CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2017-0131642, filed on Oct. 11, 2017, which is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND

Field

Exemplary embodiments of the invention relate generally to a method of manufacturing a deposition mask that includes an improved process of forming a pattern hole of a mask used for deposition, and, more specifically, to an apparatus for manufacturing a deposition mask.

Discussion of the Background

In general, an organic light-emitting display device implements colors based on the principle in which holes and electrons injected from an anode and a cathode recombine in an emission layer, and pixels have a structure in which the emission layer is between a pixel electrode that is an anode and an opposite electrode that is a cathode.

Each pixel may be a sub-pixel of any one of, for example, a red pixel, a green pixel, and a blue pixel, and due to a color combination of the above three pixels, a desired color may be produced. That is, each sub-pixel has a structure in which an emission layer is between two electrodes, the emission layer emitting light of any one of a red color, a green color, and a blue color. Due to a combination of light of three colors, a color of one unit pixel is produced.

The electrodes, the emission layer, and the like of the above organic light-emitting device may be formed by deposition. That is, a mask, which has pattern holes having the same pattern as a thin film to be formed, is located on a substrate, and a raw material of the thin film is deposited on the substrate through the pattern holes in the mask, thereby forming a thin film having a desired pattern. The mask is often used as a mask frame assembly together with a frame that supports end portions of the mask, and the pattern holes are usually formed during an etching process using photoresist.

However, when pattern holes of the mask are formed during an etching process, it is difficult to form pattern holes having highly precise dimensions. In addition, since etching generally starts from both side surfaces of a mask towards an inner portion thereof such that etched portions meet around a middle thickness to thereby form pattern holes, working speed is greatly low, and non-continuous protruding surfaces appear around the middle thickness at which the etching portions meet, which may result in disturbance of accurate patterning that is so-called ‘shadow’ during deposition.

The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for understanding of the background of the inventive concepts, and, therefore, it may contain information that does not constitute prior art.

SUMMARY

One or more exemplary embodiments include a method of manufacturing a deposition mask which is improved to accurately and quickly form pattern holes in a mask without performing an etching process, and an apparatus for manufacturing a deposition mask.

Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the presented embodiments.

According to one or more exemplary embodiments, a method of manufacturing a deposition mask includes: a preparing process in which a mask substrate is located on a stage; and a hole processing process in which laser beams are irradiated onto the mask substrate to form a plurality of pattern holes. The hole processing process includes: an irradiation process in which a light source irradiates a laser beam; a splitting process in which the irradiated laser beam is split into a plurality of laser beams; a scanning process in which the plurality of laser beams are simultaneously scanned onto the mask substrate; and a tuning process in which irradiation states of the plurality of laser beams are finely changed to correspond to shapes of the plurality of pattern holes while the plurality of laser beams are scanned.

According to one or more exemplary embodiments, an apparatus for manufacturing a deposition mask, includes: a stage on which a mask substrate is mounted; a light source configured to irradiate a laser beam; a beam splitter configured to split the irradiated laser beam into a plurality of laser beams; a scanner configured to simultaneously scan the plurality of laser beams onto the mask substrate; and a tuner configured to finely change irradiation states of the plurality of laser beams to correspond to shapes of a plurality of pattern holes, while the plurality of laser beams are scanned.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

