Method for depositing an inorganic layer to a thermal transfer layer

• US 20080233291A1
• Filed: 03/23/2007
• Published: 09/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (Corteva, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (Corteva, Inc.)
• Inventors: Chandrasekaran, Casey K.
• Application Number:
  US11/726,838
• Publication Number:
  US 20080233291A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 427/299
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 5/265 for the production of optical filters or electrical components
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 5/38207 characterised by aspects not provided for in groups B41M5/385 - B41M5/395
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 7/0081 using electromagnetic radiation or waves, e.g. ultraviolet radiation, electron beams

Abstract

The invention is a method for depositing an inorganic layer to a laser-induced thermal transfer layer, and to a deposited transfer layer made by the method. In one embodiment, the transfer layer is disposed on a receiver element comprising a glass substrate with black matrix for a color filter comprising red, blue and green transparent pixels formed by laser-induced thermal transfer, and the inorganic layer is an indium-tin oxide transparent electrode grounding layer. The method for depositing the inorganic layer to the transfer layer comprises exposing a laser-induced thermal transfer layer to ultraviolet radiation to produce an exposed transfer layer, treating the exposed transfer layer with a cleaning fluid to produce a cleaned transfer layer, and depositing an inorganic layer in contact with the cleaned transfer layer to produce a deposited transfer layer.

Claims

1. A method for depositing an inorganic layer to a thermal transfer layer comprising:

exposing a laser-induced thermal transfer layer to ultraviolet radiation to produce an exposed transfer layer,

treating the exposed transfer layer with a cleaning fluid to produce a cleaned transfer layer, and

depositing an inorganic layer in contact with the cleaned transfer layer to produce a deposited transfer layer.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the exposing step is performed with ultraviolet radiation that exposes the laser-induced thermal transfer layer to energy of greater than 0.5 joule per square centimeter and less than 15 joules per square centimeter, totaled over all wavelengths of less than 242 nanometers.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the exposing step is performed with ultraviolet radiation that exposes the laser-induced thermal transfer layer to energy of greater than 5 joules per square centimeter and less than 300 joules per square centimeter, totaled over all wavelengths of greater than 242 nanometers and less than 310 nanometers.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the ultraviolet radiation is provided from a mercury lamp.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the ultraviolet radiation is transmitted through synthetic fused silica of a mercury lamp.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the exposing step is performed for a total time between 2 and 20 minutes.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the exposing step is carried out in an atmosphere comprising oxygen.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the exposing step is carried out in an atmosphere comprising ozone.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the inorganic layer has a sheet resistance of less than 100 ohm per square.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the inorganic layer has a transmissivity for light at 680 nanometers wavelength of more than 90% transmittance.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the inorganic layer comprises a metal selected from the group consisting of copper, silver, gold, iron, chromium, tin, indium, arsenic, antimony, aluminum, zinc, nickel, platinum, cobalt, and combinations thereof.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the inorganic layer comprises indium.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the inorganic layer comprises tin.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the inorganic layer comprises a metal oxide, the metal selected from the group consisting of copper, silver, gold, iron, chromium, tin, indium, arsenic, antimony, aluminum, zinc, nickel, platinum, cobalt, and combinations thereof.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the depositing step is performed by a method selected from the group consisting of direct current magnetron sputtering, ion beam deposition, radio frequency sputtering, radio frequency magnetron sputtering, chemical vapor deposition, ion beam enhanced deposition, laser ablation deposition, electron beam evaporation, physical vapor deposition, ion beam sputtering, ion-assisted deposition, reactive sputtering, and combinations thereof.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the cleaning fluid comprises water.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the cleaning fluid comprises a surfactant.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the cleaning fluid comprises a solvent.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the solvent is selected from the group consisting of methanol, ethanol, propanol, dichloromethane, dimethyl adipate, diethyl adipate, toluene, and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone and combinations thereof.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the transfer layer is disposed on a receiver element and comprises a first color, and a second transfer layer of a second color is disposed on the receiver element and a third transfer layer of a third color is disposed on the receiver element, the first, second and the third colors being different.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the transfer layer contains a binder comprising a polymer having a plurality of carboxyl functionality.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the transfer layer contains a binder comprising a plurality of crosslinkable functional groups that react with crosslinking funtionality.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the crosslinking functionality is hydroxyl.

24. The method of claim 22 wherein the crosslinking functionality is N-2-hydroxyethyl amide.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein the transfer layer is heated to at least 1700 Celsius prior to exposing the transfer layer to ultraviolet radiation.

26. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of incorporating the deposited transfer layer into a display.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the display is selected from the group consisting of a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, a light-emitting diode display, and combinations thereof.

28. The method of claim 1, wherein the transfer layer contacts a transparent substrate.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the transparent substrate comprises glass.

30. The method of claim 28, wherein the transfer layer contacts a black matrix.

31. The method of claim 1, wherein the laser-induced thermal transfer layer is maintained at less than 60°

C. when the time period between the exposing and the depositing steps is greater than one minute.

32. A deposited transfer layer made by the method of claim 1.