JPH0336277A - Atomization thin film forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To uniformize a film thickness distribution in the cross-direction of a substrate by providing a shielding member in a film forming chamber and confining a fog passage to the upper part, side part, etc., of the film forming chamber to cause a turbulent flow. CONSTITUTION:The atomization thin film forming device is formed by an atom izer 1, a film forming nozzle 3, the film forming chamber 4 in which the ceiling part 6 covers a conveying route of fog from the discharge charge port 3a of the nozzle, a means 8 for heating the ceiling part 6, etc. The shielding member 13 is provided in the film forming chamber 4, and the fog passage is confined to at least one of the upper part and both side parts of the film forming cham ber 4.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an atomized thin film forming device that sprays an atomized raw material solution onto a heated substrate to form a thin film. A method for forming a transparent conductive film with small variations in film thickness [□].

[Prior art] Transparent conductive films used in solar cells, liquid crystal display devices, plasma display devices, etc. are thin ++ films made of tin oxide or indium tin oxide.
b> is formed. This transparent conductive device emits a mist of raw material solution generated by an atomization device from a film-forming nozzle toward a heated substrate, and reacts on the heated turbid root.
Form a film.

An example of an atomized thin film forming apparatus conventionally used for forming a transparent conductive film using this method will be described with reference to FIG.

In this atomized thin film forming apparatus, a raw material solution is atomized by an atomizer 1 and discharged from a slit-shaped discharge port 3a of a film forming nozzle 3. A film forming chamber 4 is provided on one side of the discharge "13a" of the film forming nozzle 3, and the atomized raw material solution floats therein.

The substrate 6 is conveyed while being held from left to right in FIG. 7 while continuing in the kitchen above the film forming chamber 4 so that its surface forms the top surface of the film forming chamber 4. A substrate 6 located at a position forming the top surface of the film forming chamber 4 is heated to a predetermined temperature by a heater 8 at the rear via a heat equalizing plate 7.

A substrate 6 such as a glass plate is introduced into this apparatus starting from a substrate 1901, and is sequentially conveyed through the film forming chamber 4 so as to be led out from the substrate outlet 20. In the film-forming chamber 4, the tip of the film-forming nozzle 3 is provided close to the main surface of the substrate 6, and the V5 raw material solution discharged from this into the film-forming chamber 4 slowly flows toward the kA: outlet 5. The liquid flows to the surface of the substrate 6 and comes into contact with the surface of the substrate 6. Then, on the surface of the substrate 6, the raw material in the solution reacts with oxygen in the air or moisture in the raw material solution, and a thin oxide film is formed on the surface of the substrate 6. Further, the mist that did not contribute to film formation on the surface of the substrate 6 is discharged from the non-exit 5 (υ1.).

[Problems to be solved by the invention] However, when a transparent conductive film is formed on the surface of a substrate 6 such as a glass plate using the above-mentioned conventional apparatus, as shown in FIG. The film thickness of the transparent conductive film in the central part of the blade was thick, and the film thickness of the transparent conductive film on both sides was extremely thin compared to this. The mist flowing inside receives resistance from the 0111 wall of the film forming chamber 4, and the flow rate of the mist at the rear part ζ of the film forming chamber 4 is approximately equal to the cross-sectional area of the 111 flow path at both ff111 parts. This is thought to be because it is smaller than in the central area.

When such a non-uniform state of the film thickness of the transparent conductive film H occurs, interference fringes appear on both sides of the substrate 6, which is not only unfavorable in appearance, but also particularly on both sides of the 1L plate 6 where the film H is thin. The characteristics necessary for a transparent conductive film cannot be obtained. For this reason, both parts of the Jij; plate 6 having a thin film thickness are removed and used. For example, in the past, the parts of both a111, which have a thickness difference of ±5% with respect to the film thickness at the center of the substrate 6, were removed for convenience. When a tin oxide film is formed on a glass plate, approximately 80% of the effective width of the film is removed, excluding the ends of the substrate 6 held in the film. It also extends to Therefore, in reality, only about 70% of the effective film formation 11 on the substrate 6 can be used in the Z-direction, resulting in a low product yield.

The object of the present invention is to provide an atomized thin film forming bag [8] that can solve the above problems.

[Means for solving the problem, that is, -] The gist of the means according to the present invention for achieving the second time is as follows: A deposition nozzle 3 with a mist discharge port 3a facing upward, and a discharge port 3 of the film deposition nozzle 3.
1g in one direction so as to pass over a! Atomization i1. consists of a film forming chamber 4 whose top surface is the substrate 6 to be sent, and means for heating the substrate 6 in the film forming chamber 4. i7 In the film forming apparatus, an atomized thin film forming apparatus is provided in the film forming chamber 4 with a shielding member 13 that limits the path of the mist only to a part of the film forming chamber 4 and at least one of both sides. be.

[Function] The mist emitted from the film-forming nozzle 3 into the stage chamber 4
It flows through the model room 4 in a 1ift flow toward the discharge port 5 side. Here, when the shielding member 13 is provided in the film forming chamber 4 and the path of the mist in a part of the film forming chamber 4 is limited to the upper part,
At this point, the path of the fog suddenly becomes narrower, disrupting the flow of the fog.
The fog in the center escapes to both sides (1). For this reason, a large amount of fog flows around to both sides of the film forming chamber 4, where the flow rate of the fog was relatively low. In addition, a 1 m path of fog was placed between both ffl of the film forming chamber.
! If it is limited to 1, the mist flowing through the center of the film forming chamber 4 is stopped midway and flows into both 0111.

For this reason, there are many opportunities for the fog to come into contact with both fft1 portions of the substrate 6 beyond the shielding member 13 of the film forming chamber 4, and the thickness of the transparent conductive film to be formed becomes thicker on both sides of the substrate 6. As a result, the transmission in the 4111 direction ζ of the substrate 6 is +1J lj,
The Ilx thickness of the I/I conversion is averaged.

[Embodiments] Next, referring to FIGS. 1 to 6, embodiments of the present invention will be explained in detail.

In these drawings, a substrate 6 such as a glass plate is conveyed from left to right in the drawings while being held on both sides. lI
A tunnel-shaped preheating chamber 13 with the substrate 6 as the top surface and surrounded by frames 11 and 12 on both sides and the bottom surface is provided on the transport path of the substrate 6 from the L board member [119 to the substrate exit 2°;
A film forming chamber 4 and a substrate unloading chamber 10 are successively formed.

It is equipped with an atomizer 1 that atomizes a raw material solution for forming a thin film, and a film forming nozzle 3 is provided above the atomizer 1 to extend upward. The film forming chamber 4 is arranged above.

The mist of the raw material solution atomized in the atomizer 1 is discharged into the film forming chamber 4 from the discharge port 3a of the nozzle 3.

An exhaust path 5 is formed on the side of the film forming chamber 4 closer to the substrate unloading chamber 10, and the atomized raw material solution that did not contribute to the formation of a thin film on the surface of the substrate 6 is exhausted from this +ul air path 5. .

In the preheating chamber 13, the film forming chamber 4, and the substrate unloading chamber 10, a soaking plate 7 with good heat conduction is provided on the upper surface of the substrate 6 to be transferred, and a heater 8 is further provided behind it. There is. As this heater 8 generates heat, the substrate 6 is heated via the heat equalizing plate 7 .

In the present invention, a shielding part 13 is provided in the film forming chamber 4 to limit the path of the mist to at least one of the upper part and both parts.This shielding part + OA' 13 is preferably provided in the rear part of the film forming chamber 4 where the difference in the flow rate of mist between the central part of the film forming chamber 4 and both parts is large.A specific example of the shielding part +AJ3 and its arrangement is shown in the figure. This will be explained using an example.

First, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the film forming chamber 4
A shielding member 13 is installed on the frame 12 that forms the bottom surface of the film forming chamber 4. This shielding member 13 is formed over the entire width of the film forming chamber 4, and the upper surface is formed in stages in the direction in which the mist flows. It consists of a staircase-like structure that rises in height. A slope is provided at the step portion of each step.

In this embodiment, since the flow of mist is disturbed at the step portion of the paulownia shielding part 13, the effect of making the film thickness uniform is greater than that of the cubic shape fli.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, three shielding parts 13 are installed on the frame 12 forming the bottom surface of the film forming chamber 4 at a distance such that three shielding parts 13 are formed. The contact members 13 are formed over the entire length of the film forming chamber 4. The front portions of these shielding shrines 13 are provided with a slope. In this embodiment, since the flow of the mist is disturbed by the plurality of shielding members 18, the effect of making the film thickness uniform is greater than when the shielding members are placed only at one location.

Furthermore, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a cubic shielding portion 13 is installed on the l/-m 12 forming the bottom surface of the film forming chamber 4. The height of the ridge 18 is almost the same as the height of the film forming chamber 4, and its base is narrower than the cap of the film forming chamber 4, and is located in the center of the film forming chamber 4. Therefore, at this shielding member 13, a mist passage is opened only in both full portions of the film forming chamber 4.

The shielding member 13 described in ``2'' can also be used in combination with shielding members 13 of other shapes.

Next, using the apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, FIGS. 3 and 4, and FIGS. 5 and 6, a transparent layer 19 is placed on the glass substrate 6.
1. Form a tin oxide film as a conductive film, and change the film thickness across the width direction of the substrate 6)! 1, and the results are shown in FIGS. 9(a) to 9(C), respectively. In this case, the film thickness distribution of the effective film formation area of 200 mm between the two parts of the substrate 6, excluding the so-called slender part which is not exposed to the fog, which was held during film formation on both sides of the substrate 6, is shown.

The raw material solution used was a mixed solution of 15% 5nC-, 200 mol% NH, IF, and 5% alcohol, which was atomized at a rate of 12 liters per hour, and was atomized with air of 100Ω in parts. It was discharged from the film-forming nozzle 3 into each film-forming chamber 4 . Further, the substrate 6 was transported so as to pass through the film forming chamber 4 in 3 minutes.

For comparison, a transparent conductive film was formed under the same conditions as in each of the above examples using the atomization:IFJ film forming apparatus shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 without the shielding member 13 in the film forming chamber 4. The film thickness distribution in the width direction of this film 1 (plate 6) is shown in FIG. 9(d).

As a result of these, the devices shown in FIGS. ! ! The film thickness of the I sample was within ±5% of the average film thickness at the center of the substrate 6 at approximately 90% of the center of the effective film formation on the substrate 6 on the 10- side. Warm in %. Also, similarly, Figures 3 and 4
In the apparatus shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the thickness of the formed transparent conductive film is within ±5% of the average film thickness at the center of the substrate 6. Approximately 85% of each
, 80% part was heated. On the other hand, in the apparatus shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the thickness of the formed transparent conductive film is within ±5% of the average film thickness at the center of the substrate 6. This was only about 70% of the time.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the apparatus of the present invention, the film thickness distribution of the transparent conductive film over the direction of the mounting plate 6 can be made uniform, and as a result, different types of transparent conductive films can be used. Since the lifespan increases, an excellent effect can be obtained in that productivity can be improved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of an atomized thin film forming apparatus showing each embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A in FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic longitudinal sectional side view of an atomized thin film forming apparatus showing each embodiment of the invention.
5 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the atomization 1jI7 film forming apparatus showing each embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line C-C in FIG. 5, FIG. 7 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view f1111 of a conventional atomized thin film forming apparatus, and FIG. 8 is a
The sectional view taken along the line D-D in FIG. 7 and FIGS. 9(a) to 9(d) show the relationship between the position on the substrate in each of the above devices (here) and the thickness of the transparent conductive film formed. 1... Atomizer 3... Film-forming nozzle 3a... Discharge port of film-forming nozzle 4... Film-forming chamber 7... Soaking plate 8...・Heater 13...Published by Shucoon Club

Claims (1)

[Claims] An atomizer 1 that atomizes a raw material solution for a thin film, a film-forming nozzle 3 whose discharge port 3a for mist of the raw material solution is opened upward, and a film-forming nozzle 3 that opens above the discharge port 3a of the film-forming nozzle 3. In an atomized thin film forming apparatus consisting of a film forming chamber 4 whose top surface is a substrate 6 that is conveyed in one direction so as to pass therethrough, and means for heating the substrate 6 in the film forming chamber 4, An atomized thin film forming apparatus characterized in that a shielding member 13 is provided therein to limit the path of mist only to at least one of the upper part and both sides of the film forming chamber 4.