KR20110050226A - Manufacturing apparatus of flat panel display element - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an apparatus for manufacturing a flat panel display device capable of forming a plurality of thin films on different substrates through different deposition methods with one sputter.

An apparatus for manufacturing a flat panel display device according to the present invention includes a first process chamber for forming a first thin film in a state in which a glass substrate transferred in an inline manner is stopped; A second process chamber formed in communication with the first process chamber and forming a second thin film on a plastic film; A power supply unit supplying voltage to the first and second process chambers simultaneously or separately; And a plurality of vacuum pumps forming a vacuum atmosphere of the first and second process chambers.

Description

Manufacturing apparatus for flat panel display device {FABRICATNG APPARATUS FOR PLAT DISPLAY DEVICE}

The present invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing a flat panel display device capable of forming a plurality of thin films on different substrates through different deposition methods with one sputter.

In general, the liquid crystal display (Liquid Crystal Display) is a flat panel display device that displays an image using a liquid crystal, it is thinner and lighter than other display devices, and has the advantages of low driving voltage and low power consumption, It is widely used throughout.

Such liquid crystal displays are formed through manufacturing processes such as thin film deposition, cleaning, photolithography, etching, photoresist stripping, and inspection.

The dual thin film deposition process uses a sputter device to form a thin film on a substrate. The sputtering device injects argon gas, which is an inert gas, oxygen and nitrogen, which is a reactive gas, into the process chamber, and applies a high voltage to the target cathode. The applied voltage causes the aarrow tube gas to be ionized and accelerated to collide with the target. At this time, the target material protrudes and sticks to the substrate to grow, thereby forming a thin film.

Such a sputtering apparatus also varies in the deposition method depending on the substrate transfer method. Therefore, in recent years, a sputtering apparatus capable of forming a plurality of thin films on different substrates through different deposition methods with one sputtering device is required in view of cost reduction.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is to provide a flat panel display device manufacturing apparatus capable of forming a plurality of thin films on different substrates through a different deposition method with a single sputter.

In order to achieve the above technical problem, an apparatus for manufacturing a flat panel display device according to the present invention includes a first process chamber for forming a first thin film in a state in which the glass substrate transferred in the in-line manner is stopped; A second process chamber formed in communication with the first process chamber and forming a second thin film on a plastic film; A power supply unit supplying voltage to the first and second process chambers simultaneously or separately; And a plurality of vacuum pumps forming a vacuum atmosphere of the first and second process chambers.

The apparatus for manufacturing a flat panel display device may include a transfer chamber in communication with the first process chamber and transferring a glass substrate to the first process chamber; A buffer chamber in communication with the first process chamber to transfer a glass substrate from the first process chamber; And a load lock chamber for transferring the substrate to the transfer chamber.

The apparatus for manufacturing a flat panel display element may further include a heater for preheating the glass substrate in the transfer chamber and the buffer chamber.

The second process chamber includes a supply roll for continuously supplying the plastic film; A cathode which is a target for depositing a transparent conductive film on the plastic film; A drum facing the cathode and having the plastic film wound thereon; A winding roll for winding the plastic film on which the second thin film is deposited; A cooler positioned inside the drum to control a temperature of the plastic film while the second thin film is deposited; A surface treatment unit for surface treating the plastic film; And a trap for trapping and removing the reaction dispersion generated in the second process chamber.

The plurality of vacuum pumps includes a turbo pump connected to the buffer chamber and the transfer chamber; And a cryopump connected to the first process chamber.

At least one of the first and second thin films may be a transparent conductive film.

In the apparatus for manufacturing a flat panel display device according to the present invention, a deposition process is performed after stopping a glass substrate transferred in an inline manner in a first process chamber, and a deposition process is performed on a plastic film transferred in a roll-to-roll manner in a second process chamber. Is done. As a result, a thin film can be simultaneously deposited on each of the glass substrate and the plastic film, thereby improving production efficiency. In addition, the first and second process chambers may be configured to communicate with each other, thereby sharing a power system and a vacuum pump system.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

1 is a view showing a sputtering apparatus according to the present invention.

The sputtering apparatus shown in FIG. 1 includes a load / unload unit 10, a load lock chamber 20, a transfer chamber 30, first and second process chambers 40 and 60, and a buffer chamber 50. Here, the load / unload unit 10, the load lock chamber 20, the transfer chamber 30, the first process chamber 40 and the buffer chamber 50 transfer the glass substrate in an inter-back manner. The second process chamber 60 transfers the plastic film in a roll to roll manner.

The load / unload portion 10 is loaded and unloaded of the glass substrate. The glass substrate is seated in a carrier (not shown), and the carrier transfers the glass substrate to the load lock chamber 20 by rotation of a conveying means such as a cable bare or the like. Here, the deposition rate of the transparent conductive film and the thickness of the transparent conductive film can be adjusted in accordance with the glass substrate transfer speed of the carrier.

The load lock chamber 20 transfers a glass substrate between the load / unload unit 10 and the transfer chamber 30. That is, in the load lock chamber 20, when the glass substrate of the load / unload unit 10 is transferred through the first gate valve 12, the inside of the load lock chamber 20 is decompressed through the dry pump 18, so that the low vacuum state is maintained at atmospheric pressure. do. Then, the second gate valve 14 is opened to transfer the glass substrate before the deposition process to the transfer chamber 30 in the medium vacuum state. In addition, the load lock chamber 20 transfers the glass substrate on which the deposition is completed, to the load / unload unit 10.

The transfer chamber 30 transfers the glass substrate between the load lock chamber 20 and the first process chamber 40. That is, in the transfer chamber 30, when the glass substrate from the load lock chamber 20 is transferred through the second gate valve 14, the inside of the transfer chamber 30 is decompressed through at least two turbopumps 16, thereby maintaining a low vacuum. It becomes a state. Then, the glass substrate before the deposition process is transferred to the first process chamber 40. In addition, the transfer chamber 30 transfers the glass substrate on which deposition is completed, from the first process chamber 40 to the load lock chamber 20.

The heater 32 is provided in the transfer chamber 30 to increase the deposition efficiency during the deposition process in the first process chamber 40 by preheating the glass substrate transferred into the transfer chamber 30. This heater 32 consists of many hot wires formed along the conveyance direction of a glass substrate, for example. Each of the plurality of hot wires is individually controllable to control the preheating temperature of the glass substrate up to 250 degrees. The glass substrate preheated through the heater 32 is transferred to the first process chamber 40.

When the glass substrate from the transfer chamber 30 is transferred, the first process chamber 40 performs a deposition process of depositing a transparent oxide film on the stationary glass substrate by generating a plasma through a sputter of 10 KW DC pulse magnetron.

Specifically, the inside of the first process chamber 40 is formed of a high vacuum by a vacuum pump such as at least two cryo pumps 22, and then argon, which is an inert gas, and oxygen and nitrogen, which are reactive gases, through a gas inlet. Etc. are injected. Then, a high voltage is applied to the cathode 42 which is the target shown in FIG. The applied voltage causes the argon gas to ionize and accelerate and collide with the target 42. At this time, the target 42 material sticks out and sticks to the glass substrate 11 to grow, thereby forming a transparent conductive film on the glass substrate 11. Here, the target 42 is formed of ITO or ZnO, for example.

In the deposition process, the glass substrate 11 and the target 42 are aligned in parallel with the ground so that the target 42 is positioned at the bottom and the glass substrate 11 is positioned at the top thereof to face the target 42. As described above, in the present invention, since the deposition process is performed while the glass substrate 11 and the cathode 42 are kept horizontal with the ground, the glass substrate 11 is vertically placed so that the deposition process is performed. Generation of particles and breakage of the glass substrate 11 can be prevented by mechanical driving, which is a problem. In addition, since the first process chamber 40 performs a deposition process on the glass substrate 11 in a stopped state, particles generated during deposition during the transfer of the glass substrate 11, which is an in-line method, may be reduced.

The buffer chamber 50 is in a medium vacuum state through at least two turbopumps 16, and after the glass substrate having been completed in the deposition process is transferred in the first process chamber 40, the advancing direction of the glass substrate is reversed. Rotate The rotated glass substrate is carried out to the load / unload unit 10 through the first process chamber 40, the transfer chamber 30, and the load lock chamber 20. Here, when the rotated glass substrate is transferred back to the first process chamber, a transparent conductive film is deposited on the glass substrate again, or a thin film of another material is deposited or carried out to the outside through the first outlet 54 without the deposition process. As described above, the sputtering process can be performed even during the carrying out of the glass substrate on which the transparent conductive film is deposited, thereby improving production efficiency.

Meanwhile, when the rotated glass substrate is transferred to the first process chamber 40 again and the deposition process is performed again, a heater 52 is provided in the buffer chamber 50 to preheat the glass substrate to increase the deposition efficiency during the deposition process. do. This heater 52 consists of many hot wires formed along the conveyance direction of a glass substrate, for example. Each of the plurality of hot wires is individually controllable to control the preheating temperature of the glass substrate up to 250 degrees. The glass substrate preheated through this heater 52 is re-transmitted to the first process chamber 40.

The second process chamber 60 is a deposition process for depositing a transparent oxide film on a plastic film in a roll-to-roll manner by generating a plasma through a DC glow discharge method through a sputter of a direct current pulse magnetron. Perform the process. To this end, the second process chamber 60 is provided with a supply roll 62, a drum 64, a winding roll 68, a cathode 66, a cooling unit 74, as shown in FIG. And a surface treatment unit 70 and a trap 72.

A plastic film is wound around the feed roll 62 and the plastic film is continuously supplied to the drum 64. Here, for example, PET (polyethylene terephthalate) is used as the plastic film.

The cathode 66 allows a transparent conductive film to be deposited on the surface of the plastic film which is continuously supplied to the drum 64. Specifically, high voltage is applied to the target cathode 66 after argon, which is an inert gas, and oxygen and nitrogen, which are reactive gases, are injected into the second process chamber 60 having the high vacuum. The applied voltage causes the argon gas to be ionized and accelerated to collide with the target cathode 66. At this time, the target material, which is the cathode 66, sticks out to the plastic film and grows to form a transparent conductive film on the plastic film. Here, the target cathode 66 is formed of, for example, ITO or ZnO.

The cooling unit 74 (Chiller) is located inside the second process chamber or is formed between the drum 64 and the rotary roll 76 as shown in FIG. This cooling section 74 controls the surface temperature of the plastic film while the transparent conductive film is deposited on the plastic film. For example, the cooling unit 74 controls the surface temperature of the plastic film to be maintained at about 60 degrees or less. The cooling unit 74 cools the plastic film heated by the accumulated thermal energy while energy flowing from the plasma is applied for a long time, and moisture remaining in the plastic film is removed.

The winding roll 68 winds up the plastic film in which the transparent conductive film was deposited, and supplies it to a supply roll again as needed, or is carried out to the outside through the 2nd outlet 56. As shown in FIG.

The surface treatment unit 70 is surface-treated to clean the surface of the plastic film through DC treatment and to improve adhesion to the substrate to be deposited on the plastic film.

Traps are trapped in the second process chamber 60 to trap and remove reaction dispersions that degrade the electrical properties and transmittance of the transparent conductive film.

On the other hand, the second process chamber 60 has a plurality of control means (not shown) for sensing the moving speed of the plastic film to adjust the rotational speed of the feed roll 62, the drum 64 and the take-up roll 68 Is formed. Many of these control means adjust the rotational speed of the feed roll 62, drum 64 and take-up roll 68 so that the tension of the plastic film can be maintained, for example, about 15 kgf. In addition, by controlling the rotational speeds of the supply roll 62, the drum 64, and the winding roll 68 by a plurality of control means, the deposition rate of the transparent conductive film and the thin film thickness of the transparent conductive film can be adjusted.

Meanwhile, the second process chamber 60 is formed in communication with the first process chamber 40, the transfer chamber 30, and the buffer chamber 50. The communicating transfer chamber 30 and the first and second process chambers 40 and 60 may be simultaneously injected with argon, which is an inert gas, and oxygen and nitrogen, which are reactive gases, to simultaneously generate plasma. At this time, the pressure of the first and second process chambers 40 and 60 communicated is maintained between 0.05 and 5 Pa by the plurality of vacuum pumps 16 and 22 they share.

In addition, the first and second process chambers 40 and 60 share a power supply 90 as shown in FIG. 4. To this end, a first switching device SW1 is formed between the first process chamber 40 and the power supply unit 90, and a second switching device SW2 is disposed between the second process chamber 60 and the power supply unit 90. Is formed. When the first and second switching devices SW1 and SW2 are turned on at the same time, power is simultaneously supplied to the first and second process chambers 40 and 60 through one power supply unit 90, and the first switching device SW1 is provided. When () is selectively turned on, power is supplied to the first process chamber 40 alone, and when the second switching element SW2 is selectively turned on, power is supplied to the second process chamber 60 alone.

The sputter of the present invention described above is a transparent conductive film such as a solar cell and a flat panel display device such as a liquid crystal display device, a touch panel, an organic electroluminescent device, a plasma display, a field emission device, a flexible display, such as ITO or ZnO. It is used in the formation of the back.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Will be clear to those who have knowledge of.

1 is a view showing a sputter according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a detailed view of the first process chamber shown in FIG. 1.

3 is a view illustrating in detail the second process chamber illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for describing a connection relationship between the first and second process chambers and the power supply unit illustrated in FIG. 1.

<Description of Symbols for Main Parts of Drawings>

10: load / unload portion 20: load lock chamber

30: transfer chamber 40, 60: process chamber

50: buffer chamber

Claims (6)

A first process chamber forming a first thin film in a state in which the glass substrate transferred in an inline manner is stopped; A second process chamber formed in communication with the first process chamber and forming a second thin film on a plastic film; A power supply unit supplying voltage to the first and second process chambers simultaneously or separately; And a plurality of vacuum pumps forming a vacuum atmosphere of the first and second process chambers. The method of claim 1, A transfer chamber in communication with the first process chamber for transferring a glass substrate to the first process chamber; A buffer chamber in communication with the first process chamber to transport a glass substrate from the first process chamber; And a load lock chamber for transferring the substrate to the transfer chamber. The method of claim 2, And a heater for preheating the glass substrate inside the transfer chamber and the buffer chamber. The method of claim 1, The second process chamber is A supply roll for continuously supplying the plastic film; A cathode which is a target for depositing a transparent conductive film on the plastic film; A drum facing the cathode and having the plastic film wound thereon; A winding roll for winding the plastic film on which the second thin film is deposited; A cooler positioned inside the drum to control a temperature of the plastic film while the second thin film is deposited; A surface treatment unit for surface treating the plastic film; And a trap for collecting and removing the reaction dispersion generated in the second process chamber. The method of claim 2, The plurality of vacuum pumps A turbo pump connected to the buffer chamber and the transfer chamber; And a cryo pump connected to the first process chamber. The method of claim 1, At least one of the said 1st and 2nd thin film is a manufacturing apparatus of the flat panel display element characterized by the above-mentioned.

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