Micro-nozzle and micro-nozzle array for OVJP and method of manufacturing the same

• US 9,583,707 B2
• Filed: 09/18/2015
• Issued: 02/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Universal Display Corporation
• Original Assignee: Universal Display Corporation
• Inventors: King, Matthew, Hartford, Elliot H. Jr., Quinn, William E., McGraw, Gregory, Harikrishna Mohan, Siddharth
• Primary Examiner(s): Dang, Phuc
• Application Number:
  US14/858,840
• Publication Number:
  US 20160083845A1
• Time in Patent Office: 529 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 12/18 using fluids, e.g. gas streams
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 15/555 discharged by cleaning nozzles
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1433 Structure of nozzle plates
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/162 Manufacturing of the nozzle plates
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1628 dry etching
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1631 photolithography
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1642 thin film formation by CVD [chemical vapor deposition]
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2002/14475 characterised by nozzle shapes or number of orifices per chamber
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/12 Organic material
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/22 characterised by the process of coating
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/228 Gas flow assisted PVD deposition
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/24 Vacuum evaporation
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/00 Organic light-emitting devices integrated devices or assemblies of multiple devices H10K59/00, H10K65/00; organic semiconductor lasers H01S5/36
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 71/00 Manufacture or treatment specially adapted for the organic devices covered by this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 71/13 using printing techniques, e.g. ink-jet printing or screen printing
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 71/135 using ink-jet printing

Abstract

Embodiments of the disclosed subject matter provide a nozzle assembly and method of making the same, the nozzle assembly including a first aperture formed on a first aperture plate to eject a carrier gas flow having organic vapor onto a substrate in a deposition chamber, second apertures formed on a second aperture plate disposed adjacent to the first aperture to form a vacuum aperture, where the first aperture plate and the second aperture plate are separated by a first separator plate, third apertures formed on a third aperture plate to eject purge gas that are disposed adjacent to the second aperture plate, where the second aperture plate and the third aperture plate are separated by second separator plate, and a third separator plate is disposed adjacent to the one or more third aperture plates to form a gas channel in the one or more third aperture plates.

Claims

1. A nozzle assembly comprising:

at least one nozzle having;

a first aperture formed along an edge of a first aperture plate to eject a carrier gas flow laden with condensable organic vapor onto a substrate in a deposition chamber;

one or more second apertures formed on a second aperture plate disposed adjacent to the first aperture to form a vacuum aperture, where the first aperture plate and the second aperture plate are separated by a first separator plate;

one or more third apertures formed on a third aperture plate to eject purge gas that are disposed adjacent to the second aperture plate, where the second aperture plate and the third aperture plate are separated by second separator plate; and

a third separator plate disposed adjacent to the one or more third aperture plates to form a gas channel in the one or more third aperture plates.

2. The nozzle assembly of claim 1, further comprising:

a gap disposed between a stacked formation of the first, second, and third aperture plates and the substrate that direct the purge gas flow anti-parallel to the carrier gas flow, and into one or more exhaust apertures that are in communication with a vacuum source external to the deposition chamber.

3. The nozzle assembly of claim 1, wherein the nozzle for a single deposition aperture is formed by placing sheets of material formed to have the first, second, and third apertures along one edge and gas channels through the assembly.

4. The nozzle assembly of claim 3, wherein the nozzle for the single deposition assembly is formed by alternating aperture sheets, respectively having the first, second, and third apertures, and separator sheets to form gas flow paths from the gas channels to at least one of the first, second, and third apertures.

5. The nozzle assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one nozzle is for multi-deposition apertures, and is formed by repeating placement of sheets of material formed to have apertures along one edge and gas channels through the assembly so that multiple deposition nozzles are formed, separated by a number of sheets.

6. The nozzle assembly of claim 5, wherein the number of nozzles is between 10 and 100.

7. The nozzle assembly of claim 5, wherein the number of nozzles is greater than 100.

8. The nozzle assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one nozzle comprises:

an aperture plate, where each plate contains more than one aperture to deposit a single line.

9. The nozzle assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one nozzle is for a single deposition nozzle assembly that is formed by placing sheets of material formed to have multiple apertures along one edge and gas channels through the assembly.

10. The nozzle assembly of claim 9, wherein the single deposition nozzle assembly formed by alternating multi-aperture sheets and separator sheets to form gas flow paths from the gas channels to the respective aperture.

11. The nozzle assembly of claim 9, wherein the single deposition nozzle formed by placing multi-aperture plates, with the respective plates having the first aperture, the one or more second apertures, the one or more third apertures, and the separator plates disposed between the respective plates, to form the at least one nozzle.

12. The nozzle assembly of claim 9, wherein the single deposition nozzle assembly comprises stacking more than one multi-aperture nozzle assembly to form a two-dimensional nozzle assembly.

13. The nozzle assembly of claim 1, further comprising:

a heater to heat the at least one nozzle to a temperature greater than that of the evaporation temperature of a least volatile organic species in the carrier gas.

14. The nozzle assembly of claim 1, further comprising:

a chiller plate oriented parallel to the substrate that surrounds the at least one nozzle.

15. The nozzle assembly of claim 1, wherein the deposition chamber ambient pressure is at least 10 Torr.

16. The nozzle assembly of claim 1, wherein the deposition chamber ambient pressure is at least 100 Torr.

17. The nozzle assembly of claim 1, wherein the deposition chamber ambient pressure is at least 760 Torr.

18. An OLED device made by a nozzle assembly including at least one nozzle having a first aperture formed along an edge of a first aperture plate to eject a carrier gas flow laden with condensable organic vapor onto a substrate in a deposition chamber, one or more second apertures formed on a second aperture plate disposed adjacent to the first aperture to form a vacuum aperture, where the first aperture plate and the second aperture plate are separated by a first separator plate, one or more third apertures formed on a third aperture plate to eject purge gas that are disposed adjacent to the second aperture plate, where the second aperture plate and the third aperture plate are separated by second separator plate, and a third separator plate disposed adjacent to the one or more third aperture plates to form a gas channel in the one or more third aperture plates.

19. The OLED device of claim 18, wherein the nozzle assembly includes a gap disposed between a stacked formation of the first, second, and third aperture plates and the substrate that direct the purge gas flow anti-parallel to the carrier gas flow, and into one or more exhaust apertures that are in communication with a vacuum source external to the deposition chamber.

20. A deposition system comprising an isolated chamber in which deposition is performed by using at least one nozzle having a first aperture formed along an edge of a first aperture plate to eject a carrier gas flow laden with condensable organic vapor onto a substrate in a deposition chamber, one or more second apertures formed on a second aperture plate disposed adjacent to the first aperture to form a vacuum aperture, where the first aperture plate and the second aperture plate are separated by a first separator plate, one or more third apertures formed on a third aperture plate to eject purge gas that are disposed adjacent to the second aperture plate, where the second aperture plate and the third aperture plate are separated by second separator plate, and a third separator plate disposed adjacent to the one or more third aperture plates to form a gas channel in the one or more third aperture plates.