Techniques for Arrayed Printing of a Permanent Layer with Improved Speed and Accuracy
First Claim
1. A method of fabricating a flat panel device, the method comprising:
- receiving a first substrate;
using a printer to print a liquid onto the first substrate, the liquid carrying a material that will form a permanent layer of the flat panel device; and
processing the liquid to form the permanent layer therefrom;
wherein(a) the method further comprises detecting position of a fiducial on the first substrate and detecting error dependent on difference between the position of the fiducial and an expected feature position,(b) using the printer comprises receiving stored data defining where the permanent layer for the flat panel device is to be printed, rendering the stored data according to the error, to generate adjusted data, and printing droplets of the liquid onto the first substrate according to the adjusted data, and(c) rendering the stored data further comprisesassigning individual nozzles of a printhead of the printer to deposit respective droplets of the liquid in a specific region of the first substrate, in dependence on the error,in a manner where a target aggregate volume of the liquid deposited in the specific region is restricted to fall within a predetermined error threshold relative to a desired amount volume of the liquid for the specific region.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A repeatable manufacturing process uses a printer to deposits liquid for each product carried by a substrate to form respective thin films. The liquid is dried, cured or otherwise processed to form from the liquid a permanent layer of each respective product. To perform printing, each newly-introduced substrate is roughly mechanically aligned, with an optical system detecting sub-millimeter misalignment, and with software correcting for misalignment. Rendering of adjusted data is performed such that nozzles are variously assigned dependent on misalignment to deposit droplets in a regulated manner, to ensure precise deposition of liquid for each given area of the substrate. For example, applied to the manufacture of flat panel displays, software ensures that exactly the right amount of liquid is deposited for each “pixel” of the display, to minimize likelihood of visible discrepancies in the resultant display.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method of fabricating a flat panel device, the method comprising:
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receiving a first substrate; using a printer to print a liquid onto the first substrate, the liquid carrying a material that will form a permanent layer of the flat panel device; and processing the liquid to form the permanent layer therefrom; wherein (a) the method further comprises detecting position of a fiducial on the first substrate and detecting error dependent on difference between the position of the fiducial and an expected feature position, (b) using the printer comprises receiving stored data defining where the permanent layer for the flat panel device is to be printed, rendering the stored data according to the error, to generate adjusted data, and printing droplets of the liquid onto the first substrate according to the adjusted data, and (c) rendering the stored data further comprises assigning individual nozzles of a printhead of the printer to deposit respective droplets of the liquid in a specific region of the first substrate, in dependence on the error, in a manner where a target aggregate volume of the liquid deposited in the specific region is restricted to fall within a predetermined error threshold relative to a desired amount volume of the liquid for the specific region. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. An apparatus to fabricate a flat panel device, the apparatus comprising:
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means for receiving a first substrate; means for printing a liquid onto the first substrate, the liquid carrying a material that will form a permanent layer of each one of respective products to be fabricated in parallel on the first substrate, the flat panel device being one of the respective products, wherein printing is performed as part of an integral print process for the permanent layer of each of the respective products on the first substrate; means for, following printing of the liquid, processing the liquid to form a permanent layer of each of the respective products; and means for, following the processing, separating the flat panel device from the other respective products on the first substrate; wherein (a) the apparatus further comprises means for detecting position of a fiducial on the first substrate and detecting error dependent on difference between the position of the fiducial and an expected feature position, (b) the means for printing comprises means for receiving stored data defining where the permanent layer corresponding to the flat panel device is to be printed, and means for rendering the stored data according to the error, to generate adjusted data, wherein printing onto the first substrate is performed according to the adjusted data, and (c) the means for rendering further comprises means for assigning individual nozzles of a printhead of the printer to deposit respective droplets of the liquid in a specific region of the first substrate, in dependence on the error, in a manner where a target aggregate volume of the liquid deposited in the specific region is kept within a predetermined error threshold relative to a desired amount volume of the liquid for the specific region.
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24. An apparatus to fabricate a flat panel device, the apparatus comprising:
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a mechanical handler to receive a first substrate; and a printer to print a liquid comprising a material that will form permanent layers of respective products on the first substrate, the flat panel device being one of the respective products, wherein the printer is to print the permanent layers of the respective products on the first substrate as part of an integral print process; and a cure mechanism to cure the material so as to form the permanent layers; wherein the flat panel device is to be separated, following print of the permanent layers, from the other respective products on the first substrate, the apparatus further comprises a detection device to detect position of a fiducial on the first substrate and to detect error dependent on difference between the position of the fiducial and an expected feature position, and at least one processor, the at least one processor is to receive data defining where the permanent layer corresponding to the flat panel device is to be printed, render the data according to the error, to generate adjusted data, cause the printer to print onto the first substrate according to the adjusted data; and wherein the at least one processor is further to assign individual nozzles of a printhead of the printer to deposit respective droplets of the liquid in a specific region of the first substrate, in dependence on the error, in a manner where a target aggregate volume of the liquid deposited in the specific region is kept within a predetermined error threshold relative to a desired amount volume of the liquid for the specific region, in order to generate the adjusted data.
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25. An apparatus comprising instructions stored on non-transitory machine-readable media, the instructions to be executed by at least one processor of an apparatus comprising a mechanical handler to receive a first substrate, a printer to print the liquid onto the first substrate, a cure mechanism to cure the liquid so as to form a permanent layer of a flat panel device, and a detection device to detect position a fiducial on the first substrate, the instructions when executed to cause the machine to:
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detect error dependent on difference between the position of the fiducial and an expected feature position; receive data defining where the permanent layer corresponding to the flat panel device is to be printed on the first substrate; render the data according to the error, to generate adjusted data; and cause the printer to print onto the first substrate according to the adjusted data; wherein the instructions when executed are further to cause the at least one processor to assign individual nozzles of a printhead of the printer to deposit respective droplets of the liquid in a specific region of the first substrate, in dependence on the error, in a manner where a target aggregate volume of the liquid deposited in the specific region is kept within a predetermined error threshold relative to a desired amount volume of the liquid for the specific region, in order to generate the adjusted data.
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Specification