Method of forming an electronic device

• US 7,129,166 B2
• Filed: 01/20/2004
• Issued: 10/31/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Patterning Technologies Limited
• Original Assignee: Patterning Technologies Limited
• Inventors: Speakman, Stuart Philip
• Primary Examiner(s): Nelms, David
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lee, Calvin
• Application Number:
  US10/760,611
• Publication Number:
  US 20040151014A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,015 Days
• Field of Search: 438/484, 438/490, 438/492, 438/493, 438/497, 438/500, 438/674, 438/642, 438/652, 257/635, 257/736, 257/748, 257/750
• US Class Current: 438/674
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 10/00 Processes of additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 40/00 Auxiliary operations or equipment, e.g. for material handling
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 40/10 Pre-treatment
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 80/00 Products made by additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/01 Ink jet
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/14233 of film type, deformed by bending and disposed on a diaphragm
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 3/407 for marking on special material
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 3/4073 Printing on three-dimensional objects not being in sheet or web form, e.g. spherical or cubic objects B41J3/283, B41J3/286 take precedence; building up a 3D object using individual droplets from jetting heads B29C64/112
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/4908 for thin film semiconductor, e.g. gate of TFT
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/0002 Not covered by any one of groups H01L24/00, H01L24/00 and H01L2224/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/052 Li-accumulators
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/0565 Polymeric materials, e.g. gel-type or solid-type
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 6/188 Processes of manufacture
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 6/40 Printed batteries , e.g. thin film batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/102 by bonding of conductive powder, i.e. metallic powder H05K3/12 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/125 by ink-jet printing
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 10/20 Organic diodes
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 10/46 Field-effect transistors, e.g. organic thin-film transistors [OTFT] H10K10/43 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 2102/103 comprising indium oxides, e.g. ITO
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 30/00 : Organic devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation integrated devices or assemblies of multiple devices H10K39/00, H10K65/00; electrolytic light-sensitive devices H01G9/20
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 30/10 : comprising heterojunctions between organic semiconductors and inorganic semiconductors
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 30/20 : comprising organic-organic junctions, e.g. donor-acceptor junctions
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 30/30 : comprising bulk heterojunctions, e.g. interpenetrating networks of donor and acceptor material domains
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/11 : characterised by the electroluminescent [EL] layers
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/85 : Arrangements for extracting light from the devices
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/00 : Integrated devices, or assemblies of multiple devices, comprising at least one organic light-emitting element covered by group H10K50/00
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 71/40 : Thermal treatment, e.g. annealing in the presence of a solvent vapour
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 10/01 : Manufacture or treatment
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/549 : Organic PV cells
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 : Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 70/50 : Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product

Abstract

A method of forming an electronic circuit component using the technique of drop on demand printing to deposit droplets of deposition material, said method comprising depositing a plurality of droplets on a surface to form a patterned electronic device comprising multiple discrete portions.

Claims

1. A method of forming an electrically conductive circuit element on a surface using a drop-on-demand deposition technique to deposit droplets of inorganic-based fluid, the method comprising depositing a plurality of droplets of said fluid to form the circuit element, the conductivity of the circuit element being in the range from about 1×

10⁰ S.cm<sup>−

1</sup> to about 4×

10⁵ S.cm<sup>−

1</sup>.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the fluid comprises conductive particles.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the conductive particles have a dimension less than or equal to 1 micron.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the circuit element comprises a plurality of stacked electrically conductive elements connected by vias to provide electrical conduction between elements.

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein the circuit element comprises at least one isolation layer, the or each isolation layer being disposed between adjacent elements.

6. A method according to claim 1, comprising subjecting the deposition material to radiation treatment before, during or after deposition.

7. A method according to claim 1, comprising curing the deposited fluid by exposing the deposited fluid to electromagnetic radiation.

8. A method according to claim 1, wherein the circuit element comprises a diode.

9. A method according to claim 1, wherein the circuit element comprises a plurality of discrete portions.

10. A method according to claim 1, further comprising using an electrostatic spray head to deposit said deposition material.

11. An electrically conductive circuit element formed on a surface using a drop-on-demand deposition technique to deposit multiple droplets of inorganic-based fluid, the conductivity of the electrically conductive element being in the range from about 1×

10⁰ S.cm<sup>−

1</sup> to 4×

10⁵ S.cm<sup>−

1</sup>.

12. An element according to claim 11, wherein the fluid comprises conductive particles.

13. An element according to claim 12, wherein the conductive particles have a dimension less than or equal to 1 micron.

14. An element according to claim 11, comprising a plurality of stacked electrically conductive elements connected by vias to provide electrical conduction between elements.

15. An element according to claim 14, comprising at least one isolation layer, the or each isolation layer being disposed between adjacent elements.

16. An element according to claim 11, comprising a plurality of discrete portions, each portion being formed from respective materials.

17. An element according to claim 11, the fluid droplets comprising at least one of a sol-gel, an organically-modified ormocer, and an organically-modified silicate.