Method for removing impurities from inside of vacuum chamber, method for using vacuum apparatus, and method for manufacturing product
View Patent ↗A method for using a vacuum apparatus that includes a vacuum chamber and a pump, the vacuum chamber housing an object, the pump reducing an internal pressure of the vacuum chamber, the method including: ventilating inside the vacuum chamber by introducing a gas into the vacuum chamber and discharging the gas from the vacuum chamber by causing the pump to reduce the internal pressure of the vacuum chamber. In the ventilating, a discharge rate at which molecules of the gas per unit volume are discharged is at least 3.3×10 −5 mol/(s·L), and the temperature in the vacuum chamber is at least 15° C. and at most 80° C.
1. A method for removing impurities from inside of a vacuum chamber, the method comprising:
ventilating inside the vacuum chamber by introducing a gas into the vacuum chamber and discharging the gas from the vacuum chamber, wherein
in the ventilating,
a discharge rate at which molecules of the gas per unit volume are discharged is at least 3.3×10 −5 mol/(s·L), and
a temperature in the vacuum chamber is at least 15° C. and at most 55° C., and
the vacuum chamber is used in manufacturing of an organic thin-film element.
2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein
the discharging the gas from the vacuum chamber is performed by a pump that reduces an internal pressure of the vacuum chamber.
3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein
the discharge rate at which molecules of the gas per unit volume are discharged is at most 2.7×10 −3 mol/(s·L).
4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein
the gas is an inert gas.
5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein
in the ventilating, an internal pressure of the vacuum chamber is at least 250 Pa and less than an atmospheric pressure.
6. The method according to claim 5 , wherein
the ventilating is performed for at least 20 minutes while the internal pressure of the vacuum chamber is set to a constant value of at least 250 Pa.
7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein
a material containing diphenylamine or derivatives of diphenylamine, which are the impurities, is used in at least one of a pump and a communication passage connecting the pump with the vacuum chamber.
8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein
the temperature in the vacuum chamber is at least 20° C. and at most 35° C.
9. A method for using a vacuum apparatus that includes a vacuum chamber and a pump, the vacuum chamber housing an object, the pump reducing an internal pressure of the vacuum chamber, the method comprising:
ventilating inside the vacuum chamber by introducing a gas into the vacuum chamber and discharging the gas from the vacuum chamber by causing the pump to reduce the internal pressure of the vacuum chamber, wherein
in the ventilating,
a discharge rate at which molecules of the gas per unit volume are discharged is at least 3.3×10 −5 mol/(s·L), and
a temperature in the vacuum chamber is at least 15° C. and at most 55° C., and
the vacuum apparatus is used in manufacturing of an organic thin-film element.
10. The method according to claim 9 , wherein
the discharge rate at which molecules of the gas per unit volume are discharged is at most 2.7×10 −3 mol/(s·L).
11. The method according to claim 9 , wherein
the gas is an inert gas.
12. The method according to claim 9 , wherein
in the ventilating, the internal pressure of the vacuum chamber is at least 250 Pa and less than the atmospheric pressure.
13. The method according to claim 9 , wherein
the object is an intermediate product in a manufacturing process of an organic EL display panel that includes a substrate and an organic functional film formed on the substrate, and is in a state where an organic applied film containing a solvent and an organic material for the organic functional film has been applied to the substrate, and
the organic applied film is dried by causing the pump to reduce the internal pressure of the vacuum chamber while the object is housed in the vacuum chamber.
14. The method according to claim 9 , wherein
a material containing diphenylamine or derivatives of diphenylamine, which are impurities, is used in at least one of the pump and a communication passage connecting the pump with the vacuum chamber.
15. The method according to claim 9 , wherein
the temperature in the vacuum chamber is at least 20° C. and at most 35° C.
16. A method for manufacturing an organic thin-film element, the method comprising:
reducing an internal pressure of a vacuum chamber by using a pump while an intermediate product of the organic thin-film element, which is in an intermediate stage of a manufacturing process, is housed in the vacuum chamber; and
ventilating inside the vacuum chamber by introducing a gas into the vacuum chamber and discharging the gas from the vacuum chamber, wherein
in the ventilating,
a discharge rate at which molecules of the gas per unit volume are discharged is at least 3.3×10 −5 mol/(s·L), and
a temperature in the vacuum chamber is at least 15° C. and at most 55° C.
17. The method according to claim 16 , wherein
the organic thin-film element includes a substrate and an organic functional film formed on the substrate, and
the intermediate product is the substrate on which an organic applied film, which contains a solvent and an organic material for the organic functional film, has been formed.
18. The method according to claim 16 , wherein
a material containing diphenylamine or derivatives of diphenylamine, which are impurities, is used in at least one of the pump and a communication passage connecting the pump with the vacuum chamber.
19. The method according to claim 16 , wherein
the organic thin-film element is used in an organic EL display panel.
20. The method according to claim 16 ,
the temperature in the vacuum chamber is at least 20° C. and at most 35° C.