Method for cleaning a vacuum system used in the manufacture of OLED devices, method for vacuum deposition on a substrate to manufacture OLED devices, and apparatus for vacuum deposition on a substrate to manufacture OLED devices
The present disclosure provides a method for cleaning a vacuum system used in the manufacture of OLED devices. The method includes performing pre-cleaning for cleaning at least a portion of the vacuum system, and performing plasma cleaning using a remote plasma source.
1 . A method for cleaning a vacuum system, comprising:
pre-cleaning a chamber of the vacuum system at a first pressure within the chamber;
reducing the pressure within the chamber from the first pressure to a second pressure to establish a technical vacuum; and
plasma cleaning the chamber using a remote plasma source, wherein plasma cleaning the chamber is performed at the second pressure within the chamber.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the plasma cleaning is a final cleaning procedure before operating the vacuum system.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the chamber comprises a vacuum chamber.
4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein plasma cleaning the chamber comprises cleaning one or more inner walls of the vacuum chamber.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein plasma cleaning the chamber comprises cleaning one or more components inside the chamber.
6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the one or more components are selected from the group consisting of mechanical components, moveable components, drives, valves, and any combination thereof.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises plasma cleaning one or more mask devices used during a deposition process.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the method is performed after a maintenance procedure of the vacuum system or portions of the vacuum system.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein plasma cleaning the chamber comprises plasma cleaning one or more chambers of the vacuum system selected from the group consisting of a load lock chamber, a cleaning chamber, a vacuum deposition chamber, a vacuum processing chamber, a transfer chamber, a routing module, and any combination thereof.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein plasma cleaning the chamber comprises using a plasma of pure oxygen or oxygen mixtures with nitrogen or argon.
11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein pre-cleaning the chamber comprises a wet chemical cleaning process.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the second pressure is about 10 −2 mbar or less.
13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein plasma cleaning the chamber provides a cleanliness level or 10 −9 grams/cm 2 when measured using a standard gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) procedure.
14 . A method for vacuum deposition on a substrate, comprising:
pre-cleaning a chamber of the vacuum system at a first pressure within the chamber;
reducing the pressure within the chamber from the first pressure to a second pressure to establish a technical vacuum;
plasma cleaning the chamber using a remote plasma source, wherein plasma cleaning the chamber is performed at the second pressure within the chamber; and
depositing one or more layers of material on a substrate.
15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein plasma cleaning the chamber comprises using a plasma of pure oxygen or oxygen mixtures with nitrogen or argon.
16 . The method of claim 14 , wherein pre-cleaning the chamber comprises a wet chemical cleaning process.
17 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the second pressure is about 10 −2 mbar or less.
18 . The method of claim 14 , wherein plasma cleaning the chamber provides a cleanliness level or 10 −9 grams/cm 2 when measured using a standard gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) procedure.
19 . An apparatus for vacuum deposition on a substrate, comprising:
a vacuum chamber;
a remote plasma source connected to the vacuum chamber; and
a controller connected to the remote plasma source to perform a plasma cleaning as a final cleaning procedure, wherein the controller is configured to implement a method for cleaning a vacuum system, the method comprising:
pre-cleaning a chamber of the vacuum system at a first pressure within the chamber,
reducing the pressure within the chamber from the first pressure to a second pressure to establish a technical vacuum, and
plasma cleaning the chamber using a remote plasma source, wherein plasma cleaning the chamber is performed at the second pressure within the chamber.
20 . The method of claim 19 , wherein the second pressure is about 10 −2 mbar or less.