Patent Description:
In a production procedure of various electronic products such as a transistor, a liquid crystal panel, and an Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) panel, a mask is required to prepare a desired pattern. However, during an operation procedure, the mask will damage a the substrate to be coated, and affect the defect-free ratio of evaporation of the substrate.

<CIT> discloses a mask plate fixing device, including: a plurality of separation pieces at one end of a paired welded mask plate, an underframe, and a number of locking mechanisms that can adjust the degree of tightness of the contact between said separation pieces and said underframe.

<CIT> discloses a mask structure capable of manufacturing an organic EL display panel hardly causing a defect without impairing adhesion between a metal mask and a substrate even when the metal mask is fixed to a support frame by a welding method with pull force applied to the metal mask.

<CIT> discloses a mask apparatus for divided deposition of a substrate and a patterning method using the same. With the mask apparatus, the substrate is imaginarily divided into two or more regions and the regions are sequentially patterned. Since welding burrs do not come into contact with the substrate when the substrate is in close contact with the mask, it is possible to avoid damage to the substrate and to allow the substrate to be in closer contact with the mask.

<CIT> discloses a method for manufacturing a metal mask for forming a high-accuracy pattern on a large-sized substrate and the metal mask.

<CIT> discloses a mask for vacuum deposition allowing adjustment of tension of a depositing mask, and allowing the depositing mask to be easily detached from a mask frame.

<CIT> discloses a mask assembly, which comprises a mask plate, an outer frame and auxiliary welding strips, wherein the mask plate is provided with a mask pattern and a semi-etching zone, the semi-etching zone is provided with etching-penetrating zones distributed in a discrete manner, the auxiliary welding strip is placed in the semi-etching zone and is provided with the thickening structure corresponding to the etching-penetrating zone, and the mask plate and the auxiliary welding strip are fixed on the outer frame through laser welding.

<CIT> discloses a shadow mask, which comprises a shadow mask membrane and a frame body, wherein the frame body comprises an outer wall and an inner wall arranged opposite each other, and a binding face connecting the outer wall and the inner wall; the binding face is attached to the shadow mask membrane; the binding face comprises a non-coplanar welding area and a tiling area, the welding area being located between the tiling area and the outer wall; and the frame body fixes the edge of the shadow mask membrane by means of a welding spot provided in the welding area, and the tiling area is located between the welding area and the inner wall to support the shadow mask membrane and keep the shadow mask membrane planar.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a mask used in production procedure of an electronic product, and a preparation method and an operation method thereof.

The object is achieved by the features of the respective independent claims. Further embodiments are defined in the corresponding dependent claims.

In order to clearly illustrate the technical solution of the present disclosure, the drawings will be briefly described in the following;.

Unless otherwise defined, all the technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure belongs. The terms "first," "second," etc., which are used in the description and the claims of the present disclosure, are not intended to indicate any sequence, amount or importance, but distinguish various components. The terms "comprises," "comprising," "comprises," "comprising," etc., are intended to specify that the elements or the objects stated before these terms encompass the elements or the objects and equivalents thereof listed after these terms, but do not preclude the other elements or objects. The phrases "connect", "connected", etc., are not intended to define a physical connection or mechanical connection, but may comprise an electrical connection, directly or indirectly. "On," "under," "right," "left" and the like are only used to indicate relative position relationship, and when the position of the object which is described is changed, the relative position relationship may be changed accordingly.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the term "pattern portion of a mask" refers to a portion of the mask that comprises a patterned structure of a shielding region and/or a non-shielding region; the term "connecting portion of the mask" refers to a portion connected with or fixed onto a support; and the term "mounting region of the connecting portion". refers to a region where the connecting portion is provided thereon with a connector such as a screw, a pin, a welding spot and a pad. The term "second outer surface" refers to a surface on which the connector is located, and the term "first outer surface" refers to a surface facing the substrate to be coated. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the terms "second outer surface" and "first outer surface" should be understood to have directionality. For example, in condition that the second outer surface and the first outer surface are two planes parallel to each other and facing a same direction, an included angle between the two planes should be regarded as <NUM> degrees (for example, as illustrated in <FIG>); in condition that the second outer surface and the first outer surface are two planes parallel to each other and facing opposite directions, the included angle between the two planes should be regarded as <NUM> degrees (for example, as illustrated in <FIG>).

<FIG> is a front view of a mask, and <FIG> is a partial top view of the mask shown in <FIG>. As shown in <FIG>, the mask comprises a support <NUM>' and at least one mask strip <NUM>', and each mask strip <NUM>' is fixed onto the support <NUM>' by at least one welding spot <NUM>'. During the evaporation process, the mask <NUM>' is disposed on a substrate <NUM>' to be coated, because a height of the welding spot <NUM>' is usually higher than a surface of the mask strip <NUM>', the welding spot <NUM>' will be in direct contact with the substrate <NUM>' and a gap will be formed between the substrate <NUM>' and the mask strip <NUM>', which not only affects fitting closeness between the mask strip <NUM>' and the substrate <NUM>', but also causes evaporation materials to easily accumulate within the gap and hard to remove. In addition, because the welding spot <NUM>' is in direct contact with the substrate <NUM>', in a position corresponding to the welding spot <NUM>' (a connector), the substrate <NUM>' is subjected to a large partial pressure, and is apt to crack, thereby causing cracks occurred in the substrate <NUM>'.

As shown in <FIG>, when the mask strip <NUM>' is subjected to, for example, an external force, and the like, a corner (such as region A in <FIG>) of the mask strip <NUM>' is easily warped, and the warped portion of the mask strip <NUM>' is apt to cause the substrate <NUM>' to be scratched or the damaged substrate <NUM>' in turn causes the mask strip <NUM>' to be scratched, and the warped portion (e.g., the corner) of the mask strip <NUM>' will also increase a distance between the mask strip <NUM>' and the substrate <NUM>'. In addition, the mask strip <NUM>' is fixed by the welding spot <NUM>' in a point fixation manner, which is apt to generate a wrinkle <NUM>' in the mask strip <NUM>', and affect the defect-free ratio of evaporation of the substrate <NUM>'.

<FIG> is a side view of the mask shown in <FIG>. As shown in <FIG>, the mask needs to be repaired after the mask strip <NUM>' is replaced, but a portion of the original mask strip <NUM>' fixed by the welding spot <NUM>' needs to be polished, and polishing will cause the support of a corresponding region to be worn. For example, as shown in <FIG>, a portion of the support <NUM>' located in a region B is worn to a higher degree, resulting in that the mask strip <NUM>' of the region B is not coplanar with other mask strips <NUM>'. If the repairing operation is performed for a plurality of times, flatness of the region of the support <NUM>' for fixing the mask strip <NUM>' will be affected, which further affects evaporation accuracy of the mask.

At least one embodiment of the present disclosure provides a mask, and a preparation method and an operation method thereof. The mask comprises a support and a mask strip mounted on the support, the mask strip comprising at least two connecting portions connected with the support, and a pattern portion located between the at least two connecting portions, the pattern portion comprising a first outer surface, the connecting portion comprising a second outer surface, the first outer surface and the second outer surface being non-coplanar with each other. While the mask is disposed on a substrate in evaporation process, the substrate to be coated may be provided on the first outer surface; because the second outer surface of the mask strip is not coplanar with the first outer surface, the second outer surface may be distal to the substrate, and both a warped corner of the mask strip and the connector on the second outer surface will not be in contact with the substrate; in this way, the first outer surface of the mask strip may be closely fitted on the substrate, and the defect-free ratio of evaporation of the substrate may be increased.

Hereinafter, the mask, and the preparation method and the operation method thereof according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

<FIG> is a structural schematic diagram of a mask ; <FIG> is a cross-sectional view of the mask of <FIG> along M-N; <FIG> is a spatial structure diagram of a mask strip in the mask shown in <FIG>; and <FIG> is a spatial structure diagram of a support in the mask shown in <FIG>.

As shown in <FIG>, a mask comprises: a support <NUM> and a mask strip <NUM> mounted on the support <NUM>, the mask strip <NUM> comprising at least two connecting portions <NUM> connected with the support <NUM> and a pattern portion <NUM> located between the connecting portions <NUM>. For example, the connecting portion <NUM> comprises a mounting region <NUM>, and the mask strip <NUM> is mounted on the support <NUM> through a connector <NUM> in the mounting region <NUM>. The mask strip <NUM> comprises an upper surface <NUM> and a lower surface <NUM> opposite to each other, the pattern portion <NUM> comprises a first outer surface <NUM> provided on the upper surface <NUM>, and a surface of the mounting region <NUM> facing away from the support <NUM> is a second outer surface <NUM>, wherein, the second outer surface <NUM> and the first outer surface <NUM> are non-coplanar with each other, so that the second outer surface <NUM> in the mask strip <NUM> will not be in contact with a substrate, and the connector <NUM> will not be in contact with the substrate, during evaporation. As compared with <FIG>, the mask of the above-described structure eliminates a gap between the mask strip <NUM>' and the substrate <NUM>', and implements close fitting between the first outer surface of the mask strip and the surface of the substrate to be coated, which thus increases the defect-free ratio of evaporation of the substrate.

It should be noted that, in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, a mask strip <NUM> is not limited to comprising two connecting portions <NUM>, and may also comprise more than two connecting portions <NUM>. The number of connecting portions <NUM> comprised in the mask strip <NUM> may be decided according to actual needs, which will not be limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure. In order to facilitate explanation of the technical solution according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the technical solution in the following embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated, with a case where the mask strip <NUM> comprises two connecting portions <NUM> and a pattern portion <NUM> is provided between the two connecting portions <NUM> as an example.

For example, in the present disclosure, as shown in <FIG>, a support <NUM> comprises a main body (a portion of the support <NUM> located in a region <NUM> in <FIG>) and two side portions provided on two opposite sides of the main body (portions of the support <NUM> in regions <NUM> in <FIG>). The main body <NUM> may be, for example, of a square frame shape, with a rectangular or square opening in the center, and the opening facilitates exposing the mask strip <NUM> during evaporation. A shape and a size of the opening may be designed according to the number and distribution of the mask strips <NUM>. For example, the opening may be of a regular shape such as a round shape, an elliptical shape and a polygonal shape, or may be of an irregular shape. For example, in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, a main body and side portions may be of an integrated structure. A pattern portion <NUM> of a mask strip <NUM> is supported by the main body <NUM>, and two connecting portions <NUM> of the mask strip <NUM> are respectively mounted on two side portions <NUM> of the support <NUM>. The main body <NUM> comprises a first main surface <NUM> and a second main surface <NUM> opposite to each other, and a side portion <NUM> comprises a third outer surface <NUM>. For example, the first main surface <NUM> is connected with the third outer surface <NUM>, and the second outer surface <NUM> of the mask strip <NUM> may be provided with a connector <NUM> which is configured to fix the mask strip <NUM> onto the support <NUM>. The mask strip <NUM> can be fixed onto the support <NUM> in various modes, for example, a riveting mode with a screw, a pin, and the like, or a welding mode such as electrical arc welding, and the like, which will not be limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure. The pattern portion <NUM> of the mask strip <NUM> has a patterned structure; for example, the pattern portion <NUM> comprises a plurality of shielding regions and a plurality of non-shielding regions; for example, each of shielding region and each of the non-shielding region may be alternately arranged. In a procedure of evaporating with a mask, an evaporation material (a material for evaporation) may pass through the non-shielding region but cannot pass through the shielding region, so after the evaporation material is evaporated and deposited on the substrate, a patterned structure corresponding to the non-shielding region of the mask strip <NUM> is formed on the substrate.

For example, in the present disclosure, as shown in <FIG>, a main body of a support <NUM> may be a frame structure having an opening, side portions are portions extending from sides S <NUM> and S2 of the frame structure, and the side portions may be used for having a mask strip <NUM> fixed. It may be understood that, on sides S3 and S4 where the mask strip needs not to be fixed, the support <NUM> may not be provided with the side portions. In at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, structures of a support and a side portion depend on relative positional relationship between a second outer surface and a first outer surface on the mask strip <NUM>, which will be described in detail in the embodiments below.

For example, a second outer surface of a connecting portion is further away from a substrate with respect to a first outer surface of a pattern portion. For example, the second outer surface is located on a side facing a lower surface of a plane where the first outer surface is located. By providing the second outer surface <NUM> and the first outer surface <NUM> in the mask strip <NUM> not coplanar with each other, and providing the second outer surface <NUM> distal to a surface of the substrate to be coated, the second outer surface <NUM> in the mask strip <NUM> is prevented from being in contact with the substrate.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram of spatial distribution of a first outer surface and a second outer surface of a mask strip in a mask provided by the present disclosure (in order to facilitate understanding, only a pattern portion <NUM> and a mounting region <NUM> in the mask strip <NUM>, rather than a complete mask strip <NUM>, is shown in <FIG>). For example, as shown in <FIG>, the first outer surface <NUM> of the mask strip <NUM> is, for example, located in a plane P (a plane where the first outer surface <NUM> is located), for example, the plane P may be a horizontal plane, and a side N1 of the horizontal plane P may be provided with a substrate to be coated. The second outer surface <NUM> is located on a side N2 of the plane P (i.e., a side of the plane P facing a lower surface <NUM>), and the plane P may serve as an interface between the mask strip <NUM> and the substrate to be coated. Therefore, the second outer surface <NUM> and the first outer surface <NUM> are non-coplanar with each other; in this case, a connector <NUM> located on the second outer surface <NUM> will not be in contact with the substrate, and a warped corner of the mask strip <NUM> will not affect the substrate, and thus, the defect-free ratio of evaporation is increased.

Hereinafter, as shown in <FIG>, technical solutions of the present disclosure will be described, with a case where an included angle Q between a first outer surface <NUM> and a second outer surface <NUM> in a mask strip <NUM> is greater than or equal to <NUM> degrees and less than or equal to <NUM> degrees as an example.

<FIG> is a front view of a mask and a substrate provided by the present disclosure. For example, as shown in <FIG>, a third outer surface <NUM> of each side portion <NUM> of a support <NUM> may be set as an inclined plane, two connecting portions <NUM> of a mask strip <NUM> are mounted on the inclined plane (the third outer surface <NUM>) through connectors <NUM>, and an included angle Q between a second outer surface <NUM> and a first outer surface <NUM> in the mask strip <NUM> is greater than <NUM> degrees and less than <NUM> degrees. In this case, the second outer surface <NUM> of the mask strip <NUM> will not be in contact with a substrate <NUM> to be coated, and the connector <NUM> will not be in contact with the substrate <NUM> to be coated, which implements close fitting between the first outer surface of the mask strip <NUM> and the substrate <NUM>, and may increase the defect-free ratio of evaporation of the substrate <NUM>.

Inclinations of two connecting portions <NUM> may be the same as or different from each other, which will not be limited in the present disclosure. For example, each mask strip <NUM> may comprise a first connecting portion and a second connecting portion, and an included angle between a second outer surface of the first connecting portion and the first outer surface <NUM> may be same as or different from an included angle between a second outer surface of the second connecting portion and the first outer surface <NUM>. Hereinafter, technical solutions of the present disclosure will be described, with a case where the included angle between the second outer surface of the first connecting portion and the first outer surface <NUM> and the included angle between the second outer surface of the second connecting portion and the first outer surface <NUM> are same as each other an example.

<FIG> is a partial structural schematic diagram of a mask provided by the present disclosure. For example, in the present disclosure, a mask strip <NUM> is fixed onto a support <NUM> through connectors <NUM> on second outer surfaces <NUM>. Because the connector <NUM> has a certain height, with respect to a mask as shown in <FIG>, an included angle Q between a second outer surface <NUM> and a first outer surface <NUM> may be further set according to the height of a connector <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, in a direction perpendicular to a plane where the second outer surface <NUM> is located, the height of the connector <NUM> is H, and in a direction parallel to the plane where the second outer surface <NUM> is located, a distance from the connector <NUM> to a vertex of an included angle θ is L (the two connectors <NUM> may have different values of L), as long as θ > arctan (H/L) is satisfied, and because θ = Q-<NUM> degrees, the included angle Q > arctan (H/L)+<NUM> degrees.

For example, in the present disclosure, as shown in <FIG>, since the connecting portion <NUM> is fixed onto the side portion <NUM> of a support <NUM> through the connector <NUM>, the mask strip <NUM> is stretched and tightened by the connector <NUM>, so a portion of the mask strip <NUM> located at a joint between the connecting portion <NUM> and a pattern portion <NUM> may be supported by an edge <NUM> of the support <NUM> where a main body <NUM> and the side portion <NUM> of the support <NUM> intersect with each other. That is, the edge <NUM> of the support <NUM> may support the portion of the mask strip <NUM> located at the joint between the connecting portion <NUM> and the pattern portion <NUM>, so as to ensure flatness of the pattern portion <NUM> of the mask strip <NUM>. As compared with the structure of the mask shown in <FIG>, the mode of fixing the mask strip <NUM> according to the present disclosure is changed from point fixation to linear fixation (the surface morphology of the pattern portion <NUM> of the mask strip <NUM> does not no longer depends on the welding spot <NUM>', but depends on the edge <NUM>), so that a wrinkle <NUM>' in <FIG> may be avoided. Even if the wrinkle <NUM>' appears on a second outer surface <NUM>, the above-described structure (the surface morphology of the pattern portion <NUM> defined by the edge <NUM>) may also reduce or eliminate extension of the wrinkle toward the pattern portion <NUM>.

In order to prevent a repairing operation from affecting a fixation position (e.g., the edge <NUM>) of the mask strip <NUM>, the second outer surface <NUM> may be set distal to the position of the edge <NUM> of the support <NUM>. For example, in the invention, in a case where an included angle Q of a second outer surface <NUM> and a first outer surface <NUM> is greater than <NUM> degrees and less than <NUM> degrees, a third outer surface <NUM> of a side portion <NUM> of a support <NUM> may be set in a stair-step shape. In this way, in the procedure of repairing the mask, a repairing operation, for example, a polishing operation will not affect the edge <NUM>, and accuracy of the mask may be ensured.

<FIG> is a partial structural schematic diagram of another mask provided by the invention. As shown in <FIG>, in a case where an included angle Q between a second outer surface <NUM> and a first outer surface <NUM> of a mask strip <NUM> is greater than <NUM> degrees and less than <NUM> degrees, a third outer surface <NUM> of a side portion <NUM> of a support <NUM> is set in a two-stair-step shape and comprises a first sub-surface <NUM>, a second sub-surface <NUM>, a third sub-surface <NUM> and a fourth sub-surface <NUM> that are sequentially connected; the first sub-surface <NUM> is connected with a first main surface <NUM> of a main body <NUM>. For example, the second outer surface <NUM> may be provided on the second sub-surface <NUM>, the third sub-surface <NUM>, or the fourth sub-surface <NUM>, so that polishing the second outer surface <NUM> will not affect an edge <NUM> of the support <NUM>, while a repairing operation is performed on the mask.

For example, the first sub-surface <NUM> and the first main surface <NUM> of the main body <NUM> intersect with each other to form a first boundary, and the third sub-surface <NUM> and the fourth sub-surface <NUM> intersect with each other to form a second boundary; an included angle c between a plane defined by the first boundary and the second boundary and the fourth sub-surface <NUM> is greater than an included angle b between the third sub-surface <NUM> and the fourth sub-surface <NUM>. In a case where the included angle c is greater than the included angle b, when the second outer surface <NUM> is fixed onto the fourth sub-surface <NUM>, a connecting portion of the mask strip <NUM> (a portion at a joint between a pattern portion <NUM> and a connecting portion <NUM>) is supported by both the edge <NUM> of the support <NUM> and an edge where the second sub-surface <NUM> and the third sub-surface <NUM> intersect with each other, which further achieves fixing and tightening effects on the mask strip <NUM>, and reduces or eliminates wrinkles.

It should be noted that, in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the number of stair-steps is not limited when a third outer surface <NUM> of a side portion <NUM> of a support <NUM> is set in a stair-step shape, and the third outer surface <NUM> of the side portion <NUM> of the support <NUM> may also be set in a one-stair-step shape or a multi-stair-step shape, and the like.

For example, in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, an edge <NUM> where a first main surface <NUM> of a main body <NUM> and a third outer surface <NUM> intersect with each other may be rounded or chamfered (as shown in a region of a dotted-line square <NUM> in <FIG>). As shown in <FIG>, the edge <NUM> of a support <NUM> may be set as a cambered surface having a certain camber (e.g., greater than <NUM> degree and less than <NUM> degrees). The edge <NUM> of the support <NUM> may affect surface morphology of a pattern portion <NUM> in a mask strip <NUM>, a partial region of the mask strip <NUM> (e.g., a joint between a pattern portion <NUM> and a connecting portion <NUM>) will be subjected to a relatively large force if supported by the edge <NUM>, and the edge <NUM> is set to have a round corner structure so that it has a cambered surface, which may prevent the edge <NUM> from slashing the mask strip <NUM> because the edge <NUM> is too sharp (with partial stress concentrated).

In at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, a shape of a third outer surface <NUM> of a side portion <NUM> of a support <NUM> is not limited. For example, in a case where an included angle between a second outer surface <NUM> and a first outer surface <NUM> is greater than <NUM> degrees and less than <NUM> degrees, the third outer surface <NUM> of the side portion <NUM> of the support <NUM> and the second outer surface <NUM> of the mask strip <NUM> are conformal, for example, both are cambered surfaces, or of other curved shapes, and the like. <FIG> is a structural schematic diagram of a still another mask provided by the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, a third outer surface <NUM> of a side portion <NUM> of a support <NUM> is a cambered surface, so that a second outer surface <NUM> provided on the third outer surface <NUM> is also a cambered surface accordingly, as long as an included angle Q between a tangent line of the second outer surface <NUM> having a cambered shape and a first outer surface <NUM> is greater than <NUM> degrees and less than <NUM> degrees, and thus, the second outer surface <NUM> is not coplanar with the first outer surface <NUM>, and the second outer surface <NUM> is not in contact with the substrate <NUM>.

For example, as shown in <FIG>, at an end portion of a third outer surface <NUM> proximal to a first main surface <NUM>, a tangent line of the third outer surface <NUM> is substantially parallel to the first main surface <NUM>. In this way, the third outer surface <NUM> and the first main surface <NUM> are substantially smoothly connected with each other, which not only prevents an edge <NUM> from slashing a mask strip <NUM> because the edge <NUM> is too sharp (with partial stress concentrated), but also allows both portions of the connecting portion <NUM> located at the pattern portion <NUM> and the second outer surface <NUM> to be supported by the third outer surface <NUM>, so as to further prevent a wrinkle from extending toward the pattern portion <NUM>, even if the wrinkle appears in the second outer surface <NUM>.

<FIG> is a structural schematic diagram of a yet another mask of the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, an included angle Q between a second outer surface <NUM> and a first outer surface <NUM> is <NUM> degrees, for example, the first outer surface <NUM> and the second outer surface <NUM> are parallel to each other and provided in different horizontal planes. A specific shape of a support <NUM> may be set according to positional relationship between the first outer surface <NUM> and the second outer surface <NUM>. For example, in the present disclosure, as shown in <FIG>, a side portion <NUM> of a support <NUM> has a groove. For example, a groove D may be provided on a first main surface <NUM> of the support <NUM>, and a second outer surface <NUM> of a mask strip <NUM> may be provided in the groove D. It should be noted that, in a direction perpendicular to a plane where the second outer surface <NUM> is located, a depth of the groove D may be determined according to actual needs, as long as the depth of the groove D may allow a connector <NUM> on the second outer surface <NUM> not to be in contact with a the substrate to be coated. For example, the depth of the groove D is greater than a height of the connector <NUM>. In one example, the depth of the groove D may be greater than about <NUM> microns, for example, the depth of the groove D ranges from <NUM> microns to <NUM> microns. In this way, the second outer surface <NUM> of the mask strip <NUM> will not be in contact with the substrate <NUM> to be coated, and the first outer surface <NUM> of the mask strip <NUM> and the substrate <NUM> may be closely fitted to each other, so as to increase the defect-free ratio of evaporation of the substrate <NUM>.

<FIG> is a structural schematic diagram of a still another mask provided by the present disclosure. For example, as shown in <FIG>, an included angle Q between a second outer surface <NUM> and a first outer surface <NUM> is <NUM> degrees, for example, the first outer surface <NUM> and the second outer surface <NUM> are parallel to each other and provided in different horizontal planes. A specific shape of a support <NUM> may be set according to positional relationship between the first outer surface <NUM> and the second outer surface <NUM>. For example, a side portion <NUM> of a support <NUM> may be in strip-shape. For example, a second outer surface <NUM> of a mask strip <NUM> may be provided on a lower surface of the side portion <NUM> of the support <NUM> (a surface on a side of the side portion <NUM> distal to a pattern portion <NUM>). In this case, the second outer surface <NUM> of the mask strip <NUM> will not be in contact with a substrate <NUM> to be coated, and the connector <NUM> on the second outer surface <NUM> will not be in contact with the substrate, which may increase the defect-free ratio of evaporation of the substrate <NUM>.

<FIG> is a structural schematic diagram of a yet another mask provided by the present disclosure. For example, in a mask provided in the present disclosure, as shown in <FIG>, an included angle Q between a second outer surface <NUM> and a first outer surface <NUM> of a mask strip <NUM> is <NUM> degrees. For example, a third outer surface <NUM> of a side portion <NUM> of a support <NUM> may be a vertical plane, i.e., a plane where the third outer surface <NUM> is located is perpendicular to a first main surface <NUM> of the support <NUM>. In this case, the second outer surface <NUM> of the mask strip <NUM> will not be in contact with a substrate <NUM> to be coated, and the connector <NUM> on the second outer surface <NUM> will not be in contact with the substrate <NUM>, which may increase the defect-free ratio of evaporation of the substrate <NUM>.

<FIG> is a structural schematic diagram of a still another mask provided by the present disclosure. For example, as shown in <FIG>, an included angle Q between a second outer surface <NUM> and a first outer surface <NUM> of a mask strip <NUM> is greater than <NUM> degrees and less than <NUM> degrees. For example, a third outer surface <NUM> of a side portion <NUM> of a support <NUM> may be a plane which is inclined inward (e.g., inclined from an edge of a main body <NUM> toward the interior of the main body <NUM>), an included angle between the inclined plane and a first main surface <NUM> of the support <NUM> may be between <NUM> degrees and <NUM> degrees, and the second outer surface <NUM> of the mask strip <NUM> may be provided on the inclined plane. In this case, the second outer surface <NUM> of the mask strip <NUM> will not be in contact with the substrate <NUM> to be coated, and a connector <NUM> on the second outer surface <NUM> will not be in contact with the substrate <NUM>, which may increase the defect-free ratio of evaporation of the substrate <NUM>.

It should be noted that, in the foregoing embodiments, in a case where the included angle between the second outer surface <NUM> and the first outer surface <NUM> of the mask strip <NUM> is <NUM> degrees, or greater than <NUM> degrees and less than or equal to <NUM> degrees, the surface of the support <NUM> for having the second outer surface <NUM> fixed may not be limited to a flat plane, but may also be of a cambered shape, and the like, and contents of the embodiment shown in <FIG> may be referred to for a specific structure thereof, which will not be repeated here in the present disclosure.

It should be noted that, in the mask provided in some examples of the present disclosure, the included angle between the first outer surface <NUM> and the second outer surface <NUM> of the mask strip <NUM> will not be limited, and the included angle between the two will not be limited to that between <NUM> degrees and <NUM> degrees, as long as the second outer surface <NUM> and the first outer surface <NUM> are non-coplanar with each other, and the second outer surface <NUM> is located on a side of the first outer surface <NUM> distal to the surface of the substrate <NUM> to be coated, so that in the evaporation procedure, the second outer surface will not be in contact with the substrate to be coated, and the defect-free ratio of evaporation of the substrate may be increased.

<FIG> is a structural schematic diagram of a yet another mask provided by the present disclosure. For example, as shown in <FIG>, a groove E is provided on a first main surface <NUM> of a support <NUM>, an inclined surface is provided in the groove E, the second outer surface <NUM> of the mask strip <NUM> is provided on the inclined surface; and in a structure of the mask as shown in <FIG>, an included angle Q between the second outer surface <NUM> and a first outer surface <NUM> may be between <NUM> degree and <NUM> degrees.

In at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, materials for preparing a support <NUM> and a mask strip <NUM> in a mask will not be limited. For example, in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, materials for preparing a support <NUM> and a mask strip <NUM> may comprise a metal material, so that the mask strip <NUM> may be fixed onto the support <NUM>, for example, by welding, which is convenient to operate with low process difficulty.

The present disclosure provides a preparation method of a mask, the preparation method comprising: providing a support and mounting a mask strip on the support; wherein the mask strip comprises at least two connecting portions connected with the support, and a pattern portion located between the at least two connecting portions, the mask strip comprises an upper surface and a lower surface opposite to each other, the pattern portion comprises a first outer surface provided on the upper surface, and the connecting portion comprises a second outer surface provided on the upper surface; the second outer surface and the first outer surface are non-coplanar with each other, and the second outer surface is located on a side of the first outer surface proximal to the lower surface. The foregoing embodiments may be referred to for a specific structure of the mask, which will not be repeated here.

With the mask prepared by using the preparation method according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the substrate is being coated with the mask, the second outer surface of the mask strip will not be in contact with the substrate, so that a warped corner of the mask strip and a connector (for fixing the mask strip) on the second outer surface, etc., will not affect fitting closeness between the mask strip and the substrate, which may increase the defect-free ratio of evaporation.

The present disclosure provides an operation method of a mask, the method comprising: placing a the substrate to be coated on a mask, wherein a surface of the substrate to be coated is in contact with a first outer surface of the mask, and the surface of the substrate to be coated is not in contact with a second outer surface of the mask. For a specific structure of the mask, related description in the foregoing embodiments (the embodiments with respect to the mask) may be referred to, and the specific structure of the mask will not be limited in the present disclosure.

The mask may allow the mask strip and the substrate to be coated to be fitted closely to each other, and in this way, it may be considered that the surface of the substrate to be coated is coplanar with the first outer surface of the pattern portion of the mask strip; because the second outer surface and the first outer surface of the mask strip in the mask are non-coplanar with each other, and the second outer surface is located on a side of the first outer surface proximal to a lower surface of the mask strip, the second outer surface of the mask strip will not be in contact with the surface of the substrate to be coated, which may increase the defect-free ratio of evaporation.

For example, a surface of a substrate to be coated and a second outer surface are non-coplanar with each other, and an included angle between the two is greater than or equal to <NUM> degrees and less than or equal to <NUM> degrees. For example, the included angle between the surface of the substrate to be coated and the second outer surface of the mask comprises: <NUM> degrees, greater than <NUM> degrees and less than <NUM> degrees, <NUM> degrees, greater than <NUM> degrees and less than <NUM> degrees, or <NUM> degrees, and the like. For specific structures of the mask in different angular ranges as described above, contents in the foregoing embodiments may be referred to, which will not be repeated here.

The present disclosure provide the mask, the preparation method and the operation method thereof, and may have at least one of advantageous effects below:.

Claim 1:
A mask used in production procedure of an electronic product, the electronic product comprising a substrate to be coated, the mask comprising:
a support (<NUM>) and a mask strip (<NUM>) mounted on the support (<NUM>),
wherein the support (<NUM>) comprises a main body (<NUM>) and two side portions (<NUM>) provided on opposite sides of the main body (<NUM>), the main body (<NUM>) comprises the first main surface (<NUM>) and a second main surface (<NUM>) opposite to each other, each side portion (<NUM>) comprises a third outer surface (<NUM>),
characterized in that
the mask strip (<NUM>) comprising at least two connecting portions (<NUM>) each connected with the support (<NUM>), and a pattern portion (<NUM>) located between the at least two connecting portions (<NUM>), the pattern portion (<NUM>) comprising a first outer surface (<NUM>), and the connecting portion (<NUM>) comprising a second outer surface (<NUM>);
wherein the first outer surface (<NUM>) and the second outer surface (<NUM>) are non-coplanar with each other,
wherein the included angle (Q) between the second outer surface (<NUM>) and the first outer surface (<NUM>) is greater than <NUM> degrees and less than <NUM> degrees, the third outer surface (<NUM>) of the side portion (<NUM>) is in two-stair-step shape and comprises a first sub-surface (<NUM>), a second sub-surface (<NUM>), a third sub-surface (<NUM>) and a fourth sub-surface (<NUM>) which are sequentially connected, the first sub-surface (<NUM>) is connected with a first main surface (<NUM>) of the main body (<NUM>), the first sub-surface (<NUM>) and the first main surface (<NUM>) of the main body (<NUM>) intersect with each other to form a first boundary, and the third sub-surface (<NUM>) and the fourth sub-surface (<NUM>) intersect with each other to form a second boundary; an included angle (c) between a plane defined by the first boundary and the second boundary and the fourth sub-surface (<NUM>) is greater than an included angle (b) between the third sub-surface (<NUM>) and the fourth sub-surface (<NUM>), and the second outer surface (<NUM>) is fixed onto the third sub-surface (<NUM>).