Systems and methods for the manufacture of flat panel devices

• US 8,138,075 B1
• Filed: 02/05/2007
• Issued: 03/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Dietmar C. Eberlein, Robert H. Detig
• Original Assignee: Dietmar C. Eberlein, Robert H. Detig
• Inventors: Eberlein, Dietmar C., Detig, Robert H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ghyka, Alexander
• Assistant Examiner(s): NIKMANESH, SEAHVOSH J
• Application Number:
  US11/671,406
• Time in Patent Office: 1,870 Days
• Field of Search: 438/34, 438/584, 438/587, 257/E21.476
• US Class Current: 438/587
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1368 in which the switching element is a three-electrode device G02F1/136277 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/32051 Deposition of metallic or metal-silicide layers
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 10/46 Field-effect transistors, e.g. organic thin-film transistors [OTFT] H10K10/43 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 19/10 comprising field-effect transistors
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 71/135 using ink-jet printing
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 71/611 using printing deposition, e.g. ink jet printing

Abstract

A backplane having a circuit array having at least one region comprising a substrate having a conductive plane under a dielectric surface, a first conductive layer on said dielectric surface, a selectively disposed insulator disposed over said first conductive layer, and a second conductive layer disposed on said insulator, wherein said first conductive layer is electrically insulated from said second conductive layer, said first conductive layer being formed electrographically, and said second conductive layer being formed by a process comprising selective deposition of liquid droplets, which are then solidified. The second conductive layer may be formed electrographically or by a raster deposition process. The backplane preferably forms an active matrix for a flat panel display using organic semiconductor active elements.

Claims

1. A method for the manufacture of an active matrix backplane, comprising:

electrographically forming a first conductive layer comprising a set of conductive portions on an insulating substrate;

forming a cross-over dielectric by a process selected from an electrographic process and a raster deposition process, at least a portion of the cross-over dielectric being formed on at least a portion of the first conductive layer;

forming a second conductive layer by a process selected from an electrographic process and a raster deposition process, at least a portion of the second conductive layer being formed on at least a portion of the cross-over dielectric formed on at least a portion of the first conductive layer; and

forming an active matrix backplane functional device comprising a semiconducting material portion, a gate dielectric, and a gate electrode by a raster deposition process, the functional device being electrically connected to at least one of the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the cross-over dielectric and the second conductive layer are formed electographically.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the cross-over dielectric and the second conductive layer are formed by a raster deposition process.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the raster deposition process comprises an ink jet printing process.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the gate dielectric and the cross-over dielectric are formed concurrently by a raster deposition process.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the gate electrode and second conductive layer are formed concurrently by a raster deposition process.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the cross-over dielectric and the gate dielectric layer are formed concurrently by a first ink jet printing step, and the gate electrode and the second conductive layer are formed concurrently by a second ink jet printing step.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the semiconducting material portion comprises an organic semiconductor material deposited by an ink jet printing process.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the semiconducting material portion comprises an active current modulating material selected from one or more of the group consisting of a pentacene, a polythiophene and a poly aryl amine.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the semiconducting material comprises semiconducting, single wall carbon nanotubes.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein

said first conductive layer is formed electrographically, and

said second conductive layer is formed by a process comprising selective deposition of liquid droplets, which are then solidified.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein said insulating substrate comprises a photopolymer formed over a circuit pattern, which selectively retains charge in regions which have been exposed to light, said first conductive layer being formed electrographically and having a pattern corresponding to a light exposure of said photopolymer.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein said second conductive layer is contiguous with the gate electrode and said cross-over dielectric is contiguous with said gate dielectric, selectively disposed to function as the gate and channel, respectively, of a field effect transistor.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein said first and second conductive layers each comprise an elongated strip which respectively cross each other, separated by said cross-over dielectric.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein said semiconducting material portion, said gate dielectric, and said gate electrode are formed as liquid droplets which are sequentially deposited by an ink jet process to form the functional device.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein said cross-over dielectric comprises one or more materials selected from the group consisting of a polyester resin, a polyethylene resin, an epoxy, a ethylene acrylic acid co-polymer, and a ethylene vinyl acetate co-polymer.

17. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said first and second conductive layers is formed from a metal organic decomposition product.

18. The method according to claim 1, further comprising depositing an electro-optic modulator composition configured to be selectively optically responsive to electrical signals within at least one of said first conductive layer and said second conductive layer.

19. The method according to claim 1, wherein said backplane comprises an antenna array, and wherein the functional device is configured to selectively interact with a radio frequency signal.

20. A method for manufacturing an active matrix device, comprising:

electrographically forming a first conductive array pattern on an insulating substrate;

forming a dielectric array pattern over portions of the first conductive array pattern, by a process selected from an electrographic process and a raster deposition process;

forming a second conductive array pattern over at least portions of the dielectric array pattern by a process selected from an electrographic process and a raster deposition process;

forming an array of functional devices, each comprising a channel material portion, and a gate portion, by a raster deposition process;

wherein a channel material of a respective functional device of the array of functional devices is selectively modulated based on signals in the first and second conductive arrays.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the active matrix device comprises an active matrix display device, further comprising an array of electrooptically responsive material portions configured to provide a respective portion selectively responsive to a modulation of a respective functional device.

22. A method of forming an active matrix display device, comprising an array of rows and columns, having at each junction a cross-over dielectric separating the respective row and column electrodes, an active modulator selectively responsive to electrical signals in the row and column electrodes, and an electrically modulated optical composition, the method comprising:

electrographically forming a column conductive array pattern on an insulating substrate;

forming a cross-over dielectric array pattern over portions of the column conductive array pattern, by a process selected from an electrographic process and a raster deposition process;

forming a row conductive array pattern over at least portions of the dielectric array pattern by a process selected from an electrographic process and a raster deposition process;

forming an array of active modulators, each comprising a channel material portion, and a gate portion, by a raster deposition process, proximate to each junction; and

depositing the electrically modulated optical composition configured to be selectively spatially modulated by the array of active modulators dependent on electrical signals in the column conductive array pattern and the row conductive array pattern.