JP3119669B2 - Vapor deposition equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vapor deposition apparatus, and more particularly, to a type in which an evaporation source and a regulating member for regulating passage of a vapor flow from the evaporation source are fixedly arranged to reciprocate a substrate in a lateral direction. The device according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising:
The present invention relates to a vapor deposition apparatus provided with a plurality of deposition prevention plates to prevent scattering of evaporation source materials.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a vapor deposition apparatus is an apparatus that forms a vapor flow by heating an evaporation source to form a vapor flow, and deposits a constituent material of the vapor flow on a substrate.
A linear evaporation source is fixedly arranged in the chamber, and above the evaporation source, a regulating member having an opening is fixedly arranged in parallel with the linear evaporation source, and above the regulating member,
There has been proposed a vapor deposition apparatus in which a substrate is reciprocated by a transfer wire (see Japanese Patent Application No. 61-234137).
.

[0003]

However, in the conventional vapor deposition apparatus as described above, the evaporation source and the regulating member are fixed,
Since the substrate is configured to reciprocate, there is no problem when the opening of the regulating member is completely covered by the substrate,
When the substrate comes off from the opening, the evaporation source material also scatters above the substrate, and there is a problem that the back surface of the substrate is stained or the inner wall of the chamber is contaminated.
In particular, this problem was remarkable when a thick deposited film was formed. In order to solve this problem, it is conceivable to connect a deposition-preventing plate to one end side and the other end side of the holder for the substrate. However, such a measure requires a large occupied space in the chamber,
There are disadvantages in that the device becomes large and the exhaust capacity must be enhanced. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a vapor deposition apparatus having a compact structure that does not increase the occupied space while having a deposition-preventing plate, and therefore does not require an increase in the size of the apparatus and enhancement of the exhaust capacity. It is in.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, a vapor deposition apparatus according to the present invention comprises an evaporating source and a holding table for holding a substrate disposed above the evaporating source so as to be able to reciprocate laterally. A regulating member disposed between the substrate and the evaporation source, for regulating passage of a vapor flow from the evaporation source, and provided so as to be capable of reciprocating in a lateral direction between the regulating member and the substrate. In addition, in a vapor deposition apparatus including two deposition-preventing plates having an area larger than the opening of the regulating member, the lateral length of the substrate may be smaller than the opening of the regulating member.
When the opening of the regulating member is completely covered by the substrate, the two deposition-preventing plates are stopped at positions on both sides deviated from the opening of the regulating member, respectively. When the opening of the regulating member is not completely covered by the substrate, only one of the attachment-preventing plates is moved together with the holding base to provide an attachment-preventing plate moving mechanism for covering the opening.

[0005]

When all the openings of the regulating member are not covered by the substrate by the attachment plate moving mechanism, one of the attachment plates moves together with the holding base of the substrate to cover the opening. The attachment prevents contamination of the back surface of the substrate and contamination of the inner wall of the chamber. In addition, since one of the deposition prevention plates moves together with the holding plate , the moving direction of the substrate in the chamber is smaller than that of a conventional device in which two deposition prevention plates are connected to both ends of the substrate and moved. The required occupied space in the device is reduced. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size of the device and to reduce the exhaust capacity, and it is possible to economically design the device. In addition, since the function of the deposition-preventing plate is sufficiently exhibited, the recovery rate of the evaporation source substance is improved, and the evaporation source can be used economically. In particular, when a stimulable phosphor is used as an evaporation source, the cost is high, so this merit is extremely important.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below.
FIG. 1 is an explanatory view schematically showing the outline of the configuration of a vapor deposition apparatus according to the present invention, in which an evaporation source 8 is fixedly arranged below a chamber 1, and the evaporation source 8 is placed above the evaporation source 8. A regulating member 4 having an opening 5 for regulating the passage of the vapor flow is fixedly arranged, and a substrate 2 is provided above the regulating member 4 so as to be integrally movable in a lateral direction by a holding table 3. Between the regulating member 4 and the movement path of the substrate 2, two deposition prevention plates 6, 7 having an area larger than the opening 5 of the regulating member 4 are arranged side by side so as to be movable in the lateral direction.
9 is an evaporation source container containing an electron gun, 10 is an electron beam, 11
Is a main valve, and 12 is an auxiliary valve. Main valve
11. The auxiliary valve 12 is used in conjunction with an exhaust device (not shown) to maintain the inside of the chamber 1 at a predetermined degree of vacuum.

[0007] In this vapor deposition apparatus, a deposition preventing plate moving mechanism (FIG. 1)
In this case, the movement of the two deposition-preventing plates 6 and 7 is controlled as follows. (1) As shown in FIG. 2A, when the opening 5 of the regulating member 4 is not covered at all by the substrate 2, one of the attachment-preventing plates 6 covers the whole of the opening 5, and The deposition-preventing plate 7 comes to a standstill at a standby position on the left side of the left end of the opening 5. (2) When the substrate 2 starts moving to the right together with the holding table 3, one of the deposition-preventing plates 6 also moves to the right along with the holding table 3, and the opening 5 is gradually opened. The vapor flow reaches the deposition surface of the substrate 2. (3) When the right end of the substrate 2 exceeds the right end of the opening 5, FIG.
As shown in (b), the opening 5 is completely covered with the substrate 2, the movement of one of the deposition prevention plates 6 in the right direction is stopped, and the one of the deposition prevention plates 6 is stopped at the right standby position. (4) When the substrate 2 moves further to the right and its left end passes through the left end of the opening 5, the other attachment-preventing plate 7 is moved to the holding table 3.
, And the opening 5 is gradually covered by the adhesion-preventing plate 7. (5) When the left end of the substrate 2 passes through the right end of the opening 5, as shown in FIG. 2C, the other protection plate 7 stops while completely covering the opening 5. (6) When the substrate 2 starts to move in the reverse direction, that is, in the leftward direction together with the holding table 3, the above operation is repeated in the reverse order to return to the state of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of an example of the attachment-preventing plate moving mechanism, which includes a claw 13 provided at an end of the holding base 3, a claw 14 provided at an end of the attachment-preventing plate 6, and a wire 15. , The stopper 16 and the weight 17 constitute a deposition preventing plate moving mechanism. When the holding table 3 moves to the left, the claw 13 of the holding table 3 engages with the claw 14 of the deposition-preventing plate 6, and the deposition-preventing plate 6 moves to the left. At this time, the weight 17 connected to the deposition-preventing plate 6 by the wire 15 also moves against the gravity. When the holding base 3 moves to the right, the attachment-preventing plate 6 is pulled to the right by the gravity of the weight 17, but moves together with the holding base 3 because the claws 13 and 14 are engaged. When the deposition-preventing plate 6 moves to the right and its left end moves beyond the right end of the opening 5 of the regulating member 4, it hits the stopper 16 and stops its movement. On the other hand, the holding table 3 is subsequently moved to the right,
When the left end of the substrate 2 moves beyond the right end of the opening 5 of the regulating member 4, the moving direction of the holding table 3 is switched to the opposite direction, that is, the left direction.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of another example of the deposition-preventing plate moving mechanism. In FIG. 3, a deposition-plate moving mechanism is constructed in the same manner except that a spring 18 is used in place of the weight 17. I have. That is, in FIG. 3, the proof plate 6 is moved to the right using gravity, but in FIG. 4, the proof plate 6 is moved to the right using the elastic force of the spring 18.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of still another example of the adhesion-preventing plate moving mechanism, which includes an electromagnet 19 provided at an end of the holding table 3 and a transport control system 20 for controlling the operation of the electromagnet 19. A protection plate moving mechanism is configured. When the electromagnet 19 is on the right side of the right end 21 of the opening 5, the electromagnet 19 is in the off state, and the deposition prevention plate 6 is stationary at the standby position on the right side of the right end 21 of the opening 5. When the holding table 3 moves to the left and the electromagnet 19 comes to the position of the right end 21 of the opening 5, the electromagnet 19 is turned on, the deposition prevention plate 6 is attracted to the holding table 3, and starts to move to the left together with the holding table 3. I do. Electromagnet 19 has opening 5
, The moving direction of the holding table 3 is switched to the opposite direction, that is, the right direction. Then, when the electromagnet 19 reaches the position of the right end 21 of the opening 5, the electromagnet 19 is turned off, the deposition prevention plate 6 is cut off from the holding table 3, and the initial position, that is, the standby position on the right side of the right end 21 of the opening 5. To stop. Note that, in the present invention, without using the moving force of the holding table, a moving means dedicated to the deposition-preventing plate is provided, and the movement of the deposition-preventing plate is controlled in conjunction with the position detecting means of the substrate. Good.

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the length of the substrate 2 in the width direction (the length in the left-right direction of the paper in FIGS. 3 to 5) is L ₁ , and the opening 5 of the regulating member 4 is When the moving direction of the length of the L _2, the minimum required length of the chamber 1 (Fig. 3
Figure 5 the length of the paper in the lateral direction) is generally in the conventional apparatus 2L ₁ + 3L _2, the apparatus of FIGS 5 2L ₁ + L ₂
Becomes For example, when L ₁ = 430 mm and L ₂ = 150 mm, the necessary minimum length of the chamber 1 is approximately as follows. Conventional equipment: Equipment 1310mm FIGS. 3 5: 1010 mm saving effect of this footprint is, L ₂ is remarkable longer.

When a stimulable phosphor is used as the evaporation source 8, fine columnar crystals grow on the substrate 2 in parallel to the streamline direction of the vapor flow. This is effective for aligning the growth directions of body crystals. Further, by adjusting the incident direction of the streamline of the vapor flow reaching the deposition surface of the substrate 2, the growth direction of the fine columnar crystals in the stimulable phosphor layer can be controlled, and the irradiation of the stimulating excitation light can be performed. In addition, it is possible to form a stimulable phosphor layer which is most convenient for concentrating stimulable light emission. When the growth direction of the fine columnar crystal in the stimulable phosphor layer is one-dimensionally irradiated with stimulating excitation light and condensed by a condensing member having a one-dimensional condensing surface, the growth direction is relative to the surface on which the substrate 2 is to be deposited. Preferably it is a right angle.

When a stimulable phosphor is used as the evaporation source 8, the stimulable phosphor is uniformly dissolved or the stimulable phosphor is formed by pressing or hot pressing.
Be charged to. At this time, it is preferable to perform a degassing treatment. The evaporation source 8 for forming the stimulable phosphor layer does not need to be the stimulable phosphor itself, but may be a mixture of raw materials constituting the stimulable phosphor.

The distance between the evaporation source container 9 in which the evaporation source 8 is charged and the substrate 2 is determined according to the average range of the evaporation source 8, but when a stimulable phosphor is used as the evaporation source 8, Is
It is approximately 10-40cm. At the time of vapor deposition, the substrate 2
It may be heated by a heater (not shown). Before starting the vapor deposition, it is preferable to operate the main valve 11 and the like to remove the gas in the chamber 1 and maintain the degree of vacuum at about 10 ^-4 to 10 ^-6 Torr. At this time, an inert gas such as argon may be mixed into the chamber 1.

Further, a plurality of evaporation source containers containing different evaporation sources are set in a chamber, and these evaporation sources are sequentially evaporated to perform evaporation, and a plurality of types of stimulable phosphors are formed on a substrate. May be formed.

At the time of vapor deposition, the substrate 2 may be cooled if necessary. After the deposition is completed, the deposited film may be subjected to a heat treatment (annealing) as necessary. At the time of vapor deposition, reactive vapor deposition may be performed by introducing a gas such as O ₂ or H ₂ into the chamber 1 as necessary. As a heating means for the evaporation source, a resistance heating means may be employed in addition to the electron beam.

When a stimulable phosphor is used as the evaporation source 8, a stimulable phosphor layer used in an X-ray device, for example, a radiation image conversion panel can be formed. The thickness of the stimulable phosphor layer is different depending on the sensitivity to radiation, the type of stimulable phosphor, etc., but the radiation absorptivity is increased to improve the radiation sensitivity, and the image granularity is improved, Furthermore, from the viewpoint of preventing the spread of light in the lateral direction in the stimulable phosphor layer and improving the sharpness of the image, 200 μm
m or more. The deposition rate of the stimulable phosphor layer used in the radiation image conversion panel varies depending on the type of the stimulable phosphor and the like, but is preferably 0.01 to 1000 μm / min, particularly preferably 0.1 to 100 μm / min. The deposition rate
When the rate is less than 0.01 μm / min, the efficiency of forming the stimulable phosphor layer is poor. On the contrary, when the deposition rate exceeds 1000 μm / min, it is difficult to control the deposition rate, which is not preferable.

The stimulable phosphor used in the radiation image conversion panel is subjected to a stimulus such as light, thermal, mechanical, chemical or electrical after the first irradiation with light or high energy radiation. Is a phosphor that emits stimulated light corresponding to the dose of the first light or high-energy radiation. However, from a practical point of view, it is preferably a phosphor that emits stimulated light by stimulated excitation light of 500 nm or more. Body. Examples of the stimulable phosphor include BaSO ₄ : AX described in JP-A-48-80487, SrSO ₄ : AX described in JP-A-48-80489, and JP-A-53-80489. − 392
No. 77, Li ₂ B ₄ O ₇ : Cu, Ag
Li ₂ O described in JP-A-54-47883.
_{· (B 2 O 2) x} : Cu and _{Li 2 O · (B 2 O} 2)
_x : SrS: Ce, Sm, SrS: Eu, S described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,859,527, such as Cu and Ag.
m, La ₂ O ₂ S: Eu, Sm and (Zn, Cd)
S: Phosphor represented by Mn, ZnS: Cu, Pb phosphor described in JP-A-55-12142, general formula Ba
O · xAl ₂ O _3: barium aluminate phosphor represented by Eu, the general formula M ^II O · xSiO _2: alkaline earth metal silicate-based phosphor represented by A, JP 55- No. 12143 General formula (Ba _1-xy Mg _x C _ay ) described in the gazette
FX: alkaline earth fluorohalide phosphor represented by eEu ²⁺ , phosphor represented by general formula LnOX: xA described in JP-A-55-12144, JP-A-55-1
General formula (Ba _1-x M _x ) F described in JP-A-2145
X: a phosphor represented by yA, a phosphor represented by the general formula BaFX: xCe, yA described in JP-A-55-84389, and described in JP-A-55-160078. A rare earth element-activated divalent metal fluorohalide phosphor represented by the general formula M ^II FX.xA: yLn; a general formula ZnS: A;
CdS: A, (Zn, Cd) S: A, S: A, ZnS:
A, X and CdS: phosphors represented by A and X
The general formula xM ₃ (PO
₄ ) Phosphor represented by ₂ · NX ₂ : yA and M ₃ (PO ₄ ) ₂ : yA, general formula nReX ₃ · MAX ′ ₂ : xE
u and _{nReX 3 · mAX '2: xEu} , phosphor represented by YSM, and the general formula ^{M I X · aM II X'} 2 · b
M ^III X _"3:. Alkali halide phosphor, etc. represented by cA, among others, alkali halide phosphor is preferably easy to form a stimulable phosphor layer by vapor deposition.

The stimulable phosphor used in the radiation image conversion panel is not limited to the above-mentioned phosphors, and the stimulable phosphor emits stimulable luminescence when irradiated with radiation and then irradiated with stimulating excitation light. Any phosphor as shown may be used. The vapor-deposited film may be a stimulable phosphor layer group including one or two or more stimulable phosphor layers containing at least one of the stimulable phosphors described above. Also, the stimulable phosphor contained in each stimulable phosphor layer may be the same or different.

In the present invention, as the substrate, for example, a ceramic plate such as alumina, a glass plate such as chemically strengthened glass or crystallized glass, a metal plate such as aluminum, iron, copper or chromium, or a coating layer of the metal oxide is used. However, a plastic film such as a cellulose acetate film, a polyester film, a polyethylene terephthalate film, a polyamide film, a polyimide film, and a polycarbonate film may be used. The thickness of the substrate varies depending on the material of the substrate to be used and the like, but is generally 80 to 3000 μm. The surface of the substrate may be a smooth surface, or may be a mat surface for the purpose of improving the adhesion to the stimulable phosphor layer. Further, the surface of the substrate may have an uneven surface as described in JP-A-61-142497, or a tiled plate isolated as described in JP-A-61-142498. A spread structure may be used. Further, a light reflection layer, a light absorption layer, an adhesive layer, and the like may be provided on the substrate as needed.

It is preferable to provide a protective layer on the surface of the stimulable phosphor layer formed by the vapor deposition apparatus of the present invention for physically or chemically protecting the stimulable phosphor layer. This protective layer may be formed by directly applying a coating solution for the protective layer on the stimulable phosphor layer, or by bonding a separately formed protective layer on the stimulable phosphor layer. Is also good. Further, a resin which is cured by radiation and / or heat as proposed in JP-A-61-176900 may be used. Materials for the protective layer include cellulose acetate, nitrocellulose,
Polymethyl methacrylate, polyvinyl butyral, polyvinyl formal, polycarbonate, polyester, polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinylidene chloride, nylon, polytetrafluoroethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene monochloride, ethylene tetrafluoride / propylene hexafluoride Copolymers, vinylidene chloride / vinyl chloride copolymer, vinylidene chloride / acrylonitrile copolymer and the like can be mentioned.

The protective layer is made of SiC, SiO ₂ , SiN, Al by vacuum evaporation, sputtering or the like.
_It may be formed by laminating inorganic substances such as ₂ O ₃ . Also,
What can be formed into a sheet having excellent translucency can be used as a protective layer by closely adhering it on the stimulable phosphor layer or disposing it at a distance. The protective layer desirably exhibits high light transmittance over a wide wavelength range in order to efficiently transmit stimulated excitation light and stimulated emission, and the light transmittance is preferably 80% or more. Such as, for example, quartz,
Plate glass such as borosilicate glass and chemically strengthened glass,
Organic polymer compounds such as PET, stretched polypropylene, and polyvinyl chloride are exemplified. 330 nm for borosilicate glass
It shows a light transmittance of 80% or more in a wavelength range of up to 2.6 μm, and quartz glass shows a high light transmittance even at a shorter wavelength.

Further, it is preferable to provide an anti-reflection layer such as MgF _{2 on} the surface of the protective layer, because it has the effects of efficiently transmitting stimulated excitation light and stimulated emission and reducing a decrease in sharpness. The thickness of the protective layer is 50 μm to 5 mm, preferably 100 μm to 3 mm. When the protective layer is disposed at a distance from the stimulable phosphor layer, a spacer is preferably provided between the substrate and the protective layer so as to surround the phosphor layer. Is not particularly limited as long as it can hold the stimulable phosphor layer in a state of being shielded from the external atmosphere. Glass, ceramics, metal, plastic, and the like can be used, and the thickness is stimulable. The thickness is preferably equal to or greater than the thickness of the phosphor layer.

[0024]

As described above in detail, according to the vapor deposition apparatus of the present invention, the deposition plate can be moved in the horizontal direction together with the holding table of the substrate to prevent the evaporation source material from scattering.
It is possible to effectively prevent contamination of the back surface of the substrate and contamination of the inner wall of the chamber while reducing the size of the apparatus and reducing the exhaust capacity. Further, the recovery rate of the evaporation source material can be increased.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the outline of the configuration of a vapor deposition apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating a moving state of a deposition prevention plate.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a deposition preventing plate moving mechanism.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of another example of a deposition-proof plate moving mechanism.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of still another example of the deposition preventing plate moving mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Chamber 2 Substrate 3 Holder 4 Restriction member 5 Opening 6 Deposition plate 7 Deposition plate 8 Evaporation source 9 Evaporation source container with built-in electron gun 10 Electron beam 11 Main valve 12 Auxiliary valve 13 Claw 14 Claw 15 Wire 16 Stopper 17 Weight 18 Spring 19 Electromagnet 20 Transport control system 21 Right end 22 Left end

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) C23C 14/00-14/58 B01J 19/00 C30B 23/06 G21K 4/00

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An evaporation source, a holding table for holding a substrate disposed above the evaporation source in a manner capable of reciprocating in a lateral direction, and the evaporation source disposed between the substrate and the evaporation source. A regulating member for regulating the passage of the vapor flow from the substrate, and two guards provided between the regulating member and the substrate so as to be able to reciprocate laterally and having an area larger than the opening of the regulating member. And a lateral length of the substrate is the same as an opening of the regulating member.
When the opening length of the regulating member is larger than the direction length and the opening of the regulating member is completely covered with the substrate, the two deposition prevention plates are stopped at positions on both sides deviated from the opening of the regulating member, respectively. A depositing plate moving mechanism that moves only one of the deposition-preventing plates together with the holding base and covers the opening when the opening is not entirely covered by the substrate.