Method and apparatus for load-locked printing

• US 8,802,186 B2
• Filed: 02/22/2013
• Issued: 08/12/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kateeva, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Kateeva, Inc.
• Inventors: Somekh, Sass, Vronsky, Eliyahu
• Primary Examiner(s): PARKER, FREDERICK JOHN
• Application Number:
  US13/773,649
• Publication Number:
  US 20130164439A1
• Time in Patent Office: 536 Days
• Field of Search: 427/66, 427/261, 427/287, 427/294
• US Class Current: 427/66
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 17/0638 spray being produced by discharging the liquid or other fluent material through a plate comprising a plurality of orifices
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 17/0646 Vibrating plates, i.e. plates being directly subjected to the vibrations, e.g. having a piezoelectric transducer attached thereto
• CPC Class Codes: B05C 13/02 for particular articles
• CPC Class Codes: B05C 15/00 Enclosures for apparatus; Booths spray booths B05B16/00
• CPC Class Codes: B05C 5/0208 for applying liquid or other fluent material to separate articles B05C5/0204 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B05D 5/00 Processes for applying liquids or other fluent materials to surfaces to obtain special surface effects, finishes or structures
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/0015 for treating before, during or after printing or for uniform coating or laminating the copy material before or after printing selective coating B41J2/2114
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/015 characterised by the jet generation process B41J2/215 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/14 Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/16505 Caps, spittoons or covers for cleaning or preventing drying out
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/315 characterised by selective application of heat to a heat sensitive printing or impression-transfer material B41J2/385, B41J2/435 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2202/09 Ink jet technology used for manufacturing optical filters
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2202/16 Nozzle heaters
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 29/393 Devices for controlling or analysing the entire machine ; Controlling or analysing mechanical parameters involving printing of test patterns
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 5/0011 Pre-treatment or treatment during printing of the recording material, e.g. heating, irradiating after-treatment of prints B41M7/00; printers for treating or overcoating copy materials before, during or after printing B41J11/0015
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 5/0047 by ink-jet printing
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 4/137 Spraying in vacuum or in an inert atmosphere
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67201 characterized by the construction of the load-lock chamber
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67784 using air tracks
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/005 Processes
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 33/10 : Apparatus or processes specially adapted to the manufacture of electroluminescent light sources
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 71/00 : Manufacture or treatment specially adapted for the organic devices covered by this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 71/135 : using ink-jet printing
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 71/191 : characterised by provisions for the orientation or alignment of the layer to be deposited
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 71/40 : Thermal treatment, e.g. annealing in the presence of a solvent vapour

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for preventing oxidation or contamination during a circuit printing operation. The circuit printing operation can be directed to OLED-type printing. In an exemplary embodiment, the printing process is conducted at a load-locked printer housing having one or more of chambers. Each chamber is partitioned from the other chambers by physical gates or fluidic curtains. A controller coordinates transportation of a substrate through the system and purges the system by timely opening appropriate gates. The controller may also control the printing operation by energizing the print-head at a time when the substrate is positioned substantially thereunder.

Claims

1. A method for forming a film of a selected material on a substrate, comprising:

receiving a substrate at a substrate-inlet region;

transporting the substrate to a substrate-printing region;

providing an inert-gas environment at the substrate-printing region, wherein the printing region comprises a print-head chamber enclosing at least one print-head having at least one nozzle;

floating the substrate at the substrate-printing region, wherein said substrate is floated with a combination of pressure and vacuum;

while floating the substrate, printing a film of a selected material on the substrate with the at least one print-head having at least one nozzle;

transporting the substrate away from the substrate-printing region; and

,

removing the substrate from a substrate-outlet region.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising after the step of receiving a substrate at a substrate-inlet region:

isolating the substrate-inlet region; and

,

providing the substrate-inlet region with an inert-gas environment.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising after the step of transporting the substrate to a substrate-printing region:

isolating the substrate-printing region.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said inert-gas environment comprises a nitrogen-gas environment.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said printing step forms a patterned film.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said material is an organic material.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said substrate inlet-region is adjacent said substrate-printing region.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said substrate-printing region is adjacent said substrate-outlet region.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said substrate-printing region is between said substrate-inlet region and said substrate-outlet region.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

an intermediate processing step at an intermediate substrate-processing region between said substrate-inlet region and said substrate-outlet region.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein after the step of receiving a substrate at a substrate-inlet region and before the step of printing a film of a selected material on the substrate said intermediate processing step comprises a substrate alignment step.

12. The method of claim 5, wherein the patterned film is printed on a substrate for an OLED display.

13. The method of claim 6, wherein the organic material comprises an OLED material.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the print-head comprises an ink chamber in flow communication with a nozzle.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the substrate is floated with a combination of pressure and vacuum using a gas bearing comprising a plurality of gas ports and vacuum ports.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein a floatation gas used for the plurality of gas ports is an inert gas.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the inert gas is nitrogen.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising after the step of transporting the substrate away from the substrate-printing region:

moving the substrate to a substrate-outlet region; and

isolating the substrate-printing region from the substrate-outlet region.