum vessel and the cryopump. Connection opening / closing means, an alignment mechanism for aligning the substrate arranged in the vacuum container, and control means for controlling the opening / closing operation of the connection opening / closing means, the control means comprising the vacuum container The connection opening / closing means is controlled to be closed during at least a part of the period during which the substrate is aligned.

  An electronic device manufacturing apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention includes: a plurality of cluster apparatuses each including a plurality of film forming chambers; and a downstream cluster apparatus that receives the substrate from the upstream cluster apparatus in the substrate transport direction. And a substrate transfer system for transferring the substrate, wherein the substrate transfer system is a substrate transfer system according to the second aspect of the present invention.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing an electronic device comprising: a step of opening the connection opening / closing means and evacuating the inside of a vacuum vessel to which a cryopump is connected via connection opening / closing means; A step of arranging the substrate for the electronic device on a substrate support placed in the evacuated vacuum vessel, and a step of aligning the substrate in the vacuum vessel, Among these, the connection opening / closing means is closed in at least a part of the period.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the precision of the alignment of the board | substrate within a vacuum vessel can be improved.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of an electronic device manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the substrate transfer system according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a view showing the lower surface of the alignment chamber according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining alignment in the substrate transfer system according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is an overall view of the organic EL display device and a cross-sectional view of elements of the organic EL display device.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments and examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the following embodiments and examples exemplify preferable configurations of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to these configurations. Further, in the following description, the hardware configuration and software configuration of the apparatus, the flow of processing, the manufacturing conditions, the size, the material, the shape, and the like will limit the scope of the present invention to this unless otherwise specified. Not intended.

The present invention relates to a vacuum system that evacuates an internal space of an apparatus in which alignment is performed, a substrate transfer system, an electronic device manufacturing apparatus, and an electronic device manufacturing method, and more particularly, in a vacuum container that is highly evacuated by a cryopump. In at least a part of the period during which the substrate is aligned, the connection of the cryopump to the vacuum vessel is cut off by the valve, so that the relative thermal expansion and contraction due to the position of the substrate is made uniform, and the alignment accuracy It is related with the technique which can improve.

  The present invention can be preferably applied to an apparatus for forming a thin film (material layer) having a desired pattern by vacuum deposition on the surface of a parallel plate substrate. Arbitrary materials such as glass, resin, and metal can be selected as the material of the substrate, and any material such as organic material and inorganic material (metal, metal oxide, etc.) can be selected as the vapor deposition material. Specifically, the technology of the present invention can be applied to manufacturing apparatuses such as organic electronic devices (for example, organic EL display devices, thin film solar cells), optical members, and the like. In particular, an organic EL display device manufacturing apparatus is one of the preferred applications of the present invention because it requires faster and more precise alignment of the substrate due to an increase in the size of the substrate or a higher definition of the display panel. .

<Electronic device manufacturing equipment>
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of an electronic device manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention.

  The electronic device manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1 is used, for example, for manufacturing a display panel of an organic EL display device for a smartphone. In the case of a display panel for a smartphone, for example, after forming an organic EL film on a full size (about 1500 mm × about 1850 mm) or half cut size (about 1500 mm × about 925 mm) substrate, Make small panels.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an electronic device manufacturing apparatus generally includes a plurality of cluster apparatuses. Each cluster apparatus includes a transfer chamber 1 and a plurality of film forming chambers 2 arranged around the transfer chamber 1. And a mask loading chamber 3 in which masks before and after use are stored. In the transfer chamber 1, a transfer robot R that holds and transfers the substrate S is installed. The transfer robot R is, for example, a robot having a structure in which a robot hand for holding a substrate S is attached to an articulated arm, and the substrate S and the mask are carried into and out of each film forming chamber 2 or the mask loading chamber 3. I do.

  Each film forming chamber 2 is provided with a film forming apparatus (also referred to as a vapor deposition apparatus). A series of film formation processes such as transfer of the substrate S to the transfer robot R, adjustment of the relative position between the substrate S and the mask (alignment), fixation of the substrate S on the mask, film formation (evaporation), etc. This is done automatically by the membrane device.

  Between each cluster device, a buffer that can receive a substrate S from an upstream cluster device in the flow direction of the substrate S and temporarily store a plurality of substrates S before being transmitted to the downstream cluster device. The chamber 4 and the swirl chamber 5 that receives the substrate S from the buffer chamber 4 and changes the orientation of the substrate, and receives the substrate S from the swirl chamber 5 and performs rough alignment described later before transmitting the substrate S to the downstream cluster apparatus. An alignment chamber (pass chamber) 6 is installed.

  A rotating mechanism for rotating the substrate S can be installed in the swirl chamber 5. As an example of the rotation mechanism, a transfer robot having a structure in which a robot hand holding the substrate S is attached to an articulated arm is used. With such a configuration, the orientation of the substrate S can be made the same in the upstream and downstream cluster devices.

  In the alignment chamber (pass chamber) 6, before the substrate S is carried into the cluster apparatus by the transfer robot R in the transfer chamber 1, rough alignment is performed to roughly adjust the position of the substrate S where the positional deviation has occurred. This eliminates the need for rough alignment, which is conventionally performed for each film forming chamber 2, in each film forming chamber 2. The alignment mechanism and its operation in the alignment chamber (pass chamber) 6 will be described later.

  The film forming chamber 2, the mask loading chamber 3, the transfer chamber 1, the buffer chamber 4, the swirl chamber 5, the alignment chamber 6 and the like constituting the electronic device manufacturing apparatus are maintained in a vacuum state during the manufacturing process of the electronic device. The For this reason, a vacuum system for evacuating the space in the chamber is installed in these chambers.

  In this specification, the buffer chamber 4, the swirl chamber 5, and the alignment chamber (pass chamber) 6 installed between the upstream cluster device and the downstream cluster device are collectively referred to as a relay device. The relay device and the control means for controlling the alignment of the substrate in the relay device and / or the evacuation in the vacuum vessel are collectively referred to as a substrate transport system.

  Although the configuration of the electronic device manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention has been described with reference to FIG. 1, the configuration of the electronic device manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to this, and may have other chambers. The arrangement may be changed.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of the vacuum system and the substrate transfer system for evacuating the alignment chamber 6 will be described.

<Vacuum system and substrate transfer system>
FIG. 2 schematically shows a substrate transfer system according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a connection positional relationship between the alignment mechanism and the vacuum apparatus on the lower surface of the alignment chamber 6.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the substrate transfer system includes a vacuum container 60 in which the inside is maintained in a vacuum state, a substrate support base 10 on which the substrate S is placed in the vacuum container 60, and the substrate support base 10. It includes an alignment mechanism for adjusting the position of the substrate, a vacuum device for evacuating the vacuum vessel 60, and a controller 20 for controlling the alignment operation by the alignment mechanism and the evacuation operation by the vacuum device.

  Substrate carry-in / out ports (substrate carry-in / out gate valves) 11 and 12 through which the substrate S is carried in and out are installed on the side wall of the vacuum vessel 60.

The vacuum apparatus of the present invention is connected to the vacuum vessel 60 and the rough exhaust pump 14 connected to the vacuum vessel 60 to exhaust the internal space of the vacuum vessel 60 to a low vacuum (for example, 10 ⁻³ Torr). The cryopump 18 for exhausting the internal space of the vacuum vessel 60 to a high vacuum (for example, 10 ⁻⁸ Torr), and the compressor 19 connected to the cryopump 18 are included. The vacuum device and the control unit 20 constitute a vacuum system.

  The cryopump 18 is connected to the vacuum vessel 60 through the exhaust port 15, the piping unit 16, and the high vacuum exhaust valve 17 (connection opening / closing means) installed on the bottom surface of the vacuum vessel 60.

  The cryopump 18 is a pump that exhausts the internal space of the vacuum vessel 60 to a high vacuum by condensing or adsorbing gas molecules in the chamber on a cryogenic plate, and is a cryogenic plate (also called a cryopanel). And a refrigerator (not shown) for lowering the temperature of the cryogenic plate. A porous layer (not shown) for collecting condensed gas and moisture is formed on the surface of the cryogenic plate. The refrigerator of the cryopump 18 can lower the temperature of the cryogenic plate to a predetermined cryogenic temperature by adiabatically expanding a refrigerant (for example, helium gas) compressed to a high pressure to a low pressure.

Although FIG. 2 illustrates that one cryopump 18 is installed in the alignment chamber 6, the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of (for example, two) cryopumps 18 are installed depending on the implementation environment. be able to. As a result, the evacuation speed is increased and the process time (Tac
t) can be shortened, and even if evacuation by one cryopump 18 connected to the vacuum vessel 60 is not normally performed, the inside of the vacuum vessel 60 is brought into a high vacuum state by another cryopump. Can be maintained.

  The compressor 19 compresses helium gas used as the refrigerant of the cryopump 18 to a high pressure, and provides the high-pressure helium refrigerant to the refrigerator of the cryopump 18.

The rough exhaust pump 14 is connected to the vacuum container 60 via the rough exhaust valve 13 installed on the chamber wall of the vacuum container 60. The rough exhaust pump 14 exhausts the internal space of the vacuum container 60 to a low vacuum state (for example, 10 ⁻³ Torr) before the cryopump 18 exhausts the internal space of the vacuum container 60 to a high vacuum state. Thereby, the efficiency of evacuation by the cryopump 18 can be improved. The rough exhaust pump 14 is usually a rotary pump or a dry pump that does not require a compressor, but the present invention is not limited to this. FIG. 2 shows that one rough exhaust pump 14 is installed in the vacuum vessel 60. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of (for example, two) pumps depending on the specific implementation environment. ) A rough exhaust pump 14 can be installed.

  Hereinafter, a process of evacuating the internal space of the vacuum vessel 60 using the vacuum system of the present invention will be described.

  When evacuation is started, the rough evacuation pump 14 is operated to bring the internal space of the vacuum vessel 60 into a low vacuum state. That is, the rough exhaust valve 13 installed on the chamber wall of the vacuum vessel 60 is opened, and the rough exhaust pump 14 is operated to exhaust the inside of the vacuum vessel 60 to a predetermined low vacuum state.

  The cryopump 18 operates with the high vacuum exhaust valve 17 closed, and cools the cryogenic plate of the cryopump 18 to a predetermined temperature. That is, the helium refrigerant compressed to a high pressure by the compressor 19 is supplied to the cryopump 18, and the cryogenic plate is brought to a predetermined cryogenic temperature while the high-pressure helium refrigerant is adiabatically expanded to a low pressure in the refrigerator of the cryopump 18. Allow to cool.

  When the pressure in the vacuum vessel 60 becomes a predetermined low vacuum pressure by the rough exhaust pump 14 and the cryogenic plate of the cryopump 18 reaches a predetermined cryogenic temperature, the rough exhaust valve 13 is closed and the high vacuum exhaust valve 17 is closed. Is opened, and the internal space of the vacuum vessel 60 is collected and fixed by condensing / adsorbing the gas and moisture remaining in the vacuum vessel 60 to the cryogenic plate via the exhaust port 15 and the piping unit 16. Exhaust to a predetermined high vacuum atmosphere. That is, of the gas and moisture remaining in the vacuum vessel 60 after the low vacuum evacuation, those having a relatively high freezing point are condensed into a solid, and those having a low freezing point are placed on the surface of the cryogenic plate. By confining it in the internal space of the porous material having a large surface area, the gas or moisture remaining in the vacuum vessel 60 is removed and exhausted to a high vacuum state.

  The controller 20 controls the evacuation operation of such a vacuum system. That is, the control unit 20 controls operations of the cryopump 18, the compressor 19 connected thereto, the rough exhaust pump 14, and the like.

The substrate transfer system according to the present invention includes an alignment mechanism for aligning the substrate S placed on the substrate support 10 in the vacuum vessel 60, and the control unit 20 controls the alignment operation by the alignment mechanism. In the present embodiment, it is described that the control unit 20 that controls the evacuation operation by the vacuum device also controls the alignment operation by the alignment mechanism. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the control unit differs in the evacuation operation and the alignment operation. You can control by.

  The alignment mechanism includes substrate position information acquisition means (alignment camera) 22 for acquiring position information on the substrate S placed on the substrate support base 10, and the substrate support base 10 parallel to the placement surface of the substrate support base 10. And an XYθ actuator 21 for driving in the θ direction that rotates around the X axis direction, the Y axis direction that intersects the X axis direction, and the Z axis direction that intersects the X axis direction and the Y axis direction. The substrate support 10 is connected to the XYθ actuator 21 via a shaft.

  The alignment camera 22 is position information acquisition means for performing a rough position adjustment function of the substrate S, and is a camera having a low resolution and a wide viewing angle as compared with the fine alignment camera used in the film forming apparatus. . In this embodiment, a camera will be described as an example of the substrate position information acquisition means. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other configurations such as a laser displacement meter may be used.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the alignment camera 22 is installed so that a specific portion of the substrate S can be photographed through the window 40 provided on the bottom surface of the vacuum vessel 60 in the vertical direction. For example, the alignment camera 22 is installed at a position corresponding to two corners on the diagonal line of the substrate S. However, the position and number of the alignment camera 22 of the present invention are not limited to this. For example, the alignment camera 22 may be installed at portions corresponding to all corners of the substrate S.

  On the other hand, the substrate transfer system of the present invention may further include a substrate crack detection sensor 23 that can detect a crack in the substrate S. The substrate crack detection sensor 23 is a vacuum container as shown in FIGS. Through the window 41 provided on the bottom surface of the vertical direction 60, the amount of light by the laser is measured to detect cracks in the substrate S.

  Further, the XYθ actuator 21 is installed on the outside (atmosphere side) of the bottom surface in the vertical direction of the vacuum vessel 60 and is connected to the substrate support 10 via a shaft. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the XYθ actuator 21 is provided in the central portion on the atmosphere side of the bottom surface of the vacuum vessel 60. The XYθ actuator 21 generates a driving force in the XYθ direction through a servo motor (not shown) and a power conversion mechanism (for example, a linear guide) (not shown) for converting the rotational driving force from the servo motor into a linear driving force. This is transmitted to the substrate support 10.

  Such an XYθ actuator 21 has a lower position adjustment accuracy than the fine alignment XYθ actuator used for fine position adjustment between the substrate S and the mask in the film formation chamber 2, but has a wide movement range and adjustment. The range of possible misalignment is also wide.

  The control unit 20 controls the driving of the XYθ actuator 21 based on the position information (substrate position information) of the substrate S on the substrate support 10 obtained by the alignment camera 22.

<Alignment in the relay device and opening / closing control of the high vacuum exhaust valve during the alignment process>
As described above, before the substrate S is transferred into the transfer chamber 1 of the cluster apparatus, the upstream relay device (buffer chamber 4, swirl chamber 5, alignment chamber 6) in the transfer direction of the substrate S is roughened in advance. By performing alignment and performing fine alignment in the film forming chamber 2 of the cluster apparatus, the alignment process can be made efficient and the process time can be shortened. Here, of the relay apparatus, for example, an embodiment in which the rough alignment process is performed in the alignment chamber 6 will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the alignment process may be performed in another part of the relay device, for example, the buffer chamber 4 or the swirl chamber 5.

  In the alignment process in the alignment chamber 6, the substrate placed on the substrate support 10 is based on the reference position information of the substrate and the substrate position information that is the position information of the substrate placed on the substrate support 10. The amount of displacement from the reference position is calculated, and the position of the substrate is adjusted.

  More specifically, first, as shown in FIG. 4, reference marks 311 and 321 are provided on members (reference mark installation portions 31 and 32) fixed to the vacuum vessel 60, and the positions of the reference marks 311 and 321 are arranged. From the information, reference position information serving as a reference for adjusting the position of the substrate is calculated.

  For example, the reference marks 311 and 321 of the two reference mark installation portions 31 and 32 provided at positions corresponding to the two corner portions on the diagonal of the substrate placed on the substrate support 10, or these two reference marks The control unit 20 uses the position information of the center point of the line segment connecting the two virtual reference marks 312 and 322 that are assumed to be located at a predetermined distance from the 311 and 321 in the XY direction as reference position information for substrate alignment. Stored in a memory (not shown).

  Next, when the substrate S is carried into the alignment chamber 6, two diagonal corners of the substrate S (or if the corners of the substrate are chamfered, the extension lines of two adjacent sides of the substrate are Virtual alignment corners) or substrate alignment marks (not shown) formed at diagonal corners of the substrate are photographed by the alignment camera 22 and two corners (virtual corners) on the diagonal of the substrate Position information or the position information of the substrate alignment mark is acquired by image processing. Then, the position coordinates of the center point of a line segment connecting two corners (virtual corners) of the substrate or two alignment marks are calculated. Information regarding the position of the center point of the substrate is used as substrate position information.

  Based on the substrate position information obtained in this way and the reference position information stored in the memory of the control unit 20, the amount of displacement of the substrate is calculated, and based on this, the substrate support 10 on which the substrate is placed is determined as XYθ. It is moved by the actuator 21 to adjust the position of the substrate. In the present embodiment, the alignment operation of the method of aligning the position of the center point of the virtual reference mark and the position of the center point of the substrate placed on the substrate support base 10 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and Depending on the typical implementation environment, alignment can be performed in various ways.

  For example, the positions of the two virtual reference marks on the diagonal, not the center point, and the two corners (virtual corners) on the diagonal of the substrate placed on the substrate support 10 or the positions of the substrate alignment marks are aligned. You may align by a system. Further, the reference marks may be formed on other parts in the vacuum vessel 60, for example, the substrate support 10, as long as the alignment camera 22 can capture an image without separately providing the reference mark setting portions 31 and 32.

  Hereinafter, the opening / closing control of the high vacuum exhaust valve 17 in the alignment step in the alignment chamber 6 will be described with reference to FIG.

  According to the present invention, the control unit 20 controls the high vacuum exhaust valve 17 to be closed during at least a part of the period during which the alignment operation is performed in the alignment chamber 6.

  As described above, evacuation by the cryopump 18 is accompanied by cooling to an extremely low temperature, so that the temperature in the alignment chamber 6 is lowered, and thereby the temperature of the substrate S is also lowered.

However, as shown in FIG. 2, since the XYθ actuator 21 is installed at the center of the bottom surface in the vertical direction of the vacuum vessel 60 on the atmosphere side, the cryopump 18 for evacuating the vacuum vessel 60 is aligned. Biased toward the substrate exit or substrate entrance to the chamber 6,
Connected to the vacuum vessel 60. Reference numeral 30 in FIG. 3 indicates a position at which the shaft connecting the substrate support 10 and the XYθ actuator 21 in the vacuum vessel 60 is connected to the bottom surface of the vacuum vessel 60. Therefore, the cryopump 18 is provided with a vacuum vessel via an exhaust port 15 provided at a position close to the carry-in / out port side of the vacuum vessel 60 and a piping part 16 connected to the exhaust port 15 in order to secure the installation position. 60.

  Due to the connection position of the cryopump 18 as described above, the temperature of the substrate placed on the substrate support 10 of the vacuum vessel 60 becomes lower as it is closer to the exhaust port 15 connected to the cryopump 18. The temperature becomes uneven.

  That is, in the substrate S, the temperature of the portion near the exhaust port 15 is lower than the temperature of the portion far from the exhaust port 15, which is an important factor for reducing the accuracy of the substrate alignment. The substrate S is thermally expanded / contracted depending on the temperature, but when such a non-uniform temperature distribution occurs in one substrate, the amount of thermal expansion and the amount of thermal contraction becomes uneven in each part of the substrate, and μm Affects substrate alignment performed in units. In particular, in the alignment chamber 6 having a relatively small internal volume as compared with the film forming chamber 2, the influence tends to be further increased, and the cryopump 18 is on the carry-in port side or the carry-out port on the basis of the central portion of the alignment chamber 6. When it is biased to the side and connected to the vacuum container 60 of the alignment chamber 6, the influence is further increased.

  Therefore, it is desirable to keep the entire temperature of the substrate S uniform at least during the alignment process in the alignment chamber 6. However, since evacuation by the cryopump 18 involves non-uniform cooling of the substrate, in the present invention, control is performed so that the high evacuation valve 17 is closed at least during a period during which the control unit 20 performs the alignment operation. Thus, a configuration that minimizes the influence of the non-uniform temperature distribution in the substrate S during the alignment operation is employed.

  Specifically, in order to minimize the influence of the cryopump 18 on the alignment process, it is preferable to perform control so that the high vacuum exhaust valve 17 is closed during the period in which the alignment process is performed.

  For example, after the substrate S is carried into the alignment chamber 6 and placed on the substrate support 10, the control unit 20 closes the high vacuum exhaust valve 17, aligns the substrate S, and then performs high vacuum exhaust. The valve 17 can be controlled to open.

  However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the high vacuum exhaust valve 17 may be controlled to be closed during a part of the period during which the alignment process is performed. For example, while a corner portion of the substrate placed on the substrate support 10 or the substrate alignment mark is photographed by the alignment camera 22 and the displacement amount from the reference position of the substrate is calculated, the high vacuum exhaust valve 17 may be closed and the high vacuum exhaust valve 17 may be controlled to open when the movement / rotation of the substrate support 10 is started by the XYθ actuator 21 after the calculation of the amount of displacement of the substrate is completed. According to this, while reducing the influence of the cryopump 18 on the alignment step, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the degree of vacuum in the alignment chamber 6 and before the substrate is transferred from the alignment chamber 6 to the transfer chamber 1 after the alignment step. The time required to bring the alignment chamber 6 into the high vacuum state again can be shortened. Further, after the substrate is loaded, the high vacuum exhaust valve 17 may be controlled to be closed after the substrate is disposed for a certain time.

  Hereinafter, a method for controlling the alignment in the alignment chamber 6 and the opening / closing operation of the connection opening / closing means to the cryopump 18 in the process of manufacturing the electronic device according to the present invention will be described.

  First, the high vacuum evacuation valve 17 serving as a connection opening / closing means connected to the substrate transfer system of the present invention, for example, the vacuum vessel 60 of the alignment chamber 6 through the piping portion is opened, and the internal space of the vacuum vessel 60 is cooled by the cryopump 18. Is evacuated.

  After the vacuum vessel 60 is evacuated, the substrate is carried in from the substrate carry-in port of the vacuum vessel 60 and placed on the substrate support 10.

  Subsequently, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the control unit 20 closes the high vacuum exhaust valve 17 and performs the above-described alignment process on the substrate placed on the substrate support 10. For example, the alignment camera 22 images both corners on the diagonal of the substrate to calculate the amount of deviation from the reference position of the substrate, and based on this, the substrate support 10 is driven by the XYθ actuator 21. After the alignment step is performed, the control unit 20 opens the high vacuum exhaust valve 17 and exhausts the inside of the vacuum vessel 60 to a high vacuum state again. Subsequently, the substrate on the substrate support 10 is carried out from the carry-out port of the vacuum vessel 60.

<Method for manufacturing electronic device>
Next, an example of an electronic device manufacturing method using the vacuum system and the substrate transfer system of the present embodiment will be described. Hereinafter, as an example of an electronic device, a configuration and a manufacturing method of an organic EL display device will be exemplified.

  First, an organic EL display device to be manufactured will be described. FIG. 5A shows an overall view of the organic EL display device 50, and FIG. 5B shows a cross-sectional structure of one pixel.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, in the display region 51 of the organic EL display device 50, a plurality of pixels 52 including a plurality of light emitting elements are arranged in a matrix. Although details will be described later, each of the light-emitting elements has a structure including an organic layer sandwiched between a pair of electrodes. Here, the pixel refers to a minimum unit that enables display of a desired color in the display area 51.

  In the case of the organic EL display device according to this example, the pixel 52 is configured by a combination of the first light emitting element 52R, the second light emitting element 52G, and the third light emitting element 52B that emit different light.

  The pixel 52 is often composed of a combination of a red light emitting element, a green light emitting element, and a blue light emitting element. However, the pixel 52 may be a combination of a yellow light emitting element, a cyan light emitting element, and a white light emitting element. It is not limited.

FIG. 5B is a schematic partial cross-sectional view taken along the line AB of FIG. The pixel 52 includes a first electrode (anode) 54, a hole transport layer 55, light emitting layers 56 R, 56 G, and 56 B, an electron transport layer 57, and a second electrode (cathode) 58 on a substrate 53. It has an EL element. Among these, the hole transport layer 55, the light emitting layers 56R, 56G, and 56B and the electron transport layer 57 correspond to the organic layer. In the present embodiment, the light emitting layer 56R is an organic EL layer that emits red, the light emitting layer 56G is an organic EL layer that emits green, and the light emitting layer 56B is an organic EL layer that emits blue. The light emitting layers 56R, 56G, and 56B are formed in patterns corresponding to light emitting elements that emit red, green, and blue (sometimes referred to as organic EL elements). The first electrode 54 is formed separately for each light emitting element. The hole transport layer 55, the electron transport layer 57, and the second electrode 58 may be formed in common with the plurality of light emitting elements 52R, 52G, and 52B, or may be formed for each light emitting element. Note that an insulating layer 59 is provided between the first electrodes 54 in order to prevent the first electrode 54 and the second electrode 58 from being short-circuited by foreign matter. Furthermore, since the organic EL layer is deteriorated by moisture and oxygen, a protective layer 60 for protecting the organic EL element from moisture and oxygen is provided.

  In FIG. 5B, the hole transport layer 55 and the electron transport layer 57 are shown as one layer. However, depending on the structure of the organic EL display element, a plurality of layers including the hole block layer and the electron block layer may be used. It may be formed. Further, a positive band having an energy band structure that can smoothly inject holes from the first electrode 54 to the hole transport layer 55 between the first electrode 54 and the hole transport layer 55. A hole injection layer can also be formed. Similarly, an electron injection layer can be formed between the second electrode 58 and the electron transport layer 57.

  Next, an example of a method for manufacturing an organic EL display device will be specifically described.

  First, a circuit (not shown) for driving the organic EL display device and a substrate 53 on which the first electrode 54 is formed are prepared.

  An acrylic resin is formed by spin coating on the substrate 53 on which the first electrode 54 is formed, and the acrylic resin is patterned by a lithography method so that an opening is formed in a portion where the first electrode 54 is formed. 59 is formed. This opening corresponds to a light emitting region where the light emitting element actually emits light.

  The substrate 53 on which the insulating layer 59 is patterned is carried into the first film formation apparatus, the substrate is held by the substrate holding unit, and the hole transport layer 55 is a common layer on the first electrode 54 in the display region. As a film formation. The hole transport layer 55 is formed by vacuum deposition. Actually, since the hole transport layer 55 is formed in a size larger than the display region 51, a high-definition mask is unnecessary.

  Next, the substrate 53 on which the hole transport layer 55 is formed is carried into the second film forming apparatus and held by the substrate holding unit. The substrate and the mask are aligned, the substrate is placed on the mask, and a red light emitting layer 56R is formed on the portion of the substrate 53 where the red light emitting element is disposed. In the present invention, before film formation is performed on the substrate in the film formation apparatus, rough alignment is performed in the relay apparatus, for example, the alignment chamber 6, and the film formation apparatus performs fine alignment with higher positional adjustment accuracy. . In particular, in order to increase the accuracy of rough alignment performed in the alignment chamber 6, the connection of the cryopump 18 to the alignment chamber 6 is interrupted during the alignment process in the alignment chamber 6.

  Similarly to the formation of the light emitting layer 56R, the light emitting layer 56G emitting green is formed by the third film forming apparatus, and the light emitting layer 56B emitting blue is formed by the fourth film forming apparatus. After the film formation of the light emitting layers 56R, 56G, and 56B is completed, the electron transport layer 57 is formed on the entire display region 51 by the fifth film formation apparatus. The electron transport layer 57 is formed as a layer common to the light emitting layers 56R, 56G, and 56B of the three colors.

  The substrate on which the electron transport layer 57 is formed is moved to the sputtering device, the second electrode 58 is formed, and then the protective layer 60 is formed by moving to the plasma CVD device, whereby the organic EL display device 50 is completed. To do.

  When the substrate 53 on which the insulating layer 59 is patterned is carried into the film formation apparatus and the film formation of the protective layer 60 is completed, if a light emitting layer made of an organic EL material is exposed to an atmosphere containing moisture or oxygen, There is a risk of deterioration due to moisture and oxygen. Therefore, in this example, the carrying-in / out of the substrate between the film forming apparatuses is performed in a vacuum atmosphere or an inert gas atmosphere.

  The above embodiment shows an example of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and may be appropriately modified within the scope of its technical idea.

1: Transfer chamber 2: Film formation chamber 3: Mask loading chamber 4: Buffer chamber 5: Swivel chamber 6: Alignment chamber (pass chamber)
10: Substrate support 11: Substrate carry-in port (gate valve for substrate carry-in)
12: Substrate unloading port (Gate valve for substrate unloading)
13: Rough exhaust valve 14: Rough exhaust pump 15: Exhaust port 16: Piping section 17: High vacuum exhaust valve 18: Cryo pump 19: Compressor 20: Control section 21: XYθ actuator 22: Alignment camera 23: Substrate Crack detection sensor 30: Connection portions 31 and 32 between the substrate support and the substrate alignment mechanism 40: Reference mark installation unit 40: Alignment camera window 41: Substrate crack detection sensor window 60: Vacuum container 311 and 312: Reference mark 321, 322: Virtual reference mark

Claims (25)

A vacuum system for evacuating a space in which alignment is performed,
A cryopump for exhausting the space;
Connection opening and closing means disposed between the space and the cryopump;
Control means for controlling the opening and closing operation of the connection opening and closing means,
The vacuum system according to claim 1, wherein the control means controls the connection opening / closing means to be closed during at least a part of a period in which the alignment is performed in the space.   The vacuum system according to claim 1, further comprising a piping part that connects the connection opening / closing means and the space.   The vacuum system according to claim 1, further comprising an exhaust pump for evacuating the space to a pressure higher than a vacuum pressure exhausted by the cryopump. A substrate transfer system for transferring a substrate,
A vacuum vessel;
A cryopump connected to the vacuum vessel;
Connection opening and closing means disposed between the vacuum vessel and the cryopump;
An alignment mechanism for aligning the substrate disposed in the vacuum vessel;
Control means for controlling the opening and closing operation of the connection opening and closing means,
The substrate transfer system, wherein the control means controls the connection opening / closing means to be closed during at least a part of a period during which the alignment of the substrate is performed in the vacuum vessel. A substrate support for supporting the substrate in the vacuum vessel;
5. The substrate transfer system according to claim 4, wherein the control unit controls the connection opening / closing unit to be closed after the substrate is placed on the substrate support.   6. The substrate transfer system according to claim 4, wherein the control unit controls the connection opening / closing unit to open after alignment with the substrate.   The substrate transfer system is a system connected to a transfer chamber to which a plurality of film forming chambers are connected, and transferring the substrate upstream of the transfer chamber in the transfer direction of the substrate. The board | substrate conveyance system as described in any one of 4-6.   The substrate transfer system according to any one of claims 4 to 7, further comprising a pipe part having one end connected to the vacuum vessel and the other end connected to the connection opening / closing means.   The said piping part is connected to the said vacuum vessel in the position close | similar to the substrate carry-out side provided in the said vacuum vessel or the substrate carry-in side rather than the center part of the said vacuum vessel. The board | substrate conveyance system of description.   10. The pump according to claim 4, further comprising an exhaust pump for evacuating the vacuum vessel to a pressure higher than a vacuum pressure exhausted by the cryopump. 11. The board | substrate conveyance system of description. A substrate support for supporting the substrate in the vacuum vessel;
The alignment mechanism includes a substrate support drive mechanism for driving the substrate support, and substrate position information acquisition means for acquiring substrate position information indicating the position of the substrate with respect to the vacuum container. The substrate transfer system according to claim 4.   The control means calculates a positional deviation amount of the substrate from the reference positional information indicating the reference position in the vacuum vessel and the substrate positional information, and controls the substrate support driving mechanism based on the positional deviation amount. The board | substrate conveyance system of Claim 11 characterized by the above-mentioned.   The substrate transfer system according to claim 12, wherein a reference mark for acquiring the reference position is fixedly provided with respect to the vacuum container.   The substrate transport system according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the substrate support drive mechanism is installed on the atmosphere side below the vertical direction of the vacuum vessel.   The board | substrate conveyance system as described in any one of Claims 11-14 in which the said board | substrate position information acquisition means contains a camera. A substrate crack detection sensor for detecting a crack of the substrate carried into the vacuum container;
The substrate transport system according to any one of claims 4 to 15, wherein the substrate crack detection sensor detects a crack in the substrate through light quantity measurement using a laser. An electronic device manufacturing apparatus,
A plurality of cluster apparatuses each including a plurality of film forming chambers;
A substrate transport system for receiving the substrate from the upstream cluster device in the substrate transport direction and transporting the substrate to the downstream cluster device;
The said board | substrate conveyance system is a board | substrate conveyance system as described in any one of Claims 4-16, The electronic device manufacturing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The cluster apparatus further includes a transfer chamber connected to the plurality of film forming chambers,
The electronic device manufacturing apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the substrate transfer system is connected to a transfer chamber of the downstream cluster device and transfers the substrate to the transfer chamber of the downstream cluster device. An electronic device manufacturing method comprising:
A step of opening the connection opening / closing means and evacuating the cryopump with the cryopump, wherein the cryopump is connected via the connection opening / closing means;
Placing the electronic device substrate on a substrate support placed in the evacuated vacuum vessel; and
Including aligning the substrate in the vacuum vessel,
The method for manufacturing an electronic device, wherein the connection opening / closing means is closed during at least a part of the alignment period.   20. The method of manufacturing an electronic device according to claim 19, further comprising a step of closing the connection opening / closing means between the step of arranging the substrate and the step of performing alignment.   21. The method of manufacturing an electronic device according to claim 19, further comprising a step of opening the connection opening / closing means after the alignment step.   The vacuum container is connected to the upstream side in the transport direction of the substrate with respect to a transport chamber to which a plurality of film forming chambers are connected. The manufacturing method of the electronic device of description.   23. The method according to claim 19, further comprising a step of evacuating the inside of the vacuum vessel to a pressure higher than a vacuum pressure exhausted by the cryopump using an exhaust pump. An electronic device manufacturing method according to one item.   The step of performing alignment further includes the step of acquiring the position information of the substrate on the substrate support using the substrate position information acquisition means provided on the atmosphere side of the bottom surface in the vertical direction of the vacuum vessel. The method for manufacturing an electronic device according to any one of claims 19 to 23.   25. The method according to claim 19, further comprising a step of detecting a crack of the substrate on the substrate support using a substrate crack detection sensor provided on the atmosphere side of the bottom surface in the vertical direction of the vacuum vessel. The manufacturing method of the electronic device as described in any one of these.

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