Shadow Mask Deposition Of Materials Using Reconfigurable Shadow Masks

• US 20100095885A1
• Filed: 12/23/2009
• Published: 04/22/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AGL OLED Limited
• Original Assignee: Advantech Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Body, Thomas Peter
• Granted Patent: US 8,030,785 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 118/50
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/042 using masks
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/562 for coating elongated substrates
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/1214 comprising a plurality of TFTs formed on a non-semiconducting substrate, e.g. driving circuits for AMLCDs
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/1288 employing particular masking sequences or specially adapted masks, e.g. half-tone mask
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14683 Processes or apparatus peculiar to the manufacture or treatment of these devices or parts thereof not peculiar thereto H01L21/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 438/944 Shadow

Abstract

A shadow mask deposition system includes a plurality of identical shadow masks arranged in a number of stacks to form a like number of compound shadow masks, each of which is disposed in a deposition vacuum vessel along with a material deposition source. Materials from the material deposition sources are deposited on the substrate via openings in corresponding compound shadow masks, each opening being formed by the whole or partial alignment of apertures in the shadow masks forming the compound shadow mask, to form an array of electronic elements on the substrate.

Claims

1. A shadow mask deposition system comprising:

a plurality of series connected deposition vacuum vessels;

a material deposition source disposed in each deposition vacuum vessel;

a compound shadow mask disposed in each deposition vacuum vessel, each compound shadow mask comprised of a plurality of identical shadow masks arranged in a stack, each compound shadow mask having at least one opening therethrough defined by the whole or partial alignment of apertures in the identical shadow masks comprising said compound shadow mask; and

means for translating a substrate through the series connected deposition vacuum vessels to receive a deposit of the material from each material deposition source via the at least one opening in the corresponding compound shadow mask to form at least one electronic element on said substrate with the material from each material deposition source.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of (i) a size of each opening of each compound shadow mask and (ii) a location of each opening of each compound shadow mask relative to the substrate during deposition of the material through said opening is different.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein:

each compound shadow mask includes a plurality of openings therethrough; and

the deposit of the material from each material deposition source forms a plurality of electronic elements on the substrate.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the plurality of electronic elements is formed on the substrate solely by the successive deposition of materials from the material deposition sources.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the substrate is at least one of (i) electrically insulative, (ii) flexible and (iii) transparent.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the substrate is made of glass.