Method and apparatus for fine feature spray deposition

• US 6,576,861 B2
• Filed: 05/23/2001
• Issued: 06/10/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Research Foundation for The State University of New York (State University of New York)
• Original Assignee: The Research Foundation for The State University of New York (State University of New York)
• Inventors: Greenlaw, Robert, Sampath, Sanjay, Herman, Herbert
• Primary Examiner(s): PASCHALL, MARK H
• Application Number:
  US09/863,482
• Publication Number:
  US 20020012743A1
• Time in Patent Office: 748 Days
• Field of Search: 219/121.47, 219/121.48, 219/121.58, 219/121.5, 219/76.15, 219/76.16, 204/298.07, 204/298.15, 228/33
• US Class Current: 219/121.48
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 12/22 movable relative to the spray area
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 24/04 Impact or kinetic deposition of particles
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/14 using spraying techniques to apply the conductive material , e.g. vapour evaporation

Abstract

A system for fine feature spray deposition includes a substrate platform for supporting a substrate on which the features are to be deposited. A spray assembly is provided which includes a spray source for providing a stream of material to be deposited on a substrate, a collimator which is positioned in a path of the stream from said spray source and an aperture assembly, which is positioned downstream of the collimator with respect to the spray source and above the substrate platform. The aperture assembly defines at least one opening to pass a portion of the stream of material onto a surface of the substrate. A drive mechanism is provided which is coupled to at least one of the spray assembly and the substrate platform for inducing relative motion there between. A controller is coupled to the spray assembly and the drive mechanism to control the relative motion and the stream of material. The system allows fine features to be printed directly on a substrate with requiring a predefined mask. Multilayer structures, such as electrical components for circuits or sensor systems, can be formed by sequentially depositing features with various electrical properties.

Claims

1. A system for fine feature spray deposition comprising:

a substrate platform for supporting a substrate;

a spray assembly comprising;

a spray source for providing a stream of material to be deposited on a substrate; and

a dynamic aperture assembly, said dynamic aperture assembly being positioned downstream of said spray source and above said substrate platform, the dynamic aperture assembly defining at least one opening therein to pass at least a portion of the stream of material onto a surface of the substrate;

a drive mechanism, the drive mechanism being operatively coupled to at least one of the spray assembly and the substrate platform for inducing relative motion there between; and

a controller, the controller being operably coupled to said spray assembly and said drive mechanism to control said relative motion and said stream of material.

2. The system for fine feature spray deposition of claim 1, wherein the dynamic aperture assembly comprises:

a supply reel;

an elongate strip of flexible aperture material having at least one opening defined therein and engaged on the supply reel;

a take-up reel for receiving the aperture material, said supply reel and said take-up reel being positioned to extend at least a portion of the aperture material over the substrate platform; and

a rotational drive assembly operatively coupled to at least one of the supply reel and the take-up reel to advance the aperture material with respect to the substrate platform.

3. The system for fine feature spray deposition of claim 2, wherein the aperture material has a plurality of openings arranged in repeating patterns along the length of the aperture material.

4. The system for fine feature spray deposition of claim 1, wherein the dynamic aperture assembly comprises:

a supply reel having a first supply reel portion and a second supply reel portion, said first and second supply reel portions being mutually axially aligned and axially displaceable;

a first elongate strip of flexible aperture material engaged on the first supply reel portion;

a second elongate strip of flexible aperture material engaged on the second supply reel portion;

a take-up reel for receiving the aperture material, said take-up reel having a first take-up reel portion and a second take-up reel portion, said first and second take-up reel portions being mutually axially aligned and axially displaceable;

said supply reel and said take-up reel being positioned to extend at least a portion of the first elongate strip of flexible aperture material and the second elongate strip of flexible aperture material over the substrate platform in a substantially parallel relationship;

a rotational drive assembly operatively coupled to at least one of the supply reel and the take-up reel to advance the aperture material with respect to the substrate platform; and

a displacement drive assembly operatively coupled to the supply reel and the take-up reel to control a spacing and the substantially parallel relationship of the first elongate strip of flexible aperture material and the second elongate strip of flexible aperture material.

5. The system for fine feature spray deposition of claim 1, wherein the dynamic aperture assembly comprises a first aperture sub-assembly and a second aperture sub-assembly, the first and second aperture sub-assemblies being substantially orthogonally aligned over the substrate platform, each of said first and second aperture sub-assemblies comprising:

a supply reel having a first supply reel portion and a second supply reel portion, said first and second supply reel portions being mutually axially aligned and axially displaceable;

a first elongate strip of flexible aperture material engaged on the first supply reel portion;

a second elongate strip of flexible aperture material engaged on the second supply reel portion;

a take-up reel for receiving the aperture material, said take-up reel having a first take-up reel portion and a second take-up reel portion, said first and second take-up reel portions being mutually axially aligned and axially displaceable;

said supply reel and said take-up reel being positioned to extend at least a portion of the first elongate strip of flexible aperture material and the second elongate strip of flexible aperture material over the substrate platform in a substantially parallel relationship;

a rotational drive assembly operatively coupled to at least one of the supply reel and the take-up reel to advance the aperture material with respect to the substrate platform; and

a displacement drive assembly operatively coupled to the supply reel and the take-up reel to control a spacing and the substantially parallel relationship of the first elongate strip of flexible aperture material and the second elongate strip of flexible aperture material.

6. The system for fine feature spray deposition of claim 1, wherein the drive mechanism further comprises an x-y drive table coupled to the substrate platform.

7. The system for fine feature spray deposition of claim 1, wherein the drive mechanism further comprises a robotic arm operable in the x, y and z directions, the robotic arm being coupled to the spray assembly.

8. The system for fine feature spray deposition of claim 1, wherein the drive mechanism further comprises a robotic arm operable in the x, y and z directions, the robotic arm being coupled to the substrate platform.

9. The system for fine feature spray deposition of claim 1, wherein the spray source is selected from the group consisting of a combustion spray torch, a plasma spray torch, a detonation gun, high velocity oxygen fuel torch, and spray torch, and a cold spray gun.

10. The system for fine feature spray deposition of claim 1, further comprising a CAD interface operatively coupled to the controller.

11. The system for fine feature spray deposition of claim 1, wherein said dynamic aperture assembly further comprises an aperture cutting device, said aperture cutting device being operatively coupled to said controller for forming said at least one opening in the dynamic aperture assembly.

12. The system for fine feature spray deposition of claim 11, wherein the aperture cutting device includes a laser having a changeable focal length to alter the size of said at least one opening.

13. A system for fine feature spray deposition comprising:

a substrate platform for supporting a substrate;

spray assembly comprising;

a spray source for providing a stream of material to be deposited on a substrate;

a collimator, said collimator being positioned in a path of the stream from said spray source; and

a dynamic aperture assembly, said dynamic aperture assembly being positioned downstream of said collimator with respect to said spray source and above said substrate platform, the dynamic aperture assembly defining at least one opening therein to pass at least a portion of the stream of material onto a surface of the substrate;

a drive mechanism, the drive mechanism being operatively coupled to at least one of the spray assembly and the substrate platform for inducing relative motion there between; and

a controller, the controller being operably coupled to said spray assembly and said drive mechanism to control said relative motion and said stream of material.

14. The system for fine feature spray deposition of claim 13, wherein the collimator comprises a first wall section and a second wall section, the first and second wall sections converging in a V-shaped arrangement and defining an opening at an apex of the V-shaped arrangement.

15. The system for fine feature spray deposition of claim 13, wherein the collimator comprises first and second collimator members in a spaced relationship.

16. The system for fine feature spray deposition of claim 15, wherein the first collimator member comprises a first wall section and a second wall section, the first and second wall sections converging in a V-shaped arrangement and defining an opening at an apex of the V-shaped arrangement.

17. The system for fine feature spray deposition of claim 15, wherein the second collimator member comprises a frustoconical member having an opening in substantial alignment with at least a portion of the opening in said first collimator member.

18. The system for fine feature spray deposition of claim 13, wherein the dynamic aperture assembly comprises:

a supply reel;

an elongate strip of flexible aperture material -having at least one opening defined therein and engaged on the supply reel;

a take-up reel for receiving the aperture material, said supply reel and said take-up reel being positioned to extend at least a portion of the aperture material over the substrate platform; and

a rotational drive assembly operatively coupled to at least one of the supply reel and the take-up reel to advance the aperture material with respect to the substrate platform.

19. The system for fine feature spray deposition of claim 18, wherein the aperture material has a plurality of openings arranged in repeating patterns along the length of the aperture material.

20. The system for fine feature spray deposition of claim 13, wherein the dynamic aperture assembly comprises:

a supply reel having a first supply reel portion and a second supply reel portion, said first and second supply reel portions being mutually axially aligned and axially displaceable;

a first elongate strip of flexible aperture material engaged on the first supply reel portion;

a second elongate strip of flexible aperture material engaged on the second supply reel portion;

a take-up reel for receiving the aperture material, said take-up reel having a first take-up reel portion and a second take-up reel portion, said first and second take-up reel portions being mutually axially aligned and axially displaceable;

said supply reel and said take-up reel being positioned to extend at least a portion of the first elongate strip of flexible aperture material and the second elongate strip of flexible aperture material over the substrate platform in a substantially parallel relationship;

a rotational drive assembly operatively coupled to at least one of the supply reel and the take-up reel to advance the aperture material with respect to the substrate platform; and

a displacement drive assembly operatively coupled to the supply reel and the take-up reel to control a spacing and the substantially parallel relationship of the first elongate strip of flexible aperture material and the second elongate strip of flexible aperture material.

21. The system for fine feature spray deposition of claim 13, wherein the dynamic aperture assembly comprises a first aperture sub-assembly and a second aperture sub-assembly, the first and second aperture sub-assemblies being substantially orthogonally aligned over the substrate platform, each of said first and second aperture sub-assemblies comprising:

a supply reel having a first supply reel portion and a second supply reel portion, said first and second supply reel portions being mutually axially aligned and axially displaceable;

a first elongate strip of flexible aperture material engaged on the first supply reel portion;

a second elongate strip of flexible aperture material engaged on the second supply reel portion;

a take-up reel for receiving the aperture material, said take-up reel having a first take-up reel portion and a second take-up reel portion, said first and second take-up reel portions being mutually axially aligned and axially displaceable;

said supply reel and said take-up reel being positioned to extend at least a portion of the first elongate strip of flexible aperture material and the second elongate strip of flexible aperture material over the substrate platform in a substantially parallel relationship;

a rotational drive assembly operatively coupled to at least one of the supply reel and the take-up reel to advance the aperture material with respect to the substrate platform; and

a displacement drive assembly operatively coupled to the supply reel and the take-up reel to control a spacing and the substantially parallel relationship of the first elongate strip of flexible aperture material and the second elongate strip of flexible aperture material.

22. The system for fine feature spray deposition of claim 13, wherein the drive mechanism further comprises an x-y drive table coupled to the substrate platform.

23. The system for fine feature spray deposition of claim 13, wherein the drive mechanism further comprises a robotic arm operable in the x, y and z directions, the robotic arm being coupled to the spray assembly.

24. The system for fine feature spray deposition of claim 13, wherein the drive mechanism further comprises a robotic arm operable in the x, y and z directions, the robotic arm being coupled to the substrate platform.

25. The system for fine feature spray deposition of claim 13, wherein the spray source is selected from the group consisting of a combustion spray torch, a plasma spray torch, a detonation gun, high velocity oxygen fuel torch, and spray torch, electric arc-spray and a cold spray gun.

26. The system for fine feature spray deposition of claim 13, further comprising a CAD interface operatively coupled to the controller.

27. The system for fine feature spray deposition of claim 13, wherein said dynamic aperture assembly further comprises an aperture cutting device, said aperture cutting device being operatively coupled to said controller for forming said at least one opening in the dynamic aperture assembly.

28. The system for fine feature spray deposition of claim 27, wherein the aperture cutting device includes a laser having a changeable focal length to alter the size of said at least one opening.

29. A method for depositing a fine feature on a substrate using spray deposition comprising:

generating a stream of material from a spray source;

passing a portion of the stream through a collimator spaced from the spray source;

passing the portion of the stream through an opening in a dynamic aperture member spaced from the collimator and supported above the surface of the substrate;

moving one of the substrate or dynamic aperture member while generating the stream of material from the spray source to define the feature on the surface of the substrate.

30. The method for depositing a fine feature on a substrate according to claim 29, further comprising varying the size of the opening in the dynamic aperture member in accordance with the geometry of the feature to be formed.

31. The method for depositing a fine feature on a substrate according to claim 30, wherein the dynamic aperture member is formed with a first pair of members arranged in a first direction and a second pair of members arranged in a second direction intersecting the first pair of members over the substrate to define the opening, wherein the operation of varying the size of the opening is effected by changing a spacing in at least one of the first pair of members or second pair of members.

32. The method for depositing a fine feature on a substrate according to claim 31, wherein the first pair of members are substantially parallel to one another, the second pair of members are substantially parallel to one another, and the second direction is substantially orthogonal to the first direction.

33. The method for depositing a fine feature on a substrate according to claim 32, wherein the step of moving one of the substrate or dynamic aperture member includes at least one of moving at first pair of members along the second direction and the second pair of members along the first direction.

34. The method for depositing a fine feature on a substrate according to claim 33, further comprising generating the opening in the dynamic aperture member using an aperture cutting station and advancing the dynamic aperture member over the surface of the substrate.

35. The method for depositing a fine feature on a substrate according to claim 29, wherein after the feature is formed, the method further comprises:

generating a stream of a second material from a second spray source;

passing a portion of the second stream through a collimator spaced from the second spray source;

passing the portion of the second stream through an opening in a dynamic aperture member spaced from the collimator and supported above the surface of the substrate;

moving one of the substrate or dynamic aperture member to define a second feature on the surface of the substrate.

36. The method for depositing a fine feature on a substrate according to claim 35, wherein the first material has electrical properties which are one of conductive, resistive, magnetic, capacitive or insulative and the second material is selected to have electrical properties different from said first material.

37. A method for directly printing a multilayer electrical component on a substrate comprising:

generating a stream of conductive material from a spray source;

passing a portion of the stream through a collimator spaced from the spray source;

passing the portion of the stream through an opening in a dynamic aperture member spaced from the collimator and supported above the surface of the substrate;

moving one of the substrate or dynamic aperture member to define a first conductive feature on the surface of the substrate;

generating a stream of an insulative material from a second spray source;

passing a portion of the stream through a collimator spaced from the second spray source;

passing the portion of the stream through an opening in a dynamic aperture member spaced from the collimator and supported above the surface of the substrate; and

moving one of the substrate or dynamic aperture member to define an insulative feature on the surface of the substrate at least partially covering the first conductive feature.

38. The method for directly printing a multilayer electrical component on a substrate according to claim 37, further comprising varying the size of the opening in the dynamic aperture member in accordance with the geometry of the conductive feature or insulative feature to be formed.

39. The method for directly printing a multilayer electrical component on a substrate according to claim 38, wherein the dynamic aperture member is formed with a first pair of members arranged in a first direction and a second pair of members arranged in a second direction intersecting the first pair of members over the substrate to define the opening, wherein the operation of varying the size of the opening is effected by changing a spacing in at least one of the first pair of members or second pair of members.

40. The method for directly printing a multilayer electrical component on a substrate according to claim 39, wherein the first pair of members are substantially parallel to one another, the second pair of members are substantially parallel to one another, and the second direction is substantially orthogonal to the first direction.

41. The method for directly printing a multilayer electrical component on a substrate according to claim 40, wherein the step of moving one of the substrate or dynamic aperture member includes at least one of moving the first pair of members along the second direction and the second pair of members along the first direction.

42. The method for directly printing a multilayer electrical component on a substrate according to claim 41, further comprising generating the opening in the dynamic aperture member using an aperture cutting station and advancing the dynamic aperture member over the surface of the substrate.

43. The method for directly printing a multilayer electrical component on a substrate according to claim 37, further comprising:

generating a stream of resistive material from a spray source;

passing a portion of the stream of resistive material through a collimator spaced from the spray source;

passing the portion of the stream of resistive material through an opening in a dynamic aperture member spaced from the collimator and supported above the surface of the substrate;

moving one of the substrate or dynamic aperture member to define a first resistive feature on the surface of the substrate.

44. The method for directly printing a multilayer electrical component on a substrate according to claim 37, further comprising:

generating a stream of dielectric material from a spray source;

passing a portion of the stream of dielectric material through a collimator spaced from the spray source;

passing the portion of the stream of dielectric material through an opening in a dynamic aperture member spaced from the collimator and supported above the surface of the substrate;

moving one of the substrate or dynamic aperture member to define a first dielectric feature on the surface of the substrate.

45. The method for directly printing a multilayer electrical component on a substrate according to claim 37, further comprising:

generating a stream of magnetic material from a spray source;

passing a portion of the stream of magnetic material through a collimator spaced from the spray source;

passing the portion of the stream of magnetic material through an opening in a dynamic aperture member spaced from the collimator and supported above the surface of the substrate;

moving one of the substrate or dynamic aperture member to define a first magnetic feature on the surface of the substrate.