ELECTRIC FIELD AUXILIARY ROBOTIC NOZZLE PRINTER AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING ORGANIC WIRE PATTERN ALIGNED USING SAME

• US 20130216724A1
• Filed: 10/06/2011
• Published: 08/22/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Postech Academy-Industry Foundation
• Original Assignee: Postech Academy-Industry Foundation
• Inventors: Lee, Tae-Woo, Min, Sung Yong
• Application Number:
  US13/877,806
• Publication Number:
  US 20130216724A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 427/466
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 40/00 Manufacture or treatment of nanostructures
• CPC Class Codes: H01B 13/0026 Apparatus for manufacturing conducting or semi-conducting layers, e.g. deposition of metal
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 10/484 characterised by the channel regions
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 71/135 using ink-jet printing
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 71/611 using printing deposition, e.g. ink jet printing
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 85/113 Heteroaromatic compounds comprising sulfur or selene, e.g. polythiophene
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 85/146 poly N-vinylcarbazol; Derivatives thereof

Abstract

Provided according to an aspect of the present disclosure is an electric field aided robotic nozzle printer including a solution storage apparatus for supplying a discharging solution; a nozzle for discharging the discharging solution supplied by the solution storage apparatus; a voltage applying apparatus for applying high voltage onto the nozzle; a flat and movable collector, in which organic wires formed after discharge from the nozzle are aligned; a robot stage, which is installed below the collector and enables to move the collector in an x-y direction (horizontal direction) within a horizontal plane; a micro distance controller for regulating the distance between the nozzle and the collector in a Z direction (vertical direction); and a base plate, which is installed below the robot stage, for maintaining flatness of the collector and preventing vibration generated during the operation of the robot stage.

Claims

1. An electric field aided robotic nozzle printer comprising:

a solution storage apparatus for supplying a discharging solution;

a nozzle for discharging the discharging solution supplied by the solution storage apparatus;

a voltage applying apparatus for applying high voltage onto the nozzle;

a flat and movable collector, in which organic wires formed after discharge from the nozzle are aligned;

a robot stage, which is installed below the collector and enables the collector to move in an X-Y direction within a horizontal plane;

a micro distance controller for regulating a distance between the nozzle and the collector in a Z direction, wherein the Z direction is a vertical direction; and

a base plate that is installed below the robot stage, for maintaining flatness of the collector and preventing vibration from being generated during the operation of the robot stage.

2. The electric field aided robotic nozzle printer according to claim 1, further comprising a discharge controller, which is connected to the solution storage apparatus and discharges the discharging solution in the solution storage apparatus at a predetermined rate.

3. The electric field aided robotic nozzle printer according to claim 2, wherein the discharge controller includes a pump or a gas pressure regulator, and controls the predetermined rate of discharging the discharging solution to be in a range of about 1.0 nl/min to about 50 ml/min.

4. The electric field aided robotic nozzle printer according to claim 1, further comprising a housing that encompasses the solution storage apparatus, the nozzle, the collector, the robot stage, the micro distance controller and the base plate.

5. The electric field aided robotic nozzle printer according to claim 4, wherein an interior of the housing is sealable, and the interior is filled with an inert gas or dry air via a gas injector.

6. The electric field aided robotic nozzle printer according to claim 4, further comprising a ventilator that releases a gas, which is in the interior of the housing, to the outside.

7. The electric field aided robotic nozzle printer according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of solution storage apparatuses is provided, and an separate discharge controller operates independently in the plurality of the solution storage apparatuses.

8. The electric field aided robotic nozzle printer according to claim 1, wherein the solution storage apparatus is made of plastic, glass or stainless steel.

9. The electric field aided robotic nozzle printer according to claim 1, wherein the solution storage apparatus has a capacity volume in a range of about 1 μ

l to about 5,000 ml.

10. The electric field aided robotic nozzle printer according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle may be a single nozzle, a dual-concentric nozzle, a triple-concentric nozzle, a split nozzle or a multi nozzle.

11. The electric field aided robotic nozzle printer according to claim 10, wherein the dual-concentric nozzle and the triple-concentric nozzle respectively receive a discharging solution from ones of a plurality of the solution storage apparatuses.

12. The electric field aided robotic nozzle printer according to claim 10, wherein about 2 to about 30 split nozzles are aligned in a row at predetermined intervals and receive a discharging solution from a single solution storage apparatus.

13. The electric field aided robotic nozzle printer according to claim 10, wherein about 2 to about 30 multi nozzles are aligned in a row at predetermined intervals and respectively receive a discharging solution from ones of a plurality of the solution storage apparatuses.

14. The electric field aided robotic nozzle printer according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle has a diameter of about 100 nm to about 1.5 mm.

15. The electric field aided robotic nozzle printer according to claim 1, wherein the applied high voltage to the voltage applying apparatus is in a range of about 0.1 kV to about 50 kV.

16. The electric field aided robotic nozzle printer according to claim 1, wherein the collector is grounded and has a flatness of about 0.5 μ

m to about 10 μ

m.

17. The electric field aided robotic nozzle printer according to claim 1, wherein the robot stage is movable in a range of about 10 cm to about 100 cm.

18. The electric field aided robotic nozzle printer according to claim 1, wherein a velocity of the robot stage movement is controlled in a range of about 1 mm/min to 60,000 mm/min.

19. The electric field aided robotic nozzle printer according to claim 1, wherein the micro distance controller includes a jog and a micrometer, and the distance between the nozzle and the collector is controlled in a range of about 10 μ

m to about 20 mm.

20. The electric field aided robotic nozzle printer according to claim 1, wherein the base plate has flatness of about 0.1 μ

m to about 5 μ

m.

21. A method of fabricating organic wire patterns comprising,

adding an organic solution, in which an organic material or an organic-inorganic hybrid material is mixed with distilled water or an organic solvent, into the solution storage apparatus of the electric field aided robotic nozzle printer according to claim 1;

discharging the organic solution from the nozzle while applying the high voltage on the nozzle by using the voltage applying apparatus of the electric field aided robotic nozzle printer; and

aligning, on a substrate placed on the collector while transporting the collector, the organic wires formed after the discharge from the nozzle or organic-inorganic hybrid wires formed from the organic solution being discharged from the nozzle.

22. The method of fabricating the organic wire patterns according to claim 21, wherein the organic material includes a low molecular organic semiconductor material, a high molecular organic semiconductor material, a conductive polymer, an insulative polymer or mixtures thereof.

23. The method of fabricating the organic wire patterns according to claim 21, wherein the organic material includes,

a low molecular organic semiconductor material selected from the group consisting of 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) (TIPS pentacene), triethylsilylethynyl anthradithiophene (TES ADT) and [6,6]-phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM);

a high molecular organic semiconductor material or conductive polymer selected from the group consisting of poly(3-hexylthiophene)(P3HT), poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), poly(9-vinylcarbazole) (PVK), poly(p-phenylene vinylene), polyfluorene, polyaniline, polypyrrole, and their derivatives; and

an insulative polymer selected from the group consisting of polyethylene oxide (PEO), polystyrene (PS), polycaprolactone (PCL), polyacrylonitrile (PAN), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), polyimide, poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and polyvinylchloride (PVC).

24. The method of fabricating the organic wire patterns according to claim 21, wherein the organic-inorganic hybrid material is at least one selected from the group consisting of a nano-sized particle, a wire, a ribbon, a rod-shaped semiconductor, a metal, a metal oxide, a precursor of a metal or metal oxide, carbon nanotube (CNT) or reduced graphene oxide, graphene, graphene quantom dot, graphene nanoribbon, graphite, and a quantum dot in which a nano-sized II-VI semiconductor particle forms a core

25. The method of fabricating the organic wire patterns according to claim 21, wherein the substrate includes a conductive material selected from the group consisting of aluminum (Al), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), iron (Fe), chromium (Cr), titanium (Ti), zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), gold (Au) and silver (Ag);

a semiconductor material selected from the group consisting of silicon (Si), germanium (Ge) and gallium arsenide (GaAs); and

an insulative polymer selected from the group consisting of glass, a plastic film or paper.

26. The method of fabricating the organic wire patterns according to claim 21, wherein line spacing of the organic wires is in a range of about 10 nm to about 20 cm.